As I Grew Up I

Hunting, Fishing, Drawing, And Music Occupied My Every Moment. Cares I Knew Not, And Cared Naught About Them.

On The 17th Of May, The Delos Put Out To Sea. I Was Immediately Affected With Sea-sickness, Which, However, Lasted But A Short Time. I Remained On Deck Constantly, Forcing Myself To Exercise.

After All, I Long To Be In America Again, Nay, If I Can Go Home To Return No More To Europe, It Seems To Me That I Shall Ever Enjoy More Peace Of Mind, And Even Physical Comfort Than I Can Meet With In Any Portion Of The World Beside.

Look At That Mallard As He Floats On The Lake; See His Elevated Head Glittering With Emerald Green, His Amber Eyes Glancing In The Light! Even At This Distance, He Has Marked You, And Suspects That You Bear No Goodwill Towards Him, For He Sees That You Have A Gun, And He Has Many A Time Been Frightened By Its Report, Or That Of Some Other. The Wary Bird Draws His Feet Under His Body, Springs Upon Then, Opens His Wings, And With Loud Quacks Bids You Farewell.

There Is The Morass, Wherein You Plunge Up To Your Knees, Or The Walking Over The Stubborn, Dwarfish Shrubbery, Whereby One Treads Down The Forests Of Labrador; And The Unexpected Bunting Or Sylvia Which Perchance, And Indeed As If By Chance Alone, You Now And Then See Flying Before You, Or Hear Singing From The Ground Creeping Plant.