g here was merely to enjoy a
little of the far-famed canvas-back duck shooting and eating, as I
purposed revisiting these parts early in spring, when I should have more
leisure. No sooner were our wishes known than one of our kind friends
immediately offered to drive us down to Maxwell Point, which is part of
a large property belonging to General Cadwallader, and is situated in
one of the endless inlets with which Chesapeake Bay abounds. All being
arranged, our friend appeared in a light waggon, with a pair of spicy
trotters before it. The road out was dreary and uninteresting enough;
but when we left it, and turned into a waggon way through an extensive
forest, I could not but feel what a lovely ride or drive it must be in
the more genial seasons of the year, when the freshness of spring and
summer, or the richness of autumn, clothes the dense wood with its
beauties. A short and pleasant drive brought us to a ferry, by which we
crossed over to the famous Point, thereby avoiding the long round which
we otherwise must have made. The waters were alive with duck in every
direction; it reminded me forcibly of the Lake Menzaleh, near Damietta,
the only place where I had ever before seen such a duckery.

The sporting ground is part of a property belonging to General
Cadwallader, and is leased to a club of gentlemen; they have built a
very snug little shooting-box, where they leave their guns and
_materiel_ for sport, running down occasionally from Baltimore for a day
or two, when opportunity offers, and enjoying themselves in true pic-nic
style.[J] The real time for good sport is from the middle of October to
the middle of November, and what produces the sport is, the ducks
shifting their feeding-ground, in performing which operation they cross
over this long point. As the season gets later, the birds do not shift
their ground so frequently; and, moreover, getting scared by the eternal
cannonade which is kept up, they fly very high when they do cross. The
best times are daybreak and just before dark; but even then, if the
weather is not favourable, they pass but scantily. My friend warned me
of this, as the season for good sport was already passed, though only
the nineteenth of November, and he did not wish me to be disappointed.
We landed on the Point about half-past four P.M., and immediately
prepared for mischief, though those who had been there during the day
gave us little encouragement.

The _modus operandi_ is very si