expressions of thankfulness and of gratitude, than to put into full operation those laws which have made many a tyrant, and those enactments which have turned their victims into slaves. Yet is he watchful and attentive withal. It would be a difficult matter to deceive him. There is no intricacy of the wood which he cannot thread,—no character of country with which he is not acquainted,—no turn in the rivulet but is to him well known, no description of soil or quality of produce but is to him familiar, and he well knows how they may be applied to the preservation of game. Whilst others, from want of skill and observation, are doomed to endure disappointment in their pursuit of the denizens of the copse, the field, and the stream, he can fill his bag with game, and return home perfectly satisfied with the diversion of a day, or the enjoyment of a few hours, and without that fatigue which the less skilful invariably experience.

The owner of a family estate, possessed of these qualities, is a fair specimen of the English country gentleman. There are, besides, other advantages arising from his many favourite diversions. His love of the sports of the field renders him familiar with every part of his extensive grounds. His covers are, therefore, in excellent order; his fences, gates, and water-courses in

good condition; and his stock of game, under the care of a skilful, honest, and judicious keeper, is ever abundant. Spending his days upon his own estate; visiting all its localities; giving employment to many industrious labourers; living on the kindest terms with his neighbours around him, and with the farmers who are his own tenants; not harsh, and proud, and overbearing, but civil, kind, and forgiving; ever ready to act as the adviser and the generous friend, and not as the high and selfish tyrant;-his good name is respected and cherished by all.

The exercise of these qualities enables the true sportsman to possess a larger quantity of game than falls to the lot of one who acts differently; and even the poacher is less disposed to visit his preserves than he is to clear those which belong to a tyrant owner and his domineering and insolent keeper.

The true sportsman thus possesses the means of gratifying a few true friends-the companions, perhaps, of his school-days, or the comrades of a profession passed amidst scenes far removed from the family mansion, the cherished home of his childhood. To meet, under these circumstances, is to open the pure fountain of true feeling, from which flow the bright and sparkling streams of gratification and delight.

Accompanied by his old friends and associates, he sallies forth in the morning to enjoy his favourite diver

sions. Fully successful in the pursuit of his game, he is no despiser or inattentive observer of every object which is presented around, -the imposing stillness and

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solemnity of the ancient wood; the beauty of the sloping valley, or the majesty of the towering mountain; the gentle whisper of the hidden rill, or the shout of the headlong torrent;—each are subjects of pleasing association; and he returns homewards refreshed in spirit and invigorated in health.

Nor, surrounded by his bosom friends and his own family, is he at all churlish. His board is plentifully, but not lavishly spread. The feelings of his own generous nature are cordially shared in by the happy guests by whom he is surrounded, with that spirit of frankness, joy, and hilarity, which is unknown to the selfish. The pure light of his own heart is reflected from those of his jocund guests; and the fount of kindliness, benevolence, and good will, gushes with increased power, with more sparkling waters, and with more melodious music.

N the midland counties, stag hunting is a sport which is now much pursued, particularly in Norfolk, Suffolk, Berkshire, Essex, Hampshire, and Gloucestershire. In former years, the royal staghounds and the North Devon, which were of very old standing, were the only packs known. The latter hunted the wild deer only, but they have lately been given up, either on account of a deficiency of subscription, or in consequence of the farmers having destroyed the deer for the protection of their corn lands. A few words upon the subject of this hunt will not be uninteresting. The hounds were