Sir William Congreve. From the Queen's Palace (now Buckingham Palace), a bridge was thrown over Constitution Hill into the Green Park. In Hyde Park, the serpentine river was allotted for a grand aquatic spectacle (a better one might nightly have been seen at Sadler's Wells), in which a British and foreign fleet, represented by small craft brought from Woolwich, and fitted up to resemble men-of-war, were to exhibit the manœuvres of a naval engagement. The park itself was covered with booths, which gave it every appearance of a large country fair. This naumachia gave rise to a considerable degree of satire and ridicule, which after the late display of real power and national grandeur at the naval review at Portsmouth, was looked upon as a burlesque calculated alone to divert the worthy citizens of London. On the 31st of July the following notification was issued by authority :

"August the 1st is the day fixed for a grand national jubilee, being the centenary of the accession of the illustrious family of Brunswick to the throne of this kingdom, and the anniversary of the battle of the Nile. Hyde Park, in which there will be a grand fair, is entirely open to the people; the Mall of St James's Park, and Constitution Hill will also be open to the people. The lawn of St. James's Park and the Birdcage Walk will be devoted to those who have purchased tickets."

Then followed a description of the accommodation prepared for the public; the conclusion ran as follows:

"Let not the people therefore listen to those who are the constant enemies of all public joys. Let them be assured that the object of the peaceful festival is to give to all ranks and orders a grateful occasion to indulge in that full participation of happiness to which their perseverance in a most sanguine and trying contest, crowned with unprecedented success, has so richly entitled them."

It will easily be understood how anxious I was, during the preparations for the national fête, to ascertain the movements of the Wilmot's family, but circumstances combined against me; old Mrs. Ready had been seized with a dangerous illness, and her son had gone down into the country to see her. Deprived of this auxiliary force, I was left to act for myself. My first step was to ride down to Kingston, to try and find the postboy that had driven the doctor's carriage into London; but as there were then two flourishing post-houses in that town, and the run on the road, especially about the time of the naval review, had been unusually great, and the travellers of such high distinction, I found it quite impossible to track the humble pair-horse chariot of the worthy pastor. My next movement was to despatch Peter Sawyer to all the West End hotels to inquire if the Doctor was there; but his exertions proved fruitless; in despair, I gave up the chace.

The day appointed for the Jubilee arrived. It opened with a lowering sky, but soon the sun shone resplendently forth; crowds of every rank were to be seen wandering through the fair in the park: in vain throughout the day did I seek my beloved Mary; often did I fancy that I caught a glimpse of her, and was as often disappointed. I had witnessed the ascent of Sadler's baloon; had laughed at the cockney excitement caused by the "action of the serpentine;" had gazed at what the programme termed the "grand pyrotechnic display," which consisted of an assault upon a fortified castle by squibs, crackers, and rockets, and which after a two hours' siege was transformed into the Temple of Concord, splendidly illuminated, and decorated with flags, banners, devices and emblems

suited to the occasion, and was wending my way home, when a blaze of light attracted my attention, it proceeded from St. James' Park; so crossing the Mall I soon discovered that the Pagoda on the Chinese bridge was in flames, and that this genuine "flare up" had been caused by one of the ornamental paper lanterns catching fire; the piercing shrieks of the terrified populace on the bridge were awful: the thought that Mary Wilmot might be among the crowd flashed across my mind; so rushing into the midst of the danger, I, with the assistance of some constables and parkkeepers, succeeded in extricating many from their impending doom. Tired and excited, I hastened to leave the spot, and by that feeling which the surly pedant Johnson defines as "desire acting on the mind without the intervention of reason or deliberation," I crossed the Birdcage Walk, and gained the entrance to Queen Square. Here a crowd had gathered round a carriage, and at that moment the words of Manoah's messenger flashed across my mind

"But providence or instinct of nature seems,

Or reason though disturbed, and scarce consulted,

To have guided me aright."

By the aid of a torch-light I saw the anxious countenance of the venerable pastor his arm supported a drooping female head. "What has occurred?" I wildly asked. "Only a young 'ooman fainting from the crowd," responded the link-boy. "Home," shouted the footman; and before I could make my way through the crowd, the well-known chariot rattled off, leaving me in a state of suspense and anxiety almost insupportable.

CLOSE OF THE GROUSE SEASON ON THE GRAMPIANS

FOR 1849.

BY HAWTHORN,

"Harp of the north, farewell! The hills grow dark,
On purple peaks a deeper shade descending;
In twilight copse the glow-worm lights her spark,
The deer, half seen, are to the covert wending."

In

Grouse shooting on the Grampians has long been proverbial for excellence, and no portion of the United Kingdom is more favourable for the breed of grouse than this region of "mountain and of flood." my opening article in the pages of your magazine for August I prophesied a glorious increase in the grouse family for 1849, and have been fully borne out in my prediction by those sportsmen who have remained on the Grampians up to the end of the grouse season. The wild bird of the mountain, I am happy to say, has now recovered from that sad disease which made such havoc among the grouse family for some years past; and although they are not so plentiful on the wild face of the Grampians as they were in 1846, they (the grouse) are making rapid strides towards recovery, and another favourable breeding season-one

as good as the past-will make the wild red bird of the mountains nearly as plentiful as ever. The weather (a matter of great consideration to the grouse-shooter) has been very favourable throughout the past season, and many good bags were made in October, November, and in the last ten days of the season. But enough of preface; and now for the foray on the wild face of the mountains; and we will begin with his Grace the Duke of Athol's sport in his far-famed forest of Glentilt, where the wild red harts roam in hundreds, aye, thousands, over the wild and steep mountains, or thread the deep corries and numerous glens of the Tilt. The Duke had one grand and glorious day's sport among the harts in August last, and brought down twenty-six to his own rifle in one day-sport, we should say, unprecedented in the annals of deer-stalking, and, as Dominie Sampson of old would have said, "Pro-di-gi-ous!" but such was the fact. At Blair Castle his Grace and party of friends had good sport at grouse throughout the greater part of the season, and finished with a grand battue at Blair and three days' shooting among the wild woods of the Tilt in November last. Here is the total of these three days' sport in this part of the mountains, viz., 13th, 14th, and 16th of November, 1849:-Pheasants, 55; partridges, 37; woodcocks, 10; white hares, 367; red hares, 696; rabbits, 22; red deer, 1; roe deer, 11; blackcock, 1; grouse, 22; in all, 1,222 head of game, which was first-rate sport at that season of the year for so wild a part of the country.

The Marquis of Breadalbane and party had good sport in his lordship's forest, called the Black Mount, and killed some very heavy harts; and on the Breadalbane moors the same party had some good fair sport at grouse and other kinds of game on these well preserved moors.

Alexander Campbell, Esq., let his famous moors at Monzie to Mr. Douglas Baird, of Gershirey, and Mr. Baird and friends had good sport on these Moors, and bagged 200 brace of grouse, 50 brace of black game, with lots of white and red hares, and other kinds of game peculiar to that district of country.

In the Glenartney forest Lord Willoughby's party had fine sport at deer; Lord Dupplin killed a very heavy hart in this forest in August last. Lord Cannington remained at Drummond Castle, and had some good sport at deer in Glenastney, and at grouse and other kinds of game on Lord Willoughby's moors up to nearly the very end of the grouse

season.

The Earl of Mansfield did not visit the moors at Rannoch till well on in August, and was then very careful of his "grouse." But his lordship and his party enjoyed themselves right merrilie among the mountains up to the second week in October, the weather being all that could have been wished for during their sojourn, and the sport very fair. The slaughter of white hares was enormous, nearly 600 being brought to bag in one day; and a few days before Lord Mansfield left his moors, he was so fortunate as to make a good stalk at a "wild red knight of the mountains," and bring him to cart with his rifle.

Sir David Dundas, at Invergeldie, had great luck with the grouse, and killed 400 hares, besides a large quantity of black game and white hares.

The Abercairny party, at Conachan Lodge, had killed, up to the 11th November, 300 brace of grouse, 40 brace of gallant old black

cocks, and lots of other game, such as ducks, snipes, woodcocks, and hares, which amounted in all to 2,000 head-not bad sport for the first three months of the season.

On the Ochils the sport was good this season, and the grouse on these moors are now fairly recovered from disease.

On the north side of the vale of the Allan, and at Cromlie, Lord Dupplin and party had plenty to do for the first two weeks of the season.

At Carrin, on the south side of the vale of the Allan, Mr. Padwick and son had fine sport at grouse, and killed some 200 brace of birds, with a good sprinkling of black game, ducks, &c., &c., &c., in their game-book, and a large quantity of snipes. The sport at the latter is first-rate, as there is no better ground in Scotland for snipe-shooting than the marshes in the vale of the Allan, and Mr. Henry Padwick (I mean the "younger") is one of the best shots at the long-bills I ever saw put gun to shoulder. As a proof of this, the young gentleman, not yet

of age, would go to the "Bogs of the Allan," and bring home his "20 couple" of snipes in a few hours' shooting, with a sprinkling of duck and other gear to adorn his game-bag.

At Glen Eagles Lord Duncan and party had very fair sport, and found that the grouse on the green hills of the Ochils were not to be despised, although the red bird gets very wild early in the season on his lordship's moors.

At Drumote Lodge the Honourable Fox Maule and Colonel Philip Dundas had excellent sport, and bagged between 400 and 500 brace of grouse, with lots of black game and other kinds of game, in the first five weeks of their season.

At Logiealmond Lodge Mr. Seton Kerr had very good sport, and continued on the moors till November, shot almost every day, and bagged 500 brace of grouse, 30 brace of black game, and some 200 . hares.

At Glenalmond Lodge Mr. Patten had fair sport, and bagged 250 brace of grouse.

At Kinloch, in Strathbraun, Mr. Brown did very well on his moors, killing 60 brace of birds on the first day of the season, and continuing to kill from 20 to 10 brace daily, up to a late period of the season.

I could enumerate many other shooting parties that have had good sport this season; but enough has been said to show that the front range of the Grampians is a famed locality for the grouse-shooter. In bidding adieu to the mountains for 1849, we will do so with a few words from our favourite poet-Byron :

"Adieu, ye mountains of the clime

Where grew my youthful years!

Where Loch-na-Garr' in snows sublime

His giant summit rears!

Why did my childhood wander forth

From you, ye regions of the north,

With sons of pride to roam?

Why did I quit my Highland cave,

'Marr's' dusky heath and Dee's' clear wave,
To seek a southern home ?"

Grampians, 17th Dec., 1849.

NOTES OF THE CHASE.

BY CECIL.

The golden era of the chase in Leicestershire is awarded to the period when the renowned Mr. Meynell hunted that country. He was the first to rescue the "noble science" from rude customs-to introduce system and order, combined with the best blood in the kennel, and the necessary accompaniment, condition; previously, as I apprehend, but little thought of. His friend and companion, the late Mr. Childe, of Kinlet, in Shropshire, known by the well-earned sobriquet of The Flying Childe, set the example of pace in riding to hounds.

Hunting in Warwickshire was in its zenith during the time of Mr. Corbet.

To whom shall be awarded the palmy days of Shropshire? Is Mr. Baker destined not only to rival his predecessors, but to establish a fame as yet unequalled in that sporting and truly aristocratic county? Judging from the sport he has already shown, the prospect is most fortuitous; and yet it will be no easy task to accomplish, so good are the names of those who have gone before him. You cannot enter the county, and converse with an old sportman on the subject of fox-hunting, but you will hear of the exploits of The Squire Forrester of Willey, and his no-less-celebrated whipper-in, Tom Moody, whose ardour for the chase is handed down to posterity in the well-known song which bears his name, invariably chaunted by some native amateur vocalist at all convivial meetings appertaining to the chase. Sir John Hill, the father of so many gallant sons, who attracted the notice of their sovereign in very early days during several seasons, presided over the management of his hounds. With the same sporting blood flowing in his veins, Colonel Hill also hunted this country, and although not a master of hounds, Lord Hill, the commandant-in-chief, patronized foxhunting on all occasions.

The late Sir Richard Puleston, celebrated as being the best judge of hounds in his day, likewise had his reign. Sir Edward Smythe kept these hounds some years; also his neighbour, Mr. Smythe Owen, a first-rate sportsman, and a capital man across the country.

Mr. Pelham had them during another term, and Sir Bellingham Graham, who had previously acquired in other countries a name as a sportsman, which was, if possible, enhanced by the probation of three or four seasons, undertook to hunt this country, together with the Albrighton, in the year 1824; Sir Bellingham being the only master of hounds mentioned who was not a Shropshire man.

The sport of the Shropshire and Wheatland hounds, up to the present period, has been quite first-rate, commencing with a good run from Meadowly Hill, on the 9th of November, when they found in the covert opposite Morville. The fox led them along the hill parallel to