pool, and rendered timely aid to the working hounds. So effectual was the proddling which this good-service company performed, that the enemy beat a hasty retreat to the time of “ I'll gang nae mair to yon town," and putting his head down stream, would have quitted his home for ever. But unfortunately he was headed on a shoal, and returning to a stronghold caused a considerable check. However, Waverley, Wanton, and young Racer again marked him; again the battering-ram was applied successfully, and this time he went down in carnest. The huntsman shook his horn ; and, proud as the Duke of Wellington was of his Gallant guards, when he gave the well-known war-cry of “Up, Guards, and at them !” it was nothing to the pride of our hero as he rattled that horn, and cheered his impetuous pack in the wake of the flying foe. Apropos to the huntsman on a fox-hunting occasion, Limpetty-for such is his name—having driven a fox to ground, was anxious to bolt him ; and having procured a pick-axe, commenced working upon his knees at the mouth of the earth ; but suddenly feeling a severe prick in his nether end, he turned round sharply, and said in a very savage tone, “ Who-o the h-I's a-pricking o' my back ?" But no one answering, he again stooped down, and, being busily engaged in his work, felt another sharper touch in the same parts. This was more than he could bear ; so, springing up in a furious rage, he vociferated to those who were crowding around him, " Who-o the h-l's a-pricking o' my back ?” “Why, Limpetty, you fule !” said a bystander, “it be your own spur!” and so it was. He had been sitting upon his spur, and his own heel had almost goaded him to madness.

The bounds now had it all their own way ; the otter had reached a long deep pool without a hover to hide his head ; to and fro did they work him in right good form for an hour or more ; at length he was so beaten that he landed on the slope of Yarninkhole Wood, ran the plantation at the extreme end of it, with the hounds rattling in his rear, and reached another big pool called “Facey's Pit,” into which he glided, like oil poured upon the water, but scarcely creating a ripple on its surface. Here the spirit of the sport was at its height. If one hound missed him another piarked him incessantly, up and down stream, backwards and forwards, till at length, about seven o'clock, he landed a second time, and the hounds ran into him without further trouble.

Four full-grown otters have been killed by Mr. Trelawny's hounds this season in six successive days a dog and a bitch on the Erme, and two dogs on the Plym-and it must be confessed that our friend's triumph has been quite complete. We wish him all joy of it, and hope he may long live to be the advocate of the foxhound, and our own particular friend.

200

SEASONABLE PREPARATIONS,

BY CECIL.

Surfeited with the pleasures of London, and nearly suffocated with the broiling heat of the weather, every man who has been induced to follow the attractions of the Exhibition and its auxiliaries must hail his departure from the populous city with delight; and whether it be to partake of the sports of the field, or enjoy the equally invigorating effects of an autumnal cruize, the change cannot fail being welcomed. What period of the year can we select more prolific in the beauties of nature than the autuinn? The harvest is nearly secured, by the blessing of Providence, under favourable auspices, and the farmer frankly and courteously meets his landlord in the hope that "the good time is coming.” Meet whom you may in the country, the topic of conversation is the Exhibition. Have you seen it? is the first question which meets the ear. What diversities of ideas flow from those who have! Some attempt to give descriptions of those objects which most forcibly attracted their notice- dictated by their own peculiar notions of that which is most worthy of admiration. One regards with wonder the gigantic masses of coal; another the extraordinary estimate concentrated in the comparatively diminutive proportion of the Koh-i-1100r diamond, and expresses marvellous astonishimelt that so much value should be attached to such a gem. The novice who has never previously visited London sums up liis history with the abscrtiou that he cannot possibly describe what lie has seeit. There is, no doubt, much truth in that ; there are so many objects of astonishiment to the stranger, independent of the Exhibition, that the brain becomes bewildered, and the mind confused. The final destination or appropriation of the Glass Palace is a theme still to be canvassed. Down with it, exclaims one party. Make å winter garden of it, is the exhortation of another. Let there be proinenades, perfumed with tlie fragrant odour of exotic plants, shaded with evergreens, enlivened with humming-birds, ornamented with lakes abounding with the golden fish of China ; introduce all novelties, rejoicing in an oriental teniperaturo ; let every luxurious refinement which the art of man can devise be concentrated in this identical spot, and wherefore should the present race lament that Adam and Eve were driven out of Paradise ? Provide invalid chairs for the accoinmodation of the valetudinarian, who, in many cases, is the victim of his own indolent and effeminate propensities. Adopt every means to shelter him from the pure air of heaven, which will invigorate the spirit and the substance; and, as though the atmosphere of London was already too clear and healthy, let the essential elements of vitality be absorbed by plants, and yield to the perfume of the most powerful exotics. A school for equestrians is proposed, in rivalry of Rotten Row, to promote active enjoyment for the dyspeptic, whose imaginations are of too delicate an order to encounter an airing, unprotected by the agency of a glass case.

IST

To this may be suggested, for the amusement of the delicate votaries of Diana, a divertisement, after the fashion of a fox chase-confined, of course, to certain days in the week ; otherwise it might inconvenience visitors who are affected by too much excitement. How novel the announcement - The Exhibition Fox-hounds will meet on Tuesdays and Fridays in the Glass Case." It would be truly enchanting to find one of Herring's foxes in a strong cover of double-blossom gorse, luxuriating in its golden vestures and then, what an echo would be produced from the pack in full cry, "all hard at his brush," chasing their game from avenue to avenue, and from break to break! “ Till, fairly (9) run down, the fox yields up his breath” to the gallant pack in the open, or goes to ground in a rockery composed of precious stones and choice minerals. We will, however, recede from such phantasies, and seek more rational and attaitable pursuits in nature's sylvan territories.

In defiance of the alterations that have been introduced in racing regulations, scarcely a meeting of importance passes off, without some uthworthy trespass upon the sucial condition inseparable from the high tone with which this influential national pastime ought to be regulated. It is a fact somewhat reflecting upon this country, that on the Continent, where racing is comparatively unimportant, very few irregularities occur to create distrust or biekerings. The reason is obvious, although their rules are grafted upon, and in a great measure assimilate with ours, they have others which clear the way froin dispute by cutting off the first shoots of unhealthy growth. As a means of identification their horses are registered; a custom long since urgently called for in England, where the race-horse is not only a medium of amusement, but an important item of speculation and commerce. What can be a more convincing proof that such a system is requisite than the late affair at Goodwood respecting the age and identity of Nancy. That an examination of her mouth, sanctioned by the rule of the Jockey Club, justified Mr. Pedley in adopting that course, there can be no question. How far the result proved satisfactory is another point; for although Mr. Field pronounced her to be not more than three years old, still a doubt appeared to have remained respecting her identity, by which it is implied that the mouth test is not conclusive. With regard to identity it cannot be; farthermore, a man who will resort to the proceeding of substituting one animal for another will not hesitate to prepare the teeth in such a manner as to carry out the deception. Not that I attempt to insinuate in the most remote degree that any such device has been performed on the mare in question : but I am merely stating that such things may be done. The bond fide ownership or partnership in a horse will never be properly defined until some new regulations are adopted with respect to nominations. It is an opinion which I have expressed on many former occasions : it is confirmed by constant experience, and the approval of the majority who wish to gee racing in a flourishing condition. The racing community are constantly kept in suspense and doubt by uncertainties arising solely from the deficiency of rules and their want of uniformity, which in justice to all honourable speculators they are entitled to expect. There is also another subject which loudly calls for amendment--that of owners of horsos demanding from the public a premium or bonus for starting a favourite, for which there are too many precedents. Supposing a horse to be at five to one, and the owner has not backed him for an amount sufficient to satisfy his cupidity, he can go into the ring (with what grace is another affair) and declare his intention to withdraw the animal unless the public will lay him double the amount of the current odds. If he has the modesty to require it only to the stake of one hundred pounds, and the horse gets up one point in the betting, which he is sure to do, by hedging at that price the owner can realize a hundred to a certainty, and of course as many hundreds as he persists in demanding on the same conditions. Much difficulty exists in framing any rules or conditions which could not be evaded. There are many noblemen and gentlemen who repudiate these manæuvres : in their hands the subject must remain, and the offenders be regarded with that doubt upon their intentions which such conduct will necessarily call forth.

Much disappointment has been expressed in consequence of the deficiency of salmon in some of the principal rivers in England and Wales, especially in the Severn and Wye. The Teify, the Towey, and the Dovey, although considerably inferior to the first-named rivers, usually afford the angler much diversion, which the Severn, unless it be near to its source, does not. The nature and character of its waters are not adapted to the mystic art of throwing the fly ; nets, wears, and such like devices are therefore the means resorted to for capturing the salmon in that river. Those who are most conversant with the habits of this delicious fish account for the present scarcity from the circumstance of the season in 1849 being unfavourable for spawning, or unhealthy for the young fry. There appears no reason for doubting this opinion, because it is well known that certain seasons have peculiar influence over the animal and vegetable creation ; we may therefore infer that fish are equally susceptive. In the most populous districts the numerous sewers and drains from manufactories emptying into the rivers destroy a vast number of fish. The Thames is an example, as it is now totally abandoned by the salmon, unquestionably in consequence of the unwholesome state of the water in the vicinity of London, through which they must pass in their migrations to and from the sea. I apprehend the Thames is the only river in England, where salmon were wont to resort, from which they have entirely vanished; although there are other rivers evidently not nearly so productive as they were in days gone by. The Severn affords evidence of that fact; for, notwithstanding the reason already stated why the deficiency during the present summer should exist, the expression of fishermen is unanimous that the number of fish taken during the last five years is by no means equal to an average of previous seasons. The destruction of this fish is sadly induced, by unwarrantable practices, before they have attained a proper age. The old adage, “All is fish that comes to the net," is a maxim pretty generally put in practice. Civilisation, or, more properly, population, has the effect of changing the haunts of fish, as well as of animals and birds ; those which are not completely under the subjugation of domestic treatment, still enjoying the privileges of nature's freedom, eschew the tenements of man, and thus, as he enlarges the boundaries of his habitations, the free creatures of our island recede from his presence.

To make amends for the disappointments experienced among the salmon, this has generally been pronounced an unusually favourable

season for grouse; the prestige which deer-stalking and grousiug have acquired from the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Albert, combined with the great facility of reaching shooting quarters by the agency of railways, has contributed to render these sports most essentially fashionable. The complaints which prevailed during several years, from persons hiring moors being greatly disappointed by not finding the quantity of game which they had been led to anticipate, are beginning to subside-ostensibly from this circumstance, the tenants, being forewarned by experience, now take care to ascertain to what extent the representations are correct. A landed proprietor, having the right of sporting to dispose of, can scarcely be expected to underrate its value, any more than he would in letting his farm, which he may represent as capable of producing, if well cultivated, in a good season, five quarters of wheat per acre ; but if the season be unpropitious, and the farmer mismanages the land, he may only realize three quarters: still he must not attach blame to the landlord. No prudent man would take a farm without inspecting it and judging for himself; neither would a sportsman, having the bump of sagacity on his cranium, take a manor without satisfying himself of the quantity of game to be found upon it. In South Wales, the preservation of grouse, and, indeed, of most other descriptions of game, has been of late years so totally neglected, that scarcely a pack can be found, where, twenty years ago, very fair sport was to be had. At Builth, and in other parts of Breconshire, also on the mountains of Carmarthenshire, at the period just mentioned, much good shooting could be obtained ; but I very much doubt if twenty brace of grouse can now be put up in the two counties. It is a species of game of all others the least injurious to the farmer ; the pursuit of it is most exciting; and now that railways render the journey from all parts of the kingdom easy of accomplishment, it would surely answer the purpose of landed proprietors to re-establish its preservation.

The first of September is a day of delight, replete with pleasing associations; the sportsman hails it as the commencement of Diana's festivities. Partridges are plentiful where any care has been bestowed on their preservation ; the weather has been more than usually propitious, and although the fields in some districts are not entirely cleared of grain, with few exceptions, they are sufficiently so to enable the sportsman to find, if not invariably to follow, his game. The demand for good pointers and setters is a certain criterion of the prevailing taste for shooting, and the numerous inquiries for manors, that the estimation in which field sports are held extends beyond those who are lords of the soil. Nor is this to be wondered at; after a man has been confined to a London life, either by pleasure or business, indulging in luxuries, the mind requires relaxation, and the body exercise. After leading a life of comparative inactivity, few men are in condition to enjoy their shooting without experiencing a degree of fatigue which deprives them of a great portion of pleasure they might otherwise ensure. Two or three good walks, with an extra flannel waistcoat and pair of drawers on, to carry off superfluous perspiration, a few days before the campaign commences, is an ordeal usually followed by those who adopt it with most satisfactory results.

We have now arrived at the time of year when the preparation of the hunter is an event which calls forth the attention of every man who