pursuit; for if, as Pat says, figuratively speaking, they could "jump a potato trench," they could ride in such country, they would be welcome there, and indeed everywhere, as being good sound sportsmen; and if they even there got into a difficulty, any man who could ride, if also a good-natured fellow, would feel pleasure in helping them out of it. But this would have to be done all day in a difficulty country, and this could not be expected; so let them go where it would rarely be wanted, and in a country where a man is not called upon for any bold riding, and men who can't ride are as well off as those who can. It is not a bad maxim to observe in all things-if in certain situations we are aware we cannot show superiority, seek others where the reverse will not be conspicuous.

On the other hand, I remember, when hunting with the Duke of Richmond's hounds, a gentleman came into that country from Leicestershire, who brought several very fine horses with him. One day, after a very pretty run and kill, on the general field expressing their satisfaction, the Leicestershire gentleman in round terms d-d the country, vowing if he was obliged to remain in it, he would "sell his horses, and never ride anything but a sixty-pound hack." Nothing could be more ungentlemanly, insolent, or injudicious than such speech. He was with the hounds of a nobleman highly esteemed, ever zealous to show sport, in which he was ably seconded by his huntsman; and the country, if not first-rate, was one that produced fair average runs. He offended half the field, who probably did not give more than the sixty mentioned as hack price for their hunters; and though the huntsman was too well trained to show insolence, however provoked, to a gentleman, no attention or civility could be expected after a speech so disparaging of the hunt. This gentleman, after the season, had one of his horses trained for the Hunters' Stakes, and, to the delight of everyone, he was third; beaten for second place by a horse that had been bought for just half this gentleman's estimated hack price. Then, as characteristic of the would-be overbearing of the man, he grossly abused the jockey who rode the horse, and swore he had been "pulled" throughout the race. The jockey, who was a highly-respectable farmer, and fine horseman, very quietly told the Leicestershire hero, that if he dared repeat what he had said, he would horsewhip him on the spot; and this he was quite capable of doing, as it was only by wasting and a very light saddle he was enabled to ride twelve stone.

There can be no doubt but that it would be truly annoying to a man accustomed to fast countries and flying fences, with a stud that could and had gone first flight in such countries, to find himself in one where a good kind of half "gee-who" sort of horse could really, from the nature of the country, and the blindness, intricacy, and frequency of the fences, follow hounds quite as closely as could the crack; yet so it is, racing speed is all but useless in small enclosures. A greyhound would never catch a rabbit in a cover: the former has speed, but cannot use it-the latter has singular quickness, which he can use with advantage.

We will now revert to men and their style of riding. When my father was in Essex, whenever I had a horse that I wished to ease a bit, I always sent him there; I knew he would get every attention and (to him) a holiday.

In Essex there lived a medical man, who subsequently became phy

sician, a favourite with everyone, a keen sportsman, and, in his peculiar way, a good horseman. The doctor kept a couple, sometimes three nags, who did everything; he also kept, for the use of one of his two very pretty and accomplished daughters, a very clever pony, and well would the little beauty put him along with hounds. What larger horses did at once, the miniature hunter and his fair mistress did at twice; but neither ever refused a fence. I believe about thirty was the doctor's maximum price for horses. The price I set on one I had sent down was about twice that of the whole medical stud; but on seeing him (the doctor) determined to grace the new diploma by a (to him) new sort of horse, as intimate friends, my father would not let the doctor have the horse without riding him with hounds. He did so, and expressed his obligation; "for," said he, "if I had bought him I could not have ridden him in comfort; I must have ridden like a jockey, I could not sit down on him as I do on my own. His trot is very good for a hunter, but you know I ride up and down like a postboy." And so it was: the doctor was used to short-going nags, the stride of my horse was quite different; and from the doctor's profession requiring constant roadriding, he did veritably bob up and down, as he said, like a postillion. However, I suited him afterwards with a dun mare that I had taken in exchange from a sporting veterinary surgeon. She had been constantly used as his hack, but the physician made a hunter of her at least, one of his sort of hunters. We will suppose the doctor in a grass country, on a thorough-bred nag. Why he would have sat and looked about as happy as used to do Batty's monkey, when tied on to the saddle in a mock steeple-chase at the Hippodrome. Poor Jacko was not allowed his "choice of country."

Whatever carries with it the air or reality of aristocracy, fashion, and expense, always bears also about it a kind of charm that, strange to say, seems to equally engage the attention of high and low. We hear the latter talk of the great, or even the Court, as if they were conversant with the habits of both; whereas, if they ever do get in close contact with the great, it is with Mr. Hales, the giant landlord of Drurylane; and the court with whose manners and habits they are conversant, is some court in the same locality. So we hear men whose one nag gives them an occasional day's hunting, talking as familiarly of Leices tershire as if they were constantly seen with the Quorn. Hundreds call such country the elysium of hunting, who would find it in every way anything but elysium to them. It is, perhaps, so to men of high fashion and large fortune; but from what I know of it, I can only say I had just sense enough to see it was very well for men of small means to go to for a short-a very short-time, but no longer than that time. They may carry on the war without causing sarcastic remark-nay, may by some be welcomed, but to stay there, unless an unavoidable inhabitant, would be the height of folly. To go there for a season would be a puerile and vain attempt to become one of them," calling forth only ridicule while it lasted, and probably much pecuniary inconvenience afterwards. It would not give such a person as I describe the éclat of being a Leicestershire man in the sense the term implies, but that of a very weak one, who in such a country attempted that to which, on the score of expense, he had no pretension.

I quite admit that by those of high birth and standing more courtesy is usually shown than by inferior persons; and if all Leicestershire men

may

were prototypes of the late Lord Alvanly, a man might take his three horses into their country, and would meet, if his general bearing warranted it, no more unpleasantry there than if his stud consisted of thirteen. But he would not meet all Alvanlys: Leicestershire men are, as a tout ensemble, a clique, and among that there is a double-refined clique, whose accueil to strangers, unless they consider them of consequence, is anything but agreeable Such men are no little hypercritical in their observations, which goes even to the cut of a man's coat, which, unless it carries with it the air of having been turned out by an "artiste" who charges unlimited price for unlimited credit, places the wearer in their estimation in a very equivocal position. The nag may be happy enough to meet their perfect approbation, the saddle look like a Wilson, the bit like a Latchford, but the coat is still probably a stumbling-block. If so, should the wearer go well, and presume to keep "a place," and that a good one, in the run, he may be flattered, if within ear shot, to find he is noticed by "who the d-1 is the fellow?" or by finding at the first check an eye-glass levelled at him, saying as plainly as lorgnette can say "Where the d-1 do you come from?" Depend on it there is rather more than a fair sprinkling of these doubledistilled in the far and justly famed metropolitan countries. I do not pretend to dictate to others, but I should say that humble rustics like myself would be wise in "choice of country" as a home, to fix on a more rusticated one.

It might be asked by some one who had never tried the crack countries, why it is necessary to have such large studs there? It is not absolutely necessary for a mere sportsman to have such, but doing as the élite do renders it so; the pastures are large, the covers few, the fences strong, scent lies well, and the hounds uncommonly fast, and, above all, as regards them, they meet few impediments. This will show any hunting man that first-rate horses as to qualifications are indispensable; and even such horses must be carefully ridden if a man means the same nag to carry him the run. But mind, such riding borders on the "slow." Why? Because if you have not always a second horse you are one of the slows. It may be said that men cannot want to go faster than the hounds; consequently, if two men have ridden fairly to them, one horse cannot go faster or further than the other: this premise is doubtless generally correct; but, good reader, you will find, and not unfrequently, in Leicestershire there are men who not only want to, but too often do, go faster than the hounds at times. Now, by riding fairly to hounds I mean riding so as to see all they do, not riding over all sorts of ground, stroke for stroke with them; if you will find the second nag quite necessary, and that early in the day. "D-n the expense" is an old saying among fools with more money than wit; "D-n the horse," says the man with more horses than we will say, reader, perhaps you or I. Always riding well to hounds shows the horseman and the sportsman: always riding with hounds merely shows-what? The double-refined-" verbum sat.'

do,

you

I have said every man has a right to take his amusement in the way that best suits his taste: he has so, nor must his ordinary sense be called in question by any little peculiarities in his mode of doing so. I have, however, endeavoured to show he may evince much good sense in his "choice of country"; and this, taken in figurative language, may (I think it will be found) be applicable to many pursuits in life.

THE TIGER-SLAYERS.

BY C. W.

Ye would-be Nimrods, whose most glorious exploit is to stalk deer and consume Athol-brose in the Highlands; who rejoice in hunting down unfortunate foxes and hares, with other animals "whose strength is in flight;" and who return every year from the moors flushed with inglorious victories over grouse and partridges-" hide your diminished heads" whilst ye listen to the more heroic deeds of your fellow-countrymen in the land of the lordly tiger!

Not far from Aurungabad, in the Deccan, which was, at the time of our story, and still remains, a divisional cantonment for the forces of the Nizam, was a tract of thick jungle so infested with tigers that it might well have been named "Tiger Colony :" the beautiful but treacherous striped creatures were born there and bred there, mangled their prey there, and died there-allowing, of course, for sundry playful little "raids," which they periodically made upon all bovine families within a circuit of ten or twelve miles. The name of this highly-interesting spot was Khunnah, precisely thirty miles from the cantonment; and not few were the times that its gloomy thickets had resounded to the crack of the marksman's rifle, and the snorting of the elephant that bore him; though we must confess that, out of deference to the particularly dangerous nature of the sport, and the immense fraternity of tigers there, the officers who went to tempt Providence at Khunnah were generally a very large party, well mounted, and fully equipped for any

emergency.

At the period of which we write, a very ferocious animal had been spreading consternation among the cattle and natives for miles round. A tender, chocolate-visaged ryot was too strong a temptation for him to resist; and yet so wily and careful was the brute, that the crack shots of the division returned day after day from the jungle in a state of tigerless disgust. Now, unfortunately for them, as it proved, some busy demon just then inspired with an ardent yearning for tiger-killing fame the too-susceptible bosoms of four rattle-pated young officers then at Aurungabad, whose names were Garwell, Fordyce, Oughton, and Byrne respectively. Here was a fine opening for their skill with the rifle ; and lose it they determined they would not, but swore by every glass of brandy-pawnee which they swallowed for the edification of their already suffering livers, that they would bring the too-celebrated monster from Khunnah in triumph, dead or alive.

Fired by this noble enthusiasm, they started early one fine morning, mounted on elephants, and well armed, for the tiger's sanctuary at Khunnah. Old Major F-shook his head at them, for a parcel of harebrained noodles, as they walked past him; and another officer jeeringly enquired if they intended to pickle the animal before they brought him back? but their heroic souls rebutted with silent contempt

these taunts from an unsympathetic and cold-hearted world, and retreated into calm contemplation and consciousness of self-dignity; while their very elephants flapped their huge ears about, in an unusually excited manner, as if well aware that they were carrying "Cæsar and his fortunes."

The first few hours of the journey were passed in a quiet, listless manner our heroes reposed in their howdahs, and enjoyed (all except one, who was sick) their morning cheroots. Nothing occurred of any importance, except that Byrne started an antelope once, and broke its leg with a careless shot. After riding some eighteen or twenty miles, it was unanimously voted by the party that they should stop and take tiffin; for in that luxurious place, India, as we have often been assured, British officers of all grades and presidencies, whether Quihis, Mulls, or Ducks*, can most thoroughly appreciate what is good in the eating line; and as Fordyce had brought with him a very savoury assortment of viands and other edibles, which would have gladdened the heart even of a Sybarite, the alacrity with which our heroes descended from their elephants may perhaps be easily accounted for. Down they sat, in a circle, and, after several mysterious hampers had been brought forward and fathomed, fell-to with apparently keen appetites. After this tiffin "al fresco," they remounted, and proceeded on their way, finally reaching Khunnah in high spirits, after another hour's ride.

Slowly and contentedly the huge elephants were trudging across the plain which separated the track they had been pursuing from the jungle, when suddenly Oughton's elephant lifted his proboscis, with an ominous snort; and an instant afterwards, the mahout pointed towards the dark copsewood, and cried out, "Dekh, sahib! dekh!" ("Look, sir! look!") with an air of great excitement. Instantly, all eyes were turned in that direction; and surely enough, just on the borders of the jungle, they could see a monstrous head, as it appeared, leaning above the bushes, which was at once set down as appertaining to the longsought-for tiger. They could also plainly distinguish some of the bushes, near to the spot where the brute was crouching, trodden down in all directions. He was evidently only waiting for the closer approach of our party, to make the final spring. There was no time to be lost, so Oughton and Byrne, who were foremost, prepared to fire at once; but here a dispute arose as to who should have the honour of the first shot. To eschew romance, and adopt a decided vulgarity, they tossed for it; for there was yet space enough between them and their antagonist to admit of that delay, at least. Byrne won; and his bullet whistled through the air unerringly to the mark. "Huzza!" cried he. "See! I've killed the beggar as dead as mutton. He doesn't stir an inch! " 'Stop, stop! said Oughton, in turn, "let me have a shy too!" "Pooh!" was the rejoinder, "what's the good of firing now? I'll bet you a hundred rupees the fellow never stirs again! His companion, however, did fire, as well as Garwell and Fordyce, who had by that time come up.

66

Having thus heroically done their duty, they resolved upon walking forward to reconnoitre; for the defunct animal was a splendid specimen,

Bengal officers are called "Quihis," from "Quihi?" ("Who's there?"); Madras officers," Mulls;" and Bombay officers, "Ducks."