memo. Since that period I have visited Holland, Fiance, Germany, Canada, and the United States; have stood my shot as an amateur, being on the sick list, upon the ensangained plains of Waterloo, have fished for cod on the banks of Newfoundland, have massacred some hundred hares at the tame battues near Vienna, have hunted the deer in the royal forests of France, have speared salmon in Lake Ontario, have caught beavers in the count. y of the Hudson's Bay Company, have smoked a cigar beneath the foam of the mighty Niagara, have drunk sherry-cobler on the banks of the Mississippi; and yet the recollection of every incident connected with the hunt I am about to describe is as vivid and fresh upon my mind as when, at the expiration of the holidays, I astonished my brother-boarders, at Mrs. Packharness's, Great Dean's-yard, Westmister, with the account of my first run.

The hounds met at the Valdoe, a tolerable-sized wood near Goodwood-house, and in less than five minutes the tones of poor old Tom Grant, the huntsman, were heard, shouting "Gone away!" "Hold hard, gentlemen," cried that first-rate sportswoman, Mrs. Dorrien, then Miss Le Clerk, as she herself was preparing for a start. "Give 'em time," said old Tom approaching me; who, rather cowed upon this my first appearance, had shrunk back behind the "red coats," whom I then looked upon as wonders of the world." "Come along, youngster; I'll show you the way there, down that ride; turn sho: to the 'ight; the fox is sure to sink the wind; as you're well mounted set your pony's head straight, and you'll get the brush." Encouraged by this friendly bint, 1 followed the huntsman's advice, and upon emerging from the wood found myself close to the hounds. "Capital, youngster!" shouted Tom, as I took the first fence, a flight of sti fish rails, into one of the paddocks. I looked back, id found only the huntsman, the lady I have already alluded to, and some half dozen men in pink, with the hounds. Having once got the lead, I determined to ti and keep it; and as the pony I was mounted upon w one of the best fencers in the country, I had little difficulty, with my light weight, in accomplishing this. We approached He'neker-park: part of the palings had been broken down; I spied the gap, and went at it, as the huntsman afterwards said, "e a Briton." The fact is, that, even with the top broken down, the fence was an awful one. The huntsman followed me; while the others, not seeing the place we had taken, turned away and skirted the park. "Bravo, young 'un," shouted old Tom, "you're one of the right sort; we've set the field; steady, there's a grip on the other side of that fence." "Set the field!" thought I; Wellington, after Waterloo, was not prouder than I was at this my first victory. But I will not tire my readers with the suffice it to say that the fox ran straight dov a wind ten miles, over a beautiful flat country, and that the hounds ran into him upon Houghton-bridge, as he was crossing the Arundel river. No one except the huntsman, the first whipper-in, and myself, were up, the field having been throw out at Halneker-park. The brush was presented to me with great congratulations, and to 's day I retain it as a proud and well-earned trophy.

run;

But I have digressed-a fault I often commit. To our subject,

K

which is the "noble science;" and I think few will be found who will not bear me out in my opinion, that both upon public and private grounds this national amusement ought to be encouraged, for I am prepared to prove that it entails the greatest advantages upon our country at large. In the first place, it induces noblemen and gentlemen to reside upon their properties; and by so doing produces the most beneficial effects upon every class of society, not only by the example set, which proves that the higher orders sympathize with their less fortunate brethren both in acts of kindness, hospitality, good fellowship, and charity, but also by the actual gain that must accrue to the public at large by the enormous expenditure that takes place in every hunting_country. Take for example the munificent establishments of the Dukes of Rutland and Beaufort, Earl Fitzhardinge, Mr. Assheton Smith, and others; and calculate the amount that is annually spent in hay, oats, beans, and straw, independent of the living of the numerous servants that are employed during at least six months in the year. To this you must add the advantages reaped by the farmers, breeders, innkeepers, artisans, tradesmen, merchants, and labourers, all of whom derive the very greatest benefits from resident landlords, especially when they are devoted to the sports of the field.

Were I a perfect stranger in England, and had no family ties to connect me with any other country, I should decidedly select Warwickshire as my hunting country, making Leamington my headquarters. Although for sport I am bound to yield the palm to Leicestershire, still I believe, that during the year, the Warwickshire hounds have nearly as many good runs as the Quorn. The remark of an old sportsman, that "it is the pace that kills" is daily realized in Leicestershire, and without a "flyer," a good start, nerve, and judgment, no man can see a run in that country. Now although Warwickshire requires good nags to get over it, and first-rate men to pilot them, a slight mistake, a small mishap, or a bad start will not put the Nimrod hors de combat. Independent too of the pleasures of the field, there is no town in England where the sportsman can be better lodged than at the Spa! First and foremost-for a good man always thinks of his beast-the stables are excellent, and the charges for horse-keeping moderate. Secondly, there is superlative good entertainment for man at the numerous hotels that abound in this fashionable water-drinking place; or if a party of "sporting gents," as the waiters call them, like to "club" together, they will find houses of all sizes and dimensions upon the Grand Parade, and a first-rate resident artist, who will either cater for them and furnish a cook, or will serve them a dinner worthy of that modern Apician, Dr. Kitchener, at a "fixed duty" per head, or "sliding scale," according to the dishes that are required. As the sportsman of the present period is a very different character from the Sir Harry Beagles', and Squire Chases' of bygone times, and no longer thinks it necessary to become a four-bottle man, and to talk of nothing but hounds, horses, and old port, so it follows that in these days the society of females is anxiously sought after, and there is no spot in the universe where better society congregates together than during the winter at Leamington. After a brilliant run and a good dinner, with quantum

suff. of Crockford's Lafitte of 1831, far preferable to the gout bringing on bees'wing black strap, how much more agreeable is it to drop into some well-lit ball or concert-room, amidst a galaxy of beauty, than to realize the character of one of poor James Smith's heroes

"Spurred and booted, on sofas we sprawl."

Another advantage that Leamington offers is, that if you are not always fully mounted, you may hire excellent hunters and hacks in the town; flies too are to be had to take you to cover; baths are ready upon your return; in short, sport by day, and dinners, concerts, balls, private theatricals, whist parties, suppers, and billiards during the evening, will fill up your time very well, should you be disposed to visit Jephsonia, as Leamington ought to be called, after the man whose talents and exertions have made it what it is. In order that my reader may not suppose that I have any interest whatever in this region of saline, I beg to assure him that I know nothing of it, except as a hunting quarter; I was there during two winters when it was in its glory-when Thornhill hunted the hounds; when Sanderson, H. Williams, Augustus Berkeley, J. Barnard, Piers Mostyn, G. Wilkinson rode to them; when the late Sir Edward Mostyn kept open house; and when amateur plays and fancy balls were warmly espoused by Sir Charles, Mr. Chad, and the writer of this paper.

With regard to hunters, as almost every sporting "gent" is in these days a tolerably good judge of a horse, I shall offer a very few remarks upon this beaten subject: suffice it to say, that "all is not gold that glitters," and that many a horse, which is sold in London as a first-rate hunter, knows as much about his business as a clod does of the duty of a Lord Chamberlain. How often is a flyer from Newmarket unable to bear the shocks and strainings of a fifteen minutes' burst! and how still more frequent does the mammoth animal, who has been warranted to carry thirteen or fourteen stone weight, shut up heart-broken after a couple of ploughed fields! A right good hunter ought to possess strength without weight, courage without fire, and speed without labour. The marks most likely to discover a horse of these properties are a vigorous healthy colour, a light head and neck, a quick moving eye and ear, clean wide jaws and nostrils, large thin shoulders, and high withers, deep chest and short back, large ribs, gaskins well spread, buttocks lean and hard; above all, let his joints be strong and firm, his legs and pasterns short, for there never yet was a long legged horse who could get well over a hunting country, with a fair weight upon his back. In short, follow the hints of John Hesketh Lethbridge, Esq. :-Avoid a horse that cuts or brushes; avoid flat feet and low heels; avoid a weak long deer neck; select one with a well-formed head, big nostril, short neck, deep ribs, short below the knee; well-formed ancles, width of loin, big thighs, and well-formed hocks."

With five good hunters and a couple of hacks a man may see a great deal of sport with the Warwickshire hounds, as I can vouch for from past experience; and if he does not like the trouble and expense of getting such a stud together, he has nothing to do but to hire them in the county. In the town and neighbourhood of Lea

mington, he will find plenty of sporting liverymen, farmers, and horse-dealers, who for a fair consideration, and with the chance of selling, will furnish him with horses that can go the pace and do the trick. It was never my good fortune to be in Warwickshire during the period that Mr. Bradley's staghounds were in existence; but, by all accounts, they showed considerable sport, and their loss has been severely felt by many who merely wanted a gallop, and will not undertake all the trouble, labour, disappointment, and exertion of foxhunting. While upon the subject of" calf-hunting," I cannot refrain from giving an account of the last Epping hunt I was present at, and which for fun, life, and absurdity, beat anything I ever saw. The event came off some five-and-twenty years ago, "in the days of my hot youth, when George the Third was king." I was then a subaltern officer in a crack regiment of cavalry, realizing the lines of the song

"How happy 's the soldier that lives on his pay,

Who spends half-a-crown out of sixpence a day."

Easter, as usual, had set in with its Easterly winds, and the Monday was a regular "cat and dog pouring day." But the uncompromising appearance of the weather did not dismay the would-be sportsmen, for from nine till twelve o'clock the road from Whitechapel to Woodford was lined with carriages of every form and description, from the barouche-and-four down to the taxed cart, and an incredible number of horsemen, among whom were many cockney Nimrods, in smart red coats, corduroy breeches, top boots, and long spurs, each cantering his hired Bucephalus to attract the attention of the assembled multitude. A number of temporary booths for the sale of liquors, ham, beef, bread and cheese, periwinkles, buns, cakes, tarts, ginger-beer, imperial pop, cyder, were erected on the forest, each distinguished by a sporting sign-"The Hare and Hounds,' "Fox," "Reindeer," "White Hart," "French Horn," "Stag," &c. About twelve the deer, which had travelled in his own carriage from the "Bush" at Wanstead, was uncarted, his branching antlers being decorated with gaudy-coloured ribbons. After a few minutes' law the hounds were laid on. Away went horses, sportsmen, deer, and hounds towards Buckhurst Hill, from thence to Fair Mead Bottom, and on to Loughton Wood, from thence to Robinson's Range, and round the enclosures to Deadman's Wood, returned to Fair Mead Bottom, and on to Golden Hill, thence passing Queen Elizabeth's Lodge to the Bottom again. Here, the noble h'animal, being hardly pressed, plunged into Burleigh's pond, from which he was taken alive and reserved for another year's sport. Many of the equestrians followed the sport till their horses shut up; and there were the usual number of falls and accidents. Being admirably mounted myself, I saw the fun to the very greatest advantage. "There's nothing on the other side," cried one of my "pals," as he went at an awful pace at a hedge, upon the outside of which was a yawning ditch. "Conie along!" I cried; "It's nothing;" and with this assurance I was folfowed by some half-dozen cockneys, who, not putting quite so much powder at it as we did, floundered all in the green and foetid water. "Catch my horse!" "Oh! I'm smothered!" "Help me out!" were

the cries of these would-be Nimrods, as they and their steeds were dragged out by the gaping clods. But I have not time to enlarge upon this subject in this present article, but may perhaps refer to it again, as no one of the present day can have any idea of the real fun at an Epping hunt of old.

THE SNIPE SHOOTER'S ADVENTURE.

A TALE OF CANADA.

BY THE AUTHOR OF "THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE," AND "SPORTSMAN IN CANADA."

In an unpretending little work of mine, which was introduced to an indulgent public by Mr. Newby, the eminent publisher of Mortimerstreet, in the early part of last year, allusion has been made to the excellence of the snipe-shooting in Lower Canada. To my predilection for this fascinating sport am I indebted for the following extraordinary narrative. A reference to the 5th chapter of the first volume of "The Sportsman in Canada" will inform the reader as to the circumstances which led to my acquaintance with one Pierre Larosse, the undoubted proprietor of a substantial farm on that rendezvous for Canadian snipesthe imperishable Green Island, some seventy miles below Quebec.

The facts I am about to relate were communicated to me by this Canadian farmer in the year 1819. They made a deep impression upon me at the time, and I give the leading incidents from recollection, and as correctly as so great an interval will admit of.

In the volume already referred to, I have recorded one or two meetings which took place on this celebrated island. On each of these occasions I was accompanied by a couple of friends from the garrison. But these were not the only visits I paid in quest of my favourite amusement, for during the four years and a half that I was quartered in the Lower Province, I was in the habit of boating it down to old Pierre Larosse's four or five times during each season. Those of my countrymen and brother sportsmen, who have never left their native shores, can form no idea of the sublimity of Canadian scenery. Everything is on a magnificent scale; the lakes, the rivers, the mountains, are of Brobdignagian proportions, while the forests present a mass of timber and varied foliage over an all but illimitable space, extending far beyond the reach of sight. North American scenery, however, has been so graphically and faithfully described by that fascinating and talented writer, Mr. Fennimore Cooper, that any attempt on my part to convey any idea of the stupendous works of nature on the other side of the Atlantic would not only be an act of presumption, but one of supererogation as well.

The upper and lower provinces abound in game. As regards variety, the former may be said to bear the palm; but the latter carries the day