and slender, like that of the dolphin, but much shorter; it differs from the bottle-nosed whale in several particulars; the nose does not turn up at the end; the body is slender, the doral fin placed near the tail; and has a very specific mark, two very small pointed teeth in the fore part of the upper jaw. The common porpoises frequently run up the Thames in numbers, and afford an eager diversion to the watermen."

I now turn to yachting. Gray must have had a prescient view of modern yachting in his mind when he wrote the following lines:

"Fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows,

While, proudly riding o'er the azure realm,

In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes,

Youth on the prow, and pleasure at the helm."

and Shakespere's lines are equally applicable to this popular amuse

ment:

Behold the threaden sails

Borne with the invisible and creeping wind,

Draw the huge bottoms through the furrowed sea,
Breasting the lofty surge."

As soon as the English summer sets in, the period for yachting approaches; the London dress is laid up in ordinary, and pea-jackets, duck-trowsers, pilot-coats, and "dreadnoughts" take the place of the well-cut coats of Poole, and other fashionable West-end "body decorators." The dog-days and nauticals ought to commence together, and it is delightful to quit the heated metropolis for " the glad waters of the dark-blue sea. Cowes, for those who really care for sailing, is the best place for a yachtsman to take up his abode, for it possesses many advantages; first, there is an excellent club to which he may gain admission for a brief period; secondly, he can always ensure a snug berth for his vessel in the harbour; and, lastly, he will there meet with the best society. Ryde is an amusing town, and for a lounger, who is content to sail occasionally, who likes the promenade on the pier, and who is satisfied with appearing in a nautical dress, telescope in hand, and talking of yachting, this now thriving place will answer every purpose. So much has been written upon the subject of building, purchasing, and hiring yachts, that I will merely say, I should recommend any one anxious to possess a vessel, to ascertain the names of the best builders in England and Scotland, and having got the list, he cannot do wrong, if he draws lots as to which he should select. For hiring, the same rule is applicable; but I must add, in purchasing an old vessel, great care should be taken, and a minute inspection should be made, so as to ascertain what outlay would be necessary, or the purchaser may find that the sum expended would have nearly covered the price of a new vessel. There can be no doubt that in every point of view, yachting ought to be encouraged, not alone as an anusement, but as a humble means of protecting our seagirt island. By no other instances of magnificence in their expenditure, and taste in their sports, are foreigners of intelligence so much struck, as in the profuse out lay and patriotic feeling displayed by the members of the yacht clubs; the fitting out and discipline of many of these vessels approaching to those ranking in our country's service. The money actually laid out by the members of the yacht clubs of the United King

dom, may be counted by hundreds of thousands of pounds in building, fitting, wages, and victualling. Shipbuilding, too, has greatly improved, owing to the patronage of the clubs, which employ a vast number of the smartest seamen to be seen in the world, and, who, at a moment's notice, should their services be required, would be ready to man our fleet, and protect our native land from the assaults of foreign foes.

Pigeon shooting commences in the spring, and we find many instances of extraordinary good shooting in by-gone days. Thus in 1839 we read the following: "All the good gunning in the world is by no means confined to the élite of the Battersea Red House, or its snowy contemporary at Primrose Hill, as will be seen from the following performance, of the truth of which we are assured. On the 26th of February last, some pigeon shooting took place at Fisher's Pond, near Fair Oak, Hants. Several sweepstakes were shot for, and all but one won by Richard Missing, Esq., of Twyford, near Winchester, who, at the usual distance, and according to the ordinary rules, observed in such cases, shot at twenty-four birds, and killed twenty-three. After such a feat, we beg to suggest that missing' is a most inappropriate designation for the gentleman."

Again it is stated that a Mr. Elliot, of Rudgwick, in the county of Sussex, undertook to kill fifty-five pigeons in fifty shots; and notwithstanding the high state of the wind, he killed forty-five. He never missed hitting a bird, but owing to the boisterous state of the weather, his shot scattered, and the pigeon either fell out of bounds, or got away wounded. He was only allowed one gun, the touch-hole of which was fairly metled. A gamekeeper of Sir Harry Mildmay's killed six pigeons out of ten, with a single bullet. He afterwards hit a cricketball, with common shot, twelve times successively, though bowled by one of the quickest bowlers in the Hambledon Club.

But it would fill pages to give all the feats of the trigger; and we must, therefore, refer our readers to the records of former days. Suffice it to say, that at no period has shooting, whether at game or in the enclosures at Hurlingham, or of the Gun Club at Shepherd's Bush, been carried to such perfection as it is at the present day.

Of racing, we have merely to say that the amusement which it affords to an immense body of the people during the summer months is a consideration which cannot be looked upon as one of minor importance. No doubt can exist of the advantages which arise to the community from the humbler classes enjoying their pleasurable relaxations under the eye and in conjunction with the higher orders; at the same time that it has in no degree whatever a tendency to degrade the peer; it has the effect of exalting the peasant. The mind of man is so regulated that occasional amusement is essential to his prosperity, to his health, and to the general tone of character which imparts energy to his faculties; and those who have been present at the scenes which were to be witnessed up to the last few years, where the lower orders only assembled in the pursuit of their own diversions-bull-baiting, low pugilistic encounters, in which kicking and biting were considered fair play, dog-fighting, and bear-baiting-and uncontrolled by the presence of their superiors, will not hesitate for one moment to rejoice at the change that has taken place, and will do all in their power to encourage

amusements, which may divert their attention from cruelties and barbarisms of the most revolting description.

Without seeking a more extensive field than the neighbourhood of Tipton, Bilston, Wednesbury, and the mining districts of that vicinity in former days, enough could be shown to impress the mind with the advantages certain to accrue by introducing some attractive periodical amusements, which would enliven the holiday-time of the hard-working inhabitants of that thickly populated district.

Rook-shooting now helps to keep the gunner's hand in. In by-gone days when falconry was a royal sport, rook-hawking was a very favourite diversion, for this bird, strong in flight, is no less bold than wary; and his stratagems to elude his pursuers, which were usually two passage falcons, or two eyases, were great, and the resistance he offered was worthy of his size. Sir John Sebright, no mean authority upon the subject, has, in an animated detail, pronounced rook-hawking to be excellent sport. As falconry is now out of fashion, and " 'tis true 'tis pity, pity 'tis 'tis true," the rook is only molested at a very early age. About the first or second week in May, when the birds are able to leave the nest, and have just received sufficient strength to hop from bough to bough, destructive man commences his "murder of the innocents," and, armed with a breech-loader, knocks over lots of this black game. This we do not consider legitimate sport, and think that on the principle of "fair play being a jewel," the gunner ought not to commence rook-shooting until the birds are quite strong on the wing, without he confines himself to a steel cross-bow, or small rifle. Many persons declare that there is very little difference between a young rook and pigeonpie, and probably there is not; however, for choice, we should prefer the blue rock pigeon to the black rook.

In these days, when railway accidents scare the timid, it is gratifying to have the means of being conveyed by road to Brighton, that earthly and sea paradise of the Londoner. The deeply felt regrets of many a Nestor on the decline of the road will be partly removed by seeing a well-appointed Brighton "drag" start as it was wont to do in by-gone days from the White Horse Cellar, Piccadilly, and it is to be hoped that the example set by the proprietors of the above coach will be followed by many. The scene in Piccadilly reminds one of the old song

"We hearty all and well are,

Drive to the White Horse Cellar,

Get a snack before we go."

Nay, old times are brought vividly back to our memories, when from early morn until the departure of the mail at night, the White Horse Cellar, and the Gloucester Coffee House were the fashionable rendezvous of those interested in the road. "All right!" shouted the guard, smack! sounded the whip, off flew the four steeds of right mettle, to accomplish their ten miles an hour.

While writing the above we understand that a Dover coach is about to be established, and we trust ere long that the example will be followed by other towns, so that those who prefer road to rail may indulge their fancy.

The road! what pleasant reminiscences do these words awaken in the mind of those who delighted in seeing (and who did not ?) a wellappointed coach! what recollections of times gone by does it stir up! times ever to be remembered and admired. I do not allude to the Dick Turpin age, but to the period when coaching was at the height of perfection (for perfection it certainly had arrived at, when at one fell swoop the railways destroyed the hopes of the admirers of the road); when the Little Quicksilver, The Wonder, The Age, The Vivid, The Magnet, the Berkeley Hunt, the Exeter Herald, the Hirondelle, and Hibernia were on the road; these aud numerous other coaches used to attract an admiring crowd to see them start from Piccadilly. Well do I remember the Little Quicksilver, with her team of chesnuts; and four such chesnuts! few gentlemen's carriages could boast such cattle; and they were held together by a first-rate whip.

In those days the question was, "what gentleman is going to drive us?" for frequently the "waggoner" was of the highest blood. Sir St. Vincent Cotton drove the Age Brighton coach, Mr. Willan the Magnet, Tyrwhitt Jones the Pearl, Captain Probin from Reading to London, Stevenson the Brighton coach, Mr. Bigg the Mazeppa.

The Londoners enjoyed an Easter Monday with Her Majesty's Staghounds, which has been duly recorded, and here it may not be uninteresting to refer to a similar hunt some seventy-three years ago: "In the Easter week of 1796, the sport of the three days was excellent. The concourse of people present on the Monday, on turning out the deer at Ascot Heath, was great, almost beyond all comparison, and the run proved destructive to several of the horses. Almost as soon as the deer had been liberated, the hounds suddenly broke away, and continued the chase in such unusual style, that in the first burst of ten miles the slow-going gentry formed a tail line of full four miles; upon reaching Blackwater, in the great western road, the deer turned to the right, through Sandhurst and Finchampstead, till nearly reaching Wokingham town end, and suddenly turning to the left, he continued his course in the most gallant manner through the parishes of Barkham, Arbonfield, over Farley Hill, Swallowfield, Mortimer, through the river Kennet, and to Aldermaston, near Newbury; where he was taken after a run, it was supposed, of nearly fifty miles.

"On the following Thursday a deer, called Sir Henry Gotte was turned out (having been presented to his Majesty by a Buckinghamshire Knight of that name), and went off in the most gallant style imaginable. Ten minutes law was allotted him, and as the scent was uncommonly good, the hounds ran breast high, and could only be stopped once during the first hour and a-half. The deer ran over nearly the same ground as the stag which had been turned out on Monday, till he roached Wokingham, the gardens of which town he passed through, and made way over Frognall Green, through the parishes of Binfield, Warfield, the Hayes, and Shottesbrook coverts, Braywick, and was taken at Holyport, after a chase of four hours, as fine running as possible.

"On Saturday in the same week, the stag, brother to Sir Henry Gotte, was turned out near the race-course at eleven o'clock, and, fac

ing the open country, went away in style that seemed to bid defiance to his pursuers. After a circle of some few miles upon the heath, and by Sunninghill Park, he passed Sunninghill Wells, Brummel Hut, and through Tatsnell's Warren, where he turned to the left, and reached the bridge at Virginia Water; here he waited till the hounds came nearly up to him, when surveying the approach of the field for a few seconds, he broke away, and took the whole of the swampy country, and over the large fences to Thorpe Green; leaving Chertsey to the right, he passed through the meadows and crossed the Thames, continuing his course over the fields to Staines. Here he amused the inhabitants in their gardens and orchards, where he and the hounds were repeatedly together, and his escape from destruction appeared almost impossible; but by clearing some most surprising leaps he once more broke away, crossed the western turnpike road, and again led the chase in a very gallant style. Crossing the intervening enclosures to Wyradsbury, and nearly reaching Combrook, he made way to the right, and was taken near the seat of Sir W. Gibbons, at Stanwell, after a fine run of two hours and a-half."

The visit of Prince Arthur to Ireland has, despite the badness of the weather, proved a most propitious one, and his Royal Highness who is popular with all classes, from his affability and the interest he takes in everything connected with the Emerald Isle, has won "golden opinions," and has been met everywhere with a thorough warm reception. This is alike due to himself, and is a just and loyal compliment to his royal mother, who rules over the hearts of all true Irishmen; and here I would remark that, as a sporting country, Ireland offers unbounded advantages, both as regards hunting, fishing, and shooting. There are several packs of fox-hounds, stag-hounds, and hariers kept up in firstrate style, and the gallant sons of Erin never appear to greater advantage than in the hunting field, where, with a reckless contempt of danger and an ardour that nothing can subdue, they ride over stone walls which to a stranger seem almost impracticable.

Foxes are plentiful, and a lover of hunting may enjoy the sport to his heart's content provided he is mounted on an Irish horse, and possesses adamantine nerves. In addition to salmon and trout-fishing, the lakes and rivers abound in pike and perch, and here it may not be out of place to give a brief account of fishing localities.

The Shannon affords capital trout-fishing, more particularly about two miles above Athlone, where it forms itself into a large lake called Lough Ree: a splendid sheet of water about twenty miles in extent, and studded with numerous islands, around the shores of which, and on the shoals trout abound. The trout here are very large, frequently exceeding 10lbs., and seldom under 2lb. In the nets it is no uncommon thing to take them from 15lbs. to 20lbs. in weight. Here it is much the habit of angiers to fish with cross lines, as the large trout are very shy, and fishing with the single rod very uncertain, except when the green drake is on the water. Yew Point, The Cribs, and Quaker Island are some of the best falls for trout.

About the first week in June, the green-drake comes well out, and the single rods then come into play, as the fish leave their haunts, and go all over the lake in search of their favourite food. The stone-fly,