which, even if he should succeed in forcing his way in, show their sense of the compliment by making such efforts to retain him, that it is only by leaving part of his garments in their embrace that, Joseph-like, he can make his escape from their clutches, some few honouring him with their company for the remainder of the day at the least. Our spaniels, however, dashed gallantly in, and, at the first rush, much to our delight, up sprung a leash of cocks, thus affording us good grounds for supposing that our toil would not prove in vain; and, indeed, I may be permitted to say that our hopes were not disappointed, as, though the cover was not many hundred yards in extent, we brought to bag seven couple of woodcocks, the chief difficulty being in getting the birds when killed, as, in the event of one falling in the woods, the interlacing of the branches was such as very often to leave the bird suspended in mid-air, far out of the reach of the retrievers, who, poor beasts, frequently incurred blame for what they could find no remedy for. Our course then lay over an extensive plain, interspersed with bushes and reeds, making splendid holding ground for any description of game. Here we met with a good sprinkling of birds; when, just as I was in the act of loading after a successful double shot at quail, I was startled by a violent crashing of the bushes close to me, which I imagined at first to be my old faithful black Newfoundland, but, to my utter astonishment, at a distance of about twenty yards, out rushed an immense wild boar, who testified by his violent grunting his extreme displeasure at our invasion of his domains, but, much to my satisfaction, did not honour me with more than a passing look, but galloped off at his best pace. It was forthwith resolved amongst us to drop a ball into each of the left barrels, for the chance of a repetition of a similar occurrence; and it turned out fortunate that we did so, as, about a couple of hours afterwards, whilst engaged in beating a well-wooded ravine, just as we had reached the end of it, and whilst T and myself were arranging our next movements, my former friend, or at all events a very near relation, judging from the strong family likeness, suddenly made his appearance at the extremity of a small glade, but a few paces distant from the spot where we were then standing, the foam flying from his tushes, and pursued by every dog in our possession, both large and small, all giving tongue to the best of their ability. I fired instantly, but apparently without effect, as, with the exception of a trifling check, his pace continued unabated. The report of T's gun followed without loss of time, when, to our infinite delight, the boar rolled over and over on the green-sward, and was, of course, immediately run into by the whole of his canine adversaries; then, indeed, the row may be said to have begun, as, though his hind quarters seemed to be completely paralyzed, he amply made up for the deficiency by the vigour with which he exerted those powers over which he still possessed controul, turning round and round with a velocity truly surprising, and upsetting the dogs in every direction; the whole affair being accompanied by a chorus of grunting, squeaking, barking, and howling, in every variety of key. We were naturally apprehensive that some serious damage would ensue before we could reach the spot (having to get over the trunk of a fallen birch-tree); the

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tushes of an enraged wild boar not being things to be encountered with impunity (in support of which I have but to refer the reader to the very entertaining pages of the "Sportsman in France," by that amusing writer and thorough sportsman-Captain Tolfrey). On reaching the scene of action, however, after every endeavour in our power to get the dogs off, but without success, I found that the only alternative was to bring the matter to a speedy conclusion by putting the muzzle of my gun to his ear, and sending a charge of No. 6 through his head. The desired effect being produced, the "whoo-hoop" was then sounded, and on inspection of the carcass, we discovered three bullet holes; mine having passed completely through the body just in front of the hip bone, whilst T's had fractured the spine, not far from the same spot. The legs were forthwith tied together, and slinging the defunct across a pole, hastily cut from the adjoining wood, he was conveyed on our shoulders to the edge of the river, which fortunately was not far distant, and where one of our boats had very apropos been sent with luncheon, and immediately dispatched on board. We then proceeded on our expedition, finding in most places an excellent average of birds, and in general lying well, and having been treated to the sight, but alas! the sight only-of two beautiful wild fallow-deer, which, on our rising the crest of a hill, we perceived cantering quietly up the ascent on the opposite side, but far out of reach of our weapons. The sun by this time having nearly run through his daily course, we wound up the sport by a small wood and lake, which produced eight couple of cocks. We turned our steps homewards, steering as well as we could from recollection, as both vessel and harbour were far out of sight, and of course taking our chance of any thing that might be sprung en passant. On reaching a small lake surrounded with rushes, I fired at a snipe that rose near me, when to my horror at about seventy yards, exactly in my line of fire, up jumped a Greek armed up to the teeth, with pistol and yataghan in his belt, and a gun of the most preposterous length on his shoulder, and shouting at the top of his voice. It appeared that he had been lying concealed for the purpose of shooting ducks and though he had seen me coming, never bargained for his luck bringing him within the scope of a barrel. I was at first very much distressed, as I feared he must be seriously hurt; but fortunately the Grego, without which no Albanian ever moves, had turned most of the shot, so that beyond a trifling graze of one leg, no harm was done, and the gift of a few charges of English powder (the infallible road to the good graces of a Greek) soon settled the matter. We became great allies, carrying on a long conversation on affairs relating to shooting, as well as men can converse when neither of them understand a single word of the other's language; but, what between signs and nods, we got on à ravir, until at parting he insisted on my taking a couple of his ducks, for which he would accept of no remuneration. What seemed the most to strike him with astonishment was, my detonating gun (a steel primer of my friend the Bishop of Bond-street), and I did my best to convey to him some idea of the principle, which, as might be expected, ended in his being as wise as he was at first. After this, with the exception of picking up a few cocks amongst the bushes as we passed, we reached the bank of the

before-mentioned lagoon, through which, by the way, we were under the necessity of wading to arrive at the shores of the harbour. Without any occurrence worthy of mention, if I except the laughable mistake made by one of our party, whose spaniel, a little yelping cur, had gone in pursuit of an innocent water-wagtail, and turned a deaf ear to all his master's calls, when wishing to administer a little wholesome correction, he brought his gun to his shoulder and fired at a respectable distance, but in the hurry of the moment pulled the wrong trigger, and dispatched the leaden messenger which had been kept in reserve for the chance of another boar or deer, when, with one short squeak, the offending animal rolled over on its back, gave one or two kicks, and then lay as dead as Julius Cæsar; to restrain one's laughter was out of the question, from the look of amazement exhibited in the owner's countenance, though the loss of the dog was not perhaps much to be regretted.

On reaching the ship we found our bag consisted of forty couple of woodcocks, six of wild fowl, a few snipe and quail, and one hare, not forgetting our old acquaintance, the boar; so that, taking into consideration that we were totally ignorant of the face of the country and without guides, we had every reason to be satisfied with the day's work.

And now, gentle reader, if the preceding pages have contributed to while away a few idle moments, or have tended to excite your sporting propensities sufficiently to induce you to attempt an excursion to the same climes, my purpose will have been fully answered, and with hearty good wishes for your success, I remain, truly yours,

VICTOR.

THE RESOURCES OF A COUNTRY GENTLEMAN.

BY CECIL.

Continued.

The importance of supporting races, as an encouragement to the maintenance of our breed of horses, cannot be more thoroughly established than by the notice taken of it in the House of Commons during the session of 1844, when a committee was formed to inquire into certain events which had transpired, and who, in their report, strongly advocated the necessity of adopting such measures on the part of those engaged in the pursuit as shall secure themselves from the dishonest practices of disreputable individuals who had engaged in racing speculations. These regulations falling upon the members of the Jockey Club, they have had much to do; and if in the performance of their arduous duties they have perhaps not gone into many subjects which were expected, it must still be admitted they have had a most difficult and unpleasant task in hand.

Considering the importance of racing, it appears that much benefit would arise if the members of the Jockey Club were invested with legal authority to enforce the observance of their rules, and to punish all fraudulent transactions connected with turf engagements which might be brought before them for adjudication. It would be a means of relieving our courts of law from interference in such cases, which, in many instances, are not determined by those tribunals in the equitable spirit of racing observances. There are numerous examples in which the laws of the land do not operate in unison with the acknowledged practices of various sports, and in such cases, those edicts are oftentimes exceedingly injurious to the welfare of their sports. It generally happens that a man has recourse to that mode of determining a question which he conceives will be most likely to effect his purpose, and by such means not unfrequently levels a blow at the object itself, which inflicts a serious injury. The investigation of facts by men of common sense, in the ordinary occurrences of life, will more frequently lead to an equitable adjustment of a dispute, than an appeal to the law, where technicalities so frequently envelop the merits of the case as completely to darken it from the truth, and overrule the justice of the question. In racing matters how much more is this position applicable! When a dispute happens, a reference to the members of the Jockey Club is, beyond a doubt, the most likely to lead to a fair decision. They are intimately acquainted with the spirit and intention of their own laws, and can therefore propound them satisfactorily; whereas a court of law, embarrassed with the twofold technicalities of legal and racing terms, can scarcely fail to hamper a jury with unintelligible perplexities. The members of the Jockey Club may be compared to the Houses of Lords and Commons, and should stand precisely in the same position over racing affairs-having drawn up the rules, they are the most competent to expound them.

There cannot be, I should imagine, any person, let his avocations or pursuits be what they may, who will attempt to deny that our breed of horses is superior to those of any other nation; not simply for the purpose of racing, but the general use for which man, in all climes, calls forth the services of that valuable animal. It is equally conclusive that that superiority has been effected by the ardent enthusiasm which Englishmen have for ages evinced for the turf. I will assert it as my firmest conviction, that no man can offer a stronger proof of indifference for the welfare of his country, than to propose any measures which are hostile to the continuance of our national sports. It is well known that the return made by breeding-horses for ordinary purposes is not sufficient to remunerate the agriculturist for his outlay and trouble; deprive him of the profits of breeding for the turf and the chase, and one moment's reflection will decide that our breed of horses would lose their importance. If we were to be deprived of our horses, in the event of war with our continental neighbours, by what means would our cavalry be supplied? The answer is obvious. We should have to purchase them perhaps from our enemies, and, if not directly from them, in such a manner that our money would find its way into their coffers to be used against us. A few years since, the French Government sent a commission to this

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country, to purchase horses to mount their cavalry; when many, alarm, exclaimed against the policy of our studs being sold upon such conditions, apprehensive that those very nags might be brought forward in the charge against our soldiers-a groundless fear, and one that it is to be hoped will not be realized in any age; but so long as we have amply sufficient whereon to provide our own troops, and they supply us with money, the sinews of war, there can be no cause for alarm.

If there be any who imagine that our breed of horses would continue to be equally perfect if racing were suffered to decline, I would inquire what other means they would substitute to remunerate breeders, and test the qualifications of the animals? The thoroughbred horse must be used to infuse courage, activity, and stoutness into the veins of the succeeding generations of the equine tribe; and although other classes may be exceedingly useful for certain purposes, the thorough-bred horse must be preserved in the stud to prevent degeneracy.

The amusement which racing 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 lower classes enjoying their pleasurable relaxations under the eye and in conjunction with their superiors; 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 within the last twenty years, where the lower orders only assembled in the pursuit of their own diversions, uncontrolled by the presence of their superiors, will not, I am convinced, hesitate for one moment to rejoice at the change that has taken place, and patronize those amusements which so materially conduce to the amelioration of their condition, and improvement of their manners, by diverting their attention from cruelties and barbarisms of the most revolting description. Without seeking a more extensive field than the neighbourhood of Bilston, Tipton, Wednesbury, and the mining districts in that vicinity, enough might have been discovered to impress the mind with the advantages certain to accrue by introducing some attractive periodical amusements, which would divert the attention of the hard-working inhabitants of that thickly populated district.

Races having been established within their reach, they have been led to abandon their former pursuits, and have already become a very different kind of men. To have compelled them to relinquish their former amusements, without substituting some others, would have been a vain attempt. It is true their habits and manners must impress strangers with some degree of amazement; but still more would they have been astonished had they been present at their wakes and bull-baits, "when George the Third was king."

However important it is, no doubt to control the amusements of mankind within a reasonable scope, it is perfectly inconsistent to sup