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diff --git a/40302-8.txt b/40302-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index da2c6fb..0000000 --- a/40302-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8189 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Sporting Society, Vol. II (of 2), by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Sporting Society, Vol. II (of 2) - or, Sporting Chat and Sporting Memories - -Author: Various - -Editor: Fox Russell - -Illustrator: Randolph Caldecott - -Release Date: July 23, 2012 [EBook #40302] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPORTING SOCIETY, VOL. II (OF 2) *** - - - - -Produced by Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -BOOKS FOR SPORTSMEN - -PUBLISHED BY - -BELLAIRS & CO., - -9 HART STREET, BLOOMSBURY. - - -IN SCARLET AND SILK. Recollections of Hunting and Steeplechase riding. -By FOX RUSSELL. With two drawings in colour by FINCH MASON. 5s. net. - -NEW SPORTING STORIES. By G. G. 3s. 6d. net. - - _The Times_ says:--"New Sporting Stories are written by a man who - evidently knows what he is writing about.... The sketches are - short, racy and to the point." - -TRAVEL AND BIG GAME. By PERCY SELOUS and H. A. BRYDEN. With -Illustrations by CHARLES WHYMPER. 10s. 6d. net. - -THE CHASE: a Poem. By WILLIAM SOMERVILLE. Illustrated by HUGH THOMSON. -5s. net. - - In this fine old poem now ably illustrated by Mr Hugh Thomson are - the original lines, quoted by the immortal Jorrocks-- - - "My hoarse-sounding horn - Invites thee to the chace, the sport of kings, - Image of war, without its guilt." - -GREAT SCOT THE CHASER, and other Sporting Stories. By G. G. With -Portrait of the Author. 4s. 6d. net. - - _The Daily Telegraph_ says:--"G. G. is a benefactor to his - species." - -CURIOSITIES OF BIRD LIFE. By CHARLES DIXON, Author of "The Migration of -Birds." [_In the Press._ - -ANIMAL EPISODES AND STUDIES IN SENSATION. By GEORGE H. POWELL. 3s. 6d. -net. - -TALES OF THE CINDER PATH. By an Amateur Athlete [W. LINDSEY]. 2s. 6d. -net. - -REMINISCENCES OF A YORKSHIRE NATURALIST. By the late W. CRAWFORD -WILLIAMSON, LL.D., F.R.S. Edited by his wife. 5s. net. - - - - -ENTERTAINING BOOKS - -PUBLISHED BY - -BELLAIRS & CO., - -9 HART STREET, BLOOMSBURY. - - -A MAN AND A WOMAN. Faithfully presented by STANLEY WATERLOO. 3s. 6d. -net. - -BEYOND ATONEMENT. A Story of London Life. By A. ST JOHN ADCOCK. 4s. 6d. -net. - -A HUSBAND'S ORDEAL; or, the Confessions of Gerald Brownson, late of -Coora Coora, Queensland. By PERCY RUSSELL. 3s. 6d. net. - -A BRIDE'S EXPERIMENT. A Story of Australian Bush Life. By CHARLES J. -MANSFORD. 3s. 6d. net. - -EIGHTY YEARS AGO; or, the Recollections of an Old Army Doctor, his -adventures on the fields of Quatre Bras and Waterloo, and during the -occupation of Paris, 1815. By the late Dr GIBNEY of Cheltenham. Edited -by his son, MAJOR GIBNEY. 5s. net. - -THE SOLDIER IN BATTLE; or, Life in the Ranks of the Army of the -Potomac. By FRANK WILKESON, a Survivor of Grant's last campaign. 2s. -6d. net. - -NEPHELÈ. The Story of a Sonata for violin and piano. By F. W. -BOURDILLON. 2s. 6d. net. - -A DARN ON A BLUE STOCKING. A Story of To-day. By G. G. CHATTERTON. 2s. -6d. net. - -THE MYSTERY OF THE CORDILLERA. A Tale of Adventure in the Andes. By A. -MASON BOURNE. Illustrated. 3s. 6d. net. - -THE LURE OF FAME. By CLIVE HOLLAND, Author of "My Japanese Wife." 3s. -6d. net. - -THE OLD ECSTASIES. A Modern Romance. By GASPARD TOURNIER. 4s. 6d. net. - -THE TANTALUS TOUR. A Theatrical Venture. By WALTER PARKE, joint-author -of "Les Manteaux Noirs," and other comic operas. Illustrated. 2s. 6d. -net. - - - - -SPORTING SOCIETY - - -[Illustration: IN FULL CRY. By R. CALDECOTT.] - - - - -SPORTING SOCIETY - -OR - -_SPORTING CHAT AND SPORTING MEMORIES_ - - -STORIES HUMOROUS AND CURIOUS; WRINKLES OF THE FIELD -AND THE RACE-COURSE; ANECDOTES OF THE STABLE AND -THE KENNEL; WITH NUMEROUS PRACTICAL -NOTES ON SHOOTING AND FISHING - -FROM THE PEN OF - -VARIOUS SPORTING CELEBRITIES AND -WELL-KNOWN WRITERS ON THE TURF AND THE CHASE - -EDITED BY -FOX RUSSELL - -Illustrations by Randolph Caldecott. - -_IN TWO VOLUMES--VOL. II._ - -LONDON -BELLAIRS & CO. -1897 - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - -SPORTING OF THE PAST AND THE PRESENT DAY 1 - By "OLD CALABAR" - -DOWN THE BECK 23 - By G. CHRISTOPHER DAVIES - -AN APOLOGY FOR FISHING 45 - -DOGS I HAVE KNOWN 58 - By Captain R. BIRD THOMPSON - -NOVEMBER SHOOTING 85 - By "OLD CALABAR" - -SPORTING ADVENTURES OF CHARLES CARRINGTON, ESQ. 94 - By "OLD CALABAR" - -MY FIRST DAY'S FOX-HUNTING 121 - By the Owner of "Iron Duke" - -MY FIRST AND LAST STEEPLE-CHASE 139 - A Story of a "Dark" Horse - -SALMON-SPEARING 165 - -CARPE DIEM 182 - By the Author of "Mountain, Meadow and Mere" - -NEWMARKET 192 - By Captain R. BIRD THOMPSON - -KATE'S DAY WITH THE OLD HORSE 207 - By CLIVE PHILLIPS WOLLEY - -SOME CURIOUS HORSES 235 - By Captain R. BIRD THOMPSON - -SPORTING FOR MEN OF MODERATE MEANS 259 - By "OLD CALABAR" - -PARTRIDGE MANORS AND ROUGH SHOOTING 285 - By "OLD CALABAR" - -WHO IS TO RIDE HIM? 302 - By "OLD CALABAR" - -A CUB-HUNTING INVITATION 331 - By the EDITOR - -TOLD AFTER MESS 336 - By the EDITOR - - - - -SPORTING OF THE PAST AND THE PRESENT DAY - - -"O tempora! O mores!" how our grandsires would stare if they could -only see how differently sporting in all its branches is carried on -now-a-days; it would make their pigtails stand on end, and the brass -buttons fly off their blue coats in very fright. - -There are few of the Squire Western school now left; but occasionally -you may still come across some jovial old sportsman of eighty years -or more, who, though his form is shrunken, and his snow-white head -proclaims that many winters have passed over it, yet carries a pair of -eyes as bright and keen as of yore, eyes that glisten again when he -launches forth on his favourite hobby. - -I know several gentlemen nearer eighty than seventy who still shoot, -and keep a fine kennel of dogs. One of these gentlemen only last year -took a moor in Scotland for five years. May he live to enjoy it and -renew his lease. - -I could name many close on, ay, over fourscore, who ride well yet to -hounds; and though they may not be such bruisers as they once were -across country, yet are difficult to choke off. - -It is just forty-one years [this was written twenty years ago] since I -had my first mount to hounds. There is no _non mi ricordo_ with me. I -can recollect the day as well as yesterday, the pinks, the beaver-hats -of curious shape, the short-tailed horses, are too vividly impressed on -my memory ever to be effaced. Men went out in those days for hunting, -and not merely for a gallop. Time changes all things, and I suppose we -must change with the times; but are these changes for the better? Well, -I will not give an opinion, but leave others to decide. - -The hounds of those days were not nearly so fast as those of the -present; and I am inclined to think that our hounds are now bred too -fine and speedy--for some countries they certainly are--and often flash -over and lose a scent which ought not to be lost. - -Hunting, in the days I speak of, could be enjoyed by men of very -moderate means, for it was not necessary to have two or three horses -out. In some countries, especially woodland ones, one horse may still -do; but, as a rule, hounds are now so fast, and horses so lightly bred -to what they were, that no hunter, however good he may be, can live -with them from find to finish. If you wish to see a run out, you must -have your first and second horsemen riding to points. These men must -not only be light-weights, but steady, know the country, save their -animals, and be there when wanted. - -You seldom, at least where I hunted, saw men driving up to the meet in -their well-appointed broughams, mail-phaetons, or what-not. A long -distance was done, in my early days, on a cover hack; and one hunter -did where three are now required. - -In the present day you see men stepping from their close carriages with -the morning papers in their hands, beautifully got up--a choice regalia -between their lips, with holland overalls to keep their spotless -buckskins from speck of dirt or cigar ashes. Very different from the -hardy men you encountered years gone by, alas! never to return -again--cantering along on a corky tit, with _leather_ overalls. Now you -have all sorts of devices--waterproof aprons _before_ and _behind_--in -my idea it only wants some enterprising man to bring out a hunting-crop -with an umbrella, something similar to the ladies' driving-whips, whip -and parasol in one, to complete the picture. Fancy men hunting with -_waterproof aprons_--they should go out for _nurses_! - -Perhaps, as years creep on, one is wont to look back on his youthful -days and fondly imagine nothing is done so well now as then. Understand, -I do not say hunting and shooting are not as good as they were. I do -both still, and enjoy them as much as ever; but there is not so much -_sport_ in them, to my mind, as formerly--men are not the _hardy_, -genuine sportsmen they were. - -Horses are much dearer now than twenty, thirty, forty years -back--provender also. Where £1 would go thirty years ago, you require -now nearly £1, 10s.; this alone prevents many men from following their -favourite pursuits. - -The time is not far distant when hunting will be given up in England; -railways, the price of land, and the high market prices which must -necessarily come with an increase of population, are doing their work -slowly but surely. The present generation are not likely to witness it: -so much the better, for it would break the hearts of some to see the -noble pastime of hunting on its "last legs." Waste land, too, is being -rapidly enclosed, and what are now wilds, fifty or sixty years hence -may be flourishing districts. - -How many country villages are now huge towns! I remember, years ago, -when I used to meet the Queen's hounds, before the South-Western line -was made, there was only one old wayside inn at Woking, which was much -resorted to by "the fancy," for it was a noted spot for pugilists. Many -and many a prize-fight have I seen there. Now Woking is a little -town--I mean the new town, not the old town some four miles distant; -and the spots where I used to knock over the snipe and plover are now -built on and enclosed. And so it will go on to the end of all time; -bricks and mortar, iron and compo, will rise up, large and small -buildings, all over the face of the country, and those whose hearts are -still bent on sport will have to go farther afield for it. - -But this is already done. France, Sweden, Norway, Hungary, Bohemia, -Bavaria, and other countries, have their English sportsmen. Railways -have made nearly all places within reach of those with means. Scotch -moors that you could rent thirty years ago for £50 a year, are now -£500; the rivers the same; and grouse that are killed one day in -Scotland are eaten the next in all parts of the United Kingdom. - -Some men meet the hounds now thirty and forty miles away from home. -They breakfast comfortably at home, then step into the train, and are -whirled away with their horses and grooms; have a gallop, come home, or -perhaps go out to a grand luncheon; lounge down to their club, or do a -few calls, then dine, and go to one of the theatres to see the last new -thing; finish up with a supper or a ball, or perhaps both. - -Old Squire Broadfurrow has ridden his stout, easy-going hack to cover, -has had a clinking day, and a fox run into, as the crow flies, about -eight-and-twenty miles from his home. The old man, nothing daunted, -jogs quietly along and pulls up at the first country inn, orders a chop -for himself and a bucket of gruel for his horse, gets home in good time -to entertain three or four choice souls at dinner, ride the run over -again, and talk of some shooting they are going to have on the morrow. -Reader, which is the pleasanter style of the two? which the most -healthy? Railways and hunting I cannot reconcile with my ideas of -sport; there is a sort of cockneyism about it that I do not like; it -seems to me poor "form." - -Men change, too, in their ideas as well as their dress. I was talking -some time ago to an old friend of mine who had been an inveterate -fox-hunter, did his six days a week, and spent the seventh in the -kennel; if you asked him what Sunday it was, you always got the same -answer, "Infliction Sunday." - -I asked him how he was getting on in the hunting line. - -"Hunting, my dear fellow; why, I have given it up years ago--all -humbug! What on earth is the use of a man making a guy of himself, -putting on a pink coat, top-boots, and uncomfortable leather breeches, -and for what?--to gallop after a lot of yelping dogs, and to catch a -fox which is of no earthly use to any one when he is brought to hand; -endangering your neck, breaking fences, and destroying land and the -crops. Hunting is an idiotic fashion; half the men only hunt for the -sake of dress, and for mounting the pink. If they must hunt, why not -dress like reasonable beings, in comfortable cords, gaiters, and a -shooting-jacket? Ah! then you would not see half the men out you do -now. I am quite ashamed to think I ever hunted. Just come and look at -my shorthorns, will you?" - -In sporting parlance, I was "knocked clean out of time;" this was the -inveterate six-days-a-week man. - -"But you shoot?" I asked, seeing it was necessary to say something. - -"Oh yes! I shoot, and fish occasionally, when the May-fly is -up--anything but hunting. There, what do you think of that bull?" - -Shooting, too, is wonderfully changed. Where are the high stubbles we -so eagerly sought on the first of September?--gone, gone for ever. The -reaping-machine cuts it off now as close as the cloth on a billiard -table. - -It has often been said the birds are wilder at present than they were: -admitting this to be the case, the cause probably is the high state of -cultivation, and nothing more. There is not the cover there was -formerly to hold them, and therefore they are more difficult to get at. -Turnips are now sown in drills, and not broadcast, as grain usually -was. If you work down the drills, the birds see you, and are off the -other end: the only way is to take them across. Yet there are thousands -of places where the cover is good and plentiful; and where this is the -case the birds lie as well as ever. - -Game is scarcer than it was, except on manors that are highly -preserved: it must be remembered that where there was one shooter -formerly, there are twenty now. It is a difficult matter at present to -rent a shooting, for directly there is anything good in the market it -is snatched up at once. - -The general style of shooting of the present day is odious--large bags -are "the go." In some countries it has done away with the noble pointer -and setter altogether; nothing but retrievers are used. The guns, -beaters, and keepers are all in a line: a gun, then a keeper with a -retriever, a beater, another gun, and so on. The word is given, and -away they go, taking a field in a beat. As you fire--possibly there are -two or three guns popping at the same bird--a keeper falls out, and -finds it with his retriever, whilst you are going on. Can this be -called sport? It is nothing more than pot-hunting, wholesale butchery. -Give me my brace of pointers and setters, and let me shoot my game to -points; there is some pleasure in that. What can be a more beautiful -sight to the shooting man than to see a brace of well-bred dogs, -ranging and quartering their ground like clockwork, backing and -standing like rocks, steady before and behind, and dropping to fur and -wing, as if they were shot? Working to hand, and obeying your slightest -word--beautiful, intelligent creatures--there is some pleasure in -shooting over such animals as these. - -Then driving is another pot-hunting system, and does no end of harm; -and so those who practise it will find out before many years are over. -More game is wounded and left to pine away and die than many have an -idea of--a more cruel and unsportsmanlike system has never been thought -of, and I much regret it has its votaries. A heavy hot luncheon from a -Norwegian kitchener is now the correct thing--heavy eating and drinking -must form a prominent feature in the day's programme, otherwise it is -not sport. - -A few men are still content with their sherry-flask and sandwich, and I -would back these to beat the others into fits in a day's sport. One -does not go out to eat, but to shoot, and a man that has laid in a -heavy luncheon can neither walk well up to his dogs nor shoot straight -after it. - -Great improvements have been made in guns. The old flint that took half -an hour to load was a bore; the flint had every now and then to be -chipped and renewed, the pans fresh steeled, the touch-hole pricked, -powder put in the pan, and even then there were constant misfires and -disappointments. The flint in time gave way to the percussion, a great -improvement; but there are many inconveniences with this; unless the -nipples are kept clean, and the gun washed each time after using, -constant misfires are the consequence. Then, in cold weather it is no -end of trouble to get the caps on. With half-frozen fingers it is a -difficult job; but this has been remedied by a cap-holder, which sends -the caps up with a spring as you want them. With both flint and -percussion there were great inconveniences in loading; the spring of -your powder or shot flask might break, and then you had to judge your -charge till they were repaired. All this trouble was put an end to by -the introduction of the breech-loader, which has not half the danger, -is ten times quicker, and much more convenient in every way; the -ammunition more easily carried, and there are very few misfires. The -gun wants no washing, merely a rag passed through, and it is clean. But -I am not going into the subject of guns and all their improvements; I -have merely mentioned these to show the great stride that has been made -in the last fifty years in shot guns. - -Steeplechasing and racing I must touch on, and the little I have to say -will not be in its favour. - -The hateful passion of betting is slowly but surely ruining the turf; -for there are not the same class of men on it that there were thirty -years ago. - -Where do you see fine old sportsmen like the late Sir Gilbert -Heathcote? He raced for the pleasure of racing, and so did many others -who never betted a shilling; but it is all altered now, and not for the -better. - -Young men--ay, and old ones too--ruin themselves by betting; Government -and other clerks squander their salaries away, which might maintain -them, and perhaps a mother or a sister who is totally dependent upon -them; the butlers and footmen pawn the family plate _to meet their -engagements_; and the shop-boy is often detected _in flagrante -delicto_, with his hands in the till, purloining a half-crown or two to -enable him to go with Mary Hann to 'Ampton. You are pestered with -letters from tipsters--scoundrels who know just as much of a horse or -racing as they do of the man in the moon. The man from whom you can get -nothing else, is always ready with his advice on the momentous subject -of "what to back" for this race or that, quite ignoring the question of -whether he really does or does not "know anything," to use turf -parlance. - -Betting will never be put down entirely, but much might be done. Were I -to commence racing again, I would hit the ring and the betting -fraternity as hard as I could to scare them from backing my horses for -the future. This cannot always be done, but after one or two such -lessons people would be shy of burning their fingers over my stable. I -daresay I should be called an "old curmudgeon," "selfish brute," and -"no sportsman;" but after all said and done, you race to please -yourself, not the public. You have to pay the hay and corn bill, -trainer's expenses, and, above all, entry fees, far the heaviest item -in the whole list; and surely, if any money is to be had over a race, -the owner should be allowed "first run" at it. - -We see no Alice Hawthorns or Beeswings now-a-days; racing men cannot -afford to let their colts or fillies come to maturity: most are broken -down before they are three years old. Government ought to interfere and -put a veto on two-year-old races; this done, and the One and Two -Thousand, the Derby, Oaks, and Leger made for four-year-olds, then we -might hope to see our racehorses and hunters coming back to their -former stout form. But this we shall never see. John Bull, with his -proverbial stubbornness, will stick to his old line. - -I was one and twenty years riding and racing in France, and was highly -amused when the French first began sending over horses to us; we -generously allowed them seven pounds--half a stone. How I laughed and -chuckled in my sleeve when I heard this! After a little time Mr Bull -found this would not do, so he came to even weights; but he received -such a lesson with Fille de l'Air and Gladiateur, that it made the old -gentleman stare considerably, and pull rather a long face. - -Racing men, I will tell you what you probably already know, but will -not admit--the French could better give us seven pounds than we them: -their three-year-olds are nearly as forward as our four-year-olds. - -The climate of France is warmer than ours, horses do better and furnish -quicker there, and the time is not far distant when they will beat us -as easily as we used to beat them. It is no use disguising it; it is a -fact, and a fact, too, that is being accomplished; for no one will deny -that the French already take a pretty good share of our best stakes. -They have a climate better suited for horses, they buy our best sires -and mares, have English trainers and riders, therefore what is to -prevent them from beating us? They have done it already, and will -continue doing so. - -We have found out that when we take horses over there we are generally -beaten, and this alone ought to convince us that the French horses are -more forward than ours. Racing now-a-days is nothing more than a very -precarious speculation, and the practice of some on the turf to gain -their own ends is anything but (not to use a stronger word) creditable. - -Within the last few years, gentleman after gentleman has left the turf -disgusted and disheartened; and well they might be, for if a man is not -very careful, there is no finer school than a racecourse to pick up -swindling, dishonesty, and blackguardism. - -Your fashionable light-weight jocks of the present day have their -country houses, their valets, their broughams, hunters, and what-not. -The old riding fee of £3 for a losing race and £5 for a winning one is -seldom heard of except at little country meetings. Trainers and jockeys -are at present much bigger men than their masters; and why? because -they allow them to be so; they may owe them a long bill, or be -foolishly good-natured in putting their servants on the same footing as -themselves by undue familiarity--'Hail fellow well met' with them. - -Racing will never be what it was again, for the reasons I have -mentioned. Speculation is too rife to allow it a healthy tone. Shortly -but few gentlemen will be left as racing men, and the turf will be -represented by the lower five, and men to whom the meaning of the words -honour, honesty, principle, and conscience, are unknown. - -Coursing too, a healthy and fine amusement, even this cannot be enjoyed -without the presence of the betting fraternity, bawling and shouting. A -clean sweep should be made of them. - -Pigeon-shooting as well. Although I am not an admirer of this pastime -(sport I will not call it), yet one cannot stroll down to Hurlingham or -the Bush, to look on, but what one must be pestered with odds offered -on the gun or bird. Your shady and doubtful betting men are nuisances. -Who on earth wants to lose a lot of money to moneyless scoundrels? But -there are fools who do so, and they deserve to be fleeced. - -Many of our old sports have died out. The Ring is a thing of the past, -and so is the Cock-pit. I am savage enough to say I liked a prize-fight -and a cock-fight. When it was on the square, a prize-fight was a most -exciting scene. Yet both have very wisely been put down, and athletic -sports take their place. - -I seldom see the fine old game of bowls played now. Le gras, too, has -gone out. - -Polo, which I think nothing of, is the rage amongst gentlemen now. I -see nothing in it whatever; it is a wretched game for the _lookers-on_; -but then it is the fashion. - -The fine old game of cricket is totally altered. I shall have the -cricketing world down on me, but I care not. I think the present style -of bowling has entirely ruined the game as a game of science. There are -not many Graces in the present day, nor were there many Wards of the -olden time. Cricketers of the present day look like so many hogs in -armour; and where one man bowls tolerably over-handed, fifty who -attempt it cannot bowl at all--they are never on the spot. Consequently -the balls break anywhere. I would ten times rather stand before the -fastest man in England who is true than I would to a middling fast one -who is not. - -I remember, many, many years ago, at the Royal Clarence Cricket -Club--alas! defunct (I have the button still)--which had its ground on -Moulsey Hurst, taking old Ward's wicket the third ball with a -round-hander. It was a bit of practice we were having: I was a lad at -the time, and the old gentleman had stuck half-a-crown on the centre -stump for me to bowl at: he had no doubt played carelessly, wishing to -give me a chance. He looked surprised at seeing his wicket fall. He -coolly put them up again, and on the centre stump was a sovereign. - -"There, young fellow," he said, "bowl at _that_." I did bowl at _that_, -till I was almost ready to drop, but _that_ never came into my pocket. -Yes it did, though, but not by taking his wicket. I shall never forget -the fine old gentleman, with his bat nearly black with oil and age. -Cricket still holds, and always will deservedly hold, a high place in -our English sports. - -Boats and rowing have made immense strides for the better; the only -thing I am disposed to cavil at with regard to it is the training. I am -inclined to think the severe preparation they have to go through to get -fit, tells on the constitution of young men who are not full grown and -set. But training now is so carefully looked to, that after all there -may not be the danger one imagines. One thing is certain, that it is -much less dangerous to row or run a severe race _well prepared_: it is -inward fat that chokes men, causes apoplexy and what-not. Men in -training, if they are careful and do not catch cold, and are not too -severely taxed, have little to apprehend; and this is why an -experienced trainer is necessary. - -Bicycling, too, is a fine healthy amusement, develops the muscles and -keeps a man in wind and health: he may get all over the country and at -one-tenth the former expense of railway travelling. But bicycling, like -all other sports and exercises, has its abuses as well as its uses, and -when one sees men flying along a road (to the manifest danger of the -public) bent double over the handles of their machines, it gives one -pause, as to whether crooked backs, contracted chests, and knee trouble -are not in store for a future generation. - -There are many lakes, large and small, in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, -that cannot be either fished or shot for want of a boat. It is costly -to get a boat up the mountains, and very often, especially in Ireland, -there are no roads, or horses cannot traverse them. Therefore something -light but safe is necessary. The Rev. E. L. Berthon, of Romsey, Hants, -has invented a boat which is admirably suited for the purpose: it is a -folding canvas boat of two skins, _cannot be overset_, and is quite -buoyant if filled with water. The one I have is a fishing boat; it -carries four, but two can go with comfort; it is only 70 pounds in -weight, 9 feet long, and 4 feet broad. They are made any size, as will -be seen from the extract I give from the _Times_. - -"Berthon's Collapsible Barge.--Among other scientific devices with -which the 'Faraday' is supplied, with the view of facilitating the -laying of the Direct United States cable, is a 'collapsible barge,' the -principle of which, the invention of the Reverend E. L. Berthon--a name -already well known in nautical circles in connection with his perpetual -log--was originally applied by Mr Berthon to life-boats, a number of -which, it is stated, are in course of construction. The barge was built -by Mr E. R. Berthon, the son of the inventor, and is to be used in -laying the shore ends of the cable, of which it will carry from 20 to -30 tons with a very light draught of water. The proportions of length -in the barge are very unusual, being nearly 2 to 1, the dimensions -being, length 31 feet, width 16 feet, and depth 4 feet; such, however, -is its collapsibility, that, stowed away on the deck of the -_Faraday_, it only measures 2 feet at its greatest width. The -barge is cellular in construction, and when a small confining rope is -cast off it extends automatically, inhaling into its ten cells about -500 cubic feet of air. During the process of expansion, the jointed -bottom boards, which are 14 feet wide, fall into their places, and, -lever staunchions being placed under the gunwales, the barge is ready -for lowering in a minute or two. When in the water a very substantial -platform is lowered into the barge, composed of beams 7-1/2 inches -thick and 1 inch planks; upon this deck the cable will be coiled, and -paid over a large iron sheave at the stern-post. The barge weighs about -23 cwt., and having great powers of flotation, with light draught, is -expected to be very serviceable in laying the shore ends of the new -cable; the principle, moreover, appears to be one which it might be -found desirable to introduce into the life-boat service." - -Mine is the smallest size made, and when collapsed is only 7 inches -wide. To open and launch it takes less than one minute. It also sails -very well, and on lakes, with a small spritsail with brails, it is -exactly the thing. A prettier and more useful little boat I never had. - -I have mentioned this boat because I have often been asked about such a -thing. If by any chance the outer skin should be injured--which is not -likely, for the canvas is immensely strong--it makes but little -difference to the boat, and the injury is easily repaired. I can -strongly recommend it to any one wanting such a thing. - -But to "our mutton"--sporting of the past and the present day. -Returning to olden times, our fathers and forefathers were not ashamed -to run horses, greyhounds, etc., in their _own_ names; now men do so -more and more under _assumed_ ones. This is unfortunate, and opens the -door for many abuses; and the sooner it is put an end to the better. - -I do not believe in the early hours at which our ancestors used to take -to the field. Game is not moving very early; therefore, in partridge -shooting, dogs have not such a chance of finding game as they have an -hour or two later. Nine o'clock is quite early enough for the partridge -or grouse shooter; about four in the afternoon is the most deadly time, -because scent then begins to ascend, and the dogs catch it much -quicker, and birds are then on the feed. The stubble, at this time, is -the place to find partridges. - -It is a great mistake to walk too fast, shooting, because much game is -missed in this way; even very fast dogs require sufficient time to make -their ground good; in thick turnips you can hardly walk too slowly. - -But I must hold, these notes are growing too long under my "grey goose -quill." (I am old-fashioned enough to prefer a quill pen to a steel -one.) Old fellow-sportsmen, and young ones, adieu. May you have a good -season, and good health and spirits to enjoy it! - - - - -DOWN THE BECK - -AN ANGLING REVERIE - - -Like the dormouse, the approach of spring draws forth also the angler. -So early as February trout-fishing begins in the West of England, and -good sport may be had during March and April. May, however, is the -month of months for the trout fisher, certainly in the Midland -Counties, and wherever the May fly is found, and probably in the West -as well. With the first sunny gleams of February that herald the full -burst of spring, Halieus and Poietes may be seen rod in hand down their -streams, rejoicing that the many cold days, during which they have been -longingly fingering flies and tackle at home, are at length ended. So -many eulogies have been heaped upon fishing, which culminate in the -enthusiasm of gentle Isaak, the father of the craft, that the world -must indeed be tolerant if it can read any more. - -But between his zeal on the one hand, and the venerable dictum of Dr -Johnson on the other, lies a truer appreciation of the art of angling -with a fly as being the busy man's most suitable recreation, in the -strictest sense of the word, in these feverish days of intellectual and -social bustle. Besides the love of sport for its own sake, fly-fishing -provides numerous secondary delights and occupations for thoughtful, -observant natures. Whatever be a man's hobby, he can ride it as hard as -he chooses down the banks of a trout stream. The rigour of the game is -all very well for whist; but fishing, with no other object than killing -fish, is altogether mean and ignoble. In this pursuit the fisherman may -be conchologist, ornithologist, or botanist as well--nay, he may be all -at once, and probably is so if he be a devoted student of nature. The -poet can throw off a sonnet while he flings his fly; the clergyman will -be taught by angling, as truly as by Shakespeare, how to find sermons -in stones, and books in the running brooks. Did not St Anthony convert -heretics by preaching to the fishes? Like Narcissus of old, the lover -may see his other self mirrored in the quiet waters. Whatever be his -profession, while the angler meditatively saunters on with a blade of -grass between his lips, his thoughts will sooner or later be certain to -find their own peculiar bent. Even the philosopher ought to be -attracted from his study to the brook. Plutarch tells how the -Pythagoreans abstained from eating fish, deeming them, on account of -their dumbness, creatures most kindred to the philosophic mind. -Theology itself has not scrupled to embalm the highest mysteries under -the symbol of a fish; and grave bishops at present do not disdain -exploits with the salmon-rod that are duly chronicled in the columns of -the _Field_. Thus, the true angler may well join Sir H. Wotton in -deeming the hours spent on his favourite sport "his idle time not idly -spent," even if he cannot echo his sentiment that "he would rather live -five May months than forty Decembers."[1] We have always regretted that -good Bishop Andrewes, the model of a saint, a scholar, and a divine, -did not angle. What additional zest would it not have lent to those -rambles of which his biographer speaks in such simple language! "His -ordinary exercise and recreation was walking, either alone by himself, -or with some other selected companion, with whom he might confer and -argue and recount their studies; and he would often profess that to -observe the grass, herbs, corn, trees, cattle, earth, waters, heavens, -any of the creatures, and to contemplate their natures, orders, -qualities, virtues, uses, &c., was ever to him the greatest mirth, -content, and recreation that could be; and this he held to his dying -day."[2] - - [1] Walton's Life of Sir Hy. Wotton. - - [2] Life of Bishop Andrewes by H. Isaacson, his amanuensis. - Andrewes' works, Anglo-Catholic Library. - - "Wisdom's self - Oft seeks to sweet retired solitude; - Where, with her best nurse, Contemplation, - She plumes her feathers." - -There is little doubt that had the writer of these well-known lines -been able to tear himself from his books for any diversion, it would -have been in order to angle. A great authority recommends a man weighed -down with overwhelming mental trouble to learn a new language by way of -diverting his thoughts from self; it would be far more efficacious for -him to sally out fishing, not, certainly, to stand for hours beside a -sullen pool angling with float and worm--this would be to invite -suicide--but to ramble down the bank of some winding stream, burdened -with nothing heavier than a clear conscience and a light fly-rod. Then -may St Nicholas speedily befriend his votary! - -Now put on your flies--a green drake, by all means, if it be May--if -not, nothing can be better than the "red spinner," the "coachman," and, -above all, "the professor," from its taking qualities--fit namesake of -Christopher North. We have reached the Beck, and this warm south wind -"will blow the hook to the fishes' mouth." Without the abundance of -trout, which, according to Audubon, characterised the river Sehigh in -North America, where he "was made weary with pulling up the sparkling -fish allured by the struggles of the common grasshopper," the Beck -possesses--what is more grateful to the true angler--a fair amount of -fish, which it requires considerable skill to hook. The local name, -"beck," shows that it runs through a country which was overrun by the -Northmen, and its character is not dissimilar to theirs. It has none of -the abrupt headlong manner of a pure Keltic brook, overcoming all -obstacles by sheer persistent force, as seen in Wales, in the -Highlands, and in North Devon. Nor does it wind along in slow, deep -volume, like a Teutonic brook, or the offshoot of a Dutch canal, bereft -indeed of all the lighter graces which adorn a beautiful stream, but -irresistible withal, and beneficent. It rather unites the two -characters, meandering with crystal eddies and murmurous flow, - - "Kissing the gentle sedges as it glides," - -now circumventing a hillock that could not well be sapped, and now, as -befits the length of its course, flowing silently, with full streams, -through a croft knee-deep in daisies and meadowsweet; lovingly cutting -its sinuous S's through the sward, as Izaak Walton carved his initials -on Casaubon's tablet in Westminster Abbey; and yet again, like the -Laureate's brook, - - "Chattering over stony ways, - With many a silvery waterbreak - Above the golden gravel,"-- - -happy combination of elements from the diverse nationalities that make -up the English nation. It distinguishes the names of the parishes -through which it passes in some places by the Norman addition to them -of "le beck," while they themselves frequently terminate, after the -Scandinavian fashion, in "by" (_i.e._, dwelling). However, as there are -in Lincolnshire alone two hundred and twelve places which have this -termination, the exact locality of this particular beck can only be -dimly guessed; and, sooth to say, if the angler has a failing, it -consists in a natural dislike to reveal the exact situation of his -favourite "stickles" to another. - -Few objects in nature are so beautiful as running water; it soothes the -mind as well as the eye, and disposes to reflection, sobering the jar -of contending passions in the soul as it gleams along, always different -in its chequered eddies, and yet always the same. The vegetation that -springs on the brink of a stream very much heightens its charms to the -true angler, who is always more or less of an artist and poet. Round -this beck there are, indeed, no ferns tufting each projecting shelf, -and seizing upon every bare stone and decayed tree. East Anglian -scenery is wofully deficient in this element of the picturesque; but -wild flowers gem its banks, - - "Thick set with agate and the azure sheen - Of turkis blue and emerald green - That in the channel strays." - -At every turn the marsh marigold blazes in brilliant golden clumps, -while the water violet and bladderwort, most curious of our -water-weeds, find place round many of the deeper pools. Overhead, too, -hoary willows lend a great charm to the scenery, and patriarchal thorn -bushes, that glitter with snow-flowers every May, and wonder at -returning winter as they view their whiteness reflected below, while -abundance of forget-me-nots, "for happy lovers," seek the most retired -spots. Too often in the south of the county, as, for instance, round -Croyland Abbey, lines of melancholy poplars disfigure the prospect, as -they do (alas! _did_) round Metz, Avignon, and other French towns. -It is curious, by the way, that so vivacious a people as the French -should be fond of this, the most _triste_ of trees. Here, however, -willows are in exact keeping with the landscape; and as they turn the -glaucous under-surface of their leaves to the light in the shivering -breezes, instead of sadness, they speak of joy to the angler, for it is -just when these capfuls of wind blow that the lazy trout in the holes -under their shade rise eagerly at the fly. Once every year, in the city -church of St James, in accordance with a benefactor's will, a sermon on -flowers is preached from some floral text, to a congregation mainly -composed of young people, each of them careful to carry a nosegay with -them to the service. A walk down the beck, to one who knows anything of -botany, or, better still, who really loves our wild flowers, is in -itself a perpetual sermon. And how much are its exhortations -strengthened if the angler be somewhat of an ornithologist! What a -joyous melody proceeds from the ivy-covered fir, as Will Wimble[3] -makes his way to the beck! - - [3] "He makes a May-fly to a miracle, and furnishes the whole - country with angle-rods."--_Spectator_, No. 108. - - "That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over, - Lest you should think he never can recapture - The first fine careless rapture." - -On this sunny bank, in the first gleam of spring sunshine, may be -noticed a sprightly little bird hopping along, glad to have completed -his migration to our shore--the wheatear, which Tennyson aptly terms -(if we read him aright) "the sea-blue bird of March." And later on, the -cuckoo is first heard down this glade, gleefully "telling her name to -all the hills," till June renders her hoarse, and the clear note -becomes "Cuck-cuckoo! Cuck-cuck-cuckoo!" and endless is the harsh -iteration if another of her family answer the challenge. Peering -carefully round a thicket, too, may be seen the waterhen, proudly -tempting her black brood to cross the stream for the first time; or -haply a wild duck, that has sat on her eggs till the angler's foot -almost touches her, flaps suddenly her wings, and skims under the -overhanging alders. If the fisherman be an observant lover of nature, -these and the like country sights and sounds will bring him great -contentment even though he take no fish. And so speaks Dame Juliana -Berners, in her "Treatyse of Fysshynge with an Angle"--one of the -quaintest productions of early English literature:--"Atte the best he -hath his holsom walk and merry at his ease, a swete ayre of the swete -savoure of the meede flowres: that makyth hym hungry. He hereth the -melodyous armony of fowles. He seeth the yonge swannes, heerons, -duckes, cotes, and many other foules wyth theyr brodes. And yf the -angler take fysshe, surely thenne is there noo man merier than he is in -his spyryte." - -Down this beck an artistic eye will find many a feast of colour. The -keeper's cottage stands on a high bank; and a more charming domestic -subject was never painted, even by Millais, than one which may be -noticed there any day in August. His little girl, bare-headed and -rosy-cheeked with the merriest of light-blue eyes, stands under a -forest of sun-flowers, which spread their huge yellow discs above, -while sunbeams break through and leave their gold on the little -maiden's hair, and play round her, earnest, we will hope, of her -future, as she drops a courtesy to the passing angler. A little farther -on, the briony, with its brilliant berries, will festoon the grey trunk -of its cherishing oak with a glory, in autumn, that cannot but charm -the eye. The wild hyacinths of April are like a fold of blue sky that -has descended upon the wooded hollows. In the thatch of the labourer's -cottage is one deeply-set window, with a few tiles under it, on which -lichens and moss have established a footing. It has just rained, and -the contrast between their vivid greens and the brilliant red tiles is -delicious. It is thus that much of the monotony inseparable from a dull -country may be relieved, by judiciously educating the vision to find -beauties where ordinary eyes see nothing unusual. The pensiveness of an -angler's "sad pleasure" will be found agreeable leisure for this -purpose. - -The various animals again to be found down the Beck, and the intimate -acquaintance which can be made with them in their native haunts, form -by no means the least of its charms. It is wonderful how tame all wild -creatures become, and how their characters expand to men, who, like -Waterton and Thoreau, the American naturalist, take pains to gain their -confidence. The water rats, timid enough when any other foot -approaches, look with fearless friendship on the gentle angler. At his -ease he may watch them perched on a raft of drifted sticks and weeds -nibbling the arrowhead with the utmost composure, or swimming about -like a miniature colony of beavers. It is cheering to reflect, when -they are seen under such circumstances, that although the miller may -owe them a grudge for undermining the banks of his dam, they are of all -animals the most harmless to the farmer. He is too often, however, apt -to confound them with the destructive pests of the granary, and (though -they are really voles and not rats) to lump all together as vermin, and -issue an edict of universal extermination accordingly. What a blessed -day will it be for the lower animals when farmers imbibe a taste for -natural history! At dusk may often be discerned down the Beck another -innocent creature, the hedgehog, long remorselessly hunted down because -vile calumnies had attached themselves to him of eating partridges' -eggs and being addicted to sucking milk from cows. The latter -accusation is simply an impossibility, while as to the former, we are -afraid it is too true that he has a sneaking liking for eggs; but the -damage he does is infinitesimally small, when not computed by -gamekeepers' arithmetic. A pair of hedgehogs making love in their -curiously awkward fashion, puffing and blowing like grampuses, is a -strange sight; while the piglings, before their spines have grown, form -the most amusing of pets. About the saddest spectacle that we ever -witnessed was an old hedgehog that had been cut asunder by a train, at -a railway crossing, while her brood of six or eight were still round -her, unharmed and wondering what had happened. We transported the poor -orphans to the nearest damp ditch and left them to the rough care of -Mother Nature. Not very far from the Beck is a colony of badgers, an -animal much persecuted where any linger in other parts of the country, -but in this East Anglian shire acquiring a decided commercial value. -Anything that will encourage foxes is here greatly in request, -consequently badgers are deemed useful creatures in a cover, as they -make earths which afterwards tempt Reynard to take possession. An -angler is a subject of perpetual wonder to cows; but too often as he -turns round from the water's edge in some rich meadow, he finds himself -the centre towards which the curved fronts of two or three oxen -converge uncomfortably close, literally placing him on the horns of a -dilemma. The sleek heifers, however, approach him without any signs of -attack or trepidation, and often run the risk of being caught as he -rapidly draws his flies back for a cast. Tame ducks and water rats are -frequently thus caught; but the most singular coincidence of this kind -happened to a friend who, on going down the Otter to fish, had to cross -a bridge. Whirling his flies over this as he passed, a swallow, darting -underneath, took one and was captured. On his return in the evening he -again whisked his flies over the bridge, and a bat, snapping at one -under the arches, was taken in the same ignominious manner. - -All this time, as is not uncommon with lovers of nature, we have lost -sight of our main purpose in coming down the brook--fishing, to wit. -The art boasts a long descent, according to Walton, the highest -authority to whom a fisherman can bow. "Some say it is as ancient as -Deucalion's flood; others that Belus, who was the first inventor of -godly and virtuous recreations, was the first inventor of angling," -with much more to the same purport. It is a curious commentary on the -aristocratic principles of the fifteenth century to find Dame Berners, -in the aforementioned "Treatyse," confining the sport to the well-born. -She could not imagine it a recreation of the multitude, or even of -"ydle persones." With her it is emphatically "one of the dysportes that -gentylmen use." Her enthusiasm for the sport knows no bounds, and must -have made many generations of Englishmen anglers. The treatise -evidently supplied the idea of "Walton's Angler," the book which next -to "White's Selborne," has gone through more editions than any other -secular work in the language. "It shall be to you a very pleasure to se -the fayr bryght shynynge scalyd fysshes dysceyved by your crafty -meanes, and drawen upon lande," she says; but, either fishermen have -become less skilful since her days, or trout more timorous, if we may -judge from her wonderful frontispiece of a man angling (and that -successfully) with a rod like a flail, and tackle resembling the trace -of a carriage. - -Neither the salmon, monarch of the salmonidæ, nor the lovely grayling, -which is only found in midland and Welsh waters, is to be expected in -the Beck. Still the common river trout is no mean antagonist for an -angler's mettle. Of all fish trout are most vigilant and suspicious; -the least unwary movement, adventuring even a hand out of shelter or -into bright sunshine, incautiously thrusting his head over the bank, or -interfering in any way with the skyline, will certainly betray the -angler. He may gain a slight advantage over their craft, however, by -remembering that their habit is to feed with their heads to the stream. -A beginner may rest assured that the golden secret of success in -trout-fishing is to keep well out of the fishes' sight by availing -himself of every natural cover, a tree-trunk, bush, &c., or by -approaching the stream, if he is very much exposed, in a stooping -position. He must, for the most part, learn, by observation, the many -singular habits and characteristics of his quarry, and here it is that -the old fisherman excels the tyro. The remarkable manner in which the -fish's colours change with the nature of the stream in which it lives, -is one of these curiosities of the trout. There is all the difference -in the world between a fish taken from the chalky streams of Wilts and -one that inhabits the dark peaty burns of Devon or South Wales, while -both are inferior in beauty to the red-spotted lusty fish of a -Nottinghamshire river. Internally they are of two types, one with red -flaky flesh, like salmon, the other white; these variations, however, -frequently run into each other. The practical fisherman only can -appreciate the great diversity of activity which exists in fish of -different sizes and streams, and probably in the same fish in the prime -and end of the season. In one bickering rivulet the trout will all be -vigorous and bold, leaping out of the water when hooked and dying hard, -"game to the back-bone," in sporting phrase. In a sluggish brook the -fish seem often to participate in its idiosyncracy, the larger ones -tamely surrendering after a few monotonous struggles, the little trout -diving to the bottom, and, like tench, hiding their heads in the mud. -We have had to stir such fish up with the landing net before it was -possible to do anything with them. Another curious fact is, that if a -fish be taken out of a favourite hole, another will almost always be -found to have replaced it the next day. Perhaps the most remarkable -theory which has been advanced concerning the intelligence of trout is -that of Sir H. Davy in "Salmonia," which he terms their "local memory." -A brief outline may furnish one more subject of observation to the -philosophic angler. Sir H. Davy asserts that if a trout be pricked with -a fly (say a blue upright), and then escape, he will never rise again -in the same pool to that particular fly while the surrounding -circumstances are the same. Drive him, however, down to another hole, -or wait till a flood has changed the aspect of his familiar haunt, and -he will take it as greedily as a fish that has never experienced the -deceit of an artificial fly. The associations of bank, stones, -tree-trunks, &c., in his hole, act like visible mentors, and remind -him, as the fly passes overhead, that it was when surrounded by their -associations he was simple enough to rise to its fascinations. Solving -such questions as these is one of the numerous secondary delights of -fly-fishing. Another speculation which may be pointed out to anglers of -an inquiring turn of mind, is to demonstrate why sluggish, muddy -streams invariably produce better fish than the sparkling Devon or -Welsh brooks. Thus in the Beck, down which our ideal fisherman is -wandering, the largest fish which has been taken of late years weighed -three pounds and a half, while trout of a pound and a half in weight -are by no means uncommon. Three-quarters of a pound is a fair size for -the fish of mountainous streams, while the majority of their trout do -not exceed half a pound. Doubtless, the greater abundance of worms and -ground bait in a muddy brook contributes to the larger size of its -fish, but it certainly is not the sole cause of their superiority. - -The flies which the modern angler imitates in fur and feathers, belong -mostly to the families which entomology knows under the names of -_phrygancæ_ and _ephemeræ_. All anglers should know something of these -curious tribes; and nowhere is a better account of them to be found -than in that fascinating book, "Salmonia." The _phrygancæ_ (the -"stone-flies" of the angler) have long antennæ, with veined wings which -fold over each other when closed. The eggs of the adult flies are laid -on the leaves of willows or other trees which overhang the water. When -they are hatched, the larvæ fall into the stream, collect a panoply of -gravel, bits of stick, shell-fish, &c., to surround them, and after -feeding for a time on aquatic plants, rise to the surface, burst their -skins, and appear as perfect flies. The _ephemeræ_ (or "May-flies") -were noticed so long ago as Aristotle's time, in connection with the -brevity of their life. They may be known by carrying their wings -perpendicularly on their backs, and by several filaments or long -bristles protruding from their tails. Their aqueous existence, like the -stone-flies', sometimes lasts for two or three years; but as flies -their life is thought never to exceed a few days in length, often but a -few hours. In fact their life is, to all intents and purposes, over -when their eggs are laid, and this function takes place directly they -emerge into the winged state. Besides these, however, there are -multitudes of nondescript flies used by those anglers who commit -themselves to the persuasive powers of the fishing-tackle maker, and -fill their fly-books with his gorgeously-coloured creations; but with -the stone-flies, May-flies, and other simple flies previously -enumerated, most real anglers are contented. - -The greatest nuisance to the fisherman on the banks of the Beck are the -hovering swarms of flies and gnats. Nature's profusion is almost -inexhaustible in this division of her kingdom. In hot, sunny weather, -they persecute the angler till he well-nigh gives up his sport, and -betakes himself to moralize how his situation, lonely though it be, is -no inapt type of a man's spiritual loneliness in the midst of that -crowd of his fellows called Society, - - "Where each man walks with his head in a cloud of poisonous flies." - -Yes, here is the whole winged legion avenging, as it were, the slight -the angler puts upon them by his grotesque imitations, in number and -description more fell than Walton ever imagined in the marvellous flies -he directs his disciples to dub--"the Prime Dun, Huzzard, Death Drake, -Yellow Miller, Light Blue, Blue Herl," and all the rest! It would -require a piscatorial entomologist to identify them; and when they buzz -around their victims, how well can these enter into Dante's grim fancy -of the wicked in hell being exposed naked to the stings of wasps and -flies! It is useful, however, to be thus reminded that even so innocent -a sport as angling has its drawbacks. Perhaps such small annoyances -should be received as part of the discipline of fishing; winged -blessings they then become, modes of teaching unpleasant, perchance, at -the time, but none the less fraught with profit to the true angler, who -is always more or less of a moralist. - -It is time, though, to turn homewards. Our endeavour has been to depict -some of the charms connected with angling, and to recommend it as a -recreation specially adapted for the feverish agitation of modern -social life. Over and above its immediate end, it is a school for moral -virtues and the observing faculties which cannot be too highly -honoured. The fisherman, like the poet, must be born; but he owes his -success, even more than the poet, to perseverance and observation. -However long the sport may be intermitted, when a man has once tasted -its joys, and imbibed a thorough love of angling, he resumes it with -eagerness on the first favourable opportunity. Nay, the taste is one -which deserts not its votary in death. Few angling reminiscences are -more touching than the scene which his daughter has described so -pathetically, when poor Christopher North lay on his death-bed. In the -intervals of his malady, he had his fly-books brought to him, and -derived a melancholy pleasure from taking out his old favourites one by -one, and lovingly caressing their bright plumage and carefully tied -wings, as they were spread out on the sheets. It must be confessed that -angling is justly open to the charge of being a solitary, taciturn, -meditative sport, which shuts a man out from his kind. We are cynical -enough to fancy that if he be shut up with Nature instead, he will -suffer no great harm. Indeed, to admit the impeachment is only -tantamount to owning that fishing, after all, is but of this world, and -necessarily an imperfect energy. Herein lies its chief excellence in -the eyes of hard workers; so there is no need elaborately to refute the -objection. Let a man try it, and _solvitur ambulando_. So good is it -that the aforesaid Dame Juliana indulges in no exaggeration when she -says--pardon once more an angler's loquacity--"Ye shall not use this -forsayde crafty dysporte for no covetysenes to th'encreasynge and -sparynge of your money oonly, but pryncypally for your solace, and to -cause the helthe of your body and especyally of your soule." Though it -be to our own loss, we would nevertheless invite every reflective mind -to the Beck, to derive inspiration and satisfaction from communion with -the simple joys of nature. May skill and perseverance there bring the -angler the usual happy results, and--blessing of blessings where -fishing is concerned--may his shadow never be less! - - M. G. W. - - - - -AN APOLOGY FOR FISHING - - -Ever since the time when the famous definition of angling as a -combination of "a stick and a string with a worm at one end and a fool -at the other" was first given to the world, it has been the custom of a -large section of society to disparage the particular sport, which has -for its object the catching of fish, very much more than any of the -other developments which the killing propensity takes among sportsmen. -When a man mentions that he is going off on a fishing expedition, the -announcement is not met with the respect which is accorded to him who -proclaims the fact that he has it in contemplation to spend a day in -beating the turnips for partridges, or riding across country in pursuit -of a fox. People have a provoking way of smiling when fishing is spoken -of; and when they meet you, armed with the necessary paraphernalia -which makes up an angler's equipment, their countenances directly -assume either an amused expression, indicating a state of feeling not -very remote from absolute pity, or a look of delicate forbearance which -is almost the more difficult to bear of the two. - -There surely never was any pastime regarded with so little respect as -this of fishing. But one good quality (that of patience) is ever -identified with it; and even that, when connected with this particular -sport, is sometimes spoken of in a disparaging tone; so that it is by -no means an uncommon thing to hear a man brag of his deficiency in this -respect, saying, "I've not got patience enough for that sort of thing"; -as if the fact redounded enormously to his credit. - -"Going fishing?" says your hearty friend as he meets you in the hall, -equipped for the sport, "You must be hard up for some amusement--for of -all the deadly-lively proceedings----" - -"Going fishing?" says another. "Well, it's certainly too early in the -season for anything else in the way of sport; but still----" - -The very partisans of fishing, too, help, in a certain way, to bring it -into discredit. What a literature it has! The literature of all sport -is apt to be trying; but this of fishing is surely especially -disastrous. The facetious element always figures here in such grievous -force. Nor only that. Dreadful conventional forms of expression, -phrases in inverted commas, involved ways of expressing a simple thing, -abound--so that one meets continually with such expressions as the -"gentle craft" and the "finny tribe." The sportsman who devotes himself -to fishing is called a "member of the piscatorial fraternity," or a -"brother of the angle," or a "disciple of 'old Izaak,'" or by some -other roundabout and exasperating designation. Why it is that people -who write on this particular subject cannot express their ideas in -plain English and avoid such forms of speech as the above it is -difficult to say; but so it is. - -These stereotyped phrases are to be ranked among the conventionalities -of "piscatorial" literature. Another of these is a perpetual insistence -upon the contemplativeness of character which this particular sport -tends to develop in those who engage in it. The fisherman is supposed -to be left by his pursuit at leisure to ponder and reflect on all sorts -of abstract questions wholly unconnected with what he is about. Fishing -is called the contemplative man's recreation, and seems, indeed, to be -looked upon by a very large section of society as a sort of excuse for -mooning. For my poor part I confess that it seems to me that the fact -is far otherwise. If there is one thing more than another necessary to -fishing, it is that the man who engages in it should have all his wits -about him, and be thoroughly absorbed in what he is doing. A fisherman -who took to being contemplative would, I fancy, stand but a poor chance -of catching anything, and would certainly find himself involved in many -difficulties connected with the management of his rod and line. While -he was contemplating, his fly would speedily get itself fastened to -some neighbouring tree, or fixed, may be, into some unattainable part -of the contemplative one's own costume; while, if the line were -suffered to remain in the water, the flies would certainly be carried -by the current into a bed of weeds, or get twisted round a stone at the -bottom of the river. - -The study of the beauties of nature, again, is an occupation which -angling is supposed to lend itself to. Yet even this, as it seems to -me, is hardly likely to be carried very far by the really keen -sportsman. When walking briskly across the hill or on the moorland on -his way to the river he may, indeed, take note of the picturesque -outlines of a distant mountain or the rich colouring of a patch of -heather and fern, just as he is conscious of the freshness of the air -or the warmth of the sun; but he will hardly, when there is any fishing -to do, be likely to dwell on any of these delights, however much he may -revel in them at other times. When once he gets really to work he is -entirely absorbed in the sport, and will think of little or nothing -else till the time comes for putting up his traps and going home. And -it is just this which gives such value to every form of sport, and -makes them so essential an element in the troublous life of the -nineteenth century. They absorb the thoughts and confine the attention, -for the time being, to what--in a comparative sense--may fairly be -called trifles. You cannot occupy yourself with any deep abstract -speculation when it is a question of catching a trout or bringing down -a partridge. - -The fact is that a prodigious amount of ignorance prevails in -connection with the sport of angling. People class all forms and modes -of fishing together, and include them every one under the definition -given at the commencement of this paper. The prevalent idea in the -minds of most people is that fishing consists of sitting in an -arm-chair in a punt watching a float bobbing up and down in the water, -and partaking at intervals of very flat beer served out of a stone jar -by the attendant boatman. Now this--the very lowest form of fishing -that exists, and, unhappily, the form under which it is the oftenest -and most conspicuously presented to view--so little really represents -this particular sport, that I think I am hardly speaking too strongly -in saying that no real fisherman would consent to hear such a -proceeding classed under the head of fishing at all. When a sportsman -speaks of fishing, he is thinking either of fly-fishing or spinning, -and most generally of the former. - -For fly-fishing, rightly engaged in, it is not too much to claim a very -high position indeed among the sports of the field; many of the -qualities on which it makes demands being the same which are required -for the other forms of sport, while it also implies some which are not -called for in those others, except, perhaps, in that of deer-stalking. - -To be a perfectly good fisherman a man requires strength, agility, -spirit, quickness and accuracy of eye, a neat hand, a nimble foot, -considerable ability as a tactician, presence of mind, and coolness, -coupled with the power of keeping his wits always about him. Nor is -this all; a fisherman must have, besides, certain moral qualifications -of an exalted nature. He must be possessed of patience, perseverance, -and good temper; and, in addition to all this, he must thoroughly well -understand his business in all its more intricate technicalities. Let -us proceed to consider some of the points here insisted on a little in -detail. - -In fishing for trout with an artificial fly--a branch of sport to -which, with the reader's permission, we will in this 'Apology' entirely -confine ourselves--it is necessary, as it is in a great many other -things, that a man should thoroughly understand what it is that he is -doing--how, in short, the case stands. It stands thus. He sees before -him a sheet of water, containing, as he has reason to suppose, a -certain number of fish, some comparatively stationary, some darting -hither and thither, all very much alive, very watchful, constantly on -the look-out both for what may bring them advantage in the shape of -food of divers kinds, or for what may give them cause for apprehension, -in the shape of fish larger than themselves and of a predatory nature, -herons, otters and, above all, men. To these creatures, vigilant, -timorous, suspicious, it is the angler's business to present an object -which they are to suppose is an insect which has dropped into the water -and is floating down with the stream more or less near to the surface. -If the fisherman succeeds in conveying this impression; if his -counterfeit insect is a successful piece of imitation; if the fly which -it imitates is one for which the fish has a liking, and if the fish -itself happens at the particular moment to be "on the feed"--if all -these conditions are fulfilled, then it will happen that the trout will -rise swiftly through the water, will seize the bait, and the -fisherman's object will be gained. This desirable consummation is, -however, harder of attainment than might be supposed. - -Very much is implied in the bringing that transaction which has just -been described to a successful issue. If the particular portion of the -stream into which you throw your fly is not the spot where a trout -lies, if your fly is not well imitated from nature, or does not -represent the kind of insect which the fish affects, if the hook is too -little concealed, or the line too coarse, above all, if you yourself -are conspicuous, standing on the bank, your chance of inducing a trout -to rise is slender in the extreme. The fact is that the fisherman ought -to look at this transaction from the trout's point of view and not from -his own. Of the fishing-rod and line, and of the person who manipulates -them, the trout must be kept wholly unconscious. This sounds a simple -statement enough; but it does, in fact, imply a great deal. In the -first place it implies that both the water and the atmosphere shall be -in a condition favourable to the mystifying and confusing of the fish -which we are bent on capturing. The atmosphere should not be bright and -clear to an excess, nor, by rights, the water either. The water, again, -should be, to a certain extent, troubled and agitated. This is effected -in a running stream by the current; but in lakes and calm, deep rivers, -especially in the former, it can only be brought about by a certain -amount of wind, and for lake-fishing it may therefore be confidently -asserted that a slight breeze is absolutely indispensable. A line -falling on perfectly smooth water, however fine and delicate such line -may be, or however skilfully cast, will make a certain amount of -splash, which would awaken the misgivings of any fish which happened to -be near. - -One of the greatest of all the difficulties connected with the catching -of fish is that experienced by the sportsman in keeping himself out of -sight. At the first glimpse of a man moving by the side of the river, -every fish at once darts away as fast as his fins can carry him. To -this assertion there are few people who would venture to demur; and yet -how common it is to see a fisherman placed on a high bank, with his -whole figure in strong relief against the sky, and moving down the -water, with all the fish in the river facing him as they lie with their -heads up-stream. It can only be by some strange accident that he will -take a fish under such circumstances. - -Almost the first thing which the fisherman should think of in setting -about his business is to conceal himself as much as possible. There are -several ways in which this may be effected. In the first place, if the -wind will at all allow of it, he should always fish up-stream, as he -will then have the backs of the fish turned towards him instead of -their faces. Fishing up-stream is more difficult and more laborious -than fishing down, the current bringing the line back almost as fast as -it is thrown in, so that the labour of casting it is almost incessant. -Still, for the reason given above, it is better. It is good again for -the angler to get behind some big rock or bush large enough to hide the -greater part of his figure, remaining there, with as little motion as -possible, till he has thoroughly fished every speck of water within his -reach. Or if there are no bushes or rocks to be had for purposes of -ambush, it behoves him to crawl along on the lowest part of the bank on -his knees, aiding himself with the hand which is not engaged with the -fishing-rod, and sometimes even to wriggle himself along after the -manner of a snake--anything to diminish his conspicuousness. - -Now all this is not by any means easy of accomplishment. To creep along -in the manner just described, encountering some obstacle at almost -every step--huge stones which, unless he is very careful, he tumbles -over, small tributary streams which he plunges into--to get over and -through all these difficulties, in a doubled-up position, which renders -feats of agility very difficult indeed to accomplish, is not an easy -task, especially as all the time he has to wave his line round and -round in the air, to be ready for a long cast when he at last sees his -way to that consummation. This is arduous work, depend on it, and yet, -short of this, I don't know how, under some circumstances, his object -is to be obtained. For fly-fishing, to be attended with success, is not -a simple operation, but, on the contrary, a very complicated one, as -any proceeding involving so exceedingly intricate a _ruse_ as this one -does, inevitably must be. That it _is_ a _ruse_ there can be no sort of -doubt. Unless you succeed in taking this creature in, you will never -succeed in capturing him. This is no open onslaught, as is the case in -shooting and hunting. Strategy is your only chance, and the more deeply -laid your plot, the greater is your chance of succeeding. - -There is one element in the construction of this deeply-laid scheme -which requires to be considered with an especial carefulness. The -structure of the fly which is to be set before the trout on whose -capture we are bent is an ingredient in the transaction the importance -of which must by no means be overlooked. It should of all things--and -this is a point not enough considered by the makers of these little -works of art--be one which looks well in the water. There are many -flies sold which appear perfectly right and natural while they remain -out of the water, but which, when once they are thoroughly wetted, -assume an entirely different and most inferior appearance. The loose -wool and feather strands, which form the body of the fly, get matted -together and the whole mass of them much reduced in size; the wings -cease to stand out away from the body and from each other, and the -hook, owing to the reduction of the size of the fly generally, which is -effected by the tightening influence of the water, is left much too -bare and prominent. The best way to obviate these difficulties is to -make the body of the fly somewhat fuller and more fluffy than it is -intended to be, and to dress it as far down towards the bend of the -hook as is compatible with symmetry of structure. The hook is sure to -be conspicuous enough at best, but every pains should be taken to make -it as little so as possible. We are particular about all sorts of -minute considerations of colour and form; we refuse to allow of the -deviation of the sixteenth of an inch from the right standard in the -length of a tail, or of the faintest false shade in the colouring of a -wing--in all these matters we are exact and scrupulous, and rightly so; -but is it quite consistent with such close attention to detail that we -should be indifferent to so remarkable a deviation from the right model -as is found in the immense and conspicuous hook which protrudes beyond -the body of our counterfeit insect, and which seems quite as much -calculated to attract attention as any other part of the fly? Of -course, to some extent, this cannot be helped, the hook being a -necessity of the fisher's case, but surely it might in many instances -be much more carefully concealed than it is. The fly might, for -instance, be dressed not actually on the shank of the hook, but on a -piece of gut or bristle attached to it and hanging loose on the hook so -as almost to hide it. In putting on a worm as a bait--the worm having -the advantage of being the real thing--we take the utmost pains to -conceal the hook; in putting on the fly--which has the disadvantage of -being not the real thing but a counterfeit--why should we not do -precisely the same thing? - -It cannot be insisted on too strongly and too frequently that the whole -of this transaction, which we call fly-fishing, is, from beginning to -end, a most elaborately carried out piece of deception. But troublesome -and difficult and inseparably connected with all sorts of -disappointments as it is, yet is the game unquestionably well worth the -candle, fishing, when really successful, being beyond all question one -of the most delightful of occupations, while even when only moderately -successful, it is full of charm and interest to any one who takes it up -in earnest. - - - - -DOGS I HAVE KNOWN - - -I was always very fond of dogs, but it was a long time before I was -allowed to have one of my own, my parents apparently considering that -dogs were composed of two equal portions of hydrophobia and fleas. My -first dog was a large brown and white spaniel with a very curious -temper. Sometimes he would lie on things in his kennel nearly all day, -for no apparent reason. If you tried to pet or coax him it did no good, -but if no attention were paid to him he would get out of the sulks and -be all right in a short time. He could never be induced to go into the -water to swim. I often attempted it by keeping him tied up without food -and then loosing him and throwing bits of biscuit into the moat near -the house. He would then pick out and eat all the bits that were within -his reach by wading, but would not make the least attempt to go for a -piece which was out of his depth. I once thought that I had devised a -plan by which he must swim, but it failed. It was this. There was a -high paling along one side of the moat with a strip of grass about a -foot wide between it and the water, and here I put the dog, thinking he -would be compelled to swim out, but no! after spending half the day -whining and crouching down as if he meant to jump in, he set to work -and scratched at the turf and tore at the palings with his teeth until -he made a hole big enough to get through. After this I gave up trying -to get him to swim. His temper was decidedly peculiar. When I called -him to go for a walk, if he approved of the direction taken he would -go--if not he would stand and look at me and then go straight home. -Once, however, he shewed a very remarkable and amiable trait. I left -home and went abroad for a considerable time, and in my absence my -father died. The dog at this time had not shewn any sign of attachment -to my mother, but immediately after my father's funeral, whenever he -was loose, he used to run straight to the drawing-room windows, and, if -my mother was there, would remain standing for hours looking in at her; -or, if the front door happened to be open, he would go in and walk -quietly into the drawing-room. If his mistress were there he would lie -down by her chair; up to this time he had never tried to get into the -house, and directly I returned he never attempted it again, nor even -appeared to notice my mother more than any other friend of his. Poor -old Jehou, with all his eccentricities of temper I was very fond of -him, and sorry when he disappeared. He went out with the carriage one -day, and nothing more was ever heard of him, though rewards were -offered everywhere. We were making a call and left him outside, and -when we came out he was gone. However, we thought nothing of this, -believing he would come home, but from that day forward the old Jehou -was never seen by us. - -My second dog was magnificent fellow--I never knew or heard of one -with such wonderful sagacity and apparent power of reasoning. It was a -huge black and white Newfoundlander, of the colour they now call the -"Landseer Newfoundland." I got him from an old keeper, to whom he had -been left by his late master. The man did not want him, and knowing -that I was very fond of dogs, he sold him to me, saying at the time "He -was _a'most_ a Christian"; and so he really was. Our introduction -was curious. I went off to see him, taking some food in my pocket to -make friends with him; but the man told me that was no good--that if -the dog liked the look of me he would be friends at once. When we -reached the cottage, going round to the back, I saw a most -noble-looking dog, who when we approached sat up and looked very -gravely at us. The keeper said, "I've brought a gentleman to see you, -old man," and I then spoke to him. The dog turned and looked at me -steadily for some seconds, then rising and walking slowly to me, reared -up on his hind legs, and, putting one huge paw on each shoulder, began -to lick my face. That was the introduction, and from that day until -"Wallace's" death we were the firmest of friends. The man told me he -had been broken for a keeper's night-dog, and was a first-rate -guard--would never touch a child or bite a woman, but that he would -bite any man or beast he was set at; and looking at his size and power -I did not disbelieve him. He also warned me that no one must go near -him when he was feeding. After having a full account of the dog, I went -home, Wallace following me as if we had known each other for years. -Soon after I had him, I went on a visit to a cousin who lived in a town -in the north of England, and Wallace, who went with me, distinguished -himself greatly whilst there. One evening I was to meet my cousin at -his counting-house, and at the time fixed went there, my dog, of -course, accompanying me. On reaching the office, finding that my cousin -had gone out, I sat down and waited, and as he did not make his -appearance so soon as was expected, the office-keeper came and asked me -if I would mind waiting by myself, as everything was locked up and my -cousin could fasten the outer door himself (as in fact he often did). I -had no objection, so all the gas but one small jet was turned out. Very -shortly after the office-keeper left, the door was opened very softly, -and soon a man put in his head, and not discovering me in the gloom, as -I purposely made no noise, came in; and a very ill-looking customer he -was. Discovering me, he started, and said something about an -appointment, advancing as he spoke. Directly the man got near, with one -bound Wallace was on him and had him down on his back on the floor. He -tried to draw something out of his sleeve, but Wallace instantly seized -his throat--gently, it is true, but enough to give him a foretaste of -what he could do. I shouted to the man to lie still or the dog would -kill him, and rising up and going to him found he had an iron jemmy in -his hand, which I took--warning him that if he moved the dog would -throttle him. I went and called the police; they came and secured the -fellow, who turned out to be the head of one of the most daring set of -burglars in the north. Besides the jemmy he had a brace of loaded -pistols in his pocket, and would most undoubtedly have murdered me, if -it had not been for Wallace. The man had been "wanted" by the police -for a long time, but they had never been able to get him, and there -were great rejoicings at his capture. - -Whenever I went out by day Wallace always followed me, but at night, or -in the dusk, kept close to my side, with his head almost touching my -leg. If he saw anyone coming towards me that he thought suspicious he -would go on in front, and turning with them as they came up follow them -by me, and in the same manner if anyone was overtaking me, he dropped -back, and then followed them until they had quite passed. He did one -other very clever thing whilst he was with me in the north. One morning -I had been to the club to look at the papers, etc., and on my return -home found that I had lost one of my gloves. More for the sake of -experiment than really thinking the dog would ever find the missing -glove, I took off the other, and holding it to him, made a motion like -throwing it away, saying, at the same time, "lost, Wallace, go seek." -The dog at once started off, and was away for some time--in fact, so -long, that becoming uneasy, I started off towards the club. I had gone -but a very little way when I saw Wallace coming along, and to my great -surprise, with the missing glove in his mouth. A policeman was -following him at a respectful distance, so I went up to him and asked -if he could tell me where the dog found the glove. He told me he saw -Wallace running along evidently looking for something, as he -occasionally stopped, and seemed to make sure of his direction; -following him, he saw him enter the club, and remain there a short -time. He then came out, began sniffing about on the steps, and suddenly -started off briskly. The man followed, and the dog, after going along -one of the main streets for some way, turned down a side street, and -soon overtaking an old beggar woman, made a snatch at something in her -hand, and returned at full speed. The old woman had picked up the glove -on the steps of the club, and had gone off with it, and if it had not -been for Wallace's extraordinary intelligence I should have lost my -glove. - -One day, after my return home, Wallace gave me a specimen of the -education he had received from the keeper. There was a very pretty wood -in part of our grounds with walks laid out in it. I was walking there -with Wallace, as I thought, when suddenly I heard someone roaring out, -most lustily, that the dog was killing him. I called out to know where -the man that was being killed, and he told me in the field outside, so -I went out and found him on the ground and Wallace over him--not biting -or molesting him in any way, but merely looking down at the man, -evidently very much puzzled as to why he made such a noise. Calling -Wallace off, I asked how it happened, and the man told me that he was -walking in the wood, and just stepped over the fence into the field -when the dog jumped at him, and knocked him over. The fact was, that -Wallace had been trained to go outside any cover when the keeper went -through it, and to seize any poacher that might come out. He had been -taught, too, to jump at the man and knock him down by his weight, but -not to bite or injure him in any way if he made no resistance; and I -expect few would have been so foolish as to do so when they saw his -size and appearance. - -Wallace was a most inveterate cat killer. This had been clearly part of -his early education; he killed almost every cat that he could get at. -Many were the unfortunate tabbies that he suddenly snapped up as they -were comfortably dozing on the steps of a cottage. He would go quietly -along, apparently taking very little notice of anything, -when--snap--and tabby was no more, but there was one most remarkable -exception, and this was our stable cat. I discovered it in this -way:--One day I went into the stable yard and saw the cat walking -across to where Wallace was lying by his kennel half asleep, fully -expecting to see her killed in a moment. I waited, and, to my great -astonishment, saw her walk up to him, put up her tail, and rub all -round him in the most affectionate manner, and as she passed his head, -Wallace just looked up and gave her a lick with his tongue. Seeing me, -the old dog jumped up, and, in so doing, trod on pussy's foot, who -immediately turned round and bit and scratched. Wallace took no sort of -notice of it, clearly thinking that such an exhibition of temper on her -part was beneath his attention. We lived about twenty-five miles from -town, in a very fashionable and wealthy part of the country, which made -it quite a "happy hunting-ground" for the London burglars, regular -gangs of whom used to come down and "work" the district, in fact, ours -was almost the only house that was not broken into, and this was -entirely owing to Wallace,--his sonorous bark effectually rousing -everyone, and he never used it without occasion. We caught three men -with a most beautiful set of burglars' tools. They had intended to try -the house; Wallace roused us by barking, and as he seemed nearly -frantic, we felt sure that the men were near, so, turning out the -men-servants, we loosed the dog in the garden. He soon picked up the -scent of the men, and quickly ran into them in an outhouse about two -miles off. Numberless were the attempts made to poison him, but he -would never touch the stuff, however cunningly prepared. We constantly -found poisoned liver, and things of that kind, but it was of no -use--Wallace would sniff at the stuff, give it a scratch with his paw, -and pass on. There was one very amusing trait in his character, and -that was his determination that no one should bathe if he could help -it. This came, I think, from his having, on one occasion, brought a -child out of a pond into which it had fallen. By the way, he did not do -it at all in the graceful way dogs are represented in goody-books, but -by a firm nip in a very unromantic part of the child's body, making it -roar out lustily, thereby preventing the bystanders from being at all -uneasy on its account. - -An amusing instance of this occurred one day. A young cousin of mine -was staying with us and said he should go down to the river and -bathe--asking at the same time to take Wallace with him. I consented, -quite forgetting his habit. The two were away some time, but at length -I saw them returning, the lad evidently in a very bad temper about -something. When he came up he said "that abominable old fool Wallace -won't let me bathe;" I asked about it and heard that Wallace sat down -and watched him undress, in a very grave sort of way, but when he -wanted to get into the river would not let him; walking in front of him -whenever he got near the edge and completely preventing him from -getting in. The boy tried all sorts of dodges to make the dog allow -him, but it was of no use. He tried to run and jump in several times, -but on each attempt Wallace coolly sat down in front of him just as he -thought all was clear, so that he was obliged either to stop short or -tumble over the dog. When he gave it up and began to dress again, -Wallace lay down and watched him, and finally trotted back with him, -with an expression on his countenance that showed he clearly thought he -had done his duty. - -I had been warned by the man I bought Wallace from, as previously -noted, that I must never go near him when he was feeding, for he would -not allow anyone to approach him then, and this I found to be true; but -this habit of his caused me great alarm once. A little girl was staying -in our house, and, of course, wanted to see my big dog, so I took her -out to the stable yard to show him to her. Wallace was feeding when we -got there, and I told her we must not go near him then, and took her -into the stables to see the horses. Whilst I was talking to the -coachman, she slipped out, and on going to look for her, to my horror I -saw her just going up to the dog who was still feeding. I called out to -her to come back, but the coachman said, "He won't hurt her, sir; he -will let a child do anything almost to him." True enough--the child -went up and patted him, and the dog first looked up, gave a wag with -his tail and went on feeding. When he was loosed afterwards, he came to -where the child and myself were sitting, licked her hands, and then -came and put his great head on my knee and looked up at me, as much as -to say, "Could not you trust me with a child." I then remembered I had -been told he would never touch a child, but there was one very curious -point connected with this, which was that he would _never_ touch food -of any sort, however fond he was of it, from the hands of a child. This -he had doubtless been taught, so that poisoned or prepared food might -not be given him by their means. - -I hardly ever saw a dog who had such very expressive eyes. Once when -out with me he was attacked and bitten in the leg by a mastiff; an -ill-conditioned brute that was always flying at him. Now Wallace was -most good-tempered and hardly ever fought, so I spoke to him and told -him to come along, thinking the mastiff would leave him. Instead of -this it seized him by the ear, and Wallace's ears were always very -tender and painful in the summer; but he never retaliated--only looked -at me in a sort of reproachful way, as much as to say "see what pain -you have caused me." I could not stand it, and said, "Kill him, -Wallace." Shaking the dog off as if he was nothing, he gave him a grip -between the forelegs and the dog was dead in an instant. Wallace left -him at once and came on after me as if nothing had happened. He -certainly was one of the most intelligent dogs I ever met with; I kept -him until he was very old, and when he was almost entirely blind, it -used to be very curious to see the old fellow hunting me. When loosed, -he would put down his nose and work till he got on my trail, and then, -however I might have gone about and turned, he was sure to hunt up to -me, and the pleased look which came into his old face when he found me -and moved round my legs was very touching. However, poor old fellow, he -got quite deaf as well as blind, and then to my grief I had to sign his -death-warrant. - -Long after this, I possessed a wonderfully intelligent dog, a pure-bred -Skye terrier, one of the real sort, with soft coat of wavy -mustard-coloured hair tipped with black; sharp, prick ears, just turned -over at the top; such taper paws; tail carried over the back and -parting like an ostrich plume; she had dark eyes. I had her directly -she could be taken from her mother, and in my bachelor days she hardly -ever left me, often going in my pocket when I was riding--her head and -forepaws outside. I once left her for six months with some friends -whilst I went abroad, and on my return a most curious thing occurred. I -drove from the station, distant about six miles from my friends' house, -arriving there past nine in the evening. Fanny (that was her name) was -shut up in the harness-room, but about four o'clock the next morning I -was awakened by scratching and whining at my door, and on getting up -and opening it, there was Fanny, who was exceptionally delighted to see -me, and jumped on my bed and went to sleep. On getting up I noticed her -paws were very sore and bleeding, and on going down, asked where she -had been and how she had found me. It turned out thus: she had been -locked up in the harness-room as usual, and this was quite 200 yards -from the house; but had set to work, and scratched her way out, tearing -a hole through the weather boarding close to the doorpost; she then -came round to a court at the back of the house, where there was a -drain-pipe in one corner through the wall, to carry off the water when -it was wasted; this she had torn at until she made the hole big enough -to force her little body through, and getting into the house by an -unfastened side door, made her way up to my room. But how on earth -could she possibly have known that I was there? She had not seen me for -six months, and I had not been near the stable, so she could not have -heard my voice, and there was not any coat or wrap of mine left in the -carriage. That she had got into the house by the way I have stated was -quite clear from the state of her paws, and the marks on the stable and -outer court. - -Fanny amused me very much on another occasion. She had been taught to -beg, and I went to the kennel, a paled-in one with benches round it, -and opening the door, began to talk and play with the dogs, -occasionally throwing them some pieces of biscuit. I threw a bit which -one of the spaniels picked up, and jumping on to the bench, began to -eat it. I suppose Fanny fancied the piece very much, for she ran after -the dog, jumped up on the bench in front of him and sat up and begged -for it, just as she would have done had I had it. However, the spaniel -did not pay any attention, but quietly munched up the biscuit. Her -jealousy of my wife, when we were first married, was most amusing. She -could not bear to see us sitting together, and if I sat by my wife on a -sofa, would get upon it, scramble on to my shoulders, walk round the -back of my neck, and try to squeeze herself down between us. She was, -too, a capital sporting dog, though for a long time I was afraid to -take her out, as she was so like a rabbit or hare when moving through -long grass or corn that I feared I might perhaps shoot her -accidentally. However, she was always so very anxious to come with me -that at length I took her, and she was quite invaluable. Birds that -would rise and be off at once, if you had a pointer or setter with you, -appeared either not to notice her or be fascinated by her. I knew -directly I entered a field with her whether there were birds or not, -and she would take me straight to them. She also retrieved beautifully. -The first time I found out her powers in this way I had shot two -partridges, right and left, and to my great disgust both were runners -and got into some standing corn. Fanny seemed very anxious to go after -them, so I let her go after one that I had marked down, and off she -scampered, and to my great delight and surprise soon came back with it. -On my taking it from her, she darted off again and in a little while -returned with the other. After this, of course, I always used her for -retrieving, and scarcely ever lost a wounded head of game. She could -bring partridges and pheasants in open ground, but if they fell in -thick cover, or if I sent her after a wounded hare, she could not bring -them back, but used to make a short, sharp bark to let me know she had -found them. Poor little thing, she met, I fear, the fate of too many -pets. We went from home leaving strict injunctions that every care -should be taken of her; but, unfortunately, she sickened and died, I -fear, of neglect. - -And now I must tell a most wonderful piece of kindness and compassion -on the part of another dog. At the time Fanny and her brothers and -sisters were born, I had a fine black and white pointer dog. When Fanny -and the rest were a few weeks old, their mother died, and they had to -be brought up by hand, and though every care was taken of them, and -they had warm sheepskin rugs on their bench, they seemed very miserable -and were always crying. Whenever I went round their kennel I usually -found this pointer dog sitting there looking at them through the -palings, and I said one day to the keeper, "I suppose Don would like to -kill them all for making such a noise." "Oh no, sir," said the man; "he -pities them quite Christian-like." "Well," I replied, "if he does, just -open the kennel door and see what he will do." It was opened and the -dog ran in and began licking the puppies, who crowded round him. He -then jumped up on the bench, followed by them, and lay down; the -puppies crawled all over him, biting his ears and tail, evidently -greatly delighted to have him, and finally settled to sleep in all -positions on him, the dog never moving, and seemed almost afraid to -breathe for fear of disturbing them--in fact, he took them entirely -under his protection, and the contorted attitudes the dog would lie in -rather than disturb the puppies were wonderful. I used to think he must -hurt himself; but he would never leave them, and if I got him out for a -little while, thinking he must want rest, he would always run back to -them, never seeming happy until he had got in with them again. This -continued until they were all grown big enough to take care of -themselves. It has always struck me as being the most wonderful piece -of pure benevolence I ever knew of. - -I once knew a very eccentric dog. He was a real old English spaniel, -one of that kind you so rarely see, with long body, short legs, with -great bone, grand head, jaws and teeth like a wolf's almost, and long -ears that would meet round his nose. Poor fellow, his temper was -certainly unamiable, but I think this was caused by the state of his -health. When he was a puppy he was troubled with insects, and a stupid -groom, to show, I suppose, that he had some brains, declared he could -cure him with some nostrum of his own; the effect of it being that the -poor puppy's hair nearly all came off. His skin was burned in several -places, and he was made so ill that for several weeks a veterinary -surgeon did not think he could recover. He did though, at length, but -his constitution had received such a shock that he was always subject -to skin disease, and yet he could not stand the least medicine. He was -a very curious animal, never showing much attachment to anyone; he -would bite his best friends on the least provocation. Nothing, though, -offended him so much as being laughed at,--that was an insult he never -forgave. If you began to laugh at him, he would growl in a very ominous -manner, and, if you persisted in it, would snap at you and give you -such a bite, that you would not care to try again. If you wished to -please him, you had to get a lot of old birds' nests, and give them to -him one by one; he would carry them about for some time, and then he -would sit down and tear them to pieces. He was not particularly fond of -going for a walk with anyone; but if you got some nests and gave him -one occasionally, he would trot along with you as happily as possible. -Another curious habit of his was, that he would never get out of the -way for anyone. When he was trotting along he never moved from his line -if he saw anyone coming; but if he saw they did not intend to move, -would begin to growl and look so savage that people usually made haste -out of his way. When he happened to be running down a hill, he did not -growl, but merely ran against people if they did not clear out--his -great weight usually upsetting them, of which he took not the slightest -notice. A great friendship arose between this dog and a fine cat we -had, and it was very amusing to see them together. He would walk up to -the cat and begin to lick her all over, and then she would rub all -round him, purring, and seeming to be very fond of him--when all of a -sudden she would stop, look up in his face and spit at him, at the same -time giving him two or three sharp scratches, the only notice of which -that he took was to close his eyes, so that they might not be hurt. -Poor dog, as I said before, he suffered from skin disease, and the -medicine that you could give another dog with impunity would nearly -kill him, and it was the same with any outward application. At length -when, on one occasion, he was suffering very much, I took him to the -huntsman of a pack of foxhounds, and asked if he could recommend -anything, and he told me of some stuff he dressed the puppies with, -that never hurt them, and gave me some. I had it applied to some other -dogs, and it did not do them the least harm, so I ordered this dog to -be dressed with it. It did not seem to affect him at first, but on the -next morning he was found dead in his kennel. In spite of his unamiable -character, which I put down to his bad health, I was very sorry to lose -him, for he had more regard for me, I think, than almost anyone, and -was a first-class dog for cover shooting, with me at least, for he -would not pay any attention out shooting to anyone else. - -I have met with two cases of decided idiocy in dogs--one occurred fully -thirty years ago. It was just about the time that Pomeranian dogs were -first brought into England. An old lady saw several of them abroad, -and, admiring them very much, brought several home and gave them away -as presents to her friends. She gave one to an uncle of mine; it was a -white one, with a splendid coat, and altogether looked a model of the -breed, and everyone who saw it remarked on its beauty; it had, however, -very curious-looking blue eyes, and its habits were very strange. It -would lie curled up on the hearth-rug in the dining-room the whole day, -taking no notice of anyone or anything, except twice a day, when -regularly, about half-past eleven in the morning and at four in the -afternoon, it would get up, and, if the French windows were open, would -go out on to the lawn. If they were closed, it waited till the door was -opened, and then going out, went each day to the same exact spot, and -commenced running round and round in a circle from right to left. -Having done this for some minutes, he would stop, rear up on his hind -legs, and giving his head a most peculiar twist, much like the way -parrots and owls twist their necks, he would then drop down again, and -run the circle from left to right. Having done this, he came indoors, -and lay down on the rug. He never showed the least affection for -anyone, or appeared to know them. If you called out to him, he would -sometimes look up in a vague sort of way, as if he wondered what the -noise was; and the foot-man had to lead him out to meals each day, as -the dog never made the least attempt to stir in search of food. The man -used to say he had more trouble to make this dog feed than to keep any -others from devouring whatever they could get at. Altogether, the dog -did not seem to have the least sense in the world, and was, I think, an -undoubted idiot. - -The second case of the sort I met with was in a large sort of retriever -that a friend of mine had. He asked me to come and see a dog that had -been given him, as it was a "very odd sort of beast," and so it was. It -had the most curious coat I ever saw on a dog--very long and iron-grey, -with black markings, a huge bushy tail, so big and so long that it gave -one the idea that the dog's hind legs were in the wrong place, and, -instead of being at the extremity of its body, were put on somewhere -about the middle of its stomach. To add to everything, the dog -squinted, a thing I never heard of or saw in any other dog before or -since. It was not that one of the eyes was blind and did not move -properly, but the eyes actually crossed one another; his head, too, was -the shape of a solid parallelogram, and very narrow between the ears. -The dog was fastened to a kennel, and was walking backwards and -forwards in front of it, very much in the way a caged hyena does. On -being loosed, it bundled off in a clumsy gallop, and soon ran right -into a barrow that had been left on one of the paths. On being brought -up by this obstacle, instead of jumping over it, as any other dog would -have done, he moved round it, and when he found his head clear, -galloped off again on the same straight line, which this time landed -him in a laurel bush, through which he scrambled, and again went on in -the same direction, and this I heard was his regular habit. He had -another very awkward trick, and that was, if he was walking behind you, -he would come up and lay hold of your leg, not apparently with any -vicious design, for if you stopped and looked down at him, there he was -with his eyes half shut, holding on to your leg with his teeth, as if -it was necessary to support himself by such means. After a time he -would drop his jaws off your leg and go maundering along as he had done -before; but it was not altogether a pleasant trick. My last interview -with the brute was not an agreeable one. We were to go out duck -shooting on the river, and my friend proposed taking the dog with us in -the punt to retrieve the ducks. This I decidedly objected to, as a wet -dog in a boat is an unpleasant companion, so he was left on the bank to -follow as best he might. The dog trotted along quietly for some way, -until at length we fired at some ducks, when he jumped into the river -to get them, as we thought; instead of which he swam up to the punt and -seizing the pole in his mouth began to bite and tear at it in the most -furious way. He then tried to scramble into the boat, and getting his -fore-paws on the gunwale, began to tear at the sides in the most -determined manner, snapping furiously at anyone who went near him. The -only thing we could do was to try and duck him by means of the punt -pole, but directly he came up again he attacked the boat afresh, so -that my friend thought the best thing to do was to shoot him, which -accordingly was done. I shall never forget the expression of ferocity -in the dog's face or the mad way in which he tore at the sides of the -boat and the punt pole. - -The dog I am now about to mention was, I consider, an instance of the -action of over-instruction working on naturally weak powers. When out -shooting at the Cape, in the Swehamsdam district, something in the bush -attracted my notice, and on riding up I found it was a pointer in the -last stage of starvation. Pitying the poor deserted animal, I told one -of my attendants to take it up and bring it to the waggon, which he -did, and after forcing some broth down its throat, the dog seemed to -revive, and with care it ultimately recovered, and turned out a very -handsome animal. When it had got up its strength again, I took it out -to try it. The dog ranged fairly and soon got on the scent of game, as -I imagined. Seeing him drawing on very fast, I though he had got a -Korhoram in front of him, and as these birds run tremendously, I made a -circle to head the supposed game; but on looking back at the dog, saw -he was standing dead at a small bush. I went back to him and tried all -round it in every direction, but in vain. I then looked on the ground -to see if there was one of the small land tortoises, which abound -there, and which dogs will always point, but found there was not; so -dismounting, I went up to the bush and then found he was standing at a -small striped mouse, so I scolded him and made him come off. His next -exploit was to make a splendid point at a pair of cast-off Hottentot -"crackers" which were lying in the bush, bringing up in his gallop in -really magnificent style. On rating him for this, he fixed all his -attention on me, and though he ranged well, kept his eye whenever -possible on me, and if I stopped pointed at once, or even if I held out -my arm. His last grand feat was a dead point at something that I -thought was a piece of dead stick lying on the ground, and I was just -on the point of taking it up to give him a cut with it for being such a -fool when I discovered that it was a puff adder; so calling the dog -off, I blew it to pieces with a shot, but my escape was a narrow one. -After this, I gave the dog away to a lady who took a fancy to him, as -he was so handsome, and it was most ludicrous to see him in her -drawing-room pointing steadily at footstools or work-boxes, or anything -that was shewn him. The dog had evidently been well broken, but its -brain could not take the impression that he was only to point at game. -He had a confused idea that he ought to point at anything with a scent -to it, or anything he imagined his master wished him to. - - - - -NOVEMBER SHOOTING - - -Nearly three months have already passed away since the shooting season -began. I won't say the three best months, because snipe and woodcock -are coming in, and the cream of the pheasant shooting is yet to come. - -For myself, much as I like knocking over grouse and partridges, give me -snipe shooting before all. It is the _fox-hunting of shooting_. - -I know of nothing more exciting than getting on to a good snipe bog, -when they lay well and there are plenty of them. When they rise in -_whisps_, that is, several at a time, you may make up your mind they -are wild and difficult to approach. In snipe shooting always have the -_wind on your back_. - -The snipe ever flies against the wind; therefore you have a much better -shot than you would have if he were to dart away down wind. - -If you take a dog, let it be a cautious, knowing old pointer or setter; -the latter is the animal for this sport, because he stands the cold and -water better than the thin-skinned pointer; but I rarely take any dog -but my retriever. - -As regards your dress, you are almost sure to get wet; therefore I -never think of putting on long waterproof boots; they are heavy and -tiring to walk in; and if you do get in over them, you are obliged to -turn yourself up to let the water out; but your misery does not end -here, the wet generally brings your worsted stockings down at heel, and -your heavy saturated boots rub the skin of your heels, or ankle bones, -which cripples you for days. - -Put on a pair of thick worsted stockings, and a pair of your oldest and -easiest lace-up boots; if there is a hole or two in them so much the -better, they will let the water out all the quicker. - -I never use gaiters, they only get wet and make you cold and -uncomfortable. I wear a pair of old trousers; but generally shoot in -nothing but knickerbockers and stockings. - -If you have a long way to drive home, a change of stockings and -trousers is advisable, and instead of shoes or slippers, I put on a -pair of sabots and chaussettes: these can be procured at any French -depôt. They are most comfortable and warm, and no trouble to put on. - -If you are shooting on heath, brown should be the colour of your dress; -this, indeed, is the best colour for all work. - -Many places that were famous for snipe when I was a lad, are now -drained or built on. And a few years hence the snipe and woodcock will -be rare birds with us. There is still a land within easy reach where -they are to be found--Ireland--and there I go every year for a couple -of months, to a very wild part of the country, certainly, and where you -must rough it; but still I enjoy it intensely: and when I am sitting by -my turf fire, with my glass of potheen beside me, my old black clay -between my lips, and my tired setters stretched at their ease by my -feet, I feel thoroughly happy. - -There is one thing I always take with me on these Irish excursions, and -that is a comfortable arm-chair. I have had it carried eleven miles -over the mountains for me, to the cabin or farm, or wherever I may be. -This is the only luxury I allow myself. - -If you go farther afield than Ireland, and are in for nothing but snipe -shooting, then be off to America; South Carolina is your mark, and -where you may blaze away to your heart's content. - -The woodcock flies exactly the same as the snipe; but it is not -necessary to be particular about the wind in his case. In beating large -covers or forests, never go far in, but try the edges. These birds are -also getting much scarcer, for they now take the eggs in Norway and -Sweden, and eat them as we do plovers' eggs. - -In looking for woodcock in cold, wet weather, if you do not find them -in their usual haunts, try the _sunny_ side of the wood or hill, where -it is sheltered from the wind; they are remarkably fond of being where -there are holly bushes. - -In shooting forests or large covers use spaniels; but these dogs must -be _perfectly_ broken and never go out of gun range. It is a very -common practice in France to have bells round their dogs' necks, so -that you may know where they are; but I do not like it, it frightens -the birds; and there is danger attached to it. The dogs are sometimes -hung up by the collars. I once remember a very good dog, belonging to a -friend of mine, being killed in this way--he was hung up in some thick -underwood, and when we found him, he was dead. No hunting dog should -ever wear a collar when out, under any circumstances. - -November shooting is good shooting, and coverts should not, as a rule, -be beaten before then, as the leaves are not off enough; a quantity of -game is wounded and never found, and is left to linger and die. In -November, too, the walking is much better; it is cooler and the scent -lies stronger; birds may be wilder but they are in finer condition, and -remain so till the frosts come; but even then, unless it is very hard, -they keep their condition. It is snow that destroys all birds' -condition. A few days' snow, and birds not only fall miserably away, -but they get much tamer, and immense numbers are killed by poachers, as -well as rabbits and hares, which are easily tracked; and as they are -not able to go at any pace, a dog with a very moderate turn of speed -will run into them. - -The best bit of shooting I ever had was a forest in France which I -hired; it was five thousand acres, famous bottom covert in it, and -noted for woodcock; there was a capital shooting lodge, furnished, four -large bed-rooms, two sitting-rooms, kitchen, back-kitchen, wood-houses, -&c.; cow-house, piggery, stable for fourteen or fifteen horses, orchard -of three acres, kitchen-garden, and small field, a gamekeeper's house, -and dog-kennel; in fact, as a shooting-box it was complete; for all -this I paid four hundred francs a year (£16). - -The house stood in the centre of the forest; there was a good road to -it, and there was a village a mile off at which you could get anything. -I had it for some years, and I never enjoyed covert shooting so much; -there was fine partridge ground all round the forest, which I had leave -to go over; part of it was mine. There were a few roebuck in the -forest, foxes, and plenty of badgers; with these last we occasionally -had great fun. There was some very fair trout fishing, as well as duck -shooting, any quantity of rabbits; and I never went out without -bringing home a hare or two; there were quail in the season, and snipe -too, and the woodcock shooting was capital. - -For a few days in November, thousands and thousands of wood pigeons -made their appearance, and were very tame from a long flight; these -were killed in great numbers. When they first arrived they were -miserably poor, but after a few days they picked up, and were difficult -to get at. I never enjoyed anything more than this bit of rough -shooting; everything was so convenient and comfortable; by the bright -wood fire of an evening we used to smoke, tell our stories, and spin -our yarns. - -The game I killed, even at the small price it fetched, paid the rent -and my English keeper. I do not mean to say I sold it, but I exchanged -it away for other things wanted in the house. - -November, although one of the dreariest months of the year, is one of -the best shooting months--certainly for general rough shooting. - -I have had capital sport in Ireland in this month, especially with the -woodcock on the mountains, as well as with duck and snipe. I always -carried there a ten-bore gun, because I never knew what would get up, -as most of my shooting lay on the borders of Lough Corrib; sometimes a -duck or a goose would give me a shot, so I found a large gun better. -The golden plover are capital fun in November. I once killed twenty-one -at one shot. I was coming down Lough Corrib in my yacht, and discovered -an immense number of plover on one of the small stony flat islands. I -got the dingy out, and was sculled quietly down by one of the men. I -got within forty yards of them, when they rose, and I gave them both -barrels of No. 6 shot. I picked up one-and-twenty, but I think there -were one or two more I could not find. I have had very good -duck-shooting on the lake, in November, which is twenty-eight miles -long, and in one place ten miles wide. My shooting yacht was one of the -most comfortable ones I ever saw, only ten tons; but there was every -convenience in it and plenty of room. I used to go away for a week, and -the quantities of snipe, cock, and wild fowl I brought back astonished -the natives. I would run up some little creek or river of an evening -and anchor occasionally; we cooked on shore when the weather was fine; -we set the night lines, and had always plenty of pike, trout, and eels, -and in summer any quantity of perch, from three-quarters to three -pounds weight each. - -I am very fond of wild pheasant shooting in November; the birds are -then strong, in good plumage, and worth killing. - -Rabbiting, either shooting or ferreting, is capital sport; by November -the fern and under cover are generally dead, and you can see the little -grey rascals scudding along. - -For some years I, in cover shooting,--in fact, all my shooting, have -used nothing but Schultze's wood powder; perhaps it may not be quite so -strong as the ordinary powder, but I am by no means assured of that; it -is quite strong enough for any purpose, and has these advantages over -the ordinary powder: - -There is not nearly so much recoil, and in a heavy day's shooting you -do not give up with your head spinning and your shoulder tender. - -The report is not so loud either. - -The company say, "It shoots with greater force and precision;" this may -or may not be; but I am satisfied of this that it shoots _well_, and -certainly does not soil the gun nearly so much as other powders. - -But there is one thing that alone recommends it to me; that is, the -smoke never hangs, and you can always use your second barrel. How often -in covert shooting, or in the open, on a mild or foggy day, when there -has been no breeze, has the smoke hung, and prevented you putting in -your second barrel? Hundreds of times to me! But with Schultze's powder -there is only a thin white smoke, which is no detriment or blind to the -shooter. And there is also another great advantage it possesses, if it -gets damp it can be dried without losing any of its strength. It suits -all guns and climates. - - - - -SPORTING ADVENTURES OF CHARLES CARRINGTON, ESQ. - -RECORDED BY "OLD CALABAR" - - -Reader, must I confess it? I am a Cockney, born and bred in the "little -village." Though I passed some eight or ten years in a Government -office, yet my heart was not in the work. I had frequent illnesses, -which kept me away; those days--must I own it?--were generally spent in -a punt at Weybridge with one of the Keens. At Walton or Halliford I was -great in a Thames punt; and I then imagined few could hold a candle to -me in a gudgeon or roach swim; that I was _the_ fisherman of England, -_par excellence_. I am wiser now. - -At last my absences from office were so frequent that I had quiet -intimation to go; but, having friends who were pretty high in office, I -got an annuity in the shape of ninety pounds a year. A fresh berth was -procured for me at four hundred per annum, where I had a good deal of -running about. This suited me much better, as it enabled me to indulge -in my proclivities. I now took to shooting, and rather gave fishing the -go-by. - -I believe I tormented every gunmaker in the West End to death. I was -continually chopping and changing, inventing fresh heel-plates to the -"stocks." I would have a thick one of horn for a thin coat, and a thin -one of metal for a thick coat. Then I had them made with springs to -diminish the recoil. I was laughed at by every one who knew anything -about the matter; but I was so eaten up by self-conceit that I imagined -no one was _au fait_ at guns but myself, and would take no advice. My -shooting was not what a sportsman would call "good form"; but this I -did not believe. - -"Dash it, Muster Carrington," said an old Somersetshire farmer to me -one day; "always a-firing into the brown on 'em, and mizzing the lot. -It can't be the gun, or because you wear gig-lamps. You're no shot, -zur, and never will be;" but I laughed at the old fellow's ignorance. -Rather rich that. I, with one of Grant's best guns, not a -shot--rubbish! But I determined I would make myself a shot; so I went -over to Ireland to an old friend of mine, who lived in a wild, remote -part of Galway. He was a first-class sportsman in every way; took great -pains with me, and taught me a good deal. I learnt to ride to hounds -with him, not well certainly, but in my vanity I soon imagined I not -only rode, but shot better than my instructor. One day, after shooting -at twenty-three snipes, and only killing one, and the next missing -thirteen rabbits turned out from the keeper's pockets, I was fain to -admit I was not the shot I thought myself; so I betook myself back to -London--a sadder, but not a wiser man. I then entered one of the pigeon -clubs. Pigeon club? it was one. I won't say anything about that. If I -had gone on with it I should soon have had pockets to let. I was -terribly laughed at by every one, for I could neither shoot nor make -anything by betting. - -I then determined to try hunting, and wrote to my old friend in Ireland -to procure me a couple of horses. This he did, and sent me a couple of -good ones. I enjoyed the hunting more than I did the shooting, because -I could ride a little, and got on better. - -Sending my horses down to the country one fine morning, the next I -followed them to ----, where I had taken a little box for the season. -Many were my mishaps during the few months I was there, which was not -to be wondered at. - -I was in the famous run I am about to relate, and one of the -unfortunate victims who came to grief on that occasion. - -In the county of Croppershire, and not far from the little post town of -Craneford, a pack of fox-hounds was kennelled: they were under the -joint mastership of two gentlemen, Samuel Head, Esq., commonly called -Soft Head, and Henry Over, Esq., who was usually designated Hi Over; -the secretary was George Heels: he went by the name of Greasy Heels. - -A local wag had nicknamed it the "Head-over-heels Hunt;" but another -aristocratic gentleman and a public-school man said that a much more -_distingué_ and appropriate title would be the classical one of the -_Sternum-super-caput_ Hunt. This it was ever afterwards called; and -certainly no hunt deserved the name better, for hardly a man amongst -the whole lot could ride; they were ever being _grassed_, or "coming to -grief." - -Men from the next county used to say to each other, "Old fellow, I am -in for a lark to-morrow. I'm going to see the 'Sternum' dogs;" or, "I -am going to drive the ladies over next week, when the Sternum hounds -meet at the cross-roads; they want a laugh, and to see a few falls." - -The huntsman to these hounds was John Slowman. He was not a brilliant -huntsman, but he could ride; he had no voice; could not blow the horn -well, which was, perhaps, a lucky thing. - -Somehow or other the Sternum hounds generally killed, and had a great -many more noses nailed to their kennel-door than most of the -neighbouring packs. The great secret of their success was that the -hounds were _let alone_; they never looked for halloas or lifting, -and if they did they very seldom got it. They were great lumbering, -throaty, slack-loined, flat-sided animals; but they could hunt if let -alone, and often carried a good head, and went along at a pretty good -bat too; and as they had but few men who rode up to them, they were not -as a rule pressed or over-ridden. - -The Sternum gentlemen were great at roads, though now and then they -would take it into their heads to ride like mad, especially when there -was anyone from a neighbouring hunt to watch their proceedings. Then -there were riderless horses in all directions, for the country was a -stiff one, and took a deal of doing. - -"Ah, gentlemen," Slowman would exclaim, as the field came thundering up -ten minutes after a fox had been broken up, "you should have been here -a little sooner; you should indeed. Mag--nificent from find to finish. -Don't talk to me of the Dook's, or the Belvoir, or the Pytchley either, -nor none of them hunts as have three packs to keep 'em agoing. Give me -two days a week, and such a lot of dogs as these. I dessay the Markis -will make a huntsman in time. Frank Gillard ain't a bad man, and -Captain Anstruther is pretty tidy; but there's too much hollerin', too -much horn, too much lifting and flashing over the line. They mobs their -foxes to death; I kills mine." - -Slowman was magnificent at these times, and felt more than gratified -when compliments were showered on him on all sides. - -"Right you are, Slowman." "You know how to do the trick, old fellow." -"Best huntsman in Europe." "There's half-a-sovereign to drink my -health." - -Then Slowman would collect his hounds, nod to the whips, and return -home a proud and happy man. - -The Sternum hounds hunted a week later than their neighbours, and at -the two meets that took place during that period they generally had -large fields, and always on the last day of the season, because Messrs. -Head and Over gave a grand breakfast. - -On the occasion I am about to speak of, the last day of the season, a -breakfast was to be given of more than usual magnificence. The hounds -had had a good season, and the masters determined that they would be -even more lavish than usual. - -Great were the preparations made when it was known that the -neighbouring hunts were coming in force to see them, and have one more -gallop before they put their beloved pinks away in lavender. - -Slowman, the huntsman, the evening before the eventful day, had gone -through the kennels, made his draft for the following morning, looked -to the stables, and given orders about the horses and other little -matters pertaining to his craft. - -He was seated by his cosy fire, and in a cosy arm-chair, puffing -meditatively at a churchwarden, and now and then taking a sip from a -glass of hot gin-and-water that stood at his elbow. "Bell's Life" was -at his feet, and before the fire lay a couple of varmint-looking -fox-terriers. Slowman was thoroughly enjoying himself, and wondering if -the six-acred oak spinny which they were to draw first the next morning -would hold a good stout fox. - -"John," said his wife, bustling into the room, "Captain Martaingail -wishes to know if he can see you an instant: he is on his horse at the -door." - -"Lord bless me, Mary! surely," sticking his feet into his slippers and -rushing to the front door. The Captain was a favourite of his. The gin -he was drinking was a present to him from the Captain; the "Bell's -Life" was the Captain's. The Captain always came of a Sunday for a chat -and look through the kennels; and the Captain was one of the very few -of the hunt who could ride. He always gave Slowman a fiver at the end -of the season, and many good tips besides; so he was a prime favourite -with the huntsman. - -"Good evening, good evening, Captain," said Slowman, going to the door. -"Come in, sir. Here, Thumas--Bill--Jim--some of you come here and take -the Captain's horse. Throw a couple of rugs over him and put him in the -four-stall stable, take his bridle off, and give him a feed of corn." - -"Now, sir, come in," as the Captain descended from his hack and gave it -to one of the lads. "I was just having a smoke, sir, and a glass of -gin-and-water--your gin, sir; and good it is, too." - -"That's right, Slowman. And I don't care if I take one with you. It's -devilish cold, but no frost. I want to have a talk with you about -to-morrow." - -Taking the arm-chair, he mixed himself a glass of liquor, and lit a -cigar. - -"Slowman," he commenced, "there's the devil's own lot of people coming -to-morrow. There's Jack Spraggon, from Lord Scamperdale's hunt. He's -sent on Daddy Longlegs, his Lordship's best horse, and another; so _he_ -means going. Jealous devil he is, too. Soapy Sponge will be here with -Hercules and Multum in Parvo; old Jawleyford, and a host of others of -that lot. Then there's Lord Wildrace, Sir Harry Clearall, and God knows -who besides. There's more than forty horses in Craneford now--every -stall and stable engaged; and there will be twice as many in the -morning. - -"Ah! sir, it's the breakfast as brings 'em--at least, a great many of -'em." - -"Well, I daresay that has something to do with it," replied the -Captain; "but a great many come to have a laugh at us. The fact is, -most of our men can't ride a d----. Then look at Head and Over, they -are always coming to grief and falling off. No wonder they get laughed -at. And most of the others, too. There will be no end of ladies out, -too, and all to have a grin at us. Oh! by-the-way, Slowman, here is -your tip. I may just as well give it to you to-night as later. I've -made it ten instead of five this year, because you've shewn us such -prime sport." - -"Very much obliged to you, Captain, indeed," thrusting the note into -his pocket; "and for your kind opinion too. I try to show what sport I -can, and always will. So they're coming to have a laugh at us, are -they! I wish we may find a good stout fox, and choke all the jealous -beggars off. I'd give this ten-pound note to do it," slapping his -pocket. - -"It may be done, Slowman," replied the Captain cautiously; "in fact, I -may say I have done it. But you must back me up; and, mind, never a -word." - -"I'm mum, sir. Mum as a gravestone." - -"Well, you see, Slowman, having found out what they are coming for, -I've a pill for them. You draw the six-acre oak spinny first. Well, -there will be a _drag_ from that over the stiffest country to Bolton -Mill. That's eight miles as the crow flies. There, under the lee of a -hedge, will be old Towler with a fresh-caught fox from their own -country. As he hears the hounds coming up he will let him loose. He's -not one of your three-legged ones, but a fresh one, caught only this -afternoon. I've seen him--such a trimmer! He'll lead them straight away -for their own country. And if the strangers, and old Spraggon, and -Jawleyford, and all the rest of them can see it through, they are -better men than I take them to be. I shall have my second horse ready -for me at the mill. And so had you better. I'll take the conceit out of -the beggars." - -"By the living Harry!" exclaimed the huntsman, "a grand idea. I must -draft Conqueror, Madcap, and Rasselas. They are dead on drags. But, -Captain, if the governors twig it?" - -"Not a bit, Slowman. They, as you know, won't go four miles." - -"Yes, sir, yes. I know all that. But if they should twig? They have the -coin, you know." The huntsman had his eye to the main chance. - -"But they will not, Slowman. Now, I will tell you a secret; but, mind, -it's between ourselves. Honour, you know." - -"Honour bright, Captain," replied the huntsman, laying his hand on his -heart. - -"Well, then, to-morrow at breakfast, Head and Over will announce their -intention of resigning." - -"No, sir; you don't mean it?" said the huntsman hastily. - -"I do," replied the Captain, "And I am going to take them on, and you -too. I am to be your M.F.H. It's all cut and dried. So you see you -should run no risk. But not a word of this." - -The huntsman sat with his mouth open, and at last uttered, "Dash my -boots and tops, Captain, but you are a trimmer! But," he continued, "if -we find a fox before we come on the drag?" - -"But you will not, Slowman. The cover is mine, and has been well hunted -through to-day, and will be to-morrow morning again. No fox will be -found there." - -The two sat for an hour and more talking and arranging matters, so that -there might be no failure on the morrow. And all having been -satisfactorily arranged, the Captain mounted his horse and rode home. - -The following morning--the last of the season--was all that could be -desired. A grey day with a southerly breeze. It was mild for the time -of year. Great were the preparations at Mr Head's house. He gave the -breakfast one year, Over the next. It was turn and turn about. - -As it was the last breakfast he was to give as an M.F.H., Head -determined it should be a good one. Mrs Head was great before her -massive silver tea set; and she had her daughter on her right to assist -her. - -At the time appointed Lord Wildrace, who had driven over in his mail -phaeton, put in an appearance in his No. 1 pink, closely followed by -Spraggon, who determined to have ample time for his breakfast. Then old -Jawleyford entered, and rushing up to the lady, declared it was too bad -of her not to have come over and seen them. At any rate, they would -come and spend a week with them soon at Jawleyford Court, would they -not? Then Soapy Sponge turned up, looking as smart and spruce as ever. - -We cannot go through the breakfast--or the speech of Mr Head, and the -other by Mr Over, or the regrets of the company on their resigning the -joint mastership, or the cheers on the announcement that Captain -Martaingail had consented to keep them on. - -"Devilish good feed," growled Jack Spraggon to Sponge, who was drawing -on his buckskin gloves. Jack was a little elevated; for he had not -spared the cherry-brandy or the milk punch. - -"It was that," replied his friend. "Feel as if you could ride this -morning, don't you?" - -"Yes, I can--always do; but no chance of it with such dogs as these." - -"Don't know about that," returned Sponge. "They generally find, and -kill too." - -Such a field had been rarely seen with the Sternum hounds--horsemen, -carriages, mounted ladies, all eager. - -"Let the whips be with you, or rather at the outside of the cover, to -keep the people back," whispered Captain Martaingail to the huntsman. -"I will go to the top of the cover when I give the view halloa. You -know what to do." - -"Certain of a fox, I suppose, Martaingail?" asked Lord Wildrace, as -they were smoking their cigars close to the hounds, who were drawn up -on a bit of greensward, giving the ten minutes' law for the late -comers. - -"It has never yet been drawn blank," returned the Captain. "Ah! there -goes Slowman with the hounds. Time's up." - -Cigar ends were now thrown away, girths tightened, stirrup-leathers -shortened or let down. - -The Captain stole into cover, and then galloped away to the far end. - -Presently a ringing tally-ho was heard. - -"Found quickly," growled Jack Spraggon, as he bustled along on Daddy -Longlegs to get a good place. - -"That's your sort, old cock!" ejaculated Sponge, as he dashed past him -on Hercules, throwing a lot of mud on Jack's spectacles from his -horse's hoofs. - -"Oh, you unrighteous snob!--you rusty-booted Cockney!" exclaimed -Spraggon, rubbing at his spectacles with the back of his gloved hand, -thereby daubing the mud all over the glasses, and making it worse. -"Just like you, you docked-tail humbug!" - -Too-too went Slowman's horn. "Give 'em time, gentlemen--give 'em time!" -he screamed, as he took the wattled fence from the spinny into the -fallow beyond. The hounds took up the drag at once, and raced away. - -"Yonder he goes!" exclaimed the captain, pointing with his whip to some -imaginary object, and, digging the latchfords into his horse, was away. - -The first fence was a flight of sheep-hurdles, stretching the whole way -across a large turnip field. Here Jawleyford on his old cob came to -grief, being sent flying right through his ears. - -"Sarve you right!" muttered Spraggon, as Daddy Longlegs took it in his -stride. "You would not do a bit of paper for me last week. May you lie -there for a month!" - -"Pick up the bits," roared Sponge to him as he galloped past, "and lay -in a fresh stock of that famous port of yours." - -But the hounds were carrying too good a head for much chaff. The -gentlemen of the Sternum hunt were riding like mad. Already horses -began to sob; for the pace was a rattler, and the country heavy. The -celebrated Rushpool brook was before them--that brook that so many have -plumbed the depth of. It wants a deal of doing. - -Lord Wildrace charged it, so did Spraggon; but both were in. Sponge, on -Hercules flew over. Slowman and the Captain did it a little lower down. -Head, Over, and a host of others galloped for a ford half a mile away. - -Out of a large field only eight or ten cleared the Rushpool brook. His -lordship and Spraggon were soon out and going; and their horses having -a fine turn of speed enabled them to come up with the hounds again; and -their checking for a few minutes, in consequence of some sheep having -stained the ground, let up the rest of the field on their now nearly -beaten horses. - -"Fastish thing, my Lord, is it not?" said Over to Lord Wildrace, who -was mopping his head with a scarlet silk pocket-handkerchief. - -"Yes," said the nobleman, turning his horse's head to the wind, -"devilish sharp. I'm cold, too. I wish I could see my second horse. I'm -pumped out." - -"Have a nip of brandy, Wildrace," said Captain Martaingail, offering -his silver flask. "Been in the water, I see--and a good many more, -too," casting his eyes on half a score of dripping objects. "It's a -very distressing jump to a horse, is that Rushpool brook. By gad, they -have hit off again!" - -Slowman knew well the line to cast his hounds, and they soon hit it -off, and went racing away again, heads up and sterns down. - -At last Bolton Mill was in sight, and here many got their second -horses, the head grooms from the other hunt having followed the -Captain's, and the joint masters' servants were there already. - -Spraggon was quickly on the back of The Dandy; but he was hardly up -before a view halloa was given in a field below them, and a hat held up -proclaimed their fox was ahead of them. - -"It's all right, Slowman," said Captain Martaingail, as the hounds -feathered on the line and took it up. - -"He's right away across the Tornops," shouted a keeper-looking man -(this was Towler, who had shaken the fox out) as the field came up, -"an' a-going like blue murder." - -The hunting was now not quite so fast, but they got on better terms -with their fox after a little, and settled well to him. - -A good stout fox he was too, and deserved a better fate. He led them -right into his own country, but before he could reach a friendly earth, -seven or eight miles from where he was shook out, the hounds ran into -him in the open. - -Some eight or ten of the field were in at the finish, and others came -up at intervals. - -"Here, gentlemen," exclaimed Slowman triumphantly, to the strangers -from a distance, "this is one of your foxes. I guess we sent him back -to you faster a precious deal than ever you sent him to us. Sorry we've -killed him, though, your dogs want blood, poor things. You've seen what -the Sternum hounds can do now! We're not to be laughed at, are we?" - -This impudent speech had not much effect generally, but several -gentlemen turned away disgusted. - -The run was quoted in every sporting paper; and it was years and years -before people forgot the great Rushpool Brook run, the last of the -season. - -The hounds had achieved a reputation, and Captain Martaingail took care -they should not lose it. He carried the horn himself after he took to -them, Slowman acting as first whip; he drafted most of the hounds, and -got together a fresh pack, that were not only good-looking, but could -go too. But the dogs never lost the name of the "_Sternum-super-caput_" -hounds. - - -Whilst I am on the subject of hunting, I may as well tell you a funny -story which happened to a friend of mine; this took place near London, -and although I did not come so badly off as my friend, yet I was -nowhere at the finish. - -It is of a thorough cockney that I am about to write; of one who made -the City his home; did a little in Stocks and on 'Change: he had done -so well on it that he had four hunters standing not a hundred miles -from the Angel at Islington. Thither he used to go of an evening on the -'bus to his snug little chambers, to which was attached a capital -stable with four loose boxes, and in these four boxes stood four -decentish nags. I don't know that they were reliable fencers, but they -could gallop; they were bang up to the mark--well done, well groomed, -and well clothed. - -Frank Cropper was proud of his horses, and his stud-groom, Dick, was -his right hand in all matters. Dick, though he professed to have a -profound knowledge of horses, in reality knew nothing about them, and -had to thank his strappers for the condition and fettle they were in. - -But Dick was great at getting up leathers and top boots, was extremely -fond of dress, turned out well, and though he could not ride a yard, -led every one to believe he was invincible in the saddle. - -He was grand when he used to dodge about in the lanes after the -Puddleton currant-jelly dogs, riding his master's second horse. Cropper -thought it the correct thing to have out a second horse with the -harriers. No one ever saw Cropper or his man take a fence; they used to -gallop through places or fences that had been smashed by some one -before them, or creep through gaps made in hedges. - -Occasionally he used to honour the Queen's with his presence; there he -did it in grand style, sent his horses down by rail, or drove down in -his cart, with his brown-holland overalls on, covering his boots and -spotless buckskins from the smallest particle of dust or dirt; the -overalls he would have taken off with a grand flourish just before the -hounds moved away, and mounted his horse with the grandest possible -air, telling Dick to ride to points, and to be sure to be handy with -his second horse; but, somehow or other, he never got his second horse; -Dick always mistook the line of country. - -Once or twice Cropper had been known to grace the Epping Forest Hunt on -an Easter Monday; but, somehow or other, Frank did not speak much of -this: why, I know not. - -"Dick," said his master one morning as he sat at breakfast, "the day -after to-morrow is the last of the season--at least, the last day of -any hounds I can get to; so I mean to have a turn with the ---- -staghounds." - -"Do you, sir? I wouldn't if I were you, sir; hate that calf-hunting. -The Queen's ain't up to my ideas of huntin'; no staghounds are; but -these hounds are duffers; the master's a duffer, the huntsman is a -duffer, the whips are duffers, and so are the hounds. No, sir, be -Cardinal Wiseman, and go with the ---- pack." - -"No, Dick, I have made up my mind to see these hounds; it's a certain -find; open the door of the cart and out pops your stag. It's the last -day of the season, and I mean to have a good gallop." - -"Very well, sir. You will go down by rail, I suppose?" - -"Yes, Dick, yes; by rail. You will go on by the eight o'clock train. I -shall follow by the ten." - -"All right, sir." And they separated, the man to look to his stable and -things, the master to do a little on 'Change. - -Frank Cropper went in for a good breakfast on the morning of the last -of the season, took plenty of jumping powder in the shape of Kentish -cherry brandy, and topped it up with some curaçoa. - -"I feel," says Cropper, as he got into the train, and was talking to -some City friends who were bound on the same errand as myself; "I feel, -my boys, that I shall take the lead to-day, and keep it, too. Ha, ha! -What do you think of that? A church would not stop me. Temple Bar I -should take in my stride, if my horse could jump it. I'm chockful of go -this morning; I shall distinguish myself." - -"Or extinguish yourself," remarked one. - -Cigars and an occasional nip at their pocket pistols whiled away the -time till the train arrived at its destination; there, Cropper and -another took a fly, and drove the three miles they had to go. They were -quite determined they would not dirt their boots or spotless leathers -by a three miles' ride; they would appear at the meet as bright as -their No. 1 pinks, Day & Martin, and Probert's paste could make them. - -"There they are!" exclaimed Cropper's friend, as he caught sight of the -hounds drawn up on a small common. "By Jupiter, but there's a lot out! -it's the last day of the season." - -Cropper descended from the fly in all the glories of his ulster coat -and overalls; his horses were there under the charge of spicy-looking -Master Dick. - -The overalls were slipped off, and, with the ulster, consigned to the -driver to leave at the station; and our hero mounted his horse and was -ready for the fray. - -Now, this meet not being far from town, and a large number of the -London division being present, the worthy master, having a proper -regard for his hounds, thought a few jumps might choke off a good many -who would press upon the hounds. So he had the deer uncarted some -three-quarters of a mile from where they were, the van containing him -was backed not very far from a flight of sheep-hurdles, and a double -line of foot people being formed, the door of the cart opened and out -leapt the stag. Looking around him for an instant, he started away at a -quick trot, and then, as the shouting became louder, commenced to -canter, cleared the hurdles, and was away. - -"Lot of these London cads down here to-day," remarked young Lord -Reckless to his friend Sir Henry Careful. "Don't know, 'pon my soul, -what they come here for." - -"For about the same reason you do--to see the hounds, and get a fall or -two." - -"Ah, that's all very fine," retorted his Lordship, "for you to say so. -You never ride at anything, therefore you are pretty safe. I ride at -everything." - -"But never by any chance get over," interrupted the baronet, "except -through your horse's ears." - -What more they said was cut short by the hounds coming up on the line -of the stag, and racing away. - -I got over the hurdles all right, and so did most of the field; but at -the second fence I was down. And I saw Cropper unseated at the same -instant, and his horse galloping wildly away at the third fence. Dick -was shot through his horse's ears into the next field. - -I was rushing about for mine, over my ankles in mud, when I encountered -Frank Cropper and his man Dick in the middle of the slough. - -"Where the deuce is my second horse?" roared Cropper to his servant. "I -thought I told you to ride him to the points." - -"So I was going to, sir; but he stumbled, and unshipped me." - -"Good heavens! what is to be done?" exclaimed Cropper. "I shall lose -the run. Here, you fellows," to a lot of countrymen about, "catch the -horses--half-a-crown each for them." - -But the nags were not so easily caught, and it was half an hour before -they were secured. Both I and Cropper were wet and cold; so, leaving -Dick to go on with the horses by train to London, and get the coats at -the station, Cropper and I started on foot to walk there. He was too -bruised and cold to ride; so was I. - -You may suppose that the remarks we heard going along were not -complimentary: "Two gents in scarlet as has been throwed from their -'orses, and a-stumping of it home," etc. - -At last I was getting nearly beat, and so was my friend, when we espied -a fly coming along the road. In it was seated Warner of the Welsh Harp -at Hendon. Taking pity on us, he gave us a lift, and drove us to the -nearest station, and we reached London in due time. - -This was the last of my hunting experiences. I got disgusted with it, -and sold my horses. Having read flaming accounts from Cook's tourists, -some of whom had been round the world in ninety days, I packed up my -guns and some clothes, and started for America. - -I did not remain long in New York, as I was anxious to commence -shooting. So I was not long in getting to the small town of ----, and, -putting up at the best hotel the place afforded, which was not a very -good one, sent for the landlord. - -"Wall, Britisher, I'm glad to see yeu," commenced the American -Boniface, coolly seating himself on the table, and commencing spitting -at a bluebottle fly on the floor. "So yeu've come here to see our -glorious American Constitootion. Wall, I guess yeu'll be pretty -considerable surprised--tarnation surprised, doggoned if you won't. -We're an almighty nation, we air. Going a-shooting, air yeu? Wall, I -calkerlate we've got more game hereabouts than would fill all London, -and enough ships in our little river the Mississi-pi to tow your little -island across the broad Atlantic--we hev, indeed, stranger. There's -lots of grouse; but nary a buffeler, bar, nor alligater about here. But -I s'pose yeu means to take up yer fixins here in this feather-bed bully -hotel afore yeu makes tracks?" - -I assured him such was my intention. - -"Wall, then, stranger, what will yeu like?--cocktail, mint julip, -brandy smash, or cobbler? I've a few festive cusses in the bar as will -tell yeu all about the shooting. Let's hev a licker-up with them." - -To this I assented, and walked into another room with him, where there -were Yankees of all descriptions. - -I determined to make myself popular, and stood drinks to any amount. - -"Bust my gizzard, but yeu air a ripper!" exclaimed my tall friend. "He -air, ain't he, bully boys?" - -What more they said was drowned in a terrific row which took place at -the other end of the apartment. - -"Hillo!" shouted my tall friend. "Come on, stranger, if yeu want to see -our pertikelur customs of this hemisphere. Bet my boots it's Bully -Larkins and that old 'oss from Calerforney. Go it, my cockeys!" he -screamed out as he mounted on a table, "go it, old coon!" alluding to -one of the combatants; "go it! Billy's a-gaining on yeu, and if yeu -don't look out he'll riz yer har with his bowie knife, gouge yer eye, -and fetch yeu out of yer boots--he will, by----!" - -Such a fearful row I never heard. All were in a state of frenzied -excitement--knives glittered in the hands of many. Whilst all this was -going on I made my way out of the apartment, and locked and bolted -myself in my own. - -In half an hour my landlord came to the door, and knocked for -admission. - -"It's all over, stranger," he said as he entered. "Old Calerforney -carved two of Bully Larkins' fingers off with his bowie, and Larkins -bit off half t'other's nose. I guess he ain't beautiful. They're -festive cusses here, and air always at it. Nary a day passes without a -free fight." - -I need hardly say the next day I took my departure for New York, and -was off to England by the first boat. I had had quite enough of my -American friends and their notions. - -I have given up sporting, as I found I could make no hand at it. I -shoot occasionally for amusement, and fish occasionally, but never lay -down the law as an authority. - - - - -MY FIRST DAY'S FOX-HUNTING - - -But that was six or seven years ago, and I frankly admit that then I -was a very indifferent horseman, although I was in happy ignorance of -the fact--in its integrity. I was quite conscious that I did not ride -very gracefully or over-comfortably, but I always discovered that the -fault was my horse's and not mine. My cousins used to think otherwise, -and I have spent hours at a time in trying to induce them to give up -their opinions on the subject and to adopt mine. I should explain that -my cousins being orphans, and my father being their guardian, they -lived with us as part of our family, and that whenever they rode out -they seemed to think they had a right to insist upon my accompanying -them. I at length got tired of riding out with my fair cousins, and of -hearing them titter as, at their suggestion, we went down steep hills -at full trot (I confess I was never great at trotting down hill), and -so I resolved to take to _hunting_. I had heard that some horses, -though the worst of hacks, made the best of hunters; and I thought that -something of that kind might apply to horsemen also, and that I myself -might shine more in the field than I did on the road. It was the end of -February, and the Coverbury pack were meeting three times a week at -places within easy reach of the Stonington Station. That was jolly! I -could buy a hunter, keep him at Philley's livery-stables, and on -hunting-days send him by train to Stonington, meet him, have a day's -hunting unknown to my cousins, and thus enjoy myself with perfect -freedom. I at once drew a cheque for £50, with which I determined to -buy the best hunter in all Blankshire! I called at Philley's and told -him of my intention, and asked him how much a week he would require to -"board and lodge" my steed when purchased. The man smiled--he seemed to -have a habit of smiling; but seeing from the seriousness of my manner -that I was in earnest, he replied that his charge for keeping the horse -would be thirty shillings a week; and he added that if I wished to buy -a "slapping" hunter he'd got just the horse for my money. "Of course," -said he, "you don't want a pony, but a good tall horse as'll keep you -out of the dirt; and," he added, scanning my figure from top to toe, -"you don't want no cart-horse to carry your weight neither." I admitted -that my ideas on the subject coincided with his exactly, and he at once -called to a stable-boy to bring out Iron Duke. - -"There," said Philley, as the horse was trotted into the yard, "you -might go a day's march and not come across such a hunter as -that--extraordinary animal, I assure you, sir." Not understanding the -points of a horse, I deemed it prudent to indorse all that Iron Duke's -owner chose to say in his praise; and I was thus compelled to -acknowledge that his superior height (over sixteen hands), long legs, -and slender build, gave him an advantage over every other horse I had -seen in my life, as regards carrying a light-weight over a -high-stone-wall country. - -As we stood discussing the merits of the horse I happened to turn -round, and there I saw the stable-boy grinning and "tipping the wink" -to a companion. This aroused my suspicions that all mightn't be right; -so instead of at once buying and paying for the horse, I mustered up -courage to say, "Well, Mr Philley, I like the horse's appearance, but -are his paces as good as his looks? Will you let me try him with the -Coverbury pack to-morrow?" Mr Philley paused, thought a few moments, -and then observed somewhat solemnly, "Iron Duke, you see, sir, is a -very valuable horse, dirt cheap at fifty pounds; in fact, it's giving -him away, it is really, and I shouldn't like anything to happen to a -horse like that whilst he's mine. We don't generally let him out for -hunting; he's too good for most of our customers. But I'll tell yer -what we'll do; we'll let you have him to-morrow for two guineas, and -then (if you have no accident with him, as of course a gentleman like -you won't) you can please yourself whether you have him or not. But if -you _should_ have an accident--of course accidents _will_ happen -sometimes--why, then the horse will be yours and the fifty pounds -mine." These terms seemed fair, and I accepted them, though not before -they had banished my suspicions, and almost induced me to buy and pay -for the horse there and then. - -In the morning I called at Philley's for my hunter, and the boy brought -him out bridled and saddled. As he stood straight in front of me his -tall slim-built figure looked as sharp as a knife. I ventured to -express this idea, but being doubtful as to whether sharpness was a -good point or a bad one, I did so in a manner which might be taken as -in earnest or in jest. The dealer chose to take it in the latter sense, -and after laughing heartily at my "good joke," assured me that I should -find my horse "as clever as a cat." I then attempted to mount, and -after some time (during which the ostler gave me a "leg up" _and over -the other side_) I was successful. The stirrup-straps having been -adjusted, I set out for the station; and in my journey thither I was -conscious that the commanding presence of my horse and the easy -graceful attitude of his rider were fully appreciated by the numerous -passers-by who stopped to stare at us--doubtless in admiration. One -thing, though, nettled me a bit. Just as I got opposite the club, and -was waving my whip to Fitz-Jones, De Brown, and some other fellows who -were standing in the portico, my horse shied at a wheelbarrow, and I -had some difficulty in getting comfortable in the saddle again. I -gently remonstrated with the boy who was wheeling the barrow for not -getting out of my way, when the impudent little scoundrel turned round -and shouted, "Oh, crikey! yer ain't very safe up there! Get inside; -safer inside!" Whereupon the whole of the bystanders, including my -friends of the club, burst out laughing. I, of course, could not -descend from my high horse to chastise the young urchin, and as I -couldn't think of anything smart to say to him, I treated him with the -silent contempt he deserved, and rode on. But still, as I said before, -this nettled me. - -With the exception of this trifling _contretemps_, I arrived safely at -Stonington Wood, the place appointed for the meet. There was a good -muster of ladies and gentlemen on horseback (some ten or fourteen of -the gentlemen in scarlet coats), and a condescending old gentleman with -grey hair, neatly trimmed whiskers, and rosy cheeks, remarked that -there was a "good field," but I couldn't see it. All that I could see -in the shape of a field was a small patch of turnips enclosed with a -stone wall, the remainder of the surrounding country being common and -wood, or, as I afterwards learned to call it, "cover." I soon began to -appreciate my Iron Duke, for I found that he was the tallest horse -there, and his legs seemed as light as an antelope's in comparison with -the legs of the other animals, some of which seemed almost as heavy as -cart-horses'. - -The clock of the village church struck eleven, and three or four of the -men in scarlet began to whip the dogs to make them go into the wood. I -thought it was the proper thing to imitate their example, and seeing -one of the dogs scrambling up the wall I instantly rode up and gave him -what I thought a "lift up behind" with my whip. To my astonishment the -animal, instead of going over into the wood, tumbled down at my feet -and yelped most piteously. Iron Duke, not liking the noise, turned -round suddenly and kicked out, and the hound had an almost miraculous -escape of having his skull cracked. All this happened in less than a -minute, and seemed to cause a "great sensation," for two or three of -the roughest of the men in scarlet were instantly attacked with a fit -of cursing and swearing, of which I took no notice, believing it to be -lavished on the head of the unfortunate hound. But I soon had my -doubts; for one of the gentlemen in scarlet rode up to me, and with -much severity informed me that he could not have his hounds "served in -that way." I protested that it was an accident, and that I thought -"there could be no harm in doing what the others did." With this -explanation he seemed quite satisfied, for he at once left me, and even -smiled as he did so. The dog must have been a young one, for as I -passed two gentlemen who were doubtless discussing puppies in general, -and I suppose him in particular, I overheard one of them say, "He's -evidently green." The dogs having got safely into cover, the ladies and -gentlemen began to ride along the outside of the wood--cover, I -mean--and I did the same, taking care, though, to keep well in the -rear, that I might see what the others did. I kept clear of every one I -could possibly avoid, as I found that the people who hunted at -Stonington indulged in a peculiar kind of slang which I could not well -understand. I had not gone far before I heard a loud laughing in my -rear. I seemed to be familiar with the sound. I turned "about" in the -saddle, and who should I see but my cousins, not twenty yards behind -me! I was inclined to go home, and I should have done so only I saw -that my cousins, besides being attended by Evans in livery, were -accompanied by their old schoolfellow, Miss Trafford, a young lady to -whom I had been introduced at our last county ball. To enjoy her -presence I determined to brave all. I turned my horse round and raised -my hat as much as the tight guard would let me, and in another moment I -was at the mercy of my tormentors. "Ha! ha! ha!" laughed my cousin -Emily; "we saw you stealing out of the garden gate at six o'clock this -morning." "Yes," chimed in Julia, "and with those splendid top-boots -on! You thought to avoid us, did you?" "I say, Adolphus," continued -Emily, "when you hire a horse-box again, and don't want anyone to know, -don't let your name and destination be labelled on it like an -advertisement! Ha! ha! ha!" I was completely sold, and I was obliged to -acknowledge it; and when I heard that my cousins had actually ridden -ten miles to the meet, whilst I had come by train, I felt that I must -do something to retrieve my reputation in the eyes of Miss Trafford. - -The cover was a very large one, and whilst we had been talking all the -people had disappeared. I told the ladies where the dogs were; and -Emily at once came to the conclusion that, if we went round the other -way, which was shorter, we should meet the "field" at "Keeper's Clump." -Acting on this suggestion, we turned back and cantered round to the -other side of the cover. As we did so I felt that field-riding was my -_forte_; it was so much more comfortable than hard road-riding, and I -at once resolved to make hunting my study and only amusement. My -cousins continued to tease me as we went along; but to my delight Miss -Trafford sided with me, thus giving me confirmation of the hope I had -cherished at the ball, that she was not indifferent to the attentions I -then paid her, slight as those attentions necessarily were. - -Our passage of arms was suspended by our arrival at the far end of the -cover, where the field were awaiting, as I was informed, the decision -of the master as to what cover to "draw" next. I wondered whether they -had any artists with them, and what good could come of _drawing_ a -cover with which nearly every one seemed familiar. But this is -parenthetical. A stone wall, about four feet high, separated us from -the rest of the field. - -"What have you lost?" said Emily to me, as my eyes wandered up and down -the wall. - -"Nothing," I replied; "I am looking for the gate." - -"Then you are looking for something you won't find this side a mile and -a half; that's the road--over the wall. Come! give us a lead." - -Here was a pretty state of things! I, who had never in my life been -over anything higher than a mushroom or wider than a gutter, and who -had in my charge three ladies, suddenly required to give them a lead -over a four-feet wall, in presence of the whole field! The perspiration -stood in great drops on my brow, and I would have given any amount if I -could but have sunk into my boots. But I couldn't; and all eyes being -on me (including _her's_) I had no time to say my prayers. I had to -choose at once between disgrace and the chance of being "sent to my -account with all my imperfections on my head." One glance at Miss -Trafford decided me; and I put my horse's head towards the wall and -then my spurs into his sides. When I was within three feet my courage -failed me, and I pulled up; but it was _too late_. Iron Duke had -already risen; and in doing so had nearly rolled me off, first over the -cantle and then the pommel. Ten thousand years rolled over my devoted -head in these few moments, and then all was still--_i.e._, as regards -motion; but my ears were assailed by a deafening cheer--mixed, I must -candidly admit, with some laughter. When I "came to," I discovered that -I was still alive, and still in the saddle, and that my horse was, in -the most matter-of-fact way possible, spanning the wall like a bridge, -fore-legs on one side, hind-legs on the other. I hastily congratulated -myself that things were no worse, and then began to consider what was -the proper step to be taken by a man in my situation. "Pull him back!" -"Job him over!" "Stick to him!" "Get off!" and similar advice came to -me from every quarter. I resolved to act on the "get off" principle; -and with some difficulty I _did_ get off, taking care to be on the -right side. I then endeavoured to pull the horse over with the reins; -but he resisted with all the obstinacy of a costermonger's -donkey--which circumstance seemed to add to the amusement of the field, -for their laughter increased. Growing desperate, I slashed my whip -several times over the animal's neck; at which treatment he kicked and -plunged until, to my great delight, he kicked the wall down! - -"Thank you for your easy lead, my dear cousin Adolphus!" said Emily, as -she and the two other ladies came through the breach in the wall. - -"You're quite welcome," I was about to reply, when I was interrupted by -a coarse-looking lad, whose spindle-like legs were covered with -breeches and gaiters. - -"I say, guv'nur," said he, "you rode your horse over that there wall -about as well as I'd a-rode my mother's clothes-horse over!--do it -again, do!" - -The ladies could not refrain from laughter, in which I made a miserable -attempt at joining them; and then I tried to remount. But this was a -difficult task; for my legs were short, my horse's were long, and his -recent adventure had made him fidgety, and I was at last reduced to the -necessity of accepting an offer from the lad with the spindle legs to -give me a "leg-up." With his assistance (for which I gave him sixpence, -and I have no doubt he threw his bad joke into the bargain) I managed -to scramble into the saddle again. As we rode to the next cover I felt -exceedingly sheepish, and the unfeeling laughter of my cousins, added -to the now cool manner of Miss Trafford, and the quiet grimaces of old -Evans, the groom (who of course kept pretty close to us), made me -desperate, and I was determined to do something to recover my lost -prestige, even if the next day's _Times_ had to record a "Fatal -accident in the hunting-field at Stonington." Emily asked me tauntingly -whether I had "done leaping for to-day?" - -"Not exactly," I replied; "I intend----" - -"Will you take a lead from me?" she interrupted. - -"I'll take any lead that _you_ dare give me," I replied haughtily. - -"Done!" - -And she had no sooner said the word than the fox broke from the cover, -about two hundred yards in front of us, followed in a few moments by -the hounds, so close together that (as I afterwards heard one gentleman -remark to another) you might have covered them with a blanket. Away -they went, and away went we after them. My enthusiasm was raised to the -utmost pitch, and I was determined to stop at nothing. Emily and Julia -kept on my left, a few yards in advance, whilst Miss Trafford, on my -right, kept about the same distance in my rear. The fox, luckily, had -taken the open, and the ladies prophesied a half-hour's run with no -checks. But before ten minutes of it were over, I perceived, about a -hundred yards in front of us, a thick, well-laid quickset hedge, about -four feet high, and as we neared it I thought I saw water glistening on -the other side. There was no escape; my time had come; I was led in -front, and driven in rear; and leap I must. - -"Now for your lead!" cried Emily, waving her whip in the air as she -cleared the fence and the brook beyond it. My horse followed -bravely--and so should I, if I hadn't, by some unfortunate mishap or -other, rolled out of the saddle, and in the midst of my victory fallen -into the brook! As I lay sprawling on my back, and before I had time to -think where I was, I saw the belly of Miss Trafford's horse as he -carried her over the fence, the brook, and me! - -"Stop my horse! stop my horse!" I roared, as I came dripping wet out of -the brook. "Stop my horse!" But I earnestly hoped that no one would -stop him, for this last _contretemps_ had considerably damped my ardour -and cooled my courage; and I thought that if nobody _did_ "stop my -horse," he would eventually find his way to the pound; and his absence -would afford me a decent pretext for going home. To my horror, though, -Iron Duke was brought back by the wretched lad of the spindle legs. "Be -the saddle greased, sir?" said he, wiping it with his nasty dirty -pocket handkerchief. I could have kicked him, and should have done so, -only I thought he might have kicked back, and so I swallowed his -affront, and actually gave him another sixpence. Having learned from -him the road to the station, I was just stealing off when I heard in my -rear the cry of "Tally-ho back!" The fox had come back--doubled, I -mean--and I was forced to join the others and run after him again. But, -fortunately for me, he did not run far before the dogs caught him and -killed him, and then one of the men in scarlet cut off his nice long -tail and gave it to Emily. She actually accepted it, although I am -nearly sure she had never seen the man before in her life! I thought -young ladies ought to accept presents from no gentlemen but their -relatives and accepted suitors; and, besides, I don't believe that this -man _was_ a gentleman, for when I whipped the hound to make him get -over the wall (which, as I have before stated, he most unreasonably -declined to do), this fellow was the loudest in his oaths and curses, -which he showered broadcast on the hound, or my horse, or something--I -have never ascertained what--and in the presence of ladies! Emily said -something about making a hair-brush of the fox's tail (what an absurd -idea! but she always was queer); and as the man cut off the fox's head, -she gave me to understand that that would be mine if I asked for it. I -_did_ ask for it; but for some unaccountable reason or other, I _didn't -get it_. The remainder of the poor fox was thrown to the dogs, who soon -tore him to pieces and ate him. It occurred to my philosophic mind, as -I witnessed this spectacle, that the fox, like me, was a hero; but, -also like me, an unsuccessful one. What a number of men, women, horses, -and dogs to conquer one little fox! These and similar reflections were -soon cut short, for the dogs having finished their lunch, the men and -women began to think about theirs; in fact, Sir John Hausie had invited -them all, including me, to lunch with him at the Manor House, about -half a mile distant. As we journeyed thither I began to feel very -uncomfortable, for my coat, waistcoat, and shirt, although not dirty -(for the water in the brook was clean), were wet through, and, the -warmth of exercise and enthusiasm having subsided, I felt very cold. -When we arrived at Sir John's, I was so stiff with cold that I could -scarcely dismount, which Sir John observing, he came and very kindly -accosted me. He also inquired as to the cause of my fall--spill, he -called it--and offered me the loan of a coat whilst mine was hastily -dried at the kitchen fire. Sir John was an exceedingly pleasant man, -and had a jolly, cheerful, laughing face, and we soon understood each -other. I accepted his proferred loan with many thanks, and then took -Miss Trafford in to lunch. As I sat by her side in the baronet's coat, -and gracefully helped her to sherry, the frost of her manner gradually -thawed; and when we returned to remount we were as jolly as -topers--sand-boys, I mean. I of course assisted her to get into the -saddle; but I was so stiff and so giddy (from the excitement of the -morning) that I very nearly let her down. We were some time without -finding another fox; and as my cousins had gone off with old Evans and -Captain De la Grace, and as Miss Trafford seemed so amiable, I -determined to improve the occasion. We were on the common just outside -Sir John's park, the beauties of which I was very particular in -admiring; and having thus got Miss Trafford to lag behind, I took the -opportunity of unbosoming my heart to her. I got very excited, and my -voice trembled with emotion (or something of that sort), as I made her -a pathetic offer of my heart and hand. I paused (as well as my -excitement would allow me, for it had brought on the hiccups), and she -replied. I can't remember exactly what she said, but it was something -about sparing me the pain of a refusal, and about not marrying a man -who couldn't take a fence. I offered to jump the park wall if she would -only listen to my suit. She agreed; and bracing up all my spirits, I -rode full tilt at the wall; and over I went, leaving my horse on the -wrong side! And as I turned an involuntary somersault I thought I heard -sounds like "the receding foot-steps of a cantering horse." (_Note._--This -is a quotation from some lines I afterwards wrote to Miss Trafford.) -There was then a slight break in the thread of my thoughts, and after -that I found myself lying in the midst of some young fir-trees, whilst -Iron Duke was quietly browsing on the leafless twigs of a tree on the -other side of the wall. Gentle reader! I am sure you must feel for my -unfortunate position. I will not torture you further by relating the -painful particulars of how I scrambled over the wall; how I got on Iron -Duke, only to tumble off again; how I nearly broke my neck before I got -home; how Philley declared I had broken the horse's knees; how he made -me pay £50 for the animal; how I sold him the next week for £10 (less -£2 for carriage); and, worst of all, how Miss Trafford jilted me, and -my cousins--cruel girls--laughed at my misfortunes and made sport of my -troubles. Indeed, with all these we have nothing to do, for they -happened after "My First Day's Fox-hunting." - - - - -MY FIRST AND LAST STEEPLE-CHASE - - -In the year 1859, the Irish militia regiment in which I had the honour -to hold a commission was disembodied; but, as a reward for our -distinguished services at Portsmouth, where we mounted guard daily on -the dockyards for more than twelve months, each subaltern was presented -with a gratuity of six months' pay--a boon that must have been highly -appreciated at the time by our much-enduring and long-suffering -tailors, into whose pockets most of the money, in the end, found its -way. - -Dick Maunsel, the senior lieutenant, and myself were cousins, and (as -the old chief never lost a chance of telling us when we got into -trouble) "always hunted in couples." Our fathers' allowance had been -liberal. We were free from debt--that "Old Man of the Sea," which too -often hangs like a millstone about the British subaltern's neck--and, -finding ourselves at liberty, as a matter of course determined to go -off somewhere and get rid of our pay together. Much beer and tobacco -were consumed in the various "corobberys" held to talk the matter over; -and at length it was decided that we should take a lodge at a small -watering-place, well known to both, on the south-west coast of Ireland, -and there abide until something better turned up. - -I don't think, under the circumstances, we could have made a much -better choice. The salmon and sea-fishing were excellent; when the -shooting season came round, most of the moors in the neighbourhood were -free to us. The summer had been unusually hot; we were tired of town -life, and longing to divest ourselves of the "war paint," "bury the -hatchet," and get away to some quiet bay by the Atlantic, where we -could do what seemed right in our own eyes, free from the eternal -pipeclay and conventionalities with which we had been hampered. "Last, -not least," at a ball given before the regiment left Ireland, we had -met two girls, sisters, who usually spent the season there, and, if the -truth must be told, I believe they had hit us so hard we were -"crippled" from flying very far. So, after an impartial distribution of -the regimental plate, and a rather severe night at mess, to finish the -remains of the cellar, we bade farewell to our companions in arms, and -found ourselves once more in "dear old dirty Dublin," _en route_ for -the south. - -One evening, about six weeks after our arrival at Aunaghmore, we were -lying on the cliffs, watching the trawlers as they drifted slowly up -with the tide. The day had been dark and misty, with some thunder far -out at sea; but it cleared up as the sun went down, and I was pointing -out to Dick, who had been unusually silent, the remarkable likeness -between the scene before us and one of Turner's best-known pictures, -when he interrupted me suddenly, saying-- - -"I'll tell you a story, Frank. When a boy, I remember starting one -morning with poor Ferguson (the owner of Harkaway) to ride one of his -horses in a private match. We took a short cut across an old mountain -road, and coming out on the brow of the hill which commanded one of the -finest views in Ireland, I pulled up my horse to call Ferguson's -attention to it. 'For heaven's sake, sir,' he said impatiently, 'think -on something that will do you good.' And just at this moment, old man, -I feel half inclined to agree with him. How much money have you left?" - -Without speaking, I handed him my purse, the contents of which he -counted slowly over, saying, "I think we shall have enough." - -"Enough for what?" I asked. - -"For a ball," he replied coolly. "The people here have been very civil -to us, and we owe them some return. There are plenty of girls in the -neighbourhood to make a very good one; men are scarce; but we can ask -the "Plungers" over from ---- Barracks. Besides, I promised Emily last -night, and there's no getting out of it." - -I ventured mildly to suggest that the regiment didn't get out of the -last under a couple of hundred, and that we had not half that between -us. - -"My dear fellow," he replied, "this is quite another affair altogether. -We can borrow the club archery tent for a ballroom. There are many -things, game, &c., to be had for nothing here. My sisters are coming -over on a visit; they will look after the details. It will be a great -success, and we shall only have wine and lights to pay for." - -"And how far," I asked, with a slight sneer, "will the money left go in -getting those, not to speak of other essentials that must be provided?" - -"I have arranged all that as well," answered Dick, with the air of a -man who had thoroughly mastered the subject. "The races here come off -the end of August. There is a £50 Plate to be run for on the flat, and -a steeple-chase as well. I know all the horses likely to start. With -one exception (Father B.'s) ours can give them a stone for either -event. The priest can't run his horse; the new bishop has been down on -him. We can send for ours: plenty of time for a rough preparation. -Thanks to the hot weather, and that confounded drill, you can still -ride eleven stone. There now, what more do you want? Come along to the -lodge, and we will talk the matter over comfortably." - -I certainly had my misgivings as to the practicability of Dick's -scheme, but knew him too long and well to doubt his attempting it at -all events. I could, of course, refuse to join, and leave him to his -own devices; but we had pulled through too many scrapes together for -that. To do him justice, he generally succeeded in whatever he -undertook; and whether it was owing to his eloquence, some of his -father's old claret, or both combined, before we separated that night I -had entered heart and soul into his plans. - -We lost no time in commencing our preparations. Within a week the -horses had arrived; then Dick's sisters--two fine light-hearted girls, -full of fun and mischief--came over. After that there was no rest for -me. No unhappy adjutant of a newly-embodied militia or volunteer -regiment ever had more or a greater variety of work on hand. Sunrise -generally found me in the saddle, giving the horses a gallop on the -sands--a performance which had to be repeated twice during the day, -Dick's weight, some sixteen stone, preventing him from giving me any -assistance. I was overhead in love, besides, and four hours at least -had to be devoted to the object of my affections. We kept open house; -game and fish had to be provided for the larder, and the girls were -always wanting something or other from the neighbouring town, which -they declared only I could get; so between all, my time was fully -occupied, and seemed to fly. - -If Mr Mill's bill for giving ladies the franchise had been in force -then, I think Dick and myself would have had a fair chance of -representing the county. So soon as our intention to give a race ball -was known, we became the most popular men in it. Offers of supplies and -assistance came pouring in from all quarters. Plate, china, and glass -arrived so fast, and in such quantities, the lodge could not contain -them, and we were obliged to pitch the tent. As the time drew near, the -preparation and bustle increased tenfold. Our life was one continual -picnic. From early morning until late at night, the house was crowded -with girls laughing, flirting, trying on ball-dresses, and assisting in -the decorating of the tent. We never thought of sitting down to dinner, -but took it where, when, and how we could. _Ay de mi!_ I have been in -some hospitable houses since, where the owners kept _chefs_, and prided -themselves, not unjustly, on the quality of their cellars; but I never -enjoyed myself so much, and, I fear, never shall, as those scrambling -dinners, though the bill of fare often consisted of cold grouse, washed -down by a tankard of beer--taken, too, standing in the corner of a -pantry, surrounded by a host of pretty girls, all of them engaged in -teasing and administering to my wants. - -Early one morning, about a week before the races were to come off, I -was engaged as usual, exercising Dick's hunter on the course, when, at -a little distance, I saw a horse in body-clothes cantering along with -that easy stride peculiar to thorough-breds. For some time the rider -appeared anxious to avoid me, increasing the pace as I came near, until -the animal I rode, always headstrong, broke away and soon ranged -alongside. - -"Whose horse is that?" I inquired of the groom. - -"My master's, yer honour," he replied, without a smile, slackening his -pace at the same time, as mine raced past. - -When I succeeded in pulling up again, the fellow was galloping away in -another direction. I had seen enough, however: there was no mistaking -those flat sinewy legs. So, setting the horse's head straight for the -lodge, I went up to Dick's room. He was in bed, but awake; and though -his face slightly lengthened when I told him I was certain the priest's -horse had arrived, he answered coolly enough-- - -"You need not look so serious, Frank; at the worst, it is only a case -of selling Madman, and I have had a good offer for him. It is too bad -of the priest, though, to spoil our little game. They told me the -bishop had sat on him; but of course he will run in another name. I -should have known an old fox like that would have more than one earth. -He won't be able to go in for the double event, that is certain. His -horse can't jump. The steeplechase is ours; so come and have a swim. -After breakfast we will see what can be done." - -Unfortunately there was no help for it. The priest's horse had carried -off a Queen's Plate at the Curragh, and, safe and well at the post, -could win as he pleased. It was too late for us to draw back, however, -even if we were disposed that way. The invitations for the ball (which -was to come off the night of the races) were out. So, consoling -ourselves as well as it was possible under the circumstances, we -continued our preparations, looking well after the horses, determined -not to throw away a chance. - -Misfortunes seldom come alone. The day before the race, so ardently -looked forward to, arrived at last. I had been engaged in unpacking the -flowers that were arriving all the afternoon from the neighbouring -conservatories, while Dick was amusing himself brewing cold punch in -the lodge. The girls were out walking; and, when my work was over, I -took a stroll along the beach to meet them. Up to this time the weather -had been glorious; such a summer and autumn as few could remember: but -now I saw, with some anxiety, there was every appearance of an -unfavourable change. Although not a breath of wind stirred, the -ground-swell broke heavily on the bar, and there was a greenish look in -the sky where the sun was setting, that boded no good. The curlews were -unusually noisy, their clear, shrill whistle resounding on all sides, -and large flocks of sea-birds were flying in towards the land. A -fishing-boat had just made fast to the pier, and the owner came forward -to meet me. - -"What luck this evening, Barney?" I inquired. - -"Just middlin', yer honour. There's a dozen of lobsters, a John Dory, -and a turbot. I'll send them to the lodge. The oysters went up this -morning--iligant ones, they wor; raal jewels." - - -"All right, Barney--what do you think of the weather?" - -"Sorra one of me likes it, at all. Them thieves of seals are rollin' -about like _purposes_, and it isn't for nothin' they do that same. -It'll be a Ballintogher wind, too, before long, I'm thinkin'." - -"A what?" I exclaimed. - -"The very question the captain axed my brother. It was the first time -iver he went to say, and they wor lyin' somewhere off Afrikay. The -captin was walkin' the quarter-deck when my brother comes up to him, -and says, 'Captain Leslie, you had better shorten sail.' - -"'Why so?' ses the captin, very sharp. - -"'Bekase it's a Ballintogher wind.' - -"'And what the d----l wind may that be?' - -"'Oh murther!' ses my brother. 'There you are, wandherin' about the -world all yer life, and didn't hear of a Ballintogher wind, when there -isn't a gossoon in my counthry doesn't know the village it comes from, -and that it niver brought anything but cowld storm and misforthin' -along with it.' - -"Well, with that, they all tuk to laughin' like to split their sides at -my brother, an' the captin, he towld him to go forrid and mind his -work; but faith, they worn't laughin' two hours afther, when the ship -rowled the masts out of her, and they wor wracked among the haythens. -But wind or no wind, yer honour, I suppose the races will come off?" - -"So I hear, Barney." - -"I'm towld there's to be a fight between the Flahertys and the -O'Donnells; but shure av the priest's there it's no use for them to -try." - -"Why not, Barney?" - -"He's mighty handy with a hunting-whip, an' has got a bad curse -besides. He hot Mickey Devine over the head, for trying to rise a row -at the fair of Dingle, and left a hole in it you might put your fist -in. It was no great things of a head at the best of times, but faith, -he's quare in it at the full of the moon iver since. He cursed Paddy -Keolaghan, too, last Easter, an' the luck left him. His nets wor -carried away, the boat stove in, and the pig died. I don't give in to -the pig myself, for they let him get at the long lines afther they wor -baited; and sure enough when the craythur died, there was fifteen hooks -in his inside, enough to kill any baste. Besides, his reverence is very -partikler, an' wouldn't curse a Christian out of his own parish; but -it's not lucky to cross him anyhow; an' if he's there to-morrow, sorra -bit of fun we'll have. They say yer honours are for givin' a ball -afther the races." - -"So we are, Barney; and that reminds me--tell the girls to come up the -next night, and we'll give them a dance before the tent is taken down." - -"Long life to yer honour! It's proud and happy they will be to go. -Here's the young ladies comin'. Good evenin', sir! We'll be on the -coorse to-morrow, an' see you get fair play, anyhow." - -The tent-ropes flapped ominously that night as we turned in, and before -morning a storm came on which increased to a hurricane, when our party -assembled for breakfast, and looked out disconsolately enough at the -boiling sea, dimly visible through the driving rain and spray that -dashed in sheets of water against the glass. Already numbers of the -peasantry, on their way to the course, were staggering along the road, -vainly trying to shelter themselves from the furious blast which made -the very walls of the lodge shake. Taking advantage of a slight lull, -we managed to get a young fir-tree propped up against the pole of the -tent, and had just returned to the house when a well-appointed -four-in-hand came at a sharp trot up the avenue. - -"Here come the Plungers," said Dick. "Plucky fellows to drive over -fourteen miles such a morning." - -While he was speaking, a dozen bearded men got down and stalked -solemnly into the room. In a few minutes the ladies of our party made -their appearance, and before long the new comers were busily engaged in -some fashion or another. I have often admired the way in which Irish -ladies contrive to make the "lords of the creation" useful, but never -saw it more strongly exemplified than on the present occasion. Here you -might see a grave colonel employed in the composition of a lobster -salad; there a V.C. opening oysters as industriously as an old woman at -a stall; while in a snug corner, a couple of cornets were filling -custard cups and arranging flowers. To do the gallant fellows justice -they accepted the situation frankly, and set to work like men, while at -every fresh blast the girls' spirits seemed to rise higher; and before -long a merrier party could hardly be found anywhere. Twelve o'clock had -now come round, at which time, it was unanimously agreed, the day must -clear up; and a slight gleam of watery sunshine appearing, we all -started to carry the things over to the supper-room of the tent. As we -mustered a tolerably strong party, in less than an hour this was -effected, not, however, without sundry mishaps; one poor cornet being -blown right over a fence, into a wet ditch, with his burden. - -We were all so much engaged laying out the tables, that the increasing -darkness of the day was scarcely remarked until a vivid flash of -lightning, followed by a loud peal of thunder which broke directly -overhead, made the boldest pause for a moment in his occupation. The -storm, which had gone down considerably, burst forth again worse than -ever, the tent-pole swayed to and fro like a fishing-rod, and the -fir-tree we had lashed alongside for additional security threatened -every moment to come down by the run. Matters were beginning to look -serious, when Dick, snatching a carving-knife from the table, cut an -opening in the wall of the tent, through which we all bolted into the -open air. Hardly had we got clear of the ropes, when the tent-pole -snapped, the pegs gave way, the roof flew off down the wind, and with a -crash of broken glass, heard distinctly above the howling of the wind -and sea, the whole fabric came to the ground, burying all our materials -and the greater part of the supper in the ruins. - -All was over now,--"the stars in their courses" had fought against us. -There was no use in contending against fate and the elements; so, after -seeing the girls safe in shelter, and leaving the dragoons to test the -merits of Dick's cold punch, I filled my largest pipe with the -strongest cavendish, and had walked round to the lee of the house, to -blow a cloud in peace, and think over what was best to be done, when a -window opened above, and looking up, I saw a bright sunny face framed -against the dark scowling sky, and heard a voice call out, "Wait there -one moment, Frank; I am coming down." - -Without giving me time to reply, the face disappeared, but immediately -afterwards a small slight figure, closely muffled up, glided round the -corner, and put its arm in mine, while a pair of blue eyes looked up -appealingly in my face. - -"Don't look so down-hearted, Frank, or you will make me cry. I could -hardly keep from it, when I saw the tent in ruins, and heard that -dreadful crash. All Lady ----'s old china, I promised to take such care -of, and the flowers, and Mrs ----'s dinner service, that has been in -the family for four generations. It is a downright calamity; but we are -determined, happen what will, to have the ball, and I want you to come -to look at a barn we saw the other day." - -"But you cannot think of going out in such weather!" - -"Not by the road--the sea is all across it. But we can go by the -fields. Come now, and take great care of me." - -We did reach the barn, though with great difficulty; and, at first -sight, a more unlikely or unpromising place could hardly be found. In -one corner stood a heap of straw and a winnowing machine, under which -half a dozen rats scampered as we came in. The roof was thatched, and -in several places we could see the sky through it. Long strings of -floating cobwebs hung from the rafters, and the rough walls were -thickly coated with dust. There were two storeys to it, however; the -floor of the upper one was boarded and seemed sound. Taking out a -note-book, my companion seated herself on an old garden-roller, -saying-- - -"Go down-stairs, Frank, and finish your smoke; I want to think for five -minutes; or you may stay here, if you promise not to speak until I give -you leave." - -I gave the required pledge, and, lighting my pipe, lay down in a -corner, watching the rats peering out with their sharp, black, beady -eyes at the strange visitors, and rather enjoying the confusion of the -spiders, who, not relishing the smoke, were making off out of reach as -fast as they could. Before long my companion called me over, to give -her directions, which were, to go back to the lodge, and bring all the -volunteers I could get, as well as some materials, of which she gave me -a list. - -On my way I met one of the stewards, who told me the races had been -postponed until four o'clock in the afternoon, and on reaching the -lodge found Dick and the officers engaged in recovering "salvage" from -the tent. Getting out a wagonette, I soon had it filled with -volunteers, and drove them over to the barn, where we once more set to -work, and for the next few hours the rats and spiders had a bad time of -it. - -I was hard at work converting some rough deal boards into a -supper-table, when a little boy handed me a note, saying-- - -"They are clearin' the coorse, yer honour; you haven't a minit to lose; -I brought down a 'baste' for you." - -The note was from Dick, telling me the first race would be run off at -once. There was a dressing-room provided on the ground, so, jumping on -the horse, I rode down. - -The storm, after doing all the harm it well could to us, had now -cleared off, and the scene on the course was lively and animated -enough. A dozen frieze-coated farmers, headed by an old huntsman in -scarlet, were galloping wildly about to clear the ground, the usual -"dog" being represented, on this occasion, by a legion of curs, barking -at the heels of stray donkeys, sheep, cows, and goats, as they doubled -in and out, to avoid the merciless whips of their pursuers; and when at -last they were driven off, the people broke in on the line, and the -whole place appeared one mass of inextricable confusion, until the -priest, accompanied by the stewards, was found. The fisherman certainly -had not belied his reverence. More than once I saw his whip descend -with a vigour that made itself felt even through the thick greatcoats -worn by the peasantry, causing the recipient to shrink back, shaking -his shoulders, and never feeling himself safe until he had put the -nearest fence between him and the giver. Soon his stalwart figure, -mounted on a stout cob, was the signal for a general _suave qui peut_, -and the mob gradually settled into something like order, leaving the -course tolerably free. - -Six horses came to the post for the first race, which was about three -miles on the flat, the priest's of course being the favourite, and with -reason. It was a magnificent dark chestnut, with great power and -symmetry, showing the "Ishmael" blood in every part of its beautiful -frame, Dick's hunter, although thorough-bred, and with a fair turn of -speed, looking like a coach-horse beside it. The only other competitor -entered worth notice was a light bay, high-bred, but a great, staring, -weedy-looking brute, evidently a cast-off from some racing stable. - -At the word "Off!" a fair start was effected. The bay, however, had -hardly taken a dozen strides, when it came down, giving the rider an -ugly fall. After rolling over, it sat up like a dog, and stared wildly -about; then, jumping up suddenly, galloped into the sea, where it lay -down, apparently with the intention of committing suicide. Before we -had gone a mile, all the other horses were shaken off, and the priest's -jockey and myself had it all to ourselves. He was a knowing old fellow, -and evidently did not wish to distress his horse, keeping only a few -lengths ahead, until within the distance-post, when he let him go, -cantering in a winner by about twenty yards, and receiving a perfect -ovation from the people. - -In half an hour the bugle sounded for the horses to fall in for _the_ -race. A steeple-chase being always the great event on an Irish course, -we were about to take our places, when Dick came up with rather a long -face, and whispered-- - -"I am afraid the luck is against us still, Frank. Look at that gray. He -has been kept dark until now. Before seeing him I backed you rather -heavily with the priest. It was our only chance to get out." - -The more I looked the less I liked the appearance of either horse or -man. To a casual observer the first was a plain animal, cross-built, -rough in the coat, and with remarkably drooping quarters; but, on -closer inspection, a hunter all over, if not a steeple-chaser, although -an attempt had evidently been made to disguise his real character. The -saddle was old and patched; the bridle had a rusty bit, with a piece of -string hung rather ostentatiously from it; the rider might once have -been a gentleman, but drink and dissipation had left their mark on what -was originally a handsome face. His dress was slovenly and careless to -a degree, but he sat his horse splendidly, and his hand was as light -and fair as a woman's. He returned my look with a defiant stare. - -"That fellow looks dangerous," said Dick; "but I suspect he is more -than half drunk. Make a waiting race until you see what he is made of. -Above all things keep cool, and don't lose your temper." - -I had perfect confidence in the mare I rode. She had been broken by -myself, and many a long day we had hunted together over the big -pastures of Roscommon and Meath. There was a thorough understanding -between us. My only anxiety was as to how she would face the crowd, who -were collected in thousands about every jump, barely leaving room for -the horses to pass, and yelling like a set of Bedlamites let loose. -With the exception of the last fence, there were no very formidable -obstacles. It was a stone wall, fully five feet high, built up loose, -but strong, and rather a severe trial at the end of a race, if the pace -was a stiff one throughout. There was no time for thinking now, -however. The word was given, and we were away. - -About a dozen horses started--all fair animals, with that cat-like -activity in negotiating a fence so remarkable in Irish hunting. We had -hardly gone a mile, however, when the want of condition began to tell, -and they fell hopelessly to the rear, leaving the race to the gray, my -mare, and a game little thorough-bred, ridden and owned by one of the -dragoon officers. - -Up to this time I had followed Dick's directions to wait on the gray, a -proceeding evidently not approved of by the rider, for, turning round -in his saddle as he came down to a water jump, he said, with a sneer-- - -"You want a lead over, I suppose." - -I made no reply, and he went at the river; but whether by accident or -design, when within a few yards of the brink his horse bolted, dashing -in among the crowd. The dragoon's swerved slightly to follow; the -rider, however, would not be denied, and sent him through it; while my -mare, cocking her ears, and turning her head half round, as an old -pointer might do at seeing a young one break fence, flew over like a -bird, and settled steadily to her work on the other side. - -For some distance the dragoon and myself rode neck and neck, though the -pace was beginning to tell on his horse, who was slightly overweighted. -Our friend on the gray now raced alongside, and galloping recklessly at -an awkward ditch, which he cleared, took a lead of a dozen lengths, and -kept it until within a short distance of the last fence, when he fell -back, allowing us to get to the front once more. - -I think fear was the last thing uppermost in my mind as I rode at it. -My blood was fairly roused, and passing a carriage a minute before, I -got a glance from a pair of blue eyes that would have made a coward -brave. Still, with all that, I could not avoid a slight feeling of -anxiety as it loomed across, looking about as dangerous an obstacle as -the most reckless rider could desire at the end of a race. If stone -walls "grew," I could have sworn it had done so since I crossed it on -Dick's hunter the evening before. The people had closed in on both -sides until there was scarcely twenty feet of clear space in the -middle, and evidently a row of some sort was going on. Sticks were -waving wildly about, and a dozen voices shouted for me to stop, while -hundreds called to go on. The gray was creeping up, however. I had -faced as bad before, when there was less occasion; so pulled the mare -up to a trot until within a few yards, when I let her go with a shout -she well knew, and in a second we were safe on the other side. The -dragoon's horse refusing, the gray, who came up at full speed, chested -it heavily, and horse, rider, and wall came rolling over to the ground -together, while I cantered in alone. - -I had hardly received the congratulations of the stewards, when Dick -came up, looking flushed and excited. As he grasped my hand, he said -hurriedly-- - -"Why didn't you stop when I shouted?" - -"It was too late. But what is wrong?" - -"That scoundrel on the gray bribed a couple of fellows to add six -inches to the height of the wall during the storm this morning. They -raised it nearly a foot. Some one told the priest, but not until you -were in the field. He has caught one of them, the other got away. As -for the fellow himself, his collar-bone is smashed, and the horse all -cut to pieces. He couldn't expect better luck. It was a near thing, -though. I don't know how the mare got over it. She must have known," he -added, patting her neck, "what a scrape we were in." - -The usual hack races for saddles and bridles followed, and the day's -sport came to an end without a fight, thanks to the priest, whose -exertions to keep the peace would have satisfied a community of -Quakers, although they might not approve of the mode by which the -object was effected. - -We had hardly finished dinner at the lodge, when the carriages with our -guests for the ball began to arrive, those from a distance looking with -dismay at the wreck of the tent, that still lay strewed on the lawn. -They were all directed forward to the barn, however, whither we were -soon prepared to follow. - -Although my confidence in the ability and resources of the ladies of -our party was nearly unlimited, I could hardly avoid feeling some -slight misgivings on entering the barn, knowing the short time they had -to work in, and how heavily the mishap of the morning must have told -against them. All, however, agreed that they had seldom seen a prettier -room. The walls and roof were completely covered with fishing-nets, -filled in and concealed by purple and white heath. The effect was -remarkably good; and if the storm had deprived the supper-table of many -of the light dishes, quite enough was left to satisfy guests who were -not disposed to be critical. - -I shall not detain the reader by giving a description of the ball, -which proved a complete success, more than compensating us for the -trouble and anxiety we had undergone. It was seldom the girls in the -neighbourhood had a chance of enjoying themselves in that way, and they -seemed resolved to make the most of it. Human endurance, however, has -its limits. Towards morning the band, whose "staying powers" were -sorely tried, began to show symptoms of mutiny. Threats and bribes (the -latter too often administered in the shape of champagne) were tried, -and they were induced to continue for another hour. The result may -easily be anticipated: they broke down hopelessly, at last, in the -middle of "Sir Roger." A sudden change in the music made us all stop, -and to our dismay we found one half of the performers playing "God save -the Queen." The others had just commenced "Partant pour la Syrie," -while the "big drum" was furiously beating the "tattoo" in a corner. -Turning them all out, we threw open the windows. A flood of sunshine -poured into the room, and the cool fresh sea breeze swept joyously -round, extinguishing the lights. This was the signal for a general -departure. One by one our fair guests drove away, leaving - - "The banquet-hall deserted." - -The last man to go was the priest. As he mounted his horse I saw him -hand Dick a sheaf of dingy-looking bank-notes, and they parted, hoping -to meet again the following season, when the latter pledged himself to -bring something out of his own stable to race against the mare. But we -only appeared there once since in public, and that was at a wedding. -Before the next autumn came round we had settled down into steady -married men. I still hunt, but have grown stouter, and the old mare has -given place to a weight-carrier. The mare draws my wife and children to -church regularly, however, and though rather matronly-looking, is as -full of life and spirit as when she started with her master to win his -first and "last" steeple-chase. - - - - -SALMON-SPEARING - - -_Hei mihi præteritum tempus!_ That is, the past time when new Fishery -Laws did not forbid, and we young sportsmen might combat the salmon in -his own element, armed, like the Retiarius, with a trident, but, unlike -him, without a net. Ill-omened word! is it not to thee that the -interdict is owing?--blockading the mouth of every river with thy -cowardly meshes, only withdrawn for the barest minimum of hours out of -the twenty-four to give free passage to the home-sick fish and lusty -grilse to re-seek the dear old pools of his birth. For the grace now -extended, and the check put upon the rapacious suppliers of -Billingsgate and Leadenhall, we shall ever be grateful to the -Commissioners, even though the same powers that have removed the -stake-nets have prohibited the use of the spear, whose operation, as -numbered amongst the things past, we purpose to record. - -And first for the science of the sport. Salmon-spearing, as we used to -perform it, was of two kinds. First, that by day; second, that by -night. For the first, we choose that day when the more noble art of the -rod and fly would be exercised in vain--a clear sunny day, with as -little ripple as possible, and the water low, the field of operation -being generally the upper pools, or, in preference, the larger "burn" -or mountain stream whence the river took its source. - -The implements, a spear, or rather iron trident of three prongs, barbed -like a fish-hook, the prongs being about two inches apart, with a shaft -some ten feet in length; two or three long poles, whose uses will be -seen presently, and either a "gaff" or a landing-net. The essentials, a -hawk-like keenness of eye sharpened by long practice, a goat-like -agility amongst rocks and stones, and a philosophical indifference to -all such minor discomforts as a complete wetting and a frequent fall or -bruise. The night-work differed in the change of locality, the -favourite spot being the long shallow "reach" at the river's mouth, and -in the substitution of fir-torches for the poles of the day's -programme. Thus much for the nature of the sport; for a description of -it let the reader lend a kindly ear while we suppose the scene by the -banks of the river Arkail, in the Northern Highlands of Scotland (a -name which, by the way, he will in vain try to establish in the best of -educational atlases or tourists' guides). - -"What a baking day! No use taking out the dogs; there's not a breath of -scent along the whole hill-side; and one might as well try to fish in a -tub as throw a line over the looking-glass-like pools to-day. What's -to be the order of the day, Frank? I think I shall take a walk up to -the top of Ben Voil and 'spy' if there are any deer lying near the -ground." - -"I don't think you can do better. We have already planned a foray with -the spear in the Upper Pools; but you don't care about that sort of -work; so good luck to you, and adieu for the present. I suppose you'll -take Stuart with you?" - -Even as he spoke a cheery voice outside had summoned Frank, warning him -that his set were waiting; so, with a parting remembrance from Charles -Marston, the eldest of our party, and the tacitly-acknowledged head, to -"mind and 'crimp' your fish directly you get him out of the water," -Frank Gordon hastened to the gravelled square in front of the lodge, -and found his brother amongst a group of keepers and "gillies," who, by -the arms they bore, gave sufficient evidence of their intended -occupation. With the exception of a "forester," Hugh Ross, who, by -virtue of his position and his long Gaelic descent, persevered in the -traditions of his ancestors, and robed his limbs in a kilt of home-spun -tartan, the rest of the sportsmen were clad in knickerbockers, master -and man alike. And now they were off, and making down the "brae" with -the long dropping action which marks the practical mountaineer, being -greeted as they passed the kennels by the most dismal howling from the -dogs, who evidently did not comprehend that spears were not guns, and -that there were occasions, such as salmon-spearing, on which their -services might be dispensed with, and who further interpreted the -volley of mingled Gaelic and Sassenach ejaculations hurled at them as a -command to increase their note from _forte_ to _fortissimo_, a -proceeding accordingly executed with the most painful exactness which -the canine intellect could suggest. - -A short half-hour's walk, and the hollow moaning of a waterfall told of -the journey's end. Brushing through a small birch-wood that clothed the -high banks of the stream, our party stood on the edge of a sheer rock -about thirty feet high, and, looking down on the scene of their -intended operations, assigned to each his post and duty. A long, -narrow, black pool, shallowing towards the tail into a rushing stream, -dashing madly against the boulders scattered at random in its course; -the rocks rising steep and bare on either side, but fringed on their -summits with the drooping birch-trees and overhanging heather nestling -round the delicate little ferns and rock-plants that peeped timidly out -here and there; and away at the head of the pool, the finishing charm -of the lovely spot, the tumbling waterfall, which ever filled the air -with its clamorous voice, and beat the red waters below into a mad -whirl of eddies and bubbles and leaping foam. Truly as sweet a picture -as Nature ever limned, which, had it been a few degrees farther south, -might have been an unfailing trap for excursionists to expend their -savings on a "pack" in a covered carriage, and a cheap ride -_uninsured_, or might have had its heath-covered banks dotted with -picnic parties, and its waters sweetened with the chicken-bones so -deftly thrown by the playful Miss Holiday; but being, alas, poor -Monar--only one of many such scenes in the bosom of the Highland hills, -_all_ inaccessible by steam or jaunting-car--it must e'en remain -unknown, save to the privileged few, who now looked at it with the less -noble view of how they might draw a fish from its black depths. - -"Ah, wunna ye look at him? Hech, doon he comes; ye maun e'en try again, -my bonny mon." - -This address was called forth from honest Sandy Macgregor, one of the -gillies of the party, by the sight of a salmon leaping at the falls, -but who, having failed to clear them, hit with a heavy whack against -the rock, and, with a vain wriggle and struggle, fell back into the -pool beneath. - -"You may see more of him yet, Sandy," said Alick Gordon, the elder of -the brothers, "if meanwhile you will try and get me a little gravel." - -A few minutes, and Sandy returned, bringing his cap full of sand and -small stones, which Alick, taking, threw in handfuls down the pool, -close by the edge of the rock. The result of this mysterious -proceeding, being closely watched by the group, was announced by a -general murmur of satisfaction as, almost straight beneath them, a -string of bubbles rose to the surface of the stream and floated idly -away. (For the benefit of those who have never seen this piece of -fishing-craft, we may explain that, as a fish is lying at the bottom -with his head up-stream, allowing the water to run into his mouth and -out through his gills--his mode of breathing--some of the gravel as it -sinks down enters his mouth, and as the fish ejects it, he sends up a -few bubbles, which mark the spot he is lying in.) - -"Is that your friend, Sandy?" cried Alick, on seeing the success of his -device. "You ought to know him if you saw him again, so come along down -here with me." - -Away went the speaker to the farther end of the pool, where, by -scrambling and swinging, he managed to let himself down the rock, and -plunged knee deep into the rapids. Closely followed by Sandy, he made -his way towards the deep water, keeping close beneath the high bank, -where he knew that, at about the depth of his waist, a small ledge ran -along the rock which would afford him a footing. Quietly and carefully -he arrived at the spot where the bubbles had been seen to rise; and -telling Sandy to hold him round the waist, as he stood beside him on -their precarious footing, he took off his cap, and holding it over the -water so as to throw a shade in which the smallest objects at the -bottom of the stream were visible to his practised eye, he bent down, -and began a long and wary search. One unaccustomed to the work might -have looked till nightfall without seeing more than the changing lights -and shadows playing over the deep-sunk stones; but Alick's experience -soon showed him a long black object, like a shade, lying close by the -rock, and in about nine feet of water. Having satisfied himself as to -the exact position of his treasure-trove, he shouted a warning to the -group above, and told Sandy to take a look. - -"Ah, the big blackguard!" whispered the gillie, as he lifted his -dripping face after his subaqueous search. "Have a care, Mister Alick, -and give him the point well over the shouther." - -"Hold up tight then, Sandy, and give a shade with your cap as I tell -you. That's right; no, a little further out--now then, steady!" - -As he spoke, Gordon was slowly letting down the spear a little behind -the salmon, till, when it was about a foot above the fish, he paused, -and braced himself for the stroke, his left hand grasping the spear -about halfway down, to guide the aim, and the right hand holding it -near the top to give the blow, while his face was nearly buried in the -water, as he kept his eye on his prey. - -"Further out yet with the cap, Sandy. Now, hold on!" - -Down shot the spear: for one instant the shaft shook violently as the -struck salmon struggled beneath the weight which was pinning it to the -bottom, and the next, with a loud splash and flurry, the strong fish -bore to the surface, and shaking himself off the barbs, dragged Gordon, -still holding on to the spear, headlong into the pool. - -A loud shout from the watchers on the top of the precipice greeted this -"coup," and on the gillie, who had been posted near the bottom of the -pool, announcing that "the fish had ne'er come his way," all those who -had, up to this time, been mere passive spectators, made the best of -their way down the rocks, to take their part in the coming struggle. - -With a few strokes Alick gained the shallows at the tail of the pool, -and as the stream divided into two chief courses, himself commanded one -with his spear, and deputed the other to Hugh Ross. Meanwhile, Frank -was directing the gillies, who were "poking" the fall and deep water -with the long poles we mentioned, a proceeding intended to drive any -fish that might be lying about there down to the lower end of the pool, -where they would meet the spearmen, or else to take refuge behind the -big rocks and boulders, where they might be discovered afterwards. All -was noise and eagerness, save with the two spearmen, who, silent as -statues, were keenly watching the few yards of clear water in front of -them, ready to spring into life the moment they detected the approach -of a fish. And as Hugh Ross looked, a black shadow of a sudden swept -down with the current before him, and as he moved a step to meet it, -whisked away, and shot past him with the arrow-like speed which a -salmon, better than any fish that swims, can command; but the active -Highlander was a match for the occasion, and with a dexterity which -must be seen to be appreciated, gave a backward spring, and struck -sharp down with his spear a good two feet in front of his mark; and as -he held the struggling fish down by bearing with his whole weight on -his weapon, the shaking shaft told of the good quarry he had secured. -With a wild shout of triumph Alick rushed to the rescue, and throwing -himself down in the water, seized the salmon under the gills, and -quickly bore him to land, where Marston's injunction was acted upon, -and the crimping-knife brought into play. - -"Ye took a good shot, too, Mister Alick," said Hugh Ross, looking at -the wound behind the head which Gordon had given; "but he was a -clean-run fish, and as full of life as a stag in August; and I'm -thinking he will not have joost right justice at fifteen pounds' -weight." - -"I'd be sorry to carry him at that weight, Hugh," answered his master. -"But all the merit belongs to you, for little should we ever have seen -of him again but for that flying shot of yours. However, there he is, -and a beautifully-shaped fish too; so tie him up, and let's carry him -off to the house, where you'll get glory enough from both Mr Marston -and the cook. Come along Frank." - -So saying, Alick marched away, followed by the rest of the party. On -arriving at the lodge, they found that Marston had not yet returned; so -it being still early in the day, they debated as to the best method of -employing the time yet left them; and as the bright still weather -effectually negatived all propositions of going after grouse or taking -a cast with a fly in any of the Upper Pools, the suggestion of Hugh -Ross who had become unusually keen after his triumph of the morning, to -rest till the evening and then make a night of it with the spear at the -mouth of the river Arkail, was unanimously adopted. There was a good -thirteen miles' walk over the hill between the lodge and the intended -scene of the night's operation, but our hardy young sportsmen regarded -that only so far as to order their dinner at an earlier hour than -usual, so as to start in time in the evening, and employed the -intervening period in tying up bundles of fir-splinters to make -torches, and in providing themselves with dry suits of clothing, after -the wetting they had just received. - -Shortly before seven o'clock they were ready to start, and having left -a note for Marston, who had not yet returned from the hill, they set -out, following Hugh Ross in single file, as he led the way over the -darkening moor. All were too well accustomed to the work to come to -much grief over the broken ground, beyond an occasional stumble or -sudden fall as the foot slipped into an unseen hole in the moss; and -before long the autumn moon rose full and bright to light their way, -promising an idle time of it to the torches, which some of the gillies -bore patiently on. - -It was not yet eleven o'clock when the sportsmen stood on the banks of -the Arkail, looking happily across the broad river, which flowed -musically over its shallow bed, showing almost clearer in the silver -radiance of the moon than in the dazzling splendour which lit it up -during the day; but across on the opposite bank the trees which fringed -its sides stood out black and heavy as a wall of rock. - -"What a glorious night!" exclaimed Alick, as the scene first burst upon -him. "Look, Frank, away over there where the river runs into the Firth; -that bit of it you see by the farthest corner gleams like a sheet of -pure silver, and the Inch-na-coul hills look as if they were touched -with hoar-frost. Isn't it pretty? and what a night for us! Come on, -Hugh and Sandy there, let's be getting to work, but warm the cockles of -your heart first with a drop of whisky. Here, try my flask, Hugh. -That's right--the same to you, thanks, and good luck to us both," as -the forester drank his young master's health; "and I think I shall stay -about here with Mr Frank, if you will go a little lower down and post -the boys, and tell them to keep a sharp look-out, and mind and 'holloa' -in time; and I say, Donald there, don't you be giving us any stones for -fish to-night, you rascal." (This was in reference to a false alarm -raised on a previous occasion by the unhappy Donald, who had mistaken -the ripple caused by a stone lying in the way of the stream for the -wake made by a travelling salmon, and had given notice accordingly: and -while here, we may explain that the _modus operandi_ in salmon-spearing -by night is to post watchers down the bank at regular intervals, who on -seeing the wake of a fish going steadily up stream--and remember that -salmon only travel or run up a river at night--shout to the spearmen -above to give notice, who, being put on the alert, wait till they also -see the little wave which marks their prey, and then walk into the -river to meet it.) - -Away went Hugh and his subordinates, leaving the brothers to choose -their own positions; and as Alick walked off announcing his intention -of crossing the river and taking one of the gillies with him to command -the opposite side, Frank remained alone gazing at the running stream -before him, and taking stock of all the ripples and eddies caused by -the larger stones in the bed of the river, so that in the heat of the -moment, when instantly expecting the salmon of which notice might have -been given, he might not fall into Donald's error, and confound the -inanimate with the living agent. The witching stillness of the night, -broken only by the monotonous gurgling of the running waters and the -soft whispering of the trees, before long lulled the young watcher into -a state of semi-consciousness, in which he sat with open eyes staring -forward into the space before him, with a dim remembrance that he was -looking out for salmon, and that the white flood beneath him was a -river and the appointed subject of his closest observation; but a whole -shoal of salmon might have passed and dubbed him wisest of men for the -blissful ignorance he would have manifested of their presence, had not -a sudden shout of "Mark!" roused him from his somnolence and recalled -his wits to full life and activity. With ear and eye painfully alert, -he heard the shout taken up by the next gillie, and the sound of his -feet over the gravel as he ran along the river's side to keep his prey -in view; then the noise of some one cautiously wading out in the water, -a sudden rush and splashing, and the next minute a clamour of voices, -amongst which he could discern that of Hugh Ross calling for a light; -and as he looked far down the stream he saw a torch coming down the -bank and borne into the river, and the flare of the smoking pine-wood -showed him a dark group standing in the water, and for one moment he -fancied he saw the gleam of a fish being lifted out! and then, as the -group retreated to the bank, he again distinguished Hugh's voice -good-humouredly depreciating his own prowess, by proclaiming the -unimportance of his capture, which was "joost a sma' grilse, and no -worth the mentionin', an' it were not for makin' up the number." - -The commotion created by this incident had barely subsided, when again -a sharp cry through the stillness of the night announced the approach -of another fish, and again Frank heard the warning taken up by one -watcher after another, when, as he stayed expecting each instant to -hear Hugh anticipate him in the encounter, his eye caught a moving -ripple in the water, a small advancing wave tailing into a broad wake, -and with a wild feeling of excitement he dropped into the river and -waded carefully in to meet it: he was yet six or seven yards above it, -as he stood nervously grasping his spear, and still he stood motionless -as a statue, till the wave washed up close beside him, when sharp and -sudden he launched out his spear--swish!--and the iron rattled on the -pebbles in the river, as the salmon dived down beneath the blow which -had grazed its back, and shot away up the stream. - -"Alick, Alick, come here, I'm sure I struck it!" shouted the eager boy, -as he rushed headlong after his prey, ever and anon tripping over a -stone and falling with a loud splash into the shallow water, which for -more than a mile from the mouth of the Arkail was rarely more than -three feet deep; but though he every now and then fancied he saw the -salmon's wake still bearing on before him, he ran to little purpose but -to cover himself with wounds and bruises from head to foot, and was on -the very point of giving up his fruitless chase, from sheer exhaustion, -when a cry from his brother, sounding ahead of him, urged him on, and -as he turned a corner round which the river swept in a sharp curve, he -came upon Alick standing near the bank and pinning something down with -his spear to the bottom of the water. "Go down and get him under the -gills, old boy," was his brother's greeting, as Frank stumbled -breathlessly up; "he's a regular monster, and will take you all you -know to carry him in; but I think he's your friend, and he will count -as yours, if we find your mark on him." "First spear" always counted in -the Sunderbunds' (a precedent advanced by the speaker from his -reminiscences of pig-sticking in Lower Bengal). - -"There it is then, Alick," said Frank, as he laid the fish down on the -river's bank and pointed to a jagged cut a little behind the dorsal -fin. "I did not allow enough in front, and should never have seen him -again but for you; but isn't he a thick fellow, and I can answer for -his weight already. I shouldn't care about carrying him to the lodge, I -know; but I suppose we had better take him back to the others, so we -may tie him up, if you have a bit of string with you. Thanks,--that -will do capitally." - -Reader, I hope we have not failed by this time to give you an insight -into the mysteries of a sport which, though now defended by stringent -penalties, was no unworthy one in its time, requiring, as it did, the -utmost dexterity, training, and endurance: three objects which in -themselves are sufficient to elevate any pursuit which can promote -them, and which many seek to acquire amongst the mountains of -Switzerland or the hills of Scotland. In a lesser way, after the -fatigues of the London season, the gentler sex strive to attain the -same end by walking, riding, sailing, or otherwise recruiting with -fresh country air. - - - - -CARPE DIEM - - -When one gets ever such a little older, one gets very much more -disinclined to take much trouble, much physical trouble that is, about -hobbies which once were ridden to death. A few years ago it was a -pleasure to get up at two o'clock in the morning, and have six hours' -fishing before it became necessary to get to work at Blackstone and -Chitty, and the endless writing of "common forms"; now I prefer keeping -within the sheets until breakfast-time, and leaving fishing expeditions -for legitimate holidays. So that, as holidays are not very frequent, -and often necessarily taken up in other ways, and as fishing stations -are distant, and not easily accessible, my hand is in danger of -forgetting its cunning in wielding a fishing-rod. I do not so much miss -my favourite sport, until, in an unfortunate hour, I get hold of a book -of angling reminiscences, of which there are plenty, and reading in its -pages vivid descriptions of days by the riverside, such as I used to -experience myself, my fancy sets to work, and, aided by memory, -conjures up such delightful visions that at last I cannot sit still; -the room, ay, and the town, seem to stifle me, and I long for a -glorious ramble, rod in hand, as much as I ever did. - -Following close upon the perusal of such a book, and the feelings -awakened by it, I was pleased beyond measure to find myself possessed -of a few days of leisure, and once more in the bonny border land of -Wales. I took care to make the most of my time, and seize the -opportunity of renewing my acquaintance with some of those charming -spots with which, as an angler and a writer, I had in times past -identified myself. - -One day I spent in tracing the wanderings of the burn whence a lusty -trout had been transferred to my pannier. Another afternoon I set out -for a carp pool, not _the_ carp pool _par excellence_ of our boyish -days, but one nearly as good, where I had caught some six-pounders -years ago. I walked to the place--it was two miles and a half -away--burdened with three rods and a huge bagful of worms, intent upon -slaughter. I neared the field, I crossed the hedge. I stood still and -gazed in astonishment. I rubbed my eyes and looked again. _There was no -pool there._ I walked round the field and across the field, which was -strewn with clumps of rushes. A peewit had laid four eggs on the very -spot, as I calculated, where I had hooked my biggest carp. A small boy -hove in sight. I seized him, and asked him where the pool had gone. He -answered, "Whoy, mun, it ha' been drained dry these three years." I sat -upon a gate and smoked four cigarettes, then walked home, my rods -feeling twice as heavy as when I came that way. - -I was to be recompensed, however, for my disappointment by a day at the -carp pool on the hill at Craigyrhiw, Coed-y-gar, or Penycoed, for it -goes by all three names, the first being the most proper. By accident I -met an old friend from a distance, who, when he heard where I was bound -to, offered to accompany me. I was glad of his companionship for more -than one reason. He had affected to disbelieve my accounts of the big -fish to be caught there, and this was an opportunity of vindicating -myself from the charge of exaggeration. He got his rods and we started, -pausing on the way to get a couple of small Melton Mowbray pies for -lunch. My friend, whom I shall call A., left the commissariat -department to me, and I, having just had a good breakfast, did not -contemplate the possibility of becoming very hungry during the day, so -considered we should have quite sufficient to recruit ourselves with. -Leaving the town, we passed under the beautiful avenue of limes in the -churchyard, musical with rooks and sweet with the spring fragrance, and -so on to Oswald's Well. Under a tree at this spot King Oswald fell in -battle, and out of the ground afterward sprang water, said to be -endowed with healing power. The well is neatly arched over with stone, -and has an effigy of King Oswald at the back; but the latter offered -too good a mark for the stones of the grammar-school lads to remain -undefaced. Oswaldestree is now corrupted into Oswestry, or more -commonly among the country people, Hogestry or Osistry. Just above the -well is the present battle-ground, where affairs of honour among the -schoolboys are, or used to be, settled by an appeal to fisticuffs. - -Crossing Llanvorda Park we enter Craigvorda woods, at once the most -beautiful and picturesque of the many similar woods on the borders. The -ground is mossy underfoot, the trees meet overhead, glossy green ferns -pave the noble corridors, which have for pillars straight and sturdy -firs and larch, and for a roof the heavy foliage of interwoven sycamore -and oak. At intervals the chestnut too lifts its gigantic nosegay of -pink and white and yellow flower-spikes, and near it, out of some -craggy knoll, the "lady of the forest," the silver birch, bends -tenderly over the masses of blue hyacinths below. "The shade is silent -and dark and green, and the boughs so thickly are twined across, that -little of the blue sky is seen between;" but there is no lack of blue -underfoot, for the hyacinths seem to have claimed the wood as their own -property, and shine like a shimmering sea of blue between the -tree-stems, quite putting out of countenance with their blaze of colour -the modest violet, growing by the side of the runnels leaping downward -to join the noisy brook. - -We crossed the Morda, a purling trout stream, out of which you may -easily basket a score of trout in the spring; up a lane, the banks of -which were crowded so thickly with spring flowers, starwort, and other -snow-white flowers, deep-blue germander speedwells, red ragged robins, -and wild geraniums, monkshood, daisies, dandelions, and buttercups, -that the green of the leaves and grasses was quite absorbed and lost in -the brighter hues; up and up, until our legs began to ache, and at last -we came to the crest of the hill, in the hollow a few feet below which -lay the tarn, gloomy enough, but weirdly beautiful. The water itself -looked green from the prevailing colour of the rushes and flags, and -the deep belt of green alders, which grew half in and half out of it -all round. - -"Look," I said, "there are two herons, a couple of wild-ducks, with -their young brood just hatched, twenty or thirty coots and waterhens, -and some black leaves sticking up out of the water, which are the -things we are after." - -"What do you mean?" asked A. - -"They are the back fins of carp." - -A.'s rods--he had two, as I had--were put together with remarkable -quickness. I took it more leisurely, and watched him searching about -for a place to cast his line in, with some amusement. - -"I say, how are we to get at the water?" he cried. - -"Wade." But this he was averse to doing. He found a log of wood, and -pushing it out beyond the bushes, where it was very shallow, he took -his stand upon it in a very wobbley state, with a rod in either hand. I -took up a position a short distance from him, and we waited patiently -for half an hour without a bite. Suddenly I heard a splash, and looking -round, saw that A. had slipped off his perch, and was halfway up to his -knees in water, with a broken rod and a most rueful expression on his -face. - -"I have lost such a beauty." - -"Serves you right. You can't pitch a big carp out like you could a -trout. This is the way--see." - -I struck at a decided bite, and found that I was fast in a good fish, -which, after a lively bit of splashing and dashing about (the water was -only knee-deep, though so muddy the fish could not see us), I led into -a little haven or pond, where the inmates of a cottage in the wood came -to get their water, and lifted him out with my hands--a tidy fish of -three pounds in weight. In about a quarter of an hour A.'s float moved -slightly. He was all excitement directly. He had never caught anything -larger than a half-pound trout. Some minutes elapsed before another -movement took place. - -"He has left it," said A. - -"No, he has not. Don't move; you will get him presently." - -Then the float or quill gave a couple of dips; then in a few seconds -more moved off with increasing rapidity. "Now strike." A. did so, and -soon landed a carp of two pounds. From that time we had steady sport -throughout the day. Every quarter of an hour one of us had a bite; and -although we missed a good many through striking too soon, our -respective heaps of golden-brown fish (very few of the carp there are -at all white) grew rapidly in size. - -As we were coming back from a small larch-tree where we had found a -beautifully constructed golden-crested wren's nest, suspended from the -under side of a branch, A. suddenly clasped me round the middle, and -gave me a very neat back throw. - -"Hullo! what's that for?" I exclaimed, considerably astonished as I sat -on the ground. - -"Your foot was just poised over that beggar," he said, pointing to a -big brown adder, which was gliding away like an animated ash-stick. - -"Ah, thanks; there are too many of those fellows here." - -We had eaten the two pies, and as four o'clock drew near we got mighty -hungry again. - -"Just hand me over another pie, old fellow, Nature abhors a vacuum," -said A. - -"I haven't got any more," I answered. - -"Not got any more? O dear!" After a pause, "I _am_ hungry." In a -little while longer A. started off, saying, "You mind my rod while I am -away. I am going foraging for food. I'll try and catch a rabbit, and -eat him alive, oh! I've been meditating upon those fish, but I don't -like the look of them." - -He was gone for about half an hour, during which time I had landed -three fish. When he came back he had the countenance of a man who had -dined well. He said to me, - -"Go as straight as you can through the wood in that direction, and you -will come to a cottage where there is plenty of hot tea, a loaf of -bread, and some butter awaiting you. I never dined better in all my -life, and I forgive you for only bringing two pies." - -I obeyed his directions, and the tea certainly was refreshing, although -I could not get any sugar with it. - -It was time to be going. We counted our fish. I had eleven (my usual -number at that pool, by the way), and A. had ten, most from two to -three pounds each, but one or two heavier. We selected the best, and as -many as we could conveniently carry, and gave the rest to some -cottagers. - -From the shooting-box, which is at the top of the hill, and is, by the -way, in a state of dilapidation, we had a most magnificent view, one -well worth the walk to see. It was a view which embraced Shropshire, -Cheshire, Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire, and Merionethshire. In the -vividly green valley below us the little village of Llansilin -slumbered, scarcely noticeable were it not for the dark and massy -yew-trees in its churchyard. - -From the rocks farther on we saw a pretty sight. A fox was standing on -a stone, and on a sloping slab beneath her five cubs were sprawling and -gambolling about like a lot of Newfoundland puppies. - -Presently the vixen trotted off a little way and lay down; and while we -were watching her a rabbit popped out of his burrow, and came several -yards towards Reynard without seeing her. With one bound fox was upon -bunny, and the pair rolled over and over down the hill. The captor then -slunk off with her captive, not to her young ones, but to a quiet hole -in the cliff, to have a gorge all by her greedy self. - -In a hollow tree in the cliff we found three jackdaws' nests, each with -four eggs in; and we were amused at watching a woodpecker tapping away -at a tree. The noise produced was like that made by drawing a stick -very rapidly over some wooden palings, and quite as loud, or even more -like a watchman's rattle worked rather slowly. A curious spectacle was -presented in the lane on going home. It was a warm damp night, and -every dozen yards or so a glowworm exhibited its eerie light, and each -successive one seemed to shine more whitely and brightly than the last. - -The day was done, its pleasure seized, and--no, not gone, for a -pleasant memory remains wherewith to delight myself, and perchance -please my friends, among whom I would fain number all angling readers. - - - - -NEWMARKET - -BY CAPTAIN R. BIRD THOMPSON - - -Newmarket is termed, and justly so, the metropolis of racing, but a -greater contrast than Newmarket presents during the race-weeks and the -rest of the year can scarcely be imagined. Any one who stood on the top -of the hill on the Cambridge road, and looked down the main street, in -one of the off-weeks, would think that he had hardly ever seen such a -desolate forsaken-looking sort of place; the only living things to be -seen being a few old women standing at the corners of the streets -scratching their elbows, and two or three lads lounging about. -Occasionally a tradesman will come out of his shop, and, after looking -disconsolately up and down the street, will go and look into his own -shop-window; his idea being, I suppose, either to see if he can dress -his window more attractively, or that he would rather stare into his -own shop-window than that nobody at all should; and the only way you -would discover you were in a great racing district would be that you -might see a string of sheeted racers passing through the street on -their way from their training-grounds to their stables; or if you -listened to the old women's or lads' conversation you would hear -nothing but about some of the numerous trainers' "lots." The number of -empty houses, too, and the bills of auction sales you see posted up -everywhere with "In re" So-and-so in the corner, or "By order of the -Sheriff," add to the desolateness of the scene. But during the -race-weeks all this is altered, and the scene is as exciting and -enlivening as it was dull before; the pavements crowded with men, two -huge masses on each side, at the Rooms and White Hart, reminding one -strongly of the way bees hang out of their hives previous to swarming. -The inhabitants, too, erect stalls down both sides of the street, where -all sorts of things are exposed for sale--fruit and vegetables of every -kind, and amongst these hampers of a curious vegetable believed by the -aborigines to be cucumbers, but to an uninstructed eye looking like a -cross between a pumpkin and a hedgehog, so yellow and prickly are they; -large baskets of mushrooms, those esculents which once cost the late -Lord George Bentinck so dearly, and which he ever after cursed so -heartily. There are stalls also where clothes and boots are sold, -besides others where very dubious-looking confectionery is dealt in, -and one I saw which had plates of yellow snail-looking things for sale. -I do not know whether racegoers are supposed to eat these things, but -if they do they must have uncommonly strong stomachs. - -Vehicles of every sort and shape are plying for hire in the street, all -of that wonderful kind that seem peculiar to race-meetings, regattas, -&c., and which fill a person with wonder to think where they could have -been made, and what they were originally intended for. Newmarket is, -indeed, worth seeing on the morning of one of the big days, like the -Cambridgeshire, to form any idea of the enormous multitude of people -attending. It is well worth while to get into the stand at the end of -the Rowley Mile as soon as you can, and a most wonderful sight it is to -see the huge and incessant mass of people pouring down the side of the -course from the old stand; one unbroken stream, many yards wide, and -apparently never ending, yet perfectly quiet and orderly; no rough -horseplay or rowdyism; composed of men who come for racing, and nothing -else. An almost equally large string of vehicles pours down the road, -the full ones getting along as fast as they can manage, and those that -have discharged their loads galloping back in hopes of fresh fares. The -natural idea of anyone attending for the first time is that there will -be an awful crush; but such is the excellence of Newmarket as a -racecourse that there is none whatever, and every one, either on foot -or in the stand, can see every race from start to finish, with the -exception of those run on the Cesarewitch course, and then no one can -see the horses until they come into the straight, with the exception of -a bare sight of the start, and a glimpse of them as they pass the Gap, -which may be caught by keen-eyed people in the stand. It is really -extraordinary to see how the immense crowd that you behold coming seems -to dissipate, so that there does not appear to be any very great -multitude of people until the races are over, and you turn home; then -you see how enormous the numbers have been, there being a complete -block of people from the course right through the town, and even up to -the station. - -The stand is, as usual, divided into three portions--one for members of -the Jockey Club, the second Tattersall's, and the third for the general -public; the two last named are generally full, as all the principal -bookmakers assemble here. There is comparative quiet until the numbers -for the first race are put up--the only noise to be remarked is the -voice of some bookmaker offering to bet on some big race to come; but -suddenly a peculiar creaking is heard, and a frame rises above the -building next to the trainers' stand, with the numbers of the horses -starting, and the names of jockeys. There is then a dead silence for a -minute or so, whilst people are marking their cards, and next a perfect -storm of "four to one, bar one!" or whatever the odds may be, rises -from the ring, deafening and utterly bewildering the novice. This storm -lasts, if it is not a heavy betting race, not only until the horses are -at the post, but even as they are running, and some insane individuals -actually offer to bet as to what horse has won after they have passed -the post. But if there has been heavy betting a dead silence is -maintained in the ring from the time the horses get to the starter -until they have passed the post; this was most remarkably illustrated -on the last Cambridgeshire day. From the time the horses got to the -starting-post until the race was finished, though there was a delay of -three-quarters of an hour, owing to some of the horses repeatedly -breaking away, not a sound was heard in the ring; the silence was -almost oppressive. Sometimes when a complete outsider wins, whose name -has never been written down by the book-makers, the more excitable of -them throw up their hats and cheer loudly; but as a body they are a -most impassive set of men, and you could never tell by their faces -whether they had lost or won. Very curious are they in another way: -they never seem to, and I suppose really do not, care a bit about the -horses themselves; many of them not even looking at them when they are -running, merely glancing at the winning numbers when put up. They do -not appear to be guided in their bets by any regard to the condition of -the horses, state or length of the course, or their previous -performances, but on what they imagine to be the intentions of the -stable to which they belong; and sometimes they seem to suppose that -certain horses take it in turns to win, and back them accordingly, -quite independently of the condition of the horse itself. A remarkable -instance of this occurred at one Houghton Meeting, in the All-aged -Stakes: only two horses were left in for them, Ecossais and Trappist, -the former with three pounds the best of the weights. It is true they -had run in and out in a very curious way, and this time the bookmakers -declared "it was Trappist's turn," and backed him accordingly, giving -odds against the other. When they passed the stand on their way to the -starting-post, Trappist was going along with his head in the air, -fighting with his bit, and with the stiltiest stiffest action possible; -Ecossais cantering by his side as pleasantly as a lady's hack. But in -spite of this, though it must have been evident to anyone that Trappist -did not intend to try, and was thoroughly sulky, yet the bookmakers -gave him all their support because "it was his day." As was to be -expected, Ecossais came right away from him, winning easily; and great -was their wrath. - -The principal bookmakers have their regular stations in the ring, where -they can be readily found by their customers; and as they stand there -with a pleasant smile on their faces, the old nursery rhyme, "Ducky, -ducky, ducky, come and be killed," always comes forcibly into my mind. -A very clever-looking set of men they are, and some of them have really -intellectual faces. Most wonderful calculators they are too; the power -they have to tell at a glance how much they have got in their books, -and the way in which they can subdivide the odds at a moment's notice, -is most extraordinary. A marked contrast to these great bookmakers are -the small would-be bookmakers, who rush all about the ring, bothering -anyone they see who has been betting or they think likely to bet, -offering the most absurd odds as an inducement. The first day of any -race-meeting these gentry abound; but by the end of the week most of -them have disappeared, having retired, I suspect, into the outer ring, -and here rascality does flourish. Strangely enough, in passing through -it, you seem to be familiar with most of the betting men's faces, but -you cannot at first remember where you have seen them previously; when -suddenly it flashes across you that you saw most of these faces, or -their own brothers', in the dock at the last criminal assizes; or if -you have been over Portland or Dartmoor prisons, or any of those sort -of places, that you have seen them there. How so many of them exist -seems hard to discover; but I suspect whenever they have drawn their -victims sufficiently, as they consider, they bolt before the race comes -off. Another kind of swindling has arisen lately. You are perhaps -standing somewhere in the ring, when you discover a person is talking -to you, and saying that "Of course you have been backing our stable." -You look at him with some surprise, as he is a complete stranger to -you; whereupon the man, who is usually tolerably well dressed, and -tries to look like a gentleman, apologises for his mistake, "thought -you were So-and-so." But, however, he keeps on talking, and you cannot -shake him off. At length he declares he knows a _certainty_ for the -next race, which you must back, and bothers you so that, to get rid of -him for the time, you give him some money to invest, which he does; and -the tip turning out correct, as it very often does, you get your -money--for the man has no intention of bolting, it would not answer his -purpose. But you shortly find out what has occurred, and how you have -been done. After the race you compare notes with your friends, feeling -rather proud of winning. They ask the price you got, and you say, "O, 4 -to 1." "4 to 1?" say they; "why, his price was 7 to 1." And then the -murder comes out; the scamp got 7 to 1 safe enough, so that he -comfortably pocketed the three extra points, and in this way, until -detected, doubtless makes a very nice thing of it. But he does not -often succeed in drawing the same man twice; and if you take his "tip," -and then insist on getting the odds yourself, his blank face of disgust -is very amusing; but he takes care not to let you do this a second -time. - -At the Spring and Houghton Meetings great amusement is derived from the -strong "'Varsity" contingent; these youths appearing in great force, -got up in the correctest of sporting costumes; some even going so far -as breeches and boots, though they do not as a rule trust themselves -astride a horse at the races, and certainly they get all the excitement -they can require in the short drive from the turn-pike, just off the -Cambridge road, down to the stand. Up to this point, as the road has -been wide and the vehicles not numerous, their erratic mode of driving -has not been of much importance; but here, when they get into the -stream of cabs, &c., going down to the stand, nothing but a 'Varsity -hack in a 'Varsity dog-cart could save them from total and irremediable -grief. But it _is_ a sight to see the knowing old hack seize the -bit between his teeth, and getting his head well down, so as to -neutralise any well-meaning but ill-directed attempt at guidance, tear -down full speed, close in rear of some galloping cab, and land his -passengers, in spite of their exertions, all safe, but rather scared, -at the stand. Then the reckless way these youths bet! To hear them -talk, you would think they were more up in racing matters than the -oldest member of the Jockey Club, instead of being utterly ignorant of -the respective horses, owners, jockeys, or performances; their actual -knowledge never extending to more than the horses' names, and very -often not so far as that even. The amount of "tips" they have is -something wonderful, supplied by their "gyps," I should imagine; and -the best thing one can hope for is, that these gentry may be paid by a -percentage on their master's winnings, for in this case I think the -perennial fountain of tips would soon dry up. - -It is very curious to look down from the stand on to the outer ring -just previously to the starting of the race. You see nothing but a -dense mass of closely-packed hats, and little puffs of smoke rising all -over the mass, making it look just as if it was smouldering, and might -be expected to break out into flames at any moment. One thing that -makes Newmarket so enjoyable is that there is no need of dressing to -within an inch of your life, as you have to do at Ascot and Goodwood. -You see men in comfortable morning and shooting-coats, Norfolk shirts, -or any other kind of loose and easy attire; any one almost who appeared -in a frock-coat and topper would be looked on with the greatest -suspicion. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Many ladies do -not appear here--about a dozen or so in the Jockey Club stand, and a -very few in carriages, are all who attend; but those who are present -seem to enjoy the racing thoroughly, as they too are dressed -reasonably, and are not in continual misery through fear of a shower, -or that the splendour of their costume may be eclipsed by the superior -elegance of a rival, as is too often the case on other racecourses. It -is, indeed, a curious thing to notice how very few ladies or women at -all attend; even the wives and daughters of the neighbouring farmers -are not present, though there are a very sporting lot of them in the -district. In the morning, before racing commences, you do not see any -women at all about in the streets, with the exception of the few who -keep the fruit and vegetable stalls in the main street. - -I have mentioned previously the wonderful edibles offered for sale in -the town; but those brought on to the Heath are stranger still, the -chief of them consisting of acid-drops and butter-scotch. You meet -vendors of these everywhere; and, stranger still, actually see grown -men buying them. Whether they think they will bring them "luck"--and -there is scarcely anything a regular "turfite" would not do if he -thought it would bring him luck--or whether they imagine the taste of -juvenile luxuries will restore the innocence of their youth, I do not -know; but that they buy them and actually eat them is an undoubted -fact. Apples, too, are sold; and once I saw a man selling prawns in the -stand itself. Now fresh prawns for breakfast are very nice, and so is -prawn-curry; but wind- and sun-dried prawns offered for consumption by -themselves in the middle of the day are not very inviting, and I did -not see anyone buy them. At the railway station also, when you are -returning, you find a lot of women hawking ducks and chickens about, -but I never saw anybody buy them. Indeed, it would be rather puzzling -to know what to do with one if you did purchase it. You could not open -your trunk and put it in; and if you did, I do not think it would -travel well with your shirts, &c.; and to sit with a dead duck in your -lap the whole way back to down would be trying. - -Most interesting it is to go in the early morning to the -training-grounds, and look at the racers at exercise. Here you see them -in every stage, from the yearling just being led about quietly with a -lunging rein on to the adult racer taking his final spin, previously to -competing for some stake, and a finer spectacle than this last cannot -be seen: the magnificent animal in perfect condition, his satin coat, -showing the play of the muscles underneath, striding along at his top -speed, untouched by whip or spur, is a perfect picture of beauty. You -see many people out watching the horses, some merely through fondness -for horseflesh, but many of the genus "tout." How people can be found -weak enough to believe in their "tips" it is hard to conceive; for if a -"trial" is properly managed, and the stable secrets well kept, not even -the lads themselves know the weights the horses are run at, or even the -exact distance, so the "tips" of these gentry must be the veriest -guesses possible. They adopt wonderful disguises, under the fallacious -idea that they shall not be detected. There is one constantly to be -seen got up as a clergyman of the Church; and really, if you judged him -by a passing glance, you would think he was some indefatigable pastor -going to visit some sick member of his flock; but if you looked closely -at him, you would see that if he had a flock it would be uncommonly -closely shorn. He might more correctly be termed "a Baptist," so often -has he received the rite by total immersion in a horse-pond, -stable-lads being the officiating ministers, and the frogs at the -bottom his sponsors. - -But there is "a thorn in every rose," and there is a very large one at -Newmarket in the shape of a church, with a squat square tower -containing a peal of the most abominable bells in England, I should -think; they are all about a semitone out of tune, and the effect is -aggravating past description--far worse than the ding-dong-spat of the -three bells you so often hear in old-fashioned village churches, where -two of the bells have no relation in tone to one another, and the third -is cracked. These wretched things jangle and clash for, I should think, -half an hour every day about eleven; and I find the idea among the -aborigines is that they are playing a tune, but the effect of the -performance on a musical ear is excruciating. But, apart from this, few -pleasanter places can be found at which to pass some days than -Newmarket during a fine autumn meeting. - -One word in conclusion. If anyone intends to bet at Newmarket, never -take a Newmarket "tip" unless it is very strongly corroborated -elsewhere; for the true Newmarket man firmly believes, in spite of all -facts to the contrary, that no horse can win unless it has been trained -there, and would rather back the veriest rip in existence hailing from -headquarters than the best possible racer trained elsewhere. - - - - -KATE'S DAY WITH THE OLD HORSE - - -"Yes, Kate, we are as nearly as possible 'stone broke,' as your brother -would say. The time seems to have come, my girl, when 'honour may be -deemed dishonour, loyalty be called a crime,' at any rate in Ireland; -and as we can't make our tenants pay rent, we must go." - -The speaker was a massive-looking old gentleman with clean-cut, -weather-beaten features, and a heavy white moustache. He had drawn his -chair away from the breakfast table, and was still knitting his brows -over his morning letters. - -Poor old Lowry, like his fathers before him, had lived out of doors -amongst his own tenantry all his life, with a joke and a half-crown for -anyone who wanted them. - -Almost all the harm he had ever done was to win a heart or two which he -did not want, or drink a glass or two more than was good for him. For -forty years he had paid rates and taxes, acted conscientiously as a -magistrate, and filled several other onerous but unpaid offices for his -Queen and such as are put in authority under her; he had drunk her -health loyally every night since he first learnt to drink strong drink, -and would have "knocked sparks out of" anyone who had spoken -disrespectfully of her before him; and now the property which his -fathers had honestly earned was left at the mercy of a league of avowed -rebels, and he himself was branded as an enemy of the people. Had he -and such as he been left to defend themselves, they would long ago have -put an end to these enemies of honest men and of the State, but their -hands were tied. They were bidden to wait for help, but no help came. -Lowry was still too loyal to murmur openly against the Government which -had ruined him, but he had just realized that their name and their -loyalty were almost the only things left to him and Kate, his daughter, -who sat playing nervously with an empty envelope and gazing out blankly -and sadly upon the old park she loved until her deep blue eyes filled -unconsciously with tears. - -But Kate was not the girl to indulge in tears when a difficulty had to -be met, and in ten minutes she had mastered her emotion and was walking -with her father to the stables, gravely discussing affairs with the -stalwart old man, more like one man with another than like a young girl -with her father. - -"So the horses are to go up next week, Dad, are they? It is a bit of a -wrench to say good-bye to you, Val," said the girl, as she laid her -hand lovingly on the neck of a great up-standing chestnut, "but you are -good enough to find yourself a situation, my boy. Father, though, what -about Joe? We could not let him go into a cab, and he is too old for -anything better." - -"True, Kate, and I can't bear to shoot the old fellow, and yet what are -_we_ to do with a pensioner now?" - -"Shoot him! No, father, we'll keep the bullets for other billets. A -loyal servant and friend like Joe has as much claim on you as your -daughter has; and whilst we have bread and cheese we can find Joe in -fodder. Poor old fellow, I believe he would rather eat his litter with -us than old oats in a strange stable." - -It was a pretty picture, let latter day æsthetes deny it if they -will--the tall, strong girl, natural and unaffected, not a bit angelic, -but very womanly, caressing the old horse, who lowered his head to meet -her caresses, and shoved his honest old nose against her cheek. - -And Kate was right. It _is_ a hard thing that a horse who has risked -his neck a thousand times for his master, who has never known fear or -spared himself in that master's service, should be thought only fit -for a bullet when his limbs and wind begin to fail. We pension the -half-hearted human servants, we destroy the whole-hearted beasts who -have worn out their youth and strength prematurely in our employ. - -"How are you going to keep Joe, if I let you try, Kate?" - -"Well, father, I ought to be able to make a pound a month by -needlework, Christmas cards, and so forth; there is a bit of land at -the cottage, so that turned out on that in summer and not much worked -in winter, Joe need not cost much to keep, and I'll groom him myself." - -"And what would the London aunts say to that, Kate?" laughed the -squire. - -Kate put a hand trustingly on the old man's shoulder as she answered -smiling, "The London aunts say a good many things, Dad, which I don't -agree with, and you only pretend to, you know. Aunt Dorothy prefers her -carpets to sunshine, at least she keeps her rooms dark all day for fear -the sun should spoil their colours." - -"I thought it was her colour which the sun spoilt, Kate?" - -Kate laughed, and with a squeeze of her father's arm and a saucy nod, -flitted off to see to some member of her animal kingdom. - -Luckily for the Irish, they take trouble well, and though skinning is -an unpleasant process, they soon get used to it. - - * * * * * - -Three months after the events recorded in the preceding paragraphs, -Kate and her father were living at what had been their agent's cottage, -a tiny house with stabling for one horse. The Lowry's agent was now -Colonel Lowry himself, and his daughter (the best and straightest lady -rider in Gonaway) had laid aside her habit as a souvenir of happier -days. - -At the Hall a rich Londoner had replaced the old squire (as his -tenant), and a London young lady inflicted agony on the mouths of such -horses as she rode, and never disgraced her sex by an after-breakfast -visit to the stables. - -Instead of the laughter of that tom-boy Kate, highly finished -performances on the piano frightened the blackbirds off the lawn, and -instead of jokes and half-crowns from a poor but warm-hearted native, -the peasantry now received pamphlets on market gardening and threepenny -pieces from an alien millionaire. - - * * * * * - -"Molly says they have just shot 'the Laurels' for the seventh time this -year, and there's not a hen pheasant left on the estate." - -"Never mind, father, it won't matter to us. Mr Preece will have some -more down from Leadenhall Market or some such place next year; and, -after all, they pay our rent for us, and we couldn't live without -them." - -"Pay the rent," grumbled the squire; "I could have done that myself, if -I'd sold all the game, and never given a head to man or woman on the -place." - -"Then why didn't you, Dad?" - -"Why didn't I, girl? Well then, it's just because I suppose I've always -belonged to 'the stupid party,' thank God for it." - -Poor old Lowry was a red-hot Tory, without any Liberal instincts -whatever, a fact which sufficiently accounted for the mess he had made -of his life. And yet, somehow, the men who dared still to touch their -hats to this reprehensible old robber of the public lands, did so with -a smile in their eyes more hearty than the smirk they gave to his -successor, Mr Preece. - -Since the first day we met her, a change has come over Kate. The -grey-blue eyes are just as beautiful, but there is less sparkle in -them; the lips are just as sweet, sweeter it may be, but the dimple has -gone. In the last few months she has seen more of the seamy and shabby -side of life than she had even guessed at in the twenty sunny years -which went before. - -I don't think the squire has any suspicion of it, and Kate has neither -mother nor sister to tell it to, but her poor little heart has had its -stoutness tried a good deal of late. When Kate was queen at the Hall, -gallant George Vernon, somewhile captain of Hussars, and at present -master of the hounds and Kate's very distant cousin, had remembered the -tie of kinship to the bright young beauty quite as often as duty -required. Now his visits were like angel's visits in number and, to the -proud Kate, far less welcome. - -George Vernon was no snob, but then Kate, the hostess at the Hall, the -reigning queen in the hunting-field, and Kate without a horse to her -name, in a cottage and out of the world altogether, were very different -persons, and George unconsciously showed that he felt the change. -Though man is fickle, perhaps George would not have allowed his -admiration for his cousin to cool so suddenly had there not been -attractions elsewhere. - -Miss Preece (the daughter of the new tenant at the Hall) would have -passed as a pretty woman anywhere. If lemon-coloured locks, an abundant -fringe, bright colour, and the full, tempting figure of a young Juno, -make beauty, then Polly Preece was a belle. If reckless riding and a -smart habit make a horsewoman, Polly Preece was a very Amazon. - -True she had never had a fall; true her horses cost three hundred -guineas apiece, and were clever enough to jump through hoops at a -circus, even though they had ten stone of fair humanity hung on to -their tortured mouths; and true, too, that though Polly laughed often -(and showed in doing so as dazzling a set of teeth as ever disappointed -a dentist), few people owed even a smile to any wit of hers. - -But the Bruisers (as the men of the Gonaway hounds were called) voted -her a right good sort, if only she would give them a little more time -at their fences and not always pick the tenderest part of a man to jump -upon. - -George Vernon did the civil at first as Master. In a week's time he was -her pilot, and in a month half a dozen of the Bruisers were sadly -afraid that he would ere long be her husband, thereby robbing them of -the greatest prize in the local market of matrimony and of the merriest -bachelor in the hunt. As for George himself, he thought honestly enough -that the Preece girl was "very good fun," but if he could have had her -dollars without her he would have been a happy man. Unfortunately, -circumstances, especially the bills connected with the maintenance of a -crack pack of fox-hounds, were beginning to impress upon him more and -more the necessity for converting Miss Preece into a connecting link -between himself and her papa's money bags. - -This was, roughly, the state of affairs on Monday, November 2nd, 1885, -the first regular meet of the Bruisers for the season. - -It was a time-honoured custom that the first meet should be held at the -Hall, and though the master of the house who had entertained them so -often was there no longer, still the house stood and the custom -remained. - - * * * * * - -"I suppose you would hardly care to go to the meet to-day, Dad?" -queried Kate at breakfast. - -"Not go to the meet, girl, after keeping the old tryst so many years, -why not?" - -"Oh, I don't know, only I thought you might not." - -"What, because another fellow provides the sherry and is master at the -Hall? Of course I don't like it, but providing he does not give the men -Hamburg stuff, I'll go and be thankful to him for doing what I can no -longer afford to do. Put on a leather petticoat, little woman, and -we'll run with them since we can't ride." - -I think the old man struck the match to light his pipe a shade more -viciously than was necessary, but he never winced, though he was -perhaps remembering another 2nd of November when the little woman was -yet unborn, and he himself on the best horse in the country was as good -a man "as ever holloaed to a hound," and in one fair woman's eyes the -best. - -Suddenly he put down his pipe and called, "Kate." - -"Yes, father." - -"Come down again for a minute." - -"All right, in half a second;" and almost as soon as she had promised -Kate was in the room again. - -"What is your will, sir?" said she with a little mocking courtesy. - -"Why, child, I was thinking that you at any rate might ride to the -meet. Your habit is packed away somewhere; Joe looked yesterday as fit -as paint, and, as Tim expressed it, 'is brimful of consate.' I declare -he has waxed fat and kicks, to the serious detriment of his old -tumble-down box." - -"No, father, if you don't ride, I shan't. If you run, so shall I." - -"Do as you are bid, Kate, or rather, since you never do that, ride if -it is only half-a-dozen fences, just to please your old father, and to -show that young woman at the Hall the difference between riding and -being carried, between hands and paws." - -Those who loved Kate best would always have been the first to admit -that she had just "the laste bit of the divvle in her, God bless her," -and hence it was perhaps that her father's diplomatic suggestion as to -the eclipse of her rival brought the colour to her cheek and the light -to her eyes. - -"Do you really want me to, father?" - -"Really, really, Kate, and now let us go and have a look at Joe." - - * * * * * - -I am ashamed to say how old Joe was. Like ladies, horses don't care to -have their ages published on every house-top, and though they cannot -lie for themselves on this important point, they have no difficulty in -finding many to lie for them. - -Joe was said to have been eight when the Lowrys bought him, and they -had ridden the gallant brown for seven years. But eight is a queer -age in a horse, as expansive and uncertain as the adjective "young" -when applied to spinsters. At the lowest computation Joe was not less -than fifteen, and a "vet." who wanted to buy him once pledged his -professional credit that he was twenty-six at least. Be this as it may, -when an hour later he walked out of his loose box, he looked the very -type and _beau idéal_ of a twelve-stone hunter. From the carriage of -his lean game head and trimly-docked tail, from the cheery snort with -which he welcomed the fresh air, from the muscle on his square and -massive quarters, from his hard, clean legs and full, bold eye, you -might have fancied he was a six-year-old. A veteran strapper who had -followed the squire from the Hall to the cottage, had spent an hour in -dressing the old horse, and the squire's own hands had put the -finishing touches to his toilette. Proud and gay the old rascal looked -before his mistress mounted, but when she was in the saddle he gave one -wild kick from mere exuberance of spirits and then trotted out of the -yard, as old Tim expressed it, "for all the world as if he was tridding -on eggs." - - * * * * * - -"Ye gods! she is a dazzler! Quite takes my breath away," said a -shiny-hatted, faultlessly-breeched stranger from Dublin to a young -local Nimrod; "why, there are not half-a-dozen girls, even with the -Meath, who have ventured out yet in Busvine's scarlet array, and here -is a young lady in the wilds of Gonaway with a seat like a sack of -potatoes and raiment more magnificent than Solomon in all his glory." - -"Fits her well for all that, and suits her style, milk and roses and -that sort of thing, you know," replied the local, himself rather a -captive to the fair equestrienne. - -"Milk and roses! Milk and fiddlestick! Lemon and white I should -describe her if she was in the setter class; but tell me, who is she, -and has she any money?" - -Needless, perhaps, to explain that poor Polly Preece was the subject of -this irreverent banter, which in a measure perhaps she had deserved, -for though a pretty woman in "the lady's pink" is a fair picture in a -showy frame, she must not be hurt if she is a little stared at on her -first appearance. And, indeed, Polly was not hurt. On the contrary she -was flattered and in high spirits. Her new jacket fitted her to -perfection; her horse was well-mannered and easy to ride; she had drawn -the attention of every one to her sweet self, and she felt for the -moment that "blues" or fear had for her neither existence nor meaning. - -A large group of late comers was still standing in the doorway and on -the broad steps of the hall, chaffing each other or pledging their host -in a last stirrup cup. - -"What is that madcap daughter of mine about now?" exclaimed old Preece, -as Polly broke from the throng and sent her horse along over the turf -at a rattling gallop, followed by two or three of her admirers. - -From the steps to the line of elms no fence was visible to the -spectators, and yet before reaching the avenue, three of the horses -rose at something, and the fourth and his rider seemed to be swallowed -up. - -"Good heavens! young Voyle is down in the Park fence," cried Preece; -and sure enough the exquisite from Dublin shortly after emerged from -the abyss, his hat crushed, his breeches smirched, and his temper -somewhat soured by the loss of a good horse. - -"Really, Mr Preece, you must curb that young lady's pluck; she will -break her neck some day if you don't take care," suggested an elderly -friend. - -"Break her neck," growled old Preece; "it isn't pluck, it is folly; -wait until she has had a fall; you'll see she will learn better." - -Kate had been sitting a quiet spectator of this little episode, though -the old horse had backed and fidgetted with impatient desire to join in -the fun. - -As Polly rode back from the fence she caught sight of Kate, and with -that sweetness which women show to rivals they detest, wreathed her -face in smiles and laid a caressing hand on Joe's mane. - -"Oh, Kate, how glad I am to see you out! I wish, dear, you had let me -know that you meant to come. You might have ridden Dennis or my bay. I -am afraid your dear old horse is almost past work now!" - -"Doesn't look like it, does he, Miss Preece?" retorted Kate, as Joe -champed his bit and pawed the velvet turf. Polly hated to be called -Miss Preece by Kate, and would fain have passed for her bosom friend; -but Kate unfortunately chose her own friends for herself, and Polly was -not of them. - -"Cousin Kate is a rare believer in the old horse," remarked George -Vernon as he joined the two girls. - -"Yes," assented Polly, "your cousin is a very antiquary; she likes -everything that is old, and only what is old. She has even spoken -slightingly of this miracle of Mr Busvine's. From politics to -petticoats, Miss Lowry is a Tory, like her father!" - -"I admit all you say, Miss Preece, and glory in it. I do prefer old -habits, sartorial and otherwise, to any others." - -There was a deepening in the blue of Kate's eyes as this word-play went -on, which looked as if she was more than half in earnest. - -"Well, I don't agree with you, and for the sake of example I will back -my young chestnut against your veteran in the field to-day," quoth -Polly. - -"Oh, come, Miss Preece, that's hardly fair," broke in George; six -against twenty-six, isn't it, Kate?" - -"It may be, Cousin George, but the old horse can quite take care of -himself, thank you. Yes, I'll match my old one against your chestnut, -owners up; who is to be judge?" - -"Would you mind, Captain Vernon?" pleaded Polly. - -"No, certainly. What are the stakes?" - -"Oh, say a pair of gloves; I am too much of a pauper to make the bet in -dozens," replied Kate, and so the bet was made. - - * * * * * - -The morning was a bright one, with a touch of hoar frost on the grass, -which none but the early risers saw. - -At 11.15 the rime had all gone, and the air was as "balmy as May," the -sun shone brightly, and men's spirits were as brilliant as the weather. - -But the first draw was a long one, and a blank. The second was like it, -and again no noisy note replied to what Captain Pennell Elmhirst calls -"the huntsman's tuneful pleading." - -Faces began to lengthen. A blank at Tod Hall had never been heard of in -the memory of man. The gentlemen in velveteen who had taken a somewhat -prominent part in the morning's proceedings had disappeared by noon, -and men spoke disparagingly of the race which some sportsmen aver is a -compound of policeman and poacher. - -It was easy by two o'clock to tell the men who rode horses from those -who only "talked horse." - -The "customers" were all looking grim and silent; the men of the road -were brightly conversational, and sat in groups discussing their cigars -and whisky flasks at every point from which they could not possibly -see, should the hounds slip quietly and suddenly away. - -The little group near the corner of the covert had grown weary of -waiting. The glow which follows a sharp trot to covert on your -favourite hack, and the consumption of "just one glass" of orange -brandy, had worn off, and the damp chill of a November afternoon had -begun to pierce through the stoutest of pinks and to chill the gayest -of hearts. - -The horses had fretted themselves into a white lather with impatience, -or stood with drooping heads and staring coats, mute witnesses to the -chill which had come with afternoon and hope deferred. Everything -suggested that fox-hunting was an overrated amusement. - -Little by little the hounds had drawn away from the Hall and its -overstocked coverts, until now, at 2 P.M., they were thrown into a -small outlying wood, where pheasants were never reared and rarely shot. - -At last there was a doubtful whimper; then a hard-looking man in mufti -(a local horse dealer) stood up in his stirrups and held his hat high -above his head. A dozen keen pair of eyes saw the signal, and though no -foolish halloa imperilled their chance of a run, the light and colour -came back into the men's faces, and they forgot in a moment the -miseries of the morning as they marked the lithe red form of reynard -steal out of covert, and with a whisk of his grey-tagged brush, make -off leisurely, with his head set straight for the stiffest line in the -county. - -By this time the first doubtful whimper had been caught up and repeated -in fuller and more certain tones, and there was little need of the horn -to call loiterers from covert. - -One after another the beauties tumbled out in hot haste, hackles up. -For one moment each seemed to dwell as he cleared the brakes, and then -with a rush they gathered to where old Monitor had the line under the -lee of a grey stone wall, along which the whole pack glanced, swift and -close packed as wild fowl on the wing, while the keen November air -thrilled with the maddest, merriest music that ever made a sportsman's -blood tingle in his veins. - -The wild freshness of the morning, with its bright sunshine, had given -place to frost, and men settled grimly down to their work with the -conviction that with such a burning scent and an afternoon fox few -would live with hounds to the finish. - -The field was never a large one from the start. None but those who got -away at once had a chance of seeing the run, for the first mile was -ridden at racing pace over a lovely grass country, with nothing to stop -hounds or men save low stone walls, over which they slipped without a -rattle like the phantoms of a dream. Amongst those still with hounds at -the end of the first mile were the two ladies and the master. Polly's -red jacket had followed George Vernon as the needle follows the -magnet--a little too closely, perhaps, for the comfort of the magnet. -Kate had been in trouble on the right, her old horse, fresh and mad -with excitement and out of temper with the long restraint of the -morning, had got his ears laid flat back and the bit in his teeth. - -For the moment the temperate habits of past years were forgotten, and -poor Kate, with arms aching and powerless, felt herself flashing over -stout stone walls at a pace which would have been dangerous over sheep -hurdles. - -Polly's chestnut, on the contrary, was behaving in a manner which would -have done credit to the best horse in Galway or with the Heythrop, -steadying himself at every wall and popping over with the least -possible exertion to himself or risk to his rider. - -And now five of the "pursuers" were in one field, grass beneath their -feet and a fair stone wall without a gap in it in front. - -All except Polly probably noticed the rushes which grew in tiny bunches -beneath the wall, and guessed from them and from the sudden dip of the -land that the take-off would be a boggy one. - -In vain Kate tried to get a pull at her horse. On the left Vernon and -Polly had got over with a scramble. One man was down, and a second felt -that the roan was worth another fifty at least for the way he kicked -himself clear of the dirt. - -With a rush which would have landed him well on the other side of -twenty feet of water, the brown went at the highest place he could find -in the wall. Kate knew what must come, but hardened her heart and faced -it. As the old horse tried to rise, he stuck in the heavy bog. There -was a crash; for a moment everything spun round, and Kate was down with -a stunning fall. - -Had anyone seen her, of course even the run of the season would have -been given up to render her assistance, but her only companions in this -particular field had the lead of her, and the side walls hid her from -other people's view, besides which Kate Lowry was one who had long -since established her right to look after herself in the hunting-field. - -For a minute or two the slim girl's figure lay prone and motionless on -the damp turf, while her horse stood by, hanging his wise old head -regretfully over the ruin he had made. Then the girl raised herself on -her elbow, pushed the fair hair out of her eyes, and sitting up, looked -into the old horse's wistful face with a half smile. - -"You old fool, Joe!" she said; "you ought to have known better at your -time of life." - -Rising to her feet, she leaned her head for a moment on her saddle, -pressing her hand to her side as if in pain, and then backing her horse -so that he stood close alongside the wall, she climbed slowly and with -difficulty back into the saddle. - -"I wonder how long we lay under that wall, Joe?" soliloquized Kate, as -she walked him through a gap in the next wall; "and I wonder, too, -where the hounds are, and if I must give it up and let that Preece girl -beat me?" - -Listening intently, she sat for a moment by the roadside, the old -horse's ears pricked keenly forward. At last she thought she heard -hounds running, it seemed, to her right. Without a moment's hesitation -she turned Joe round, and, sobered by his fall, that mud-besmeared -veteran popped over the wall as cleverly as a cat, only to be reined up -short as he lit, for there, streaming over another wall, were the whole -pack, going as keenly and as fiercely now as in the first three fields. -With them were only two horsemen, the master and the man in mufti. - -As the three joined forces, George noticed for the first time his -cousin's white face and muddy garments. - -"Why, Kate, where have you been? Not hurt, I hope?" and though the -words were curt and simple, the expression in his face was less -careless than it might have been. - -"No, thanks; more mud than bruises, I think. Where is Miss Preece?" - -"Rolled off in the only piece of plough in the county, and seems to -have taken root there," laughed the ungallant M.F.H. - -"No damage done, I hope?" said Kate. - -"Hurt? No. Her clever chestnut put his feet into a furrow and stumbled, -_la belle_ Polly rolled off, and though we put her up again, she -seemed to have had enough, especially as she believed that you had -given up the chase some time since." - -"Oh, indeed," laughed Kate, a little grimly. "You see hers was her -_first_ fall; it makes a difference." - -And now the conversation dropped. Each of those three riders had his or -her hands full for the time. The fox in front of them was, indeed, a -straight-necked one. Save for the one turn which had given Kate a -second chance, he had gone straight as the crow flies since the find. -Save for a check of a short five minutes, the hounds had run almost as -if they were coursing him, and it was already a full half-hour since -the find, and the spire of Kempford church was now visible on the -right. At the back of Kempford village was a well-known drain, in which -more than one stout fox had found safety. For this reynard seemed to be -making, and to judge of the frequency with which each of the three -horses rattled their walls as they skimmed over them, his pursuers were -hardly likely to get there even if he was. - -But between the Kempford drain and him there ran the deep and broad -stream of the Cheln, unfordable, and rarely, if ever, crossed (save by -a bridge) in the annals of fox-hunting. As the three neared the river, -they were (thanks to a lucky turn) in the same field with the hounds. - -"By Jove, there he is," cried the "dealer," breaking silence for the -first time, and there, sure enough, dragging his gallant but draggled -person up the bank opposite was poor "pug," in full view of the pack. -No otter hounds ever took water more savagely than did old Monitor and -his comrades, almost whining with impatience to close with their -gallant foe. - -"Kate, for God's sake, don't try it," cried Vernon. - -It was too late; the old horse had already been driven in, and the -first woman who ever swam a horse across the Cheln was already battling -with the stream, her lips hard set, her grey-blue eyes full of fire, -and her whole face recalling vividly for the moment, in spite of its -natural softness, the stern outlines of those ancestors whose war-worn -profiles adorned the long galleries of the Hall. - -It was a difficult swim, but old Joe's limbs were borne up bravely by -the brave heart within, and it was not till long after the dripping -habit had been dried that it occurred to Kate that, like Lord Cardigan, -she had forgotten that she could not swim. - -The M.F.H. and his cousin were now the only two left with the hounds, -and in front of them rose, perhaps, the worst fence in the Gonaway -country, a stiff stone wall, the stones all firmly morticed, and on the -top a row of rough-edged slabs set on end like the teeth of a saw. -Under the take-off side ran a deep, little stream, nowhere less than -six feet wide, and even at that the banks were undermined and unsafe. - -The cousins were alongside in the field which this mantrap bounded. -Every atom of colour had left her cheeks now, and her lips were white -with pain. Had George's whole heart and mind not been in the chase, he -must have seen, and insisted on her returning home. As it was, he only -said, "They've killed him, Kate; I must have it and save a bit of the -best fox I ever hunted." And if hounds' tongues could be believed, they -had indeed at last pulled the gallant old fox down, though the rugged -piece of masonry before alluded to hid the pack from view. - -"Is there no other way, George?" - -"No, don't you follow me; go back by the lane and I'll bring you the -brush if I can save it." - -So saying, the master turned his horse and set himself at the place -where the wall looked lowest. Kate had been bred in a hunting country, -but truth to tell, her heart hung on that leap. - -"One thrust to his hat and two to the sides of his brown," and then he -shot to the front, seat steady and hands well down. Right bravely the -horse rose at the leap, but the bank broke as he rose, his knees caught -the coping stone with a jarring thud, and man and horse lay stunned on -the other side. - -To the wild cry of "George, George!" no answer came back, and then it -was for the first time that poor Kate knew how irretrievably her heart -had been lost to her dashing cousin. - -To gallop to the gate was useless, though she essayed it. The gate was -six barred and locked, moreover, the wall and its guarding stream still -ran on beyond the gate. Kate had lost her head and her heart, but not -her pluck. - -"Just one more try, Joe," she whispered, and with a rush that seemed -born of the last energies of a gallant heart the brave old horse faced -and cleared the coping stone. Many fresh horses might have cleared that -wall; but they talk of that leap still in Gonaway. Nearly five feet of -hard stone and a biggish brook in front was no small feat, they say, -for a tired horse, even with bonny Kate Lowry on his back. - -Under the wall lay the grey, stone dead, and under him George Vernon, -his white face looking up at the sky now darkly bright with the frost -of a November evening. - -How Kate got her cousin from under his horse and watched the colour -creep back to his bronzed cheek, no one knows, for she kept these -things in her own sweet heart, but it was late in the evening that a -party sent out to search met an old woman leading along a donkey cart, -on which lay poor Vernon, his leg and collar bone broken, while beside -him sat a lady, her face white with pain, which her colour alone -betrayed, and after them came a yokel leading old Joe, and followed by -the best pack in Ireland. - -The day had one more event in store for the villagers of Kempford. -Arrived at the inn, Kate Lowry did what no Lowry had ever been known to -do before--she fainted. On recovering, she shame-facedly exclaimed, "I -think I must have broken something when I fell at the beginning of the -run, and it has hurt me rather ever since." - -She had broken something. No more nor less than three ribs; but if she -had refused a humble prayer made to her three weeks later she would -have broken something more important--"the heart" of the M.F.H. for -Gonaway, who to this day may be heard to declare "that there is no -pluck like a woman's, and I ought to know, for I married the pluckiest -girl in old Ireland." - - - - -SOME CURIOUS HORSES - -BY CAPTAIN R. BIRD THOMPSON - - -I fancy that I must have possessed as curious a lot of horses as has -fallen to the lot of most men--occasioned partly by the fact that -friends who, whenever they had a particularly queer-tempered or vicious -brute, were in the habit of either presenting it to me as a gift, or -offering it for a mere song; partly through my having bought several -with peculiar reputations; and, lastly, I think that it must have been -predestined that I was to be the owner of these sort of animals. My -first pony, which my father bought for me when I was six years old, was -purchased from a gentleman who parted with it because it always ran -away with his children and kicked them off. The pony, however, never -did this with me, although playing the same trick with almost everyone -else. One thing, I petted it very much, and it really was fond of me. - -It was a wonderful pony. What its age was I do not know, but it was in -my possession for twenty-two years, and was said to be an old one when -my father bought it. Its death at last was brought on by eating a -quantity of half-ripe apples. Having been turned out into an orchard, a -sudden gale in the night knocked down a great many of them, and the old -fellow ate such a lot that they brought on an attack in his stomach, -which killed him in a few hours. - -I had one very queer-tempered horse given to me. A friend, a great -hunting man, wrote and asked me to come up and lunch with him and talk -over some intended "meets." I accepted the invitation, and went up to -his house. After lunch he proposed a stroll over his stables. As we -were going over them we came to a horse in a stall quite away from the -rest of the stud. My friend asked me if I did not know it. I, however, -did not recognise the horse, as it had a longish coat on, and he then -told me that it was one that a Mr Goldsmidt had given 500 guineas for -about a year previously, and, finding it too much for him, had -presented it to my friend. "Now," said he, "I will give it to you, and -if you will not have the animal I shall send it to the kennel -to-morrow." I, as may be imagined, was greatly surprised, as the horse -was considered to be one of the best hunters in England. Its legs -seemed quite fresh and generally all right, so far as I could see. -Thinking that I could send it to the kennel as well as he could, if it -turned out useless, I accepted the gift with thanks. - -Just as we were leaving the stables, my friend dropped back, and I -overheard him say to a groom, "Take that horse down to Captain T----'s -stables _at once_." Well, thought I, there is some screw loose--and a -pretty big one I fancy. - -On reaching home, late in the afternoon, my groom met me and said, "The -new horse has come, sir; but he seems a pretty queer one." I went round -to the stables at once, and there I found the horse looking very wild, -his eyes almost standing out of his head, and he himself as far back -out of his stall as his halter-rein would allow, though not hanging on -it. I went up and began to talk to him, and at length he seemed -quieter, and his eye did not look so wild; at last he let me hold his -head-stall. I then patted and coaxed him as much as possible, and -gradually got him up into his stall. Just as I had succeeded in this, -the groom came with the evening feed. Directly the horse saw him, he -began to make a roaring noise, more like a bull than anything else. -Fortunately I had hold of his head-stall, or I think he would have -damaged the man. On loosening his head, thinking he would feed quietly, -he snapped at the corn just as a terrier does at a rat, catching up a -mouthful and then dropping it. I at last managed to slide slowly out of -his stall, and left him for the night. - -The next day I sent for some men to clip him. They did their work very -well, but I subsequently heard that they declared they would never -touch him again; they would as soon clip a Bengal tiger. - -Soon after this I had him out for a ride and discovered another of his -amiable peculiarities. Whenever he met or passed a conveyance of any -sort, he kicked out at it most furiously; I suppose that some time or -other he had been struck when passing something. It was a most -dangerous trick, and took a very long time and great patience to -overcome. However, at last I cured him. - -Another peculiarity that he had was his great objection to my mounting -him when in uniform. He did not mind it in the least when I was once in -the saddle, and took not the slightest notice of my sword rattling -against his ribs; but he could not bear the act of mounting. I used to -have him blindfolded at first, but afterwards, by always petting him, -giving him sugar, &c., he lost his dislike to being mounted. - -One morning, sometime after I had had him, my groom sent in word that -the new horse had kicked his stall all to pieces, and, on going into -the stable, I found he had done it and no mistake. There was scarcely a -piece of the strong oak partitions bigger than one's hand; they were -literally smashed. What made him do it I cannot imagine; he never tried -it again. Strangely enough, after all this violent kicking, the only -place where he had marked himself was a little bit not bigger than a -florin on his near fetlock, where he had knocked off the hair. - -One trick he had of which I never cured him. This was when out hunting. -When taking the first fence, on landing he invariably kicked up as high -as he could. Often and often when he seemed particularly quiet I -thought, "Well, old fellow, you surely won't kick to-day": but, as -certainly as the fence came, so surely did he kick--but never except at -the first fence. - -As a hunter he was perfection, and never, with one exception, refused a -fence with me. On that occasion I felt that I was not certain about -taking it. I was late at the meet, and the hounds had slipped off -down-wind, so my only chance of getting the run was by a lucky nick in. -I was riding to a point that I thought they would make to, and had just -jumped over into a lane and was riding at the fence on the opposite -side, when I caught sight of a man in pink riding down the lane. I -turned my head quickly to look at him, and the horse feeling the slight -motion I suppose, and thinking that I was going to join the man swerved -round, but, on my turning his head to the fence again, he took it at -once. This was the only time he ever swerved at or refused a fence. - -I lost him in a very curious way. I was out hunting one day when the -going was very deep and bad, and we were galloping through a piece of -plough. At the top of the field was a cut quickset hedge and a gate. I -rode at the latter, thinking that the ground would be sounder there, -and the jump would not take so much out of my horse. When I got to the -gate, he rose at it, and then made a tremendous effort to draw his -hind-legs out of the deep mud. Not meeting the resistance he expected, -his hind-legs flew up so that he landed on the other side almost in a -perpendicular position, his tail brushing my hat, and for a moment I -really thought he would fall over on me. However he came down -apparently all right and cantered a few yards into the next field, when -he made a most extraordinary flounder and stopped. I jumped off at -once, and found him sitting up, just as you often see a dog, with his -fore-legs straight out and his hind ones at right angles to his body. -In a minute or so he rolled over on his side. I tried to get him up, -but he did not move. A veterinary surgeon who was out, seeing that -something was wrong, came up, and, on examining him, declared that his -back was broken. And so it proved to be: the violent jerk of his -hind-legs had done it. Of course I had to have him shot at once. I was -very sorry to lose him, as he was such a perfect hunter. - -Another of my horses I bought from the farmer who bred him; he was a -black, nearly thoroughbred, and a very fine-looking animal. I had often -seen his owner riding him to market and other places, nearly always at -a hand-gallop, and the horse never appeared heated or even blown. I had -also seen him in the hunting field. After purchasing him, I tried him -over some fences that had been made for the purpose in one of my -fields, and he jumped fairly for a young one, so I took him out with -the hounds when they met in an easy country. The first thing I put him -at was a small gate; but this he would not have, so I set him at a low, -dry stone wall, which he cleared well. So he did also the next two or -three fences; but on coming to another he did not make the slightest -effort to jump--simply ran at it, and blundered through it somehow. The -next fence, in spite of my shaking him up and letting him have the -spurs pretty smartly, he did in the same way, then cleared one fairly; -but on my putting him at a bar-way he never rose at all, but went full -tilt at it and smashed it to bits. I was a good deal disgusted at these -performances, but tried him another day, a friend saying I did not -rouse him sufficiently. Anyhow, this next time I did so, but it had no -effect. He scrambled his fences in just the same way, never, however, -coming down. After this I lent him to my friend (who thought I did not -ride him with sufficient resolution) for a day's hunting by way of a -trial; and the horse signalised himself so that I determined to part -with him. He had gone on in his usual way until we came to a brook -about twelve feet wide, but deep. I jumped it all right, and looked -back to see how my friend fared. The brute of a horse did not attempt -to clear it, but actually galloped into it, turning a complete -somersault, so that he actually scrambled out on the same bank he came -from. Fortunately my friend got his feet out of the stirrups, feeling -that the animal would not clear it, and was flung on the opposite bank, -merely getting his legs wet. After this I sent the brute to -Tattersall's, and got a very good price for him on account of his make -and shape; in fact, you could not see a finer-looking hunter nor ride a -greater impostor. - -Another curious animal I had I bought quite accidentally. - -It was at Newmarket during a July Meeting, and one morning I strolled -up to the paddocks where the sales were going on, expecting to see -there a friend I wished to meet. On walking up to the ring, a very fine -horse was being led slowly round; it was evidently quite quiet, went -round the ring like any old sheep; but scarcely any bids and those very -low ones, were being made for it. Catching the auctioneer's eye, I gave -a bid, and, not seeing my friend, walked off. Just as I had got to the -gate one of the auctioneer's clerks ran after me and asked where they -should take my horse to. I denied having bought one; but the man -persisted, so I went back and found the horse had actually been knocked -down to me, the auctioneer telling me it was really cheap for -dogs'-meat at the price I had given. The horse was sent down to my -trainer's, and, meeting him later on in the day on the course, he said, -"Well, sir, so you bought Vulcan?" I told him how it occurred, at which -he was much amused, and, on my asking him some questions, told me he -was a splendid horse--wonderfully bred and looking all over like -galloping, but that he never would try. He had no pride, he said, and -would lob along in the ruck as happily as possible. He had been in lots -of stakes, but no one could do anything with him; he would make a -waiting race with a mule they said. - -It was a most curious case. The horse seemed to have every requisite of -make, shape, and action, and yet could not be induced to try to race. -It appeared to make no difference whether the rest of the things were -in front of him or if they came up and passed him; he kept on about the -same pace, and would not try to race. If punishment was attempted, the -horse showed such evident symptoms of temper that it was not safe to -continue it. - -At last he was used by the trainer as a hack, and, in his absence, -taken out by the head lad, when out to superintend the gallops. - -I had almost forgotten his existence, when one day I received a letter -from my trainer asking me to come down to Newmarket the next day by a -mid-day train, when I should find a hack waiting for me at the station, -and that he would be at the New Stand, on the race-course side, to meet -me, as he wished me to see a trial. - -I of course went down and met my trainer at the Stand. After a little -conversation, we cantered off to the place where the trial was to come -off, and stationed ourselves at the spot fixed for the winning-post. He -then gave a signal, and shortly I saw four horses galloping towards us -and keeping pretty fairly together until perhaps about two lengths off, -when one of them came away from the others, leaving them almost as if -they were standing still. "Well," I said, "of course I don't know what -the weights are, but that is as hollow a thing as I ever saw. What -horse is that?" I asked. To my intense surprise, he said, "Vulcan." -"How in the world did you get him to gallop?" said I. "That's rather a -curious story," replied the man. "We found it out quite by accident. I -was away last week for a day or two looking at some very promising -yearlings in Dorsetshire, and Jackson (the head lad) took out the -string, riding Vulcan as hack. They were exercising on the Bury side, -and a boy who was going rook-tending passed by. Boy-like, when he saw -the horses cantering, he blew his horn--to try to give them a start, I -suppose. None of them minded it except Vulcan, and he clapped his legs -under him and bolted off with Jackson as hard as he could go. When I -came back next day he told me about it, but did not seem to think -anything of it. However, it struck me differently, so I went and found -the boy and told him to come to me the next day with his horn--which he -did. I took the string out, and told the boy to blow as we passed him. -He did so, and Vulcan again bolted clear away, past all the other -horses. So I felt sure I had found out how to make him go, and to-day -if you noticed (which I had not) a boy blew a horn as they passed him -and the horse again came away, though the others did their best, and he -was giving them from 2 lb. to 4 lb." - -"You certainly have found out how to make him gallop," I said; "but I -don't see how you are always to have a trumpeter about after him." "I -think it can be managed," he replied. "I want you to enter him for the -Handicap Steeple Stakes at the next meeting. He will only have a -feather to carry, and at the time of the race, if you could be with the -boy about the T.Y.C. winning-post, and, as the horses come by, tell him -to blow, it won't be noticed in the least." - -The horse was duly entered and I performed my part, and he won with -consummate ease. The scene afterwards in the Birdcage when I went in to -see him weighed was most amusing. Everybody was rushing up to me to -find out how he had been treated; the most wonderful stories were set -about as to the quantity of whisky and port wine that had been -administered to the horse, but the facts were as I have stated. He won -in the same way and with the same ease in July behind the Ditch. After -this we tried him without the horn, and he went fairly, so I put him -into a selling race, which he won, and I sold him for a very fair -price. I did not hear much of him afterwards, but believe he got back -to his old tricks. - -Another horse that I bought I knew to be a reprobate when I purchased -him. He was a very fine racehorse, and had run well in the -Derby--fourth or fifth, I think--and afterwards won several very -valuable stakes; but in some of his last races he was severely -punished, and this quite upset his temper. He became savage; then he -was operated on and turned sulky, and at last developed a curious trick -(no one seemed to know exactly how he managed it) of getting rid of his -jockeys, nearly causing the death of his rider on two or three -occasions. He was sent to Tattersall's to be sold, with various other -"weed-outs" from his owner's stable. - -I bought him thinking that he might make a steeplechaser, as rogues on -the flat often develop into good "'chasers." - -Being anxious to find out how he got rid of his riders, a day or so -after I had him I ordered him to be saddled, and, mounting him myself, -I took him into a thirty-acre field of light plough, thinking, if I got -a fall, it would not hurt there. I wanted to find out what he could do, -telling my groom to watch carefully and see what his manoeuvre was. - -Well, I just walked him round the field several times, and he went as -quietly as possible; then I trotted him, and still everything was -pleasant, and I began to think that the change of scene and course had -produced its effect. Next I put him into a canter. At this pace he did -not go quite so well, and evidently was looking out for something; but -at last he appeared to have settled fairly into his canter. Then, -catching hold of his head, I just touched with the spur to make him -gallop, when, without a moment's notice, I was sent out of the saddle -like a stone from a catapult. When I got up, the brute was trotting -away in the opposite direction to that in which I had been riding. I -very soon caught him, and going down to my groom, asked him what on -earth the horse had done. I need hardly say the man had not seen him. -Of course, he said he fancied he heard someone calling just then and -looked round; the fact being that, seeing the horse go quietly at -first, he thought it was all right, and never took the trouble to -watch. - -As I was determined to find out the trick, I made my groom mount him. -The man rather funked it, and said he had no spurs on; so I gave him -mine, and he mounted and went off. However, his reign was not long. -Starting in a canter, he tried to gallop the horse, and touched him -with the spurs, whereupon the brute shot out a fore-leg and spun round -on it just as if he had been a teetotum. Of course, the man flew off, -just as I had done. However I saw clearly that he would not bear the -spur, and this seemed to be the secret. I mounted him again, without -spurs, and rode him round and round for a considerable time, and got -him to gallop by degrees, but in a very sulky way. If I attempted to -rise in my stirrups, or even move my heel towards his side, I felt he -was preparing for his dodge; however, I did not give him a second -chance. - -After this I rode him regularly every day for an hour or more in the -plough, and, finding he was not touched with the spur the horse went -fairly freely. Next I took him out with my groom, riding a steady old -hunter, and tried him over some small plain fences on a ground I had -for schooling horses. He took to the work at once, and became very -clever, and, as it was quite clear that his temper would hinder him -from being a 'chaser, I rode him with the hounds, and a finer hunter -never existed; but I never rode him with spurs, and always had to -remember not to touch him with my heels. If I moved them towards him I -felt him begin to screw up; but he never required pressing--he was so -very free and fast. He never, however, forgot his old tricks, and a -very favourite amusement of the youngsters in the district was when -they met anyone who was bumptious about his riding to offer to bet him -that he would not gallop a certain horse round a paddock three times. -Then they got me to lend them my old friend. It is quite needless to -say that no one ever did succeed in sitting him three times round, as -they were sure to rise in their stirrups and touch him with the spur, -with the invariable consequences. - -I sold him at last to a man who had often seen me ride him, and who -envied him for his great speed, having warned him that he would not -bear spurs. However, he would have the horse, and took him into -Leicestershire, where he went very well I believe. - -The best horse I ever had must have been predestined to become my -property, so singularly did I meet it and ultimately purchase it. - -I went one day to St Pancras terminus to meet a friend who was coming -up by one of the Midland trains. Getting there before the train had -arrived, I was wandering about the station, to pass away the time, when -I saw a string of horses being unloaded, and amongst them there was one -that had been unboxed and was standing as quietly as possible by itself -not the least startled by all the noise and clatter. I glanced at it, -and thought it a fine-looking animal; but just then, my friend's train -coming in, I joined him, and we went off together. - -In the afternoon I was going down by a train from London Bridge, and -when I walked out on to the platform, curiously enough there was the -same string of horses being boxed to go down to a large firm of dealers -in the South; there too was the same horse that I had seen at St -Pancras, standing as quietly as possible waiting her turn to be boxed. -I went up to look at her, and admired her very much. She was a -dark-brown, and seemed to have very good legs and feet, though I could -not see much of her, as she was all clothed up and legs bandaged; but I -had not much time to look over her, as my train was ready, so I got in, -and, for the moment, never thought anything more about her. - -Some short time after this I had a letter from a large firm of -horse-dealers, telling me that their "show day" was to come off next -week, and asking me to come and look through their stables. I did not -want another horse, but thought I should like to go, and, on the fixed -day, went. On getting to their place, after a very good lunch, they -asked me to come out and go over the stud. When they opened the door of -the first stable, strangely enough there stood, just opposite the door, -the identical brown mare I had so admired on her journey through town. -The dealer, seeing I was struck with her, insisted on her being -stripped and brought out, in spite of my telling them that I did not -want a horse, and that it was no use taking the trouble to bring her -out. However, out she came, and I certainly admired her very much. To -my surprise, she stood 15 h. 3 in., though until you went close to her -you would not have thought her more than 15 hands; had four splendid -flat black legs, well ribbed up, with a very nice head and well-laid -shoulders and neck; her paces and action were excellent, and the -dealers said if I could find a fault in her they would give her to me. -I told them I did not want her, but as they were taking her in, thought -I would just ask her price. Now, horses were very dear that season, -and, as she was warranted a good hunter, excellent in harness and to -carry a lady, and only four years old, I expected that at least £100 -would be asked. To my great surprise, they said £40. This, of course, -choked me off at once, as I felt sure that at that price there must be -some _very_ "loose screw." Refusing all offers of her, I drove home. - -In a few days after this I had a letter from the dealers begging me to -have her, saying they would distinctly warrant her in every way, and -that she would (of course) exactly suit me. I, however, again declined -her. - -A week or so after this I was told that a man was at my stables and -wanted to see me, and, on going out, found that these dealers had -actually sent the mare over for me to try. Well, they gave me a written -warranty of the strongest kind, engaging, amongst other things, either -to give me another horse or return the price if she did not suit me; -and the end was I bought her. - -Well, I had her out the next day and tried her, and found her as good -as they said her to be--rather too high action for a hack, but very -showy and perfect in harness; did not seem to know what shying meant; a -most beautiful light hunter, and a very free goer. I thought I had -found perfection, and everything went on well for more than a week, -until one day, when I had come back from a drive, my groom sent in word -to say that he wanted to see me at the stables. On getting there, he -told me that the mare would not go into the stable, and, sure enough, -whenever he tried to lead her in she placed herself flat against the -wall, and refused to move. We got her to the door at last, and she -stood with her head just inside; and, though I tried to tempt her with -corn, green-meat, sugar, &c., she absolutely refused to go farther. - -At length, without any warning, she suddenly rushed in and round into -her stall, with such violence that she nearly slipped up against her -manger, and only recovered herself after a great struggle; and on the -next day, when they tried to bring her out, she rushed out just in the -same violent way. Here was the "loose screw" with a vengeance! but as I -did not wish to part with her (for she was perfection with the -exception of this trick), I set to work to try how to cure her of it. -After some time we found that we could get her in and out of the stable -by backing her, and this, though a rather awkward plan, was quite -successful. I may say that after some years we got her to walk in -quietly. The dealers had evidently kept an eye on her, for when they -found out that I had hit on a plan by which I could get her into and -out of a stable without danger they had the impudence to write and -offer me £60 and _another horse_ if I would let them have her back; -and, on my taking no notice of this, actually wrote again and offered -me £100. - -Curiously enough, the mare would go into and out of a _strange_ stable -quite quietly, but directly she got accustomed to it began the rushing -game. - -This mare was perfect with that one exception, and did not know what -fear was. If a gun was fired close to her, she would not take the least -notice, and would allow a rifle to be fired under her nose, with the -reins on her neck, and not even move her head. - -I always believe that shying and all that kind of trick in a horse is -the fault, in nearly every case, of the rider. Of course there are -differences of temperament in horses as in men, but as a rule, what I -have stated is the case, and I once had what I consider a remarkable -illustration of it. - -I was on the staff at the first autumn manoeuvres in the Aldershot -district in 1871, and one day I was riding back to camp after a heavy -day, when I met a friend--a cavalry officer. We stopped to talk over -the day, and just as we were parting he said to me, "Oh, I have a lot -of horses eating their heads off; if you would take one and ride it, it -would save yours and do mine good." I of course accepted the offer with -thanks, saying at the same time, "I suppose it is a charger," and -received (as I thought) an answer in the affirmative. - -The horse was sent over to my stables that evening, and the next -morning at 4 A.M., on going out of my tent, I found a very fine bright -chestnut horse, evidently nearly thoroughbred, being led about by my -groom. Well, I mounted him and rode off, and after duly inspecting the -pickets and outposts, rode on to join the general staff. As I was going -along I suddenly found myself on one of those dangerous pieces of -ground that are to be often met with in the Aldershot district--all -seamed with cart-ruts worn into the sand, varying from 2 to 4 feet in -depth, and overgrown with heather, so that you cannot detect them until -you are actually amongst them. Finally, finding where I was, I took my -legs out of the stirrups, and put the reins on the horse's neck, -knowing that I could not help him, and let him pick his way as best he -could. He was doing this very cleverly, when suddenly a gun from a -battery, concealed in a hollow close by, was fired (it was, in fact, -the gun to tell the troops to be ready to move). My horse did not take -the slightest notice of it, not even pricking his ears. Of course I -thought that as he took no sort of notice of big guns he must be -thoroughly broken, and used him as if he was--riding him with cavalry, -artillery, and infantry, taking points, and doing everything that -pertains to a staff officer's duties; and no horse could have done -better or been more thoroughly steady. - -At the end of the manoeuvres I returned him to my friend with many -thanks, and he very soon sold him as a broke charger for a long price. - -Shortly after this I was dining with my friend at the mess of his -regiment, and, after dinner, in the ante-room, I happened to remark to -an officer, "What a very good riding-master and staff they must have to -break in so young a horse so thoroughly." He looked rather amused, and -replied, "I suppose you refer to Red Rover?" (the name of the horse). I -said, "Yes." "Well," he answered, "you broke him!" I was, of course, -greatly surprised, but found it was actually the case. The horse had -never been ridden with troops until he was lent to me, and I feel not -the slightest doubt that it was the fact of his being on that dangerous -piece of ground, and my having my feet and hands both loose when the -gun was fired so unexpectedly, that gave him confidence. I could not -have influenced him in the slightest degree. Of course, if I had been -on ordinary ground, and had seen that a gun was going to be fired, I -should, naturally enough, have slightly tightened the reins and felt -his mouth and pressed my legs to his side, and thus have drawn his -attention to the fact that something was going to take place. As I did -not, he took the noise as a matter of course, and did not notice it; -and so, through mutual ignorance, we had perfect confidence in one -another. But there is a sequel to this. Some months later I had a -letter from my friend, telling me that if I wished to buy the horse I -might get him for almost nothing, as the man he sold him to gave an -awful character of him as a charger. As the horse was in the same -district I happened to be in, I went to see him, and certainly the -groom gave him a bad character. I got leave to try him, and very soon -found that his present owner must be a very irritable, nervous man. The -horse had had his mouth so jagged about with the bit that he never kept -his head still for a minute, and, if you told him to mark a flank, -directly it approached began to switch his tail and tried to kick, -having evidently had frequent digs with the spur to make him steady. -Altogether the horse was quite spoiled for a charger through his -rider's fidgets; and, as I did not care to take the trouble to try and -break him again, I did not have anything more to do with him. But I -think this was a striking proof of how a horse can be made and unmade. - - - - -SPORTING FOR MEN OF MODERATE MEANS - - -For your wealthy noblemen, or large landed proprietors, it matters -little what sport of any kind costs them, whether in horses, hounds, -shooting, fishing, yachting, racing, or coursing. - -Yet very many rich men are the greatest screws possible--carrying out -the old adage of "the more you have, the more you want." Love of sport -is one of the boasted and general characteristics of an Englishman; but -I am inclined to think that, after all, young England is not such an -ardent sportsman or such a hard man as his father and grandfathers -were. As a rule, they are more of the feather-bed and hearth-rug sort; -but this by no means applies to all, for I know many good and -indefatigable men, and there are hundreds I do not. - -Our forefathers were, no doubt, earlier than we are--that is, they did -not, in spite of their hard drinking at times, turn night into morning -as we do. They went early to bed, and got up early; began hunting -before daylight, and managed to kill their fox as twilight fell. Their -soul was in sport, and we love to talk and hear about the grand, -generous, though illiterate old squires of a hundred and fifty years -ago. Men who always stirred their ale with a sprig of rosemary, and -drank posset before going to bed; dined at one o'clock when they were -at home; smoked their "yard of clay," wore topboots, buckskins, and a -blue coat with brass buttons--regular Squire Westerns, but perhaps a -little more refined than that worthy was. But education--and that -wonderful thing, "steam," which enables us to travel from one end of -the kingdom to another in the course of a few hours--soon stamped the -old country gentleman out. What should we think if we now saw the -queer-fashioned coach, with its four long-tailed black horses, doing -about five miles an hour? Some of our London swells, who cannot stoop -to pick an umbrella up, would fall down in a fit, especially if the -inmates of the said coach were any friends or relations of theirs. - -Yes, the good old days are gone by--passed for ever. Men now smoke -their cigars, hunt and shoot for a couple of hours, and look with -horror on the portraits of their ancestors with a pigtail, and whisp of -white cambric round their necks. - -Many, very many country gentlemen of a century ago never saw London; -they might have heard of it, but it was the work of a week to get up, -and another to get back, and a visit to London about once or twice in -their lives was as much as many could boast of, and gave them food for -gossip for years and years after. - -Shootings in those days were not of much value, and a man might have -had a great deal of sport for a very little money; but now all is -changed, though it is only within the last thirty or forty years that -Scotch shootings have risen in value; some moors that were rented then -for fifty pounds per annum are now nearer five hundred. - -Directly people found out they could get down to Scotland at -comparatively little cost and trouble, the prices of shootings went -up--and they will continue to rise. England is much wealthier than she -was. Commerce is much more extended; money is easier; speculation is -more rife; more gold discovered, which I cannot see makes one iota -difference; yet in spite of all this, and the heavy taxes we groan -under--many raised and "thrust upon us" for the purpose of maintaining -a lot of hungry foreigners, who, by the way, have the pick of all the -good things. Well, well! that game will be played out before very many -years are gone by; there will be a most signal "check-mate," a -"right-about," and the usual "Who'd have thought it?" "Knew it was -coming," "Always said so," and so on. But to my mutton. Despite of the -heavy price of things, heavy taxes, heavy rents, the Englishman is -still a sportsman to his heart's core. If he does not make such a -labour of it as his forefathers, he loves it just as well; his hounds -and his horses are faster--he is faster, in many senses of the word; -his guns do not take half an hour to load, and his pointers or setters -can beat a twenty-acre field of turnips in something less than four -hours; in fact, in many places dogs are going out of fashion, and the -detestable system of "driving" coming in. I hate a battue, and call it -sport I cannot, and never will. It is true I go to them occasionally, -get into a hot corner, and have the "bouquet"--but still I cannot call -it legitimate sport. - -The man with moderate means must give up all idea of Scotch shooting, -unless he goes very far north and gets some of the islands that are -difficult of access; then it may still be done. Wild shooting, in many -parts of Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, Devonshire, and Cornwall may be had at -reasonable prices: thirty years ago ground--and good ground--could be -got at sixpence an acre; now it is eighteenpence and two shillings. - -Very fair rough shooting may be rented in North or South Wales for -about threepence an acre, and it is here, or in Ireland--which I shall -presently touch upon--that the man of moderate means may have both -shooting and fishing. - -In the first place, house-rent is cheap in Wales; in fashionable spots, -of course, it is not; but those are the very places a sportsman must -avoid: he must leave fashion, youth, and beauty behind him, and go in -for sport, and sport only. - -Having found a house and ground, he must then get a good keeper and -dog-breaker. - -Here he exclaims, "Ah! a keeper! here's the commencement of expenses!" - -Patience, my friend, and I'll tell you how your keeper shall pay -himself, and put money into your pocket as well. - -Of course, with wild shooting or any other you will want dogs; and for -this purpose I recommend setters. Of course I presume you are a -sportsman, and know all about it, for it would never do if you did not. -You must also, if you possibly can, get ground where there are plenty -of rabbits--these are what pay; they cost nothing to keep, and are no -trouble--every good rabbit is worth nearly a shilling to you to sell. - -Your setters must be of a fashionable and first-class strain; you must -have three or four breeding bitches; and the produce of these setters -will not only pay your keeper, but your rent as well. You must -advertise your puppies to be sold, and keep yourself before the public -by constant advertisements. Your keeper will break at least four brace -of setters for you to sell each year; and these dogs, according to -their goodness and beauty, will be worth from fifty to a hundred -guineas a brace, and even more. So you will not only be able to pay -your man, but a good part of your rent and expenses as well: but you -must go systematically to work, and make it a business combined with -pleasure. You must understand that good and trustworthy keepers are -like angels' visits, few and far between--but still they are to be had; -and when you have one, regard him as the very apple of your eye, and -never let a few pounds stand in the way. If you have a large extent of -ground, a man who understands his business well will break more than -four brace of dogs a year--aye, double the quantity, but it is better -to have fewer done--and done well; get a good name for having the -correct article, and you will always be able to dispose of more dogs -than you can breed or break. Destroy all the crooked and weakly pups, -keeping only those that will make braces, or any others that are really -handsome. You can also break a couple of brace yourself--that is, if -you have temper and patience. February is the time to commence with -your young dogs. You can keep them at work for six weeks or two months; -by that time good fishing will be in. I care not to commence fishing -too early. - -One of the first things you must do is to put up a good serviceable -kennel, where your dogs can lie dry and warm. It must be well -drained--if possible, with a stream of water running through it. You -need not go to any great expense, but it must be _well paved_, and -constantly hot-lime washed, to keep it sweet and wholesome, and the -ticks and vermin under. - -I will not here give any directions how they are to be made, because -that depends a great deal on the place you have--the space, -convenience, and so forth--but wherever you build them, let there be a -good large yard for the dogs to run about in. Let the benches they lie -on fold back against the wall, so that you may wash under them; and -made with a flap in front, that the dogs, when tired, cannot crawl -under them, which they will very often do. Benches are generally made -in bars three inches wide, with an inch space between each, to let all -the dust, small bits of straw, &c., through. Your dogs must always be -_well bedded_--if straw is expensive and difficult to get, good dry -fern will do very well. In Wales and Ireland I always had a lot of this -cut every year at the proper time, stacked and thatched. Your _kennel -must be kept scrupulously clean and washed out every morning_. - -Feeding is a very important thing, and must be judiciously and -regularly done, and always at the same hour; but as every one has his -own ideas on this point, I will say no more about it. - -The place, of all others, for good wild shooting and fishing is -Ireland. Here a man with moderate means may have all he wants--cheap -house-rent; taxes few; living at much less cost than in England, and -sport to his heart's content. It is, I admit, a wild life; but then it -is a very pleasant, happy one. - -The sea-voyage is nothing: those splendid steamers which run from -Holyhead to Kingstown cross in a few hours, and you hardly, unless -there is heavy weather, know you are at sea. - -For the man whose heart is in sport, I know of no place so well adapted -as Ireland. Wild ducks, snipe, grouse, and capital woodcock shooting; -hares, rabbits, partridges and pheasants; all that you want is the -ground properly looked after. - -Wherever you go, if economy is your object, you must never attempt -hand-reared pheasants; the cost of feeding is very great, and, as I -have often and often said before, a hand-reared pheasant, killed in -December, costs little less than half a sovereign. Near a covert, if -there is rough ground, it may be broken up, and barley or buck-wheat -sown; this must not be cut, but left standing for the birds to go to -whenever they are so inclined. This is a very inexpensive way of -feeding. They are very fond of small potatoes, but these will do for -your pigs. - -What you require in Ireland is plenty of poultry of all sorts; a couple -of Kerry cows, which may be had for little money, and a good sort of -pig--some of Peter Eden's breed; fellows that are fattened at -comparatively little cost. You must have cows--or be able to get -buttermilk somewhere--for your puppies will not do without it. - -There is no great sale for dogs in Ireland, but they may always be -taken over to England, and sold at the proper time--in June or July. -Numbers now go to America. - -But there are many other spots, if you choose to go farther afield. -There is very decent shooting to be got in France, and there are always -Government forests to let. - -Were I a young man, the place of all others I should go to again would -be to Hungary. Sport of all kinds is to be had there; but this even has -been found out, and many English reside there now for boar and -stag-hunting and shooting. - -But in England, if you watch your chance and have agents on the look -out, you may occasionally come across a good bit of shooting at a -moderate figure; or you may take a good manor, and do as a great many -do--that is, have so many guns to join you. If you hire on your own -account, either in England or Scotland, you can charge the guns -anything you like for shooting and board--that is, anything in reason, -and that they are likely to pay. You may then get your own shooting at -little or no cost; for there are many men who will pay a hundred for a -month's good sport. They are in business, or in some profession, and -cannot spare more time. - -A man who has time, is really fond of sport, knows something about it, -and goes the right way to work, can get both his shooting and fishing -at a very moderate rate. - -Many imagine it is necessary to have their brace of breech-loaders, and -a lot of useless and expensive paraphernalia. One gun is all that is -needed, except you have wild-fowl shooting. You must have a gun for -that, either for punt or shoulder, according to the shooting. - -A large quantity of dogs that are not wanted, and are utterly useless, -are often kept. For a moderate scope of ground, two brace of setters -are quite sufficient, unless you are breeding dogs. Then you must, of -course, have your brood bitches as well. I should have mentioned, it -will be a great saving to you if you keep a first-rate stud dog. You -will not only have his services, but you can advertise him as a stud -dog; and he can form one of your working team likewise. - -I must impress on my readers that puppies can hardly be kept too well. -They must have little or no meat during their puppyhood, but plenty of -milk and oatmeal, the latter always to be well boiled. Feed them three -times a day for the first three or four months, and twice a day till -nine months old. After that one good meal a day is sufficient. - -A large volume might be written how to keep and feed dogs, on kennels, -&c. This has often been done before; but things are now altered, and we -must keep pace with the times. - -I have never been able to afford an expensive shooting, and being -abroad from the time I was twenty-one till I was middle-aged, I never -had the chance; but, coming over to England every year, as I did, and -shooting in all parts, it enabled me to know the localities, and where -shooting at a reasonable price was to be had. - -It is a large house and servants that swallow up one's income. A -bachelor sportsman only requires a sitting-room and a bed-room, with -his tub in some corner or outhouse close at hand. - -There is nothing I like more than a real sportsman's den. There he has -his guns, his rods, his different sporting paraphernalia, his pipes, -his cigars, his powder and ammunition, and everything handy. As I am -writing this I can see all my traps around me. I am rather proud of my -sanctum. I have a place for everything, and everything in its place. My -books--of which I have some hundreds of volumes--are before me. On one -side of the wall are all my fishing things; over the mantelpiece, on -racks, are my guns, and a goodly collection of pipes; in a -three-cornered cupboard all my ammunition, and some hundreds of -cartridges; in another cupboard are cigars, and odds and ends; in -another a lot of nets, and a sort of fixed washing-stand; two luxurious -old-fashioned arm-chairs on either side of my fire-place, into which I -can pop and take a smoke when I am tired of writing. And at this -present moment there are three setters and a couple of Dandie Dinmonts -curled up on the hearth-rug before my fire; but my dogs are always -clean in their habits; if not, they would not find a place in my room. -The rain is pattering against my windows, and it is a wild wet night; -but still I am contented, and looking out for to-morrow, when I am -going to have a day's rabbit-shooting, and beat a favourite snipe -marsh. - -I like to have my dogs about me, although I am not a single man, and -have boys as tall as myself. Yet my dumb animals are companions to -me--shooting alone for so many years in vast forests and thinly-inhabited -countries, and often far away from friends and civilised life, has made -me somewhat lonely in habits. - -It sometimes makes me laugh to hear some men talk on sporting matters. -I have often been trudging home late at night, wet through, or in a -heavy snow-storm, with my tired dogs "at heel," when others have had a -good dinner, a skinful of wine, finished their third glass of toddy, -are beginning to talk rather thick, and find their cigars won't draw. I -was obliged to content myself with a cup of sour cider, black rye-bread -and eggs, and up and away before daylight again. Certainly I need not -have done so; and sitting here, before my comfortable fire, I think how -soft I was. But young men will be young men; and it was my love of -sport that made me lead the wild and solitary life I did. - -But there is no occasion for any one to do as I did. I have gained -experience with years. I do not think I should ever have given it up -but for one reason. One night I left Quimper in Lower Brittany, and -walked down the river (it was a tidal one) to a favourite spot for -ducks. I had on my mud boots, and was well wrapped up. I got to the -spot I intended, and there I lay waiting, lying down on a bit of board, -with my famous black retriever Di beside me. It was bitterly cold, and -I took a nip every now and then from my flask. If it had been full, -which it was not, there would not have been more than a small -wine-glassful in it, for it went into my waistcoat pocket; but, little -as it was, that and the cold made me drowsy, and I fell asleep. I was -awakened by an icy feeling under me, and my retriever tearing at my -coat. I found the tide was coming up, and I was in six or eight inches -of water. My poor dog was in a terrible state. I made my way to land, -which was not more than fifty yards from me; but I was in such agony I -could hardly get on, and, to make matters worse, it began to snow -heavily. However, I managed to get to the road, and into Quimper; but I -was laid up four months with ague, fever, and rheumatism, and never -left my room during that time. Luckily, it was at the fag end of the -season. - -On another occasion after this attack--the next year--I was woodcock -shooting with a friend of mine--an Englishman, now dead and gone. A -better sportsman did not exist. We had got into a flight of woodcocks, -and we had killed nine couples and a half, and were just on the point -of returning home, when I was seized with ague again. We were about -eight miles from Quimper at the time. My poor friend carried me three -miles on his back before we could get a cart to take me home; but I -soon recovered from this attack. I once in a day killed forty-four -woodcocks, and on another occasion twenty-five. I had many narrow -escapes and adventures. In my book of "Over Turf and Stubble," there is -a full and exhaustive account of sporting in France, and how you are to -go to work, with a list of places where sport is to be had, and what -you require. Woodcock and snipe shooting is not so good as it was, in -consequence of the eggs of the former being taken and eaten, as our -plover eggs are, and also from the ground being more drained. Still -there are spots and haunts where they are to be found and killed in -numbers. I once killed sixty couples of snipe in some paddy fields -abroad. - -As regards fishing, the man of moderate means must not think of a river -in Norway or Scotland. He must be contented with trout and general -fishing; and the place for this is, no doubt, Ireland. There is very -fair fishing in many parts of England, but for real sport go to -Ireland. The white trout fishing is superlatively good there; so is the -pike fishing. I know of a place now in Ireland to let--about five -thousand acres of mountain, with eight or nine lakes, a beautiful -river, with good pools, in which there are salmon, and white and brown -trout. The fishing on the lakes is very good. In some of them the trout -are small, but there are any quantity. It is in a very wild, lonely -spot--four _Irish_ miles over the mountains, and nothing but a herd's -hut to go to when there. The shooting, grouse, hare, snipe, and cock, -and a few partridges, was very fair. All this was to be had on lease, -or by the season, for £20 per annum, and is now, I believe. Had I -remained in Ireland I should have taken it, and put up a little place -of two rooms, or added a bit on to the herd's cabin. But I think I -should have made a little crib on one of the islands of the lake; there -is a beautiful site for one. Here no keeper would be required; merely a -Jack-of-all-trades. No lady, unless she were a good walker, could get -up to this place, for the mountain is difficult and in places boggy; -but could ride it on a pony. I used to enjoy my visits there. Sitting -on a three-legged stool before the bright turf-fire of a night, with my -pipe and whisky and water, talking of my day's work, I was thoroughly -happy. A small boat would be requisite on all the lakes, and a larger -one for the big lake, by which I proposed to build a cottage. I could -have done all this at very little expense, as there was plenty of -stone. - -There is no necessity for the fisherman to be bothered with a lot of -expensive and useless tackle; and as to flies, if I do not make them -myself, I always buy them of local men, who know what are required. -They tie them beautifully in Ireland, and know the required colours. - -There is capital fishing in Lough Corrib, Galway. I had a small yacht -there of ten tons, and many a fishing expedition I have had in her of a -bright, warm summer's day. I sometimes had great sport with the perch, -which run to three pounds. I have hauled them in, when we have come -across them, _sculling_, as fast as I could let out line and pull -it in. There is a great deal of shooting and fishing to be had in this -way. - -There is also great fun with the lake trout, which run very large; so -do the pike and eels. I always used to set night lines for the latter. -Great quantities of ducks, too, are to be got on Lough Corrib. - -There is capital fishing and shooting to be got at Killaloe, County -Clare. I have had rare sport there. It is by going about and making -inquiries that I have always been able to have good sport, and find out -favoured spots for woodcock and snipe. - -Hundreds of men are taken in by answering advertisements, which set -forth the fishing or shooting in glowing colours--how miserably have -they been deceived! You may depend the only way is to go over the -ground yourself with a brace of good dogs, always taking the -_contrary_ direction which you are told to go. If you cannot spare -the time, let some one do it for you that you can thoroughly trust. - -I remember once a gentleman taking a salmon river in Norway, paying, of -course, in advance; when he got there the river was dry, or nearly so. -On expostulating with the agent, and demanding his money back, he was -told that the proprietor really could not be answerable for the water, -and that he had better stop till rain came, and that, probably, the -fish would come with it. - -A man in these days cannot be too sharp in taking either shooting or -fishing; how many are "done" in hiring Scotch moors! They answer a -flowing advertisement, take it haphazard, pay their money, and when -they get there find there are no grouse or deer either. This happens -year after year, and yet, with these facts before them, many will not -take warning. - -Hunting I will not touch on, because that is an expensive amusement; -but I can say this, my hunting never cost me a farthing. I used to buy -young horses, make them, and sell them at good prices. But a man must -not be only a good rider, he must be a good judge of a horse as well. - -I know many men who hunt, shoot, and fish, and their amusement costs -them little or nothing. - -Now a few words as to yachting. That we all know is a very expensive -amusement too; but even this is to be managed--of course not in the -style of very many of our noblemen. I knew a man who bought a schooner -of one hundred and twenty tons, and laid out some money on her besides; -this yacht he let for three months during the season, and did so well -by her, that, in two years, he had his purchase-money back and -something more to boot. The remainder of the season he used her -himself. Still, a vessel of this size requires a number of hands, and -it is a risk. He kept a small yacht for his own amusement as well. - -A man with moderate means may have a great deal of pleasure out of a -boat of fifteen or twenty tons, or even less; and if he chooses to make -it his home, it will cost no more than if he hired lodgings and dined -at home, or at his club. Supposing he does not like knocking about in -winter time, which is not agreeable, he can always lay her up in some -nice harbour, and still live on board. If he is fond of his gun, he can -take her to many places and lay her up--where he can get shooting as -well, always living on board--South Wales, Ireland, France, and many -parts of England and Scotland. And besides sea-fishing, he may get -other fishing in the same way. - -At the end of the yachting season there are hundreds of boats to be -bought at a very moderate figure, sometimes almost for nothing. For the -purpose I have named, you want no wedge-like racing craft, but a boat -with a good floor, good beam, and light draft of water, with summer and -winter sails, in fact, a nice roomy seaworthy boat. - -But in buying you must be cautious, and have some one with you who -thoroughly understands the business, otherwise you may invest in a -craft whose timbers are rotten, and the planking no stronger than brown -paper; there is nothing that one who does not thoroughly understand the -matter is easier taken in with than boats. - -Having now told you how shooting, &c., may be got on moderate means, -perhaps a short account of my little yacht I had on Lough Corrib, -Galway, and what I did, may not be uninteresting. - -After I had been a short time in Galway--that is, a couple of miles -from the town--I found a very nice boat of about ten tons that was to -be sold. I made enquiries, and discovered she was nearly new, and that -more than a hundred pounds had been spent on her in making a cabin and -fitting her out. I bought her for _eight pounds_, spent twenty more on -her, and had the most complete little fishing and shooting craft I ever -saw. I had a rack for my guns and rods, and lockers for all my things; -there were places to put away game, provisions, and liquor, and a good -stove, of modern contrivance, for cooking. This last was in my cabin, -for she was too small to have a forecastle. In summer we cooked on -shore, on the stones or what not. She was only partly decked--what is -called a welled boat. Over this well at night there was a perfectly -water-tight tarpaulin, which was fastened down by rings. In this well, -which was a large one, my captain slept, and the other man nestled in -the sail-room, which was right astern. I bought a brand-new dingy for -thirty shillings, and was all complete; the whole affair costing me -thirty pounds. As I was living on the banks of Lough Corrib, the boat -was moored close to my house, and from my window I could see her. - -In this boat I used to go to all parts of the lake, which is -forty-eight miles long, and ten wide in one place. There were several -rivers I could get up, and innumerable little bays, and places where -one could anchor for the night. On Lough Corrib, there are no end of -islands, some of them large; it is said there is an island for every -day in the year, viz., 365. There was capital shooting on some of these -islands, and on many parts of the marshes, on the banks of the lake, I -had leave to shoot. One marsh or bog was seventeen miles long, and -three or four wide. Most of this country was undrained, and snipe were -in thousands. It makes my mouth water to think of the snipe and duck -shooting I sometimes had there, as well as wild geese; but I got ague -and rheumatism again; lost one of my children, and the life was too -lonely for my better half. We were away from home and friends, and as I -was some three or four years over forty, I gave it up, reluctantly, I -must say, and returned to the old land. - -Lough Corrib is difficult to navigate, and you must have a man with you -who knows it thoroughly, otherwise you will come to grief. My captain -knew it well, and was a good sportsman into the bargain. My old sailor, -who had been all his life about those wild, desolate, and God-forgotten -islands, "the Arran," was a rare fisherman. He always managed the night -lines, and when we have been anchored at the mouth of the Clare Galway -river for the night, of a morning the lines have been loaded with eels, -some of four and even five pounds in weight. If we baited for them, -sometimes we had large catches of pike and trout. - -I think cross-line fishing, or an otter, is still allowed on the lake; -but I never went in for this, you require a licence for it. - -Of a night, at flight time in July, the young ducks--they were more -than "flappers"--used to come up from the lake and marshy grounds in -numbers to the cornfields, and we generally gave it to them hot, -morning and evening; and in parts of the lake we used to get "flapper" -shooting. It was endless amusement to me, roaming about on the -different islands knocking over a few rabbits, or sometimes a duck or -snipe. I always carried a ten-bore gun with me, shooting four drachms -of powder and two ounces of shot. I never knew what was going to get -up; occasionally I had a crack at an otter asleep on the stones. -Sometimes a duck would spring when I least expected it; there was no -knowing. In winter we were obliged to be very careful, for the wind -comes off the mountains in gusts and is very treacherous, and accidents -soon happen unless you have your weather eye open. - -There is some capital snipe and duck shooting on Lord Clanmorris's -property, on the banks of the Clare Galway river. I do not know if it -is yet let, or leave now given; but I think it is not let. The white -trout fishing is first rate in Connemara, but what a wild desolate -place it is! The salmon fishing is said to be very good in the Clare -Galway river, but though I have seen plenty of fishermen on it, and -there are no end of fish, I never saw very much done; it is a sluggish -river, and wants a good _curl_ on the water to get a rise. - -As I have said, I have had some of the best duck and snipe shooting at -Killaloe I ever enjoyed; but snipe and woodcock shooting depend a great -deal on the season. Some years there are any quantity, another season -comparatively few; it is the same everywhere. - -The golden plover shooting is very good all round Galway, and if you -know the "_stands_," that is, where they roost of an evening, you can -always get two or three shots. I have seen killed on one of the little -islands on Lough Corrib, at one shot, twenty-one, which were picked up, -and I believe there were one or two more that were not found. - -There is good shooting and fishing about Cork, and Limerick as well; in -fact, all over Ireland it is to be had; but remember, the nearer you -are to Dublin, or any large town, the dearer things are. It is to the -wild, desolate spots you must go for real sport, and if a man can -manage to put up with such a life, all well and good. Several Englishmen -bought estates round Galway, but I suppose they got tired of it, or were -afraid of the little pot shooting that an Irishman occasionally takes -at one, just "_pour passer le temps_," as they are, or were, to let. - -I had capital sport in Lower Brittany, France; there are plenty of -woodcock and snipe in parts, and the living at the time I speak of was -very cheap; but, alas! there is a railway now, so, of course, like all -other places, it has gone up in price. In these days, it has become a -somewhat difficult matter to particularise which are the best places to -go to for sport. If you do not mind distance, Hungary is the place. If -you want to be near home, Ireland or France. - -Take my advice, as an old sportsman who has been at it all his life, -and has now seen nearly half a century; if you are a man of moderate -means take your time in hiring a place, and when you have found one to -suit you, rent on a long lease, if you can; if you wish to give it up, -it will not remain on your hands any time. Do not be inveigled into -buying a lot of useless guns, rods, or sporting paraphernalia; a _real_ -sportsman does not require them. - -I think I have now pretty well exhausted the subject, and told you how -to go to work. - - - - -PARTRIDGE MANORS AND ROUGH SHOOTING - - -Bright, beautiful, glorious June! - -I have often been asked which of the four seasons I like the best; my -answer has ever been the same: "The hunting, shooting, fishing, and -racing." One season I detest (the very name of it gives me the cold -shivers)--the _London one_; defend me from that; for if there is a -particular time which is calculated to make "Paterfamilias" miserable -and more out of humour than another, it is that abominable period of -shopping, dinners, evening parties, operas, theatres, concerts, -flirtations, flower-shows, and the dusty Row, with its dangerous holes. - -I hate the formality--the snobbism of the "little village." I begin -to think Napoleon I. was right when he said we were "a nation of -shop-keepers." I do not mind a good dinner, when I can get one; but -there is the rub, I never do get a good dinner; the English do not know -how to dine. After twenty years' residence on the Continent, I have -come to the conclusion that John Bull is miserably, hopelessly -behindhand with our French neighbours on all matters pertaining to -eating and drinking; but then I balance the account in this way--Mossoo -is not a sportsman; and although he will tell you he is a "_chasseur -intrépide_," "_un cavalier de première force_," he does not shine -either in the hunting or shooting field. - -But the French ladies? Ah, they can dress; they beat us there again -into Smithereens. - -I am not like a bear in the hollow of a tree, who has been sucking his -paws all the winter to keep him alive; I have been enjoying most of our -country amusements, and I may say the winter has passed pleasantly. - -Of late years a deaf ear has been turned to hints thrown out "for a -change of air, things wanted," &c. Busily engaged in building, -draining, planting, and so on, little time could be given by me to -London festivities. - -The last attack was made in a somewhat ingenious manner. - -"Frederick, poor Alice wants her teeth looking at. I think she had -better go up to town for three weeks or a month, and be put under the -care of a good dentist." - -This was as much as to say, "We are all to go;" but I was equal to the -occasion. - -"By all means, my dear, let her go. My sister is there for the season, -and will only be too delighted to have her; but as for my leaving the -place at present, with all I have to do, it is an utter impossibility." -This was a settler. - -Somehow or other I begin to feel more lively as spring comes on. As a -rule, about the middle of May I require a little spring medicine and a -change of air. I find that the breezes of Epsom Downs agree famously -with me, although my better-half always declares I "look vilely" on my -return. Absurd nonsense! But I love my own quiet country life; its wild -unfettered freedom. Away from the smoke, dust, and tumult of -over-crowded cities--away from late hours and the unwholesome glare of -gas, and I am happy. - -A trip to Ascot and Goodwood with my family keeps matters all straight. -A break now and then, and the quiet monotony of country life is not -felt. - -June, bright, beautiful, glorious June, has peculiar attractions for -me. I am a shooter. I have not a grouse moor, for the simple reason -that I cannot afford one; as my old keeper says, "It is master's -terrible long family and expenses that prevents his going into shooting -as he would like." - -I am obliged to content myself with a partridge manor; and, after all, -I believe I like partridge and snipe shooting better than any other. - -As I remark in my notes on "November Shooting," a friend of mine once -said he considered snipe-shooting "_the fox-hunting of shooting_," -and I am disposed to agree with him. - -But, to return to June, from the 5th to about the 20th of the month, -most of the forward hatches come off, and are seen basking and -bathering round their mother. - -But there are other hatches much later, for cheepers are often found in -September quite unfit to shoot at. - -I can only account for this, that the old birds have had their eggs -destroyed in some way or other. - -A partridge manor is not one quarter the expense of pheasants and -coverts. The latter birds not only require constant attention, night -and day, but feeding forms a very serious item. Pheasants are very -costly, and only within reach of the rich man. - -A partridge manor, to have a good head on it, though, must be well -looked after, the vermin kept down, and your keeper with a sharp eye to -all poachers and suspicious characters. - -With a net at night they often sweep off the birds wholesale; but there -is a very easy way of baffling them. Put sticks, about eighteen inches -high, fifteen, twenty, or thirty yards apart, over the ground the -partridges generally roost on; these, as the net is drawn along, lift -it up, and the birds easily escape. - -It is a good plan to walk the fields of an evening with a brace of -dogs, where you know they roost, and disturb them; they may probably -then take to the gorse, if any, potatoes, seed clover, and other safe -ground. - -In May and June I wage war with the crows, magpies, jays and hawks, -shooting or trapping the old hen birds. Always kill the male bird -first; this is easily done by waiting patiently within shot, under -cover of some tree or hedge where the nest is, which is generally built -in some pretty high tree; the hen will not desert if sitting hard, -which you should allow her to do; her death is then easily -accomplished. - -I never allow poison to be used, for I hold that a keeper who cannot -destroy all vermin by means of his gun and traps is not worth his -wages. - -To have any quantity of game, it is better that you and your keepers -should be on good terms with your neighbours; they will do as much good -as half a dozen watchers. - -In May and June I always keep a lot of light broody hens ready to sit, -for during the mowing season many partridge nests are cut out. The eggs -are brought warm to me, and are instantly set under one of the hens. - -The people who bring me in the eggs I invariably reward, but they are -never encouraged or allowed to look for nests. Now, if these men were -not paid a trifle, and a horn of ale given to them, they would not -trouble themselves or lose their time. It would be very easy to put -their foot on the eggs and crush them. - -I am not an advocate for hand-reared birds, as there is some trouble -and expense feeding them, and they do not grow strong and vigorous -nearly so quickly as wild ones. - -In one year alone, some four or five seasons back, I had six hundred -eggs cut out, and over five hundred birds were reared. - -Chamberland's food is the best for them, as well as for pheasants. - -Of course the hens should be cooped. There is one thing you must be -most particular about, and that is never to place the coops near an old -bank, or where there are rabbit-burrows, for these spots are not only -the haunts of stoats and weasels, but there is an animal quite as -dangerous, who loves a young partridge--the hedgehog. Many are of -opinion that the hedgehog is harmless, but this idea I have proved -to be erroneous (see "Over Turf and Stubble"--"The Hedgehog a -Game-eater"). - -My life has been spent following up the sports of the field and -observing the habits of different animals. - -The better way is, when your birds are young, to have them on your -lawn, or in a field close to the house. - -The coops must be closed at night, to keep vermin and cats (deadly -poachers) from getting at them. It is a mistake to let them out too -early of a morning. The drier the ground the better partridges do when -young. As they get stronger, remove them with their coops to a potato -or clover field, cutting a swath through the latter to put the coops on -and feed them. Place the coops twenty or thirty yards apart, or the -birds, when young, will be straying into the wrong coops, and the hens -will kill them, for they well know their own family. - -I like a clover-field the best, because there is lots of cover, and -they escape the sharp eye of hawks and other vermin. - -In taking a partridge manor, ascertain first, by going over it -_yourself_, if there is a fair head of breeding stock on the ground. - -A wise "old saw" informs us that, "if you want anything done well, do -it yourself;" and this I certainly advise in this case, unless you have -a keeper you can really trust. - -Do not take a manor that has too much grass land. There ought to be -plenty of cover--turnips, clover, potatoes, rape, stubble, heath, &c., -to insure good sport; for, if your ground is bare, although you may -have plenty of birds, it will soon be impossible to get at them, for, -as you enter a field, they will be away at the other end, and not -having any cover to drive them to, you may follow them for hours and -never get a shot. - -A manor, too, should not be all low ground, or the enclosures too -small. In such a country, good, fast and free-going dogs soon become -cramped in their range and potterers. It is, in an enclosed country, -impossible to mark the birds; and constantly getting over stiff fences -not only tires you, but it unsteadies your hand, which will lose its -cunning. - -A partridge country should be as open as possible; then you can see -your dogs work, which, in my humble opinion, constitutes the greatest -charm of shooting. - -Farms are often let at eighteenpence an acre, which is an absurd -price--a shilling is quite enough; but in many counties you can get as -much good ground as you like at sixpence, but not near London. I hired, -some two years ago, some capital rough shooting in North Wales at less -than threepence an acre, but it was too cold for my better half to -reside in during the winter months. Whatever county you may fix on, -avoid the red-legs; though a very handsome bird, and much larger than -ours, they are not nearly so good for the table as the grey ones, being -dry and tasteless; and they will spoil any dog, as they never take wing -unless hardly pressed, but will run field after field. I destroy their -eggs wherever I meet them. - -In Norfolk, Suffolk, and particularly Essex, there are large quantities -of them; they not only ruin your dogs, but they drive the grey birds -away. I would not have a manor where there were any quantity of -red-legs at a gift. - -Having now told you how to go to work, I will, in the garb of -narrative, which, nevertheless is true, show you how shooting, with -other sport, may be had at little cost by those who love it and prefer -a country life. I give it you as related to me by a very dear old -friend of mine. - -"Lenox and myself were boys at school, and afterwards at college -together. A fine handsome fellow he was too, and doatingly attached to -all field sports; he was not a rich man, quite the contrary, £300 a -year at his father's death was all he had left to him, yet he managed -to keep up a tolerable appearance even in London, and was engaged to -one of the most beautiful girls I ever saw, and with a nice little -fortune of her own. - -"Lenox was very fond and very proud of her, as well he might be; -everything was arranged, the day fixed, trousseau bought, and his -pretty little cottage in Hampshire newly and tastefully furnished to -receive its new mistress. But, lo! a week before their wedding the -young lady eloped with a nobleman, and they were married before Lenox -knew anything about it. - -"He said little, but felt it deeply; all were sorry for him, for he was -a great favourite. - -"Shortly after his pretty little cottage was sold, and with his effects -Lenox vanished mysteriously no one knew whither. - -"I went abroad, and was away many years, and, therefore, had no means -of finding out where he had betaken himself to, or what he was doing. - -"After more than twenty years' absence I returned to the old land; I -had been satiated with sport of all kinds in different parts of the -globe, and did not feel inclined to give the high prices asked for -shootings. - -"My wife was somewhat delicate, and required a mild climate, so I took -'the galloper,' ran down to Plymouth, and from thence to Cornwall, -determined, if I could, to buy a place there. I roamed about the -country looking at different estates, and at last hit on a beautiful -spot, with a nice house on it, convenient to the rail, and not too far -from a good country town or schools. - -"One day during my peregrinations with the agent who had the selling of -the property, I came on one of the most lovely little cottages I ever -saw, placed on a slope, well sheltered from the winds, myrtles and -fuchsias growing luxuriously and abundantly about, with its jessamine -and honeysuckle covered porch, thatched roof, well-kept grounds, -gardens, and brawling stream at the end of the lawn. I thought it one -of the most fairy-looking little spots I had ever seen. - -"'Whose cottage is that?' I asked. 'It is not on this property, is it?' - -"'Oh, no, sir, just off this land; it belongs to Mr Lenox.' - -"'Lenox,' I breathlessly asked, 'Horace Lenox'? - -"'That's it, sir--one of the nicest gentlemen in these parts, and a -rare sportsman: it is not his own property, only hired on long lease, -but he has done a deal to it; three thousand acres of good mixed -shooting and capital fishing, with that cottage, is not dear at fifty -pounds a year, is it, sir?' - -"'I should think not, indeed. Mr Lenox is one of my oldest friends. I -must go and call on him,' which I did. - -"I was told, on asking at the door, that he was out fishing, but would -be home to dinner at six o'clock. - -"'Give him this card,' I said to the respectable old servant who had -answered the ring, 'and tell him, I shall be here at six to dine with -him. Is he married?' - -"'Oh dear no, sir, master is a single gentleman. I don't think he cares -much about the women folk,' she added, in her quaint Cornish way. - -"The time hung heavily on my hands that day, so impatient was I to see -my dear, valued old friend, and half past five saw me walking up the -well-kept walk towards his house. - -"As I approached, a figure issued from the porch, surrounded by four or -five beautiful setters. - -"A fine, handsome-looking man of three or four and forty advanced -towards me, but quite grey; there was no mistaking, though, his honest, -beaming, well-known face. - -"'Frederick, old fellow,' said he, grasping me by the hand, 'this is -indeed kind of you; hundreds of times have I wondered what had become -of you, and if you were still in the land of the living.' - -"'And I the same, Lenox; by mere chance have I found you out. I -inquired at all the old haunts when I returned to England, and could -never learn where you were.' - -"'Then you are the gentleman, I suppose, that has been looking at the -estate next to me, with a view to purchase?' - -"'Just so, Horace, _ecce homo_.' - -"'You could not do better, old fellow; I will put you in the way. I -know every inch of the ground--rare shooting--but come in, and I will -tell you all about it after dinner. Margaret, my servant, is in the -devil's own way, for it is rarely I ever have any one to dine with me.' - -"The inside of the cottage was just as pretty as the outside; his -dining-room was a study for a sportsman: guns, rods, sporting pictures, -&c., here hung all round the walls in endless profusion; it was the -very essence of comfort and taste. - -"'Now, Horace,' said I, as I threw myself into one of the comfortable -arm-chairs beside the open window, and he into another, 'tell me all -that has happened since we last met.' - -"'That is easily done,' he returned, drawing up a small table between -us, with a bottle of claret on it, that sent its aroma all over the -apartment as he drew the cork. - -"'You know how I was served in London?' and his face assumed a hard, -stern expression as he asked the question. - -"'Well, yes,' I replied; 'but you have forgotten all that, Horace?' - -"'I have not forgotten it. I never can forget it; it was a dreadful -blow to me; but I have forgiven it years ago, and am content with my -lot. I left London in disgust, wandered about, and at last found this -little spot. I have the shooting of three thousand acres of land--ten -acres for my two cows--I am as happy as possible. I breed lots of -those,' pointing to his setters, who were lying about; 'and they pay me -well. I have poultry, pigs, shooting--the woodcock and snipe shooting -is particularly good in the season--and fishing in abundance; as good a -cob as any man need possess; deny myself nothing in reason, and never -know what a dull hour is. But you will sleep here, for I have already -found out where you were, and sent for your things.' - -"I never passed a happier evening than I did with my long-lost friend; -we smoked our cigars and talked of old times and old things that had -happened years ago, passed never to return again. - -"'So your eldest boy is sixteen,' he remarked, after one of the pauses. -'Well, you must buy this place, Frederick, it is as cheap as dirt, and -will pay you well. I will make your lads sportsmen--but I suppose you -have done that yourself. I want companions now--no female ones,' he -added, laughingly, 'your wife excepted; but some one to fish and shoot -with me--the partridge-shooting is capital.' - -"I was delighted with all I saw the next day; the place was lovely, and -I was induced to spend a week with him. At the end of that time I was -the purchaser of the property, and left to bring down my family and all -my belongings. - -"I have never regretted the step; though far away from the busy hum of -the world, we are as happy as may be. Horace and I fish and shoot away; -there is a calm quietness which I love. I, like my friend, have had -some ups and downs in life, but the memory of them, in my country -retreat, is gradually 'fading away.'" - -It is all very well for men who have long purses and large possessions -to take expensive shootings; they can afford it and why should they -not? What might I not be tempted to do if I had the chance? I cannot -say, and, therefore, I will not speculate. - -To my young readers who are not _au fait_ at all these matters, I -would urge them never to be too hasty in deciding on taking any -shooting. If they are not in easy circumstances, they must go very -cautiously to work; but that fair partridge and general shooting is to -be had at a moderate figure I can prove. - -It is not generally known, but there are many parts of Scotland where -there is first-rate partridge-shooting, and arrangements can be made to -have it after the grouse-shooters have done and returned to England. I -know several men who have made this arrangement, and get their sport at -a very moderate cost. - -But gadding about to places is not my form. I prefer to remain on the -spot, and then I can always see how matters are going on. - -In taking a rough bit of shooting, only one keeper is necessary; one -good man will do the work far better than half a dozen bad ones. It is, -I admit, a difficult thing to get such a man, but they are to be had. - -I have written this paper solely for the guidance of those whose means -are limited; the rich can do as they like; money is often no object to -them; but this I have known to be a fact, that the man who has only -spent two or three hundreds, and often very much less, on his shooting -has had far better sport than many of those who have spent thousands. - - - - -WHO IS TO RIDE HIM? - - -In a remote and lonely part of Dorsetshire stood, in a -beautifully-wooded park, a fine old mansion, Bradon Hall, belonging to -George Bradon, Esq., who at the time I speak of was about -eight-and-twenty. - -He was one of the old school, as his father had been before him. Early -in life he had been placed in a crack regiment of Dragoons, so he was -not without a pretty good knowledge of the world for his age. Allowed a -liberal sum by his father, he had never exceeded it; on the contrary, -there was generally a fair balance at the end of the year in the hands -of his agent. - -He was a remarkably handsome young fellow. Bred up in the country, and -left to do pretty nearly as he liked, it was not wonderful he turned -out an adept at all sorts of sports. - -A good cricketer, a still better fisherman, a magnificent shot, and not -only the straightest but the best rider in the country; indeed riding -was his forte. Not so with our late friend Artemus Ward at "playing -'oss." With all these sporting accomplishments he was much looked up to -in his regiment, and it was said that the man who could live with -George Bradon in any country for twenty minutes was A1 in the pigskin. - -Two years previous to the time I am speaking of, he found himself -master of Bradon Hall; his mother had gone many years before. - -The first thing he did was to sell out and come home, where he had ever -since resided. All the men in his regiment had the blues when he left. -"It was an infernal bore," Captain Swagger remarked, "to lose such a -vewey fine fellaw as Bwadon; he should like to know who the devil could -bwoo such a cwawat-cup as Bwadon?" - -At any rate George left, taking with him a magnificent gold snuff-box, -a present from his fellow-officers, "which would be," as the -lieutenant-colonel said, "a doocid nice thing to push about the -dinner-table when he and his old friends of the regiment came down to -hunt and shoot with him." - -Some of them had been true to their word, and paid him a visit now and -then in the sporting season. George was delighted to see them; it put -him in mind of old times, and he was always glad to know how matters -were going on in his old corps. - -His father had been a great breeder of horses, and as George was just -as enthusiastically fond of them, the old blood had been kept up; and -with the exception of a fine specimen of an old English gentleman, who -used to be daily seen walking about in a blue coat with gilt buttons, -buckskins and tops, looking over his brood mares and colts, everything -was the same as before. All the servants had been retained; they loved -"Master George" too well to quit, nor had they been asked to. - -Bradon, when with his regiment, had been the crack rider in it, and -many a good stake had he won for that gallant corps. His services had -always been most anxiously sought after, and mounts given him in most -of the great steeple-chases of the day. - -He was so cool and collected, no bustle or flurrying with him. A fine -eye, a fine hand, a famous judge of pace, and strong at the finish, -with a knowledge, that must almost have been born in him, when to ease -his horse, force the running, or take advantage of any mistake. "On the -whole," Lord Plunger, who was no mean judge, used to say--"on the whole -I consider George Bradon the finest cross-country rider in Europe." - -Bradon, though uncommonly lucky in his mounts, bore his honours meekly, -and when he sold out and came down to the old place to live, gave up -steeple-chasing altogether. "He had so much to do, so much to attend -to; after a bit he would have another squeeze at the lemon, but really -he must attend to his affairs first." - -Repeated refusals damped the ardour of his friends, so at last they -gave up asking him to ride, and he was left in quiet to pursue his own -way. - -Time went on, and such a person as George Bradon had almost been -forgotten by the sporting public. One morning, some eighteen months -after he had come home, going into the harness-room, he carelessly -seated himself in the weighing-chair, and exclaimed to the old -stud-groom, an heirloom his father had left him: "The same weight, Tim, -I suppose--eleven three?" - -The person thus appealed to, standing on tiptoe, looked up at the dial -as well as he was able; for, in addition to being short and stout, he -had a very tight pair of trousers, which seemed to have been made on -him, and was moreover incommoded by a stiff white neckcloth, which -threatened to strangle him. After having studied the dial for a few -seconds, he started back, and blurted out in a voice of horror and -amazement: "Can I believe my haged heyes, Master George? You're twelve -five, as I'm a miserable sinner!" - -"What!" exclaimed George, jumping out of the chair considerably quicker -than he had got into it, and throwing away the cigar which he had been -indolently puffing--"what! twelve five? It cannot be; weigh me again, -Tim." - -The old man did so with the same result. "Oh, hang it!" said George, -"the scale is wrong; it cannot be. I am not a bit heavier than I was; -the same clothes fit me I wore two years ago. It's all bosh." - -"I don't know, Master George, if it's all bosh or no," replied his old -servant, "but the scale is right. Now lookee, sir, I've been fourteen -stun nine for the last eleven years--not a hounce more or less. See my -weight, sir." - -George cast his eyes up at the dial as Tim wriggled himself into the -chair. - -"Yes," he said, "you are right--fourteen nine to a fraction, Tim. How -the deuce I came to be this weight I have no idea; but I cannot shut my -eyes to the fact that, instead of eleven three, my old walking weight, -I am twelve five--sixteen pounds in less than two years," he muttered, -as he sauntered away. "By George, I'll knock off that sixteen pounds -pretty quickly, though. I detest fat people. An idle life will not suit -me. I'll do Banting or something." - -Tim looked after his young master as he walked away. "Well," he -exclaimed at length, "Master George"--he was always Master George with -the old servants--"twelve five; I'd never have thought it. There's -something in his heye, though, that tells me he won't be that weight -long. Although he is so cool he'll hunt every day the coming season, -I'll bet my life; walk like blazes, and take physic enough to float a -jolly-boat. I'll lay a sov," he remarked, as he slowly drew one out -of a bag which he extracted from the depths of his capacious -breeches-pocket, "that he is in his old form this day six months; -dashed if I don't bet a fiver, or any part of it." But as no one was -there to take him, he put back the coin, gave the neck of the bag a -twist, and after a struggle managed to convey it to his breeches pocket -again. - -"What will my old woman say," he continued, "when I tells her o' this? -she as nussed him as a foal, and said he'd never get fat like me. It's -heart-breaking to think on. And there's Guardsman, the finest and -fastest hunter in England, just coming six; how will he be able to -carry him if he goes sticking mountains of flesh on like that?--he -can't do it. He'll have to ride in a seven-pound saddle; but I don't -let him do that, not if I knows it--he'd break his precious neck, and -then I should like to be told where Tim Mason would be, the old woman, -and all the kids. No seven-pound saddle for me. I ain't a-going to have -my boy a-smashing of hisself, and all because he will put flesh on. -He's the only one left of the old stock; it's time he married, and I -hope he will. I'm almost afraid to tell the old woman. Twelve stun -five!" he ejaculated, as he wended his way thoughtfully across the -yard; "it seems almost impossible." - -"Tim," said his master the next morning, "this idle life won't do for -me. I'm going over to France for three or four months. Would you like a -trip?" - -"Me, sir?" said the old man. "Why in course I should like to see them -mounseer fellows eat frogs, and taste their brandy, too." - -"Well, Tim, so you shall," replied George; "and look here, we will take -Guardsman and the gray with us. I will run them both at some of the -meetings. Young Harry shall go with us; he is a good rider, a light -weight, and can keep his mouth shut." - -"Yes, sir," said Tim. "He and I can do the horses as they ought to be -done, and a little work now will do them good." - -"Well," continued his master, "I'm off to London this afternoon to make -some arrangements. Travel the horses down to Southampton, and meet me -at the 'Dolphin,' in High Street, you know. Be there on Monday morning; -take saddles, clothing, and all you want. However, I need not tell you -all this, or of the necessity of keeping our movements a profound -secret." - -"No occasion--no occasion, sir; I'll be there. Huzza!" he exclaimed, as -soon as his master was out of hearing. "My words are coming -true--racing again, by all that's jolly! This is a proud day for me. My -boy will get into form again, I know he will. I should like to give him -a leg up once more, and see him set a field." So saying he waddled off -to inform his old woman, as he irreverently called her, of the change -about to take place. - -Some few days after this Bradon, his servants and horses, were located -in a quiet little village in Lower Brittany. - -"Well, Tim," said his master one morning, as the old stud-groom came in -to say the horses were well, and ask what exercise they were to take. -"What exercise?" said George; "why, I'll tell you. They are to go into -regular training; they are in pretty good fettle now, but they must be -better. We can do it in quiet here, without those confounded touts and -fellows watching us, as they would have done at home. I should have had -a scoundrel perched up in nearly every tree in the park if they knew -the game I was flying at. I have found out good ground here, and have -permission to use it. Now, Tim, I am going to astonish your weak -nerves. I need not caution you of the necessity of being silent. All -the races, I find, are over in France for the year; but, Tim, what do -you think? I have entered both the horses for the Grand Silverpool -Steeple-chase. I did it when I was in town the other day." - -"What!" said the astonished old man, "the Grand Silverpool?--my horses -going to run for the Grand Silverpool? Oh, Master George, this is a -joyful day. Guardsman will win it; he has never run, and if there is -any justice he must be put in light. But who is to ride him?" - -"Who?" returned his master. "For your life, Tim, not a word." And -pulling him closer by the arm, whispered: "MYSELF!" - -"You, sir?--but your weight, sir? Twelve stun five and your saddle. Oh, -no, Master George, that won't do." - -"Now, Tim, you are a clever fellow, but others are as knowing as you. -Look here. You see this weighing-chair; well, I bought that in London. -Now weigh me." - -The old man did as he was bid. "Why, sir," he exclaimed, after looking -at it, "only twelve stun one; four pounds lighter in less than a week, -and without exercise." - -"Or physic," continued Bradon. "Banting, Tim, Banting. No bread, no -butter, no sugar, no beer, no saccharine matter of any sort; plenty of -meat, biscuits, toast, claret, and seltzer-water. That is my diet, and -I never felt so well. If wanted I shall be able to ride eleven stone -with the greatest ease." - - * * * * * - -In a luxuriously-furnished dining-room, some three months after the -events which we have described, five or six gentlemen were discussing -their wine. - -"I cannot make it out," said a heavy-built man of five-and-forty or so; -"I have tried everything I know, and am not a bit the wiser than when I -began. This Bradon is a most extraordinary fellow. I took the trouble -of going down to Dorsetshire myself, and all I could arrive at was that -Bradon was travelling. The servants knew nothing, or would know -nothing. They were aware the stud-groom had gone and taken two horses -and a lad with him; that was all I could get out of them. Well, I went -to the groom's house and saw his wife. She looked at me, and received -me as if I had been a thief. It was a regular mull. That Bradon has got -two horses with him I am certain; but what they are, and where they -are, hang me if I can find out. I have tried every tout and stable in -the kingdom, but to no purpose, so I have given it up as a bad job." - -"Ah!" replied a fashionably-dressed and bewhiskered young man, "with -all your cleverness and knowing dodges, you are bowled out, old boy. I -know a little more than you. In my opinion George Bradon is training -his horses quietly somewhere for the Silverpool. Both are well in, and -the handicap has been accepted by him. He is a knowing hand, is Bradon. -Now, I got hold of a letter written to a friend of his just before he -left England. No matter how or where I got it, this is what he says." -And opening his pocket and taking out a letter he read the following:-- - - Bradon Hall, Nov. 1st. - - "DEAR JACK, - - "In answer to yours of this morning I am sorry I cannot accept your - kind invitation. I'm off on a bit of travelling, for I am not at - all in form. Fancy my disgust on weighing myself yesterday morning - to find I was considerably over twelve stone--so you see an idle - life will not do for me. I shall go to France first; I may probably - remain there for some time. I have entered two nags for the - Silverpool. I must engage some one to ride one; it matters little - who will get the second mount, as he will merely be wanted to make - running for the one I declare to win with. - - "Yours, ever, - - "GEORGE BRADON." - -"There!" he exclaimed, "you see I know more than all of you. As for -Bradon's riding, that is an utter impossibility, for both horses are in -at ten twelve, and it is equally impossible to get any good hand to -ride them now, as all are engaged." - -"By George, Fred!" exclaimed the first that had spoken, "you have done -wonders, but still I can make nothing of it. No end of odds have been -offered against his nags for win or a place, and all have been eagerly -taken up by the fellows of his old regiment. Why, Plunger alone stands -to win over ten thousand. However, the horses are really coming into -the betting, which they must not do. I must go down to the rooms -to-morrow and give them such a tickler that will knock them out at -once. It will not suit my book their taking prominent places in the -market. By heaven! if either of them was to pull through I should be a -ruined man, and others are in for double as much as I am." - -"My dear fellow," put in a quiet, sly-looking little man, who had not -yet spoken, "you should not do such rash things. Flukes do happen--not -that it is likely in this case. I always wait till the last moment, and -then come with a rush when I know things are pretty safe." - -"Come with a rush," replied a tall, delicate-looking stripling; "a -pretty rush you made of it last year. You prevented my getting on, and -not only put me in the hole, but every one else who attended to you." - -"I could not help it, my dear boy," returned the other, with a crafty -smile. "There is no occasion for you to ruin yourself too quickly, -which you will do if you go on in such a reckless manner." - -"Reckless manner!" passionately exclaimed the young fellow; "why, you -have had more of my money than any one else. Where others have had -pounds you have had thousands, and now you talk to me of -'recklessness.' That is rather hard lines." - -"I meant no harm," replied the other. "I only think it is dangerous to -lay against Bradon's horses at present." - -"No doubt you do," said the youth, a little pacified; "but I do not -mean to take your advice in this case, and to-morrow, if I do not knock -them out of the betting it shall not be my fault." - -So it was settled between them all over their wine and cigars that -Bradon's horses should be set at on the morrow and sent out of market. - -They were attacked, and such extravagant sums laid against them that -astonished every one, many of which odds were booked by Lord Plunger -and a few others. - -How this came about we will now explain. Lord Plunger, as before -stated, thought George Bradon "the finest cross-country rider in -Europe," and from a letter which Bradon sent in confidence to his -lordship, he started for France. Here Bradon put him up to what was -going on, and asked him to take some of the heavy odds offered against -Guardsman "to win and a place." - -"I won't have anything to do with it myself," remarked George. "You are -a betting-man, Plunger, which I am not; but I will have one more shy, -hit or miss. This will be my last appearance in public in the pigskin. -I don't admire the way in which matters are carried on in the racing -world now; and I am not going to risk my fortune and reputation in -having any more to do with it. Of course there are honest people -connected with it, but they--like angels' visits--are few and far -between; and besides, I know nothing of betting, but this I feel sure -of, that such a horse as mine has not been out for years." - -"That," said his lordship, "I am quite certain of, or you would not run -him, and you are too good a judge to be deceived. You may depend on my -doing all you wish. I shall be as silent as death on the subject, and -not a word shall escape me. Let me see"--consulting his note-book--"I -am to go as far as five hundred for you; that ought to win you a -handsome sum. I shall go as far for myself. You are to come to me four -days before the Silverpool, and I am to take you there in the drag. -That is the order of march, is it not?" - -"Exactly," said George. "Now let's have a cigar--you have plenty of -time before you start. If you have any luck you will be sitting _chez -vous_ to-morrow evening." - -It turned out as his friend predicted. The following evening Lord -Plunger was comfortably lolling in his arm chair, thinking what a -clever fellow Bradon was, and how secretly his own journey to France -had been managed. This then was the reason Lord Plunger had taken some -of the extravagant long odds that had been laid against Bradon's horse. - -The morning of the Grand Silverpool broke bright and beautiful; though -there had been a good deal of rain during the night, it had cleared -off, and the day promised to be all that could be desired. - -Bradon and Lord Plunger sat at breakfast in a quiet little country -hotel some ten miles from the course. - -"Well, George," said his lordship, "so far, I think we have managed -things admirably, not a soul knows of your being in England. They -fondly imagine you are roaming about the Continent, and, to crown all, -a rumour has got about that your horses will not start, and will be -scratched at the last minute. It was a capital idea our coming down -here last night." - -"Yes," replied Bradon, "it was a famous dodge; so they think the horses -will be scratched, do they? Well, it strikes me they will be slightly -deceived about three o'clock to-day. Nothing can be in more beautiful -fettle than the nags are, and if man ever had a certainty I have one in -Guardsman; although I have had no trial with him against anything else, -he is, I know, a flyer, and a sticker. It will be heavy to-day, and no -horse I ever rode goes better through dirt than he does. Bar accidents, -I look on the Silverpool as landed." - -"Bravo, bravo, George!" said his friend; "your heart is in the right -place, and if we should pull it off, it will be one of the grandest -_coups_ that has been made on the Turf for many a day. We will go -in half an hour, if you like, to look at your nags. They are only three -miles from this, at a quiet farmhouse; then we will return here, dress, -and start at twelve in the drag." - -The horses were inspected, and nothing could look more beautiful. Tim -was in his glory. - -"Yes, my lord," said he, in answer to a question put to him by that -gentleman. "I am glad to be back in the old land, not but what the -Moossoos was very jolly and haffable. Still, France ain't up to my -notions of a sporting country; but we was in quiet there--no touts, no -interlopers, or anything. Now, if I'd a-brought the horses down here by -rail, every one would have knowed it; so they came in a van. It's a -little more expensive, but by far the best and safest way. Not a soul -knows they are here, and no one will be aware of it till I takes them -to the saddling-post. I'm just going to start with them now. I've got a -couple of boxes close by the course, so you must excuse me, my lord." -And, touching his hat, the old man disappeared. - - * * * * * - -"Whose yellow drag and grays is that coming up the course?" said one of -the occupants of the lawn in front of the Grand Stand. "I do not know -it." A dozen glasses were at once levelled at the object. - -"Whose drag?" said the sly-looking little man we have alluded to -before. "Why, Lord Plunger's. George Bradon is sitting on the box seat -with him, and the rest are officers of his old regiment--I know their -faces." - -"By jingo!" burst out a score of voices: "then he is in England, and -come to see his horses run, or scratch them. Now we shall know -something." - -"I wonder if he will be flattered when he hears the price his nags are -at now?" said another. - -"He will not care a rap," said the sly-looking little man. "Look out, -my boys, there's something up, you may depend. Bradon, if his horses do -go, has something pretty good, you may rely. I warned you all before. -Now, I have not laid a penny against his nags. I have let them -alone--till the last minute. But here they come." - -"Hallo, Bradon!" burst out fifty voices. "What, in England! Come to see -the nags beaten?" - -"Well, I do not know," said George, shaking hands with some of them. "I -hope they will be there, or thereabouts; pretty heavy the ground -to-day. My horses can stand it, which a good many of the others -cannot." - -"Are your horses here?" said the sly-looking little man. - -"Not yet," returned Bradon, "but they will be by-and-by. Old Mason has -got them stowed away somewhere; but upon my soul I don't know where -they are myself at present." - -"Which shall you declare to win with?" asked the sly-looking little man -continuing his interrogations. - -"Oh, with Guardsman," said George. - -"And your jocks?" put in another. "All the talent is engaged. A pity -you are so heavy--why, you've grown immense. You will want a dray-horse -to carry you soon." - -"Think I have?" said George. "It's my coats, man. Every fellow looks -large with a couple of top-coats on, and a huge-wrapper round his -throat. I know all the talent is engaged. One of my lads will ride the -gray." - -"I say, Bradon," put in another, "I heard you weighed twelve stone -five; is that a fact?" - -"Yes," said George; "I put on sixteen pounds in less than two years--an -idle life at home did for me." - -"But, Bradon," persisted the sly-looking little man, "you say one of -your lads is going to ride the gray. But Guardsman--_who is to ride -him_?" - -"Oh," said George, "who is to ride him?--why, I will tell you in one -word, it's a fellow you all know pretty well--MYSELF." - -Had a thunderbolt fallen amongst them they could not have been more -astonished. - -"What!" they one and all exclaimed, "you? Why you told us not an -instant ago that you weighed twelve stone five." - -"No, my friends, I did not. I said, in answer to a question, that I -_had_ weighed twelve stone five. I told you I had put sixteen pounds -on, but I did not tell you I had not taken it off. I walk ten stone ten -now--Banting, my boys, Banting. And, listen to me, I shall win if I -can, and I have a good chance; but, win or lose, this is my last -appearance in public. I've grown immense, have I not, old fellow?" -addressing himself to the one who had made the remark. "I shall want a -dray-horse soon, shall I not?" - -"By G--," said the sly-looking little man, "I thought there was -something up. The very best hand in England going to ride his own -horse. I'll be off to back him." - -The tall youth before alluded to turned deadly pale, but not a word did -he utter as he walked away. - -In less than five minutes it became known in the ring and the stands -that George Bradon was to ride his own horse. The utmost consternation -ensued and many tried to hedge off their bets--but little or nothing -could be done. - -In the meantime our friend was quietly getting himself ready in the -dressing-room. - -The time at last came, the horses were saddled, and cantered. - -"Here comes Guardsman," cried the crowd, as the gallant horse came -sweeping up the course in magnificent style, with the gray beside him. - -"By heaven!" muttered a well-known betting-man, and one of the best -judges in Europe, "a truly splendid horse--far better in appearance and -style than anything here. Bar accidents, he will win in a canter, and -if he does, I'm ruined." - -The betting and other men were positively paralyzed as Bradon and his -horse came sweeping by, and it was allowed on all hands that no such -animal as Guardsman had been seen for years. - -"There, my boys," said Lord Plunger, dashing into the ring, "there's a -man and horse for you. If he does not do the trick to-day I shall be -very much astonished; and if he does, we shall both land a handsome -sum, which you will drop." - -The anxious moment is at last come, the horses are in line--the old -stud-groom, Tim Mason, stands close by, with wipers, sponge, and bottle -in hand. There is a curious nervous twitching at the corners of his -mouth, the lips are dry and parched, and two small red spots adorn each -cheek. - -Not so with our friend. He sits his noble animal with confidence, ease, -and grace, and as cool as a cucumber. Spying out his faithful old -servant, he said, "What do you think of him, Tim?" - -"Why, sir," he called out, "he's the best horse as was ever foaled; and -if he don't beat that lot"--pointing with extreme contempt towards the -line of horses--"Tim Mason knows nothing about it, and is jolly well -d----d." - -The word is at last given, and at the first attempt the lot are off. - -"They're off!" shouted the hoarse voices of thousands, and streaming -along were some thirty gallant animals striving for the pride of -place--thousands, nay hundreds and hundreds of thousands, depending on -the lucky animal that first caught the judge's eye. - -The conspicuous colours of George Bradon--scarlet and white hoops--were -in the extreme rear, but suddenly as they got into the grass land his -gray took first place and made the pace a cracker. - -"The gray in to pump the field," muttered the sly-looking little man to -his neighbour. - -"The fastest thing I have ever seen," said another. "By jingo, one, -two, three down, and look, Bradon is taking quite a line of his own. By -George, how well his horse jumps; it's a dead certainty." - -"So I think," returned the other. - -There is an awful tailing off now, the pace has told its tale; only -eighteen or twenty are really in it. The dangerous brook and the double -bank are passed, and the gallant gray who has set the field has shot -his bolt. - -"Well done, Harry," cried George, as he passed him. "Well done, pull -him up." - -The great water jump in front of the Grand Stand is approached again. -"Here they come!" roared the multitude. "Who's first? Scarlet and white -hoops," cried the excited thousands--"scarlet and white over the water -first for money!" - -George knowing the danger of a lot of horses, which he thought would be -down at this, resolved to lead over it. Dropping his hands a bit the -gallant animal rushed to the front, a length or so, and there he was -kept. - -The water is approached, the excitement of the multitude is something -fearful as they sway to and fro to catch a glimpse. - -"Magnificent!" burst from thousands of throats, as Guardsman hopped -over the formidable eighteen feet like a bird. - -George turned slightly in his saddle to take stock. "All safe but -three," he uttered; "well, that is more than I thought would get over. -Now, old man, I must take a pull at you. You have only done part of the -journey. I can't afford to pump you yet." - -"Guardsman has cut it," shouted a hundred voices as the gallant horse -was pulled back. - -"The cowardly brute!" bawled another. - -"Don't you believe it," cried the sly-looking little man, in a shrill -voice that was heard all over the place. "I'll take three to one in -thous, and do it twice, that Guardsman wins, or is placed." - -"Done," said the pale delicate youth; "I'm on for twice." And the -pencils went to work. - -There was but one opinion amongst the countless thousands that -Guardsman was the best horse in the race, and that, bar accidents, he -must win. - -The field has become very select now; still what do remain in the chase -go well. - -The excitement is intense; men are gnawing their lips and nails; ladies -are quivering with emotion and biting the tips of their -delicate-coloured gloves. - -Wild and staring eyes are everywhere. Men eagerly grasp each other by -the arm with a wild convulsive clutch as the horses clear each -obstacle. Some stand stony and immovable, without the slightest -appearance of interest. Little is known of the fearful beatings of -their hearts under that cold, calm exterior. - -"Here they come!" said the crowd, as some eight or ten horses make the -turn for home. - -"Guardsman baked!" shouts the ring, as the horse is seen nearly last. - -"The Irish horse wins for a thousand," shouts an over-excited -speculator. - -"Done," says the sly-looking little man, and again the metallics are at -work. - -Lord Plunger looks on with a calm indifferent demeanour. - -"By G--, Plunger," said one of George's old messmates, with a scared -countenance, "Bradon is done. We shall all drop finely." - -"Wait!" was the quiet answer. - -The last hurdle but one is taken, which the Irish horse jumps first; -but what a change has taken place in the field! Scarlet and white -hoops, instead of being nearly last, is hanging on the leading horse's -quarters, and it is very patent to all those skilled in racing matters -that from the manner Guardsman skimmed over the hurdle the other horse -was only permitted to lead on sufferance. - -Turn where you will, the same look of intense excitement is discernible -on every countenance; the vast mass surges to and fro, the hoarse -murmur of the frenzied multitude has something unearthly in it. - -"The Irish horse wins,--Guardsman wins!" is shouted on all sides. The -horses come up closely locked together; never moving on his horse -Bradon sits as quiet as a statue, but the heels of the other horseman -are at work; the whip arm is raised, but just as it is the strain on -Guardsman's jaws is relaxed, and the noble horse, without the slightest -effort, quits the other, and is landed an easy winner by some -half-dozen lengths. - -"There," said Lord Plunger, heaving a vast sigh, which seemed to -relieve him immensely; "did you ever see such a horse, and such a bit -of riding?" - -His lordship is not calm now; there is a wild feverish light in his -eyes; he trembles, too, slightly; a bright hectic spot is on either -cheek, and the veins in his temples are swollen, and seem ready to -burst as he takes off his hat to draw his hand across his clammy brow. - -"Thank God!" he muttered, as he turned to meet his friend, who was -returning to the weighing-stand, amidst such shouts as are seldom -heard. Cheer after cheer rent the air. - -"God bless you, old fellow!" said his lordship, as his friend passed -him in the enclosure; "there never was, and never will be, such a -Silverpool again. I will never bet another farthing! I'm square again." - -George is now dismounted. Taking the saddle off his noble favourite, as -he has it on one arm, he fondly and proudly pats his neck. Tim is -standing at the horse's head, with a rein in each hand; tears are -coursing down the old man's cheek. "God spare you many years, sir!" -said he to his master, who looked kindly at him; "but never ride -another race whilst I am alive; I can't bear it; one more day such as -this would be my last." - -George entered the weighing-room. "Guardsman, ten twelve," said he, -seating himself in the chair. - -The clerk of the scales approached with book in hand and pencil in -mouth, looking up to the dial for an instant said, "Right!" - -Cheer after cheer rent the air again as he came out in his top-coat. - -"For God's sake, George, come to the drag and have some champagne; I'm -ready to faint," said Lord Plunger, as he seized his arm. - -"Come on, then," returned Bradon; "I'm thirsty too; but just let me -look to the horse and Tim first." - -But Tim had clothed the horses up, as he said the boxes were only -a few paces off, and they would be better dressed there. As he -turned to follow Lord Plunger, he was seized by a host of his old -companions-in-arms, hoisted up, and carried to the drag on their -shoulders. - -"Bradon," said Lord Plunger, after he had drained off a silver goblet -of the sparkling wine, "we have pulled out of this well, right well; -for myself, I have now done with betting and the Turf. I have been hit, -and hard hit, but this _coup_ more than squares me. I'll tempt the -fickle goddess no more." - -"My decision you knew long ago," returned his friend. "This is my last -appearance in public. I shall only hunt, and I think with such a horse -as Guardsman I may be a first-flight man." - -His lordship and Bradon were ever afterwards only lookers-on at the few -race-meetings they attended, and here we must take leave of them. - -In a snug little cottage close by Bradon Hall lives Tim Mason, now -rather an infirm old man; still he looks after the stud as usual. - -In his pretty little parlour, on a side table, stand two glass cases. -Under one is a saddle, bridle, &c., in the other a satin racing jacket -and cap--scarlet and white hoops. It may easily be divined whose they -were. - -"They were only used once," he would say, pointing them out to some -friend who had dropped in to see him, "only once; but they won a pot of -money for my boy. Lord, you should have seen him ride and win that -Silverpool--it was a sight for sore eyes, I can tell you. Never were -two better horses than Guardsman and my gray. It's rather the ticket to -see them in the field now; they're the best hunters as ever was -foaled." - - [This story was first published in _Baily's Magazine_ (1870).--ED.] - - - - -A CUB-HUNTING INVITATION - - -_Monday._--Received letter from POWNCEBY. "Come down to my little place -and we'll do a morning's cubbing. Can mount you. Say Tuesday night by -6.5, and I'll meet you at Chickenham Station." Deuced good of POWNCEBY. -Hardly known him a week. Will wire at once to accept. - -_Tuesday._--Go down by 6.5 train. Pouring all the way. Wonder how far -Chickenham is. Inquire, and am told next station. POWNCEBY receives me -on platform. Awfully dark and still raining. Hope he has brought closed -carriage of some sort. Hate open carts this weather. POWNCEBY greets me -heartily. Seems a deuced good chap this. So thoroughly pleased to see -me. "My little place only a short step from here, so hope you won't -mind walking? Porter will take your bag. Yes, the roads _are_ a bit -muddy, but that's nothing. Ready? We'll start, then." Don't think -walking is quite in my line, especially on pouring wet night. We trudge -along dark lane, splashing into deep puddles at every other step. -"Don't mind going a little out of our way, do you?" says POWNCEBY, -"must just run into the butcher's and the grocer's to take a few things -home with me." We diverge into dimly-lit street. POWNCEBY disappears -into shop, leaving me standing outside. Seems to be at least an hour in -grocer's; another ten minutes in butcher's. My teeth chattering now. -Start again, and walk on and on. Ask, "Where's your place, are we -anywhere near it?" "Oh, close by," says POWNCEBY, cheerily. Trudge on -again; wet through by this time. Am seriously marshalling supply of -cuss-words into their places for use in the near future, when POWNCEBY -suddenly grips my arm, dropping pound of sausages from under his own at -same moment. They fall into puddle. "There's my little place, old -chap." Wish he wouldn't "old chap" me. Hardly know the fellow, and -begin to hate him now. He picks up sausages, and repeats, "there's my -little place; jolly little crib, ain't it?" Fear POWNCEBY is vulgar, -never noticed it before. Can just see feeble light in cottage window, -apparently miles off. Murmur, faintly, "Oh, I see," and struggle along -again. My boots like wet paper, now, and trying to imitate suction -pump. Do rest of journey silently. Cottage at last. POWNCEBY lifts -latch, and we enter. Smell of lamp-oil overpowering. POWNCEBY's "little -place" is labourer's four-roomed cottage, and singularly dirty at that. -Met by aggressive elderly female, even dirtier than cottage. POWNCEBY -silently hands her mud-stained sausages and two chops, wrapped in -newspaper. I don't exactly dine, says POWNCEBY to me, "I have supper, -you know; same thing, only different name. Being a bachelor, I make no -fuss with anyone." Rather wish he would. "Come upstairs and put -yourself straight. Mind that loose board. Not 'up to weight,' as we -say, eh?" Avoid loose plank and stumble upstairs into sloping-roofed -attic. Painted wooden bedstead; ditto washstand. Smells musty. Paper -peeling off walls, and ceiling coming down in patches. I shudder, and -ask when I may expect portmanteau. "Oh, in about an hour, I daresay. -Got all you want? Sure that you're _quite_ comfortable?" _Mem._ This -man evidently an unconscious humorist. Have to borrow (greatly against -my will) some dry clothes of POWNCEBY's in absence of my own. Wash, and -descend ricketty stairs to sitting room. Fire smokes. "Like me," says -POWNCEBY, facetiously, and laughs uproariously. Must have _very_ keen -sense of humour, this man. Aggressive female enters with two chops -(fried) and ditto sausages; small jug of table beer and tinned loaf -complete picture. "Let's fall to," says POWNCEBY; "you see your meal -before you. None of your French dishes for me!" (_Mem._ nor for me -either, unfortunately,) "but, good, plain, English food, eh?" Do not -reply, but attack sausage. Decline fried chop. Beer turgid; leave it -untasted; Thank goodness, my portmanteau arrives during repast. Pay -porter half-a-crown--looks as if he had earned it. POWNCEBY finishes -off my chop and his own too, smacks his lips, and produces bottle of -"cooking" brandy. I light cigar, and take one sip of the brandy. Find -one sip more than satisfying and do not try another. "Got a nice horse -for you, to-morrow," says POWNCEBY; "he ain't a beauty, but a real good -'un. Useful horse, too. Does all the chain-harrowing and carting work. -Must start at 5 A.M. sharp and get breakfast afterwards." I nod. Am -past the speaking stage now. Retire to bed, damp and shivering, and -very hungry. Find mouse seated on dressing table, regarding me -contemptuously. Shy boot at him. Miss mouse, but smash mirror. Feel -glow of unholy satisfaction at this. Toss about all night. - -_Wednesday._--Rise 4.30, dress by candle-light, and crawl down stairs. -Ask POWNCEBY where are horses? "Oh, we'll walk round to the stable for -'em," says POWNCEBY. Plod through many puddles, and enter evil smelling -shed. Labourer saddling melancholy grey, elaborately stained on both -quarters. "There you are, and as good as they make 'em." Don't know who -"they" are, but wish "they" would "make 'em" a little cleaner. Mount, -and am joined by POWNCEBY on equine framework. Beginning to rain again. -"This is jolly, eh?" he says. "Oh, awfully," I reply, feebly, as my -wreck nearly blunders down on to his fiddle head. Arrive at meet 6.30. -"Oh, the 'ounds 'as bin gorn this 'arf hour or more. The meet was at -six," says a yokel. - -POWNCEBY borrows fiver on road home. Caught 10.15 back to town, and if -ever----! - - - - -TOLD AFTER MESS - - -"You want to hear the story, eh?" - -Loud chorus of subalterns: "No!" - -"All right, then, that settles your fate, and you shall!" and I lit a -cigar preliminary to starting the yarn. - -"Well do I remember the episode. It was a cut-throat country that we -had to ride over. Many of my soldier comrades, brave and true, fell -that day thickly around me--but as they all got up again, it did not -really so much matter." - -Having deftly dodged a sofa-cushion shied at my head by way of a gentle -hint to "get forrard," I dropped from airy heights to the sober realms -of fact, and proceeded to tell my plain unvarnished tale. - -"After hunting for ten years with a pack belonging to a Cavalry -regiment--let us call it the 'Heavyshot Drag'--the Fates (and Taylor & -Co.) removed me into a far country, and but for the kindness of some -members of the hunt, who often asked me up and gave me a mount, I -should have known the Heavyshot no more, as it was too far to bring any -of my own select stud--consisting of a musical one, with three legs and -a swinger, a bolter with a blind eye, and a 13.2 pony!--up for the -gallop. And what jolly gallops they always were, too! - -"One day I got a wire from my excellent friend Major Laughton, who was -then Master of the Heavyshot, 'Come up, Friday. Lunch mess. Hounds meet -Pickles Common.' To which, in the degenerate language of the times, I -wired reply, 'You bet,' and one P.M. on the day named found my breeched -and booted legs beneath the mahogany of the hospitable mess room. - -"Major Laughton, in greeting me, said, 'So sorry, my dear boy, I can't -give you my second horse, as he's all wrong to-day--a severe "pain -under the pinafore" has floored him. But I've got you a gee from--well, -never mind where from, I know he can jump.' And with these words the -conversation dropped. As to where my mount came from--well, it was no -concern of mine, was it? I thought I noticed a slight deflection of the -gallant Major's left eyelid when he was speaking, but that, after all, -might have been my fancy. - -"After putting in some strong work over the luncheon course, we lit -cigars, and in a few minutes both horses and hounds appeared on the -parade ground. My horse with the mysterious origin was a good-looking -bay, who carried his head in the 'cocky' fashion beloved of -riding-masters, and proved a very pleasant hack. We jogged along and -soon reached the meet. - -"The usual scene of eagerness and excitement, hounds supplying the -latter element, whilst the superior animal, man, jostled his fellows -consumedly, in his natural desire to 'get off the mark' as soon as -decency and the Master permitted. The last-named held forth vigorously -to us, as with a 'Tow-yow-yow!' hounds dashed across the first field, -and jumped, scrambled, or squeezed through the first fence. - -"'Let 'em get over before you start, bless you all! Come back there, -you man on the grey! What the saintly St Ursula are you doing? All -right, now you can go, and be past-participled to you all!' - -"And away we went as if His Satanic Majesty had assisted us with the -toe of his boot! Swish! and the first fence, long looked at and much -disliked, is a thing of the past; horses pull and bore to get their -heads as we sail down a stiffish hill and over a broad ditch at the -bottom. My horse drops one hind leg in, and loses a couple of lengths -by the performance. Up a slight slope we stand in our stirrups--to ease -our horses, _bien entendu_--not to look at the forbidding obstacle in -front of us, oh dear no! a post and rails, with no top bar broken -anywhere, and what I hear a groom behind me calling a 'narsetty' great -ditch on the landing side. Our gallant first Whip crams his horse at -it, and but for the animal's forgetfulness in leaving both hind legs -the wrong side, would have led over in great style; but 'tis an ill -wind which blows nobody any good, and those legs break the top rail for -us. Did I follow the Whip over a bit close? Well, I hope not; verdict, -'not guilty, but don't do it again.' Two flights of hurdles and a -ploughed field bring us to the main road. We jump into, and out of, -this, leaving two of our number as 'bookmakers'--_i.e._, 'laying on -the field.' On we go again over about three miles of pretty hunting -country, with nice, plain-sailing fences; then comes a stile, at which -one refusal and two 'downers' still further reduces the field; and, -with another flight of hurdles surmounted, we come to a check. Oh, the -shaking of tails and blowing of nostrils! the 'soaping' of reins and -the sweat on the foam-flecked bodies of the poor gees! - -"'Horses seem to have had about enough of it, don't you think so?' said -a man who had pulled up just alongside of me. - -"I turned in my saddle to answer, when, without the slightest warning, -and giving vent to a groan which I seem to hear still, my horse -suddenly fell to the ground. A dozen men slipped off their horses to -lend a hand. We quickly unbuckled the girths and pulled the saddle off, -but, even as we did so, I saw the glazing eye, which told unmistakably -that the poor old chap had done his last gallop and jumped his last -fence. He was as dead as Julius Cæsar! - -"'By Jove, and it's one of the Queen's, too!' exclaimed an impetuous -Subaltern. - -"'Shut up, you young ass!' quickly rejoined his Major in low tones, and -the good youth incontinently closed the floodgates of his eloquence -just as an enormous man, Colonel de Boots, in command of the Cavalry -depôt, who had driven out to see the fun, pushed his way through the -little crowd assembled round the 'stiff un' in order to tender his -advice. - -"It was a tight place for those concerned, but the tension was quickly -relaxed when, instead of looking at the horse, he turned to me and -said, 'Deuced sorry _for your loss_, really--most annoying. My wife -will be delighted to give you a seat in her carriage. My servant shall -look after your horse until----' - -"'Not for worlds, sir,' I replied hastily, 'that is all arranged for. -But if you will really be so good as to take me to Mrs de Boots' -carriage, and if she would not mind my entering it in this very muddy -condition----?' - -"'Delighted; come along with me!' We walked off, and the situation was -saved. - -"Only temporarily, though. I blandly received Colonel and Mrs de Boots' -condolences on the loss of _my_ horse all the way home to Barracks, and -I heard afterwards that they thought I 'took it in very good part.' The -moment I was released from their carriage, after thanking them warmly -for picking me up as they had done, I took to my heels and ran down to -Major Laughton's quarters. - -"'Here's a pretty mess, my boy!' he exclaimed; 'there'll have to be a -Board to "sit on" the departed, to-morrow, and report in what way he -came to his "frightful end," as the newspaper Johnnies call it. Which -_is_ his "frightful end," by the way?' he added in meditative tones. - -"'Give it up; ask me another,' I rejoined, with a grin. 'But, -seriously, will there be an awful row when it comes out that we were -hunting one of Her Majesty's?' - -"'Well, naturally, a Paternal Government doesn't provide hunters for -"all and sundry." Come along with me: we'll see the Vet., and find out -what can be done.' - -"Away we went to the Vet.'s office, and fortunately found him in. -Laughton related the whole affair to him, and wound up by saying, 'I -don't want you to do anything that isn't strictly right, you know; but -if you can see a way of helping us out of the difficulty, I shall be -awfully obliged. The worst of it is that it's a young horse--Bradford.' - -"'Bradford? Oh, no; I saw Bradford in his stall not ten minutes ago.' - -"'Are you sure of that?' - -"'Oh, perfectly.' - -"'How strange! I sent a man down to the stables this morning to tell -them to send Bradford up--but I'll ask him at once: he's just in the -yard there,' and the next minute we were eagerly questioning the -'Tommy' as he stood rigidly at attention. - -"'Did you tell them I wanted Bradford?' - -"'Yessir.' - -"'What did they say?' - -"'Said there was no such 'orse as Radford.' - -"'Bradford, I said.' - -"'Beg pardon, sir. Understood the name was Radford, and the -Sergeant----' - -"'Yes, the Sergeant, what did he say then?' - -"'Said I was a hass, sir----' - -"'Quite right, go on,' said the Major, encouragingly. - -"'And that I must mean Radnor, and Radnor was the 'orse as was sent up, -sir.' - -"The Major turned on his heel without a word, and walked again into the -Vet.'s office, followed by me. The 'Tommy' remained at 'attention,' and -may be in the same attitude now, as far as I know. - -"'This is a relief, anyhow,' said Laughton, 'Radnor would have been -"cast" very soon, and so his sudden death won't be so surprising to the -Board.' - -"Up to this point the Vet. had been silent; now a smile hovered over -his face as he said, 'Leave the whole business to me, Major. Where's -the defunct?' - -"The Major described the place, and the interview ended, and we walked -back to Laughton's quarters." - - * * * * * - -"The Board assembled, and briefly, the result of their deliberations -was to find that the bay gelding Radnor was discovered dead in his -stall, the certified cause of death being fatty degeneration of the -heart." - - * * * * * - -"Yes, that's all very fine and large, but how the----? what the----? -when the----!!!" broke in a Babel of voices. - -"Hold on, boys, and you shall know one or two things which the Board -didn't know. Picture a scene in the barrack yard like this: a dark -night, moon only showing in fitful gleams now and then; a trolly with a -couple of horses; four stalwart Tommies and a sergeant-major seated on -the trolly; it rattles out of the barrack square and over some five -miles or so of road to the heath where the hero of the day breathed his -last. The trolly is drawn up on to the grass, and after a few minutes' -search the Sergeant-Major discovers the _corpus delicti_; with much -exertion it is hauled up on to the trolly, and the return journey -commences. - -"Just before the witching hour of midnight 'when sentries yawn and -Colonels go to bed'--Shakespeare freely transposed, boys, this--enter -the trolly to the stable yard again. The dead horse is hoisted out, put -in its stall, and the head-collar most carefully adjusted ('in case he -should get loose,' observed one Tommy to another, with an unholy grin). - -"All the actors in the little drama retire to imbibe liquid sustenance -'stood' by an invisible donor--peace reigns again all around the -barrack square, and----and that's the end. Waiter, bring me a whiskey -and soda, and some matches." - - - TURNBULL AND SPEARS, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Sporting Society, Vol. II (of 2), by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPORTING SOCIETY, VOL. 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