JOHNA.SEAVERNS 'j/f ' V <1 RECREATIONS OF A SPORTSMAN. VOLUME I. '3BifiilM|i;i;i:i!l!!5l EECREATMS OF A SPOETSMAN. BY LORD WILLIAM LENNOX. "Like a book of Sport, thou'lt read me." Shakspeare. IN TWO VOLUIVIES. VOL. I. LONDON: HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, SUCCESSORS TO HENRY COLBURN, 13, GREAT MAKLBOROUGH STREET. 1862. The right of Translation it reserved. LONDON : printed by r. born, gloucester street, regent's park. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. JANUARY. New Year's Day — Ancient Ceremonies — Remarkable Events and Festivals —Farm and Garden Operations — Sports on the Ice — Skating and Cm-ling — Golfing in Scotland — Tlie Turf and its Patrons— Earl of Derby of 1861— Earl of Derby of 1669 — Games of the Romans — Sports of the Egyptians — Winter in Canada .... 1 FEBRUARY. February as a Sporting Month — A Word of Advice to the Gunner — Modern Battues — Breech and Muzzle Loaders — Cavalry Equipments — Coursing — Royal, Noble, and Gentle Writers of Bygone Days — Result of a Day's Shooting, A.D. 1820 and 1859— Cruel Sports— Cock- fighting and Bull-baiting — The Horse — Horse-racing at the Roman Carnival — A Maltese Horse-race . 43 VI CONTENTS. MAECH. Prospects of the Month — Ancient Agricultural Directions — Commencement of the Racing Season — On Training Race-horses — Angling and Fly-fishing — A Fishing Ex- cursion in Wales — The Black Mountains in Caermarthen- shire — A Day's Amusement — A Thunder Storm in the Mountains — Lesson on Dressing the Trout or Salmon-peel — Pedestrian Anglers in Wales — Hunting Laws of the Ancient Britons — Fish of the Welsh Rivers — The Sewen or Serven 69 APRIL. Racing Fixtures for the Month — The Light Weight Ques- tion — Racing Estabhshments — Brood Mares — Coursing : Its Facihties and Advantages as a Recreation — Arrian's Account of Coursing among the Celtic Gauls — The Grey- hound of the Present Day — Its Symmetric Proportions — ^Plan of Kennelling — Domestic Qualities of the Grey- hound — A Modern Instance of the Sagacity of the Dog — Prices given for Greyhounds — A Fishing Excursion in Scotland 87 MAY. The Merry Month of May — Its Attractions to the Sports- man — Archery — The Principal Instruments — The Oriental Method of Practice Recommended — Flight Shooting — Clout Shooting — Roving — Preparations for the Cricket Campaign — Racing — National Advantages of Turf Amusements — Expeditious Travelling — Hornsey Wood — Pigeon Shooting — The Crack Shots of England — Aquatic Pursuits — Hints on the Purchase of a Yacht — Deep-sea Fishing 134 CONTENTS. VU JUNE. June the Carnival of Nature — ^Festivals and Holidays of the Month — Revival of an Ancient Custom — The First Book Printed in England — Dyer's Description of Sheep- Shearing— The Gentle Craft— The Angler's May-Fly— Walton's Method of Trout-Fishing— Boating— The Sci- ence of Rowing — ^Terms used in Boating — The Game of Cricket — A Popular Author on an Old Pastime— 011a Podrida — Fox- Hunting and Household Words — A Che- shire Sportsman in 1579— Crannis, the Poet-Poacher — A Canine Favourite . . . ■ . . ., 186 JULY. Phenomena of the Month — Festivals and Remarkable Days — The Sports of July — Fish and Fishing — Physiology of the Fish— Preparations for the Twelfth of August — Rook Shooting — Aquatic Amusements — Poetical Description of a Regatta — Yachting — Advice on Moorings — Hints to Yachtsmen — Incredible Fecundity of Fish — Haunts of the Herring — Regulation of their Movements — General Rendezvous of Cod — War in the Ocean— Provision for the Food of Fish— Canine Honours— The Trumpeter and his Dog 210 AUGUST. Festivals of the Month— The Rural Festivals of Merrie England — Grouse or Black-Game Shooting — Hiring Shooting Quarters— Habits of the Grouse — Dogs for Grouse-shooting — Anecdotes of the Late Marquis of Anglesey — Angling and Fly-fishing — A Piscatory Ramble by the Thames— Archery— Cricket — Yachting — Till CONTENTS. "Arm, Yachtsmen, arm !" —Munificence of Lord Fitzhard- inge— A Flattering Compliment — Boating and Rowing — A Curious Wager — Suggestions on the Purchase of a Yacht — Yachting Statistics — System of Extortion at Cowes — A Yacht Review — The Rifle Volunteer Move- ment 238 SEPTEMBER. Anniversaries — The Glorious First of September — Caution in the Use of Fire-arms — Dogs and Guns — Shooting Attire — The Farm — Partridge - Shooting — A Day with the late Rev. R. Barham (Ingoldsby) — ISiirth and Jest— Sportsmen of 1803— Coke of Norfolk— The New Game Certificates— Jennison Shaftoe and his celebrated Match — Cruelty to Animals — Glorious Goodwood — The Races as they were, and as they are — ^The Lewes and Brighton Meetings — Sussex in the Ascendant — A Derby Prophecy for 1861 . . ... . .292 EECFtEATIONS OF A SPORTSMAK iiiniar]!. " On blithesome frolics bent, the youthful swains, While every work of man is laid at rest, Fond o'er the river crowd, in various sport And revelry dissolved. And as they sweep On sounding skates, a thousand different ways, In circling poise, swift as the winds, along. The then gay land is maddeu'd all to joy." Thomson. New Year's Day — Ancient Ceremonies — Remarkable Events and Festivals —Farm and Garden Operations — Sports on the Ice — Skating and Curling — Golfing in Scotland — The Turf and its Patrons— Earl of Derby of 1861— Earl of Derby of 1669 — Games of the Romans — Sports of the Egyptians — Winter in Canada. Under the above title it is our intention to treat of the manly recreations of " Merrie VOL. I. B England," occasionally interspersing them with sketches and anecdotes of those lovers of field amusements who have rendered themselves worthy of such a notice. Although we do not pledge our- selves to confine our remarks to the sports of the month, we shall, as far as lies in our power, treat of those that are principally indulged in during those respective divisions ; and, to carry out that view, we commence with the diversions of January. The more northern nations anciently assigned portentous qualities to the winds of New Year's Eve, as may be gleaned from the following legend : — " If New Year's Eve niglit-wiiid blows south, It betokenetli warmtli and growth ; If west, much milk, and fish in the sea ; If north, much cold and storms there'll be ; If east, the trees will bear much fruit ; If north-east, flee it, man and brute ! " On the 1st January, 1801, Ireland received her new-year's gift from Great Britain in the shape of the Union. Twelfth-day is too well known to refer further to, than to say that the character of King Francis of Naples, lately abdicated, will not be eagerly sought after. Plough Monday, the first ANCIENT CEREMONIES. 3 Monday after Twelfth-day, was so called because it was the first day after Christmas that husbandmen could resume the plough. It was formerly the custom to have rural rejoicings on this occasion, and the plough was drawn in procession to the doors of the villages, hamlets, farm-houses, and home- steads, amidst much mirth and revelry. The eve of St. Agnes was a most important night to young damsels, who desired to know who their future husbands were to be ; for, according to Aubrey's suggestion — " Upon St. Agnes' night you take a row of pins, and pull out every one, one after the other, saying a paternoster, sticking a pin in your sleeve, and you will dream of him cr her you shall marry." On the 25th of January, 1712, Queen Anne announced in the London Gazette her royal inten- tion of publicly " touching " all comers for king's- evil. The first monarch who touched was Edward the Confessor, in 1058, and vulgar credulity was carried on by each succeeding sovereign, until in the reign of the second Charles it had arrived at such a height, that in the space of fourteen years no fewer than 92,107 persons had undergone the regal remedy ; and, according to Wiseman, the b2 4 CURIOUS CUSTOM. King's physician, they were nearly all cured ! This ^'touching" continued until it was wisely discouraged, and ultimately discontinued by George I., in 1714. In the parish of Pauntley, a village on the borders of the counties of Gloucester and Wor- cestershire, and in the neighbourhood, a curious agricultural custom, intended to prevent the smut in wheat, in some respect resembling the Scotch bettaen, once prevailed ; but we presume that, like many other ancient usages, it has fallen into disrepute, or been trampled down by the rapid march of intellect. On the eve of Twelfth-day, all the servants of every farmer assembled together in one of the fields that had been sown with wheat. At the end of twelve lands they made twelve fires in a row with straw ; around one of which, much larger than the rest, they drank a cheerful glass of cider to the health of their masters, and success to the future harvest ; then, returning home, they feasted on cakes made of caraways, soaked in cider, which they claimed as a reward for their past labours in sowing the grain. During January the tiller of the soil has plenty GARDEN OPERATIONS. 5 of work on hand. Old grass-lands and corn- stubbles may be ploughed ; manure for spring may be prepared, compost made in wet weather, mixtures of bones and ashes prepared, and soaked at intervals with liquid manure. Salt and liine may be mixed (one hundred-weight to one ton), and spread on a dry floor. Thrashing must be carried on, the cattle requiring a great deal of litter. In wet weather horses are liable to swelled legs and cracked heels. Mares in foal require much attention ; good shelter at night, and ample means for exercise, should be provided. Such of the sheep as are fat should be sent to market. Mangel-wurzel should be given to dairy-cows ex- pected to calve in March. Cows should now be under shelter. We now turn to the garden, where, with the exception of digging and manuring, there is not much to be done ; but it is as well to trench the ground where the crops have been removed during the latter end of the summer. Old hot beds should be prepared and new ones made. Atten- tion must be paid to lettuces and cauliflowers under frames. Early frame and Charlton peas, long-pod beans, radish, and cos-lettuce may be 6 GARDENING FOR JANUARY. got in where the situation is southward and dry ; and the pease and beans must be guarded by drawing a little earth to each side of the drills, and against mice and slugs, by strewing quicklime over and around. A covering of fern or straw will protect radishes, lettuce, and parsley from the frost. Blanch endive ; plant cabbages, savoy, beet, carrots, and turnips for seed ; prune wall and espalier apple, pear, plum, and cherry trees, as well as peaches, nectarines, and apricots, when the weather is mild. If the day is dry and mild, tulip roots may be put into the grpund three inches deep, and six or eight apart ; and hardy flower shrubs may be planted. As the garden is deprived of its floral beauties, we need only refer to win- dow plants; and among them geraniums and fuchsias should be kept as nearly dormant as possible, allowing just water enough to prevent their flagging. China roses, cinerarias, hyacinths, and other bulbs will now be in active state, some of them flowering; these should be liberally treated with water. One important rule is to keep the leaves of the plants clean ; for, though they are few in number and feeble in action, they have an important duty to perform, and unless they are THE NEW YEAR. 7 kept as healthy as possible, the plant cannot begin a new growth with the vigour it ought to possess. Kain-water, heated so as to make it rather warmer than the atmosphere of the room, is the best that can be used; but great care must be taken not to give too much or too little water, as in the former case the soil will become soaked, and in the latter so dry that the plant will droop or flag for the want of it. The holly, the mistletoe, and the ivy show some lingering remnants of the departed year, and many of the mosses and lichens are now in their beauty ; the feathered tribe feel the influ- ence of the cold wintry blast ; the thrush may be seen under sunny hedges and southern walls in pursuit of snails ; the robin, the wren, the hedge- sparrow, chirp on the leafless trees; and the tuneful lark and linnet congregate and fly to the warm stubbles for shelter. The new year is always an interesting point of our existence. It was formerly ushered in with odes and sonnets, of which the following may furnish a fair specimen : " All hail to the birth of the year ! See, golden-haired Phoebus afar, Prepares to renew his career, And is mounting his dew- spangled car ! 8 " HAPPY NEW YEAR I " Stern Winter congeals every brook That murmured so lately with glee, And places a snowy peruke On the head of each bald-pated tree," Whether the poet was a punster, and opened his address to Winter with " All hail ! " or where he discovered the splendid metaphor of the "snowy peruke " (which savours more of rime than reason) we will not stop to inquire. Suffice it to say, we heartily concur in the sentiment of welcoming A.D. 1862 ; we contemplate many mercies, favours, benefits, and kindnesses that have been heaped upon us during the last twelve months — or may, perhaps, have to mourn over some sad bereave- ment that has overtaken us during that period ; but whether our reminiscences are joyful or sad, there is one sentiment that universally prevails on the birth of the new year, and that is a feeling of good-will towards our relatives, friends, and ac- quaintances. And, in so doing, we concentrate our wishes in that most emphatic, hearty English congratulation, which, despite its antiquity, is still endeared to our heart of hearts, and which, we trust, will never moulder away, or be levelled with the dust, and thus salute one and all of our CELEBRATED MEN. 9 friends with the compliments of the season, and a " Happy New Year ! " The mean temperature, or that degree of heat which is midway between the highest and lowest points observed on the thermometer, is lower in this month than in any other : the general mean temperature being 35 degrees, at night it is gene- rally below freezing-point. The prevailing winds are from west to north. The coldest January on record was in 1795; while that of the following year was the mildest. The characteristics of the month are raw, cold, snowy, frosty days ; so that fox-hunting is usually put an end to. To console the sportsman, however, for the loss of the " noble science," pheasant and wild-fowl shooting, skating, curling, and golfing may be had to perfection. Among the celebrated men born in January, may be mentioned Sir Isaac Newton, a.d. 1692; and Benjamin Franklin, in 1706 — one of the many instances of men of genius becoming the architects of their own fame, this distinguished philosopher having risen from a journeyman printer to become the brightest luminary of the age. Among the deaths may be recorded that of John Howard in 1790, the beheading of Louis 10 SPORTS ON THE ICE. XYI. in 1793, the martyrdom of Charles I., the death of that friend to the human race, Dr. Jenner, in 1823— of the Duke of York in 1827, and of his father, the third George, in 1820. In England, January is a favourite month with sportsmen, as in open weather hunting may be had to perfection ; and if Jack Frost holds his ascendancy, and "icicles hang on the wall," and the waters are congealed, shooting, golfing, and skating may be indulged in to circulate the blood and enliven the spirits. Indeed, if, according to "Anacreon" Moore, *' The sweetness that pleasure hath in it Is always so slow to come forth, That seldom, alas ! till the minute It dies, do we know half its worth," it is not until the shooting season is about to ter- minate that the "gunner" feels how much he shall miss the exhilarating pleasure of a day with the pheasants, which cannot be renewed for eight long months. Skating and curling are, however, more in vogue during the month of January than during any other, hence a few remarks upon them may not be out of season. If a severe frost sus- pends the occupations of the Nimrod, and curtails SKATING. 1 1 his pleasures, it is hailed with satisfaction by the skater, who longs to show off the ^^ outside edge," the "figure of eight," "inside edge," "figure of three," and other graceful movements, to the ad- miring crowd assembled on the Serpentine river, or on the " lake" near some " ancestral home of England." The first mention of skating, although probably it was of much earlier date, is made by Fitzstephen in his description of London, who says : — " When the great fenne or moor (which watereth the walles of the citie on the north side) is frozen, many young men play upon the yce." Again — " Some stryding as wide as they may, doe slide swiftly ; as some tye bones to their feete and under their heels, and shoving themselves by a little piked staffe, doe slide- as swiftly as a bird flyeth in the air, or an arrow out of a crosse-bow." Here, although the implements were rude, we have skating ; but to the Dutch, there can be no doubt, this country is indebted for the present iron-shod skate. As the tread of the skate should correspond as nearly as possible with that of the foot, the wooden part should be of the same length as the foot or shoe ; and it will avoid endless trouble if the skate is fixed to the 12 SKATING. sole permanently, so that the process of boring a hole into the leather heel, which often pene- trates into the human one, and the inconvenience of strapping on the skates, may be avoided. Much difference of opinion has existed as to whether the iron should be fluted or plain ; we own we prefer the latter as being quite as secure, and enablinor ^s to j^o as fast as those who use the former ; these irons should be kept well, and sharply ground ; and the best test of a good skate is that, when placed on a level surface, it should stand perfectly perpendicular. Theory will never produce a good skater, and he who aspires to become one should commence at an early period of life — good nerve, patience, and an accurate balance of the body are the principal requisites ; and when young practitioners have acquired a facility in keeping the figure and the face rather elevated, the leg which is on the ice perfectly straight, that which is off it straight, though not stiff, the toe pointing down, and the one heel about twelve inches from the other; in striking steadily, and never allowing both feet to be on the ice together ; and in raising the arm contrariwise to that of the leg — they will easily become expert in the more difli- GOLFING. 13 cult movements. To become an elegant skater, natural grace will be required ; for, like dancing, although every pains may be taken to teach the steps and figures, no one will be able to lay claim to l)igh honours in the Terpsichorean accomplish- ment, or upon the glacial surface, who is not gifted with an easy dignity of deportment. Before we notice curling, we will offer a few observations upon golfing, which, although prin- cipally carried on in Scotland, is occasionally to be met with in England. This sport is very an- cient, for in 1457, previous to the renewal of the truce between England and Scotland, statutes were promulgated against golf (pronounced "gouflP" across the border), ^'lest it should inter- fere with the practice of archery, so necessary to the martial education of the Scottish youth." In 1744, the city of Edinburgh took a different view of the subject, by voting to the company of golfers a silver club, to be contested for annually. As the game is not, as we have already remarked, very well known to Southerners, we may remark that the club is from three to four feet long, ac- cording to the height and length of arm of the player. And here we must digress for a moment 14 WEIGHT OF WEAPON. to remark what a wise and sensible precaution this is, not to over-weight a light player, or to give a powerful one too slight a weapon. If this is advi- sable in a game of pleasure, how very important it is in the performance of duty; why, then, would we ask, is there to be a regulation sword, carbine, and rifle for the whole of the army ? — why is a small weak man, less powerful in arm, smaller in limb, to carry the same rifle as a stalwart grena- dier? — and why is a neat, dapper light dragoon, with slight sinews, to wield the same sword, of which, from physical defects, he can never be- come master, as a powerful muscular man ? If this is applicable to the privates, how much more is it to the oflScers, whose mental powers, and not bodily strength, are alone tested ! And when we see a youth of sixteen, encumbered with a long sword, carrying the Queen's or regimental colours, or a juvenile cornet flourishing a long heavy cut- and-thrust sword, with which he is expected to compete with those of a mature age, strength, and height, we wonder that the authorities have not long since interfered to put an end to so ab- surd a system. As well might the dress, shako, and boots be of one uniform size, shape, and DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 15 make as the sword, which ought at least to be issued according to the physique of the soldier. Return we to golfing. The club is curved and massive towards the head, to give it scope, weight, and strength. This head is formed of beech, or some other tough wood ; and is planed off as it proceeds upwards, so as to adapt itself to the handle, to which it is very firmly glued, and tightly corded down. The face of the club is further secured by a piece of hard bone or ivory, at least half-an inch thick ; is loaded with five or six ounces of lead, according to the fancy of the player, and is usually bound with cord, list, or velvet. The ball, which is composed of stout leather, filled with feathers, is about the size of a boy's cricket-ball, painted over with several coats of white paint. The game is played by two or more persons, so that there may be an equal number on each side ; but only two balls are used, each party striking in turn. If, however, the last striker does not drive his ball so far on as that of his opponent, one of his party must then strike one, or perhaps two more, and the game is thus marked by calling out one, two, or three more, as the case may be. If more than two are 16 GROUNDS FOR THE SPORT. playing, the same person does not strike twice in succession ; a miss is counted one, and the party who puts the ball into the hole at the fewest strokes wins the game. The chief places where the game is played are — at *' Auld E-eekie/' on a fine green, to the south of the city, called the Links ; at Leith, St. Andrews in Fifeshire, Glasgow, and the Inches of Perth. The grounds used for this sport vary in different parts of Scotland — some are nearly square, with a hole at each corner, about 440 yards apart, the players having to traverse the whole surface, finish- ing the game at the spot from which they started. In addition to the clubs already described, there are others called "putters," which are car- ried by the attendant of each party. Some are short and heavy, and used when making a direct stroke near the hole ; others, formed of iron, are called into requisition, to hit a ball when un- favourably placed, as in a rut or hole, where the wooden club would probably be broken. Al- though each club has its own particular regula- tions, they are principally founded upon the following, which are the long-established rules of the " Thistle Golf Club" of Edinburgh ;~ RULES OF THE "THISTLE GOLF CLUB." 17 " 1. You must tee your ball not nearer the hole than two club lengths ; not farther from it than six, and your tee must be on the ground. " 2. The ball farthest from the hole to be played first. " 3. You are not to change the ball struck from the tee before the hole is played out ; and, if at a loss to distinguish one ball from the other, neither of them is to be uplifted till both parties agree. " 4. You are not to remove stones, bones, or any break-club, in order to play your ball, except on the fair green. If a ball stick fast in the ground, it may be loosened, but not lifted from the ground. ** 5. The player in every case shall be entitled to lift his ball, and drop it at such a distance as he thinks proper behind the hazard, and lose one stroke; but when he cannot get behind the hazard without going off the green, he shall be entitled to drop his ball on the green in a line with the place where it lay. " 6. If a ball be half covered, or more, with water on the green, the player is at liberty to take it out, drop it behind the hazard, and play in with an iron, without losing a stroke ; and when VOL. I. C . 18 RULES OF THE "THISTLE GOLF CLUB." the ball is completely covered with fog or grass, so much thereof may be set aside as that the player may have a view of his ball before he plays. " 7. If a ball lie within the hollow formed in cutting any of the w^ater-tracks on the green, it may be taken out, dropped behind the track, and played with an iron, without losing the stroke. " 8. In all cases where a ball is to be dropped, the party dropping shall point the hole to which he is playing, and drop the ball behind him over his head. " 9. When the balls lie within six inches of each other, the ball nearest the hole to be lifted till the other is played. ''■ 10. In the case of more than two balls being played in the same party, or if the match being decided by the number of strokes, as in playing for medals or prizes, if one ball lie betw^ixt the other and the hole, the ball nearest the hole must be first played. "11. If a ball be stopped by accident, it must be played where it lies; but if stopped by the adversary or his caddy (the person who carries his clubs), the party who stopped the ball to lose the hole. ROYAL PATRONS AND PLAYERS. 19 " 12. If a ball shall be lost on the green, the player shall drop another at the place where his ball was supposed to have been lost, and lose one stroke ; but if it can be ascertained that the ball was lost in any of the tracks on the green, another may be dropped behind the track, and played with an iron, without losing a stroke. " 13. If in striking, the club break, it is never- theless to be counted a stroke, if you either strike the ground or pass the ball. " 14. At holing, you are not to mark the direc- tion to the hole ; you are to play your ball honestly to the hole, and not play on your adversary's ball, not lying in your way to the hole; but all loose impediments may be removed in putting. " 15. Mistakes relating to the reckoning of any particular hole cannot be rectified after the parties have struck off for the next hole." In England there are a few GoliSng Clubs, the most prominent being at Blackeath. Among the royal patrons and players of this game may be mentioned the unfortunate martyr, Charles the First, and the bigoted, arbitrary- James the Second; the latter monarch was so good a golfer, that it was said none could equal c2 20 CURLING. him save one Patterson, a shoemaker, of Edin- burorli, and he, as a " canny Scot," probably never played his best, for few sovereigns can bear a rival. Curling may be considered as national a winter game in Scotland as golfing is a summer one, and is one that is carried on with the greatest spirit throughout the "land of the mountain and the flood." Pennant, in his Tour, in 1792, thus refers to it : — '^ Of all the sports of these parts, that of curling is a favourite, and one unknown in Eng- land ; it is an amusement of the winter, and played on the ice, by sliding from one mark to another a great stone of forty to seventy pounds weight, of an irregular hemispherical form, with an iron or wooden handle at top. The object of the player is to lay his stone as near the mark as possible ; to guard that of his partners, which had been well laid before ; or to strike off that of his antagonist." Curling is supposed to have been introduced into Scotland some 440 years ago ; it was also attempted in the Emerald Isle, but failed for want of support. Among our colonies it has proved more successful, for so long ago as the year 1819 DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 21 we took part in a game on the mighty St. Law- rence, within a few miles of Quebec. We have ah-eady alluded to the blocks of hard stone, which should present an upper and under surface per- fectly plain, and as smooth as art can make them; the object of which is that the least possible resistance should be offered to the sliding of the stone on the ice. Each curler is supplied with one of these blocks, or two, according to previous arrangement. The ^* rink " or course is marked out on the ice, which should be as slippery and as free from cracks as possible, particularly such as are longitudinal, so that the progress of the stone may not be impeded. Upon this " rink " a mark is made at each end, called a ^^tee," by making two small circles, that the relative dis- tances of the stones from the ^' tee " may be seen at once, it beino: against the rules of the game to permit any actual measurement until the play is over ; these circles are called the " broughs." Two scores are then drawn across the "rink," called the hog-score, distant from the " tees " about a sixth part of the length of the course ; and those stones which do not pass the line are placed ^'hors de combat:' The leno;th of the "rink" 22 SHINTY. varies from thirty to fifty yards, and the breadth is about twelve feet. Although at the first glance the game may appear simple, it requires a great deal of ingenuity in laying your stones well, in striking away that of your adversary, guarding your partners, and playing the game very much after the manner of a pool at billiards. When the stones on both sides have been played, the one nearest the ^'tee" counts one, and if the second, third, fourth, &c., belong to the same side, all these count so many " shots " (as they are termed), 31 of which, for each side, is the number usually played for. There is another game which is peculiar to Scotland, called Shinty : it is a sort of glacial hockey or golfing. A small hard ball is used, and the main object of the player is to strike it with a wooden club beyond a boundary marked on each side. When the word " play " is given, the two contending parties immediately commence opera- tions, and it is highly amusing and exciting to see them scrambling, running, rolling, and sliding, as they (regardless of danger or of one another's shins) strike the ball repeatedly until it reaches its goal. THE TURF IN 1861. 23 The year 1861 will be famed in the annals of the turf, as one in which a larger amount of sport and money was run for than during any pre- vious year; and the subscriptions to the Derby, Oaks, St. Leger, and other great races prove that the love of this national field-sport has increased rather than diminished. Much anxiety has lately been felt respecting the health of one of its noblest supporters, the Earl of Derby; sincerely do we hope that his Lordship will long be spared to extend his patronage to an amusement that was supported by his ancestors; for in looking over the copy of a curious manuscript given by Dr. Dibdin, the great biographer, to the author of " Waverley," we find that two hundred years ago the noble head of the Stanley family supported, as does the present, shooting and the turf. If the Isle of Man could not produce such a gathering as that assembled in 1860 at Knowsley, in Lancashire, during the rifle review, or if the races by the Coney-Warren, Mona, were not as good as those annually run on the Aintree Course, near Liverpool, still the support was the same, as may be gleaned from the following document, which we quote word for word : — 24 RACING IN THE ISLE OF MAN. " Insula ^MoNiE. "Articles for the plate which is to be run for in the said Island, being of the value of five pounds sterling (the fashion included) given by the Right Honourable William, Earl of Derby, Lord of the same Isle, &c. " 1st. The said plate to be run for upon the 28th day of July, in every year, while his honour is pleased to allow the same (being the day of the majority of the Honourable James Lord Strange), except it happen upon a Sunday, and if soe, the said plate is to be run for upon the day following. "2nd. That noe horse, gelding, or mair shall be admitted to run for the same plate, but such as foaled within the said Island, or in the Calfe of Mann. " 3rd. That eury horse, gelding, or mair, that is designed to run, shall be entered at or before the viiijth day of July, with his master's name and his owne, if he be generally knowne by any, or els his collour, and whether horse, mair, or gelding, and that to be done at the X comprs. office, by the cleark of the rolls for the time being. "4th. That eury person that puts in either horse, mair, or gelding, shall, at the time of their EACING IN THE ISLE OF MAN. 25 entring, depositt the sume of five shill. a-piece into the hands of the said cleark of the rolls, which is to go towards the augmenting of the plate for the year following, besides one shill. a-piece to be given by them to the said cleark of the rolls, for entering their names, and engrossing these articles. " 5th. That eury horse, mair, or gelding, shall carry horseman's weight, that is to say, ten stone weight, at fourteen pounds to each stone, besides saddle and bridle. " 6th. That eury horse, mair, or gelding shall have a person for its tryer, to be named by the owner of the same horse, mair, or gelding, which tryers are to have the command of the scales and weights, and to see that every rider does carry full weight, according as is mencioned in the fore- going article, and especially that the winning rider be soe with the usual allowance of one pound. " 7th. That a person be assigned by the tryers to start the runinge horses, who are to run for the said plate, betwixt the bowers of one and three of the clock in the afternoon. " 8th. That eury rider shall leave the two first powles which are sett upp in Macybreas Close, in this manner following, that is to say, the 26 SPORTING OF 1687. first of the said two powles upon his right hand, and the other upon his left hand; and the two powles by the rockes are to be left upon the left hand likewise; and the fifth powle, which is sett upp at the lower end of the Coney- Warren, to be left alsoe upon the left hand, and soe the turning powle next to William Looveyes house to be left in like manner upon the left hand, and the other two powles, leading to the ending powle, to be left upon tVe right hand; all which powles are to be left by the riders as aforesaid, excepting only the distance-powle, which may be rid on either hand, at the discretion of the rider. " July 14th, 1687. " The names of the persons who have entered their horses to run for the within plate for this present year 1687 : — " Rd. Heywood, Esq., Governor of this Isle, names b. g. Loggerhead. Capt. Tho. Hudlston, w. g. Snowball. Mr. William Faigler, gray g. Gray Cavraine. Mr. NiCHO. Williams, gray h. The Yorkshire Gray. Mr. Dempster Christian, dapple gray g. The Dap- ple Gray. " 28th July, 1687. " Memorandum. " That this day the above plate was run for by COUNSEL TO THE SMITHS. 27 the foremen tioDed horses, and the same was fairly won by the Right Worshipful Governor's horse at the two first heates. " It is my good-will and pleasure yt ye 2 prizes formerly granted (by me) for hors runing and shooting, shall continue as they did, to be run, or shot for, and soe to continue dureing my good- will and pleasure. Given under my hand at Lathom, ye 28 of July, 1687. " (Signed) " Derby. " To my Governors, Deputy-governor, and ye rest of my officers in my Isle of Man." To digress for a moment : the careful reader will have remarked the spelling of the word viiijthday of July, which we would humbly recommend to those who, ashamed of their patronymic Smith, might make it look better on paper if converted into Smiiijth. To resume : the manly sports of " Merrie Eng- land" will never degenerate so long as they are supported by noblemen and gentlemen of un- blemished honour, who carry them on in a national point of view, that of making the sons of Britain hardy and enduring, and of keeping up the breed of horses for which this country has so long been 28 PATRONS OF THE TURF. famed. So long as the names of Anglesey, Ailes- bury, Annesley, Beaufort, Bedford, Batthyany, Bulkeley, Bowes, Booth, Batson, F. Berkley, Bevill, Chesterfield, Coventry, Clifden, Craw- furd, Courtenay, Christie, Derby, Des Yoeux, Exeter, Etwall, Glasgow, Greville, Gratwicke, Hawley, Monck, Merry, Martyn, Osbaldeston, Peel, Payne, Portsmouth, Rous, Stamford, Strath- more, Stradbroke, Savile, Rothschild, Ribbles- dale, Towneley, Ten Broeck, Vivian, Wyndham, White, Wilton, Wlnchelsea, Westmoreland, Zet- land, cum multis aliis — all true and noble sports- men, appear in the calendar, and attend the meetings, the turf must prosper; and were we permitted to parody two lines of Shakespeare, we would say of this national sport : " Nought shall make us rue, If turfites to themselves do rest but true." So much for the first month of the year, as regards the sportsman and agriculturist; and as, in our opening, we stated it to be our intention to introduce the out-door amusements and manly games, modern and ancient, not only of England, but of other countries, we proceed to give a de- scription of Roman games. EOMAN GAMES. 29 Games, among the ancient Romans, constituted a part of religious worship. They were of differ- ent kinds, at different periods of the Republic. At first they were always consecrated to some god, and were either stated (ludi stati), or vowed by generals in war (votivi), or celebrated on extraordinary occasions {extraordinarii). The most famous, however, were those celebrated in the Circus Maximus, hence called ludi Circenses^ of which the chief were ludi Romania vel magni. Ludi Circenses. The Circus Maximus was first built by Tar- quinius Priscus, and afterwards, at different times, magnificently adorned. It lay betwixt the Palatine and Aventine hills, and was of an oblong circular form. The length of it was three stadia (or furlongs) and a half — id est, 2,1 87^ feet (there were 5,000 feet to the Roman mile — 280 less than to an English one) ; the breadth little more than one stadium; with rows of seats all round, called fori or spectacula, rising one above another, the lowest of stone and the highest of wood, where separate places were allotted to each curia, and also to the senators and to the equites ; but these 30 LUDI CIRCENSES. last, under the Republic, sat promiscuously with the rest of the people. Authorities differ as to the number it contained : some compute it at 150,000, others 380,000 persons. Its circumfer- ence was a mile. It was surrounded with water, ten feet broad and ten feet deep, and with porti- coes three stories high — both the works of Julius Caesar. In different parts there were proper places for the people to go in and out without disturbance. At one end there were several openings, from which the horses and chariots started, called carceres vel repagula. Before the carceres stood two small statues of Mercury, hold- ing a chain or rope, to keep in the horses ; in place of which there seems sometimes to have been a white line or a cross-furrow filled with chalk or lime, at which the steeds were drawn up in a straight row, by persons called moratores. But this creta^ or calxy appears to have been drawn chiefly to mark the end of the course, or limit of victory, to which Horace beautifully alludes : " Mors ultima linea rerum." At this end of the Circus, which was in the form of a semicircle, were three balconies or open galleries — one in the middle, and one in each THE CIRCUS. 31 corner — called Alwnianaj from one Mcenius, who, when he sold his house adjoining the Forum to Cato and Flaccus, the Censors, reserved to himself the right of one pillar, where he might build a projection, whence he and his posterity might view the show of gladiators, which was then exhibited in the Forum. In the middle of the Circus, for almost the whole length of it, there was a brick wall, about twelve feet broad and four feet high, called spina, at both extremities of which there were three columns on one base, called metce, or goals, round which the horses and chariots turned, so that they always had the spina and metce on their left hand, contrary to the manner of running with us ; whence a carceribus ad metam vel calcem (from the beginning to the end.) In the middle of the spina Augustus erected an obelisk 132 feet high, brought from Egypt, and at a small distance another, eighty-eight feet high. Near the first meta, from w-hence the horses started, there were seven other pillars, either of an oval form or having oval spheres on their top, called ova, which were taken down to denote how many rounds the charioteer had completed, one for each round ; for they usually ran seven times 32 CHARIOT AND HORSE RACES. round the course. These pillars were called phalce. Before the games began, the images of the gods were led along in procession, on carriages and in frames, or on men's shoulders, with a great train of attendants, part on horseback and part on foot. Next followed the combatants, dancers, musicians, &c. When the procession was over, the consuls and priests performed sacred rites. The shows (spectacula) exhibited in the Circus Maxiums were chiefly the following : — 1st. Chariot and horse races. The charioteers were distributed into four parties, from their dif- ferent dress — /actio albata (the white), russata (the red), veneta (the sky or sea-coloured), and prasma (the green faction) ; to which Domitian added the aurata et purpurea (the golden and purple). The spectators favoured one or other colour, as humour or caprice inclined them. It was not the swiftness of the horses, nor the art of the men, that at- tracted them, but merely the dress. In the time of Justinian, no fewer than 30,000 men are said to have lost their lives at Constantinople in a tumult raised by contentions among the partisans of these several colours. The order in which the chariots and horses stood was determined by lot, and the GAMES OF THE CIRCUS. 33 person who presided at the games gave the signal for starting by dropping a napkin or cloth. Then the chain of the Hennuli being withdrawn, they sprang forward ; and whoever first ran seven times round the course was victor. This was called a match, fur the race was usually determined in one heat, and on an average there were twenty-five of these in a day. So that when there were four parties, and one of these started every time, a hundred chariots ran in one day, sometimes many more ; but then the horses only went five times round the course. The victor being proclaimed by a herald was crowned, and received a prize in money of considerable value. Palms were first given to victors at games, after the manner of the Greeks ; and those who had received crowns for their bravery in war first wore them at the games. 2nd. Contests of agility and strength, of which there were five kinds — running, leaping, boxing, wrestling, and throwing the discus or quoit. 3rd. Ludus Trojas, a mock fight — a sort of tournament, performed by young noblemen on horseback ; revived by Julius Csesar, and fre- quently celebrated by the succeeding emperors. Described by Virgil (iEn., lib. v. 561). VOL. I. D 34 GAMES OF THE CIKCUS. 4th. Yenatio, or the fighting of wild beasts with one another, or with men, called hestiarii, who were either forced to this by way of punishment, or fought voluntarily, either from a natural ferocity of dis- position or a love of lucre. An incredible number of animals of various kinds were brought from all quarters for the entertainment of the people, and at an immense expense. Pompey, in his second consulship, exhibited five hundred lions at one time, all of whom were despatched in five days ; eighteen elephants were also included in the slaughter. 5 th. The representation of a horse or foot battle, and also of an encampment or a siege. 6th. The representation of a sea-fight, which was at first made in the Circus Maximus, but afterwards removed elsewhere. Augustus dug a lake near the Tiber for that purpose ; and Do- mitian built a naval theatre, w^hich w^as called Naumachia Domitiani. Those who fought were called Naumachiarii, and were usually cap- tives or condemned malefactors, who fought to death, unless saved by the clemency of the emperor. Let us digress, and, putting on our seven-leagued SPORTING DOGS OF EGYPT. 35 boots, proceed from Rome to the East, where we find the mode of attacking the hippopotamus thus described by Diodorus : — "It is chased," says the historian, "by many persons, each armed with iron javelins. As soon as it makes its appearance at the surface of the water, they surround it with boats ; and, closing on all sides, they wound it with blades furnished with iron barbs, and having hempen ropes fastened to them, in ordev that, when wounded, it may be let out, until its strength fails it from loss of blood." According to ^lian, the different breeds of dogs kept for the chase were most fleet in the pursuit of game ; and the same quickness seems to have taught them a mode of avoiding the crocodile, while drinking in the Nile. " For fear- ing to stop in one spot, lest they should be carried off by one of these animals, they run by the edge of the stream, and, licking the water as they pass, they may be said to snatch, or even to steal, a draught before their enemy, lurking beneath the surface, can rise to the attack." But this is not the only remarkable peculiarity mentioned by the above-quoted authority, who " had heard " (for the naturalist always shields himself with D 2 36 ENCOUNTERS WITH THE CROCODILE. the word ukovco) that Socialism already existed among the dogs of Memphis, who, depositing all they purloined in one place, met together to enjoy a common repast. The people of Apollinopolis, Tentyris, Her- acleopolis, and other places, held the crocodile in abhorrence, and lost no opportunity of destroying it ; and the Tentyrites were so expert in catching and even engaging this powerful animal in his native element, that they were known to follow it into the Nile, and bring it by force to the shore. Pliny and other ancient authors tell some wonderful stories of the feats performed by these people, not only in their own country, but in the presence of the Roman people. The former writer observes, '^ that though the Tentyrites are small men, they have the greatest presence of mind in their encounters with the crocodile, which is an animal most dangerous to those who fear it, but timid when pursued. They even dare to follow it singly, and, swimming after it in the river, spring upon its back, and thrust a bar into its open mouth, which, being held at the two extremities, serves as a bit, and enables them to force it on shore." Herodotus points out the different CATCHING THE CROCODILE. 37 modes of catching the amphibious monster, and, amongst others, mentions the following porcine dodge : — " They fasten a piece of pork to a hook, and throw it into the stream as a bait ; then stand- ing near the water's edge, they beat a porkling, when the crocodile, being enticed to the spot by its squeak, swallows the bait — a ' regular bubble and squeak' — and is made captive." If this is not "going the whole hog !" we know not what is. Wilkinson, in his "Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians," gives the modern mode of hunting the crocodile, which, according to this talented historiographer, is as follows : — " They fasten a dog upon a log of wood, to the middle of which is tied a rope of sufficient length, protected by iron wire or other substance to prevent it being bitten through ; and having put this into the stream, or on the sandbank at the edge of the water, they lie concealed near the spot, and await the arrival of the crocodile. As soon as it has swallowed the dog, they pull the rope, which brings the stick across the animal's throat. It endeavours to plunge into deep water, but is soon fatigued by its exertions, and is 38 A CRICKET MATCH IN CHINA. drawn ashore, when, receiving several blows on the head with long poles and hatchets, it is easily killed." From the Nile, we must call the attention of our readers to the Celestial Empire, to record an event thus described by Davis in his "Sketches of China " : — " A sort of public exhibition, truly and exclusively English, took place at Nanchang Foo — the first of the kind, it may safely be averred, that had occurred in the heart of the Chinese empire. This was nothing more or less than a cricket-match. But a very well-behaved concourse of the Chinese population assembled to view a spectacle so entirely novel to them, and stood in a huge circle, formed by their police and soldiery. As the hits increased in hardness, the circle quickly enlarged itself, until every portion of it was at a respectful distance from the players, while several balls that plunged among the dense crowd created no small commotion." The writer adds ; — " These active and hardy national habits contrast strongly with the inert- ness of the upper and middle classes in the East. Even among the lower orders of the Chinese, great as their industry may be in procuring a SPORT IN CANADA. 39 livelihood or exercising a profession, the endur- ance of active exertion or toil from any other motive than necessity, or with any other object than gain, is almost unknown. The literary dignity of the upper classes would be quite compromised by such a rude exercise of the muscles as they beheld on this occasion. One of the Mandarins expressed his surprise to me, in the evening ; and I endeavoured to make him comprehend that the sedentary pursuits of learning were not the less valued among us for anything he had seen to- day." From " perfidious China," we pay a flying visit to the Canadas, where, during the month we write of, excellent sporting is being carried on against wild-fowl and snipes. The North American Indians are very success- ful in duck-shooting, as they are in the pursuit of wild game. Following a suggestion, we presume, they learnt from Malcolm, in " Macbeth," they "" each hew down a bough," and fill a canoe with the green branches, so that it resembles a sort of floating island. Beneath the cover of these "leafy screens " they remain concealed ; and by this artful device (fast men would call it " dodge "), 40 FISHING IN UPPER CANADA. they are enabled to approach much nearer than they otherwise could do to the wary birds. The fishing, too, in Upper Canada is extremely good. The lakes are famous for a splendid speci- men of the 'finny tribe called masquinonge (evi- dently of the pike species, and possessing the ravenous propensities of it), salmon trout, white fish, bass, and others. Night-spearing is a most exciting amusement; and during my residence there I scarcely ever missed an opportunity of indulging in it. On the bows of the canoe or skiff is fixed an open-grated iron basket, called by the natives a jack, which is filled with pine or birch bark, and which, when ignited, burns with a bright and rapid flame. This light renders visible any fish that may be gliding along in the still waters. The spearsman stands up in the middle of the boat with a weapon armed at the end wnth three sharp iron prongs, ready to strike at the fish as they come within his reach, while another paddles the frail bark carefully along. This sport requires a quick eye, a steady hand, and great caution, so that those engaged in it may not lose their equilibrium and fall headlong into the lake. There is another kind of fishing, equally NIGHT SPEARING. 41 amusing, albeit it requires a hardy constitution and a large amount of patience ; it can only be carried on when the lakes are frozen over. The process is to break a hole in the ice, and then, wrapped up in a seal-skin, covered over with a blanket, to place yourself on your hands and knees, and with spear ready poised watch the ap- proach of the masquinonge ; an expert spearman will be rewarded for his trouble, for many a fish of twenty pounds' weight has been struck in this manner. There are few countries in which sport is carried on with greater gratification than in Canada. Hunting, racing, fishing, sledging, skating, boating, cricketing, rackets, golfing, and curling may all be enjoyed to perfection. The climate, too, is extremely good ; in summer the sun shines brightly from a clear blue sky, and winter, though cold, is free from fogs and noxious vapours. Nothing is more striking than the sudden breaking- up of the frost, and the rapidity which vegetation has made under its snowy garb. As soon as the ice breaks up in Canada, which it usually does early in April, the lakes are visited by innumerable flights of wild fowl; and after the monotony of a winter, during which sledging 42 A SLEDGE DRIVE. forms the principal recreation, it is delightful to find yourself no longer in a white world. I had been enjoying a drive in my sledge on one of the coldest days I ever remember — the mercury in the house was down to twenty-five degrees, and proportionably lower abroad; but being thoroughly encased in buffalo robes, with a fur cap, which left nothing but my eyes and nose exposed, I did not feel the intense frigidity. The sky was bright, the air exquisitely clear and free from vapour ; my horse, Niagara, trotted along at a merry pace — the bells that adorned his neck produced a light, lively sound; my companion was all that I could wish for ; and yet, with all these agremens, I sighed for the green meadows, placid lakes, rippling streams, and fast-flowing rivers — when, all of a sudden, an evident change in the weather had taken place : the warmth of the sun began to be felt, and before I reached home a rapid thaw had commenced. It continued without intermission, and in less than a fortnight the frost had taken his departure for the season. 43 Jftlintarg. *' When silvan occupation's done, And o'er the chimney rests the gun, And hang, in idle trophy, near, The game pouch, fishing-rod, and spear ; When wiry terrier, rough and grim, And greyhoimd, with his length of limb, And pointer, now employed no more. Cumber our parlour's narrow floor." Walter Scott. February as a Sporting Month — A Word of Advice to the Gunner — Modern Battues — Breech and Muzzle Loaders — Cavah-y Equipments— Coursing — Royal, Noble, and Gentle Writers of Bygone Days — Result of a Day's Shooting, A.D. 1820 and 1859 — Cruel Sports— Cock- fighting and Bull-baiting — The Horse — Horse-racing at the Roman Carnival — A Maltese Horse-race. The 1st of February is a blank day in the sports- man's calendar, for a seven months' truce is granted to the " nut-brown partridges," and an eight months' cessation of hostilities to the ^' brilliant pheasant." Hare-hunting, too, ends on the 27th; 44 ADVICE TO THE GUNNER. there is still, however, plenty of amusement in store for those who delight in field exercises ; fox-hunt- ing may be enjoyed to perfection, and the fisher- man may prepare his rod and flies so as to be ready to commence operations against the pisca- tory tribe in the following month. Although shooting is over, there is still left some occupation for the " gunner." His first object ought to be to have his murderous double-barrelled weapons taken to pieces, qarefully looked over by the maker, well oiled, and laid by for the following season. His next duty is to see that his dogs are properly taken care of, and to attend to the comfort of those in the kennel, who have been his constant companions through many a long and exciting walk, through the mazes of a tangled forest, or over the wild moor and heather, across the stubble, through the field of "swedes," by the river's side, or on the banks of the lonely mere, isolated lake, or marshy fen. While upon the subject of shooting, it will not be out of place to refer to the dreadful havoc made with game in many (for there are exceptions to the rule) of the modern battues, when so anxious is the proprietor to swell the list, that birds are shot at before they MODERN BATTUES. 45 have scarcely risen, hares are knocked over within a few yards of the sportsmen, and rabbits are treated as the mutineers were in India — " blown up" from the guns. Independent of which, the keepers and beaters, knowing the cormorant pro- pensities of their employers, constantly catch or knock game on the head to increase the numbers of the killed. We last week heard a good story of a noble patriotic reforming lord, who, albeit devoted to the trigger, is not so good a shot as he is a debater, and whose prowess against the feathered and furred tribe is not equal to the excellent hits he makes in St. Stephen's. " I suppose," said his lordship to the keeper, after missing some very easy shots, "you never saw anyone shoot worse than I do ?" " On the contrary, my lord," responded the garde de chasse, " you are better than many I know, for you misses 'em so cleanly !" There are other objections to the system of shooting for book instead of sport, for the quan- tity instead of quality of the game ; and the principal one is, that a moderate shot, however kind and pressing his host may be in urging him o take a gun, feels a great delicacy in so doing, 46 SHOOTING FOR BOOK. knowing that if he cannot contribute his quota, the return will not prove so satisfactory as it otherwise would. He feels that, if instead of killing a hundred head he can only claim forty or fifty, he will be set down as a " muff," and a "marrer" of the so-called sport. Indeed it re- quires a man to be able to shoot as well as the celebrated mendacious Munchausen asserted he did, when he fired his ramrod and strung a dozen wild-fowl upon it; and if by chance a modern "gunner" knocks over a brace of birds or hares with one barrel, he is lauded to the sky as an unerring marksman. Another objection is, that it induces men to take their neighbour's shots ; for, not liking to miss, they bang away right and left, totally unmindful of the maxim, " Fair play's a jewel." These remarks, as we have already observed, are not meant to apply to all promoters of battues, many of whom see their game killed in a sportsman -like manner, but are levelled against a select few who follow the tame barn- door principle — of slaughtering by fair or foul means all that come within their deadly fire. A good deal of discussion has taken place with respect to the long- agitated question as to the BREECH AND MUZZLE LOADERS. 47 merits of breech and barrel -loading guns, and each party warmly espouse their views upon the subject. There can be no doubt that where only one gun is allowed, the sportsman has a much better chance with the former, as he can load much quicker ; and he will find (as we can speak from experience) that these guns kill at long dis- tances, and are quite as safe as the ordinary muzzle-loaders. Where, however, he is furnished (as at most battues) with a loader, and is allowed the use of an unlimited number of guns, the selection may be left to the fancy of the shooter, he will derive little advantage from the modern invention. For wild-goose or wild-fowl shooting from canoe, punt, or boat, we are decidedly advo- cates of the breech-loader, as the sportsman need never rise from his reclining position, and may fire away without frightening away the latter timid birds. While upon this subject, we cannot refrain from alludino: to an excellent breech-loadins^ car- es o bine invented by Mr. M^Kenzie, manager of Mr. Strode's gas engineer works, and the foreman in that establishment, whose name at this moment escapes our memory ; it is simple and not likely 48 CAVALRY EQUIPMENTS. to get out of order. We trust that the authorities at the Horse Guards will give it a fair trial, for if there is a reform wanting in the army it is in the weapons of a cavalry soldier. Anyone who has noticed a party of mounted skirmishers must have' been struck with the awkward manner in which the process of loading and firing is performed; and few troopers would hit a barn-door at forty or fifty yards. First, the heavy, unwieldy carbine has to be unstrapped, then the cartridge has to be extracted, then the ramrod has to be drawn, then the charge has to be driven down, then the copper cap has to be taken out — a diflScult process on a cold frosty day — and placed on the nipple. Half the above work is prevented by the breech- loader ; and if, instead of giving a dragoon a heavy carbine affixed to the saddle — which, in the event of the rider being killed or dismounted, generally furnishes a prize for the enemy — a light rifle slung across the back was substituted, it would be more efficacious when on the offensive, and doubly so on the defensive, to a horseless rider. We have digressed : To those who can afford to mount themselves, or have friends who will kindly take that trouble oflf their hands, by lending them ROYAL AND NOBLE AUTHORS. 49 a hunter or hack, excellent sport may be had in February, in addition to that of the "noble science," namely, courting. We do not speak of prize meetings, but of a private day with poor puss. What can be more exhilarating, on a fine fresh morning, than finding your hare, and then witnessing the prowess of your own favourite grey-hounds ; the prospect, too, of having " the honour of your hunted hare's company at a six o'clock dinner," is not the worst part of the day's amusement. As the title we have selected gives us a large margin, we shall proceed to notice a few eminent writers of old, who were themselves practical sportsmen, and who (had they lived in our days) would probably have been contributors to the rapidly advancing and highly improved sporting literature of the present period. Among the royal and noble authors, then, who were devoted to manly games and exercises, may be mentioned the following. James the First of Scotland, second son of Robert the Third, and the fourth in descent from Robert Bruce, the restorer of the Scottish monarchy, was eminently expert in all athletic exercises, particularly in the use of the VOL. I. E 50 ROYAL SPORTSMEN. sword and spear ; and his dexterity in tilts and tournaments, in wrestling, in archery, and in the sports of the field, was perfectly unrivalled. James the Fourth excelled in horsemanship, fenc- ing, and shooting. By much watching, slender diet, and use, he was enabled to endure all extremities of weather, scarcity or want of rest, with good health of body. His prowess at Flod- den Field, where he was slain, is thus described in the old English ditty : — " The king himself was wounded sore, An arrow fierce in's forehead light, That hardly he could fight no more, The blood so blemished his sight. " Yet like a warrior stout he said, And fiercely did exhort that tide, His men to be nothing dismay'd, But battle boldly there to bide." Henry the Eighth was a sportsman, as may be gleaned from the following extract, from the King's " Balade," supposed to be " written and sung " by His Majesty. " For my pastaunce * Hunt, syng, and dance My hert ys sett ; All goodly sport To my comfort Who shaU me lett ? " • Id est^ passe -tems (pastime). THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE. 51 From monarchs we descend to nobles, many of whom have contributed largely to our sporting literature, and have themselves been conspicuous as the patrons of field exercises. William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, was a distinguished sportsman ; according to Granger, he understood horsemanship, music, and poetry ; but was a better horseman than musician, and a better musician than poet. In fact, we may add, his Grace knew more of the mews than the muse. Clarendon remarked that the Duke was fitter to break Pegasus for a manege, than to mount him on the steeps of Parnassus. In 1658 he published " La Methode Nouvelle de dresser les Chevaux, &c., avec Figures ; " or, the New Method of Managing Horses, with cuts : Antwerp. This was first written in English, and translated into French by a Walloon; and in 1667 another work was printed, bearing the following title: "A New ^lethod and Extraordinary Invention to dress Horses, and work them according to Nature, as also to perfect Nature by the Subtilty of Art." This second work, as the noble author informs his readers, " is neither a translation of the first, nor an absolute necessary addition to it ; and E 2 52 THE DUCHESS OF SOMERSET may be of use without the other, as the other hath been hitherto, and still is without this ; but both together will questionless do best." It seems by the above that to an English duke are we are indebted for the original idea, so success- fully carried out in our days by an American citizen, Mr. Rarey. Frances Thynne, Duchess of Somerset, albeit no sportswoman, yet, being the authoress of some agreeable lines, descriptive of rural pastimes and occupations, we cannot refrain from introducing her and the effusion of her muse to the reader: — " We sometimes ride and sometimes walk ; We play at chess, or laugh, or talk ; Sometimes beside the crystal stream We meditate some serious theme. Or in the grot beside the spring We hear the feathered warblers sing. Shakspeare perhaps an horn- diverts, Or Scott directs to mend our hearts. With Clarke, God's attributes explore, And, taught by him, admire them more. Gay's Pastorals sometimes delight" us. Or Tasso's grizzly spectres fright us ! Sometimes we trace Armida's bowers. And view Rinaldo chain'd with flowers. Often from tlioughts sublime as these I sink at once — and make a cheese : ON RURAL PASTIMES. 53 Or see my various poultry fe'l, And treat my swans with scraps of bread. Sometimes upon the smooth canal We row the boat, or spread the sail, 'Till the bright evening star is seen. And dewy spangles deck the green : Then tolls the bell, and all unite In pray'r that God would bless the night ! From this (though I confess the change From pray'r to cards is somewhat strange), ' To cards we go till ten has struck ; And then, however bad our luck. Our Stomachs ne'er refuse to eat Eggs, cream, fresh butter, or calves' feet ; And cooling fruits, or savoury greens — 'Sparagus, peas, or kidney-beans. Oiu* supper past, an hour we sit, And talk of history, Spain, or wit ; But scandal far is banish'd hence, !N'or dares intrude with false pretence Of pitying looks or holy rage Against the vices of the age ; We know we all were born in sin, And find enough to blame within." We offer no apology for this copious extract, as it gives the reader a graphic description of coun- try life among the aristocratic classes more than a hundred and twenty years ago. Another poetess, who was evidently devoted to the pleasures of the field, Frances Manners, 54 LIKES ON WILL ABDY. Countess of Tjrconnel — whose first marriage with the last Earl was dissolved by act of Parliament in 1777, and who afterwards united herself to Colonel Leslie, a younger brother of Lord New- ark — wrote the following lines, as taken from a room at Madley, Herefordshire, where the mem- bers of a hunt frequently dined : — " On Will Abdy, Huntsman. *' Reader ! behold a genuine son of earth, Like a true foxhound, sportsman from his birth ; O'er hills and dales, o'er mountains, woods, and rocks, With dauntless courage he pursued the fox : No danger stopp'd him, and no fear dismay'd ; He scoff'd at fear, and danger was his trade. But there's a bound no mortal e'er can leap, Wide as eternity, as high, as deep ; Hither by death's unerring steps pursued, By that sagacious scent which none elude, By a strong pack of fleetest years run down, He leaves his whip where monarchs leave their crown. No shift, no double, could the hero save ; Earth now his kennel, his abode the grave. Still let us listen to his warning voice — That sound which once made all the fields rejoice ; Still Exton's plains and Walcot's woods resound With the shrill note that cheer'd the drooping hound. Hark ! forward, mortals ! mortals, hark away ! Hark to the summons of that awful day. When the great Judge of quick and dead shall come, And wake the mouldering corpse to meet its doom. LORD CHEDWORTH. 55 For this important hour let each prepare, 'Midst all enjoyments this your constant care. Above this world let your enjoyment live, Nor seek on earth what earth can never give : With steadfast faith and ardent zeal arise. Leap o'er time's narrow bound, and reach the skies." The above lines aiFord proofs of a heart suscep- tible of amiable virtues and unaffected devotion, and are creditable to her feelings as well as her mental reflections. John Howe, fourth Lord Chedworth, whose title became extinct at his lordship's death in 1804, evinced at an early age a lasting attach- ment for the turf and stao^e. At the ao^e of six- teen he personated the characters of Feignwell and Midas at school, and ever after continued critically attentive to the drama. Hence arose his acquaintance with some of the performers of the Norwich Theatre, to whom he left consider- able legacies. Though he never kept any racers, nor betted to any amount, he regularly attended the Newmarket meetings, where his skill and in- tegrity were held in such credit that he was fre- quently consulted on the nicest calculations. From sportsmen let us turn to the noblest of animals, the horse. 56 ENGLISH HORSES. According to Pennant, we find twenty genera of animals, from the horse down to the seal and bat, forty-eight of birds, four of reptiles, forty of fish, in addition to crustaceoiis and shell fish. The horse is found of many mingled breeds; the race-horses descend from Arabian sires, and the genealogy extends to hunters. The immense size of the English draught-horses is derived from those of Germany, Flanders, and Holstein, which have been mixed with other breeds; the result has been the most splendid animals adapted for state, pleasure, or utility. Who that looks upon a Newmarket " two-year-old," a Leicestershire hunter, a lady's thoroughbred palfrey, a clever park hack, a pair of high-stepping carriage horses, a " team" of roadsters, a Suffolk punch, a strong cob, a Shetland pony, an Irish steeplechaser, or a Brobdingnag-lookiiig drayhorse, would believe them to be the produce of one small island? For sport, the fox (the only wild animal that is to be found in England), the stag, and the hare yield an abundance of amusement to the disciple of Nimrod; the pheasant from Colchis, the partridge, woodcock, snipe, wild duck, and geese furnish recreation to the gunner; while the salmon, the FRENCH HORSES. 57 trout, and myriads of small fry delight the fol- lower of old Isaak Walton — as the doree, sole, cod, turbot, plaice, smelt, mullet, eel, lamprey, and lampern do the epicure. Nor must we forget our indigenous lobsters, crabs, and the Colchester and Milton oysters, which quite retain their Roman reputation. In France the horses do not appear to have been celebrated at any period ; and it is an his- torical fact that the ancient monarchs were drawn to the national assemblies by oxen. Within the last thirty years, however, many English horses have been imported into that country ; hence the wonderful advancement in their cavalry, riding, and driving horses. The best native horses for draught are those of Normandy ; for the saddle, those of the Limosin, which have latterly been greatly improved by crossing the breed with the English, Arabian, and Turkish. The wild boar, wolf, ibex, and chamois, which are found on the Pyrenees and the Alps, the deer, the red-legged partridge, hare, and snipe, add much to the grati- fication of the chasseur — as every species of sports- man is called in France, from the wild-boar hunter down to the Parisian petit-maitre who indulges 58 GERMAN HORSES. in a day after les rouges gorges. As a nation our Continental neighbours are not piscatorial, and know as little of throwing a fly as an inhabitant of the South Sea Islands does of the polka. In Holland and Belgium the zoology affords nothing worthy of remark. The Flanders mares are esteemed for their size ; and the shores, rivers, and canals abound with edible fish, a great quan- tity of which are sent over to our country. In the Austrian and Prussian dominions the breed of horses requires no comment; they are tolerably well suited to the purposes required of them. Many of the Austrian horses run wild, and are sold in great numbers at the fairs before they have been subject to any training. The bison is said to be found in the Carpathian forests. Among the wild animals may also be named the bear, the boar, the wolf, the chamois, and the beaver. In the German States the horses are generally more remarkable for weight than spirit. The wild boar is of a superior size, and that of Westphalia is held in particular estimation. At Vienna the higher classes are extremely devoted to the battue, and an Imperial shooting -party often takes place. The system seems to have SWISS AND SPANISH HORSES. 59 been one adopted by the ancient Egyptians, for, according to Wilkinson's most interesting work upon their manners and customs, we find that persons were employed to form a large circle, into which all sorts of game were driven ; the circuit was then gradually decreased, and the sportsmen, being placed in the centre, had all driven up to them, when an indiscriminate slaughter took place, something very much after the fashion of that committed by an eagle in a dovecot. In Switzerland the horses are esteemed for vigour and spirit. Among the animals peculiar to the Alps may be first named the ibex or rock- goat. Another singular animal is the chamois, which is commonly seen in herds of twenty and thirty, with a vedette, who alarms them by a shrill cry. The glory of the Spanish zoology is the horse, which has been famous in all ages, probably origi- nating from the barb, a beautiful and spirited steed from the north of Africa, the immediate offspring of the Arabian. The mules, too, are excellent; and the ass is no ignoble animal, though not equal to that of Arabia. The Portu- guese horses are inferior to those of Spain. The 60 SCANDINAVIAN HORSES. bull fights have justly been regarded as the most striking feature of Spanish manners. We look upon such spectacles as brutal and demoralizing, tending to lower the character of the nation. The Danish dominions, Norway, and Sweden being of such great extent and variety of climate, there is a great diversity in their animals. The horses of Norway and Iceland are as remarkable for diminutive size as those of Holstein are for the contrary quality. Among the more peculiar ani- mals may be first named the reindeer, common in Finland and throughout Lapland. The elk is a more southern animal, and sometimes appears in Norway, which is infested by the wolf, the bear, and the lynx. The salmon supplies a considerable part of the Laplanders' food, and vast numbers are transported, on reindeer, from the shores of the Tana. The Italian horses offer a very poor specimen of the equine race. Notwithstanding this, the inhabitants of many of the States are fond of sport, as may be gleaned from the fact that English racing and English hunting have both been pa- tronised in this land of song. ' Horse-racing forms one of the principal amuse- A KOMAN HORSE-RACE. 61 ments of the Carnival at Rome. A Roman horse- race is, however, a very different thing from an English one. Instead of a contest in which the skill and boldness of man are as much to be admired as the speed and vigour of the animal he rides, the Roman course presents nothing but the horse, which runs without any rider. It is not, however, left entirely to its own spirit and emula- tion ; if it were, the sight would be more interest- ing, as showing the natural character of the animal ; but it is started by noise and goaded on by con- trivances quite as artificial as the whip and spur of our jockeys. The Maltese have a curious method of horse- racing, which is thus described by Macfarlane : — " The horses are, indeed, mounted, but they are not furnished with saddle, bridle, or anything of the sort ; the riders sit on the bare back, and have no reins or anything else in their hands, except a small, pointed instrument, not unlike a cobbler's awl, with which they prick their steeds. These races are held in the month of June, near Clvita Vecchia, in the interior of the island. The horses are generally barbs, imported from the neighbour- ing coast of Africa — small, good-tempered, and 62 HORSE-RACING IN MALTA. certainly not swift. To these characteristics of the animals, which facilitate such a mode of equitation, we must add the important circum- stance that, where the run or the great effort is made, thej go up hill. With an animal of any- thing like the velocity and springy action of the English race-horse, it would be impossible to do without what the author of an excellent article on the turf in the Quarterly Revieiu calls ^the fulcrum of the stirrups,' and it would only be a little less impossible to stop him without bit or bridle. Indeed, even with such steeds as some of them have, we fancy, if the Maltese would reverse the case, and make the ground run down hill instead of up, that not many of them would keep their seats. It would excite the derision of the Buckles and the Chifneys, and other heroes of our turf, to see a naked-legged, naked-armed, red- sashed, slovenly set of fellows rolling about on their ponies like so many Bacchus's on wine- barrels, flourishing their awls, and bawling out in the most indecorous manner. But, notwith- standing this, the Maltese races certainly offer a novel and amusing scene to the stranger." The zoology of Prussia seems to contain no THE ZOOLOGY OF RUSSIA. 63 important feature. The breed of horses have not impressed travellers with any great opinion of them. In the territory of the Czar we find an excel- lent breed of horses, and nothing can exceed the enduring qualities of those of the Cossacks of the Don. The more peculiar animals are the white bear of Nova Zembla, and the souslik of the south. In the more northern parts are found the wolf, the elk, and the lynx. Seals, walruses, Arctic foxes, white bears, and a few reindeer, constitute the zoology of the Eussian Isles, which are occasionally hunted by the inhabitants of Meyen. To return to the sport of the month, we add an extract from a newspaper, giving what was considered a good day's sport forty years ago (Nov. 1820): "His Eoyal Highness the Duke of York honoured the Duke of Rutland with his presence at Belvoir Castle. On the first day seven guns, of which his Royal Highness formed one, killed 380 head of game." We now give the result of a modern hattue : — 64 THE SPORTS OF " MERRIE ENGLAND. Bradgate Park, Dec. 1861. Pheasants 1st day. 2nd day. 3rd day. 4th day. Total. 8 3,333 3 12 3 1,605 173 190 26 3 736 193 267 7 3 1,185 61 245 12 1 1 9 3,534 427 4,045 48 12 4 1 15 Hares Rabbits Woodcock. Snipes 3,359 1,997 1,206 1,514 8,086 13 14 13 13 There never was a period when the manly sports of "merrie England" were carried on with greater spirit than at the present ; and a compari- son — however "odoriferous," according to Mrs. Malaprop, "all caparisons" are — between those of the reign of Victoria and those of the third George, would entirely substantiate our assertion. It is true that the cruel and brutal amusements of bull-baiting, and shying sticks at the Shrove Tuesday cock, are no longer tolerated ; and the public are satisfied at seeing the monkey tribe disporting themselves at the Zoological Gardens, instead of testing their pugnacious qualities against the canine race at the Pit in West- minster, as was the case in the days of the cele- brated Jacko Maccaco. Cock-fighting has ceased to be publicly carried on, although many a quiet main is fought sub rosa in the metropolis, and at COCK-FIGHTING. 65 sporting localities in the provinces ; and the breed of those brave "never say die" birds has not in the slightest degree degenerated since the time when, under the auspices of the highest nobles of the land, almost every county in Eng- land produced its feeder, " who handled his bird, and showed how mains were won." Cock-fighting. — This is evidently of Grecian origin, for the inhabitants of Delos and Tanagra were lovers of this sport at a very early period, when several cities of Greece were eminent for their splendid breed of chickens. It was adopted by the Romans about four hundred and seventy-one years before the Christian era; or, according to some authors, immediately after the Peloponnesian war. They had likewise a breed of hens at Alexandria in Egypt, which produced the best fighting cocks ; but although it is certain that these fowls at first fought full-feathered, it was not long before feeders were made use of, as in the modern mode. But at Athens cock- fighting was partly a political and partly a reli- gious institution, and as it was there continued for the purpose of improving the valour of their youth, it became by degrees a common pastime, as VOL. I. F 6Q COCK-FIGHTING IN ENGLAND. well as in all other parts of Greece. On the other hand, the Eomans paired quails, as well as cocks ; and, according to Herodian, the first quarrel between Bassianus and Geta arose about the fighting of the quails and cocks; notwith- standing this, the Romans did not begin to match the latter until the commencement of the decline of the empire. It is not positively known when cock-fio^htin2^ was first introduced into Eno^land : we have no notice of it earlier than the reis^n of Henry the Second. William Fitz-Stephen de- scribes it then as the sport of schoolboys on Shrove Tuesday : the theatre was the school, and the schoolmaster, it seems, was the comptroller and director of the sport. The practice was pro- hibited in the 39th of Edward the Third, but became general under Henry the Eighth, who was personally attached to it, and established the cock-pit at Whitehall, to bring it more into credit. James the First was so remarkably fond of it, that, according to Monsieur de la Broderie, who was ambassador from Henry the Fourth to this king, he constantly amused himself with it twice a week. Under Elizabeth it was not less in vogue ; and the learned Roger Ascham at that BULL AND BEAR-BAITING. 67 time favoured the world with a treatise on the subject. There were then pits in Drury and Gray's Inn Lanes, and another in Jewin Street ; but the practice was a second time prohibited, by an act under the Protectorship, in 1654. It is a fact, and a most melancholy one, that all sports are more or less cruel, and many perhaps quite as objectionable in that respect as cock- fighting. Yet the practice of putting on artificial spurs, and the knowledge that the conquerors seldom are allowed to live to enjoy their triumph, make this once popular pastime repugnant to the humane feelings of a large mass of the people. Bull-baiting too, which, in our " salad days," when, as the Queen of Egypt says, " we were green in judgment," we well recollect being car- ried on in Tothill Fields, and at many a suburban and country fair, has fallen into disuse, and the Society for the Suppression of Cruelty to Animals would soon pounce down upon any costermonger who was daring enough to indulge in this bovine barbarity. Another equally inhuman sport, that of bear-baiting, has long ceased to be indulged in ; and the " Pit" in Westminster, famous, or rather infamous in by-gone days, when " Slender f2 68 THE EASTER STAG-HOUND. Billy" reigned supreme in Duck-lane, has ceased to exist ; and splendid mansions, capacious hotels, extensive warehouses, handsome streets, now oc- cupy the site of the lowest, dirtiest, and most filthy alleys, courts, and lanes ; while powdered footmen, smart waiters, dapper shop-boys, and aristocratic dames tenant the district formerly the resort of dog-fighters, pigeon-fanciers, house- breakers, pickpockets, coiners, horse-chaunters, and the lowest and most degraded of the prize- fighting community. The annual Easter stag- hound at Epping, which attracted Cockneys to that rural spot, famed for its sausages and sport, no longer exists; and few remember the day when a tame deer, decorated with ribands, was uncarted before a pack of currish, half-bred, mongrel hounds, of all sizes and shapes, and gal- loped after by a veteran huntsman on a broken- down hunter, and some hundred Johnny Gilpin s from the east end, whose sole object seemed to be to ride over the straggling pack. 69 Piirtj). L " Remember'st thou my greyhounds true? O'er holt or hill there never flew, ^ From slip or leash there never sprang, More fleet of foot, or sure of fang." Walter Scott. Prospects of the Month — Ancient Agricultnral Directions — Commencement of the Racing Season — On Training Race-horses — Angling and Fly-fishing — A Fishing Ex- cursion in Wales — The Black Mountains in Caermarthen- shire — A Day's Amusement — A Thunder Storm in the Mountains — Lesson on Dressing the Trout or Salmon-peel — Pedestrian Anglers in Wales— Hunting Laws of the Ancient Britons — Fish of the Welsh Rivers — The Sewen or Serven. Fox-hunting is nearly over, and the summer- ing of the hunter, that has carried his master through many a severe run, should now be the object of the Nimrod's care. Stag-hunting may still be continued by those w^ho can face an easterly 70 THE RACING SEASON. wind, and do not care to destroy their horses' legs from the hardness of the ground. The " gunner," if he is a cormorant for sport, may wind up the season with wild-fowl shooting; and the follower of " Old Izaak " may prepare his tackle, and get his *^ hand in " by fishing for carp, tench, dace, or roach. We own ourselves that the very thought of sitting in a punt, or standing by the river's side on a March day, with wind enough to raise suffi- cient dust to prove ransoms for all the monarchs on earth, is quite enough to give us a cold shiver, yet many will be found to indulge in this chilly recreation. The farmer's labour now commences, as will be proved by the following agricultural directions extracted from an ancient authority : — " Your barley land labour with plough and plough-share, The roots of your fruit-trees to cover have care ; Ply planting and grafting, sow beans, oats, and pease on, Set sit-rals and sage, for now is the season." As the racing season is about to commence, and the nominations for the year 1862 are con- siderably greater than those of any former years, we consider that we cannot do better than offer a few remarks upon a most important subject, that ON TRAINING RACE-HORSES. 71 of training the race-horse. Many noblemen and gentlemen train in their own parks, and often the stud-groom undertakes the office of getting the horses in condition for running. The above system, though not generally approved of, has one advantage, that the horses are alvv^ays well fed, which, in some public stables, when done by contract at so many guineas a-week, they are not. "Wild Darrell" offers a proof of what may be done by private training. But to our subject. Although trainers (like doctors with biped patients) disagree in their modes of training horses, we think the following system, founded upon reason and experience, will prove to be the best. As a month is the least time that can be allowed to draw the horse's body clear, and to refine his wind to that degree of perfection that is attainable by art, it is at first necessary to take an exact view of his body, whether he be high or low in flesh ; and it is also necessary to consider whether he be didl and heavy, or brisk and lively when abroad. If he appear dull and heavy, and there is reason to suppose it is owing to too hard riding, or, as the jockeys express it, to some grease that has been dissolved in exercise, and has not 72 ON TRAINING RACE-HORSES. been removed bj scouring, then the proper remedy is half an ounce of diapente, given in a pint of good sack ; this will at once remove the cause, and revive the creature's spirits. After this, for the first week of the month, he is to be fed with oats, bread, and split-beans, sometimes the one and sometimes the other, as he likes best, always leaving: some in the locker, that he mav feed at leisure whilst left alone. At feeding-time, Avhat- ever is left of this must be removed, and fresh given ; by these means the creature will soon become high-spirited and full of play. Every day he must be rode out an airing, and every other day it will be proper to increase his exercise, but not so as to make him perspire too much. The beans and oats should be put into a bag and beaten till the hulls are all off, and then winnowed clean; and the bread, instead of being chipped in the common way, should have the crust cut clean off. If the horse be in good health and spirits when taken up for its month's pre])aration, the diapente must be omitted, and the chief business will be to give him good food, and so much exercise as will keep him in wind without over- sweating or tiring him. When he takes larger ON TRAINING ExiCE-HORSES. 73 exercises afterwards, towards the end of the month, it will be proper to have some horses to gallop with him. This will put him on his mettle, and the beating them will give him spirits. This, however, is to be cautiously observed — that he is not to be pressed to full speed for ten days or a fortnight before the race, and that the last gallop that is given him must be in his clothes : this will make him run with much more vigour when stripped for the race. In the second week the horse should have the same food and more exercise. During the last fortnio'ht he must have dried oats that have been hulled by beating. After this they are to be wetted in a quantity of white of eggs beaten up, and then laid out in the sun to dry ; and when as dry as before, the horse is to have them. This sort of food is very light of digestion, and very good for the animal's wind. The beans in this time should be given more sparingly, and the bread should be made of three parts wheat and one part beans. If his system should cease to be cool, and his body moist under this course, he must then have some ale and white of e^x^s beaten too-ether. In the last week the mash is to be omitted^ and 74 ANGLING AND FLY-FISHING. barley-water given in its place every day till the day before the race ; he should have his fill of hay at first, and then it ought to be given more spar- ingly, that he may have time to digest it ; and on the morning when the high-mettled racer is to appear on the course, he must have a toast or two of white bread soaked in sack, and the same just before he is led out to the field. By this method the two extremes of fulness and fasting are equally avoided, the one hurting his wind, and the other occasioning fiiintness that may make him lose. After he has had his food, the litter is to be shaken up and the stable kept quiet, that he may be disturbed by nothing until he is taken out to run. From racing we turn to a pursuit which can be carried out to great perfection the moment the cold March winds cease to blow, and the bitter skies to freeze — we allude to angling and fly- fishing. Although we couple the two sports together, they are as widely different as the lofty Ben Lomond is to the peaceful vale of Avoca; the fountains ofYersailles to those of the popping ginger-beer bottle monstrosities in Trafalgar Square, or one of Longfellow's poems to a Seven EXCURSION IN WALES. i D Dials' ballad ; and yet we believe that the patient punter who passes his day in a flat-bottomed boat near Twickenham or Richmond, enjoys his sport as much as the fly-fisher who kills his salmon of one-and- twenty pounds in the romantic waters of the Spey. We own ourselves that fishing for barbel and dace is not much to our mind, for we are epicurean enough to own that we consider not a little incentive to the sport is the thought of having the pleasure of your finny prey to dinner. It is with such views that we have sought the pools of Wales and the rivers of Scotland for delights which would gladden the heart of every fisherman from Old Izaak down to his followers of the present day. With this preface, we will pro- ceed to describe a fishino: excursion amono- the Black Mountains in Caermarthenshire. It was on the 13th July, 1822, after a journey by coach, post-chaise, and on horseback, that a party of three, of which I formed one, entered the village of Llandilo-vawr, which the natives in their simplicity dignify by the name of a town; and after purchasing provisions for our excursion, and hiring a pony to carry our baggage, we proceeded to Clyn-y-Yan, or the pool among the Caermarthen ( 6 CLYN-Y-VAN. mountains. Before leaving London we had pro- vided ourselves with a small tent and a certain quantity of preserved condiments, with a few bottles of genuine Glenlivat whisky, enough to mix with water and destroy the animalcule. Before daylight we were abroad, and after dis- cussing a hasty meal, commenced our first ascent of the first range of hill, and on gaining the summit, round which the path winds to Clyn-y- Van, we stopped for an instant to survey the rising sun, and a more beautiful sight cannot be ima- gined. After a toilsome walk of two hours we contrived to have a peep at the waters we were in search of, with the dun clouds resting on their peaceful bosom. The sight renewed our drooping spirits, and we were at last rewarded for our exertions by gaining the loftiest peak. A most magnificent view presented Itself. On every side rose gio^antic mountains at the base of Clvn-v- Yan. The spire of the village church was visible, embosomed in wood, and surrounded by the neat white cottages of the mountain turf- cutters. Higher up, the smiling appearance of the richly cultivated lowlands was no longer to be seen, and wild boggy heaths, with no sound save that of THE TKOUT-POOL. i 7 the bleating of browsing flocks, and the cries of the blackcock, sole tenants of the waste, took their place. When we had sufficiently enjoyed the landscape, we descended a circuitous path, whicli brought us into a sort of circus belted by an amphitheatre of rocks. It was in this hollow that the trout-pool was situated, which now gleamed brightly in the summer sunshine. Leaving our tent to be pitched on the bank by two hardy mountaineers who at- tended us, and giving instructions that a fire should be lighted ready for culinary purposes upon our return, we, after a snack, hurried to the pool, and commenced our operations. Our rods were speedily prepared, a red hackle and stone-gnat were attached to them, and silently we took our respective stations by the water-side. After a few moments of intense anxiety, one of my companions hooked a fine trout. " Give him play," said Jenkin Jones, the fisher- man, who attended us. "All right!" responded the other; and after playing him wdth infinite dexterity, giving him a full swing of line, he finished his triumph with the landing-net. 78 ADVICE TO THE TYRO. '' Three-pounds-and-a-half," said the delighted Welshman, as he weighed the piscatory luxury in a small pair of scales he carried about with him. And here it may not be out of place to remark that, if a tyro wishes to catch such another fish in the mountain pools, he should attach to a tapering rod, and light-blue silk line, one or more black or red hen-hackles. But of whatever nature the flies may be, they should be brilliant ; for in waters so surrounded, they are exposed to the winds that come roaring through the interstices ; and in such cases none but a dazzling bait can have a chance of beins: seen on the ruffled surface. The foot-link or bottom part of the line should be composed of the finest gut, in length about two yards ; that the heavier substance of the silk may not fall with too splashing a sound. To resume : Towards the evening the clouds gathered, and the lurid appear- ance of the atmosphere portended a storm ; and we were informed by Jenkins that all chance of sport was at an end for the day, and that, if we wished to escape wet jackets, we should make the best of our way to the tent. Following his advice, and being perfectly satisfied with our day's amusement, during which we had caught twelve A THUNDER-STORM. 79 brace of trout, we regained our canvas home just as the thunder was heard in the distance, and, reverberating in louder tones as it approached, burst full over the spot we had just left. Nothing could exceed the awful solemnity of the scene. As each roll pealed in ten thousand echoes among the mountains, it elicited feelings easier to be understood than described. During these con- templations the fleecy clouds sailed rapidly away, the mists were dispelled, and the sky was left bright and blue as one that is met with in the land of song — fair Italia. A call to dinner now summoned us to our tent ; for during the storm we had sought the shelter of an overhanging cliff, and there we found a repast worthy of Helioga- balus, Apicius, or their modern prototype — the late Doctor Kitchener ; trout beautifully dressed in a variety of ways — so fresh that they needed not " the foreign aid of ornament " in the shape of Harvey's, Anderson's, or Lee and Perrin's fish sauces ; Welsh mutton-chops, and kidneys grilled, hot-and-hot from a fire that would have gladdened the hearts of the members of the Beefsteak Club ; potatoes steamed to perfection, with a slight relish of a 'pate de foie gras, and a Westphalia 80 DRESSING THE TROUT. ham from a well-known Italian warehouse in London. Perhaps my readers who have accompanied me to the river-side will have no objection to step into the temporary culinary department, where, a la Francatelli, I will give them a lesson in the highly important business of dressing a trout or salmon-peel. In the first place, let him be carefully washed, gutted, and deprived of his bones ; then season him with salt, black pepper, and allspice, and put him into an earthen pot, with as much water and vinegar as will cover him. Throw in a due quantity of rosemary and thyme, bake all together in the oven for about an hour, and sprinkle the whole with horse-radish. The buv- ables consisted of some Edinburgh ale, and a bowl of punch rendered perfectly cool with freez- ing powders — for Wenham Lake ice was not in prospective existence. The following morning but one, after two excellent days' sport, we struck our tent, packed up our baggage, and quitted the peaceful and romantic pool, to wend our way on foot through the country that had afforded us so much amusement and interest. In conclusion, few people can imagine the THE SEE YEN OR SEWEN. 81 immense number of pedestrian anglers that miorrate durino^ the summer and autumn to Wales. They are to be met with in every corner of the principality — among the moun- tains, the glens, the rivers, and the lakes, in inns and hovels, from the peaceful valley of Llangollen to the foot of the cloud-capped ma- jestic Snowdon, from Rhaider-y-wennol and its fine waterfall to Capel Curig and its snug hostelry. More than one reason can be assigned for the preference shown to this "land of the leek" — namely, retirement, rurality, and economy ; and, although the fishing cannot vie with that of the Scottish rivers, by a little attention to the proper flies for the month, as well as to their make, excellent sport may be had. The rivers swarm with trout, salmon, salmon-peel, and serven or sewen, a fish unknown in England, and which we shall briefly describe. In appearance it resembles a trout, is in season the same time with salmon, towards the fall of the leaf, and may be caught in a similar manner; but one caution must be observed in angling for it. The fly must be large, not too brilliant; the line and foot-link particularly light, and the fisherman must not be seen, as, VOL. I. G 82 THE HUNTING LAWS of all mountain fish, a sewen appears to be the most timid. As under the title of ^^ Kecreations of a Sports- man," we reserved to ourselves a wide field, we now turn from Welsh fly-fishing to by-gone days, and lay before our readers an extract from " The Hunting Laws of the Ancient Britons," from a translation of " The Archasology of Wales," which may not prove uninteresting : — " Of the nine kinds of game, three are com- mon : 1, the stag ; 2, a swarm of bees ; 3, salmon. The bear, climber, and pheasant are baited game; and the fox, hare, and roebuck are hunted. The stao^ is said to be one of the three common kinds of game ; first, because he is the bravest and most energetic of animals that are chased with hounds and greyhounds ; and, secondly, because he is parted to everyone that comes in at his death, and before he is stripped of his skin. For, if a man on his journey come up at that time, he shall obtain a part of it, according to law, equal to him that kills it. A swarm of bees is common game; because, whoever finds one, either upon his land, or upon the land of another, he must divide it with any person who may come up to him before OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 83 he has placed his mark upon it ; for it is necessary a finder should mark it, to show that he found it first ; but if he neglect so to do, whoever comes there shall obtain a part of it, and the proprietor of the land shall have fourpence. Salmon is called common game ; because, when it is taken in a net, or by a spear, or in any other manner, any one who may come to the spot before it is divided shall have a share equal with the man who caught it, if it be in common water. " The bear is baited game, because its flesh is the best of the chase ; neither is it chased to any distance, for it can only move slowly ; therefore it is only necessary to bait, bark, and kill it. " A climber is every animal which climbs to the top of the tree in its own defence. When discovered, the hunter ought not to say a martin, wild cat, squirrel, or weazel, but to call them the grey climber, the black climber, and the red climber. Now such animals do not get away to any great distance, but merely ascend a tree, where they are hunted by baiting and barking. "A pheasant is called baited game, because, when the dogs come upon it, it generally takes to a tree, where it is hunted by barking and baiting. g2 84 THE HUNTING LAWS " The fox is called the noisy game, because it is chased by shouts and blowing of horns, whilst it steadily pursues its course until tired. " The hare is called the noisy game, because she constantly adheres to a certain course or circle while she is chased. " The roebuck is likewise termed the noisy game, for the same reason. " The best flesh of the chase is that of the stag, the hare, the wild boar, and the bear. " If greyhounds shall be let loose after a stag, or any other animal, and the dogs pursue it over a hill, out of sight, and kill it, the game shall belong to the person whose greyhound was fore- most when the dogs were last observed. But the owner of a greyhound bitch shall not obtain the skin on account of her superiority, unless she shall be in whelp by the greyhound dog that has the advantage of the skin, and in such case he shall obtain it. " Respecting the hare, w^hoever kills her, whe- ther by his dog, or any other means, shall have her, if he has been seeking her in the fair chase. " Every one w^ho carries a horn must distinctly know the nine species of game ; and if any one OF THE ANCIENT BRITONS. 85 cannot give correct answers respecting them, he shall forfeit his born; and any one who comes to the chase with his leashes about him, and cannot give just replies respecting the nine species of game, shall forfeit his leashes. '" No person shall let loose his greyhound upon any animal when chased by the hounds, unless both the hounds and greyhound belong to him who is hunting ; and if any one do so, the person who is following the hounds may destroy the cord which is fastened about the greyhound so loosened. "No person shall shoot at an animal which is considered game whilst lying in its cover, under pain of forfeiting his bow and arrows to the Lord of the Manor. But he rnay shoot and kill it, if he can, when it is chased ; but he must not shoot among the dogs. " If any one proceed to the chase and pursue game, and fresh dogs come up with the game so pursued and kill it, he who owns the dogs that started it shall have it, unless the fresh dogs belong to the king. " The game that is chased, may ever be claimed by the first sportsman, unless he turns towards 86 ANCIENT LAWS OF THE CHASE. home, with his back upon the chase. But if his dogs should be chasing, and he having left them, he can claim nothing of what is killed by fresh dogs, for the game so killed is his to whom the fresh doojs belonor." Such were the ancient laws of the chase. 87 ipril. " In genial spring, beneath the quivering shade, Where cooling vapours breathe along the mead, The patient fisher takes his silent stand, Intent, his angle trembling in his hand ; With looks unmoved, he hopes the scaly breed, And eyes the dancing cork and bending reed. , Our plenteous streams a various race supply — The bright-eyed perch with fins of Tyrian dye, The silver eel, in shining volumes roll'd. The yellow carp, in scales bedropp'd with gold. Swift trouts, diversified with crimson stains, And pikes, the tyrants of the watery plains." Pope. Racing Fixtures for the Month — The Light Weight Ques- tion — Racing Establishments — Brood Mares — Coursing : Its FaciHties and Advantages as a Recreation — Arrian's Account of Coursing among the Celtic Gauls — The Grey- hound of the Present Day — Its Symmetric Proportions — Plan of Kennelling — Domestic Qualities of the Grey- hound — A Modern Instance of the Sagacity of the Dog — Prices given for Greyhounds — A Fishing Excursion in Scotland. Hunting and coursing may now be considered nearly over, and racing, fishing, and aquatics 88 RACING FIXTURES. have taken the place of the " noble science " and the "leash." The racing fixtures for the month of April generally include Ponteland, Newmarket Craven, Catterick Bridge, Abergavenny, Thirsk Spring, Epsom Spring, and Newmarket First Spring Meetings. In the meantime, the subject of Lord Redesdale and the " light weights " has occupied the attention of every Turfite, from the aristocratic owner of a thorough-bred stud down to the small- est lad in all the racing establishments ; and owners, trainers, breeders, handicappers, betting men, book-makers, jockeys, stable-boys, and tout- ers, have discussed the important question, as to whether seven stone is to be the lowest weight for all races throughout the United Kingdom. Admiral Rous, than whom a better sailor or a higher authority on all matters connected with the turf does not exist, has entered his protest in a very able and voluminous correspondence against the introduction of the act ; but as most probably most of our readers have read the pros and cons, and have made up their minds as to which has the best of the argument — the noble lord, the pillar of the State, or the popular commoner, the supporter of manly English pastimes — we shall not KACING ESTABLISHMENTS. 89 further dwell upon a topic that has been as much talked over at the " Corner," and other places of sporting rendezvous, as the threatened invasion and the Volunteer Rifle Corps have been for the last three months among all classes of the community. We cannot, however, take leave of the question without remarking that we should very much prefer the opinions of a committee of noblemen and gentlemen connected with racing, to those of the hereditary legislators ; and we think a resolu- tion of the Jockey Club far preferable to a vote in the high court of Parliament. The system of privately canvassing for support is carried on in both Houses to an alarming extent, and we do not think that the public would be satisfied with any legislative enactment on a subject known only to those who have made racing their study through life. The gallant Admiral above alluded to has nailed his colours to the mast, and will never yield an inch so long as he considers his cause just, whether in fighting the enemies of his country on board ship, or in supporting the fleet on the Downs of Epsom. We now proceed to offer a few hints on the management of a racing stud. No part of a racing establishment requires 90 BROOD MARES. stricter attention than the brood mares. They should be kept during the winter in a paddock well supplied with water ; also with a roomy hovel, with two wide entrances, to prevent acci- dents. There should also be rollers up each side of the door-way, as foals are apt to have their hips knocked down in striking them, or by getting squeezed against them by the mares in passing in and out. Not more than two mares should be kept in one paddock. In winter brood mares should be fed with the best hay; and, if low in condition, should have cold bran mashes twice a day. When in foal, the greatest care should be taken that their food be of the sweetest nature — the olfactory organs of a mare during the period of her gestation being extremely sensitive, and mouldy hay and straw has frequently caused premature birth. Indeed, extraordinary as it may appear, abortion has been caused by a groom merely striking a mare on the nose with his hand, which proves that, during the time they are in foal, they cannot be kept too quiet, or free from danger or excitement of any sort. The smell of carrion, or of animals fresh slaughtered, should be carefully avoided; for it BROOD MARES. 91 is very provoking to lose a fine foal, after the heavy expense incurred, by these apparently trifling cir- cumstances, so easily guarded against. About a month previous to foaling, mares should be fed at least twice a day with cold bran mashes, as also plentifully supplied with any forward succulent food, such as lucern, tares, clover, &c., but the two first are best. It is de- sirable to have the mares foal as early as possible, and when the mare is barren she may be covered as soon in February as she will take the horse; and if stinted she wall foal early in January, thereby gaining a considerable advantage over those foaled later in the year. For instance, a colt dropped in January is fifteen months old, when in racing chronology he only reckons twelve. It must, however, be observed that it is impos- sible to have mares to foal every year in the first month, unless the mare were to take the horse every year in February, as her time of gestation is eleven months and some days. Consequently, if she were sent to the horse in January, she would foal out of the year, in December. When mares are near their time of foaling, they should be carefully watched, for they will always 92 COURSING. approach water at this time; and as they generally (though not invariably) foal standing up, the pro- duce may thus be lost. Some mares should be watched for another cause, as they will kill their foals as soon as they are dropped. When a mare has foaled, she should have a pailful of warm gruel, and should live generously until there is grass for her. The foal should also be fed twice or three times a day, with oats, (bruised,) which it will begin to eat at three days old. From the racing stable let us proceed to the coursing field, and from the meetings that have taken place during the last few years, this sport is evidently not on the decline. Happy are we, then, to be able to record that field and match coursing are still greatly patronized by country gentlemen; for although the former is not so exhilarating as the "noble science," nor the latter so exciting as the turf, they possess charms to many who cannot afford to keep a stud of hunters, and who are too wise to invest their money in racing speculations. Coursing is a recreation that every class of men, from the octo- genarian on his elderly gentleman's cob, down to the schoolboy on his pony ^* Jocko," may take COURSING. 93 part in, without any great risk of breaking his neck, or of ruining his fortune ; and that it is an ancient pastime, may be gleaned from the follow- ing authorities. Arrian thus describes it, in his account of hare-coursing among the Celtic Gauls, with whom, it would appear, it originated: " Hunting, as it was conducted in Xenophon's time, employed the combined machinery of a diversity of dogs, some of which were swift of foot, and others keen of scent ; it also included gins, nets, and ambushings. In coursing, on the contrary, they neither ensnare the animals with toils, nets, or springes ; nor employ, in short, any other tricks or wily inventions, but contend with them in a straightforward trial of speed; and to me the two spectacles appear nowise akin — the former being like thievish depredation, the latter like a battle fought out with main strength ; the one class of sportsmen resembling pirates in their clandestine attack, while the other are as openly victorious as were the Athenians over the Medes in the naval engagements at Artemislum, or at Salamis and Psytalia, or again at Cyprus." After this historical simile, the writer proceeds: "The more opulent Celts coursed after the following 94 COURSING. manner: They usually employed hare-finders, but when this was not done they went out com- monly in a company on horseback, when they beat the likely grounds, and, on starting a hare, the greyhounds were let loose after her; those who were more keen after the sport used to go on foot, and if any one accompanied them on horseback, it was his business to follow the dogs through the course. It is singular that, after the lapse of many centuries, the mode of beating for a hare, in coursing, should now be exactly what it was anciently. The company were drawn up in a straight rank, either horse or footmen, and proceeded to certain distances from each other, in a direct line to a given point, and wheeling round that they might not go over precisely the same track, they beat the ground regularly back. This practice is still continued. A person was appointed to take the command of the sport. If there were many dogs out, he gave orders that such and such dogs should be slipped, according as the hare took to the right or left, and these orders were punctually obeyed. The Gauls some- times mixed and used finders with their grey- hounds; and while these tried to find the hare, COURSING. 95 the greyhounds were led by the hand at a small distance, taking care, however, to lead them where the hare was most likely to come; and here the greyhoimds pretty well supplied the use of Xenophon's nets. " This method of coursing was deemed irre- gular, as the stoutest hares were so alarmed with the cries of the finders, that if they did not start a very considerable way before, they were sure to be killed. This method is very much prac- tised in some parts of Great Britain, to the great consolation of those who think no course worth seeing unless there is a hare at the end of it. A young hare when found sitting was not disturbed, as it was considered unfair to run the greyhounds at her; but with the finders (who are said to have been very eager through hunger, and so desirous of eating up what they caught, that it was difficult to get them off, even by beating them up with sticks), the exercise of this clemency was impossible. On the whole, however, the Gauls were fair coursers." In addition to the above authority, we may quote Sir Thomas Elyot, who calls " hunting of the hare with greyhounds a right good solace for 96 COURSING. men that be studious, or them to whom nature hathe not given personage or courage apte for the warres ; and also for gentlewomen, which feare neither sonne nor wynde for apparyng their beautie, and peradventure they shall be thereat lesse idell than they shold be at home in their chambers." Another sporting writer of the olden time re- marks: — "Concerning coursing with greyhounds, the which is doubtless noble pastime, and as meet for nobility and gentlemen as any of the other kinds of venerie before declared, especially the course of the hare, which is a sport constantly in sight, and made without any great travail, so that recreation is therein to be found without immea- surable toil and pain; whereas, in the hunting with hounds, although the pastime be great, yet many times the toil and pain is also exceeding great — and then it may be called either a painful pastime, or a pleasant pain." It is not to be denied that coursing, in common with fox and hare hunting, has been decried for its inhumanity, and especially by Somerville, who is loud in his praise of other field-sports far more questionable on the score of inhuman- LINES ON " COURSING." 9T ity. The author of " The Chase" thus writes : — "The mean, murderous, coursing crew, intent On blood and spoil." As a set-ofF to the above we will give the lines of a great lover of the leash, the Kev. E. W. Barnard : — " Oh ! dear is the naked wold to me, When I move along in my majesty ; Thyme and cistus kiss my feet, And spread around their incense sweet. The laverock, springing from his bed. Pours royal greeting o'er my head ; My gallant guards, my greyhounds tried, March in order by my side ; And every thing that's earthly born, "Wealth, and pride, and pomp, I scorn ! And chiefly thee. Who lif t'st so high thy little horn, Philosophy ! " Wilt thou say that life is short, That wisdom loves not hunter's sport, But virtue's golden fruitage rather, Hopes in cluster'd cells to gather ? Gallant greyhounds ! tell her, here Trusty faith and love sincere. Here do grace and zeal abide, And humbly keep their master's side. Bid her send whate'er hath sold Human heart's-lust, power and gold — A cursed train — And blush to find that on the wold They bribe in vain. VOL. I. H 95 LOVERS OF THE LEASH. " Then let her preach ! The muse and I Will turn to Gracchus, Gaze, and Guy ; And give to worth its proper place, Though found in nature's lowliest race. And when we would be great or wise, Lo ! o'er our heads are smiling skies ; And thence we'll draw instruction true, That worldly science never knew. Then let her argue as she will ! I'll wander with my greyhounds still, (HaUoo ! Halloo !) And hunt for health on the breeze-worn hill, And wisdom too." It would occupy more space than we can devote to the subject, to quote the opinions of Arrian, the younger Xenophon, as he was called; Gratian, Ovid, Martial, Julius, Pollux, Oppian, the cele- brated Greek poet, and other ancient writers, or those of more modern date, who have devoted much attention to coursing. Suffice it then to say that this recreation is still a fashionable pur- suit ; and although it can no longer boast amongst its patrons of a Duke of Norfolk, Queensberry, or Gordon, of a Lord Orford, or Rivers, of a Sir Henry Dudley, the mantle of these noble lovers of the leash has fallen on the shoulders of many equally interested in the sport — equally de- voted to a pastime which, from the days of Queen THE GREYHOUND. 99 Elizabeth, has ranked high amongst out-door recreations. The greyhound of the present day exhibits the most perfect model of elegance and symmetric proportions, and is unquestionably the most beau- tiful of the canine race, and combines speed and stoutness with determination. Too much care cannot, then, be paid to keep up this race by judgment in breeding. Let it be borne in mind that a cross with a lurcher, a slow flew, or tender dog, ought to be carefully avoided ; and that it requires as much attention to breed, rear, feed, and train greyhounds to their matches, as it does to bring a Derby horse with credit to the post. In the southern parts of England the grey- hounds are generally smooth, beautiful, high- bred dogs ; while in some parts of the north , particularly Lancashire and Cheshire, rough-haired animals, partaking much of the lurcher, were for- merly used. The plan of kennelling is an important con- sideration for the sportsman, and is too frequently marked with neglect and inattention. In a small establishment, provided no more than three or four brace of greyhounds are kept, they should h2 100 KENNELLING. always be in a stable, purposely set apart for them and a couple of hacks, and made large enough to contain a separate kennel for each. The construction should be a square of at least four feet, and two in depth, and altogether similar to a large potter's pannier — placed, of course, with the open end upwards, and fixed steadily to the ground by means of a piece of wood at each corner, but not so very securely that it can- not at pleasure be removed as necessity may sug- gest. Hay is decidedly the best litter, whether you consider the comfort or health of the animal ; but it must be good — such, in fact, as you give to your horses ; for the refuse is often damp and mouldy, and would, if thus made use of, be pro- ductive of endless disorder and disappointment. The beds should not be too close to each other, and the space between them ought to be large enough to admit a broom; and this separation will give each dog a more distinct idea of his own property, which, when he has once ascertained, it will be difficult afterwards to induce him to re- linquish. For a day at first, it may be necessary, perhaps, to confine him by a chain, but seldom beyond that, or two nights at the utmost. QUALITIES OF THE GREYHOUND, 101 The domestic qualities of the greyhound of the present day are far inferior to those of the breed used of old ; for we doubt much whether among the present race we should find so gentle, intelligent, and kindly-affectioned a dog as Horme, the favourite companion of the renowned Athenian, Arrian, and his fellow-sportsman, Megillus, who, according to the authority of his master, was worthy to be handed down to posterity as a brave, generous, confiding, and perfectly domesti- cated animal. Nor could a " Gelert " be forth- coming, to emulate the deeds of his great name- sake, immortalized in verse by Spenser, who so nobly defended his young master against the attacks of a wolf, and who fell a victim to the unbridled anger of his father, Llewellyn the Great. " Arous'd by Gelert's dying yell, Some slumberer waken'd nigh ; What words the parent's joy could tell, To hear his infant's cry ! Nor scathe had he, nor harm, nor dread ; But the same couch beneath, Lay a gaunt wolf, all torn and dead, Tremendous still in death. Ah ! what was then Llewellyn's pain ? For now the truth was clear ; His gallant hound the wolf had slain, To save Llewellyn's heir." 102 SAGACITY OF A DOG. Other instances of the attachment and instinct of the greyhound may be met with in our early English history, by which it will be seen that these dogs were possessed of courage sufficient to make them attack the midnight biped marauder, as well as the prowling and savage quadruped, united to an affection for their masters, which made them their guards through life, and the protectors of their remains in death, should they fall in the battle or hunting field. While upon this subject we cannot refrain from quoting a modern instance of the sagacity of another species of dog, which we consider is one of the most remarkable on record : — " At Martinmas last, a man, who had engaged to take some cattle from Biggar, in Lanarkshire, to London, a distance of 420 miles, borrowed a dog from one of his neighbours to assist him in driving. The dog, some time after, came home ; and the owner reasonably concluded that the drover had also returned. In this conjecture, however, he was mistaken, for some days elapsed before he arrived. He then intimated that he had unluckily lost the dog in the bustle of the Metropolis. The animal not only found its way A VISIT TO SCOTLAND. 103 for SO great a distance, and through so many towns, but must have contrived to get food on the journey. The reader is probably aware that the dog, like the bee, tracks the course home by recognizing the objects passed in going out." To return to our " greyhounds true : " that their price is not deteriorated may be found from the fact, that not long ago, "Breastplate," a fawn and white-coloured dog, by Columbus, out of Eose of Acton Reynold, sold at Aldridge's, vSt. Martin's Lane, for 541 I2s. The plan of our work admitting of considerable variety, we will now turn from Coursing to Fish- ing; and as our last chapter contained an account of an excursion to Wales, in the present we shall narrate our proceedings during a visit to one of the fishinoj districts of Scotland. The season having commenced, and being anxious to visit the counties of Dumfries and Kirkcudbrightshire, we lost no time in procuring waterproof garments, fly-fishing rod and tackle, and took our departure via the lakes of West- moreland, to the capital of the former country. Reaching Windermere late in the evening of the 104 THE LAKE DISTRICT. first day, we found excellent accommodation at the hotel, which is within a few yards of the railway terminus ; and at an early hour the fol- lowing morning were gratified with as fine a view as can possibly be imagined. Beneath was the placid lake, backed by its romantic and rugged mountains, with a bright sun in a blue sky, re- flecting its glories on the peaceful waters. No sooner was breakfast discussed, the principal feature of which was fresh trout and potted char, than we proceeded in an open carriage to Kes- wick, every yard of the road calling to recollec- tion the poetry of Wordsworth, Southey, and the talented Hemans. We will not stop to give a road-book description of the lovely scenery, the expansive lakes, the lofty Helvellyn, and the snow-capped Saddleback ; suffice it to say, that the drive fron Windermere to Keswick, Portin- scale, and Penrith, cannot be exceeded for beauty in any habitable portion of the globe. After another day on the road we halted at Dumfries, the county town of Dumfriesshire, which is beauti- fully situated on the left bank of the " gallant Nith," immortalized by Walter Scott in " Red- gauntlet." This river is fifty miles in length, and DUMFRIES. 105 a quarter of a mile in breadth. There are two parish churches in Dumfries. St. Michael's, which is furnished with a tall and handsome spire, was built in 1745, and stands on the site of a place of worship originally Popish, but converted into the Protestant parish church after the Reformation. The other church was not founded until 1724, and occupies the site of the old castle, out of the ruins of which materials for its erection were obtained. St. MichaeFs, or the old church, is surrounded by an extensive and crowded burying-ground, containing a vast number and variety of monu- ments, ancient and modern. The poet Burns spent the latter part of his life in Dumfries, and his ashes rest in the cemetery of the above church ; they were originally interred in the north corner, upon which spot a simple table-stone was raised to his memory; but in 1815, the remains of the national bard were removed to a vault be- neath an elegant mausoleum, which was erected by subscription, as a tribute to his genius, at a cost of £1450. This monument contains a hand- some piece of marble sculpture, executed by Turnerelli, representing the genius of Scotland 1061 A ROYAL GIFT. finding the poet at the plough, and throwing her "inspiring mantle" over him. In 1780, the country gentlemen erected a handsome Doric column, to commemorate the high sense they entertained of Charles, Duke of Queensberry. Not far from this is the mid steeple, the work of Inigo Jones. The annals of the town inform us that in 1617, James the Sixth, on his return from a tour through his ancient kingdom of Scotland, after his accession to the English throne, passed through Dumfries, where he was received with every de- monstration of loyalty; and, in returning, he pre- sented the Incorporated Trades of the burgh with a small silver gun, to be awarded from time to time to the best marksman amongst their number. The royal gift was competed for septennially. Upon such occasions, every member of the incor- porations was bound, under a penalty, to appear armed with a firelock, and to answer to his name. This done, the whole marched in due form to some convenient open ground in the neighbour- hood, and there contended for the prize, by shoot- ing in rotation at a target. The successful marksman returned to the town in front of the THE PARISH OF DUMFRIES. 1 07 procession, bearing attached to his hat, and adorned with ribbons, the piece of ordnance, of which he was the nominal custodier until the next trial of skill took place. The custom is now in disuse. Annual races were held on Tinswold Downs, during the month of September, but they have been discontinued for some years. The fisheries carried on are those of salmon and trout ; the annual rents of which, for many years, amounted to about £500. The parish of Dumfries is watered by the rivers Nith and Lochar. The Nith rises in New Cum- nock, Ayrshire, and after a south-east course of about fifty miles in a direct line, and about a hundred including its windings, discharges itself into the Solway Frith, about nine miles below the town of Dumfries. It receives in its course the tributary waters of the Scaur, the Carron, the Cample, and the Cluden. The Lochar rises in Tinwold parish, and falls into the Solway Frith, a few miles east of the mouth of the Nith ; the distance from its source to its mouth being about thirteen miles. The principal part of the arable land is managed under what is technically termed a five or six 108 AGRICULTURE OF THE COUNTY. years' shift ; viz., in the first year, oats ; in the second, turnips or potatoes ; in the third, wheat or barley ; in the fourth, generally hay ; and in the fifth and sixth, pasture. Within the last fifty-five years, a considerable number of acres have been reclaimed from Lochar Moss, which have amply repaid the outlay, yielding abundant crops of oats, potatoes, and rye-grass hay. The agriculture of Dumfriesshire furnishes a great field of employment and subsistence by means of its home resources, and provides most of the materials of subsistence for the population at large. The lands which, in 1845, were devoted to farming (we quote from a statement made at that period — now greatly increased), and whose rental was about £200,000, at twenty -five years' purchase, were worth five millions sterling; and the buildings, at a cost of two and a half years' rent to the land proprietors, were estimated at another half million. The farmers do not find it safe to enter on leases with less than about five pounds of capital and credit per arable acre in course of cultivation, which for 160,000 acres in the rotation fields, added to 10s. per acre for nearly three times as VISIT TO AUCHENSKEOCH. 109 great an extent not in cultivation, would indicate in all a farming capital of about one million sterling for the whole county of Dumfriesshire, the property of the farmers themselves. Let this be added to the value of the lands and the farm buildings, and it would seem that about six millions and a half sterling are embarked in the farming of that county. Our next visit was to Auchenskeoch, in the united parishes of Coloend and Southwork. The surface of the country is extremely rough and irregular; broom, furze, heather, and bramble spread with amazing rapidity ; and although most of the higher grounds are poor and shallow, owing to the soil being carried down to the valleys, the lower ones are fertile and luxuriant, producing grain of first-rate quality, and excellent pasture. Besides a ridge of hills that run through the middle of the parish, there is a mountainous range covered with heath, and running to the large and giojantic mountain of CrifFell. Among the " wild shores of caverned Coloend," one is espe- cially pointed out, as the scene where a piper undertook to explore it. He carried his pipes with him, and continued to play, "so runs the no legend," until he reached Barnbarrach, about four miles distant from its mouth. The sound of the pibroch then ceased, and nothing was ever heard of the wandering minstrel. The Murderer's Well, near the Southwick Needle's Eye, has its tradition. It appears that a set of border rievers came to levy black-mail on the peaceable inhabitants of Coloend, when the parishioners, having rallied, seized the leaders of the foray, and threw them down this rock to a well below. Smuggling is now unknown, although at one time the coast was notorious for this illicit traffic. There were a number of cellars below ground, where contraband brandy was concealed, till the people were informed of its arrival, when it was conveyed away in barrels slung over horses' backs, even as far as Teviotdale, by bands of men armed and ready to defend themselves against the re- venue officers. The Barnhousie sand-bank, so fatal to vessels, especially to those unacquainted with the coast, runs from the mouth of the Urr to the Nith. Nearer to the English side is another bank, called the Robin Kig. AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENTS. 1 1 1 The live stock that are fed in the parish consist of cattle of the Galloway breed, and black-faced sheep ; and arable land lets at about 10s. an acre. In the year 1850, the late Mr. William Mackenzie purchased the Auchenskeoch estate, which at his death, in 1851, became the property of Mr. Edward Mackenzie, of Fawley Court, Henley-on-Thames, and of Newbie and Craigs, Dumfriesshire. This gentleman has erected a most picturesque and commodious shooting-box in the valley, be- tween Auchenlosh and Boreland Hills, within two miles of the Solway Frith, and has greatly im- proved the land by enclosing, draining, planting, clearing it of immense blocks of granite, building new steadings, improving the old — thus adding not only to the comfort of his tenantry, but to the beauty of the neighbourhood. By the almost magical wand of Aladdin, the sterile hills have become highly cultivated, the stony valleys richly clothed with crops; the dilapidated "bothies" of dry built masonry, thatched with heather, ling, or straw, have given way to snug English-looking cottages ; the comfortless steadings have been superseded by well-built homesteads, with excel- 112 THE RIVER DEE. lent " accommodation both for man and beast ;" and neglected gardens, once luxuriating in weeds, now smile with the gayest flowers, filling the air with their balmy odour, and yielding their vege- table produce, much to the surprise of the inhabi- tants, whose previous notion of comfort consisted of a building scarcely capable of keeping out the wintry blast, a primitive fire of turf filling every nook and corner with smoke, and windows so blocked up with rags, rugs, and straw, that little or no daylight ever entered the dismal, murky dwelling. The river Dee in Kirkcudbrightshire contains three valuable salmon fisheries — the Tongland, the Sandbed, and the Sheep Dabb ; the quality of the fish cannot be surpassed. A considerable quan- tity of excellent cod is caught off the mouth of the river by hooks fastened to lines. Among the fish caught in the Dee, or off the coast, are salmon, grilse, sea-trout, herling, plaice, soles, flounders, gurnard, mullet, skate, ling, cod, whiting, bream, and haddock. Eels of a large size are very abundant, and mackerel and herrings occasionally vii^it these waters. No river can possibly afford better amusement to the fly-fisher than the Dee, THE URR, THE DEUGHj AND THE KEN. 113 and great liberality is shown in giving permission to fish, both by the proprietors and by the dif- ferent tacksmen. Of the artificial flies used, there is considerable variety in point of size and colour, both being determined by the state of the river. When it is sw^ollen, the fly most com- monly adopted is a large one, with red or speckled wings, taken from the feathers either of the com- mon turkey, or the Huntingdon kite. The latter bird is not a native of Scotland, but is found in the central and southern counties of England, and so much is it esteemed by anglers, that high prices have been given for its feathers. When the river is low, small trout flies are used with the finest tackle; and, in addition to the yellow trout, which rise freely, the follower of Old Izaak is certain of an occasional struggle with a salmon. The fisheries in the river Urr were at one period of great value ; but of late years they have become extremely unproductive, owing to ^he great extent to which poaching has been carried. The Deugh and the Ken in the parish of Cars- phairn abound with salmon, especially towards the junction of these streams, and there are few VOL. I. I 114 THE BAY OF WIGTON. places in the south where the sportsman can find better amusement. There is also a great variety of fish in the Bay of Wigton, and in the Cree, including salmon, sea-trout, herling, cod, herring, spurlings, floun- ders, soles, plaice, gray and red gurnard, turbot, sturgeon, mackerel, chad, John Dorey, skate, conger eel, lamprey, whiting, mullet, lobsters, crabs, shrimps, oysters, mussels, cockles, peri- winkles, and sprats. The fresh-water fish are trout and eels, so that the angler in Kirkcud- brightshire may not only enjoy excellent sport, but may daily sit down to a fish dinner, such as neither Hart nor Quartermaine can furnish at their respective taverns at Greenwich. There are several caves, caverns, and fissures along the coast. Some of them are very curious, especially opposite Raven's Halls. They have evidently been formed by the ebbing and flowing of the tide, and are of very considerable extent. There is one very remarkable cave difficult of access, but well worth the labour of inspecting. Its mouth forms a pit of two fathoms deep, at the bottom of which the cave diverges almost at right angles, and penetrates the rocks towards THE WATEKLOO COLUMN. 115 the north to a great distance. Tradition has claimed this as the cave of Dirk Hatterick; and the supposition is strengthened by the legends of the parish, and the striking likeness of the coast scenery to that so graphically delineated by the Scotch novelist in " Guy Mannering." An old tower, not far from this cave, is pointed out as "Ellangowan Castle," a curious ravine as "Meg Merrilies' Path," and a mansion on the Cree as "Woodbourne House." One of the most interestino^ modern monuments is the Waterloo Column, erected by the inhabi- tants of New Abbey, aided by the contributions of a few other individuals, to commemorate the great and important victory of Waterloo. The column of granite is 50 feet high by 16 feet diameter, with a winding stair inside, and stands on an eminence called Glen Hill, rising about 400 feet above the level of the sea. It is seen all over the southern part of Nithsdale, as well as the Solway Frith, and along the coast of Cum- berland. The height of Criffell above the level of the sea is about 1,900 feet. It is considered to be the highest mountain, south of the Lowther and i2 116 VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT OF CRIFFELL. Queensberry range, though there is good reason to believe some of the mountains towards the source of Loch Doon and those of Cairnsmuir to be considerably more elevated. In various di- rections the view from the summit of Criffell is very extensive; Annan, Carlisle, Dumfries, and Castle Douglas are distinctly visible, and also the Isle of Man. In very clear weather, Goatfell in Arran may be discerned, rearing its conical head over Carsphairn church ; and, under very favour- able circumstances, the mountains in North Wales, and in the North of Ireland, are also visible. From the Criffell ridge of hills, the parish inclines gradually towards the shore, presenting a rich, beautiful, and extensive prospect — fields well enclosed, and in a high state of cultivation, with large clumps of trees. Beyond the Frith, which is here about ten miles broad, are seen the mountains of Northumberland, with the rugged peaks of Cumberland and Westmoreland ter- minating the view in that direction, and exhibit- ing an outline of bold magnificence, w^hich cannot fail to prove deeply interesting to all who have a taste for wild, sublime scenery. Moffat, famed for its medicinal waters, was our MOFFAT. 117 next destination. It is a pleasant town, and there are many objects of interest in its immediate neighbourhood. In former times the hart and hind were found near Moffat ; the Jast hart was killed in 1754, havino^ been lon^ sino;le. The roebuck and doe were also natives, but have lono- since disappeared. The eagle has become a rare bird, though still it may be seen occasionally floating over the summit of the high mountains. The blue hawk bred lately in the Bell Craig Linn. The fox continues to haunt the hills and moun- tains, and to be destructive to lambs and poultry. Black and red game, and partridges, are found as usual in the proper situations. Ptarmigan are very rarely seen ; the heron and wild-ducks visit the waters, and wood-pigeons are numerous. In the Solway, and adjacent rivers, there are fisheries in salmon, grilse, sea-trout, flounders, and whi- tings. In former times, salmon were so abundant in the Nith and Scaur rivers, that it was no unusual circumstance, with a net, to fill a common cart twice in a few hours after a flood ; but so de- structive have been the effects of poaching in close time, that a tenant of a fishery in this district found himself a loser, while paying a rent of 118 THE CLUDEN. thirty shillings, and accordingly gave up his tack. At Arran there are two fisheries carried on : one of them on the coast on the west side of the river belongs to Mr. Mackenzie, of Newbie ; the other, on the coast to the east side of the town, at Scafield, belongs to the burgh. Both of these fisheries are very productive, but will not remain so, now the new enactment has been carried. The Cluden is an excellent trouting stream, superior in this respect to the Nith. Salmon, sea-trout, herlings, and occasionally pike are found in it. It is much poached. In an old account of the parish of Holy wood, it is stated that " though the two rivers, the Nith and the Cluden, unite at the south-east corner of the parish, each has its own distinct species of salmon. The Cluden salmon are considerably thicker and shorter in the body, and greatly shorter in the head, than those of the Nith." These peculiarities still exist, and if the fish has been more than two days run, its colour is much darker in the shade than one similarly situated in the Nith. This colour is obviously occasioned by some peculiarity in the water of the Cluden, which has been accounted THE HEELING. 119 for from the fact that it contains a greater pro- portion of moss in solution. In the Solwaj Frith, salmon, sea-trout, herlings, flounders, and a small species of the cod, called codlings, are to be found. Turbot and soles are also sometimes caught, but not in large quantities. The sea-fishings of the Solway Frith are, however, of little use to the country, there being no demand for white fish ; and the salmon fishings of the rivers have suffered much by stake nets at their mouths, which, although allowed by some old Scottish acts, ought to have been repealed at the union of the kingdoms, or at least to be con- sidered as no longer in force under the altered modes of using them. The river Annan, which skirts the parish of Cummertrees to the east, abounds in salmon, common trout, and herlings. It is much disputed among fishermen whether or not the herlings are a species of fish distinct from the salmon. Those who maintain that they are distinct, argue that there are two kinds of herlings — the one red, and the other white; while their opponents deny this, alleging that the same herling is red at one season of the year, and white at another; and that, when they have ] 20 SALMON FISHING. plenty of food, they become red earlier in the season than at other times; these further maintain that, after remaining two seasons in the river, they go down to the sea in spring, and return salmon in the following autumn. Pennant first noticed the herling as a separate species, and it is described in Dr. Fleming's " History of British Animals," under the name of salmo albus. Salmon fishing to any other piscatory pursuit, is what fox-hunting is to coursing, woodcock- shooting to a day with the blue rock pigeons at Hornsey Wood, an archery meeting to' a random shot on Margate sands, or the contest for the '' blue ribbon of the turf," the Derby, to a donkey race. To teach a man, or one of the fairer sex (many of whom have attained great celebrity as fisherwomen) to kill a salmon of from twelve to eighteen pounds weight, upon a theoretical prin- ciple, would be impossible. Practice, aided by the judicious advice of some experienced fly-fisher, can alone accomplish that noble game. All the advice we can offer to the tyro is, to possess him- self of the best tackle that can be produced, which in the long-run will be found most econo- rnical. His next step will be to proceed to the EEL FISHING. 121 North, where, even without a friend who has the right of fishing, he is sure to procure some for (as the saying goes) love or money. None can be more liberal, generally speaking, than the pro- prietors of rivers, and the tacksmen who hire them ; and by consulting the innkeepers through- out the districts in which the southerner finds him- self, he will be almost certain to obtain the height of his ambition — a day or more with the salmon. The common eel abounds in all the fresh waters of this country, and is to be found throughout Europe, except in those rivers, such as the Wolga, and certain tributaries of the Danube, which have their source in very cold regions. It is also to be met with in Asia, the great islands of the Pacific, and in North America. There are a variety of ways of catching eels, by hook, by spearing them, and by sniggling, but it would be a work of supererogation to describe them, as they are well known to almost every schoolboy. Although salmon fishing must ever be considered the first sport, to those who have no means of transporting themselves to the — '' Land of brown heath and shaggy wood, Land of the mountain and the flood," 122 TROUT. the best substitute that can be found will be fly- fishing for trout. If it does not afford the same exciting interest — if a walk by a rippling English stream does not come up to a ramble by the side of a rapid Scotch river — if the flavour of the flesh of the trout cannot vie with that of the king of fresh-water fish — still it requires the greatest skill and patience to fill your basket with these highly- prized and beautiful fish, whose brilliant hues are thus described: — " Purpureisque salar stellatus tergore guttis." There is scarcely any large extent of water, either running or stationary, in the United King- dom, where trout do not abound. The Thames is famed for these fish, while the Tweed in Scot- land, and Lough Neagh, can boast of a consider- able quantity. The great lake trout inhabits Lough Neagh, Lough Corrib, and Lough Erne, three of the largest lakes in the Emerald Isle; almost all the Scottish lochs. Loch Awe in par- ticular; and is found in Ullswater, Cumberland. This fish is not highly esteemed in a gastronomic point of view, although from its weight it fur- nishes admirable sport to the anglers. The char PERCH. 123 is to be found in tolerable plenty in the northern lakes of Scotland, the Welsh, Cumberland, and Westmoreland lakes, and can be taken by trolling or the fly. A week at Portinscale, Keswick, or Windermere, would well repay the angler, for, independent of good fishing, the scenery and air are unrivalled. The perch is very common in temperate climates. It abounds in the south of England, Wales, and Ireland, and is to be met with in the lowlands of Scotland. This fish thrives well both in lakes and rivers, preferring in the latter the sides of the streams to the more rapid current. In Ullswater, where nets are em- ployed, myriads are procured along with the weeds ; and so recklessly bold and voracious are they, that if an angler falls in with a shoal, he may depend upon excellent sport. Indeed, the above qualities are so proverbial, that they have given rise to the following distich: — " When braken (fern) is out of brook, Bass (perch) will bite at the bare hook." Mr. Jesse (than whom a better naturalist does not exist) states, as an illustration of their freedom from timidity, that a few days after he had put some perch into his vivarium in Bushy Park, they 124 CARP. came freely, and took worms from his hands. The basse or sea-perch, called by the ancients "lupus," from its temerity, designated gape-mouth in Scotland, and sea-dace on the Kentish coast, acquires a much greater size than the common perch, and constantly attains a weight of fifteen pounds and upwards. They are to be found on the southern and western shores of England, on the east coast of Ireland, and in the Frith of Forth, and a few other parts of Scotland. They take the bait very freely, and are captured with deep-sea lines, and also by trawl and seine nets. " The carp is accounted the water-fox for his cunning." So writes Izaak AYalton, and expe- rience has partly proved the truthfulness of this remark, for in angling for them a very large amount of patience is required. Many, how- ever, attribute the shyness of this genus of the finny tribe, more to their herbaceous tastes and sluggish disposition, than to their acute and cunning perceptions. The food of the carp is chiefly vegetables, also the larvse of insects and worms; it is reported to live to a great age, and its size increases with its years. According to naturalists, we find that a brace weighing TENCH. 125 35 lbs. were caught at Gatton, in Surrey, that far-famed seat of the feudal borough-mongers; and that at Stourhead, in Wiltshire, one was taken weighing 18 lbs. The accounts given of the enormous dimensions they attain in warmer countries appear almost fabulous, and would scarcely be credited, were it not for the unimpeach- able characters of the writers — Cuvier, Pallas, and Boccius, the last of whom declares that the minor carp, proposed by that learned authority to be introduced into this country, has been found in Saxony to weigh as much as 55lbs., and others have been reported as high as 70 lbs. Carp is a native of most of the temperate countries of Europe ; it was introduced into England during the fifteenth century, and to James I. may be traced its appearance in Ireland. The climate of Scotland, or the character of its water, have not proved favourable to this fish, and, comparatively speaking, there are few to be found in the northern clime. The tench — which, accord- ing to the Crichton of fishermen, Old Walton, is physician to the finny tribe, more es[)ecially to the fresh-water tyrant, who has such a respect for his M.D., that, however hungry, he will not 126 BREAM, ROACH, AND CHUB. devour him — is to be found in abundance in slow, deep rivers, broad, shallow waters, muddy bottoms, pits, and ponds throughout the United Kingdom, with the exception of many of the highland counties, where it cannot be said to thrive. Tastes, like opinions, differ ; many persons are to be found who prize both carp and tench as culi- nary luxuries. We own ourselves that they are not dainties that we set any value upon, and would gladly transfer them from the human to the feline race. The bream thrives most in deep, quiet, rivers, and large lakes and canals. It furnishes good sport to the angler, especially in some of the Irish lakes, where it is said to attain the weight of 12 or I4lbs. The largest roach are to be found in the Thames, and, as they have been known to weigh 3lbs., it reqires an expert fisher- man to land them. The chub or skelly is plentiful in England, Scotland, and Wales; it frequents the deep holes of rivers, and during the summer months commonly lies on the surface, beneath the shade of some o'erspreading bush, tree, or rock. It is a very timid fish, so that the utmost care must be taken not to alarm it. At Annan, in Dumfriesshire, (we speak from experience,) it rises PIKE. 127 well to a fly. In Heysham's catalogue of Cum- berland animals, we find that chub is so plentiful in that country, that the boys capture large quantities by making a paste of bread and some narcotic, which they throw into the holes of rivers they frequent, and which, being greedily devoured by the fish, intoxicates them, so that they become an easy prey to their pursuers. The pike, called by Lacepede " the shark of the fresh waters," by Walton " the tyrant of the fresh waters," fully merits its appellation ; for so vo- racious is his appetite, that he will devour roach, gudgeons, barbel, trout, carp, and perch, to any extent ; nor does he confine his insatiable voracity to the finny tribe, for, as the saying runs, " all is fish that comes to his net," he makes great havoc among frogs, water-rats, ducks, water-hens, and other fowl, and has been known to seize the head of a swan as she was feeding under water, gorging so much of it as killed both. There are many ways of catching pike, and no one more likely to be attended with success than by setting trimmers. After baiting your hooks with a tempting bait, and attaching them to a round float of cork, they should be dropped into the water from a punt or 128 ROASTING THE PIKE. boat, one by one, at a distance of about twenty yards apart, outside the weeds, between the shallow and the deep ; and the best time for this amusement is after a sultry day, when no breath of air is stirring, and the shadows of the mountains or trees, aided by the twilight, have thrown a dim gray light over the lake or mere. It is then that this piscatory gourmand emerges from the shallows, sees his evening meal prepared, and seizing it with avidity, finds himself hooked. The process of visiting the trimmers is then carried out by the layer of them ; and the result is generally highly satisfactory, as the chances are that one of the finest specimens will (as the witty Richard Penn says) be invited to supper. Should such be the case, let the culinary artist follow the advice of the great Izaak, and roast the pike after the following manner : — " First open your fish at the gills, and remove the interior ; keep his liver, with which shred thyme, sweet marjoram, and a little wintry savory; to these add some pickled oysters, and some anchovies — two or three will be sufficient ; to these you add sweet butter and salt — these must be used as stuffing ; then he must be spitted, and roasted very leisurely, often MACKEREL. 129 basted with claret, anchovies, and butter." Wal- ton thus concludes : — " This dish of meat is much too good for any but anglers or very honest men ; I trust you will prove both, and therefore have trusted you with the secret." Mackerel inhabit almost the whole of the Euro- pean seas; they visit the Cornish, Hampshire, and Sussex coasts early in March ; at Lowestoft and Yarmouth, and off Devonshire, the fishing is later, the great catch being in May or June ; in the Frith of Forth, where they are not very abundant, they do not appear until June or July ; while at Orkney, they are not found until the expiration of July or beginning of August. Some curious statistics are given in the ^' Na- turalist's Library," respecting the high prices obtained for the early cargoes, and the large returns gained. from the enormous numbers of fish captured in one night. We give an extract : — "In May 1807, the first Brighton boat-load sold at Billingsgate for forty guineas per hundred, seven shillings each, reckoning six score to the hundred — the highest price ever known at that market. The next boat-load produced about thirteen guineas per hundred. Mackerel, on the VOL. I. K 130 STATISTICS OF MACKEREL. contrary, were so plentiful at Dover in 1808, that sixty were sold for one shilling. At Brighton, in June of the same year, the shoal of mackerel was so srreat, that one of the boats had the meshes of her nets so completely occupied by them, that it was impossible to drag them in ; the fish and nets, therefore, in the end sank together, the fishermen thereby sustaining a loss of nearly £60, exclusive of what the cargo, could it have been got into the boat, would have produced. The success of the fishing in 1821 was beyond all pre- cedent. The value of the catch of sixteen boats from Lowestoft, on the 30th of June, amounted to £5,252 ; and it is supposed that a sum of not less than £14,000 altogether was realized by the curers and men concerned in the fishing off the Suffolk coast. In March, 1833, on a Sunday, four Hastings boats brought on shore 10,000 mackerel, and on the next day two boats brought 7,000. Early in the month of February, 1834, one boat's crew from Hastings cleared £100 by the fish caught in one night ; and a large quantity of very fine mackerel appeared in the London market in the second week of the same month. They were cried throusrh the streets of London on the MACKEREL FISHING. 131 14th and 22nd of March, 1834, and had then been plentiful for a month." By a beneficent dispensation of Providence, these fish visit the shallow water of the shores at a particu- lar time, thus enabling man to take, and offer them as a cheap, wholesome food. Their general weight is about 2 lbs., and to enjoy them to perfection they should be eaten soon after they are caught. To those who possess yachts, or who can hire one for the season, we strongly recommend a trawl or seine net, with a certain number of hooks and lines; the fishing will be found both agreeable and profitable. To use nets to advantage, it will be wise to engage one or two fishermen who fully understand this work, and know the best ground for carrying it out. In line-fishing little skill is required, as shoals of mackerel will be attracted to the bait, and will as eagerly take the hook. Great care must be taken that the vessel has not too much way ; and if the wind is at all fresh, the foresail (we speak of a cutter) should be lowered, the main-sail should be doubly reefed, so as to go about five knots through the water. With a clear blue sky, a light breeze, a handy " craft," and an k2 132 THE EEY. J. C. M. BELLEW agreeable party of both sexes on board, few amuse- ments can vie with mackerel fishinor. o Before we conclude our chapter we must refer to some most sensible remarks which fell from the Keverend J. C. M. Bellew, on the opening of the Maida Hill College :— "It is as much our duty," said the eloquent preacher, "to provide that the pupils grow up healthy, active, and manly, as that they should be well taught, and made to act as morally-re- sponsible beings. " I am one of those who think that the intel- lectual vigour of children has very frequently been impaired by hours of study too much prolonged, and by want of fresh air and athletic sports. " This has been the vice of private schools ; I hope we shall avoid that injurious error. For myself, I would borrow the idea of ' Muscular Christianity,' and say, let us have muscular education. The boy who distinguishes himself in our noble and national sports — in cricket, rackets, or foot-ball — or can win a match at swimming, is in my opinion deserving of great respect ; and my experience tells me that such a boy makes a far more useful citizen, active member of society, and ON PHYSICAL EDUCATION. 133 judicious parent in after-life, than those brow- beating scholars, with faces sicklied over with the pale cast of thought, who are incapable of the sinewy exertions which best become an English- man. I do not want my children to be walking editors of old books, but strong in purpose and in power to carry out their purposes. I firmly be- lieve in the vigorous intellect being wedded to the vigorous frame : * Mens sana in corpore sano.' " 134 Wn- " Iforth. — Lo, winter is over and gone ! " Shepherd. — Na — ' Winter lingerin' chills the lap o' May.' "But May is a merry month, and I kenna whether the smiles or the frowns on her face be the mair beautifu' — ^just like a haughty damsel, in the pride o' her teens, sometimes flingin' a scornfu' look to you ower her shouther, as if she despised a' mankind ; and then a' at ance, as if touched by gentle thochts, relaxin' intil a burst o' smiles like the sun, on a half-stormy day comin' out suddenly frae amang the breakin' clouds, and changing ^t once earth into heaven," NOCTES ASIBKOSIANiE " Now is the time, "VMiile yet the dark brown water aids the guile, To tempt the trout." Thomson. The Merry INIonth of May — Its Attractions to the Sports- man — Archery — The Principal Instruments — The Oriental Method of Practice Recommended — Flight Shooting — Clout Shooting — Roving — Preparations for the Cricket Campaign — Racing — National Advantages of Turf Amusements — Expeditious Travelling — Hornsey Wood — Pigeon Shooting — The Crack Shots of England — Aquatic Pursuits — Hints on the Purchase of a Yacht — Deep-sea Fishing. May-day has been celebrated from the earliest MAY -DAY. 135 ages as a kind of Nature's birth-day. The morning of the seasons, the youth of the year, the dawn of beauty on every side is again before us ; and, notwithstanding the innovations and the havoc the march of intellect has made with the good old customs of our ancestors, it is probable that, in the country at least, amid the bursting of buds, the blossoming of trees and shrubs, the bloom of flowers, the balmy odour of the sweet-scented meadow grass and the song of the nightingale, thrush, and blackbird, the merry May morn will long continue its hold upon human affections. In great cities, more espe- cially in London, a mockery unworthy the fair court of Flora takes place, when a lot of ramoneurs as they are fashionably called, sweeps, or idle, ragged urchins assuming that sooty trade, decked out in dusty laurels, faded lilacs, withered peonies, decayed gilliflowers, tarnished ribands, dim tinsel, stained satin, soiled silks, and dis- coloured calicoes, levy ^Zac^-mail upon the passer-by and house-keeper, causing much annoy- ance and danger to the equestrian, by their antic motions when encircled in their leafy bowers, which call to remembrance the ar- 136 ATTRACTIONS FOR THE SPORTSMAN. boreous movement "of Birnam forest to high Dunsinane." The month of May has many attractions for the sportsman : fishing, archery, cricket, racing, pigeon-shooting, boating, and yachting may now be said to commence. After a cold winter, there are few who welcome the approach of spring with more pleasure than the followers of old Izaak Walton ; for, instead of braving the pitiless storm of hail and snow, he now places himself, with rod in hand, in some se- cluded spot by the side of the rapid brook, which has often yielded him glorious sport with the speckled trout. Now is the time that a piscatory excursion to Scotland, Ireland, or Wales can be thoroughly enjoyed ; and even those whose vocations keep them within the sound of Bow bells may have a day's recreation at Richmond, Twickenham, Teddington, Kingston Wick, Hampton, Sunbury, Walton Deeps and Shepperton, Esher, Cobham, Weybridge, and Byfleet ; all of which rivers are well stocked with eels, perch, pike, carp, trout, tench, and the smaller fry — dace, roach, chub, and gudgeons. The archery season now begins ; and although ARCHERY. 137 bows and arrows are no longer used as offensive weapons, as they were wont to be at the battles of Cressy, Poictiers, Halidon Hill, and Agincourt^, they are still much in fashion with both sexes, as may be found in the rapid increase of toxopholite meetings ; and here a few practical remarks may not be out of place. The principal instruments of archery are the bow, the string, the arrow, the shooting-glove, to which are added a belt, a tassel, and a grease-pot. The bow may be made of the yew- tree, laburnum, thorn, or acacia, and is gene- rally formed of two pieces of wood joined together, the back being of a different sort to the front, and the grain reversed. The mean length is five feet nine inches. Great care must be made in selecting it, to see that it is free from flaws, knots, or cracks, and that the ends and points on which the string is fixed are securely tipped with horn. The string should be made of hemp, and whipped with sewing silk at that part of it which receives the arrow. In stringing the bow much attention must be paid, or a broken weapon will be the inevitable result. The only safe plan is to 138 BOW AND ARROWS. take the bow in the right hand by the handle, the flat or outward part towards him ; then let- ting his arm rest against his side, and putting the lower end of the bow against the inside of the right foot, bringing his left forward, and placing the centre of the left wrist on the upper level of the bow below the loop of the string, with the forefinger knuckle on one edge of it, and the top of the thumb upon the other, then up with the bow, and loop it. In unstringing the bow, the short horn should be placed on the ground against the right foot, the middle of the bow grasped firmly in the right hand, and the left wrist placed on the upper horn, so that the fore- finger may unloop the string when the bow is brought down, as in the manner of stringing it. The arrows, which vary from twenty-seven to twenty-nine inches, are generally made of ash or deal, and are sometimes varnished : they are both blunt and sharp — the former for flight-shooting and roving, and the latter for target practice. The targets now in use are placed at a certain space from each other, so as to shorten the labour of walking ; the size varies in ratio to the dis- *^ion with which he raised his double-barrelled gun to his shoulder, generally bringing down a brace of these heather-coloured birds — to witness his dogs (staunch as their master) as they ranged over the uncultivated wastes, or through the seques- tered places, abounding with copses and brush- wood, now indicating the spot where the grouse had sought a temporary shelter — to listen to his racy anecdotes of sport and sportsmen gathered for many a long year, and to feel that you were 252 STORIES OF THE MARQUIS. in the presence of a man who in war, or the faint image of it, the chase, was second to none. Some excellent stories are told of the gallant Marquis, and the following occur to us : Upon one occasion, a very modest, quiet Welsh clergyman, who was enjoying a day with the partridges, found himself almost stunned by a charge of shot that had penetrated his clerical hat ; and upon looking round with dismay, and express- ing a determination to give up his gun, and return home, received the following laconic remark : " You need not be afraid, I am perfect master of the weapon." The unfortunate " Taffy," although willing to do the greatest justice to his host's prowess, could scarcely bring himself to believe that there was no danger, when an inch lower would have proved fatal ; and acting upon the principle that " discre- tion is the best part of valour," he thanked Lord Anglesey for his hospitality, and wended his way home. Upon another occasion, a young man, who was of a shy and retiring disposition, was riding between the noble Marquis and the late Earl of THE TWELFTH OF AUGUST. 253 Lichfield, on their way to a wood famed for its number of woodcocks. " Are you a pretty good shot ? " inquired the distinguished owner of Beaudesert. " Why, yes," stammered out the modest youth ; " I can shoot as well as my neighbour s.^^ " Can you, my fine fellow ? — considering Lich- field is on one side, and I on the other," answered Lord Anglesey, "you have not a very mean opinion of your powers." With some little drawbacks from infirmity of temper (and what human being is perfect ?), there never was a more noble-minded, honourable, brave, liberal, and hospitable man than the late Mar- quis of Anglesey; and in all the above good quali- ties the present head of the family has proved him- self a worthy scion of a noble sire. The 12th of August, then, is looked forward to, by the sportsman, with the greatest anxiety ; and happy, thrice happy, is he who has a moor of his own in England or Scotland, or is invited to a friend's. The change of scene, from the heated metropolis, with its over-crowded rooms, dusty parks, and fetid river, to the heather-clad moun- tain, the dashing torrent, the fresh breeze, the pure 254 ANGLING AND FLY-FISHING. Highland air, is in itself delightful and exhilarat- ing ; and when we add to these charms of nature the soul-stirring sport of bagging twenty brace of grouse during the day, or of stalking a deer amidst the wild and majestic hills of the north, the enjoyment is greater than can be described, and fills the mind with gratitude, awe, and veneration. In our last chapter we gave at some length a description of the properties w^hich are usually possessed by the watery inhabitants that are caught in our rivers and ponds, and we shall now proceed to offer a few remarks on angling and fly- fishing. In all kinds of angling there are certain general rules to be observed, which will conduce greatly to the fisherman's sport ; the first is, never to angle when the east or north wdnds prevail, for experience has taught us that the south, south- west, and west are the only favourable ones for this diversion. The best months for exercising the " gentle craft " are May, June, July, and August ; and the best hours are early in the morning and late in the evening, especially when the weather is at dog days' temperament. As fish are ex- GROUND ANGLING. 255 tremely quick-sighted and wary, it is always advisable to keep as much as possible out of their sight, and as far from the river's bank as practica- ble, and for the same reason the angler's dress should be of a dark colour, so as not to be distin- guishable. To attract the finny tribe to any particular spot, it will be necessary to cast in suitable food, such as boiled corn, worms, and grains of ground malt. Graves, which are the sediment of tallow, cut into small pieces, are an excellent ground bait for barbel, gudgeons, and many other fish, if thrown in the night before you angle. There are no better times for ground angling than after floods, when the water fines, and becomes of a whey colour ; or after a hasty, violent shower has in some degree muddied and increased the tide ; or w^hen a river is very much swelled, and runs violently into any still pit ; or at the mouth of any slow creek running into it ; or at the ends of bridges where the water runs calm and quiet, especially if not too deep. Admirable sport may also be had, when flushes are let down, or mills set a-going, if the follower of Old Izaak follows the course of the water. 256 FLOAT ANGLING. In float angling the line should be longer than the rod by two or three feet, and the pellet that is put upon it ought neither to be so heavy as to sink the float, nor so light as to hinder the smallest touch from pulling it under water, which is the only sign you have of a bite. In rivers it is best to make use of a float, but in standing waters a quill will answer the purpose. In a clear water, when you use worms, bait with but one only ; in a muddy or discoloured water bait with two at a time. As when the fluid element is clear, the line should be a duskish white or grey colour, so when it is dark the line for two yards next the hook should be of a sorrel, brown, or chestnut, and the upper part of it white. Angle always, if possible, on the lee shore ; and vrhen, after hooking a perch, chub, tench, carp, dace, bream, or gudgeon, he makes his escape, not much more sport can be anticipated in the same spot, at least for an hour or two, as the frightened fish chases his companions out of that place. In dibbing or fly-angling, the line should be half the length of the rod if the day is fine, and quite as long as the rod if the wind is strong 257 enough to carry it away. The fly must always be in motion, as near the side of the bank upon which you are on as possible, unless you see a fish rise within your reach, and then it will be best to guide it over him ; and if you can manage to keep out of sight by kneeling, or getting behind a tree, you may reckon upon taking him. You must always dib in clear water, with a strong line, without either lead or float ; and when trying for chub, dace, &c., which are usually under some tree or bush, let your fly drop into the water as if it fell from the boughs, then raise it to the sur- face, and with one finger of your right hand gently tap the end of your rod ; and when you get a rise, give ample time that your prey may gorge the better. If you are fortunate enough to hook a large fish, let him play and tire himself within the water, and take special care to keep the rod bent, lest he run to the end of the line, and break either hook or hold. In raising him out of the water, never take the hair to which your hook is fastened, or, indeed, any part of the line into your hand ; but either put a landing net under him, or, in the absence of that, sacrifice your hat or cap to ensure your prize. VOL. I. S 258 RUNNING LINE ANGLING. Ledger bait angling is when the bait always rests in one fixed place. To carry out this, the line must be leaded as usual, with a bullet with a hole through it, large enough to allow the line to be easily drawn through ; and about nine inches above the hook a shot must be fixed, to prevent the bullet slipping down to the bait, and the float being taken oiF. Within half a yard of the top of the line a thin plate of lead must be wrapped, about an inch and a half long, and an inch broad, to indicate when you have a bite. In running line angling one or two small pellets of lead must be attached to your line, without a float. The lead should be just heavy enough to sink the bait to the bottom, and let the stream carry it down without much stopping or jogging. It is necessary to begin at the head of the stream, and let the bait drive downward as far as the rod and line will permit. It is good frequently to raise your bait a little from the ground, and let it drop gradually again. The line must be kept as straight as is consistent with letting the lead drag on the ground, and when there is a bite it will easily be felt, as well as seen, by the point of the rod and line. When the fish bites, the line SNAP ANGLING. 259 should be slackened a little, that he may more easily swallow the bait; and then you should strike gently and directly upwards. When your lead is rubbed bright, you ought to have it covered thinly with shoemaker's wax. When you angle thus for trout, in small brooks, you fre- quently find very good holds grown over with wood ; in such case wrap your line about your rod till it comes to the hook, and then you will easily get the top of it under any bough. This done, loose as much line as will reach the bottom, by turning your rod the contrary way ; keep the end of it as high as you can till you have line enough unwrapped ; then suddenly let it drop into the upper part of the hole, and if you have a bite, let the fish have plenty of liberty to gorge ; and by this method you will frequently take good trout that you would not otherwise have come at. Snap angling is with two large hooks tied back to back, and one smaller, to fix your bait upon. Your tackle must be very strong, and your line not quite so long as your rod, with a large cork float, leaded enough to make it swim upright. Your bait must not be above four inches long. As soon as ever you perceive the float to be s2 260 TROLLING. drawn under water, strike very strongly, without giving the fish time, otherwise he will throw the bait out of his mouth. This kind of angling is made use of for catching pike, for which there are two ways of snapping — the live and the dead snap. Trolling is a method of angling chiefly used to catch pike. This requires strong tackle, and no very slender top, with a ring fixed to it, for the line to run through. When you perceive a pike lying in wait for his prey, put three or four rings, one larger than another, upon a gudgeon-rod, and then put your trowling line through the loops of the rings, and you will soon have sport. The best baits are roach, dace, or bleak, newly taken, if the water is in any way thick or the day cloudy ; and nothing is to be compared to a large gudgeon in a clear day and stream. Great baits invite this voracious fish most, but little ones prove most taking. Your line must be of silk, at least two yards next the hook, and thirty yards long ; there must likewise be a reel to wind it upon. The hook must be leaded, that the head of the bait may hang downward ; there must likewise be two links of wire fastened to it. TROWLING IN PONDS. 261 When you throw your bait into the water, take care to avoid stumps and weeds, for they will do your bait as much damage as the bite of a pike. Give your bait time to sink; then let it sink again ; then slowly raise it by degrees higher and higher until you see it, and so on, drawing it gently towards you. If a pike takes the bait at first, it is across his mouth, for he seldom, if ever, swallows it until he gets to his harbour. There- fore, as soon as you perceive you have a bite, if he goes down the stream with your bait, it is com- monly a small fish ; if up, you may expect a large one ; but take care not to check him until he has had time to pouch the bait. Trowling in ponds is performed with a long line, which should reach from one side of the pond to the other. The line ought to have as many armed hooks and baits, about three yards asunder, as its length will allow. This method requires an assistant, who must hold one end of the line, and help you to keep it in a gentle motion until you find you have a bite, and then strike with a jerk the contrary way to the motion of the fish. Trimmer and bladder ano-lino^ cannot be enume- 262 TRIMMER AND BLADDER ANGLING. rated among the sports of the fisherman, and ought only to be practised when your larder re- quires replenishing. The first-mentioned method consists of a round cork six inches in diameter, with a groove on which to wind up your line, ex- cept so much of it next the hook as will allow the bait to hang about mid- water, and likewise so much of the other end as will reach to the bank, or a bush, where it is to be fastened. In this po- sition you may leave it to take its chance while you are angling elsewhere. As soon as the pike takes the bait and runs away with it, the line un- winds itself oflf the trimmer without giving him the least check. However, when you take up your line, give it a jerk, as in other fishing, and then your prey will be more secure. Bladder angling is usually practised in large ponds, with an ox's bladder and a bait fixed on an armed or a snap-hook. The quick rising of the bladder after it has been pulled under water, never fails to strike the fish as effectually as a rod ; and, let him struggle as much as ever he will, the bladder always eventually gains the victory. To ascertain at any time what bait fish are apt ANGLING IN THE THAMES. 263 to take, open the first one you catch, and you will soon discover what he then feeds on. To those who are pent up in the metropolis during the oppressive month of August, and who can only obtain a day or two's recreation, we strongly advise a piscatorial ramble by the River Thames. The modern disciple of "honest Izaak" may commence his operations at Datchet, to the neigh- bourhood of which spot the railway will at all times convey him. While preparing his rod and line, he may picture to himself the notable spot on the opposite bank immortalized by Shakspeare as the scene of Falstaff^s misadventure in the buck-basket — "the muddy ditch at Datchet Mead," close by the Thames* side, into which the fat knight was so unceremoniously thrown, glow- ing hot like a horseshoe, hissing hot, through the machinations of the merry wives of Windsor ; he may reflect that a short mile between this fa- vourite haunt of Thames fishermen and Eton College, " the Kingfisher of State," the " Merry Monarch,'* used himself to throw a fly ; it was here, too, that Walton and Wotton practised the " gentle craft." 264 SPORTS FOR THE ANGLER. " Angling was an employment for his idle time," so writes the former of the latter, " which was not then idly spent. It was, after a tedious study, a rest to his mind, a cheerer of his spirit?, a diverter of sadness, a calmer of unquiet thoughts, a moderator of passions, a procurer of contented- ness." After filling his basket with barbel, dace, and gudgeon, the angler may wend his way to Upton and Stoke Pogis (the spot that suggested Gray's ElegyJ, to the antique towers of Eton College, or the stately turrets of Windsor Castle. Rich- mond, Twickenham, and Teddington will always furnish amusement to the patient in a punt fra- ternity of " quill-bobbers," as they have been ir- reverently called ; Henley, Pangbourne, and Mar- low, are now equally accessible by rail. At Henley, the "Red Lion," where Shenstone wrote his well-known lines, is still carried on, in its former grandeur, and here at this excellent inn the traveller may '^take his ease" and fish to his heart's content; nor will the river from Medmenhara to Great Marlow afford him less amusement. Pangbourne is a far-famed spot for the angler : ARCHERY. 265 if he is an adept at throwing a fly, " the silver- winding Tamesis" will yield plenty of work. Trout abound, and will rise kindly to a tempting bait ; and the brook which enters the Thames by the village is also a good trout-stream. If he is content with trolling, some stout jack will soon prove whether he knows how to handle his tackle; and if he be content with bottom-fishinsf, and submits to the process of casting in ground-bait, putting the gentle on the hook, and taking the fish off, he may always depend upon a plentiful supply of barbel, roach, chub, and dace. Archery, which possesses, in point of health, all the advantages of field-sports, and which is free from the censure for cruelty passed on angling, " that solitary vice," and on hunting and shooting, is now at its zenith ; and we hail with delight the rising popularity of this exercise, 'which is adapted to every age, and which is especially suited to the fairer portion of the sex. Although many modern books have been written upon the theory and practice of the bow, there are few authors of our day who can handle the subject with more dexterity than the older writers — to wit, Ascham, whose directions are as follows ; 266 " First, take care of a graceful attitude. The archer should stand fairly and upright with his body, his left foot at a convenient distance from his right, holding the bow by its middle, with his left arm stretched out, and with the first three fino^ers and the thumb of his rio^ht hand on the lower part of the arrow afiixed to the string of the bow ; the notch of the arrow to rest between the fore-finger and the middle fino^er of the right hand ; the arrow, in drawing the bow, to be elevated to the right ear ; the shaft of the arrow, below the feathers, to be rested on the knuckle of the fore-finger of the left hand. The arrow must be drawn to the head, and not held too long in that situation, but neatly and smartly discharged. Among the requisites necessary to constitute a good archer are, a clear sight steadily directed to the mark, a proper judgment of distances to de- termine the length of the ground. He ought also to know how to take advantage of a side wind, and to be well acquainted with what compass his arrows would take in their flight. Courage," he adds, "is an indispensable requisite, as he who shoots with the least trepidation is sure to shoot badly." CRICKET. 267 Cricket has now commenced. Already the gatherings at aristocratic " Lord's," " The Oval," Peckham Rye, Hampstead, Battersea Park, and Streatham cricket grounds have commenced ; and the lines of Cunningham, which are to this manly game what the patriotic song, "Riflemen, form !" is to the people of England, have been fully realized. The cry has gone forth : — " Come on, lads ! come on — come on, one and all ; Now shoulder the bat, and spin up the ball. Take the field like young Trojans ; your prowess essay, While the batsman cries " Ready !" the bowler says " Play !" Then run like wild deer pursued by the hounds, And ground your bat proudly just over the bounds !" In the matches advertised to take place during the month of August, we are happy to find the names of many of our leading aristocracy ; for nothing tends more to promote a good understanding be* tween the upper and humbler classes than the social intercourse which takes place during a game of cricket, when the peasant vies with the peer, the la- bourer with the landowner, the private soldier with the officer ; each anxious to come off victorious, by the greatest score, or the demolition of his adver- sary's wickets. In this manly English game, a noble- 268 CRICKET ABROAD. man's stumps may be lowered without any level- ling system following such an event ; men may be caught out without any slur to their characters — may run for their lives without any impeachment of cowardice — may " chalk up a long score" re- gardless of the consequences — may be " bowled " out without suffering more than a temporary de- feat — and may forfeit their bail, free from the fear of legal consequences ; in fact, there is no game which promotes health and recreation, good humour and social intercourse, more than this national amusement. Despite the remark of the French Countess, who, after sitting out a first innings, exclaimed, " When does de game begin ?" it is one that has been introduced with the greatest satisfaction into all countries in which John Bull congregates. We ourselves have played a match at Enghien, near Brussels, eight-and-forty hours before another species of ball practice was got up between Wellington and Napoleon the First. We have scored ten within a few miles of Paris, after the Allies had occupied that city. We have " gone in" on the plains of Abraham, near Quebec, where Wolfe died victorious ; have handled a bat within sound of the mighty cataract of Niagara, YACHTING. 269 much to the amusement of the inhabitants of the countries we have referred to. Yachting, too, is now in full force ; and never was there a period when this popular and national amusement was more patronized than at present. The number and the tonnage of vessels in- crease yearly ; and the men employed would, if a maritime war were unfortunately to break out, form a most formidable body against an invading enemy. We trust sincerely that such an occasion will not occur ; but as we ought always to be prepared for the worst, and as one of the universally acknowledged principles is that the best way of averting hostilities is to show the world at large that we are ready to take up arms at a minute's notice, we cannot help thinking that practical knowledge might be combined with pleasure on board the yachts of the respective squadrons. It must be quite evident to all who look atten- tively into the subject, that both by land and sea the next war will be one in which the most per- fect and scientific gunnery (whether with cannon, musket, rifle, or carbine) will be required, as will also the dexterous use of the cutlass and boardins: 270 INSTRUCTION IN THE USE OF ARMS. pike. The power of steam will bring all opposing vessels at once to close quarters, and the success of the day will depend mainly on the effect of a well-directed fire and a hand-to-hand combat. Now, although we do not belong to that class who may be termed the " kill 'em and eat 'ems," and who look upon one Englishman as equal to three Gauls, we do think that in danger and diffi- culties John Bull is superior to the rest of the world. If on board a French man-of-war a certain number of men, or the spars, are carried away by a round shot, great confusion is sure to occur; whereas in one of our ships the vacancies are in- stantaneously filled up, and the loss is mechanically repaired ; but, brave as our " blue jackets " are (and in an article upon yachting we confine our remarks to naval conflicts), every tar ought to be taught how to man a gun, and the use of small arms, rifle, musket, carbine, pistol, and cutlass. This brings us back again to the point from whence we started, which is, to recommend every yacht-owner to teach his crew the use of the above. Of course, in small "craft" men could only be taught the principle of firing heavy guns ; " ARM, YACHTSM EN, ARM !" 271 but they could daily practise carbine firing, and the pike and cutlass exercise. In order to encou- rage them in the above, prizes might be given to the most expert ; and towards the end of the season a yacht review might take place, in which the proficiency of the crews could be put to the test, and honorary distinctions presented by the respective commodores to the most meritorious. *'Arm, yachtsmen, arm!" might furnish the burthen for another inspiring appeal to our coun- trymen. Having dwelt upon yachting in a national-defence point of view, we shall now treat of it as a peaceful pastime, oflPering such remarks as may be available for those who possess vessels, as well as for those who are in search of them. Schooners are greatly in fashion ; and for a "craft" of about ninety tons we consider that they are the best : under vsixty we should recom- mend a cutter, which stands closer to the wind than any other European boat ; and between sixty and ninety tons we are strong advocates for the yawl or dandy rig, which gets rid of the large swaggy boom, so fatal to the comfort of those on board, and can be worked by one hand less than 272 SUGGESTIONS TO YACHTSMEN. a cutter of the same size. To all who are " afloat" we would offer the following suggestions, as being best calculated to improve the morals, comfort, and efficiency of their men, and to raise yachting to the highest state of perfection. It too often occurs that a certain class of men, to whom money is no object, think it the "right thing " to indulge in every species of reckless extravagance — giving their crew much higher wages than they have any just claim to ; allowing their captains to order, right and left, necessaries and unnecessaries — the bills being kept back until the aquatic season has terminated, and pay- ing a hundred per cent, more for stores and sea stock than the market-price. The result is that those who are not able to vie with them in such expenses are looked down upon, and treated as mean and stingy characters. In the above remarks it is far from our inten- tion to advocate parsimony ; w^e have the highest authority for stating that " the labourer is worthy his hire." All we contend for is, that, despite the saying, "Everyone has a right to do what he likes with his own," no public-spirited individual, however wealthy, ought (as it is commonly called) PROTECTION TO THE UNWARY. 273 to spoil the market. In order to carry out a just and equitable system between the employer and the employed, a tariff of wages and board- wages, depending upon the price of provisions, ought to be decided upon by the commodores of each club, to remain in force during the season; those, too, who furnish stores, flags, charts, signals, glasses, rockets, lamps, &c., should be required to submit a list of their prices to the above-named authorities, which should be painted in legible characters, that no advantage could be taken of the unwary, and that thus the unscru- pulous captains, of which we fear there are too many, might be checked in their nefarious pro- ceedings. In the above general comments we of course do not include many most respectable tradesmen at the different yachting ports, who act with the strictest integrity and honour, but who them- selves suffer from the suspicion caused by less conscientious dealers. To the former, a printed list could be of no disadvantage, while it would be a restraint to the frauds of the latter. One golden rule ought to be framed and VOL. I. T 274 THE LATE EARL FITZHARDIXGE. glazed in every cabin : *' The owner will not hold himself responsible for any article ordered with- out his written authority." To ensure civility, attention, and sobriety, three shillings a-week, more or less, ought to be kept back as good- conduct money, to be paid to the crew at the ter- mination of their services ; but in no instance should this, when added to the settled wages, exceed the tariiF fixed upon, as already dwelt upon. The late Earl Fitzhardinge, who was princely in all his dealings, would pay the '' poor Jacks " (generally represented by well-doing able-bodied men) two or three shillings each time he stepped into his boat. He would buy up the contents of a fishing-smack for fifty times its intrinsic value. He would engage a stsam-tuo', when there was even a distant prospect of a calm, for five guineas, adding a present of nearly double that amount for the crew. He would reward the waterman who pulled him off to his yacht with a most liberal largess; and he would add a hand- some donation to his own men at the end of the season, in addition to the high pay and perquisites they received during his cruises. Indeed, so PROFUSE EXPENDITURE. 275 munificent was his lordship that, upon one occa- sion at Ryde, after giving the watermen a prize to row for, he found a keg of contraband spirits anchored close to the stem of the ^' Imogine." Flattered as Lord Fitzhardinge was at this con- traband compliment, he was too conscientious a man to avail himself of the unlicensed gift, and lost no time in reporting it to the Custom House officers, who forthwith conveyed it to the Govern- ment stores. We know many other yacht owners, of noble and gentle blood, equally profuse in their expen- diture, who, with the best motives, have done great mischief by lavishing bounties on a body of men, who, taken as a whole, do not deserve such benefits. August is an excellent month for boating, and to those who agree with Procter, "A boat, a boat, is the toy for me, To rollick about in on river and sea ; To be a child of the breeze and the gale, And like a wild bird on the deep to sail — This is the life for me !" may have their taste gratified to their heart's content. If their vocations confine them to T 2 276 SAILING IN PLACID WATERS. what was once called the "Silver Thames" — fetid would now be more appropriate — excellent boats may be hired by the hour, day, week, month, or year, at a variety of builders on the Lambeth side of the river. Half-deckers, skiffs, wherries, funnies, pair and ten-oared boats, and randans may be had, with or without men to manage or steer them, at a fair price. The Serpentine river in Hyde Park, within the last few years, can boast of a small flotilla of boats for hire, where the lover of aquatics may enjoy him- self for a few hours upon a sultry day, in this truly enjoyable month, without any risk of being run down by a coal-barge or city steamer. For sailing in placid waters, we should recom- mend a gig, about eighteen feet long, with a light small lug-sail, made of light canvas or strong duck. Although the members of the Universities and the respective Thames Clubs still patronize row- ing, it is not so popular an amusement with the fashionable world as it was some five-and-thirty years ago. In those days men of the highest rank assembled daily on the Thames, to try their prowess in a pull against tide to the "E,ed House," A CURIOUS WAGER. 277 Battersea, or the ^' Ship " at Greenwich. These trials of strength led to a variety of matches — the one from Oxford to London, by officers of the Foot Guards, being the most noted ; it was ac- complished in an almost incredible space of time. A curious wager came off, we think in about 1830, between the late Sir George Wombwell, and a sporting friend, as to whether the former could ride on horseback from Whitehall Stairs to the Surrey side of Yauxhall Bridge, in a shorter space of time than his competitor with three friends could pull a boat, with the tide, to the centre arch of the same. In consequence of an obstruction on the road, the watermen w^on the match. While upon the subject of yachting, we would venture to offer a few suggestions respecting the purchase of vessels, and a " wrinkle " as to cop- pering them. On a general principle, then, we strongly advise no one to buy an old vessel, for, like an old house, the expense of keeping it in repair will be prodigious, and, what with ship- builders, joiners, rope-makers, sail-makers, block- makers, painters, caulkers, and riggers, your hand 278 DISPENSABLE EXPENSES. will never be out of your pocket. In addition to necessary repairs, and supplies of such stores as are absolutely required, there will be a constant drain upon your purse for dispensable ones ; and it, moreover, encourages your captain, if not tho- roughly conscientious in his transactions, to lend himself to unprincipled tradesmen, who, acting upon the principle (or rather the absence of it) that all yacht-owners have more money than brains, look upon them as fair game, and make the most exorbitant charges for needless ^'jobs" and articles not actually wanted. Independent, too, of the disbursement, it cre- ates a most unpleasant feeling; for no moment of the day will the owner be free from the importu- nities of the captain, who, with an elongated visage, will point out that the deck won't last very long, that one of the stanchions is consider- ably damaged, that the pintle of the rudder is broken, that the chain-cable ought to be galva- nized, that the signal-halliards are worn out, that the gafF-topsail requires altering, that the top- mast-shroud is quite rotten, that the blocks are useless, that the main-sheet would not stand a breeze, that the forecastle leaks, that the skylight LAYING UP YACHTS. 279 admits a large amount of water, that the compass is faulty, that the davits are not fit to hoist a boat upon, that the fenders are worse than no- thing, that the awning is full of holes, and that the gig and dingy must be newly painted. In point of economy, however startling it may appear, we think that, at the expiratiom of ten or twelve years, it is cheaper to buy a new yacht, receivino^ the difference in exchanoje from the builder, than to repair the old one. Of course, this argument applies to vessels which are in com- mission five or six months, or more, and which do not remain within the island, but cruise to foreign parts. With respect to laying up yachts much diffe- rence of opinion has existed. Some contend that all vessels ought to be kept high and dry under sheds, while others advocate their being afloat or on the mud. We own we are in favour of the former method ; and in that opinion we are backed by the authority of most scientific professors, who recommend every vessel to be thoroughly dried, and a current of fresh air to be ever passing through it. A great amount of damage con- stantly occurs by the careless manner in which 280 COPPEPwTNG VESSELS. yachts are laid up. Sails and ropes are often stowed away damp in a not over-dry store-room ; the chain-cable is left in a state of rust; cabin furniture is huddled together in a moist atmo- sphere ; oars, sculls, brass yokes, and boat-hooks, are carelessly thrown into the gig, which, like Mohammed's coffin, is suspended between heaven and earth ; the cooking apparatus is packed up, in a dirty state, in a hamper of straw ; the keys of the lockers are mislaid, or become oxydized ; and tar-brushes, shifting ballast, bunting, gaskets, grapnels, hawsers, hatches, marling-spikes, oakum, swabs, painters, pendants, stretchers, vanes, life- buoys, mops, and water-casks, are indiscriminately mixed with mainsails, foresails, jibs, awnings, bed- ding, flags, charts, compasses, nor'westers, and waterproof jackets. The only safe plan to adopt is to hold back the captain and men's good-conduct money until everything is stowed away safe, snug, and " shipshape." With respect to coppering vessels, we should strongly advise that no intermediate substance, such as felt or coarse paper, be placed between the metal and the wood ; for, upon stripping it, we have ourselves seen the intermediate material PENNY- WISE-AND-POUND-FOOLISH SYSTEM. 281 completely wet and clammy with salt water ; and a learned and truly popular baronet — Sir John Bailey — who is as practical a yacht-sailor as he was an eminent barrister, and quite as much at home in crossing the bar at Dover as he was as a member of it in Westminster Hall, " showed cause," and gained a " rule absolute," for the plan we recommend. Upon one occasion the advocate in question found, in sailing a match, that his well-appointed cutter was as slow as a suit in Chancery, and, upon removing the copper, found a pulpy substance. *^ Ejecting" this extraneous matter, the sheets were replaced, and the vessel skimmed over the water like a bird, regaining her former speed. And here we cannot refrain from quoting a remark of the above Baronet on the penny- wise-and-pound-foolish system. '' I once," he said, " received an offer to build a yacht at £23 a ton ; but I declined, feeling that, by paying the addi- tional price of £26 10s., I ensured for myself a seaworthy vessel, which would outlive double the number of years a Math-and-plaster' vessel would; and, although the difference amounted to £192 10s. I never had cause to repent my decision. At the 282 HIRING A YACHT. end of ten years I, on building a new yacht, was allowed a handsome sum in exchange for the old, while the cheap yacht was for two years in the mud without a bidder, and at the end of that period was sold at an ^alarming sacrifice!'" To resume. Yachting, with the thermometer at 72°, is a most delightful amusement, and can be carried on with pleasure during a month which is generally fair for the harvest ; but woe betide those who have not fitted out or hired a vessel before this time, for they will be fleeced awfully I We were oflTered a small cutter of twenty-five tons, with two men and a boy, for the modest sum of sixty guineas for two months, which we respectfully de- clined, not wishing to be ranked with that numerous class of whom it is said that "fools and their money's soon parted." Indeed, it would be even cheaper in the long run to buy than to hire on such terms ; for, owinff to the larfre number of schooners that have lately been built, there are a great many cutters in the market. While upon the subject of the latter, we cannot help calling the attention of our readers to the **Imogine" yacht, which is ad- vertised for hire. She was the property of the late Earl Fitzhardinge, and a finer sea-worthy OUTLAY ON YACHTING. 283 vessel was never launched. It is true that she cannot be compared as to speed with some of the *' clippers" of the day, but for a party of from four to six ladies and gentlemen, who are ambitious to visit the French ports, or those in the Mediterra- nean, a nicer " craft" could not be engaged. Her accommodations are ample ; and with a smart captain, an efficient crew, and a well-provisioned store-room, the party might manage to "rough it," as the Guardsman once remarked, " upon beef- steaks and port." There are few things in Eng- land at which foreif>:ners of intelliojence are more struck than the profuse expenditure of the mem- bers of our respective yacht clubs, in fitting out their vessels — the outlay for building, wages, and victualling amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds ; and when we consider that an addition of upwards of four thousand men (many of whom are first-rate seamen) could be got together at a few hours' notice, ready for service should our native isle be attacked, we ought to support yachting in a national point of view. From some very valuable statistics, drawn up by Mr. Knight, the zealous secretary of the Royal Southern Yacht Club, we find the following details : — No. of No. of No. of No. of STachts. Tons. Men. Guns. 102 9,000 1,600 400 146 4,400 640 220 74 3,000 400 260 67 2,800 350 230 38 3,200 420 250 38 900 120 40 42 1,650 250 120 45 1,470 240 110 40 1,450 230 110 29 1,380 230 70 621 29,250 4,380 1,810 284 YACHTING STATISTICS. Royal Yacht Squadron . , . Royal Thames Yacht Club Royal Western Yacht Club Royal Southern Yacht Club Royal Victoria Y acht Club Royal Harwich Yacht Club Royal Cork Yacht Club . . Royal Mersey Yacht Club . Royal Northern Yacht Club Royal Kingston Yacht Club Deduct about one-sixth for the same yachts belonging to the different clubs, there will be a grand total of . 530 25,000 3,900 1,500 To the above we must add the Royal London Yacht Club ; and when we bear in mind that the addition of vessels in almost all the clubs we have enumerated has been considerable, the amount will be greatly increased. The seamen do not include masters, cooks, and stewards, who would add at least 800 more to the foregoing numbers. The wages alone for the masters and crews exceed £120,000 per annum ; and the intrinsic value of the yachts, with their armament complete, amounts to more than three-quarters of CO WES AND ITS HOTELS. 285 a million of money. As during the present season there have been upwards of fifty yachts of large tonnage in frame, at the several building yards of Ratsey and Hanson, at Cowes ; Wanhill, of Poole ; Inman, of Lymington ; Moore, of Plymouth ; be- sides the yards in London, at Gravesend, on the Clyde, at Cork, Kingston, and other places in the United Kingdom, we have every reason to believe that at the present moment more than 600 sail of yachts may be calculated to be in commission. To those who really enjoy sailing, we should re- commend West Cowes as being the best place to take up their head-quarters; there is scarcely a day during the season in which they cannot get under way; and, should a dead calm prevail, a drive to Ryde or Carisbroke, or a steam excursion to Southampton or Portsmouth, will fill up the idle day. Cowes, which was formerly a small, dirty, insignificant village, has of late years become a large, clean, bustling town ; the houses and lodg- ings are extremely good, and the hotels tolerably so ; but unfortunately, like all other places which have only a short season, the prices in too many instances are exorbitant, and tend to drive many away, who, as the term goes, do not like " to pay 286 SYSTEM OF EXTOllTIOX. through the nose " for everything they have. No sooner do you leave the train at Southampton than the system of extortion commences. The flyman that drives you to the pier asks double his fare ; the porter that puts your luggage on board, inwardly mutters " scaly '' if you do not present him with a hundred per cent, more than his legal charge ; the boatmen at Cowes or Eyde grumble — nay, are often insolent, unless you satisfy their exorbitant demands; the lodging-house keepers (there are many honourable exceptions) fancy all visitors must be ^' flats," and. ask half-a-guinea a clay for the smallest of sitting-rooms, and the most diminutive of dormitories, which, with the usual extras for kitchen fire, lights, washing, house-linen, boot-cleaning, and gratuities to the mald-of-all-work, generally amount to nearly half the rent. The tavern-keeper (again there are exceptions) is not behind his neighbours in making out a most alarming charge. " Two gents, dinner No. 1, soup, fish, roast duck, vegetables, 12s.; ale, 2s.; bottle of sherry, 6s. ; pint of old port, 4s. ; at- tendance. Is. 6(i. ; total £l 5s 6cZ." — for some weak vegetable soup, a fried sole or whiting, a thin spe- LIVING ON BOARD. 287 cimen of the duck genus, some underbolled peas, a strong saline American cheese — a bottle, or rather as much of it as remains after it has gone through the usual process by the barmaid, of le- vying a toll of one or two glasses of negus out of it — a pint of what is termed fine military port, subject to the same negus impost — and for what is ironically called attendance, the act of serving consisting of the occasional appearance of a su- perannuated or hobbledehoy waiter, who was always going when he cried "coming," and who hobbled or ran about the room from table to table, clattering dishes, plates, and glasses together. To those, then, who possess yachts above thirty tons, and who do not belong to the Royal Squa- dron, we should strongly advise their sleeping and living on board ; they will find their comforts in- creased, and will escape having their purses drained through the voracious propensities of the land, sea, and river sharks that are to be found in the Isle of Vectis. Visitors at Cowes and Ryde will receive great attention from the members of the above-mentioned squadron and the Royal Victoria Yacht Club ; and for anyone who has friends belonging to either, there are no places 288 GOOD FELLOWSHIP OF YACHTSMEN. where he can enjoy better society and yachting, without the expense of a vessel of his own, than at the above ports. The same courtesy is evinced by the members of the Royal Western Yacht Club, which was formed in 1833, and which hold their meetings at Millbay, Stonehouse; nothing can exceed the friendly feeling and hospitality which is extended to any brother sailor who goes to the " far west," — not that w^e mean to infer that such good fellow- ship is confined to the above-mentioned club, for we are proud to say that wherever in England, Ireland, Scotland, or Wales, a commodore's pen- dant is found floating in the breeze, the reception of a brother-yachtsman is equally courteous and friendly. At a time when the greatest anxiety exists as to whether Europe will not be involved in a ge- neral war, and we are actively preparing against any sudden breaking out of it, by offering bounty money to all who will serve afloat; we think that a review of yachts by our Gracious Sovereign off Osborne would be most appropriate. No more beautiful sight could be imagined, or one that would raise our national character so highly in RIFLE VOLU^■TEER CORPS. 289 the eyes of foreigners, than to witness six hun- dred sail of private vessels, ably manned, under the command of the distinguished Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron ; upon such an occa- sion, we believe every species of craft would as- semble, from the teuton Thames clipper to the stately brigantine; we should have the raking schooner, the fast-sailing cutter, the wholesome yawl, and the handy lugger; the respective cap- tains and crews would vie with each other to dis- play their nautical powers to the best advantage, the owners would take a pride in the trim and management of their " craft," and all might join in chorus — '' Oh ! is she not worthy the brave? Then, then, on her deck as all proudly we stand, We'll shout o'er the wave, 'Till the echoes reach land, The beautiful yacht is the home of the brave." The world are gone mad about Rifle Yolunteer Corps ; and there is scarcely a profession that has not come forward to assist in raising a force to expel intruders from our sea-girt island. Even the members of the Courts of Law have estab- lished a different practice from that which they VOL. I. U 290 have been accustomed to. Their cry to the foe will be ne exeat; the fi. fa. will in future be an execution to be levied on the goods of the enemy; the venue will be changed from the Queen's Bench to Her Majesty's highways. There will be no nolle prosequi ; no unwillingness in proceeding to action ; the invader alone will be nonsuited. Cedant arma togce will be reversed ; the gown will yield to arms. When on active service, dies non will b8 unknown. Prisoners will be exchanged by habeas corpus. lifter arma silent leges will be the cry when war breaks out, and lite pendente during the trial at arms ; a considerable quantity of mittimuses will be served; sharp practice, eject- ments, distress warrants, and assaults will be the order of the day. Sergeants, learned in the law, emulating the deeds of the King of Sardinia, may raise themselves by their valour to the distin- guished post of corporals ; juniors may become leaders, Queen's counsel colonels, judges generals, and the Lord Chancellor a field- marshal. Shortly shall we have enrolled the Lincoln's Inn Light Infantry, clad in Lincoln green ; the Gray's Inn Grenadiers, the Raymond Buildings Riflemen, the Ely Place Enfields, the Temple Tirailleurs^ the THE MARTIAL SPIRIT OF PIMLICO. 291 Serle Street Sharpshooters, the Mitre Court Minies, the Verulam Buildings Volunteers, the Fig-tree Court Fusileers, the Chancery Lane Heavies, slow and sure ; the Pump Court Pio- neers, the Brick Court Bombadiers, the Elm Court Engineers, the Inner Temple Irregulars. The Master of the Rolls will have to attend to the roll call ; the musty old parchments may be converted into drums, and the gentlemen of the long robe (as they are occasionally termed by the newspapers) will dofF that garment for a tunic of dark green. Since writing the above, we find that a martial spirit has roused the feelings of the inhabitants of Pimlico, who will naturally follow Sheridan's advice, and take " Pro bono Pimlico " as their motto ; the surrounding locality of West- minster, we speak of its " back slums," may con- tribute their quota of rifle-men. u2 292 Septemhr. " Here the rude clamour of the sportsman's joy, The guns fast thundering, and the winded horn. Would tempt the muse to sing the rural game : How, in his mid career, the spaniel struck, Stiff, by the tainted gale, with open nose, Outstretch'd and finely sensible, draws full, ."; Fearful, and cautious, on the latent prey; As in the sun the circling covey bask Their varied plumes, and watchful every way, Through the rough stubble turn the secret eye." Thomson. Anniversaries — The Glorious First of September — Caution in the Use of Fire-arms — Dogs and Guns — Shooting Attire — The Farm — Partridge - Shooting — A Day with the late Rev. E,, Barham (Ingoldsby) — Mirth and Jest — Sportsmen of 1803 — Coke of Norfolk — The New Game Certificates— Jennison Shaftoe and his celebrated Match — Cruelty to Animals — Glorious Goodwood — ^The Races as they were, and as they are — The Lewes and Brighton Meetings — Sussex in the Ascendant — A Derby Prophecy for 1861. Tins is a memorable month to the sportsman, ANNIVERSARIES. 293 as partridge-shooting commences on the first; before, however, we treat further upon this sub- ject, we will lay before our readers some of the festivals and remarkable days that occur in Sep- tember. On the 2nd, the great fire of London, so gra- phically described by Harrison Ainsworth, took place in 1666 ; and on the 29th the feast of St. Michael, or Michaelmas-day, is observed, upon which anniversary many very curious customs are observed in different parts of the kingdom. In Kidderminster, famed for its carpets and rugs, the inhabitants, until within the last twenty years, assembled at a particular hour of the day, which was announced by the ringing of the town- house bell, and during one hour — termed lawless hour — the poorer classes amused themselves by throwing cabbage-stalks at each other ; while the higher orders threw apples from the town-hall among the crowd. In some parts of Scotland, the people bake a cake upon this day, which Is called "St. Michael's Bannock." In Ireland, a sheep is often killed, and a part of it given to the poor. In England, geese are offered up as an Apician feast on " St. Michael's Shrine." 294 REMARKABLE DAYS. Nelson, the hero of the Nile, BufFon, the distin- guished naturalist, and Oliver Cromwell, the Pro- tector, were born in this month. On the 3rd, ia 1651, Cromwell gained the celebrated victory at Worcester, which, as it gave the Commonwealth party full power over the three kingdoms, he called *'the crowning mercy of God." In 1658, on the very same day of the month, this distin- guished general breathed his last. Among the days that reflected glory on the British soldier, may be mentioned the defeat of Massena at Busaco in 1810, the battle of the Alma in 1854, the fall of Sevastopol and the battle of Kars in 1855, and the fall of Delhi in 1857. On the 9th, the battle of Flodden Field was fought, 1513 ; and on the 12th, 1814, the Americans gained an advantage over us at Balti- more. Death, the "grim tyrant," has carried off many a brave soldier durinfj this month. Wellin2:ton, the hero of a hundred fights, breathed his last on the 18th, at the advanced age of eighty-three. On the 13th, the day when, on the heights of Abraham, near Quebec, the ascendancy of the Anglo-Saxon race and language over the French THE FIRST OF SEPTEMBER. 295 in the New World was determined, Wolfe, at the early age of thirty-three, expired, living just long enough, after he had received the third bullet, to exclaim, on hearing the victory was complete, " Now, God be praised, I die happy !" On the 24th, another gallant soldier died — Hardinge, the friend of the Iron Duke. From the grave turn we to the cradle. Mungo Park was born on the 10th, as were many others of high rank in the literary, scientific, and philo- sophical world, to whom, however, we have not space to refer. The glorious First of September is the sports- man's delight. It is ushered in with a feu de joie exhilarating to all, except those feathered victims that are doomed to fall tliat day. The school-boy, if at home for the holidays, hails it with the greatest glee, for he has persuaded his indul- gent mother to persuade his kind - hearted father to allow him to join the shooting party. If at school, college, or a private tutor's, he pro- bably gets into the good graces of the gar- dener, gamekeeper, or farmer, and with a hired fowling-piece from the neighbouring gun-maker's has a morning with the small birds or partridges. 296 PREPARATIONS FOR SPORT. The youth who is about to enter the army or navy, or the dull routine of the courts of law, can scarcely sleep during the previous night, so great is his excitement. For the twentieth time has he opened his gun-case, put together the trusty weapon from the far-famed emporium of Westley Richards, in Bond Street, filled his shot-belt, in- spected his powder-flask, and made every prepara- tion for taking the field at break of day. The middle-aged " gunner," although less enthusiastic than his younger companion, has seen to his dogs, his gun, and ammunition, and at an early hour has found his way to the kennel, to give directions that " Beauty" and " Ponto" are to be relieved at two o'clock by " Rock" and " Dinah," and that at ten o'clock he will meet the keeper at Burnt Ash Stubble, the experience of fifteen years hav- inor tauofht him that birds ou