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their amusement and its results; but when the very thing presents itself in form, comfortably drawn up, and simplifying the process in this manner, I fancy very few would forego the opportunity of learning so much at so little cost. Hunting happens to be a science in which all the reading, all the theoretical knowledge in the world will be useless unless backed by considerable personal observation; and that observation will never be made so useful for, or bear so practically upon what is likely to be done to-morrow, as by a reference to what took place the day before yesterday, under like circumstances. Before you begin the season, then, my dear boy, I should advise you to procure one of these “ Hunting Diaries ;' and when you are as old as I am, and are able to compare one season with another-wet or dry, warm or cold, or grass or plough, with dogs or bitches, &c., &c., you will have a chance of knowing a little about the business. I wonder how many men there are in every hunt who could ride through a moderate run, if left to themselves. Does forty years' inexperience of wind teach them which side of a large cover to go? No-the crowd is the thing; there's company at least : and it's such a pity to be one of half-a-dozen, instead of half-a-hundred. For want of recollecting, or even attending at the time to what was done at a certain cover, with a certain wind, the year before ; from not knowing their huntsman and his ways after twenty years' inexperience of him, or the peculiar properties of their hounds, how many men, I wonder, have lost a run? But then it is no loss to them; they cannot care, or they would have thought more abont it : a cigar and a chance for a nick in a dirty lane, or a lark home, and a bottle of claret, puts the whole thing on the square, and they go out again in the same happy state of ignorance and carelessness, and with the same happy result. And all this for want of that habit of observation of their business or pleasure which is exhibited in no other amusement or profession. There are very few real sportsmen in this world; and Mr. Fores has a laudable ambition to make some.

I have seen also from his house a very neat rack for the appointments of hounds, with a good coloured print round it, and room for three packs, and every day of the week : it saves the trouble of keeping Bell's Life, or the county paper, on the table, and makes a good ornament for a study or sanctum.

Whilst on the subject of the qualities of a sportsman-his intelligence, skill, and the necessity of bringing his observation to bear on the past, with a view to the future, I shall copy for you a short but clever description of a huntsman from Beckford ; and you may select the attributes which will pertain to your own position in society from those of a servant, and make the most of them :

“A good huntsman should be young, strong, active, bold, and enterprising; fond of the diversion, and indefatigable in the pursuit of it. He should be sensible and good-tempered; he ought also to be sober : he should be exact, civil, and cleanly : he should be a good horseman, and a good groom : his voice should be strong and clear, and he should have an eye so quick as to perceive which of his hounds carries the scent when all are running; and should have so excellent an ear as always to distinguish the foremost hounds when he does not see them. He should be quiet, patient, and without conceit. Such are ihe excellencies which constitute a good huntsman; he should not, however, be too fond of displaying them, till necessity calls them forth. He should let his bounds alone while they can hunt, and he should have genius to assist them when they cannot.”

An authority-not quite equal to Beckford-will tell you what the true sportsman should be :

A true sportsman may be young or old; but he should be active, and must be bold and enterprising-fond of the diversion, and indefatigable in the pursuit of it; that is, he must not be late at cover, nor make a half day of it when there is the most remote chance of a run. He should be sensible, most undoubtedly, or he is very likely to break his own neck, or his horse's—and good-tempered in a gateway. A start in a fast country, where the fences are impracticable, is very trying to the temper. He should be a good horseman, and ought to keep a good groom, if he ever means to keep a good place (I don't mean the groom, but the master). His voice may be strong and clear, but my experience bids me add that the more he keeps that to himself, the better; it may save him a good blowing-up, and the hounds a great deal of unnecessary riot. He ought also to be sober, as it is the bappy fashion of the times we live in. As to his civility and cleanliness, he may please himself-the most fastidious coat sometimes gets dirty, and honourable mud can alone be gathered in the hunting-field. Quiet and patient, like our pattern huntsman, he must be, especially if he rides a young horse when foxes are scarce, or there is a difficulty in getting away. He should have two eyesone to distinguish the leading hounds, and those that are doing the work; another for saw pits, stone-quarries, weak places, and handgates; and he ought to recognize at any distance an old woman in a red cloak, from one of the same species in a red coat. His ear, however excellent, should be under his hat-or rather, both of them-if he would avoid that gentish, swell-mob peculiarity of appearance, and the chance of unshipping his castor, often indicative of a rakish goer. These qualities, I may add, with some few others—such as a good subscription, unexceptionable leathers, and a light whip with a thong, constitute a sportsman; and the oftener he displays them the better, as he will have constant occasion for their employment.

The night before you begin the season I hope you will get some sleep; you will find it essential; your nerves are never the better for over anxiety. I shall not have the worse opinion of you for waking rather earlier than usual; but it will not rain the less because you get out of bed half-a-dozen times to look at the clouds; and your warm breath or temper will not thaw the slight frost so effectually as the morning's sun. Be quiet, if you can, until the time to get up, and then make your toilette deliberately.

Of all difficulties in the art of dress, I know of none requiring so much care as that for the cover-side. A man may please himself for Bond-street, and if he makes a guy or an ass of himself, nobody knows who he is : he probably escapes with a passing conjecture. « Gad! old fellow! do look at those trousers !" is about the extent of your calamity in Rotten Row; but that is not the case when you mean to go through a season by the cover-side. To begin with an unenviable notoriety is a great mistake. Your appearance is your letter of introduction, so make it acceptable. Eschew all dandyism: first of all, smart pins, curious-coloured neckcloths, fox-head waistcoats, and sporting curiosities, be very shy of. A man may play with a black coat and dark trousers, and make a sort of sandwich of himself in the waistcoat line, but a scarlet coat is a ticklish colour for speculation, and requires the eye of a painter, and the genius of a Brummel, to walk out of neatness into elegance of costume.

Stick to the quiet order : where one succeeds in the noisy-pattern line thousands fail. A good broad-skirted old-fashioned riding-coat, tolerably loose, is the most gentlemanly-looking garment for the cover-side; it need not look as if it was turned inside out by the strength of the cloth or the peculiar sewing of the seams; and the sleeves may be something less than “ eighty-five and a 'arf.Anything outrè must be bad taste. Shooting jackets, too, were made for shooting, and not for hunting : as, however, they have become of frequent use, it is only old-fashioned fellows, like myself, who would object to them.

Leather breeches ought not to be put on by straddling a clothes'. horse; nor need they require the assistance of a valet : an apoplectic fit in getting into them would make them a very bad fit anyhow. They ought to allow of your mounting without a horse-block. And mind they are neither brown nor yellow--but white.

Thin top-boots are an abomination, only fit for gentlemen-jockeys. You need not, however, encumber your legs with flat-irons, for the sake of appearing business-like, especially if the season be dryish. Above all, avoid brown tops, as you value your uncle's blessing, and a place in his will. They are economical : they may be waterproof; but they look " villainously ill-favoured.”

A well-greased hat, or one that has been evidently washed and put away for the winter season, is a disgrace to a gentleman. To expect a new Lincoln and Bennett on a rainy November morning, is perhaps a little unreasonable; but there is no necessity for adorning your head with an affair that might have come out of the hands of " Old Clo'."

Your whip ought to be a light bamboo--not a walking-cane shortened, nor a polished shillelagh; and it should have a thong to it. You are not compelled to use it; but gentlemen would not be degraded by turning a hound occasionally, if they only knew when to do so.

Adieu ! my dear nephew. On another occasion we must accompany you to the cover-side. I have dressed you: your start is too important for the end of a letter.

Yout affectionate Uncle,

SCRIBBLE.

ERNEST A THERLEY;
OR, SCENES AT HOME AND ABROAD.

BY LORD WILLIAM LENNOX.

CHAP. VII.

"The gentleman will, for his honour's sake, have one bout with you : he cannot by the duello avoid it.”

SHAKSPEARE.

“ It has a strange quick jar upon the ear,

That cocking of a pistol, when you know
A moment more will bring the sight to bear

Upon your person, twelve yards off or so."

BYRON.

A Night at Mess-The Race-Course-" The Boy in Yellow wins the Day”An“ Affair of Honour"-Statistics of Duelling during the reign of George the Third.

To return to my walk ; Captain Hornidge took me to the batteries, through the fortifications over the dock-yard, introducing me to those officers of both services with whom he was personally acquainted. After a most elaborate toilet, for early in life I had imbibed a favourite saying of one whose addresses were seldom rejected, and then only in print" that we should always pay attention to our dress, in youth that we may please, in age that we may not displease”—I entered the mess-room, a few minutes before the bugle had sounded for dinner.

“I'd have you to know, sir,” exclaimed the Major, addressing the wretched subaltern of the day," that the orderly-room clock is the one we go by, and that, sir, is two minutes and a quarter faster than the town.

“Exactly, Major," chimed in Lieutenant Cludde.

The dinner was now served, and a more melancholy repast I never sat down to ; scarcely a word was uttered, so awed were the whole party at the irritated look of the imperious commander.

"Something has evidently gone wrong,” remarked my neighbour, Belward, in a low tone, “I think he must have got a wigging' from the General.”

Agreeable to the mos pro lege principle of those days, I had to pay my footing, by a donation of wine to the mess, and which was accordingly produced upon this occasion. Prowle having left the room, a little more freedom took place, although the Adjutant was still a bar to general hilarity. After a time the subject of hunting and racing was introduced, and the merits of Cludde's charger, Pioneer, were discussed.

“He is admirably suited for his work,” said the owner, “steady, safe, and quiet under fire, but not fast enough for the race-course or field,” he continued, evidently addressing his remarks to me.

“ Ho scems a very clever horse,” I responded, “ broad, deep, and a great declivity in his shoulders ; quarters long, thighs let down very

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A most graphic description,” responded the Adjutant, " but with all those points, he is slow as a top."

“And yet,” I continued, a little elated with the bumpers I had quaffed, “he has every requisite for a race-horse ; his hocks are distinct, far behind and from him ; thence downward to the next joint they are very short, with that part of the leg standing under him, like that of an ostrich ; he has a long lax bending pastern ; his arm, too, is well set-on at the extreme point of his shoulder-bone."

“A regular veterinary opinion,” muttered the Lieutenant, evidently annoyed at the exposure I had made of his horse's qualifications. “He suits my purpose very well ; but as for a race-horse, it's ridiculous to suppose such a thing."

“ He must be quite thorough-bred," I continued ; “ do you know his pedigree?"

“ Thorough-bred ! pooh, pooh,” he replied. “He ran at Woolwich before I bought him, and was nowhere, in a field of thirteen bad ones ; he's a regular cocktail, got by Screveton out of a half-bred mare."

"Well, we shall know more about him next week, I presume," said young Belward, " for I conclude you will start him for the Garrison Stakes, on South-sea Common."

“ To promote sport, perhaps I may,” responded the Adjutant, but he has no chance, except with a 'feather' on his baek."

As the wine got in, the wit got out, and after a great deal of what is usually termed “chaff,” a match was proposed between my brown mare, “ Fair Ellen,” and Pioneer. Excited with the draughts of red-hot port that I had imbibed, I agreed to the terms proposed, despite of sundry expressive looks, and gentle kicks under the table, from those who felt I was about to be victimised. I pass over the rest of the evening, and bring myself to the following morning at five o'clock, when I was awoke out of a feverish sleep, by Hargreaves informing me that the drill-serjeant would be ready for me in half an hour. To cool my burning temples, to collect my scattered senses, to remove the aching pain in my brow, I plunged my head into cold water ; and, although only a confused remembrance of what had taken place came across my mind, I remembered the match I had made, and which now stared me in the face, neatly drawn out by my antagonist, and signed in a very crooked hand by myself ; it ran as follows:

" Portsmouth and Gosport Garrison Races, South-sea Common ; last day. Match, 1 mile, Fifty Guineas each, P.P., owners to ride : Lieutenant and Adjutant Clulde's b. g. Pioneer, aged, against Ensign the Hon. Ernest Atherley's br. m. Fair Ellen, 4 years old.”

Before I had time to turn the question over in my mind, I was summoned to drill, and while undergoing the goose-step (for Sergeant Hatton declared all my military instructions at home were "worse por nothing'') I began to reflect upon the folly I had committed.

“ Attention !” cried the non-commissioned officer.

Alas! my ideas were distracted at the thoughts of losing my fifty guineas.

“ Stand at ease!"

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