horns. The poet then passes on to his own and his friend's humbler sport, "Though small our pomp, and mean our game, We dwell the more on these, because they are personal to the man. Who but a sportsman, too, would give the following character to a winter's day? "When dark December glooms the day, And takes our autumn joys away; When short and scant the sunbeam throws, A cold and profitless regard, Like patron on a needy bard; When sylvan 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 greyhound, with his length of limb, The last line is very characteristic. Mark, reader, the poor dogs are not condemned to the kennel all day, or to the care of some unfeeling menial; but you behold the author of "Waverley" with his dumb friends around him, on the parlour floor. But even in alluding to a Christmas feast of the olden time, the sportsman, as it were, unconsciously betrays himself: "Then was brought in the lusty brawn By old, blue-coated serving man; Then the grim boar's-head frown'd on high, Crested with bays and rosemary. Well can the green-garb'd ranger tell How, when, and where the monster fell; What dogs before his death he tore, Independent of various allusions to sport, in all its varieties, throughout Scott's works, we have an animated and fine description of no less than four grand hunts, viz., a stag hunt, a fox hunt, a boar hunt, and a whale hunt. What can be finer than the description of the chase in "The Lady of the Lake?"-what more spirited or graphic? You behold the wild Trossachs stretched out before you,-the glens and fells, the lakes and mountains ;-you hear the rushing of the deer in the greenwood. You have a glimpse, first, at the beautiful animal drinking, "where danced the moon on Monan's rill;" and now he makes his lair "in lone Glenartney's hazel shade." But list to the clanging hoof and horn!" You, however, are not the only listener that takes a deep interest in the sound. Behold you not— 66 "The antler'd monarch of the waste, A moment gazed adown the dale, The whole chase is beautifully described in all its stages. At length, as ever happens, many tighten their reins in despair, and one cavalier only holds stoutly on, determined to be in at the death: "Alone, but with unabated zeal, That horseman plied the scourge and steel; Neither can we forbear to extract a no less admirable description of stag-hunting in prose,- -we mean that in "Waverley," which cannot fail to remind the reader of an East Indian hankwah : "At length, the period fixed for the grand hunting arrived, and Waverley and the chieftain departed for the place of rendezvous. Fergus was attended, on this occasion, by about 300 of his clan, well armed, and accoutred in their best fashion.' This, and the rest of the description, will suit the latitude of Ramghur, as well as that of Glennaquoich; and the identity of the tinchel with the Indian hankwah, is another link in the chain of proofs that the Celts had an oriental origin. "They found on the spot appointed several powerful chiefs, to all of whom Waverley was formally presented, and by all cordially received. Their vassals and clansmen, a part of whose feudal duty it was to attend upon such parties, appeared in such numbers as amounted to a small army. These active assistants spread through the country far and near, forming a circle, technically called the tinchel, which, gradually closing, drove the deer in herds together, towards the glen, where the chief and principal sportsmen lay in wait for them. * * "At length, signals of the approach of the game were descried and heard. Distant shouts resounded from valley to valley, as the various parties of Highlanders, climbing rocks, struggling through copses, wading brooks, and traversing thickets, approached more and more near to each other, and compelled the astonished deer, with the other wild animals that fled before them, into a narrower circuit. Every now and then the report of muskets was heard, repeated by a thousand echoes. The baying of the dogs was soon added to the chorus, which grew ever louder and more loud. At length the advanced parties of the deer began to show themselves, and, as the stragglers came bounding down the pass by two or three at a time, the chiefs showed their skill by distinguishing the fattest deer, and their dexterity in bringing them down with their guns. * "But now the main body of the deer appeared at the head of the glen, compelled into a very narrow compass, and presenting such a formidable phalanx, that their antlers appeared at a distance, over the ridge of the steep pass, like a leafless grove. Their number was very great; and from the desperate stand which they made, with the tallest of the red-deer stags arranged in front, in a sort of battle array, gazing on the group which barred their passage down the glen, the more experienced sportsmen began to augur danger. The work of destruction, however, now commenced on all sides. Dogs and hunters were at work, and muskets and fusees resounded from every quarter. The deer, driven to desperation, made at length a fearful charge right upon the spot where the more distinguished sportsmen had taken their stand." We had intended to have given extracts from the other hunting scenes, but find that we have already trenched on the limits of our subject. Not only does Sir Walter, in his works, refer to sport in all its varieties, but sundry little traits are observable of the genuine sportsman, and none more beautiful than those that relate to horses and dogs. What exquisite creatures they become in his hands! He has done more for the suppression of cruelty to animals than Mr. Martin's act; and not only is it a favourite axiom with him, but one, evidently, on which he conscientiously acted-that the merciful man is merciful to his beast: "The meanest brute has rights to plead, Which, wrong'd by cruelty or pride, What, for instance, can be more natural than the knight of Snowdoun's feelings over his dying steed?— "Then, touch'd with pity and remorse, Woe worth the chase-woe worth the day, With what an interest does he invest Sir Kenneth's hound, in his "Tales of the Crusaders !" But to dilate upon this point is super fluous. Every reader will recall passages that strongly demonstrate the kindly and comparisonable sympathies that a good man holds with all nature's creatures, on which he looks as brother denizens of this lower world, acquiring their love and confidence; in the spirit of which he becomes a true interpreter of their looks, their movements, and actions, elevating them in the scale of the all-bountiful Creator, and also exalting his mind while softening their hearts, and proving, that the strongest link between the rational and irrational world (if the latter be not an improper term, coined by man in his pride), is love and kindness! To all that lived and breathed the breath of life, Sir Walter Scott was kindness itself. When ever existed a man, having such high, intellectual pretensions, with less pretence of such unlimited influence in the intellectual world, who bore his faculties so meekly, so inoffensively, and yet so socially, so neighbourly, so frankly, and with such true dignity? Again must we be indebted to his own muse for fitting words to serve as his epitaph, "Mourn genius high, and lore profound, To penetrate, resolve, combine; And feelings keen, and fancy's glow,- SINCE you intend to make hunting your chief amusement in the country, you are certainly in the right to give it some consideration before you begin; and not, like Master Stephen in the play, first buy a hawk, and then hunt after a book to keep it by. I am glad to find that you intend to build a new kennel, and I flatter myself the experience I have had may be of some use to you in building it. It is not only the first thing that you should do, but it is also the most important. As often as your mind may alter, so often may you easily change from one kind of hound to another; but your kennel will still remain the same; will still keep its original imperfections, unless altered at a great expense; and be less perfect at last, than it might have been made at first, had you pursued a proper plan. It is true, hounds may be kept in barns, and stables; but those who keep them in such places can best inform you whether their hounds are capable of answering the purposes for which they are designed. The sense of smelling, the odora canum vis, as Virgil calls it, is so exquisite in a hound, that I cannot but suppose every stench is hurtful to it. It is that faculty on which all our hopes depend; it is that which must lead us o'er greasy fallows, where the feet of the game we pursue, being clogged, leave little scent behind, as well as o'er stony roads, through watery meads, and where sheep have stained the ground. Cleanliness is not only absolutely necessary to the nose of the hound, but also to the preservation of his health. Dogs are naturally cleanly animals; they seldom, when they can help it, dung where they lie. Air and fresh straw are necessary to keep them healthy. They are subject to the mange-a disorder to which poverty and nastiness will very much contribute. This, though easily stopped at its first appearance, if suffered to continue long, may lessen the powers of the animal ; and the remedies which are then to be used, being in themselves violent, must injure his constitution. It had better be prevented. Let the kennel, therefore, be an object of your particular care. "Upon some little eminence erect, And fronting to the ruddy dawn; its courts On either hand wide opening to receive The sun's all-cheering beams, when mild he shines, Let such as Somervile directs be the situation; its size must be suited to the number of its inhabitants; the architecture of it may be conformable to your own taste. Useless expense I should not recommend; yet, as I suppose you will often make it a visit, at least in the hunting season, I could wish it might have neatness without, as well as cleanliness within, the more to allure you to it. I should, for the same reason, wish it to be as near to your house as you will give it leave. I know there are many objections to its being very near. I foresee still more to its being at a distance. There is a vulgar saying, that it is the master's eye that makes the horse fat; I can assure you, it is even more necessary in the kennel, where cleanliness is not less essential than food. There are, I make no doubt, many better kennels than mine; some of which you should see, before you begin to build: you can but make use of my plan, in case that you like no other better. If, in the meantime, I am to give you my opinion what a kennel ought to be, I must send you a description of my own, for I have not seen many others. I would advise you to make it large enough at first, as any addition afterwards must spoil the appearance of it. I have been obliged to add to mine, which was built from a plan of my own, and intended, at first, for a pack of beagles. My feeding-yard being too small, I will endeavour to remedy that defect in the plan I send you, which plan may be still enlarged or lessened, as you think fit, or as your occasions may require. The feeding-troughs should be wide at the bottom, and must have wooden covers. I think two kennels absolutely necessary to the well-being of the hounds. When there is but one, it is seldom sweet; and, when cleaned out, the hounds, particularly in winter, suffer both whilst it is cleaning, and as long as it remains wet afterwards. To be more clearly understood by you, I shall call one of these the hunting-kennel, by which I mean that kennel into which the hounds, intended to hunt the next day, are drafted. Used always to the same kennel, they will be drafted with little trouble; they will answer to their names more readily, and you may count your hounds into the kennel with as much ease as a shepherd counts his sheep out of the fold. When the feeder first comes to the kennel in a morning, he should let out the hounds into the outer court; and, in bad weather, he should open the door of the hunting-kennel, lest want of rest should incline them to go into it. The lodging-room should then be cleaned out, the doors and windows of it opened, the litter shaken up, and the kennel made sweet and clean before the hounds return to it again. The great |