inevitable cigar from his mouth, and most cordially shook hands with us, with the words,

"You are welcome, most welcome, mon cher Padre; how long it is since you have honoured me with a visit! And so your friend the Colonel is a sportsman? The fact makes us friends at once; I am heartily glad to see him. Moreover, he is just in time to take part in a battue de lièvre; it is not precisely sporting according to the English idea of sporting; but at this season it has its merits, and may amuse him. I leave to-morrow morning for my chateau, near Frankfort-onthe-Oder. Come with me: a few friends will join us. If you have no gun with you I will supply you (not with a needle gun); and even hare shooting is preferable, I know, to your countryman than the streets of Berlin at Christmas."

I accepted the invitation as frankly as it had been given, and on the following morning we started by railway train for the Count's domains. I felt greatly pleased with his courtesy and kindness, and rejoiced to fly from ennui. The chateau was situated in a rich valley, watered by the Oder, and if not precisely Knowsley or Chatsworth, was of considerable dimensions, well placed, and well wooded without, and commodious and comfortable within; and if so be the manner and customs of the party, together with the gastronomy, was not precisely such as might be found at Badminton or Croxteth, why the hospitality was abundant, the comfort all a sportsman could demand, and the wines too good to be neglected after a hard day's shooting, and the novelty charming.

We found that several friends had arrived the day previous, having passed their Christmas-day in killing about a hundred hares, by way of getting their hands in, as lads in England pop away at sparrows and robins also, I fear, on a clear frosty Christmas morning in Old England. We passed an agreeable evening, and rose somewhat late on the following morning, considering how short are the December days in that latitude; consequently the abundant breakfast, though early for a German, was not over till eleven; cigars were then lighted, and the whole party sallied forth. We passed the thick woodlands immediately around the house, and soon found ourselves in a vast plain, broken here and there by small, though holding coverts, when a scene presented itself, as interesting as it was novel. I do not exaggerate when I say there must have been more than 200 beaters. These were divided into three divisions, placed beyond and by the side of the coverts, each division being commanded by a chasseur on horseback, dressed in green, who, on the word of command being given by our host, spread out like travellers in the distance, causing troops of hares to approach, as from all sides. It was not shooting, but slaughtering: and in four hours, when the day began to close, we had killed and secured 384 hares, to say nothing of the wounded, many of which were recovered on the following morning.

On the second day we commenced somewhat earlier, and not only shot on the plain, but in some of the coverts, which were filled with roedeer and an occasional woodcock, and though the time of shooting was no longer than the day previous, and many of the guns had left us, we killed 163 hares, four roe-deer, and three couple and a-half of woodcocks, to me a far pleasanter and more sporting day than the previous one.

With regard to the roe-deer, we might have killed double the number; but roe-shooting is not precisely to my taste, and at that season of the year it is very difficult, particularly in covert, the males having shed their horns, to distinguish them from the does.

When I speak of a battue where 800 hares are killed in a morning, it may appear fabulous, and must certainly be more fatiguing than exciting. Moreover, the painful cries of wounded hares is by no means the most agreeable music in a sporting field.

In France great slaughter is seldom committed, save in the Imperial Forests at Compiegne, or other imperial domains; but in Prussia, as in Austria, such is by no means uncommon.

I returned to Berlin, pleased with the courtesy and kindness of my host, gratified with the sport in which I had had my share, and determined, if possible, to consider a week's residence in Berlin not absolutely detestable. My next endeavour was to find out something with reference to the hunting apparel which I had seen adorning the tailors window on the Linden, of which I shall speak in my next, for the moment my bubble, not my gun, has burst.

I forgot to mention that several foxes were killed during our second day's shooting. I groaned, but did not look at them, and endeavoured to feel certain I was in Prussia, not England.

"Had not exercise been absolutely necessary for our well-being. Nature would not have made the body so proper for it, by giving such an activity to the limbs, and such a pliancy to every part, as necessarily produce those compressions, extensions, contortions, dilations, and all other kind of motions that are necessary for the preservation of the system," writes Addison; and he adds, "There is no kind of exercise which I would so recommend to my readers as this of riding, as there is none which so conduces to health, and is in every way accommodated to the body. Dr. Sydenham is very lavish in its praises; and the mechanical effects of it are described at length in a book published under the title of Medicina Gymnastica.' From the above extract, and hundreds of others that might be taken from our best writers, both in prose and poetry, it must be clear to everyone that, without exercise, the body becomes diseased or feeble, and the mind loses its tension; and a disposition to inactivity generates imbecility, while those who indulge in manly games find their mental powers increased and their spirits invigorated. All who have studied the subject will admit the intimate connection between mind and body-that the mind is cheerful when the body is strong and healthy, and depressed when the body is languid and unhealthy. Hence, the more deeply we consider the effects

of vigorous exercise, the higher must we place it in the scale of social duties. The train of evils which must inevitably follow upon its neglect would, if calmly reflected on, appal the bravest of us. Among the manly amusements that can be participated in with advantage, are fencing, skating, curling, cricket, shooting, coursing, hunting, fishing, yachting, and rowing. Of hunting, it has been truly said by a great genius:

"Better to hunt in fields for health unbought,
Than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught."

And there can be no doubt that hunting is the soul of a country life—
that it gives health to the body and contentment to the mind, and is,
moreover, one of the few pleasures we can enjoy in society without pre-
judice either to ourselves cr our friends. Any occupation, then, that
furnishes innocent amusement, and at the same time promotes exercise,
and is conducive to bringing about a mens sana in corpore sano, should
be encouraged. Addison, who has drawn with infinite humour the
character of a man who devotes his whole life to the pursuits of the
chase, thus speaks in favour of hunting: "I intend to hunt twice a
week with Sir Roger, and shall prescribe the moderate use of this exer-
cise to all my country friends as the best physic for mending a bad
constitution, and preserving a good one." The inimitable Cervantes
also honourably mentions this diversion; he makes Sancho say,
"Mercy on me, what pleasure can you find, any of ye all, in killing a
poor beast that never meant any harm?" that the Duke may reply,
"You are mistaken, Sancho: hunting wild beasts is the most proper
exercise for knights and princes, for in the chase of a stout noble beast
may be represented the whole art of war--stratagems, policy, and am-
buscades, with all other devices usually practised to overcome an enemy
with safety. Here we are exposed to the extremities of heat and cold.
Ease and laziness can have no room in this diversion. By this, we are
inured to toil and hardship: our limbs are strengthened, our joints
made supple, and our whole body hale and active; in short, it is an
exercise that may be beneficial to many, and can be prejudicial to
none." There are other advantages which must not be passed over,
and among them may be mentioned the strong inducement that is held
out to gentlemen of fortune to reside on their property in the country,
when in the vicinity of any celebrated hunt. To this must be added
the enormous sums of money that are spent by foxhunters, and which
money is divided among yeomen, farmers, innkeepers, saddlers, black-
smiths, &c. The average number of sportsmen who are seen at a
"favourite fixture in one of the popular shires may be com-
puted at about two hundred: at a
"meet in an indifferent hunting
country, about forty. Now, let us for a moment calculate the amount
of "horseflesh" that may be found at the cover's side. We commence
with the "crack" counties. Say, twenty horses at £150-£3,000;
eighty at £100-£8,000; one hundred and fifty at £50-£7,500;
fifty at £30 £1,500: total, £20,000. In the rural districts, twenty
horses at £40-£800; twenty at £25-£500: total, £1,300. The
above sums go into the hands of the breeders. And when we con-
sider the amount of hay, corn, and straw that has to be supplied-the
number of grooms, earthstoppers, and helpers that are employed-
there can be no doubt that a pack of hounds tends to circulate a con-

siderable quantity of specie in the neighbourhood in which they are kept. To the man who has the amor venandi, in the true sense of the word, strong upon him, cub-hunting will furnish ample amusement; to the master of the hounds, it is a matter of business as well as delight, for, as a skilful general makes every preparation for again taking the field, so will he have devoted his whole attention, during the nonhunting months, in reviewing his forces for the ensuing vulpine campaign, by discharging the disabled, and supplying their places with a new entry of recruits. His next anxiety will be to see how the young hounds work with the old ones; and he will take the first opportunity, after the corn is cut, of testing their merits. The sooner cub-hunting begins the better, as it gives hounds so great an advantage when the foxes are not come to their full strength; and as work of the right sort, added to blood, is what is required, it will be advisable to go out early on a quiet morning, and throw off your hounds where they are likely to find, and are most likely to break. If it be a small cover, or furze-brake, and you can keep the fox in, it is right so to do, for the sooner you fairly kill him, when you are in want of blood, the better for the hounds. No thorough-bred sportsman advocates wholesale slaughter; though in some counties, so anxious is the huntsman to decorate the kennel-door with scalps, that two brace or more of foxes are often chopped in a gorse-cover in one day. This is a wanton destruction, scarcely answering the purpose of blood, since that which does hounds most good is most dearly earned. The real lovers of the "noble science" will leave their downy pillows at five o'clock in the morning to enjoy a day's cub-hunting. It is a cheery sight to see the master again at his post, and to hear from him the realization of the old Oxford toast

"Hounds stout, and horses healthy,

Earths well stopped, and foxes plenty."

He is

Now the huntsman throws in his hounds as quietly as he can-the whippers-in on either side of the cover attentive to his halloo. They draw steadily up the wind. Not a single hound is heard; yet none are idle. Hark! the cry is heard. How musical their tongues! found. What a crash they make! Mark how the fox runs the cover's limits, yet dares not venture forth: the hounds are still too near. How terribly they press! What a crash they make-the whole wood resounds! They have him! And the well-known "Who-whoop" is heard, echoing over hill and vale.

There is nothing more essential for sport than that the hounds should run well together; and this end cannot be better attained than by selecting those of the same sort, size, and shape. In breeding hounds, the greatest attention must be paid to the size, shape, colour, constitution, and natural disposition of the dogs you breed from, as well as the fineness of his nose, his stoutness, and method of hunting. On no account breed from one that is not stout, that is not tender-nosed, or that is either a babbler or a skirter. By a judicious cross, the faults and imperfections in one breed may be rectified by another. For instance, should a favourite dog skirt a little, the plan is to put him to a thorough line-hunting bitch, and such a cross will very likely succeed.

Hounds, to look well, should be all nearly of a size-say, doghounds

about twenty-five inches, and bitches from twenty-three to twenty-four. For perfect symmetry, the following points in the shape of a hound must be attended to: His legs should be straight as arrows, his feet round, and not too large, his shoulders back, his breast rather wide than narrow, his chest deep, his back broad, his head small, his neck thin, his tail thick and brushy. Young hounds that are weak from the knee to the foot, or are out at the elbows, should never be taken into the pack.

Vyner, in his "Notitia Venatica," which is unquestionably the best work upon hunting that has appeared since Delmé Radcliffe's "Noble Science," makes the following judicious remarks: "If there are not sufficient good walks in a country to make it worth while to attempt breeding, at any rate during the first two or three years after commencing the formation of a pack, the more desirable plan for removing the defalcations of the past year will be to procure the young drafts of some other well-known and accredited establishment, to engage invariably both first and second drafts, from one year to another, and not to hazard the chance of picking up young hounds from various different kennels. By this means, it will be far easier to obtain a pack of the same stamp and character-a very material point to be looked to by anyone wishing to excel. How frequent a thing it is to meet with a pack, in high estimation too, which, when viewed as a body, appear to have been purposely selected from every kennel in the universe, although, if each individual is drawn out separately, no particular fault can be discovered in him. The main points in their symmetry, when examined by themselves, may be all strikingly good; but when a few couples are mixed together, their style, countenances, and general character vary so exceedingly, that they are immediately obvious to anyone who is a close observer of such matters. Appearances are certainly much more considered than they used to be in former days, and in many instances, I fear, before other qualifications of greater consequence; still, in the days of Somerville, equality and similarity in size were looked upon as essentially necessary in the selection of a pack, which is beautifully expressed in the following lines:

"As some brave captain, curious and exact,
By his fixed standard forms in equal ranks
His gay battalion; as one man they move
Step after step, their size the same; their arms,
Far gleaming, dart the same united blaze;
Reviewing generals his merits own;
How regular! how just! and all his cares
Are well repaid, if mighty George approve :
So model thou thy pack, if honour touch

Thy generous soul, and the world's just applause.
But, above all, take heed, nor mix thy hounds
Of different kinds : discordant sounds shall grate
Thy ears offended, and a lagging line

Of babbling curs disgrace thy broken pack."

Before we conclude our remarks upon hounds, we would lay before our readers an excellent piece of advice given by that popular master of hounds, and joyous companion John Ward. "Breed your hounds with bone and nose: without one they will tire; without the other, become slack."

One word upon earth-stopping, without which no sport can be had.