was that of Bunker's Hill, in the year 1775, of which we quote the following account :— "One of the earliest, if not one of the most important actions during the long War of Independence,' was the celebrated battle of Bunker's Hill, fought on the 17th of June, 1775, and which the Americans, to this day, still refer to with pride. The Peninsula of Boston had been occupied by three distinguished generals, Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne, with twelve thousand British troops, and a formidable fleet, for more than twenty-five days; and although Bunker's Hill was constantly staring them in the face, yet they had done nothing to secure this important military position. On the evening previous to the battle, strange to say, a strong body of Americans, or Yankees,' as they were then called, passed over Charlestown Neck, and reached the summit of Bunker's Hill, unobserved by the British. Early in the morning, the British army in Boston, to their amazement, saw the formidable heights covered with works, which seemed to have risen by magic; and with troops who were opening fire on Boston Neck and the shipping. The British returned the fire from their ships in the harbour, but with so little result, that General Howe determined on crossing over to Charlestown with three thousand infantry, to storm the enemy's works. Forming his troops into two columns, he bravely led them up the steep and rough hill, under a broiling sun, and up to their knees in grass, to the assault. The Americans, who had no artillery, and but little ammunition to waste, secure behind their entrenchments, waited with a solemn but ominous silence until the British troops were almost up to the muzzles of their guns, when they opened a destructive fire all along their breastworks, and, as soon as the men in front had fired their pieces, they were supplied with others ready loaded by men in the rear. effect was so terrible that whole ranks of the British were shot down, and those who were not killed or wounded fled down the side of the hill; and for a few seconds General Howe was standing almost alone. But the courage of the gallant officer was equal to the emergency, and, rallying his troops, he advanced a second time, but with a similar repulse. At this critical moment, General Clinton, who had been watching the progress of the battle from the heights of Boston, arrived with reinforcements, and again rallying the troops, they reascended the hill, and charged the Americans and their works with fixed bayonets, who, having no bayonets themselves, and their ammunition having been expended, sullenly fell back and fought with the butt ends of their muskets. But all was soon over--an English hurrah!' resounded from the summit of the hill, and in a few seconds more the Americans were running for their lives down the side of the hill, towards the blazing ruins of Charlestown, and had they been pursued, few of them would have returned to tell of their defeat. The "In this memorable engagement the British lost one thousand men in killed and wounded, and the Americans, from four to five hundred. In commemoration of this battle a granite obelisk 220 feet high, has been erected on Bunker's Hill by the Americans, and it is shown to travellers visiting that country, as one of the sights' of historic interest. [Ralph Farnham, who was present at the battle, and who reached the age of 104 years, was introduced to the Prince of Wales when on his tour in America.]" и н 2 During the present month amongst the various agricultural operations we may mention the following, viz., the weeding of hemp, flax, and corn if not already done; clover for seed or hay should not be eaten after the 1st of the month; the first crop of forward clover, if in flower, as well as rye-grass, may be mown; turf should be cut and winter firing prepared in those localities where peat is used; attention should be paid to bees; quicksets should be weeded; land should be burned for turnips, rape, and cole-seed, about the beginning or middle of the month; if it be likely to rain, turnips should be sown about the 24th, and rolled at night to protect them; buckwheat, peas, or vetches should be ploughed in about the same time; towards the end of the month the business of haymaking begins. Rank flax if lodged should be turned rape and cole-seed stubbles should be ploughed and sown with turnips. : As we observed in last month's number of the Sporting Review, trout become lazy as the summer advances, and towards the latter end of July early morning and late in the evening will be found the most eligible times for obtaining sport; and night-fishing will secure the larger specimens for those who are content to sacrifice their sleep for their favourite recreation; which is thus described in a song by Mr. Stoddart, in connection with St. Mary's Loch: "Angling on a summer night, When the moon ray met the fairy, Music floated, sad and holy, Every wild flower lent its tone, From the bank on Meggat stream, Glances through a tuft of rushes, For the crystal pool lay calmer Was it but a fancied fin, O'er the glassy water gliding, As I dropt the feather in, Like an insect, half confiding, By a huge and gleaming trout ? Quick as thought the line unwound But a gentle effort leading, Proudly gazed I to the lake, And the moon shafts, slant and slender, Like an armoury of splendour; Proudly gazed I to the mountain Voices floated far and wide, From the breeze, the flower, the fountain, Blessing me on every side!" St. Mary's Loch, alluded to in the foregoing, is intimately connected with the highest Scottish genius in the persons of the late lamented Professor Wilson (well known under the nom de plume of Christopher North), Hogg the Ettrick Shepherd, and their kindred spirits. Midway between the Loch of the Lowes and St. Mary's Loch, stands the monument of the Ettrick Shepherd, on a spot similar to that indicated by the professor in his Noctes Ambrosiana in 1824:-"My beloved Shepherd, some half-century hence your effigy will be seen on some bonny green knowe in the forest, with its honest freestone face looking across St. Mary's, and up towards the Grey Mare's Tail; while by moonlight all your own fairies will weave a dance round its pedestal.' The monument, a colossal statue 8ft. in height, on a square pedestal 9 ft. high, both composed of sandstone, represents the poet in a sitting posture on one of the relics of the forest-an oak root-over which fall two blades of bracken, while an ivy stem twines round the base. The poet has his plaid around him; his right hand grasps a stout walking-stick, and in his left hand is a scroll on which is the last line of the "Queen's Wake " "He taught the wand'ring winds to sing." The summit of the pedestal is surrounded with acorns and oak leaves; and from each corner a ram's head is seen projecting. On the front of the pedestal, facing the south-east, is the inscription "JAMES HOGG, THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD, Above the inscription a harp is represented, surmounted by a female head wearing a crown, and a wreath of leaves and flowers. On the front, east, and west panels are inscriptions taken from the "Queen's Wake." On the front panel are the lines "Oft had he viewed, as morning rose, The bosom of the lonely Lowes; Oft thrilled his heart at close of even To see the dappled vales of heaven, On the east panel— "At evening fall, in lonesome dale, He kept strange converse with the gale; On the west panel— "Instead of arms or golden crest, His harp with mimic flowers was drest; The statue, which was inaugurated on the 28th June, 1860, is sup posed to be a characteristic likeness of the poet. On the opposite side of the river Yarrow stands the celebrated hostelry of Tibbie Shields, on a flat piece of ground between the Loch of the Lowes and St. Mary's Loch, and immediately opposite the monument of the Ettrick Shepherd; and this house of entertainment has claims not only on the angler fishing the neighbouring waters, but also on the general tourist, who in this humble inn beholds one of the haunts of genius-of men of deep research and poetic fire, and those who delighted to study Nature in all her loveliness and exuberance of pathetic repose-and of those who, like the much-lamented and brilliant Professor Wilson (whose mortal remains have long since done honour to the old shrine of St. Duthus, at Tain, in Ross-shire), have delighted in "the gentle art, " and so have added to the excitement and exhilaration of the capture of their spotted and spangled trophies the pleasures derived from scenes surrounding the lochs and streams of " the land of the mountain and the flood." We extract the following playful description of the celebrated hostelry of Tibbie Shields from the Noctes Ambrosianæ, in which the house is compared by the Shepherd, the late North, and Tickler to a wren's nest, an anthill, and a beehive respectively. The following comparison of the inn to a wren's nest is put into the mouth of the Shepherd "A wren's nest's round and theekit wi' moss-sae is Tibbie's; a wren's nest has a wee bit canny hole in the side o't for the birdies to hap in and out o', aiblins wi' a hangin' leaf to hide and fend by way o' door-and sae has Tibbie's; a wren's nest's aye dry on the inside, though drappin' on the out wi' dew or rain-and sae is Tibbie's; a wren's nest's for ordinar biggit in a retired spat, yet within hearin' o' the hum o' men, as weel's o' water, be it linn or lake-and sac is Tibbie's; a wren's nest's no easy fund, yet when you happen to keek on't you wunner hoo ye never saw the happie housie afore-and sae is't wi' Tibbie's. Therefore, sirs, for sic reasons, and a thousand mair, I observed, 'A cosy bield this o' Tibbie's-just like a bit wren's nest.' * "A wren's nest grows cauld in ae single season, and then's seen stickin' cauld and disconsolate in amang the thorns o' the leafless hedge, or to the side o' the mouth o' some solitary cave or cell amang the dreepin' rocks; and where the twa pawrent birds and the weel feathered family (perhaps half-a-score or à dizzen) ha'e flown till, wha kens?-No me-lookin' about and seein' nae wing, listenin' and hearin' nae note in the wilderness: a' mute and motionless in frost and snaw, as if a' singers and chirpers were dead! But, thank God! it's nae sae in Tibbie's; for in the dead o' winter I've seen't lookin, mair gladsomer if possible than in the life o' spring; and though ane o' the auld birds be nae mair (yet that happened lang syne), here are the maist feck o' the young anes (the ithers ha'e yemigrated to America) cantier and cantier ilka year. Whisht!-has'na the cretur a linty-like vice? That's Dolly, as she's cleanin' the dishes-no forgettin' that she's within ma hearin'-singin' ane o' the auld Shepherd's sangs." Those having a keen relish for retirement in their piscatorial rambles will derive much pleasure from a visit during summer to the "lone St. Mary's" Loch, which has been so beautifully described by Sir "When musing on companions gone, It soothes the love of lonely rest, * * * * Oft in my mind such thoughts awake, Thou know'st it well-nor fen nor sedge Marks where the water meets the land. Bears 'thwart the lake the scattered pine; And aids the feeling of the hour. Nor thicket, dell, nor copse you spy, Where living things conceal'd might lie; Nor point retiring hides a dell, Where swain or woodsman lone might dwell You see that all is loneliness; And silence aids-though the steep hills Send to the lake a thousand rills. In summer-tide so soft they weep, The sound but lulls the ear asleep. Your horse's hoof-tread sounds too rude, So stilly is the solitude." St. Mary's Loch is situated nine or ten miles from Innerleithen, which about forty-six years ago was one of the smallest and most primitive hamlets in this pastoral district; but has now, in consequence of its mineral spring, which first attracted notice at the beginning of the present century, become a favourite watering-place, much resorted to in summer and autumn by residents in Edinburgh. The Yarrow and the Meggat are both celebrated fishing streams, and in St. Mary's Loch trout rise well in spring, when a large dark fly is recommended. The Tweed is also at hand, together with its numerous tributariesthe Manor Water, the Eddleston at Peebles, the Quair at Traquair, the Leithen at Innerleithen, besides many smaller feeders. All these waters, especially the Manor, abound with small trout; but it is not till some miles below Innerleithen, at a place called Ashiestiel, that the Tweed itself is esteemed much as a salmon river. Above this point, very few clean run fish ascend, and those that we have seen killed with the rod some miles higher than Peebles were in the worst possible condition-pale-fleshed, soft, and almost flavourless. A fly recommended by Mr. Stoddart for St. Mary's Loch is dressed as follows: Wings, light mottled feather from breast of mallard; body and legs, black hackle over black silk or mohair; orange tip; silver twist. Concluding for the present our remarks on fresh-water angling in |