stretch of land,' said one of the officers of the hunt, approaching the king. "How is it? What is all this?' inquired the king, looking at the barrier of pointed stakes, evidently newly placed. "Sire, it is truly a provoking hindrance to our sport,' exclaimed the officer of the hunt, much chafed. "But what is the meaning of it?' asked the king. "The proprietor of these miserable acres, your majesty, obstinately refuses to let the king's hunt pass.' "Indeed! Is that the case? How unkind of the proprietor! But, in short, he has the right to do it.' "That may be very true, sire; but there fell within the enclosure a pheasant shot by your majesty's own hand.' "Well, you must leave it there,' said the king. "Sire, I leaped the enclosure and brought it away. Here it is,' and the officer of the hunt drew a fine pheasant from his pocket. "You were very wrong to do so,' the king said with some heat; 'put it back instantly; throw it over the barrier.' Then turning to those who stood around him, ' How is it, messieurs, that this proprietor has become our personal enemy?' he asked. 'Why thus interrupt us in a sport of which we are so passionately fond?' I am disposed to think, sire,' the keeper of the forests replied, that, if the truth were known, this is only a manœuvre of the proprietor to induce your majesty to purchase this piece of land which is so close to your shooting grounds. But I hope your majesty "The king smiled, and interrupted him, 'You do not want me to gratify him, I see. Well, I shall make no rash resolve. But depend upon it, if I buy it, it shall be at my own price.' "The king now, with some of his suite, repaired to the guard-house, which you have observed not far from Fromainville in the shooting ground under the wood of Garenne. Thither the two wings approached, like the pincers of a crab, and thus finished a day of sport, which Charles X. ever after declared was the best day's amusement he had had in his life.' The game was counted before the king and his train left the guard-house, and, without reckoning a dozen of woodcocks and a number of snipes and sea-larks-the pretext for the shooting-four hundred head of game had been shot in this chase." We thanked Lavalette, who in truth, liked nothing so well as relating his sporting experiences. And he, as soon as we had made an end of complimenting him, rallied Crauford upon his stories of sport in Scot land, which elicited some curious details of the immense quantity of game sometimes killed in a day's shooting on the Scottish moors. We spent an hour or two more on this spot under the shade. All was so calm! The river beneath us reflected on its clear bosom "The quivering reed, the ascending grove, the rocks We watched the sand-martin come from its hole on the verge of the water, and, darting upwards, with rapid and graceful motion, pursue the ephemeral flies which played around the tops of the trees. The sight of these birds-for we perceived many of them as we sat upon the bank-produced a conversation upon their habits and instincts, and led to my relating an anecdote of the hirundo urbica, or town-martin, so called from its predilection for building its nest in towns or villageswhich I had read not long before. Virgil remarked this preference "Ante Garrula quam tignis nidos suspendat hirundo." The anecdote was as follows After "A pair of these birds had just finished their nest, when it was taken possession of by a sparrow, which being firmly intrenched bid defiance to the united force of the two martins to dislodge her. various unsuccessful attempts they flew away, and the spectators imagined that they had given up the possession, but in a short time they returned, accompanied with the whole phalanx of their companions in the village; but even this strong body was unable to force the citadel, for the sparrow being covered, and presenting her strong bill to the assailants, every effort to dislodge her proved ineffectual. The scene now became highly interesting, when, after numberless efforts and trials of skill on the part of the martins, they all, as if by general orders, flew away. The spectators thought that they were completely foiled; but in a short time they returned, and in an instant closed the sparrow up with clay, which they brought in their bills, and left her to perish.' The anecdote pleased my listeners, and still we sat and watched the sand-martins pluming their swift wings. The river flowed on darkly beneath the leafage, interspersed with its islets. The sun was setting when we reached the coppice-wood, and turned our steps homeward. The bells of a distant convent gave forth its touching sounds, rendered more sweet by being wafted across the water. As we passed along through the gathering twilight, I thought-" These forests and coppicewoods, with their deep coverts and tangled thicket, must have often been the resort of poachers and deer-stealers, in spite of the watch which the foresters keep." I turned to Lavalette and said "Our Sherwood Forest has the names of Robin Hood and Little John attached to it for ever. Have you got any such reminiscences of celebrated deer-stealers or poachers linked with these scenes?" "No doubt there are," replied Lavalette, "but I do not call them to mind just at present. There was Barbier, of the village of L'Etang, a noted poacher and a clever one: perhaps he might have extended his depredations to these forests. Barbier had an organised troop under him, who always designated him as the Count de Girardin, captain of the king's hunt; and gave to Farro, one of Barbier's lieutenants, the title of Count de Saint-Projet, keeper of the forests. But this Barbier, clever as he was, and he often outwitted the king's foresters, was not half so accomplished a poacher as was Simon Larcher, whose name is in truth as famous as your Robin Hood, although I do not think that there are so many merry tales told of him. His principal scene of action was the forest of Marly." "HERE'S SPORT INDEED!" SHAKSPEARE BY LORD WILLIAM LENNOX. CHAP. LXI. According to a Frenchman's notion of England, the principal occupation of our countrymen during the gloomy month of November is to commit suicide; and yet we will take upon ourselves to say that there are quite as many acts of self-destruction committed in La Belle France as in our foggy island during the above period. Occa sionally we admit that the inhabitants of the Metropolis are for fourand-twenty hours enveloped in a dense vapour; but in the country the weather is seasonable, and admirably adapted to field sports; for it seldom happens that hunting is stopped, eleven or twelve nights of frost being about the average. Before, however, we enter into the outdoor amusements of November, let us briefly refer to the events that are associated with it, and which render it a most important epoch in our history. Among the remarkable days may be mentioned the first, "All Saints"- -a festival instituted by Boniface IV., when he was permitted by the Emperor Phoras to convert the Pantheon at Rome into a Christian church; and upon the anniversary of which many curious customs are still practised in various parts of Great Britain. From the first pass we on to the fifth, famed for the Gunpowder Plot-a day which was kept to commemorate the diabolical attempt of the papists to blow up the Parliament House, but which is now stripped of its former ceremonies, and is confined to a few ragged urchins levying contributions on "fanatical beholders," as they parade the streets with effigies of the Pope and his cardinals. The anniversary of the Revolution of 1688, when the throne of Eng land became vested in the House of Orange, is kept on the fourth, although William landed on the fifth of November. The event is thus related by the historian Burnet: "The fleet left Holland on the first of November, and on the third he passed between Dover and Calais, and before night saw the Isle of Wight. The next day-the fourth-being the day on which the Prince was both born and married, he fancied if he could land that day it would look auspicious to the army, and animate the soldiers; but others, who considered the day following was Gunpowder Treason Day, thought our landing that day might have a good effect on the English nation; and Divine Providence so ordered it that, after all hope of our landing at Torbay was given up, and Russel bid me go to my prayers, for all was lost, the wind suddenly shifted, and carried us into the desired haven. Here the Prince, Marshal Schomberg, and the foot soldiers landed on November the fifth. I never found a disposition to superstition in my temper, yet I must confess this strange ordering of the winds and seasons just to change as our affairs required it could not but make deep impressions on me." The thirtieth is the anniversary of St. An drew, the tulelar Saint of Scotland, and on this day (1010) Edmund Ironsides was executed at Oxford. Other remarkable events in Blot Monath (as November was called by the Saxons) include the birth of Dean Swift, 1667, and of Voltaire, 1694; the death of Charles XII., who was killed at Frederickshall, 1718; the birth of Prince Charles Edward, called the Young Pretender, 1720; the marriage of Peter the Great to his Prime Minister's daughter, 1729; the execution of John Rann, called Sixteen String Jack, at Tyburn, 1774; the duel of Charles James Fox and Mr. Adams, 1799, when the former was slightly wounded; a frost which commenced in 1778, and continued until January; the evacuation of St. Domingo by the French forces to the British fleet in 1803. November, too, has been replete with events connected with the history of our native land, for on the 10th, 1483, Martin Luther, the great apostle of the Reformation, was born at Eisleben, in Lower Saxony; on the 8th, 1674, John Milton, the author of Paradise Lost, died; and on the 28th, 1530, the ambitious Cardinal Wolsey was gathered to his ancestors. On the 24th, 1857, we had to mourn the demise of Havelock. On the 26th our Continental neighbours lost a great warrior in Marshal Soult. The glorious battle of Inkermann on the 5th, in 1854, and the relief of Lucknow on the 17th, 1857, are events to be recorded as having reflected the greatest honour on the daring exploits of our brave soldiers on the rugged steppes of the Crimea, and on the burning plains of the East. Another name occurs to us, which is engraved on the hearts of all true-born EnglishmenThe Prince of Wales was born in November. Return we now to the sports of the month: "When racing is o'er, and the grand stand's shut up, And hushed are the struggles for Leger and Cup; When the jock quits the scales, and the trainer his grounds- Then here's to the fox! May his drag ne'er be crossed: Before, however, we refer to the chase, let us dwell for a short time. upon the exploits of the turf in bygone days; and in order to lay before our readers the system that was adopted during the last century, and at the commencement of the present, we have selected some of the most extraordinary races upon record; and in looking them over it will be seen that their principal characteristics were length of course, heavy weights, and numerous heats. In the days we live in, the latter is nearly abolished; there are few races of more than three miles, and the weights, except for welter stakes (gentlemen riders), seldom exceed 10 stone. How it could have paid a plater in the days of Queen Anne to run sixteen miles for £40, carrying 11st., we know not; for the wear and tear of the animal, added to the expense of travelling, training, paying the jockey, and winning-money, must have left what is usually termed a Flemish account, id est a balance on the wrong side. But proceed we with a card and a sheet-list of some wonderful races in the olden time. 1709, York, on Clifton and Rawcliffe Ings A Gold Cup, value £50, for six years old horses, 12st. each; four-mile heats: ..... 1 1 3 221 332 4 dis. period, the horse which won According to the rules of racing at this the first and second heats was obliged to start for a third and to save his distance to entitle him to the prize. 1711, York: Sir W. Stricklands gr. h. Castaway won a plate of £20, four-mile heats, beating a large field of horses. In 1714— 3 3 11 1 2 3 2 A Plate of £40, for aged horses, 11st. each; four-mile heats: ..... ..... 2 1 2 3 The above race was run on Friday, July 30th, and during the running on the following Monday an express arrived, with the news of Queen Anne's death. 1717, York: In a plate of £40, four-mile heats, for which four started, high odds were laid on Mr. Howard's Crutches. When leading near the distance post, the rider of the favourite, Thomas Duck, intentionally threw himself off. Notwithstanding this, the horse came in first, but was deemed distanced for not bringing in his weight. In 1718, at Newmarket, the Duke of Wharton's Chance, and Lord Hillsborough's gr. mare, 9st. each, four miles, 500 gs., ran a dead heat. In the following year at Newmarket there were five matches of six miles each, and one of eight. In 1720, at Newmar ket, there was one match of eight miles, six of six, and two of five. In one of the six-mile races Lord Drogheda's galloway beat Mr. Fagg's pony; owners on; 50 gs. In the same year and at the same place a match was made between the Duke of Wharton's Coneyskins, 11st. 10lbs., and Lord Hillsborough's Speedwell, 12-t, twelve-mile heats, 1,000 gs., h. ft. Fortunately for the animals the match was drawn. Mr. Frampton's Hobbler, 11st. 1lb., received forfeit from Lord Drogheda's Pickle Herring, 11st., eight miles, 200 gs., b. fl., and Lord Hillsborough's Winchester beat Lord Drogheda's Beelze bub, 8st. 3lbs., 8 miles, 200 gs. In the Newmarket October Meeting, 1721, Mr. Panton's Molly, 9st. 2lb., received forfeit from Lord Drogheda's Pickle Pitcher, 9st., four miles, 200 gs., h. ft. Mr. Panton's Molly, 9st. 3lbs., received forfeit from Lord Drogheda's Pickle Pitcher, 9st., four miles, 200 gs., h. ft. Mr. Panton's Molly, 9st. 5lbs., received forfeit from Lord Drogheda's Pickle Pitcher, 9st., four miles, 200 gs., h. ft. The second of the above three matches was to have been run forty-four minutes after the first, and the third at the same interval after the second. In 1722 the indomitable Molly won her owner, Mr. Panton, 300 gs., in a match against Mr. Morgan's Beau, 9st. each, six miles; and the Duke of Devonshire's Childers, 7 years old, beat Lord Drogheda's Chanter, 12 years old, 10st each, six miles, 1,000 gs. Mr. Cotton's Fox beat Lord Drogheda's Snip mare, six miles, 150 gs. His lordship seems to have had a bad time of it, for we find the following result of The Newmarket Town Plate of 20 gs.; 12st. each; 4-mile heats. ........ Mr. Morgan's Ruffler ... 22 11 1 1 2 dis. 3 dis. |