pike that had been caught the last season: it was in a. Scottish river that this feat had been performed. There was something very striking in his vivid narration, especially in his account of the adroit way in which he succeeded in getting to land a fish of so extraordinary a size. "I took advantage of his distress," said he, in one part of his description; "I allowed him no respite," he said, in another; and "I drove him to extremity," added he, in a third; at which moment I looked at him, and exclaimed, 'What a Turk! though, perhaps, I am libelling a Turk by my exclamation.” 66 On being requested by him to explain the cause of my exclamation, I told him that it appeared to me a very natural one, when I heard a fisherman who had too much humanity to hook a worm declare, that he had hooked a huge fish in his watery haunts, taken advantage of his distress,—allowed him no respite, and mercilessly driven him to extremity. He admitted that my ejaculation was warranted; that I had caught him with his own line, and fairly trammelled him in the meshes of his own net. He bore my observations with all the meekness of a second Izaak Walton, and we parted, after a pleasant ride and a discussion by no means disagreeable, with mutual regret. It may at first appear singular that the same person who could not hook a worm, should without remorse or difficulty hook a large fish; but a little consideration will convince us that most humane people, in many things, act quite as inconsistently, eating of turtles that have performed a painful voyage nailed in agony to the deck of a ship, banquetting on turkeys which have shed their blood drop by drop only, and revelling on cripped salmon, roasted oysters, or eels fried alive. It will be well if we can avoid both inhumanity and inconsistency; but certain it is that we are much more expert in discerning these errors in others, than in discovering them in ourselves. Here and there are places in the country where archery is feebly kept up. Mrs. Loudon, in her "Lady's Country Companion," has given on this subject, as well as on hunting, some very useful explanations, of which, as well as my memory enables me, I mean to take advantage. The ground where archery is practised is called the Butt ground, and the framework set up to shoot at, the target, or butt. The gilt spot in the middle of the rings on the target is the bull's eye. Much as the English yew bow has been spoken of, foreign yew is a better and more elastic wood for a bow, than the yew of this country. Little yew, however, either British or foreign, is now used in archery. Bows now in use are of two kinds the self bow, made of one kind of wood; and the backed bow, formed of fustick, partridge, lance, or some other ornamental wood, with a back carefully joined to it, of ash or elm. Italian hemp, dressed with Indian glue or gum, forms the most serviceable bowstrings. The strength of a bow is called its weight. The common standard weight of a man's bow-that is the weight which, if suspended to the string of the bow when strung, will draw it the length of an arrow from the bow, is fifty pounds, but many bows are much stronger. come the birch, the horn The arrows consist of three parts, the head or pile, the shaft or stele, and the feather. The wood most in repute for arrows is the ash, and after this beam, the aspen, and the lime. The arrow case, sometimes carried on the back, is a quiver, and twenty-four arrows are called a sheaf. The strong piece of polished leather buckled round the bow arm of an archer, to protect it from the action of the string, is called the bracer. The finger-stalls of strong and flexible leather worn by the archer over his gloves, and fastened round his wrist, is called a shooting glove. The band buckled round the waist, with an arrow pouch on the right side, is the belt, and the dangling ornament, on the left side, with which the heads of the soiled arrows are wiped, is the tassel. An archery ground with well-equipped archers of both sexes in their imposing attire exhibits a striking and agreeable scene. Such a scene have I now in my fancy, and my hospitable host is the leader of the woodland revel. Here he comes, like a yeoman of old from the wood, As gallant in bearing as bold Robin Hood, And gathers his archers around him; they stand More fair than their plumes with the zephyr that rise, And their arrows less keen than the glance of their eyes. There are but few people in the country who are not fond of hunting, coursing, and shooting; and to know where the birds lie, the hare squats, and the fox is likely to be found, is valuable information. The wood or coppice where Reynard usually resides is called a cover, and trying with dogs to start him from his retreat is drawing the cover. If the fox has started, they say he is unkennelled. The scent left by the fox, which enables the dogs to follow him when he is far out of sight, is called the drag. When a sportsman speaks of a fox, he calls his feet the pad and his tail the brush. When a hare is found, she is said to be started from her form; and if she turns back again it is said she doubles. The tail of a hare is called the scut, and that of hunting dogs, the stern. The dogs used in fox-hunting are harriers, and those that hunt hares are beagles, a lesser kind of harrier. Greyhounds are used in coursing. In the language of sportsmen, when harriers are spoken of, two dogs are called a couple, and three, a couple and a half; but when greyhounds are the subject of discourse, two are called a brace, and three, a leash. The beagles used in hare hunting, taken together, are usually called a pack, while the harriers that follow the fox are frequently called a kennel. A day's hunting is called a day's sport, and a long chase is a hard run. The cry given by the dogs when they find or scent their game is giving tongue; and when the whole pack join in it, and go off, they are said to be in full cry. If the dogs go off very fast at the beginning of the chase, it is a sharp burst; and when the scent is lost it is a check, or the dogs are said to be at fault. Among the quieter recreations of the country are boating, skating, botanising, gardening, and walking, each of which is productive of great enjoyment. But pleasure, either in country or city, cannot be lasting without being mingled with duty. He who lives for himself alone, is altogether unworthy of his enjoyments. So long as there is ignorance to be instructed, inexperience to be guided, misfortune to be commiserated, merit to be rewarded, and distress to be relieved, so long ought the active duties of life to be diligently performed, and its charities to be cheerfully administered. There is enough in every rural district of England to call forth the tender sympathies and employ the best energies of kindness, patriotism, and Christian philanthropy. Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble." 66 CHAPTER XXII. CHARACTERS TO BE MET WITH IN THE COUNTRY. Travellers.-Men of science.-Painters.-Literary characters.-Military and naval officers.-Influence of a visit at a hospitable farm house.— The Major and the hawk.-The exciseman, clerk, lawyer, doctor and village pastor. HARDLY can I remember having been in the country without meeting with characters of a striking kind. Some traveller of celebrity, or some scientific professor, has visited the place; some painter of eminence, some lion of literature, has happened to be roaming abroad; or some distinguished officer, in the army or navy, has been rusticating in the neighbourhood. Again and again have I been located with captains, majors, and colonels, and once for some weeks, if not for months, a general companionised with me in roaming the fields and in wandering the woods. This sprinkling of striking characters in rural life has a spiriting influence; for men, whose talents or qualities have rendered them conspicuous in general society, appear to great advantage in the country, where they stand out in bold relief, without the rivalship of any that approach them in the scale of their endowments and attainments. Man is essentially a social being, and to whatever grade of society he may belong, he cannot enjoy the country without some kind of familiarity with those around him. To this |