me of poor Brummell, who, when the Prince Regent taxed him with being his senior, said with a bow, "I should not have presumed to have come into the world before your Royal Highness!" On arriving at the trysting place, it was found that the above-mentioned izard was all that had been bagged; although the rival party talked a good deal about the deliberate aims they had taken, and assured us that one, if not two, of the herd had been wounded by the discharge of their artillery. We subsequently saw several izards, but all were out of shot. The Monte Perdido is the highest mountain in Spain; the summit, from which a magnificent view of the Spanish Pyrenees is obtained, being upwards of 11,000 feet above the sea. On our descent towards Torla, we passed through part of the dense forest in which the bouquetin is still found; but, as I before observed, I was not fortunate enough to meet with any. We, however, very unexpectedly came in at the death of a bear, which a large party of amateurs had been hunting; and we assisted in bringing home the carcass, and two cubs that were captured alive. Bears are not uncommon in many parts of the Pyrenees, and afford excellent sport. Wolves are seldom seen, although I was informed that in the winter they are known to come down into the valleys, and carry off a lamb, and sometimes even a child. The wild boar is also to be met with in many parts of Spain.

I recommend a sportsman in the Pyrenees to take from England some gunpowder, a double-barrelled rifle, and a spring clasp knife, sufficiently large to serve as a weapon of defence, if necessary, and at the same time not so large as to excite suspicion, or too cumbersome to be used as a dinner knife out of doors, and at small Ventas, in which knives are seldom to be procured.* Let the pedestrian also, by all means, have a real Tartan plaid, which will often serve the purpose of an extra blanket at night, and is the best protection against a cold damp fog, and an occasional snow storm in the day time, and is not much inconvenience to carry, even in the hottest days. A little English tea is a very great luxury, and does not take up much space. Clothing should be as light as possible, but chiefly made of wool: a very light Tweed is the best material for shooting-jacket, waistcoat, and trousers. Very good lamb's wool socks may be procured at Bagnères and at Luz, but they are dearer than in England.

I think I have now shown that an energetic sportsman may pass a few days very agreeably on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. He will have to rough it, no doubt; but in my opinion that will only make him enjoy home and all its comfort so much the more, when he gets back again to dear old England, which, after all, with all her faults, is the finest country in the world. Should what I have here endeavoured to relate induce any one to visit these wild regions, I can only say to him, in the language of the natives, Vaya V. con Dios, que V. lo pase bien! A DEVONIAN.

Athenæum Club, Nov., 1849.

*This knife may be used as a bayonet or spear, by having a couple of iron loops at the end of your alpen-stock, to slip the handle into, and forms a good defence against the dogs, which are sometimes very savage. I was attacked by one once, and but for my iron-pointed alpen-stock, which I thrust about six inches down his throat, might have come off badly.

THE NEASDON HARRIERS.

FAVOURITE HOUNDS FROM-THE PROPERTY OF HENRY HALL, Esq. ENGRAVED BY E. HACKER, FROM A PAINTING BY M. BARRaud.

There are two very different ways of keeping harriers. With one man it is rough-and-ready, second-hand sort of work, while another will turn his pack out with as much care and attention to the style of the thing as Sir Richard might the Quorn, or Mr. Davis the Queen's.

Of the rough-and-ready fashion there is little to be said in approval : it either arises from a lack of spirit or means, or, more likely still, from a kind of convenient carelessness that stays "the worthy owner" from taking any trouble about them. You generally find hounds kept in this manner" far remote from cities," and, if you are not in the secret of their whereabouts, "meet" them more often by chance than from any particular invitation the local paper may have held out to you, as they rarely challenge public attention by advertising. The mighty Beckford declared that if he kept harriers it would be to get an appetite for dinner with the rough-and-ready more often look as if their object was a dinner and nothing further, so poacher-like and rat-catchery, at least in appearance, do they strike you. We have at this moment a turn-out of the kind forcibly in our recollection-a few, a very few, dull-coated but still clever well-shaped hounds, accompanied by a factotum of a servant who tells too plainly in his very look, without a word being needed to help out his story, how these hounds are kept. Fancy a huntsman, whipper-in, feeder, and so on" three single gentlemen rolled into one," in a ragged catskin cap, a dirty chequed shirt, with a red cotton sailor-tied neckcloth, and a still more dingy fustian jacket, helped out by a pair of baggy carriage-cleaning overalls, and heavy-nailed highlows. His horse can scarcely require a word of the descriptive after once getting a glimpse of the man on him; for may it not be too readily imagined how melancholy he hangs on hand, how long he is in the coat, and how fit he seems for anything but the duty he is out on?

The huntsman, manager, and "sole proprietor," as they say of the newspapers, is a reverend gentleman who may come and who may not: if he does, it will be most likely on a grey buggy horse and in a pair of by no means artistically cut drab breeches, with gaiters to match if he don't--and it is always about even betting whether his Justice of Peace, farming, and divers other occupations will allow it-Scrub will set to work to hunt them; that is to say, he will just have sense enough to know where to look for a hare, and then, in a state of happy imbecility, in which he will be well supported by his horse, leave all the rest to the hounds and that propitious fate which made him a huntsman, gardener, coachman, flunkey, farm bailiff, and magistrate's clerk.

That is the rough-and-ready. We don't mean to say but what they may show sport, and you may have a run after all, but the fashion in which the entertainment is laid out takes away more than half the enjoyment; for, however straight they may go, or however well they

may pack, a properly equipped sportsman on a good horse, in good condition, must be more than half ashamed to be seen with them: he feels the want of the fustian jacket and shambling hack to put him in proper keeping with the scene.

And now let us make another cast- -a little nearer home this timeand see if we cannot find quite as fair an example of a better sort. Yoi doit! MARKSMAN, old man! rem acu tetigisti. You have hit it off just where we wanted it, as with BONNY-BELL and BOASTER they feather on the line over the grass grounds of Willesden.

Without any flourish, or mere writing up to, we think we may very justly instance the pack of harriers from which our portraits are taken as being kept in a style in every way worthy of a sportsman; Mr. Hall, indeed the gentleman to whom they belong-has a strong claim to that character Nimrod gave one of his great men as a sportsman, namely, that of "doing everything well." Whether showing amongst the first flight with the Pytchley, at whose fixtures he is a very regular attendant, or merely in company with a few friends, handling the harriers over the inclosures in the home or Harrow country, Mr. Hall we are told appears to equal advantage. As a fine and determined horseman, with a stud quite up to the place he takes, his ability is well known and acknowledged in Northamptonshire, while his success as huntsman to his own harriers gives a stamp and finish to his fame as a sportsman that the "crack rider" alone could never accomplish.

For the information of that greater portion of our friends who may not be acquainted with the metropolitan districts, we may state that the Neasdon harriers take their title after their owner's house, and that their country comprises the grass lands of Willesden, Kingsbury, Whembly, and Harrow. The hounds, as we think they show very distinctly, are a cross between the foxhound and beagle, the pack averaging in height about seventeen inches. In appearance they are remarkably even, clean, and clever-looking; while, at work they have the character of being very stout as well as fast, with the further recommendation of being exceedingly "handy" when taken up, as quick, steady, and persevering when left to themselves.

Mr. Beckford, as has been already mentioned, would have had his harriers out to get an appetite for dinner; those who would join the Neasdon on any such terms must read it an appetite for breakfast. One of their favourite meets is Whembly Park-many thanks, by the way, to the generally respected and reverend owner, Mr. Gray, as a staunch preserver of hares-and a man, especially a sportsman, might travel further and see many a less interesting sight than is often afforded here at early dawn; the gay, merry-looking little pack showing as bright and as fit as good condition and proper attention can make them, with the master as huntsman duly accoutred in the green frock and black velvet cap, and mounted perhaps on old "Carlow" or "The Crab," names renowned in steeple-chase chronology, but even with all their honours not too good for the harrier huntsman's use. Ready to turn them again, we have Robert as fittingly attired and horsed, on "Silvertail" or "The Doctress," who used of yore to take the Doctor himself so straight with Selby Lowndes' flying ladies.

If, having gone so far, the Messrs. Barraud should be inclined to paint the Whembly Park meet on our recommendation, we must cau