the field are conducted, I will read you an account of a day which I was permitted to copy from a lady's album, who, I must likewise tell you, honoured the field with her presence; and when I add that the gracious patronage of the fair sex is accorded with all becoming enthusiasm, you must admit that the excitement of the chase is immeasurably enhanced by their presence and participation in the sport.

"SOUTH DOWN FOXHOUNDS, Friday, December 2nd, 1853.-These hounds met at Poyning's Common, the morning being almost too bright and beauteous to promise sport. At an early hour, for Brighton, the town seemed gay and astir: hunters might be seen jogging along with natty pad-grooms, some leading promising nags, and all bending their course towards the covert side. At a later hour, troops of ladies, their eyes beaming with excitement, joined the happy throng. About two hundred horsemen were at the appointed place of meeting, and likewise many handsome equipages. The hounds were thrown into the covert, and made the fence crash with their eagerness. A prettier pack is rarely seen. Some large coverts were drawn without a challenge; but at half-past one they found in a covert north of Newtimber, and after some pressing, the fox broke away over the road for Perching, when there was some hardish work for the horses, with lots of falls and disasters, which continued to Truly Gorse, where the who-oop was heard. Without loss of time, they found again, and went away with a second fox towards Toddington Wood, up the Mount, nearly to Erring. ham, headed by Shoreham river, and ran the side hill by Toddington, Perching Hill, the Devil's Dyke to Saddlescombe, into the chalk pit, where he climbed up the precipice. The hounds were taken away, and he was dislodged, and after ten minutes' racing, was run into. A lady, on a fast, gentle, coal-black steed, of Mr. Patterson's, Burlington-street, Brighton, was courteously presented with the brush by the gallant Master."

If such an account as that will not induce a man to visit Brighton, I am really puzzled to conceive what attraction can be more powerful.

Tom Holegate. Yes, my dear fellow, it is all very delightful, but such a combination of happy events does not often occur; you cannot get more than two or three days' hunting in the week, and what can you do with yourself the remainder of the time?

Captain Bucknal. The hare-hunting on the downs is of the finest description, and the Brighton harriers are out three days in the weekyou may amuse yourself with them; and as for the pace they can go, it is quite extraordinary. It is true I have never been in Leicestershire; but from what I can understand, the runs are generally bursts of twenty minutes, with a fox whipped out of a gorse covert; it is a race, but there is no hunting in it, and a run with a good Sussex hare is quite as good. Before you can form an opinion, come and judge for yourself. The frost seems to be going: come with me for one week; you can get well mounted for that time by some of the livery-stable keepers, and I am not certain whether you will not next season change your quarters. Tom Holegate. You are mistaken about the runs in Leicestershire; we often have good hunting runs; for Sir Richard Sutton is a very superior sportsman, and he will have hounds which can hunt as well as In that respect, the Quorn country is vastly improved since the baronet has been in possession of it. However, I think I shall accept your invitation, and just run down for one week; so, as the weather appears to be breaking, the sooner we are off the better.

race.

With this they speedily prepared for their departure, and the result of Mr. Holegate's visit may form the subject of a future communication.

The following epistolary communications from a lady to a friend con

vey an idea of the sudden changes of weather which we experience at the present season :—

"MY DEAR EMILY,-We were so completely blocked up with snow at Christmas, that it was scarcely possible to go a mile from home, which must be our apology for not visiting you and your good husband during that social festival. The snow is now nearly gone, and we have had a beautiful day. It now freezes again sharply (8 P.M.), and we propose, after church to-morrow, walking over to your house to dine with you, as the roads will be in such nice order. My lord and master much disappointed at this return of frost, as he contemplated hunting on Monday. With our united kind love,

"Your affectionate

"Foxbank, Saturday, Jan. 14th, 1854."

"ELLEN."

"MY DEAR EMILY,-We are doomed to disappointment in our contemplated visit to you. Since I wrote to you last evening it has been raining most provokingly, and the roads are in consequence so horribly dirty, we must postpone the anticipated pleasure of dining with you to-day. "Yours affectionately,

"Foxbank, Sunday Morning."

"ELLEN."

Since this period the frost has gradually disappeared, and hounds have been busily engaged.

once

A long continuance of frost is a subject of considerable anxiety to those who have large and valuable studs. Independent of the difficulty which exists of giving horses work sufficient to keep them in condition, there is always danger to be apprehended from their becoming roarers. Nimrod was evidently awake to this disorder, and treated voluminously upon it, in his letters on condition; and as it is a malady which at the present period engrosses considerable public attention, a few remarks may not be unacceptable. With hunters, the great danger exists in the sudden transition from the warm atmosphere of an over-heated stable to the cold atmosphere which they have to encounter when taken out to exercise on a frosty morning. It would be presumption in me to intimate any suggestions for the cure of this disorder when thoroughly established, in which form I believe it to be incurable; but there are various modifications of the complaint, and if the predisposing causes are attacked on the first appearance of the slightest indications, I have no doubt that most cases may be successfully treated. In order to preserve the coats of horses in the finest condition during frosty weather, most grooms are anxious to keep their stables as warm as possible. This is a most mistaken practice, and exposes them to considerable danger. It is much more rational to allow the warmth of the stable to diminish moderately conformably in some degree with the external atmosphere, because the change will not be so great when the horses are taken out to exercise, and to obviate any objections to that custom, an extra rug should be put on each horse when in the stable. For many years I have used night-hoods for my own hunters, made to cover the head and ears, and to come about half way down the neck, and I can with confidence recommend them; for by keeping horses well clothed, the advantage of warmth which is absolutely required may be obtained without keeping the stable at a temperature which is prejudicial to inspiration. The very common practice of taking horses out to exercise at an early hour on a frosty morning is objectionable; it is more advisable to keep them in the stable till nine or ten o'clock, by which hour the keenness of the air is generally modified. I am not aware of the plan having been

adopted, but I believe it would be a preventive to roaring if horses were taken out with muzzles on, as they would act like respirators; of course I only suggest the idea when the weather is intensely cold. Many sportsmen avail themselves of the opportunity which a frost permits of giving their hunters physic: if there are any real causes for it, no doubt it is rational; but every year's experience convinces me that there is a vast deal more physic given than is conducive to condition. Others use alteratives, which are still more objectionable, by rendering the animals to which they are given so very susceptible to the influence of cold.

As it may be prudent to adopt some course to prevent phlethora, a moderate reduction of the corn, at the same time keeping the bowels slightly relaxed by bran mashes, is to be preferred to any kind of drugs. Some persons imagine by this mode of treatment their horses lose their condition-not so much so, I am convinced, as by giving physic or alteratives. Under such circumstances, some sacrifice must be submitted to, and it is better to encounter that which is the most harmless.

Conflicting opinions are expressed whether or not roaring is hereditary. Without attempting to dive into all the unfathomable mysteries of nature, experience teaches us that in some cases it is, to a certain extent and under certain circumstances. The veterinary profession have discovered that there are numerous causes which predispose to roaring, some of which are malformations of the respiratory organs. When such causes exist in the parents, we may naturally infer that they may transmit those deformities to their progeny; and although it may not be an invariable rule, caution prompts us to regard such animals with the greatest suspicion. Catarrhal affections are, however, the most frequent causes of roaring, especially when the first symptoms are neglected; and I think it is going rather too far, to state that if a sire or dam should be a roarer from that cause alone, the malady will be transmitted to the progeny.

As roaring arises from different causes; and as there are different degrees of the complaint, the prevention or cure must depend entirely whether the cause be a positive one, and whether the disorder has made such progress as to disorganize the functions of respiration. I remember, many years ago, a horse bred by Mr. Vevers, called Villager, by Bustard out of Lady Byron, which was purchased by Mr. Davis; and when in his possession he was a roarer, which complaint was produced, no doubt, from eatarrhal influences; and he was cured by the following treatment: The throat was blistered three or four successive days with mild liquid blister, when mercurial ointment was applied, until the glands were very slightly affected, by which time the scurf produced by the blister came off; the blister was then removed, and followed by the mercurial ointment as before, and to the best of my recollection, this course was repeated three times. The horse was cured; and afterwards won the Somersetshire Stakes, at Bath, and several other races. I had a filly which I bred, called Tutela, and at two years old she was attacked very severely with strangles; she gave unequivocal symptoms of roaring, and I treated her precisely in the same way that Villager had been treated, with the most satisfactory result. Had she been neglected, I have no hesitation in expressing an opinion that she would have become a confirmed roarer.

Under similar circumstances roaring may be considered curable; but it will always be subservient to the cause, and even then to a most important fact that of attacking the disorder in time. If a thickening of the mucous membrane which lines the windpipe, which is one cause of the disease, has become extensive, the cure will be very doubtful ; if another cause, ossification of the cartilages, has taken place, it must be impossible. Many horses are supposed to be roarers which are not so in reality. Those which are in a state of considerable plethora, or very fat, will sometimes make a noise; but when that superabundance is disposed of, the indications cease. Others, with weak necks which bend very much, and which, when constrained by the bridle, carry their heads near to their chests, will often, so long as they are held in that position, make a noise similar to roaring; but being allowed to move in a more natural way, are found to be perfectly free from the disorder. All these, and many other gradations, have led to the circulation of so many conflicting opinions. Without aspiring to the hopeless task of curing a confirmed roarer, the important point is to determine the most effectual means of preventing the disorder. Certain formations are no doubt predisposing causes, and for those reasons it is prudent to decline breeding from animals so afflicted, or purchasing their offspring. The next consideration is the best mode of treatment to be adopted in the event of the danger being apprehended from catarrhal influences. Good grooming may be estimated at an equal ratio, by an owner of valuable horses, with the science of the veterinary profession; the former will in many cases be the means of avoiding disease, while it is the province of the latter to eure ita difficulty which cannot be always overcome. The number of cases of roaring which proceed from catarrhal affections would be greatly diminished if preventive measures were immediately adopted when any of those symptoms which prognosticate the disorder make their appearance. Any cause producing inflammation of the throat or wind-pipe should be considered as a dangerous precurser of roaring; and when soreness in that part is detected by the animal evincing difficulty in drinking, the usual remedy-a blister or stimulating liniment should be immediately applied. In slight cases, I believe there is nothing superior to an embrocation of mustard; in more formidable ones, the ointment of biniodide of mercury will be more powerful; but it must be remembered that a single application of these counter-irritants cannot be depended upon. It is by keeping up the action for three or four days that we can with any confidence expect to parry off the evil consequences of this insidious disease. I think it may be safely asserted, that this complaint does not, in a general way, come on so rapidly but what its course may be prevented by precautionary measures. Inflammation of the membrane which lines the air-passages will affect the breathing, and thus present a signal to subdue that inflammation. The treacherous disorder very frequently establishes itself too firmly before ordinary observers detect it, and thus incurable roaring ensues. horse has perchance a slight cough does not drink his water freely; but not being so bad as to render him incapable of doing his work, very little notice is taken of his ailment till the mischief is confirmed.

A

ERNEST ATHERLEY;

OR, SCENES AT HOME AND ABROA D.
BY LORD WILLIAM LENNOX.

"We hope to find you our friend, and therefore give you our voices heartily." SHAKSPEARE.

Sight seeing-Rural excursions-A letter from home-General electionA modern Mrs. Haller.

Time flew with rapid pinions; the departure. of the old, and the approach of the new year, had been celebrated with mirth and gladness. The joys, the sorrows, the fears and hopes, all that had cheered or delighted or grieved or harassed us during that brief boundary of our life, that short, earthly pilgrimage, had faded away from our minds. Spring had set in, with its buds and blossoms. Walsingham had now become my inseparable companion-we walked, drove, rode together; occasionally Kate accompanied us in our rides, mounted upon the Major's high-bred Arabian horse "Amulet," which had carried him throughout his Eastern campaigns. A medical board had granted the wounded officer six months' additional leave of absence; and as country air had been recommended to him, he engaged apartments in a substantial-looking villa, not far from the one we occupied.

In a fit of rurality, Kate and myself had agreed to breakfast every spring morning under the shade of a lilac tree-the only one, be it remarked, in our small garden. Here at nine o'clock did we usually assemble; and here, within a few minutes of that hour, did my ally drive up, his cab laden with fresh butter, new-laid eggs, brown bread, and unadulterated cream, which he procured in his daily drive before the morning meal, at a farm near Kilburn. During our alfresco repast, we made arrangements for the day's amusements, which consisted of excursions on horseback, or by water, to whatever was worth visiting in the metropolis or its environs. Upon these occasions Walsingham was our cicisbeo, who, independently of his being perfectly cognizant with the different localities, was fully aware of the romantic nature of Kate's mind, and who accordingly studied in every way to gratify her love of historical recollections. Instead, then, of making parties to Greenwich to indulge in white-bait dinners, or to Richmond to float in a punt, and angle for barbels, our gallant caterer selected Windsor, Runnymede, Hampton Court, St. Alban's, Knowle, Shooter's Hill, and other spots associated with stirring deeds of by-gone days. Occasionally, too, we visited celebrated places in the metropolis, and were ever de