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enter closed the scene, and proved either that the horses were not up to their weights, or that those who handicapped them were not up to their business; for Lunatic, who had been beaten by Master Henry the day before, ran away from him the second heat, and won without an effort. The glorious uncertainty!!

Several good Sweepstakes are made up for next year-the course is about to be improved, and Ahmedabad promises to be one of the best places of resort for turf amateurs in our quarter of India. OBSERVATOR.

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that could absolutely be read through without performing the part of an opiate on the reader good-natured enough to give a man fair play, I might at length, by dint of no ordinary exertions, attain that ill-inspiring and highsounding title of a "valuable correspondent." Such fond hopes I confess to have cherished: perhaps it was vanity alone that urged me to seek the meed of praise from the readers of a sporting periodical, for which I desire to have been debased. Great God, then, what were my overjoyed feelings when, on reading the letter of your impartial correspondent, I found myself triumphing over the whole of my envious competitors, in the pages too of a public newspaper, as the hero of all heroes! The accomplished artist of a kidney omelette tossed up, too, in the magical apparatus of a travelling cookshop!!!

I feel, Sir, that elevated as I am to the highest pinnacle of glory, from which stronger heads than mine might shudder to look down, a more prudent course would be to retire at once from a field in which I have lived but to conquer, but having pledged myself to say a few words on these sporting every one must allow them to be so-letters, I am bound to proceed; but first and foremost I will give in nearly a dozen words the history of the challenge alluded to in the first letter in the Courier, and leave every one to judge for himself whether there was any necessity or occasion for the production of "One as can go it."

select, would ride, either for money or not, against any four members of the said Hunt. This message was conveyed to the secretary by the member whom the challenger had addressed, on his return to Nuggur. The secretary wishing to know from the challengers themselves whether they were really in earnest, and desiring to have so extraordinary a message on paper before he should write to inform every member of it, dispatched a letter with all speed to Poonah; an answer to this letter arrived in a few days, in which the challenger said the whole thing was intended as a joke, and wondered how it could have been understood to be otherwise. Here ends the history of the origin, it is said, of the letter in the Courier, and I leave it to every one to judge for himself whether after that answer there was any necessity for any members of the Hunt themselves to challenge men to ride for money, an act in my opinion as unsportsmanlike as it would prove destructive of every pleasure to be derived from the noble diversion of hog-hunting.

As for the challenge by "One who can go it," it would appear to have been made by one person, there being only one signature to it. My own conviction is that there are more than one, though not more than three at the very utmost. However, more than one or less than three, of this I can speak with certainty, the secretary was never in any way applied to, nor did the Hunt itself ever hear a word about what was going to At a take place till the Courier published the challenge.

Now for the history. dinner party at Poonah, during or immediately after the races before the last, a member of the Nuggur Hunt told another member of the same Hunt that he, and three other gentlemen whom he would

Every man may entertain his own opinions on every subject, and my firm conviction now is that the acceptance of the challenge in a subsequent Courier

was a hoax. Whether this hoax will have the effect of preventing others from taking up the gauntlet, time will show. All I know is, that if the meetings of the Hunt, hitherto held for sport only, are to be in future the scenes of men riding against each other for money, I for one will bid adieu for ever to the plains of the Godavery, though the very name of them conjures up the fondest recollections of unrivalled diversion, most perfect good fellowship, and, above all, a pure unalloyed feeling for sport, and sport alone!

I am come to, I trust, the first and last production of "Silledar." If he is what his name would indicate, I would recommend him for once, and for once and for all, to drop the pen, and stick to his sword. With one he do somemay thing, but, alas! his letter denies all hope of success with the other. I really, in taking any notice of his letter, am running no small risk of being branded with presumption as wishing to appear to understand what generally is thought to be unintelligible; I must beg, therefore, to explain that a very great part of it is quite above my talents and comprehension, and that a guess at the intention of the writer in the other parts enables me to notice it at all. The sum total, then, of my guess is that where my friend "Silledar" expected to find a host he found a bechoba, and there my guess ends as to that part, for the Lord help any man that strives to unravel the mysteries of the next sixteen or eighteen lines. He then proceeds to talk of "benefit to brother members," which most probably refers to something in the unintelligible fact above. We then come to a glorious non sequitur, running thus, "I am not a subscriber to

the O. S. M., nor am I anxious to continue a member of such an ill-conducted and mere nominal affair as the Ahmednuggur Hunt." Next comes a long rigmarole in which he gives members information, which in the same breath he admits they are in possession of, and here my friend seems quite exhausted with the eloquence he has displayed, for I find he is so done as to take to copying a memorandum book! Having got through so much, and making due allowance for the overcome state in which he must have been when he wrote, we find one paragraph containing the following connected expressions and sentences. These are the feats

or

of his chuprapi-breaking of legs -want of cattle-dictates on condition, training; hunting-two three screws, with a well cushioned nibbs, culinary apparatus, and a kidney omelette (as he himself expresses it) well saiffleed. The letter then ends with a few words of a Latin quotation, which has the advantage of being quite new, and something about a challenge (though which I can't make out) being either a hoax or not a hoax-it may be either to me, for I can't make out head or tail of it.

And now, Sir, in bidding Silledar adieu for ever, let me implore your assistance in dissuading him from withdrawing himself from the Hunt. You recollect the fate which Mr. Hoby, the boot-maker, clearly saw impending over his shop when Ensign threatened to withdraw his custom. "Shut up the shop, Tom," cried he; "we are ruined. Ensign- has withdrawn his custom!"

Alas! what must be the fate of the Ahmednuggur Hunt when Silledar withdraws his name! I shudder to think of it! a Hunt which has existed for within a

few months of twelve years, to be broken up at a minute's warning by the retirement of a single member! alas! alas!

I have hardly spirit to sign my-
NIMROD IN THE EAST.

self

April, 1831.

"FOLLOW, FOLLOW."

TUNE-Lilla's a Lady.

Come away, jolly sportsman, the jungle is nigh,
We're determined to stir the grey bear from his sty;
He's the fiercest in fight,

He's the fleetest in flight,

Then follow, follow, follow, all fearless-
Yes, follow, follow, follow with me.

Tho' greyer than badger, tho' swifter than deer,
Tho' fiercer than wolf, who the devil would fear?
His strength and his size.

Will but gladden our eyes,

Then follow, &c.

There are fifty blood beaters, all true to their trust,
Let us give them the signal, and find him we must ;
Halloo! that's the sound-

Holy Jove! there, they've found!

Then follow, &c.

Yes, hark to the crash and the rush that he makes,
And see from yon corner how boldly he breaks;
Now, my lads, do your best,

Screw your nerves to the test,

And follow, &c.

Right over the nullah! he bounds like a buck;
Dash into the river! he dives like a duck;

Not the leap nor the swim

From our spears shall save him,

Then follow, &c.

Now breathless, o'ertaken, he musters his might,
Ride up, gallant hunters, and finish the fight,

In his blood and his foam

Let him charge and charge home!

Then follow, &c.

And now, the sport ended, we'll quit the broad plain,
And round our full bowls ride the chase o'er again;
Then dream through the night

Of the next day's delight;

And follow, follow, follow, all fearless-
Yes, follow, follow, follow with me.

S. Y. S.

SIR,

HOG HUNTING NEAR POONAH.

It must be surprising to you, while every other station of this Presidency sends its contribution of hog-hunting staves, Poonah, formerly the crack place for this noble sport, should now be behindhand; but the fact is that Poonah is no longer the place it was. The lads of the Union, Spear, and other Hunts made so good a use of these weapons, that the bristly race is almost exterminated from the vicinity. The jungle of Rasabosah, Mhole, Core, and Alunder are no longer a certain find; indeed, for the last two years not a single hog has been killed at the two former places, consequently the few men who are hog-hunters here are obliged to go 60 miles, to be at all sure of meeting with sport. Notwithstanding this, we managed to dispose of 104, hog last year, and expect to double that number this year, as we have made a tolerable beginning. Our ground has generally been the tanks of the Beema (both the Poonah and Nuggur) and the Ghaunts near Poonah, and bad enough it is, for we have hills, thorns, and nullahs, and (what are worse here than anywhere else) stones, which to an inexperienced horse are "the devil," and, in case of a fall to the rider, rarely

fails to leave their mark on himI speak feelingly. So much for the country as to the sportsmen, few as they are, I could mention some workmen who would perform well in any country, and whose style of settling a hog Nimrod himself would contemplate with perfect satisfaction.

I have the pleasure to add that the Poonah lads have killed 51 hog since the beginning of the present year, 35 of which were killed by the last party on the following dates ::

February 9th, at Nimbowree, 62 miles from Poonah, in the Nuggur country

10th, at Sepoorah, 5 coss further

ditto

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PERFORMANCES OF SACKCLOTH.

I think, Mr. Editor, that an account of the performances of Major Looney's "Sackcloth" at the last Madras Meeting may find a corner in your Sporting Magazine, at any rate they are worthy of being therein recorded.

"Sackcloth" is a dark iron grey horse, nearly 15 hands high, with a fine forehead, but remarkably

straight in his pins; in fact, it may almost be said that he has no bend

in the pastern. His quarter is splendid and of immense strength. He has a deep jowl and beautiful eye, and is a perfect Arab in temper.

He first appeared for the second maiden, two mile heats, 8st. 7lbs., at the Madras Races, January 18th,

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