THE LAWS

OF

THE LEASH OF COURSING,

As they were commanded, allowed, and subscribed by Thomas, late Duke of Norfolk, in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth.

1. that he which was chosen fenterer, or letter-loose of the greyhounds, should receive the greyhounds match to run together into his leash, as soon as he came into the field, and to follow next to the hare finder till he came unto the farm; and no horseman nor footman, on pain of disgrace, to go before them, or on either side, but directly behind the space of forty yards, or thereabouts.

Therefore it was ordered,

Item. That not above one brace of greyhounds do course a hare at one instant.*

Item. That the hare finder should give the hare three sohows before he put her from her lair, to make the greyhounds gaze and attend her rising.

Item. That dog that giveth the first turn, if, after the turn be given, there be neither coat, slip, nor wrench, extraordinary, then he which gave the first turn shall be held to win the wager.

Item.-If one dog give the first turn, and the other bear the hare, then he which bore the hare shall win.

Item.-If one dog give both the first turn and last turn, and no other advantage between them, that odd turn shall win the wager.

Item.-That a coat shall be more than two turns, and a go by, or the bearing of the hare, equal with two turns.

Item.-If neither dog turn the hare, then he which leadeth last at

So thought the ancient sportsmen by the μήτε πλεῖονς δυοῖν οἱ Arrian. Arrian de Venat. c. 16.

the covert shall be held to win the wager.

Item.-If one dog turn the hare, serve himself, and turn her again, those two turns shall be as much as a coat.

Item. If all the course be equal, then he only which bears

the hare shall win; and if she be not borne, then the course must be adjudged dead.

Item.-If any dog shall take a fall in the course, and yet perform his part, he shall challenge advantage of a turn more than he giveth.

Item.-If one dog turn the hare, serve himself, and give divers coats, yet in the end stand still in the field, the other dog, without turn-giving, running home to the covert, that dog which stood still in the field shall be then adjudged to lose the wager.

Item. If any man shall ride over a dog, and overthrow him in his course (though the dog were the worse dog in opinion), yet the party for the offence shall either receive the disgrace of the field, or pay the wager, for between the parties it shall be adjudged no

course.

Item. Those who are chosen

judges of the leash shall give their judgments presently before they depart from the field, or else he, in whose default it lieth, shall pay the wager by a general voice and sentence.

The substance of those rules has been adhered to in most of the sporting counties, but the dogs are now loosed out of a double spring-slip, which renders it impossible for either to have the advantage of the start. In Wiltshire, however, some judicious deviations have been introduced; and the dog that hath the best of the course, whether he kills the hare or not, is there declared to be the winner. The propriety of

such a decision is apparent, for the best and speediest dog may turn the hare directly on his opponent, who may have no other

SIR,

merit than that of laying hold of his game when forced full upon him.

I am, you must know, a young subscriber, but a great friend to your periodical, and I think it deserves the support and assistance of every sportsman in India, as it is an excellent and amusing channel by which one may know what all his brothers are about in another part of the country; and as I am, for one, a great admirer of such a publication, I have dipped my maiden pen in ink, to write a few lines in public. This, Mr. Editor, being the state of the case, I proceed to the description.

The black or hill deer, commonly called the elk, is one of the most noble of the deer kind, the male commonly standing four and a half and sometimes nearly five feet high; his general colour is a kind of dark iron grey or lead colour, looking at a distance much the same as that of the common buffalo; the lower part of the belly inside of the thighs and up to the tail white, the end of which is black, and the under part a rusty colour, which also forms a kind of border to the above mentioned white parts; the forepart of the belly to between the fore legs is black; a sandy-coloured circle surrounds its dark full eye; its ear is broad and open, and a tuft of long white hair protects its interior from dust, &c.; the hair of the neck (particularly of the upper part) is longer and coarser than in any other part of the body: its horns consist of the brow antle, and a long and elegantly curved shaft, terminating

at the top in two (I have heard only of one that has ever been seen with three) antlers; they appear to be shed about March, and again to attain their full size and beauty by August. The doe is smaller and lighter coloured than the buck, and has no horns.

They, like the red deer, are gregarious, very powerful, and beautifully-made animals; indeed, there is no doubt of their being a variety of that animal. Bewick, in speaking of it as it is found in England, says, "the red deer of this kingdom are nearly of the same size and colour, without much variety; in other parts of the world they differ in form and size, as well as in their horns and the colour of their bodies."

Shooting this noble animal in the beautiful woods about here is indeed a very fascinating pastime ; the sportsman is first roused to a delightful pitch of excitement by the music of the dogs, then the crashing rush of the elk, increasing as he approaches the edge of the wood, and last, the break, which is very beautiful. When he first emerges, his head is down and nose poked out to prevent his horns getting entangled in the underwood; but directly he finds himself clear, he throws up his head and goes away in most beautiful style. After all this, Mr. Editor, your sporting readers will easily imagine that a little steadiness is requisite to hold the gun straight enough to hit him in a vital spot, or even sometimes to hit him at all, for unless the ball

characters, who may possess fourfooted favourites whose likeness they would wish to preserve in memory of them. The picture I have alluded to is nearly square, being about 1ft. 11 in. long, and 1ft. 8 in. high. The Goblin is seen standing on the race-course, his head turned towards the spectator, his eyes full of animation, yet with that wild expression so peculiar to high caste Arabs; his well laid and shelving shoulder and finely lifted loin, together with his drooping hind quarter, are excellently defined; he appears in great racing order, and his muscles are splendidly developed. The drawing of the legs, particularly of the hind ones, is very well managed, and the glossy hairiness of the skin is worthy of the brush of Abraham Cooper, or even Ward himself.

The artist has been very happy in hitting off the face and figure of the jockey, Surfoodeen, whose nearly full face is turned to the spectator, and who is represented in the action of drawing up the snaffle rein through the finger of

his left hand, and preparing to turn the horse round to be ready for the word "off." The startingpost appears at a few yards off, and in the background is the whole line of buildings between the residence of the late Commissioner and the present Collector, over which is seen the pagodatopped hill of Parbutty, and in the misty distance the range of Ghauts, including Singhur, just visible through the darkness of an approaching storm.

I believe it is intended to be sent home and placed in the British Exhibition, and it well merits such a distinction. An engraving for your Magazine would be an acquisition-I mean a copper plate one-none of your rough and ready lithographic

scratches.

from

Can you take a hint

A FRIEND TO THE O. S. M.?

The picture was painted by Godwin Williams, Esq., for the present owner of "Goblin Grey." Poonah, October, 15th, 1830.

volume, where we find Stephen, as if instinctively conscious of the intended comparison, disclaiming that his writings bear any affinity to those of the ancient critic.

This is another very strong coincidence, and if I pleased I could mention many more of a similar kind. "I am very quick at seeing these things," and no longer entertain any doubt of the identity of the writer; and, if I am right in my conjectures, I can assure Stephen that he has put himself to the trouble of a piece of gratuitous deception which had been better left alone. So you see, Mr. Editor, the secret is not

so snug as he would lead us to believe.

I am not in the habit of taking up the cudgels for another, although I have vanity enough to suppose myself quite able to do so. Besides, I had no good reason to interfere with Stephen until he should give me cause for annoyance, or find fault with what I had a clear right to bear through the ordeal of criticism if I could. I have contributed more than once to your little periodical under different signatures, and until now, if I have not succeeded in obtaining Stephen's vote of applause, I have at all events secured his silence, which was all I wanted, and I am not to be found amongst the "mob of your contributors" either.

I have myself been mistaken for the author of Stephen's letters, although I have vainly looked for good and sufficient cause why they should be laid to my door. I never felt disposed to take much trouble to put down this opinion, because I had no object in doing so. But the third critique is a sad falling off, and I really cannot afford to father such stuff. Stephen may be detected in every line he writes of the very vulgarities and low style for which he carps at others.

What

I can

do you think of "betting a penny," "laughing in your sleeve," and many of a similar kind? Then he indulges too frequently in low puns, and, what is worse, in bad puns too, and in a critic this does not look quite consistent. conceive nothing lower than his pun upon the situation of S. W.'s heart. It proves his own to be in the wrong place, and his wits into the bargain-a very poor attempt to be facetious, and I should say rather too personal besides.

The first of Stephen's opinions regarding my own contribution to

No. 8, with which my business lies more particularly, are very correct and very sensible. "It does bear the stamp of a mind that could master better things," and Master Stephen must mind that I don't stamp upon him, for I can tell him that I know a thing or two, and though I have hitherto appeared in a humble unpretending garb, I can, if I please, write much in his own style, and though I "buzz about" have "a sting" too.

I know of nothing more tiresome or more ridiculous than he who is perpetually boring one with questions, more particularly when they are obviously the result of a wilful perversion of meaning, and it must be confessed that Stephen has, of late, become a most provoking querist; his interrogations are not only very silly and without point, but his mode of putting them is what one would expect from a stable boy, and certainly not from one so classicly correct as we are to suppose him. "I should like to know this, that, and the other." If it were not a little too smutty, I should like to give Stephen a reference to something I could mention, for the information. would be the most appropriate answer he could have, and the joke, though unfortunately too low for your Magazine, would not be too high for Stephen's comprehension, for I will answer for it he has frequently heard the allusion amongst the low company which I am sure he has kept. Let him put that and that together, and try what he can make of it.

It

Stephen wishes to be informed "how a horse can look thickwinded." I answer, in the same way that he look lame or sick or anything else; or that an ass can look thick-headed. You see I don't go far for a simile.

If the