From all as I can learn from what the gentleman as rites has kermunicated about the 'orse he must have been plagued quear about the feet tho' afore he left Hinjee for to surproize the fokes at 'ome. The gentleman seems to be a leetle croosty about summut, and to be sure he has some reeson, as 'twas a trifle too peart and ungenteel of him as rote afore about this wonderful creetur, for to treduce any gentlemans names, and especiously he never had no call for to go for to say as they hadn't been doing the 'andsome, without as he says consoolting of their wishes. For I'll wenture to say they never had no wish as anythink should have been said about this bizness; in pertikler in this place where they be purty well know'd to Measter, and mostly all them as keeps running 'orses. In England and Yorkshire to be sure what people does is a different matter entirely from these Hinjees, for as sure as my

names Dockery they never consoolts the wishes of no gentleman as lewants on the settlin day after the Ledjer, about putting his name in the noosepapers, nor does they make no apology arterwards; and not to menshun that which is as troo as yellor yokes is in eggs, theres measter his self show'd me in one of the peapers as his Brother sends him regler from Lunnun, that they was all got together by the ears, abusin and a ill usin of Muster Peal, and Lord Gray, and Lord knows who all besides about what they calls reform; and if the rights were knowd, them as jaws never offer'd for to consoolt there un any how. Lord Muster Editur, I'd joost loike for to see some reform in these ot forin parts, for dom my yellor breeches, if the ete ant enuff to suffercate any mortle man as brethes, and the more I gets accustomed to these blazing sunshiny days and to roosty overwhelmin nites, with bats and beetles and stinking boogs a buzzin and skreemin and hooming, and fritter mices flopping to and fro, the more I 'ates it. Rat me, but I'd like to see that tremenjious 'orse Sick-and-ill, and will too if I lives long enuff.

I am your humble servant
to Comand,
JOHN DOCKERY.

SIR, Descended, as my name may lead you to infer, from that celebrated knight of the brush (not of the broom) to whom the wonder of the age is indebted for one of his brightest ideas, and inheri

*

*The Bride of Lammermoor.

ting in a slight degree the taste, if not the talent, of my great progenitor. I take the earliest opportunity of acquainting you of the pleasure and satisfaction with which I observe your resolution to exclude from the O. S. M. sketches which, however excellent they may originally have been, are ren

dered so wretched by passing through the hands of our Bombay lithographers.

"

The Bombay Badger" is already a standing joke throughout the sister Presidencies, and one evening, towards dusk, I actually caught two subscribers contending loudly whether it was intended to represent an alligator or an ancient plough, while a third, to whom (as in the case of the Chamelion) it was referred, after such minute investigation as the twilight afforded, in a decided tone pronounced it a turtle in a snow storm, bearing on his back a considerable portion of the frozen element. At length a light was produced, when lo, to the no small astonishment of the contending parties, it proved to be A BADGER!!!

The only drawing of an Eastern origin that has appeared in the English Sporting Magazine is one executed in a manner truly worthy of the subject. It represents Shikaree engaged in that most interesting of all sports, "Peafowl shooting." He is clothed in a suit of unsullied white, having his pate protected from the dreaded rays, by something resembling the Mambrine helmet of Don Quixote; and his feet from the thorns, by a pair of wellpolished Hobies. This personage bears in his hand a gun of a most antique construction; *

*The gun in question is on what I believe is called by antiquaries the flint and steel principle, and, from their de scriptions, well adapted to such cool shots as I have no doubt Shikaree must be, seeing that you may pull the trigger, take a pinch of the weed, and have time to correct your aim before the various parts of the lock have done manœuvring; it has also the advantage of frequently killing to the right and left as well as in the front, through small apertures in the barrels, called touch holes. See Antiquarian Researches, A.D. 1800."

and, confident of its powers and his own, the sportsmanlike indifference with which he views the rare game he has put up is quite inimitable. Is it from such a standard as this, Mr. Editor, that our too credulous friends in Old England are to judge of the appearance and pursuits of their brother sportsmen in the East? The spirit of my illustrious ancestor arises in my bosom and revolts at the idea!

Having hinted at the evil, permit me, like the good physician, to touch upon the remedy.

Let such sketches as possess merit be selected and sent home to be engraved; the expense would be trifling (as in England artists of the middling class abound), and they would come out in time to be bound up with the different numbers to which they might belong.* Your supply of subjects (to use an expression peculiar to sion peculiar to the faculty) would, I am confident, be ample; there are many draughtsmen of a very superior order (I don't mean the author of the badger or myself), who, though at present deterred from sending you designs through the fear of their not being done justice to, would, I have no doubt, willingly come forward were that obstacle removed.

It would be unnecessary to dilate on the rich mine which India presents to the lover of the crayon; most of your readers can remember scenes which they would give much to see rendered permanent through the medium of the graver, both as regards the sublime and ludicrous. The powers of description are indeed

*We have often thought of our friend Dick Tinto's plan, but the delays attending it would be so great, that we have been reluctantly obliged to abandon it.--ED.

Dharwar, June 10th. Word brought in of a tiger well surrounded, not more than four miles from Camp. Old Arrak, as I have christened our fat friend the elephant, was under way in a few minutes, rolling like a deeply laden West Indiaman in a long swell. Three double-barrels and two rifles in the howdah, with ammunition enough to bombard Algiers.

When we arrived at the ground, a glance told us all was right. The nullah in which the tiger lay was not three feet deep-there was little jungle, and every tree and rising ground for miles was crowded by shikarees, to mark him down if he escaped the first volley.

The first rattle of the innumerable tom-toms in the hands of the beaters, bolted him, and away he bounded towards the hills at a long gallop. We who were on the elephant, naturally expecting that he would not face the open country while he could

find shelter in the nullah, had posted ourselves at the top, while beaters had gone down the hill to drive him towards us. Contrary to our calculations, he broke away near the bottom. One ball from the howdah rung sharply among rocks as he topped the hill and disappeared, but being at least 150 yards off, and the elephant rather unsteady, it is very improbable that he was touched. The natives, however, persisted that he was hit, and from what happened afterwards, it might

At this moment we were about 200 yards from him, and were watching for the moment when he would pull up; he suddenly turned from his course, and to our horror we saw him dashing with most terrific bounds at a peon who was in a field at some distance.

The man seemed stupefied, and made no effort to escape till it was too late. The tiger was upon him with the speed of lightning. He was seen rearing over him for an instant-a roar-a cloud of dust-and it was over.

The poor mangled wretch was carried off in a dying state: his

lower jaw fractured and hanging with large clots of blood, and the lacerated muscles of the throat down on his breast; his cheekbones were crushed to powder, and nothing of a human face remained but the forehead and glaring eyeballs, which rolled about in agony.

In the mean time the tiger had skulked into a thick bush close to the spot where he had taken his bloody revenge.

The elephant was brought up within ten yards. A crash through the branches and a stifled roar told us he was coming, and we were ready for him. He charged close to us, and three balls sent him back growling to his lair; every successful shot brought him out again grinning with rage, and

MR. EDITOR,

lashing his sides with his tail, till another crippling shot sent him staggering back. This lasted for about ten minutes, when, in a fruitless attempt to burst through the bush, he rolled over and growled out his last breath.

I suspect few tigers ever showed better sport, and were it not for the melancholy accident, a more brilliant day could not be desired.

On examining him he was found to have received eight balls, all in mortal places, except one, which struck him on the hip, proof, if such were wanting, of the folly of shooting tigers on foot.

The poor fellow who was struck lingered till next morning, when he died, without suffering much pain.

I have the pleasure of sending you an account of two hog-hunting trips which I have been lately engaged in. The former was exclusively a Poonah affair, and, in my opinion, a very brilliant one. The latter, bearing the name of the Nuggur Hunt Meeting, although as pleasant as it could possibly be, was not the crack thing it might have been-at least in my opinion. But now for the former. Five of us left Poonah on the 15th July, with every prospect of having an pleasant excursion, for rain was daily expected to fall in torrents, the clouds wore a threatening aspect, and our friends unanimously advised us not to go, but off we went; and although an accident that happened to one of our horses, at the end of the first stage (his eye was put out by the horn of a buffalo), was looked upon as a sinister omen,

un

our boldness was amply rewarded by the finest weather that ever was met with. On the 17th we arrived at the village of Khooshwarree, about 70 miles from Poonah, and commenced beating the hills at that place, without loss of time. A fine boar was immediately found among the stones at the bottom, and on being pursued, ran up to the top, where he gave us a clipping run for about a mile over terrible ground, but on finding one of the riders unpleasantly close to him, he descended, was driven up again, and 'crossing over the hills, like a good one as he was, went fairly out into the plain, where he was killed. sounder and another large boar were seen during the day, but the steepness and difficulty of the hills prevented us doing anything more than seeing them.

A.

18th. Beating along the same hills, two more boars were found, one of which was killed by a

single rider, who saw him coming up to the hills from the plain, where he had most probably been feeding, for he had no running in him. On approaching the village of Bangaum, another boar was found, and here, the ground being better, bad as it was, he gave us a splendid run, but the severity of it put one of the horses "hors de combat" for some days. Νο sooner had we settled this fellow, than we were off on fresh horses after a sounder. The ground still improving, seven more hog were numbered with the dead; two of the runs were contested, but the hog were almost all very small.

19th. We were called out of bed before daylight, to go and kill a thumping boar that had remained, after his night's carouse, in a grain field close to our tents; we were at the cover's side in a twinkling, and as soon as Aurora was descried in the east, sprinkling the earth with early light, the beaters gave a shout, and out rushed the boar in the middle of us. He was speared before he had crossed the field, and killed at the end of the second in about 1m. 4s. In the course of the day two

more

"solitaires" were marked down among the stones at the bottom of the hills, and were both killed after flicking runs.

20th. We hunted at Gogurgaum, and found one good sounder of 12 hogs; their descent from the hills through the low jungle into the plain, now crossing, one after another, a deep nullah, now waiting to listen, and at last dashing off at full speed as they heard the riders behind them, was splendid. Eight were killed-I believe all singly: but the horses were terribly cut about the legs from the stones.

21st. We arrived at the farfamed jungle of Hunmuntgaum, and beating down towards the

wall, the hog came tumbling out by dozens. After giving them a good deal of law, we let out and killed eight, but not without considerable trouble, for they would keep to the nullah, which every one who has seen the place knows to be difficult riding.

22nd. Early this morning Velocipede, as noble a hunter as ever carried a sportsman up to a hog, and who had greatly distinguished himself in one or two trying runs during the party, died of inflammation, to the inexpressible grief of his unlucky master; he was, however, interred with all due honours, for three splendid boars, a fine sow, and a squeaker were sacrificed to him before the spear was laid aside. The first boar (a noble fellow turned out of the Hunmuntgaum jungle) came to the charge without a turn, and ripped a circular piece out of a gentleman's gaiter with the greatest neatness; the two others were turned out of the Seral jungle, one after the other, and afforded each very pretty and well contested runs. The sow was killed singly, and the squeaker, with the whole field after it, gave more trouble than any squeaker I have ever seen. Here our sport ended, and I think every one will allow that it could not well have been better, not to mention that thirty-four hog in six days is good hunting: the same number of solitary boars and contested runs, which constitute the real thing, has been, I think, seldom met with. And now let me proceed to the Nuggur Hunt Meeting. It was at first thought that the party would consist of about 15 or 16 sportsmen, among whom three in particular, of known kidney, and tiptop sawyers across a country, were reckoned upon, and the young hands were all up in their stirrups at the idea of riding