one of the shikarrees came up. It was a forlorn hope. The shikarree's spear, bad as it was, was better than none, so after him he went; the first poke shivered it to pieces; the blade, however, rather above the maker's name luckily buried itself between a joint in the hind quarter, the animal was thus pulled up; another shikarree's spear was then procured (they were the only individuals within hail), and after a hard fight he was finished; not, however, without having ripped the horse, and nearly pulled the rider off, by catching the spear between his teeth and hawling like the very devil. The rip was fortunately made by the broken tush, and not much damage was done; had it been the other one, which was something of the sharpest, and a good three inches out, the chances are it would have been a settler. The first boar was found with a large sounder, all fine hog, mostly sows ; and the second must have been lying at no great distance from the sounder that was first ridden, no doubt enjoying himself, and vainly rejoicing at the disappearance of his formidable rival. The Nuggur hunters, I can assure you, Mr. Editor, are not idle, but appear much fonder of handling the spear than the pen, which accounts for your having lately heard so little of them. I was about to conclude here, but find I have a few words to say on another subject. It is an acknowledged feature in the character of John Bull, that as long as he has something to grumble about he is happy, whether there be cause or not. Now, although not much given to grumbling myself, I think I cannot do better than fill the remainder of this sheet with the following mournful complaint, which is of the utmost importance to that branch of the sporting world, yclept hog-hunters, from whom any hints as to a remedy will be most thankfully received-at least by the Nuggur sportsmen. A party left camp a few days ago for that famous cover, the Date Grove, of course anticipating elegant sport; what was their horror and disappointment to find, after five days' hard work, that they had killed just five hog. Not only was the Grove beat blank, but on all the hills and ghauts in the vicinity, which in former times were sure finds, not a hog or even the pug of a hog was visible. This required some investigation, which was soon cleared up by the villagers; they said that the hog had been making such havoc among their crops, &c., and that, as the "Sahib logue" would not come and kill them, they had actually paid a set of fellows, called Lummuns or Bringarees, to do the needful, and that within the last month upwards of 150 hog had been killed by them in the neighbourhood of the Grovo. Camps of these sable hog-hunters were to be seen on every hill, and their dogs, which were in largo packs, were of such make and size, that they would soon run into the lankiest sow that ever legged it across country, and appeared as capable of attacking a royal tiger as anything else. The men evidently shikarreed all day long, leaving their cattle and tents to the care of the women; they were armed with spears and matchlocks, with which weapons they settle the animals that are brought up by the dogs. These shikarrees are fast spreading over the country; and if the slaughter continues as stated above, there won't be such an animal as a hog heard of shortly, To the Editor of the Oriental Sporting Magazine. The appearance in your last number of a letter signed S. Y. S. has induced me to address you, and to express my regret at your suffering the columns of your Magazine to become a receptacle for the declamations of superannuated hog-hunters. I deny that any good can follow from thus exciting a spirit of deedless boasting, and filling with the morbid overflowings of vanity and vexation of spirit the pages of a miscellany intended as a channel of communication in sporting matters. Let the heroes of old times rest contented with the recollection of the past and the memory of their former prowess, and let the rising generation strive to emulate their well-earned fame SIR, by deed, not word; with the spear, and not the pen. I seek not to detract from the celebrity of the "glorious ancients" nor to uphold the superiority of their modern rivals. The former have had their day, and a bright one it was, and the latter should rather let their actions speak for them. In conclusion, I beg to remark that the verses quoted by S. Y. S. in the communications above alluded to have already appeared in your Magazine, under the same signature. For an author to cite his own poetry is a practice in literature for ages unprecedented, and I had hoped would always have remained so. I am, Sir, &c., A CENTRAL COURSE. I am surprised that the amateurs of the turf in India have not hitherto thought of having an annual race meeting at some central station, where the great studs at Madras, Bangalore, Poonah, Bombay, &c., &c., might compete for the prizes. I was mentioning the subject the other FRANK. day to a sporting friend of mine, and he agreed with me in thinking the scheme a feasible one enough, and suggested Hyderabad (celebrated for the liberality and spirit which characterized its sporting seasons) as a central course on which, perhaps, on some bright morning we might have the pleasure of seeing Agonista, Sack cloth, Goblin Grey, Pyramus, Launcelot, Skiff, Longwaist, and other celebrated horses starting for the same plate. Besides the splendid sport which must attend such a meeting, it would really render the races at other stations much more interesting by tempting the kill-devils to Hyderabad, and leaving the other horses a better chance of sharing the plates and purses, instead of their all going away into one great stable, as we have lately seen, a circumstance that certainly deadened both interest and amusement. I hope, through the medium of your little Magazine, that the project may become known to our sporting characters, and very probably the object in view may be gained. One effort on the part of such leading characters as Mr. Andrews, Mr. Fox, Mr. George, Mr. Locksley, and Mr. Mordaunt would ensure success. Where are the obstacles? What are the objections? Yours obediently, AN OWNER. Poonah, July 10th, 1832. DASH ONWARD, MY STEED. Dash onward, my steed, while the crowd creep behind us, Like the lightning that flies from its home in the heaven, So deep in his heart shall our spear-blade be driven; Fly onward, my steed, see the monster before us, They view him, they press him, shall they win the spear? Then onward, my Arab, bound onward with me. Now gently, my steed, for we're close on his quarters, I hear his gruff grunt as he slow lobs along, Full soon shall he add to the list of our slaughters, Full soon shall his death be recorded in song. There, that's thro' and thro' him-he staggers, he stops too, S. Y. S. THE PROGRESS OF RACING IN ENGLAND. We have little authentic information on the subject of the English Turf till the time of Charles the Second, under whose reign it attained a splendour and an importance unknown at any former period. Many centuries, however, previous to this we know that most of the consider-, able towns in England boasted their annual races, though in few instances was the renown of the horses known beyond their immediate neighbourhood, and in general their occupations were far from being confined to the course, but the winner of a plate was ignominiously attached to the plough, and the victor in a sweepstakes was made the humble instrument of conveying the produce of his master's lands to the neighbouring markets. The earliest account which we have of horses racing in England is in the time of Henry the Second, when the citizens of London are said to have been very fond of this amusement. In the time of Elizabeth races were the cause of much speculation amongst the nobility, and the celebrated Earl of Cumberland is said to have nearly ruined himself on the turf. During the reigns of James and Charles the First great attention was paid to the improvement of the breed of our horses, and both these monarchs were ardent patrons of the turf. James, besides patronizing the ancient course of Croydon, established races at Enfield Chase, and Charles introduced them in Hyde Park, and laid the foundation of the future glories of Newmarket. The melancholy events of the civil wars diverted the attention of the people from sporting sub jects; and on the return of tranquillity under the Commonwealth, the Puritans of those days were not less zealous than at present in putting down these (as they thought) unholy amusements, and met with greater success than is to be hoped will crown their present efforts. In 1657, Daniel Collingwood, Esq., a gentleman of Northumberland, was sent for as a delinquent by the House of Commons for declaring, by allusion to the prohibition of races, that "there were none now in power but the rascality, who envied that gentlemen should enjoy their recreations." With the Restoration things brightened, and Charles the Second became a more determined friend to the improvement of our breed, and a more ardent supporter of the races, as well at Newmarket as throughout the kingdom, than any of his predecessors. He gave Royal Plates to be run for at several of the principal places of sport, which had before been confined to those courses which were honoured with the Royal presence. Instead of the senseless prize of a bell, at first of wood, or other worthless material, afterwards of silver, he substituted silver cups, and money prizes became general throughout the kingdom. He despatched his Master of the Horse to the Levant to purchase the best horses of the Arab and Turk breeds, and in this he was spiritedly emulated by the noblemen and others attached to his Court. Hamilton, in Yorkshire, which had formerly been used as a training ground by the celebrated Duke of Buckingham, became a sort of second Newmarket, under the patronage of the principal noblemen and gentlemen of the northern counties. In the death of Charles the Turf experienced a severe loss, for neither the bigoted James nor the restless and active William the Third turned their attention practically to it, though they continued the pecuniary encouragements which had been granted by their predecessor. But the passion for horse-racing had taken too deep root in the English nation to stand in need of the fostering hand of royal encouragement, and every. year witnessed an increase in the number of places of sport, an augmentation in the prizes, and an improvement in the breed of horses. The science of riding also advanced, and regular jockeys now took the place of the grooms, who had before displaced the "gentlemen riders," for in the origin of racing the Owner was in general also the rider of the horse, and his fame was almost as much exacted by success as that of the animal he rode. Towards the latter end of the reign of Queen Anne commenced a new era in the breeding of horses by the importation of the celebrated Darley Arabian. For a century previous most of the East had been ransacked for the finest mares and stallions that were to be met with, nor had the studs of Arabia been altogether neglected, for James the First had imported one, for which he gave five hundred guineas, at that time of day a most extravagant price. The speculations, however, did not succeed; indeed, the merits of the breed were not fairly tried, for the Duke of Newcastle, who was then considered the best judge of horseflesh in the kingdom, was loud in his censure of the King's importation, and he consequently fell into neglect, nor have we any record whatever of his produce. This failure discouraged any further attempts in the same quarter till Mr. Darley, thinking that the experiment had not been sufficiently tried, ventured on another attempt, and was completely successful. He had in the first instance much prejudice to contend with, but no sooner were the stock of his Arabian generally known than his fame was at once established, and mares flocked in to him from all quarters. It is not consistent with our plan to notice the various importations which shortly afterwards took place from Arabia, and the celebrity of the various horses; but it is sufficient to remark that this cross produced an animal infinitely superior in form, speed, and stoutness to anything which had before appeared in England; and there are none of the thoroughbred horses of the present day which have not more or less of Arabian blood, whilst, by a judicious admixture, horses of every other description have been improved, and many of our stoutest breeds, and best adapted to hard work, may boast a remote descent from the coursers of Arabia. Nor did the art of training improve less rapidly; for though it did not SO soon arrive at its present degree of perfection, the grooms. of England (indebted, perhaps, a little to the peculiarity of our climate) have long been esteemed vastly superior to those of any other country in the world, not even excepting the Arabs themselves. So universal had the love of racing become during the reigns of George the First and George the Second, so deeply rooted was the interest taken in it by all classes of society, and so large a portion of the carnings of |