finny race by that stratagem, but substitute a more martial means of killing them with their matchlocks. The streams in these provinces are all extremely limpid for eight months in the year, and the sportsman is enabled by the transparency of the water to see the approach of the fish to the very surface; and when one or two inches under or quite above its element, the ball is fired at it; which seldom fails to stun, if not shatter the fish to pieces.

As I have already deviated from my plan, I shall conclude by giving you a brief ornithological notice, to bring to the knowledge of all those who take delight in shooting the princely bird called Bustard, of the order Grællæ and genus Otis. The plains of Boondelkhund, at least the tableland of Kotro, is rarely traversed over from one short march to another, without falling in with numbers of these wanderers; but whether this splendid game bird be an itinerant visitor here or a native of these realms, I am not able to determine; but the belief is so far corroborated in favour of the latter opinion, that a young bustard was picked up a few years ago close to the Agency of Hutta. The flori ken is said likewise to be indigenous to this part of India. I saw one in the course of my morning's ride last year on the plains of Lohargong; but have not seen another during a year's ramble in Boondelkhund. The bustard seems to inhabit chiefly the extensive tracts of both cultivated and sterile lands, and the vicinity of Lohargong is a very likely

place to meet this bird; they are very numerous in the rains in that district, I hear, but appear to be in season only in the cold weather. I have had the good luck to partake of the luxury which the dainty flesh of this species furnishes us with, only thrice since I have wandered over these hilly regions. The first was shot flying by a brother sportsman with a ball, and two others were taken in a snare by a native shikarree. The former was rather a comical sort of a gent; and though not a novice in the diversion of shooting, it seems that he had not the remotest idea of the bustard species; consequently, when he first visited these dominions, he stamped down this noble bird as rara avis in terris," and kept one of these creatures in captivity for several days to satisfy his curiosity; at length, after profound meditation, he pronounced it to be some overgrown hill owl! and had it worried by dogs. The bustard that he subsequently shot was really SO ponderous, that we were obliged to place the burden on the shoulders of a strong man. On dissecting, it proved to be a female, and that its species fatten on all kinds of grain and the insect kind in general; for we found in its pouch green grain, and grasshoppers, beetles, &c.

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If health and time permit, you shall soon hear from me on a more amusing subject; ad interim I remain,

Your humble servant,
A HERMIT ABROAD.
Camp Kotro, 16th April, 1833.

VOL. II.

2 F

Some time since, Mr. O'Shee, Sheriff of the County of Waterford, when out hunting, had occasion very severely to punish his horse, and on returning home, no sooner had Mr. O'Shee alighted from him than the horse, with most extraordinary vindictiveness, more resembling the sagacity of an elephant than that of any other animal, rushed with distended jaws at Mr. O'Shee, and seized him by the head; fortunately, however, a strong hunting cap saved him from more than a few slight bruises, and he escaped into a house close by. The enraged animal then turned his fury upon the whipper-in of Mr. O'Shee, who rushed up to save his master; he seized him in his teeth, broke his arm, dashed him upon the

ground, and pawed and trampled him. Not satisfied with having thus wreaked his vengeance upon the poor whipper, he then turned

upon Thomas White, Esq., one of Mr. O'Shee's friends, who had been hunting with him, and who fortunately had been well mounted, and had not as yet quitted his saddle. Mr. White set spurs to flank, and fled at top speed, pursued, to the astonishment of the beholders, by the enraged animal. Mr. White, being a very superior horseman, led an admirable steeplechase across the country of upwards of two miles, but finding his pursuer gain ground upon him, had barely time to save himself and horse in a farmhouse, and secure the door. The furious animal rushed full tilt against the door, and made several attempts to break it open, but was at length secured. We understand that whenever Mr. O'Shee now enters the stable the animal becomes outrageous, and makes strenuous efforts to attack him.-Stewart's Dispatch.

The Company by which this coach was established about thirty years ago had a meeting on Thursday last, in consequence of some dissensions which have arisen among them, and which it is feared, if not checked, will lead to the coach being taken off the road altogether. The proprietors, it seems, are composed of natives of England, Ireland, and Scotland, from which countries the coach has been horsed, with mutual advantage. Of late, however, the teams have not worked well; the wheelers are invariably of the English and Scotch breed, do their work steadily enough, considering an occasional scarcity of corn and heavy loads; but the

leaders (and, be it remembered, it is a Unicorn coach), which are all of Irish blood, have kicked over the traces, and left indelible marks of their hoofs on the splinter bar, to the great terror of the passengers, from the probability that in some of the journeys the vehicle will be overturned. To remedy this defect was the object of the meeting in question.

The CHAIRMAN, in opening the business, reminded his co-proprietors that when their company was established it was for their mutual advantage, and so long as they worked together their success was certain. He referred them to the motto on their panel, "tria juncta in uno," under which they

had so long flourished; and though but a three-horsed coach, he would ask whether the universe could produce such a team-there was a combination of blood, bone, and speed, which stood unrivalled in the history of public vehicles. The fable of "the bundle of sticks" was familiar to them all, and he trusted that the admirable moral it was intended to inculcate would be duly appreciated. They had They had pulled in concert for a long series of years, and he should be sorry, by their now pulling different ways, to see so prosperous a partnership dissolved.

DAN O'CONNELL, who has signalized himself as an "out-andouter " in driving an Irish car with one horse, but who has never been allowed to take the ribbons in the Union coach, of which he is a small shareholder, said he saw no reason why he should not be permitted to take the reins as well as another, but it seemed to be the policy of the proprietorship to shove him off the box altogether. This might be very convanient for the English and Scotch part of the firm, and it might shoot the English and Scotch wheelers to see "ould Botheram" as their lader doing the up-hill work with a plentiful share of whipcord upon his flanks, and precious small allowance of oats in his belly; but it is anything but agreeable to the feelings of his brother carman, and still less agreeable to the baste for which they had a natural as well as national regard, to take so unequal a share of the work with so small a proportion of the profits. He saw no rason why "the Union' should not be reduced to a pairhorsed coach, and let the Irish partners see what they could do for themselves with a car. It was his firm belief that, like

the opposition between the cabs and hackney-drags, the Irish car would soon supersede all other vehicles. In this persuasion, he had no hesitation in moving "that the Union coach be repaled, and that all the Irish cattle should be taken off the road, with the view of being started to run alone in a new vehicle, to be called the Irish go-cart.'

BOB SHIEL, a Tipperary noddydriver, said he was quite entirely of his friend O'Connell's way of thinking; he thought the Irish cattle would go best alone. He was no Latin scholard, and therefore could not say whether he understood the ould motto of "tria juncta in uno," quoted by their chairman; but if it meant three joined in one, he thought the Irish horses had been doing the work of three joined in one ever since the coach had been started, and he would not mind betting three to one on the Irish laders against the English and Scotch hacks any day in the year; and as for the "bundle of sticks," give him the Irish blackthorns against all the sticks in Christendom. [Loud cheers from the Irish proprietors.] motion.

He seconded the

BOB GREY, who has recently been appointed coachman to "the Union,' lamented exceedingly that the obstinacy of the Irish proprietors, as well as of the Irish horses, should endanger the

existence of a coach and firm which had so long worked together with harmony. All past experience had shown that "in union there was strength," and even from the mouths of the very agitators who were now trying to break those bonds by which the success of the Union coach had been so obvious, this

argument had been constantly put forth. This was the principle upon which this vehicle had been started; and, for one, he was not inclined to throw up the reins merely because one of the team became a little restive. He had remarked that the Irish horses had not yet been thoroughly broken in; but he had no doubt with a little curbing, and placing them, with a strong kicking-strap, alongside the Scotch wheelers, and letting the old steady English horses take the places of leaders, they would go better. He was not an advocate for punishing a horse, if he would take his collar kindly, and he would try fair means first; but if this did not succeed, why, he would try coercion. Horses did not in general know what was good for them; and as the Irish horses in the Union were afflicted with an inflammatory disease, he would first try a warm mash, and if that did not do, he had no doubt a few cordial balls would set them to rights. It was two to one against them in the present dispute, and if he continued to have the "tooling of the prads," he was persuaded they would go on as steady as bog

trotters. [Hear, hear! from the Scotch and English proprietors.] He concluded by moving, as an amendment, "that the Union be maintained at all hazards."

BOB PEEL, formerly guard to the Union, but since off the road, said that, although by no means pleased with the manner in which the coach was now driven, yet he was so persuaded of the folly of changing the system, and of the ruinous consequences which would follow to the English and Scotch proprietors, that he would on no account consent to hazard an alteration. He said he was not surprised the Irish proprietors should occasionally commit blunder, which they had in this instance by confounding unit with unity; but, after a short time, there was little doubt they would be prompt in discovering and laughing at their own bull.

After some further discussion, the original motion was put, and negatived by a majority of two to one. The amendment was then carried. The go-cart men were highly incensed, and went away, declaring their intention "to have a shy for themselves, if they lost their stick."-Bell's Life in London.