who were keeping the passover upon a lamb which had been mired in the bog. And on the 5th of November, I particularly distinguished myself, in conjunction with certain bloody-minded boys, in the pursuit of a family of squirrels, who had made a lodgment in a row of chesnut-trees hard by. They afforded excellent sport,

and

"Ere a blow was struck,

An arrow from my bow had pierced their chief,
Who wore that day the arms which now I wear;"

for I converted his skin into a purse, of which the teeth form the clasp, and the tail the tassel. The 17th of December, however, was the most eventful day of my sporting annals, for as Friday and I were sitting, as usual, upon the large flat stone, just about day-break, our attention was arrested by the approach of a most enormous bird, which appeared to be of the Rock speciesbetter known, perhaps, to the readers of Fairy Tales than the sportsman, or the student of natural history. Such a dish, I thought, never administered to the cravings of an alderman, or flourished at a coronation feast. He spread his broad sails directly over my head, at the distance of about twenty paces, and I placed my finger upon the fatal trigger. The report was like a clap of Jove's thunder,-and he fell like a Titan. In my haste to secure my prize I had well nigh encountered the fate of Lord Ravenswood in the Kelpie-flow. I was, however, only up to the neck, and by dint of a persevering grasp on the bird's windpipe on my right, and the notable exertions of Friday on my left, I emerged without injury. Neither I nor my keeper could divine the species, but we both agreed that it was

"Rara avis in terris, nigroque simillima cygno."

It was, indeed, very like a swan ; but, of course, it must

be something else, for to kill a Thames swan, I had heard, was transportation, and that I should do any thing worthy of such a catastrophe was out of the nature of things. My wife, however, was seriously alarmed, and advised me to call in one or two of our neighbours, who were versed in such matters, to hold an inquest upon the body. One gentleman, who was the oracle of the rest, and known to be infallible, made his appearance with a volume of Buffon under his arm, and assured me that he would at first sight prove fully to my satisfaction, whether the bird was a goose or a swan; or, in other words, whether I was to pass the next seven years at home or in New South Wales. The corpse was laid out upon the dining-table, and the men of science commenced their enquiry It was measured from head to tail, and from wing to wing, and turned from back to belly, a dozen times-opinions varied, and Buffon was called in as umpire, when the foreman gave his firm decision that the defunct was neither a goose, -nor a hooper,-nor a Muscovy duck,-nor any other bird in the creation, than a tame swan, and moreover, a king's swan, which was made manifest by the royal mark upon his beak. I was advised to skin and devour it without delay, as there was every likelihood of my castle being subject to the investigation of a search-warrant, which might be productive of much inconvenience. But my appetite was gone, and as soon as the inquisitors had departed, I gave Friday a guinea to keep the secrettook a spade from the tool-house,-laid the royal victim, without tomb-stone or elegy, in a corner of the kitchengarden, and dreamt of Botany-Bay and the Tread-mill for a month after.

At last one day, as Friday and I were on the old sta

tion, and agreeing, for the twenty thousandth time, that it was very odd, the waters began to rise around me, and place me very much in the predicament of the famous king Canute. The sight verily rejoiced the heart of Friday as much as it dismayed that of his master. The river, he said, had swollen, and the country would be overflowed, and then there would be an influx of snipes and ducks, such as never was known. The snipes would be found on the islets, and the ducks would be swimming round them.

Alas! that ever I should live to say that I have seen as much as Noah! I saw the last spot of land swallowed up in the bosom of the waters, and I saw my abode insulated within a space which gave it all the horrors of an ark. Where now are the snipes to be found? On the islets!-Woe is me, there is not such a thing to be seen within five miles! But the ducks!-True; I can shoot them from my parlour window-when they come.

I went out in the punt every night for the first week of the flood, to take my position under the old oak-tree, from which my wondrous landlord massacred the sixteen ducks, but none of their brethren ever came to enquire after them during my vigils. If any one is inclined to find fault with the shortness of their duration, I would only invite him to watch one night for about six hours, as I have done, with no comfort but an east wind and a sleet storm.-I have rubbed my frozen fingers till the skin has peeled off like that of a boiled potatoe; and I have stamped against the bottom of the punt till I I have well nigh kicked it out, and committed myself and gamekeeper to the mercy of the midnight elements. Sometimes I have climbed the old oak, and lain perdu as cautious as king Charles,-and sometimes I have

waded up to the waistband, more fearless than the Old Man of the Sea. I will ask all the sportsmen that ever died of a sore throat, or a broken bone, what mortal could do more ;-yet I failed-I never shot a duck.

As all, or nearly all, of the foregoing narrative is written, like Cæsar's Commentaries, in the past tense, the reader will naturally conclude that my griefs are over. It concerns me exceedingly to contradict him.— At this present writing Friday is punting himself to the village (in which the houses look less like houses than rocks in a rapid river), for our daily bread. The few trees which enrich my prospect are every moment growing shorter, and the retiring hedge-rows, like experienced lawyers, seemed determined to confound the property of all the farmers in the neighbourhood. In the midst of this external desolation, I am threatened with destruction from within,-for a land-spring has burst in the cellar, and advances every hour a step nearer to the kitchen, from whence it will, no doubt, be promoted to the parlour where I am sitting, in which it will probably take permanent lodgings. If it were not for this memoir, which has occasionally given me something to think of, I verily believe that the next dead shot I should make would be myself. I expected that all my time would be taken up by sporting, and all my wife's by witnessing my skill; consequently, I have no books, but the "Art of Shooting Flying," and no music but the howling of my dogs,-I dare not look out of the window for horror,-I dare not turn to my wife for shame, and I dare not sit in the chimney-corner for the magpie; -what will become of me, now my paper is finished, I know not. I will subjoin a couple of advertisements, and trust in Providence.

TO SPORTSMEN.

To be disposed of, considerably under prime cost, the entire equipment of a sportsman, retiring from the field; consisting of a celebrated gun, and brace of bran new pointers, which have never been used; also, of every engine for the capture or destruction of every species of game, wildfowl, or vermin; likewise, of a variety of man-traps and spring-guns, for the detection or annihilation of poachers; likewise, a punt, and couple of decoy-ducks in excellent voice; likewise, a considerable store of ammunition of all sorts; and lastly, the most complete collection of fishingnets, hooks, flies, and rods, that ever were submitted to the public. Should any gentleman have taken a fancy, from the foregoing account, to the advertiser's Sporting Box, he has no objection to under-let it for the re maining six months of his lease, which would give the tenant the benefit of the floods, and likewise of all the spring fishing in the river Mud.

WANTS A PLACE,

S Gamekeeper, a Young Man, who thoroughly understands his business, and can have an undeniable character from his present master, who only parts with him because he has no farther service for him. As a preserver of game, inspector of fisheries, and breaker of dogs, he is perfectly unrivalled, having lately had large concerns of this nature on his hands. Wages not so much his object, as a place, the advertiser having a particular objection to working upon the roads.

THE DESTRUCTION OF OLD TREES.

I HAVE a passion for trees and forest scenery.-In happy fanciful moods, I have imagined that the soul of a Druid has through various transmigrations passed into me: several of the different states of existence in which it has sojourned make up my other propensities, but the Druid predominates, and I go forth in the bright days of summer to admire my oaks-to pay the tribute of veneration to those majestic trees which have been the pride of my ancestors, and which I hope will be preserved in their hoary grandeur, to delight and ennoble the residence of my children. There is a charm in groves of green trees, that belongs not peculiarly to