At Misterton, on the Wednesday following, there was an enormous field, as there always is likely to be with so good a country and so sure a find. Melton and Leicester contributed; may they long do so, whilst such good ones as Lords Wilton and Gardner frequent them! The hounds were not put into cover, but were laid on to an early riser. Having run at a good pace to Coton, with a ring or two round there, and then a gallop to Swinford, bold reynard was killed in a yard, as were three horses with broken backs in the open. When men get very jealous they must suffer for it; pity the horses suffer too. The hunting-field was not meant for a race-course; or a crowd of two hundred, with a pack of hounds to the fore, a very good place for a match. A fine bright sun and a hard frost rose on the beauties of Brockhall, and very little hunting could be done even late in the day. A warm snowy atmosphere at Winwick, Thornby being the meet, gave a run and a kill; and the Wednesday following, our old Leicestershire acquaintance again accommodated us at the Stick Cover. Having run him through Peatling, he got to Walton Holt; and having come to an understanding with himself that it would not do to try Whistow again, he persuaded a fresh fox to get in the way, and the hounds were obliged to return to Yelvertoft. A ring round Hemplow completed the day's sport. A pouring rain ushered in the last good day's sport in February. Ashby St. Ledgers was drawn blank; foxes are always about there, but have not been at home since the great day. Crick was also blank. Our Naseby reservoir friend died of fright at the dusting he got from that gorse last November. So Vanderplank's was again the move. In a pelting shower away went pug; twenty-five minutes up to Ravensthorpe, skirting Buckby Folly-splendid! Lord Vivian cut out the work, with Mr. Sturtt and Lord Henley in close attendance. I don't know any twenty-five minutes more likely to make a gap in a field than this; hill and dale, occasional fallow, big fences, a bottom worse than a brook, and a brook as bad as a bottom. I've been in, so I ought to know. At Ravensthorpe there was a check, and a ring back to Vanderplank's. Happy the humble individuals who met them returning after such a twenty-five minutes one might have cut it with credit. However, it was not all over, for he went away again for Spratton, and was killed in the open. Alas, poor fox! he's dead at last; and were it not for weightier matters, such as the fear of the income-tax and the French revolution, I think we should have a general mourning for so staunch a supporter of the Pytchley hunt and Vanderplank's cover. Adieu, my dear friend; I've left no room for a host of things I meant to have said; they must do for another time. But I will say this, that if you want comfort for the weight of taxation or any other national or individual grievances, get on your horse, and ride well, if you can, through a run with the Pytchley; you'll return with half a dozen contusions, a crushed hat, a light heart, a good appetite, and be in love with the whole world for a week at least. If you won't follow the advice, you can never follow the line of yours, affectionately, S.. THE GUN; AND HOW TO CHOOSE IT. BY RAMROD. The manufacture of guns has of late years been so much improved that a man cannot be wrong if he employs any respectable maker; but hould he wish for a first-rate article he must go to a first-rate maker; and should the price asked by these persons, which is necessarily high, not suit the pocket of the sportsman, he has only to go to Mr. Westley Richards, of Birmingham, or to his London agent, Mr. Bishop, of Bondstreet, and he will get as good a gun for twenty-five guineas as he need wish for; I here speak of his doubles the single guns are, I think, fourteen. The barrels are made of the best Holland stubs, and are suited in every way both for service and safety. There are other makers equally to be recommended; amongst the number the firm of Parker, Field, and Son, whose guns and prices give great satisfaction. A brother of mine has shot with one of their guns this season, and is highly pleased with it. It is what is termed the "finishing" of guns that makes them so expensive; the wages paid to engravers, &c., by the gunmakers, are enormous, and therefore they are obliged to charge accordingly; so, should you wish for a good strong gun, and, at the same time, be not disposed to give much money for it, you must put up with a plain-looking tool, and give directions to the man you employ to forge you a good strong barrel, and, in fact, put almost all the price of the gun in it; the locks, of course, must be serviceable, but you must not look for them to be so highly finished as they would be were you to give a high price. Never be tempted to buy a bargain, for if you do you may get more than you bargained for-namely, a shattered arm, or something worse, perhaps; at any rate, before you buy, examine it well in the following manner: First, take out the breech, to ascertain that the barrel is free from flaws; hold it up to the window, and raise it till the shade from the window runs along the inside, by which you will be able to discover any inequalities in the iron, which are proofs of bad boring; to inspect the outside, raise it in like manner, and in both cases, if the shade runs along like the even surface on a flow of smooth water, the barrel may be considered free from any defects. The next step is to see how the gun shoots to do which fire a dozen shots at a quire of brown paper, by which you will be able to know both the strength and closeness with which the shots are driven. This is the best way to examine a gun, and no harm can be done by it; but so numerous are the accidents that occur every year from the use of cheap guns, that I cannot imagine any one, having a regard for their lives and limbs, being foolish enough to use them. Almost all barrels are forged at Birmingham, and are proved before leaving, to omit which renders the maker liable to a penalty; the proof, as ordered by Act of Parliament, is to one ounce of ball thirteen drams and a half of the best cartridge powder, with a very stiff wadding of paper on each. As soon as they are proved, a mark is placed upon them, to imitate which is forgery. I believe the expense of forging a barrel is trifling, amounting to not more than sixteen shillings. I have already mentioned the proper mode for ascertaining that the barrel is sound, and that it shoots well, which precaution will be unnecessary if you employ a first-rate maker; and here I will mention a far better plan for an economical person than employing an inferior man, namely, going to a repository in London, where may be found secondhand guns by all the eminent makers; and here a little examination will be necessary, as they sometimes are worn so thin as to be unsafe, or are damaged in some way. The barrel should be 28 inches in length, and 13 or 14 gauge; a smaller bore I conceive incompatible with safety. I have tried every length and gauge, and am convinced that these are the proper dimensions for a gun. The sight should be so small as not to be in the way if you do not make use of it. The Damascus barrels I do not approve of, nor do I think them so safe, though in some countries they are held in high estimation. Scott, in his work on shooting, tells us that during the consulship of Buonaparte the making of these guns was brought to such a degree of perfection at Versailles, that two or three hundred pounds was a common price of one! The original breeching of a gun was simply a pin or plug screwed into the end, and forming the bottom of the tube; this has been improved upon by various gunmakers, but Mr. Joseph Manton's is by far the best, and is adopted by all the trade. The vent-hole is useful, as it prevents the recoil, and likewise the gun from corroding; it should be made of platina, otherwise it will blow large from repeated shooting. The nipple should be plain-not made like a screw, in which case it collects the rust, and is difficult to clean; the hole down it should be large, otherwise after repeated firing it will perhaps become choked up. There are various opinions as to placing the nipple; but Col. Hawker, who is the best authority, prefers it sloping, because, he says-" In the event of the copper flying, the eye is not then parallel with the circle of splinters, should any of them by accident escape from the concave head of the cock." The ramrod is best made of rose-wood, and should have a worm like the solid corkscrew, with a brass cap over it; the head of the ramrod should be fitted to the bore of the piece, which will prevent the wadding turning up when ramming it down. Should you get some shot into the barrel when the rod is there, instead of trying to pull it out by force, turn it down, and press the ramrod into the barrel, and the shot will immediately fall out. I will now speak of a most important part of the gun-namely, the stock; for unless that suits, it is impossible to shoot well. The length and bend of the stock must, of course, be suited to the shooter, who once having one to suit him should have the fac-simile cut out of a common bit of board; this will be a guide to the gunmaker, and will save a deal of trouble each time he has a new gun. It is of the greatest importance having a stock to suit you, for it is impossible you can manage your gun properly if it does not; one that is too long causes you to shoot under your birds, and one that is too short is equally disadvantageous. The bottom of the stock should be deep, as it will then rest X steadily on the shoulder, and that part where the right hand goes should be well cut away. THE LOCK.-Here the provincial gunmakers are excelled by those of London; there is as much difference between a town and country made lock as there is between a gentleman's cab and a hack one; there is something pleasant to the ear in the click of a London lock, so totally different to the dull heavy sound of a country one, that a sportsman cannot fail to distinguish one from the other. Many attempts have been made to render locks waterproof, but without success, as the effect of a damp atmosphere must be to damp the powder. For my own part, I do not see the advantage of them; for if a man cannot give up his shooting for one or two rainy days in the season, he must indeed be a greedy fellow. I do not approve of the gravitating stops, for if they are not kept very clean they will not act, and consequently the gun will not go off; and also from continual use of a gun with them, you are apt to get careless, and perhaps some day shooting with a gun not having them you fall into an accident. The best way of preventing accidents is to make the determination of never allowing a gun to be pointed for a moment towards yourself or any one else, and always to put your piece on half-cock before getting over a hedge or loading; were every one to observe these rules much less frequent would be mishaps from the use of fire-arms. The cock should have a deep head to prevent any of the copper cap escaping, which sometimes is the case if they are not good ones. The triggers of all your guns should go alike: some prefer they should go rather stiff, others the contrary; but certain it is that if they go too hard you are liable to shoot behind your game. If the lock goes hard, a little oil where the scear catches the tumbler will set it right. I will now conclude these remarks, and hope they may be found useful; if so, I shall be satisfied. They are the result of much experience, and should they be well received by the readers of the Sporting Maga zine, I purpose they shall be followed by some papers entitled "The gun, and how to use it." Till then, I beg to subscribe myself their devoted servant, R. MR. EDITOR,-In the last number of your magazine a correspondent, under the signature of "A Member of the Heythrop Hunt," complains of my having stated, in speaking of the Heythrop Hounds, in my contribution to your magazine in the last January number, that the Beaufort blood was fast wearing out; and goes on to prove, that with regard to that strain becoming less predominant every year in Lord Redesdale's kennel, it is by no means the case. I now have before me-as I have of a great many of the oldest established packs in England-the pedigrees of these hounds from their commencement, going on to within a very a few years of the present date; but in the instance before us am dependent upon the verbal assurance of their huntsman for the way in which they have been bred for the last three seasons, as he never sent me a list according to his promise. Now looking back to the lists, we all know that the foundation of the Heythrop pack was laid by a large lot of hounds from the Duke of Beaufort's kennel, from which have descended in a great measure the present pack, crosses with numerous other strains having been introduced. I never said, "the Beaufort blood was nearly worn out and lost, nor "that it did not flow in the veins of almost every hound in the kennel." I know it does, but the colour of it-if I may be allowed to use the phrase-is becoming paler every year. I am not now going to make any invidious comparisons to bear out my assertion as to the different merits of the present Heythrop Hounds and the pack which I knew as the Beaufort. But I must be allowed to make one remark, which I feel convinced all houndsmen will bear me out in, and that is with regard to the respective symmetry and general character of the two packs. I will even leave it to that experienced and excellent huntsman Jem Hills himself to decide. Do the two packs resemble each other in power, symmetry, and other distinguishing points? The character of the two packs is as different as light from darkness. This I attribute to the numerous fresh crosses from other packs, whose blood and character the present lot are inbibing; whilst, as I said before, and still maintain, the old Beaufort sort, like a "dissolving view," is gradually departing from the scene. London, March 3rd, 1848. ACTEON. THE RING. BY CRAVEN. "I see before me the Gladiator lie ; He leans upon his hand-his manly brow 'Ere ceased the inhuman shout which hailed the wretch who won." CHILDE HAROLD. "The dying man cried, Hold, I've had my gruel. Oh! for a glass of max !'.. .....and as the fuel Of life shrank in his heart, and thick and sooty Here, from the hand of one of the greatest painters of life, are two sketches allegorical of the ring in the classic age and in more modern and matter-of-fact times. These passages may stand for the poetry and prose of professional chivalry: the gladiator in the extremity of his disaster bethinking him of his "Dacian" family, his bride and little |