Richard II. and Charles I. the greyhound was also a favourite,—and 'Good Queen Bess,' and her 'lusty beef-eating maids of honour' used to patronise the sport, and on one occasion, after dinner, at Cowdray Park, Lord Montacute's seat in Sussex, saw from a turret sixteen bucks, all having fair law,' pulled down by greyhounds, which, it need scarcely be added, like the racehorses of that period, were of a very different stamp, partaking more after the Scotch deerhound than the present race of longtails.'

It was in Elizabeth's reign the laws of the Leash were first formed into a regular code by the Duke of Norfolk, the Lord Rivers of his day, on principles which have been adhered to ever since with alterations; but it was not until 1776 that the foundation stone of modern coursing was laid by Lord Orford, who established the first coursing club at Swaffham, in Norfolk, all traces of which have since disappeared; whilst public coursing in that county is at present confined to the Marham meeting, where, thanks to Mr. Villebois, Mr. T. L. Reed, and a few others, the reputation of the 'parent county' is well maintained. Nor are there many of the old Swaffham set left except Squire V.' and Lord Stradbroke, the latter of whom, after carrying all before him for many seasons, has altogether retired from public coursing since his marriage. A few characteristics of the Swaffham Club are worth mentioning even at this distant date. The list of members was confined to the letters of the alphabet, and each assumed a colour, also a letter, as the initial of his dog's name. The latter excellent custom is still followed by the members of the Altcar Coursing Society,' (as it was termed on its foundation in 1825, by the late Earl of Sefton, then Viscount Molyneux,) as well as by the Ridgway; and another peculiarity at the first meeting of the 'crack' Lancashire Club, now recognised as the first in the kingdom, was that the members acted as umpires for each other!' Amongst the eccentric Swaffham rules, was one that Any member may put up to auction the dog of another member, such member being present at the sale, and being at liberty to have one bidding!'-another, 'If any member absent 'himself for two meetings, without sending what shall be judged a 'sufficient excuse, he shall be deemed out of the Society, and another 'chosen in his place !'-another, 'No rough-haired dog to be deemed a greyhound!' Shades of Gilbertfeld, and many others of the 'rough' family, which have carried off all the best prizes in Scotland, and been permitted, moreover, to take part in the grand annual contest for the Blue Riband of the Leash,' what will ye say to this?

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The discontinuance of many of the old meetings mentioned above is much to be regretted, owing to the excellence of the coursing ground, more particularly the Deptford Inn,-with its extensive Fisherton and Codford downs, and beautiful turf adjoining Tilshead Lodge, originally built by the Duke of Northumberland and subsequently possessed by Lord Godolphin,-the Deptford Union, so called partly to distinguish it from the foregoing, and with the object

of bringing greyhounds from all parts of England to contest annually for the only gold cup run for in England,-the Letcombe Bowers, and Rockley, where Mr. T. Parr and Mr. A. Taylor now train their racehorses, Louth, in Lincolnshire, with its deputation of Withcall extending over 3,000 acres without a fence, save a boundary 'one,' and spacious fields of from 100 to 300 acres, with only posts and rails or sheep hurdles here and there as fences, where meetings second to none were held at one period,—and Ilsley, in Berkshire, which was revived a few years back under the auspices of Mr. Bowles, but has since died out again. Blewbury Bottom is one of the finest coursing grounds in England, equal to Compton Bottom and Kingston Warren at Ashdown Park, and Mr. Long's and Mr. Tanner's grand downs at Amesbury; and on the border of Blewbury Bottom is Lates Gore, where the old Duke of Cumberland used to train his racehorses. All this unrivalled range of Berkshire hills, in fact, is now used for training purposes, with what success the triumphs of Wild Dayrell, King Tom, Leamington, Fisherman, Saucebox, Sunbeam, Blanche of Middlebie, Oxford, Black Tommy, St. Lawrence, Liddington, Thormanby, Dundee, Lord of the Isles, Student, Lord Lyon, Achievement, Belladrum, and other celebrities will explain. Ashdown Park is still left to us, however, in all its unrivalled integrity, and it is gratifying to record the recent brilliant revival of the glories of that most distinguished coursing réunion, which we had begun to fear was going the way of all flesh, so dreadfully has it been mismanaged of late years, not only in the business department, but in the beating' and field arrangements. We have frequently gone over more ground -it is wildish country, that takes some doing' in bad weather,—in one day than was traversed during the whole five which the recent meeting extended over. From Maddle Farm, along the top of White Horse Hill, round and about Weyland Smith's Cave, back again to Kingston Clump, and a long drag up to the Ridgwayworth all the trouble perhaps to enjoy the grand view of the magnificent Vale of White Horse, only that we saw quite as much of it from the hermit's retreat' before !-and then a long homeward march of six or seven miles to Lambourne, with an occasional 'call' at Kingston Lyle, or some other deviation, to find hares for the last brace or two, so as to finish the card,'-used to stump up the slipper and his fellow pedestrians, and sicken the most devoted admirers of Ashdown, both strangers and habitués, in spite of the charms and agrémens by which coursing upon that unrivalled domain was invariably attended. Mais nous avons changé tout cela, and Ashdown's itself again,' thanks to the efficient management of the new honorary secretary, Mr. R. Clemitson, who found a most able assistant in that good courser, and old Ashdown habitué, Mr. C. Randell, whose reappearance on the scene of his many former triumphs, caused general gratification. Instead of the worst, it is now the best, managed meeting in the kingdom; and though the present Lord Craven, who prefers hunting to coursing, cannot be termed such an enthusiast of the Leash as his ever to be respected

father, or poor Lord Uffington, (whose lamented early death cleared the way for the present peer as successor to the title and estates,) he evidently takes quite as much interest in its success.

The devotion of the Craven family to coursing is historical, and Ashdown Park-say, eight years ago, was altogether sui generis. Then daily was to be seen-no matter the weather,—such a troop of horse-women, (consisting of the present Countess of Coventry, Lady Grey de Wilton, Lady Chelsea, Lady Evelyn Bruce, and Lady Emily Van der Weyer), as cast all others we ever met with into the shade, to eulogise whose riding at this distant date might be considered somewhat out of place, perhaps; though as one of the most charming and attractive features of the Ashdown Park réunions, it was a sight once witnessed never to be forgotten. To see them ride through a pumping course,-out of Kingston Warren, over the hill, through Crumpton Bottom, to the top of Weathercock Hill, a good three miles as the crow flies, and much longer with a working hare, -was a rare treat; and they would undertake such a task, to pick up the greyhound of a stranger, who might not happen to be mounted, as readily as their own. Before another season commences let us hope that Stephen Pearce's picture-for which the coursers of England subscribed 1000 guineas, as a presentation to the late Lord Craven, in estimation of the many kindnesses they received from himself and family,-will be finished, in order that the public, who have never visited this happily styled elysium of 'coursing grounds,' may be afforded some idea of the characteristic features of Ashdown Park. As one of the privileged few who have had the opportunity of inspecting the work in question, we can promise an equally rich treat to those more immediately interested in its success, as to the public at large, for its marvellously life-like character, and the unrivalled effect of the general ensemble. We will not intrude further into preserved ground' than to explain that the moment selected by the artist is when Swallow and Bribery (the representatives of England and Scotland) were in the slips to run the deciding course for the Ladies' Plate out of Kingston Warren, which resulted in the brilliant victory of the black and white Wiltshire bitch, a daughter of David and sister to Excelsior, the property of that evergreen courser, Mr. Stephen Smith, of Durrington, near Amesbury. The Ladies' Plate, as its name infers, was subscribed for in compliment to the Ladies Craven, and attracted the largest field of greyhounds ever known in the South of England. No fewer than 150 went to the slips, and the meeting extended over seven days from Tuesday, February 25th, to Tuesday, March 4thin the spring of 1862. Large as this field was it had been previously exceeded in Lancashire, where in 1837, the immense number of 178 greyhounds were entered for the All England Cup at Southport and Scarisbrick, in December, only six of which were absent when the stake was run off in the following March, after several postponements from frost. The winner was Mr. Reed's Sultan, and the runner up Mr. Bennett's Rocket, one of the best

and fastest dogs of his own or any other day. That meeting lasted six days, during which 177 hares were killed. Sultan was a Preston dog, own brother to the celebrated Empress, out of Clio by Tramp, and two years old; whilst Rocket, (who ran upwards of twenty courses at that meeting, and the Waterloo, the week before, where, after being beaten in his first course by the famous Bugle, the winner, he afterwards ran up to Lord Stradbroke's Madman for the Altcar Stakes,) was six years old! These statistics may not prove uninteresting to the present generation of coursers, who might go away with the idea that the great Scarisbrick Champion Cup of 128 dogs run for at Southport this year and last, and won, mirabile dictu, by the same greyhound--Bab at the Bowster-two years successively, is the largest stake ever run for on that well-stocked coursing arena. Amongst other 'large fields' in olden times may be mentioned the entry of 64 each for the Waterloo and Wiltshire pictures, which were run for at Altcar and Amesbury and respectively won by Mr. Philip Houghton's Tyrant and Mr. Bagge's Twilight; whilst the Caledonian picture obtained double that number (128) which was divided into eight 16-dog stakes, the winners of which ran off for the chief prize. At Eaglesham, in 1835, 91 started for the Glasgow Gold Cup, value 200l., presented by the City of Glasgow, which was won by Mr. A. Graham's rough dog Gilbertfield; the Clubs of Scotland Prize, won by Mr. A. Graham's Goth, a son of Gilbertfield, brought out 84 runners at Biggar, in 1836; there was an enormous field for the Edinburgh Cup, won by Mr. Wauchope's Claret (a Cambridge bred dog,) in 1837; the Biggar St. Leger once brought out upwards of 90 puppies; and the Great Yorkshire Stakes at Market Weighton more than a hundred; whilst for the Malleny Club St. Leger, won by Neville (Gregson's), no fewer than 137 puppies went to the post. The great length to which this article has already extended will prevent our getting through the card' without a postponement-that bugbear to coursers.

NEWBY FERRY.

BY R. E. EGERTON-WARBURTON.

THE morning was mild as a morning in May,
Slingsby on Saltfish was out for the day;

Though the Ure was rain-swollen, the pack dashing in,
Follow'd close on the fox they had found at the Whin.

Swept o'er the weir, they were running full cry,
But too deep was the ford for the horsemen to try;
So to Newby they sped, like an army dispers'd,
Hoping each in his heart to be there with the first.

Lloyd, Robinson, Orvis, and Slingsby the brave,
Pressing on to, that ferry to find there a grave;

Little thought the four comrades when, rivals in pace,

With such glee they spurr'd on that they rode a death-race.

The pack far ahead, and the river past,

With no one to cheer them and no one to cast,
Quickly, good ferrymen, haul to the shore,
Bad luck to your craft if we catch 'em no more!'

Thus shouting, old Orvis leapt down to the bank,
And with Lloyd alongside led his horse to the plank;
There stood they, dismounted, their hands on the rein,
Never more to set foot in the stirrup again!

Eleven good men in the laden boat,

Eleven good steeds o'er the ferry float;

Alas! ere their ferrymen's task was done,

Two widows were weeping o'er father and son!

So sudden, what meaneth that piercing cry

Wrung from those they had left on the bank hard by?

The shadow of death seem'd to pass like a cloud

O'er the stream-on its brink, terror-struck, stood the crowd.

The chesnut is overboard-Slingsby now,

To his bridle-rein clinging, hangs over the prow;

The barque, overburden'd, bends down on her side,
Heels o'er, and her freight is engulf'd in the tide.

In that moment an age seem'd to intervene
Ere Vyner was first on the surface seen;
The plank scarcely won ere his arm he extends
To reach and to rescue his sinking friends.

Whips knotted fast in the haste of despair,
Reach not the doom'd who were drowning there;
Swimmers undauntedly breasted the wave,

Till themselves were nigh sunk in their efforts to save.
Robinson-he who can bird-like skim

O'er fence and o'er fallow-unpractis'd to swim,
Powerless of arm, must now trust in this need
To his own stout heart and his own good steed.

Slowly that horse from the river's bed,

Still back'd by his rider, uprais'd his head;

Overtax'd in his stride as he cross'd the deep plough,

Oh! that strength had been spar'd for the death-struggle now.

Fearless and calm, as if hounds were in sight,

Sat his rider, unmov'd, in the saddle upright,

One moment, then heard they his heartrending scream,

As down, still unseated, he sank in the stream.