USE OF TEA IN CHINA.

WE possess abundant information upon the culture and preparation of the tea-plant, and upon the period when it was first employed in Europe, but very little as to when it came into general use in China itself. M. Klaproth has contributed some interesting particulars upon this point to the Journal Asiatique. He says that the Chinese works convey but little information upon the subject. The practice of taking tea as a beverage, however, would seem to have commenced during the Tsin dynasty, and Wang-mung, a minister of public works, at the latter part of the fourth century, brought it much into vogue, being himself a great consumer, and treating all his visitors liberally with it. The historian of the Suy dynasty states that the Emperor Wass-te, in the latter part of his reign, was much tormented by severe pains in the head, for which he was recommended by a Buddhist priest to drink an infusion of the leaves of the plant termed ming or cha, (tea,) which effected a cure. The character was so written as to be pronounced anciently either as cha or too, and it is conjectured that the European word tea is the Malay teeh, which is probably derived from the old Chinese too. The Japanese have a tradition which ascribes a miraculous origin to the tea-plant. This states that a most pious prince, named Darma, came from India to China, in the beginning of the sixth century, and endeavoured to excite a higher degree of religious feeling among the inhabitants than then existed. He exposed himself, as an example, to severe privations and mortifications, living in the open air, and spending the whole night in prayer and exhorta ion. After continuing this course of discipline for so ne years, he happened one night, overcome by fatigue, to fall asleep. Horror-struck at this accidental violation of a vow, by which he had bound himself to refrain from such indulgence, he cut off, as a means of expiating the offence, and preventing its repetition, his eyelids, and buried them. Next day he found sprouting, from the spot where he had interred them, a plant hitherto unknown. He tasted some of the leaves, which enlivened him wonderfully, and restored to him the vigour he had long lost. He invited his followers to partake of so excellent an herb, and its reputation soon spread all over China. Kæmpfer has presented to the world a copy of the portrait of this saint, who enjoys a great celebrity, both in Japan and China.

In 780, during the Tang dynasty, a duty of ten per cent. was levied upon all tea brought from beyond the mountains where it grew. In the reign of Moor-tsang, (A. D. 824,) the government being short of money, this duty was raised to the enormous sum of fifty per cent. When it was proposed to Ta-tsoo, the founder of the Sung dynasty, to raise the price of tea, as a means of supplying his exchequer, he replied benevolently, "Tea is an excellent article, which must not be rendered dearer, or the poor will be oppressed." In the reign of Jin-tsung, (1023-1063,) large factories were established, and at that period two separate kinds were prepared, viz., peen-cha, in which the leaves were dried by the fire, and formed into a solid mass; and san-cha, wherein they were dried and powdered. In the reign of Shin-tsung, (1068-86,) Le-Khe proceeded to the country of the Shoo, to procure tea, and then bartered it in various cities for horses. Extensive transactions of the same kind were carried on under the Sungs with the Tibetan nations on the frontiers. Under the Ming dynasty, horses, &c., were also exchanged for the commodity with the Mongols.

The use of tea was introduced into Tibet in the ninth century, when Chang-loo was sent there as ambassador. The Tibetans, observing the preparation of this beverage in his tent, inquired concerning its nature. "It is," said Chang-loo, "a drink which relieves thirst and dissipates sorrow." The Tibetans naturally desiring to become possessed of so valuable a plant, he distributed

several packets among them. Although the use of tea was known in Japan in 810, the plant itself was not introduced until 81.5, when two Buddhist priests, from the monastery of Toga-no-o, brought some young shoots from China. These thrived, and the use of tea soon became general in Japan.

Tea is the common beverage of the Chinese, of which they are passionately fond, believing that it unites to its agreeable qualities valuable medicinal properties. They always present it to their guests. Every one takes it three times, but some even ten times, daily. It is said by most authors to have proved a peculiarly beneficial gift to China, as tending to correct, in some measure, the nature of the water of that country, which is both unwholesome and nauseous. The herb is usually kept a year before employing it, as when used too fresh it produces a narcotic or stupifying effect. The Chinese pour boiling water over the tea, and leave it to "stand," or infuse, as we do, but they drink it without any admixture of sugar or milk, some of them, however, holding a small-piece of sugar-candy in the mouth the while. The common people use a very coarse tea, and as its virtues are not very volatile, or easily extracted by infusion, they boil it for some time. A vessel filled with water is hung over the fire betimes, in the morning, into which the tea, enclosed in a bag, or small basket, is placed. When sufficiently boiled, they draw it off, as their common and frequent beverage during the day. The imperial, or best tea, is preserved in porcelain vases, or in leaden or tin canisters, covered with bamboo mats. The commoner tea is kept in narrow-mouthed earthen pots, and the coarsest kind, (the flavour of which is not easily injured,) is packed up in baskets of straw.

The Japanese use powdered tea, diluted with water to the consistence of thin soup. The box containing the powder is produced, and the cups are filled with hot water: a quantity of powder is taken upon the point of a knife, and thrown into the cup, and stirred briskly round. It is sipped while warm. Du Halde says the same mode is followed in some of the Chinese provinces. J. C..

THE SALT MOUNTAINS OF ISCHIL,

IN UPPER AUSTRIA.

WE landed at Ebens-see, a small village at the southern end of the Gmunden Lake, and in reply to our inquiries, they informed us that the salt was manufactured at this place, but that the salt-mines were several miles in the interior. I had supposed that the salt was dug in a solid state from the mountain, and was therefore surprised when they took us to a large building, in which was a sheet-iron pan, about sixty feet in diameter, and two in depth, with a brisk fire kept up beneath. Water was flowing into it from two large cocks, and workmen were employed in shovelling salt out from the bottom on to a draining board, from which it was afterwards removed to small cone-shaped vessels, with holes at the bottom for further draining. In these it was suffered to remain until it became solid, when it was turned out, and the moist end of the cone being cut off, it was ready for transportation. Each lump contained about thirty-three pounds.

From Ebens-see we followed the windings of a deep valley for nine miles, when we arrived at Ischil, a pretty little village, frequented by valetudinarians for the benefit of its salt baths. These are in a new and very handsome edifice, with a Grecian colonnade in front, and an inscription, In sale et sole omnia existunt. The salt mountains are about three miles to the southward of Ischil. They form part of a high and broken range extending eastward and westward, and in the exterior are not to be distinguished from other parts of the range, the vegetation on every part being equally luxuriant. About half-way to the summit, we arrived at the residence of

the superintendent, and having here obtained permission to enter the mines, were conducted to a house a few hundred yards below, and provided with suitable dresses. Here is one of the entrances, of which there are twelve in all: they informed us that salt is found in any part of the mountain when they take the trouble of digging for it. Our course, after entering, was along a narrow horizontal gallery, openings occurring at intervals, along which we heard the dashing of water: at our feet also were wooden pipes for water, with branches running off into the various lateral galleries. Having proceeded a quarter of a mile, we came to a halt just where some bare logs rose in a slanting direction, from a cavity whose depth we could not ascertain. A guide straddled this log, and directing me to do the same, and hold on by him, he raised his feet, and away we went, sliding, or rather darting down, on the smooth log, and, excepting the glimmering light from our lantern, enveloped in total darkness. The guide kept himself upright, and, holding fast to him, I presently found myself deposited in safety on a heap of soft earth, and turned to enjoy the equal astonishment and fright of my companions.

We were now at the bottom of a chamber of irregular shape, but averaging about one hundred and fifty feet in diameter, and from four to ten feet in height; the ceiling in some parts being supported by blocks of sulphate of lime, piled up in the form of rude columns. The gangue of the salt, if the word may be used, is composed chiefly of a clayey earth, mixed up with irregular blocks of sulphate of lime: the salt is mingled with these, usually in strata of from six inches to two feet in thickness, forming, however, every variety, shape, and direction. It was generally of a reddish colour, and though mixed with impurities, very strong. The strata were very distinct on the ceiling of the chamber, which looked not unlike marbled paper, the salt itself presenting a great variety of colours, and its gangue scarcely a smaller number. The surface of the salt presented to us was rough and honey-combed.

We now for the first time learnt the mining process, which certainly is very simple, and sufficiently economical. In the first place, a small chamber is formed by the pick-axe and shovel, and arrangements having been made, by means of pipes, for conducting water to and from it, the outlet is stopped up, and the chamber is filled with fresh water, of which the mountain-streams furnish them with abundance. In a few weeks the water in the chamber is saturated with salt: it is then let out, and conducted by aqueducts to Ebens-see, a distance of twelve miles, where the water is evaporated artificially, and the salt is shipped for the store-house at Gmunden, When the chamber has become sufficiently dry, the workmen descend into it, clear it from the stones and dirt which have been loosened by the water, and fallen from the ceiling, and the chamber is then ready for another flooding. The large chamber we were in, as the guides informed us, requires one month for the process of filling, and fifteen days more for completing the saturation. It holds 80,000 German emers; is filled four times a year, and has been in use thirty years: one hundred pounds of water furnish twenty-six and three-fourths pounds of salt. There are thirty-four chambers in all, in which two hundred men are employed, working night and day, six hours at a time. They work four days in a week, and get forty-eight cents per week. When the chambers are approaching, so as to threaten a breach from one into the other, the further encroachment of the water in that direction is prevented by a compound formed by the clay and pulverized rock, which is beaten against the wall, so as to form an effectual barrier. At intervals, in the descent of the mountain, are three reservoirs, into which the water is successively discharged, I believe for the purpose of breaking the violence of the descent.

There is a chain of six or seven very beautiful lakes in this neighbourhood, two of which we visited, after leaving Ischil, and on the 29th August stopped for a short rest at Salzburg. Our consul at Vienna had described, in glowing terms, the beautiful scenery at Berchtsgaden, a short day's journey to the south of Salzburg; and as it had also a salt mountain, I determined to pay it a visit. There are also salt-mines at Hallein, south from Salzburg, which I did not examine, but which I was informed are worked, and are about as productive as those of Ischil.

Berchtsgaden is now comprehended in the kingdom. of Bavaria. The royal family were there on a visit at this time: they had just been inspecting the mines, and I found many parts of the interior ornamented in a fanciful manner, the richest crystals of the salt and gypsum having been collected and disposed so as to form grottoes, devices, &c. Some of the former were large and perfectly transparent, but a deep red or brown is the prevailing colour. This mine appeared to me to be richer than that of Ischil. In some parts the salt forms regular solid strata, several feet in thickness, and so free from foreign matter as to be fit for use without any purifying process. In these places it is mixed by the aid of gunpowder; and the guides, after placing us in secure places, allowed us to witness two or three explosions. Generally, however, the mine differs very little from that of Ischil. We entered by a horizontal gallery, a quarter of a mile in length, and then came to branching galleries, along which pipes were conducted, for filling the chambers with water, or emptying them. One hundred and ninety men are employed, and the yearly product, I was told, is 8134 tons.-ŠILLIMAN's Journal.

PRAYER.

Go when the morning shineth,
Go when the moon is bright;
Go when the eve declineth,

Go in the hush of night.
Go with pure mind and feeling,

Fling earthly thoughts away;
And in thy chamber kneeling,
Do thou in secret pray.
Remember all who love thee,

All who are loved by thee;
Pray too for those who hate thee.
If any such there be.
Then for thyself in meekness

A blessing humbly claim;
For strength to aid thy weakness,
In thy Redeemer's name.
Through Him thy secret breathing,
Shall reach the realms above,
As sacred incense wreathing
Where all is Truth and love.

ANON.-Ulster Times.

INNUMERABLE are the diseases that arise from our busy fancy. We are all subject to the tyrannic sway of imagination's empire. Under this mighty influence man displays energies which lead him boldly to dare danger and complicated sufferings, or he is reduced to the most degraded state of miserable despondency. These diseases are the more fearful moral influence is sufficiently persuasive to combat their since they rarely yield to physical aid, and it is seldom that inveteracy. It is idle to tell the timid hypochondriac that he is not ill. The mere circumstance of his believing himself sick constitutes a serious disorder. His constant apprehensions derange his functions, until an organic affection arises. The patient who fancies that he labours under an affection of the heart disturbs the circulation, which is ever influenced by our moral emotions, till at last this disturbance occasions the very malady which he dreaded. These aberrations of the mind arise from various causes,-mental emotions, constitution, climate, diet, hereditary disposition, education. Tertullian called Philosophy and Medicine twin sisters: both may become powerful agents in controlling our imagination.—MILLINGEN.

ANCIENT CHESS-MEN DISCOVERED IN THE ISLE OF LEWIS.

In the year 1831 an announcement made in the Scottish newspapers excited the attention of antiquaries to a curious discovery made in Scotland in the Isle of Lewis on the sea-shore, in the parish of Uig, of a considerable number of chess-men of excellent workmanship. They were discovered by a peasant of the island, whilst digging on a sand-bank, near to a ruin of some note, and having been purchased by the Trustees of the British Museum, these figures now form part of our national collection of antiquities, together with a bone or ivory fibula, and fourteen table-men, or draught-men, which were found with them. The chess-men are sixty-seven in number, forming the materials of six or more sets, but the pieces are of such various sizes, that it is difficult to select two sets which correspond exactly. Of the total number, six are kings, five queens, thirteen bishops, fourteen knights, ten warders, and nineteen pawns. The largest king is 44 inches high, and 6 inches in circumference; the largest queen 37 inches in height, and 53 in circumference; the largest bishop, knight and warder, (the latter holding the place of the rook or castle,) are respectively 5 inches in height; and the largest pawn 2 inches. For the sake of distinction, part of these pieces were originally stained of a dark red or beet-root colour, but from the action of salt-water for many centuries, the colour is in most cases nearly discharged.

There is little variation in the form or attitude of the KINGS. They are all represented as old men with large spade-shaped beards, moustaches, and hair falling in plaits over their shoulders. They have on their heads low quatrefoil crowns, either plain or ornamented with a border, and sit on square-formed chains, having high backs richly carved with various scrolls, figures of animals, intersecting arches, and tracery-work in the best style of art of the twelfth century, as seen on monuments, and in manuscripts. Their dress consists of an upper and an under robe, the former of which, that is, the mantle or clamys, is thrown in folds over each arm, and left open on the right side as high as the shoulder, (where it is fastened by a clasp,) for the purpose of leaving the arm free. Each of the figures holds a sword, with both hands across his knees, as though in the act of drawing it, according to the old mode assigned to royal personages. The swords are broad and short; the scabbards are marked either with a simple longitudinal line, or with lines placed diagonally. In the different figures, there are some slight variations, and in one the hair is not plaited, but spreads over the back in six long wreaths: the ornaments of the chains are also diversified; one of them exhibits an intersection of

THE BISHOP.

THE KNIGHT.

One of

The BISHOPS. Five of these pieces are represented in ornamented chairs, and the remaining eight in a standing position. All the sitting figures, and four of the standing ones, wear the chasuble, dalmatic, stole, and tunic, of the form anciently prescribed, and corresponding with representations of much greater antiquity; the remainder have a cope instead of a chasuble, but the stole and dalmatic are omitted. The mitres are very low, and in some instances quite plain, but have the double band, or infula, attached behind. The hair is cut short round the head. They hold a crosier with one, or with both hands: and in the former instances the other hand holds a book, or is raised in the attitude of benediction. On the backs of the chasuble and stole are various crosses or ornaments. In the details both of the habits and other work, there are numerous minute variations.

The KNIGHTS are full-length figures mounted on horseback, and are probably the most interesting portion of the whole. They are habited in long coats or gambesons, which descend in folds to the feet; the sleeves have a cuff or border at the wrist. The leg has apparently a covering of some sort down to the ankle, where it is met with a species of half-boot without spur. Their helmets, with a few exceptions, are of a conical shape, and mostly with nasals and round flaps to protect the nose, ears, and neck. All the figures have moustaches and large round beards, except one, which has the beard separated into three forks. A long kite-formed

shield, suspended from the neck, hangs on the left side of each, ornamented with various devices, approaching in some instances very closely to heraldic distinctions. Beneath the shield appears the sword, which is fastened round the waist by a belt, and in the right hand each knight carries a massive spear. The horses are caparisoned in high saddles, plain or ornamented; saddle-cloths curiously bordered; stirrups and bridles; the mane is cut short, and the hair suffered to grow down on the forehead. On one side of the shields is a cross, bearing a lozenge, plain; on another is an ornamented lozenge; and the remainder are variously indented with crosses and

other ornaments.

Ir is, I think, conclusive that mankind, from a very early period, have their minds prepared for supernatural occurences by the consciousness of the existence of a spiritual world. But imagination is apt to intrude its explanations and inferences, founded on inadequate evidence. Sometimes our violent and inordinate passions, originating in sorrow for our friends, remorse for our crimes, our eagerness of patriotism, or our deep sense of devotion;-these or other violent excitements of a moral character, in the visions of the night, or the rapt ecstasy of the day, persuade us that we witness with our eyes and ears an actual instance of that supernatural communication, the possibility of which cannot be denied. At other times the corporeal organs impose upon the mind, while the eye and the ear, diseased, deranged, or misled, convey false impressions to the patient. Very often both the mental delusion and the physical deception exist at the same time; and men's belief of the phenomena presented to them, however erroneously, by the senses, is the firmer and more readily granted, that the physical impressions corresponded with the mental excitement. -SIR WALTER SCOTT.

A GIPSY VILLAGE.

Bears

AFTER advancing some little way through the defile, our attention was attracted by a tremendous uproar, and on turning a curve of the road, we came at once upon a gipsy village, presenting a scene not easily paralleled. were bellowing, monkeys and children screaming, dogs barking, drums beating, pipers playing, women scolding, men fighting, and smiths and tinkers hammering,-altogether forming a charivari, which, fortunately for men's ears, does not often assail them. Nor was the appearance of these people less remarkable than their noise. The majority of the children were entirely naked, and their parents nearly so, having no covering but a pair of wide trousers, those of the women differing but little in form and colour from those of the men. The whole, whether basking in the sun, or at work, were incessantly smoking from little short pipes made of box-wood. In short, they exhibited a picture of human degradation and misery, such as I have not often witnessed, even among the most savage tribes. Their dwellings consisted merely of scattered tents, and holes burrowed into the sides of the soft limestone rocks that towered above them. Their habits appeared filthy in the extreme, for besides the stench arising from the nume rous animals with whom they lived in common, the immense volumes of tobacco-smoke, and the smell of onions and garlic, formed an odour altogether so unsavoury, that we heartily wished ourselves out of its vicinity.

On hearing the sound of our horses, the whole motley multitude started on their legs and rushed towards us; when pipers, drummers, fiddlers, dancing dogs and bears, tumbling monkeys and naked children, young fortune-tellers and old witches, all performed before us in their respective characters. A few handfuls of kopecks, for which they most reverently kissed the hem of our garments, and wished us a happy journey, delivered us from their importunities.

In the midst of all this wretchedness, I could not help remarking the well-formed proportions of the men,—their fiery eyes and animated countenances. Nor were the fine features of the women-the large, full, dark eye, and jet black hair, hanging down in natural curls on their shoulders-less admirable; and although, from continual exposure to the weather, they were nearly as dark as Indians, yet those still young were really beautiful. But this distinction does not long characterize the women of the East, particularly this migratory people, for those more advanced in life were the veriest personifications of what you might -SPENCER'S Travels in Circassia, Krim Tartary, &c.

guest at one of those olden feasts.

There was a female who particularly attracted my attention, on whose head was a chaplet of dark-coloured flowers, and who sat veiled and silent during the whole of the banquet. She took no share, I observed, in what was passing around; the viands and the wine went by her untouched; nor did a word that was spoken seem addressed to her ear. This abstraction from a scene so sparkling with gaiety, though apparently unnoticed by any one but myself, struck me as mysterious and strange. I inquired of my fair neighbour the cause of it, but she looked grave and was silent. . . . . . . I returned to the banquet-room, which was now dim and solitary, except that there, to my astonishment, still sat that silent figure, which had awakened my curiosity so strangely during the night. A vague feeling of awe came over me as I now slowly approached it. Here was no motion, no sound of breathing in that form, not a leaf of the dark chaplet on its brow stirred. By the light of a dying lamp which stood before the figure, I raised, with a hesitating hand, the veil, and saw-what my fancy had already anticipated-that the shape beneath was lifeless,

was a skeleton!

This custom among the Egyptians, of placing a mummy, or skeleton, at the banquet-table, had been for some time disused, except at particular ceremonies; and even on such occasions, it had been the practice of the luxurious Alexan- | drians to disguise this memorial of mortality in the manner just described. But to me, who was wholly unprepared for such a spectacle, it gave a shock from which my imagination did not speedily recover. This silent and ghastly witness of mirth seemed to embody, as it were, the shadow in my own heart. The features of the grave were now stamped on the idea that haunted me, and this picture of what I was to be mingled itself with the sunniest aspect of what I was. -FLINT.

To think too meanly of mankind is dangerous to our reverence of virtue,

This practice, at first urged on him by imperious necessity, was soon found to have its advantages. The flesh of many wild animals was found to supply wholesome food, and the skins of nearly all were valued as clothing, so that self-interest would not fail to prompt him to the pursuit of such animals as best supplied his

wants.

His reason and ingenuity were now employed to devise the most successful methods of entrapping his prey. The rude pit-fall, the trap of simple form, the noose or snare, the club, the javelin, and the spear, the simple sling, the various kinds of bow, gradually succeeded each other, until the comparatively recent period when the invention of fire-arms threw all other weapons into the shade, and presented a more certain and deathinsuring method of procuring game.

It is worthy of remark that the destruction of animals, during the early age of the world, does not appear to have been followed as a pastime. It was a matter of necessity, and in so far as it supplied mankind with food, was in accordance with the Divine command.

After the deluge, man was encouraged to take and eat of the animals around him: "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things." (Gen. ix. 3.)

On Noah, and in him on all mankind,

The charter was conferred, by which we hold
The flesh of animals in fee, and claim
O'er all we feed on power of life and death.
But read the instrument, and mark it well:
The oppression of a tyrannous control
Can find no warrant there.

Among the ancient Greeks and Romans very different opinions prevailed at different times as to the utility of field sports. Xenophon wrote a treatise, enlarging upon the advantages of these exercises, as inuring the body to hardships and privations, and promoting courage, strength, and swiftness. In the time of Sallust, hunting was held in sovereign contempt, and abandoned to slaves. Solon forbade the Athenians to hunt, because it enticed them from more useful pursuits. When the Goths and Vandals over-ran and subjugated the Roman empire, they appropriated the privilege of hunting to their own chiefs and nobles, and ceased to acknowledge the natural right which all men were previously considered to have, of participating in field sports.

Yet

It seems likely that the earliest animals subjugated to the use of man were sheep and kine, and that their skins formed his clothing; while the milk derived from them proved an abundant source of nutriment. these highly valuable animals were of no assistance to him in the conquest of other and more ferocious creatures. The exquisite powers of scent and vision, with other remarkable qualities possessed by the dog, seem to have pointed him out at a very early period as man's assistant in the pursuit of wild animals.

supe

It is not our purpose to proceed with the history of the successive appropriation of different animals by man to the objects of the chase; or of the modes by which the capture of animals was facilitated from time to time; far less shall we attempt to show, that, in an age of refinement like ours, when the necessity imposed upon barbarians no longer exists, the enthusiam with which field sports are followed, and inoffensive creatures preserved for the express purpose of being hunted to death, is worthy the national character for intellectual riority and generous feeling. Yet, taking advantage of the very general interest which such subjects are wont to excite, we propose to give, in this and the following articles, notices of the sports prevalent during the month, with an especial reference to the natural history of the animals forming the objects of pursuit. It cannot be expected that we should select on all occasions the sport which is the most universally followed at the time we write, for many favourite pastimes of this nature, prevail for several months in succession, and we should, in consequence, be bound to keep to one subject for a corresponding length of time: we shall therefore take such particular sports for description as our attention may be directed to at the time, and as are more or less followed during the month.

In the present cold and bleak season of the year, when some of our field sports are necessarily suspended, there is yet an occupation for the gunner, which is considered to possess peculiar attractions, and which has drawn many a sportsman from his home for weeks together. This is the shooting of wild-fowl of various kinds; an occupation fraught with much difficulty, and even danger, and in the pursuit of which, the miseries of cold and hunger, the necessity of traversing halffrozen marshes and ditches, the pelting of storms of hail or snow, are all cheerfully endured by the zealous lover of the sport.

The capture of wild ducks is that of which we shall at present speak, as being the chief branch of the sport. Many of the rivers of our southern shores present, at

their junction with the sea, extensive deposits of soil and of animal matter which are alternately covered and left dry by the tide. The autumnal rains sweep a vast quantity of little animals and animal remains from the upper country, while numerous aquatic animals of a minute kind also resort to the brackish waters of such situations, on account of the warmer temperature which those waters possess over both the sea water, and fresh running streams. Where the soil of the surrounding country is rich, and the descent of the river gradual, these deposits present to the whole race of dabbling birds the grandest attractions. Where the stream comes dashing from a rocky soil, or is very limited in its course, its termination is never found to be an estuary favourable to the birds in question. On looking at the map of England, we shall see that several of our southern rivers are, as it respects the length of their course, and the nature of the country and of the soil they traverse, especially calculated for the resort of wild-fowl. In consequence, the capture of these birds is carried on to a great extent, and in a systematic manner, and the quantity taken is very considerable. The most successful method of catching is by the decoy, which is a pond sheltered by reeds, and containing a permanent net in which the birds are entrapped. Tame birds are trained to entice the wild ones, and are called decoy-ducks. Into the details of this mode of bird-catching we cannot now enter. A more hazardous method is pursued by men who partly depend on wild-duck shooting for their subsistence, and also by sportsmen who consider the pleasure rather enhanced than lessened by the difficulties and risks they incur. These pursue their occupation principally in small punts or boats, and are called puntshooters, or punt-gunners. Sea-fowl usually come down to feed by night in the oozy ground before described. Towards evening, therefore, the fowler runs up his boat into a creek, and lies in patient expectation of his prey. Gilpin, describing the coast of Hampshire and the fowler's employment there, says that the flight of wild ducks as they approach the feeding-place, may be compared to a pack of hounds in full cry, so noisy are they in their language. The gunner listens attentively to ascertain which way they bend their flight, and has perhaps the mortification to find that they have alighted at too great a distance to allow of his getting a shot at them; but if he happens to be more fortunate, and finds them alighting on the plain, to the edge of which he has moored his little boat, he primes both his pieces, for he generally carries two, and again endeavours to find out the situation of the birds by listening, the nights favourable to the fowler's sport being exceedingly dark. The birds are silent while feeding, but the motion of such a number as generally feed together is sufficient to produce certain indistinct sounds, by which the fowler is guided where to take aim. He fires at a venture, and immediately takes up the other gun and discharges it where he supposes the affrighted flock to be rising on the wing. This concludes his chances of success for that night, and he has now nothing more to do than to tie to his feet flat pieces of board, called mud-pattens, and, thus protected from sinking in the ooze, to grope about in the dark in quest of his booty, which may consist of many birds, or may be almost nothing. The danger attending this employment is, lest the fowler should get fixed in the mud so as to be unable to extricate himself, and thus get overtaken by the returning tide. The cold is also so severe as to expose the less inured follower of the pursuit, to ill consequences to his health. Even in the day-time, the risk of such expeditions is considerable, as the following anecdote will be sufficient to show :

Mounted on his mud-pattens, a fowler was once traversing one of these oozy plains in search of ducks, and, being intent only on his game, suddenly found the water, which had been accelerated by some peculiar circumstance