206 On the Barrenness of the Mule and Free Martin. only keep the horfe ten days, and then advertise him, and fell him for what he could get for him, and reimburse himself. in Devonshire, and who has ve rified the fact in the most ample manner. This inftance, joined to those covering the mule, fhows that nature, anxious for the continuation of its fpecies, fometimes deviates even from her exceptions. In the cafe of the mule, we fee her, however, equally anxious to avoid confu Lord Chief Juftice." Gentlemen, I am almoft forry I do not feel myself juftified in my confcience to advise you to give larger damages than 35 guineas, the fum paid for the horfe; but this defendant, who has endea-fion; for if the mule is ever pregvoured to corrupt the fervant of a gentleman, is an extremely dif honeft, knavish man."-Verdict for plaintiff-361. 155. For the SPORTING MAGAZINE. T has long been fuppofed that It the mule was barren, but the contrary has been proved in feveral inftances, though they are rare, and the production of the mule is neither fo ftrong, nor fo long-lived as its parents. St. Domingo has afforded three inftances of fruitful mules: the firft produced a foal in October, 1771, at the habitation of M. Verron, at Terreins Rouges, which lived till June, 1776; the fecond foaled at La Petite Anfe, the plantation of M. Noord, in 1774, but the young animal died foon; the third event happened in 1788, at La Grande Riviere, the habitation of M. Gouivon; the fetus is in the cabinet of the Society of Arts, &c. at Cape Francois. The free martin, as it is called, has likewife been fuppofed to be barren. The free martin is the female twin of a cow when the twins are of each fex. The late Mr. John Hunter pronounced the free martin an hermaphrodite; but we have an inftance of one of these producing a calf, the owner of it was a Mr. Brock, in North Tanton, mear Barnstaple, nant, her offspring is not likely to be fo. Various EXPRESSIONS in HUNTING elucidated. To the Editors of the Sporting MAGAZINE. GENTLEMEN, R EADING the other day, an old French treatise upon hunting, the title whereof is La Venerie de Jacques du Fouilloux, à Paris, 1573, I was much entertained with the fingularity of his notions, and the great eulogiums he had penned in honour of the chafe. In hopes it may likewise amufe fome of your readers, the following notes are extracted from that book; which, to the beft of my knowledge, has never been tranflated, ad is probably very fcarce. In his dedication to Charles IX. of France, he ob. ferves, that men in all ages have given themfelves up to various purfuits; fome to high, or occult fciences; fome have recreated their minds by the study of philofophy; and others have fervilely ftooped to the mechanic arts, in order to gain worldly riches, or to gratify their innate avarice. From thefe premifes he infers, that the attending to fuch exercifes as will promote health, vigour, and jocundity, are highly commendable; amongst Various Expreffions in Hunting elucidated. amongst which none are comparable in his estimation to the delights of the chase. "Thefe (he fays) have added ftrength to my youth, with the hopes of the fame longevity which my anceftors enjoyed by their ftrong attachment to it." In his address to the French gentry of that time, he ftiles the diverfion, "a most delectable labeur, a polite exercife," and affirms that "hunt are a fet of men the least to be accused of indolence." By hunting, he means the grand parade of forcing the ftag, or running the wild boar. The fox and the hare occupy a much inferior station, which he confiders only as a menu divertiffement, notwithstanding he allows hare hunting to be a pleasant amufement, and free from danger; but he feems totally unacquainted with the ardour of our modern fox-chafe; and his reynard figures in the fame rank with wolves, badgers, otters, &c. There is much humour in his remarks on the character and convivial difpofition of a true fportfman, whole noble occupation, he fays, exhilirates the mind, gives agility to the body, and ftrength to the appetite; maintaining (how true I cannot fay) that it leffens our natural propenfity to evil, increafing courage and refolution for dangerous exploits. He reckons Xenophon and Appian as writers upon this fubject; among the Latins, the poet Grotius, Pope Adrian VI. with many others of more modern date; and concludes by obferving, that the lovers of Diana frequently become the moft intrepid fons of Mars.. Such is the fubftance, and in fome places the direct words of Monfieur du Fouilloux, Seigneur de Gaftine en Poitou; but the ftile of our Poitevin is too obfolete to 207 bear a literal tranflation; I have therefore, only endeavoured to preferve a fpecimen of the origi nal. This book to all appear. ance may be valuable, and my fuppofition is grounded on hav ing obferved it enquired for by an advertisement in a coun try newspaper, which circulates around a celebrated hunt. This is not to be wondered at, as it contains a number of curative receipts refpecting dogs, and also embellished with a great variety of neat wooden cuts. It has likewife thrown fome light, in my opinion, upon our hunting exclamations, fuch as tallio, or tally ho, hoix, hark forward: these are borrowed from French words, which appear in this book under musical notes. The first is tya. hillaut, or thia-hiliaud; the fe cond is derived from haut icy, or haut iacy: thirdly, forheur, or forte heur, is the huntfman's cry, thus, a qui forheur. These words are mere founds, with little or no meaning, yet their etymology has often embarraffed me; but, allowing for our frequent corruption of French terms, I think their derivation is here plainly made out. Halleo! for the fame reafon originates from hab le loup, or au loup, or à lou loup, wolves being formerly common in England as well as on the continent, and this word ferved as a fhout to fet the dogs on a purfuit; which expreffion continues in ufe to this day, though no wolves be found either in Great Britain or Ireland fince the time that a premium was ordered by law for their deftruction. I am, Your humble fervant, June 10, 1794. OBSERVATOR. JOCKEY. 208 Jockey Clergyman. JOCKEY CLERGYMAN. HT friend. Philotius took the horfe on the recommendation of Hipponeus, and in a few days it proved unfit for ufe; and now Hipponeus congratulates himself on his fuperior judgment in horfe IPPONEUS is a young man of fortune, lately admitted into orders, and as the habit of a clergyman is a paffport into the beft of companies, Hipponeus isfh. vifited by the moft refpectable families of that part of the country in which he refides. But Hipponeus' pleasure is feated in his ftable, in which he is more On the GAME of WHIST. nice than in the economy of his W. equally dependent upon houfehold. If you call upon him in a morning, he is out airing his horfes; or fhould you chance to call upon him in an evening, he is with his ftud. If one of his horfes are fick, you may perceive it in the dejection of his countenance; or fhall they, on the contrary, be all in health and high condition, the eager glee of approbation enlivens his whole features; thus this young man's pleafures are regulated by the diary of his ftable. Hipponeus is a conftant attendant at Newmarket, and by his frequent converfation with jockies and fharpers, has attained to the happy imitation of the completeft on the turf. He is conftantly buying and felling horfes, and it is allowed that he thoroughly understands (what is termed by dealers) making up a horfe. Nay, Hipponeus is never fo happy as when he can (in the language of jockies) take in a friend. It was but the other day that Philotius applied to him to procure him a tractable jade; (for Philotius is one of those who prefer an easy feat to a prancing fteed with a probability of being thrown from the faddle); Hipponeus promifed his beft endeavours, and as one of his own horses had not turned out thoroughly to his fatisfaction, he thought it the luckieft time poffible to accommodate his chance and judgment. The Englifh have the honour of its invention, and it has for many years continued to be much in fashion all over Europe. Of all the games at cards, it is the most judicious in its principles, the most fuitale to fociety, the most difficult, the moft interefting, the most animating, and is more combined with art than any other. It is infinitely more judicious in its principles than Le Reverfi, and more adapted to fociety; as one knows beforehand what one may lose at a game, and one is not made a facrifice at every inftant to lying compliments. Here no defpotical prerogative is given to any fingle card, and no perpetual dictator is fet up, like the formidable fpadille, and the curfed quinola. Whift is far from maliciously. fpurring the imagination after a lure that is contradictory to common fenfe, as Le Reverfi does. The progrefs of whift is natural; thofe who make the most points and hands obtain the victory, as in all reafon aud equity they fhould. It is the rule in all ferious games, and particularly that of the game of kings, too well known by their fubjects under the name of war. Whift is more difficult than piquet, fince it is played with all the On the Game of Whift. 209 the cards; as the partners do not, ties, and will ravish from you the victory which you fee flying from your hands under the wings of the capricious goddefs. fpeak, do not confult one another, do not fee, nor reciprocally know the ftrength or the weaknefs of their hands. They must guefs at it by their fagacity, and conduct themselves in confequence. Whift is more interesting, more animating than any other game at cards, by the multiplicity of combinations that feed and employ the mind; by the viciffitude of the events which keeps it under check; by the furprife, agreeable or unwelcome, on feeing the fmall cards make tricks against all expectation; in fhort, by the hopes and fears that, to the very half moment, fucceffively agitate the foul. Add to all this, that the duration of this game employs the just medium between the two extremities; its length is amply fufficient to allow of the renewal of the rubbers two or three times in an evening, and of changing the actors and partnerships, which reanimates the courage of thofe who have loft, without diftreffing the conquerors, who re-enter the lifts on their games. In a word, whift is a game in all respects moft ingeniously contrived; a game perfectly adapted to English heads, accustomed to reflect, to calculate and combine in filence. England, victorious in the four quarters of the world, at once bestowed on France a generous peace and the knowledge of this delightful game, for which they feem to have an extravagant relifh. Fond of novelties, they received the gift with transport; captivated with frivolous amufements of the mind, and finding whift of that number, they religioufly adopted all its laws, and obferve them with the utmost punctuality, excepting that, perhaps, of filence, which is fo highly repugnant to their viva city, and their utter abhorrence to fhut the door of their lips. The chances or hazards of this game have been calculated by the greateft mathematicians of England, and M. de Moivre did not difdain to bestow his attention on them. He found: 1. That there are 27 chances against 2, or thereabouts, that the dealer and his partner will not have the four honours 2. That there are 23 against 1, or thereabouts, that the eldest hand will not have the four honours. 8. That there are 8 against 1, or thereabouts, that neither on one fide nor the other there will be the 4 honours. 4. That there are 13 against 7, or thereabouts, that the two who give the cards, will not reckon the honours. In this game, as in war, and at court, we must arrange our batteries, purfue one fixt defign, baffle the fchemes of our adverfaries, conceal our intentions, and run hazards when neceffary. 5. That there are 25 against Sometimes with indifferent cards 16, or thereabouts, that the howell managed, we win tricks.nours will not be equally divided. One while the moft fkilful car. The fame mathematician alfo ries the day, and one while the determines that the chances in moft lucky. For the honours favour of the partners that have which here difpenfe fuccefs, of- already 8 points of the game, if ten triumph over all your abili-they give the cards, against those who are near But if thofe who have 9 points, about as 17 to 11. who have eight of the game are eideft hand, the chances will be as 34 to 29. Several problems are propofed on this game, and particularly this, the precife folution whereof would thed abundance of light on feveral others of like nature. To find the chance that he who gives the cards will have four trumps. One trump being certain, the problem is reduced to this: To find what probability there is that in drawing at hazard, 12 cards out of 51, of which 12 are trumps, and 39 are not trumps, of the 12 will be trumps. We all find by the rule of M. de Moivre, that the fum total of chances for him who deals the cards 92, 770, 723, Soo; and that the total of the chances for drawing 12 cards out of 51158, 753, 389, 900. The difference of thefe two numbers=65, 982, 656, 100. The chances then will be as 9277, &c. to 6598, &c. Now we may calculate the chance of three players who have 10, 11, or 12 trumps, of the number of 39 cards; then we fball find that the total of the chances for getting 10, 11, or 12 trumps in 39 cards-65, 982, 666, 100; and that all the chances of the number of 51 cards=158, 753, 389,900. The difference 92, 770, 723, 800-all the chances in favour of him who deals, and the chances will be 9277, &c. to 6598, &c. as above. The mathematicians, after having found the last precision of the calculation by a great number of figures, have fought out, and hewn the proportions that come nearest the truth, produced by the leaft number of figures; and this is what is called the mode of approximation, with which we must be contented in practice. If it be asked, for example, what is the parity of chances, that a player at this game fhall have three cards of a certain colour, they anfwer, by the way of approximation, that there is about 682 to bet against 22, or about 22 against 1, that he will not have them. PHEASANT HAWKING. "AWKING has been noticed HA by us in feveral of our former numbers; and the different fpecies of that bird amply defcribed we have only therefore now to point out the best methods to be adopted by the sportsman, in pursuing his favourite amufe. ment of pheasant hawking, which we doubt not will be acceptable to the generality of our readers: Pheasant-hawking is a rural diverfion, managed with a gofhawk in coverts, of which none but thofe of a strong and able body, with fpirit and courage, are fit; for this flight is different from that in the champagne fields, where the hawk and the game are always in fight: fo that you are to make her to the pheafant and fuch fort of fowl, that always frequent the woods, coverts and obfcure places, which hinders the fight, that thould be your guide in the flight. For the better effecting of this, you must be very circumfpect as to the place you first enter in, to the end the may be well guarded, and kept from taking any diflike or offence at the dogs, which if he does at the first entrance, it will be difficult to bring her to endure them again; therefore to divert any fuch ill quality at first, the must be better managed, fol lowed |