tioned the English amounting to no more than ten thousand men, mostly archers, and their adversaries to nearly one hundred thousand. It is a spot admirably calculated for a battle-field, being an immense plain entirely uninclosed, and now covered with the riches of the golden harvest. The two small woods still remain, between which Henry, with great military skill, posted his little army, one guarding each flank, and the intermediate space is the only elevated ground for miles around. My antiquarian researches were crowned by the discovery of an undoubted steel head, belonging to one of those terrible arrows with which the stout English yeomen annihilated the enemy's cavalry, and against which their well-tempered armour afforded not the slightest defence. I obtained this (to me) precious relic from a smith who had discovered it upon the field.

The number of inns with which, in general, even the most obscure village in France abounds, made me forgetful of securing a retreat for the night; and I loitered upon the field until grey twilight rendered every object indistinct. Passing through one of the largest farm-yards I had seen in France, and in the stables of which were upwards of forty horses and thirty oxen de voted to agricultural labour, I entered the village of Agincourt, which gave its name to the battle. This retired and singularly sequestered spot possessed not a decent auberge, and I was, after many ineffectual attempts to establish myself there, compelled to drag my weary limbs to Maçoncelle, about half a league further, and celebrated as being the place

where the English army was quartered on the night previous to the memorable contest. Here, at a delightfully comfortable inn situated on the village green, I obtained an excellent supper and bed. The surrounding country abounds with game, particularly quails, the proprietor of the land very indifferent who sports upon his estate. An English Gentleman had fixed his quarters here, a short time previous to my arrival, for a season's shooting; and I can with great confidence recommend the above little inn to the Sportsman's notice. The landlady is most obliging, the husband a good shot, and, if economy be an object, I have only to state the sum demanded of me for a good bed, a good supper, and a quantity of the finest cherry brandy, was ten pence! In a field at some distance from this spot is pointed out an immense excavation, the grave of many a gallant Knight slain by the terrible archery of England. In vain, however, I attempted to glean some traditionary information respecting so memorable an event as that of the Battle of Agincourt. All the peasantry appeared to know was, that they had been terribly thrashed by a very inferior force. One man, who seemed to consider himself an oracle of history, and who manifested a most ludicrous contempt for the ignorance of his companions, very gravely informed me, that the English had gained the battle by tying lighted fagots to the horns of a large drove of oxen, which were driven by night towards the French camp; that the army, terrified at the approach of these alarming visitors, had been attacked and beaten in the confu

sion which ensued. Had I not reflected on the notorious ignorance of the lower classes in this country, not one in fifty of whom can read or write, I should have suspected my informant had stumbled on Livy's celebrated description of Hannibal's passage of the Alps.

After passing the villages of Lugie and Vertham, the road suddenly makes an abrupt descent through a valley embosomed in hills, clothed as usual with apple trees bending under the weight of the crops. This delightful spot is traversed by the Ternoise, a clear rapid stream famous for excellent and very large trout. Passing over a very romantic wooden bridge, I entered upon a road cut through a magnificent forest of oak, ash, and elm trees. The highway is here of very noble dimensions, and bordered on each side by a wide strip of the most lovely, short, velvet turf. As I passed the entrance to one of the numerous hunting rides by which the wood is intersected, two brace of beautiful black and tan-coloured beagles burst upon me with their well-known, deep-mouthed, and musical cry. At the same instant, a gardechasse or gamekeeper made his appearance, to call off the dogs, and apologize for their unceremonious salutation. I entered into conversation with him. He had been rabbit shooting in the wood, and was, at the moment of my approach, seating at his breakfast under the shade of a large oak. Of this he invited me to partake, nor was I sorry for an excuse to escape from the burning sun, which now poured down his rays with a strength and vigour unknown to

the hottest days of an English. summer. Our conversation naturally turned on sporting subjects, and particularly on wolf hunting, an amusement very common in this part of France. Among a multitude of anecdotes with which he amused me, I shall select the following for insertion here. The man had formerly been gamekeeper to a Mons. Thurion, a respectable and learned Advocate now resident at Paris. In travelling from Autry in Champagne to Varennes, a little city of the Clermentois, the weather suddenly changed, and the rain falling in torrents, his progress was so much delayed that night overtook him in the midst of an extensive forest. Bewildered in the midst of a pathless and almost impenetrable thicket, he alighted from his horse, and after a thousand ineffectual efforts to find a passage out, extreme fatigue compelled him to adopt the resolution of passing a night, which the tempest rendered indescribably awful, under the branches of a large oak. Unfortunately his horse did not partake of his master's resignation; attracted by his neighings, a pack of wolves approached the spot. This worthy Jurisconsult had now recourse to his pistols, probably for the first time in his life. Conceive his unhappy position

with one hand grasping the bridle of his horse, naturally very temperate, but which danger now rendered unmanageable with the other he from time to time took aim and fired at the ferocious beasts, whose dark shadows he barely discerned as they gallopped backwards and forwards from thicket to thicket, while their rustling in the bushes dis

quieted him still more. He, however, kept them all at bay by the vivacity of his gestures and the strength of his voice. The battle, however, was not yet over. These importunate animals returned a hundred times to the charge, and were each time repelled by an advocate naturally of the mildest disposition, but whom circumstances transformed into a fierce and valorous combatant.

Fatigued by so long a defence, Mons. Thurion at length began to feel his courage evaporate, but he lost not his presence of mind. Mounting upon the saddle, he by violent efforts succeeded in grasp ing one of the larger branches of the oak under which he had been sheltered, and quickly placed himself beyond the reach of his ferocious assailants. No longer fearing anything for himself, his whole anxiety was directed to the safety of his poor horse, which, fatigued and exhausted by repeated efforts, stood trembling below in all the agony of horror. By repeated discharges of his pistols, and by redoubling his cries, with which he made the woods re-echo, he succeeded in keeping his enemies at a distance until sun-rise delivered him from their hateful presence. Unwilling to expose himself to the possibility of new dangers, he remained for several hours longer upon his tree, till hunger compelled him to descend and renew his journey about eleven o'clock.

Quitting my naif and intelligent companion, I arrived after a short walk at Hesdin, a town situated on the high road to Paris, and in the Department of the Pas de Calais. It is a small but strongly fortified and well-built place, situated where the valleys

of the Caunche and of the Ternoise meet. It is surrounded by canals, meadows, orchards, gardens, and groves, and forms a most agreeable place of residence, as there is abundant shooting and trout-fishing in the neighbourhood. The morning on which I arrived happened to be the commencement of the celebration of the three days of the Revolution. The whole population were perambulating the streets, which were also filled with military, horse and foot, while bands of music, playing lively patriotic airs, added greatly to the animation of the scene. Tri-colored flags depended from all the public edifices, as well as from the windows of many private houses, which also exhibited preparations for an illumination in the evening. The French are enthusiastic in their gaiety: parties were dancing in the open air to the music of itinerant performers, who passed from street to street as each group became exhausted. Readydressed provisions, fruit, cakes, and beverages unknown in England, were selected in great profusion from stalls erected in the Grande Place, whose occupants had no reason to bewail the lack of purchasers. Having taken little refreshment since five o'clock, I crossed the street to the Hotel de l'Europe. Two mounted gens d'armes, who were riding out of the yard, saluted me with the usual question, "Vous etes étranger?" and being answered in the affirmative, one of them demanded to see my passport. Finding it perfectly regular, they wished me a good morning, and rode on. I ordered dinner, which was served up in good style, and consisted of 1st, soup; 2d, a

dish of trout of my own catch ing; 3d, a roast capon, a tongue dressed as a ragout, roast veal and salad, followed by a beautiful dessert and a bottle of good wine. For this dinner, including the wine, I paid three shillings and sixpence. Thus recruited, I again set forwards upon the high road to Paris, which is here thickly bordered with fine apple trees, then covered with fruit. My design was, if possible, to reach and sleep at the famous village of Crecy. Night, howNight, how ever, overtook me at Broye, near which stand the ruins of a very ancient and strongly fortified castle, to which, as the traditions of the country narrate, Philip of Valois and his Knights fled for refuge after their tremendous defeat at Crecy, about four miles distant. On the morrow, when about to depart, I fell in with a venerable old fisherman, who pressed me to accompany him home for the purpose of seeing his tackle. Like everything else of the kind in France, it was sufficiently coarse: he, however, assured me he was in the habit of taking abundance of fish. After chatting for a short time, the old Waltonian went into his garden, and returned with a large quantity of beautiful plums, with which he filled my shooting-jacket pockets, for which he declined receiving any recompence, saying, were he in England he hoped many persons would be forward to do him a similar kindness: "faire une petite chose comme ça," were his words. I replied, though with some misgivings, I was sure they would: and, after presenting him with some English hooks, in the manufacture of which, as indeed in

all other hardware productions, we are fifty years in advance of these people, I took my leave. Expenses here two shillings.

After a rural breakfast of goat's milk, eggs, bread, and fruit, I reached the memorable scene of Edward's victory. The aspect of the Valley des Clercs, or "Valley of Priests," (so called from the number of Ecclesiastics present at the fight,) in which the battle was fought, is very similar to that of Agincourt. The windmill of St. Pierre, on which the old King stood to view the battle, is still pointed out to the traveller. Slept at Abbeville, where the celebration of the Revolution was proceeding in a similar style to that I had witnessed at Hesdin. Large parties were dancing quadrilles and waltzing in the street. The town is strong and very populous.

On reaching Beauvais, I was for the first time struck with the propriety of the appellation of "the vine-clad hills of France," every eminence being clothed with that beautiful plant. The cottages, too, were profusely decorated with its elegant foliage, from among which peeped large quantities of fine but as yet unripe grapes. Here, too, wine was first served to me at supper in a huge earthen jug. The environs of this town are exceedingly pleasant, the hills being covered to their summits with vineyards, intermingled with corn fields and orchards in full bearing. Provisions are abundant and cheap: bread, wine, mutton, fish, game, fowls, and fruits, are all excellent. In fact I observed no town in the course of my journey, which, as a residence, I should prefer to Beauvais. The prospect, which 3 L

extends away on each side of the road from this town to Paris is supereminently beautiful, combining every description of scenery which tends to decorate and add variety to the landscape. Magnificent walnut-trees, planted at intervals, overshadowed on a magnificent road of at least twenty yards in breadth. The fruit appears to be of no greater value than hazel nuts in Englandthey may be had for the gathering.

Here my pedestrian performances ceased. Conscious I had secured my Wager, I felt anxious to reach the capital in time for witnessing the last day of the Revolutionary Fête. I accordingly mounted a diligence which passed me on the road, and, falling asleep, found myself next morning rolling through the streets of Paris; and, alighting at the Messageries Royales, Rue Notre Dame des Victoires, I pursued my way to my old quarters in the Place Vendome.

As before mentioned, the sum

SIR,

within which I engaged to circumscribe my expenses was four pounds: the Wager was for one hundred and fifty sovereigns. The total of my expenditure was three pounds ten shillings, leaving an excess of ten shillings. I had enjoyed every necessary comfort, seen the country, conversed with the inhabitants, visited their cottages and farms, laughed, chatted, and fished to my heart's content, and, what is of infinitely greater consequence, found myself in far better health than when I left London. My friend being written to with an announcement of the result, I received a good-humored reply, inclosing an order on Lafitte for the amount of the bet, which, independently of my own sources, placed me in a situation to pursue my journey Southward, or return to England, in the most luxuriant style; or, speaking more appropriately, to travel à la mode d'un Mi Lord Anglais."

August 28, 1832.

re

August Number a communication from one who signs himself PEDIGREE upon points relative to the horse, I feel an inclination (as I differ in opinion from that gentleman) to make a sort of reply.

And first, for the case of blindness-a thing not so rare or curiousas PEDIGREE seems to imagine. The horse, in fact, he speaks of was afflicted with nothing more or less than gutta serena, or amaurosis; which is seated, as far as can be ascertained, in the optic

be properly called a natural defect in the organ of vision, unaccompanied by any external appearance indicative of disease. This is well known to horse-dealers, who, when purchasing for themselves, invariably use the precaution of passing their hand before the eye. An excellent criterion with respect to the state of this delicate organ is to take the horse by a whitewashed wall; when, if excessive brightness and clearness are observed in it, no doubt can be entertained" there is something