burning scent, Will Long and Milkman, the heroes of a "hundred fields," cheering on every hound, still sticking to 'em like bricks; and although his followers begin to get very select, still on, on they go through every description of country, both rough and smooth. The bold and intrepid Reynard still leads the van, and Bloxham village bursts upon the view, "whose tapering spire shoots upwards to the skies;" but not liking the appearance of Bloxham, and seeing nothing to welcome "the wanderer home," trippingly and well he strains on to Adderbury, with a look of contempt and daring upon his pursuers, as much as to say, "I too can fight and run, my boys, and jump over anywhere." Still the game and unflinching pack keep well up to him; but where are thy companions, thou gallant few who still live on? Are all "faded and gone?"-No; but they are growing "small by degrees and beautifully less." Thou art whip and huntsman too now, O brave and trusty Will. Adderbury is behind on the left. King Sutton spire stands in view. Reynard led those who could follow him this day in view of all these celebrated spires known by the common description in that neighbourhood as "Bloxham for length, Adderbury for strength, and King Sutton for beauty." To King Sutton goes the fox, evidently intending to get into Astrop Woods above him; but after many

"Wily turns and desperate bounds

To baffle Beaufort's well-bred hounds,"

alas! thou noble, brave, and intrepid denizen of the woodland grove and forest," thine hour is almost come," when thou to thy ravenous and tormenting foes "must render up thyself;" but not yet without a further and desperate struggle, for, being headed at King Sutton, the gallant fellow re-crossed the river, in full view of the pack, and saddening spectacle of the now mere skeleton of that morning's splendid field, the number is probably about half-a-dozen, including Will Long and the late B. Holloway, A. T. Rawlinson, and J. Codrington, Esquires, "bloody with spurring, fiery hot with speed," each, like the phantom horseman in the tale, seeming to exclaim :'Tramp, tramp along the land we ride; Splash, splash o'er waters free; Hurrah! hurrah! how fast we go! Who fears to ride with me?"

And the heroic fox reaching the canal (which there lies very near the river), rattled along the towing-path all the way to Banbury Wharf; but finding too much society there to suit his taste and retired habits he crossed the canal, and journeying along up the southward side of Banbury, crossed the turnpike road, and over Easingdon Farm, and then inclining a little to Crouch Hill, pushed on to Wroxton Abbey, in front of which, in the presence of Lord Guildford and family, the gentlemen above-mentioned and Will Long the whip rang his deathknell in the shrill whoop, as he surrendered himself up to the staunch and devouring pack, after a run of many hours, during which he led them over thirty miles of country, taking the point of starting from Hilbury Furze. Fearing I have trespassed upon your pages most unreasonably, I remain, yours &c.,

LATITAT.

THE

LITERATURE.

CHESS-PLAYER'S HANDBOOK. By Howard Staunton, Esq. London Henry G. Bohn, York-street, Covent Garden, 1847.-For those whose leisure is restricted, or who for any reason may be limited in the time they can give to the survey of scenery, the study of books, or any of the enjoyments or pleasures of life, the "guide" that leads to the fairest spots, or points to the most striking passages, is a useful philosopher and friend also. Less criticism and more immediate reference to books under review might conveniently be introduced with the practice of putting forth literary notices. With this view, in lieu of an opinion upon the volume before us, we offer a preliminary passage as a sample of the author's style and purpose. The lover and learner of chess will scarce be content with it; and to give a thirst for the whole work is the best service we could render all who take interest in that noble game :

MAXIMS AND ADVICE FOR AN INEXPERIENCED PLAYER.

There is nothing that will improve you so much as playing with good players; never refuse, therefore, when any one offers you odds, to accept them you cannot expect a proficient to feel much interest in playing with you upon even terms, and as you are sure to derive both amusement and instruction from him, it is but fair that he should name the conditions. It will soon happen that you yourself will be able to give odds to many amateurs whom you meet; when this is the case, avoid, if possible, playing them even, or you are likely to acquire an indolent, neglectful habit of play, which it will be very difficult to throw off. When you cannot induce such players to accept odds, propose to play for a small stake; and they will soon be glad to take all the advantages you can offer. Be always careful, before beginning a game, that the men on both sides are properly arranged.

Never permit your hand to hover over the board, or indeed to approach it, until you have completely made up your mind what Piece to move; a contrary habit begets a feeling of indecision that is fatal to success. Play invariably according to the laws of the game, neither taking back a move yourself, nor allowing your opponent to recall one. Do not exhibit impatience when your adversary is long in making his move. His slowness is a tacit compliment to your skill, and enables you to play with proportionate quickness, because while he is meditating on his next step you can take advantage of the time to consider what shall be your rejoinder; besides, it is absolutely necessary for every one desirous of excelling at chess to play slowly. Mr. Lewis aptly remarks, 'It is no doubt desirable to play well and quickly, but I scarcely ever knew a very good player who was not also a slow one; and indeed, how can it well be otherwise? A fine player examines occasionally from five to twenty or more moves on each side; can this be done in a moment? It is easy enough to play quick against inferior play; but against equal and very good play one cannot play quick without losing.'

Do not

Learn to play indifferently either with the white or black men. play too many games at a sitting and never suffer the loss of a game to occasion you much disquietude. Think of how many thousand games a Philidor must have lost before he attained his highest excellence; besides, the loss of one well-fought game with a fine practitioner will do more towards your improvement than the gain of ten light skirmishes with weaker players than yourself. Endeavour to play all your Pieces equally well. Many young players have a predilection for a particular Piece, as the Knight or the

Queen, and lose both time and position in trying to prevent exchanges of their favourite. In opening your game, endeavour to bring your superior officers into action speedily, but avoid all premature attacks. Take care not to play a Piece to a square where it impedes the action of another, and beware of venturing an unsupported Piece in the adversary's game.

If subjected to a violent attack, you may often disconcert your opponent by compelling the exchange of two or three Pieces. When, however, you are about to exchange officers, you must calculate not only their ordinary value, but their peculiar worth in the situation in question; for example, a Rook is generally more valuable than a Knight or a Bishop; but it will happen, that by exchanging a Rook for one of the latter you may greatly improve your game.

It is mostly good play to exchange the Pieces off when you are superior in power, so that when you have the odds of a Piece given to you by a finished player, you should endeavour to exchange as often as you can consistently with safety.

When an exchange of two or more Pieces appears inevitable, look closely to see whether it is better for you to take first or to compel your opponent to do so. When one of the enemy is completely in your power, do not be too eager to make the capture-there may perhaps be a move of importance which you can make before you take him. Beware also of snatching hastily a proffered man, it may be only given as a bait to catch a more important advantage from you.

If at the end of a game you remain with Pawns against a Knight and find it difficult to evade his repeated checks, recollect that by placing your King on the same diagonal as the Knight, with but one intervening square between them, that you cannot again be checked under three moves.

When you have lost a game which has cost you great attention, it is a good practice to play it over afterwards in private, and endeavour to discover where the error occurred through which your opponent gained his first advantage, This custom will improve both your memory and your play.

Comparing small things with great ones, never forget that in chess, as in modern warfare, one of the most important stratagems is the art of gaining time upon the enemy. In this respect, as indeed in many others, the broad principles which are laid down by the highest military authorities as the basis of operations in a campaign are applicable to the management of your forces on the chess field. From the Traité de Grand Tactique of General Iomini, we gather that the art of war, as exemplified by Buonaparte, consisted in the proper application of three combinations-first, the art of disposing the lines of operation in the most advantageous manner; secondly, in a skilful concentration of the forces with the greatest possible rapidity upon the most important point of the enemy's line of operations; and thirdly, that of combining the simultaneous employment of this accumulated force upon the position against which it is directed. No player of great skill can fail to see that we have here the key to the basis of offensive movements in the battle of chess. Nor, to carry on the parallel, are the principles which direct defensive operations on the grander field in any degree less capable of application. "It is an acknowledged principle," says another able writer on the subject, "that the base of a plan of attack should form the best possible line of defence; and this fundamental rule cannot be violated with impunity, since nothing is more embarrassing than a sudden transition from offensive to defensive operations, when false measures or an unfortunate turn of affairs may have overset the plans of an assault."

With every allowance for the amazing disparity in the importance of the individuals and the magnitude of the objects at stake, there is an analogy observable, too, in the abilities requisite for the command of armies and the perfectly first-rate manoeuvring of the mimic warriors of the chess-board. The commander of an army must possess not less a profound acquaintance with the general principles which regulate the conduct of a long and tedious

campaign, than with those that are called into requisition in actual conflict. He must be able equally to arrange the plan of preliminary operations—to act at once and with decision in cases of the most pressing emergency, and on the occurrence of the most unforeseen events-to judge of the importance of a position and of the strength of an intrenchment-to discover from the slightest indications the designs of the enemy, while his own are impenetrable-and at the same time to preside with unshaken self-possession over the tumult of the battle-field, and the raging fury of an assault. The qualifications of a really finished chess-player, however less in degree, are somewhat similar in kind. To a perfect mastery of the difficult art of selecting and occupying, with the utmost rapidity, a "good position," he must add a thorough knowledge of all the complicated varieties of stratagems and snares which he is called upon alternately to invent and to defeat. He must, in short, to some extent, display the same energies on the smaller scale which are so indispensable on the grander one.

Marshal Saxe, a great general (and an enthusiastic lover of chess by the way) in his summary of the attributes required in a commander-in-chief, gives him genius, and courage, and health. The first of these qualities is unquestionably called for in the highest order of chess skill; and if by courage is implied, not so much mere physical bravery as entire self-possession, promptitude of decision, and undaunted perseverance; and by health is meant the preservation of a sound mind, to which a sound body is so important an adjunct, then indeed both courage and health will be found to exercise a powerful influence upon the success of the chess-player, as well as upon the fortunes of a Marlborough or a Wellington.

These comparisons might be extended to more minute particulars, but the general analogy observable may suffice to show you that great mental activity is called into requisition, and much attention and perseverance are necessary for the attainment of the highest excellence, even in the strategy of chessplaying.

THE OUT-STATION; OR, JAUNTS IN THE JUngle. By James Willyams Grylls. Second Edition. London: Chapman and Hall.-The first idea that struck us on looking at the title-page of this pretty little volume was, that it was like sending coals to Newcastle to send Grylls (grills) to India. However, the mission turned out better than might have been expected, and here is the plât that came of it-a nice racy zest, suited to everybody's taste. Grylls naturally lived a sort of curried life, everlastingly in high-seasoned adventure-now with wild men; anon with bears, and boars, and elks, and elephants, and such like small deer. The chapters that make up his volume saw the light ori. ginally in the New Monthly. Nevertheless, we make an extract from them, because your "Salvage Man" is a dainty monster that will bear serving up a second time.

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"THE VEDDAH; OR, WILD MAN OF THE JUngle.

Although not strictly catalogued amongst jungle game (inasmuch as they are human beings), I must indulge the reader with my introduction to the Veddah, and the first interview with this wild man of the jungle.

"Not quite a century ago, when this tribe-who may be said to constitute the gipsies of Ceylon-became rather too numerous and predatory in any particular locality, leave was always granted by the reigning monarch to his subjects inhabiting the overrun district, to have a month or six weeks' shooting among these poor wretches (making game of them with a vengeance); and even within the last dozen years, a similar request was made to the then governor of the island, Sir R. W.

Horton, by a deputation from the interior; and his refusal to support the "vested rights" of these amiable niggers caused no small degree of dissatisfaction amongst them.

"Without any other habitation than the thickset branches of the nearest tree, the Veddah lives principally on wild honey and raw deerflesh. In fact, nothing comes amiss to its digestion: and whether it really is a human being, or not, is with many an open question to the present time; although the fact of its constructing bows and arrows for the purpose of slaughter, would argue in favour of the former supposition.

"The bow they make use of never exceeds eighteen inches in length, whilst the arrow scarcely exceeds a foot; and with this diminutive weapon, which is generally poisoned, they pick off a deer at full gallop, sending in the shaft behind the shoulder, and piercing the heart; but more generally, ensconced in their roosting-places, they await the arrival of the unsuspecting victim, to sleep or feed just beneath them, and then quietly sending a shaft into a vital part, are stocked with venison for a week.

"Clothes of any description they abjure, in place of which both men and women are entirely covered with pile, whilst the profuse locks of both sexes, reaching below the knees, form a complete shelter to them from rain or sun.

"On what terms of intimacy and friendship they stand with the next degenerated specimen in the family of Creation-the ourang-outang-it was never my good fortune to discover; but often have I, in some of my jaunts in the jungle, in search of a dinner or a pair of tusks, come upon a party of half-a-dozen Veddahs, and sent them scampering off in mortal dread of their lives, and chattering for all the world like so many apes.

"On one occasion, having penetrated further than usual into the jungle, where I had followed the recent track of a herd of elephants, I suddenly pounced upon a party of Veddahs at feeding time. Having established their 'salle-á-manger' in a corner of a ravine with high rocks all around them, except at the spot where I made my unwelcome appearance, there was no possibility of escape.

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Entertaining for a moment a doubt on my own part (in which my Malay gun-carrier evidently joined me), whether it would not be more prudent to exercise the better part of valour, and cut and run as fast as my legs would carry me (after a very brief apology for the intrusion), my resolution to remain was decided by witnessing the superlative state of alarm into which we had thrown the dinner party. Some began to jabber and screech, others to bury their faces in the grass, whilst one or two stared stupidly at us, thinking, no doubt, that their hour was come, and possibly the arch-enemy also (for niggers always paint him white) to square accounts with them.

"There was one old fellow amongst them, whose hairs were quite grey, and whose looks were more pacific and less perturbed than the others, and to him I first addressed myself by every imaginable sign and gesture, but he either could not or would not understand; so the next resource I had recourse to was turning out the contents of my pockets -everybody knows the heterogeneous variety of merchandize contained in a shooting-coat pocket-and by dint of coaxing the old man, and of