constant pursuit of wild beasts. It is certain, notwithstanding, that these hardy Tyrolese defended themselves with great bravery against the French.

ANECDOTE OF MR. FOX, From Wrarall's Memoirs of his own Time.

AMIDST the wildest excesses of youth, even while the perpetual victim of his passion for play, his elegant mind eagerly cultivated, at intervals, a taste for letters. His education had made him early acquainted with the writers of Greece and Rome, historical, as well as philosophical and poetical. The beauties of Horace, Tacitus, Juvenal, and Cicero, which were familiar to him, seemed always to present themselves to his memory without an effort. When speaking in Farliament, he knew how to avail himself of their assistance, with a promptitude and facility that it is difficult to imagine. Burke himself was not his superior on this point. So well had he been ground ed in classic knowledge, that he could read the Greek no less than the Roman historians, as well as poets, in the original; and however extraordinary the fact may appear, he found resources in the perusal of their works under the most severe depressions occasioned by ill success at the gaming table. Topham Beauclerk, who always maintained habits of great intimacy with Fox, quitted him one morning at six o'clock, after having passed the whole preceding night together at Faro. Fortune had been most unfavourable to Fox, whom his friend left in à frame of mind approaching to desperation. Beauclerk's anxiety for the consequences which might ensue from such a state of agitation, impelled him to be early at Fox's lodgings;

"What would

and on arriving, be enquired, not without apprehension, whether he was risen. The servant replying that Mr. Fox was in the drawing-room; he walked up stairs, and cautiously opening the door, where he expected to behold a frantic gamester stretched on the floor, bewailing his misfortunes, or plunged in silent despair: to his equal astonishment and satisfaction, Beauclerk discovered him intently engaged in reading a Greek Herodotus. you have me do?" said he, “I have lost my last shilling!" Such was the elasticity, suavity, and equality of disposition that characterized him; and with so little effort did be pass from profligate dissipation to researches of taste or literature. After staking and losing all that he could rise at faro, instead of exclaiming against for tune, or manifesting the agitation natural under such circumstances, he has been known to lay his head on the table, and retaining bis place, but, extenuated by fatigue of mind and body, almost immediately to fall into a profound sleep.

ARCHERY.

AMUSE

ÎN LETTERS FROM A RESIDENT IN THAT

CITADEL TO A FRIEND IN THE CITY.

Dear Friend, You must know our little world

here is but an "abstract and brief chronicle" of that in which you move. Like another colony, we owe our population and our manners chiefly to the mothercountry. That mother-country is London, and, consequently, consists of the off-casts of all ranks, from the circles of fashion to the humblest walks of trade.

We have not, its true, Hydepark with its barouches, Rottenrow with its bits of blood, Bond, street with its loungers, St. James'sstreet with its gaming-houses; nor Lord's cricket-ground, the Papbian temples of Mary-le-bone, nor the Gymnasian sparring schools of Richmond and Belcher, or the politer and more modern heroes Jackson and Gregson; yet we have occasionally the barouche drivers, the Rotten-row jockies, the Bondstreet loungers, the gamblers of St. James's-street, the cricketers from Lord's; the Paphian nymphs visit us by bevies; and as to pugilistic accomplishments, it is so much the ton for every young man of any fashionable pretensions, to be on a level in this way with every coachman, dray-driver, or coal-heaver he happens to meet, that it would be quite a bore to be deficient in so elegant an acquirement. In fact, we have many scientific. professors amongst us; and for the instruction of those who have not yet arrived at the degree of Master of Arts, in this VOL. XLVI.-No. 275.

way, professors Cribb, Mendoza, Bill Gibbons, Joe Ward, and other eminent men, often visit this seminary, to give lectures theoretic and practical: and, as ruffianism and bruising seem to be numbered amongst the prominent acquirements of the rising generation, I have no doubt that Ellenborough College, by the passing of the next insolvent act, will turn out a number of as excellent scholars in this way, as Oxford or Cambridge can boast in the abstruse fields of classical learning.

Scarcely a day passes here without a sparring match or two, or a week without as many pitched bat→ tles. As these latter are the shortest road to decide knotty arguments between two disputants, equally positive in opposite opinions, and equally eloquent in blasting and abusing each other, war, the ultima ratio regum, is the criterion for decision. Trumpeters are not wanted to blow up the sparks of kindling courage for their own diversion; and allies, offensive and defensive, in characters of seconds and bottle-holders, are ever ready to offer their services to the belligerents. A ring is formed-the combatants stripthe amateurs assemble-the speculators on bone and muscle, eye and countenance, vigour and bottom, make their bets; a purse is sometimes subscribed, as a prize to encourage mutual exertion and perseverance in the conflict; the original cause of quarrel is forgotten in the new-spite and envy give way to cash and glory. For an hour or more the parties amuse themselves with the most dexterous display of pugilistic skill and brutal strength, to knock out the eyes and teeth, and dislocate the jaws, or fracture the ribs of each other.

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The

The spectators are delighted even to extacy; shouts of exultation rend the very sky. Each combatant has his partisans, and each partisan praises his champion; and every word of his praise, as Fielding says, "is deposed upon oath;" for there are generally as many oaths as other words in the language of the encomium.

At length, skill or strength, not justice, decides a contest, that, probably originated in the bet of a pint of heer or a quartern of gin. Victory, long hovering on doubtful wing, at last awards the palm to her favourite; both are beaten to jelly, and nearly exhausted, when the champion, who but just over balances his tough and sturdy antagonist in wind or bottom, musters in one final and desperate effort all the strength of his tottering frame, from his heel upwards, and planting a last and brutal blow upon the unguarded temple, throat, or stomach of his opponent, lays him bruised, bleeding, and breathless, upon the ground, and is himself horne away triumphant, amongst the shouts of victory, to the tap, to ablute his beaten carcase, cool his fever in flaggons of beer, and receive his meed of gratulation and laud from those who are friends of himself, the enemies of his fallen antagonist, or who may have won a shilling or two the issue of the battle.

upon

But while this battle is going on, there is a sort of under-plot, or dumb-play, going forward upon the countenances and the attitudes of the spectators, still more inte. resting to any observer, not a pugilist, than the battle itself. At every blow a general change of aspect is observed upon every face in the eager crowd, as if each had given or received the sturdy stroke.

Every phiz is, in fact, a mirror that reflects the conflict, or flushes with the brutal sensation of those who take an eager interest in the scene. All the passions of the soul seem engaged in distorting the features to express them in their most exaggerated force. The forehead, the eye-brows, the eyes, the nostrils, the mouth, the ears, are all at work: rage and joy, exultation and despair, fury and laughter, alternately occupy them. Bedlam in all the extremes of melancholy and frantic madness, never exhibited any thing like it: Le Brunn, in pourtraying the passions, falls infinitely short

of it.

Nor is the face the only scene of contortion exhibited by those mimes. Their fists are clenched, their elbows are squared, and every motion of the brachial muscles is in tune and unison with those of the contending champions. They jump high in exultation, or sink low in depression, advance or fall back, cheer or groan, with every blow given or received, just as their wishes preponderate, or their money happens to be staked.

Such are the scenes of bumane and civilized amusements, which in this polished age and country have excited the delight, and attracted the countenance, patronage, encouragement, and eulogium of princes, peers, grave senators, profound statesmen, and philosophers, and found their place as honourable in the circles of our first-rate men of fashion, as ever they have done at Hockley-in-the-Hole, Wapping, or St. Giles's.

Adien,

J. J. B.

(To be concluded in our next.) COURSING

OBSERVING that you have re. cently admitted a plea in behalf of animals in the person of a Post Horse, two of us, some of whose species have borne the appellation of learned, have made choice of your publication as a medium of conveyance of our respective claims upon the world at large.

THE LEARNed Pig,

THE LEARNED Goose.

In the way of petition, your petitioner Goose, to avoid the customary destruction of his kind at Michaelmas, as well as that of his co-partner, Pig, all the year round, humbly proposes the throwing open of all the different professions among men to your petitioners.

Your petitioner, Goose, therefore humbly presumes, that no ob

jection can lie against his being admitted to the study of the law, and, in time, becoming Attorney or Solicitor-General, seeing there are learned geese of every flock and drove, who have feathered their nests by hatches, not an egg more rational than your petitioners might be; nor does he know any reason why he might not rise in the army, as there is not a soldier or officer in the realm that can march with a figure more erect; and, as family-interest or descendency is often the best security for rising in the army, your petitioner flatters himself that his claim ought to be attended to on this ground, he being a descendant from

those Right Honourable Geese, who stood centinels at, and saved the Roman capitol. These, his claims, being taken into due consideration, your petitioner will ever pray.

Your petitioner, Pig, confessing that it is with difficulty he hath hitherto saved his bacon, cannot

help expressing a wish in common with the four-footed fraternity, that his grey hairs, or rather every bristle that has grown grey in the public service, may, at last, repose in an honoured grave.

Your petitioner, protesting a gainst the opinion of the Jews in general, assures you that he has no connections whatever with the devil, and that so far from running headlong into the sea, he would at any time run a hundred miles to avoid it,

With respect to a share of public honours and emoluments, your petitioner flatters himself, that as no man can have more acquaintance with the vegetable world than he has, for this plain reason, bẹcause he has the whole system under his nose; he is certainly cal

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culated

culated to make a figure in botany. As a physician too, he humbly presumes, that as the faculty in a great measure judge of the disease by the nature of the secretions, he can certainly discern much more minutely than any of them, it heing generally allowed on all hands that pigs can see the wind.

In the war department also, your petitioner flatters himself he would not be useless, he having been all his life enclosed between walls; and, that under this consideration, not being ignorant of fortification,, he might in time be qualified to act as engineer, or to preside at the board of ordnance.

Your petitioners therefore, in all bumility of posture, viz, pig on his bocks, and goose on his giblets, most humbly intreat the nation to consider their respective cases, and point out such relief as may seem meet.-And your petitioners, &c. &c.

PUGILISM.

THE amateurs of pugilism mus

tered on Tuesday, the 1st of August, at Molesey Hurst, to the number of ten thousand. The day's play was, a match between Richmond, the veteran black, (fifty-two years old), and Shelton, the navigator. Both were nearly alike in length and weight. Richmond bad fought thirteen battles, and was considered perfect in the art of boxing. Shelton was the black's pupil, but he had trained well on, and stood high on the list, since he made so good a stand with Harmer. He vanquished the Suffolk farmer a few weeks since. This was a simple task, and the opinion of the best judges of fighting was not enhanced on this vic

tory, as Shelton did not make so much of his man as superior science should do. Oliver seconded Richmond; bottle-holder, Painter. Cribb seconded Shelton; bottleholder, Clark. Average betting, 11 to 8 on Richmond. Shelton refused to shake hands at settingto, but was at length prevailed on to do so by Cribb.

THE BATTLE.

Round 1. Shelton anxiously commenced operations, and hit short, as did also Richmond, with his left hand.-The Black planted a left-handed hit on his adversary's body, who returned it smartly with his left on Richmond's eye, which produced first blood. A rally fol lowed in which Shelton had the best of fighting, apparently to the spectators, and the Black went down, and received a hit at the same time.-Even betting.

2. The Black's right eye was much swollen and closing fast. Shelton received a tremendous right-handed hit in the mouth, from which the claret flew copiously, and be went down much amazed. -Two to 1 on Richmond.-Shelton felt his mouth as if to get rid of three of his teeth, which were laid flat with the roof of the mouth.

3. The Black endeavoured to follow up this system of fighting, but his right hand missed, and in the rally he had the worst of it and went down. It was here evident that the Black had sustained much injury by the closing of his eye. The water stood in the other, and he was employed cleansing it when on his second's knee. To this may be attributed his ill judging his distance.

4. Shelton placed a right-handed hit, having the left ready for ac-. tion, and in a sort of scrambling round, in which Richmond played

some