in loading, with a certain number of gardes de chasse, armed with rifles and spears, to protect them from any danger. All being thus arranged, a number of wild boars, deer, hares, and foxes, were turned in in succession, and the sportsmen continued to fire till the whole were destroyed. Well might the French writer exclaim, describing the Prater at Vienna, "Entrons dans cette allée; une inombrable foule Voici la jeune Eglè, sa mourante prunelle, Ses beaux yeux aux passans demandent un poux. But whither are we wandering? We have strayed from the thread of our narrative. Revenons a nos moutons. The Prater, the Hyde Park of Vienna, as Sam Slick would say, "a grand park, that, if you were to put all your London parks into one, you couldn't make its ditto," is beautifully situated on a large island, formed by the Danube, with its double row of magnificent horse-chestnut trees, its avenues of elms of beautiful growth, its drives and walks intersecting the woods, its preserves for game, with its public garden, the Augarten, for balls and concerts, its circus, panorama, carrousel. It was the general resort of the many who had no other more active engagement, and there might be seen daily the procession of horse and foot, of family coaches, cabriolets, German wagons, cars, phaetons, and landaulets. A band of music plays appropriate airs; all is gaiety and good humour. Tilting feats are about to be performed. the knights advance to the lists; where figures were placed, bearing the heads of Turks and Moors. "On they dash! Torrents less rapid and less rash." The Paynim is dismounted; the ring is carried off at the point of the lance. Feats of horsemanship follow. At a distance beyond, the conjurer, juggler, or magician, displays his dexterous tricks, or exercises his potent spells. A circumstance took place the day following the hunt we have described, which created some little sensation in the sporting coteries. A party of half-a-dozen young English attachés, of noble blood, were "larking" over the railings and ditches in the Prater, headed by one who, in the words of Mazeppa, might exclaim,— "I was a goodly stripling then; At forty years I so may say; That there were few, or boys, or men, For I had strength, youth, gaiety." When a hare was viewed; "Stole away!" cried the leader of the party, a worthy scion of a worthy sire. Away they went, Leicestershire pace. A slight snow-storm had left the ground in that state that poor pussy could hardly keep her feet, though not deep enough to prevent the horses making their way. Her merciless pursuers could not be eluded, and, after a chase of nearly fifteen minutes, she was run into. Then came the question of securing the prize. Baron a German by birth, though an Englishman in heart, recommended "to drownd de animal," declaring that the penalty of poaching in the royal manors was imprisonment for life, or loss of limb. After much deliberation, it was decided, that he of Danube-swimming memory was to be "the pilot to weather the storm." Surrounded by his friends, they were preparing for their return home, when a yell, as terrific as ever issued from a Cherokee tribe of Indians, attracted their attention. On looking to the spot from whence the sound came, they saw a dozen gardes des chasses, accompanied by a "bold peasantry," in chase, hallooing and shouting, and "der teufeling," to an alarming extent. Not a moment was to be lost; the hero of our adventure alighted, and instantly was up again, like Walter Scott's young hero from the West, "So light to the croupe the fair pussy he swung, So light to the saddle before her he sprung.' Away, away, they went "Upon the pinions of the wind They sped like meteors through the sky." On entering the city, unexpected dangers awaited them. At each barrier, a guard of about fifty grenadiers was posted; and in the grand square of the palace, four distinct guards of honour were constantly mounted. The clatter of the horses attracted the attention of the sentry, who, seeing a large mounted party, immediately set it down as that of a monarch, or a general officer. The intelligence was passed in a loud yell. "Wache heraus" (guard, turn out). The drum beat, and the guard presented arms, till the object of their salute had passed. They reached the Minorritten Platz in safety, and the hunted hare was deposited in the hands of the chef de cuisine, with an especial request that it might be immediately dressed. To crown the joke, a diplomatic dinner was given on that day, at which many Austrian nobles attended. How shocked would the master of the horse have been, had he been aware that the hare, whose tenderness he had so highly extolled, had been the property of his royal master! SONGS OF THE TOURNAMENT. (For the Sporting Review.) By J. E. CARPENTER, Esq., Author of "Minstrel Musings," &c. &c. No. I.-STRIKE THE HARP FOR EGLINTON. STRIKE the harp, and sing the lays Of those-the old romantic days; Let the minstrel sing his fame, Alike the future as the past; While myriad voices catch the strain, And chivalry is young again! No. II. THE KNIGHT OF EGLINTON. THERE rode to the tourney a gallant young knight, Of the bright days, the bright days of olden romance; When our nobles were brave, and our gallants were true, And when glitter'd the helmet, the plume, and the lance! The nobles were gather'd in Eglinton's hall; The flow'rs of the land, and the fairest were they : But the knight's frequent glances would tenderly fall On one that he lov'd 'mid that festive array. Though the first in the sport, and the bravest was he, Oh! what to the knight were the trophies he won, No. III. THE QUEEN OF THE TOURNAMENT. THE knights are met on the tented ground, But lovelier none, as she gives the prize, But the "Queen of Beauty" sits supreme, And on her all eyes are bent, As the knights are crown'd with the victor's wreath, Oh! many a heart with hope beat high But Cupid's dart had more witchery For many a knight was wounded there, And the kindred heart that he hoped to share, Leamington Spa. SPORTING SKETCHES FROM NEW BRUNSWICK. No. 1.-THE CAMP OF THE OWLS. It was the morning of a bright, clear day, with a brilliant blue sky and fresh westerly breeze, in the pleasant month of August, when we reached the uppermost of a chain of lakes, deep in the wilds of New Brunswick, which we intended to explore thoroughly, and follow down to the sea. Our party consisted of Capt. Egerton and Mr. Levinge, of the 43rd Light Infantry, myself, and two trusty Indians of the Meliceti tribe, provided with two birch canoes, and all the requisite equipments for camping and spending several days in the woods. We paddled round the lake in our light barks, admiring the solitary wildness and grandeur of the scenery, the richness of the foliage, and the beauty of the wild flowers, occasionally getting a shot at a black duck, or chasing a flock of flappers among the white water-lilies, thousands of which floated on the waters in the quiet coves and bays. At length we reached a wooded point, which offered peculiar attractions, and, having selected it as our place of encampment, we left the Indians to make the necessary preparations for night, while we walked along the SPORTING SKETCHES FROM NEW BRUNSWICK. 199 shore to the mouth of a large stream, flowing into the lake, and commenced ascending it. It proved a clear, sparkling river, rushing quickly over a gravelly bed; its banks were low, alluvial lands, very level, and wooded to the water's edge with beech, birch, ash, elm, and maple, as yet untouched by the woodman's axe, and so free from underwood, as to resemble an English park, through which a horse might be galloped with "hound and horn." We ascended some distance, dashing along from pool to pool, and rapid to rapid, continually slipping into our baskets the gaudy charr-trout, which took the red hackle fast and greedily. A heavy, dark cloud, a few distant mutterings, and some drops of rain, presently gave intimation of a thunder-shower; the trout at once left off rising, and we retraced our steps, not, however, without getting well wet, for we loitered to examine the foot-prints of a herd of deer, or carriboo, in the white sand beach which formed the margin of the lake; they had but recently passed, and we marked their trail. On reaching our landing-place, we found the brush cleared away, and a wigwam of birch-bark built, open, on one side, to a roaring fire, which the Indians had thoughtfully lighted, knowing that we should be soaked on our return. To change our wet clothes, clean some trout at the water-side, fry them with slices of bacon, boil the teakettle, and make a comfortable meal, were short operations; and stretched at length on the soft and fragrant branches of the silver fir, which had been spread for us to sleep upon, we talked over the adventures of the day, and discussed with the Indians our plans and expectations for the morrow; among which, the deeds we would do among the carriboo were not forgotten. : The thunder-storm had passed over, and the night was fine and brilliant as evening fell, our camp presented a very picturesque appearance. The fire, which we kept blazing, lit up the objects near us, while all beyond seemed, by contrast, buried in utter darkness. Against one huge tree hung the wet coats; suspended from a branch, and waving in the night-breeze, was a pair of trowsers, sadly torn; other garments were stretched on poles, and the moccasins were laid on a fallen tree to dry gradually; while guns, shot-belts, spears, fishing-rods, landing-nets, axes, paddles, baskets, knapsacks, trout, ducks, and cooking utensils, might be seen mixed up in the most admired disorder. The Indians lay down on the side of the fire opposite to us, preferring to sleep in the open air. We rolled ourselves in our blankets, placed our guns near our heads, our feet to the fire, and settled ourselves for the night. I had just fallen into that dreamy, half-wakeful sort of sleep so common to the hunter, while camped in the forest, when a most unearthly whoop very near, roused me to my feet, and, ere I was well awake, the hunting-knife was loosed in its sheath, and my gun was in hand at full cock. A smothered laugh from the Indians induced me to look round; and hard by, on a dead limb, I perceived a large night-owl, looking down upon our party, and treating us to a serenade with solemn gravity. The gun was replaced, and I lay down again, when one of the Indians, who are all capital imitators, replied to our visitor in his own style; the challenge was accepted, and a duet forthwith commenced. It soon became difficult to deter |