Origin of Gaming: An Alllegory. 165 which is avowedly intended for "the difciples of Hoyle, and the frequenters of Newmarket:" yet, as the writer has noticed many inftances wherein the EDITORS of the SPORTING MAGAZINE have too fond attachment to play, he flatters himself it may be thought worthy of infertion. huntsman; and likewife the fame share of the amobr, on the marriage of any of their daughters. At a certain time of the year, he was to hunt for the king only : at other feasons, he was permitted to hunt for himself. His hornpointed out the confequences of a was that of an ox, of a pound value. He had in winter an ox's hide, to make leafhes; in fummer, a cow's, to cut into fpatterdashes. The king had liberty of hunt-June 20, 1794. ing wherefoever he pleafed; but if a beaft was hunted and killed on any gentleman's eftate, and not followed and claimed by the huntsman that night, the owner ONCE on a time, as the god of the land might convert it to defs Fortune, defs Fortune, that capricious his own ufe, but was to take jilt, was fporting at the fhady good care of the dogs, and pre-foot of Mount Olympus, the ferve the skin. T. C Origin of GAMING, and her 1700 was met by the gay and cap. tivating god of war, who, as they were quite alone, forced her to put off, for a time, her fickle coynefs, and receive him to her arms: the confequence of which adventure was, in due process of time, a mis-featured child, called GAMING, who, from the moment of her birth, despised the rattle, and dice, or a box of counters. The penalty of killing a tame ftag of the king's, was a pound; and a certain fine, if it was a wild one, it it was killed between a certain day of November, and the feaft of St. John, the value was fixty-pence; but the fine for killing it, a hundred and eighty; pence. A tag was alfo reckoned equivalent to an ox; a hind to aand was quieted only by cards well grown cow; a roe to a goat; a wild fow to a tame fow; a badAs fhe grew up, he was courtger had no value, because in fome ed by all the gay and extravagant years it was meflead; wolves and of both fexes; but particularly foxes, and other noxious ani-by men of the fword, by one of mals, had no value, becaufe whom, whether knight of the every body was allowed to kill poft, or German officer, is doubtthem; and there was none fetful, fhe had twins, the one calupon a hare, for a very fingular led DUELLING, the other, a Jad reafon, beonuse it was believed of untoward parts and distorted every other month to change its features, called SUICIDE. fex*. The gates of her palace, which was fituated in the most confpicuous ftreet of the metropolis, near the king's palace, was like the gates of gloomy Dis, ever open to daily and nightly vifit. work ants. It wase legant and magnificent, with lamps ever burning at its door, more coftly in appearance Origin of GAMING, &c. THE as See Leges Gallica, xxxix. 256 to 200, Y 166 Mode of taking the Antelope in India. pearance than the palace of the monarch, which was dirty and fombre, and resembled more an hofpital. Her eldest fon, DUELLING was a fprightly, active, and adventurous youth; but fond of picking quarrels with his comrades at his mother's table, and generally in the wrong: be fometimes fought for the fair fex, and would ftab with the fame degree of fang froid, his bofom friend and bittereft enemy. He delighted in recounting exploits of his Gothick ancestors; and, like them defied all order and juftice, appealing folely to the fword. The younger fon had tefs fpirits than his brother, and met with frequent difafters, fuch as bankruptcy, lofs of honour and friends, which at laft broke his fpirits, and gave him up to defpair, to whom he was fondly and : infeparably attached in fhort, they were made one, and have continued ever fince to perplex and depopulate mankind. To the EDITORS of the SPORTING GENTLEMEN, HAV The jackalls of India differ in fome refpects from thofe of other countries; it is about the size of our fox, but its colour much darker. They conceal themfelves in the woods and thickets during the day, and at night ramble about in fearch of prey, which it obtains by digging up dead bodies, and devouring them; it is a conftant attendant on camps, and has been known, in times of famine, to attack a buman body before it has been de. prived of life. When other means of fuftenance fail, they affemble together in couples of thirty and forty, making great deftruction amongst the hares, which are here in plenty. They hunt in the fame manner as our harriers, and it is not uncommon for them to pass in full cry, through an encampment in the middle of the night, on the plains of Indoftan. Had it been poffible to have followed them on thofe occafions, in all probability they might have afforded as much fport as a re. gular bred pack: fportfmen, in particular, have caufe to regret that thofe creatures cannot be tamed, and brought to hunt together, the fame as in their natural ftate; and the more fo, as there is no poffibility of bringing European hounds to any perfec made, but they foon degenerate, and become good for nothing. AVING done me the hotion in a climate fo detrimental nour of inferting my letter on the fubject of elephant huntto European conftitutions. The ing, in your last Number, it en-experiment has frequently been courages me to continue your correfpondent, and shall be much pleafed if you think a few obfervations on a mode of hunting practifed by the jackalls of India, will be acceptable to your fporting readers. Yours, &c.. VERITAS. MODE OF TAKING THE ANTELOPE Two of thefe beautiful creatures have been prefented to his majefty by a gentleman lately returned from India, It is much finer Anecdote of the late Mr. Charles Lewis. finer made than the deer, and fo swift, that no dogs can equal its speed. The plains abound both with them and the deer, which run together in herds; the natives have a method of taking the males alive, which is done by training up a young one for their purpofe. The hunters prepare for their fport, by fixing feveral noofes, or running knots, on the horns of the tame antelope or deer, and as foon as a herd of them is to be feen, he is turned ioofe, when he immediately advances towards them; and as foon as he approaches, the champion of the herd gives him the meeting, and a fierce combat generally enfues, which terminates with his get. ting himself entangled in the noofes, or running knots, after which he is easily taken. Iflington, June 18, 1794. For the SPORTING MAGAZINE. Extraordinary ANECDOTES of the late Mr. CHARLES LEWIS. TH HIS gentleman was well known, and as well refpected at Newmarket, and other fashionable places of fport. The eventful hiftory of Mr. Lewis's life to a common obferver, has much the air of a tale of other times. He was the only fon of Mr. Lewis, a tradefman, in London, who, from encumbered cir cumftances, was in the Fleet-prifon, attended by his wife, when his fon was born, and where he continued fome years. The first period of his life was spent within the walls of this ftrong hold. His father dying, and his mother being in indigence, he was reared folely by the bounty of the prifoners; but being a lad of parts, 167 he foon made himfelf ufeful in the Fives-court, by making the balls, and ftringing racquets for this fport, and alfo for the tennis-court. While in this fituation, his mother lived house keeper with a geutleman of fortune, who dying, left him in ground-rents, in and about Piccadilly, a fortune of 500l. a year. Two years before his death, he was on the point of being married to a Mifs Edwards, who had a confiderable fortune in her own hands. Mifs E. was of a confumptive habit, and though very ill, the day of their union was fixed, when, from weakness, a flight delirium feized her. Whether from accident or otherwife, we know not, fhe fell from a two-pair of ftairs window, and lived only a few days, leaving all her fortune to Mr. Lewis; to the credit of whom it fhould be mentioned, that he generously provided for her relatives. Mr. Lewis now joined more frequently in the fports of the turf, &c. and was very fuccessful; but it was thought the lofs of Mifs Edwards preyed upon his fpirits; and after a fhort illuefs, he died at his houfe in Park-place, Knightf bridge, on the 17th of January laft, in the 26th year of his age; leaving the bulk of his fortune, which was very much improved while a fportfman, to his friend and brother sportsman, Mr. Tho mas Clarke, together with debts of honour due to him on the turf, tennis-court, &c. which are of confiderable amount, and fome of them from gentlemen of the firft rank. When we confider the education of Mr. Lewis, and the fcenes of life to which he was early introduced, to find him a man of honour, is not a little to his praife. Y 2 EXPLA 168 Natural Hiftory of the Humming Bird. EXPLANATION of an OLD ADAGE. HOBSON'S CHOICE: THAT OR pended in the air, at the point of the twigs of an orange, a pomegranate, or a-citron tree; fometimes even in houfes, if they find a twig adapted to the purpose. The female is the architect, while the male goes in queft of materials; fuch as cotton, fine moss, and the small fibres of vegetables. The hell of an hen's egg, cut in two, would form a couple of fuch nefts in regard to fize. She lays two eggs, and never more of the magnitude of fmall peas, beautifully white, with here and there a yellow fpeck. The time of incubation continues twelve days; at the end of which period the young ones appear, hardly exceeding the fize of a blue bottle-fly. The smallest humming-bird, as already obferved, is not larger than a bee, and weighs but about twenty grains. The feathers on its wings and tail are of a violet brown, but thofe on its body, and under its wings, are of a greenith colour, with a fine red caft or NATURAL HISTORY of the HUM. glofs, which no filk or velvet MING BIRD. An F this beautiful little creature, fixty fpecies are enu merated, from the size of a small wren down to that of a bee. European could never have fuppofed a bird exifting fo very Imall, and yet completely fur. nished with a bill, feathers, wings, and inteftines, exactly refembling thofe of the largest kind. A bird fo diminutive would be thought the creature of imagination, were it not feen in infinite numbers, and as frequent as butterflies in a fummer's day, fport ing from flower to flower in the fields of America, and extracting their sweets with its little beak. The nests of thefe birds are extremely curious: they are fuf can imitate. The bill is black, ftraight, ftender, and three inches and an half in length. The ruby-crested hummingbird is larger than the preceding. Its throat has the appearance of burnished gold, gloffed with emeralds; and it has a small crest on its head, green at the bottom, and of a gold colour at the top. The garnet-throated humming bird is four inches and a quarter in length. in length. Its bill is hooked, and about an inch long: .its head, neck, &c. are of a dark green, and the throat of a fine garnet, appearing gloffy in fome direc tions. The gold-throated humming-bird is about half as large as the common wren, and with. out a creft on its head: it is, however, covered from the throat half Modern Method of Hunting the Wbale. half way down the belly, with changeable crimfon-coloured feathers, which, in different lights, form a variety of beautiful colours, much like an opal. But the ruby-necked is the moft beautiful of all the fpecies: it is about the fize of the preceding; the upper parts of its body are brown, with a mixture of green and gold, and the throat is like the fineft topaz. There are, indeed, almost all colours of thefe beautiful animals: crimson,green, emerald, white - breafted, and fpotted; fome with, and others without crefts. Most of them have fmall eyes, which are as black as jet. How infinitely do thefe add to the high-finishing and beauty of a rich, luxurious western landfcape? As foon as the fun is ri fen, the humming-birds, of dif. ferent kinds, are feen fluttering about the flowers, without ever fettling themselves upon them. Their wings are in fuch rapid motion, that it is impoffible to difcern their colours, but by their glittering. They are perpetually bufy, vifiting flower after flower, and robbing them fucceffively of their honey. For this purpofe, nature has furnished them with a forked tongue, which enters the cup of the flower, and extracts its nectared tribute: upon this alone they fubfift. The rapid motion of their wings produces a humming found, whence they have acquired their name. 169 portioned to the organs which produce it. In different places, perhaps, their notes are alfo different; and as there are some which continue torpid all the winter, there may probably be some which have agreeable voices, though the others may in general be filent. Modern METHOD of HUNTING the W (Concluded from page 77.) 7HEN the whale is dead, it is lafhed along-fide the fhip; the fishermen then lay it on one fide, and put two ropes, one at the head, and the other in the place of the tail, which, together with the fins, is ftruck off as foon as he is taken, to keep these extremities above water. On the off-fide of the whale are two boats, to receive the pieces of fat, utenfils, and men, which might otherwife fall into the wa ter on that fide. Thefe precautions being taken, three or four men with irons at their feet, to prevent flipping, get on the whale, and begin to cut out pieces of about three feet thick, and eight long, which are hauled up at the capitan or wind, lafs. When the fat is all got off, they cut off the whiskers of the upper jaw with an axe. Let it, however, be obferved that, bes fore they begin cutting, they are all lafhed to keep them firm: which facilitates the cutting, and prevents their falling into the fea; when on board, five or fix of them are bundled together, and properly ftowed; and, after all is got off, the carcafe is turned adrift, and greedily devoured by the bears. In proportion as the large pieces of fat are cut off, the It is doubted by fome, whether thefe birds have a continued note in finging. All travellers, however, agree, that, exclufive of the humming noife produced by their wings, they have a little interrupted chirrup; but Labat afferts, that they have a moft pleafing melancholy melody in their voices, though small, and pro-reft of the crew are employed in |