MORNING. Leila, yon sleepy slut, fill the Bowl quick, Dry as the desert for want of more wine, Instead of no matter-although I do wish But confound you, get up, bring the Bowl, bring it quick, Can't you dream that I'm dry? can't you see that I'm sick? Leila, you sleepy slut, mind, if you please, When I next want to take my shirâz at my ease, I'll thank you to leave me alone to discuss My Bowl, without fawning and fondling and fuss ; If the wine touch'd my lip, yours was sure to be there! Leila, you sleepy slut, back to your bed, The fumes of your chillum are still in your head, PAULO POST. MY DEAR EDITOR, CHASE OF BELGAUM. CHASE OF BELGAUM. Andante con Expressione. In Belgaum ere the sun arose, Dreamer's nose, Hushed was the world in deep repose As Watchmen snoring rapidly. But Belgaum saw another go, When streaks of light began to show, And neither drums nor bugles blow, Who never yet did feel afraid To join a sporting company; The Chase draws nigh-on, on, ye brave, Ne'er think your necks or bones to save, Wave, covies, all your castors wave, And clash your spurs in bloodily. Few, few shall meet, tho' many started; The mud shall cover those departed, To pledge the cup to all boldhearted Who hunt round Belgaum merrily! A PLEASANT TOUR. Allow me to propose to your Bombay Sporting Readers, through your excellent magazine, a tour that will not only yield them the highest gratification, from the abundance and variety of sport hourly to be enjoyed, but health to the sick, delight to the lover of nature, and lastly, the frail works of man, from the temple to the tomb, the pa'ace to the well, to the inspection of the curious in Indian Architecture. After a passage of a few days I suppose we land at Cambay, with a gun, dogs, and a couple of horses, spears, &c., complete; here commences our sport. To allow the cattle to recover their jolting, we visit the subterranean cave. I do not purpose to give a description of any place of sport: merely an account of what is to be seen, leaving your readers to feel on the spot the disappointment or pleasure which the scenes they may happen to view or are engaged in call forth. The country around abounds in all kinds of game in the neighbourhood of Kaira, an officer, now deceased, shot for a bet 51 and a half brace of snipe, and his sporting book contained many days equally successful. But pass not Kaira without moralizing o'er its gate; what days of sport, what nights of social pleasure have been spent there! where is now the joyous cry of the hounds or the neighing of the impatient courser ? This cantonment, so thoroughly abandoned, so desolate and solitary, cannot fail to fill the passerby with much melancholy; deserted and roofless houses, the tombs on each side of the highway decaying and soon to be forgotten, the bones of thousands of our men also teach us the useful lesson, how futile are man's hopes, how uncertain his designs, how weak his judgments! Ahmedabad is the next place worthy of notice; there the sportsman will find abundance of hog, duck, deer, snipe, bustard, &c.; the hares appear particularly strong, and give excellent runs over an open and mostly flat clear country. The lover of sights will find great scope for his taste in this ancient city. The kin-caubmanufactory, the world, the temples, the Shie Bhag, &c., are well worth visiting, whilst the latter will afford a splendid habitation during his stay. during his stay. Of this palace I have heard the following anecdote, but cannot vouch for its truth. One of the Moguls built it as a country residence for his son, then viceroy of Guzerat; the latter, on going to take possession, found that the outer gateway was too small to admit his elephant with all his trappings; this was considered an unlucky omen, and he returned home, never more to enter the palace again. At Adaliz the splendid well at Kurree, the fort and palace of "Know you the land where the jungle thick growing Know you the land of the Bauble and Bier, Where the fruit never tempts you, the thorns never spare; Where the palate unpamper'd's ne'er greeted with fruit, We now advance to the land of the lion, the sambur, and the bear. After a fifty mile march, we reach the base of Abboo. In ascending this hill we walk through a wood of bamboo and other trees; beneath is a wide expanse of thick jungle country, with now and then a village and its few cultivated fields; over you hang the dark rocks, and around the jungle-cock is crowing in the ravines, and the bear prowling for his prey. On arriving at the top the lake suddenly bursts upon your view-the few islands-the wooded hills-the rocks-presenting a pleasing scene, and recalling many a loved spot in the wanderings of our youth. Here are splendid temples, which will reward you for the toil and trouble of the ascent-thinly scattered are a few jungle and spur fowl, duck, otters, hares, and now and then a cheeta is seen. We descend the hill to Chundroulee, a large deserted city ruined by earthquakes; here are remains of beautiful marble temples the wild dog are to be seen in packs, all fat and sleek. We now arrive at Deesa in time to partake of the amusements going forward, such as the races, plays, hunting, matches of cricket, &c., &c., &c. After this we pass through the large towns of Beisnugger, Bejapoor, the cantonments of Hursole, and view the glass manufactories of Kupherwaiye, then arrive in time for the Baroda Races. From Tankaria Bunder a boat lands you safe and sound in Bombay. You perceive how full of amusement the route I propose is. The season from October to January is cool and healthy-the jungle daily decreasing, and the rays of the sun so mild as to afford "Where summer's beauty midst of winter stays, If I have not taken up too much of your space allow me to point out to "Nimrod" what I consider to have been the origin of throwing instead of poking for the first spear. Guzerat-I speak of my part of it is a sandy, flat, and mostly clear country, very few holes, nullahs, rocks, &c., to impede the course of a horse. Over such a country, taking the first spear does not show the best rider, but the best horse; and as hogs do not abound as they for merly did, a thrower is considered THE POONAH COURSE. I am, Mr. Editor, an old sojourner in the Deccan, and have occasionally attended the Poonah Races, for I like the sport, though I never keep anything beyond a hunter, and from some little experience on other courses, I do think that Poonah generally sports the best cattle and the best racing on the western side of India, not even excepting the Presidency itself. The course is reckoned very severe, as the last half mile is up-hill, and which all horses running two miles have to mount twice; in addition to this it is very heavy, and on that account I attribute the great success that always attends tolerable horses that leave that course for any other; there is not, I fancy, an instance of horses leaving Poonah that have not kept up or surpassed their former character wherever they may have gone, and we often see horses who cannot at Poonah accomplish the two miles under 4m. 12s., go to Bombay and run STIRRUP. in 4m. 6s.; and I must now beg I show themselves equally good or better on other courses, always excepting accidents, of course, a decided proof that the distance must be correct. I write this from an out-station, where we have little in the shape of sport but tiger shooting, and if you find the present letter worthy of insertion, I shall occasionally give you an account of that royal sport of which we have sometimes a good deal, and I prefer all sorts of hunting to racing, and tiger shooting may SIR, be reckoned a species of that noble and invigorating recreation. Your obedient servant, ONE AS CAN GO IT. Nominabad, 13th May, 1828. Note.-The above letter came to us some months ago, but we laid it aside after a hasty perusal, deeming it scarcely worth publication. Chance again threw it in our way a few days since, and as part of it appears, on re-perusal, to possess merit, we have thought it as well to give it a place. FLINTS AND DETONATORS. In your Magazine I have lately read several papers on the comparative merits of flint and percussion guns, and as I have shot with both for several years, I should like to have a finger in the pie as well as your other correspondents, some of whom, in the 19th century, still uphold flint and steel in preference to the short and decisive copper cap. Of course every man has a right to maintain his opinion, whilst convinced of its rectitude against that of the whole world besides, until the said world bring him indisputable proof that he is wrong; if he still persists, and rejects what is sanctioned and approved by the best judges of its merits, after the fullest proofs of superiority are shown him, I must call him prejudiced. Now, precisely in this case stands the point in question; in England, almost universally, percussion guns are used, though, at their first adoption, strong prejudices existed against them. At the Red House at Battersea, where the best shots and best guns are to be met with, who ever sees a flint show his dingy face amongst the mur dering detonators? Such an apparition would be like the ghost of my grandfather's wig at Almack's, and would create as much surprise as the resurrection of old Rip Van Winkle with his rusty musket, after sleeping for 50 years; but this is an American story, so I must look to the credit of my veracity. The objections generally made to percussions are the following, and I think I can answer them all. It is or was said they are more liable to burst. Bring any proof, and I shall believe it; the barrels of percussion guns are always made much thicker at the breech than those of flint guns, and' I should say were less liable to burst; but buy your gun of a good maker, and you are not liable to be sent out of the world by finding an inch or two of twisted barrel in your forehead, whether you use flint or percussion. Those who say that percussions do not hit as hard as flints I refer to a statement by that able artist, Nock, from a variety of experiments, which establish the point against them. What I allude to was, I believe, published in one |