after the last, was the one on which Miss Pearson had dined with them.

A considerable change had by degrees taken place in Mrs. Meredith's manners, temper, and conduct since her introduction to the rector's family. The pony-carriage, that for some weeks had stood unused and unnoticed, was now in almost daily requisition; and Jack was most agreeably surprised by his lady's remarking, one morning, at breakfast, that she feared she should become too nervous, from want of habit, to mount her horse again. This was said with a certain air of timidity, and without venturing a look at her husband. It was not lost on him, and he good-naturedly replied,

"I dare say, Matilda, your horse will make allowance for your want of practice, and will go unusually quietly.'

"You think, then, I may trust myself, with William as my guide?" inquired the lady.

"Most certainly, unless you will allow me the honour," replied Jack, smiling, and bowing low, "of being your faithful attendantknight."

Mrs. Meredith merely extended her hand, and, on Jack's pressing it, hurried out of the room.

A tear that had started to his wife's eye, on presenting her hand, produced the pressure that her husband gave, as a silent but certain assurance of commencing forgiveness. His newly-returning tenderness, on Mrs. Meredith's reaching the privacy of her own room, caused a flood of repentant tears. These, followed by a selfconstituted review of her past conduct, awoke her to a sense of the danger she had run of losing the affections of one both constituted for, and wishing to unite the tenderness of the husband and the guardian hand of the fond friend with the attention and devotion of the lover.

On meeting her husband again, it was with the same smile that had first made his heart all her own. It was not, perhaps, as bright as that; but there was a subdued sweetness in it that was more tender. Neither spoke, yet each seemed fully to understand what were the emotions of either heart. She looked in her husband's face, and, advancing to him, said, in a faltering tone,

"Am I forgiven?"

Jack caught her in his arms, and pressed her to his heart. That pressure precluded the necessity of words; and in each succeeding year, the anniversary of the day of their reconciliation was hailed by both as even more dear than the one that first joined their hands.

As a faithful historian, I must gratify my readers' curiosity or interest-if I have awakened either-as regards Mr. and Mrs. Meredith's after-movements. They did not quit Ap Swilly till a two-years' residence there fally made up the sum expended in the first year of their marriage. Mrs. Meredith had made herself so agreeable amid the friendly and unpretending society of the neighbouring families that, on their quitting Ap Swilly, the assurance that its owners would spend three months in each year there was hailed with sincere pleasure by all.

Mr. Meredith's position in life rendered it both desirable and proper that he should make his paternal property, Meredith Hall,

their usual residence. This, it need scarcely be told, though, as Jack truly said, it had been let for a term of years, was only so let at the option of the owner, redeemable at a trifling sacrifice. The town-house was not repurchased; and, at Mrs. Meredith's request, no other was sought for. A furnished one was hired for the two months they annually spent in London; and when the time drew near to revisit Ap Swilly, Mrs. Meredith was the most impatient of the two to see friends that had rendered themselves so dear to her. At the head of these stood the worthy rector's family.

"To-morrow," said Mrs. Meredith playfully, "we shall see those dear friends, and the spot that restored me to my husband's heart, and rendered me the happy, happy wife I now am.

In narrating this portion of Mr. and Mrs. Meredith's life, I have merely used the plain and simple language required for such a purpose. Glowing and descriptive expression I leave to the novelist, quite satisfied if the words I have used may "point a moral,” though not "adorn a tale."

"A FEW WORDS UPON SHOOTING."

BY LORD WILLIAM LENNOX.

The First of October has arrived; the pheasant has succeeded the grouse and partridge at agreeable distances; and once again the sportsman is in the woods. His well-trained spaniels and tender-mouthed retriever seem as happy as their owner, at the joyful labour, in again ranging the plantation; while the deadly instrument, that scarcely ever misses its aim, shows that it has been carefully taken care of, during the summer. As the remarks we are about to offer, are more nearly connected with guns and gunners than game, and as our main object will be to warn the reader against negligence in the use of firearms, we shall, in the course of this article, borrow from a well known authority, whose valuable cautions have received a well-merited compliment from the leviathan of the press, the Times newspaper.

Every thorough sportsman, at the end of the shooting-season, will do well to intrust his weapon to the hands of a respectable gun-maker, giving instructions to have the inside of the barrels dressed with emery, the outsides browned, and the locks cleaned; and having satisfied himself that not an atom of lead remains in the fatal tubes, and that the machinery is in perfect order, the whole ought to be safely locked up out of the reach of curious striplings or inquisitive maidservants. No sooner has the yellow grain fallen beneath the reaping-hook, and the fields are filled with gleaners, than the gun is to be taken from the mahogany case, and always placed in a safe position. Every newspaper

that we look over is full of accidents by firearms; some occasioned by carelessness in getting over hedges with the gun at "full cock," others by leaving loaded weapons within the reach of inexperienced people, and occasionally from practical pleasantries in pointing the deadly instrument at a friend, with the assurance that it is not charged: alas! in how many cases have these words been falsified? One golden rule ought to guide every man who uses a gun : Never-by carelessness or design— let it be pointed at any human being." We now proceed to give the following valuable suggestions, which have emanated from the pen of Mr. Bishop, of Bond-street, a man whose exertions to put an end to dogstealing, and whose endeavours to promote truly manly English sports, are too well known to require further comment.

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"CAUTION AS TO THE USE OF FIREARMS.

"SIR,-As the shooting-season has commenced, may I beg of you to insert in your widely-circulated magazine this letter, which I trust may be of grea use to the sporting world, and for which I venture to hope I shall not be condemned, when I bear in mind the many unfortunate accidents with guns which have befallen sportsmen, occasioning misery and sorrow in families otherwise happy, from the mere want of care and caution in the simple process of cocking and uncocking the locks of their guns, and from the unpardonable fault of many sportsmen in playing with the locks of their guns when they have but little else to do.

Suppose the sportsman to have fired one barrel of his gun, and then being desirous of reloading the discharged one, he lets down the cock of the loaded one to half-cock. Now nothing can be more imprudent than this; for it frequently happens that, instead of the sear going into its place, it catches on the edge of the half-bent of the tumbler ; with his gun in this state he reloads; and, should he be lucky enough not to shoot himself from the jar of loading, he is sure, when next he fires the reloaded barrel, to discharge both. I have even known this to occur in firing off a gun with enfeebled locks, when the discharge of one barrel has caused the sear of the remaining lock to move from its proper position to the edge of the full-bent of the tumbler, and the sportsman, unaware of his danger, has reloaded with his gun in this state, and an accident has been the consequence.

"Now let me beg of all sportsmen, in uncocking their guns, to let the cock down past the half-bent, and then to draw it back to the halfcock; in so doing the sear must come into its proper place, and all will be well, taking care that the fingers do not touch the triggers, as it may prevent the locks acting properly. To carry the gun cocked at any time is dangerous and unpardonable, as also with the hammer resting on the cap; in fact, the gun is only safe when at half-cock.

"The use of a thick glove upon the right hand is very dangerous; for in uncocking and cocking a gun, the glove may, with an imperceptible pressure upon the trigger, occasion the same disarrangement of the lock as above stated.

"Another cause of accidents with guns arises from the carelessness with which some sportsmen neglect attending to the position of the gun in loading, having the gun pointed at their heads, instead of invariably keeping the stock outside the left foot, when the gun, pressing against

X

the leg, will not point in the direction of the head or any part of the person. In loading, turn the gun a little to the right to load the right barrel; your hand will not then be in danger of the left one; and accidents have occurred from the heedless manner in which sportsmen have returned their ramrods after loading, by placing their right hand over the muzzle of the gun, which would have been entirely avoided simply by adjusting the rod in the pipe, and sending it home with the forefinger of the right and the thumb of the left hand. Look at the gun, but never let the gun look at you, is my golden rule; and I can assure all sportsmen that safety-guards are but of little use when carelessness is predominant.

"The recoil of the gun, so often complained of, arises, in nine cases out of ten, from the not holding the stock to the shoulder, but to the arm; the proper holding of which will be greatly facilitated by keeping the right elbow well down, when the stock will fit the shoulder with greater firmness. Some gentlemen if told this would be quite offended; but I hope these remarks will offend none; for I am sure few could be more capable or more willing to give sound advice upon this subject than myself, who have had the experience of nearly forty years, and the advantages of many of the best opinions in the sporting world to form my judgment upon.

"Let me caution everyone against bringing a loaded gun into the house always discharge it before entering; and do not content yourself with taking off the caps and saying All's well,' for the danger is almost as great with the cap off, as with them on; for the percussion powder often comes out of the cap, and is left upon the nipple, and the greatest danger may be apprehended from the false security which is presented to the unconscious handler of the gun.

"Another important point which I would offer to the consideration of your readers is, that the locks of their guns should always be kept perfectly clean, as also the triggers, and should act with perfect freedom. A very small quantity of the best oil placed on the axletree, or where the tumbler works in the lock-plate, would do good, as the want of this attention has often been the cause of many accidents with locks; but I recommend all sportsmen to send their guns to the gunmakers after the season is over, that they may be put in order, instead of permitting them to lie in their dirt until the eleventh hour, as, I am sorry to say, too many do.

"The gun, when loaded, should never be carried with the muzzle downwards, as it sometimes happens that in carrying it so, some dirt or snow will lodge itself in the muzzle, unobserved by the sportsman, and the barrel, when next fired, will either bulge or burst at the muzzle; this I have often known to be the case. I would therefore recommend the sportsman always to carry his gun upright at the full extent of the arm, as a dragoon carries his carbine when dismounted; and should he think that by any chance dirt may have got into the barrels, he should invariably ram it down upon the charge, and thus he will escape all possibility of accident.

"Certainty alone can insure safety; if, then, any doubt be enter tained as to whether the gun be properly loaded or not, draw both barrels of the shot, and flash the powder off. To draw the charge, the barrels should be taken out of the stock, the caps removed, and the

thumb drawn over the nipples, in order to efface any remains of the percussion powder that may be left on the top of them. When the gun has missed fire, you are at once aware there is an obstruction in the breach, and it should be a warning to you to act cautiously, by taking the nipples out, and seeing they are clear; put some powder in the breech, screw the nipples in again, and flash off. By following the above suggestions, you will, in all probability, avoid the serious calamity of the powderflask exploding in the hand while in the act of reloading. "The care and caution I have suggested would, I believe, prevent ninety-nine out of a hundred of what are generally termed Accidents with guns,' but what I designate as the result of carelessness.

"In the belief that these few suggestions would, if thoroughly adhered to, be the means of preventing many a careless wound and heart-rending scene, I have ventured to intrude myself upon your notice, trusting that by the aid of your all-powerful magazine, I may be the cause of lessening the number of gun accidents that occur during every shooting

In our last year's volume we gave a review of the yachting season of 1855, and were gratified to observe that our report was favourably received in the yachting circles. We have been equally vigilant over the movements of the racing craft during the present season, and are, we trust, well armed on all points for the task we now undertake, having been present at most of the regattas around the coast, and taken part in several sailing contests. The limits of a monthly sporting magazine would not admit of our reporting from time to time the result of those matches periodically, nor would such form so ready a record of glorious doings on the watery race-course, as one continued narrative of the yachting events of the season. We furnished, in July last, at considerable length, an account of the two most important Thames sailingmatches; there will therefore be little further to add of those two events, beyond referring the enquirer to our report, which will be found at page 54 of the present volume.

At an early stage of the yachting season we predicted a gay asscmblage of yachts, and abundance of sport; it will be seen that our con