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him the highest praise; and there is every prospect of a splendid

season.

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The Cheshire "difficulty" is still unsettled; and the hounds are warned off the best part of their country. Only two or three are said to have sided with the Master on the first day of the meet. This is a melancholy state of things, and, owing to its origin, quite out of the cognizance of any hunting arbitrators. It is, however, rather absurd for the Tarporley men to talk about the Master being bound to give up the hounds, because the contract was only signed by one of them. If things had gone all straight, they would have taken care that he should not be let off before the end of his time. We hear that he intends to hold out, and wiil exercise his hounds along the turnpikeroad, rather than give way. It is sad to see two such good men as Edwards and Tom Rance not able to do their best. Tom is, we believe, the senior foxhound-whip in England; and, although he is a one-eyed man, all his huntsmen have uniformly said of him that he "contrived to have one eye on the huntsman, and one on the hounds," and that, come what might, Tom "could never be got to do any mischief"-an encomium that can be passed on scarcely a whip alive. This is the second great mischance the Cheshire has had, as we remember, some twenty years ago, how, but for the splendid entries of puppies that autumn, the pack would have been annihilated by hydrophobia. The huntsman and his men never went into the kennel, except in long leathern gauntlets; and watchers were stationed in the kennel each night for six weeks, to drag out those that began to have any symptoms, with a huge pair of badger tongs. Placing them each in separate kennels did not avert the plague. At last there was a regular slaughter of hounds well worth 50 guineas a couple. These are our first reminiscences of the Cheshire.

The Atherstone have fifteen couple of hounds on sale; and we believe that Mr. Lowndes still pursues his system of taking only thirteen couple or so into the field. Other huntsmen generally like about eighteen couple; but the late Duke of Beaufort was so fond of a large pack, that Will Long used to say that he was sure he could not have pleased him better than by bringing out forty couple, instead of twenty. Once, in Shropshire, when Will Head, George Wells, and Will Staples were all hunting, each of them brought ten couple by way of a larky wind-up to the season, but they made very little out, which was hardly to be wondered at, as some fifteen hundred horsemen met them, and all, with the exception of Wells (who took the command), Jack Mytton, and Joe Clay, got thrown out.

A word on our foxhound list, which is republished in full this month, and contains, in addition to her Majesty's Staghounds, ninety-five English and Welsh, six Scotch, and eight Irish packs. Seven packs in England and Wales, one in Scotland, and nine in Ireland are not among the returns. The Meath circular returned to us through the Dead Letter-office, with nineteen post marks on it; so that the Meath post-office keepers must be more diligent than they are acute, seeing that there are hounds still in the county.

The huntsmen, one and all, must accept our thanks; and we are glad to say, that in the course of the ensuing year, we shall commence a series of portraits of their most leading men, as a companion to our jockey series. And so we take farewell of our readers for 1856.

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ECCLEFE CHAN:

A CELEBRATED GREYHOUND.

ENGRAVED BY E. HACKER, FROM A PAINTING BY G. H. LAPOrte.

Ecclefechan, the property of Mr. Samuel R. Gilbert, was pupped in 1849, and bred, as we believe, by the Earl of Eglinton, being by his Lordship's Tom Raeburn, out of his Snowdrop by Waterloo. Tom Raeburn was by Young Sport, by Dr. Brown's Old Sport, out of Gipsy by Dusty Miller. Snowdrop was own sister to Mr. Wauchope's Victory, by Waterloo, out of Velocity-thus combining the fastest and stoutest blood from two of the most renowned kennels of the North, and whose progeny are continually proving themselves first-class greyhounds.

Ecclefechan is a large, lengthy, blue-brindle dog, 27 inches high, rather wheely-backed, low and oblique shoulders, and long and lean in the neck. He is by no means a heavy dog, but what may be termed wiry and muscular, with the best possible legs and feet, still perfect, notwithstanding the immense work he did for four seasons. The lightness of his action, and the smooth and beautiful style of his gallop, may account for this. His last appearance in public was in November, 1853; since then he has been put to the stud, and the produce of five bitches only, put to him, won last season 67 public courses (see Thacker's Annual for 1855-6). Amongst these are the well-known Hansel, Andrew Clark, Darkie, Express, Wolverhampton, Britannia, &c., &c., who have proved themselves first greyhounds on the plains of Altcar, as well as at Lytham, and other places in the North, where hares are renowned for stoutness, and the ground unusually severe.

Mr. Gilbert purchased Ecclefechan of that famous courser and capital judge of greyhounds William Wilson, Esq., of Dumfries, in whose hands this dog won most of his laurels, and by whom he was invariably brought to the slips in first-rate condition.

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Ecclefechan ran as a puppy in the season of 1850-1, and in January, 1851, won the Talbot All-aged Cup (24 dogs), at the Lytham Club Meeting. In March following he was third for the Colebrook Champion Open Cup, all-aged (26 dogs), at the Biggar Meeting, beaten by Wigan," the winner; in October, the same year he won the Douglas All-aged Cup (12 dogs), at the Biggar Club Meeting; in January, 1852, he won two courses in the Lytham Stakes, at Lytham, beaten by "Bonnie Scotland," which ran up. The same month he won the Lee Cup (24 dogs) at the Carlisle Meeting. In February he won the Lottery Stakes (16 dogs) at the Knipe Scar (Lowther) Meeting. In January, 1853, he won the Open Stakes (16 dogs) at the Angus and Mearns (Forfarshire) Meeting; and in March and April ran third to Cromwell, the winner for the Biggar Open Cup (64 dogs). Amongst other winners, he is sire of Hansel, that ran second for the Scottish Champion Cup (42 dogs) in February, 1856; of Gretna Green, who ran up with her sire for the Angus and Mearns Open Stakes in January, 1853, and won the Kilburn All-aged Cup (14 dogs), at the

Dalry Meeting, February, 1854; of Darkie, winner of the Nithsdale and Galloway St. Leger, October, 1855; and of Britannia, winner of the Oaks at the Caledonian Meeting, November, 1854 (51 entries, 28 starters), and divided the St. Leger Stakes at the same meeting with Jardine's "Imitator," winner of the Derby Stakes (38 starters); she ran second for the Waterloo Cup (24 dogs), in 1855, and third for the same cup in 1856. The above are only a few of the winners got by Ecclefechan, but sufficient to prove the goodness of his stock.

Ecclefechan is now located in the South, where, no doubt, he will be duly appreciate.l. He will serve bitches at 5gs. each, and may be seen by applying to William Richardson, Fairfield House, Chiddingfield, near Godalming, Surrey. Five splendid puppies by Ecclefechan, out of Repentance (own sister to Moore's Leander and Derwentwater), pupped 7th March, 1856, may be also seen there as a fair sample of his stock.

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ENGRAVED BY J. H. ENGLEHEART, FROM A PAINTING BY J. F. HERRING, JUN.

"Lie still, my lord!" as the hard-riding curate said, when he cleared the great man of the county, and got a living in consequence.

"The Waterfall" illustrates an incident in real life-a couple of young gentlemen, who by their united efforts have contrived to bring each other to grief, and the gallant little Captain B. going manfully over them. The captain, like many small men, delighted, or delights still, in large horses, nothing under sixteen hands coming up to his character. He once bid for the Mammoth horse which was exhibited about the country, but declined him when he found the monster was no fencer; for the big ones with Captain B. were not bought to be looked at, but to go as well as the slapping bay does in our picture.

The anecdote, of course, might be very highly seasoned with the mutual compliments black horse and white horse are sure to shower on each other. Indeed, we have a very good brief before us from one of the actors in the scene-the "Now then, stupid!" and "You be blowed!" gradually warming up to something a little more personal and unparliamentary. It is satisfactory, however, to know that such disturbances in the field are in general soon settled. "Pray get out of the way, and let me get on!" does duty in these degenerate times for many a strong dose of slang, or for more profane objurgation.

It is pleasant to see the name of J. F. Herring long likely to be amongst us. Both senior and junior are once again in strong work. We may, perhaps, prize them both the more when we come to remember that poor Charley Herring, his father's especial favourite, has so lately and so prematurely been taken from us. Another son, Benjamin, has not shown much in public for the last few years; but the whole family is essentially a family of painters, and sporting themes the first they have each turned to, and the love they have dallied the longest over.

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