Winks did not disdain to divest himself of his kid gloves, and hew and saw away at the tough amphibious fibres before him. As he laboured on he thus expressed himself, " My good friend, the cook, how in the nature of things human teeth are to find their way through this knotted articulation of strings, through which a sharp knife can hardly penetrate, I am totally at a loss to conjecture."

"Perhaps, sir," the recipe means that we are to bolt the fish in small square pieces," said cookey consideringly.

"God forbid!" exclaimed our hero.

"Why, Squire, that's the way we generally eats porpoise afloat. Lord love ye, we never thinks of chawing it. We takes our chaw after its down, and that's always a raw chaw." Meaning, of course, a glass of pure rum or brandy, which meaning meant nothing to Winks; so he was completely mystified.

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"There is certainly, in all this, something discouraging. Here, one of you, go to the carpenter with my compliments, and ask him to put the keenest possible edge upon these knives;"-so off started one of the aide-de-camps, "but," continued James, addressing the cook, we must go forward, and I dare be sworn that our book will smooth away all our difficulties. What wise and great kings, and dainty court ladies, could eat with pleasure, and digest so happily, never could be swallowed first, to be masticated afterwards-a most uncleán thought, and which could enter the heads of none but seamen."

Whilst the implements were sharpening that were to divide "the affinity of cohesion" which was remarkably great in the muscle before them, Winks and his coadjutor imparted to each other much useful knowledge, and the cook, in return for the lesson which he was receiving in carbonaded porpoise, initiated James into the mysteries of lobsWinks was becoming a philosopher and a great man.

couse.

The steaks having been duly thinned and shaped, the mystic leaves of the old book were again, with all the solemnity due to them, consulted, and the process commenced. We are not going to give the public this invaluable recipe. We intend to make our fortune by it. Food is gradually becoming more and more scarce in this, our most prosperous empire, Thanks to the-not-to-be-repealed corn-laws, we do not know what our overfed inhabitants may be reduced to eatand then comes our recipe into full play. We will let our friend the cook speak of it-upon his unbiassed and enlightened opinion we will rest our case. James Winks had read on about a page and a half, which enumerated every known and some unknown spices, every appetising condiment, and most of the delicious wines, with all of which the porpoise's tail was to be lavishly impregnated, when he, that self same astute cook, sang out," My eye! my mouth waters, my palate's all

of a tingle, my nose is in a turmoil of pleasure.-Why, squire! for the sake of all that ere I'd eat the skippers old Welsh wig, and not envy my Lord Mayor at his feast arterwards."

However, we must presume that the mention of all these delectable things exceedingly whetted the appetite and strengthened the resolution of James Winks, so that he was fully determined to produce a feast for the gods. It is true, that a great many things set down to be used, our friends had not; but they had excellent substitutes; and all would have gone well, had it not been for a slight, a very slight accident. At the bottom of the page, after the application of all these delicacies, it was ordered that the slices of porpoise should be half stewed in Hippocras, for which Winks had substituted strong port wine, and when that was done, it was to be taken off, and "to the whole thereto added." Now, unfortunately, when the seething mess was again brought into the cabin, in his hurry, Winks turned over two pages, the next top page going on also with the words, " thereto added," so that all suspicion. of error was entirely wanting." And, thereto added," says Winks, reading, with the large fish kettle steaming under his nose, "eight drachms of," and then followed a little Latin name of something that he never remembered to have seen before-and one whole ounce of another Latinized article, concluding with "the whole to be boiled into the consistence of cream."

Winks was puzzled for a little while, but he was not the man to be puzzled long. Cookey could afford him no assistance; but he rather thought the Latin words meant some sort of pepper. No doubt but that Cayenne would do as well-indeed it must be so, for as yet pepper of no sort had yet been mentioned in the recipe-and what so good?" "Why this, to be sure. It's Latin, I know. Ah! I have it. It's in my medicine chest-I'll go see."

"But, squire your not a going to put physic in this beautiful mess-Oh lord, oh lord-'twill be a spoil, and a sin."

"Foolish man!" said Winks, superiorly. "Why, I have all manner of spices and peppers in my medicine chest. It is too heavy to lug it out of my cabin."

The handsome and large brass bound chest was opened, and there was found among the vast variety of articles one of the things specified, so an ounce of it was duly weighed, and tested with the lip of the tongue by each of our friends. "It's hot as the devil," both exclaimed at once, and they were satisfied. The other unknown substance was supplied by Cayenne, as a proper substitute, the whole stirred together, clapped upon a slow fire, and left to be, according to the direction of the book, boiled into the consistence of cream."

It took a long, a very long while doing. Winks wished rigidly to adhere to the instructions of the book, but the undrained flesh was

still surcharged with blubber, which, of course, the other cook wanted to strain off. At length the quantity floating at the top of the mess became so considerable, and breathed an odour so little fragrant, that Winks was reduced to taste a well cooled spoonful of it.

"Train oil! by all the glory of my ancestors!" shouted Winks, as he permitted the abomination to be skimmed off as fast as it arose to the surface. Dinner was put off from hour to hour, the strong wines and sauces were boiled away into an essence almost as powerful as rectified spirits, and the exhaustion still supplied. At length, the tough fibre of the fish became softened, and the whole mess, steaming most fragrantly, was ready to be served up. Often and most smackingly had the cook licked his fingers with the rich sauce. He was actually maudlin in his expression of pleasure.

But at this point, when the hungry seamen, who had waited so long for their dinners, had almost become intractable, a new doubt arose in Winks's mind that all was not right, He remembered that a carbonaded porpoise meant, or ought to mean, something broiled, and he had either boiled, or stewed his fish, or both. So, leaving the odoriferous dish to the care of the two attendants, he marched into the state cabin, to express his hesitation, and demand more time. He found Captain Blottemberg at the head of the table with every one seated around him, who could at all claim that privilege. All the preparations for the campaign were duly arranged. The guests were beating the tattoo with their knives and forks, or grinding horrible music upon two plates. Some had recourse to the nibbling of biscuits, and there was not one among them who had not nipped off at least two glasses of spirits by the way of staying their appetites-for a sharper start. Of course there was always much deference shown to our hero, though often displayed in a singular manner. However he did not then dare too much to trust to it. He felt, somehow, like a little child among a meeting of ogres. He had hardly began his learned disquisition upon the nature of a carbonado, when he was nearly stunned by a tumultuous roaring of voices.

The treacherous cook too, whom Winks had taken with him as an ally, turned his back upon his benefactor, and pronounced the porpoise delicious. Every motion for postponement was overruled, and the mess, reeking hot, served up. It was savoury-delicious-it was the only food battened upon. Winks was prodigal of his wine, and his friends still more prodigal of their praises. This delirium of enjoyment lasted half an hour-and then

It was a merciful thing that there was not enough of the "royal dish of porpoise carbonaded" for the whole of the crew of the good ship Benjamin to partake of. The cook, who had purloined a huge quantity of the sauce, had a narrow escape of his life. The burly Blot

temberg lost a full stone in weight-however, four-and-twenty hours had placed all those who were ambitious to feast on royal dishes on their legs again, and four-and-twenty more, saw them all much as they used to be, with James Winks, Esq. having a damaged reputation. as cook.

That our hero was nettled, discomfitted, even at first dum founded, cannot be denied. Both he and his helpmate held their peace about the medicine-chest, and, therefore, the old parchment covered quarto of recipes, bore all the blame. However, there was much, very much consolation in store, for our maritime sportsman. Whilst his indisposition was still upon him, and his head, consequently, marvellously clear, he wrote a capital essay upon the folly of any one aspiring to the title of an universal genius. He demonstrated, from his own example, that the man who is unrivalled in catching vast porpoises, may sometimes fail in cooking them, and that though it may be a pleasant thing for a good sportsman, on an emergency, to be able to dress his game, yet, that the failure in the one accomplishment, will not deteriorate at all the excellence of the other. Yes, there are many resources, and very much assistance in sound philosophy-when you want neither the one nor the other, and thus finding every thing comfortable and cheering around him, he magnanimously despised the vanity of human wishes, and condemned the impiety of complaint. "The man," thus he wound up," who is miserable because he cannot successfully carbonade porpoise tails, deserves not to be happy, and where desert is not, felicity will never be found."

He did not very well understand the last turn of his sentence, but as it sounded well, he was so satisfied with it, that he had still some doubts, after all, whether he were not "an Universal Genius."

NOTES ON MY LAST VISIT TO ENGLAND!

BY AN ENGLISH SPORTSMAN RESIDENT ABROAD.

I INTENDED, Mr. Editor, some time ago, to have offered to you a few remarks on what I had observed when last in England, but having been much of a "Rambler" latterly, delay has accrued; and I am doubtful, whether even now the ideas and observations which I am pellmell putting together, will be thought by you worthy of perusal.

I stopped but a short time in England, last winter, though long enough to take a glance at some of the crack packs of hounds in the Midland Counties, and in comparing the different hounds I have seen, I cannot help saying, that the pack which appeared to me the most

business and sporting-like, and in one word, pleased me best, was the Atherstone, under its excellent master, Mr. Applethwaite. The Belvoir hounds with justice are esteemed amongst the first or finest in England, may look more blood-like, or with more of the racer in them, (if one can make the comparison), but they cannot possibly be better in the field.

For some few seasons back, the Atherstone have had a continuity of sport, superior to any hounds in England, and without being oversized, there is to my eye, a combination of muscle, strength, and activity, taking one hound with another, that pleased me more than any thing I met with. There is besides, a quiet and business-like way of management in the field, which indicates how well master and servants know what they are about, and I never saw hounds under finer command.

I witnessed one or two very good things with this pack, and had occasion to notice, when it was required, the very quick and decided manner in which every thing was conducted.

To be quick and decisive with judgment, is the vis anima, or as I once heard it pronounced, the wis witæ, of fox-hunting! and when I have, on the first breaking away of our fox, observed this, the "spur in the head," occasionally by some applied and presumed to be worth "two in the heel," becomes quite unnecessary. "Go it, if it kills you," must then be the motto of every man professing to be with hounds, and the only reply to be given to the question holloaed after one when well over a rasper, to "What have you got on the other side?" is, "Got! thank my stars, I have got myself!"

From hence I passed into Northamptonshire, and as it happened, came in for a very fine run from Crick with the Pytchley. In this I was most amply repaid, by observing the skill, ability, and clever perseverance of the present manager of that pack, who, under several disadvantages, viz., a new country, a new pack of hounds, and an indifferent stable of horses, made out and killed his fox in the most masterly manner I ever saw in my life. The first part of this run was very quick, after which it merged into a hunting run, which afforded a good display of the knowledge and capacity of "the heaven-born huntsman."

It appears to me to have been a great misfortune for this truly sporting country, to have had men, who have hunted it in so magnificent a manner as to make the gentlemen of the country too little dependent upon themselves; indeed, so much so, that last year, for a length of time after Lord Chesterfield gave up the hounds, no one came forward; and it was only at the eleventh hour ultimately arranged that any hunting should take place; and had it not been, (I believe) for the strenuous and ardent exertions of that staunch