course, the track oft trod, that never leaves a trace behind," and bring my readers to six o'clock of the morning of the 4th September, when I found myself off Guernsey. Nothing can exceed the picturesque beauty of the town: the bay-with its numerous shipping riding gallantly at anchor-the venerable looking castle, the college, churches, court-house, &c., gave it a most gay appearance. Anxious to reach Jersey as speedily as possible, I lost no time in prosecuting my voyage; and at ten o'clock anchored off Elizabeth Castle, in the bay of St. Aubin, in which the capital town, St. Helier's is situated. Delighted as I was with the outward appearance of Guernsey, I must own that I was infinitely more pleased with that of Jersey. The bay is lovely, and, to use an Americanism, beats that of Guernsey "by a long chalk."

Owing to a miscalculation of time, my friend who had promised to be on the look-out for me had not arrived, and I underwent all the desagremens of landing at a strange place. The tide was out, and I was unable to reach the pier without first getting into a boat, then into a cart, and then was obliged to scramble over the rocks and sea-weed, followed by at least fifty cads and touters-(I use the latter word as I see it is now duly acknowledged in a notice over that important court in London, Doctor's Commons.) As usual, the boatmen demanded double their fare, the touters thrust dirty printed cards into my hand of the different hotels, the cads seized and fought for my carpet bag, and the drivers of some half dozen open flies plied me with all the perseverance of a "Bank, City, Bank!" London omnibus. Unfortunately I did not know where my friend's house was situated; all that I knew was, that it was a mile and a-half from the town. Thanks to the kindness of Mr. Blandy, an eminent brewer, and the proprietor of the bathing machines, I was put into the way of finding it; and before eleven o'clock found myself seated at his hospitable board, enjoying the luxuries of a genuine Scotch breakfast-fish, flesh, fowl, cakes, and marmalade.

Before giving my tour round the island, I must enter into a brief account of it. Jersey is situated in the bay of St. Michael, in latitude 49° 16', and is the most southern of the Channel Islands. Its extreme length, from N.W. to S.W., is twelve miles; and it is nearly seven miles across in the widest part. The whole coast of Jersey is indented by bays of different depths and sizes, the most celebrated of which are St. Aubin's (where stands the capital town, St. Helier's); St. Ouen's, on the western shore; Grouville, Boulay, Rozel, and St. Brelade. The town (St. Helier's) seems a thriving, bustling place, containing excellent markets, well-furnished shops, good hotels and boarding-houses; and, unlike our metropolis, the fashionables congregate to the east end, where are to be found handsome streets, terraces, and crescents. The theatre, with its Greek portico and pediment, is remarkable for its neatness; and I was happy to hear that the drama is patronized considerably by the residents. The outskirts of the town are extremely picturesque; villas, with their well cultivated gardens, green-houses, and vineries, are everywhere scattered on the fine-wooded banks and slopes which surround it. There is an air of gaiety, neatness, and comfort about these rus-in-urbecal dwel

lings-a happy amalgamation between French and English taste. The costume of the peasants is most becoming, the fantastic headdresses of the Norman women being still held in high estimation among the humbler classes. I cannot pass over this brief description without alluding to the economy of living in Jersey; and that I may not be accused of indulging in romance, give the market report of Sept. 9, 1843, premising that the prices are calculated in Jersey currency -1s. British being 1s. 1d. Jersey. The Jersey pound, too, runs to 173oz. Beef, mutton, veal, lamb, 6d. per lb.-54d. English, for 173oz.; turkeys, 3s. each-2s. 94d. English; geese, 2s. 6d. each2s. 3 d. English; chickens, 2s. per pair-1s. 104d. English. Fish -including John Doreys, grey and red mullets, bass, bream, lobsters--are proportionably cheap. Teas, coffee, chocolate, and sugar, less than half the price they can be purchased for in England. Best Cognac brandy, 5s. 6d. per gallon; Jamaica rum, 4s. 7d. per gallon; Hollands, 2s. 8d. per gallon; port and sherry, 24s. per dozen; champagne, 28s. per dozen; Lafitte and chateau magaux claret, 40s. per dozen; vins du pays, 5s. 6d. per dozen. Independent of the above, bread, milk, eggs, and butter are equally reasonable; and when we add to this, that there are no taxes upon horses or carriages, no tollbars, and that the keep of horses is considerably lower than in England, few will be found bold enough to deny my statement, that Jersey is one of the cheapest and most luxurious countries I ever had the good fortune to locate in-as my friends, the Yankees, say. To take up the thread of my narrative: no sooner had I finished my morning meal,

"So unlike the ghost

Of your real English breakfast-your tea and your toast,"

than I proceeded in a pony-carriage to view the lions of the town. The Royal Square, formerly the market-place, contains the court-house, in which is held the assembly of the states and the courts of civil and criminal jurisdiction. It was near this spot that Major Pierson lost his life in defence of the island, from the descent of the French in 1781. The military arsenal was erected in 1835. It is a spacious building, containing the town field battery of six guns, and a capacious store-room; the second floor is appropriated for the drill of the militia in the winter months, and is used as a concert and public assembly-room. Fort Regent, which is built on a rock 150 feet above the level of highwater mark, and which overlooks the town, the harbour, and the bay of St. Aubin's, contains the barracks; and I am indebted to those officers of the depôt of the 59th Regiment, to whom I had the pleasure of an introduction, for their courtesy in showing me over the fort. The well, the casements-indeed, the whole of the works-are complete, and the view from the height most splendid: directly below lie the town and harbour full of shipping, and the eye surveys at one glance the beautiful Bay of St. Aubin's, surrounded by its range of finely-wooded hills, interspersed with villas, cottages, and gardens; and the rugged rock, and venerable walls of Elizabeth Castle rising out of its waters.

There is no game in Jersey; nevertheless my host, who is a first

rate sportsman, and who in his early days devoted his life to the loch and the moor, does his best to give himself and his friends as much sport as lays in his power. His two double-barrelled Mantons, his Purday rifle, his case of hair-triggered pistols, are regularly prepared for the service of those who like to have a shot; and he, with wondrous philosophy-who in by-gone times "kenned the wiles of dun-deer stalking" in the wilds of Aberdeenshire, or could bag his twenty brace of grouse on the Perthshire moors, or kill his salmon of fifteen pounds in the far-famed Spey-is now content to go out slaving for some hours after a legendary snipe, or to have a day's pigeon-shooting or oyster-dredging off Gorey. Anxious to kill half an hour before dinner on the day of my arrival, pistol-shooting was proposed, and a sweepstakes made: the best of three shots at bottles placed at twenty yards. Of course the object was to hit the bottle as low as possible, so as to keep the neck for the last shot. As, according to Dr. Pangloss,

"On their own merits modest men are dumb,"

I shall merely say that one of the party hit the bottle first with his right hand, next with his left, and finally shattered the neck into a thousand atoms: this decided the sweepstakes. Upon returning to the house to prepare for dinner-after which, be it said, a few more bottles were cracked-a certain blue pigeon, which had escaped a grand battue the day before, was perched upon the roof of the farm. "Now that would be a good shot!" exclaimed my host; "I want him killed, as my object is to have none but white ones." Upon this hint the winner of the sweepstakes raised his arm, and in a second the blue bird was dead before us. We measured the ground-nineteen yards from the farm, which, adding half that distance for the height, makes it about twenty-eight yards and a half. I should hardly mention this anecdote but for the remark of the culinary artiste, who, like the rest of the world, look at every object through a particular medium of their own. "He is a good shot," said the Mrs. Glass of the establishment; "he's hit the bird right through the neck-not a bit spoiled: I wish he'd kill all the pigeons." As if the aim and object of the shooter had been only with a view to the spit. I remember a similar case in London, where the professional feeling came out equally strong. A celebrated hair-dresser was under sentence of transportation for life for some heinous offence. I mentioned the circumstance to a brother artist. "Ay," said he, "really!" Then losing sight of the crime, in his business-like view of the case, added, "Well, I never saw a good piece of cutting come out of his house in all my life."

Although it is not my intention to give my readers a road-book account of the island, I cannot refrain from entering into a slight sketch of its beauties. My first excursion was to Gorey and Mount Orgueil Castle, a distance of about five miles from the town. The former, although only a small village, is rendered of some importance by being the principal seat of the oyster fishery. Nothing can be more bustling than is this little hamlet during the oyster season: the sailing and arrival of the boats, the presence of one of her Majesty's

cutters, as also one of the citizen king's, Louis Phillippe, to see fair play been our countrymen and our foreign neighbours, keeps the place alive. Neither time nor space will permit me to enter into any historical notice of Mount Orgueil Castle. Suffice it to say, a room is still shown which was formerly inhabited by that unfortunate monarch, Charles the First. The castle is beautifully situated, and the view from it embraces the bays of Grouville and St. Catherine, with a distant view of the cathedral of Coutance, on the shores of France. The best view of the island itself is from Prince's Tower, so named after the Prince de Bouillon (evidently, by his name, a broth of a boy), and who was a native of Jersey and an admiral in the British navy to boot. From this elevation the eye ranges over the most splendid scenery that it is possible to imagine: highly-cultivated lands-rich fields of pasture-fertile vallies-immense orchards-deep wooded glens and promontories-shady lanes, covered with ivy-the most luxuriant vegetation-thriving farms-elegant villas-lowly-thatched cottages, clustered with vines, clematis, jessamine, sweet-scented verbena, and brier, and surrounded with gardens in which the Guernsey lily, dahlias, blue hydrangias, fuschias, holyoaks, and roses, grow in wild profusion-romantic villages-and venerable churches, covered with ivy and moss; while at a distance the sea and the coast of France may be discerned, giving breadth to this exquisite view.

Being limited for time, I was compelled to unite what is usually called two days' excursions into one; and shortly after breakfast, on my last morning but one in Jersey, I started to go round the island.

Leaving St. Helier's, I passed under the Gallows Hill (so called from its having been the site of former executions), and proceeded by the sea side to St. Aubin's. From thence to St. Brelade's, where the ancient church (consecrated the 27th of May, 1111) adds much to the interest of this picturesque spot. From St. Brelade to Plemont, the road through St. Peter's Valley is a miniature Switzerland, diversified with wood and green pasture land; and its rural beauty is considerably enhanced by the cattle* that are to be seen "tethered" in its meadows or by the hill sides. Perhaps the ranz des vaches is wanting to complete the scene. Before reaching Plemont, the character of the country is altered: heather and stone walls take the place of grass and hedges, and remind one of the wilds of Scotland. Plemont Point is a rocky promontory, 250 feet in height, separated from the mainland, but connected with it by a rude bridge across the ravine. From this point, Guernsey, Sark, Alderney, as well as the French coast, are on a clear day distinctly visible. From Plemont to Bouley Bay and Rozel, the road is through a succession of fine fertile scenery. The latter bay is the favourite spot for pic-nic parties; and a more romantic locale cannot be imagined. From Rozel we passed close to the scene of my first day's expedition, Gorey and Mount Orgueil Castle; and I returned home, delighted with my excursion through the island.

I have now briefly described the natural beauties of Jersey; there

*I am told, by those upon whose veracity I can rely, that the cows called in England Alderney, come principally from Guernsey and Jersey.

are others equally brilliant, whom I fear my feeble pen would not do justice to.

In conclusion, I can only recommend such of my readers as possess roving dispositions to pay this favoured Channel Island a visit; they will be amply repaid for their trouble, and will find every comfort and luxury during their sejour at it. To those who have flocked to France, Belgium, and Germany, to economise on light wines and sour-krout, I should advise a residence in Jersey, far superior to almost all the towns inhabited by our absentee countrymen. Without possessing the Anglomania to any alarming extent, I cannot help feeling that there is some satisfaction in living under the protection of the British flag. Kind, unostentatious hospitality seems to be the characteristic of the residents: it was extended to me in the most flattering manner; and, although the shortness of my stay did not enable me to benefit by it, I took the "will for the deed," and shall ever bear testimony to the friendly welcome I received on every side from the inhabitants of Jersey.

QUORNDON HALL, AND ITS REMINISCENCES. A FRAGMENT, BY NIMROD.

It is quite true, that for hunting men, Quorn is ill-suited, being outside of the best part of the country of the Quorn-hunt, and Melton and its vicinity now accommodate them; but I could not help thinking that Quorn Hall, as an hotel, would still be a good speculation. After the manner of the Harborough Arms, at Melton, it would contain a certain number of sportsmen with great convenience and comfort, and the stabling would accommodate all their studs. It is, together with nearly 100 acres of capital grass land, to be purchased, as I am told, on terms that would render it a good investment of capital.

In walking over the grounds of Quorn Hall with its late proprietor, Mr. Hodgson, he named to me a circumstance that, whilst it has no parallel in the recollection of the oldest inhabitant of the place, in great measure accounts for the deficiency of sport in that part of the world during the season of 1839-40. The river Soar runs through the grounds, and overflowed its banks thirteen times in the course of the winter of 1839. Then the walk through these grounds reminded me of a singular fact in Mr. Meynell's time. There is a fine osier bed in the middle of the Soar, not a hundred yards from the hall, and by the way of a lark, during a frost, John Raven, Meynell's huntsman, was ordered to throw the hounds into it, when up jumped a fine fox. As to stopping the hounds, Raven might as well have attempted to stop the stream, and away they went with a breast-high scent, and caught him as he was within view of Schoby Scoles cover, within six miles of the town of Melton.