Punch (8.1845)

46

PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.

CROWN DIAMONDS.

THE GLORIES OF SPORTING.

thedispute, ■ We have, it seems, long dwelt in the darkness of error touching
which is
now pend-
ing be-

the use and influence of manly field sports. When we have seen man
—" the paragon of animals"—arrayed for coursing or hare-shooting,
we have, in our very criminal ignorance, thought that the excitement
tween our j of the sport was its delight ; that the sportsman cared hut little for
own Queen ' a miserable hare—a poor timid wretch, of little value—but that he
Victoria took the field for the exercise that it gave him. That he -was made
and the buoyant and hilarious by the fresh air and the influence of rural
King of objects ; that the mere killing of the hare was, somehow, the only
Hanover, alloy of the pleasure, screaming, as it sometimes will, like a stricken,
as to cer- child. We have heard butter-hearted people declaim against field-
tain.Jewel3 sports in toto, for the wanton cruelty they inflicted ; and then have-
set in the we heard some fine old English gentleman denounce the milk-sops-..
Crown, we lenow nothing ; but j vehemently declaring that the dignity of the aristocracy, and conse-
we mean to say Her Majesty is quently the safetj' of the country, was bound up with the raptures
very right in trying to retain of the field.

possession of them. Right is cer- , Well, we are not ashamed to confess our error—we have been-

tainly right; and if Ernest is j mistaken. We plead guilty to ignorance. We have been wrong—

entitled to the jewels, let him | and the aforesaid old English gentleman has been very wrong, too ;

have them by all means, for and having read the subjoined account of Royal hare-shooting, we

the K ing is rather short of that j think the reader will not only be very obstinate, but very disloyal,

moral jewellery which is figuratively said to include gems more costly j if, whatever may have been his previous opinion, he does not concede

than any which adorn the regal diadem. We should, however, be ! that, the rapture of sporting consists in nothing but the slaughter of

sorry to see the English Grown pulled to pieces by the abstraction ' the animal. The sky, the"fresh field, the glittering dew—all the

of a diamond here and there, a process which would certainly be inspiring objects of beautiful nature—are as nothing to the blood of

quite contrary to the spirit of the Act of Uniformity. [ the creature killed.

His Hanoverian Majesty though despairing of succession to the We the fo'llowing frf lr the Tiwes> aC00Ullt of the Royal visit

Crown of England, seems determined to try and get hold of some of j to stoje. pRIJfcE Alb|BTj nis host the Duke of Buckingham,.

the nicest pickings which it presents, an attempt which we hope will | p and olher at fu'n of the leasure of t weut forth

be frustrated bv a decision in favour of our own Sovereign. W e » i u- . . a r i t .

j . j ai /xi 11 • , , 6 at half-past ten, armed for slaughter :—

understand that the following correspondence took place on the su b

ject before the Suit was instituted :_ " The preserves, (we are told) had been rigidly kept this season for the amusement of

', his Royal Highness, should he, as was fully expected, honour Stowe with his presence.
a m (( rr . i Heaters to the number of about 50, under the command of an experienced hand, were

' Hanover. i niade to enter at the extreme end of a thick cover, while the shooting partv were sta-

" My client, the 1y:.NG OK Ha.NOVER, has directed me to apply to tinned in positions from which the game might most conveniently he destroyed us theu
you for the restoration of some crown jewels, belonging to him, winch 1 were driven forth into the open space uf the park. Out-scouts were appointed to drive
am advised are in vour possession back the hares which issued forth before the sportsmen took up their positions. It was

.. T i i !• ' " u ' t- • ! harelv possible to place his Rovai Highness in the ni OS' favourable position, althoueh he

• 1 trust that by sending the property at your earliest convenience, t seemea t0 have the most fortunate one. So plentiful was the game, that ahundant
together with five shillings for this application, opportunities lor displaying his skiii were afforded to every gentleman of the party.

! Immediately that the beaters received the word of command they marched torward,
' 1 ou Will oblige, keeping so clone together, side bu side, that their slicks might have touched. a regular

" Your very obedient Servant, "running fire" instantly commenced upon the devoted hares. Out they rushed from.

': Von ScHELF every quarter—so many—that it was often impossible to "stop " more than one out of

halt-a-dozen. The ground immediately in front of the shooters became strewn with
tj -»r • i ,, , , ,. , di-ud and duinq: within a semicircle of about GO yards from his Rova! Highness, the

Her Majesty very properly put the matter into the hands of her j.avoc was evidently greatest. The gun was no sooner to Ms shoulder than the animal
attorney, who sent the following reply to the above communi- was dead. In other cases wounded hares vainly endeavoured to limp away, but every.

Cation ■-_ provision had been made to avoid the infliction of prolonged torture. Keepers were in

reaainess to follow up and kill such ss were maimed."

" Meinheer, This brief sporting paragraph " stirs the blood like a trumpet."

"My client, the Queen of England, has consulted me on the , , i„„t „,,_„„i*„ : n, , „f n,n ™„rVc

c \ . .. ,, . . . » yr 1T \\ e endeavour to place ourselves in the situation ot the I\o\al marks-

subiect of a claim made upon Her Maiesty by the King of Hanoyek. . , , . r , 4 i ■ •> n„

,,' t . „„ . • , i • , , \ Zu i j -ii i i man of mortal aim—of him whose '• gun was no sooner to his shoulder

" I shall certainly advise a defence to the action, and I will undertake , , . ,,„-,-.- i . »• • * • Ai_

to appear, on your sending process to, ! tllan the ammal was dead- AVe endeavour to participate in the

" Meinheer ! swell of triumph that must animate his manly bosom, as " within a

s Your very obedient Servant, j semicircle of about fifty yards'' from him, he beholds the havoc

" William Follett." , caused by his unerring gun. Tell shooting the apple from his boy's

head is a noble object to contemplate—but Tell sinks to the value
The result was a writ, to which tht, Attorney-General entered | ot- tl)e pjppin }ie suot at, in comparison with the mighty shooter of
an appearance ; but the action was subsequently discontinued, each Stowe '

party paying his own costs ; and the King of Hanover has since m men- unless, they are disloyal "misbegotten

filed a bill in Chancery, under the advice of his Counsel, Sir Weg „_milst henceforth C0Jlcede that the highest pleasure of sport-
Charles W e therell. ing consists in mere killing ; and this allowed, we think, unless poul-

terers and butchers are dull indeed towards their own interests, they
will immediately profit by it. For instance, a poulterer, who has here-
tofore killed his own live-stock, may, at so much a head, expose his

, turkeys, geese, and fowls to " the unerring aim" of sportsmen, in
This vessel, so long a prisoner in the Bristol Dock, has been running J ,0 , . , , , TCnt<.hor= tnr,

' i t t. -i l j i*i . b 1 some convenient yard appointed for the purpose, imtcners, too,

aDout in a state ot high-pressure ecstacv at its newly-acquired liberty, i . / , , r.f , __„ t-„ „v,„_„_ .

A few days ago there was a public dinner on board, when the chairman 1 ^ save cons.derably m journeymen s wages. For wherea,,
of the proprietors presided at the window-ledge of the chief cabin, his , M 1{- Giblett, the royal butcher, now pays plebeians to kill his
legs resting on the dining-table, and supported by several of the pro- | mutton, veal, and beef— he may reasonably ask a certain price ot

THE " GREAT BRITAIN" STEAM-SHIP.

prietors and their friends, who were lashed along the larboard and
starboard sides of the vessel. The speeches were extremely animated,
and Captain Hosken was presented with a speaking-trumpet made of
various metals, warranted to make more noise than anything that
had ever yet been manufactured. The Captain tried it, and stunned
several of the ladies on the spot with his fearful howliugs. It is intended
to convey the words of command ; but when the Captain cried, " Ease
her," the effect was truly awful : the sound partook slightly of the
thunderbolt, with a dash of the gong, and a slight tinge of the whirlwind.

any true sporting gentleman for cutting a sheep's throat—bleeding a
calf—or, with a massive pole-axe, knocking down an ox !

We had almost forgotten to record, that the prowess of Prince
Albert indicated itself by the slaughter of 114 hares, 29 pheasants,
" and the only snipe killed."

We must further not omit to state that, on his Royal Highness's
return to the mansion, the band greeted him with the appropriate air
of " See the Conquering Hero comes ! "