I wonder if any English residents in Bhanghii have ever assisted at the opening most of the season of the Devon and Somerset stazhounds at Clontsham farm If 60, am sure even the recollection of the Gay emmet fail to awaken pleasant memories. What the Derby is to London. ors such is Cloutshum day to the dwellers in the west of Englind—their great annual picnic, For weeks before, every horse and vehicle in the district is engaged, and of course the Incky owners of traps can let them out at any price they like to ask. Yesterday was the great day, and at daybreak people were up scanning the sky to ding nese the prospects of fine weather, They were none too gond, and showery was the general verdict, to which later on one was obliged to add "very." Still it was a delightful sight and unique, for nowhere in England, ascopting in Somerset, can one see the wild stag hunted, ad it is hugely exciting. For days before the opening mest the Secretary of the hunt has men out, who report to him where the best stags are likely to be found; then on the moruing of the great day ho starts out himself with certain of the dogs—wlich are called, the tufters—and finds a stag; he then comes buck and reports to the ter or maybe only blows his horn' as al that he has started the hunt, and he whole puck are let loose and follow in pursuit, followed by at least two handred enthusiastic sportsmen. It the prettiest sight imaginable, as th farm itself, from which the start is made, stands ona fairly high hill, but those which sucronnd it are far higher nnd all are cavernd with heather, now in full bloom, Yesterday the first stag was started in a little spinney quite near by was a beautiful creature with fine antic and getting somethin ig of a start it tore. right across a hill in fall sight of the huge crowd of Kors, and finally cuped into a wood too thick for its pur-jures, and so was safe for the day. A tle later a second stag was found, and it afforded fine sport, leading the chase by way of Dunkery Beacon and on towards Dare and the celebrated Doone Valley, where I hear it mot its fate. Some call the sport cruel, and I must one rather sympathises with the scented stag when it gains the friendly shelter it so hardly earns. Still one hears that stage are quite as destructive as foxes from the farmer's point of. view, and infinitely more so than the poor li tle grouse who have uow but a couple of days' grace left.
"Silly Season" Discussions.
It always seems the correct thing at this season of the yenr for every daily paper to open its columns for the discussion of some subject which is supposed to be of interest at the especial moment, The "Daily Mail," whose circulation we great as that of any other paper, has therefore widely asked for information as to whether clergymen shoalil criticise the Bible? I must confess I have boon surprised at the number of prominent men of the day who have taken part in the disc Many of our Bishops and well-known critics, Father [yuatins, Sir Robert Anderson, De, Santo the point, that many milli and Bud ts He pointed out of Mulomedans ye quite as firmly in the infallibility of—their books as Father ins believes Ig Seri aries out to convert them, but how we expect them to embrace one faith unless they can be brought to cri their own books?" It certainly seems to me that a faith which one has to safeguard against criticism is not worth much.
Another Discussion which is going on in the columns of the "Daily Telegraph" is on the subject of "Thriftless Wives," from which I gather that in days to come when a man wants to arry he must first of all decide wh he will have a plain wife and good dinner ora pretty wife and holes in his socks, us it would seem that good looks and thrifty ways never go together; and yet it seems to me that Ihave known plain omen who had but a very elementary idea of house-keeping. Fancy how annoyed a man would be if he proposed to the least good-looking of his acquaint. ances (after reading the recent corres. perience) because he pined for a well-kept home, and found. out, when it wis too late, that the bump of urder had not beett conferred upon her by the fairies at her christening and that like himself she mainly hung up her wardrobe on the floor. Personally I-don't at all believe that a plain girl is one whit more inclined to be thrifty than a pretty one; it seems to me that everything is in the bringing up, and I think many lethers have much to answer for.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.