MR. TOLPREY'S SPORTSMAN IN CANADA.

he the early part of 1815, Mr. Tolfrey, then approaching his majority, became a slave to the tender passion ; but his papa disapproving of his flame, and having interest at a more potent court than that of Love, got the lover into the Army and sent off to the Netherlands; whence, shortly after the battle of Waterloo, our sportsman was banished to Canada on a Staff-appointment Here he remained several years during the Gover- norships of Sir John Sherbrooke, the unfortunate Duke of Richmond, and part of Lord Dalhousie's. Staff or any other business does not, however, seem to have pressed very hardly upon his time or attention. His narrative of salmon and trout fishing, snipe and other sporting, in autumn and spring—sleigh-driving, balls, and parties, in winter—races picnics, excursions, in the proper season—with private theatricals, am/

endless jollifications—come before us in startling contrast to the received ideas of Colonial service, especially to such as are inculcated upon the liege6 when it is the cue of the representative of "this Office to magnify' the misery of troops in the Colonies. So far from being a banishment, it seems, in the pages of The Sportsman in Canada, to be an exceed- ingly pleasant variety to the sameness of fashionable life; expensive; perhaps, in the articles of mess and imported goods for dress and field- sports, yet nearly as cheap as the same things at home. But then, ye gods of wood and water, what sporting I—streams on which a fly, at least an artificial fly, never fell, and marshes where snipes rise around in myriads ! There are deer to be met with for the adventurous ; but they would seem to take a staff-officer too far from his duties. Mr. Torrey appears to have shot, or shot at some, in Upper Canada; but that is after his book closes. We should also infer that there is wild- fowl-shooting; but that perhaps was too uncomfortable.

The main subjects of The Sportsman in Canada are full accounts of such things as we have indicated. Mr. Tolfrey, however, throws into his narrative a good deal of descriptive and dramatic character, and un- consciously introduces his reader to many sketches of Canadian life. He has also some "good stories" of Governors, and other persons such as circulate in particular cliques and classes a full and interesting account of the death of the Duke of Richmond from hydrophobia,—which was induced, it may be remembered, by the bite of a pet fox; and a story of love and romance occurring to a brother officer,—which could fur- nish the Protestant party with some themes on Popish persecution. The Sportsman in Canada is not of a very substantial or instructive kind of reading, unless to fly-fishers and snipe-shooters. It is lively and pleasant enough : but its main attraction arises from the personal cha- racter of the author, his earnestness of feeling for his pursuits, and his obvious though unaffected assurance of their excellence if not of their int• portance. Mr. Tolfrey is of the genus gentleman—not the finished gentle- man, or the exclusive gentleman, or the country gentleman, but the gen. tleman par excellence—one of the " fruges consumere nati,"—born to good living and to amuse himself in the intervals of meal-times. Enjoy- ment in the spirit of good fellowship, and according to the rules or perhaps the toleration of good society under the Regency, was the aim of Mr. Tot. frey in his young "ties "; and with something of the feeling of Justice Shallow, revelling over the memory of "what this knight and I have seen," he delights in vividly recalling the exploits of his youth when half. a-century has rolled over him. Balls, dinners, picnics, races, sports by flood and field, private plays, and the pomp of mimic war on a field-day, are not only the subjects of his pen but were the objects of his spontae neous thoughts ; and the drilling preparation for the last affair not the pleasantest object. The fact that "there is a world elsewhere" would doubtless have been admitted by him, after he had duly considered the proposition ; but he never would have originated the idea. That there is a Wellington he knows ; for he seems to have served under him : but the chief idea he has of the Duke, even as a soldier, appears to be in con. junction with some good stories connected with Sir John Sherbrooke, the "Governor," whom Wellington, though a junior officer, commanded in the Peninsula. Colonization is chiefly regarded with an eye to Canada as a sporting country; and the distress of some poor emigrants, with re- ferenc,e to the amateur performances, which the officers of the garrison, in a commendable spirit of generosity, got up for their relief. All this, however, and much more than this, including reminiscences of his old ac- quaintance, military, mercantile, and sporting, is done with such a frank and friendly feeling, as to impart more of life and attraction to The Sportsman in Canada than its subjects would at first seem to admit of. Such is the power of earnestness. In other hands however clever or artistical, the stories and reminiscences of Mr. Tolfrey would have lost their animation and reality, from the efforts to impart liveliness and ha. portance. A better mind would have made a worse book, from a more real comprehension of the intrinsic character of the topics, and vain at- tempts to bestow upon them a factitious character.

From the necessary slightness of the matter, the true character of the writing can hardly be conveyed by extracts, with the space at our dis- posal. We must therefore content ourselves with a few miscellaneous pieces.

THE GOVERNOR ON THE COMMISSARIAT.

That Sir John Sherbrooke was a warm-hearted man, and benevolent by fits and starts, I firmly believe; but he was no more fitted to role and govern his fellow-men, either in a civil or military capacity, than an inmate of Bedlam. His antipathy to the Commissariat service was that of a Scotch terrier to a rat; and whenever he could give these semi-military officers a bite and a shake, he never omitted availing himself of the opportunity. One or two circumstances which came under my own observation may not be out of place here as a tag to the Major's anecdotes, before we proceed to the River Chaude in search of the trout. It came to pass, that one fine morning the Commissary-General waited on the Governor to state officially, that some one had made free with the military chest, and that some five or six hundred pounds were missing; and wound up his report by requesting that ha' Excellency would be pleased to order an investigation and inquiry into the circumstance. The following was the quaint and characteristic reply—" There ith not the thlightht occathion for invethtigathion or inquiry, thin I Whenever there ith a robbery in your department, it ith amongtht yourthelves tho go back to your offith, and find the money ath quick ath pothible 1" Strange to say, the abstracted cash was eventually found: but, for obvious reasons, I sup- press the names of the parties implicated in the transaction.

RECIPE FOR pcmcn.

While Dan was prevailing upon some water to boil in a huge vessel in the kitchen' we discussed one more bottle of Madeira; and by the time the last glair; was tossed off, he made his appearance with a respectably-sized bowl, an enor- mous jug of boiling water, and a large paper.bagregleecdtawith sugar. Our punch- maker then commenced operations; and having extracted from his secret store a bottle of his matchless ruin, his limes, and a small pot of Guava jelly, he brewed about a pint of green tea, or as he termed it, caught the aroma of two ounces of best gunpowder. and, the infusion finished, the sugar, or rather two-thirds of the proportion required, was dissolved in it After the tea-leaves had been thrown aside, the remainder of the sugar was rubbed on the rind of the limes; Mr. Hamilton observing, that the essential oil which conveyed the exquisite flavour was more equally distributed throughout the compound than when the skin was peeled. Then the delicious acid of the fruit was added to the already-impregnated

sugar; and as soon as the several lumps bad imbibed the proportion required, the Guava jelly (and without this Occidental confection no punch can be pronounced perfect) was dissolved in a pint or so of boiling water.

This done' the tea, the sweets, and acid, were commingled; and the foundation, or sherbet, tested by the experienced palate of the grand compounder": six glasses of cognac, two of Madeira, and the bottle of old rum, were added, and over all about a quart more of boiling-water, and, as a finishing touch, the slight- est possible sprinkling of nutmeg. Here was the punch; and oh ye gods, what punch ! it out-nectared nectar! Such tipple never before had passed my lips. I have in the West Indies since the period I am recording, drink some very luscious and fascinating mixtures very nearly resembling it; but I never knew it surpassed, if equalled, even in the tropical region of yellow fever and land-crabs: for my old friend Hamilton was the best the very best concocter of punch I ever met with. Whether it was the tea, the limes, or the Guava jelly, I will not pretend to say, but the truth must be told—Captain Griffiths and myself were very curiously " bosky " by ten eiclock; and, as we were informed the following morning by the Major and Mr. Hamilton, poor Dan had a troublesome job of it in tucking us up for the night.

CANADIAN WINTER GARMENTS.

The sojourner in Canada should be well armed against the cold in the way of clothing. All the great-coats, box-coats, pilot-coats, taglionis, and wrappers of every kind that man ever wore, will avail not unless there be an under-casing of chamois leather. An invisible waistcoat with continuations to match of this impervious material are worth all the woollen materials that ever came from Man- chester. A leathern casing worn over the under-drapery will bid defiance to the keenest blast that over chilled the North American traveller; and the usual win- ter garments of our own climate will suffice with the hidden precaution I have made mention of.

The Canadians of high and low degree invariably adopt a fur or seal-skin cap for winter wear; but a stout beaver hat of an extra size, to admit of a strong lining throughout of the aforesaid chamois leather, will be found a more comfort- able covering for the head-piece.

To proceed to extremities—a word about the feet: the Indian moccasin is the lightest, warmest, and best protection: a large boot made of cloth with a sole of frIt is a favourite adoption with some; but a moccasin over an easy boot is the best of all.

But methinks I hear the impatient reader exclaim, " This is all very well; but the nose—what is to become of the nose?" Ay ! there's the rub, as I shall presently show. A Canadian frost is no respecter of persons; his rude, uncouth band twitches the prominent feature of all: and well do I remember, in the first week of my campaign, when a private of one of the regiments came up to me, and, saluting me with his right hand, rubbed my nose most unceremoniously with his left. To draw back, with a clenched fist preparatory to knocking the fellow down, was the work of a moment: but ere I had carried into effect this pugnacious resolution, the man had retreated, and respectfully announced that the most remarkable feature in my countenance was frost-bitten; and that unless I submitted to instant friction with a bountiful application of snow, I should in all probability rue the consequences, and carry with me to say the least, 'eery equivocal symptoms of having been deprived of my nasal proportions in a less glorious cause. I gave the .fellow a trifling reward for his timely assistance, and have frequently tendered a similar service to the greenhorns.

Notwithstanding the number of recorded cases of hydrophobia, the full account which Mr. Tolfrey gives of the progress of the Duke of Rich- mond's disease is curious, from the circumstances and resolution of the patient. Even if the words in Italics in the following passage were an accidental expression, it was a singular expression : but it possibly was the same misgiving which induces doubtful patients to allude to death, to get a contradiction. The conversation took place at a tent dinner- party in the woods, given on the occasion of laying out the site of a new _town.

"As the Duke was sipping his claret, he observed to Colonel Cockburn, I -don't know how it is, Cockburn, but I cannot relish my wine tonight as usual, and I feel that if I were a dog, I should be shot for a mad one.' "What must have been the feeling that could have dictated such an extraor- dinary speech ! Was it the result of disease operating on the nervous system, and affecting the mind in connexion with the accident itself? This is scarcely conceivable; for up to the moment of the utterance of this singular expression, the Duke had never alluded in any way whatever to the circumstance ot having been bitten. The insidious poison lurking in the veins may have given rise to sensations which called forth the observation; but under any circumstances it must be quoted as a remarkable instance of prediction, if not of prescience. To the majority of the party. present the words were unheeded, or perhaps looked upon as a quaint and passing observation. Not so, however, with Colonel Cock- burn and Major Bowles who viewed the matter in a more serious light; for as soon as the meeting broke up and the Duke had retired to his tent, they held a consultation, and communicated their thoughts as well as apprehensions to each ether."

The following anecdote, when the disorder had made some progress, contains a singular example of the acute sensation of hydrophobia.

"Colonel Cockburn and Major Bowles pressed the Duke to partake of some nourishment: but the tea and coffee were untouched, and an impatient gesture of the hand betrayed the sufferings of the object of their solicitude at the sight of liquids. The meal was hurried over with all practicable despatch, and the Duke consented to accompany these gentlemen down to the river and embark in the canoe•' and it had been decided upon that Major Bowles was to attend the Duke, while Colonel Cockburn rode from the place of embarkation to the Rapids, there to make arrangements for the Duke's being conveyed down the Ottoway to Le- t bine, about nine miles from Montreal. Leaning on the arms of his companions,

• the Duke walked to the river's side; but the moment kis Grace saw the water, a

• spasmodic seizure told the agony he was enduring. He was turning away from the obnoxious element, when Ins Grace was entreated to muster resolution and enter the canoe. With a desperate effort he did so, exclaiming, as he rushed into the frail bark, 'Charles Lennox never was afraid of anything.' "Major Bowles as quickly followed; the Canadian boatman shoved off; and the canoe with its illustrious freight was soon floating down the current. Its course, however, was but of short duration; for a few seconds had scarcely elapsed ere the Duke, in a paroxysm of agony, seized one of the Canadian boatmen by the throat, commanding him with frantic earnestness to row to land. " The mandate was of too imperative a nature to admit of a refusal or even de- lay: it was obeyed on the instant; and the canoe had scarcely grated on the strand before the Duke had leaped upon the bank, and was making for the woods. Co- lonel Cockburn, who had mounted his horse for the purpose of apprizing the Ba- te-Hers at the station at the head of the Rapids of the Duke's approach, had not proceeded half a mile on the road when he caught a glimpse of his Grace through the pine-trees running at the top of his speed in an opposite direction from the river. To turn his horse and gallop after the Duke was the work of a moment; and having succeeded in his object, the next point was to place the unhappy no- bleman under shelter. One of the boatmen who had followed the Duke Into the woods having reached the spot where Colonel Cockburn had overtaken his Grace, undertook to conduct the party to a farm-house about a quarter of a mile lower down the stream. "To this humble dwelling the Duke was taken: but, when laid upon a sofa in the only habitable apartment of this building, his Grace's agitation increased to a vio- lent degree; and, while labouring under frightful spasmodic affection, he entreated to be removedfurther from the river, as he could hear the rippling caused by the current. In compliance with this request, the Duke was supported by Major Bowles and Colonel Cockburn to a barn about a hundred yards in the rear of the dwelling-house; and a rude bed of clean straw having been piled together in one corner, his Grace was laid upon it. It became evident to those around the suf- ferer that the dreaded crisis was approaching; indeed, the Duke himself was aware that his last hour was at hand. ills Grace was perfectly calm and col- lected and resigned to his fate; so much so, that a very short time before he breathed his last, the Duke wrote a letter to Lady Mary Lennox, his eldest daugh- ter, the contents of which related to family matters of a strictly private na- ture. From the moment this task had been accomplished, the Duke grew gra- dually worse, and appeared to be sinking. Towards evening, his Grace was seized with shivering-fits, and the extremities became cold; but his senses never forsook him : he recognized every one around him, and prayed to be released from his se- ferings. About eight o'clock, this revered and lamented nobleman breathed his last, with the resignation of a Christian, and the fortitude which is inseparable from the just and the good."