BRITISH SPORTS AND PASTIMES. 511 



less magnificent additions to the stock of human knowledge than this, 

 some persons have had pieces of plate presented to them, and pillars 

 erected to their memory. Grimalkin, a cat ! The intellect of man 

 totters beneath so mighty a donation ! " GRUB, s. a small worm that 

 eats holes in bodies : a short thick man." Now really, with the utmost 

 deference, we are induced to doubt this definition, for among all the 

 highly respectable short thick men the grubs with whom we are 

 acquainted, not one of them, to our knowledge, is addicted to eating 

 holes in bodies. fc GUINEA-PIG, s. a small animal with a pig's snout." 

 It grieves us to observe, that Mr. Gosling, for so will venture to chris- 

 ten our sage compiler, is here out at elbows the snout of the Guinea- 

 pig bearing no resemblance whatever to the snout of the hog. We 

 are very sorry but really our duty to the public compels us to be 

 particular in noticing so great a work. " GULLET, s. the throat ; the 

 meat-pipe." What exquisite elegance ! What admirable propriety ! 

 Gullet, the meat-pipe ! We were wrong in giving the gentleman the 

 name of Gosling, it shall be Gullet the Meat-Pipe. " Gurgitting, s. 

 in falconry, act of suffocation in hawks." In what brutal ignorance 

 have we been plunged ! We always thought that gurgitting was 

 a technical vulgarism of " regurgitation/' and that it meant the act of 

 throwing up the feathers, bones and hair which a bird of prey had 

 not the power of digesting we never had an idea until now that the 

 hawk, the eagle, or the owl, during its daily regurgitations, or gur- 

 gittings, was suffocated, poor thing ! te HASLET, s. the heart, liver 

 and lights of a hog, with the wind-pipe and part of the throat to it." 

 This is anew and most interesting light for gallant British sportsmen. 

 " HEDGEHOG, s. an animal set with prickles, like thorns in a hedge."- 

 This is equal to " CHAFFINCH, s. (already quoted,) a bird so called be- 

 cause it delights in chaff! *' " HORSE-HAIR, s. the hair of horses." 

 Good heaven ! is this possible ? Is " horse-hair" then, after all, " the 

 hair of horses ? " " HORSEPOND, s. a pond for watering horses/' 

 Prodigious discovery ! " LEVERET, s. a young hare." Indeed ! 

 ' ' MARE, s, the female of a horse." God bless us ! " MINUTE, s. the 

 sixtieth part of an hour !" " MOLE-CATHER, s. one whose employ- 

 ment is to catch moles/' Moss. s. a plant !" MOP, s. pieces of cloth, 

 or locks of wool, fixed to a long handle, to clean floors, carriages, &c. 

 &c." ee MUSTARD, s. a plant !" t( NEEDLE, s. a small instrument, 

 pointed at one end to pierce cloth, and perforated at the other to 

 receive the thread." " WOODLARK, s. a sort of wild lark." " OSTLER, 

 s. The man who takes care of horses at an inn." " POACH, s. To 

 steal game ; to carry off game, privately, in a bag." It is impossible 

 to live under such a load of learning ! the pen almost drops from our 

 hand. Ostler, the substantive who takes care of horses at an inn ! 

 Poach, to carry off game privately in a bag ! This, Dr. Johnson redi- 

 vious will be the death of us we cannot endure him ! 



To speak seriously, the Field Book is atrociously bad. Mr. 

 Gullet the Meat- Pipe, knows nothing about the subject on which he 

 treats ; we cannot conceive on what plan he has acted, for he lugs in 

 words that have not the most remote reference to sporting, and omits 

 others of paramount importance. At p. 513, we find the word " star" 

 but we beg pardon- stars are certainly sporting subjects ; for, now 



