1 5 o SPORTS AND ANECDOTES. 



lanterns and bells were here last night, and they took 

 away a sackful. There were sundry stories of wild 

 boars being in some of the woods, and we made 

 sundry excursions to shoot them, but I never saw one 

 during the whole of my stay at Rome. I once saw 

 the marks of one, and I sat for nearly half a day on 

 a sort of stile by the wood side waiting for him, and 

 I believe I was in my heart glad that he did not put 

 in an appearance. There were generally one or two to 

 be seen in the market, but where they came from I 

 could never quite make out. They were very good 

 to eat if properly dressed and served up with agro 

 dolci and pinioli sauce ; indeed all pork about Rome 

 was good, as the greater part of them were not home 

 fed, but lived in the woods and in the Campagna, and 

 fed principally upon wild chestnuts and the acorns 

 from the ilex or holm oak. The flesh was brown, 

 as in killing them their throats were not cut to make 

 black-puddings of as in England. As I am on the 

 subject of pigs and pork, I shall make a slight 

 digression, and introduce you to a day's pig-killing 

 at Rome. 



Having heard that the great pig-killing day of the 

 season was about to take place, I and a friend made 

 up our minds to what the French would call assister, 



