open part of the forest, Bruin suddenly reared himself up from among a cluster of small pines on a little eminence at about twenty-five paces distance, and presented a fair object of attack.

"I now lost no time in slipping my double gun out of its case, when, as the fellow was slowly retreating among the bushes, I discharged both my barrels at bim almost at the same instant. On receiving my fire, the monster, with his jaws distended, partially swung himself round, when, growling furiously, he seemed as if he was on the point of dashing towards us. The snow, however, thereabouts was unusually deep, which, coupled with the state of exhaustion he must naturally have been in from the long run we had given him, caused him probably to alter his determination, and instead of attacking us, he continued his retreat. This was perhaps fortunate; for, as he had the vantage-ground, and we were encumbered with our skidor, it might have been difficult for us to have got out of his way. "Svensson and the other peasant now shortly came up, when, after reloading my gun, and making the locks as water-proof as possible in my usual manner, which I effected by means of a candle-end that I carried about me for the purpose, we lost no time in following up the bear, which was evidently much wounded, as we saw by his tracks being deeply marked with blood.

"As it was the post of danger, I now led the way; Elg and the peasants following in my wake. Thus we proceeded for some distance, until we came to a very thick and tangled brake. Having a suspicion that the beast might have sheltered himself here, I made a little detour around his tracks, and succeeded in ringing him. I now lost not a moment in taking off my skidor; for, in the event of an attack, these machines are highly dangerous, as I have said, in close cover; and advanced on foot into the thicket.

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"I had not, however, proceeded more than two or three paces, when a most terrific and lengthened growl announced that the bear was still in existence; and the next moment, and at only some ten or twelve paces distance, the quantity of snow which was hanging in the trees having prevented me from previously observing him, I viewed the fellow dashing forward at the full gallop; fortunately, I was not altogether taken by surprise, for my double gun was not only out of its case, but both the locks were on the full-cock. This was well, for the beast came at such a rattling pace, that, by the time I had dis

charged my second barrel, he was within less than a couple of paces of the muzzle of my gun. When I fired my last shot, he was not coming directly towards me; for either my first had turned him—which the people asserted was the case,—or le did not observe us, owing to the closeness of the cover. By swerving my body to one side, however, for I had no time to move my feet, he luckily passed close alongside of me, without offering me any molestation. This, indeed, I apprehend, was out of his power; for, after receiving the contents of my last barrel, he slackened his pace, and by the time he had proceeded some few steps farther, life was extinct, and he sank to rise no more.

"Elg, who was only a short distance from me, behaved very well on this occasion; for, though my rifle was in readi ness in his hand, he refrained, agreeably to my previous instructions, from discharging it. My orders to him were, as I have said, only to fire in the event of the bear actually having me in his gripe; and to these directions, which few other men, under the circumstance, would probably have attended to, he paid obedience.

"Our prize proved to be an immense male bear; indeed, Svensson stated, he had never seen but one equally large, in his lifetime. I subsequently caused him to be conveyed to Uddeholm, a distance of between forty and fifty miles, when we ascertained his weight to be four hundred and sixty English pounds. This, it must be recollected, was after a severe run, during which he had probably wasted not a little; and also, that it was in the winter time, when, from his stomach being contracted, he was naturally very much lighter than he would have been during the autumnal months; in point of fact, had this bear been slaughtered during the lat ter period of the year, his weight would probably have been between five and six hundred pounds.

"On opening this beast, thirty-six hours after his death, and during the intermediate time he had been exposed to the open air, when the temperature was pretty scvere, we found that, owing to his excessive exertion, nearly the whole of the fat of his intestines was in a state of liquefaction, and in consequence we were necessitated to scoop it out with a cup. I have already made mention of this circumstance when speaking of the chasse of the bear during the summer season.

"On taking the skin from the beast, we found he had received my eight bullets; for, though I only fired four times, I had on each occasion two running balls in either barrel. The balls from the two first discharges (as it was supposed) took

effect rather high up in his side, the point exposed to me; those from the third were received in the animal's mouth, as he was coming with distended jaws towards us, when they carried away half his tongue and one of his fangs; whilst those from the fourth discharge passed either through or immediately near to his heart, and caused his almost instant dissolution."

So much for the chasse of the bear on skidor. But Mr Lloyd slew several bears with his own rifle, on simple foot-sole. Once in a very close thicket, when stooping down and peering under the surrounding trees, his eye caught a suspiciouslooking object, which he presently made out to be a bear, coiled up like a dog, at the foot of a large pine, and apparently fast asleep. He lost not a moment, but running up close alongside of the monster, shot him through the head. Death was so instantaneous, that he never moved in the slightest degree from his position. This system of stealing in upon and attacking bears at close quarters, though seldom adopted in Scandinavia, Mr Lloyd holds to be the most fatal method of destroying these animals. But the danger is great. For, when smothered with snow, both be low and above, what if you miss your aim? Instant death.

was not the most prudent step' a man ever took,) with my left foot in advance, directly over her to the opposite side of the hole, when wheeling about on the instant, and having then a full view of her head, from which the muzzle of my gun was hardly two feet distant, and my left foot still less, for it was partially in the entrance to the den itself, I sent a bullet through her skull,

"I now called loudly to the people, none of whom, nor even the other dogs, which had been questing to some birds in another part of the forest, had as yet come up, for I was rather apprehensive the cubs might attempt to make their escape. To prevent this, I stood for a while over the den in readiness to give them a warm reception with the but-end of my rifle.

"Three or four minutes, however, elapsed before Jan Finne, who was to the left of our line, Svensson, and the peasants, made their appearance; for, strange to say, though Paijas had been in Jan Finne's possession for several years, he either did not recognise his challenge, or he had not a suspicion it was to the bears; and in consequence, neither he nor the people moved from where I had left them, until they heard my shot.

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My apprehensions as to the cubs attempting to escape were, however, groundless, for they still continued quiet; at first, indeed, we could see nothing of them for the old bear, who, as is usual with those animals when they have young, was

"Though the dog had found the bears, I did not at the first moment observe the entrance to their den, which was an excavation in the face of a little rising situated between, and partly formed by, the roots of the surrounding trees. On discovering it, however, I at once sprang on to the top of the hillock; and though at that time immediately over the den, the bears still remained quiet.

"On my hallooing, they felt so little inclination to leave their quarters, that the old bear simply contented herself with partially projecting ker snout. At this, from its being the only point exposed to my view, I levelled my rifle, which was then pointed in a perpendicular direction. On reflection, however, I refrained from firing, as I considered that, though I might have smashed the fore part of her head to pieces, there was little chance of my killing her outright.

"Instead, therefore, of firing whilst in that situation, I stepped, (and it certainly

therefore almost began to think we had hit upon a bear distinct from those of which we were in search.

"On the people, however, introducing a stake, and moving the old bear a little to the side, one of the cubs, and subsequently a second, and a third, exhibited themselves, all of which I dispatched, either with my own or with Jan Finne's rifle.

"The work of death being at length completed, we drew the bears out of their den. This, however, was of such small dimensions, that it was the admiration of us all how they could have stowed themselves away in it. Bears usually prepare

their winter-quarters during the autumnal months, and some time previously to taking possession of them; the animals, however, of which I am now speaking, having been disturbed from their original lair at a time when the ground was hard frozen, probably accounted for the small size of the excavation in which we found them.

"The old bear had attained her full growth; the cubs were nearly a year old,an 1 of about the size of large dogs. The whole of them were in tolerably good condition."

Mr Lloyd then describes the process of skinning and cutting up bears. The weather being unfavourable, the operation took place within doors. The animals were laid on their backs on a table, and when divested of their skins, they much resembled, in many respects, their breasts and arms in particular, so many human beings. We remember a shaved bear being exhibited in Edinburgh as a non-descript animal-and he appeared to us to be liker a human being than the showman. The sight, Mr Lloyd says, was a shocking one; and forcibly reminded him of a disgusting exhibition he had witnessed a few years before at a celebrated anatomist's in London-the horrors of which-the macerating tub, with its attendant vulture-will never be effaced from his imagination. The galls were carefully preserved, being considered in Scandinavia a specific against a variety of disorders; and the fat, which is said to possess such extraordinary virtue, that if a deal-box be rubbed with it overnight, on the following morning it will be converted into a hair-trunk. Only the fat (ister) about the intestines is used in Scandinavia medicinally, or for the hair; of which there is but a small quantity; the fat itself, (fat,) which on a large bear may weigh sixty or eighty pounds, is merely used for culinary purposes. The hams, smoked, are great delicacies; and the remainder of the carcass is either salted, or eat fresh-in which state it resembles excellent beef. The paws are an exquisite dainty. The skin-in this case eight feet long-is worth several pounds. In Sweden, it is an understood thing in the interior of the country, that the man who rings the bear is entitled to him, and in consequence, without express permission, no other person dreams of disturbing the beast. In Norway, there is an ordinance making the bear the property of the man who rings bim in the first instance, and in consequence, those who either disturb or destroy the animal, without authority, are subjected to rather seyere penalties. As the peasants who,

in this case, attended Mr Lloyd, were very poor, he took only the fat, the tongues, and a little of the flesh of the bears, so that besides the flesh, their spoil was worth about five pounds-no inconsiderable sum in Sweden; or, indeed, as the world wags, anywhere else.

We now take farewell of Mr Lloyd, and place his volumes in that department of our library marked "Nimrod." He has added not a little to our knowledge of the character of the Bear, and his work contains much good natural history. Of men and manners, he has also given many interesting sketches; and we have a clearer conception now than we had before, of Scandinavian scenery and climate. Mr Lloyd ought to write some more books of the sort, and they will sell. By the by, we remember meeting him, a good many years ago, on board a Wick packet. He was somewhat sea-sick; and being enveloped in a monstrous dreadnought, he was not unlike a bear. Sea-sickness makes a man surly; and our author had nearly devoured a worthy friend of ours, who chanced to tread upon his toes as he lay upon a coil of cable. Under exasperation, he had a most formidable aspect, and his growl was fearsome. We heard some talk about throwing somebody into the sea; but we came forward in our character of peace-maker, and with our crutch stopt the conflict. Mr Lloyd's wrath subsided into a calm; and for the remainder of the voyage, he resembled a halcyon. We were much struck with the spirit and intelligence of his conversation; and seeing that he was a sportsman far above the common run, advised him to go to Scandinavia, and belabour the bears. He had no idea, at the time, who we were, as we were voyaging incog. But the hint was not lost upon him; and hence these two able-bodied octavos. It will doubtless please Mr Lloyd to know that the old lame gentleman in the Quaker garb was Christopher North. In a month or two we must pay our respects to another admirable brother sportsman, Colonel Hawker.

ONE sultry afternoon in the month of September, three travellers on horseback, followed by a single attendant upon a mule, which also bore a pair of muffrushes, or Persian tra velling-bags, were traversing the extensive plain of Erivan, intending, if possible, to reach that city early enough for procuring fresh horses to carry them on upon their journey. Of these travellers, two were easily to be recognised as Franks, or Europeans, in spite of their semi-Asiatic garb and appearance; the third, by his rough Persian cap, brown weather-beaten countenance three parts covered with a thick black beard, his red leather boots, wide shulwars, or riding trowsers, and great brown cloke, as well as by the silver-mounted pistol and Turkish yattaghan, might no less readily be known as the tatar, conducting the two strangers. All the three, as their jaded horses and dust-covered persons sufficiently indicated, were travelling chupper, or post, along the great highway which leads from Persia into Asia Minor.

In the grey of the preceding morning, these travellers, from the height of the winding pass which overlooks the great plain of the river Aras, had, for the first time, caught a faint glimpse of the venerable Ararat, rearing his summit in two almost visionary peaks above the sea of vapour in which the boundless plain was rather lost than terminated. But as they pursued their course, and the sun arose in the heavens, the dust and exhalations ascended together in a darkening haze which enveloped all the distance, and gradually deepened into masses of gloomy clouds. These in their turn became more dense, congregating upon all the mountains around, and veiling even the plain in unusual darkness, through which the sun sent a stifling heat, unrelieved by a single breath of air, more oppressive though less scorching than his unquenched rays would have shed from a cloudless sky.

"There will be a storm soon," re

marked Kara Moustapha, the tatar. "We shall have it here by and by, unless old Agri-Daugh* keeps it all to himself and his evil spirits; I see it thickening over him yonder. Would the agas choose to take shelter some where, until it passes over ?"

But the agas, having changed horses more cleverly than is usual upon such occasions, at Shereer, were resolved to maintain their advantage, and press forward. Perhaps the prospect of a drenching might be rather pleasant than formidable in so heated an atmosphere as that which surrounded the travellers, and they therefore continued to urge on their horses at a brisk pace, over the rough irregular ground and long plain which intervenes between Shereer and Develoo.

When they reached the latter place, the storm still lowered, but had not burst; and, regardless of the remonstrances of the villagers, who felt no eagerness to produce their horses in such threatening weather, and even unheeding the hints of the tatar, who spoke mysteriously of the danger of storms in these parts, they insisted upon proceeding: and accordingly, having wrung a change of beasts from the reluctant Ketkhodah, they left the shelter of the village, somewhat late in the afternoon, just as a great body of cloud, detaching itself under the influence of a sudden flaw of wind, from the mass which shrouded the mountain, first covered the whole grey vault of heaven with a dense sheet of curdling vapour, and then, after a few warning drops, descended in such a sweeping deluge, that for more than an hour the travellers could see nothing around them, and had enough to do in urging on their frighted horses, and keeping to the track which they believed to be the right one.

Clokes, jubbas, bashlogues, afforded no defence against the pelting rain. Wetted in a moment to the skin, the travellers, who had just before been melting under the influ

wild mountain.

+ Gentlemen.

§ Various Persian gar.nerts.

ence of a sultry breathless air, were at once exposed to the unmitigated severity of a cold and heavy rain, driven against their persons by a piercing wind;—and they soon suffered as much from the cold as they had lately done from heat. It was no trifling addition to their distress to find that in the confusion and darkness of the storm, they had managed to miss their road, and had got entangled in a maze of hillocks and irregular ground which bounds the plain upon the north-east; and although the tatar assured them that neither ill consequence, nor even material detention, could ensue from the accident, the travellers could not entirely divest themselves of anxiety, as delay in any shape was what they most wished to avoid.

So intently was the party occupied in remedying their error, that the changes which now rapidly took place in the weather, and upon the face of the heavens, attracted but slight attention. When the violence of the rain, and the depth of the darkness abated, they had indeed remarked, that a huge pile of clouds still remained around the mountain, rearing themselves high into the blue sky which began to break out overhead-and that the flashes of forky lightning, which darted and played among the mazes of this lurid mass, no less than the sullen roar of distant thunder, betokened the elemental strife which was still maintained within its recesses. But while threading the intricacies of the ground in which they were entangled, they neither noted the gradual subsidence and dispersion of this murky congregation of vapour, nor the clearing of the heavens above them; so that they were in no degree prepared for the scene which was about to burst upon them-a scene, which pen or pencil would in vain attempt to delineate, and to which, for its peculiar simplicity and grandeur of effect, the world itself perhaps cannot afford a parallel. After winding for some time along a hollow between gravelly hillocks, the travellers stood upon the brow of a gentle eminence which sloped gradually down to a plain, from twenty to thirty miles in breadth, stretching far on either hand, and speckled with villages and gardens. But the suffusion of purple and golden

light shed over half its surface from a setting sun of such glorious splendour as Eastern skies alone are blessed with, rendered every object indistinct. In front, bathed in the same mellow radiance, arose from this noble plain, in solemn majesty, the grand, the venerable Ararat, gracefully rearing its two lofty peaks, until their snowy summits, richly lighted up by the same declining beam, were relieved against the clear pearly sky. A misty play of rich and delicate tints pervaded the whole atmosphere, and threw over the landscape that filmy golden haze, so enchanting in autumnal evenings, softening every harsh line and too prominent feature into ineffable harmony; while the recent shower had lent to the hues of the foreground, ruddied as they were by the fast sinking sun, a freshness which contrasted not less powerfully than happily with the rich but mellow tones of the distance. The deep and lengthened shadow of the mountain which fell across the plain, shrowding half its extent in mysterious darkness, finished the picture, by giving tenfold lustre and effect to its more brilliant features.

"Glorious! Splendid! Magnificent indeed!" burst, after a moment, from the lips of the two Franks, as this sublime spectacle flashed, as it were, upon their senses. "Behold, old Agri-Daugh-there's a mountain for you, agas!" echoed the_tatar, more keenly alive perhaps to the honour of his country and its wonders, than to the splendour of the scene before him. Yet not insensible to the enchanting contrast of the present hour to that which had preceded it, he continued, "See how the grim old fellow smiles at us after the passion he has been in;-one would think that he never could frown, and that neither storm, nor thunder, nor lightning ever played around his head."

"By Heavens, C," exclaimed one of the Franks, after a pause, " it is well worth riding a few hundred miles to see this-well worth a drenching, and a cold too, should it follow-was there ever such a mountain! See how it rises in solitary grandeur from that noble plain, disdaining all connexion with the pigmy hills around!"-" And to see it under such happy circumstances," returned his friend; "what a rich crimson and