THE LAND OF THE BROADS.

ONCE, and perhaps but once, a year there comes to many a hard-worker in London and elsewhere, the long-looked for period of rest, when he can, for a time at least, exchange his town existence for the peaceful quiet of the country. How doubly pleasant to such a man is this country life; the very stillness has a charm of its own, and none can appreciate it more than they who have been quartered for probably twelve months amid the din and noise of a great city. The difficulty when such a period arrives is to decide where to go; one looks out for a place far from the busy haunts of men, and to most of us there arises another consideration, a question that probably gives us a good deal of anxiety at other times besides the holiday season-the great matter of cost. Where to spend an enjoyable holiday at a small outlay is certainly a problem worth the solving.

Most of us have, probably, our own ideas about enjoyment, and I must therefore confine my remarks to those who, like myself, find a keen pleasure in boats and boat-sailing. To others who fail to see where the fascination, which undoubtedly exists, in yachting comes in, and who tell you that sailing is a stupid and uninteresting pursuit, in which all a man does is to sit down in the stern of a boat and keep moving backwards and forwards a piece of wood called a tiller, to these I have nothing to say, and must leave them to cherish their own opinions on the subject. It has been said that at one time or another every Englishman has a desire to be a sailor, and I suppose that a love of the sea is inherited, to a certain extent, in most of the inhabitants of our island home. Whether, however, we inherit this feeling or no, at any rate all our hearts swell with pride when we look back on the glorious record of those who have served under the flag which has braved a thousand years the battle and the breeze. There are still many who love the sea, and, although their knowledge may not be great, take much interest in any thing in the shape of a boat. Few,

probably, are able to give up much of their time to following those pur suits that give them the greatest pleasure; and although, in the case before us, we may not have it in our power to become good practical sailors, still one may pick up a fund of information, which will always be useful to us. An amateur, with but little time to gain much practical experience in the matter of yachting, can scarcely hope ever to be in such a position that he is competent to take complete control of a yacht, and go to sea in her, for he must then be well versed in navigation and seamanship. He can, however, always secure the services of a competent man, and in this way can have many an enjoyable cruise. There is, doubtless, a great charm in taking a boat and working it yourself, without the aid of a paid hand, and should any of my readers wish to try this, they will find the very spot within four hours of the Metropolis. Nearly everyone has heard of the Norfolk Rivers Broads, as much has been written about them during the past few years. Here is the very place for an amateur to try his hand, and here at any rate one discovers that even river sailing is not monotonous. The constant windings of the river keep one well employed. At short intervals you will find yourself running before the wind, then possibly going close-hauled, and soon afterwards beating up a foul reach. I presume that a man can find few ways more enjoyable than by getting one or two friends to take a yacht of about five or six tons between them, and working it themselves.

The Broad District contains about 5,000 acres of lakes, broads, and 200 miles of navigable rivers. The principal rivers are the Waveney, navigable for some distance above Beeches, and emptying itself into Breydon Water, the Yare, which runs from Norwich, the Bure, the Thurne, and the Ant. The Waveney is undoubtedly the best river for sailing, and from Thorpe to Coldham Hall the scenery is decidedly pleasing. The country is flat, and in some places you can see for miles, and to this open country is undoubtedly due the splendid facilities for sailing. There are innumerable cattle feeding on the pasture land, and by many the scenery has been compared to that of Holland. The best of the scenery is undoubtedly to be found on the Bure, or, as it is more frequently called, the North River. A few miles below Wroxham it constantly reminds one of the Thames.

All sorts and sizes of boats are to be found on these waters, from the stately twenty tonner to the small centre-board sailing gig. Cutters, yawls, sloops, wherries, wherry yachts, latern, and una boats are met with everywhere. The wherries are peculiar to this part of the country. They are

shapely looking craft, somewhat like a Thames sailing barge, drawing but little water, and some of them being 50 or 60 tons register. They have one large mast stepped well forward, heavily weighted at the foot, so that they can easily be lowered and raised. They carry but one sail of immense size, and have wonderful sailing powers. The sails are usually a rich brown, and sometimes almost black. The masts, blocks, and hull fittings are generally painted some bright colour, which makes them look very picturesque. The majority of these wherries are used for carrying merchandise, but many of them are fitted up as pleasure boats. These boats have a saloon and a ladies' cabin, and often carry a piano on board. Some of them accommodate as many as twelve people, and the cost of a large one, including the crew, would be about £12 to £14 a week. For small parties a cutter yacht would be preferable, and some of these can be obtained with accommodation for ladies. A decked cutter, with room for four persons, and including the services of a man, and every convenience for sleeping and cooking, could be procured for about £4 a week. I have myself just returned from a five-ton boat, in which I have been spending my holidays with a couple of friends, and we only paid £2 15s. per week, this of course being without any man. In nearly every case crockery and rugs are provided, and sometimes even the necessary linen. One peculiarity in the yachts is the long bowsprit that they have, in some cases almost as long as the boat itself. They differ from an ordinary cutter, as they carry a jib only, but this sail is of very considerable dimensions. Thorpe is a very good place to start from, as Norwich is within easy reach of London, but probably Oulton Broad, which is one of the principal yachting stations, would be the best place to get a yacht. Boats can also be procured at Mutford, Yarmouth, Brundall, and Wroxham.

The fishing, some years since, on this river was something extraordinary, and even now it is said to be remarkably good. Norfolk boasts some fine old churches, most of the registers dating from 1500 to 1600. Many of these churches have thatched roofs. The climate of Norfolk is exceedingly dry, the rainfall being about 24 inches, whereas the average for the whole of England is about 36 inches. Many of the broads are only navigable by small boats, and some of them are not connected with the rivers. Amongst the latter is Fritton, which is well worthy of a visit, and where one will find the "decoys" in which they capture the wild ducks.

Generally speaking, it is possible to replenish your larder as you go on, and you will come across villages every now and then, where you can ob

tain supplies. It does not, however, do to rely too much on this, as more than once we have been unable to get meat or milk. Calling one day at Rewham, we went to find the butcher, and we were taken into the yard and shown a calf, which he said he was going to kill in a couple of days, and we could have some meat then, if we liked to wait.

I hope that some of my readers may feel inclined to try this pleasure ground, and before they do so, I should recommend them to get a book on the subject. Mr. E. R. Suffling has written a small work called "The Land of the Broads," the price of which is, I think, 1/-, and which can be obtained from L. Upcott Gill, 170 Strand, W.C. I would only add two words of advice; firstly, do not take a boat drawing much water, many of the yachts draw as much as four feet, but the less your boat draws the better; and secondly, do not get in the mud on an ebbing tide, otherwise you will have to wait some hours before you get off again.

GERALD BAZAlgette-Lucas.

MR.

COURTENAY-TRACY'S OTTER HOUNDS ON THE WILTSHIRE STREAMS.

I HAVE for the first time the pleasure of sending you an account of the doings of this now famous pack. Fortunately for me it frequently falls to my lot to put in a week or fortnight with Mr. Tracy, and it is not my intention to play the part of trumpeter, but simply to state plainly and concisely what I observe from time to time, and jot down a few incidents that may be interesting to the lovers of the noble craft who are readers of The Grove. Notwithstanding the cold, late spring, these hounds had a most successful spring hunting, in Wilts, Hants, and Surrey, and out of eight otters found, were able to bring seven to hand in 13 days hunting, aud were only prevented from accounting for more by the forwardness of the grass and the near approach of haymaking; for it is not the wish of a true sportsman to do damage to the property of the good men and true, who give such loyal and hearty support to our sporting master, Mr. Tracy, than of whom there could not be a keener or truer sportsman. I am sure we owe the most sincere thanks to the owners and occupiers and all the millers, for the courtesy and kindness they are ever willing to extend; and like true Wiltshire men, are ever ready to do anything in their power to promote sport or do good to their neighbours.

Mr. Tracy commenced his autumn hunting on August 6th, bringing his hounds from Hollywall, his place in Hampshire, on the 5th, at the kind invitation of Mr. Walter Young, who kennelled them at Stratford Sub Castle; the great trouble of our hospitable host appearing to be that he could not stretch his house to the size of his kindly good heart. Right glad he was to see us, and took the best care of both hound and man.

Meeting at Mr. Young's on the morning of the 6th, Mr. Tracy moved