and every player first stands at a certain distance from the frame, and throws his bowl at the pins, which is improperly enough called bowling; afterwards he approaches to the frame and makes his tip, by casting the bowl among the pins, and the score towards the game is determined by the number beaten down. FOUR CORNERS is a game so called from four large pins, which are placed singly at each angle of a square frame. The players stand at a distance, which may be varied by mutual consent, and throw a large heavy bowl (weighing from six to eight pounds) at the pins; and the excellence of the game consists in beating them down by the fewest casts of the bowl. E EARTH. To take the ground | order :-- king, queen, knave, ace, and run into holes, as badgers and foxes do. ten, nine, eight, seven. On Dealing, Misdealing, Facedcards, &c.-The cards are dealt, five to each player, either by two and and three at a time, or vice versâ, and whichever mode is first adopted, must be continued through the EARTH. When a hunted fox secures himself in a regular earth, he is said to have gone to earth; if he seek shelter in a drain, it is termed gone to ground. EARTH-STOPPER. See Fox-game-the eleventh card is turned HUNTING. ECARTE. Ecarté, or Discard, is played by two persons, with a pack of thirty-two cards, rejecting the two, three, four, five, and six of each suit, as in piquet. It is usually played with two packs of cards (one of them with coloured backs), used alternately five cards are dealt to each player, the remainder, called the talon, or stock, are placed on the dealer's right hand, the complete pack on his left. The game consists of five points, unless an agreement be made to the contrary:-If it be played in rubbers, which is not unusual, the deal follows as in a single game, till the three are played out. In cutting for the deal, the highest whist card wins. Whichever does not show his cut, has lost the deal, and, if, by accident, he shows two cards, he must take the lowest for his cut-there is this advantage in dealing, the trump card, if a king, counts one point. A defect in the pack will not vitiate the deal. The cards rank in the following up as trump, and the remainder, or talon, placed on the dealer's right hand. If any card should be faced, a fresh deal is called, unless it should be the eleventh, which can make no difference. If faced cards are discovered later in the game, and that they fall to the dealer, the deal is still good, as the dealer is held responsible for the correctness of the cards. But if a single faced card only fall to the adversary, he has the option either to go on, or to demand a new deal. It may sometimes happen that one or more cards may be turned up in dealing, should they belong to the dealer's hand, the deal proceeds. If they fall to the adversary, the deal must be finished, and it is at his option to call a fresh deal or not. Irregularities in assuming the deal are rectified as in whist. If the cards, however, have been looked. at by the players, and the dealer has too few, the adversary may either permit him to take a requisite number from the top of the talon, or call a fresh hand, and deal | he play any other suit than the one himself—if the dealer has too many cards, the adversary may either draw cards from his hand, or take a new deal himself, as in the former case. If the eldest hand have too few cards dealt to him, he may make up the deficiency from the top cards of the talon-or, if too many, he may discard the overplus; and in either case may call a fresh hand, taking the deal himself. If the adversary occasioned the mistake by his carelessness, in discarding, or taking in cards, he is to be punished by the deduction of one point from his score, and he is not to count or score the king, if he has it that deal. If a dealer shows more than one card in turning up the trump, the adversary may demand the right card (that is the eleventh) for the trump, put the cards shown, at the bottom of the pack, or call a fresh deal. Either player playing with more than five cards in his hand, forfeits one point, and is deprived of the right of scoring the king, if he has it that time. The king of any suit being turned up trumps, gives the dealer one point. The holder of the king of trumps, also, is entitled to mark one point; but he must declare it before he plays, saying, "I have the king." If he lead the king, he may announce it after he has played; but should it be covered by his adversary's card, before his declaration, he cannot score it that time. This applies only to the eldest hand; the opponent must always declare the king before playing it, but for his own sake, he will not speak till the adversary has played his first card. The trump, as in other games, wins the trick. Five cards being dealt to each player, and the trump turned up, the eldest hand, if content with his cards, begins, by naming the suit that he proposes leading-should named, he is bound (if the adversary require it) to take up his card, and play from the suit first named by him. But if the adversary covers the card, it cannot be taken up again. Any one playing out of turn, may take up his card, if it be not played to, but once covered, it cannot be recalled. When the cards are dealt, if the eldest hand be not satisfied with his cards, he proposes to discard the whole or part of them, saying, "I propose;" if the dealer does assent, the proposer declares how many cards he wants, throws the discard aside, and receives others in lieu of them; then change as many as they both choose, retaining five cards in hand: having once asked for cards, they cannot be refused by either party. The cards discarded by the players are thrown together on the side opposite to the talon, and after the discard is made, the rejected cards must not be looked at by the players. In discarding, if there are none or not enough left in the talon to supply the younger hand, as he is bound to complete his hand from the pack, he must take back the number required from his last discard. The player who examines the rejected cards is obliged to play with his cards exposed to the adversary. After the first deal, if the eldest hand requires cards and the dealer refuses, he loses two points, should he fail to make three tricks. In like manner, if the eldest hand plays without having proposed, he is bound to make three tricks, or else he loses two points. If a player, while dealing for the discard, turn up a trump, he loses the privilege of refusing cards that hand, should the adversary propose. Only two points can be gained in one hand, unless the player has the king of trumps. Winning two points without the king, or three with the king, is termed having the vole. The winner of three tricks scores one point for the cards; if he wins | action on the gallop; and that he them all, he scores two points. He would run nearly four miles in six has the vole. minutes and two seconds. This we do know, however, that no horse of his day had even the shadow of a chance in contending against him. On being taken out of training, he became a prominent feature as a stallion. The player is bound to follow suit, and to take the trick if he has a winning card of the suit played. Upon discovery of any revoke or refusal to take a trick; each party takes up his five cards, the band is played over again, and the offender is punished; if he wins the vole, he is only allowed to score one point, and if he gains the point only, he is not permitted to score it at all. ECLIPSE, a ch. h. (bred by H. R. H. William, Duke of Cumberland, uncle of His late Majesty, George III., purchased, after the decease of his royal highness, by Mr. W. Wildman, who sold him to Dennis O'Kelly, Esq.) was foaled April 1, 1764, the day on which the remarkable eclipse of the sun occurred, from which circumstance the colt received his name. Eclipse was got by Marske (a son of Squirt) out of Spiletta, a bay mare foaled 1749, by Regulus (a son of the Godolphin Arabian); grandam Mother Western, by Smith's Son of Snake (own brother to Williams's Squirrel, winner of the king's plate, at York, in 1725); great grandam by Lord D'Arcy's Old Montagu; great great grandam by Wilkes's Old Hautboy (a son of the D'Arcy White Turk), out of a daughter of Brimmer. It has been stated, and that statement has not been contradicted, that Mr. O'Kelly gained by Eclipse upwards of 25,000l. This" horse of horses" was short in the forehand, and high in the hips, which gave elasticity to his speed. Upon dissection the muscles were found to be of unparalleled size-a proof of the intimate relation between muscular power and extraordinary swift ness. According to the computations of Mr. St. Bel, Eclipse, free from all weight, and galloping at liberty, with his greatest degree of swiftness, would cover an extent of twenty-five feet of ground at every complete In 1771, he covered at Clay Hill, near Epsom, at 50 gs.; from 1772 to 1774, at 25 gs.; afterwards, and generally by subscription, a limited number of mares, exclusive of those belonging to Mr. O'Kelly, at 30 gs. each. Eclipse died February 26, 1789, aged twenty-five, at Cannons, in Middlesex, to which place he had been removed from Epsom about six months previously, in a machine, constructed for the purpose, drawn by two horses, attended by a confidential groom. It will not, it is hoped, be deemed out of place to note that Mr. O'Kelly died at his house in Piccadilly, London, December 28, 1787, and that by his will he bequeathed Eclipse and Dungannon to his brother Philip. EEL. The eel is not very often angled for; but commonly the modes fixed to this line of packthread, | get so entangled in the hay that they place a large lob-worm by the head cannot extricate themselves, and are end, and draw him on to his middle; thus drawn to shore. affix another needle to the end of a long stick, and guide your bait with it into any of the known haunts of the fish; give him time to gorge the bait, and then by a sharp twitch fix the needle across his throat or the hook into his body; tire him well, and your triumph is certain. The lamprey is a most killing bait for eels, put on a night line or trimmer, in pieces about an inch and a half long. BOBBING is a rough species of angling. To effect it, provide yourself with a considerable number of goodsized worms, and string them from head to tail by a needle on fine strong twine, to the amount of a pound or upwards in weight. Wind them round a card into a dozen or fifteen links. Then secure the two ends of each link by threads. Tie a strong cord to the bundle of stringworms, about a foot from which put on a bored plummet, and angle with a line from two to three feet long, attached to a stout tapering pole. The two counties most celebrated for eels and pike, are Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire. Of two rivers in the former county is related the old proverb: Ankham eel and Witham pike, In all England is none like. In the county of Cambridge, the Isle of Ely is supposed to have been denominated after this fish. Naturalists were divided in their opinions with respect to the manner in which this fish is propagated. Walton imagined them to have been bred of corruption, but they are now known to be viviparous, and very productive. Eels are taken in the great Irish lakes by very simple means. Mr. Curwen mentions a mode of catching adopted by the peasantry on the banks of Lough Erne, in Fermanagh. It consists of a rope stretched across a narrow part of the lake from which hay ropes are suspended, the eels In regard to the migration of eels, the subject has been most ably handled by Sir H. Davy, in the 191st page of the first edition of Salmonia; and what he mentions of the eels in the Irish rivers stands good in regard to those of our own streams and broads, observes the editor of the Norwich Mercury, as on the approach of winter multitudes go down to the salt water, which is congenial to the nature of this fish, and apparently improves its flavour. The eels taken from Breedon water are thought superior to those from the interior. In one respect the migration of our eels appears to differ from that described by Sir H. Davy. He limits the size of the eels which return in the spring to fresh waters to a foot; the size of those which are taken in the months of April and May with us on their return is much greater. It is an acknowledged fact amongst our fishermen that there are two varieties of eel, the sharp nose and the flat nose, as they are provincially denominated. A small and acute head and snout, and silvery belly, mark the sharp nose, which is seldom taken by a hook, but by the dart, or a net called an eel set, staked across the current; and in its habits appears more migratory than the flatnose; a great majority of the eels taken in the eel sets, being of this kind, which is far the best for the table. The eel evidently forms the connecting link in the chain of nature between serpents and fishes, possessing not only much of the serpent form, but also many of its habits. The eel is frequently known to quit the water and wander in the evening or night over meadows in search of snails or other prey, or to other ponds for change of habitation. Eels have a smooth head and tubular nostrils. Their gill-membrane has ten rays. The body is nearly cylindrical, smooth, and slippery. The tail, back, and anal fins are united. The spiracle is behind the head, or pectoral fins. There are about nine species, most of which are found only in the seas. One of these frequents our fresh water, and three others occasionally visit our shores. The usual haunts of eels are in mud, among weeds, under roots or stumps of trees, or in holes in the banks or bottoms of rivers. They are partial to still water, particularly where it is muddy at the bottom. Here they often grow to an enormous size, weighing fifteen or sixteen pounds. One that was caught near Peterborough, in the year 1667, measured a yard and three quarters in length. When kept in ponds they have been known to destroy young ducks. Sir John Hawkins, from a canal near his house in Twickenham, missed many of the young ducks; and, on draining, in order to clean it, great numbers of large eels were found in the mud. In the stomachs of many of them were found, undigested, the heads and parts of the bodies of the victims. Eels seldom come out of their hiding-places but in the night; in winter they bury themselves deep in the mud, and, like the serpent tribe, remain in a torpid state. They are so impatient of cold, as eagerly to take shelter in a wisp of straw flung into a pond in severe weather; and this has sometimes been practised as a mode of catching them. They are best in season from May to July, but may be caught with a line till September. When the water is thick with rains, they may be fished for during the whole day; but the largest and best are caught by night lines. Baits, wasp-grubs, or dew-worms, snails, minnows, gudgeons, or indeed any thing except paste. EEL-BACKED HORSES. Those that have black lists along their backs. EEL-SPEAR. This instrument is made for the most part with three forks or teeth, jagged on the sides; but some have four, which last are the best; this they strike into the mud at the bottom of the river, and if it chance to light where they lie, there is no fear of taking them. But to take the largest eels of all, night-hooks are to be baited with small roaches, and the hooks must lie in the mouth of the fish. EEL TRAPS. Boxes or barrels having an aperture in the top to which a tube of coarse woollen is attached, hanging down in the interior. When sunk to the bottom of the river, the eels enter easily, but find it impossible to return. EIDER-DUCK. (Anas Mollissima, Linn.) A valuable species that frequents rocky shores and solitary islands in high northern latitudes. They abound in Greenland and Iceland, and on the north-west coast of Ireland; and are chiefly esteemed for their down, which possesses a warmth, lightness, and elasticity superior to every other material for beds. The male is black, head and back white, with a black crown. The female is wholly reddish drab, spotted with black, with two white bands across the wings. They measure two feet three inches in length, extent of wings three feet, weight from six to seven pounds. Their nests are despoiled of eggs and down by hunters let down from the top of the cliffs, by a mode attended with considerable |