the "Broadway of Creation," as Jack, who had once visited New-York, afterwards insisted upon calling his favorite river.

Such a hullabulloo, as greeted us when we alit at the gate! The hounds had first discovered us, and to the shout of their master gave us a reverberating echo. Then the picaninnies came pouring in sooty legions out of the cabins of the extensive "quarter" which flanked the mansion in the back-ground-their black, shiny faces, stretched in yells and grins, exhibiting an ivory ecstasy of delight at the return of "Massa Jack "—while the hounds nearly tumbled us into the dirt, with their rude gambols. In a moment the whole plantation seemed alive, and Jack's favorite hunter Lara, which had the freedom of the yard, came prancing into the melee.

The ladies of the hospitable mansion met us at the door, and I was greeted with that gentle and high-bred frankness, for which the true Virginia woman has always been noted-which has that indescribably, motherly, and sisterly something in it, which makes the stranger feel at once that he has found home.

After his mother and three lovely young sisters, Jack's next greeting was to his mulatto foster-mother, who stood with a loving and humble smile, upon her goodlooking face in the back-ground, along with her son, Jack's foster-brother and body-servant, Cato.

Cato roused us, with the dawn; and we went out to see the dogs fed, preparatory for the morning hunt. It was, indeed, a magnificent pack, such as I had never seen together before. Twelve of them were of the same family, and of great size and power, standing very high upon their legs, and marked with great uniformity with black spots, upon a pure white ground.

"Spot," the sire and leader of this noble group, was of a pure white body, with a single black spot in the centre of the forehead-from which he took his name. He was a most powerful animal, and able to cope with the largest buck, alone. He was a stag-hound, carefully crossed upon

.

the short-legged and long bodied foxhound.

"Music "-the dam-was a fox-hound of the "true Spartan breed," with a voice like a distant alarm-bell; while the organ of old "Spot" was as sonorous as the boom of "old ocean" against hollow cliffs.

But among them all, my eye instantly detected a magnificent creature-a black tan hound, that to me seemed absolutely perfect, as a specimen of canine symmetry. His coat was as fine as the most glossy silk; from his head, which was pointed like a serpent's, his fine, broad, and thin ears, with their great swelling veins, depended more than an inch below the tip of his nose. His neck, like a young stag's;

his chest, barrel-ribbed, and deep as a panther's; his loins as clean as a grayhound's, with a broad, strong back; limbs that seemed to have been hammered by some wondrous skill out of fine steel; and such a voice! bugles, clarions, cymbals, bells, winds, waters, echoes, mingled, clashing, rolling, roaring, in one tide of rushing sound; altogether, they were nothing to that voice!" Nowhere, nor nothing!" as Jack exclaimed, "to the voice of 'Black Terror,' and 'Smile,'" as he named a beautiful tan slut of smaller size, which stood beside this noble animal.

The history of this splendid couple was a singular one, as Jack gave it to me on the spot.

He was sitting in the portico one morning, looking out over the river, which was very much swollen. and filled with drift wood. He observed some strange, black objects, which seemed to be struggling with the current. He called to Cato for his spy-giass, and saw at once that they were two animals of some sort, who were trying hard to climb upon the drift-wood which floated in the middle of the mighty

stream.

Here was an adventure, at any rate; and, followed by Cato, Jack descended the steep bank of the river. When he reached the water, he found that his boat had been torn away by the current. Here was a nonplus with a vengeance! Jack was staggered but for a moment, when the low plaintive howl of a hound reached him across the waters.

It was a terrible venture; but Jack's coat was off in a minute, and, looking round at Cato, he only heard him say, "Go in, Massa Jack, I'm here," when he plunged into the turbid current, followed by the brave boy. Jack said, If it had I been a man's voice, it could not have "hurt him" more than the sound of that hound's plaintive howl.

In a half a mile I am stationed just on the verge of the old bank," as it is called, of the river, with the deep forest, through which Cato is driving, on my left, and, on my right, after a sheer descent of twenty feet, a tremendous swamp, which was now dry, except where traversed by deep lagoons filled with quicksands. Jack rode on some half a mile farther to his stand.

My instructions were, not to let the hounds pass my stand, if I missed the deer, which would attempt to get by me into the almost impenetrable swamps, where, if the dogs followed him, they would be lost for the remainder of the day.

I had not long to wait; for I could just begin to hear my heart beat in the restored silence, and a neighboring squirrel had only just commenced barking at me, when a low and distant bay, followed by a faint whoop, showed that a trail had been struck. Gradually the sounds gathered, as voice after voice joined in, until at last the thunder bass of old Spot boomed out, and old Music followed with a blast; and now the clashing clangor of Black Terror's tongue leads off the bursting symphony, and the forest rang

to reverberations which startled the heart into my very throat.

Peal on peal, and now a sudden silencemy blood is running like mill-tails through the swollen veins, and the arteries throb almost to bursting. Crash! there it goes again! Heavens! what music! How the leaves flutter, and the trees sway to my vision!

"Whoop!" in a smothered gasp. If I could only yell! Here they come; I wonder the forest isn't level before the mighty roll of sound! Ha! lost again! No! it is only muffled as they go down some valley! Now they rise again! Gods! if I could only give one yell! How it deafens! they must be right upon me! they will be running over me deer, dogs, and all! I am no Actæon! Oh, hurricanes, and thunder-claps-hist! here he comes! and out bounded, within ten feet of me, a tremendous buck. with his mighty antlers, like forest-trees, thrown back upon his rump! He has paused an instant.

Crack! away with one prodigious bound, he clears the twenty feet of bank, and is crashing through the swamp.

What a roar! here they are! bristles up, tongues out, Black Terror ten paces ahead, Spot next, then Music, and all the rest in a crowd, looking savage as harried wolves. You might as well talk of stopping the Mississippi- they have smelt the blood-what a terrific burst! Black Terror's leap is as long as the buck's! Old Spot roars again! They are out of sight! That's Jack's yell. Hark! his horse's feet, already! He is coming, furious, because I did not stop the buck!

And furious he was, sure enough! I began to exclaim at the top of my voice, before he came in sight, but it was no use. He comes clattering up, and nearly rides me down.

"Why the deuce did'nt you stop that deer! Are the dogs gone? Black Terror will never stop. Confusion, man! were you asleep?"

"He was as big as an elephant, Jack. Here's plenty of blood," said I, trying to appear cool, and pointing to the ground, with my gun, "he's done for!"

Jack sprang to his feet and examined the signs. "Oh, thunder! you have shot him too far back, and through the loins; he will take to the river-what a track! it must be the 'big buck,' I shall lose Black Terror ! Come ahead, and let's cut him off before he gets there, if we kill our horses!" And away he dashed through the wood.

I followed as fast as possible, and such a ride as that was! Through vine-matted thickets, over dead trees, leaping at breakneck speed the wide lagoons, — away! away! we clattered, foaming through the dense swamp like wild men possessed of demons.

At length we burst upon open ground, and Jack gave a yell that would have waked the dead. "Too late! too late! the Big Buck, by old Bell-Mouth! he'll take the river."

Jack's yell had slightly startled the buck, which was making for the river, along the bank of a wide lagoon. He turned sharp, and attempted to leap the lagoon, he disappears-on we rush, at mad speed-but Jack knows what he is about, and his horse too-while my mare leaps. Plump, we land in the middle of the lagoon, followed by a roar of laughter from Jack.

"Next time, shoot farther forward, if you please, old boy!"

But it was no joking matter for mewe had landed in a quicksand. I looked around with an expression of terror at Jack, for I felt my mare rapidly sinking under me.

"Catch that limb above you,” shouted

he, "and tie your bridle to it, or you will both go under."

There was no time for mincing matters. I let go my gun, which sunk out of my sight forever. Rising in my saddle, with a desperate effort I reached the stout limb of a bending cotton-wood tree, which I dragged down, and to which I managed to secure my bridle by a strong knot. I succeeded finally by the aid of the cottonwood, in reaching the bank, and by this time, when I looked back, I found that my poor mare had sunk nearly up to her eyes. I now looked round, and saw Jack, busy enough, between beating off the dogs and attempting to secure the buck, which had stuck fast also in the quicksand. He succeeded in throwing a rope about his horns, and when the "driver" came up, we dragged it out at our leisure, after having rescued my poor "Celeste," who from hanging so long by her headstall, had grown quite black in the face.

The buck was a prodigious animal, and had several times before been chased by Jack, when it always took to the river, and had thus lost him several fine hounds. We had many a hearty laugh over my adventure in the quicksand and the chase of the "big buck."

BY

To the Editor of Putnam's Monthly. IR:-I do not know of any medium betScalculated to convey an important announcement to the public than your widely circulated and most popular Magazine, which I understand from a friend of mine, whose opportunities for knowing are indisputable, is taken and read by all the learned, wealthy, and refined classes throughout the country; and these classes constitute the very public whom I wish to address on this occasion.

The present age, sir, I think will be known in future times, as the gold teakettle or silver pitcher era, or some such epithet by which the peculiar mania of the times may be distinguished from all other epochs in history. The presentations of table services of gold and silver are peculiar to the present day. The passion, or mania, for bestowing a service of plate upon every VOL. III.-28

BROWN, ESQ.

body has now attained so high a pitch, that, unless it shall be reduced to a system, it has been calculated by an expert actuary of a life insurance company, all the precious metals in the world will soon be absorbed in the manufacture of complimentary presents, and there will not be gold and silver enough left for the purposes of a currency. We do not open a daily paper without our eye falling on an account of a presentation of plate to somebody; and the alarming part of the matter is, that these great somebodies and their meritorious services, are first heard of by the public in connection with the complimentary testimonial in the shape of a gold teakettle, a pair of gold water-pots, and other domestic utensils of the same precious material. In fact I am told by one of the members of our first society, that in the Fifth Avenue and other genteel parts of the city, not to

have had a complimentary testimonial in the shape of a gold teakettle, or something of the kind, is to be most undesirably notorious. It has been said that certain persons have even paid for a service of plate to be presented to themselves, and have carried the delusion to the extent of inviting a party of friends to witness the ceremonies of presentation, and partake of a superb supper served up on a scale of grandeur commensurate with the occasion. The next day the whole affair has been found reported at length in the morning papers, with the names of the donors, the correspondence that grew out of the presentation, the particulars of the festival, the toasts, the speeches, and the services of the distinguished recipient of the splendid gift.

These complimentary gifts were once confined almost wholly to the captains of ships and steamboats, and took the shape of silver speaking trumpets, snuffboxes, and pitchers. They were the grateful and spontaneous offerings of timid passengers, who regarded themselves as special objects of divine favor in having been conducted safely across the Atlantic; and as their gifts cost but little, and could readily be converted into money, they caused little harm, and excited less attention. But now the custom has expanded, the magnificence and number of the complimentary presents daily and nightly made are producing disastrous effects in the commercial world, and draining our banks of their specie. I was assured by the fortunate recipient of a modest silver service, whose presentation supper I had the honor of attending a short time since in Avenue A., that the teapots, salver, goblets and so forth, of which the present was composed, were manufactured from forty-four hundred American half dollars. easily be seen where all our specie goes, the loss of which causes such disastrous reverses in the commercial world.

It can

In consideration of these very alarming circumstances, and in anticipation of greater excesses than any yet heard of, a movement has been made towards arresting the evil, by the formation of a GRAND CONSOLIDATED ASSOCIATION for the PROMOTION Of MUTUAL ADMIRATION AND THE PRESENTATION of GOLD AND SILVER SERVICES OF PLATE. The capital stock of the Association to consist of one hundred thousand shares, at one dollar each, and every subscriber of ten shares to be entitled to the compliment of a service of gold plate upon the condition of his giving a supper to the committee of presentation, who shall have the privilege of inserting an account of the whole affair in the daily

papers at their own expense. The Association has been already organized, and the greater part of the capital subscribed and paid in. I am not at liberty at present to publish the by-laws of the Association, but any gentleman desirous of joining the enterprise may do so by applying at the Office of the Company, Brokers' Court, Wall-street. The principal object of the enterprise is to purchase a magnificent service of gold plate, consisting of teakettles, water-pots, salvers, goblets, pitchers, and other articles usually forming a presentation service, which shall be of such a degree of magnificence, costliness, and splendor, as to make any private attempts to equal it entirely hopeless. This superb service of complimentary gold plate shall remain the property of the Association to the end of all time, and, after having been used at a presentation, shall be immediately returned and locked up in the vaults of the Company. The Association pledges itself to furnish complimentary letters, toasts, speeches, and the names of most respectable committees, and, unlike the present loose system of making presentations of gold and silver services, no name shall ever be found on more than one cominittee. Members who wish to become candidates for complimentary gifts are to send in their names to the committee, stating the nature of their claims, and also what style of a compliment they prefer; whether a public dinner, a service of plate, or a public procession. Gentlemen belonging to the Army and Navy, and the Militia, will be accommodated with swords and epaulettes. The profits of the Association are to be employed in making complimentary presents to eminent public men who have distinguished themselves in the public service, or who have rendered their names illustrious by their genius. The following list of names, now before the committee, will be the first attended to, when the public presentations are begun.

His Excellency Governor Bigler, of Pennsylvania, on his patriotic services in the great Erie war of 1853-4.

To the Hon. J. Y. Mason, our Ambassador to Louis Napoleon, on his assuming the Court costume. A large quantity of gold lace.

Phineas T. Barnum, Esq., on his introduction of the Fire Annihilator, which nearly consumed his country residence in Connecticut. A gold water-pot.

Henry M. Paine, Esq., of Worcester, on the discovery of his aquatic light.

Mr. Daniels, our chargé at Turin, on his epistolary correspondence.

To Captain Ericsson, on his superseding