New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-10-20
NEW PUBLICATIONS

(6A&So46G1oL
hlusHataons. iemo, pp. aO5. Macmillan Co.
The lady who assumes this GallicocAassic pseudonym
must entertain, Acoordng 10 her showing peculiar
Aeas Of SPORT Tho greater part Of the BY no means
exciting o. outoftheway adventures recorded In her
book IRE accounts Of pot-hunting expeditions. She
sppeazs 10 have boon brought up IN the Highlands OF
Scotland. and 30 have had eli hcr life that strong
hnnting tendency which tho late Matthew Arnold used
to refer 10 - special Characteristic Of the class q
Enstshmon he denomnated BarhAriAna It ID rarely.
howcver that woman develops In this direction. sna
perAps nothing less than physical educatson among
tho SCOTCH moor and mountains could have prepared
the Foundation for % extremely hardy and la0onsus
q sporting career as the author chronicles. What
would The average society woman think Of getting up
at or 8 O'Clock In the morning and going out inso
bowling storm with the certainty OF being drenonoe
TO the shin. and Of clambering up boggy mus ana
Aoundertng through sodden moors, on the chance on
getting shot ut Hypothetical deer or bringing
home two Or three bead Of black gamei In tho .pur-
suit Of deer heroine evidently spent great many
hours which most women would account a. protw
nearly tho equivalent Of martyrdom.
When stalking, Of course huntress has to OBJ
serve all the precautions hunter must practice. and
these often include lying for hours fat on ones face
upon mArshy ground, chilled to the bone, shiver1ng
soaked. womans DRESS moreover. is very much
more announcement for hunting in than mans. and
especially Q Highlander's. No matter how trim and
scsnty the skirts may be, they will gather and hold
water, and become heavy, and entanGle the wearer
in their wet folds and prevent free movements of the
limbs. But Diane seems to have thought moth
ing at all of these Inconvenience. and doubt
source of her robustness Is to DO found In her PRACTICE
when . child, of jumping into the sea with all her
clothes on appropriate climax to day OF racing
and climbing and wading in burns and wet heather
As her family lived fifty miles from butcher her
small contributions to the larder naturally vel
coined with efuson. and she encouraged to shoot
rabbits and other small game. So she grew up. evil
IDENTIFY as strong and weatherproof as . eie and one
easily understands how she must have affected the in
experienced English spOrtsmen, who were beginning
their mountain training when she had finished hers.
How ~ woman could have gone through such
course without saturng her system with rheumatism
is perhaps the curious consideration. 1t Is true
that she does mention the fell affection several times
and even to having some personal knowledge
of it and suspects that this experience may have
been broader than is intmated.
She discourses upon salmon-fshng, troutfshng.
rabbitshootng, Devastating, hndshootng black game
and roe wild duck and last. though not least seal
hunting one chapter, not the least curious IN the
book, is devoted to the memoirs or half-Wd otler.
bought to make pet OF, but whose native arLiess
ways rendered him rather too uncertain
creature for the calm delights Of domesticity
When this animal first released from mo
box in which it had made the journey to Lon
don ait dashed all over the room like mad thing.
Jumped on the drcsslng-table, scrambled on to heh
chest Of drawers upseting everything as 1t passed.
dashed three times up the chimney. ard had TO De
brought down by the tongs, rushed into the large
fixed bath. climbed out again dripping over every
thing plunged into round bath we had prepared for
It, and them after having drenched everything in tile
whole room and exhausted itself In trying 10 ma
a way Of escape. it finally Jumped on to the bed got
under the clothes and tucked itself up TO go 10 Sleep
Surely this exemplary pet! It's habit Oh
climbing tho chimney and thence transferring itself to
plunge in the bsthtub. must have endearod to the
chanbermaid particularly; and a. it was always Try
ing TO bite the ankles Of everybody, life IN the
house where it had free range must have been ex-
citing. il somewhat insecure
The author lad hoped for "sweet and gentle
creature" "who would sit on my knee and follow me
round like dog. Instead OF which, there was this
monster this fend, who had made the room like
pgsty in five minutes, upset all the furniture, and
delayed the whOlo place with water" Neverthe-
less the otter was not banished incontnenty. but
kept TO do great deal more mischief. and. in fact,
until 1t impossible to keep the wretch any longer.
The uncertainty OF his intentions is thus Indicated
Gle WAS most fascinating, but when he jumped on to
my lap for his whitehall or beef, never knew If he
would not seize my arm or my knee In his teeth,
partly in play and partly from being such savage"
This fascinating fend seems TO have smashed all tile
china and pretty all the furniture besides leav-
ing the marks Of his teeth upon the entire house
hold before his mistress could bring herself to part
with him. lie was speedily succeeded by a tame
Ikbbit with the omnvorous appetite Of Harlem
goat who nearly killed himself by eating the greater
part of two oil paintings, and s!gnalized his recovery
by dragging the stlfng ont of couch and stre~lng
It all over the room. The author appears to have
looked on calmly and without interference or pro-
test while the work Of destruction Vas proceeding,
and it must be sad mat her tenderness and indulgence
toward her objectionable pets implies and involves
an Indifference the peace and comfort Of her fam
lily which lays her open to the suspicion OF being
kind of heroine, like poor Carlyle :" gey i'll to live
vii. Her book, however, is we'll worth reading II
only for its siucuaritics and IL is illustrated by
number Of as bad drawings 1t seems possible
to have made while in more than one of them Diane
herself is represented fearfully and wonderfully
Whatever may be thought of this lady these Illus
trations clearly prove that she has no vanity.
e