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LIFE OF COLONEL MACERONI.

the description of the happy valley of Rasselas in Abyssinia,than this crater of Astroni wherein yon are surrounded byinaccessible precipices, and even a wall at the top, thewhole enclosing the most beautiful variety of wood, lawn,and water. On the summit of the mountain is a buildingoccupied by three or four keepers and their families, andhere are the only gates of entrance to the place, from whicha good paved road descends in zigzags to the bottom of thewood. The method adopted for hunting the wild boars inthis place is the following. The wood is far too thick andtlie ground too uneven to make it possible to pursue theboars on horseback unless through a particular arrange-ment. A double circle is traced in the wood of about twomiles or more in circumference with a space of about fiftyyards between the two lines, which are formed of trunksof trees inserted vertically in the ground. Thus a circulardouble ring being formed, the trees within the space orroad enclosed, were felled and the ground made tolerablylevel. At intervals there are gates which open bothinto the interior and exterior portion of the forest, andthrough these gates a certain number of boars driven bydogs or lured with Indian corn are introduced into thecircular road, when the gates being closed, they can onlyrun round and round in a circle, like the inner one of theRegent’s park. Here the sportsmen, may either hunt thehoars on horseback with spears or javelins, as king Joachimdid, or like old Ferdinand, perch himself on the enclosure,and shoot the passing pigs with his gun. The trees of thisforest are all oak, beech, chesnut, or the locust-bearingAccacia, all which furnish abundant food for the pigs. Inthe spring, when their provisions are at the lowest, thekeepers, at a fixed hour every day towards the evening,throw several horse loads of Indian corn (maise) on a littleopen space near the lake where the boars come down to eat