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Marquis was trying the paces of Virginius, a neat, blood-like brown horse, but with little pretensions to carry fifteen stone, our Saxon ears were tickled with the conversation of a couple of Irish squireens: 'Oh, he is a sweet harse; he 'is a parfect gentleman!' said one. And quite raight; for he has a gentleman on his back,' said the other. And a raight sporthsman, too,' added the first speaker. The taker of the prize in this class was a well-shaped grey horse, that was afterwards bought by Mr. Lansley, the dealer of Cricklewood, near London; and Lord Waterford gave 350l. for the chestnut that was placed third. In the other classes there were plenty of nice horses up to twelve or thirteen stone; but the prices asked were so extravagant that most of the dealers abstained from buying, and comparatively few horses changed. hands.

The children of Israel are wonderfully enterprising children, and lose nothing from a lack of audacity. Faint heart never won fair lady, we know; and when a bold heart is backed up by a Japanese cabinet, success would seem to be certain. At least so thought one of the children, a gallant, gay Lothario, who, much struck with the appearance of a well-known actress-a lady who is as charming in society as she is clever in her profession-called one day lately at her house (he not having the slightest acquaintance with her), and emerged from a four-wheeler, bearing in his arms a Japanese cabinet of the description one sees in auction rooms and boudoirs, and was, so accompanied, ushered into the presence of the much-astonished Miss Depositing the Japanese article on a table, the worthy man, addressing the lady, said that he had long desired to make her acquaintance, and that he had taken the liberty (which he certainly had) of calling on her and offering for her acceptance a humble tribute of his admiration. With as graceful a bow as a slight tendency to obesity would allow, he then withdrew, leaving Miss, we need scarcely say, intensely amused. We fear the cabinet must be entered in his ledger as a

dead loss.

In season or out of season the doors of the Alhambra are always open to its patrons, the programme being sufficiently varied to meet the tastes of all comers. Providing the quantity of amusement is ample, the habitués are not over and above fastidious as to quality, ballet divertissement combined with scenic display supplying all the material that is wanted for the evening's entertainment. One of the latest novelties introduced here is an extravaganza founded on Planche's serio-comic drama of A Romantic Idea,' originally produced at the Lyceum under the direction of the late Madame Vestris. The thread of the story is preserved, and that is all. The title given to the new piece is Spectresheim,' music and dancing of the most lively burlesque character being ingeniously employed in giving effect to the romantic development of the legend. Some of the songs are both tuneful and pleasing, and the success of the piece in this respect is in a great measure due to their skilful rendering in the hands of Miss Katherine Munroe. The Majiltons also are deservedly popular, and their appearance lends considerable éclat to the other attractions of Spectresheim.'

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Mr. Houldsworth showed us a good two-year-old in Springfield, a son of St. Albans and Viridis, who does credit to his breeding. He won his two races in gallant style, and is in all probability the best we have yet seen. But as that opinion has this year been expressed about nearly every two-year-old that has won a race, it is advanced now with diffidence. There was a grand race for the Queen's Plate between Louise Victoria and Thunder, and very kind of Mr. Vyner was it to give us such a treat, at which the tykes yelled and shouted with delight; but we cannot help thinking that if he had kept him for the Cup, Lord Falmouth might not have carried that trophy south

with Spinaway. There was not very much Leger wagering during the meeting, and except that Claremont's case appeared to be hopeless, nothing of any great moment occurred. What is to win the great race is certainly a puzzling question. A good horse will not be required; all we want to know is which is the best of a bad lot, and that is always difficult to discover. We have not backed anything ourselves, we are thankful to say, and probably shall not; but if our readers wish for a tip (which they are not at all called on to follow), we cannot help thinking that Balfe has the best credentials. We saw him very nearly get the distance in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Ascot, giving Earl of Dartrey three and Bay of Naples ten pounds; and as we do not see how Mr. Savile's horse is to be depended upon after his recent running, and as no one knows anything certain about the staying qualities of Gilbert or St. Cyr, we have a great opinion that Balfe will about win. It would be a very popular one if he did. Our Princes' have not been so favoured by racing fortune, but that the carrying off by them of Derby and Leger in the same year would not be hailed with the most lively satisfaction. It would be a fitting tribute to high character and honourable careers, against which no man could cast a

stone.

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We wound up the month very pleasantly at "the brave town of York" with some good racing, good dinners, and other diversions. There is snug lying in the city of many gates and bars, and the lying at the Club Chambers, as we can testify, is of the snuggest. An impression prevails, we believe, that these chambers are for the sole use and benefit of members of the York Club, but such is not the case; and any gentleman visiting York at racetime or in the hunting season can be there accommodated. The rooms are most comfort

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able, the attendance is very good, and the terms are certainly not dear. Lily Agnes won the Great Ebor, as every one said she would when the weights appeared, and they then finished by backing Harriet Laws and Aventurière, also Apology, under the idea that the latter would wipe out her Goodwood stain, when she only added to it. This, and the defeat of Thunder, who began to kick when the flag fell, in the Cup, together with the busting up of several undoubted morals for the minor events, did not tend to make us altogether happy; and if it had not been for the hospitality of the Club, the lot of many of us would have been sad. A good Samaritan is the York Club, binding up our wounds, and pouring in the oil and wine; and when the latter is Bollinger and Léoville of '64, we take a good deal of pouring. By-the-way, a very promising young man, a native of the county, gave us a riddle one morning at breakfast, which was new to most of his audience, and may be to our readers. Why were the Apostles so cruel and such cowards?' 'Because the lot fell on Matthias,'- -an answer which so puzzled a gallant warrior present-his range of scriptural reading being supposed to be limitedthat he had not mastered it on the concluding day of the races. His friends had great hopes though that the air of Scarborough might do something for him.

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THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

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BAILY'S MONTHLY MAGAZINE

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SPORTS AND PASTIMES.

MR. A. H. TURNER NEWCOMEN.

THE subject of our present sketch, the Master of the Cleveland, is well deserving of a place in that collection of Yorkshire sportsmen which has contributed so largely to fill Baily's' gallery. Born in 1844 at his ancestral residence, Kirkleatham Hall, near Redcar, Mr. Newcomen evinced a passion for field sports very early, and was Master of a pack of harriers at the promising age of thirteen. The passion developed with his growth, and he soon became well known as a good performer with the Hurworth, Durham, and Mr. Cradock's hounds, and when last season he took the Cleveland, one ambition of his life may be said to have been fulfilled. A bold rider and a good judge of pace, he is generally to be found with his hounds in the rather rough country over which they hunt, and he has a good huntsman in Richard Sherwood.

Mr. Newcomen continues to breed from his grandfather's valuable and now rare old strain of blood from which sprang the Flying Dutchman, Van Tromp, Zuyder Zee, &c., and his young homebred hunters give promise of becoming as celebrated as the 'Perions' and the 'St. Bennetts' in days of yore. He is fond of a little racing, and occasionally has a horse or two of his own breeding under Sanderson's care at Hambleton, among which we may mention Souflé, Kelchburne-the latter once beating some good horses in the Autumn Plate at Newcastle-and others. He is well known as one of the best and quickest game shots in the north of England, is good with his rod, fond of cricket, and, in short, 'can play the game all round.'

We must not forget to add that to him is mainly due the excellent racecourse that Redcar now possesses, with its straight seven furlongs on old grass land, and the new Grand Stand, second to none in the far north for comfort and convenience. In fact, the Redcar meeting quite holds its own with the older established ones, chiefly owing to local support and the excellence of its course.

VOL. XXVII.-NO. 188.

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