drop, which causes them to seem as if a part of the vertical ridge of the spine was cut away, and require their saddles to be made on purpose for them.

The Cattywarr breed, of superior blood to the preceding, sometimes dun-coloured, striped like a tiger; when thus marked is very highly valued, and competes with the Arabian.

We have now devoted sufficient space to the consideration of the Asiatic varieties, and it is time that we should say something of the African.

The principal African race is that known under the name of Barb, which is closely allied to the Arabian, and bears a sufficient general resemblance to horses of that blood as to admit of individuals being frequently brought to this country and passed off as Arabs.

The Barb is larger than the Arabian, and are remarkable for the height and fulness of their shoulders, the roundness of their barrel, and the drooping of their haunches. They are possessed of vast speed and unconquerable spirit.

"On a journey," says Col. Smith, "the Barb starts, unfed and without water; at the end of his day's work he is piquetted, unbridled, never unsaddled; he then receives as much water as he will drink, then barley and broken straw is thrown before him as far as he can stretch his neck; hence he rarely or never lies down or gets sleep, and yet he is high-spirited. Broken wind is rare, but tender feet, and shaken in the shoulder from the abuse of the bit and sudden stopping in a gallop, are not unfrequent."

The Barb sells in Morocco at a comparatively low price-viz., about £20 sterling, or 100 dollars. Barbs cannot be exported without obtaining an order from the Moorish governnient to that effect. The original Barb is reported by many writers to have been small, or at all events smaller than the Arab, and to owe his present stature to the circumstance of a Moorish emperor having lately crossed the breed with a gigantic English stallion, which stood eighteen hands high.

Amongst the very finest African racers, we may number the "Drinkers of the Wind," reared by the Mograbin tribes, which are of low size, shaped somewhat like greyhounds, wiry, and almost like skeletons as far as flesh is concerned. Mr. Davidson relates of these horses the following extraordinary anecdote:-On an occasion when the chief of a tribe, where he sojourned, was robbed of a favourite and fleet animal of this race, the camp went out in pursuit eight hours after the theft; at night, though the animal was yet unrecovered, it was already ascertained that the Daman pursuers had headed his track, and would secure him before morning. The messenger who returned with this intelligence had ridden sixty miles in the withering heat of the day without drawing rein.

Towards the central parts of Africa we find the-BORNOU race, which Mr. Sully extols as "possessed of the qualities of the Arabian, with the beauty of the Barb." They attain the height of about 15 hands, but have ugly heads and small eyes; the shoulder is however fine, and the limbs elegantly formed.

The horses of NUBIA, reckoned by Bruce far superior to the Arab, Shrubat-ul-reech."

are pretended to be descended from the five horses ridden by Mahomet and his companions-Abubekr, Omar, Atman, and Ali-in their flight the night of the Hegira.

Bruce made a drawing of one of these horses, called El Fudda, which was said to be descended from one of the steeds of the prophet's companions in a direct line-" From which," he says, "I did rot inquire. Sheick Adelan, armed, as he fought, with his coat of mail and war-saddle, iron-chained bridle, brass cheek-plates, front plate, breast-plate, large broad-sword, and battle-axe, did not weigh less upon the horse than sixteen stone, horseman's weight. This horse kneeled to receive his master, armed as he was, when he mounted, and he kneeled to let him dismount likewise; so that no advantage could be taken of him in those helpless times, when a man is obliged to arm himself and disarm himself, piece by piece, upon horseback. Adelan in war was a fair player, and gave every body his chance; he was the first man always that entered among the enemy, and the last to leave them, and he never changed his horse.

The little kingdom of Dongola, called by the Arabs Donkala, possesses a remarkably fine breed of horses of a large size, standing from 15 to 16 hands high; they are characterized by great shortness of body from the shoulders to the quarters, their necks are long, their crests high, and forehand beautiful. Bosman pronounces them to be "the most beautiful in the world." These horses have been imported into England, but their gets have not proved any great things-perhaps from want of judgment in selecting mares.

Egypt, which we have already shown to have been the original country of the horse, has now entirely lost its character as a breeding country, and its steeds are esteemed almost worthless in comparison with those of Persia and Arabia, and we shall accordingly close our notice of the African races with the following recital from the pen of Baumgusten, who witnessed what he relates:

"In the year 1507 the Sultan of Egypt made ostentation of his magnificence to the Turkish ambassador. There were sixty thousand Mamelukes, in the same uniform, assembled in a spacious plain, in which were three heaps of sand, fifty paces distant, in each a spear erected, with a mark to shoot at, and the like over opposite them, with space betwixt, sufficient for six horses to run abreast; here the youngest Mamelukes, upon their horses, running at full speed, gave wonderful proofs of their skill. Some shot arrows backward and forward; others, in the midst of their race, alighted three times, and, their horses still running, remounted, and hit the mark nevertheless; others hit the same, standing upon their horses then running; others three times unbent their bows, and thrice again bent them whilst their horses galloped, and did not miss the mark; neither did others, who, in the middle of their race, alighted down on either side, and again mounted; nor they who in their swiftest course leaped, and turned themselves backwards on their horses, and then, their horses still running, turned themselves forward. There were some who, while their horses galloped, ungirt them thrice, each time shooting, then again girting their saddles, and yet never missed the mark; some sat in their saddles, leaped backwards out of them, and, turning over their heads, settled themselves again in their seats, and shot, as the former, three

times; others laid themselves backward on their running horses, and taking their tails, put them in their mouths, and yet took an undeviating aim in shooting; some, after every shot, drew out their swords and flourished them about their heads, and again sheathed them; others sat between three swords on their right and as many on their left, thinly clothed, so that without great care, every motion would wound them, yet, before and behind them, touched the mark; one stood upon two horses running very swiftly, his feet loose, and shot also at once three arrows before, and again three behind him; another, sitting on a horse neither bridled nor saddled, as he came at every mark, arose and stood upon his feet, and, on both hands hitting the mark, sat down again three times; a third, sitting on the bare horse, when he came to the mark, lay upon his back, and lifted up his leg, and yet missed not his shot. One of them was killed with a fall, and two much wounded in these feats of activity."

Verily, unless our narrator imitated the heroes he described in drawing the long-bow, these were very wonderful feats indeed, and such as would make even our own Ducrow and Batty open their eyes with astonishment.

SPORTS ON OLD FATHER THAMES.

Strenua nos exercet inertia.

"The man who has stood on the Acropolis,

And look'd down over Attica, or he

Who has sail'd where picturesque Constantinople is,

Or seen Timbuctoo, or hath taken tea

In small-eyed China's crockery-ware metropolis,

Or sat amidst the bricks of Nineveh,

May not think much of Erith's first appearance-
But ask him what he thinks of it a year hence?"

During the past month Old Father Thames has presented quite an animated picture-a series of tableaux of first-rate marine character having been exhibited both above and below bridge. The very propitious state of the weather which has attended the greater part of the various contests performed on the silvery waters, has most decidedly greatly enhanced the golden harvest reaped by the fortunate candidates for aquatic honours.

I will only now advert to the sports which took place at Erith, Greenwich, and Gravesend; to the latter but slightly, as a month has intervened since the scene whereof I would speak was enacted. A most unfortunate day was selected for the boat races of this favoured town-a town overflowing with shrimps and lodging-houses. The elements were indeed unruly, for the rain descended in such torrents as to bid brave defiance to the twelve-shilling Chesterfield Wrappers and the Zephyr Taglionis in which the male visitors of this fashionable watering place were upon this occasion encased. As for the greater portion of the gentler sex, they wisely took refuge under the

awning on the town pier, with tomes in hand, their visual organs ever and anon, like

"the poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,

Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven," travelling from the bethumbed pages of "The Cottage Betrayer," or "The Adventures of Fanny Moreton-the pet of the Gypsy Queen," to the motley group of promenaders, or perchance to the yellow leather coverings to their own delicate understandings.

The pulling of some of the watermen in the Gravesend Regattaalthough very opposite to that of Campbell, the Maynards, Coombes, or Parish-was not by any means below par. The last race gave rise to a very good contest, and undoubtedly the best men won.

THE ERITH REGATTA.

Monday, the 14th ultimo, is a day that will be long remembered in the annals of aquatic sports for the gay and gladsome doings in the picturesque little village of Erith. The Erith Regatta was under the patronage of many of the leading men in aquatic circles. The committee of management consisted of

J. L. Jenkins, Esq., Chairman.
Henry Weston, Esq., Treasurer.
C. F. Farmer, Esq.,

Lord Alfred Paget.

W. H. Harrison, Esq.

Samuel Jones, Esq.

James Layton, Esq.

Ralph Lewis, Esq.

Hon. Sec.
Thomas Meeson, Esq.
Richard Pitt, Esq.
Temple Soames, Esq.
Henry Wood, Esq.
Captain Lawson.

The weather was all that could be desired or wished for, and the attendance was good, including many fashionables from town, and many of the leading families from the surrounding country. Considering the degree of interest so long excited by the announcement of this regatta, I was not at all astonished to observe so many bright particular stars" assembled on the occasion.

The first heat of the first race was announced for two o'clock; and although they were not as true

66 as the dial to the sun, Although it be not shone upon,"

there was every excuse for the want of punctuality on the part of the committee of management, considering the many obstacles they had to contend against.

The races commenced with a four-oared match by watermen, bargemen, and apprentices, for a purse of sovereigns-two boats in every heat. In the first heat the contention was between blue and pink; the latter took the lead, and kept it until turning for homewards, when blue shot a-head and came in first, winning easily.

The next heat was between green and yellow. The lead was taken by green, and maintained throughout the distance. If yellow had contrived to obtain the inshore situation, we think the result of the heat would have been different.

The pair-oared race between gentlemen amateurs for a pair of silver goblets succeeded. The competitors were Messrs. Dalgleish and

Julius, and Messrs. Soames and Newman; the former pair won easily, having had it all their own way from the start.

The match with dingies belonging to gentlemen's yachts was very amusing; the exertions of the various occupants of these walnut-shell looking rafters kept the spectators on the broad grin. The dingy appertaining to Mr. Weston's yacht was declared the victor.

Now followed the final heat of the watermen's match. Blue and green were the colours of the respective crews; the former had the start, and managed to keep the lead throughout, winning easily. There was no comparison between the two crews, the men forming the victorious boat being of much stronger build than those of the defeated one.

The Regatta terminated with a "scratch," id est, a sweepstakes match in four-oared cutters amongst gentlemen amateurs of different clubs. The crews were chosen as annexed:-Green: Messrs. Dalgleish, Walton, Denny, M'Donald, and Paravicini. Blue: Messrs. Weston, Lellen, Soames, Newman, and Brown-if the nomenclature be incorrect, this gentleman must bear in mind that "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Yellow Messrs. Layton, Julius, Maberley, Hedley, and Farmer. Red: Messrs. Kennedy, Forster, Gruggin, Thompson, and Lloyd. Some amusement was created by its being suggested that there was evidently some error in the selection of Mr. Paravicini's colour, as the facetious "Barren" was anything but verdant.

:

Red took the lead, and maintained it well. There was a little "play" shewn by green and yellow; but after some stout pulling, red came in first, green second, and yellow third.

Immediately after this spirited contest an adjournment to the Pier Hotel took place, when the various prizes were awarded to the fortunate winners. The design of the silver goblets was of a very superior order, and reflected great credit on the taste of the manufacturer, Mr. Jones, of Cheapside. It may be said of them that their contents on this occasion-some of Moet's real-vanished so quickly, that had Father Mathew himself been present he would have stared with wondrous amazement, particularly as the quaffing part was so ably performed by "jolly young watermen," many of whom delivered themselves of orations in such a manner as to be entitled to be classed amongst the worthy followers in the steps of Demosthenes.

"may our life's happy measure
Be all of such moments made up,
They're born on the bosom of pleasure,
They die 'midst the tears of the cup."

Just as darkness spread around there was a grand display of fireworks on the pier, which was brilliantly illuminated after the fashion of the "royal property." The catherine-wheels were deservedly admired for the manner in which-Jim Crow like-they "wheeled about and turned about." As for the rockets, the effect of them was spoiled from the state of the atmosphere, there being aloft "a thick steam, like fogs on London days.'

After this exhibition the principal part of the visitors hied them to the ball-room, the floor of which was very neatly "chalked" for the hilarious occasion; indeed I may say, from the superior manner in