rod auling process, and I cannot reconcile myself to the loss of my with its pliant sensibilities just at that most critical and interesting moment of your sport, bringing a fish to the gaff; but no other plan would succeed on a large sheet of water, and therefore, the objection must be over-ruled for the sake of the sport, which is really good, for besides lots of pike and splendid perch, a tolerable day will give you from a dozen to twenty gillaroo and other large sized trout, and perhaps a peel or two. My success has been very fair, not quite averaging the above, yet coming near it-But this salmon fishing makes sad epicures of us all, nothing will go down after it—who will hunt harriers after a season with fox-hounds, or be satisfied with puss after hallooing a vixen. June 20, 1842. AN OLD GAFFER. A WORD FROM THE NEW WORLD. THE April No. of the "New Sporting Magazine," came to hand seven or eight days ago, finding me very ill-but I have so far recovered as to be able to walk about the house. I have made an effort in the way of scribbling a few lines. You will have seen from the "Spirit," how they do things at Orleans. Light weights will count. Miss Foote, by Imported Consul, out of Imported Gabriella, cut off a second heat in 7m. 35s.-tall travelling with any sort of weight. The Earl of Margrave, by Imported Margrave (who brought much reputation from England), made a gallant race with her. He is a very fine colt. Glencoe's famous daughter Reel, did not start at the Spring Meeting. She was slightly lame. You of" merrie old England," must look out, or we shall have all your best cattle. Just look at the list below and see what a string of Emilius's we have? Mercer by Emilius, out of Young Mouse, (Rat-trap's dam) by Godolphin-at 10, 15, and 20 dollars. Priam by Emilius, out of Cressida, by Whisker-150 dollars. 1 dollar groom. Riddlesworth, by Emilius, out of Filagree, by Soothsayer, Ruby, by Emilius, out of Eliza, by Rubens, 25 dollars. Sovereign, by Emilius, out of Fleur-de-Lis, by Bourbon, 30 dollars. 1 dollar groom. Sovereign is the property of Colonel Wade Hampton. He was badly foundered in getting to this country, which prevented his appearing on the turf. He is said to resemble Emilius very much-Being out of old Fleur-de-Lis-he could hardly have failed being a race horse. I am too feeble to scribble more. Batesville, Arks, May 18, 1842. N. OF ARKANSAS. A FEW REMARKS ON SOME OF THE EVENTS OF THE PRESENT RACING SEASON. 66 BY CAMBRIAN. TRIUMPHANT over other nations in her breed of horses as England has long been, it is gratifying to observe by the fruits of the present year that she indicates every intention of maintaining that proud distinction. The three-year-olds are not above the usual average. Though there are several very promising ones amongst them, no very extraordinary clipper" has yet shone forth from among their ranks, unless Attila is entitled to that appellation. That this little nag has proved himself a stout and honest runner, is indisputable, from the number of races he has won without ever having been beaten, or amiss. But when we look into the animals that have run against him, there is ample room to justify the assertion that his pace remains to be proved. His winnings when two years old, crowned by his Derby victory, after running away from Palladium and Devil-amongst the Tailors at the First Newmarket Spring Meeting, denote that his mettle and substance are of no ordinary quality; combined with which is an excellent form, and a head that would do justice to the Arab tribe. His winnings at two years old are, £190 at the Pottery, beating Combermere and four others; the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, value £750, beating Cabrera and three others; also at the same meeting he won the Twoyear-old Stakes of £580, beating Skipton, Belcœur, and seven others; and at Newmarket he won the Clearwell Stakes of £600, beating Chatham and three others. Neither these, nor the bare fact of his winning the Derby with Robert de Gorham second, and Belcœur third, can fairly be looked upon as any just criterion of very extraordinary speed; indeed, with the exception of Auckland, who appeared a very dangerous competitor, it would have been difficult to look out for the winner from any other quarter than Scott's stables, could it have been previously ascertained of what soft composition Coldrenick was made, unless a dark horse had come forward, of which class there were very few likely to be selected with the exception of Seahorse, who beat Robert de Gorham's head off at Newmarket, and whose mould is decidedly of a superior caste, and one or two more. Meteor did not start, and it has been surmised that he is reserved for the St. Leger. He is a large plain but powerful horse, and won the Two Thousand Guineas Stakes at the Newmarket First Spring Meeting in a canter; he is very well bred, being got by Velocipede, out of Dido, by Whisker. Should Scott make him his horse he will stand a very good chance of winning the St. Leger, but as to his trainer's intentions few are able to arrive at any satisfactory clue. One thing is certain, that should he throw Attila on the shelf, the settling is likely to prove very heavy, at the same time the great caution that has lately been observed, and was created by the number of Derby defaulters, has caused some stagnation in the betting ring. Expectation was raised to a very high pitch about Coldrenich, who was cried up as far superior to any of Plenipo.'s productions yet exhibited. It cannot be supposed by any who know him, that John Day would have connived at any foul play; he rather appeared himself to have been taken in, for after the race, he said that Coldrenich was the most deceitful horse he ever crossed.* Before the race, there was no rumour whatever that the horse was otherwise than what J. Day desired— his legs are good and he galloped well; but alas, the fatal secretwhich some attributed to his trainer's excessive fine mode of training, was quickly discernible; there was an evident lack of furniture in the "middle story," a fault which I apprehend is not uncommon with the Plenipo.-stock. It must be regarded as very singular, that magnificent animal as Plenipo. was, far superior to any thing of his day in speed, and allowed to be the best horse that had come out for years (before the shameful exhibition in which he was made to figure at Doncaster,) none of his stock, although fine and racing-like looking animals, have as yet been unable to make any figure. Potentia, Metternich, Huon, William de Fortibus, Nuncio, and Barbara are the best of his stock, and they cannot be said to have added much glory to their sire's wellearned laurels. His blood cannot be surpassed by any in the kingdom, but his offspring are fine in the bone, and as speed is concentrated in him from both sides, I should deem it advisable to send strong and powerful mares to him, whose great "forte" is substance. The Colonel is another of those very fleet horses in whose stock the community have been grossly disappointed; and I look upon it that the turf has suffered no great loss from his transportation. He won the Chatham is as respectable as any son of that once royal horse, and as a two-year-old held a high place in my estimation. His exploits were as follows:-At Newmarket he won the July Stakes of 7901. after a dead heat with Rostrum, beating four others. At Goodwood he ran second to Wiseacre, for the Ham Stakes, and at the same meeting won 3001. beating Lucy Banks and two others. Buckenham Stakes, value 6001. at Newmarket First O. M. and ran third to Attila in the second O. M. carrying 7lb. extra. At the Houghton Meeting, he carried away the Criterion Stakes of 8301, and also divided a stake with Wiseacre. There is a sad falling off in him this year-probably want of strength of constitution is the main deficit, which he certainly did not inherit from his dam Esther, who is one of * It may not be generally known that Coldrenich's leg gave way in the race for the Derby, and has since required firing.—Eo. N. S. M. the finest mares ever foaled, combining great strength and good blood, which are the main requisites in a race horse. She takes much after her sire in shape, especially in the back and hind quarters, and was the very mare to send to the Colonel. Camel-her sire is one of the most magnificent and powerful animals in existence, and is still looking remarkably well, and in excellent health; he has not had above half his usual compliment of mares sent to him this year, which appears rather unaccountable, and does not redound to the good judgment of the cognoscenti" as his stock continue to be very promising. Some of them may be seen at Stockwell, where he stands with Muley Moloch, and several other stallions. Touchstone, his son, promises to be as noted a stallion as his father was; his stock have had wonderful success considering the short time they have been out; at one time he looked likely to be the sine of the Derby or Oaks winner this year, if not of both. Auckland seemed a very superior horse by the side of most of the Derby nags, but he did not look in good health or spirits, and, as I understood, was heard to cough; he is a large horse, with great power, and I entertain a strong presentiment that a better day awaits him, notwithstanding his being beaten by Barrier, at Ascot, though had Robinson been on him instead of the other, I apprehend the result would have been the reverse; as it was, he was only beat by a head; he won his two races on Tuesday and Thursday in the same meeting in style, but, to be sure, nothing very good ran against him. Jack, who is also by Touchstone, is a powerful horse, and looks as if he could last. As regards the Oaks fillies, I never place any great confidence in the certainty of the sex, and, therefore, am always inclined to prefer the field, in which theory I was justified by the result of the race this year, though the Adela filly and Dilbar were as neat a looking pair as any in the field, and are likewise the offspring of Touchstone, as are also Rosalind and the Amima filly, who have been winning. I look upon Touchstone as one of the most valuable acquisitions that has been made to any stud for a length of time; he is domiciled at Eaton Hall, near Chester, where his brother, Launcelot, has also been covering this season, though of the two, I greatly prefer the first. Their noble owner has had great success in winning the St. Leger with both of them, and with Satirist last year; but whether his ow of luck will continue now that his horses are in another trainer's hands seems very questionable. He has shown good taste in his selection of mares, and the result has proved that his pains have not been without their reward. To be the owner of the winner of the Oaks and St, Leger in the same year, is almost without a precedent, except in the case of Mr. Mostyn, when Queen of Trumps won both for him. Pantaloon, the sire of both Ghuznee and Satirist, is likewise the property of Lord Westminster, and Sleight of Hand, Lord Mayor, and Ralph, are likewise amongst the number of his produce. I was much surprised at the appearance of Bran's stock this year; they have a very racing-like appearance. The Fury filly, and Meal, running first and second for the Oaks, show that they are made of no ordinary "compos." Combermere, another of his stock, is a remarkably fine horse, and looked well for the Derby as an "outsider," but I should say that the Derby course was not suited to him. He ran well at Chester, and carried away the Dee Stakes, beating, amongst others, William de Fortibus. This is only the second year of Bran's stock making their appearance, very few showed last year; he is likely now to become a popular stallion, but as yet has not had any very large allowance of thorough-bred mares, and, consequently, no great number of his stock are to be found in the Racing Calendar. CAMBRIAN. A NIGHT'S LEISTERING. "TELL me what company you keep, and I'll tell you what you are," is an old, and it may be, in many cases, a true saying. But although we may admit the truth of the axiom in most instances, we cannot entirely agree with its principle, laid down as a broad feature. We are induced to make this preface, lest any of your readers, acquainted with the meaning of the term at the head of our chapter, should be inclined to judge us harshly, and set us down at once as arrant poachers when we confess that we have more than once in our lives joined in a sport (for sport it was to us), the very mention of which will, probably, prejudice the fair salmon fisher against us. Be this as it may, there are, doubtless, many of your readers who, understanding the nature of the sport conveyed by the term "Leistering," have yet never joined in it; and there are no doubt more who have never heard any thing about it. To each and all then, we will say, "Our service to you masters, and as we feel no shame on this score to confess, we trust you will deign to read the mysteries and proceedings on a "Night's Leistering." In most of the Northern salmon rivers, the right of the fishery is let by the proprietors to men who make it their regular trade, and supply the London and other markets with fish during the season. In these rivers the water is, of course, strictly preserved, and every means used by the fisherman to take the salmon by nets or otherwise. The habits of the salmon are involved in much mystery even to our most scientific icthyologists, and it is also a curious fact, that the salmon trout differ in colour, or some other respects, in almost every trout stream. Add to this that the local names are in themselves sufficient to puzzle the NO. XX.-VOL. IV.-NEW SERIES. N |