given to some conspicuous point, such as a church-steeple. This spirit
of emulation, when owners or unprofessional jockeys rode, was rather to
be approved of than condemned; but when the affair became a gamb.
ling one-when horses who had never been in at the death of a fox, and
who had merely shown at the cover-side a few times for the purpose of
getting a qualification-when paid riders were put up, and artificial
fences, strong stone walls, and yawning ditches formed part of the course
-then the whole aspect was changed, and the trial of skill between
hunters degenerated into a dangerous speculative race. Happily for
riders and steeds, some of the best steeple-chases take place on race-
courses, with a sufficient quantity of fences, hurdles, and brooks to
diversify the sport of a flat race. In the absence of heavy, wet land,
or severe ridge and furrow, the animals seldom or ever get so dead beat
as to flounder in the water or break their backs at a fence. Away they
go at a Leicestershire hunting pace, clearing the impediments at a
bound, rendering the finish a work of skill; in which, to prove success-
ful, judgment, patience, and a thorough knowledge of pace are requisite
ingredients. What, for instance, could be a more beautiful, sportsman-
like sight, than the steeple-chases on Pitchcroft-
t-a spot that reminds
one of the arena where the sons of Niobe were wont to ride horses and
exercise themselves-

"Planus erat lat èque patens propè monia campus,
Assiduis pulsatus equis; ubi turba rotarum
Duraque molliêrant subjectas ungula glebas?"

-during the last Worcester autumnal meeting in November. Fifteen horses in first-rate condition, mounted by men whose lives had been devoted to hunting, appeared at the post; and so well did they keep together for the first mile, that when they charged the fence with a brook on the other side, every one of the above were in the air together. That some tailing" towards the end should have taken place is not to be wondered at, bearing in mind the old saying, that "'tis the pace that kills"; but such would have happened after a scurry of five-and-twenty minutes in the hunting-field. When steeple-chases are thus conducted, almost all the objectionable part vanishes.

WINNER OF THE ST. LEGER, 1859.

ENGRAVED BY E. HACKER, FROM A PAINTING BY HARRY HALL.

Gamester, bred by Sir Charles Monck in 1856, is by The Cossack, out of Gaiety, by Touchstone, her dam Caststeel, by Whisker-The Twinkle, by Walton.

The Cossack, or, as he was originally written, Cossack, is by Hetman Platoff out of Joannina by Priam. He won the Derby, and was second for the St. Leger in 1847, while he is the sire of Special Licence, Orianda, Archduchess, Shirah, and other winners. His stock first peared in 1856, and Cossack himself left this country for France early in 1857, before we had anything like a fair trial of him.

с с

ap

Gaiety, bred by Sir Charles Monck in 1844, was in her day a tolerably good runner. In the stud Gadabout and Gamester are what she

is best known by.

Gamester is a rich bay horse, with black legs, standing fifteen hands two inches high. He has a very neat expressive head, cleverly set on to a strong well-shaped neck. He has capital shoulders, a round barrel, and good quarters, drooping towards a full bang tail, which he carries very corkily. He has not over-large bone, but is altogether a clean, wiry, especially neat horse, and thought to much resemble his sire. Gamester has no "positive" white beyond the saddle-marks.

PERFORMANCES.

Gamester has been a useful horse from the first. In '58, as a two year-old, he ran seven times, in three of which encounters he was successful. He made his début at Newcastle, where he was neither placed nor fancied for a two and three-year-old stakes, won by Mr. Bell's Marseillaise. He next turned up at York, where, with their own man Ewart on him, he won the Juvenile, beating O'Ryan and another by a length. On the same day, and for the very next race, in the hands of Luke Snowden, he won the Eglinton for two and three-year-olds, at a mile, by a length, beating Lord of the Manor (2), Stockham, Proud Preston Peg, Palm Leaf, and Paul Jones. At the same meeting, in better company, he was nowhere for the Gimcrack, in which Rainbow and Cavendish ran a dead heat, and Marseillaise and Urania were also before him. At Stockport, with Pearl up at 8st. 71b., he won the Juvenile Handicap for two-year-olds, giving lots of weight to everything in the race, thirteen of them altogether, with Mrs. Stowe at 7st. 5lb. second, but with nothing of a very high class after them. 10 to 1 agst. Gamester, who won by half a length. At Doncaster he was not placed for the Fitzwilliam, won by Saunterer after that fine race with the Knight of Khars; and he was all behind again on the Thursday, although the favourite in the ring, for a Two-year-old Stake, won by Summerside, then the unchristened Ellerdale filly.

In 1859, ridden by Witherington, Gamester was not placed for the Derby, for which at starting he went back to 33 to 1; won by Sir Joseph Hawley's Musjid. Going on to Ascot, with the aid of Ashmall, he beat Brother to Sydney by a head for the Ascot Derby, his stable companion Mr. Nichol's Phantom also running, and the favourite at "evens. At Newcastle, for another Derby, Willie Wright beat him a head, despite Aldcroft having hold of him, for the first time. Volatile, Gladiolus, and some others ran; but the race was all with the two. At York he was brought out no less than three times-on the Wednesday, for the North of England Biennial, where at 8st. 71b. he ran Volatile 7st. 12lb. to a neck over two miles of the old course; Willie Wright (3), Ticket-of-Leave (4), and four others started. 6 to 1 agst. Gamester. On the Thursday he won the Ebor St. Leger, a mile and three-quarters, beating Lord Lincoln's Indifference, Mr. Robinson's Actæon, and Mr. Merry's Pillager, with 5 to 2 on him, and won by a length. On the Friday, over another mile and three-quarters, he ran Napoleon to a head at 8st. 71b. each, for the Great Yorkshire Stakes,

with Eskdale third, and Cynricus, The Slave, and four others not placed. 5 to 4 agst. Gamester. Aldcroft rode him in all these races, as he did at Doncaster, where he won the St. Leger, over a mile and three-quarters, colts 8st. 71b., fillies 8st. 2lb.: beating Mr. Saxon's Defender, Baron Rothschild's Magnum, Lord Londesborough's Summerside, Mr. W. Day's The Promised Land, Mr. C. Peck's Napoleon, Colonel Townley's Gladiolus, Sir H. Des Voeux's ch. c. Comforter, Mr. T. Hunt's Aston, Mr. J. Ferguson's Lovett, and Colonel Smyth's Uralian, all placed by the judge in the order they are named. 20 to 1 agst. Gamester, who won a close race by half a length. Run in 3 minutes and 25 seconds. At Newmarket First October Meeting, ridden by Aldcroft, Gamester won another St. Leger-his third-giving Mr. Shelley's Sir Hercules 7lb., and beating him by two lengths and a half, 7 to 2 on the winner.

SUMMARY OF GAMESTER'S PERFORMANCES.

In 1858 he started seven times and won three :

Although Sir Charles Monck is now an octogenarian, this is the first time he has ever won a great" race. He has nevertheless generally had a few horses in work, and some fairish runners amongst them. They begin with the private tutor Ewart at Bellsay and then come on to Whitewall for honours, where John Scott does the best he can for them. He never did better than with the little horse, as never indeed was winning more unexpected, or so much due to the care with which the colt was nursed after his week's hard labour at York. It is only fair to add that he was ridden with great judgment by Aldcroft, a powerful but not elegant horseman, who has this season succeeded Flatman as first jockey for Scott's stable. Although very handy last year in a dead heat for the Oaks, second for the St, Leger, and third for the Derby, this is the first time Aldcroft has quite landed one of the three great races. It is rather different with his coadjutor "The Wizard," who will now be backed to win the Leger, year for year, as a simple matter of duty.

THE

YACHTSMAN'S CABIN.

YARN THE LAST.

Oh! is there 'mongst old England's sons,

So stalwart though they be,

A heart that can look coldly on

A race upon the sea?

Oh! there's a pleasure 'neath the flag

Of the daring and the free,

A joy unknown to all but those
Who sail a race at sea.

There is, besides, in a seaman's life,

A liberty most dear;

And in a seaman's heart there dwells
An antidote for fear.

Oh! mark the sailor's countenance
As the gale bends low the mast;

With a welcome smile he greets the wind,
And revels in the blast.

Though the waves roll high around him,
And threat'ning though they be,
He steers right onward for the goal,
And wins the race at sea.

Then he, who would such honours bear,

And a seaman bold would be,

Let him bend his sails and trim his sheets,
And sail a race at sea.

There is yet another match of the Royal Yacht Squadron which the limits of our space in last month's magazine compelled us to defer reviewing until the present month. It is, however, too interesting an event to be passed over without notice.

On Saturday, August 6, among the few remaining matches of the Royal Yacht Squadron was one open to yachts of any Royal Yacht Club for a prize of £100, the second vessel to receive £25; a time race. No less than fifteen yachts were entered for this race, but only eight started; viz. :—

The sailing regulations for this match were not made known until the morning of the race, the committee reserving the right of making such conditions as the weather and other circumstances demanded. The wind being S.S.W., a moderate breeze, which continued throughout the

day, the yachts were directed to start to the eastward, and go twice round the Royal Yacht Squadron course. On the starting gun being fired, they canted round, and got away in excellent order, with a leading wind. The Alarm soon glided away from all the others, and took a decided lead, which she maintained and increased to the close of the race. The Gipsy Queen took the second place at the commencement; and the Arrow the third. The two latter sailed a neck-and-neck race for an hour and upwards, in the early part of the match. On rounding the Warner the Wildfire was fourth, Brunette fifth, Osprey sixth, and Beatrice seventh; there being only ten minutes' difference between the first and last of these. On nearing the light-ship, the Arrow sprung her topmast, and was obliged to lower her topsail : on jibing she also sprung her mast-head: her racing-flag was then immediately hauled down, and she resigned the contest. When off the north shore of The Brambles, the Alarm led by nearly forty minutes; and the Brunette was observed to haul down her racing-flag and retire from the contest. Wildfire and Osprey had then passed the Gipsy Queen, and were sailing an exciting match for the second place. The Alarm had the race entirely in her hands from first to last; but on returning through Spithead she was observed to set more sail-probably fearing the wind might drop-and, strange to say, not one of her crew appeared to know that it was contrary to the sailing regulations to carry a jib-topsail, which at this juncture was put upon her: consequently the race, which the Alarm had, otherwise, nobly won, was forfeited. The time of arrival of the three leading yachts was as under :—

On the arrival of the Wildfire a protest was lodged against an infringement of the sailing rules by the Alarm; and the matter having been inquired into by the Sailing Committee, that vessel was declared to have forfeited the prize, which was therefore awarded to the Wildfire, and the second prize to the Osprey. It seems almost incredible that those in charge of the Alarm should have been so ignorant of the sailing rules of the Royal Yacht Squadron as not to have known that a jibtopsail could not be carried without infringing the sailing rules; but so it was; and through that foolish infringement a valuable prize and the credit of winning a splendid race were completely thrown away. In further proof of the extraordinary apathy of some of those in charge of the yachts contesting this match, the Brunette retired to her moorings during the race, in ignorance of there being a second prize, and at a time when she had a reasonable chance of winning it.

The Royal Victoria Yacht Club, as usual, held their regatta in the week following that of the Royal Yacht Squadron. The most attractive match was, for a prize of the value of £50, open to all yachts belonging to any Royal yacht club; decked vessels rig or class immaterial, not over sixty feet in length on or below the water-line; time race, two minutes per foot; a prize of £10 for the second vessel. There were nine yachts entered for this race; but owing to the regulations of two minutes per foot, and the heavy gale which was blowing on the morning of the match, five of them did not start; those were-Suake, Mosquito,