SPORTING NOTES.

The Lyttelton Times says :—": — " Complaints are made by persons training Horses for the Metropolitan Meeting that the galloping ground is in very rough condition, large holes being much more prevalent than desirable. If this is really the case, it should claim the attention of the Jockey Club without delay." The Christen urch regatta will come off probably about the end of October. George Cronk, of Hill-end, New South Wales, announces in the Australian papers that he is open to match himself to run any man in Australia (bar Frank Hewitt) half a mile, for £200 a side or upwards. Reasonable expenses, he states, will be allowed for the race to be run at Hill- end.

The celebrated horse Glencoe, who was purchased on the 20th of last month, at Kirk's Bazaar, Melbourne, by Mr S. G. Bowler for the sum of £400, has again changed hand's, having become the property of Mr R. Cowell, who intends sending him up to his station, on the River Ovens, to stand for the season. Some time ago, Lord Charles Innes Ker laid a wager of £200 with four officers of the 9th Lancers that he would run a quarter of a mile, hop a quarter of a mile, ride a quarter of a mile, walk a quarter of a mile, and row a quarter of a mile in a quarter of an hour. The match took place at Windsor on July sth, when his lordship performed his undertaking in 9 minutes 45 seconds, thus having 5 minutes 15 seconds to spare.

Referring to Mr W. G. Grace's refusal to come out to Australia unless he received £1500 and his expenses, the Australasian says that £500 and expenses was offered to the great cricketer, but was at once declined. The Australasian remarks that "MrGracehaslongbeento all intents and purposes a professional player. He is always paid, and paid well." In connection with this statement, the following letter appears in the Field :—": — " Sir — Et is now the universal talk amongst cricketers that the great batsman, Mr W. G. Grace, is paid for the matches he plays. If that is the case, it seems very unfair to the Players that they should be pitted against a man who is neither more nor less than one of their own body. Where is the difference / Mr Grace is paid, and every professional is paid. No gentleman jockey is allowed to ride in that capacity if he is knoAvn to receive money for his mounts. Surely in the interest of justice some such rule ought to be made in cricket.— B. W. A."

At the annual meeting of the Melbourne Cricket Club, it was reported that the Committee had reason to believe that although the attempt to procure a visit from a team of English cricketers was, through various unforeseen causes, unsuccessful, an English eleven would be brought out during the following season. On the Bth of August an English eleven was to leave England for Canada and New York. It was to be composed exclusively of the following gentlemen members of the Marylebone Clnb : — Messrs W. G. Grace, A. N. Hornby, A. Lubbock, W. H. Hadow, R. D. Walker, V. E. Walker, A. Appleby, W. M. Rose, C. J. Ottaway, R. A. Fitzgerald, J. W. Dale, and the Hon. G. Harris.

Morris Dancer, the sire of so many firstclass cross country horses, was put up for sale by auction at Kirk's Bazaar, Melbourne, a few days ago. The old horse is reported to have looked very gay, and greatly the better for his short sojourn in Melbourne. The bidding was not very spirited, and after Mr Bowes had exercised his persuasive powers to the uttermost, the horse was knocked down to Mr Benjamin Hepburn, of Ballarat, for the sum of 255 guineas. Mr Hepburn has purchased the horse for a gentlaman residing in the neighbourhood of Ballarat.

Referring to Lonp Garou's victory in the Australian Derby Stakes at the .Randwick meeting, the Australasian remarks : — " The time (2min. 46 1 sec.) the race was done in was remarkably fast, and has only been beaten once in Australia. The quality of the colt is fully shown when he can win such a race with ease. Loup Garou is by Lord of Linne out of Hebe by Magus. He was described before the race as an overgrown and rather leggy colt, but with a fine style of getting over the ground. Possibly now that he has achieved the blue ribbond of the New South Wales turf, his good points will be much more plainly visible. The supporters of King of the Ring, who principally belong to the betting fraternity, are very heavy losers. They backed their colt, a known good one, with great pluck, and have now to meet their reverses with resignation. They have been remarkably fortunate for some time back, and cannot grudge the backers of horses a turn of Fortune's wheel. It is worthy of notice that both King of the Ring, who was second, and Hamlet's full brother, Horatio, who secured third place in the race, were bred at the celebrated Maribyrnong stud. Loup Garou was purchased by his present owner, Mr W. Winch, at Mr Cox's WJftuil F»te> f°r tf» wall spm o| £60. •

An Auckland paper says that a spirited attempt is about to be made to bring the Auckland Jockey Club to life again, or to replace it by a new one upon an improved constitution. It is intended to inaugurate a two days' races, to be run some time in the month of the New Year, and to advertise such prizes as will bring some of the best blood to this province from all parts of the Colony. £500, it is said, are to be raised for a Town Plate Race, and £200 for a handicap. With the little sporting spirit in our midst, we are inclined to think that much difficulty will be experienced to raise even half this sum — to say nothing of the money which will be required for the minor events necessary to make up a two days' racing.

The forty-seventh contest between the representatives of Eton and Harrow took place at Lord's Ground on July 12 and 13. The weather was of the brightest, and the wickets of the truest. Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales were present. Play commenced at 11 5. Harrow having won the toss, proceeded, with Blocker and Pemberton, to the bowling of Miles and Buckland. The innings, which lasted nearly three hours, closed for 125. Eton commenced their innings at 2.40 with Bruce and Whitmore, Bovill and Shand being the bowlers, and at 4. 55 the innings closed for 110, 15 runs short of Harrow. After the usual interval, Harrow began the second innings as before with Blacker and Pemberton, the bowling being entrusted to Buckley and H. Whitmore. At seven o'clock the stumps were drawn for the day, Harrow having lost six wickets for 72. C. Pemberton, not out, 20. The next morning Harrow finished their second innings for 111. At one o'clock Eton began their final innings with F. Bruce and Whitmore, and the score was at 40 bsfore they were parted. A. Lyttelton and C. Miles were then together, and soon brought the match to a close, Eton winning by six wickets. The principal scorers were — Harrow : W. Blacker, 45 and 7 ; C. Pemberton, 10 and 44 ; and H. Leap, 23 and 0. For Eton, F. Bruce scored 25 and 35 ; F. Parkyns, 26 and 28 ; A Lyttelton, 8 and not out 19. Harrow 125 and 111 ; Eaton, 110 and (four wickets down) 127. It is stated upon good authority that more than 25,000 persons attended at Lord's Ground on the two days allotted to the match in question.

Some little amusement and scandal, says Land and Water, has been caused by the conduct of Baron Rothschild to Mr T. E. Walker, on the occasion of the latter gentleman claiming Faraday for his entered selling price (£1000), after his recent victory over Jock of Oran at Newmarket. The Baron, annoyed at losing his colt at the price, refused to take a cheque for payment, and demanded hard cash. Mr Walker obviated his unexpected difficulty by obtaining the ready money from members of the ring. Then the Baron threatened to scratch Faraday for his engagements, which legally, of course, he had a right to do ; though, as between

two gentlemen, of whom the purchaser was of undoubted solvency for forfeits, such a proceeding was gratuitously insulting. Finally, temper cooled down, and the Baron made, we understand, a proper ametuh for his hastiness. It seems almost needless to point out the prirciple of these " claiming" races, viz. , to limit the class of animals that are to contend for a stake, by rendering them liable to be forfeited to the persons severally entitled to claim, for the entered value. If an owner wishes to exempt his horse from claim he can do so by ptitting up the necessary extra weight. This extra weight may lose him the race. But he cannot expect to be allowed to run a more valuable horse on the same terms and weights as a less valuable one. By putting up 101b. extra the Baron could have exempted Faraday from claim. He dispensed with this dead weight, and won the race at the price of exchanging his horse for £1000. Mr Walker lost the race, so far can be judged, by Faraday not having carried the exempting 101b. , and his compensation was to claim the winner at the price at which he was entered, if he thought him worth it, and he did. Baron Rothschild learns a valuable nursery lesson, that he cannot eat his cake and still have it.

Land and Water gives the fol'owing obituary notice of Sir Joseph Hamley's celebrated horse Beadsman : — "Died, on Friday last, at Leyburn Grange, after a short but severe and painful illness, Beadsman, son of Weatherbit and Mendicant, aged 17 years." Such was the sudden death of one of the most sensational and valuable sires of his day, progenitor of Blue Gown, Palmer, Rosicrucian, Green Sleeve, Pero Gomez, Bethnal Green, Morna, Ahnoner, and others. As a racehorse Beadsman was the best of his year, and that — a moderate one as regards the calibre of its three-year olds (1858). Never was a coup more skilfully managed than that of Beadsman for his Derby, at least as regards market operations. The late Lord Derby's Toxophilite was reigning favouyite throughout the vinter ? and

was not in the Two Thousand. The latter race was won by Fitzßoland (Beadsman's stable companion), after that Fordham had ridden Happy Land's head off, in his indignation at having been unjustly suspected of an intention to pull him. No sooner was the Two Thousand thus landed than the wily baronet Sir J. Rawley made a match for Fitzßoland to give Toxophilite ribs, for £200 (" A.F." if we remember right) in the ensuing autumn. Naturally the ring and public concluded that Fitzßoland must have won the Newmarket race with a lot in hand, (though by-the-by, he had swerved from distress all over the course at the finish), for his owner to afford to concede such odds in weight. Fitzßoland reigned premier for some time in the Derby betting, displacing even Toxophilite, and no one thought much of Beadsman, the stable companion, whose best performance so far had been to run a dead heat with Eclipse (another Derby candidate), for the Newmarket Stakes. Towards the last forty- eight hours the murder began to ooze out — Fitzßoland declined in the betting a trifle, and Beadsman rose to 12 to 1. Finally on the day, to the horror of Fitzßoland's backers, they found Wells sitting quietlj 7 on Beadsman, having " elected to ride him" as it was explained, which being translated meant that Beadsman was the better horse at the weights and distance ; that tha £200 against Toxophilite had been a sprat to catch a whale, and that the stable money had been meantime going quietly on Beadsman, at a handy ovitside price. Finally; the good thing came off, which is not always the case, and Beadsman won cleverly by a length, Toxophilite second, and Hadji third. Beadsman got a suspicious leg at the close of his three-year-old career, and never ran again. His stud performances constitute his chief renown, and his loss will not be easily replaced.

The Final Sale of the Middle Park stud commenced on July 23, and was continued next day. Among one of the earliest purchasers was Mr D. Jones, of Victoria, who secured one of the greatest bargains of the day — Ada, for £110. The first day's sale realised £17,050. The Sportsman, in its report of the sale on the morning of the 24th, says :—": — " One of the cheapest lots in the sale was bought by Mr Jones. Mr Jones is the owner of the well-known Australian steeple-chase horse The Dutchman, whom he purchased after the horse had run a notorious bye in Australia. Mr Jones is one of those sturdy colonists who, like the late Mr Moffat, has made his way to fortune in Australia. It was his ambition to match the best horse of the colony against the best horse in England over the Liverpool Steeple-chase course, and with this view he bought The Dutchman. After The Dutchman had been entered for the Grand National a law was passed by the committee saying that no horse who had been reported on account of owner's malpractices should be allowed to run in England. This appeared to shut The Dutchman out of the Grand National, but as he was qualified at the time of entry it may be doubted whether if he had Avon the ~ace he could have been disqualified. The matter is, however, not worth arguing, for The Dutchman was dead amiss at the time, not having i*ecovered from the effects of his journey. His owner has determined to send him to Tattersall's, where he will be sold without reserve. The horse can, I believe, run two miles in good cup time, and I should like to see him well matched. He cannot run in any established race, but a match might be made with him, as the laws of the Jockey Club do not apply to this class of contest. It would be interesting to see The Dutchman run against an English horse, and his owner is nothing loth to back him. He also informs me that he has a trotting horse he will match for £1000 against any horse in England."

The Cincinnati Commercial gives the following account of the trotting match of Goldsmith Maid and Lucy, at Cincinnati, July 27th :—": — " The track was only in moderately good condition. Most of the quarter-stretch was firm and dry, but on the turns and back stretch, the ground next the poles was damp, and in some places soggy, requiring the'horses to confine themselves for nearly three-quarters of a mile to the middle ground. Few of the numerous horsemen were sanguine of fast time over such a track, but there were two or three bold spirits who risked their money on the prediction that 2.20 and even 2.19 would be beaten, and they won. Betting was almost exclusively confined to time, only a few prejudiced gentlemen being picked up on ventures that Lucy would win. Marking time was a very popular diversion, both for fun and for money, the informed calculating the minutes and seconds very nearly correctly in all the Imts, and the unwary and wildly specvla'uve falling ready victims. Several hundred dollars changed hands on the proposition that 2.20 would not be beaten the first heat, and a few of the sharp ones managed to acquire a bundle of. notes by betting that 2.19 would

be beaten in the second heat. The two mares were called out at about a quarter past 8 o'clock, Goldsmith Maid receiving a hearty burst of applause ns she jogged slowly past the stands, and an expression of commiseration going up for Lucy, whose characteristic limp in her preliminary work gave the impression that she was lame. That impression was soon removed by the energy and manifest relish with which she did her scoring, and hopes began to be entertained that she would give the Maid a close hot race. Those who yielded to such hope were sadly disappointed. The Maid achieved such an easy victory that it would be an imposition upon the reader to inflict a detailed account of the race upon him. In all three heats the Maid either started off in the lead or took it before the first turn was reached, and held it throughout. Lucy closed the gap on her occasionally, and looked as if she was about to give her trouble, but she never succeeded in heading her formidable rival, and very rarely seemed pushing her in the slightest degree. The Maid did not literally play with her, but she was never found wanting in speed when called upon to leave her. The Maid won the first heat by two lengths in 2 19 ; the second by hah 0 a length in 2\L7-s- ; and the third by ten open lengths in 2-21. The second heat was the fastest ever made over the Buckeye track, the best previous performance being Flora Temple's record of 2 -19 3, which she made against Ike Cook, in 1854. If the track had been perfectly dry there can scarcely be a doubt that 2 16 would have been beaten ; at least, that was the freely declared opinion of nearly all fhe experienced horsemen on the track."

We take the following from Land and Water : — A party by the name of Johnson leaped last summer from London Bridge, and pulled from the depths of Father Thames another party, also by the name of Johnson, who had fallen from a passing: steamer. The particulars forwarded to one of the dailies were so thrilling — the fall from the crowded deck — the terrors of the deep water — the risk of the dashing paddles — the shrieking crowds on the bridge, witness of the heartrending seene — was a grand picture for a gushing article. Then the fortuitous appearance of the stalwart stranger — his rapid disrobing, manly brow, sparkling eye, grim determination, like Ducrot at Paris, to return dead or victorious ; in the background the huge dome of St. Paul's looking down on the heroic youth ; the glistening peak of the Monument in Pie-Corner ; the shipping in the river, and Policeman X struggling through the crowd to see what's up now. Johnson's motto was — "II saw, I leaped, and I rescued !" The drowning man was no other than his own brother, himself an admirable swimmer. Two days afterwards, while all London was praising the noble youth, he won the mile championship at Hendon, and then the mystery oozed out. However, Johnson is no humbug, and he has proved himself twice in the course of a few days a wonderful swimmer. At Hendon, he won the mile championship, beating H. Parker, the amateur champion, easily, and Tom Morris, once the amateur champion ; the latter, however, was in no training, and was soon left astern at j-milej -mile ; Johnson, swimming two strokes a minute slower than Parker, held him easily, and at -I mile led by three yards or so. The swim out was against the wind, and took 14min. 20sec. Coming back with it, Johnson came away easily, and won by 40sec. ; time for the mile, 28min. 20s.' From the fact that Parker has for a long while been at the head of the London cracks, it is clear that Johnson is a long way the best man we have in England. On Wednesday, he won the 1000 (950) yards race in the Serpentine in the fast time of 17min. 54sec. — winning easily. It is estimated by yachtsmen of prominence and experience (says Scribner's Monthly) that the pleasure yachts of the New York Club alone must have cost nearly 2,000, OOOdols., while the fleets of the whole country cost about 5,000,000 dols. The yachts of the Brooklyn Club cost 350, 000d01s ; Atlantic, 400,000dols. ; and all others in New York Bay about 300, OOOdols. The Eastern Club of Boston Harbouv is very wealthy, owning yachts valued at 400, OOOdols. The best class of these vessels cannot be built and equipped for less than 150dols. a ton, or about 5000dols. for a sloop of thirty-five tons— the smallest craft which can be constructed with due regard to comfort and convenience in a cruise. Yacht-builders declare that a roomy cabin, large enough to accommodate the average grown person, cannot be attained in vessels of smaller tonnage. A crew of five men is necessary to man such a yacht, and these cost during the summer cruise of four months at least 150dols. a month. It is necessary to employ one of the crew as steward during the whole year, in order that the yacht may be taken car© of. The expenses for food are to be ad4ed to all this, co that the aipfifl-

hient is dearly bought. But as the yacht at the same original outlay will accommodate from seven to'tsn guests, the cost does not compare unfavourably with expenses at a crowded hotel at the springs or seaside, and the accommodations of the yacht are immeasurably superior to those of the hotel in the season. These figures give only an indistinct idea of the cost of the larger yachts. The famous Henrietta was sold, after her triumph in 1866, when quite an old vessel, having seen rough service in the civil war, for 15,000d015. Her former owner, James Gordon Bennett, jun., immediately bought the Fleetwing, one of the vessels which he had beaten in the famous dead-of- winter ocean race, for 65,000d015., and re-christened her the Dauntless. It was this • magnificent vessel which was beaten in the ocean race of 1870 by the English-built Cambria, which was sold the same year for 30,000 dols. The Resolute of Mr A. S. Hatch, the smallest and one of the most elegant of the schooner-yachts of the New York Club, being 110 tons burden, cost 30,000d015., but she was built in war-times. The largest schooner-yacht in the country, the Sappho of Mr Douglass, cost much less than this, proportionately. Yachts built in the excellent, staunch style of these endure for many years. They may grow out of fashion, or may be excelled by new models, for the art of yacht-building improves with each year, but they never rot if cared for. The English yacht Pearl, built in 1818 by the "Marquis of Anglesea, has outlived her famous master and all his family except one son, Lord . Alfred Paget. This young nobleman, inheriting the taste of his father, who, in spite of his great qualities as a cavalryman, was, to use his own expression, " the most thoroughbred yachtsman in England," has lately abandoned his old love for a new steam yacht, and the Pearl lies rotting in ordinary. There are several very old yachts in the American fleet, the America itself having now attained a generation of years without losing any part of the vigour of youth.

The withdrawal from the turf of an animal which has faced the starter in no less than 145 races", and has been credited with thirty-four victories, ought not to be a matter of indifierence to any genuine lover of horse-racing. Mr Savile's famous gelding Reindeer, by Mountain Deer, filled much the same place among the four-legged performers at Newmarket, Epsom, Lincoln, and a hundred other meetings, as is occupied by Mr Buckstone or Mr Charles Mathews upon the boards of our metropolitan theatres. With the exception of Mr Barrow's bay mare Catherine, by Whisker out of Alecta, no animal ever " sported silk " so often as old Reindeer. Between 1833 and 1841 Catherine started 171 times, and was good enough to win 75 races. Without being a first-class animal, she would now-a-days have been sorely in the way of M. Lefevre, the great modern winner of Cups and Queen's Plates, since almost all her races were over a distance of ground, and many of them in heats. Between 1835 and 1842 that redoubtable mare Beeswing started 73 times, her last appearance being at Doncaster, where, aged nine years, she won the Cup by five lengths, beating Charles the Twelfth and Attila. A few years later the place of Beeswing was taken by Alice Hawthorn, wh-o ran 71 times, and carried away many great prizes, among them the Ascot and Goodwood Cups. Sir Richard Bulkeley's Isaac, with his 88 starts ; Sir W. M. Stanley's Zohrab, who took part in 86 races ; and Lord Exeter's Bodice,' who performed 63 times in public, typify the stoutness and soundness of the animals that the fourth decade of this century brought forth. The thirty-nine races of Mr Ferguson's Harkaway, the thirty public appearances of Major Yarburgh's Charles the Twelfth, and the forty stout struggles of Lanercost, have imprinted their illustrious names deeply upon the memory of turf antiquarians. To them succeeded, in later years, an illustrious trio — Rataplan, Fisherman, and Moulsey — who were as familiar to the eyes of modern race frequenters as the features of Judge Clark or the scarlet coat of Martin Starling. But the record of Mr Savile's fleet gelding, who has just made his final cow to the public, will interest turf chroniclers and analysts when his owner, trainer, and the jockeys who bestrode him shall long have been dust. Reindeer can lay no claim to such endurance as made the fame of Catherine, Charles the Twelfth, Lanercost, Beeswing, Fisherman, or Rataplan. His favourite distance was from five to six furlongs ; nor was there any course more to his liking than the three-quarters of a mile at Lincoln, over which his last victory was gained. But the disappearance of his well-known form from "the Heath," where he had so longbeen trained, is well calculated to set men thinking upon the horses which have galloped over the Limekilns since Reindeer first attracted the notice of the " touts. " Again and again have his eyes seen Macaroni &nd Gladiateur in their pride, while The

Hermit, Kingcraft, and Favonius became honoured words among the boys whom he heard chattering at their morning exercise. But it was reserved for the present year to fill his cup of exultation to the brim. For the first time in the old horse's life, it was his privilege to eat oats taken from the same bin, and to drink water drawn from the same pump, as ministered to the wants of a Derby winner. Among the old trainers at Newmarket, it is always regarded as a happy omen when a candidate for future honours occitpies the box which was once the home of a Plenipotentiary, a Surplice, a Macaroni, a Gladiateur, or a Cremorne. With well-earned laurels, and with legs rivalling the toughness of Bessemer steel, Reindeer retires to the loose-box and paddock which await him at Rufford Abbey. May it be his destiny to be joined in his repose by a long line of Derby winners, of whom Cremorne is but the first.