and, instead of crawling about after a three-and-sixpence a-day snob and a red-herring, we advise our young friends at Alma Mater to spend their money like men; and if they must go across country (as of course they must), let it be with the Heythrope, the Berkshire, or Mr. Drake. They then may, in time, take a degree in the sporting world, and never turn for "home" without a wrinkle from Jem Hill or Tom Winkfield. A friend of ours, residing not a hundred miles (as the newspapers say) from Shotover, once caught a party of these "dragsmen" pounded in his farm. There was nothing for it but the gate-hard, high, and strong-which he very deliberately locked; and then, turning to the trespassers, he said—“ Now then, one at a time, if you please, gentlemen!" They were surprised"horses dead beat-awful jump-let 'em out this time-never come any more-very sorry indeed!"-but their jailor was quite or more determined than they were sorry; and had not only the key, but by no means a small stick in his possession-and the end of it was, that three went over the gate, and three through it. Of course, to the end of the term, when a fresh horse or a fresh man wanted a trial, "Wheatley" was the word.

"GONE AWAY, AND HEADED BACK!"-We take the following really Irish fashion of beginning and finishing a runaway match from the "Freeman's Journal":

An elopement repented of.-Claremorris, March 10.-An affair (which is, by the by, no great novelty in Mayo) occurred in this neighbourhood on Wednesday last. The beautiful and accomplished Miss E., resident not a hundred miles from the little village of Balla, received permission from her mamma to accompany Messrs. F. and R., who reside not more than four miles from this town, to go to the Mayo hunt. After enjoying a good day's sport, and capturing Reynard, the first named gentleman, accompanied by Mr. R., terminated the day's amusement by capturing the fair object of his affections. But true love never did run smooth; for no sooner had the trio reached Hollymount, whence they intended proceeding to the metropolis, than the young lady evinced a desire to return to her mamma. Mr. F., in the first instance, appeared rather reluctant in complying with the fair one's wishes; upon which she burst into tears, rang the bell, and called upon the proprietor of the hotel, to whom she related the whole circumstance, demanding at the same time his protection. He accordingly ordered his own car and servant, and had her safely conveyed back to her mamma.

OULD IRELAND AGAINST THE WORLD.-Another yet.-Has anybody discovered the perpetual motion, or can anybody define a gentleman jockey? Here we have it again, verbatim et literatim, from the "Galway Vindicator:

"An action, arising out of circumstances peculiarly characteristic of the fair provinces of Connaught, was tried at the Galway Assizes. It was brought by Mr. Michael Kelly, of Myrehill, against Lieutenant Yonge, of the 90th regiment of foot, for the recovery of a piece of plate, value £55, won by the plaintiff's horse, Bacchus, at Athlone Races, in September last, but which the defendant refused to pay plaintiff, in consequence of an objection made by one of the riders,

Moore, of Moore Hall, against Mr. Kelly, as the rider of Bacchus, alleging his want of qualification as a gentleman to ride the race. The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff. It is generally admitted that a more ridiculous case, or one less justified by either law or the rules of society, never was tried in this court before. It was proved by several gentlemen of the highest rank in the county that they were always happy to meet Mr. Kelly in their society, as a man of the purest integrity. And yet, forsooth, because Lady Clanricarde, Mrs. Laurence, Mrs. Blake, of Castle Grove, or Mrs. Lynch, of Moyne Hill, do not come in their carriages, and leave their visiting-cards for Mrs. Kelly, of Myre Hill, Mr. Kelly is not qualified as a gentleman, nor ought he to look for his just debts: so argues Mr. Fitzgibbon, because he himself is descended from Con of the 100 battles. But the idea was scouted in the nineteenth century. On the trial, one witness swore that the present Lord Chancellor was no gentleman. Mr. Kelly has read a lecture to those tinsel gentlemen, which will not soon be forgotten; he has fought and won his battle honourably and honestly, for which his order have a right to feel thankful.”

"The

By the powers! "The Vindicator's" worthy of his name. Lord Chancellor ain't a gentleman-you swear that?" "I do." Mrs. Lynch, of Moyne Hill, ain't a gentleman jockey; and Moore, of Moore Hall, ain't a judge of one. Och! by the great Dan, but that's county Galway all over. And yet it's not, either. There surely must be some omission here; or is our faith in Jack Hinton and Tom Burke misplaced? Yonge, of the 90th, Moore, of Moore Hall, and Kelly, of Myre-hall, all "men of the purest integrity," come to this! "The Turks and Haythens!" If there hasn't been pistols and coffee for half-a-dozen before this, we know no more of Ireland than we do of Hindostan.

MORE SPORTING LAW.-At the sitting of the district commissioners of assessed taxes, held at Steyning, for the purpose of hearing appeals against the supplementary assessments for the year 1843-4, a case, of which the following is a brief notice, came on for hearing : —Mr. Welsh, the surveyor of taxes for the district, had surcharged a tradesman of Steyning in double duty for a game certificate, in consequence of the person alluded to having been coursing in company with another to whom the dog did not belong. Against the surcharge it was stated that the person with whom the appellant was in company had a game certificate. The charge was confirmed upon the production of a judge's decision upon the point by Mr. Welch. Every uncertificated person hunting with a pack of harriers when the owner is not with them, is, therefore, liable to be charged for a game certificate.

GRAND CONTESTS ON THE THAMES.-We understand that the committee of management of the Thames Regatta have taken into their serious consideration the propriety of awarding a prize of 100 gs., to be rowed for by four-oared boats, manned by crews from any place whatever in or beyond England; and, as a further inducement to the stranger to contend against their hitherto powerful opponents, the Thames watermen, to give an additional prize of 50 gs. for four-oared boats, manned by crews beyond the Thames. We have not the least

doubt but that—if the public and patrons of aquatic sport only come forward liberally and early with their subscriptions-we shall be able to announce the above and many more prizes of large amount as certain. Up, then, ye men of sinew! bestir yourselves betimes, and we shall be the first to welcome ye to our river, wherever ye come from -whether from north, south, east, or west, and send ye home glad of heart at the visit you have paid us; and may ye go on your way back rejoicing, having proved yourselves no cowards, but good men and true, even in the enemy's camp!-Bell's Life.

The late Lord Lonsdale hunted the Cottesmore country for nearly forty years, and had only resigned within the last two seasons to Sir Richard Sutton. The present earl, as Lord Lowther, was long a leading man on the turf; and it would seem, from the events of the past twelve months, that it is not improbable he will again take a prominent place on it.

STATE OF THE ODDS, &c.

One of the numerous remedies lately brought into fashion for renovating race meetings on the decline, has been a change of the time in which they take place, the transfer being in many instances from the autumn in favour of the more genial and invigorating weather of spring, with the hope, no doubt, of having men, horses, and every accompaniment, in the bloom of health and condition. Amongst other places of sport" rapidly sinking, which have tried this on is Shrewsbury, where the "change of air" has been recommended, and applied for the last two seasons, though the benefit, taking either of these as a criterion, has been of but moderate extent. A more liberal diet, it is now thought, might improve the condition of the patient, and considerable additions have been consequently made to the entertainments fixed for the second week in May. A hundred instead of twenty-five pounds will be the town and county gift to the Tankerville stake, and the "bonifaces" have made their original plate of thirty up to a fifty. Good names too, are not wanting, and all augurs well for many hours' capital sport by "Shrewsbury clock." At Bedford, again, a similar change is this season about to be put to the proof. The Trial, the Farmers' Plate, and the Hurdle Race, which were wont to be the material for the earlier of two very middling meetings, being now assisted by the Woburn Abbey half hundred, her Majesty's guineas, and any thing else Messrs. Dyson and Higgins can scrape up in that borough so renowned for gentlemen on half-pay, charity, chapels, and churches. The late Northampton races were this year concocted in precisely the same manner, and at either place a slight alteration has been made in the royal plate articles, principally with regard to the weight carried by three-yearolds, which is of course now considerably less than when the plate was run for at the close instead of the commencement of the season.

The Public Subscription Betting-Rooms at Newmarket will be opened in the ensuing Craven Meeting, at a subscription of one guinea per annum. The conditions, which are well calculated to prevent the intrusion of "black sheep," can be had at "the Corner."

It is rumoured that there is to be a spring meeting at Nottingham, immediately after Croxton Park, and that the locals are coming forward spiritedly and liberally to support it; we trust, however, that though following in the wake of, they will not fashion their subscriptions after, "the give-away take-away" system pursued by the Leicestershire exclusives. Here, again, it is in contemplation to alter the October meeting to a more congenial time of the year: ex uno disce omnes; but we may get into extremes either way.

Mr. J. Hinton, a subscriber at Tattersall's, died in the early part of last month; while Mr. Adkins, who had, since Coronation's Epsom victory, been no better than dead to his creditors, has honourably so arranged as to gradually free himself of these by no means slight defalcations. Would that we could add the names of many more, who have ample means, but lack the will to do likewise!

The Derby of last year was marked during the winter as a betting race by the grand hiatus between one and the field, while the ensuing is, and has been from the close of last season, remarkable for the wonderfully near thing between the brace of cracks, the pith of last month with regard to which is much the same as usual-now this one has the advantage, now the other; on the whole, the Danebury dandy has just a shade the best of it; both with plenty of influential friends, and, despite the sand-crack of the one or the high-blowing of the other, likely, we should say, to find even more. Forth's nag, who threatened a few weeks since to make a glee of it, has been suffered again to fall back into the crowd; while Orlando, the ostensible, and certainly (from the past) deservedly second hope of the Newmarket men, still keeps his own, if not on the improvement. The Colonel, as the Hedgford lads say, is generally "nigh handy;" but this hitherto has been all. We know of no colour more worthy in every respect of the Epsom honours than the purple and orange, and none that we think would be hailed with more pleasure as number one. The Running Rein sensation has, as we judged from the first, done the horse little or no harm, and scarcely any man, good or bad, can be much the better for it; while this, with the bother about Scott and lot, in connection with the sister to Grey Momus colt (what an Hibernian-like appellation; why not "give him a name?" as Lord Glasgow says), and a hint now and then at "qui tam," furnish subjects for some animated discussion in lieu of more profitable talk. The result of the Spring meetings, over at the time we write, has had no great effect on the great events. The list of mares for the Oaks will be found as scanty as ever, and, indeed, nearly a fac-simile of that for last month. There has, of course, been some curious crying hot and cold work for the Chester Cup, the lion of which, for the past month, has been the Prior, and who, notwithstanding his removal to Heseltine's stable-the very spot whence the two last Chester Cup winners have travelled-has sunk wofully in general estimation, his Manchester friends being the first to turn round on him.