back, some of her upper seams, it is supposed, having been overlooked and left in a leaky state by the caulkers when hauled up at Harwich a short time ago; but from whatever cause the leakage arose, it is quite clear the progress of the yacht must have been materially impeded with upwards of a ton of water (as was found on first applying the pumps) rolling from stem to stern in her bilge. She was sailed by Griggs, of the Daring cutter, who is now her captain; her sails did not stand quite so well as those of the other yachts during the match: and she appears rather too much by the head, her trim having been slightly altered since last year. Several yachts accompanied the match; and the commodore of the R.T.Y.C., Lord Alfred Paget, was aboard the Prince of Wales steamer throughout the day; and notwithstanding the heavy showers which accompanied the squalls, everybody appeared to enjoy the match, which was full of excitement from beginning to end; and we question if there was a man aboard any one of the contending yachts but was wetted to the skin from the clouds of spray which at times flew half-mast-high over the noble vessels.

ENGRAVED BY HACKER, AFTER A PAINTING BY HARRY HALL, OF NEWMARKET.

This high-bred pupil of Tom Dawson's, whose luck sadly needed a fillip, is "a brown colt, standing fifteen two-and-a-half in height." He has strong quarters, drooping towards the tail, and a good back and loins, while the same term may be applied to his brisket, shoulders, arms, thighs, knees, and hocks. His neck is strong, and he has rather a coarse head, which is not improved by small lopped ears, and a dull eye. He carries his head straight, and is a horse of good bone, quiet temper, and whole in his colour, with the exception of one white coronet on his near hind foot. His feet are remarkably large, a quality which helped him not a little in the Derby, which was run in 4 seconds worse time than his sire's-a pretty convincing proof of the dwelling nature of the ground. For several years back his owner, Admiral O. E. Harcourt, has trained two or three horses every season with Tom Dawson, at Tupgill, and principally of the Liverpool blood. Sir Abstrupus earned one or two good races for him, but his success set in with Ellerdale, who was bad to beat over Knavesmire. She went to the stud in 1851, and her first foal, Ellermire, by Chanticleer, has proved herself, though light and undersized, a capital performer at all distances. Ellington was her second foal, and the result of this judicious cross between the blood of the speedy Selim and the stout Tramp, has been to place a Derby wreath on the Dutchman's brow, in the very first year that his three-year-old stock were stripped. Wardersmarke, by Birdcatcher

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(whom few Yorkshiremen can pass over), is the old mare's present twoyear-old produce; her yearling is an own sister to Ellington, her foal a filly, by West Australian, and she has this season visited Touchstone.

Ellington's first appearance was at York August, where, with "7st. (Ashmall)" on his back, he ran fourth to Mosquito for the Eglinton Stakes. On the following day, he won the Colt Sapling Stakes by a neck from Gildert. He had his race in hand a hundred yards from home, and Aldcroft had left off riding him when the ever-wakeful Job Marson took the rails from his napping junior, and darted up to him with a "Chifney rush," which set the Stand in a roar of delight, and all but cost the Admiral £200. Mr. Richard Johnson, the judge, informed us afterwards, that Job's rush on that occasion was the most "electric" that ever met his judicial eye. Ellington's next appearance was for the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, which he won, with 10 to 1 against him, by three-quarters of a length, beating Bird in Hand (Job Marson) 2, Vandermulin (Charlton) 3, Overreach (Wells) 4, Artillery (Basham) 5, Mary Copp (Bartholemew) 6, and The Danube (A. Day) 7. This victory made him a very fair favourite for the Derby, all the winter, which was enlivened by a myth about his stable at Middleham having had its lock partially forced by a band of nobblers. All the public's fond hopes were, however, not a little dashed at the York Spring, by his defeat for the Spring Biennial, after a severe head and head finish by Fisherman, to whom he gave 6lbs. The race was only run three-quarters in earnest; hence his party, who considered him far from fit, by no means lost heart, and Mr. Parr considered that the trial was quite high enough for the Derby. Chester's Dee Stakes told a different tale; and although, after all, Stanhope was behind him with a pile of Danebury money on his back, and a large field to boot, the Derby winner-elect showed temper, and cut it the moment Bird in Hand challenged him. The consequence was, that his owner could hardly be persuaded to send him south, and scarcely a soul cared to look at him when he was saddled at Epsom; but his trainer, and one or two others, were right loyal in their support to the last, and were rewarded accordingly. After some strong indications of temper at saddling, he thought better of it at the post, and, steered by that clever young Manchester youth, Thomas Aldcroft, who has hoisted the "French Grey" flag of the Admiral on him in all his victories, he won remarkably cleverly. The stakes reached £5,475, making his winnings up to this point £6,225. Twenty-three others started, to wit-Yellow Jack (Wells) 2, Cannobie (R. Sherwood) 3, Fazzoletto (Nat) 4, Vandermulin (Charlton), Aleppo (Marson), Bird in Hand (Osborne), Wentworth (A. Day), Cotswold (Sly), Rogerthorpe (Rogers), Fly-by-Night (Bartholomew), Forbidden Fruit (Harrison), Pretty Boy (Foster), Dramatist (G. E. Sharp), Artillery (Basham), Newington (Whitehouse), The Prince (T. Sherwood), Wandering Willie (Templeman), Puck (Quinton), Mr. Verdant Green (J. Mann), Astrologus (G. Mann), Coroner (J. Goater), and Bay Hilton (Ashmall).

Ellington is engaged in the North and South of England Biennial, and the Great Yorkshire Stakes at York August; the Liverpool St. Leger; and the Doncaster Stakes, Don Stakes, and St. Leger at Doncaster ; but 8lbs., 7lbs., 7lbs., and 10lbs., are the "extra" imposts which his Derby win has entailed upon him respectively in the first four.

THE MENAGERIE:

A TRUE ANECDOTE.

BY HARRY HIEOVER.

In one of our midland counties stands a town that but for its boasting a weekly market could pretend to no higher distinction than that of a large village. Incongruous as it would appear in the eyes of the fashionable inhabitants of Belgrave, or the older aristocracy of Grosvenorsquare, or the admixture of both in Park-lane, such towns or villages as the one here alluded to have their classification of distinct grades of society within their precincts, in as full force as in the metropolis wherein the fashionable localities mentioned are situated; and innocent, straight-forward, and kind-hearted as country persons have the credit of generally being, not to throw them quite beyond the pale of fashion and fashionable qualifications, I do from practical cognizance and observation aver that envy, "hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness" do exist among them to quite as great an extent as among the most fashionable of our metropolitan coteries; in fact, to rescue them from any suspicion of primitive want of worldly feelings, I think I may say that all those worldly attributes are even in greater force among the pretenders to high life than they are among the great and high born; for among and in the consideration of the latter, a private gentleman, a military or naval man, or one of the learned professions, is a man high in dignity of office. Among the truly great there is no distinct line of exclusiveness: any of such possessing a fair character in public estimation, and the manners of a gentleman, has the entrée to good society. Next in the catalogue of pretensions comes the trader; here, unless he be some eminent merchant, exclusiveness begins, and indeed ends; for whether he be the proprietor of an establishment (name not a shop) in Regent or other fashionable street, or whether he be one who with more sense, and probably with more respectability and responsibility, avows himself the owner of a shop in vulgar St. Martin's-lane, so little distinction is made between the two by persons in high life, that they both come under one head, namely, non-admissibles and nonpresentables.

I am aware that such distinction is occasionally thrown aside, where enormous wealth induces the self-interested or adulatory to worship the golden image that fortuitous circumstances, in the absence of Nebuchadnezzar, has set up; but such images are few, and for the sake of the high blood of our aristocracy, we will conclude that such cases of adulation are few also. Such persons doubtless say, and perhaps think, that throwing aside old-fashioned and as they probably term them illiberal distinctions shows greatness of mind. I would only suppose a case to such elevated minds: strip their golden calf of his golden appliances, where would be their elevation of mind then?

In a country town or village the theory works differently; here is a host of distinctions that no one but the inhabitants of such places can understand. It is true the number of gentlemen's families residing in country towns are generally but few; these, with the clergyman, the medical man, and the man of law, form a clique among themselves: this everyone can understand; here is a line of demarkation clearly laid down. Then comes a local distinction that would puzzle a Philadelphian lawyer to understand the cause of Mrs. Barleycorn, the maltster's wife, does not visit Mrs. Print, the linendraper; Mrs. Print does not hold some perhaps truly-respectable and praiseworthy young woman who makes up the muslin, by the sale of which Mrs. Print lives, as ranking high enough to be on visiting terms with. Mr. Cutaway, the tailor, holds Calfskin, the shoemaker, in contempt, if peradventure the latter wears an apron in his shop. Mr. Cutaway has great respect for Calfskin's wife, a particularly well-conducted person, and the Misses Calfskins, really very fine girls; he is sure Mrs. Cutaway would be happy to ask them to her parties; "but"-but why? This perhaps no one can tell; but perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Cutaway can. This will show that it was not probable the good town of Chatterville was likely to be at all times exempt from certain heartburnings among its inhabitants; but when I add that no inconsiderable number of those consisted of venerable spinsters, with no pursuit to occupy their time and attention save that of investigating all and every thing done by their neighbours, it is only surprising that certain little enmities that usually broke out weekly were not diurnal. These virgins, to make certain that nothing should transpire in the town without their cognizance of the fact, and that such facts should have their full quota of comments and discussion thereon, with sundry and various embellishments, additions, or subtractions, as the information and the impressions of the narrator might call for, had established what they termed "little pleasant réunions" at the domiciles of each other, and of those of such friends as patronised these Sisters of Charity (new style). These delightful réunions, to avoid expense, and thereby ensure their frequency, were confined rigidly to tea, scandal, penny whist, cake, and a certain wine, or rather beverage, of a nondescript character, but having to a certain degree the gusto and aroma of Madeira. In vino veritas is said with much truth of most persons and places; but somehow the only veritable quality of the Madeira consisted in its acidity, a quality that imparted itself to a considerable portion of the conversation where it was imbibed.

Though nothing could be more stringent than the réunion rules as to the admission of the monster man, still they so far laid claim to charity as not to render those rules absolutely exclusive of the male sex. The parson, attorney, a rich brewer, and a poor retired General, as he was termed, not only generally but universally, though a company in a veteran battalion was his true grade, were the four favoured by a regular, permitted entrée to the fair sisterhood. The worthy parson went, we suppose, because, as he wished to be "in charity with all men,' we may conclude he wished to be on the same terms with all women, and further, from thinking it right to occasionally mortify the flesh-a consummation certain to follow the Madeira. The attorney went, hoping he might at some time be required to defend some action for libel or slander. The brewer patronised the réunions because its fair

members patronised the smallest of his small beer. The General was too old a soldier not to quarter himself anywhere where he got his ration gratis; moreover, he liked whist, and though the penny points were regulation at the réunion, private bets were allowed, and here the General had a rich harvest in the jolly brewer, who thought himself first-rate as a whist-player, and backed his own judgment like a trump; while every bet made between the two was trumps to the man of war. The ladies were about an average specimen of those of the fair sex who live unblessing and unblessed, and whose ages ranged from about forty to that age when even a hint on the subject would have brought an expulsion of the offender nem. con. The only person among the sisterhood differing from the rest was Miss Johns, alias " Old Jack," as she was facetiously styled by the young ladies over whom she presided at Prospect House Establishment for, as the printed terms of Prospect House set forth, the education of the afore-mentioned or any other young ladies. Now why this place was called Prospect anything, I never could make out, as its sides had no windows at all; its front looked against a blank wall, highly gratifying and exhilarating to the fair prisoners in their leisure moments, and highly proper at the same time; for as there was nothing to see, of course there was nothing improper seen by the young ladies; but, as Miss Johns was wont to remark, the young mind requires a little amusement, to which end a walled-in lugubrious-looking garden, of some thirty yards square, was allotted as a place where the pupils might indulge in healthful exercise and any youthful flight of fancy suggestion might prompt, provided such youthful flight did not exceed the walking by twos on the one walk that went round this sylvan seat. The centre was a bilious-looking piece of grass called by Miss Johns par excellence the lawn; here it was profanation for a young foot to tread, for two reasons-first, because Miss Johns had (as she termed them) the young ladies' "fine things" washed at home, to ensure their being "got up nicely;" and the lawn was, therefore, appropriated to the bleaching of these articles from a yellow ochre to a Naples yellow hue; the other cause of prohibition of trespass was a really fine mulberry-tree in the centre of this elysium. On this during the fruit season the ladies were permitted to feast their eyes; but as to touching even a windfall of the fruit, they would as soon have thought of picking up a hand-grenade, with its fuse lighted.

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There was nothing, therefore, in all this to account for the name of Prospect"-for that, it will be seen, was rather confined; while, on the other hand, the prospect of the young ladies' advancement in education here was so distant that it was lost sight of by its very remoteness: so we can only conclude that its name was given it by chance, in lieu of “Happy Hall,” “Merry Vale," " Cosy Cottage," or any other equally appropriate.

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Miss Johns was " fat, fair," so far as the colour of some other person's hair on her head could make her so, and most certainly was, or had been, "forty." I must do her the justice to say she could look the picture of good-humour and liberality; but those who knew her knew also that, as Norval says of his father, her "only care was to increase her store" as related to herself, but to diminish as far as possible the store for the use of the young ladies. And here again let me pay a tribute of justice. No young lady who had passed twelve months at