as to

another "taking" spot. In these places, even in low water, the fish may dart off at first, but will return again in a few minutes, and again take the fly; whilst you might fish for a long extent of stream, where you had excellent sport in summer, without a rise. As to flies, if you are happily so far an "independent gentleman be able to make your own, the great point is to be accurate as to colour, and, if possible, the make of the fly they are taking. This will often vary from day to day; and depend on it, a man who can sit down and manufacture an imitation on the spot, will do far the most execution. Trout anglers, who know that a red or orange-tail palmer, skilfully administered, will do the thing under favourable circumstances as well as any other fly, may laugh at this nicety; but they will find "they will never do for Galway." Unless you imitate the fly they are taking in preference, and that in first-rate style, you will kill more time than grayling. Your fly, as well as gut, cannot, generally speaking, be too fine, especially in autumn. The hare's-ear or cock-wing, made as in Derbyshire, with a slender body of yellow floss silk, well waxed, is the most effective of all after October, though till then many others will kill, such as a whitish hackle, with yellow or olive body; a violet with mottled wing, and ribbed with gold twist, and often a pale blue dun. A large fly called the sedge, with the body of pale fur or dubbing, and the wing of the landrail, kills often very well in October, as it does in summer evenings. I am now speaking of autumnal fishing; but for the earlier months, the March. brown-especially as made by Ronalds-and the yellow dun, which no one can make successfully, are most murderous, the only drawback being that the fish are not worth catching. The yellow dun is invaluable, both for trout and grayling, in the beginning of May. Grayling do not relish a palmer like trout; but a yellowish article of the kind will often do much in July, when they are somewhat dainty. I have never fished in Derbyshire, which, from Cotton's time, has always been considered, at least, together with Salop, the country for grayling; but there is little need to seek for better sport than may be met with in the South of England, in the Avon especially. Both that river-I mean the one which passes through Hants-and its tributaries, abound in grayling, and they may often be taken of a very large size. I have seen them of 4 lbs., and taken them of 3ibs; but fish of this size are neither so lively, or so desirable on the table, as those of a smaller size. The general run consists of two sizes; those of half a pound, and those of from a half to two pounds. The smaller fry may be taken in the shallows in great numbers, with little trouble, and frequently fill the basket of anglers who would have little chance with their more experienced brethren; indeed, so much mischief is done to the breed by this proceeding, that it is a pity some statutable means could not be adopted to put a stop to it. Of late, too, it has been discovered, that a small grayling is an irresistible bait for pike; and the destruction of the grayling fry has been lamentably increased by the discovery.-C.

THE PAST RACING SEASON.

BY CASTOR.

Napoleon," says the historian," fattened on excitement, and was never so much at his ease as when in trouble." Now, if this be correct, and there is no reason to doubt it, what a pity it is the Corporal was not allowed life and a taste for the sport to enjoy the English racing season of '44. By the book! if he had got up a good heavy one, held an indirect correspondence touching the contents of it with Mr. Russell, and drawn a winning ticket in one of the Grand Hotel Lotteries, he might by this time have given Daniel Lambert a stone and a beating; and for equanimity of temper, have taken the shine out of the Lord Mayor himself. May we be permitted, to a certain extent, to trace a likeness in these leading characteristies of the Emperor's disposition, and the truly English amusement we have dared to couple with his name; the great difference being in what was a never-ending necessity to the flourishing condition of the man, acting beneficially on the sport only as regarded the consequences. What was life itself to the hero, is merely hope to us: a hope, however, based on the strongest grounds, and one which the events of every day tend to assure us cannot much longer be deferred. The turf must show a better front after this reign of toil and trouble, and having weathered all the storms which have been gathering within these few years and broken out in the last, return to a state of prosperity quite unknown of late, and never excelled. This may, perhaps, smack too much of looking forward on the part of one whose subject only requires him to look back; but when we consider the still increasing support given to racing, and the spirit and firmness with which the attacks of all kinds and from all quarters have been met and overthrown, it is a bit of the vaticinal which ought to be fulfilled, and, at any rate, shall not be withdrawn.

So much has already been said in the pages of this magazine concerning the rise and progress of the different rows at the time they came off, that we shall proceed at once to the various places of sport, after a word or two with regard to a certain noble sportsman, whose name might be introduced as a leading man on any race-course or in any race-row of the season; a sportsman who, in every favourable sense of the term, has indeed been at all in the ring, and who (to borrow again from the French) might be aptly enough called the "Nong-tong-Paw" of the racing world. Just let us suppose that some sporting foreigner had arrived about the commencement of the last eventful year, with a determination of seeing all that was to be seen, and having provided himself with a Mentor or interpreter, proceeded to Chester on the Saturday or Sunday previous to the meeting. Of course the first inquiry is, as to who is the favourite? Lord George Bentinck. Then we have him on the Roodee, where the stranger sees a lot of horses telegraphed and saddled that he is

quite certain on such a course can never get fairly off; but the guide assures him they may, as there is a gentleman celebrated for starting large fields like the present-there he is, going with them now. What's his name? Lord George Bentinck. Shifting the scene, we place our friend on the Downs, at length about to witness what he has heard so much of-the Derby. Even before the race he catches whispers and rumours of foul play; the jockey who rides the crack is suspected of having laid heavily against his horse, and one of his masters has examined his betting-book as the most satisfactory method, at the moment, of meeting the charge. And pray, who is it that has given himself that trouble? Lord George Bentinck. Again, when the race is over, what confusion prevails, and how cleverly cleared up! what schemes traced out and brought to bear against their authors! Thanks, many thanks, to the gallant Colonels Peel and Anson, for this energy and activity in the good cause! O, dear! no, Monsieur; you are labouring under a mistake: our thanks are first due to Whom? Lord George Bentinck. And so on to the end of the chapter. At Goodwood, the first meeting in the world, the visitor's notes of admiration must be directed to-Lord George Bentinck. He hears of the interest taken in a novel match between two noblemen, and finds the favourite is-Lord George Bentinck. Sces the Grand Stands cleared of defaulters and swindlers, all at the instigation of Lord George Bentinck. Is told that one thus kicked out has brought an action against the Steward, and that the principal witness against him is-Lord George Bentinck. Hears that another, by way of retaliation, has commenced certain qui tam proceedings for large sums won in betting, and that the first of the victims is to be -Lord George Bentinck. Is gratified, however, to learn that one of the many thus destined for sacrifice has had the courage to meet, and the fortune to beat, the informers on their own ground, and that this spirited defendant is known as-Lord George Bentinck. Goes to the Senate-House, has his attention directed to the self-chosen champions of these worthies writhing under the lash so severely and effectually administered, and recognizes in the speaker-Lord George Bentinck. Is annoyed to find the laws of hospitality violated, and even the liberty of the subject broken in upon, by breaking his letters open, while the first of his fellow-sufferers is-Lord George Bentinck. And, last of all, is delighted to see the sporting-world presenting a handsome testimonial of their gratitude to-He asks no questions now, being convinced it must be in honour of-Lord George Bentinck!"*

Having thus, with his lordship's assistance, epitomised the grand and extraordinary features of the season, we come to the usual routine of business. What with steeple-chasing, and the capital plan so many of the provincials have hit on, of knocking two starve-all spring and autumn affairs, either dragging out their two or three days into one bumper, a short and a merry one, those concoctions of hurdle-racing and leather-plating, yclept "Hunt

We cannot undertake to say how Monsieur might have felt, but for our own part we were quite surprised to hear that the fortunate (or unfortunate) winner of Mr. Evaus's Lottery was not Lord George Bentinck.

Meetings," are becoming every year more and more scarce, and in the last left the opening almost entirely to the legitimates. We must, however, be regarding them in a very favourable point of view, or rather, perhaps, be influenced by the recollection of the clippers that have very lately honoured the Coventry and Warwick Spring assemblies with their presence, when not including them in our condemned list. Certes is it that, taking the last meeting of either as a criterion, they would not rank very high; not even a Derby pretender, by way of a draw for the trial stakes, and the best of these two fields contented to take an outside place for the Chester Cup. The Spring does satisfy them at Coventry; and really, if the storms continue to thicken and threaten, as they latterly have over Warwick, we shall not be surprised to find it shortly trying the recipe so beneficially applied to its neighbour Northampton. There was resuscitation indeed! That farmers' meeting which the farmers themselves jeered at, and that Queen's Plate which some Newmarket crack would scarcely condescend to walk over for, with a little spirit, a little management, and a little assistance from "the nick of time," attracting crowds of company, good fields of good horses, brisk business-like betting, and nearly every other accompaniment in excellent keeping. The principal and most remarkable race was the Handicap, won very easily by Vitellius, who, fortunately for his friends, kept fit for once to run eight and forty hours together: the public of course do not see much of it, but it is astonishing what a vast deal of secret sorrow and disappointment, to say nothing of loss, these sort of horses cause. For the two-year-old stake Mr. Ongley put in his claim with Mystery, a useful, hard-working, if not first-class filly; and the other races, gentlemen riders included, were all worth witnessing.

The fact of Sir Gilbert, minus a bolt or a bad start, saving his fifty pound present at Epsom Spring, caused some talk on the Derby, and the stable to talk rather "heavy" of something better to come; the public, however, not having had time to forget Sirikol and Amorino, were contented to trust to their own eye-sight, and the public were right, and the party wrong again. Some few nourished the hope of Running Rein settling everything at this meeting, but worthy Mr. Goodman knew a trick worth two of that, having tried it, on the very year before, with (modo Hibernicè undoubtedly) the very same horse, and consequently kept his crack and his counsel as sacred as a Jew's eye.

At Croxton Park, now the only nursery left this side the border for the cultivation of amateur talent, the new club continues to prosper, on the best principle of aiming at success-deserving it. The Knight of the Whistle's transit from Northampton, and victory for the Cup, proved him still to be a good, useful, lasting nag; while Naworth's place for the Granby assured his owner he might be of some use at last-an idea, of the correctness of which serious doubts had long been entertained; as it was, the Count (not in propriâ persona this time), came much too near to te pleasant, and showed himself worthy of a good horse, by putting a good jockey on him: it would have been lucky for some we coull name, had they always done as much.

Had the pen been drawn through Mr. Crockford's nominations, the Craven would have looked more like the first of the Autumn, than of Newmarket Spring meetings, and as it was, despite fine weather and a clear week for it, cannot be set at more than passable. The unmistakeable style in which Ratan cut down his opponents, left nothing on that head to be desired, an evident improvement on a good two-year-old form, and making him formidable indeed; though, to be sure, as a comfort for such as delighted to regard the triumph on the darker side, his field was not. The other Derby nags who came off with flying colours were confined to Vattel and Orlando, neither of whom took much benefit by their motions. The Newmarket people, almost one and all, appear to have laboured under the delusion, that it must be Ratan or nothing, not a horse in their stables having the ghost of a chance with him; yet it's quite terrible to think what a wonder John Day or John Scott would have made of this poor despised Orlando-aye, and what a deal of money too. The only other events of this week we need allude to here were the Port, for which, by way of a novelty, we had a race-a right good race in every respect; and a couple of moderate matches, the first of them a bit of innocent amusement between Lord George and Lord Maidstone, in which Bramble and The Caster travelled over the B. C. for sixty! "Twould be well for all Casters, if, in public or private, they never lost the box for a larger amount. The remaining duet, a sight of which was worth all the money, and no mistakethe race of the week, in fact-was won by Extempore, a mare now doomed to wander through the provinces as a plater; surely Mr. Vaughan might have picked up something more suited to his purpose, at a less imposing price. We won't say at this moment, but when the hammer fell, Extempore, for home work, was no bad exchange for the eight hundred guineas.

Catterick Bridge, below par in every respect, was not, as is generally the case, this year graced with any very effulgent northern light, a fact which many people would no doubt admit at once on seeing Lord Glasgow running first and first for the two-year-old Stakes; the townsmen, however, like true philosophers, made good from bad, and congratulated themselves that his lordship, so scurvily treated by fortune elsewhere, will henceforth on the reciprocal system encourage the efforts of those who were the first to encourage his.

No ways dispirited by the heavy body blow so cruelly given at starting by their Chester contemporaries, the Bath Committee proved they were in earnest at last, and that the opening was not, as so frequently has been the case in that neighbourhood, a mere flash in the pan; the benefit of avoiding a second concussion was apparent, and acknowledged by all parties, but by none more so than his Grace of Richmond, who was thus with the assistance of that honest bit of stuff, Red Deer, enabled to take the cream of both meetings. This successful son of Venison possesses the game qualities of his papa in a very eminent degree, and passed his third summer much in the same style, winning (ominous enough of hard work), his first race with a double duty on his abilities. In such a very scrambling affair, and in which so many were disappointed, there is no saying