having attended Astley's Lectures on Horsemanship, and finding it impossible long to retain her seat in the usual way, immediately crossed the saddle, and in that state entered Weymouth, at full speed, by the side of her infatuated adorer, to the no small gratification of a numerous assemblage of spectators. DURING the frost, a match for one hundred guineas was skaited for between three gentlemen of Chatteris, in Cambridgeshire, and three of March, and won by the former: Mr. John Drake beat Mr. Samuel Green; Mr. Adam Lion, and Mr. William Green, a dead heat; Mr. Matthew Drake beat Mr. John Bains. It is supposed there were five or six thousand people present.

MR. JOHN SPICER, jun. of Lincolu, on Wednesday, the 9th inst. set off from that city to ride his mare to Manchester and back, in forty-eight hours, for a considerable

wager.

He

The distance by way of Dunham Ferry, Chesterfield, &c. is ninety miles, so that he had one hundred and eighty miles to ride, upon the same mare, in the above time. started from the house of Mrs. Pinder, known by the sign of the Horse and Groom, at three o'clock in the morning, and arrived at the White Bear Inn, Manchester, at one, on Thursday morning. Some gentle men were up at the Inn, who signed his certificate, and treated him with some wine, during which, a servant girl of the house held his mare at the door, for the landlady would not suffer the poor animal to go into a stable. Being thus disappointed, Mr. Spicer re-mounted, and rode to a place called Bullock's Smithy, ten miles on this side Manchester, where he arrived between two and three o'clock the same morning, and met with civility from the landlord of the Inn, and good

accommodation for his mare, now almost exhausted with fatigue and hunger. This good treatment decided the race; the mare eat her food with cheerfulness, and they both arrived at Lincoln, in health and spirits, at one o'clock on Friday morning, travelling the 180 miles in 46 hours. Mr. Gervase Lister, of Lincoln, horsedealer, went all the way at the same time, and rode a black mare belonging to Mr. Spicer. They did not alight to walk up or down any of the hills, that being contrary to the wager.

THE latter end of last month, in consequence of a considerable bet between two gentlemen, John Wynne, a blacksmith, of Frimley, for a consideration of five guineas, undertook to run from that place to the mile-stone, near Staines, and back again, a distance of twenty-six miles, in four hours; but owing to the unfavourable state of the weather, and the badness of the roads, he was near two minutes over the stated time; by which the person who laid on him, of course lost his bet: though had it not been for the reasons before assigned, there is not a doubt but he would have performed the journey in considerable less time, as he some time ago went from Hyde Park Corner to Frimley, a distance of thirty miles, in less than four hours, and jumped several times over the milestone afterwards.

BETTING at Tattersall's, January 31.-First Class of the Oatlands'. Three to One against Lignum Vitæ, Four to One against Julia, and Five to One against Pipelin; Eleven to Ten the Field against Lignum Vitæ, and Julia; Five to Four the Field against Lignum Vitæ, and Pipelin.-Second Class. Seven to Two against Bobtail, and Five to One against Gulliver.-Third Class. Seven to Two

against

against Eleanor, the same against Duxbury, and Five to One against Walton-The Field against two for any of the Classes -Betted. Five Hundred to Five that Pipelin, Gulliver, and Walton does not win the three Classes; and Five Hundred to Five against Pipelin, Quiz, Walton for the same; in both these, the favourites are debarred. Six to Four Tuneful against Allegranti; and Five to Four, p. p. Quiz against Highland-Fling for the Match.

BETTED. Five Hundred to

One Hundred and Ten against Lord Grey's bay colt, by Sir Peter, out of Fanny, for the Derby; and Eleven to One that he does not win the Derby and the Doncaster St. Leger Stakes; and Nine to One against Sir H. Williamson's brother to Walton, for the Derby. OFFERED to Bet.-Sir F. Standish's brother to Stamford and the

Field, against four for the Derby.

BETTING Room, Feb. 14-Oatlands.-Betted, Twelve to Five against Lignum Vitæ, Seven to Two against Eleanor.-Even betting between Eleanor and Duxbury.-Five Hundred to Five that Julia, Quiz, and Walton, don't all win.-Three Hundred to Six and an Half that Lignum Vitæ, Gulliver, and Eleanor, don't all win.

DERBY AND OAKS.--Nothing bet.

As a proof of the very intense coldness of the season, and the consequent distress of the wild fowl, which usually inbabit the fens and the more remote northern parts of this kingdom, large droves of wild swans have been seen in the vicinity of the metropolis, a circumstance never before known; even at a village near Mitcham, there was such a flock last week, that a Mr. Dredge killed two of them at one shot with a common fowlingpiece.

DURING the severe weather,

Lieut. Colonel Parker shot a hooper, or wild swan, in the canal of Sir Harry Parker's seat, at Melford, where it had joined the tame swans. It measured seven feet four inches across when its wings were extended, and six feet four inches from beak to tail.

THE Sussex levels were visited

by a greater diversity of wild fowl than the oldest gunner recollects, at any one time before, to have witnessed. The catalogue of kil led exhibited swans, geese, gee

sanders, shieldrakes, ducks, widwith many specimens of the most geons, &c. and was accompanied beautiful plumage. One of the swans, shot from six others, near Newhaven, was remarkable from its having but one foot. The other was, no doubt, taken off by some accident, and probably many years ago, as the stump presented not and was in colour black, like the the least appearance of a wound, leg.

A FEW days ago a most singular shot was fired by Colonel Thornton, at Thornville Royal. The Colonel presented his fowling-piece at 175 yards distance from the pond, the ball passed through one of the openings in the paling which surrounds the pond, winged six wild ducks, all of which were taken up, though none of them were killed.

A CURIOUS game question is to be brought on at the next Norfolk affizes, wherein, a little out of the reasonable course of expectancy, that celebrated shot, the Hon. Ť, Coventry, is plaintiff, and Sir Robert Harland defendant. The action is to recover damages for the seizure of a post chaise, well lined, with hares, partridges, pheasants, &c. supposed to have been killed upon

Sir Robert's manor, but se zed by the baronet's gamekeeper, "with sticks! clubs! and staves! in the parish aforesaid, and county aforesaid,"

aforesaid," rather questionably, on the manor of another person. Whether this post-chaise, on the highway, no live creature being found on board, like a vessel adrift on the high-seas, becomes, with its cargo, a rightful wreck, and the property of the first boarder, is the question which Mr. Coventry means to call upon a special jury of the county of Norfolk to decide; none of whom, though fair sportsmen, it is hoped, will be liable to a challenge. The son of Lord Deerhurst, a very amiable young man, and nephew to the plaintiff, was of this extraordinary sporting party, and will probably be the principal evidence on both sides.

DURING the present month, a pack of harriers, which had merely been taken out for an airing, entered Coney borough Park, Sussex, belonging to Thomas Kemp, Esq. and destroyed a couple of fine young bucks, and injured several others,

before the interference of the huntsman could detach them from the spot.

On the 10th instant, on an information laid before Thomas Garforth, Esq. of Steeton, one of his Majesty's justices of the peace for the West Riding of York, by Stephen Tempest, Esq. of Broughton, the huntsman of the Skipton subscription hunt, was fined in the mitigated penalty of 101. for hunting after his master left the field.

WILLIAM BEDFORD, and William Armistead, of little Ribston; Thomas Walker, and Richard Greaves, of North Deighton; and William Miller, of Spofforth, farmers, were convicted before the sitting Magistrates at Knaresbrough, on the 9th instant, in the mitigated penalty of 101. each, for sporting within the manor of North Deighton, not having obtained certificates

for that purpose; and on the 16th instant, John Armistead, of North Deighton aforesaid, was convicted before the same Magistrates at Knaresbrough, in the penalty of 201. for sporting within the said manor, not having obtained a certificate for that purpose.

A MAN named Arnold, at Hengrave, near Bury, was on Wednesday fined 1001. for having bought ten pheasants from a poacher.

A FEW days since, a young gentleman of the University of Oxford, going out a shooting, at the end of the Parks he put a little powder into his gun, by way of airing the barrel; after he had so done, he slung his powder flask behind him, with half a pound of powder in it, as he supposed; firing against the wind, the whole of the flash flew to him, caught the powder flask, and blew it to pieces, knocked the gentleman down, and a dog that was by his side was instantly killed by the brass top of the flask; the gentleman was not injured, except that his hair and eye brows were a little singed.

ON Sunday the 19th ult. a whale, measuring in length upwards of twenty-five feet, and supposed to exceed a ton weight, being left by the sea in a low part of a beach in St. Ive's Bay, was observed by some people to make great efforts to extricate himself, and to blow up the water to an immense height. They with swords, and other weapons, soon after approached the fish, and decided its fate; and next day, dissecting it in small pieces, conveyed them with carts and horses to manure their estates.

LATELY a very beautiful bittern of the lesser kind, was shot by Mr. Poole, in the woods of the Earl of Chichester, at Stanmer, Sussex,

POETRY.

That gaming chiefly stimulates to vice, And ruin centres in the box and dice. Mere idle doctrine! an attempt how vain, Free-will to vanquish, and free acts restrain!

And shall the man of lineage be debarr'd His fav'rite wish, a strumpet, or a card? If so, my Croesus, what avails thy worth, And what thy boasted privilege of birth! But hark! the box and rattling dice I hear;

That throw has lost the income of a year: Prudence exclaims-What madness of the brain!

Not so that cast hath won it back again. In early days, when coz'nage was in

vogue,

Equal the name of Gambler and of Rogue;

But since a taste for honesty prevails, And tails no more are heads, nor heads are tails,

Alike from censure and aspersion free,
Each gentleman may play from

to me.

What boots it that the statute law or

dains

Preventive penalties, preventive pains; In spite of law your debts are always paid; To debts of honour, what are debts of trade!

With lowly rev'rence, when tradesmen

sue,

In reas'ning, far surpasses logic's reach, And baffles grammar in the parts of speech;

Measures with more than geometric pains, The distant spaces of the human brains; And tho' it gives not all an Euclid's head, Gives all an Euclid's patience in its stead. Match'd with the certain calculations here,

Astronomy, how vague must thine appear!

And Music,(may the ghost of Handel rest, Nor rise in wrath my quiet to molest,) How unimpassion'd flows thy sweetest strain,

To the dice dancing on the wooden plain! That plain for pleasure, and for profit made,

The board of play is now a board of trade. Here youth may learn what sages taught of old,

That noble doctrine, the contempt of gold; May here improve the rigid Stoic's plan, And, resolute of soul, be more than man; With more than Grecian fortitude may learn

To root out all that vulgar low concern, Which weak, unfashionable men, extend To wife, to child, to parent, and to friend. Here wary Prudence beams her watch

ful eye,

TO HIS MASTER.

Who lent him to an Apothecary, by whom he had been shot for an Hare!

II! hadst thou never known a dog,
Or from the plough-tail, flash'd
in vogue;

As dunghill Sportsmen do;
Who but from honour, seldom flinch,
As when they would seduce a wench,
And prove to her untrue!

Was it in lieu of purging pills,
To check the swelling in thy gills,

That thou didst part with me?
Or, could the staggers gripe thee so,
That but a clyster nought would do,
And he must have his fee!

Why