RANDOM SHOTS.

, ' [JBYZAMIEt.] : Some 'write, a neighbour's name to lash. Some -write—vain thoughts—for needful cash, Some write to please the country clash, -. ; Andiaiseaain. For me an aim I never fash— •\ 1 write for fun. - AucfiANDEKS are not in every ■pai'ftgons of wisdem and propriety; their lucky star, or something else, lias spared them the humiliation;, of being asked to give a popular vote on the question of Jubilee observance. The "Pall Malj Gazette "—that vicious innovator in news, paper practice—set the baneful example of ■ taking a,plebiscite of its renders on the ■question of what the Queen ought to'do in licr Jubilee year, "and it lias found imi-. = tnt-ions in certain New Zealand jour nals."' And as tlie "small gal" gazette only ..succeeded in reaching the disloyal and .insulting- conclusion that the best thing-Queen Victoria could do was! , *) ab dicate, so the New Zealand attempt to; evolve out of a multitude of coun-: selloi's has resulted in the recommendation" to open a new cemetery at "Wellington i! f This was the suggestion of but a single -in dividual, it is feme; but its outstanding , originality and boldness of conception mark it as the mastcivKt-foke of genius. Great , joy often kills ; and as we me going in. for a gigantic jubilation, it is a wise fore* ' thought that would prepare for ..the .general! slaughter by setting apart a spacious place 1 of graves. A proposal equally wise : and - far-seeing,, and, whidh i<3 .endorsed by a great number of people ; at (Jtiristcliurcii, is to.erect a maamnctijh. poorhouse. I. suppose the idea is thatiour . lavish expenditure yon crackers and sqaiibs, in these depressed times, will land the. majority of us in the workhouse. And . really'there rs some' ground for apprehen sion oii this score.' Why, at Dunedin tibey. are actually proposing to blow off £2f> worth of fireworks left .aver from a found' .oc casion, and for vvhicU they have no -other use ! "Bang went a saxpence ! " Those : perfervid Scots of Qtago are allowing their loyalty to outrun their prudence, for. tliej' .'have made no provision for erecting a big', , Indigent Asylum to shelter the viotkna ruined by this extravagance. No doubt: they expect that going ill for such a "bust," the majority will di-e.af joy and their ceme tery acpommodationfoeingample they ar-e ia Consequence resigned;and happy ! *#** * ■ : \ * « -* * Let me remark, parenthetically, that the po.mmon saying "la the multitude -of counsellors there is viisdom " is a gross niisrquotation. The wise man did not pre dicate wisdom, but "safety" as the ont . fiome of multitudious counsellors ; and the . distinction is an . important one. The , Jubilee suggestions fchat have been elicited fjj'om the,public are emiuently "safe," but v who shall say that they liave " wisdom '• to recommend them,? As our "legislative donkeys" at Wellington are about to com , mence f.Heir labours for tLe session, it might , be well for them to reme-taifoer that numbers are not npcessary to wisdom, and in con .aidering the.burning ouestion of Represen , ta.tion, Iceep in view the equally important matter of Ketrenchment. * * ♦ . * ■» " •■» » ♦ * > .To return. to Jubilee m-aitters, I came across an old gentleman fihe other day whose memory carried him back to the last royal. Jubilee observed in England—that ef. . George 111. This old gentleman is Mr John ,Pearce, of Newmarket, .and lie says that lie remembers when he wastii very little boy, at the great rojoicings aill over the Kingdom at the celebration of the Georgian Jubilee. ; He now also recalls, with peculiar interest, l\cm in after years he heard people speak of the memorable year-bow debts were forgiven, prisoners released, and people who had been deprived of p.sheir in heritance enured into it with gladness. His interest centres in the latter statement, for he is:himse3f a claimant to estates worth d' 90,000 a'ye'arv.besidos money on hand esti ,.mated to amount to about four millions .sterling. Hoi Vis not superstitious; but ;he cherishes, the hope that in this J.tibilec year of ISS7; he-may have the gtod fortune \Xo enter into his rightful inheritance. ** * * ;His hopeSj as liave said, are not hijtsed , 9n, any superstitiqas fancy, but-on facts, supported; by documentary evid-eijce sufficient to satisfy , the most strictly legal ,m.md. Mr Pearce .-lays claim to the !Dt»r .■wentwater Estates K iis was explained $n , the Star over a. ago, through lys fatjier-iri'law,! Robert- Good, who in 1525 iwas ; ,Adjudged- the rightful heir of these yast - possessions. The whole of the evi dence ,is now, lam ,teld, in the hands of : .legal firjn in; Lon.dorj, some "missing? links'f having been diacevered by searching •the rep.osite.ries of family- documents in the imetropblis ; 'and Mi , Peaxce expects soon to tbe called, upon,to go,to England to prose cute i.his. Clajm in person. The hale old ai)an, v who is reasonable •dsistappe, of being a, inilfionpire, is as quiet a person anyone would wish to (meet., ancl pne, whqse gop4 fortune will ngtlpe gr\iclgpdihim by the, ; most envious of espeqiftlly at the Jubilee season. .*.• * . ♦ ♦ ■ •♦» # ♦ Ji'Fynemayks, pnribhe prey'enijipn of crime by ,'eljniinatin,g the criminal ,inetinct from mankiijd, haye. called fortli a.lettar from my incisiye friend-'SDiamond,", whp writes as follaws.: — Dear Yots. §aid,.mμch.Jast. week about.crjnijiials. :I'wis'h you could permit me a •small show -on that subject. As an, illustration of your ideas, ohi Heredity, yoti rofer ,us to a c riminal wljose name'yoa Ccossiey, and of ,hjmiyou,deliberatev say "he sin quid not he peranitted,to propagajfcjiis kind,",.aod you, tell us "his Jcirid" ,was this: He imitpied the ,ot|ljjs |papa, i aßdjby.suoh,jiie9.ißS ob tamed mpney, ; ahd ph , ot3ier occhglpne he was known -to; committed.similar : <acts. Now, crime is ; always sin; but s;n is always ..crime. :Sin is absence of order. Oximo js ; phyeical and illegal i.wjogg doing. Ao-yone,may be a of putrefaction so far as sin .is,coiicerned, andryet never have conimittcd \what,corißtitutes.a-<(rime; irifaev, this lump o£ putrefoation ,ihay .appear to/be either a jolly jfellQ.w,,a venerable old,man',. or ( kmd, dutifuS .olergjmais'. The actual criminal] is of'en not so really' bsid 'and wicked as tljo apparently. good ,man. ,Qiiite - independent, of everything ye qan ,c.yet learn .of heredity,, there will always be a ?siipply ,«f crimi nals, and the' greater the iramber of wilfully ignorawt and -ivilfsally wicked,' who are not within tjie desisaation .of .crimi nals, the greater wjll- he the number of actual and convicted criminals. I wrote ikfaout four pages in support oi this, but I destreyed it and will bo-satisfied for the .present with ilie hare asseilion. * * . * .* * Brevity is a virtue which I.prize ; but I .OqjjjEess I should have liked.to have seen that,one of those four pages in which " Dia .rnond " the proposition "that in dependent of everything we can ever learn of heredity there will alwaj's be a supply of criminals."- I would fain believe that my correspondent has not adopted that'blank and hopeless .creed which declares that the thing which 'hath' been is the thing which shall be, ■■ through thei : innumerable cycles of Iranian : 'l#tory. '.With his dis tinction between '"'^crijpe :r :and "sin" I

q\xite,agjyee"3 but surely there %yill come a tiiitie when "both shall vanish from the world - surety t'ihe-Golden : Age is no mere vain dream of prophets and' poets—surely the infinitsolyiriiprovable qualities of the human race are'-noli to be neglected " always " and "ever !" A knowledge of heredity and of Iritaan nature will help on the j grand (consummation, for with, science on their side man will be able by' and % to! pierce the masks which con ceal 'the-' motives and real nature of their fellows, and the " unco quid"'will the® find iiiat there is no merit in their " better art <of. ; hiding," which Burns so described. Then the offender against tlie spiritual law'will be'punished, as we new punish the "material offender, and **'■*&)& banished from Israel." That is :my :fa"ifh, and it is on that account ilia* I advocate every measure tending in that •glorious direction, ■'' the first and aaaost .'uSMintial 'being ■a- dissection of all stains ■and a revelation of things as they aye. I- knew a clergyman. at Home who was married to.a> doctor's sister, and jiceustcmed to vemark jocularly-*" I preach '.and my brotheivin-law practises." We diave in Auckland a gentleman in ithe ;person of Mr Dowie who both preacbes.nnd 'ijjrabtises the healing art. He has produced 'testimonies to cures! effected through his .prayers and has developed'a; pugnacity in .dealing with doubters and scoffers such as miglit -have been expected iiv one vcustomed to "cast out devils." He is Nalso ■vigorous in his denunciation of euroseiffacted by Spiritualists or. by. "that .impostor,"; as he calls the red-flannel apostle who ;per .formed greater works in our midst "tihau any. which Mr iDowie lias yetshpwn. And here . comes a proper and ] lertinentquestion- JJow are ordinary mortals to decide between the real healer and the impostor ? The greatest iHealerthat earthhaseverseenwaseozrtent to leti His works speak for Him. John'sdiscjples. .were simply instructed to tell of the iveaJing miracles they had seen in order to'convince the Baptist that, his Master had come. ■AVell, when we find Milner Stephen giving .sight to the blind, hearing to the deaif,;and vigour to the sickly, but drawing the line .at casting out. devils, are we not to conclude .that he is a, genuine healer?; And if comes and denounces him .as. an .impostor, are we not apt to remember that it was foretold that deceivers would arise casting out devils in the nunie •of .the Master ? The assumption of super natural agency is the same or nearly so,-,in ibofch cases,. and the imagination being iplainly the chief factor in all the.cuxes,. .sensible people will incline to receive math icaution all records of modern nnraolefl, ■even \when given in the' columns of the .suciiLar press, and attended by reporters, mihtither of the sceptical and brandy-eml liqg. order or otherwise. ■**'♦ *' » * ■■■ ~ ,♦ •!<:#! ' * IMriDowie had a very cruel thing said .of 3iim,op r ;Tuesday night by Pastor Spurgeon. It was ion the occasion of the thirty -sixth annual-soiree in. connection with the Akw- Aiidra;Street Primitive Methodist Churda, beld ninder the presidency of Sir WV Fox. Durirjg.a capital and amueing speech, tbe reverend, gentleman to whom we refer, after illtustaating the innocent amusement* thai Au-cklanders could indulge in, said some thing Hike this: ♦' If you want excite ment there is the Cheap Jack afc the Haymarket, or the Faith-healer at tihe 'Choral Hall." What with those horrid doctors in front, and with his flank turned by;ai brother reverend, Mr Dowie is in a "■parlous state," and much to be pitied. I should.add, however, that Sir Wm. Fox lie ;an evident sympathiser with the healer, for, ,the doughty knight splintered -a Janco with Mr i Spurgeon, and rebuked tlte youthful preacher in good set terms for ridiculing ;the earnest labours of a good Christian ibrjother. * * *. * i :...♦■*■ * ,:* * : I have hcaw3.iit-,»Yhispered that the great faith healer Ls .eaddeued at the action of the presumably ungodly ones of this city. It appears that the .organ used at Mr Dowie's meetings is the property of the Auckland Choral Society, aud;thdt body, in the most niatter-of-fact way, decline to make any allowance for the : gopd of the mission, but require jiay.ujent foi;' the use of the instrument. .'As the mission is to last three wadks,, ' the price asked was £5, which, considering that the instrument may be ; used for three services per day for tthr'ee weeks, does not seem much out .of • the way. Mr Dowie's financial manager.,;however, thinks, otherwise, and rather i&an pay that sum has simply decided to -p.ay for the use of the organ up to daia, and do with out it in the future. No doubt the services will succeed quite as well,,and the mission gain to the extent of a fo>v pounds. It must be very hard for {the faithful ones, when they run of those who make no allowance for jfaith, but in utilitarian fashion reduce to a '. question of pounds, shillings pence. Auckland audiences are generally very tolerant, and that which assenpSiled in the Choral Hall on Monday evening sfco shear the SBev. Mr Dowie was no exception tc-ifche rule. K#t only did they allow him to .-denounce apd, abuse the members of the New .'Zealand Government personally, but they iflheered aod,applauded his sentiments to tihe .echo. Talk, of colonial patriotism after ltjhat. WJjtat, I wonder, would , be the feite.of New ;Zealand clergyman who held ifocbh in SJelbourne and reviled the Viefcorian Government. I would not care to ibe ;in the ; #ame room with him. Or to go further., <what would i become of a foreigner in England engaged a hall .aoicl held "raio British-Cabinet up to .op probrium .and ridicule? Not a morsel of him wQuld-fte left. And i yet an Audk land ftudiQnoe cheers . and i claps while an . utter ; stvanger drags the members of their Cabinet-through the mire. It is too much. Bad.e.noi\gh for ourselves to pepper away at tJjijem, but .a oh, ye gods. Some knowing : Qves,.have been rather amused at-w.hat .a reverend lecturer; said. the other night. Speaking upon "A Tour, Through Aineuca," ,he :said that ;"nin.e tenths of .tlie w ; o.meh he had ~met in 'America were jpainte.d." ; Now, the.writer, has travelled in .that iQonntry as well, as in , Europe, ; and i.no doubt;,many *of the reverend gentleman'!e audience had iglone the same. , It is : also tto be. surmised that the travelled lOnes wjjl .agree with me that although many /■' iiainted lilies '-may •be .found eyen in iihe /best .circles of the Great Republic and in jEurope., as-indeed here, nothing like cv.en 50 per .cesat. of the females of America artificially colour their faces.. Amongst what, ,classes was ilie rev. gentleman mixing during! his. gay trip through ? He says nine-tenths of the wom,en he saw were painted, and we ■aiust believ£ him, but for the sake qi Jiis friends, his .cloth, and his own good name* I sincerely Jwpe he won't persist in > hv; stat<knent. •nU-.'riii', - u\irt r-ivjr, ■:

Mr Livingstone Van Riper (of New York) r—" May I liave tlie pleasure of part, of ■, the next waltz, Miss Frankfort,?"; Miss : Erank- ; fort (whose fathei" owns «;Kentucky -stock farm)—" Thanks, awfully, but'l've- danced so much I'm'roostfou.ncle}.'gd, ; "; ; i; ,f •rh-.j!-;"'

SPORTING.

RACING FIXTURES.

Kay 10-Egmont' Autumn. -Acceptances ana , j .general entries, April 30. tt„h.W Slay • 21—Wanganui Steeplechases. — -.nines, 7- April 12: weights, April 24; acceptances and general entries. May 17. May 24, 25 : Dunedin Winter.-Entnes. April 16, ' - weights. May 10 ; - acceptances and general entries, May 17. , . l '■' Lvi-:' June i-Aucldand Steeplechase Meeting. - Entries, April 29; acceptances and general entrias.May 27. ,! , June 20 Hawko's Bay Steep'echase Meetings- Entries.. May 17; general entries, June ' ii ; acceptances, June 21. ... - >

TO CORRESPONDENTS

A.E. Coal was sired by Gladiator. ' , WAGBR.-Goy Fawkes was scratched for the Auckland Autumn Steeplechase, on 2Stn March. : , .; ■ '..-.. ■ , ■ ! ■ : ' ;! : ';' S.C. (Freeman's Bay).- In Handi cap at the A. K.O. Summer Meeting, Niagaia was in front of Lady Florin at the lawn.

TURF GOSSIP.

; ■■■)■■• [By HiPi'ONA.] The Autumn Meeting of the 'Takapuna Jockey Club on Saturday last > proved: thoroughly successful, and the only thing that happened in any way to throw 'a damper on : the racing was the scratching of Teddy Yuille for,the Autumn Handicap; His withdrawal caused no small amount'of unpleasantness, and it led up "to a/wordy warfare in the paddock, between Teddy Yuille's! owner and a local sport-.-who. had backed a £50 double. So far as. Auckland owners are concerned, these late scratchings, on , the day of the race are a rare occurrence, but' not so with some , who visit us. It was understood that the connections of Teddy Yuille supported Friendship for the race, but much to their chagrin, the winner turned up in her stable companion Tainora. It is rather flattering to Auckland as a breeding centre when I state that there is constantly arriving by the Australian mails correspondence asking the price of some horse or seeking information as'to ..their breeding, performances, etc. To those out side of the province this may appear a bit.of blow, but if permitted I could.give the names of several would-be buyers for thoroughbred stock that we possess. i% From the"■" Sydney Telegraph "of the 14th inst.-,' I learn that on the previous night some betting was indulged in on the V.R.C. Derby, but only two candidates were dealt with <to any extent. : A few cen turies were"'taken about the!■ Hon. ', James White's Abercorn at 100 to 15, after which 5 to 1 was the best offer, and- the New Zea land bred cold Niagara ..was marketable to a pretty fair amount at 100 to 12.'" Weasel has passed into the hands of A. Sutherland, the local.,horseman, The re mainder of Mr Drake's team that took part in the ;A.R.C. Autumn Meee.ting ..were shipped to Christchurfch on" Thursday, last. MryW. Perciyal has .had the .bad luck to lpse i the ..services .of . the American trotting . stallion Fitzjames, who su,e oumbpd ;to an . attack of . stoppage of the :.bQwels .on ~<Monday night ; .last. Fitzjames, who .was . the property .of Mr John; Kerr, of Nelson, was imported from .America; by hie', .owner, in 1882, and wae goti by. General McLennan. He has Ibeen at;£he. servipes. of breeders in Auck land d;uHng,the past couple of seasons, And his, :death is to ibe deplored from. the fact that he. .was; just the class of horse. re nuired 'here to'improve, our carriage and buggy horses. / 'The steeplechases .on ~the . catirsoare invariably .close and .exciting, and ths- contest on Saturday last was no excep tion .to .the rule. Silvio had the race pretty ■wtSl lhis own. way till landing over the water jucHjpior thejajst time, v .>vhen Warren called on "Ecuipedo, and a ding-dong: battle home ensued between { the ; fair. ■ Torpedo blundeced slightly at the last hurdle, which enabled .Silvio to get home with half-a lengtii io spare, 'but otherwise I think Torpedo would, just have.won. " Duriug the race Warren 'had ,-the I misfortune to lose one of Jiig stirrup irons, which of course placed him at a great disadvantage. Falcon laboured in the rear (division almost the whole oi ,the journey, his weight and the great pace tfee xa.ee was run at telling on the old horse. It is anticipated that owing to'inclement weather on the second day of the Canterbury Jockey Club Heating, there will be.» deficit of about £200. The total amount «f. added money given away at the gathering was £2,350, being an increase of £250.0W , that provided in 1886 ;-but the totalisator re ceipts, instead of increase, were £2,858 less than last yea*. \ The usual sale of thoroughbreds took place at, the conclusion of the G f .JJ3':' Autumn Meeting. .Sou-.qf-a-gun, by Aji tevos—Vivandiere, the roan colt purchased by R Ray during his last visit to Auckland, was knocked down to CsO'CQiinor for 210gs. A yearling colt by Apr.emont -Miss Kate, full brother to Antelope, wae passed in at 40gs. D O'Brien gave 100 guineas for Itepo—a big drop on the 400 guineas paid for him in the spring ; and JR. Ray appeared as the purchaser of Fog at 41 guineas ; whil C. O'Connor took ftloana k$ 175 guineas after a lot of competition. A yearling filly by Ingomar out of Wai-i-ti {Fusillade's dam) was knocked down to D. O'Brien at 25 guineas. The following among others were passed in :—Tornado, at 80 guineas ; Tit bit, 220 guineas; Master Agnes, 165 guineas ; Hanlan, 70 guineas ; Marlborough, 180 guineas; Repose, 200 guineas; Luna, 70 guineas ; Patrician, 150 guineas. A Sydney paper.referring to the defeat of ifelson in the Autumn Stakes,'says :- The public were naturally losers by the defeat of sach a strong favourite, and among the heaviest of them was the youthful Lord .Dudley, who " went down" tothe tune of £JBOO, a sum he had wagered at 4to 1," on." When he pulled up Nelson was a good deal distressed, and it was quite evident that the heavy work he has been treated to had over done him. , :,-,, ■ The time for , the Christchurch Great Autumn Handicap was 2min 38isec— precteely, the same time as Captain Web ster and Rubina each occupied in the two previous years. The times of the various stages of the journey as taken by Mr Stead were :—Four furlongs, 54Jsec ; six furlongs, ; one mile, Imin46|sec. ' Tlie death is announced from Napier of Colonel iWhite, a Avell-known figure in sporting circles there. Deceased was known among his friends in the olden days.as " Tommy' White,'and was a contemporary of the late; Mr, H. P. Lance and Mr J. W. Mallock of Christchurch. He was .one of the Canterbury pilgrims, arriving in one of the first ships. He had a run called THe Warren, near .Oxford, and. one of the original racing men of Canterbury. From Mr Redwood he bought the mare Wetsail, for whom he gave seven hundred guineas, which was considered a long price in those days. ,: , ■• ,r . ■ Canterbury'will be particularly strong in\ three-year-olds next season, and in Maxim and.Sextant, and Gipsy King,' they possess . a trio of the most promising colts thab we have had in the colony. Speaking :of Maxim : and Sextant previous to the decision ;of v.he .Champagne. Stakes.on the first' day: of ,tii>e C.J.C. -Autumn Meetings " Senex'?; says :»—Maxim has- grown all

over , s incell ? t S hi S at SS We quarters are still further maS sive-looKmg_ h taller, horse, and developed colfc than Maxim, STvS , gooS°king Withal but at pre- W Sinl in that muscular developing that Squishes Mr .Steads colt and I £w that. the latter, would weigh down believe ww. & Th Bame wrl ter thus nn the seoond day of the meeting :-On.the Stakes Maxim was backed up to 2 to 1 on also, received substantial iuOTort A good start was effected, but Sextant was fuicbest on his legs, and held aSS lead 3 Maxim for,the frst uriong, and they raced, from there on level terms £o%Sn 200 yards of home, when Maxim $aHfe trouble, and Sextant came away and iwon -easily at the finish, by a clear 'lenc'th. There were, of course, plenty.ot excuses made for., the : .defeat of the favourite, some averring that being a long strided horse he was.unable to act on a wet course, and others that. he,**as suffering from the effects of, the severe race he _ran on the previous day ; but I am satisfied to think'that althpugh Maxim's superior .con dition enabled him, to, carry his. Bst 101b to victory in front of. Sextant in the Onam pa<*ne Stakes, that the comparatively light weights they curried in the Challenge Stakes favoured, the less ; well-conditioned Sextant, and his superior turn of speed brought him home. The raoe was run in longer time than, the Champagne, the ' difference being naturally accounted for. by the'heavy state,of the course. -. :i : At the yearling sales held during the week of the A. J.C. Autumn -meeting no big prices were obtained, but the bidding for choice lots was decidedly spirited, and the salee altogether amounted l to £5015 17s. Mr McQuades lot averaged 25 guineas ; Mr Reynolds' colts, geldings, and fillies, 99 guineas ;. Mr; i Dangar's, 55 guineas ; Mr Loder's, 171§ guineas ; Messrs Suttor's, 36g guineas;; Hon.; John' Lee's, 104 guineas'; Mr. JaSi Lee's, 40. guineas ; Mr A. , Benson's, 1021; guineas ; Mr A; Nivison's,; 40 guineas ; ; and Mr Mackay's, 150 guineas.' ■■■<' » ' . The well-known jockey, C. Rudings, met with a bad accident when riding home from Christchurch to the racecoufsej,re cently, his poriy falling with him and hurt: ing him so severely that he was compelled to abstain from riding ! during fcbeC.. J, C.' Autumn Meeting. ' Those enterprising young sportsmen who confidently enter the betting arena with, the idea that "it's simply; picking up money " to bet on turf certainties, will,find some, solid truth in the following J excerpt, culled from an English exchange :- " Evjeryjear we nete the advent of fresh faces .on the turf; and, invariably, some of the .new 7 oomess are men of ? education and good family. : What it is that has driven tiem to enter the betting ring , for a profession it,is impossible to say. These, neophytes enter upon the pleasures and excitements attend ing "the turf with a gay ; spirit and light heart, often imagining that they have alighted upon the shores of a new El Dorado. That; fickle jade, dame Fortune/ will lure them on with;smiles, and they dre so dazzled with the prospect of success that they fail to see ' that, blended with' the smiles, there lurks the' snake deception: Some of the light hearts soon' beooine ■ broken ones, ana some'of the gayest spirits the most despairing. 'When the neophyte' has shed his chrysalis,'and blossomed into a confirmed votary, : he then becomes pain-' fully aware that all is not gold that glitters, and that success on the can only-be' .attained, as in any other path of. life, by. care, watchfulness, ; circumspection, and' that judgment which is born of : experience. It. is soon made manifest to him that the pleasures attending a career devoted to turf pursuits contain a fair' share of dross, and that the a portion of the many, and success the golden ; guerdori of > the chosen few. Another fact "soon makes itself known in racing matters, namely, that money makes money. One of the . most; hopeless , i will-o'-th'-wisps that ever led a pauvre' diable astray is for a man to think he can succeed on the turf without iinoney. /iTo endeavour to do so'iS' about ag easy and. as hopeful a task as seeking Uie philosopher's stone, or attempt ing to discover, the secret of the Rosicru cians." • ...,' : , : w ' Writes oor London 1 correspondent:— Oa-riionde hae turned '.'roarer." His wind was slightly sffected so fair back as October last; indeed, it .now transpires that had The Bard kept well and been able to meet the champion io the l.QOOsovs. sweepstakes he would probably have outstayed him. This \ras John .Porter's great fear, and he naturally looked upon the tempor ary illness of Peck's, game little colt as' a great stroke of luck for the Duke of Westminster. People wondered what made Fry, the big' bookmaker, field so strongly against the certainty Ormonde appeared to be for the Free Handicap at the Hough ton meeting. They know' now. A tout had heard the. great horse makeaii unmistakable noise after one 6i hie exer ciise gallops that week, and informed jFry of the fact; He thought it possible' the : severe gallop acrossthe flat might find out the weak spot, and as the public iwere, betting 10 to 1 on Ormonde, determined to throw away a little money on the off chance." ' ; ;!■-•- ■■ ■■•' '-'■-' ■■"-•'■ ;'. '.'■"

THE SYDNEY CUP.

The following is a full description of the ruuning for the above race: — Crossfire, Silver King and Blairgowrie were the final malcontents for the Sydney Gup, for which 19 were saddled ; and, although the state of the course was against him, Horieydew was abetter favourite than anything, arid at the last held the honourable position of first favourite at 4 to 1. Great: liberties were taken with The Jewel in the paddock, and while he receded to 6 and 7 to 1, his •stable' mate advanced to 100 to 10. ■ Nelson was' friendless at 12 to .1, and Tom Brown who looked very well was fairly sup ported at about . the ; same figure' Mozart, though having a bandage on one leg, looked thoroughly well; and Kitawa's' condition reflected the greatest credit upon the Warwick Farm stable. Ringmaster stripped as handsome as- ever; and Mr Mayo's pair, The Jewel and Stanley,1 showed every evidence o§ a niost careful preparation. Kelso had old Willeroo in the best possible buckle, and Folly, Phaon, and Sorella . never looked . better ; but the steady rain told against the'appearance of' everything in the' race.' 'The con dition of| Myall King and Emerald-could not : have been improved upon, and Frisco and Abuse'looked muscular- arid well. Steady; rain'set in just before the-start, and, ; continuing during the race, c almost completely obscured the contest through ,out. ; As far as could be- seen, Ringmaster, Mozart, The Wreck, and Myall King composed the first .flight' for: a mile and' a-half, when suddenly i - the colours of Kitawa were seen to flash clear of the._ confusion: of colours; and he turned into the straight with ■ the race apparently in hand; but. Frisco, helped -by his. great condition,' fairly worried him down in ' the straight, and«won ridden out: by about: three-quarters of a length.';'T T > "litni-, I ''■'''•'• Ui •'.■}Hi'!i Oil.! It VMil ' vii)(

winner'is-a wiry-looking brpwri geldin* W . Grand Flaneur ii-om Verbena, .by Kmgrtm,*/' from Blue Bell, by Little John from Jewc?, i by Marquis from an Arab mare, whose si^ : and dam were imported- to this colony D 7 the A. A. Co. in 1835, and is the property -": 7"' of Mr T. Sampson, the owner of Mata<J o , Until quite recently he had been a most _: different performer, and it was only a fc recent Hawkesbury meeting that he a f> . tracted particular attention by carrying ; ' 6st., and defeating Sorella, 6st. dOlb.j f o j second place by a neck f or tbe • Hawkesbury Autumn Handicap, won l Stanley, 7st. 21b., in 2 minutes 38J seconds. Sorella fell between the mile-post and Cvitt'g and Nelson falling on to his.knees at fa .[ ■: back of the course, Brown was knocked out ■ ' of his saddle-by a passing horse, so that neither had a chance of securingthe'ricV ' prize. -'The race was completely marred to g. the rain, and it is impossible to give anything like an accurate account of-how' it was rt_-s,jj|||j|j The start did not appear to-be a good one, '[ ' and before half a mile had been travelled, the field was pretty well spread-eagled, and then a thick curtain was drawn by the'-rain," '@||j Tom Brown, who looked thoroughly well, ran a really great horse, and'-had he been' '* .able to join his horses earlier must havebeen even closer to the first two, for he wag coming like a great ra ehorse at the finisii, and his performance stamps hinr as a grand'

ATHLETIC NOTES.

'■•■ (By AcTiEbN'.i - \-'

FIXTURES.

. ■:. '■'■'<■■ ■ 'AoxrATic 'notes:;;;..". s^m|-' May 21:—Now South Wales v.. Victorin. light-\' I oar race on the Parramat a . ,':. \S?»1 May 30, 1887.:— Hanlaiv v. a "date. Uiitcd;-"^!' States.. - -- .4 ,- f, July, 1887." Hanlan v. Teeraer. Unitcl Stajfa. >'.'-« Nov. 26i—Beach v. Han an for the.-Charnpiin.' . 'H ship ot the world oil the Paratnata. ' ;' - '

ATHLETICS.

April 27th.—Boxing: Murphy Vi.Taylo.r in thj.,, . -* AgricU'tural.Hall ;. ( i :„.,„i<. awsS April 30.—Bicycle road race from' Onehunga to*"-,. ... I Parnell. -1 "-', ',; "'•/ Sl' 3 --"-'■ 'mm

CRICKET.

Cricket is on its last. legs,-.j-a_d> the .season:.-, will soon be over. , ' ' " .Rqj^ey made a fine-score of 9.1 for Parnell;- ' last Saturday against:-, the "United .Ware- Xh \ housemen.. Parnell had..six.wicketstdowri. s for 15, and the innings-closed fOrlOPodd.' '' At a-committee irieetingof 'the';'otag6M| Cricketers' Association, '.'held ;jlk6J6jweek,1 !|! after some discussion'it was''considered : . J* that C' Friths conduct in' absenting'hi^feS, self from! the' .last Interprovincial' mat^_^l;i with Canterbury was' urijustifiable,''.''andjSi they in consequence suspended him frofeS taking1 part in any: Iriterprpvineial jbr^ln- *~ tercolonial. matches next scasori. ' ' , '"'_'' •i Playing against'the BpMdere..;C.p.,!£ori|^ the'Carlton's, Charlie Banrierman made 21 "fa*. by really good pricket. '/Although -rather,tw.fe'iS much overlooked'in these days, he still re--Si; tains some of his old cunning. 1 11

FOOTBALL.

I was glad to hear Mr Crowe speak his ** | mind out at the Rugby ■ Union ;Meetirig last : Wednesday in reference to the bad manage-1 ' ment of the affairs of the Union last year, :but I think his remarks'about the Auckland umpire could have -been very iwell spared. Whatever Mr Crowe intended to (ji ;epn yey ft gjjjj£| bis words and mariner' both gave an idea oralO ;a' personal attack—an!' attack" riot atall^Si 'justified.,.': >-' ,■■.■:.■■■.:■'■■' •'• '■■-■ ••:'•'.*>:*-■'■•;--• ■ ,:i*sJ;l ! Levy -Hard wick played well'for -the Union 'F. C. at ■,Christchurch last week:: in :-their ;>qS matches with the Merivale and Sydenham. ' '. Football has started in Victoria. ■ Malone has,,,expressed -his- willingness to j ;nf£ make a match, with Myers foragood stoke i4>. for 300, 350 yds, or. a quarter of a mile, or *'h with George at 440 yds, - 600 yds and 800 yds. ' Mick Monnock has been disqualified, for all Sir; Joseph Banks' contests'! in - Sydney | for running as an amateur under an:assu_M|ill name. \ He, however, is runningin the'C_rr^^» ingtoni Third Electric Handicap-,1 arid laab'l^* week Avon his heatfrom the2s yards' marE 8 | :: Hutchins'has: run another£ race with Samuels, conceding him 3yds ;in'lso,"btlt the darkie won easily in a yard under even, '" Hutchins was not on the job. - -■ •'' W. D. Bean won the' Ten Mile Cycling Championship of New- Zealand- on ■'£ rather ''vLI heavy track in: 32__n..'59 4-stli sec: 'N. ' Hall finished second, J. W.- .Pairiter th__;|||||| Six started. Bean, ■ who scaled.llst Ji3lb'J"^B rode a 55in Invincible: weighing 251b. : Hall, list 81b, rode a 60in Humber^23lbs|f|H and Painter, . lOst, - was mounted on"' a' 55in- Royal Mail, weighing 261bs. ' ''•":- ,"'''!."v;*, T clip thefollowing from the "New"Zea- ' land Referee ":-- Bean's time for,the ten mile championship (32 mm 59-;#stec) on'^ ;jL|;" Monday must be accounted Very fair -when-' the heavy state of the track is taken into con sideration: World's record is 27min!7'l-ss'ec?.j^§ by A. W. Rowe: at Springfield, U.S.;AJi'laist',),^* October. -At the P. BIC. meeting; last Box ing Day, in the ten riiile event,'Ti Godfrey r with 900 yds start, beat Beari'by. nearly ''; lOOyds in 32min 37 2-ssec, and the champion rode the distance at the Rangiora;riieet_igf^^S on New Year's Day in 38min 2 i-53ec,^bafc"^S was not pushed.. Bean now holds, besides the 10, the one and three mile champion- " '.* ships of New Zealand. '-'■-,'.• Dunn, the champion wrestler of New . Zealand, wrestled a draw with Donald ',: Dinnie in a seven-style match, in Melbourne, on last Saturday week. Each won'three j*7 styles, but time would not allow of the , match being completed. ' , Mitchell, of America, and Ji Hall, .of Syd ney,fought last Wednesday night in Foley's ' j gymnasium for £200 and the lightweight, Championship of Australia. For 24 rounds .'';i^ r i the fight was interesting, and then Hall hurt his hand, and played a waiting game, '<• and after 47 rounds had been finished the ■,„ match was declared a draw. . ' '~ 'ipi Thirty-one rounds were fought in the Harris-Costello contest,1 and it was left as a . r draw.-- '>--!:..:i :•■ •i-:-.-^'-':. ;'''•'j'l

Religious and Ecclesiastical.

'■'-—— ~-. r.i-rir. We learn that the price paid by .China to '" the Roman Catholic . missionaries for- the '' - Northern Cathedral in Pekin, which is to , be removed to another site in the city, is 500,000 taelsy or rather more;than £100,000 - ' sterling. The-cathedral becomes-the pro- '.\ perty of the Empress of China, and another ' ' y[ site is being selected, subject to the ap- y proyal, of the Chinese, Government/ ky^Jaffl joint commission of Chinese and' -Romanl*M Catholic ecclesiastics.- In this wayaques tion which has embittered the.relations be- •.-';.' twcen the missionaries and the Chinese for the last twenty-five years has; been s re- WR, moved. ' ' '"•

THE _*IK^4P> i.olplffit! ffl>m i§^rj^

2



1 ' ' , = ■;-,...-,-vir -''« ' : There were few of the women of Corinec- *•; ticut in the last century who did, not keep ; , : some sort of a diary. .An entry; in one of, rthese diaries shows what events were re- ,• hy,s corded; and also" how witty some .Of the ..,-•; girls of the period were :?' 1790—We had • roast pork for dinner, and- Dr S , who carved, held up a.rib on his fork and said :, | ' Here,1 ladies, is what "Mother .Eve, was , ■'made'pf:' '■ '.Yea;' said sister Patty, ; ... ■''■ from very,much the same, kind; of, .critter. ci .mi..' ,v"'' """ i '"' "" " -■;