At the commencement of a new year we cannot do better than give the following advice to young sportsmen, which Baron Alderson wrote to his son on manly exercises: "I have sent you to Eton that you may be taught your duties as an English young gentleman. The first duty of such a person is to be a good and religious Christian; the next is to be a good scholar; and the third is to be accomplished in all manly exercises and games-such as rowing, swimming, jumping, cricket, and the like. Most boys, I fear, begin at the wrong end, and take the last first; and what is still worse, never arrive at either of the other two at all. I hope, however, better things of you; and to hear first that you are a good, truthful, honest boy, and then that you are one of the hardest workers in your class; and after that, I confess I shall be by no means sorry to hear that you can show the idle boys that an industrious one can be a good cricketer, and jump as wide a ditch, or clear as high a hedge as any of them." THE CECIL TESTIMONIAL. The friends of Cecil, considering his services in connection with Sporting Literature, and the benefits that have resulted from his labours and research in all matters relating to "Foxhunting" during the last thirty years, have determined upon presenting him with a Testimonial as an acknowledgment of his past exertions. The following noblemen and gentlemen have consented to form a Committee for the purpose: His Grace the Duke of Rutland. The Right Hon. the Earl of The Right Hon. the Earl of Coventry. The Viscount Curzon. The Lord Kesteven. Yarborough. The Lord Fitzhardinge. Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, Bart. The Hon. W. H. J. North. T. Harvey D. Bayly, Esq. H. T. Meynell Ingram, Esq. FREDERICK H. CATOR, ESQ., Heath, Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire. Subscriptions will be received by the Honorary Secretary; Messrs. Barclay and Co., Bankers, London; Messrs. Fryer, Bankers, Wolverhampton; the Branch Bank of England, Leicester; and by other bankers and gentlemen in different Hunts appointed by the Honorary Secretary. THE EARL; WHO BEAT BLUE GOWN, AND WON EVERY RACE HE RAN IN 1868. ENGRAVED BY E. HACKER, FROM A PAINTING BY HARRY HALL. BY CASTOR. The Earl, bred at the Royal Paddocks at Hampton Court in 1865, is by Young Melbourne out of Bay Celia, by Orlando, her dam Hersey, by Glaucus out of Hester, by Camel-Monimia, by Muley-Sister to Petworth, by Precipitate. Young Melbourne bred by Lord Glasgow in 1855, is by Melbourne out of Clarissa, by Pantaloon, her dam by Glencoe out of Frolick some, by Frolic-Stamford-Alexina. Young Melbourne never started but once, in 1857 as a two-year-old, when he was beaten in a match at even weights by Lord Derby's Whitewall; but Lord Glasgow's colt fell in the race. Young Melbourne's stock came out in 1861, and he is the sire of the following winners:-Maid of Masham filly, Beauvale, Coalition filly, Passion, Rapid Rhone, filly out of an Orlando mare, filly out of a Birdcatcher mare, filly out of a Gameboy mare, brother to Rapid Rhone, General Peel, Emigration, Chessman, Melbourne, Mary, Arcade, Strafford, Barmaid, Satanella colt, Bab-at-the-Bowater filly, colt out of a Teddington mare, Lizzie Hexham, The Earl, Epigram, Geelong, Kingsland, Owain Glyndwr, Python, Scotchman's Pride, Actress, Agrippa, Anne Boleyn, Baroness, Miss Sarah colt, another Maid of Masham filly, Clovis, Di Vernon, Kingsland, Liberal, Poinsettia, and Prince Imperial. Young Melbourne will stand this season at the Royal Paddocks Hampton Court, where his subscription of twenty-five mares at 50 gs. each is full. Bay Celia, bred by General Peel in 1851, passed into the late Mr. Henry Elwes' hands, when as a two-year-old she showed great promise winning the Lavant at Goodwood, and the Hopeful at Newmarket, her only other appearance during the year being at Bibury, where she ran second in a large field for the Champagne. Bay Celia never ran afterwards, but eventually went into Her Majesty's stud with the following result, the produce having been sold at the hammer as yearlings : 1856 ch. c. by Pyrrhus the First (Mr. Merry) Gs. 270 54 1859 br. f. (sent to Lexington, U.S.) by The Flying Dutchman (Mr. Dudley) 1861 br. f. by Voltigeur (Mr. Oldacre) 1862 b. c. The Duke by Stockwell (Lord Hastings) 1868 ch. f. by St. Albans. The first time we ever saw The Earl was when he was sold as a yearling at Hampton Court, and where we remember, despite his connections with The Duke he did not make much impression, the general opinion being that the Marquis of Hastings' representative had by no means exhausted his commission at 450 gs. Although a lengthy level colt, with all the Orlando markings, he still took more in character after the Melbournes and was then of by no means stylish appearance. The last view we had of The Earl was in October, when, with a strong bodyguard of police about him, he was put up at Knightsbridge as the property of-nobody seemed to exactly know whom, and bought in at 3,900 gs. But this was not the only time The Earl had thus been paraded, as in the November of 1867 he was offered with others of the Marquis of Hastings' horses, but kept at Danebury for 6,100 gs. ; being then considered by that good judge, Captain Machell, who went as far as 6,000 gs., about the best of his year. The Earl has, indeed, gone on improving both in looks and deeds as his history will show. He is a dark bay, almost brown horse in places, standing just a trifle under sixteen hands high. He has a very good expressive though not "pretty" head, wide between the eyes, and deep in the jowl, with broad rather lopped ears. He has a strong powerful crest, with a longish neck, and well-laid shoulders, although a little heavy at the point. He has good depth of girth and barrel, if somewhat flat over the back ribs; while his quarters are powerful from the hip over towards the tail, but flattening down towards the gaskins. He has very good arms, and stands short from the knee and hock to the ground, with plenty of bone, and large feet. The Earl has a large blaze extending from between the eyes to the upper lip, is very temperate, despite the troublesome times he has seen, and "a leg"-an enlargement on the near fore-leg-over which essays have been already written. We confess that at Knightsbridge on that ominous Monday we could never get near him. In 1867, The Earl then two-years-old, made his first appearance, in the Marquis of Hastings' colours, at Ascot Summer Meeting, where ridden by Fordham, he was not placed for the Tenth Ascot Biennial Stakes for two-year-olds, colts 8st. 10lb., fillies 8st. 61b.-T.Y.C.won by Baron Rothschild's Suffolk, with Lord Stamford's Vale Royal second, and the Marquis of Hastings' See Saw third; Lord Falmouth's Tregeagle, Sir J. Hawley's Adosina, and Mr. Saxon's Patrician also started. 8 to 1 against The Earl, with whom the Marquis of Hastings' declared to win. At Stockbridge, ridden by Challoner at 8st. 10lb., he ran third and last for the Eltham Plate for two-year-olds-T.Y.C.-won by the Marquis of Hastings' Lady Elizabeth 8st. 11lb., with Mr. R. Sutton's Ironmaster, 8st. 10lb. second. Long odds on Lady Elizabeth, who won by a length and a-half, with The Earl a bad third. At Stamford, ridden by Cannon, 7st. 10lb., he won the Johnstone Nursery Handicap for two-year-olds-T.Y.C.-beating Mr. Samuel's Chivalry, 6st. 91b. (2); Mr. Bigg's Patti, 6st. 10lb. (3); Mr. Partner's Beatrice Gray, 7st. 10lb.; Lord Westmoreland's Retty, 6st. 11lb.; Mr. T. Dawson's Capucine filly, 6st. 91b., and Mr. G. Hodgman's Venomous, 6st. 71b. 5 to 4 on The Earl, who won by a head. At York, ridden by Fordham, at 8st. 10lb., he won the Gim |