Such is the story of Believe as You List. The drama resembles one of the ancient plays in respect of the concentration of tragic interest on one head, and a pathetic interest is aroused by the inveterate hostility of fate, which is never weary of tormenting the unhappy king. When he rouses himself against his destiny, he presents a noble figure; and though he is often too lachrymose for modern ideas of manly dignity, his afflictions may well justify his grief; and we may remember that the drama was sketched in days when self-command was not esteemed the prime virtue of manhood. The play, curiously re-introduced to the world, as I have said, after long obscurity, is not a great one, but is worth a perusal. It is due to Colonel Cunningham to add that he has made short work, by the aid of dates, with the idea that the woes of Charles the First were sought to be illustrated, and affirms his belief that it was the story of Sebastian, King of Portugal, deposed by Philip the Second, that was in Massinger's view, and hence, we being at peace with Spain, royal licence was refused to the drama, when first tendered to Sir Henry Herbert.

SHIRLEY BROOKS.

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN YACHTS.

COME time ago we expressed an opinion that English yachts are now better rigged, better as sea boats, and faster sailers, on or off the wind, than any of American build; and we expected that the recent season would have put such an opinion to the test. That, however, was not done in any satisfactory degree; as the only match either of the American yachts that have visited us this year actually sailed in was one from Cherbourg to the Nab Light and back. A seven-knot topsail breeze only prevailed, and the Dauntless was beaten on every point of sailing by the Egeria of 152 tons. The Guinevere, of 294 tons, beat them both; and no adequate excuse was made for the ill success of the American yacht. It is true she carried away her foretopmast, but as she directly rigged a jury one, we fail to see that it seriously interfered with her success. Later on, both the Dauntless and Sappho were engaged in a match from Dieppe to the Nab Light and back; but circumstances occurred which prevented both taking part in the contest; and this was to be regretted, as the strength of the wind would have left nothing to be desired in that respect. They arrived off Dieppe on Sunday, the 29th of August, after dark, whilst a strong wind was blowing from the N.E., and they were unable to run the wretched entrance to the harbour. They consequently lay to under close-reefed canvas outside, and about midnight it blew a hard landsman's gale. From the account that we heard from persons who were on board, the dirtiness of the night caused no little consternation among the passengers on board the American yachts; and however adapted they may be for the long seas of the Atlantic, they are ill suited to the short, chopping, and powerful seas of the Channel. As an American, who was on the Dauntless, said in our hearing :"These channel seas not only roll a vessel about, but take hold of her and give her a shaking, and then drop her down into a hollow." The result was that the Sappho carried away some of the iron work of her bowsprit, and put back to Cowes; and the Dauntless's crew, when they got into Dieppe harbour, at 3 p.m. on Monday afternoon, having been without rest thirty hours, were too exhausted to commence a match which in all probability would last another twenty

four hours. The Cambria was there ready to start, but the idiot in charge of the steamboat engaged to tow her outside failed to turn up in time, and the dock gates were closed against her. Had the American yachts started, it would have been said that the owner of the Cambria was unwilling to face them in a strong wind; but we are inclined to believe that Mr. Ashbury has, if anything, shown a little too much zeal in his endeavours to meet them. He has, perhaps, been fooled; for he, like all the rest of the world on this side of the Atlantic, was led to suppose that the American yachts were visiting this country for the express purpose of trying conclusions against English yachts, as the America did in 1851.

So far as we are capable of judging, the Americans have not behaved very well in the matter. Mr. Ashbury's challenge of October 3rd was straightforward and definite, and deserved serious and practical consideration; but the answers it evoked were by no means satisfactory. The challenge stipulated that the chosen vessel for each race should not be more than ten per cent. larger than the Cambria; and directly Mr. Bennett accepted a portion of the challenge relating to a match from Cowes to New York, the objection was raised that the Dauntless was considerably more than ten per cent. larger than the Cambria. This was denied in the American papers, and a long correspondence on tonnage and measurement was the result. This correspondence led to no practical result, and the question of the Ocean Match was left open until the arrival of the Dauntless during the last week in July at Cowes. In the meantime the American press indulged in all kinds and conditions of sensation writing about the Cambria and her owner, one paper in particular being extremely offensive in the tone it adopted. The bad taste of this was the more noticeable as the owner of the Dauntless is part proprietor of the paper in question. It is, however, useless to deprecate the improprieties of New York journalism, as the American gentlemen for whose entertainment such unparalleled rudeness of speech is intended have evidently very different notions of courtesy and good breeding to those that are prevalent in this country. Directly the Dauntless appeared at Cowes, the sailing committee of the Royal Yacht Squadron offered to forego the customary restriction of the match for the Queen's Cup, and invited the owner of the Dauntless to compete for it. This he declined doing, and he also abstained from taking part in any of the open matches. This certainly was a matter that entirely concerned himself, and if he arrived at a conclusion that the Dauntless had no chance against English yachts in "inland waters," no one will blame him for not

racing her inside, or round the Isle of Wight. If, however, he had started it would have put such a conclusion to a practical test, and we should have been favoured with an opportunity of judging the merits of American yachts, as compared with our own, when sailing on a good working breeze and moderately rough sea. It is sheer nonsense and unmeaning boasting to talk of a three thousand miles course as a means of testing the speed and qualities of such vessels, and one that requires as much sea room as a liner to work in, is scarcely worthy of the name of a racing yacht. But whatever the alleged advantages of the Atlantic course are for American yachts, it is probable that Mr. Bennett is by this time convinced that, if strong winds and heavy seas were the only conditions required of such a course, they might be found without going farther than the short channel passage to Dieppe. Mr. Bennett might have declined the Solent contests solely on the ground that his yacht would be measured and timed by the absurd Thames rule: still he could have objected to this rule, and then perhaps the whole question of measurement for classing in races would have been practically considered and definitely settled. But, be this as it may, had she started simply as an experiment to discover what she really could do with our yachts, we should have been satisfied; as it was, we were forced to the conclusion that there are no more "Americas," and that Commodore Steven's renowned schooner has been succeeded by mere floating hotels. We have no reason to think, beyond the authority of the New York papers, that the American yachts visited this country for any purpose beyond the ordinary one of cruising. This, perhaps, is the true explanation of what has appeared to be supine ness on the part of their owners; and it is highly gratifying to reflect on the manner their astute yachtsmen have mocked the lavish scribes of trans-Atlantic bunkum. If this be really the case, we truly pity the owner of the Meteor, as her trials and victories have been heralded and anticipated even more blatantly than the illusive ones of the Dauntless and Sappho. We are, however, inclined to a belief that the American gentlemen who run across the Atlantic in their yachts in so many days, hours, and minutes-we forget how few-did intend sailing matches, as they came across with racing spars and canvas, and intend reducing them for the return voyage. Nevertheless, they must have been fully determined to make a correct estimation of their winning chances before they entered upon any contest; and we are afraid it must be admitted that the balance of chances was found to be against them. It seems, judging from a letter published in a contemporary-we are not aware if

the letter was written by Mr. Bennett, but it evidently has his authority for its expressions-that the owner of the Dauntless is particularly anxious it should be known that he had not the temerity to challenge the Cambria first or last. The letter in question says:—

"SIR,-Will you allow me to correct a misstatement in your paragraph regarding the proposed International Atlantic Yacht Race? The challenge for such a race came from the owner of the Cambria, and not from the owner of the Dauntless. Early last winter Mr. Ashbury issued a series of challenges to American yachts, one of which was for a race from Cowes to New York, leaving Cowes. Sept. 1. This was accepted by the owner of the Dauntless, but Mr. Ashbury declined to sail against that vessel. After the arrival of the Dauntless in England, however, Mr. Ashbury challenged her to an ocean race to New York. Her owner accepted the challenge, and, as he was entitled to do as the challenged party, named Sept. 15 as the day of starting. That did not suit Mr. Ashbury, who objected to encounter the supposed dangers of the equinoctial gales, and this is the true reason why the Atlantic race did not take place. The owner of the Dauntless then proposed to race the Cambria to Madeira, sailing on Sept. 1, as both vessels could prepare themselves for such a race by that day. This was declined by Mr. Ashbury. With this exception, all challenges have originated with the Cambria, not with the Dauntless, and every challenge for an ocean race has been accepted by the owner of the American yacht.—D.”

To this an editorial note - apparently written from statements made by the owner of the Cambria—is appended, and we cannot learn from either the letter or the note that Mr. Ashbury was to blame that the Atlantic match did not take place :—

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[We willingly insert our correspondent's letter, but cannot admit that there was a misstatement in the paragraph in question, which was written upon the authority of the owner of the Cambria. The facts are briefly these. Shortly after the arrival of the Dauntless at Cowes, Mr. Bennett made a verbal challenge to Mr. Ashbury to sail the Dauntless against the Cambria, either round the Azores or to New York. Mr. Ashbury took time to consider the challenge (which was quite distinct from his own challenge of the previous year), and, during the week of the Royal Yacht Squadron Regatta, he wrote to Mr. Bennett, accepting the challenge, from Cowes to New York, the yachts to sail on the 1st of September. A fortnight elapsed without producing a reply, and, considering that the affair was off, Mr. Ashbury arranged with some friends for a pleasure trip to the Isthmus of Suez; but being anxious that there should be no misunderstanding, he again wrote, about the 23rd of August, to Mr. Bennett, calling attention to the letter containing the acceptance of the challenge, and requesting a reply within twentyfour hours. Mr. Bennett thereupon telegraphed to say that he would accept Mr. Ashbury's challenge, and sail a match from Cape Clear to New York, starting on the 15th of September. A meeting subsequently took place in London, and Mr. Ashbury declared his unwillingness to wait until the 15th, as it involved, as a certainty, bringing the yachts into the equinoctial gales. These, being from the eastward in the autumnal equinox, would be wholly in favour of the larger vessel, running before the wind. Mr. Bennett stated that he could not be ready earlier, as he