Small praise it is to call it good, It's worthy of the pen of Hood-Hood-wink'd indeed, must that man be, As Bee-tle blind that cannot see, And waspish, as a vengeful bee; Blind as the Mole beneath the earth (Not crescent Mole by Ocean girth, Or Mole that marks a child from birth), Which undermines the mound at Perth ; Whose top is crown'd by regal Scone, Where, chary, placed in chair of stone, Kings in regalia oft regale, While wait male Pages, dress'd in mail. Dark and base must be his mind As night, or faithless knight unkind; Dark, as dread Tartarean pit, Who for his creed ne'er died a Like Stirling's rock, they'll firmly But should, n'importe, what slips Note We have at length contrived to find room for T. Cowl's "sporting effusion " In future, if he purposes contributing to our pages, we shall take it as a favour if he will be rather more economical of his lines. Few of our renders enro for poetry that is not of a decidedly humorous east ; fewer still will be at the trouble of reading verses from which some information of a sporting nature is not derived. T. C. has evidently read Thomson's Sensons to some purpose, but let that pass: an ingenious imitation is preferable to a bad original. We have taken the liberty of expunging a few lines in the P.N., ns, without their express permission, we cannot allow of our contributors' being MO openly alluded to ED. MHOW The fifth Mhow Turf meeting commenced on Tuesday, the 16th Dec., and celebrated as that course is for the sporting spirit which has always promoted such excel. lent competition, yet we understand that the races of this year have almost equalled those of their former seasons. The course itself was not in anything like the good order in which it has hitherto been, owing to the want of rain to render it more soft, for not a shower has fallen in Malwa since the training commenced, and the greater part of the mile and a half was as hard nan rock and very rough and uneven, like a man's face with the small-pox: notwithstanding these disadvantages, the time has been in general first-rate, as will presently be seen. The preparatory step towards beginning the fun of the festival time was taken to On Thursday morning the rond to the course was thronged with people, both black and white, all hurrying to the scene of action, and many a heart was throbbing with anxiety for the result of the day's sport. At sunrise the bugle Bounded for saddling, and, soon after, Poput was led up the two-mile starting-post, looking in fine order, and handsomely trimmed with sky-blue ribbons; next appeared Blackfoot, decorated with a profusion of crimson bows. Many an eye was watching him as he walked up, and some of the knowingest of the knowing ones detected a tenderness in his tread that augured well for their betting books. Regent followed, and sported white favours, and really looked very much like a winner; but his having had but two or three gallops brought the odds fearfully against him. The sound for mounting now enused a deep silence, which prevailed till broken by the word "off" shouted from the judge's stand as the horses were seen to be awny, Down they came at a clipping rate and passed the stand well together, Poput with his head in front; at the first half mile Regent tailed off to run for the distance, Blackfoot also dropped a little, and Poput took the Tond by n length or two. At the beginning of the straight run at the back of the course, Blackfoot toddled up to see what the parrot was doing, and mande him fly a little faster, till his opponent challenged for the lend after a short struggle he gained it, and led by several lengths to the turn in when Poput showed his courage by A bold offort for The horses having tasted the whip, and the time being nothing to be alarmed at, Regent's friends known he could have clocked held up their heads, for it was them a bit there, and he started for the next heat well up to win, After the first half mile Blackfoot dropped like a shot, and "dead lame" was the cry, Regent and Poput going along together very prettily. Shortly after this, Blackfoot's lameness seemed to wear off, and he showed leg in good style, running up to the leading horses, challenging well, would not be rofused, held to it, poked his nose in front, shoved his shoulder in the best place, and at last shook his tail in their faces! A bite, by Gd, cries the knowing ones; no more lame than I am, said a laughing gentleman, with lumbago in his loins, and the Regent ran excellently as the time of the last half mile will show; he did not get a throw at Blackfoot, who showed great bottom, and won cloverly. min. 860. 1 1 1 10 1 total 4 11 5N For the Colt's Plate Molto ninn, a tall slashing horse, was the favourite against the field, and he looked a likely one enough, but there were not wanting some, and some of them pretty much awake, to get a tasty bet from the "hitme-gently-Johnnies" of the course, who shook their heads at him as he was led up, and hinted that there was something wrong this year in the owner's stables. But the appearance of Epicure, a sourlooking, roanish, iron grey concern, and the baldfaced, crookedlegged Rainbow gave Meltonian a light up in men's opinions. We have heard a judge of horseflesh take three to one that he would distance the latter, and he proved right. Meltonian shook them both off almost from the starting, increased his ground from them at every stride, and got to his journey's end 238 yards before the Epicure (what a squeak for the character of the fastidious gourmand!) and miserabile dictu, poor Rainbow vanished in the distance even behind Epicure, so that the fine blood of Tom Thumb and his half-fraternity to the Poona Blaze filly could not give him foot or courage, for he evidently funked the other horses. The second heat was a humbug-Meltonian led in a canter all round-what's the use of timing such COWgallops! The second day's turn-out was on Thursday, when "Lightlybeats" (what a name!) did very lightly beat Coppersmith and Regent in (I believe) 5m. 21s., carrying 8st., for 24 miles. The two latter made a pretty race, but the mettle of the smith enabled him to hammer away in front of the other. As soon as his race was finished, out came the well-known pony, Jem Imer (here's another rum kind of nomination; I fancy the owner must, at first naming the animal, have thought it a mare and meant to call it Jemima!) without a competitor, and he toddled off by himself for a plate that he has won every season. Why not exclude such a speedy little devil? The Give and Take was the next race, and Boxkeeper, who looked as fresh as ever, and in most beautiful condition, came to the post with his old antagonist, Goblin Grey, whose superior order and appearance to what he was last year brought him well up in the betting, although he had to give the other a stone. The distance was 11⁄2 miles and 95 yards; two very beautiful heats gave the race to Boxkeeper, and very deservedly too. What on earth could possess the owner to give such a chance to him? This way of hacking about a real good honest horse shows a good deal of devil-may-carishness, but devilish little justice to the animal. That's our opinion. So ended the second day. On Saturday all the great horses were in the lists, and the stand was crowded; the first race was for Holkar's purse of 1000 rupees, with 150 entrance; a pretty good purse too, and Chapeau de Paille (who had been known, during his stay at Mhow, only as a maiden, and went by the name of Bobbery), Blackfoot, the winner of the Great Sweepstakes, and "Lightlybeats," who took away the second maiden, were down at the 21⁄2 mile post by sunrise, betting three to one in favour of the Frenchman against Blackfoot, and eleven to one against the other, though many thought he had won his former race so very easily that he would have a good pull for this. However, it would not do; Chapeau allowed him to lay with him merely for fun, and he took the heat without any great exertion, while Blackfoot's jockey, who had been desired to save his distance, had kept him so many distances behind, that he was obliged to urge him whip and spur to do so; nor indeed would he have succeeded in this had not his owner galloped across the course to a 4 5 34 581 a were That was pretty good going, wasn't it? and Blackfoot, though beaten, was not disgraced, and proved that he was better horse than his owner thought him. Chapeau's powers still unknown, for it was certain that he had been hard held every inch of the journey. Boxkeeper and Goblin again had a run together for the Asseer Plate, heats one mile, 8st., 12lbs., and 9st.; the difference being in favour of the latter, and of course he stood well to win. It was neck and neck from post to post, and a most interesting race it was. should he? But the owner challenged the winner and took him for the 1000 rupees; the race was a long three mile travel, and except the first mile was very slow walking indeed. All the three plates of this day went into one stable; such good luck occasioned strange surmises from the black Turf Amateurs, and some of them declared that Jadoo (Magic) had been resorted to, and, dreadful to relate, a murder was committed on the course to prevent certain, horses winning; some cruel-hearted, desperately-in-for-it fellow had actually killed a cock in cold blood:-strange pieces of copper, old nails, bits of tiles, rags, feathers, congregated in broken pans, were found under stable doors, and the devil was actually seen by a syce to stand by his horse in the stall. If he had stood by him in the race, it would have been better, but the devil is never in his proper place;— no more was the horse he visited. The sun got up on Monday morning just as Boxkeeper and Blackfoot were being saddled to start for the Malwa Stakes with 8st. 4lb. each, heats two miles-the old horse the favourite at nearly 4 to 1. " My head," said a little round-faced gentleman," to a "That's an pumpkin on Boxy." even bet," cried a wag; "you should give the odds." The pumpkinbetter did not like the joke, and said no more, for the horses were on their legs, and beautifully, most beautifully did they contest the heats, Blackfoot losing by a length min. sec. 0 594 |