The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-06 00:00:00

SPORTING NOTES,

THE ASCOT MEETING.

The glorious uncertainty of the turf was never min
exemplified than it was yesterday at Paris. The great rao 3
seemed to be: reduced to a match between Blair Athol, th e
Derby winner, and Fille de i'Air, the French and Engligh
Oaks victrix, but suffered defeat from a stable companio3a
of Bois•Roussel.
The Ascot meeting commences to-morrow, and no doubt
will be honoured with the presence of the Prince and
Princess of Wales. There are nine items set down fear
decision on the first day. The Ascot Stakes has a miserable
acceptance out of the 49 entered, only 17 having cried
" Content." Baldwin, the top weight, is entirely out of
the race. Canary and Thalestris are nicely in, and if Canary
be tneant I cannot see how he can lose. Wandering
11.1instrel, Sheridan, Alabama, and Claxton will be found
the best of the three-year-olds. I shall expect to see
CANARY win, with Thalestris and ALABAMA as h's im•
mediate followers.

The Prince of Wales Stakes has both Blair Athol and
Fills de l'Air engaged, with 91b penalty each, the former
for winning the Derby and the latter the Oaks. Both are
likely to be absentees. Scottish Chief has 51b penalty,
which will just enable Knight of Snowdon to reverse the

Epsom running. Lord Zetland will be his most dangerous
opponent. Little Stag has only to face the starter to win
the Gold Vase; but as he may be reserved for the Cup on
Thursday, I shall couple Fairwater and Oldminster with
him.

The Queen's Stand Plate, T.Y.C., looks more like a
handicap than a weight for age race, as the weights, after
adding the penalties and deducting the allowances, stand
as under :

Age st lb Age st lb
Umpire
Bertha
Lady Clifden .... 6 9 5 Victorious
Castle Hill 3 9 1 La Mechante .... 2 6 12
Birchbroom
Pearl Diver
Soapstone
Starbeam
King John
Rnyal Stag
Woldga 4 8 5 j Sister to Tomato .. 2 6 9
The top-weighted Umpire won this race last year. The
distance to be traversed is only five furlongs, and as weight
makes very little difference over a short course, he may
just pull through. Lady Clifden is by far the best of the
old horses engaged, and if she comes to the post in anything
like form she will have no difficulty in disposing of all
who may oppose her. The only one likely to upset her
ladyship's colours is LA BEARNAIS. The Tenth Ascot
Biennial will be carried off by Blue Mantle or King of the
Vale, and the Seventh Ascot Biennial by Gardevisure,
unless she is reserved for the New Stakes. The Royal
Hunt Cup is seldom won by the best horse. It is one of those
races that depends more on a start than merit. There are
several good horses amongst the entries, amongst whom are
Trumps, Amelia, Muezzin, Humphrey, Caroline, and
Finesse. If HumfintEr will only run up to his three-yr-
old form, when he beat as large fields as will contest this
race, I should look no further for the winner ; failing him
I shall trust to Amelia and Caroline. The Cup and the
New Stakes I shall refer to on Wednesday. Lord St.
Vincent no doubt will win the Cup, as he has two strings
to his bow in Lord Clifden and Little Stag.

A FRESH MAN.

Doctors' Commons,

All the houses in the Commons have a tumble-
down look, several were apparently uninhabited;
the closed shutters blankly proclaiming " our doctor
has departed." Indeed there were signs of emigra-
tion in several of the tenements, and Messrs Lo wndes
and Co. (I think), though still abiding in the Com-
mons, have other offices in an adjoining lane. With-
out any spirit of prophecy we may say of these
ancient haunts of the long-robed generation,

"Ichabod," the glory is departed ; for in the next
crop of railway bills who can doubt that there will
be a scheme to break them all up, to facilitate a new
plan of locomotion ? Emerging from the Commons
and crossing the Jane, I stumbled on the Heralds'
College, also a brick edifice, but rather fresher than
the clump of time-browned dwellings we had just
left ; yet it is probably quite as old. In appear-
ance it resembles a second-rate city ball, and has
nothing notable about it, except a narrow enclosure
on the right, the back wall being adorned with some
heraldic devices, and the front surmounted by gilded
turns or vases. Desiring a glance at the inner
sanctum of the tabarded sages, I sought permission
of the janitor, but was curtly told there was "no
admission except on business." A few steps brought
me to Harrow-court. Entering by a narrow,
dark, dirty passage I found myself surrounded by
a dismal square of tenements, tall and smoke-
blackened; a century since, doubtless, the resi-
dence of well-to-do Londoners, but now evidently a
mere refuge for the destitute. The central open
space was hung .with clotheslines, and wet
garments in every variety, except that none of
them were whole, but as they flapped to and fro
raggedly eccentric, proclaimed the poverty and
wretchedness of their wearers. A few half-clad
women were bending over wash-tubs, and labour-
ing in the suds; while a few children, uncombed
and shoeless, stared inquisitively in my face, and
one bolder boy said, " Good morning, sir." From
this area a view is commanded of some hundred
feet of a grievously smoky atmosphere, for the
cracked chimney-pots remorselessly belch out their
contents and obscure the whole neighbourhood,
already too dark.—City Press.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE—(This Day.)

LONDON, June 6.—Wind this day at noon—Sonth-
West ; moderate breeze and fine weather.
CARDIFF, June s.—Wind S.W.—Sailed—Britannia,
for New York.

SWANSEA, June 3.—Wind N.W.—Sailed—Georgiana
Stephano, for Coquimbo.
FALMOUTH, June 4 —Wind S.W.—Arrived—Superior,
from Smyrna—Thora, from Porto Rico. Sailed—Dora,
for Mogadore.
PORTSMOUTH, June s.—Wind N.W.—Arrived—Anna
Kay Harrison, from Bahia for Bremen.

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAM)
PLYMOUTH, Monday, 10 a.m.
Her Majesty's screw steam corvette Pearl, 21, Captain
John Borlase, from China, is now entering the Sound.
(BY MAGNETIC TELEGRAPHS)
GRATESEND, Monday Morning.
Sailed—Leon Raymundo, for Madeira; Seine, steamer,
for Boulogne.

DEAL, Monday Morning.
Passed, June s—Crusader, from the West for the North ' •
Seaton, screw steamer, of Sunderland, from the North, for
the West.

Passed, June 6—Leon Raymundo, for Madeira; the
March Hare, for Syra—both from London.

1 Ancl'oredL—Strong, for Honduras—Berl;ice, for Cardiff—
`laudia, for Demerara—Helene, for Tatteriffe—Argali, for
Bay-411 from London—Herman Hill, from Porto
A-tg".• r London—Comrnerzion Hathin, from Haupt, for
Rim l'. 'A
—Marley Hill, screw steamer, from the west, for
Alexandra
London. ............._

LORD BROZIGOM AND JOSEPH, STURGE.—I
Brougham gave me in CODO
re-
member a very g744nhic description which Lord
1:214.:
,:rsation at his house in Grafton-
street of Joseph Sturge's cotIA,:
et in the matter of the ap-
prenticeship system, which he acoming to him to arraign the conduct of u-t'e
gy. cod as an illustration of
our friend's indomitable ener Efe ~:old me of Mr Sturge
Tasters in the
(Brougham) how he
West Indies for oppressing their apprest.:" ;
laughed at him, deriding him in et,. is fashion
for proposing to abolish the apprenticeship -- •« Why,
Joseph Sturge,
how can you be such an old woman ah. to
dream that you can revive the anti-slavery agitation to pn:
an end to the apprenticeship"—how the quiet Quaker met
him with this reply, "Lord Brougham, it, when Lord
Chancellor, thou hadat a ward in chancery who was
apprenticed, and his master was violating the terms of
indenture, what would'et thou do ?" how he felt this as a
home thrust, and replied, ,4 Why, I should require good,
proof of the fact, Joseph Sturge, before I did anything::
1 how our friends rejoined, "Then I must supply
proof :" how he packed his portmanteau and quietly
ceaml.
barked for the West Indies, made a tour of the itellatnhat,
was
PP
eir
lected the necessary evidence of the e thee with
ynd commenced
the planters : how he returned to England tih° masters
being practised on the negro apprentices breas
aabolish thean agitation throughout the country
to
which had been-
organise all the old Anti-slavery
wes necessary tore
ap-
prenticeship, to accomplish which it
Societies
dissolved, or had laid down their arms, happy to be relieved
from their long and arduous labours ; how he brought them
anl
again into the field and attained d
hiwels ob
remember the
do I ject. This was the
narrative of Lord Broughatn,
46 Joseph Sturge," said he, "he whole
won the
in which, in conclusion, he awarded t
very words
at,"—Richards's Life of Joseph Sturge,
mgaemriet
otoffohuirs farwienadb.
just _Published.
OSTRICH FARMING.—At the Swellendam Agri-
cultural Show, Mr van Dyk said that he had many ostriches
ruwitag on his place; he had formerly got £1 for them
each year, but now he got from £lO to £l5 sterling. Be
considered that every tame ostrich was worth £2O sterling
a year.—Port Elizabeth (Cape of Good
Hope) gaper.