The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-21 00:00:00

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.-. -.This Day,

CITY BET TlNG—Tuis D AY.
CESAREWITCII.
16 to 1 agst Anfield (taken)
20 to 1 agst Jack of Hearts (taken)
25 to 1 agst Blackdown (taken)
28 to 1 apt Drummer Boy (taken)
18 to 1 agst Hurricane (taken freely)

CAMI3RIDGF,SIIIRE.
16 to 1 agst Birdhill (taken)
20 to 1 agst Borealis (taken)
28 to 1 agst Turcos (taken freely)

Grand Match of Ball at Biarritz,

A correspondent writing from Biarritz on the
17th says :—" You must not imagine that the
fashionable circles alone And amusements here—
there is food for every taste. We two days back had
a tremendous irruption of peasants, male and female,
from the Basque country, attracted by a public noti-
fication that a grand match of ball was to be con-
tested by four of the most celebrated players of the
Soule against four others equally noted from the
Lallond, two districts long famous for producing
splendid players. A Basque peasant, whether of
France or of Spain—for the name applies to por-
tions of both countries—cannot imagine any
greater glory than to be first-rate at the noble
game of paume. There have been many instances
of a farmer selling his horses or cows to raise
funds to bet on some extraordinary player; and
whenever a solemn contest takes place, vast
sums of money change hands. The game is
played in two ways, either against a wall, as in
England and Ireland, or d la longue, when a long
narrow piece of ground is marked cut, and the
hall is sent from one end of it towards the other, a
hard ae the player who gives the service can con-
trive to propel it. This latter mode is considered by
far the nobler game, and was that selected on the
present occasion. There were four combatants at
each side, and every one of them had frequently
distinguished himself in previous matches. The
principal heroes of the Soule were two brothers
named Mathieu, whilst the champions of the La!-
lond were Moulin and Benjamin. Of the whole
eight this last was the only one married, the rest
being scarcely more than from 19 to 22. In
fact, when once a player enters into the bonds of
matrimony, he generally abandons the game of
a public player, and contents himself with the
glory of his former exploits. The players wear
on the right hand a sort of scooped glove, about
foot long, made of dried leather and whalebone, and
with that adjunct they send a ball an immense dis-
tance. Whenever the ball in the course of the
service, overpasses the extreme line of the play-
ground, that event in itself constitutes the gain of
a point, and is always greeted with shouts of ap-
plause. Only twice during the whole of the match
at Biarritz did the ball overleap the extreme line,
and in each case it was shot out as if from
a catapult by Moulin, who for the rest of
the day was addressed by the pet name of Mou-
linet, a token of admiration and affection. Both
blowawere struck at the very commencement of
the play, and it would almost seem as if the
exertion was too prodigious to be often repeated.
As the game proceeded, the excitement became
extreme, and the agitation of the spectators pre-
sented to the uninitiated something almost ludi-
crous. One thing only saved the scene from ridi-
cule, and that was, that the various occupants of
the tribunes were beyond any doubt terribly in
earnest. The sums they wagered were extra-
ordinary, and I saw near the spot where I stood, a
man whose whole attire was not worth twenty
francs, pull out a handful of silver and gold and
stake it on the Lallond. The mode of making the
bets is curious ; when a wager is accepted the
two parties place their Money in the hands
of a third party happening to stand near, and
when the game is over the winner receives the
double sum. Of course the person applied to
for the office of stakeholder can decline, but if
he refuses another is found the next instant, and
scarcely ever does an instance occur of trust being
betrayed. I had next me a boy of 15, well-dressed,
and from his conversation liberally brought up; he
told me he had been saving all his pocket money
for the last three months to risk it on the Soule,
as his confidence in Moulinet was unbounded,
Whenever a good blow was struck by the men of
the boy's own party, his enthusiasm was uproarious,
and a companion of his—but who, I could under-
stand, had not possessed any money to stake—even
exceeded him in vocal demonstration. I fear, how-
ever, that they both went home in a melancholy
mood, for when I left the ground, after looking at
the proceedings for about two hours, the brothers
Mathieu were gradually turning the scale, and vic-
tory for the other party seemed almost possible. I
think it right, of a faithful chronicler, to declare
that the play was pronounced by the best connois-
seurs to be first-rate, and that if Moulinet and Ben-
jamin could not succeed in changing the fortune of
the day, it was not owing so much to any want of
skill as to a series of mischances which will some-

times set in unaccountably against a particular side.
Ile scene was a curious one from the bright colours
worn by the women, and the large sums ventured
by the men; and I have no doubt that the great
match of paurne at Biarritz in 1863 will long afford
theme for conversation over the winter fire in many
a village of the Basque country."—Galignanti.

RAILWAY INTELLIGENCE.

TRAFFIC RECEIPTS FOR THE WEEK.
Miles Opened. Receipts.

Railways. ~-----„....--..„‘
1863. 1862. 1863. 1862.
1 £
Belfast and N. Counties 136 136 2,325 2,920
Belfast and County DOWD ..
Blyth and Tyne 2B 28 1,933 2,437
Bristol and Exeter 1215 1215 7,260 7,376
Caledonian
Cockermouth & Workington B5 85 329 29'.3
Cork and Bandon 2O 20 330 285
Cork, Blackrock, & Passage 6l 61 220 221
Cork and Youghal 324 27 476 452
Cornwall 531 531 1,707 1.443
Deeside l7 17 343 381
Dublin & Belfast Junction 63 63 1,418 1,458
Dublin and Drogheda 75 63 1,714 1,809
Dublin and .51eath
Dub. & Wicklow and Wextd 514 485 2,760 2,478
Edinburgh and Glasgow 1691 1691 8,930 8.386
Forth & Clyde Junction
Furness, &a 5O 5.' 2,012 2,786
Glasgow & South-Western
Gt. Eastern,Nrik.,&E.Union
Great Northern 351 351 34,340 33,155
Great North of Scotland 5B 58 2,091 2,150
Ut. Northn. & Westn. (Irel.) 714 t 64 645 498
9-t. Soutl in. & W estn. (hind. ) 3541 329 8.392 8,486
Great Western 1056.1 10324 65,045 68.128
Inverness & Aberdeen June— 864 865 1,643 1,257
Irish North-Western 145 145
Lancashire & Yorkshire 3951 3951
Limerick and Ennis.
Limerick and Foynes 264 26
Llanelly 464 4
London & North-Western
London and Blackwall
London & South-Western
Lond. Brighton, &S. Coast
London, Chatham, & Dover 72 721
Do. Metropolitan Extension 105 24
Lond. Tilbury, & Southend
Man.,Sheffield,& Lincolnsh
Manch. 5..1 un.& Altrincham 95 91
Maryport and Carlisle 2B 28
Metropolitan 34
Midland (incl. N.-Western) 641 6141
--"gndG+ '- ' -- id -W7 192
_ _ .

37,877 36.667
179 145
115 112
646 776
101,576 100,568
1,910 1,946
5,0911 26.329
21,128 24,560
6,440 6,309
1,305 60
2 587 2,587
16,223 14,995
3,312 1,282
1,329 1,269
1,643 -
45,971 44,763
5,109 5,096
1,694 1,528
2,758 2,512

Midland Gt.Westn. of Irinu 2594 _
Monkland 714 71.4
Monmouthsh. Rail. & Canal 44 44
North British, Edin., Perth
and Dundee
N-Eastern and Stock. & Darl lOO5 10771 58,131 55,071
North London 9 g 3,212 ' 3,113
North Staffordshire 254 252 8,349 8.486
Oswestry and Newton 5O 42 1,307 1,188
Rhymney 194 194 815 863
H St. elen's Canal & Railway 52 52 1,965 2,381
Scottish Central
Scottish North-Eastern l3B 134 5,630 5.565
Somerset and Dorset 394 394 495 438
South Devon
South-Eastern 306 500 28,5gg 29,279
Taff Vale 55 55 5,831 5,646
Ulster -14 Si 2,282 1.897
Vale of Clw
Vale of Neatl 32i 25} 2,551 2.160
Waterford and Kilkenny 3l 31 450 457
1,
Waterford and Limerick 77 77 474 1,553
West Cornwall 274 274 700 842
W.liartlepoolliarbr.&RaiL 4B 48 4,872 4,358
W'haven,Cleator,& Egrmnt 7 7 608 441
Whitehaven Junction l2 12 818 687
Whitehaven & Furness jun 35 35 803 667

1-1 MADRID, Sept. 18.—The reply of the Emperor
of Morocco is expected to-morrow. The Epoca
states that the Cabinets of .V.adrid and Washington
have decided on submitting the decision of the affair
of the maritime zone of Cuba to the arbitration of
the King of the Belgians. n ihrrot has arrived
here.