The Sun.
London, England, 1865-10-23 00:00:00

Lord Palmerston as a Sportsman.

When we (Bell's Life) come to remember the na-
tural vivacity and thoroughly English tone of the
late Premier's character it would have sounded
strange indeed had he not evinced some taste .for
our national sports. Continually in office from a
very early age, and, like the famous Vicar of Bray,
with " whatsoever king might reign," Lord Pal-
merston had never much leisure to devote to rural
recreations, and we consequently hear but little of
him at the cover side, though he was occasionally
out with the New Forest, nor even during the recess
did he do much in the stubble or on the moor. But
he was at heart a horseman, and the few brief hours
or whole holidays he could spare from the service of
his country were pretty certain to be spent either on
horseback or in the contemplation of his stud.
In fact, during the season there was no more inte-
resting sight, particularly to the stranger visitor,
than the Prime Minister, rather late in the afternoon,
putting his horse's head straight down the Row,
and pounding away in a long swinging trot, utterly
heedless of the crowds of idlers and butterflies who
watched his progress. This was the daily " con-
stitutional," and about the most invigorating exer-
cise any man of mature age could command, while,
we heard again every now and then of his riding
down to the Derby, or mounting his hack and
going miles before breakfast to see a favourite
gallop. It was here that his passion found some
fitting vent, without occupying too great a share of
his time and attention, and for the last half cen-
tury at least Lord Palmerston had, on and off, been
an owner of race horses, as during the whole of that
period we believe he was never without a few good
brood mares in his possession. So far back as the
year 1813 he ran a filly called Mignionette at Win-
chester, while noticeably enough the last appear-
ance of his colours was over the same course during
the past summer, with the three year old Wade, by
King Tom ; as on Wednesday, the very day of his
death, a horse of Mr. Montgomerie's, bearing the
appropriate name of Pam, by Prime Minister, won
the opening race at Kelso. Although Lord Palmer-
ston was fairly blooded during the following season,
when he won a race with Enchantress, it was not
till 1821 that we find him in the list of subscribers
to Weatherby's Calendar, a tolerably good sign
of a man's training on ; and in two or three
years more he had a really useful horse or two
in work about home ; or, as " Nimrod" so
happily put it in the Quarterly Review article
some ten seasons subsequently, "We must con-
sider our noble Secretary for Foreign Affairs only
a humble provincial. To the satisfaction, indeed, of
his competitors, his lordship has now relinquished
even these rural honours, for Luzborough, Greyleg,
and Company were sad teazers to the west-country
platers." Luzborough, however, it is only fair to
say, was something more than a plater, and the
rather a good cup horse, while he also won the
Somersetshire Stakes, a race of far more repute at
that period than at present. " Old John Day," as
he will be best known to the modern Turfite, was
the jockey, and his father, who lived at Oughton
Down, the trainer ; and they were in truth " sad
teazers" to the west-country folk, for we read of
Lord Palmerston winning three or four events one
after another, and three or four races a day were
then thought to make up a very liberal allowance
of sport. Still, his lordship relinquished even these
" rural honours," but he soon came again, and
in 1836 Toothill and Ashfield made their mark ;
though it was in the year following his marriage
that Lord Palmerston really took rank as a Turfite,
creating, as he did, some amusing sensation with the
most renowned runner he ever possessed. This
was Iliona, by Priam, a cast-off from Lord George
Bentinck's stud, but with which Lord Palmerston,
no longer the humble provincial, won the great
autumn handicap of the year, the Cesarewitch at
Newmarket. Memorable as this victory might be
to the master of Broadlands, it was rendered still
more so by the discussion that ensued. If the
"legs" and other worthies had experienced some
difficulty in arriving at the proper pronunciation of
the name of the stake, the whole world found still
more in giving the name of the winner, and for week
after week a wordy warfare was carried on as to the
claims of the Omega or Omicron. The point was ulti-
mately roferred,not to the Jockey Club but to the heads
of the neighbouring University, when a decision was
given in favour of the o long, and, of course, " a
deal of money changed hands..' Lord Palmerston
himself, however much he may have enjoyed " the
debate," took little or no part in it ; nor do we ever
remember that his great opponent, either in the
Forum or on the Olympic plain, Lord Derby, gave
the weight of his high authority on the occasion.
The nag of any note that carried the green jacket
and orange cap on to victory was Buckthorn, the
winner of another remarkable race, the Ascot Stakes,
still frequently spoken of in Turf annals. Alfred
Day, who rode him, lay so far off and looked at one
time so apparently out of it, that a hundred to one
was offered in vain against Lord Palmerston's horse,
who gradually reached them, however, and, to the
surprise of everybody, won cleverly at last. But
Ascot is a capital course for taking your time over, as
Sam Chifney, Jem Robinson, and many other fine
jockeys as well as Alfred Day have discovered ere
now. Still the Day dynasty was doomed, and his
lordship and the family separated over the fortunes
of the next good horse, Mainstone, who was a strong
favourite for the Derby of his year, and " the co-
incidence" pretty generally anticipated of the Prime
Minister winning the Blue Riband of the Turf ;
but the crack went wrong just before the race, and
we never remember a more forlorn hope to look on
than when Sam Rogers rode him out of the pad-
dock. Lord Palmerston after this disappointment
removed his horses to Henry Goater's, at Littleton,
but he has since had little or nothing worth mention,
beyond Baldwin, a Derby outsider, and the winner of
a race or two afterwards. It must not, though, be
inferred that his lordship was a heavy better ; on the
contrary, he never stood a stake in his life, but
patronised the pursuit from his innate love of horses
and sport, as no clerk in the House or City appren-
tice ever asked for a holiday on the Derby Day
with more prospective enjoyment than the Premier
of England himself. Still, as " Nimrod" has it, as
a racing man he was more in his element in the
provinces ; and it was not, indeed, until very late
in his career as a sportsman--so far on as the year
1846—that he became a member of the Jockey
Club.

LORD PALMERSTON AS AN AUTHOR.
(From the Athenxunt,) -

Pretty early in life Lord Palmerston began to
write, and though he was tco much of a politician
to study the graces of literary expression, his hand
was sharply felt in the " Tory mischief" then going
on. The New Whig Guide, a pleasant battery di-
rected against the Liberal Opposition, was mainly,
we believe, written by Lord Palmerston, Sirß. Peel,
and Mr. Wilson Croker. Lord Palmerston wrote a
sparkling piece of banter under the title of "Report of
the trial of Henry Brougham for calling Mr. Ponsonby
an Old Woman." This squib is very like the Harry
Temple of past years. Brougham is found guilty,
but recommended to mercy on the ground of his
having vilified the Prince Regent. Lord Palmer-
ston also contributed a plan for re-arranging the
Red-book on scientific principles, introducing the
Linnten systeth into Parliament. had he cultivated
this tante of drollery he might perhaps have carried
off some of Canning's laurels ; but society and
office, won too early in life, seduced him from lite-
rature, which never grew to be anything more
than a toy to him. Some of his speeches, particu-
larly the speech in defence of his foreign policy,
and many of his minutes and despatches, have great
merits. The public would be glad to see his papers
on the Eastern Question, the Spanish Marriages, and
the Crimean War.

CABINET COUNCIL.—At a late hour on Friday
evening Lord Russell issued summonses for a Cabinet
Council, at the Foreign-office, on Thursday afternoon, at
half-past 2 p.m. By that time the whole of the Cabinet
Ministers will be in London.
LORD PALMERSTON'S FUNERAL.—WC have reason
to believe that the funeral of the late Lord Pal-
merston will not take place at Romsey. The remains of
the lamented statesman will be conveyed this morningfrom
Brockett-hall to Cambridge-house, and the funeral, which
we conclude will be a public one in Westminster Abbey,
will take place in London.—Times.

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HER MAJESTY•

BALMORAL, Oct. 19.

The Queen, accompanied by their Royal High-
nesses the Princess Helena and Princess Louise,
walked and drove in the morning, and in the after-
noon with the Princess Louise and Princess Bea-
trice.

Sir George Grey had the honour of dining with
the Queen and royal family.

OCT. 20.
The Queen walked and drove in the morning,
accompanied by her Royal Highness the Princess
Helena, and again went out in the afternoon with
Princess Helena and Prince Arthur.

Dr. Robertson had the honour of dining with her
Majesty and the royalfamily.

_,p.-.. ---

Arrival of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, accompanied
by Prince Alfred, Prince John of Glucksburg, and
Princess Hilda of Anhalt, arrived at Marlborough
House yesterday forenoon from Scotland.
The suite in attendance consisted of the Hon.
Mrs. Grey, Major Grey, and Lieutenant Haig.
On Saturday night the Prince and Princess of
Wales quitted Kelso by special train on the North-
Eastern Railway for the metropolis. Their royal
highnesses were accompanied by Prince Alfred, her
Serene Highness Princess Hilda of Anhalt-Dessau,
his Serene Highness Prince John of Holstein- •
Glucksburg, and the ladies and gentlemen of the
royal suites. Three state saloons were provided for
the illustrious travellers, and attached to a special
train. It was originally intended that the royal
party should travel from Kelso to Newcastle by
special train, and then proceeded by passenger train
to the south, but on arrival at the latter place it
was found so heavy that the plan was abandoned.
Mr. Cockshott, superintendent of the line, accom-
panied the special train conveying their royal high-
nesses, which travelled via York (where the Great
Northern system commences), and which was left
at 4.14 yesterday (Sunday) morning. Peterborough
was made at 7 a.m., Hitchin at 7.58, Hatfield 8.11,
and King's-cross at 8.34 a.m., the run from Peter-
borough to the metropolitan terminus of the Great
Northern Railway at King's-cross, a distance of 78
miles, being run in 1 hour 34 minutes.

HER MAJESTY'S RETURN TO WlNDSOR.—Accord-
ing to the latest arrangements her Majesty, with
the royal family, and attended by the Court, will leave
Balmoral on Friday afternoon next, and return to Windsor
Castle. Her Majesty and the royal family will travel from
the Aboyne Station of the Doeside Railway in several State
saloons attached to a special train, which will be provided
by the London and North-Western Railway, and will be
under the charge of Mr. Cawkwell, the general manager of
the line. The royal train, made up of about 13 or 14 car-
riages, will quit the Aboyno Station at the usual time on
the afternoon of Friday, and proceed southwards during
the night to the Bushbury Junction of the Great Western
Railway, when the care of the special train will be handed
over to Mr. J. Grierson, the general manager of the Great
Western line. The journey will then be resumed, via
Oxford and Reading, to Windsor, which will bo reached
about a quarter to nine o'clock on Saturday morning.
During the night journey the public will be excluded
from most of the stations, in order that the Queen may re-
main totally undisturbed. The preparations for her Ma-
jesty's reception at Windsor Castle, when the Queen will
arrive to breakfast, are nearly completed.

The Duke and Duchess of Grafton's party at
Euston Hall, Suffolk, separated on Friday last.
The Duke of Argyll is hourly expected to arrive
in town from Inverary Castle, his seat in Argyllshire.

The Duchess de Coigny has left the St. George's
Hotel.

The Marquis of Anglesey left town yesterday for
Newmarket.

The Earl of Wilton will leave Heaton Hall, near
Manchester, to-day for Newmarket.

The Earl and Countess of Yarborough have re-
turned to Brocklesby from Filey. Her ladyship has quite
recovered from her slight indisposition. ' •
Viscount Grey de Wilton arrived in town on
Saturday from a visit to the Earl and Countess of Coventry
at Croome Court, Worcestershire, and to-day leaves for
Newmarket.

Viscount Uffington arrived in town on Saturday'
from Ashdown Park, Berks.
The Lord Chancellor will receive the judges and
the leading members of the bar at breakfast on Thursday,
the 2d proximo, being the first day of Michaelmas term
Previously the noble and learned lord will receive the Lord
Mayor elect and the principal civic authorities, when, itS
customary, the Lord Chancellor will express the Queen's
approbation at the choice made by the citizens of London.

The Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer
arrived in town on Saturday from Clumber, Notts.
The Right Hon. W. Hutt, M.P., and Mrs. Hutt
have arrived at the Alexandra Hotel, Hyde-park-corner,
from Gibside, Gateshead.

Rear-Admiral the Hon. James R. and Mrs.
Drummond arrived at the gallant admiral's official resi-
denco at the Admiralty on Friday night from Scotland.

ROYAL ENGLISH OPERA.

The second season of the Royal English Opera
commenced last evening, and with every prospect
of complete success. The company is as strong a$
the directors could make it, although the absence of
certain names is still very noticeable. We have no
less than five tenors, Mr. Charles Adams being, we
presume, the principal; the same number of bari-
tones and basses, amongst whom are Mr. A. Law-
rence and Mr. 11. Corti; the sopranos number
amongst them Miss Louisa Pyne, Madame Sher-
rington, and Mdlle. Florence Lancia ; the con-
traltos being Madame Emma Heywood, who pro-
duced so favourable an impression in Balfe's opera
"Blanche de Nevers," and Miss Leffler. The ballet is
also well represented ; in fact, the arrangements and
engagements are, under certain circumstances, the
best that could be effected.

The opera chosen for the opening night was, of
course, Meyerbeer's " Africiane," which, it will be
remembered, on the four occasions it was repre-
sented during the season of the Royal Italian opera,
gave promise of great success. In the present in-
stance the cast was as follows : Selika, Miss
Louisa Pyne ; Ines, Madame Sherrington ;
Anna, Mrs. A. Cook ; Nelusko, Mr. Lawrence ;
Don Pedro, Mr. H. Corn ; Grand Inquisitor, Mr.
A. Cook ; Don Diego, Mr. E. Dussek ; High Priest
of Brahma, Mr. Patey ; Don Alvar, Mr. C. Lyall ;
and Vasco de Gama, Mr. C. Adams. It is quite
needless on the present occasion to enter into a
detailed criticism of the opera, because but a short
time ago its beauties and its faiths 'Formed the
subject of remark, and at very considerable length.
For the English version of Scribe's blank verse, We
have to thank Mr. C. Kenny, because he has performed
his task with taste, skill, and judgment. The part of
Vasco is peculiarly adapted to Mr. Adams' voice ;
indeed he has never had a score so completely
suited to him, as from beginning to end he sang
with faultless accuracy and bell-like clearness. Bilr-
Alberto Lawrence added to his well-earned reputa-
tion by his representation of " Nelusko," his
charming song " Ever my Queen," in the second
act, calling forth the loudest applause. Madame.
Sherrington's Iniz and Miss Louise Pyne's Selika
may fairly challenge comparison with that of
Mddle. Lucca and Fioretti ; in fact, we doubt not
that many will agree with us that our native artistes
on this occasion quite outshone their foreign rivals.
The other parts in the opera were well sustained,
and all the choruses were sung with judgment and
effect.

• The scenery and dresses were superb, and, take"
altogether, the production of the opera by th°
directors, has resulted in immense success.

On Wednesday we are to have Gounod's " Moak
Doctor," with a ballet, by M. Desplaces, entitled
" Gitta la Ballerine," supported by artistes of
acknowledged excellence and an efficient corps de
ballet.

During the season we are to have " Masantello,
" Helvellyn," and two new operas, viz., " Ida," by
Mr. Henry Leslie ; " Christmas Eve," by Mr'
Charles Deffell; and Felicia David's sparkling opertlf
Lalla Rookh."

THE ABBE LIST; says the Musical World,will
visit London in May next, for the purpose of conducting(
his Mass, composed expressly for the opening of the new
church of the Carmelites at Kensington.