The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-16 00:00:00

EVENING, FEBBITARY 16, 1854.

SPORTING NOTES.

AMONG THEM AT LINCOLN.

A merry meeting was merrily celebrated at Lincoln
The air was frosty but kindly, the supply of sport ample,
and the company large and respectable. The officials,
too, worked_ with a willing, cordial co-operation to pro-
mote the success of the gathering ; and• in their well-
directed- endeavours to carry out efficiently the business
arrangements, the- accommodation of the public was
not forgotten, and to all persons they displayed a cour-
tesy and attention that was as pleasant as it is- rare at
Race Meetings. On Tuesday the first race—the Trial
Stakes—was decided at half-past one o'clock, and was
not seen by a large majority of metropolitan turfites,
who left London by the 9'30 express train on that morn-
ing. It brought out six competitors ; and was won by
Lord Lieutenant, who
_thereby, if I remember aright,
obtained his first victory. From the distance the race
between him and Cardsharper was close and exciting,
Lord Lieutenant "winning on the post" by only a
neck. Although last off by some lengths, yet Mary
caught her two moderate opponents for the Two
Year Old Stakes, at the distance quitted them with-
out an effort, and won easily by a length. The betting
was 6 to 4 against Mary and Brown ; but the winner
was not, I believe, backed for a sixpence either by her
owner or his confederate. Eleven started for the steeple-
chase, but how many were started with " honourable
intentions" it would perhaps be somewhat difficult to
determine. Maid of the West had been sometime first
favourite, but the betting suddenly changed, and the
desire to lay against her became unmistakeably signifi-
cant. From that time she was what is in vulgar turf
parlance termed a " dead 'un." Of Topsy's running,
too, I entertain suspicions, which are scarcely lessened
by the fact of certain persons connected with her party,
thinking favourably of_.ber chance, and " putting
their money on" with much confidence in the ultimate
profit of their investments. That a commission was,
however, in the market to bet against her at every op-
portunity, lam well informed. lam also inclined to
believe that Little Charley was not " wanted" by his
owner. The race from the last flight of hurdles between
Trout and Melon afforded a most slashing " set-to."
They charged the hurdles abreast—Trout, knocking one
of them down, succeeded in stalling Melon off only
within a few strides of the chair, and winning by half a
length. The riding of both Green and Tasker—the for-
mer on Melon, and the latter on Trout—was most patient
and judicious. Spring, who had jumped capitally
throughout, finished third. On entering the race-
course, Carrig was in close company with the leading
horses. Trout's success brought his stable companion,
Bourton, into increased favour for the Liverpool
Steeplechase. The Selling Races were carried off by
Sam, who, after winning the first was bought in for 57
guineas, but on his second victory he was sold to Mr.
Barling for 75 guineas.
On Wednesday the proceedings commenced with the
Handicap Hurdle Race, which was won easily by
Spring. Of the favourites, Victress, Songster, and the
Squire of IVlalton, Songster was the only one that
figured respectably in; the encounter. After his race,
Spring was, I am informed, purchased by Mr. Barber,
and at 50 to 1 some heavy investments were made on
him for the Liverpool Steeplechase, for which. he
weighted at 9st 101 b. Spring is a good jumper, and has
a capital turn of speed.
Georgey, admirably ridden by Aldcroft, was the
winner of the Spring Handicap—Lord Lieutenant, who
a starting fell on his knees and bead, by running against
Mr. Reeves, the trainer, being second ; and but for
this accident, a different result might have been re-
corded. Roebuck, the favourite, who was spiritedly
supported by his party, was among the first beaten in
the race. Old Garforth galloped off with the Hunters'
Stakes without -difficulty"; And it would have been
better had this event brought the meeting to a conclu-
sion. In the morning, however, after the order
of running had been fixed, a " Selling Race" was
"got up," and for those who " stood Sans," a
selling race it proved to be, and nothing else.
Three horses ran for it, Julius Caesar, the winner and
the favourite at 4 to 1 on him, Sam, who was second,
and Friendless Boy last. The proceedings connected
with it were most disgraceful, and when conducted with
a disregard and contempt of public opinion. If Selling
Races be necessary to the maintainance of a meeting,
the Newmarket rule of claiming should always be in
force. Wherever this rule is set aside, the public
should be on their guard, and its abrogation at certain
meetings can only be deemed a virtual connivance on
the part of the officials at the malpractices which are so
frequently connected with Selling Races.
Feb. 16. A FRESH MAN.

LIT ERA. TUB E.

Jack and the Bead-stalk. Edited and Illustrated
by George Cruikshank. D. Bogue.
A second volumette of " George Crilikshank's
Fairy Library ":brings once again before us the
dear old story' of " Jack and the _ Bean-stalk 1!
thiS time, howeVer, adorned with eight resplendent
illustrations ! Never before Were the pictorial
tastes of the. young folks of the nursery catered for
more gloriously. Never, before, we-may add- also,
have the remarkable -powers of our artist as the deli-
neator of the wonders of cloudland been more ex-
quisitely demonstrated. -Cruikshank has seldom if
ever equalled these, the latest of his many graceful,
and some of them marvellous, performances. We
say this in simple truth and justice. We say it,
moreover, not in depreciation of his past, but
rather out of the fullness of our admiration
for his present, charming embellishments. Added
to this, we speak not from any frivolous
forgetfulness of what he has done heretofore, but
with a vivid recollection of his career—a career ex-
tending, be it said, pretty far back towards the
beginning of this nineteenth century. Not that our
incomparable caricaturist is still beyond middle life,
but that his genius, as a creator with the pencil—
midway between Hograrth and Gilray—began to
manifest itself in his extreme youth, and has been
ripening ever since to something better and better,
until it has reached its present notable stage of de-
velopment. Dating our remembrance from 'his
memorable "cuts" to the political squibs of Hone—
from his sketches of " Derry-down Triangle," of
old Bags, and of the Regent Dandy, to a period
approaching nearer to the present day, when the
master-etcher gave to the fictions of Dickens and
of Ainsworth the glory of his illustrations
—we speak thus in terms of unrestricted
praise of his new " Fairy Library," as
affording us about the most ample testimony at
once of his skill, and of his capacity, as an artist
gifted with a bold but delicate imagination. "Hop
o' my Thumb" we have already commended as it
deserved on the occasion of its appearance. Its
successor is now before us in this ingenious version
of " Jack and the Bean-stalk," among all the
delightful legends of the nursery, one of the chief
favourites of our childhood. In the frontispiece,
Jack is represented in the act of climbing the Bean-
stalk, far above the little garden of his mother's
cottage, above the clouds, above the eagle's eyrie,
at the very brink of ogreland. Further on, our
little hero is portrayed as he appeared when
showing kindness to the poor old woman,
when discovering her to be a Fairy, and when
setting the wonderful bean (given by that same
fairy) near his lowly home among the cabbages.
Next we have Jack getting the golden hen away
from the giant, the dwarf peering at his larceny,
and the drunken ogre snoring. Afterwards comes
a glorious picture of Jack and the Fairy Harp
escaping from the Giant—the harp fluttering down
from the cliff with Jack on its back, and the ogre
high up on the summit of the crag hurling vast
rocks after the fantastic fugitives. Finally, two
terrible figure§ of the Giant—one delineating
him in mid air, entangled in the Bean-stalk,
another representing him in his captive state
as he looked when brought as a, prisoner by
Jack before the monarch of the day, King
Alfred the Great. It will be perceived from all
this that the artist, in his editorial capacity, has
again tampered with the original text, twisting its
records in every way that best suited the flow of
his own fancy. Occasionally, in doing so, we admit
that George Cruikshank has revealed a really asto-
nishing liveliness of imagination—as, where lie de-
scribes the first ascent of Jack into cloudland—or,
again, as where he recounts the ultimate destruc-
tion f the Bean-stalk. Nevertheless, we are almost
disposed to acknowledge the justice of the strictures
penned by Charles Dickens in Hottiehold Words
in indignant protest against this wilful alteration
of the beloved fairy tales of our childhood. Be it
said, however, in extenuation of the course thus
(we cannot but think mistakenly) followed by
George Cruikshank, that his changes are always
inculcative of good—are always the utterances of
a most sweet, and wise, and gentle philosophy.
Besides, we forget everything, we forget all our
quarrel with Cruikshank about the text, when we
turn over these ingenious and exquisite illustra-
tions.