The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-11 00:00:00

THE BRITISH INSTITUTION.

According to annual custom the walls of this noble
institution have again been adorned with pictures se-
lected from most of the private collections throughout
the Ignited Kingdom. Saturday being the private
view, we attended among the visitors, and were gra-
tified to observe a more choice and brilliant display
of specimens of the great masters cf art than we have
witnessed for a very considerable period. Several of
the productions hanging upon the walls of the apart-
ments are admirable as masterpieces, and others as
curiosities of rare value and eccentric excellence. In
the most prominently placed picture of them all (No.
1)) a picture contributed by the Earl of
Carlisle, the pre-Raphaelites will discover enough
distortion of hideousness and enough of microscopic
minuteness to render them more than ever worship-
pers of such men as John de Mabuse. This quaint
and grotesque performance purports to represent
" The Adoration of the Magi," and with a force of
genius singularly commendable in such subject, the
painter's energies appear to have been mainly directed
to the delineation of broken bits of pottery and rank
grass blades, and dogs of diabolical ugliness and pre-
ternatural attenuation.
,One or two splendid examples
of Leonardo da Viuci are conspicuous among the
more valuable contributions, a " Virgin and Child"
from the gallery of the Earl of Suffolk, and from
the same source the celebrated " La Vierge aux
'lechers" (No. 41), remarkable for the vividness
and yet softness of its chiar' oscuro. In
" The Three Marks" (No. 17.), by Annibale Caracci,
there will be discovered an anguish of expression but
seldom imparted with such painful intensity to the
" human face divine." Among the portraits are
a noticeable one of " Edward VI." (No. 22), by Hol-
bein, representing a lanky and by no means royal-
looking stripling ; one of " Philip first Earl of Mont-
gomery " (No. 35), painfully obtruncated, so that we
have a canvas somewhere about two feet deep by
seven broad ; one by the same great artist of his hand-
some contemporary " any dens " (No. 43), the Land-
seer of his age; one of " Flaxman" the sculptor (No.
130), by Jackson ' • one of " Master Bunbury " (No.
123), by Sir Joshua, most infantine in aspect and
hence most agreeable ; another by Holbein of
" Fisher, Bishop of Rochester" (No. 95),
withered as much it would seem by suffer-
ing as by age; another Reynolds—a famous
one—representing " Garrick between Tragedy and
Comedy" (No. 70), with the well-known picture of
" Mr. Pitt" (No. 111), from the gifted hand of our
English Velasquez, Sir Thomas Lawrence. An ex-
traordinary effect of light in colouring is visible in
the " Baptism of our Saviour" (No. 38), by Agos-
tino Caracci, and an unexpected minuteness in (No.
77) the " Landscape," by Rembrandt. Various
paintings, well-known through the instrumentality of
the engravers, will be recollected as familiar by the
visitors to the British Institution. For instance, there
is Wilkie's fine picture of the " Maid of Saragossa"
(No. 115), the property of her Majesty, and the re:-
nowned illustration of Dante, by Sir Joshua Rey-
nolds, depicting the torments endured by Ugolino
and • his fellow-sufferers. Landscapes of exquisite
beauty abound in the gallery, and amidst the noblest
of these are prominently visible some splendid speci-
mens of Hobbima, such, for example, as that
lovely one (No. 54) with the flickered
shadows cast over the foreground. " A
Nymph and Piping Boy" (No. 114), by Sir
Joshua, appears to us one of the most charming speci-
mens of his style we have, perhaps, ever witnessed ;
it has been contributed from the collection of Mr.
Angerstein. Perhaps one of the most exquisite gems
in the whole exhibition is the " Shipwreck" (No.
129), by Vernet ; as (No. 15), " Juno transferring
the Eyes of Argus to the Peacock's Tail," by Ru-
bens, is the most gorgeous. A cursory glance round
the three apartments will be sufficient to force upon
the conviction of most observers the extraordinary
merit of those large pictures of fruit, vegetables, dogs,
meat, fish, and flowers which were jointly painted by
Snyders and Lang Jan, and which are remarkable
even among the remarkable works now collected
together for a season under the roof of the British
Institution.

SPORTING NOTES.
No. LXVI.
A GLANCE AT THE DERBY OF 1852.

" Have a care o' th' main chance,
And look before you ere you leap ;
For as you sow, you're like to reap."—
Hudibras, Part 2, Canto 1.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR,—But six years have elapsed since I penned my first
remarks on any sporting subject (the Manchester Meet-
ing of 1845), and in that short space of time what extra-
ordinary changes have come o'er the spirit of the scene; in
several instances expelling the wonders contained in the
Tales of the Arabian Nights. So "fast" have we be-
come in these go-ahead times, that six short years have
annihilated the ten-mile-an-hour mail and four-horse
coach travelling of other days, and replaced it by cover-
ing, not only England but the continent, with innu-
merable rails, on which, by the aid of steam, you are
accommodated on a pinch with a speed of sixty miles per
hour. A like revolution has occurred in the travelling
of news; six years ago we might think ourselves
especially favoured if we obtained per pigeon or rail
(if any) the results of races in distants parts of
the country before it arrived the day after the race by
the mail coach; now, however, no sooner is the race de-
cided than in a few minutes on the wings of lightning it
is conveyed from ono corner of the kingdom to the
other. The speedy conveyance of our bodies and
thoughts having pretty nearly if not quite reached the
acme of perfection, by which the scenes of action can
be easily gained, or speculation carried on at a
distance, and the result of it almost instantly
known, the sporting public, still true to their
fast motto of" making strong running,"have actually de-
luged me with letters requesting my opinion on the
Derby horses of 1852, and, in one or two instances, on
that of 1853 likewise, which I have given below. I
must observe, however, that I cannot, with twelve months
intervening between now and the day of the race,
hope to select the absolute winner out of even three or
four. I shall merely make my remarks on
the present favourites, and those horses that
will see short prices before the day, so
as to give good hedging. A year ago I selected the
following four for my Derby team, as being the most
promising foals of 1849 :—Norham, by Birdcatcher, out
of Bee's-wing, foaled February 25th ; Peppermint, by
Sweetmeat, out of Pantalonade, foaled April Ist;
Claverhouse, by Birdcatcher, out of Blue Bonnet, foaled
March 15th; and Daniel O'Rourke, by Birdcatcher,
out of Forget-me-not, foaled January 9th. At the pre-
sent time I should be inclined to take the two last for
choice; they are all remarkably strong colts, are well,
and will each do a " good thing" some time or
other. In the first favourite (Brother to Elthiron) Lord
John Scott possesses a speedy animal, but, without I am
much deceived, no Derby horse. He is engaged with
Claverhouse and Daniel O'Rourke in the July Stakes,
and as two out of the three will probably run, one must
go to the wall; which that one will be time will tell.
Elcot, by Venison, out of Nil* is a fine shashing colt,
and might repeat his brother's performance. Vortex,
full brother to Voltigeur, may possibly turn out
a good spec.; I have, however, my doubts on the
point. The King of Tramps, I fancy, will prove to
be anything but the trump card on the Derby day. The
Goodwood stable is very strong, having six nomina-
tions, three of whom (Houlakin, Homebrewed, and
Maidstone) are already great favourites. Homebrewed
or Maidstone I cannot have for a moment as
the winner ; Houlakin, I think, is the best of
the lot; and Poodle, if he trains on, is a respectable
outsider. Scott's lot will be represented by Daniel
O'Rourke and Norham. One or two others may come out
creditably, but are no Derby winners. Claverhouse is
the best of Fobert's lot; Lucio next on the list. The-
miatocles and Pelopidas are not worth an investment at
500 to 1. Lord Exeter's lot contains not even a Midas.
M?ssieurs Payne and Greville have two fairish horses in
Wingenund and Gerard. Sir J. Hawley's lot is, sin-
gular to say, a failure; at least, I believe such to be
the ease. The best of Colonel Peel's lot is, I be-
lieve, Lapidist; yet, his Livermore and Nabob must
not be altogether lost sight of. Sir R. Pigott's
Thames is worth Father trifle at a " long shot."
Stebbings' lot are again a failure. At Newmarket, The
Old Lad, Ambrose, and Child of the Mist are fancied;
I am not among their admirers for the Derby course
and distance. I cannot say of Lord Zetland's Augur
what I said eight months ago of his Lightfoot,
that it was not " worth a thought," but I
will venture to assert that he is no Voltigeur.
It is said Mr. Osbaldeston has another Mountain Deer
in his Queen of Beauty or Hetman Platoff colts. Among
the northern horses King-fisher has been talked about;
he is no Derby winner. Fancy Boy's eldest progeny,
out of Modesty, foaled Feb. 9, is Dawson 's hope; an.
other Constellatioa, I am afraid ; no use for
Epsom. The remaining hundred and sixty no-
minations, without there is some dark flyer in
the corner, which I doubt very much, are
not likely to trouble Judge Clark on the eventful morn-
ing in May next year. The entries for the Derby ?t
1853 do not close until next month, consequently, in
the names below one may be found missing. The
following are the most promising foals of 1850:—Lord
Fauconberg ; Phryne colt; Break o'day Boy; Mr. Allen's
colt by Melbourne (a remarkably fine animal); colt by Red
Deer out of Venus, by Amadis; Barbelle colt; Fan-
tastic colt; colt by Old England, out of Mendicant;
Joannina colt; and colt by Cotherstono, out of Crucifix.
As the season advances, I shall be better able to sift the
foregoing lots for the Derbies of 1852 and 1853; at pre-
sent I cannot be more pointed in my remarks.
I am, Sir, yours, Ex.
THE SPIRIT OF THE TURF.
June 11, 1851.

A NEW PHRASE.—A lady of some celebrity as
an actress was lately unfortunately placed in Philadelphia.
The manager apologised to the audience, but the lady in-
sisted upon remaining on the stage and playing out the part,
appealing to the audience to know whether " dropping
one's handkerchief was any evidence of not belonging to the
temperance society! " The circumstance has added a new
phrase to the language; a gentleman no longer commits
the impropriety of becoming inebriated, he only " drops his
handkerchief."

A LAWYER'S TOAST.-At a recent dinner of a pro.
vincial Law Society, the president called upon the senior
solicitor present to give as a toast, the person whom he con-
sidered the best friend of the profession. " Then," re-
sponded the sly old fox, " giye yon 1155 man Taw makes
Ins own will."