The Sun.
London, England, 1851-12-29 00:00:00

HUNGERFORD HALL.

The diorama at this new place of amusement con-
tains three views, by M. Bouton, of the overflowing
of the river of the Loire, the town and valley of Fri-
bourg, and the Cathedral of St. Mark at Venice.
The reputation of M. Bouton has been so long esta-
blished in connection with the marvellous pictorial
representations which, for a long sories of years, have
rendered the Diorama in the Regent's park one of
the most deservedly attractive places of amusement in
the metropolis, that we have merely to state that the
pictures in this diorama are fully equal to any that
have proceeded from his pencil. The change from
summer to winter in the picture of Fribourg is one of
the most clever and perfect illusions we have ever
seen. In the evening M. Langlois exhibits his won-
derful sleight of hand—his surprising mechanical
rope-dancer—and the Indian juggler, Djalms, in one
theatre; and M. Lassange, assisted by Mademoiselle
Prudence, in another theatre, the mysteries of mes-
merism. We trust that our holiday friends will pay
a visit to this interesting place of amusement.

SOIREES PAIIISIENNES ET FANTAS-
TIQUES.

Having just returned from the land of magic, we
feel in that condition peculiar to travellers, of being
expected to relate most wonderful things, when, in
tact, we admit our total incapability to discharge the
allotted task. Why should we resort to the long list.
of adjectives in all their degrees to assist us in the
description of things indescribable ? Nor can we
institute comparisons, like the travelled Cockney who
declares that " the Pyramids were grander-like than
the Thames, though not much." If a man should see
a ghost he says he has seen a ghost, and that is suffi-
cient for his hearers, unless some prying individual
►nay demand what it was like. Hera definition ceases.
So it is with Mons. Robin. We have been for some

" Some there are, that by due steps aspire
To lay their hands on that golden key,
That opus the palace of futurity:
To such my errand is ."—MILTON'a Mask of Comus.
"Now hear me speak, with a prophetic spirit:
For even the breath of what I mean to speak
Shall blow each dust, each straw, each little rub
Out of the path which shall directly lead
Thy foot to Fortune's Temple; therefore mark !"
BRAES/TIM

"Have a care o' the tdain chance,
And look before you ere you leap,
For as you sow, you're like to reap."
BuTLEa's Hudibras.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN
Sllt,—A few short days, and the memorable Year Issl
will have sunk upon the shores of Time. It has been an
extraordinary year in many respects, particularly so in
the political and soci.ll worlds. Teddington's year,
sporting men term it, and the Exhibition year, as known
to the general worn, has also wrought changes of some
note in the sporting hemisphere. There has been a
general disposition on the part of the principal supporters
of the Turf, one or two persons excepted, to discounte-
nance every attempt at chicanery; and it is also
with p!ottiure that I perceive a general determination
to prtriecute vigorously all attempts at frauds—for ex-
amp ', the ces' of the Alleyne Brothers. I am, however,
sorry to perceive that several of the staunchest supporters
of the turf, in Colonel Peel, the Marquis of Exeter, Lord
Strathmore, the Duke of Richmond, and Sir Joseph
114wley, have, during the last twelve months, either left,
or are about to retire from, the scenes of their numerous
iriumphs, to be met wi;h no more, except, per-
haps, in the case of the Tyfield Baronet, who,
I fancy, has not ahogethcr renounced the pleasures of
the racecourse.

suecesA on the flat rsc,s during the year has been
weighed in Fortune's scale and found to be an average
quality. Out of the three hundred and eighty-three
races I have attempted to select the winner o!, I have
been successful in one hundred and ninety-eix instances,
and in those, that did not come off as I anticipated, I
was in fifty-two cases very near the bull's eye, having
selected the second horse as my especial choice. Thirty-
six times—a feat unprecedented—have I been lucky
-enough to place the first and second, and in ten instances
I have accomplished the still more difficult feat of placing
the first, second, and third ! Since the steeplechasing season
commenced, on this across country work, I have selected
the winner in nine cases out of seventeen, and in the re-
maining eight my fancy horse ran second four times.
These are my credentials for the confidence of those
Rho accept me as their pilot in the stormy sea of Turf
speculation.

- During the past season ono of the most noticeable
movements has been the vast increase of betting-list
houses, many of them being of a mushroom character;
this is owing in a great measure to the cleverness of the
" GREAT UNPAID," who, in ordering the removal of the
lists from the houses of respectable publicans, have com-
mitted a most notable blunder ; a man then had some
chance of seeing his money again if successful, whereas
in one- half of the betting-list houses the odds aro two to
one, if on a great race, that the shutters aro put up
simultaneously with the arrival of the telegraphic dis-
patch of the issue. In past years I have made a rule of
publishing a list of those houses that I have considered
safe; on account of the immense number now existing I
shall not attempt doing so this winter; but before closing
this subject I cannot help referring to a fashion amongst
a set of " men of straw" that has sprung up of late, of
trading under other people's names, exemplified in the
case of Mr. Davis, the Leviathan, whose honourable
name is an excellent shield to speculate under, and also
in the prophetic world in that of " Priam," of the
Racing Times, whose cognomen has been assumed by
one of the " tipping gentb" well known about town,
and whose advertisements, contrary to all newspaper
etiquette, appear weekly in the leading sporting journal
of the day.
The Westbury Steeplechase, last week, was decided
in exactly the manner I predicted, the General being
landed a clever winner by a length; Hinton, to whoml
gave the second place, running home in that position.
There are many who say that if the latter had not
bnngled near the close of the race he must have won.
I, however, am not of that opinion. Venice, who was
made such an immense " pot " of the day before the
race, was exactly in the position I fancied he would be,
namely, the rear; he also, it is said, would have done
the deed, or been thereabouts, if ho had not blundered at
his fences ; I again take a different view of the case—
whether I am right or wrong the next couple of months
will decide.

Having disposed of all the odds and ends floating on
the surface of my mind, I now turn my attention to the
main subject of this note, which, at the request of nume-
rous readers of The Sun, I publish nearly a month earlier
than is my usual plan.
Seventy-two years have disappeared down the sliding
scale of Time since the first

time which we cannot undertake to limit sitting in his
salle, at Piccadilly, but wonder has so usurped
the seat of reason that we feel totally at a
loss to say what Mons. Robin is like—not
Mons. Robin propria persona, but Mons. Robin as
professeur de physique. How can we describe the
winning grace with which the mighty conjuror bor-
rowed a lady's ring—how he crushed it with the
greatest nonchalance as a worthless bauble, to the dis-
may of its fair owner, and how, by the magic touch,
he transferred it in its integrity with an integrity
peculiar to conjurors. How can we convey the
faintest idea of the mode in which Madame Robin,
blindfolded, enumerated every article in the room, or
how the wonderful peacock became endowed with a
sence which naturalists deny to the bird. Probably
the best thing we can say is pay a visit to Mons.
Robin, and he will instruct you far better than we can
—may be he will shower on you from an empty hat
his boquets, his bijouterie, and his bonbons, and may be
you will be fortunate enough to obtain one. This night
there was an entire change in the performances and
" more novelties," amongst which may be enumerated
the appearance for the first time of the celebrated Dia-
volo Antonio. We feel somewhat endued with the
love of mystery—a consequence of our visit, so
we will not state who or what Diavolo Antonio is.
Suffice it to say, that from his attitudes, his move-
ments, and his passes, we should regard him as human,
if there could possibly be anything human in such a
performance. We are glad to perceive that Mons.
Robin's efforts to promote hilarity at this festive
season were on this occasion crowned with the best
success, evidenced in a house full of people and enjoy-
ment. His entertainment is one of the most amusing
in the metropolis, and we can heartily recommend
our readers to pay it a visit. We are sorry to detract,
in the least degree, from the praise the entertainment
merits, but we must protest against the charge of six •
pence for a programme being demanded in this age
of cheap literature. Mons. Robin is a wonderful sor-
cerer—cannot he convert a sixpenee into a penny ?

THE QUARTER'S REVENUE.—A correspondent of a
Morning Paper says—" There must be a considerable falling
off in the revenue for the quarter ending the sth January as
compared with former years, as far as direct taxation is con-
cerned, and also in the quarter ending on the sth April next,
and no doubt a great deal will be made of it by the Protec-
tionist press. Let your readers know the reason of it. The
first moiety of the repealed window-tax has heretofore come
into the account of this quarter. This is all gone, except the
small portion which has been left in arrear since the last half
year's payment in April. The new assessment for the year's
house duty, from April, 1851, to April, 1852, is not yet in
operation, and not a single shilling of it will be paid in the
account of the ensuing quarter, ending sth January, 1852.
The delay in passing the Property and Income-tax Act in
the last session has prevented the accounts being made out
by a new assessment for the year at the usual time, and there
will, therefore, doubtless be a considerable deficiency in the
Property and Income-tax, payments into the Exchequer for
the ensuing quarter. Let Reformers remember this, that
they may be prepared when the quarterly and yearly account
is shown on the sth January, and be at the same time ready
to explain the cause of the deficiency.
LORD PALMERSTON.—The Queen's Government
has lost the services of an administrator, of abilities recog-
nised and admired by all, friend and foe alike, combining
qualifications seldom united in the same man—application,
industry the most patient and laborious—debating powers
the most varied and the most brilliant—temper impertur-
bable, courage dauntless, withal forbearant, and generous in
all his superiorities. Among his opponents he had no enemy.
Sir Robert Peel, in the last speecu he made, which was in
opposition to his policy, cordially expressed the general feel-
ing in the words, " We are all proud of him."—Examiner.
M. GUIZOT INDICTED FOR LITERARY CONSFI-
RACY.—M. Briere, a publisher, on Thursday last, brought an
action before the civil tribunal against M. Didier, anoth-r
publisher, to obtain damages of 75,000 francs for his having
published a work by M. Guizot, called" Histoire des Orignes
du Gouvernement reprdsentatit in Europe" which be al-
leged was only a reproduction of a work by the same author,
called "Essais sur l'Histoire de France," of which he had
purchased the copyright in 182
3. But the tribunal thought
that the " Essais,' were only the reproduction of i\l. Guizot's
lectures as profesfor, and that the " Histoire des Origines '
was an entirely different work. It accordingly dismissed
the demdnd, and condemned 11 Briere Ica the costs.—
.
Galignani.

THE ExHIIIITION BUILDING. There are at pre-
sent only four policemen on duty in the entire building.. No
idea can yet be formed of the time when the building will be
so far cleared out as to admit the public, but it cannot take
place, at all events, for auother reek'

SPORTING NOTES. Mr. Merry's other nag, a b c called GARIBALDI, by
No. CLXIII. Mosstrooper out of Madame St. Clair, has started once,
A CHRISTMAS BOX FOR THE SPORTING been beaten, and is not worth a theuzlat.
WORLD.—ANALYSIS OF TUE SEVENTY- The nest lot that appears on the market list is
THIRD DERBY, &e. COOPER'S;
Of Newmarket, which contains Colonel Peel's
nomi-
nations, the most important of which Seeming)
Ribblesdale's b KINGSTON, by Venison out 0:3:f Queen
fs Lord
Anne, who has appearedlin public four times, beginning
nt
by running third to Hobbie Noble for the New Stakes
Ascot; he afterwards, at Stockbridge' ran two dead beats
with Chief Baron Nicholson for the Triennial Stakes,
beating Joe Miller (third), and three others. This per-
formance stamps the Chief Baron and Kingston as much
on a par, but of the two I am inclined to give the pre-
ference to the latter for the Derby course. At New-
market, Kingston won the Hopeful Stakes, beating
Ambrose and Flirt, not a particularly stunning perform-
ance; he, however, closed his two-years old career in a
brilliant manner at the Newmarket Second October
Meeting, by winning the Cleerwell Stakes, beating
Harbinger (second), Ambrose filly, by Ratan, Elcot,
St. Andrew, Cancers, and Theodire. Thin nag
is a thorough specinun of the Venison stock, being
very much like iiis 51r3 at all _points. lam afraid,
however. that like the majority of the sons of Venison,
he is gifted with the powers of speed in a greater pro-
portion than these of stsyieg. Distance seems to he the
only e.
tkin that will stand in his way on the Derby day.
He is not fancied overmuch it teems at Newmarket, but
that gees for nothing, ae public opinion there is in the
habit of milking some tremendous blunders.
Lord Ribbleedale's b c LAPIDIST, by Touelistone out
of L.; has :evared in public but once, at the Newmarket
July Tileeting, when he ran second to the flying Bay
Rosalind for the Chesterfield Stakes. He is in good
phaeratlitchulaatr cLiteas Porfervllteosin. inae
and is much fancied by a
is entered for the Column
Stakes, which, if vies, as he oue;ht to do, will make
him a great favourite for the Derty; at present I can
say nothing more 1, veu;',Able eheut
Lend Ribblesdele's b e LIVERMERE, by Slane, out of
Palmyra, and leis b c TRE NABOB, by the Nob, out of
Hester, are butn atueS iefefitie to the ether two, but
notwithstetedieg, are dolqined to play acme
moderate
second rate purrs on the tuff. steee.
Colonel Ped's remaining
noli,i„alien—Lord Armes-
ley's ch c ORPHEUS. by Orlando tof Ile‘librae, has
run twice, been twice beaten, al; ou d
zs of no me for the
Derby.

JOHN F.:COTT.B
generally rowerful string is this time but a very icbticr
one, only boasting of two celebrities in Daniel O'Routlie
anclKingfishey._

Mr. Bowes' ch C DANIEL O'IIOIIIIXE, by Trit.h B'rd-
catcher, out i f Forget mf. not, was one of to estrie.st
fancies for this race. lie was one of the first fuels of
1819, having been slippc'd on the
in the
9:hofonJlyserueeersetihsats
yet he has been extremely uniu
he has run. At DJneuster, when not quite " the thing,"
he ran second to Augur for the Champagne stakes,
beating Bay Rosalind and six other,. His lust appear-
ance at the Newmarket Houghton Meeting w7iiii
wretched affair—he there ran fifth to Red Rind fur the
Criterion Stakes. This, as I observed at the time, seas
not his true running, he being in about as good form as
Newminster was on the Derby day: in other words, no
form at all. lam inclined to look very favourably upon
this horse's chance, and consider that he is the pick of
Scott's stable, and will yet, if ho stands the preparation,
convince the world that he is not to be "sneezed at.,.
He is like most other horses at the present time, doing
very gentle work, looking uncommonly well, and is
worth an investment at the present price. Mr. Bowes'
other nomination, the ch o by Verulam, out of Wiasma,
has never appeared in public, and I think if it remains
in the dark that will be its proper place, being in no one
respect an animal worth noting.
Baron Rothschild's eh c by Phlegon, out of Marinella,
has at different times been talked much about, but be-
yond this is not likely to make any stir in the market.
Baron Rothschild's b c HYACINTH, by Bay Middleton
preceding,out o f
Snowdrop,whieh is
i s about
not as cracksaying
an animal as the one
much for his chance
on the Surrey hills.
Mr. Cuthbert's couple have dwindled into one, his br
g GLENDINNING, by Irish Birdcatcher, out of the Queen
of Tyne's dam, being out of training, his interests will
be represented by his b c limoranzn, by Irish Bird-
catcher, out of the Queen of Tyne. This horse is a re-
markably speedy cud stout animal, so far as can be
ascertained by his appearance in private, but as he was
never thoroughly prepared yet, or been tried, his quali-
ties, as yet, cannot be set down decisively.
Mr. John Scott's couple cf nc milations, eh o PIIAN.
T 0.151, by Irish Birdeateher, out of Ariel, and br g Dort
CARLOS, by Don John, out of Valentina, so far as the
Derby is concerned, are of no account whatever.
Mr. T. Ilarzison's br c THE MAJOR, by the Era, cut
of Gisclle, rimy be good enough for a handicap race, but
is of no earthly use in the company of Robbie Noble
and Co.

( To bo continued.)

THE BREEWOOD STEEPLECHASE.
The field for the Breewood Steeplechase, run to-
morrow, I find, by my accounts from head-quarters this
morning, will consiit of about eight or nine out of the
twelve acceptances, the following having altcsdy arrived,
or are expected here in the course of the day, v.z. :
The Young-un, Columbus, Ploughboy, Barrister, Ven-
geance, Royal Blue, Sir Charles, and Wideawake ;
Peter Simple and Venice are doubtful. VENGEANCE, if
meant, in my opinion, will be the winner; the Ycung un
Columbus bccond and third, Ploughboy and Bar-
rister in the n( xt two places.
I am, Sir, yours, &c.,
TilE SPIRIT OF TEE TURF.
Dec. 29, 1851.