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

THE BRITISH INSTITUTION.

According to annual custom the walk of this noble
institution have again be•eli adorned ta ith pic:-urt s se-
lected from most of the private collections throughout
the United 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_ of art than we have
witnessed for a very considerable period. Several of
the productions hanging uoon the walls of the apart-
raehts are admirable as maverpieces, and o-hers 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-
Pets of such men as John de Mabuse. This quaint
!Ind grotesque performance purports to represent
The Adoration of the Magi," and with a r _tree of
genius singularly commendable in such subject, the
Painter's energies appear to have been mail ly directed
to the delineation of broken bits of pottery and rank
grass blades, and dogs of diabolical ugliness nod pre-
ternatural attenuation. One or two splendid examples
of Leonardo da Vinci 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
Itocher." (No. 41), remarkable for the vividness
and yet softness of its chiar' oscuro. In
" Tha Three Mertes" (No. 17.), by Annibale Caracci,
there will be discovered an anguish of expression but
Seldom imparted with such psinful intensity to the
"human face divine." Amor g the portraits are
noticeable one of "Edward V 1.." (No. 22), by Hol-
bein, representing a lanky and by no means royal-
loeking 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 " SnY den " (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.
‘7) the " Landscape,", by Rembrandt. Various
Paintings, well-known through the instrumentality of
the engravers, will be recollected as familiar by the
psitors'to the British Institution. For instance, tnere
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 Ugolioo
and his fellow- sufferers. Land-capes of exquisite
beauty abound in the gallery, and amidst the noblest
of these are prominently visible some splendid speci-
mens of Hobbitna, 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-
!teas of his style we have, perhaps, ever witnessed ;
it has been contributed from the collection of Mr.
togerstein. Perhaps one of the most exquisite gems
M 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,
bleat, fish, and flowers which were jointly painted by
Silyders 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 bays 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 oontained in the
Wales 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 innn-
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 -ego we might think ourselves
especially favoured if we obtained per pigeon or rail
Or 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 tl.e race de-
cided than in a few minutes on the wings of lightning it
is conveyed from one 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
fait motto cf " making strong running," have actually de-
laged me with letters requesting my opinion on the
Derby horses of 1852, and, in one or two instanc, e, on
that of 1853 likewise, which I have given below. I
lust 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 25. h ; Peppermint, by
Sweetmeat, out of Pantslonlid,, foaled April Ist;
Claverhouse, by B rdcatcher, out of Blue Bonnet, foaled
March 15th; and Daniel O'Rourke, by Birdcatcher,
Out of Forget-me-not, fouled 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 wal,
and will each do a " good thing" s, me time
,or
other. In the first favourite (Brother to Etthirou) Lard
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 Sakes,
and as two out of the three will probably run, one must
Ro to the wall; which that one will be time will tell.
Elcot, by Venisor, out of Nth& 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 Trumps, I fancy, will prove to
be anything brit the trump card on the Derby day. The
Goodwood stable is very strong, having Mx nomina-
tions, three of whom (Eloulakin, Llumebrewed, and
Maidstone) are already great favourites. Homebrewed
or Maidstone I cannot have for a moment as
the winner ; Houlekin, 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. Claverhuuse is
the best of Fubert's lot; Lucio next on the list. The-
mistocles and Pelopidas are not worth an investment at
500 to 1. Lord' Exeter's lot contains not even a Midas.
Messieurs 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 case. The best of Colonel Peel's lot is, I be-
lieve, Lapidist; yet, his Livermere and Nabob must
not be altogether lost sight of. Sir R. Pigott'e
Father Thames is .worth a trifle at a " long shot."
Stebbings' lot are again a failure. At Newmarket, The
Old Lid, 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
wily 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 Constellation, 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 of
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
Fauconbere; Phryne colt; Break o'day Boy ' • Mr. Allen's
colt by Melbourne (a remarkabl) fine animal);; colt by Red
Deer out of Venus, by Amsdis; Barbelle colt; Fan-
tastic colt; colt by Old Englund, out of Mendicant;
Joannina colt; and colt by Cotherstone, 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, &c.
THE SPIRIT OF I.LIE TURF.
Juno 11, 1851.

A NEW PHRASE.—A lady of some celPbrity 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 impr, priety 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, " 111 give you the man who makes
No owa will,"