The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-28 00:00:00

SPORTING NO CES.

The Ascot Meeting commences to-morrow, and
will be graced by the presence of
sßonyifiall theiryi—the
Prince and Princes of Wales having ig
intention of being present on Tuesday and Thurs-
day. The Queen's Vase will be won by the Duke,
the Stand Plate by Mr. Pitt or Robin Hood, and
the Prince of \Vales Stakes by Savernake or Rustic.
Mr. Chaplin has the two mile Triennial at his
mercy with either Brooviiielavi or. Breadalbane,
whichever he starts. The Ascot Stakes, in spite
of the favour shown in the market to Love Apple
and several others, will be secured by the Mar-
quis of Hastings by the aid of Ackworth,oift he
can get sufficient money on—the next best out
the wretched acceptance being Pine Apple. On
Wednesday we are sure to have a hot favourite
from Danebnry for the Royal Hunt Cup, new
mile, as if Siberia (4 yrs, 6st 101 b) and Nuku-
heva (4 yrs, 6st 61b), are only well, the race is
a gift for one of them, or anything else the stable
might prefer. W. Day will also be very handy
with one of Sir F. Johnstone's horses, and if both
the brothers make a mistake the favoured Garde-
visure (who concedes considerably less weight than
she did in last year's Cambridgeshire) may do the
trick, but I would rather stand by Molly Carew
to furnish the winner than any of the above.
The Fernhill Stakes will be a match between
Friponnier and Hippia, but the latter would prefer
a larger distance. The New Stakes, always cele-
brated in bringing out a hot favourite for the Derby,
will be won by Achievement, own sister to Lord
Lyon.

The Ascot Cup will be another repetition of the
St. Leger running over again between Gladiateur
and Regalia, and I can see no reason to disturb the
judge's decision when they met before, by placing
GLADIATEUR 1
REGALIA 2

But it will be a very different decision in the
Goodwood Cup, as Gladiateur has to carry a
penalty of 101 b., which he will not be able to do
successfully, and, for that reason, I shall expect to
see the judge's decision reversed. The Alexandra
Plate will be secured by Strafford, if he retains any
of the form he showed last year. Savernake will
win the Three-yr-old Triennial. The other events
to be decided are of minor importance.

The following are the principal selections I have
made this season :

One Thousand Guineas—Repulse ; won.

Two Thousand Guineas—Lord Lyon; won.
Derby—Lord Lyon and Rustic ; first and third.
Oaks—Tormentor ; won.
Grand Prix de Paris—Ceylon and Mazeppa
first and third.

A FRESH MAN.

THE BRITISH MUSEUM'.—The number of persons
admitted to the British Museum during the year 1865 shows
a continual decrease. In 1860 the number was 537,000;
1861, 642,000 ; 1862, 895,000 ; 1863, 441,000 ; 1864, 432,300 ;
1865, 370,000, or nearly 170,000 persons fewer than came
so lately as six years since. The decrease in the number
of visits of readers to the reading-room within the same
period has been not less extraordinary, and amounts to
more than 27,000 ; every department shows the same
depletion. The grand totals of the first and last years
above named are 672,674 and 477,650.

THE APPEARANCE OF THE NEW STAR in Corona
has given rise to a good deal of conversation among
scientific men, and has been the subject of a paper at the
Royal Society. On May 16th, Mr. Huggins received a
note from Mr. Birmingham, of Tuam, announcing the
sudden appearance of a star of the second magnitude near
Coronae Borealis. Mr. Baxendell saw the star .on
the 15th, when it was about the third magnitude. On the
16th Mr. Huggins and Dr. W. A. Miller examined the spec-
trum of this strange star, which was then a little brighter
than E Coronae. The information given by the spec-
troscope is interesting and unexpected. The prism resolves
the light from the star into two different lights, each
emanating from a distinct source. One spectrum tells us
that.the principal light of the star was emitted by jncan-
descent solid or liquid matter. This light has suffered
partial absorption by an atmosphere of vapours about the
star through which it has passed. So far this new object
is analogous to the sun or any of the stars. In addition,
however, to this spectrum, there is a second specrum of
fine bright lines. The light which formed this spectrum
must have come from luminous gas. The principal con-
stituent of this gas is hydrogen. These phenomena, to-
gether with the sudden appearance and rapid fading away
of the star, suggest the bold speculation, that in conse-
quence of some internal convulsion a large quantity of gas
has been suddenly evolved, and the hydrogen burning by
combination with some other element gives rise to the
bright lines, and also has heated the solid matter of the
photosphere to vivid incandescence. As the hydrogen be-
comes exhausted, the star appears to fade away. The
former observations of these gentlemen~ on the spectra of
the fixed stars have shown that hydrogen probably plays
an important part in the differences of physical constitu
tion of the stem—Athenaeum.

1 AN OUT-DOOR REFORM MEETING was held on
Primrose-hill on Monday, of which the prin-
eipal features were the east wind and a letter from Mr.
Bright, both of them violent, and only ono of them
favourable to the meeting. Mr. Bright repeated that the
object of the Tories is to put the working men of England
exactly in the same position in relation to the Constitution
in which the Southern planters wish to put the negroes of
the Southern States,—to admit their civil rights and ignore
their political rights. This is true, but misleading. Mr.
Lowe no doubt speaks and feels towards the working crass
very much as the planters speak and feel towards the
freedmen,—with real dislike and contempt. But the Con-
servatives in general do not feel so, and dread—not the
class, but the special electoral arrangements which make
the numbers of the class so formidable. We hold as
strongly as Mr. Bright that to raise the borough franchise
from £7 to £8 will stultify the bill, but we do not hold
that all who wish to do so wish to treat the working man
as the Southern planters wish to treat the freedman. Mr.
Bright may sometimes find it necessary for special reasons
to refuse a friend a loan, as he would a beggar, because be
has not enough for himself, and that is so far treating him
no doubt as he would treat a beggar. But if Al.
him Brightasa
o were therefore charged with wishing tow
beggar, he would see the injustice of his
treat a
rhetorical
illustration.--Spectator.
AN INCIDENT IN THE PANIC.—
It is said that
when one of those great employers of labour (Pao,
Betts, and Co.), the suspension of
whose large operations
events of the crisis,
is one of the most universally regretted
was known to be in jeopardnd, a brother contractor—whose
name may readily
be surmise
for it has become through-
out Europe a household word for probity
bit and straightforward
conduct, as ell as for
enterprise and energy—called on
w
three other members of the same
him, by t .
ket £200,000, the others
accompaniedt had in his poc
calling. The
fin Tho half million was freely placed at the
£lOO,OOO each.
on the condition that its use
disposal of the tottering firm,
would be sufficient
to insure its stability, and With a frank-
ness and courage as
honourable as was the generosity of
the offer, was at once declined. If this account be true—
andi its stated on no slight authority—it is hard to say to
which party it does most credit ; to those who, on so noble
a scale, did as they would be done by, or to those who
could refuse assistance to such a gigantic amount, lest it
should not be fully adequate to supply the wants of credit
arrangements so suddenly and violently overthrown.
Honour to the builders of England, who contain in their
ranks men capable of such an offer and of such a refusal !
Amid all the confusion and general selfishness of a finan-
cial panic, an incident such as this shines like a glint o
sunshine through the storm,—/3:dicier.