In the next place, I quitted the Hampton Court stud with a lively sense of the kind attention I had received from the gentleman who is at its head, and under whose able superintendance so much good management is to be found; and I only lamented that my engagements in London prevented my accepting his invitation to visit him again on the morrow, and discuss with him such matters as might seem meet. All that I can add then is, as a loyal man and a sportsman, Vivant Rex et Regina atque omnes generatores equorum nobilium.

NIMROD.

A MEALFOURVONIE TROUT.

Painted by A. COOPER, R. A., and engraved by DUNCAN.

What sort of a Trout a Mealfourvonie Trout is, will be best explained by the following letter from the gentleman by whom our specimen was taken.

MR. EDITOR,

THE annexed figure of a singular variety of the Trout was with several more taken out of one of those small lochs so numerous in the Highlands of Scotland, and is, as far as I could learn, peculiar to the lock from which it was taken, and which is situated near the top of Mealfourvonie, a mountain on the north west side of Loch-Ness, said to be three thousand and sixty feet above the level of the sea.

The common Scotch or burn trout are also plentiful in the same water. I beg to state a curious circumstance; some two or three hundred feet lower down is another loch of about the same dimensions, which is supplied principally by the overflowing of the one above, and it would be but reasonable to expect that with the overflow both spawn and fry would be carried into this lower loch, which has abundance of the burn trout, yet this variety is never found in it, nor at least within twenty miles of the spot. They are very superior in flavour to any I ever tasted, and from their red colour give a name to the loch in which they are found, which is called by the Highlanders the loch of the red fish. They rise freely at a very large fly made very similar to the grey drake; but it is absolutely necessary, owing to the altitude of the situation, that you should if you wish to succeed select a hot day, for even in August, at that elevation, the cold is frequently intense. They vary in weight from three-quarters to a pound and a half.

Balmacaen House, N. B.

Mr. Editor, your's,

BOGTROTTER.

IT has frequently occurred that the field for the Derby has, at the commencement of the year, been either deficient in public runners, or composed of horses whose pretensions have been pretty nearly balanced, but it has never happened, within my recollection, that the favourites have been so remarkably poor in character, or the South country two years, as a lot, so wretchedly bad as at the close of the season 1835. At that time the best public horses in the race were The Mummy and Slane, and their pretensions, making the most of them, were feeble enough. The favourites for the Oaks being of precisely the same moderate description, it is not a matter of surprise that gentlemen were shy in backing their horses-they waited for the Craven meeting; and that their expectations of getting a "line" have been fraustrated by various circumstances, will be shown in my details of it. The Doncaster St. Leger is in every respect superior, the two year olds brought out in the North, last year, having shown first rate qualities-indeed it is not too much to say that a finer lot of young horses has seldom or ever been produced, and had not the St. Leger been the subject of such repeated trickery, there was nothing wanting to make it a most excellent betting race. These remarks are suggested by the nature of the running last season, and being amply borne out by the official returns, will serve as a general introduction to the campaign of 1836.

I reached Newmarket on the Friday preceding the races, and was not at all surprised to find it bearing a most wintry and desolate appearance;-large patches of snow, heavy falls of rain and hail, the roads cut up, the country flooded in various parts, and the course ankle-deep, afforded a bad look-out for amusement. But this was not all-the strings of horses were terribly thinned by sickness, (Prince's and Scott's stables having, I believe, been the heaviest sufferers,) and those in health were unable to take what is considered a requisite quantity of work. With so little to attract, it is not surprising that the show of company was meagre, and that the meeting was flat. On Sunday there was an occasional glimpse of fine weather, and I was enabled to take a peep at the horses; Cooper, Prince, and Turner appeared to have the largest teams, nor did I observe any falling off in Stephenson's, Pettit's, Kent's,

or W. Ridsdale's. Kent's horses looked amazingly well, and the extraordinary promise of Lord Exeter's two year olds elicited general admiration. Of course I heard plenty of on-dits. "The duke is so tired of Sam, that he means to sell off his horses at Newmarket and stick to the north," "It's all up with the C's, the lawyer means to cage Bill and grab the horses." "The Duke of Beaufort gives up racing for hunting." "The gentlemen talk of measures for reducing the rate of charging for training, travelling," &c. I found too that the foreigners had purchased an immense number of horses, and that they were endeavouring to prevail upon Mr. Batson to part with Phenipo. But no price, I should imagine, will induce that gentleman to sell, after his oft repeated declaration that the horse was the "property of the public " I will not tire your readers with any other preliminary matter, but enter at once into the details of the meeting.

Monday.-Agreeably disappointed with a fine day; the previous indications, however, had been so gloomy as materially to shorten the number and fashion of the visitors. The usual muster at the rooms in the morning, and a little Derby business transacted; the Babel party very sweet on their nag, taking 3 to 1 for the Riddlesworth, 15 to 1 for the Derby, and 25 to 1 for the two; Brother to Nell Gwynne on the decline his friends afraid of the ground being too heavy, refusing 7 to 1 for the Derby, and 11 to 1 about his winning that and the Riddlesworth. Nothing else talked of. On the Heath matters very dull— the company thin-the ground sloppy and the betting flat. The racing will tell its own tale.

The Craven Stakes was, as usual, the introductory race to the meeting; out of eight entered, the following came to the post:-Duke of Richmond's Pussy, 5 yrs. old; Lord Exeter's Lady Ann, 3 yrs. old; Col. Peel's Castaway, 4 yrs. old; Mr. Bird's Redshank, 3 yrs. old; Mr. Wilson's ch. f. by Emilius, or Comus, out of Silvertail, 3 yrs. old; Mr. Walker's Snowball, 3 yrs. old; and Mr. Ridsdale's Coriolanus, 4 yrs. old. The betting was flat at 11 to 8 against Coriolanus, 5 to 2 against Pussy, 4 to 1 against Redshank, and 6 to 1 against Castaway. Pussy, Redshank, and Coriolanus lay in front throughout, the mare leading at a rattling pace as far as the bushes; in the bottom she was beaten, and the other two ran home together, Redshank winning by a head, tight-held and without showing any of those symptoms of distress which were so conspicuous in his opponent. Pussy was a respectable third, and ran a good mare, considering the weight and the ground, the flat being heavier than any other part of the course. Only three were placed, but Snowball was fourth, and the other three a long way behind. The winner was ridden amazingly well by young Boyce, who has only to take pains to become a first-rate jockey.