that there was no starter appointed by the Articles; and next, that the men had started for the race on the preceding day, and that the race on the occasion in question was only a continuation of that previously begun. Well, then; there being no starter, the men were as usual to start themselves. The Chief Justice says that if one of them, from illness or any other cause, chose to take out his pipe when he got to his station, instead of starting, the referee would have no jurisdiction. And of course, if Sadler had knocked Kelley on the head with a scull, and disabled him, the referee would have been equally precluded from giving a decision, in consequence of the race not having begun. On the argu

ment the other day, this was eventually given up, and it was at length conceded, that, under such circumstances, the Referee would have the power to order the other man to row over the course. Still, the Judges don't seem to have got the idea out of their heads, and the spectre still haunts them to the end of their judgment. The cases cited on behalf of the plaintiff showed the mcst hopeless ignorance. In the first place, it has been decided in Parr 7. Winteringham, and other cases, that stewards of a race meeting do not hold the position of arbitrators, but have much larger powers; and in the next place, one of the cases cited was that of a race where a starter was appointed by the articles; which fact, to any one of ordinary understanding, we should have thought would have made a sufficient distinction. We need hardly say that a referee at a private match is very much in the same position as stewards at a race meeting, and has much the same powers. Therefore, upon the ground that the second meeting was but a continuation of the first, and that even had this not been so, a referee has power under the circumstances to award the stakes, we are, of opinion that the referce was right in claiming and exercising the power which he did. But then it is said, assuming all this, he did not do it properly. Now this is exactly the very case intended to be met by the clause in the Articles: The decision of the referee is to be final.' There is not a word in the judgment which does not impugn the discretion of the referee. It all resolves itself into this: We think the referee should have given Sadler another chance. We say that the referee was under no obligation whatever to give Sadler notice of what he was going to do. It was not imperative upon him to do so. If he thought that Sadler wanted to prevent the race being properly decided, in order to save his backers' money, it was quite enough justification for what he did. Of course the referee in the abstract is bound to give the men a fair chance. But whether he has done so or not is for him to decide. Had one more chance been given, why not another, and another? Then, again, it is said the referee's message was not conveyed to Sadler, and so it was no fair decision; or, rather, it was a conditional order which was inoperative because the conditions had not been performed. Had this been the only decision, and had the referee afterwards revoked it, there might have been something in the objection. But it was, in fact, only a step

towards giving the final decision. Had Kelley not gone the distance, through an attack of illness, or anything of that kind, the referee probably would not have awarded the race to him. But it was the subsequent decision upon which the stakeholder acted, and how it was arrived at was no business of his-his duty was simply to pay over the money according to the referee's decision. If allowed to challenge one step leading to a decision, why not all? Where can you stop? And in such case every match would have to be decided by a court of law, the especial objeet intended to be provided against. It would not be difficult to get any number of unsuccessful backers to swear that Citizen Q was in such a position that it was impossible the referee could have seen. In these cases it must be left to the referee to decline, if necessary, to give a decision at all. And in any case in which he did not see any honourable referee would do so. But it must be left to him, if sport is to be carried on as sport. For however plausible it may seem to step in in one particular case on the plea of preventing injustice, the evil done to true sport by throwing doubt upon the decisions of a referee is incalculable. Upon this point a remark of the Chief Justice is altogether conclusive against his own judgment. He is reported to have remarked: Supposing an umpire at a cricket match were to turn 'his back to the play, he could not be in a position to decide.' This is perfectly true and obvious; but, nevertheless, if he did decide, his decision would be binding. We all know that if an umpire gave a man as bowled out by a 'no ball,' the decision could not be disputed. We look upon this case as most unfortunate. It was a case of the first impression with the Chief Justice, and he seems to have communicated his own feelings to those about him. Not a little remarkable was it to find Harry Kelley in the position of the unpopular candidate. He has done more for the honour of the Thames than any rowing man who ever lived. He has always gone straight and never lost his pluck. But may there not be a very good reason for such a state of feeling? On the occasion when the foul occurred, Kelley was ahead. It was known which was the better man there was no other way for people to save their money than to endeavour to have the match declared void. But fortunately they have met again; the former decision of the referee has been amply confirmed, and, though beaten in the action, Kelley on his merits is without doubt the better man, and, in justice and law, was entitled to the stakes.

Since the above was written, we hear that the case is to be appealed. If this be so, we may hope that the crude impressions of the Queen's Bench may be set aside by a legal judgment.

OBSERVATIONS ON SCENT.*

THE ground has become settled after the late rains, the clouds are high, and the day is so still that, were it not for a feeling of nip in the air, as Mr. Jorrocks looks out of his window, he could not tell that the wind was in the east. Upon consulting the barometer, and finding it on the rise, Mr. J. vows that he must either fly or die to-day.' But alas! for the experience of even such an authority as Mr. Jorrocks, there turns out to be not a particle of scent. On some other occasion he sees old Priestess rolling on the grass, or he notes the dewdrops hanging on the thorn, or the grass covered with gossamer, or some other equally infallible sign, and predicts no scent, and the hounds are tied to their fox. Mr. J. observes that he must have been a very stinking one.

No one can say to a certainty whether hounds can run or not until they have had the chance of settling to a scent, and even then scent frequently changes in the course of a day without any apparent cause. Beckford writes very diffidently upon the subject of scent, for scent is, I believe, what we sportsmen know least about.' He further adds, I believe that scent depends chiefly on two things-the condition the ground is in, and the temperature of the air.' We take it that of these two requirements the former is the most important. A dry season is always a bad one, but when there has been a nice splash of rain,' as Charles Payne calls it, and the country has been thoroughly saturated with wet, you may expect good runs and tired horses. We have been strengthened in this opinion by reading an interesting little book, lately published by Mr. Ridge of Grantham, entitled The Memoirs of the Belvoir Hounds, from their Earliest Records to the Present Day.' It has been compiled from accounts of each day's sport, written at the time, by practical sportsmen connected with the hounds, of which we give the following extracts:

Season 1809, 1810.-Shaw, huntsman. There was a deal of sport this season, as the ground was very wet, and they hunted till May.

'1811, 1812.—An excellent season for sport. Weather favourable, and 'country wet.

1814, 1815.-A very wet season. November showed good sport, though 'the hounds were unsuccessful in killing foxes: from February 1st excellent 'sport.'

1820, 1821. Goosey, huntsman. Up to Christmas the sport was brilliant ; after Christmas-day not one day's sport perfect in all respects took place. February was the driest month on record. From January 10th to February 18th not a drop of rain fell.

1821, 1822. An extraordinary season for good sport. The wind never 'veered, except for one week from south and west points. The country was always in excellent state, occasionally too deep.

1826, 1827.-This was not a good season for sport. The ground, before 'Christmas, was too hard.

1849, 1850.-Goodall, huntsman. The season was a satisfactory one for sport. A deal of rain during the season.

1850, 1851. Good sport the beginning of the season, though the ground was dry.

1852, 1853. Very much rain fell in November, and throughout the There was a deal of sport, and some excellent runs.

" season.

*Memoirs of the Belvoir Hounds.' Ridge, High Street, Grantham.

1853, 1854.-After a very wet summer and autumn, a succession of high ' winds prevailed, and spoiled the first part of the season; then followed the long and severe frost, and almost immediately after dry weather commenced, ' and lasted to the end of the season. It was a bad season for sport.

6

1854, 1855. It was a bad season for sport, for the ground, owing to the 'dry summer of 1854, was hard, and the scent was bad.

1855, 1856.-The summer of 1855 was very dry. Then came a deal of 'rain through the season, which was first-rate in quality of sport.

1856, 1957. This season was very wet, and an excellent one for sport. Many of the runs will challenge comparison with those of any previous season. The wind was seldom in the east.

1857, 1858.-This was on the whole a bad season. Sport was pretty good in November and December; then came frost, never severe, dry winds, and 6 no scent.

1860, 1861.-Cooper, huntsman. The season was above an average for sport; the country very wet and deep, and rain perpetual.

1861, 1862.—The early part of the season was dry, and there was no sport. In the latter part an unusual quantity of rain fell, and the sport was good. 1862, 1863. From the third week in December till 2nd of February the country was very wet, and the sport excellent. After that very dry weather set in, and though the hounds ran well in the evenings, there were few

runs.

1863, 1864.-The rainfall in England was small. Sport on the whole ' was bad.

'1864, 1865. This was the worst season for sport for many years. All 'November the ground was dry, and too hard to ride. Scarcely one good 'scenting day throughout the season.

1865, 1866.—This season was far above the average for sport. The country 'was very wet.'

From these extracts, and from other parts of Mr. Ridge's book, to which we refer our readers, may be gathered the experience of more than half a century, showing the paramount influence that the state of the ground exercises upon scent.

What was it that gave the Shires, and a few other favoured localities, a superiority over the rural countries but that their soil naturally carries a more lasting scent? Strong clay lands, where the blackthorn knows how to grow, and where the brooks and ditches are broad and deep, to carry the water off, these were the countries for sport, until they were spoiled by excessive drainage, and every field became stained by cattle at all seasons.

In light, shallow soils a holding scent is rare, if we except the maiden turf of the Downs, where hounds can generally run. In the fern and heather of the New Forest, where a fox brushes as he goes along, a body scent, and not only a pad scent, is retained, which hounds can hunt with a fox a long way ahead: hounds cannot, however, carry a good head there, as the sheep tracks, which the foxes use, will only admit of their going in Indian file. In woodland countries the fallen and rotting leaves are a great impediment to scent, and save many a fox's life. When the March winds set in, and have parched up the land, it is time for Masters of Hounds to fall back upon their moist woodlands, for there is no longer any fun to be had in the open.

Although we believe that scent depends chiefly upon the condition of the ground, it depends upon the air also. There is no such enemy to sport as a boisterous wind which blows the scent about, and breaks the continuity of the line. Falling rain, unless very violent, affects scent but little; but rain

in the air is fatal. A white catch frost is prejudicial, inasmuch as it makes the ploughs carry; but an old-fashioned black frost, for about ten days at Christmas-time, cleanses the soil, settles the weather, and makes a good scent both before and after. Just as such a frost sets in there is generally a famous scent. In Mr. Meynell's historical run from Billesdon Coplow to Enderby Hall, 'the wind was north-east forbiddingly keen,' and it froze hard the whole day. Lord Southampton's hounds had a burning scent with a fox which had gone through water, and it had frozen upon his coat in icicles. Bob Ward declared that he could hear them rattle as he went along!

In fact, hounds have run in nearly every conceivable state of the atmosphere, but what carries them on, and kills the fox, is a steady, uniform scent. There cannot be an uniform scent where there are frequent variations of soil; and hounds, after revelling in a scent that requires no stooping for, become too impatient to hunt an inferior one. But this leads to the consideration of difference of scent, another part of the question, and much more difficult to treat.

LIFE AMONGST THE BEDOUINS OF TOR.
BY THE OLD SHEKARRY.'

CHAPTER I.

THE PENINSULA OF SINAI-ITS HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY COMPARED-OUR PREPARATIONS AND DEPARTURE FROM SUEZINSUBORDINATION NIPPED IN THE BUD-TÔR AND ITS INHABITANTS OUR MARCH AND ENCAMPMENT-THE CONVENT OF

ST.

CATHERINE - JEBEL MOUSA-MOUNT CATHERINE- THE ASAMER,' AND A BEDOUIN SOIRÉE.

BETWEEN the gulfs of Suez and Akaba lies the peninsula of Sinai, one of the most remarkable regions on the face of the earth, not only on account of its interesting associations with the earliest history of the world, but also for its peculiar natural physical features.

Its history may be said to commence and end with the tradition of the wanderings of the Israelites, as described in the Pentateuch; and from the earliest records it appears that the grand object of every traveller visiting these parts has been to connect the marvellous events recorded with the scene of action. In this none have suc

ceeded. The route of the twelve tribes has never been satisfactorily determined; the site where they are said to have passed through the Red Sea is unknown; and it is still an open question whether Mount Serbal, Jebel-Mousa, Mount Catherine, Ras-Safsafeh, or Jebel Monéjah is the Sinai of the Exodus, where it is alleged the Law 'was given to Moses.' On each of these subjects the most learned explorers either disagree on all material points, or decline to give any decisive opinion, which latter course is perhaps the wisest, as at the present day there is no conclusive evidence to identify the history of the earliest ages with the locality.

It is now over 3,400 years ago since the Israelites are said to have passed from Rameses, in Egypt, to Jericho beyond Jordan; and