the whippers-in to make them fly at the sound of their voices, and to comprehend the necessity of hating them cordially, or fearing them mortally, whenever they have taken the liberty of running riot on their own account.

These, with a few other duties of a like kind, take up a great deal of time, and entail considerable responsibility. The first whip should endeavour by observation to fit himself to handle hounds in the absence of the huntsman, and to aspire to the same position, though it will be better in another country, for obvious reasons; and the second whip, while serving in a subordinate situation, should endeavour to learn the duties which will devolve upon him, whenever his experience or circumstances justify his elevation. As I said before, the payment will vary with the article: the most truly useful not being always the most highly rated, nor always the best to look at ; but if, at a rough guess, in the provinces we put down about sixty pounds per annum for the one and forty for the other, with the usual perquisites and lodgings, if good of their sort, they will be cheap enough at the money.

CRICKET. PROSPECTS OF THE SEASON.

THE dissolution of two County Clubs has been announced, and is a rather ominous sign for the county cricket of 1869. The Norfolk Club, one of the two which are to become extinct, has depended almost entirely on amateurs, of whom the county possesses a goodly array, and who have held their own for some seasons against very superior antagonists. The ground at Dereham is one of the best, both for size and quality, in the kingdom, and is so centrally situated as to be readily accessible to the majority of district players. The matches there were always remarkably well conducted, and their cessation will cause a disagreeable blank in the season's programme. Want of funds is the cause of the wind-up of the Club, a cause that should not have occurred in so wealthy a county; but, as we have occasionally remarked before, county cricket came with a great rush a few years ago, and there is now in many counties a corresponding reaction to lukewarmness and apathy. The erasure of Cambridgeshire from the list of cricketing counties in 1869 is a far more important matter. The achievements of the famous three, Hayward, Carpenter, and Tarrant, not to speak of the more recent doings of J. Smith, Pryor, and other serviceable professionals, are matters of world-wide fame, and Cambridgeshire matches, though few in number, have been for years the most stirring events of the The county, however, is deficient in the sinews of war. The amateur element is weak; subscriptions are difficult to obtain, and promises more numerous than payments. Truth compels us to add also that the conduct of the professionals on several occasions has alienated many of their supporters, who object to exhibitions of insolence and overbearing temper, which have been not unfrequent.

season.

Despite therefore the strenuous and disinterested exertions of the Messrs. Perkins, whose forbearance has been as great as it has been greatly tried, it was found that there was an increasing debt, with a decreasing chance of paying it off, and as a natural consequence there was no alternative but to dissolve the Club. We have heard, moreover, of one or two other county clubs that are in a shaky condition, and we shall not be surprised if the list of counties playing as counties is materially reduced within the next few years.

The

The general programme for the season has been now put forth, and we will just glance at its leading features. The M. C. C. and Surrey lists are, as usual, the most important. The former opens its season with a match against the Colts of England, which is at best an uncertain affair, and may be an utter failure, as last year, or a great success, as a few years ago, when A. Shaw, W. Óscroft, Tubb, and others, made their début at Lord's. The Whit Monday match is the M. C. C. and Ground against the South of England, for the benefit of the M. C. C. Players' Fund. There will be nothing afterwards very exciting at Lord's till the University Elevens play their return matches against the M. C. C. in June. Oxford and Cambridge match is fixed for June 21st, and on the 24th there is a novelty-and a very good one too-M. C. C. and Ground against Cheltenham College. On the 28th we have Gentlemen v. Players, and on July 5th a match of hardly inferior interest, M. C. C. and Ground against Nottinghamshire. The Eton and Harrow match commences on July 9th, and Surrey plays Middlesex at Lord's on July 12th, another novelty, as far as the locality is concerned. The remaining M. C. C. matches are of the usual calibre, against Surrey, Hampshire, the Royal Artillery, the Royal Engineers, and such like; and on the whole the programme is somewhat limited, both in extent and interest. The Surrey Club issues a list of more than thirty matches, among which we particularly notice Surrey v. Nottingham, an evidence that certain differences have been arranged amicably. The time-honoured fixture, North v. South, is on the list also for June 3rd, and we conclude that it will be a genuine North and South match, and not the burlesque that has been played at Lord's the last year or two. We observe that both the Universities play Surrey this year before the Oxford and Cambridge match. Thus both will have two trial matches before the great event, the excitement about which will be proportionately increased. All four trial matches will be played in a single week: while Cambridge is playing at Lord's, Oxford will be playing at the Oval, and vice versa; and we may be certain that communication between the two grounds will be pretty frequent, and that discussion will wax fast and furious as to the respective merits of the rival elevens. The Gentlemen and Players' match at the Oval this year precedes that at Lord's, and among other important fixtures we notice, in addition to those which we have named, that Surrey takes the field against Lancashire, Sussex, Yorkshire, and Kent. On the whole, the programme is an excellent one, and all that is wanted are the

men to carry it out. The work to be done is tremendous in quantity and in quality, and unless there is a good deal of new blood in the eleven, we fear that some of the Surrey players, especially if we have a summer like the last, will hardly survive the season. We should not forget to mention that there is a Colts' match on May 20th, between cricket aspirants from the eastern and western divisions of the county, which, we hope, may be useful in bringing forward to the rescue some young players of the old Surrey stamp. We will add, before leaving Surrey, that the published account of subscriptions received for Julius Cæsar shows that about 400l. will probably be paid over to that veteran cricketer.

The Universities will be soon commencing their trial matches. At Cambridge, indeed, they have so many tried men, whose form and abilities are well known, that it does not appear as if there would be much room this season for new additions to the eleven ; but Oxford, deprived of Mr. Fellowes and Mr. Kenney, will have to hunt right and left for bowlers. The matches during the latter half of April will be watched with interest, as showing what new strength in that department of the game Oxford possesses. The Schools, for the most part, have a fair share of old hands in their elevens, though there are eight vacancies at Marlborough and seven at Rugby. Mr. Nepean is still captain of Charterhouse, Mr. Wise succeeds Mr. Brice at Cheltenham, Mr. Higgins and Mr. Gore respectively guide the destinies of the light and dark blues at Eton and Harrow, Mr. Leach remains at Marlborough, Mr. Francis is captain at Rugby, Mr. Northcote at Westminster, and Mr. Theobald at Winchester.

HARROW SCHOOL ATHLETIC SPORTS.

A CERTAIN amount of antagonism is setting in against the prevalence of Athletic Sports in our schools and universities, against which we wish to enter our early protest. The Times,' in a recent leader, gave the first note of alarm, and the authorities of at least one public school have been prompt to take advantage of the feeling thus created, though in much doubt whether the course of action will be generally accepted by parents and guardians. At Harrow, the tradesmen were forbidden from giving their annual cup for the Half-mile Race, the Strangers' Race after the meeting was debarred, and this was shortly after followed by the prohibition for any Harrow School boy to compete in the Public School Athletic Sports which were advertised for Easter Monday, at Lillie Bridge, a time that fell in the holidays. These were strong evidences of a wish to repress the sports, and in our view a mistaken one; for, first, there is no doubt it is the wish of parents that a good physical training should go handin-hand with a good moral and intellectual one, and that scheme of education is the most perfect that prescribes most nearly for this; and, secondly, this object is best attained by varying the physical pursuits as widely as possible; and we are sure that a great gain was

established in this direction by the Volunteer movement in schools. There was a time when but little else than cricket was followed at Harrow, and nothing was more common than to see at least half the school who were not cricketers do nothing but look on at those who were. Of late years the school coups, and still later these athletic sports, have opened a door for boys, whose gifts lay in these directions, and unmixed good has been the consequence. It is a pity, then, that they should be discouraged; and as in intellectual training it is felt that the requirements of the day can only be met by a larger field and in a wider circle, so with physical pursuits, the more they are multiplied the better, as they let in a larger number to partake of the benefit. Instead, then, of repression, the true direction is to encourage the variety; and that boy would be the best-trained athlete

-not by being the best cricketer or the best rifle-shot of his year—but by being the best all-round man-in other words the best in the greater number of pursuits. In our view, then, the Public School Athletic Sports meeting should receive from masters and parents every encouragement, as directly tending to bring into the educational system another element of physical training than is to be found in the rowing and cricketing alone; and, indeed, the matter will mainly rest with the parents, if the meeting is held in the holidays; for it is clear that the school authorities could only interfere where the representative character of the school is invoked-in other words. where a boy is chosen as the representative of the school and competes as such-in all other cases the authority of the parent is paramount, in the holidays, and his control, suspended in favour of the master during the terms, reverts at once to the parent in the vacation; and, from the necessity of the case, we believe the committee of management with their able secretary have wisely disclaimed the representative character of the meeting; and if this be so, it will rest with the parent only to permit his son to enter or not, and each will judge according to his own opinion whether the contest is detrimental to his son's character or not. To those who have no other opportunity it could scarcely fail to be beneficial, and they would be by far the larger number. No doubt the juste milieu is hard to hit; but in our opinion there has been no excess yet. It is to our universities and public schools that the country naturally looks to take the lead. They give the tone and character to the meetings everywhere; and the love of manly sports and pastimes even yet is by no means so common as it might and should be for the welfare of the whole nation-the mass is not yet thoroughly leavened. The Volunteer movement has done much, but it has not done all. The revival of sport, as far as it has yet revived, is due to the extreme repression which it suffered at the hands of the preceding generation; and it was high time that the absurd notions that then prevailed were abandoned-high time that the health and strength of youth should be recruited by the pursuit of vigorous and manly exercises, lest the country

'Should lose the wrestling thews that throw the world.'

And it is because we view with alarm the efforts now making to revert to traditions that we had hoped were exploded, that we call on parents and guardians to stand by and insist on the physical education of their sons going hand in hand with their moral and intellectual training; and instead of standing aloof from sports, as it would seem to be with some the present inclination, that the authorities of our universities and schools should assume their proper functions in controlling and guiding the physical as much as they do the intellectual training of those committed to their chargea real sympathy would add to their influence, while the effort to repress, and most likely without success, cannot fail to damage and impair it. The report we are able to furnish of the sports at Harrow is necessarily imperfect, as, owing to the extreme inclemency of the weather on the last day, they were left unfinished; but enough was done to show that, in running, the year was an unexceptionally good one. Gore, Walker, Templer, and Thornton, are all strong and active runners. Walker had won the mile of last year, and Gore the 100 yards, and Templer the Champion Hurdle Race; and they all showed in improved form in the present year's sports. The House, Flat, and Hurdle Races. were decided early in the term; and amongst the winners, the brothers, the Rivett-Carnacs, might be mentioned as showing likely for another year. The first school race was the quarter of a mile on the Ducker Road. There were 9 entries divided into 2 heats— Ist heat-Apcar 1st, Bennett 2, Brown o, Baillie Hamilton o: this was won by Apcar after a good race by 2 yards. 2nd heatG. A. Templer 1st, C. R. Walker 2, Sir Francis Ford o, Wallroth o, G. Rivett-Carnac o: this was won easily, Walker merely running for the 2nd place. Final heat. This was run on Tuesday, the 9th March. Templer 1st, Walker 2, Bennett 3, Apcar o. This was a slashing race, Templer made all the running from the first, was closely pressed by Walker at the finish, and won by a foot, the time being 53 seconds. This was succeeded, on March 13th, by the Mile Race on the Pinner road, and the following five came to the post, G. A. Templer, A. H. Thornton, A. A. Apcar, E. C. Browne, and E. Carlisle. The starter, E. Meek, captain of the school, despatched them at once to an excellent start. Carlisle rushed off with the lead, closely followed by Thornton and Browne, the pace being very strong. At the quarter mile, Thornton took the lead, Templer on the left, Carlisle on the right, and Browne in the rear. These four ran in a lozenge-shape very closely together, Apcar lying about five yards behind. At the half mile, Apcar ran past Browne and Carlisle, who were now out of it; and Templer, taking the lead from Thornton, gradually increased the space, winning by about thirty yards, the same distance separating Thornton and Apcar, Carlisle fourth, a long way behind, Browne having retired at the three-quarter mile. The time, taken by the reporter for Bell's Life' with a Benson's chronometer, was 4 min. 32 sec., and we have no reason to doubt its accuracy, as the pace from the