Grown bold by their panic he ftrutted about, But attempting to roar-O unfortunate wag! Thus a poor banker's clerk, with his book going round, SPORTING INTELLIGENCE EXTRAORDINARY. [From the British Prefs.] THE BRENTFORD RACES. HE match between the Mainwaring Colt, and Parfon Tooke's famous horfe Citizen, was decided on Thursday at the Brentford courfe. The celebrated match between Diamond and Hambletonian did not excite one twentieth part of the interest in the fporting world. At an early hour the roads leading. to the course in all directions were crowded with carriages of every clafs, horfemen and pedeftrians of all ranks, ages, and deferiptions. The road from London was in a manner covered with a folid mafs, the crowd being fo great as frequently to render it impoffible to move. The race was fifteen rounds of the Brentford Courfe; the horfes to start from the Stand-houfe, commonly called the Huftings, down Kifs-book !, acrofs the Devil's Ditch, and fo round again to the Stand-houfe. On Tuesday morning the hour of starting was announced by the found of marrow-bones and cleavers, hurdy-gurdy mufic-grinding mills, and other melodious R 5. 2 melodious inftruments. A good deal of time was fpent in weighing the jockeys. Old Mob rode Citizen, was full of porter and gin, and in high fpirits. The Colt's rider was many pounds too light; but Alderman C, Mt. M-, &c. threw in fome hot, and made up the deficiency. The jockeys then mounted, and rode to the ftarting-poft. The Colt was rode by Magiftrate, in light fky-blue; Old Mob rode in purple and orange. Never did two horfe appear fo unequal, as they flood at the ftarting-poft: the Colt was in low condition, rough in the coat, and did not shew much blood or bone: Citizen, on the contrary, was as fleek as a mouse, stood near a hand higher than the Colt, and was in excellent condition; but he was a good deal puffed, and was fuppofed to have been very much trained in the cheft in his late match with the Colt's fire. Citizen, who has been for fone time the crack horfe of Brentford, was the favourite; and the odds, before ftarting, were, at the loweft, 10 to 1 upon him. Exactly at nine o'clock the fignal was given, and both horfes went off at full speed. The refult of the first round was not calculated to change the opinion previously entertained of Citizen's fuperiority; he took the lead, and kept it all the way. The fecond proved the Colt to be of good bottom; he went off in a fpirited ftyle, lay clofe to Citizen, and juft paffed him within about twenty yards of the poft. The odds, however, continued nearly the fame, it being the general opinion that Citizen lay by to make play. The third heat gave quite a new turn in favour of the Colt. It now appeared that his rider had held him in the two first heats, as he swallowed the bit, and went off with extraordinary velocity, leaving Citizen nearly a diftance behind. The fourth, fifth, and fixth heats, were contested much in the fame way, the Colt proving uniformly vic torious, difplaying fine action and great bottom, During all this time the populace fhewed evident marks of chagrin and difappointment. They hooted and hiffed the Colt wherever he appeared, and, at times, threatened to break in upon the course. The feventh heat now came on, and the event put them in good humour. Citizen took the lead, and never fuffered the Colt to come alongfide of him. His appearance, however, was by no means flattering. He was blown, and his wind fo much touched, that he made a noise like a roarer. The Colt, on the contrary, though hardly preffed, had never turned a hair. The eighth heat, both horfes put forth all their ftrength. The jockeys gave them whip and spur from the itarting-poft, and they went neck and neck all round, Citizen only winning by a nose. The ninth heat was contefted with equal obftinacy, but was won by the Colt juft by a fingle length. Bets now began to vary confiderably; the odds, which at the beginning were ten and twelve to one, now dropped to three to two, and four to three. Indeed, at one moment, the bets were even. Great difcontent now began to manifest itself among the fporting gentlemen who backed Citizen. They fwore he was badly rode; that Old Mob was bribed; that he was drunk, and did not know what he was doing. Still, however, they had the greatest confidence in their favourite, knowing him to be a horfe of found bottom. The tenth and eleventh heats ended in favour of the Colt; but he was hardly preffed in both by Citizen, who ran him head and girth into the poft. Both horfes now appeared greatly difireffed, and were cut from fhoulder to flank. The twelfth heat did not produce much fport. The Colt lay by, and Citizen came in first without an apparent struggle. R 6 The The thirteenth heat, however, was of a very different complexion; Citizen took the lead, and ran in a ftyle that threatened to diftance his adverfary. The courfe being deep, and much cut by the crowds of carriages, &c. in the preceding days, Citizen threw fuch immenfe quantities of mud and dirt into the face of his adverfary, as almoft to blind him. The confequence was, he came in firft by alnioft a diftance, amidst the fliouts of the populace. Old Mob now feemed confident of fuccefs, cracked his whip, and, to thofe who had charged him with being drunk, boafted that a fpur in the head was worth two in the heel. The hope of Citizen's friends was now almoft raised to certainty; 100 to 1 were offered and refufed; and fome even went fo far as to fay that the Colt was drawn; but this fentiment was of fhort duration. Citizen had lain by in the beginning of the fourteenth heat, relying upon his fuperior bottom; but he under-rated his opponent, and was not able to make up his loft ground. The victory was accordingly declared in favour of the Colt, who won eight out of fifteen heats, in the course of which he aftonished all the knowing ones by his capital performance. The match, however, cannot be confidered as finally decided, as the friends of Citizen complain of creffing and jostling, and much other foul play, and mean to refer it to the Jockey Club. Aug. 11. NEW STAMP ACT. MR. EDITOR, ALTHOUGH perhaps no man has a right to be furprised at any thing which happens in thefe days of wonder, yet I hope you will permit me to exprefs fome fome fmall degree of aftonishment at the clamour which has been raised against the new stamp duties; and I hope you will alfo give me leave to endeavour, as much as in my power, to remove the objections of certain prejudiced perfons, and enlighten them a little in the true nature of Mr. Pitt's taxation-fyftem, which, I am forry to fay, has always been most strangely mifunderstood, and confequently mifreprefented. It has indeed unfortunately happened, that the Minifter's defigns have failed of being understood, and of receiving their due portion of national gratitude, becaufe his friends and the public at large think there is no other way of knowing what he means than by attending to what he fays. Now, Sir, independent of this being a very foolish way of getting at the inclinations of any politician of modern times, it is particularly unlucky in the cafe of our great financier, whofe thetorical flights are in general fo much above the common reach, that while his hearers are with erect ears endeavouring to catch a meaning, he fairly shoots over their heads. The truth is, Mr. Editor, that in all his finance bills there is fomething expreffed and fomething understood; one purpose avowed, and another, and perhaps a much better one, concealed. This is fo remarkably the cafe in the new Stamp Bill, that it is furprifing that fome have not perceived it; and that others, perceiving it, have not been charmed with it. Surely your readers muft anticipate me fo far as to be aware that I am going to mention that part of the Bill which refpects Attornies. A little bickering in the Houfe has obliged Mr. Pitt on this occafion to bring forward both his purpofes; and they are, firft, to raise money to bring this war to a profperous iffe; and fecondly, to render Attornies more refpectable. Surely, Sir, the magnitude and importance of two fuch objects ought to have procured the Minifter the praife juftly due to fuck |