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Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

10 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

"A STORY AS IS A STORY!" --

AN AMERICAN RIVAL TO MR. SPURGEON.

JpsaUraMs liptt. -

.-io. -.----COMMERCIAL GRIEF.

MANIA FOR LOTTERY SPECULATION.

PECULATION IN MOROCCO.

NAPOLEON III. ON ENGLAND.

--SIDNEY SMITH ON ABSENCE…

A TALE OF THE SPANISH1 ARMADA.

REMINISCENCES OF THE MODERN"…

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REMINISCENCES OF THE MODERN NIMROD. Some twelve months since the world was informed ofttln <" death of one of the most celebrated sportsmen of modern; timjy.-jS. Mr. Thomas Assheton Smith. His loss was felt oy.hundreds p who had shared his company, his hospitality, or Im'boutltW » for he was truly a fine old English gentleman," in the fulles»l' acceptation of the term. It is scarcely to be expected tW 1 sV;cl1 a notability would be passed over without some biogi'a' pher handing down his memoirs to posterity; and his ad'; mirers will therefore hail with delight Sir J. Eardley Wilmot'fj recently-published "Reminiscences" of Mr. Smith, wh("; 1 evidently justly earned the soubriquet of "the modtefl 1 Nimrod." We extract the following from the work o itttt f biographer baronet :— THE FREE-TRADE 11 A.NTC. During the panic created by free-trade, at its com- mencement, a worthy farmer remarked to Mr. Smithi Jl that the cultivation of corn would soon cease. Sc much the better," observed the squire, smiling at his tenant's apprehension; "for then I shall hunt over a grass country. On another occasion, Lord Southampton said to a farmer who was too fond of over-riding bÍl! hounds, "I think, sir, that Sir Robert Peel's bill will stop you, though I cannot." HYDROPATHIC HUMBUG. The story goes, that a lover of the chase who wa3 somewhat addicted to the pleasures of the table, andj loved more glasses of port wine than was quite good for" him, consulted a hydropathic Galen respecting s^\ 'T symptoms in his kitchen department which were begly ning to give him alarm. The doctor recommended the application of the wet bandage to his stomach at bed- time, there to remain until the following morning. "I will see you to-morrow," added he, "when I shall be better able to judge of your symptoms." At night out hero, having saturated the folds of linen in cold spring water, began the application as directed, but the shock to his internal economy being greater than he had, bargained for, he bethought himself of taking off tl^4 chill by re-dipping the bandage into water in which there was a certain portion of his favourite beverage. Having thus made things rather more comfortable, he> waited the doctor s visit the next morning. Show your bandage," was almost the learned' man's first exclamation. It was produced. The doctor regarded. 1 its discolourations for a moment with feelings of lively satisfaction, and then solemnly addressing his patient, who had some difficulty iu. retaining his gravity, "1 thought so, sir," he said; "this is the port wine yo: 1 have drunk for the last twenty years coming out.' LETTERS FROM THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON. Once a report getting abroad that Mr. Smith wa dead, his Grace, (the Duke of Wellington,) who waf then in London, dispatched the Marquis of Douro immediately from Strathfi eldsaye to Tedworth, to mak' inquiries, and finding to his satisfaction that the squir1 was enjoying his usual robust health, the Duke wrote t. him the following letter:—" London, Nov. 12, 1851 My dear Smith,—They have killed you again in thes last days! But I have been happy to learn that tlJl' report is without foundation. They treat you in thi respect as they do me. I conclude that: it is in your capacity of Field Marshal of Eox-hunting. Ever yours, sincerely, WELLINGTON." Another ,note writ ten by the Duke is characteristic of the. writer:- "London, May 11, 1840. My dear Smith,—I hav<- received your note. I attend in Parliament fou" days in the week. At the Ancient Musick on We* nesdays. There remain Sunday and Saturday. Ever;, animal in the creation is sometimes allowed a holiday excepting the Duke of Wellington. There the day are, take any Saturday or Sunday that you please. should certainly like to have occasionally a day's lei sure, while the Ancient Concerts are going on, am the pressure of business is so heavy in Parliameni But my convenience, likings or dislikings, have nothing to do with the matter; they are not worth discsussinf • I would prefer anything rather than have a discussion on the subject. Remember me most kindly to Mrr Smith, and believe me ever yours most sincerely, W. APPEALING TO THEIR FEELINGS. During the early part of his hunting in Leicester shire, Mr. Smith was solicited to stand for the thorough of Nottingham. This undertaking at that time wal just as hazardous as for a Tory to stand for Wes' minster against such an idol as Sir F. Burdett the was. The very peril, however, was an iiiduceme. for Tom Smith to come forward; and a reception sue; as was to be expected awaited him. The town w placarded with "No Foxhunting M.P. and tl electors carried their virulence so far as to dress up guy w^h a red coat and a fox's brush appended to i' which they burnt in effigy before the hustings. M Smith's appearance there was the signal for a tremendous row; and not a word of his -speech, wlu he came forward to address them, would they hea. There, however, he remained, in defiance of their yer and hooting, till at last with a stentorian voice, heal above the uproar, he cried out, "Gentlemen, as yc refuse to hear the exposition of my poiltical principL at least be so kind as to listen to these few words. will fight any man, little or big, directly I leave th' hustings, and will have a round with him now for love." The affect of this "argumentum ad homines" wa electric. It had touched a sympathetic cord. -Instea' of yells and groans, there were rounds of cheers; ani. from that hour to the end of the contest, in which, aftf a hard struggle, he was beaten, not a single interru tion nor act of molestation was offered to him. HUNTING FALLS. Screwdriver, whose aets have been already me tioned, once fairly dislodged the squire into the midc of a gorse cover. He was finding his fox in some vei high gorse, near Conholt-park, and was sitting loosel on Screwdriver—who, by the way, even after Mr Smith took to him, always retained his untamabJ temper-when the wilful animal started aside, an kicked him over his head. Nothing, owing to th height of the gorse, could be seen of the squire, bl Screwdriver kept kicking and plunging in a circi round him. Let go the bridle, or he will be th- death of you," said a nervous well-meaning farmer. He shall kick my brains out first," was the reply ot the still prostrate sportsman, who was soon up and righted in the sandle. Although his falls were numc-, ous, owing to his never allowing his hounds to 4 away from him, yet he was very seldom seriously hurt. Only on two occasions had he a bone broken: once at Melton, when h&consoled himself by learning arithmetic, from the pretty ,damsel at the post-office; and afterwards when' ORè "of his ribs was fractured, owing, as he said, to his^having his knife in a breast- pocket. His presence of mind, when falling, never deserted him he always contrived to fall clear of his horse, and.never to let Mm go. Ihe bridle-rein, which fell as lightly as a breeze, or zephyr on his horse's neck, was then held as in a vice. THE ART OF FALLING IN THE HUNTING-FIELD. j In some instances, with horses whom he knew well, 1 he would ride for a ;fall, where he knew it was not possible for him to clear a fence. With J ack-o'-Lan- tern, he was often known, to venture on this experiment, and he frequently said there was not a fieltl in Leicester- shire in, wnich he had 1 never see you in the Har borough county", he observed to a gentleman? who occasionally hunM!-with the Quorn. "I don't much like your Harborough country," replied the other, the fences are so large."?' "Oh!" observed Mr. Smith, there is no place you-cannot get over with a fall." To a young supporter of this pack, who was constantly falling and hurting himself, he said, All who profess to ride should know hoiv-io fall." man," writes Nimrod in 1841, "knows so well as Mr. Smith does how to fall, which accounts for the trifling injuries he. has sustained; and I once saw an instance of his skill in this act of self-preservation. He stuck fast in a bullfinch, on his tall gray horse, his hinder legs being entangled in the growers, and there was every appear- ance of the horse falling on his head in a,deep ditch below him. A less cool man than Mr. Smith might have thrown himself from the saddle, in which case, had the growers given way at the moment, for the animal, appeared suspended by them, his horse might have fallen upon him ere he could have gotten out of his way. Mr. Smith, however, sat quiet, and by that means the well-practised hunter got his legs free, andi landed: himself in the field without further difficulty. At one time it appeared to me as if nothing could pre- vent him falling headlong into the ditch." No communications can be inserted unless authenticated by the name and address of the writer. j