SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

MISCELLANEOUS.

KITE FLYING.-A letter

from Stanrear, mentions, that, on the 27th of November, when the wind blew hard at fouth-weft, a paper kite was blown across the Iith channel, and came to the ground at Cambrook, nine miles to the northward of Port Patrick: there were 155 fathoms of cord fixed to it. The kite was covered with Irish newfpapers, (The Northern Star); and the word "Donaghadee," written in large letters in the center It is intended, the first fair wind to try the experiment of fending it back to the king

dom from whence it came.

November 28th, Mr. Richard England was brought up, by the keeper of Newgate, to the Court of King's Bench, when he plead ed his abfence from the kingdom as an impediment to the reception of thofe notices, which the law required in cafes of outlawry. This fact being denied by the counsel for the prosecution, iffue was joined, and a jury ordered to be ftricken; but the abfence of the Attorney-General, who alone has the right of joining iffue, in fuch a cafe, occafioned the trial to be postponed to the first day of next term.

December 11th, a match was decided upon the Melton Leicef. ter road, between a galloway belonging to Mr. Moore, of Clawfon, and as hackney, the property of Mr. Whittle, of Harby. The wager was for twenty guineas each fide, to run one hundred miles, making the

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best of their way; the owners were to ride, play or pay. The articles were complied with, and the bet was won by the former, a known game galloway, who performed the distance in thirteea hours and an half, beating its competitor by the long odds.

December 14th, a bell, weighing two tons, one hundred, and a quarter, was, with fome difficulty, placed in the church of St. Peter, Cornbill, previous to its being raifed to the steeple.

December 15th, in the Court of Common Pleas, an action was brought to recover from the defendant, the driver of one of the tion in damages for affaulting the Greenwich coaches, a compenfaplaintiff, one of the paffengers. It appeared in evidence, that the plaintiff, on the evening the affault was committed, had got into the Greenwich coach; but as it did not fet off at the accustomed time, he alighted and got into a Blackheath ftage, which was juft fetting out. As he was stepping into this coach, the defendant laid hold of his collar, and attempted to force him back into the Greenwich coach. This produced a struggle, and afterwards a battle between the parties, in which many blows were given on both fides. The learned judge obferv. ed, that in point of law an assault was clearly proved by the defendant's endeavouring to force the plaintiff into his coach, and therefore the only question was, as to the damages. It was cer. tainly of importance to the pub. lic, that infolent coachmen, who first deceive their paffengers as to the time of fetting out, and then abuse and affault them, fhould be brought to punishment but in

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the prefent cafe, the plaintiff, by fighting with the defendant, had, in fome measure, taken the pu nishment into his own hands, instead of leaving it to the wifdom and justice of the law. The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff, damages 40s.

Dec. 17. John Reed, a carpenter of Knightsbridge, undertook for a wager of twenty guineas, to run from Hyde-Park Corner, to Newbury, in Berkshire, in twelve hours, but was obliged to give it up at the fix mile ftone, the other fide Reading, having eleven miles to go in the last hour: it was imagined he would have accomplished the bet, had he not over-run his ftrength in the firft four hours, which he performed at the rate of feven miles an hour.

December 18, was fhot, near Chichester, by a gentleman of that city, a cock pheasant, of a moft uncommon plumage. The ground of the neck, back, and rump, was white, variegated with brown fpots; the wings were alfo of the fame colours, excepting two or three feathers of each wing neareft the body, which were of the natural colour. The legs and tail were white, and the latter was of a most extraordinary length. The novelty of colours abovementioned, added to the ufual breaft of a cock-pheafant, gave the bird a most beautiful appear. ance. Its fingularity induced the gentleman to fend it to Hall's immediately for preservation.

A few days ago an officer riding near Enfden, was attacked by a boar in a narrow road, which wounded his horfe fo badly as to occafion his death: the gentleman in defending himself ftabbed the

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The Norfolk fociety of noblemen and gentlemen, for the preservation of the game in that county, lately advertised a reward of twenty pounds for the apprehending any perfon who should be convicted of poaching. brace of poachers having read the advertisement, agreed that one of them should take out a two-guinea licence, which he accordingly did-fhot a pheafant-the other informed the penalty was five pounds the poachers received the twenty.- -Thus in the language of thofe gentry, the flats were taken in.

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Dec 18. As Serjeant Ford, of the Suffex yeomanry cavalry, was making up cartridges at his quarters, a public houfe in Weft Hoathly, a perfon inadvertently fnapped an old piftol over him, by which incautious means, a large quantity of loofe gunpowder in a bafon, from whence he was preparing the cartridges, took fire, and burnt the ferjeant's face and one of his hands in a dreadful manner. The explosion was 1o violent, as to force the whole window frame and cafement of the room in which it happened, totally away, breaking great num. bers of the panes of glafs to thatters, threw down quantities of de. canters, bowls, glaffes, and crockery ware in the room adjoining, and the whole earthen parapharnalia of the bar, was, like an electrical fhock, demolished-providentially upwards of three hundred cartridges finifhed did not explode, if they had, the catastrophe must have proved fatal to every individual in the houfe. The clothes of the perfon fnapping the pistol, and another by ftander, were much burnt, but their perfons happily efcaped uninjured.

Dec 19. On Monday laft, a mad dog run through the town of Cuckfield, fnapping at every thing which came in his way. He bit a poor man's leg, and a number of dogs, but was at length killed about a mile from the town, by fome perfons who were in pursuit of him.

Several mad dogs have lately infefted the city and neighbourhood of Oxford, by which many accidents have happened; but, to put a stop to this evil, an order is iffued by the Vice Chancellor and Mayor of this Univerfity and city, enjoining all perVOL. VII, No. XXXIX.

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fons to fhut up their dogs for fix weeks, and proper perfons are appointed to deftroy all fuch as thall be feen abroad during that time.

The following is a list of fafhionable male crops, which form a part of the ministerial and oppofition characters;

The Duke of Bedford, Lord William Ruffel, General Tarleton, Mr. Lambton, the Duke of Hamilton, the Duke of Norfolk, Sir Henry Vane Tempest, Lord Paget, Mr. Arthur Paget, the Duke of Rutland, Vifcount Noi alle, Mr. Montgomery, General Smith, Mr. Thompfon, Mr. Sturt, the Duke of Manchester, Sir Henry Featherstone, &c. &c. &c.

Brighton.

The fhort-eared owl (Strix Brachyotos) was lately hot very near this town, and is now preferved in the collection of Mr. Lamb, furgeon. This is the only one we remember to have been met with in this part of England, being a very folitary bird, and generally frequenting mountainous, woody, uninhabited places, feeding principally on mice, (u hence perhaps its name of Moufe Hawk, at Hudfon's Bay.) It is a moft elegant fpecies, and has a fingle feather above cach eye, fomewhat longer than the others, which it can raife or deprefs at pleasure. As it was only injured in the wing when fhot, it was kept alive about three weeks, when this peculiar cha racteristic was beautifully visible; but it was not obferved to erect them more particularly when irritated. ritated. When dead, the ears or horns are not easily traced-This bird was unknown to Linnæus, and was first defcribed by Mr. Pennant, in his British Zoology.

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