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GrAll letters by mail must be paid to in sure punctual attendance. -----urets. Robert Stimson, Esq, SHOWING HOW DOL CAUIIT A 11.:RMAID. DY JUI.rCs. Bob was a Gothanite, the third son and the ninth child,-joint production of a staunch old 'Knickerbocker' and a West Indian Creole,-rather a sin gular union, but decidedly a prolific one. Stinson, senior, 'Jeingin what pa ragraphists term 'easy circuistances,' remarkable fecundity of Mrs. S. was the not bemoaned as a misfortune. Bob had six sisters, short and fat, good natured and loquacious. 'Lan guage' was large throughout the f:nnii ly ; fully up to a phrenological '7,' tak ing that figure as the maximum of the ratio of comparisom. 'Mirth' and 'Tune,' especially, the latter, were also very generally and powerfully devel: p ed on the dark haired crauiumns of the junior Stimsons. They were all sing ers,-any of the neighbors would have given you tiat piece of itnformiationi without the slightest hesitation,-a reg ular family choir ; any little imperfee tions in whose performance were eer tainly not attributable to iiusitation. They were emphatically a musical finn ily,-lineal descendants frou the snit , tCaliop.'practically lfmnhiar with le use of every known musical insten ment from a 'jews.harp' to a 'bassoon' or orchestral 'serpent,'-heginning. (as Bob said,) early, and 'taking to it' na turally. This was not rL/ surprising, although the pertinacity ail utter dii regard of time and place evinced in the indulgence of the family propensity, certainly was remarkable, -so much so that there was ordinarily an imunense amount of 'moving' going on in Stint son's vicinity every May-day. It was a chief misfortune of theirs aed a stanid ing subject for remark with them, that they were forever surrounded by cun musical people, creatures who had 'io taste for music,' who had even gone So far as to remonstrate againat what one. brute' had denominated as their 'inlernt al huatballoo.' They were familiarly known in thme neighborhood as the 'noisy nine!' a sim iltude doubtless intended to be appliied to the unfortunate daughters oft 'Pier os,' (who failed in their contest with the Muses and were crully tiranisformu ed into Magpies tberef'or,) rathler thant the legitimate 'iNine' of' classical inotoi riety. This, however, they bore with exemplary equanimity. T1ruly, as Bob said, 't was of no use gethting angry at a man who was so musically obtuse ais to call a scientific exe-cution of the 'Battle of Prague' on six dilferenit in struments, 'a thundering nuisanee,' as did one neighbor, upon a certain occa sion, who had hallooed hitmself hoarse from an opposite window in demantlding: an immediate cessation of' what he wais pleased to term the 'cursed uproar,' supon pain of a comfplaint to the 'mayor' ,on the following morning. But our business is with Bob, not with his sisters or their' accomplisht mcents. In addition to the mica~iil fat culty of the inherent power of' which ho would state,--in illustration,-that, when but three years hld ho couhl, up on a commnon comb, covered with thin paper', produce sotund1s so closely resem ,bling those of' a violin and perlhorm ce tain tunes with such powver and accur-a cyas to induce an old blind genitleiani in an opposite dwelling inconitiniently to throw out pennlies from his chaber window in thle belief that it was the performance of some str'eet minstrel, 'with a view to alms, Tfhiis, Bob would tell 'upon honor,'-whetlher true or not, -there could be no doubt but that he believed it to be so then, having told it often enough to give to it the most im uhicit credence by the time he arrived at man's estate. In addition, as I be fore stated, to this harmonious weak ness, Rob's distinguishing characterism, his principal ' wanity,' was 'fishing,' To hun all other active amitsiments were as naught, or ut mury rate, subor dinate to this. llob was a fisherman he had a genius for the thing, which de veloped itself in all his actions in that i rard. lie considered the somewhat precarious dominion we exercise over the 'monsters of the briny deep,' as the gi eatest and most important of the gifts of the Creator to his creature. Ie loved fishing ! was of a Iiscivorous hab it, and loved to eat 'em when caught: preferriig 'fish' to either 'flesh or owi.' Ile was predestined to an cx ceeding close aflinity with the scaly tribe, being clerk in a /ish store ; was marked naturally with the figure of a fish under the left arm-either a whale or a miakerel, Bob didn't know which --had a'fishy' look with him, a white looking eye, a sharply defined, attenu ated, and exceedingily straight and poilted uose- closely resemnliing that of a pike,--in strange contrast with the usual organs of the Misses Stimso,, all of which were decidedly and ambi ti lI y 'si n,uh,.'--a pouting, oval shaped Incmth, with little or no chin thereunto attached,--in fiet, presented inite a 'shad-y' appearance. From very broad shoulders hung down two armns-reachitg but a trifle lower than the place where the h1; s ougtil to be which in walking were 'rot syin to and fro after the manner of ordinary mortals, hit dashed out laterally; in a sj asmodtlical sort of fashion, very much like a man swimining. This, in addi ton to a slightly wriggling style of pedestumullsin, forming a 'tout ensem ble' decidedly piscatorial. As before stated. Bob was a fisherman. The twelfth Zodiacal sign was his natal con stellation. Ile was born under 'Piscis \ajor' and hal entirelv ablandoned him self to its influences. ~Bob religiously devoted all holidays to his favorite pur suit. lie was deeply learned in the nam1es, nature, habits aniid haunts of the entire finniy tribe,---hliad all the marks :nl graomi s known to o(l1 sportsinen Sl>r thirty miles rou nd, and conmsidlerel it gl ritus sport to start at daylight uith two dolhars wohrth of 'suft crab' ani 'shrimp' for bait, r.w eight or nine uiles a;mut a stron tide, sit all dav ml the hut stil :l row lack at night winhl a buich ofi fish which inight justly hbe c'onsileredl dear at a quarter of a dollar! This was what oloh consider ed real, substatitial ii'uen mit. -no,:e of your 'wishy-washv, :iunl.mv-pambhmv ismi' f(or himl). lie esehewe d all dane iln:1, theat rica!s, piC ns, kissing p.rties :it the like, as weak, mawkish, awl beniath the dignlity of mal! consider ing his favorite pastin.e the only real sourmce of unalloyed amuseme nt of an out door lif', with music fo tr domestic recreat itn ; the two comibintied , h 1 ien I.ossible--the very acme of h uman en Rob had stored his utmid with a col lectioni of -legends' ini relation to tihe 'gen tlec art,' connnmenini: with 'J onah's W hale,' which lhe conisidlered as being deciledly thle tiltst authentic of the on rackes, though, as lie himself remarked. t cert ainilyv was cuiriouis Ihow the whale, harmng succeed in get tingr upon 'd ry land1' fotr the purpcose (it voini itig uIp J5-* niah, mainaged to get back to his native elemen t, beinmg legless anid uinwiclv;' but I oh's organs of 'imiarvellousiness' was smuall , by no meian s corrcspon tmden t with his musical developnmnt, not-with stanitnmg the active exercise of his Ide alitv, cauisetd himm to narrate conmt inmial ly' 'l'ish Stories,' which strc ehed to its uitmiost teniontm the largest ergan (of 'W~\oiuder' in potssesion o'f his hearers. One of Ioh's lavorite stories was ini re lation to the takinmg. in a seine, of a huge sea lass if exactly the samte length as hiimiself, to an in'ch, uponul that portion of the shiores ofi Staten ishmitd where now stamits the whiilomn 'Water inig P lace,' New I rigtonm. lin this adven t ure his life was periled repeuated ly', being diraggedl by the scaly 'Icvia thtan' several times t~eyond his deptthi, aiid thigugh very fondl of 'ginig ini a sw unung.' Boo coul not sw im. This~ allaiir lob regarded as the 'ehief d'ou vre' of his life; its result, as deci deudly inmire irmortaint thani that (if the I at tle of TIrcentoni, in w hiich his paterui al granidfathier was said to hitve beeni a particniant; the onily piece of historical roewrl with which he wast an.,.,.. re. familiar, With this and divers other similar narratives of the capture of sui. dry 'drums' or 'slelephead' of un1rjal dimensions, would bob beguile the eas ual companion of is sporting hours, as seated in his skiff he would arrange his tackel, of which article he had a large mahogany box full, which he had doubt less cost him from time to time, the price of at least a grand piano. And notwithstanding the doubtful looks of an occasional sceptic, Bob was blessed in the belief that his fish tales were generally regarded as being, in the mai, strictly true. Having thus presented your readers with a short preliminary account of Bob's peculiarities, I shall proceed to give them the details of that particular occasion, (as Bob was wont to term it,) on which he captured the 'Mermaid' alluded to in our heading. 'T was in the latter portion of the summer of '37, in the very height of the 'real Estate' bubble, when every rod of land, whether dry and arable, or, as in many instances, entirely cov ered with water, within fifty miles of New York, was made the subject of blind speculation; and single farms, or dinaily va'ued at $5,000 or there abouts, were sold to the speculative gentry at prices varying from 30 to $40,(J00, and immediately converted into magnificent lithographic cities! (on the mal,) with churches, theatres, squares and larks, with an occasional fountaim or two, located almost invari bly in spots innocent of water from time immemorial,--the whole expensively and elaborately surveyed and laid out in streets and avenues pompously desig nated in imitation of the parent city, as Broadway, Pearl street, Water street, Bond street, Wall street, &c. &c., and walled in by a lng line of heavy solid stone wharves, sufficiently extensive for the ample accommodation of the whole United States' navy, giving (on paper,) to the whole a singularly imposing ap pearance, and frequendy inducing the admiring beholder to forget the trifling drawback, that within these magnificent marine havens no vessel of more than a hundred toues could ever, by any possi bility, find entrance, from the simple, overlooked fact, that the river channel was too shallow to admit a larger. When at every other steamboat l:nding of the adjacent rivers and Kills as they are termed, a gaudy, shinny looking gilt sign, proclaiued to the pas sLn-,er that the little ten foot square huiluling to which it was attached was a 'Land Ollice,' of the tenant of which, spie ndidl and eligible lots might be pur ebased at prices varying, ins accordance with their proximity to the apocryphal squares, parks, and public buifdiigs aforesaid, from one hundred to a thou sand dlollars; and assurances were given the puzzled inquirer, to whom it was clearly and certainly demonstrated that by such an investment of his surplus tuind handsome profit must almost im mediately accrue. A constant appeal to the 'map,' and eloquent descriptions of the intensity of the public anxiety to obtain severally for themselves a chance in this 'the most promising opportunity for investment occurrini' in modern times,' too often success fully excited the cupidity of thre unwary arnd caused themi to alfix to certain documents their- signatures, eventually depriving themselves of thre rise and beinefit of hrundlreds and thou sands of hard-earned dlollar-s. 'Twas during this exciting period that Bobr, availing hiimself of Iris custo mary snnrer ho~liday, wearied with thre dust and dliin of city life and somewhrat tiredl of thre (laly r-outinre of salt fish tirnsactions, freigh ting his skiff with tire inecessary- etjipuppge and impldements fori thre exercise of hris destructiveness, wenided Ihis way to that peaceful p'r tion of thre shores of New Jersey which is washed by the waters of tire 'Kill Van Krull,' irrnrediately opposite to the irnrern shore of Staten (01 as ire fa ceriously termred it, Satan's) Island. Thiis was a fhvornite spot with Bob, as in addition to its being in tire vicirnityv of certain celebrated 'drum' gronds, it possessedl thre additional chrm of being thre home of several rosy-checked Dateh girls ini whose good graces Bob had, dur-ig tire previous season, made con sidor-aide advance. Hcre, then, Bob Ipitched Iris tent, having issued, to one, w hrom we shall cogniominate 'Ned,' air in vrtatiomn to spendf in Iris amphibious socie ty, a whole foirtnright, and to whom hre had pirumpturously promiised any amorunt of fun during that happy interval. Pais sing over the sayings and doings wich then and there generally transpiredl, proceed we to narrate how Bob, n few evenings ror to his return to city duty, caught that 'Mermaid.' * The two sportsmen having conclu ded a rather poor day's fishing, deter mmed, on returning, to diverge from their direct course for the purpose o: rounding a point in Newark Bay, some what famous for an excellent bathing beach, there to luxuriate, by the light o' the mooni'-which was in its last quarter, and nearly dowl to the horizon -in a glorious swim, as Bob proposed, 'mnalgre' his ignorance of that useful accomplishment. Accordingly, the bath was indulged in, until the waning Queen of Night was upon the point of leaving her throne, when the coming darkness admonished the couple of the necessity of return. They according ly regained theskifT, and having dres sed, lifted the 'kedge' and pulled for hcnc, Ned being oarrman and Bob in charge of the tiller. They pulled away in silence for some time, with a careiul stroke, giving the reef a wide berth, it being now quite dark, and hugging the shore as close as possible to keep, out of the swiftly running tide which was ahead. The night dark very dark-it was impossible to distin guish objects two yards distant, and the voyagers, though satisfied that they had rowed long enough to be close home, were in doubt as to their precise locali ty. At Bob's suggestion, Ned ceased pulling, and rested on his 'skulls,' with a view to an 'observation.' After looking vainly some time, he was about to resume his labor when 'Wh-is-h-t-slh-sh!' says Bob, 'hold on Ned, what the deuce is that?' 'What!' 'Sh-sh, hark,-here, on your left.' 'Where? I don't see anything.' 'Iush-sh-sh,-keep dark,-back water!' 'Back it is,' says Ned. 'Hark, again'--and now Ned's ear was regaled with sound like that of some one suppressing or suflocating an incli natimn to laugh, and peering into the darkness he (liscovered what he at first supposed to be a large stake. Closer scrutiny invested it with something of a human appearance. 'Wh-a-t t-h-e-d-c-v-i-l i a it?' gasped out Ned, now as much excited as hia mercurial con anion Again they fan cied they heard the tittering sound. 'By thunder!' exclaimed Bob whose very thoughts were of a p'iseiy crous character,--'it 's a Mermaid!' still, whatever it was, it remained motionless. The boat had drifted from the 'object of wonder some five or six yards, when Bob,-whose hand seized upon the body of a clam, intended for bait, which lay on the skiff's bottom, standing up in the skiff, vowed he'd know, aid iefore his partner could pre vent, hurled with all f:ree the said clam at the said 'Mermaid.' The precision of his aim was evinced by a 'spl-i-shy' sort of sounrd, as of two fleshy substai ces in collision; whereupon a faint shriek went up fruir the 'critter,' and at the same moment Ned was made sensible of some invisible misfortune to Bob, who was by some unseen agency, vio lently pulled over backwards into the water. 'Ned! Ned! pull--pull-for-s--as-hr spl-a- sir ohr!-Mur--d-e-r, INed! spi-a-shr souse, gurgl-g-g-gle, s-p-i-sh shr, s-p-a-sir. mnur-dr d-mun- t-rn' shrrieked 1Bob, wiho ha d nrever used such an exclama tion in his~ life, before.--'Whro---e ye? wha t-(oh--ohi----sp-i-s-hr s.)use-gue -gg. *'le---gle---the De vil! Ned, ohr! N-e-d' shouted lie withr all ihis strength, as a momentary r-espite was affor-ded him, as ire came up at intervals fr-om under the water, ben-reathr the sur-face of wich some tirree or four of the most Anrazo ian ot tihe Mermnaids werec laughingly erngaed ir thrurstinag hrim.r Whre- w-as Ned, ini tire skilf? riot by ajug full, tire skiff was bottom upwar-ds. Ned was in deep wateri wherec tire water nymiphs didni't like to v-enrture. At tire first alarmi! Nedl had tied iris oars, hbut tire skilf w-as fast: he'd pul11 with imighit arid main burt some invrsi blec power hreld him, and at every pull thre skiff would rebound towvards shore. And now Ned could distinguish some huorfive hunman looking creatures of h Iolding on to the stern of tire bioat, hre wsas in tire hrands of the Phlilisines! his positrin was a blined! arid lie knew it; hie'd seenr the 'elephrant'---had Ned! he'd beenr there lr:Imbre. ' wase bu amonment's w~or-k to spring over th oaas far as possible aird str-ike out foi- dtep water-. ie knew the nature of the brute, they did n't like mnischoif in deep water ,4 gained it, then turned to listen. By this time Bob's shrieks were terrific; something must be done, they'd drown him. And now again he shouts.' 'He-1-p Ned--N-e.d---for God's sake!' The thing was getting serious, and with a resolve to 'do or die,' Ned swam back till he discovered one of the ene my close to him. Noiselessly he dips and reaching bottom, seizes a foot, fin, tail, or---something, and down comes a Mermaid, with.a piercing shriek, which was immediately echoed from a dozen throats, and then such a splashing and scrampering, such a 'digging' for shore you never saw. One after another. Bob's persecutors amongst the rest whilst he, poor wretch, sat upon the beach, exhausted, up to his neck in the water. The unfortunate animal that Ned had seized was left behind, Bob could n't imagine,---unless it had been wounded in the encounter. Ned had gone for the skilf. when the lost (le passed Bob without noticing him. A feeling of vengeance sprung up in Bob's breast, and being suflicient ly restored,----having vomited about six quarts,---as he stated, of salt water, he rose suddenly, and gave chase. The critter 'locomoted' rapidly. Bub was too swift for her, he overhauled her, and we presume had a battle, or an ex planation, if they talk,---or something of the kind, for he did not return. Meal time Ned having righted the skiff and anchored her, walked up the beach to find Bob, or home, or both, or either. In so doing, stumbled over a frock and hema---hem! no not exactly that; didn't know what! It looked semething like a. shirt, only that it was sleeveless and longer. At any rate, Ned took it home and made a very minute examination thereof, but to no purpose, for though he enquired diligently, there was no one in that neighborhood who owned it le was therefore forced into the conclu sion that hereafter in the natural histo ry of the Mermaid it should always be mentioned that the creature evinces a certain degree of womanly delicacy, and unless in very hot nights, clothes itself after the manner of females 'ter ine.' That this is tru' of the genus, uni versally, he perhaps would hesitate to aver, but of the species to be found in the waters of New Jersy he is qualified to speak positively,--as he yet retains the evidence thereof in the garments aforesaid,----which differ in no apprecia ble degree ft um those worn by nymphs who at e not terrafucous. Some two years after this occurence lie was placed in a position to speak with more certamnty as to the close re semblance borne by this animal to the human race, by the receipt of an invi tation to attend the wedding of his fishy friend, Robert Stimson, Esq., who, af ter the ceremony, took Ned aside and whispered him, in strict confidence, so don't you mention it, dear reader to a 'living soul,'--that that the la dv was the identical Mermaid that lie (Bob) had chased and captured on that memorable occasion. Ned assured me on his 'honor,' that she was in no wise distinguishable from a v-ery pretty, hiealthly looking woman! .Times. ORIGIN AND ANTIQUITY OF HORSE-RACING. H-avinig shown in our paper of last week upon this subject that horse-racing, originally d erivedi from the East, was a por-tion of the ceremonies used in cele brating the festivities of Mithrias, or the sun, and that this worship finding its way into Greece and Rome. it was sub seqjuently trantsplanted by the Romnans into England- that the English have adopted many of the manners arnd cus toims of the Romuans is very evident to any obser-vinug r-eader of the social his tory of that people-let us now inqcuire how closely we have followed them in respect of horse-r-acing.~ We have already said that the races of Rome were run in the open country till Tarquinius Priscus built the grand circus in which tihe r-aces were afte wards performned. 1-ow far the horses ran befor-e they got to the last meta from the stat-ting place is not expressed biy histor-ians, but we are informed that the above circus is said to be about two thousand one hutndr-ed and sixty-seven Roman feet in length, and nimne hundred arid sixty broad, of a semui-cit-cular- form at one end, the other extending in a righit line, but rather circular; anad that the r-aces commonly ended at the sev enth turn round the nmetaxe, though now anid then we meet with, upon cxtraor dinary occasions, fewer heats. The number and lonath of the hvatralso VS ry here. The usual number of missus, or matches, were generally about tiven ty-four, though sometimes a far gt-eater number were exhibited, for Suetoilus tells us that the Emperor Domitian pre sented a hundred matches in one dty The time when the races were to be gin was anciently given by sound of trumpet. Both the custom of matches and that of summoning the horses to a starting place by a signal are still prac. tised in England. The horses being up at the time, ready for starting, the signal was given by a mappa, or napkin, hung out at the Proctor's tent, or the' chief magistrate's seat; hence Juvenal calls them Megalensian games--Mega liacmn Spectacula Mapple. The origin of this custom was that when Nero was once at dinner, and the people making a great noise desiring that the sport might begin, the Emperor threw the napkin he had in his hand out of the window as a token that he had granted their request. At these races, also, the Romans rode in ditlerent colors, particularly the companies of charioteers,-to distinguish themselves. These were generidly four, viz; Prasitna (green.) russata (red,) alba or albato [white) and the vineta (sky or sea color;) but the green was generally the favorite, especially under Caligula, Nero; and the follow ing Emperor A. D. 81, and died A. D. 06, added two more colors, viz: the golden or yellow, and the purple (aurea et purperea) but these were soon laid aside again by the following Emperors. The victors in the sports were honored. with garlands, coronets, and other orna ments after the Greek manner, and very often with considerable rewards. Hence Juvenal says: 'llinae centum, putrimnoniu eausidiconiutn Parte all.a soliuu rusnti pone lacertm." The people of Rone were so partial to the races at the festivities of Mithras, and also afterwards in compliment to the Emperors who encouraged these sports, that there was an Ippodruna on purpose for these races in most cities in the empire, to which the people thi ong ed in vast numbers. To show how much the populace were interested in these games. Juvenal sums up their wants in two words, Panem et ireenses (bread and the gamnes)-that is to say the bread distributed by the Emperors and the games in the circus. The same poet also describes, in his seventh satire, the extraordinary fondness of the Ro mans for these races. Congreve has thus translated the passage: 'This day all Rome (ir I'nmay be al'owed, Without .-anre to such a numer.us crowd,. To say all Rnone) will in the circus sweat, Echoes already to their shouts repeat. 1ethinks I hear the cry, away, away! The green laus won the honor of the day 0 ! lhould these spurts be but one day forborne Rome would. in tears, her loved diversion mourn. Such was the fondness too, for favo rite horses, that Montfaucon tells us, and gives an engraving of a drawing from art urn which has two inscriptions upon it, the uppermost regards the hor ses, the lower the person interred there in. Over the first horse was an in scription, the meaning of which is-'that this was in memory of the horse Aquilo,. begat by Aquillo, who had conquered 127 tin~es, wor, the second prizes 88 times and the third prizes 37 times.' The inscription over the second horse is thus rendered into English. 'That Ihirpinus, the grandson of Aquilo, con qunered 140 thnies, won the second prizes (i7 times, and the third 35 timnes.' Ihence we see they kept aregular- pedi gree of their horses as at the present time. -It is also observable, that the in scritl~ions for the horses aro placed abov-e that of his owner or rider, it be ing usual to pay mnore honour to their race horses than to the men who rode or- dr-ove them; for they ce-ected monu ments to perpetuate their memory, as may be seen in Elian, Pliny, and oth ers; and in Spartian we find that Ha dIrian was so fond of his horses and dogs that lhe built sepulcs for them, and there is yet remaining an epitaph which Salmanasius hats given, which begins thius-'Berysthenes, called Alanus, from the countr-y lhe was of, the Emper or's race-horse,' &c. Tfhe e pitaph under the hor-se was made by or-der of Claudia Hlelice for her husband Lucius Avitus Dionisius. There ar-o abund ance of pr-oofs of these races from Ro man coinis; upon many of Aurelian's coins we find, Soil Miret' and 'Oriens Avg,' inscriptions often adopted by al ter Emperors and gener-ally for the same reasons as Aurolian on celebra ting the races to Mithras. Although it does not appear- when horso-racQ ~par', it isr evident they wereamled '& Vearscfr the birthe3