The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-05-29 00:00:00

A DESCRIPTION OF THE FRENCH
DERBY.

Paris at nine o'clock last Sunday morning presented
nothing unusual in appearance, save a stream of vehi-
cles and pedestrians proceeding in a north-easterly di-
rection to the station of the Chemin de Per du Nord,
where special trains bound for Chantilly were in readi-
ness. The early morning was somewhat unpromising, ,
but as noon approached the sun shone brilliantly, and
the hour's run to Chantilly, with the latter part of the
journey through the forest, was pleasant enough. All
Chantilly seemed to have turned out to welcome its
visitors, and, as usual, all the beggars from the sur-
rounding districts waylaid them at the entrance to the
little wood, the footway through which leads directly
OD to the course.
On entering the betting-ring behind the "tribunes"
we find groups of early comers breakfasting leisurely
under the trees. The betting-men are buoy preparing
their lists, which they fix against the trunks of the
young oaks, or mount upon staffs stuck firmly in the
, ground; in all cases taking care to select the most
I shady places. Ere long the ring is crowded, and
speculation is at its height. Hundred-franc notes fly
about, and the chink of napoleons IH Incessantly heard.
Jockeys are weighed and horses saddled, and the bell
I rings for the first race. The stands are crowded, and
the lawn in front is pretty nearly blocked.
, Here one may study the most remarkable toilettes.
• The favourite colours seem to be pale blue, pale green,
lavender, pink, pearl grey, and maize colour, bordered
with deep white lace or bound with satin or velvet of
some contrasting shade. It is in the hat alone, with
its pyramid of feathers, its large bouquet of flowers,
bands of velvet, and puffs of lace that one recognizes
tthe extravagance of the day. Most of the ladies have
small bouquets of flowers at the waist, just as most of
the well-dressed men sport the orthodox rose or pin
in their button-holes.
Immediately in front of the stands are the "grandee
s • of the Chateau of Chantilly, externally the
most magnificent stables in the world, with their lofty
entrances carved all over with prancing horses, stags
brought to bay, and wild boars fleshing their tusks on
too daring hounds; they have accommodation for no less
than one hundred and seventy-two horses To the
right, on a slight eminence and surrounded by magni-
ficent gardens, interspereed with broad sheets of
water, is the Chateau itself ; all the rest of the race-
course is hemmed in by tall trees, between which one
has glimpses of the red-tiled roofs of the houses of the
town.
The bell rings, the course is cleared, a dense crowd is
packed on the opposite side to the tribunes, where all
the more novel speculations which our French neigh-
bours have imported into horseracing are in full force.
There are the ponies, the Paris mutuels, and Paris
generals, with their bureaux formed of old diligences
newly painted and furbished up, each having some ten
. or twelve wire gratings through which one may thrust
two, five, ten, or twenty francs, and receive a bit of
, coloured cardboard in exchange. One noticed that at
the twenty-franc gratings it was always some stylish
, female who issued the billets. The crowding, elbowing,
, shouting, and touting in the immediate vicinity of these
l vehicles is equal to anything on the Epsom course on
the Derby day.