The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-26 00:00:00

RES FOR 1864.

Beverley 22
Stockbridge
Chelmsford..
New Forest Hunt . 2$
Newcastle-on- ryne 2s
Worcest,r (Summer) .. ;Y.)
Ipswich ..

Nottingham . l9
'Winchester l9
Southampton ..
Chesterfield
King's Lynn 2l
Goodwood

THE DERBY DAY,

The atiniversexy of our "Isthmian Games," as
Lord Palmerston once called them in proposing the
usual motion of adjournment over the Derby Day,
was celebrated yesterday with as great enthusiasm
as in any other of the 85 years which have elapsed
since an ancest or of the present Lord Derby first
founded these famous stakes. The occasion, always
possessing a fascination for Londoners, in this in-
stance exercised special attractions, for, like the
ph'.losophers of old, their information extended to
the point of enabling them to see how little they
really knew of the chances of the race. Good horses
in unusual numbers were believed to be among the
starters ; bat in many instances there had been
no opportunity of forming from previous perform-
ances a satisfactory estimate of their capabilities.
The oracles were duly consulted, but their answers
were moat ♦ague and conflicting. When they did
venture upon any prediction they invariably be-
came blind leaders of the blind, and some of them
had the honesty to stand on the defensive, and re-
fuse to give any binding prediction whatever. The
truth appears to be that these so called " prophets,
like the detective police, can take their tone boldly
enough when " acting upon information they have
received ;" but lacking the inspiration to be found
within the circles in which they move and have
their being, they are very dumb dogs indeed. The
wise ones being completely at fault, the science of
bookmaking approached more nearly than usual to
an honest occupation ; and those who determined
to give themselves up to the pleasures of the day—
more in number by some thousands than ever before
assembled on Epsom Downs—carried with them the
knowledge that the great contest would prove a
perfect lottery.
The route to the Derby presents the choice of the
road or the rail ; to speak more accurately, of
several roads and several rails. Along the former,
clouds of dust, escorting and almost hiding the
vehicles by which they were raised, travelled towards
the pleasant course that lies on the verge of Banstead
Downs, and poured their converging particles upon
its thirsty soil. If it be the lot of every man, as the
proverb says, to consume in his time a given quan-
tity of mother earth before he finally returns to her
embraces, the journeyers to Epsom along the high
roads may be congratulated on having got through
an appreciable share of their allotted task.
Dasty, thirsty, heated, tired, bat still good-hu-
moured as when they set out, the occupants of every
class of vehicle struggled on to the appointed goal;
now making good speed along the level, now toil-
ing up hill and now scattering like fragments of
an Armstrong shell as the equine battery in front
pours in a destructive volley of kicks. Pleasant it
is to muse on the contents of the hampers perched
so knowingly on the roofs of Hansom cabs, travel-
ling like the extinct race of carriage dogs under
stylish four-in-hands, or swelling over and burst-
ing, as it were, from the pockets of family traps,
dogcarts, excursion vans, &e. Pleasant it is to wit-
ness the confidences and mutual understandings
which grow with every mile of the journey, between
members of the same party, whether the number be
4 or 40 ; and pleasant it would be to listen to the
melodies in front if the individual with the worst
ear for music were not invariably selected to play
the most defective instrument at command. Pleasant
it is to receive kindly nods of encouragement from
spectators whom you pass, evidently wishing that
they, too, were going to the Derby ; and when, with
a smile, some female hand places in yours a paper,
which you discover to be a tract, you credit the
donor with a desire that, in the midst of en-
joyment, you should not lose sight of serious
things. But pleasant it certainly is not to en-
counter at a turn of the road two stun supporting
placard-holders, which exhibit in gaudy colours
names and texts of the mcst solemn kind; one of the
men, moreover, delivering himself at half minute
intervals of sentiments such as these :—" The race
is indeed short," " The way down to the pit is
easy," &c. With certain persons religion resolves
itself into a systematic attribution of the very worst
motives to all their neighbours ; and this looked
very like a case in point. The result undoubtedly
-was that the class whom it was intended to affect
by these monitions passed them by unheeded ;
while others, who felt their value, entertained de-
cided opinions as to the manner in which they were
put forward. These, however, are but wayside
incidents. The tide of humanity which began to
roll. out of the metropolis at early morning, and was
still climbing the hill at Epsom while the bell was
ringing for the event of the day, can never be de-
scribed within the limits of a single article. If,
indeed, it were possible that this great " Drift"
could be petrified, then the task might be performed
at ieisore, and in detail, otherwise it is well nigh

hopeless.
But although, dust apart, the high road is far the
more enjoyable method of getting to the course, in
these days of rapid and luxurious travelling the
railways take down numbers vastly exceeding those
who drive or are driven. For several hours 10
minute trains were running yesterday, and yet each
fresh departure left upon the platform hundreds of
passengers, tickets in hand, who were unable to
find seats. In the midst of such a concourse those
who were goicg about their ordinary business felt
entirely out of place, and tendered their luggage in
a deprecatory and apologetic manner.
The sight, when once the spectator emerges on
the Downs, by whichever route he has come, is
always impressive. The grand undulating sweep
embraced in the horsehoe course of a mile and a
halt is for the most part covered witu a living mass
Of spectators, broken here and there by barricades
of vehicles, stands, and booths, allowing the green
surface to appear only in those spots from which
no advantageous view can be obtained. As trains
arrive and vehicles pour in, the spectators accumu-
late even more rapidly than the nails in that other
horseshoe which to most schoolboys is a hideous
arithmetical nightmare. One edge of the course is
fringed with canvas edifices, flanking the central
building, which tosses its Union Jac's high in air
in token of its superiority, and further asserts its
in a manner indicative of
prerogative by smoking
good cheer below'. All these stands, from the
grandest to the smallest, are as full can be,
so full that many who have paid their money, and
find that seeing in them is a process only less diffi-
cult than that of breathing—voluntarily retire and
take up their places among the throng outside. Ic
is a singular gathering which this free masonry
of the tut f engenders, The proudest members of
the proudest aristocracy pass, it may
be jostle, the
least cleanly of eostermongers at every turn. True,
when the race begins, the latter cannot occupy the
positions which are open to the former ; but till
then they are on a footing of perfect equality.
Kindred tastes and congeniality of pursuits have
brought them together, for the day at least, and
neither is sensible of the slightest incongruity.
Within the area known as " the Ring" the types of
men are massed together whose faces were sketched
inimitably in the " Seven Sons of Mammon."
leimediseely overhead sit their Royal High_
ncsses the Prince of Wales and the Commander-
in-Chief. The force of contrast can no further
go- But it is two o'clock, and high time to
visit the paddock, if a good look is to be ob-
tained at the competitors, and an estimate
formed of their relative merits. The favourites,
AS usual, are last in appearing, and do little more,
indeed, than walk through the paddock on their
way to the weighing and saddline. post. But some
who are desirous of creating a favourable3 impres-
sion arrive early and pace up and down among the
spectators, who at this point, Owing to the tariff
aid the difficulties thrown in the way of obtaining
tickets, are exceedingiy select. Birch Broom, His-
torian, and Paris seem to be the horses creating the
best impression, but the struggle, of course. is to
Fee General Peel, Cambascan, and Scottish Chief,
who at the eleventh hour advanced in favour so
wendeefully. It is strange, even in the simple
operation of moving up and down a paddock, what
shades of character are eshibited by different horses.
Some, with faces soft and delicate as gazelles, return
the spectators' stare in mute surprise. Others fol-
low their grooms moodily to and fro, switching
their tails, and to all appearance conecious of the
work before them. Others object in a decided
manner to the crowd which follows them about, and
some few require a strong arm end a man's weight