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

THE DERBY DAY,

upon their backs to keep them from bursting into
open rebellion. At one time it seemed as if it were
on the point of raining—more or less, odeed, it
had been threatening all day—and a Tr ver of sen-
sation ran through the assembly. A single shower
might revolutionise the conditions of the race. But
this was not to be. The firm leg and the hard
hoof are indispensable—the " brazen hoof," as it
would have been in Homer's time, when there are
good reasons for believing that horses were not shod
at all. Shortly before 3 o'clock, at the sound of the
bell, the whole of the starters advanced to the front
of the Grand Stand for their preliminary canter; but
the public lingered so affectionately on the racecourse
that the jockeys had time to walk nearly to Tatten-
ham-corner before they had a c'ear path back again,
Among the first to pass the Grand Stand at racing
speed was Historian, who had excited so favourable
an opinion in the paddock. A horse and rider not
in costume accompanied him, and it was understood
that this was Catch-em-Alive, a stable companion,
ridden by young Day, with the evident object of
encouraging Historian's very best paces. The other
horses followed in quick succession, and the last two
to pass the Grand Stand were the favourite, General
Peel, and Lord Glasgow's other horse, Strafford,
which seemed to have lingered a little that they
might have the field to themselves. The favourite's
bounding action and the extent of ground covered
in his stride confirmed the opinions entertained by
his warmest friends, and the ringing cheers which
greeted him showed that he had the full sympathy
of the moneyed interests. The starting point is now
the quarter to which all eyes are turned, and, as
usual, a long interval elapses before the starter can
make the welcome declaration that they are "away.''
Some artists were noticed endeavouring to turn this
period to good account. One gentleman, who had
selected a cab as his basis of operations, was unfor-
tunate enough to make his preparations on rather
tco complete a scale, for the floor of the vehicle gave
way at the critical moment. On the other hand, a
very good instantaneous photograph of " the Start"
was obtained by Mr. Herbert Watkins. Other
operations not of so legitimate a character were
going forward at the same time, met, of course,
by counter operations on the part of the police ;
and it was understood that the number of pick-
pockets captured this year bore its due proportion
to the largely increased number of spectators. As
soon as the members of the force made a capture
the delinquent was conveyed to a retired corner,
where one of the black caravans stood in readiness
to receive him, and, as this filled with tolerable
rapidity, it was driven away, and relays of cffenders
were thus forwarded to town.

The anniversary 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 ancestor of the present Lord Derby first
founded these famous stakes. The occasioa, 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 ; but 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 most vague 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 rods 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, '‘o coasume in his time a given quan-
tity of mother earth before be finally returns to her

embraces, the journeyers to Epsom along the high
roads may be congratulated on having got through
an appreciable shore of their allotted task.
Dusty, thirsty, heated, tired, but still good-hu•

moured as when they set our, 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 o
an Armstrong sbell as the equine battery i❑ 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, Sec. 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 ; end 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, come 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 men 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," 8:e. With certain persons religion resolves
itself into a systematic attribution of the very worst
motives to all their neighbours ; end this looked
very like a case in point. The result undoubtedly
-.vas that the class whoca 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

After three or four false starts the horses, 30 in
all, were duly arranged, and the ringing of the bell
announced to the public, who had once or twice
before been excited by false alarms, that the race
was fairly on ; but it was when the horses rounded
Tattenham-corner that the spectators began to un-
derstand the magnificent character of the finish they
were about to witness. Ordinarily, the horses have
by that time dropped nearly into a string, having
a few knots i❑ it, but still a string. There is a glit-
tering rise and fall beyond the hedge at that point,
which affords a means of gauging pace and distance.
On this occasion the horses seemed to roll round the
corner in a bundle, and to spin down the hill like so
many coloured balls. The pace already tremendous
increased at every moment, and it was not till the
horses were fairly abreast of the line of Stands that
it could be said to which group victory was likely
to incline. Even then there was a little see-sawing,
and the excitement and clamour became oppressive.
Suddenly it was perceived that a horse which had
not been seen in the paddock, though it earned fa-
vourable notice in the canter past, but which was
not clearly identified then, being by many mis-
taken for Birch Broom, was rapidly passing all the
others, and gaining even upon the favourite. This
was a tall horse with striking action of its fore legs,
and a face prominently marked with white ; in other
words, Blair Athol. Still it seemed that General
Peel could win easily if he liked ; his long swing-
ing stride had cat ried him past everything else, and
a single effort seemed all that was necessary to re-
tain his place. His jockey gave an uneasy glance
over his shoulder ; he had done and was doing
his best, but Blair Athol, longer in the limb,
and with strength better preserved, shot past him
after a momentary struggle, an easy winner by two
lengths. Mr. Merry's Scottish Chief made a good
third ; the others had nearly all pulled in. Even
up to the last moment the public faith in the qua-
lities of Birch Broom was so strong, the colours of
his rider being very similar to those of the winner,
that it was not till the telegraph spoke that
uncertainty on the point was removed. In
point of speed the race was most remarkable. As
taken by " Benson's Chronograph," the time which
it occupied was 2 min. 44 sec., being 8 2-10,h sec.
less than was taken to traverse the same course in
1863, and 1 sec. less than in 1862. These races
have only been timed for the last 10 or 12 years,
and in the year when Blink Bonny, the dam of
Blair Athol, achieved her victory, she traversed the
course in 2 min. 45 sec., the shortest time of which
any record then existed. Hers remained the most
rapid performance until 1861, when the Derby was
won by Kettledrum in 2 min. 43 sec. It will be
seen that there is only the difference of a second
between Blair Athol's performance and that of the
fastest horse ever known upon the Epsom course.
Immediately that the race had concluded persons
began to remember the brilliant pedigree of which
the winner could boast. Foaled by Blink Bonny,
the winner of the Derby six or seven years ago, and
in the same week of the Oaks likewise, his sire
Stockwell, though prevented from succeeding on
the course at Epsom, had won the St. Leger, and
also carried off the 2,000 Guineas.

still climbing the hill at Epsom while the bell was
ringing for the event of the day, can never be des
scribed within the limits of a singe article. If,
indeed, it were possible that this great " Drift "
could be petrified, then the task might be performed
at leisure, 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 going 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 with a living mass
of spectators, broken here and there by barricades
of vehicles, stands, ane 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 a the course is
fringed with canvas edifices, flanking the central
building, which tosses its Union Jack high in air
in token of its superiority, and further asserts its
prerogative by smoking in a manner indicative of
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. It
is a singular gathering which this free masonry
of the turf engenders, The proudest members of
the proudest aristocracy pace, it may be jostle, the
least cleanly of costermongers at every turn. True,
when the racn 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?,
ImmediaTely overhead sit their Royal High-
lusses 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 saddling post. But some
who are &sirens of creating a favourable impres-
sion arrive early and pace up and down among the
spectators, who at this point, owing to the tariff
and the difficulties thrown in the way of obtaining
tickets, are exceedingly select. Birch Broom, His-
torian, and Paris seem to be the horses creating the
best impression, but the struggle, of course, is to
see General Peel, Csinbascan, and Scottish Chief,
who at the eleventh hour advanced in favour so
wonderfully. It is strange, even in the simple
operation of moving up and down a paddock, what
shades of character are exhibited by different horses.
Some, with faces soft and delicate as gaz-dles, return
the spectators' stare in mute surprise. ()oilers
fol-
Weir grooms moodily to and fro, switching
their tails, and to all appearance conscious of the
work before them. Others object in a decided
manner to the crowd which follows them about, ano
some few require a strong arm and a man's weight

We subjoin a more technical account of the day's
sport.

WEDNESDAY.

The Epsom Town Plate of 50 soya (handicap), for all ages.

Winners extra. One mile.
Mr Whittaker's Pixie, 3 yrs, sst 71b ....(J, Grimshaw) 1
Lord Uxbridge's Vabalathus, 3 yrs, 6st 121 b.... (Sayers) 2
Count Batthyany's Nucleus, 3 yi s, 64t 41b .. (J Smith) 3
Mr Rochester's Alea, 3 yrs, sst 71b (Baker) 4
Mr Hodgman's Humphrey, 5 yrs, Bst, 71b (Perry) 5
Mr Cox's Merry Bird, 4 yrs, 7st 71b

THE SUN, :LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 26, 1.864.',

HEALTH OF THE METROPOLIS.

(From the Registrar General's Weekly Return.)

The returns of London show an increase of more
than 100 in the deaths of the week that ended last
Saturday over those of any of the three previous
weeks. The number in last week was 1,421.
The average number of deaths in the 20th week
of 10 years 1854-63 is, with a correction for increase
of population, 1,240. The actual number is in excess
of the estimated amount by 178.
The deaths of persons under 20 years of age rose
from 636 in the previous week to 690 last week ;
and those of persons 60 years old and upwards rose
from 240 to 287.

The increase among young persons is to a consi-
derable extent caused by measles, the fatal cases of
which rose from about 50 to 87. There were 65
deaths referred to typhus, typhoid, and gastric
fever, &c.

Scarlatina has been very prevalent in Smith's-
place, Pentonville, for some time past. In the sub.
district of Pentonville a young child died from
measles at 56, Southampton-street ; a girl from low
fever at 16, Chapel-street; a boy from scarlatina at
2, Smith's-place ; and a boy and girl from typhus
at 20, Ann-street. Out of five deaths in the south
ub- icCity of London, four were caused
by m were six deaths from measles in
sdeiastsrlest. of
There the
the sub-district of Shadwell. Measles is also very
prevalent in the sub-district of St. Mary, St. George-
in-the-East, in which five children died from it.
There were eight deaths from the same disease in
Islington, the sub-district of Gray's-inn-
ailesub-district of St. Andrew Eastern
(Holborn), in
the in
, fourand four in that of the City-road. Six
deaths from typhus were return by the registrar of
Bow.

Four cases of murder were registered in the week,
three of which were infanticide.

Last week the births of 918 boys and 896 erls,
in all 1,814 children, were registered in London.
In the ten corresponding weeks of the years 1854-
63 the average number (corrected) was 1,915.
At the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, the mean
height of the barometer in the week was 30.013 in.
The mean daily reading was above 30in. on four
days. The reading rose to 30.11 in. on Wednesday,
and fell to 29 81in, on Friday. The mean tempera-
ture of the air in the week was 61.8 deg., which is
8.8 deg. above the average of the same week in 43
year (as determined by Mr Giaisher). The highest
day temperature was 81 deg. on Wednesday. The
lowest night temperature in the week was 45.3 on
the previous day. On tlL;ti, 6th of May, 1862, the
temperature rose to 81.5 deg., a more remarkable
temperature as occurring early in the month. The
range in the week was 35.7 deg. The highest point
attained by a thermometer in the sun was 128.2 deg.
on Wednesday. The difference between the mean
dew point temperature and air temperature was
10.2 deg. On Monday it was as great as 13.2 deg.
Toe mean degree of the humidity of the air was 70,
complete saturation being represented by 100. The
air was remarkably dry on the first six days. On
Monday the humidity was only 62. On Monday
and Tuesday the wind was in the east ; on Wed-
nesday in the north-east and south-east, There was
no rain till Saturday when the amount which fell
was 0.22 in. The temperature in the shade rose to
SO deg. on Friday; and between 10 o'clock on the
evening of that day and 1 o'clock on the morning
of Saturday a severe thunderstorm occurred. A
tree in Greenwich Park was struck by the lightning.
The deaths in Vienna, as returned by Dr. Glatter,
were 470 in the week ending May 14, when the
mean temperatnre was 53.4 deg., that at Green-
wich havieg been 71.7 deg.