The Sun.
London, England, 1842-05-26 00:00:00

EPSOM RACES.

THE DERBY—YESTERDAY.
" Tedious is a tale thrice told."
Not half so 'tedious as a tale twenty times written by
oneself, and yet the thing must be done ; we must still
travel over the self-same ground', beaten by us for twice
ten springs. But, perchance, this apology for our same-
ness—call it, if you like, lack of descriptive power—is
superfluous, for why should we dread writing about that
which our readers are never weary of witnessing. The
annual gala of " the Derby day" is as sacred in the ob-
servance by us of Cockney land, and many lands
beside, its is any moveable feast in the calendar (not
the racing calendar) by the most rigid Romanist.
We must, therefore, write a few words to commemorate
its celebration. To say that the Derby of 1842 pos.
sessed, in the eyes of the sporting world, an interest coin
mensurate with the Derbys of former years, would be a
palpable exhibition of ignorance as to what sporting
people feel with respect to the disreputable circum-
stances attendant on the memorable race, in which
Coronation was the winner, of 1841. Every man
anxious or interested in the continued and honourable
prosperity of the turf, will see, at half a glance,
the untoward (we use any thing but a harsh epi-
thet) matters to which we allude. Before the ordi-
nary betting public they have been so frequently,
and under so many different shapes, that even there they
have wrought an impression nOt easily washed away.
HoWever, the evil effected there is not without a remedy,
but where it has taken deep, and we fear lasting root, is
among the sheer sporting circles. This has been fully
evidenced in what we may term " the turf money-
market." That, on account of the " Gurney affair," . has
been sadly depressed, and, before it can recover its
original buoyancy, there must arise some strong,
stimulating, counteracting circumstance. Fortunately
for parties whose interest it is to get up racing
meetings, the effects which we have shown to be so pre-
judicial to mere sporting men, have not affected the good,
sight-seeing public. The thousands who annually visit
Epsom, are quite careless about the settlements at Tat-
tersall's, and whether Mr. So and So become a defaulter
or not, simply furnishes them with small talk for a week
or two, and is then forgotten. Ilowevar, it would be
better for all parties, that the shameful squabbles
relative to the settlements of debts of honour were
for ever put an end to, and no one ought to bet
beyond his means, or incur engagements which,
however chance may run counter to him, he would not
be able to meet. •With these observations we will rapidly
sketch the leading features of the Derby of this year.
It is a very evident fact that horse-racing is becoming
every day more and more a favourite amusement
of the English public, and particularly with the me-
tropolitan portion of it ; and in order to render it more
interesting to themselves, they have established in
almost every public parlour—we had almost said
tap-room—far and near, Derby and St. Leger Clubs,
by means of which, and small weekly subscriptions,
theyi have pecuniary stake dependentthosese races.a slight on
In. consequence of this, an extensive,
though not deep excitement is kept alive ; and all those
who have drawn a horse, or horses, at one or more of
these Clubs, are anxious to see them run. Doncaster
lies too far afield ror the million in London ; therefore,
on the Derby Day, the watchword is with them " Heigh
for Epsom !' If a total stranger to our manners were to
behold, on the morning of yesterday, the general move
and alley, that took place—the
on foot, all in holiday garb, hurry-
insthousandssquare,
persons
the' railroad termini of the Brighton and Croydon,
and the South Western lines—the multitudes on horseback,
stt ,
the various rotatory vehicle's crammed with merry
beings—the four-in-hand—the sweeping-along chaise
and four—the carriage, chariot, chaise, cart, and covered
van—if ire were to see all these, probably he would ask
in wonderment, " What are they going out for ? To see
some mighty conqueror returning from the wars ? some
favourite Prince coming back ransomed from exile ? some
holy pilgrim bringing them blessings from the Holy Land ?"
Pshaw ! Not a bit of it. They are going to see some four-
and-twenty gallant steeds contend for swiftness on the
plain of Epsom. They are pressing onward in expectation
of beholding their beloved Queen spectatress of the same
sight as themselves, but not enjoying it a whit better
than they ; they are Basting to gaze oil the nobles of the
land, the pillars of the State, the surpassing beauties of
these shores, and certainly a very great portion of the
elite of

" The inviolate island of the brave and free."
And in many respects they were not slisappointed. The
Downs were as resplendent as ever with thousands of
" Fair women and brave men."
But the thing would not be English ; the grand
drama would- not be Shaksperian that is, it
would not be true to nature—if amid the
sublime and tha splendid were not a goodly
mixture of the grotesque, and motley, and ridi-
culous. And so there was. It is unnecessary to
repeat the doings in the gambling-booths, the thimble-
riwgers, the gipsies, the mountebanks, the thousand
tricks played off to entrap the unwary and strip them of
their gilding. They were practised yesterday for nearly
the hundredth time, as successfully as ever. Need we re-
peat that the road abounded with the usual incidents,
funny enough to some, not equally so to others. There
was the usual number of cracked conch pannels, broken
poles, smashed splinter-bars, quarrels at the toll-
bars, patience-trying stoppages. More than once,
alas ! we heard God's name taken in vain ;
but we did not see one person struck on the right cheek
hold out the other to be struck in the same way—on the
contrary. Halt* an hour before the grand race com-
menced, and when all were intent upon it, the course
presented a most animated appearance—the excited ex-
pectations of at least 60,000 pergons on the tiptoe. From
Epsom close to Tattenham Corner, the sides of the course
were lined with many thousands. The immortal
hill was crowned with a cluster, close and ;Willer.
ous, of fashionaLles in carriages and an horseback,
and fl'oln the st,trtilig post continuous suceessitin of
horsemen and pedestrians unceasingly poured along to
Tattenham Corner. Then there was the usual pressure
to see the joekies mount. After that to see each horse
take his
gallop, and scan the appearance and action of
the favourites. Shortly afterwardti annthPr. rush more'
o*")!PflOnits On wiis made $o see the start, and
Move
still the crowd hurried to the winning-
post. Once more the mass was on the move to learn,
the announcement of the winner, and then could he gMi
NvhgaPsPelin4t:ra.elsti:lt
visages from which all hope had fled,
PI the morning, in tio;lwanenpp the lain an 'Tuesday,
qraVthal4ther shtrot'ustleAld bebya alairigpearties
con-
course of persons on the course. This anxiety referred
C:hicfly to the weather, which in the forenoon showed
such steady symptoms of rain, that there could In Ao
(114 day. lead a T,19. (IV liie o was—cold
and clear—,quike npii_l4o to Its last broiling anni-
versary. The eff:ct of this, was an ever-flowing tide of
arrivals, and we never recollect seeing a more numele
ous multitude spread itself over the Downs. TNL;gh
had been- circulated I.oive§iy, her hoyal
PPriMrt! gild tijc troiirt, V'ou c be present' to witness
the race, a pretty general belief prevailed that
the rumour was without foundation? and when towatiti
the hour Of starting, thew was OR iudlcation of the arri-
val of Royalty, the multitude exhibited no marked dis-
appointment. About two o'clock Count Mensdorf, uncle
by affinity. to her Majesty, and his four sons, aceompa-
ries, arrived from Claremont.
wed elf()glow Arbqp,sti (me of the (,:;ieenl4 iNitter-
They were introduced to
Baron de Tessier and Sir G. Heathcote, who immedi-
ately placed the Stewards' stand at their disposal. Al-
though the number of the nobility and fashionable world
present was as great as heretoforel eve regret ?list we
pmild ROI !tit,11011'!, 1 4 get q soriflioe ny time, obtainmore of their imams than we here insert :
Dukes of Beaufort, Bedford, and Rutland ; Mar•
guises of Exeter, Worcester, Granby, and Nor-
manby ; Earls of Uxbridge, March, Stradbroke, Orford,
Chesterfield, Rossiin, Verulahl, 4114940 e 4,,ords