Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1851-06-23
From The London PKRch.n
[. vatOut'S d;ay ;nt the Derby.


From The London Punch"
M. VatOut's day nt the Derby.
We took these papers from the person OF
an unfortunate French Gentleman Of lit
crary pursuits, whom we picked up
dead-drunk, on the Derby Day, and
took home to the lodging at the Hotel de
Europe, Leicester Street. Leicester
Square. His French we have translat-
ed as literally as we could; his English,
which we give in inverted commas, is
untranslateable. -..sH
"Having proposed to myselfthc mission
Of studying The islanders in their totali,y,
in their streets, their 'pubc-ouse, their
'combats of box, in their aristocraiic quar-
ter of their St.James and Leicester Square,
as in the sombrc dcns of their proletaries
round the market of Newport, and in the
port of Wrapping, IN the cold and sullen
silence Of their Sunday, their noisy accla-
nations over their tea at Greenwich, or the
potations of their famous dinner Of fish at
Blackwell, you will understand with what
eagerness (empresseaentJ | embraced the
offer Of young lord Of my friends, to as
sist under his auspices, at the celebrated
Course of Derby.
"This Course Of Derby is at once the
Chantilly and the Bois de Boulogne, the
Longehamps, and the Courtille of,hc Eng
lish. 1t is there the fair young miss dis
plays her choicest toiIettc-from the dteliey
of one Of our Partisan milliners-athere the
young elegant of the squares and casino,
exhibits his spirited thoroughbred (pne-
sang .triagant) J, and often himself puts on
the rainbow jacket, and cap Of velvet Of
the jockey, to compete for his Ascot Cup.
or his Grand Stand It is there, too,
those colossal fortunes. wrung out of the
sweat of the negro of Cuba, the agony Of
the Cafire, and the pillage Of the Hindoo,
on which the rich merchant off The city keeps
up his snug box, at Brompton, and pays
for his Oporto wine at so francs the bottle,
and his turtle of the Docks-it is there that
these fruits Of the rapacity of English com
mcrce, and the fraudulent dexterity Of
English diplomacy, are riskcd on the skill
of a 'gentlemans riders, or the vaticnatlon
of Bells Life Era that Delphi Of the
turf of London, whose Pythoncss seeks
inspiration from the ale OF the tavern, and
the fume Of the 'livery-stables.' The young
lord who served as my obliging guide, was
a desperate 'sportmans' ('Portemans' a.
chraae).
at his apartment in Craven--onc Of the
black and tortuous streets which conduct
from the roar of the Strand to the silence
and fog of the Thames. After the nation
al breakfast, of which the 'naf: :nali,. in its
pot of silver, and the bleeding steak (btf-
tcck an natural saignant), formed part,
we lighted our Panatclas, and at the Cir
Gus of Regent Street mounted our carriage,
with its team (aaeiageJ Of four spirited
horses, and its 'coachmen,' seated in his
boxing coat of many capes, stern, proud,
and cold; typeof one ofthosc 'coachman,'
thoroughbred as his horses, who would
perish sooner than conduct prolctary, and
allow himself to be torn limb from limb,
before his beloved 'stages-coach,' with its
armorial escuichcon, sltould be built into
barricadc, in the sacred cause Of that demo
cratic and social republic, which, ,hoach
still far of on the distant horizon of i.,sular
history,.i is destined to be the Ark of Noah
Of all Nations, With the young, lords
and naughty 'gcntlemans' by whom
found myself environed, ard to whom INV
Mentor did not even present mc-such Is
English Polltencss-l exchanged but few
words. Their conversation turned on one
named walker" some comPaiiion, with
out doubt, OF their orgy, over blazing
punch, oil Inc night before; and they greet
ed their acquaintance, as tEcy passed other
aristocratic equipages like our own, with
that loud and semi musical cry of the Eng
lish hunter, 'Ear-ii--e-to! Var---ai---
e-ti!' prolonged and vibrating, like the
Jodel Of the Swiss mountaineer.
at must be avowed that the nianrer5 Of
these young aristocrats were more free
from reserve (retcnucJ that tliose we have
the habit of altrlbuting to the insular char
actcr. But the Derby Course is Saiur-
malta for the Englishman of the upper
class On that day it is not the Helot but
his Spartan Lord who gets drunk-and
the Helot docs not lose the lesson Of the cx-
hibirionl
"Thc road is full Of interest 10 the for
eigner. The proIetaries, pale, sad, and
silent, line of footways (trottoUsJ, cursing,
10 doubt, in their Saxon hearts, the haugh-
ty Norman who rolls b in his magnificent
carriage but restrained from violence by
the stern presence and terrible bdton of
the 'policemans.' The conntryis garden,
green and laughing, and to-day the sun
shines always. The road is here aid thcr :.
lined with boarding schools (pems;on ,tes j
and graceful blonde heads (blo,.dcs tetes
graeiensesJ smile on the equirages as thew
roll by, and receive with submission the
loud and insolent badi.lage Of the young
Lords-ior these are but the daughters cf
the tradesmen fJourgeoisie.J The pale
and naughty sisters Of these young men
are not there. They are clustered in the
distart manor house, tinder the rigid rule
OF severe aunt, or the tutelage Of nier-
cenary governess (institxtyice) J, herself an
enemy Of the proud race to whom she sells
her services, and whom, in her turn, she
delights to pervert and sour.
AS we approach the course the equipa
gcs are more and more crowded-the
splendid horses move more and more slow
ly-.he dust rises in thicker clouds. We
stop at every 'publio-ouse' now--up to
this time we stopped at one IN two. The