The Davenport daily gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1869, 1857-07-04
Derby Day At Ere IN.

London's great carnival, the Derby DAY,
came oil on the 9th ult., ON grand scale
Of magnitude and success. The London
TINES graphically deserves the living, NOV
Ing panorama presented on this great holi-
day-"the metropolitan picnic"
What msrvelou. resurrection Of horse-
0csh always takes place ON Derby Day -
Like the bony villains that can only be as-
scmbled by public execution, 80 also are
the rickety quaslrlpeds on the rad "a En-
som to he seen Mt no other time or place
Where are they kept till tie great day calls
upon them To exhibit feeble motion and
make believe rs IL they were going to run |.
What becomes Of them all when the tiay i,
past Every variety Of these unfortunate
qaadrupcds was out yesterday. Some had
about as much chance Of reaching the Downs
As Stonehcngc, and human credulity was
exhibited IN its most aggravated form among
the parties who sat behind such beasts, ey-
identity under the notion that they would
take them to EPSON.
Epsom race course, on Derby day, n
our readers are aware, Is q phenomenon
quite indescribable. II j. medley world
ON small scale, such ~ the Derby only cx.
hibits, for only London could furnish it, M
other festival in the world approaches near
u. IL u, in fact, houseless London-I.on-
don with all its pomp, wealth and sq,lalor,
wants, vices, luxuries. gentlemen, knavcs
and FOOLS at once transported rs IL by magic
10 the open fields. Like great sights Il leaves
a strong though instructive impression ON
the mind, whimsical and bizarre, like the as
poet Of the course itself, where much Is seen
and little recoIlccted Who THAT saw n
Derby can ever regret IL; yet who that In,
seen Il fifty times can tell more than that il
!. an immense asscmblage, a indciinablc Is
the ocean
Yesterday il differed little from its usual
cosmopolitan aspect. There were tent. and
booths Of ell kinds, from the palatial canvas.
IT Alger down To the miserable tarpaul,n
shanties on twigs, from out Of which the sal
low daughters Of Egypt dispensed unhcard
ofwealth In sixpenny fortunes. There were
organ grinders, mountebanks, dancers, fid-
dicrs and bcggars, performing monkeys and
precocious children. Tender infants that
could scarcely stand upon their feet, were
made " stand upon their heads in wooden
platters, and urchins, scarce weancd, crspt
up long ladders carefully adjusted On the
parental nosc, which bore unusual duties Il
was called upon 81 fulfil Sallow yagal,onds
IN much used "fieshings" contorted them
selyas AFTER manner that quite upset al the
cries ~ 60 the use Of hack bone. Punches,
girls onstilts, ballad-singers, negro melo,lists
grinning from ear to ear, card sharpers, and
the never-to-be sufficiently anathemixed
"kerrkt cards" aboundnd ~ usual" Pick
pockets, IL course, mustered strong, and must
have reaped bounteous harvest, for until il
was time to clear the course, but few Police
men were to be seen.
The first race generally commands about
~ much attention y the first piece Of boxing
night. Yesterday there was not even mis-
giving ~ u the state u the turf IN give Il
interest, and Ill the raries. noise. of ! race
course continued with undated yigor Not
so, however, as the time for the event CON-
incnced. The uproar gradually stilled down
into busy hum, and silence dccpened o.
excitement and expectation increased just
before the first false start, q fixed, solemn
attention rcigned over the whole multitude.
that, compared with the former restless up-
roar, seemed bodefal and impressive. The
excitement rose TO an intense pitch, odd.
were given and taken Cor or against almost
anything Only in subdued cxclamations or
long drawn breaths WAS the disappointment
u the false starts acknowledged
There were the usual number u break
downs on the road, so,nc of which seemed
quite inexplicablc. Carts that looked q IL
they could not be relied upon to 20 mile,
logged On securely with six or seven inside
and small party on the shafts, while appa-
rcntly sound vehicles came to grief with
such astonishing facility q 10 lead to = gen.
eral suspicion that they must have been
manufactured at some government estab-
lishment. An immense number Of visitors
came down by rail-aot les than between
10000 and IL 600
Suddenly there was . hoarse murmur
gradually swelling into an uproar--s con-
fused, dull tramping, and rush like whirl-
wind, 6 the horses swept blythe colors
mixed, changed, and vanished in the dis
tance; and, ere you could collect Thought
or hazard guess, the Derby was run and
won. The result Of the race Was scarcely
unexpected, for Blink benny, the winner,
had, throughout the winter, been the lead
ing hvorite, and had only lost her position
in the betting by her defeat At Newmarket
for the one thou-and guineas stake--a defeat
which is now inexplicable, and which, per-
haps, can only be attributed To the glorious
uncertainty Of tif .urf