New-York tribune., 1867-09-27
GREAT BRITAIN.
TIE ST. LEGER DAY.

Lords In the month of May he 1ose to make mo-
,io, for the fixing of some business, but on naming
t,,e dov WAS received with the cry Of Derby
"DerbyS A friend who sat near explained by say
ing. THE House does not sit ON that day INC
mover selected another date, but this time' 10 HS
still greater confusion. met with genera lo"'
Of oaks" Oaks" His good-natured 1rend once
more explained that on the day when the OAKS WAS
run it was not customary for Parliament 10 s'tno +
IN other business. " | beg pardon" resumed ing
ofjendcr land trust your lOTosllpS Will DO >ii't
rnongh TO remember that having past most ol
my life abroad am not faniiiar WIFI inc 0"in'S-
The thiri of the Saints Days is the Saint Leger,
and its celebration to-day Is sreckoned one OF tne iSC
interesting for many years. Inc racing SedSo nag
Lsen a succession of surprises All England stO0d
amazed. not to say aghaSt, Whcn Hermit Won tio
Derby. Scarcely less was the wonder Whth AchleNcs
mcnt was beaten for the OAKS. The antcimaN OF
tLe Iccer has been less sudden but sun Is 10 10
deemed an unexpected event the history and nal Is
sue of which are matters OF the most serious concern
10 all wc,l-fcgnatcd minds IN England. core
spondcnt who Is supposed TO be interested IN what
ever happens To be uppermoSt az the moment CouIu
NOT be Indifferent to the IegcT IL IS, moreover one
oC fhe three great races which every one Is recon-
Inended tO see, AMI which, tins wear by the lame Oi
the horses anG by the mutations Ol fortune lhal hu
attended il and them was 10 I've memorable for ages %
come No. need one aHect any peculiar virtue, % sHOn
H. would make IT, necessary TO seek excuses Tor gong
down To DoncaSter-as theX say Hni"Iloa [ rs
lists OF tie stTaltcr sCcts ind always some PouS
motive Tor gong IN IaIiS 10 tho uo"Voi1
which they preach against at nome
fearcssy assure all persons of lnquling hhuS that
the Lrgcr is a very attractive spectacle. and VIII
quite repay YOU for the 100 miles }01 must uaNoI
from London 10 the course IL you hke hOISes, you
might have seen yesterday dozen OF the lneSt III
England. If you hko humanity IN masses to LOOK at'
there were perhaps half million Of Inen and We
taen most Of whom would have considered you iuha-
tic ii you had confessed yOu did not think the dGzen
horses OF infinitely more Importance than the hali
million Of men, Nor do mean to be the cynlcal PM
osopher tOremark that taking them at their own esti-
matethcy arc right Sitting at my elbow an hour since
was an American who last year came away from tp-
som before the Derby was Tun and who for that
eccentrcy had 10 encounter the lncTeduOus SCOTS OF
a belatcd multitude huTTying 10 the race ana VINO
has been quoted in saloons ever since as an individual
not merely eccentric, but unique 1t Is afhTmed that
amiljon of people saw the Derby and II that Is true
OF nearly true il is very moderate TO put the gure
for the Leger NJ half million 10 eXpeTlenceo per
sons the crowd seemed scarcely less at the latter
than at the former and il is crowd much more III
earnest abOut racing. Epson Is so near LONDON thdt
the Derby is the great cOckney holiday OF the year
AT Doncastcr the pure cOckney scarce ana IN place
of him appears the IOrkshireman bred ana Dom,
who would be puzzled to see the joke IN the story
which begins this letter 1t has been said with some
cXaggcratOn of Mr.. Gladstone, that hnance IS Win
him department of religion. OF the lorkSnTeInah
il might be said without eXagseiatlOhIHHt u 10
that peculiar department OF nnance winch regulates
racing transactions The hrOng at Doncaster Is not
out for recreation. From the SwelS III the Deitlhg
ring TO the humbest outsider. who has paWneQ ms
Sunday coat for five shilngs 10 lay on the taVoIlte
there is scarcely who has not more or less money
invested IN the Legcr They know the pedigree and
history of every horse that runs The SHINING c0OrS
of Jockeys familiar TO them as the uniform OF
the Guards to him who walks in Pail Mall. II the
computation could be made, think IT might DC
found that the amount of money won and lost
among the poorer classes whose transactions are
never heard OF at Iattersalls or IN the betngrOoins
of Manchester and YORK, W0uld exceed lhe SUMS
which among the great tuTtncn change hahds IN
amounts enormous as to exhaust great landed
estates and impOverIsh the hives of city merchants.
From the railway to the course. which is rather
more than mile and half lnlle tho broad
streets of Doncaster were so chOked with pedes-
thuf
make their way. Beyond the town IS an ave
nue. of elms, $40 feet apart. shading q smooth
nacadam road yet even here, the crowd on foot was
too thick for the carriages. The people were a
strange lot, but having IN common the set face and
steady gait which chaTacterlze man who pursHes a
journey on business They were as sober as New
England town meeting. Lancashire also, was fully
represented Manchester had its thousands of dele
gates. and town lately more famous than its Ian
cashire rival. There were some OF the men whom
some hours before had seen at Sheffield Possibly
Mr. Rroadbead OF Mr. CroOkes the eminent Trades
Union assassns might have been among the number,
though did not see anybody 10 whom mxki OF
particular regard were shown.
The course at DOncaSteT is very excellent one
for racing and for picturesque effect Nearly the
whole of it is visible from the Grand stand of irrcgu
lar circular form, sl0png up to low hill Just opDo
site the stand behind which are the few rods Of course
where the horses pass for amOmen out Of sight. THIS
is Doncaster Town Moor, famous as racing ground
since l776. when the Legcr Stakes established.
und for know not how much longer. The view IS
closed on all sides by woods, and the ground shows
ko an anpnitheaer 1t is perhaps half mile across,
the exact length of the course being mile furOngs
81 yards OF which the last half mile beginning at the
famous Red House, is nearly straight The Red
House IS tO the IcgcT course what TOttenham Corner
IS at EPSON and many desperate struggle has begun
here. aud ut "a point lit.e beyond where the last
turn Is passed and there is straight finish to the
Judges stand.
When the bell rings the people slowly divide
leaving far as one can see broad green lane,
either side of which is a hedge of men
two or three hundred feet deep, and this for
half "a mile. MathcmatcianS may calculate how
many could stand in that space In the betting ring
which is broad space lnClOsed IL front of the three
stands, between them and the course, there is
enough, aud there lS collection OF human beings
very remarkable IN their appearance and behavior.
Men in light coats with tho hardest of hard faces
Men with books i'll their hands and pencils stuck be-
hind one ear. Men with satches or small travel
ing bags, slung by leather belt over the shoulder,
and on the satchels inscriptions in letters Of cold
civilian Thomas Manchester" George Smith,
York" Who are these men Well, thoy are near
OF kin 10 the blackguars who hang about the corner
of IlOuStOn-st and Broadway in the afternoon, and
whose eailnSs are not set opposite thelr names IN
the directory. They professional gamblers; or as
the less odious phrase Is, bookmakers men, who live
by betting on hoise-Is.ces, Probably do them a
wrong by comparing them to HOustOn-St., for they
are men who have a certain standard of honor or
honesty. and who adhere To IT, | NAV 90 up 10 any
one of them, and take the odds about Hermit 10 any
amount, and pay into his hands the sum | stake. L
must pay the money because j am a stTangeT.) If
win, he VIII return TO me next Monday the money
i gave nm ana pay me the money l have
iron Of him. He may be a scOundrc who would
rob me Oi It ten minutes after but pay il first he will
and must: for If he does not, he never show his
face again inside the betting-rEg on any race
III England and if he is shut ont, his vocation
Is gone. Can Wall-st. boast Of u code as rigid rs
that
The betting ring and grand stand hold plenty of
people beside these. In the galleries there are "A
good many ladies, and the dcm-mOndc has its reprc
sentative. ia the inciosurc the l0und yOu may
lnd people Of every profession, except the clerical
DO lot remember 10 have any body IN the bet
tng nng who looked like = bishop. Yorkshire
sQu:eS knowing in hOTsc-ticsh and turnpe and
knoNlag nothng else, abound. The local aristocncy
gi Sheiheid. Manchester, York and Leeds are here
The young swelis arc here. The jockey club is i'm
Heat force. Then farmers on the turf and bearing
names that used 10 be famous for better things than
the TUT, may be by anybody who cares 10 look