and bottle of sherry. Turning, however, from these holyday affairs to considerations of deeper import, long before the scene of action was reached, men's ears were assailed with rumours of all conceivable mischief done, or to be perpetrated. As the newspapers have given these in all their versions, it may be enough here to state that, on Tuesday, those to whom the ordinary sources of information were open were aware that Canadian was declared not to start for the Derby, and that Auckland was tolerably safe; but the "how" was a mystery. On Tuesday afternoon the Baron de Teissier told me that he had received several anonymous letters, detailing all sorts of roguery to be attempted for the great event, and that it was resolved hermetically to seal the weighing-house to all save the jockeys and those persons actually employed to carry out the business of weighing and pronouncing the fiat. I have no quarrel with that determination ;-furthermore, if ever there was a Derby run on the square, I think it was that of 1842; but was there not, therefore, many a pocket filled by means less manly than those whilom adopted by Turpin and Sixteen-string-Jack? Not a doubt of it; and why there should be such a thing in these days as swell, out of luck," passes my finding out. 66 a I see thee, man of many "ca.-sa.'s," with thine eyes starting to drink in the words that shall reveal the secret how thou mayest put money in thy purse. List! thy suspense shall be relieved. Beg, borrow, or steal a couple of thousand pounds. With those, betake thee to Newmarket, or anywhere that a good favourite for the Derby may be met with. Buy him, and get him under the lock and key of thine own stable. There keep him till the race is over, and it is very probable that he won't win. In the meanwhile, let no public day at Tattersall's pass without being the first to enter the Subscription Room, and the last to leave it. Lay against that horse to the amount of the uttermost shilling for which you can get custom or credit. Attend on the day of settlement; receive your winnings with the air of one who has done a good thing; come down from thy fourth floor, and again shall the Albany be thy head-quarters. Repeat the dose in the following year, and remove to Belgrave-square. The last anniversary of the Derby was the best within my memory, and there were not, I should think, many such before 1820. The attendance, in number and quality, was a proud exhibition. I would I had space to tell of the beauty, rank, style, wealth, and manhood that covered the velvet hills of Surry on that occasion. But this must be left to be imagined by those who know what England is, and what manner of men and women are her sons and daughters. At one o'clock the ring was a living circle that covered the best part of an acre; and on the Downs were certainly not less than 60,000 people. In the Grand Stand alone, Mr. Careless told me he dined 1,453-pretty well, when, on a moderate average, fifteen out of every twenty that went to Epsom took their rations with them. Soon after two o'clock the first bell rang, and the throng was great at the starting-post, where the operation of saddling is principally effected; the crack Coldrenick, however, was too high in station to strip in public, and his toilet was made in Baron de Teissier's park. I do not mean to offer a catalogue raisonné of all the lots, but a few cannot be allowed to go unnoticed. Attila, whom I had made my winner, looked perfection, and, barring an inch or two might have been added with advantage to his stature, he was all that a three-year-old racer should be. Combermere is a fine, strapping nag-too big, perhaps, for his age; but in another year, if he stands, he will be an awkward customer. Auckland was obviously amiss; his near fore-leg was bandaged; and the speedy cut of Monday, it was evident, would interfere with the speed of Wednesday. Robert de Gorham is another fine, big colt, with a lounging, lazy gait, and one that, I should think, requires a great deal of riding. Scott, Darling, or poor Connelly, might have made his race end better than it did. Lasso, though many admired him greatly, did not take my fancy; neither did Policy, announced to be a stone better than Lucy Banks. Jack looked well, but not in the form of a Derby horse; the Agreeable colt, to my thinking, being in the same category. Sea Horse is an animal of much promise, and will, I think, see a good day. Of such steeds as Cheops, Defier, The Devil among the Tailors, the Baronet, Singleton, &c., the less that is said the better. The field of twenty-four now gathers for the start; the ring has broken up, and thus stands the latest quotation : After two actual false starts, and two or three ruses, they got off all well, with the exception of Jack, who was left behind some fifty yards, and never could get up. The first on his legs was Combermere, who led up the hill with Attila close on his quarters: Chatham, Belcœur, and Lasso next, and then the body of horses. In this way, with some vicissitudes among the rear rank of no import, they surmounted the rise, and, at better speed, began the descent for the turn. Here the pace at once did Coldrenick's business; the hill had evidently settled him (I was going to say his account, but that is not settled yet), and an outsider of 100 to 1, Belcœur, led gallantly round the awful corner. Attila, at this point, was second, hard held, and a winner to the least experienced eye. As they crossed the road things were growing select. The "ruck" was disposed of. Palladium and Jack were half a distance behind, and Chatham had broken down. It was now the tug of war Belcœur, who looked well at the distance, was passed by Attila, who went on with the race in hand, while Robert de Gorham was improving his place every stride. The finish, as regarded the winner, was the easiest I ever saw for a Derby, not excepting Plenipo's performance. Attila won by a couple of lengths, and, after a smart struggle, Robert beat Belcour for second by a length. Auckland was, no doubt, fourth; and then they came in with a length or two between each. Value of the Stakes, £4,875, Dr. Allen's stake included, as it is believed that his nomination did not die with Mr. Bird. From the turn home the pace was good; but neither the Derby, nor any other of his performances, have revealed the true speed of the winner: they say he has never had a gallop yet! After the all-absorbing event was over, people went to luncheon with what appetites they might; and while they were thus engaged, the Epsom Stakes were won by Mr. Forth's Camelino, beating eight; the Walton Stakes by Mr. Forth's Knightsbridge beating five; and the Burgh Stakes by Captain Daintree's Mulatto colt beating eleven. There was not a shilling wagered, and only a few knew that racing was going on at all. Here were three races on the Derby day, with fields of good horses, to the amount of twenty-seven, to which the munificent sum of one hundred guineas was added from the prodigious funds produced by the meeting!! Thursday-with sport enough for the greediest of turf gluttonsfailed to muster a couple of dozen carriages; and of horse and foot the account was, indeed, beggarly. It opened with a Sweepstakes of ten sovereigns each, with fourteen subscribers, and eleven runners. For this ad valorem Handicap-(the weights being diminished in the ratio of the price for which the winner was to be sold)—the fortunate competitor was Teetotaler, who carried 5 st. The figure attached to his name was £150; but I don't know that any one fancied him "at the price." A Plate of Fifty Pounds succeeded, for which there were four mortal heats, Fulwar Craven's The Time of Day winning, being then purchased and rechristened Solomon; and then there was another "dirty half hundred," that produced three heats, which Mr. Shelley's fine racing-like colt, by Glaucus, out of Malibran, won in a very promising fashion. Friday was a gala in every way befitting the gentle purposes to which it is dedicated. The weather was delicious, and all else appropriate to the ladies' day. On the Downs-setting aside the looks and smiles that "rained influence"-the scene was a very animated one. The losers on the Derby were straining every nerve to compass a off" for the settling, and business was very brisk in the ring. I subjoin the latest betting on the Oaks, before I pass onwards to reconnoitre the fillies saddled for it. 2 to 1 agst. Dil-bar 20 to 1 agst. Topsail "set Adela filly 20 to 1 Pharmacopoeia Firebrand Amima filly It is a very general idea that this year the fillies-i. e., the threeyear-olds are superior, as a lot, to the colts. The drawing up of the curtain for the Oaks did not appear to justify that opinion. Dil-bar is a very nice mare; the Fury filly full of high racing pretensions; but, beyond this pair, I saw nothing that struck me at the starting-post. The Adela filly is, no doubt, a fine, lengthy, blood-like animal, but not an Oaks winner to the eye. Firebrand wanted power; Meal looked a wretch; Pharmacopoeia was lame, and Sister to Alexandrina ! An awful waste of time preceded the start; one of the hindrances being caused by Ma Mie's throwing Nat, who, odd enough, refused to ride Pharmacopoeia, lest she should give him a fall. As soon as they got away, Topsail sailed gallantly ahead with the favourite, and the Amima filly next her, and the rest well up. In this form the whole sixteen made the turn at Tattenham Corner on good terms. There Dil-bar ran out-or, as Scott described it to me, "made off for Sutton," |