THE GRAND NATIONAL. 3 



He goes on to say : "On Tuesday mornin;^- the 

 folks were astir betimes, for, in addition to the 

 Grand affair, there was a second steeplechase in 

 heats to be decided. The town, therefore, was soon 

 in a delicious ferment ; the streets were thronged, 

 and the customary queries ' How many ,<,'(' ? ' 

 ' When do they start ? ' and ' Which is the 

 favourite ? ' assailed our ears in every direction and 

 in every possible variety of dialect." 



Travellers talk of the patois of the French 

 provinces as being unintelligible to even a Parisian ; 

 what would a Londoner make of the concentrated 

 patois of Lancashire, Yorkshire. Shropshire, and 

 Gloucestershire ? 



Needless to say, the concourse of people of all 

 sorts that put in an appearance at Amtree to 

 witness the first Grand National was something 

 enormous, and knowing, as we of the present day 

 do by experience, what an Aintree crowd can be 

 like, both in number and quality, when we read that 

 in consequence of the refusal of the " powers that 

 be " at Liverpool to allow the services of the police 

 to be used for the occasion, the keeping of the 

 course was entrusted to a body of special constables 

 laid on for the occasion, we can only wonder that 

 the horses engaged in the race were able to get 



15 2 



