CHAPTER VI 



ASCOT RACE COURSE 



AS a gathering, representative of the rank, tashion, 

 beauty, and taste of this country, the Ascot of the 

 latter part of the i8th century was in no respect inferior 

 to that of to-day. It is in comfort and luxuriousness that 

 the meeting has so greatly changed. The rude wooden 

 hustings that did duty for a Grand Stand, and the tents 

 that were the reception rooms of the royal party, have 

 given place to a range of buildings that extend for up- 

 wards of a quarter of a mile along the Course. Before 

 taking leave of the subject altogether, a few words on the 

 physical and external features of Ascot may bring to light 

 some facts and figures that may prove of interest. 



Year after year, as the Ascot meeting comes round, 

 there is a great deal of talk regarding the state of the 

 Course ; many complaints are made, and suggestions for 

 the amendment of the supposed shortcomings are given 

 with a prodigality that is in keeping with a limited know- 

 ledge of the geological features of the Ascot district. 



The Ascot-Chertsey district consists of a series of beds 

 known to geologists as the Bagshot Sands. These beds, 

 in spite of their apparent indistinctness and irregularity, 



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