THE ladies' day AT EPSOM. 239 



to whether there is a Utter of those merry, 

 mischievous, funny little cubs which are so play- 

 ful and pretty at this time of year, and which, 

 if they escape catastrophes next September, 

 when cub hunting is on, may hereafter afford 

 a gallop over Surrey hills and vales. 



It is for racing that we are here to-day, how- 

 ever, and a young lady of our party, indignant 

 at the current supposition that girls know 

 nothing of the sport, has adopted very strong 

 views on a certain subject. She is exceedingly 

 bitter and sarcastic about the fact that a certain 

 American six-year-old was not allowed to start 

 for the Derby, and considers the prohibition 

 very mean on the part of English racing 

 authorities. These deeply rooted opinions she 

 proceeds to express to the most turfy man of the 

 party, young Saddler, who imagines a reply to 

 the effect that the horse is a six-year-old will be 

 sufficient to put the case in a convincing light. 



''That doesn't matter a bit!" is the 

 astonishing answer. 



"But," he explains, "only three-year-olds 

 run for the Derby." 



Had Saddler been told that the solar system 

 was out of order, that something had gone 

 wrong with the Gulf Stream, or that any other 

 convulsion of nature had startled humanity, he 



