240 EACECOUESE AND COVEET SIDE. 



would have taken it calmly ; but the idea of a 

 six-year-old running for the Derby knocks the 

 breath out of his body, and he is speechless 

 when the pretty little satirist of the Jockey Club 

 pronounces his explanation " only an excuse." 



"You let the American horse run until he 

 beat you, and then you wouldn't let him run 

 any more ; and even if there is some rule about 

 it, you needn't have minded with a foreign 

 horse." 



By this time the bell has rung, and the 

 course is cleared for the first race ; but the 

 Selling Welter Handicap, not having a very 

 exciting appearance, an opportunity arises for 

 passing over to the hill and investigating the 

 nature of the various entertainments, which can 

 only be carried on with so much blowing of 

 whistles, beating of gongs, and general riot. 

 The shows are few in number, considering that 

 this is the Derby week, and that the Derby 

 week is the great racing holiday "^f the year, 

 when the holiday is, in fact, with many people 

 of much greater importance than the racing. 

 But if the showmen are few in number, they are 

 admirable specimens of their profession, and are 

 gifted with a full share of their proverbial wit 

 and shrewdness. 



Sad to say, the two principal shows do not 



