252 EACECOURSE AND COVERT SIDE. 



is of course ruined. Into the champagne glasses 

 they drip, and by no means improve the dehcate 

 flavour of the '74 Perrier Jouet ; the Mayon- 

 naise presently assumes a spotty appearance ; 

 leaves fall from the flowers which tasteful luxury 

 provides in water glasses as at a dinner-table ; a 

 moisture not its own is given to the pigeon pie ; 

 and a sort of rain gravy forms in dishes of cold 

 chicken ; ladies pull up the hoods of their ulsters, 

 men turn up their collars, umbrellas spring up 

 all down the beeches like a growth of magical 

 mushrooms. 



But, happily, to-day all is bright and cheery, 

 the latter quahty being pleasantly superinduced 

 by popping corks, and the only question to 

 perplex speculative lunchers is what will win 

 the Cup, which is on view on a bracket close to 

 where the Princess of Wales is sitting in the 

 royal balcony. 



In the paddock a crowd, in which many 

 ladies are prominent, makes locomotion difficult, 

 and two or three big groups show where the 

 favourites are being saddled. In due course up 

 go the numbers. There are five runners, but 

 it is generally understood that the race lies 

 between a famous Newmarket five-year-old mare, 

 carrying the chocolate jacket and yellow sleeves 

 of a well-known owner, and a three-year-old 



