IN DEVONSHIRE 267 



scape and the list of obstacles to be negotiated 

 by the jumpers. There you have the advan- 

 tage of commanding a capital view of the proceed- 

 ings on the steep hillside, over a loop on which 

 two ''rings" are run, or nearly so, in several of 

 the races. You are also conveniently situate 

 for sending to the booths for beer or cyder, and 

 located, too, hard by the section of the Flying 

 Course led round the flat enclosed by the river, 

 the railway and the town side boundary of the 

 meads. An it please you, you may cross by the 

 ferry and ascend the hill up and down which the 

 gees run, and take a comprehensive bird's-eye 

 view of the doings. Say your taste is of a more 

 loftily soaring character, the edge of a great stone 

 quarry right opposite is at your service. Verily 

 at Totnes you can get plenty for your money if you 

 do not want to pay anything at all (that is slightly 

 by way of a bull, but you know what I mean), 

 and be almost as well off if you do care to go in 

 for contributing to the costs of the show, since 

 ring, stand, and paddock must be cheap at six 

 shillings over all. So far I have been writing 

 about the open, as we usually call it in alluding 

 to the free part of a course. There are precious 

 few opens nowadays, except where a pay-box is 

 open too, as a toll-taker not to be dodged. Still, 

 that is only a detail. 



Now, please do not misunderstand me. I am 

 fully aware that there are two sides at least to 

 the question as to admitting the public free to 

 witness pastime. All I do now is to cite Totnes 

 as a specimen of a fine old-fashioned affair, which 

 by reason of its openness does an immense 

 amount of good in the cause of sport. Thousands 

 make their way there who would not go to the 



