at last!'
breaks like a deep drawn sigh from the crowd, and now the six horses,
all together, and at a rattling pace, tear up the hill, over the sand
at the south corner, and up, till at the quarter mile post 'a blanket
could cover the lot.'

Two or three tails are now showing signals of distress; heels and whips
are going. Two horses have shot ahead, a bay and a black. 'Jamie' on
the bay, 'Paddy' on the black.

Still as marble sit those splendid riders, the horses are neck and
neck; now the bay by a nose, now again the black. The distance post is
passed with a rush like a whirlwind.

'A dead heat, by Jove!'

'Paddy wins!' 'Jamie has it!' 'Hooray, Pat!' 'Go it, Jamie!' 'Well
ridden!' A subdued hum runs round the excited spectators. The ardent
racers are nose and nose. One swift, sharp cut, the cruel whip hisses
through the air, and the black is fairly 'lifted in,' a winner by a
nose. The ripple of conversation breaks out afresh. The band strikes up
a lively air, and the saddling for the next race goes on.

The other races are much the same; there are lots of entries: the
horses are in splendid condition, and the riding is superb. What is
better, everything is emphatically 'on the square.' No _pulling_ and
_roping_ here, no false entries, no dodging of any kind. Fine, gallant,
English gentlemen meet each other in fair and honest emulation, and
enjoy the favourite national sport in perfection. The 'Waler' race, for
imported Australians, brings out fine, tall, strong-boned, clean-limbed
horses, looking blood all over. The country breds, with slender limbs,
small heads, and glossy coats, look dainty and delicate as antelopes.
The lovely, compact Arabs, the pretty-looking ponies, and the
thick-necked, coarse-looking Cabools, all have their respective trials,
and then comes the great event--the race of the day--the Steeplechase.

The course is marked out behind the grand stand, following a wide
circle outside the flat course, which it enters at the quarter-mile
post, so that the finish is on the flat before the grand stand. The
fences, ditches, and water leap, are all artificial, but they are
regular _howlers_, and no make-believes.

Seven horses are despatched to a straggling start, and all negotiate
the first bank safely. At the next fence a regular _snorter_ of a 'post
and rail'--topped with brushwood--two horses swerve, one rider being
deposited on his racing seat upon mother earth, while the other sails
away acr