The sight of the field was indescribable. There were people by the hundred thousand. The railroads brought down one hundred and twenty-five thousand, and nobody goes to the "Darby" by train if he can help it. Many prefer to walk the sixteen miles to going by rail. These either haven't the money to pay their fares, or shrink from giving money to railroads so long as there is beer to be had. The grand stand, an immense three-story structure, was black with people, and as far as the eye could reach there was nothing but people. And, as it is in America, the people were there for everything except to see the races, which is proper. For if there be anything under heaven that is exasperating it is a horse race, unless it be a regatta. Except as an excuse for something else, I never could see why people went to either. To sit or stand for an hoar under a hot sun, while a lot of jockeys are undertaking to swindle each other, simply to see a field of horses run or trot for a minute or two, or a parcel of boats start and come to the finish, always did seem to me to be the very acme of absurdity. But when you have thirty jolly fellows with you, who make good talk, a wild profusion of lunch, and oceans of wine, it is quite another thing, that is if you like lunch, wine, and talk. The principal race this year, and the one on which the interest centered, was between "Peregrine," the English favorite, and "Iroquois," the American horse. There were others in the field, but these two absorbed the entire attention of the throng. It was a national matter, and a vast amount of money was lost and won on the event. As is known, "Iroquois" won the race by a very small majority, and the American eagle screamed with delight, and the British lion hung its head. The English felt more humiliated than they did when they lost the Colonies, and Archer, the English jockey who rode "Iroquois" to victory, was considered a very unpatriotic man. The English found one consolation: "Well, you know, the blarsted Yankee 'oss couldn't 'ave won the 'eat if a Hinglish jockey hadn't ridden 'im." This was the remark that I heard everywhere. [Sidenote: SHOWS AND BEGGARS.]