The mountains grew dim and almost disappeared: we were shut in with
hope and a fresh delight. Then the deluge settled into a gentle rain,
under which the grapes swelled out their globes, the corn rustled with
a fuller growth and the hearts of men grew content. The king and his
ministers also budded out into new beauty, and flourished in popular
esteem like the green bay tree, and the republic was quenched--till the
next drought.
_The Author of "Signor Monaldini's Niece._"
HORSE-RACING IN FRANCE,
TWO PAPERS.--I.
[Illustration: THE RACE-COURSE AT LONGCHAMPS.]
The passion for horse-racing, which for more than two centuries has
made the sport a national one in England, cannot be said to exist in
France, and the introduction of this "pastime of princes" into the
latter country has been of comparatively recent date. Mention, it is
true, has been found of races on the plain of Les Sablons as early as
1776, and in the next year a sweepstakes of forty horses, followed by
one of as many asses, was run at Fontainebleau in the presence of the
court. But it is not until 1783 that one meets with the semblance of an
organization, and this as a mere caprice of certain grandees, who
affected an English style in everything, and who thought to introduce
the customs of the English turf along with the _chapeau Anglais_ and
the riding-coat.
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