In the time of the last presidency it was
almost always occupied by the marshal, a great lover of horses, and by
his little court; but his successor, M. Grevy, whose sporting
propensities are satisfied by a game of billiards or a day's shooting
with his pointers, generally waives his privilege in favor of the
members of the diplomatic corps.
The stand to the left of the track is the official tribune, very gay
and attractive in the days of the Empire, when it was filled by the
members of the municipal council of Paris and their families, but
to-day rather a blot upon the picture, the wives of the Republican
aediles belonging to a lower--though, in this case, a newer--stratum of
society than did their imperial predecessors. The Jockey Club reserves
for itself the first stand to the right, from which all women are
rigorously excluded. The female element, however, is represented upon
the lower ranges of benches, though the ladies belonging to the more
exclusive circles of fashion prefer a simple chair upon the gravel of
the paddock. It is there, at the foot of the club-stand, that may be
seen any Sunday in spring, expanding under the rays of the vernal sun,
the fresh toilettes that have bloomed but yesterday, or it may be this
very morning, in the conservatories of Worth and Laferriere.
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