THE RACES.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 613, 30 January 1879, Page 2

THE RACES.

THE ENGAGEMENT.

I hear you want a full, true, and particular account of the races. Is it so ? Well, I'm just the man for the work. I'm a good deal better than any other you could get hold of — bar none. I love horses. Yon see the bottom of that boot — wants' soleing, doesn't it? All horses, you know. You see my shiny trousers, don't you 1 They want renewing. See my tile. A shocking bad hat, isn't it 1 Here's both pockets turned inside out, with nothing m 'em. And its all through horses. Horses have been the ruin of me, as they have of better men. But I like horses. I would sooner be ruined by a horse than a woman at any time. A horse don't know when he's cooked you ; but a woman does, and then laughs at the trouble. I have been a sporting reporter from early youth to these my maturer days, and I never sold the man who engaged me ; but I have sold those who didn't, and there's no mistake about it. You know the Auckland Southern Gross, that once was, and now isn't. Well, I was engaged to do the summer race meet for the Herald, which was an opposition paper. The Cross 1 * man and I— that's me and no one else, made a friendly start from the city I took a good flask of brandy with me, and I told the Gross reporter he should share my stuff, which was of the right sort. Not a bit like the liquor sold on the ground. Well, by iingo, wasn't it glorious fun. We kept together all the day, taking notes, and as we took the notes we walked into that flask. At least the Cross's man did ; but I didn't, because flasks of stiong liquor and reporting races don't go well together. My friend got so jolly towards the end of the day that nothing could be jollier. The flask was out, and we went to the booths and liquored up, stiff and often. My drinks were mild. The other chap took brandy, because, he said, it was bad to change one's drinks. He got awful tight. Wanted to bet upon the horses at the longest odds ever given or taken m this world ; wanted to get up one pound •weeps,, when he

hadn't got two half-crowns m his pocket. Got tighter, and wanted to fight a fellow Tor his clothes and a sovereign. Got so tight that he couldn't stand, so I led him to the back of the ladies' booth and laid him down quietly m a sweet, lamb-like sleep. Then I jumped on my horse, rode back, and wrote four columns of race matter. I looked at the Gross paper the next morning, and there I read a paragraph, explaining that the Editor was unable to furnish an account of the races m consequence of the reporter having been thrown from his horse while returning from the races, by which it was believed he had sustained a compound fracture of the right leg, besides dislocating his left shoulder ; at the same time fears were entertained that he had disarranged three of his ribs. The fact was, as I found out afterwards, the reporter had woke up about two o'clock m the morning, his notes were nowhere, and so to clear himself he got a friend to go to the office and narrate the accident which had prevented him sending m the race account. The Editor didn't know but what it was all quite true, so he sent the man a sovereign, as he had got a wife and family. It soon came out, however, and the chap was sacked. You don't catch me like that. The next year the Gross put me on the job. The Editor said he wanted a long report— the fullest report I could give. He didn't care how long, as he wanted to make sporting one of the features of his paper. To encourage me I was to receive a guinea a column. I said leave it to me, you shall not be disappointed — and he left it to me. So two days before the race day I got all the books I could borrow or steal which dealt m horses. I gave the natural history of the horse. How it was a disputed question whether that noble animal was first discovered on the Himalaya Mountains, above the region of perpetual Bnow, or on the sandy deserts of Arabia Felix. I gave it as my own opinion that the horse originally descended from a cross between the giraffe and the swift-footed antelope. I traced the history of the horse down to the eighteenth century. I gave an account from a sporting journal of all the celebrated races during the last hundred years. I then proceeded to descant upon the noble qualities of the horse ; his propensity to kick and buck-jump. I spun long yarns about coach horses, and gave the biographies of celebrated coachmen. I told anecdotes about circus horses, and about fire-engine horses, and how one of these clever animals would begin to kick out, by way of warning, when a fire broke out ten miles away and no one knew it, such was the noble and gallant instinct of this horse. I related extraordinary tales about hunting horses, and gave a full-length portrait of the life and doings of the Marquis of Waterford ; and on and still on I went at it until I had got enough to fill a good-sized octavo book, done m very small print, Then I went to the races ; reported the events, with all particulars about the horses, and the owners, and the jockeys, with what they all done, and the money they had won and lost. So I got to the office* about nine at night, and handed my "copy" into the sub-editor. The sub said to me, " I suppose its all right isn't it 1" I said, " I should rather think it was all right." Then he said, "hand it up to the overseer to give out to the compositors." Then the first set of slips were given out ; and the Becond set, and then the third set. Thirteen compositors were tearing away on their lines. Three o'clock a.m. came, and not a third of the copy was set. Four o'clock went by, and the racing part of the report had not been come at by a long way. Five o'clock came, when the oveseer said he must go to press whatever the consequences, and to press the paper went, with eleven and a»half columns of print about horses and racing, but not a line about the races that had come off the day before. The sub-editor was sent for out of his bed, and when he come, all that he could do was to have printed at the bottom " To be continued m our next issue.'* If the editor wasn't m a fury when he came down next day, its ft caution. Herefused to pay me eleven guineas and a-half , until I threatened to summons him, when he forked out and stumped up. Now, then, do you want to take me on for this work ? I'll do it all for a fiver. You dont think you will want me ? Why not 1 Well, I'll do it for a twoer. Not a twoer, either ? Gome, then, we'll make it a wunner, and you find liquors. No ? Ah, I begin to think I see you don't want me. Well, will you lend me half a crown. No ? Then, you are just what I took you for when Icame m. You are no good. THE EXPLANATION. We should have liked to have engaged the gentleman's services ; but what with the general smell of rum, m combination with tobacco smoke, which pervaded his person, we had some doubts whether, if he got on to the race ground, he would get off it m a virtuous state of sobriety, and so leave the Herald m some such sort of a fix, as he had done m the case herein beforementioned. FIRST DAY. The morning broke with a cloudy sky. It seemed as if it was going to rain. Then it seemed as if it wasn't. For a long time the weather had not made up its mind ; but when, later on m the morning, the sun came out, all fears were dispelled, which had been entertained by the holiday-makers. It was a glorious day up country, quite different from town, being cool, with light refreshing breezes. The hotel-keepers on the way-side, and the booth-keepers on the course, might have wished it a little hotter as affecting general thirstiness, but these people cannot be supposed always to have it all their own way. At ten o'clock there was a general turn out of coaches, buggies, saddle horses and vehicles of all kinds, m the possession of the Gisborneites. For an hour and a half the main thoroughfare and side streets were all life, bustle, and activity. There was a good deal of shouting of men from % one to the other as they were getting ready for the start ; and there was much shouting at bars and m bar-parlors ; but as usual, all was peaceable and orderly. By eleven o'clock the town had emptied itself and filled the THE COURSE. The Race-course, which has been selected for this year's sports, although, perhaps, not quite so charming m a picturesque point of view, as the old

one at Waeranga-a-hika, has, at least, one advantage, for the towns-people, — it is easy of access. The old hands, who, for many years, have meet under the shade of those glorious, cool umbrageous willows, will regret, not alone the shade and shelter, but the many kindly faces whom they will never meet again. " But away with melancholy " ; let us rejoice while we can and when we can't — well then what next 1 At any rate, ; the Course upon which will be decided the great racing events for the year, is locally situated near the late Captain Read's very pleasant homestead, between Matawhero and the Ferry. It is now Borne three or four years since we had a meet at that spot, and then the " old skipper" laid out his hospitality m profusion, and all comers were all served alike. Dear ; dear : what a pity it is that surrounding all our goings m and out there meets us some reminiscense of old times. The course, being m a natural state — that is, the stewards not having had time to do much to it, is still a very respeotable piece of running ground, at any rate, it will be very fair going for all sorts of horses, who do not mind a little hardness. Everything that can be done has been done, on the spur of the moment, and the general lay out and plan appears to be good, m fact, all we have to do is to take everything as it comes with a good grace. If the owners of horses have reason to complain, they must remember that Poverty Bay is not Flemington. If the spectators don't like the heat, they must remember that the stewards don't regulate the atmospheric condition of things, and if, amongst those growlers, there be one or two, whose memory carries them back to Epsom Downs, they will find that there is more dirt and discomfort there than here at any rate. The road to the place to which we this morning go to see the races is easy enough to find. If the tide serves, the beach offers a very agreeable drive, and so, towards Matawhero, along the road m use. On the other hand, we have before us the cheerful jolt from town to Makaraka, and thence to Matawhero. This for strangers. The old hands know by this time every hole, and they are many — oh, very many !-between this and that. Ah, if those annotated of the people who sit m solemn judgment upon how much each shall contribute to the maintenance of these precious holes, had to journey day by day, " from early day to dewy eve," over and amongst them, surely they would arrive at a more clear understanding amongst themselves as to what should be done. But that, of course, is not exactly what we want to get at just now. What we really want is, to get to the Races. Well, having followed these directions, one will surely get there, and we heartily wish all a very pleasant tune of it. And a very pleasant time every one did have. The course presented a pretty sight. Women m their best, seated m traps where they could command a good view of the racing ; and the traps containing very seleot refreshments, solid and liquid. Men on horseback and men on foot. Boys ditto, ditto. All sorts of sports going on between each event. People thirsty, by and by, and people hungry and no one went unsatisfied or unfilled. Those who had not provided, received from those who had, and there was a general level and fair average of everything good that was going. At a little before the hour advertised for the first race, the bell rung out, to clear the course ; and now for the races.