Chapter 152 of 460

Chapter 16: On the Race-Course.

"Greatly begin! though thou have time

But for a line, be that sublime-

Not Failure, but low aim, is crime! ...

We are not poorer that we wept and yearned;

Though earth swing wide from God's intent,

And though no man nor nation

Will work with full consent

In heavenly gravitation-

Yet by one Sun is every orbit bent!"

LOWELL.

BEFORE FINALLY LEAVING the record of my work at the prison gate, Leicester, I will relate how on one occasion it stood me in good-stead, and was the means of saving, if not my life, at least my coat from being torn to shreds by an excited crowd.

It was a lovely day in July, and our Sunday School was, as usual, having its treat on the same day on which the Leicester Races were being held, as a means of decoying the children from the perils of the racecourse. It should be noted here as a piece of ancient history, that when I first knew Leicester, and for some years after, the Races were held within the town, at the top of the London Road; and, being open to all comers without charge, were fraught with unutterable evil to the morals of the town.

It would be impossible to count all the young lives which were ruined on that breezy meadow; or how many Sunday School scholars attracted first by curiosity were caught by a whirlpool the eddy of which finally sent them to perdition. Thank God, the episode which I am about to recount marked the conclusion of the time-honoured custom of holding the Races there; ever since, they have been celebrated beyond the boundaries of the town in an enclosure, for admittance to which each person is charged gate money.

For some previous days the town had been placarded by notices, inviting the attendance of the townsfolk at a public meeting to be held on the course, just opposite the grand stand, at the conclusion of the last Race, to determine whether the Races should be in future held there or removed to Oadby. As one of the public, I resolved to accept the invitation, but without informing my most intimate friends of my resolve.

With as much equanimity as I could command, I took part in our school treat, played games with the children, as was my wont on such occasions, and in the scrimmage lost a very valuable keepsake; which I remember made a deep impression on my mind, in the midst of my not unnatural anxiety as to the issue of my adventure.

Stealing quietly away from the field about four o'clock in the afternoon, I made my way to the race-course, determined to protest against the continuance of the Races in such near proximity, and under such free conditions.

I reached the spot as the bell was ringing for the last Race, and waited quietly in the outskirts of the crowd as the horses swept by. For the first time in my life, I found myself surrounded by the extraordinary medley of people, and scenes, and spectacles, that converge to a race-course - like refuse to the bottom of the vat. The gipsies with the cocoanuts, and Aunt Sallies; the coarse, hoarse-shouting professionals offering the odds; the mixture of vehicles, from that in which the fashionably-dressed woman was drinking champagne, to the costermonger's cart; the evident habitue, and the innocent-faced novice; the unceasing roar of human voices; the strained excitement until the winner was declared-all these made an impression on my mind which it is sufficient to have received once, and which one can never forget.

When the Race was over, I pushed my way into the enclosure, not without having been recognised by several, who seemed utterly at a loss to understand my business there, and so to the entrance to the stand. Climbing the staircase, I found myself at the end of a long corridor that ran from end to end of the building; on the left were a number of doors entering into spacious rooms, which in turn opened on the galleries and verandahs, from which views were to be obtained of the course. These were thronged with showily-dressed people-women in the gayest of costumes, the men in light dust coats. There was a good deal of eating and drinking going forward, and loud talking, and general excitement.

I felt very sensible that I could do very little by myself, in face of the strong current which I knew was running against me. And yet I was conscious that God was asking of me a protest, which in the fewest words I was determined to try and give.

By this time the broad course in front of the stand was crowded with thousands of people, and I pushed my way forward to the front, and gave in my card to the gentleman who seemed to be in charge. A number crowded around me-young swells in sporting coats asking who I was, and why I had come, and what I wanted. I told them, and aroused such a storm of indignation as threatened to sweep me before it. They shouted, gesticulated, swore at me; some said, "Let him speak," others threatened to throw me over; but somehow I was pushed to the front, and there, looking down on the immense crowd, was speedily recognised, and my appearance was the signal for so great an uproar, that it would have been impossible, even if my voice had been four times as strong as it is, to obtain an audience.

On finding this, and being uncomfortably aware that I had no base of operations, and that the gentlemen behind me were saying some very uncomplimentary things, and planning worse, I thought that discretion was the better part of valour, and prepared to beat a retreat; but on turning to do so was confronted with such a vision of human passion as would have filled me with terror had I not been so confident in the sincerity of my motive, and in the presence of God.

And I never can tell what would have happened, if at this moment, a well-known shopkeeper, much given to drink, but who was a kind-hearted man in his sober moments, and who was a companion of many whom I had helped at the prison gate, had not come forward, and placed himself between the vehement crowd and myself, saying: "Gentlemen, you shall not touch him-he is kind to those who have got into trouble in the gaol; let him go!"

He then constituted himself my protector, and led me down that corridor, which I remember seemed interminable, and which was now lined on either side by a crowd, who if they dared, would no doubt have torn my clothes to shreds, as by their words they tried to do my character.

But I got safely out, and made my way to the house of a friend who was rather scared by my white looks; for indeed I felt as if I had expended the whole of my nervous energy.

After a cup of tea, I set to work and wrote the protest that I had intended to deliver; and it was published in the Leicester Daily Post the following morning, with an account of the occurrence, which the reporter described as "a very extraordinary proceeding on the part of the reverend gentleman."

Of course, I do not pretend for a moment to say that that protest led to the discontinuance of the meetings on that site; but it attracted attention to the evils of the system, and it certainly was a very remarkable thing-which I can only attribute to the direct agency of God-that contrary to every appearance, the Races were discontinued. And the beautiful spot is now turned into a public park, where boys play cricket, and children roam at large. It is one of the lungs of that great town in which I spent some of the happiest years of my life.

Wherever Races are held, they are an unmitigated nuisance, and source of temptation. For a month after this annual carnival, we had to deal with its wreckage, in the miserable men and women that issued from the gaol, and were glad enough of our help. Boys who had plundered the till for money to make their bets or pay their losses; disreputable women locked up for being drunk and disorderly; a rara avis of a bookmaker; and many of the same class.

It is impossible to disassociate the turf from betting; and the words of Kingsley are not a whit too strong, when he says:-"Of all habits, gambling is the most intrinsically savage; morally it is unchivalrous and unchristian; the devil is the only father of it." Let the Church of Christ lead the crusade against this gigantic evil-by discouraging all appeals to chance; by ousting every form of gambling from bazaars; and by refusing to court the patronage of any, however highly-born and illustrious, who use their influence to foster a system, which, in the words of the late Lord Beaconsfield is "a vast engine of national demoralization."

END

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