Captain Hargraves and Mr. Fenton attracted a large crowd to a mile match which they ran in 1843. It was not long after this that we find professional pedestrianism in what were almost its palmiest days. 'Billy' Jackson (the American Deer), J. Davies (the Lame Chicken), and Tom Maxfield (the North Star) ran a mile match upon the Slough Road, over what is still known as 'Maxfield's mile,' amidst an enormous concourse of people and 'immense enthusiasm.' About this date 'Bell's Life' had every week a list of nearly fifty fixtures of matches to come off, and pedestrianism as an institution was an accomplished fact. In 1850 'the major portion of the sporting population of Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, and the other great towns' turned out to see 'Tommy' Hayes beat 'Johnny' Tetlow, over four miles on the Aintree racecourse; and in 1852, when George Frost (the Suffolk Stag) won the championship belt at the old Copenhagen Grounds by a ten miles race, lithographs of the contest were published and sold by the thousand.

Such was the popularity of pedestrianism at this period that it is hardly to be wondered that it should have aided other causes in setting the amateur movement going.

The 'Volunteer movement' is usually put forward as the explanation of the outburst of athletic spirit throughout the kingdom about this period. The more probable, and perhaps more philosophical explanation, of the impulse which undoubtedly began in the towns is that it was the natural product of the over-pressure of modern commercial and professional life. Hours of work being long, there comes a craving amongst adults for violent exercise, and that craving has led to the popularity of various athletic games, which are now so universally practised. Whatever may be the cause, however, of the 'athletic movement,' there can be little doubt that the first amateur athletic sports were suggested by the performance of professional 'peds,' and that whenever there was an unusual galaxy of pedestrian ability the amateurs began to imitate them. We have seen that, between 1845 and 1852, there was great public interest shown in pedestrianism, and it is accordingly not surprising to find that the first regular athletic meetings begin to be heard of about this time. In 1849 there was a regular organised athletic meeting at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, which was continued till 1853, when it was abandoned.

In 1850 Exeter College, Oxford, started a meeting, which has been continued annually down to the present day. The following account of the first of these, which has been sent to us by one of the competitors himself, can hardly fail to be interesting to modern athletes; and the programme, which is probably the sole extant specimen, is in itself interesting enough to justify its reproduction in these pages.

'Exeter College, Oxford, was one of the first institutions to start an athletic gathering, and it may not be uninteresting to give a narrative, collected mainly from the recollection of eyewitnesses, of the first set of sports ever held there, and of the gentlemen who were the originators and first performers.

'The year was 1850. It was the evening after the College Steeplechase (vulgarly called the "College Grind "). Some four or five congenial spirits, as their manner was, were sipping their wine after "hall" in the "rooms" of one, R. F. Bowles (brother to John Bowles, the well-known coursing squire, of Milton Hill). Besides the host there were James Aitken, Geo. Russell, Marcus Southwell, and Halifax Wyatt. The topic was the event of the day, and the unsatisfactory process of 'negotiating' a country on Oxford hacks. "Sooner than ride such a brute again," said Wyatt, whose horse had landed into a road on his head instead of his legs, "I'd run across two miles of country on foot." "Well, why not?" said the others; "let's have a College foot grind," and so it was agreed.

'Bowles, who always had a sneaking love for racing - born and bred as he was near the training grounds on the Berkshire Downs - suggested a race or two on the flat as well. Again the party agreed. The conditions were drawn up, stakes named, officials appointed, and the first meeting lor "Athletic Sports" inaugurated.

' On the first afternoon there was to be a "chase," two miles across country, 24 jumps, 1l. entry, 10s. forfeit; and on a subsequent afternoon, a quarter of a mile on the flat, 300 yards, 100 yards, 140 yards over 10 flights of hurdles 10 yards apart, one mile, and some other stakes for "beaten horses," open to members of Exeter College only. The stewards of the "Exeter Autumn Meeting" were R. F. Bowles and John Broughton; Secretary, H. C. Glanville; Clerk of the course, E. Ranken; and a well-known sporting tradesman in Oxford, Mr. Randall, was asked to be Judge. Mr. Randall is still alive, and though over 80 years of age, is a regular attendant at Henley, Putney, or Lord's, whenever there is a University contest.

'Notice of the meeting, with a list of the stakes, was posted in the usual place - a black board in the porter's lodge. Plenty of entries were made, in no stake less than 10: for the steeplechase there were 24 who started.

'Among the competitors were Jas. Aitken, J. Scott, Geo. Russell, Jno. Broughton, R. F. Bowles, D. Giles, H. J. Cheales, H. Wyatt, Jas. Woodhouse, C. J. Parker, P. Wilson, M. Southwell, PI. C. Glanville, H. Collins, E. Knight, and some nine others.

'The betting was - 2 to 1 v. Aitken, 2 to 1 v. Cheales, 8 to 1 v. Giles, 9 to 1 v Wyatt, 10 to 1 v. Parker, 10 to 1 v. Scott, 12 to 1v Broughton, 15 to 1 v. Woodhouse.

'The course chosen was on a flat marshy farm at Binsey, near the Seven Bridge Road: it was very wet, some fields "swimming" in water, the brooks bank high, and a soft take-off, which meant certain immersion for most, if not all, the competitors. Twenty-four went to the post, not 24 hard-conditioned athletes in running "toggery," but 24 strong active youngsters in cricket shoes and flannels, some in fair condition, some very much the reverse, but all determined to "do or die." Plenty of folk, on horse and foot, came to see this novelty (for in Modern, as in Ancient Athens, men were always on the look out for "some new thing"), and in this instance, judging from the excitement, and the encouragement given to the competitors, the novelty was much appreciated.