Lovers of the Horse 15 



In the good old (hivs of the Great Western and Northern Railways, when Brydges 

 and Cnmberhmd were the respective chiefs of those roads, many were tlie Enghsliinen 

 wlio secnred appointments tlirough his aid. And so it was to the end. Sounrl, nseful 

 advice and level-h('a(k'd counsel were always to be had from Toronto's Postmaster 

 of that day for the asking. Thirty-five years ago the writer of this was chief proof- 

 reader on the then recently established Mail. A year or two afterwards an ex-member 

 of one of the learned professions was a member of the proofreading staff. His habits 

 were "a bit off,'" and a bottle of supposeil tea undoubtedly contained something tiiat 

 inebriated as well as cheered. 'J'owards midnight this gentleman was frequently in a 

 condition for sleej). It became a ((uestion of discharging him, and Mr. Patteson 

 walked with the writer from the Mail office, whi<-h was the old Metropolitan Hotel 

 transformed, to the postoffice and back, discussing the matter. That the place could 

 not be made a refuge for incurables was certain, "but," said the managing director, 

 "you'll have to tell him I can't." And that fjiirly represented the kindly disjjosi- 

 tion of the man. 



It was not only by the seekers after employment that Mr. Patteson's sage counsel 

 was in demand. Newspapermen, masters of hunts, promoters of various enterprises, 

 were accustomed to take advantage of his wide experience and extensive knowledge. 

 He was heard to sav once: "If I charged for consultation the customary legal fee, my 

 official salary would be trel)le(l." And that was an tmdoul)ted fact. It was his willing- 

 ness to help that led the late "Deacon" or Joseph Duggan to go to ^Nlr. Patteson to see 

 if something could not be done towards the improved utilization of his Woodbine 

 property, and the ]>lacing of racing on a better footing jiiid a higher plane. Mr. Pat- 

 teson, with no thought of the valuable service he was gratuitously rendering, at once 

 .set to work to interest sundry prominent men. Having secured a ])romi.se of their co- 

 operation, he called a meeting at the Queen's Hotel, over which the late Sir Casimir 

 Gzowski presided, and sub.scribed $.500 towards the sought-for capital of $10,000. 

 signing the stock book with the remark. "There, that's all 1 expect you want of me," 

 and then surrendering the chair. However, Sir Casimir's interest cojitinued. and, 

 under his auspices and those of Colonel Cumberland, William Hendrie, Dr. Andrew 

 Smith, William Christie, Robert Davies, the Meads, J. H. and C. T , E. King Dodds, 

 and other men of the time, the ( )ntario Jockey Chd) came into existence and set out on 

 a somewhat checkered path, but still one that from its commencement has had but a 

 single ol)ject — the elevation of racing and the corresponding develojmient of the 

 thoroughbred. 



Flood, frost and r.iin phiycd plentiful ])arts in the e;irly years of theO.J.C. in ])re- 

 venting unalloyed success, but Mr. Patteson and his asscjciates persevered, with praise- 

 worthy devotion and self-sacrifice. One lucky day the I'ostmaster secured the pi-omise 

 of Governor-General Lord I,orne and the (Queen's daughter to attend the May meeting. 

 Racing prospects in Toronto then and there received the stamp of social success which 

 has never since left it. With wise management, the club from tlwit time has gone on 

 an<l on, until to-day, despite the puritans who \\;\\v sini|)ly brought chaos where order 



