RACING 



Minster five miles from Margate] by the gentlemen of the turf, 

 to ride a racer for the silver cup, as I am thought to be the best 

 horseman here. I went there and was weighed and afterwards 

 dressed in the tight-striped jacket and jockey's cap, and lifted 

 on the horse, led to the start, placed in the rank and file ; three 

 parts of the people laid great bets that I should win the cup, 

 etc. Then the drums beat and we started : 'twas a four-mile 

 heat, and the first three miles I could not keep the horse behind 

 them, being so spirited an animal : by that means he soon 

 exhausted himself, and I soon had the mortification to see them 

 come galloping past me, hissing and laughing, whilst I was 

 spurring his guts out. A mob of horsemen then gathered 

 round, telling me I could not ride, which is always the way if 

 you lose the heat : they began at last to use their whips, and 

 finding I could not get away, I directly pulled off my jacket, 

 laid hold of the bridle, and offered battle to the man who began 

 first, though he was big enough to eat me : several gentlemen 

 rode in, and all the mob turned over to me, and I was led away 

 in triumph with shouts. But, however, I did not fare near so 

 well at Margate races, and was very near being killed ; I rode 

 for a gentleman and won the heat so completely, that when I 

 came into the winning post the other horses were near half 

 a mile behind me, upon which near four hundred sailors, 

 smugglers, fishermen, etc., set upon me with sticks, stones, 

 waggoners' whips, fists, etc., and one man, an innkeeper here, 

 took me by the thigh and pulled me off the horse : I could not 

 defend myself : the sounds I heard all were, " Kill him ! " 

 " Strip him ! " " Throw him in the sea ! " " Cut off his 

 large tail ! " and a hundred other sentences rather worse than 

 the first. I got from them once, and ran into the booth ; 

 Michiner rode in to me, dismounted and took me up in his arms, 

 half beat to pieces, kept crying to the mob to keep back, and 

 that his name was Michiner and he would notice them : at 

 last, a party of light horsemen and several gentlemen and their 

 servants, some post-boys, hairdressers, bakers, and several 



other people I knew armed themselves with sticks, etc., and 



p 113 



