BIOGRAPHIES IN A NUTSHELL 177 



Virginia, not far from Charlottesville, a country 

 which he considered wonderfully well adapted for 

 breeding blood stock. 



" The Druid " was only permanently engaged on 

 the staff of four papers, viz. the Doncaster Gazette, 

 Bell's Life, the Mark Lane Express, and the Sporting 

 Life, though he was a regular contributor to many 

 others, notably the Sporting Magazine and the Daily 

 News. Yet, in spite of his numerous contributions 

 to sporting literature, his income never averaged 

 more than ;^6oo per annum. No writer could have 

 performed his work more conscientiously. So deli- 

 cate was his sense of honour that when he went 

 down to a stud farm to describe a yearling sale he 

 would not even accept luncheon from the owner of 

 the place, lest he might be suspected of being biassed. 

 He made Mr. Rarey's fortune, but when the latter 

 made a complimentary present to Mrs. Dixon he 

 indignantly demanded her to return it. As a rule, 

 he never betted. His knowledge of the Turf was 

 gained by an occasional stroll on to a racecourse on 

 a crack afternoon, through the boxes at Tattersall's, 

 or among the paddocks of a stud farm. Yet in 

 regard to accuracy his descriptions have never been 

 surpassed. But it was in regard to endurance of 

 hardships, exposure to weather, scanty fare, and 

 personal discomfort, and a courage which never 

 flinched when suffering from painful sickness and 

 exhausting disease, that he stands out pre-eminent. 

 When it is remembered that he rode on horseback 



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