CHAPTER II 



FIRST REAL TOUCH 



Sefton'8 Derby— The Chance Call— Freak Clothes— The Road to 

 Epsom — Pea-shooter and Porter — The Win pouched — Jem Robin- 

 son — " Know- Alls " — Those who amused us 



There was certainly a little time between the earliest 

 experience on a race-course and Sefton's Derby — by 

 the way, the first I ever saw and the winner of which I 

 backed. It was not the first Derby by any means that 

 I had a bet on, for many years before, when at school 

 in Edinburgh, I received a very nice reminder with the 

 tawse that there were other things to think of at 

 school than sending out buying the Sporting Life 

 and dropping a few shillings in a Rose Street sporting 

 tobacconist's ; that was the usual method. I used 

 to talk quite glibly as to the chances of the horses en- 

 gaged ; in fact, the Derby had been a topic of conversa- 

 tion with my elder brother ever since he showed me a 

 wonderful coloured tie he had bought in the hope that 

 wearing it to the Derby would help Lord Lyon to get 

 home. I know he gave me half-a-crown afterwards. 

 But I was talking of Sefton's Derby ; I was quite 

 young, but having credit at a very smart tailor's I 

 thought my six feet of robust youth could be well 

 garbed in a grey frock-coat suit (eleven guineas a 

 time) ; at all events, I looked the goods and very 

 affluent when I went to call on a young Australian 

 who had come over with a letter of introduction from 

 my brother in Sydney. It was a very good address, 

 and I had to stay because he would not be in for about 



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