DRESSING AN AUSTRALIAN 



seen such extraordinary clothes as this young Aus- 

 trahan wore. He had a top hat which must have 

 belonged to Noah's nephew, a blue frock-coat which 

 did not extend half way to his knees, a fancy waist- 

 coat with little roses and forget-me-nots on it, and 

 a pair of trousers of light shepherd's plaid, which 

 fitted him like tights. He was, indeed, a freak to 

 look at. 



" My God ! " exclaimed his uncle, " go and put on 

 that blue suit of clothes you had on yesterday. If 

 you want to go about in town clothes get our young 

 friend here to take you to his tailor." 



The Australian took it very good-humouredly, and 

 went off to make the required change. 



" You be a good fellow," his uncle said to me ; " take 

 him off and dress him as if he belonged to the seventies, 

 not to the early fifties; besides, damn it all, neither 

 your father nor I ever dressed like that even in the 

 fifties. And buy him a straw hat this afternoon. 

 Even the servants laugh at him." 



The whole of that afternoon and evening the fact 

 that I had backed Sefton to lose nine pounds could 

 not be got out of my head. I bought every edition of 

 the evening papers, and next morning everything was 

 searched to get a little comfort over the bet. Of course 

 there was only one way of going to the Derby in those 

 days if one did not take a real carriage, that was by 

 hansom. Green veils on the tall white hat with the 

 usual little wooden doll stuck in front, and armed with 

 a pea-shooter and a pocket of peas, that was the real 

 sportsman's fit-out for the road, and we set off gaily. 

 Sefton had previously won the City and Suburban, and 

 was ridden in the Derby by Harry Constable. I began 

 to shout him home from the distance, and the result 

 was never in doubt. The handsome Insulaire was 



