46 TALES OF THE TURF AND THE CHASE. 



and criticised in the taproom of the George. A certain big 

 raking chestnut was generally thought to hold the race safe. 

 Mister Miller listened with ill-disguised contempt to the recital 

 of the chestnut's performances and points. At last one of the 

 supporters of the chestnut said : 



' What are yer sniggerin' and sneerin' at there, Bob Miller ? 

 I s'pose yer don't think that little pony o' yourn would have a 

 look in with him for the cup, do yer ? Pity there ain't a pony 

 race, though ; happen yer might run into a place in such com- 

 pany.' 



' Pony be d — d !' exclaimed Mister Miller furiously ; ' the mare 

 stands 14-2, and she'd make an exhibition of that chestnut over 

 that 'ere mile course !' 



' Why don't yer enter her, then ? Afraid o' the parson, eh ?' 

 said his jeering friend. 



' I'm afeard o' no man living, and no man has a word to say 

 as to what I will or what I won't do with my horses,' replied 

 Mister Miller, with a sublime mixture of audacity and dignity in 

 his tone ; adding, ' If I wanted to enter the mare, I'd do it.' 



Then some laughed and others sneered, and all dared him to 

 enter the mare ; till at last, the liquor getting the better of him, 

 Miller swore he zvotild enter the mare. It was Sergeant Wicketts 

 that clinched the matter by whispering to him, 



' Enter her in your own name, man ; the governor will never 

 know. Bless ye, he never reads about the races.' 



The end of it was that the next day the mare was entered for 

 the race. She was in rare fettle — couldn't have looked better if 

 she had been in strict training. Mister Miller was rather nervous 

 as to the consequences of his escapade, should it reach the ears 

 of his master ; but he and the sergeant thought they saw their 

 way to a good thing, and so ' piled their bottom dollar' on the 

 mare. The eventful day came, and there was a good deal of 

 joking among the crowd about 'the parson's jockey' and 'the 

 parson's crack ;' but Mister Miller saw nobody there who was 

 likely to tell his master, and his spirits rose accordingly. I will 

 not dwell upon the race — let it suffice to say that the mare, 

 ridden with great judgment and skill, won by a length, and 

 Mister Miller became the proud possessor of the cup, besides 

 ' pulKng ■ off' a good round sum in bets. And now for the 

 sequel. 



The Reverend Dr. Grosesmith was in blissful unconscious- 

 ness of this sporting incident, and of his own connection with it, 



