74 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER 



' Still later, indeed (the parties were alive in 

 1870 — the one no other than Mr. Wilson, the oldest 

 member of the Jockey Club ; and the other a noble 

 duke, then a noble viscount), a very fair advantage 

 was taken of a report circulated by means of one 

 of these watchers, vulgarly called "touters." Mr. 

 Wilson was about to try a two-year-old colt, and 

 had entered his trial for the morrow. " We must not 

 try to-morrow, sir," said his trainer. " Why not ? " 

 inquired Mr. Wilson. " We shall be watched, sir," 

 replied the trainer; "and the old horse's (i.e. the 

 trial horse) white fore-leg will be sure to let out the 

 cat." "Leave that to me," said Mr. Wilson; "I 

 shall be at the stables before you get out with the 

 horses." And, coming prepared with materials for 

 the purpose, he painted the white fore -leg of the old 

 horse black, and the fellow one of the colt white ; 

 and so they went to the ground. The old one, as 

 may be supposed, ran fastest aud longest ; but, being 

 mistaken by the touter for the young one, his fame 

 soon spread abroad, and he was sold the next day to 

 the noble viscount for fifteen hundred guineas, being 

 somewhere about eleven hundred more than he was 

 worth.' 



Even when horses are 'run on the square' — 

 when the animal, his rider, and his owner all act in 

 a fair and straightforward way — the speculator on 

 the event must not be too certain that the horse of 

 his selection will win the great event; but when 



