380 THE POST AND THE PADDOCK. 



quotations in hand, on the Thursday of the Derby 

 week. It has nevertheless (1856) fallen into the 

 fashion at last, and keeps its own prophet " Meteor," 

 who, after having special attention called by adver- 

 tisement to his auguries, succeeded in prophesying 

 the twenty-third horse as the winner ! Punch once 

 made a Derby prophecy, and went for Newcourt, on 

 the ground that no other prophet had even mentioned 

 him. Grave weeklies occasionally undertake to com- 

 ment ironically on the turf and its doings ; but owing 

 to the writers 5 spirited but impotent efforts to deal 

 with racing terms, the articles are barely English. 

 One had a long one on the St. Leger of 1854, in 

 which it made Ivan the winner ; and another disposed 

 of the Goodwood Meeting by simply saying that it 

 " came off on Tuesday ; Quince was the leading 

 horse, winning easily by a length." Shoe Lane has 

 given up her sporting oracle " Bunbury," who had a 

 mania for " time-handicaps/' and regularly repub- 

 ,ished the great handicaps corrected on that scale ! 

 " Yates " has been long on the Morning Advertiser ; 

 The Globe has "^Esop"; The Sun, " A Fresh Man ;" 

 the Daily Telegraph commenced by announcing the 

 prophecies of " Hercules" ; and the Racing Times 

 has had great success with "Priam." After all, 

 there is nothing richer than the style in which the 

 minor prophets were wont to gloss over their mis- 

 takes. Speaking of the Derby of 1854, in which they 

 came nearer the mark than usual, one said 



" There are no IFS, or SHOULDS, or COULDS, or DOUBTS in our 

 prophecy. THE MOUSE boldly said 1, Andorcr ! 2, Wild Hunts- 

 man ! ! 3, Dervish ! ! ! What is the result ? Andover is FIRST ! 

 At Tattenham Corner Wild Huntsman led, followed by Dervish, the 

 latter even now claiming the fourth place." 



And again 



" We must congratulate our readers on the fulfilment of THE 

 MOUSE'S PROPHECY for the OAKS. He gave OMOO first, ME- 

 TEORA second. OMOO did not run, but METEORA came in second ; 

 while, owing to the weather possibly, Mincemeat, an outsider, won." 



