CARDSELLERS, TOUTS, AND AUGURS. 187 



his great hero the Flying Dutchman advanced to the 

 enclosure, as the saddling bell rang for the Doncaster 

 Cup, Jemmy walked before him, clearing the way, 

 and announcing in the most oracular tones the im- 

 pending downfall ofVoltigeur; the odds being, as he 

 remarked, "just a horse to a hen." Again, when 

 we stepped up to the Dringhouse stables to see him 

 brought out for his match, there was Jemmy refresh- 

 ing himself with beer and pudding at the bar, and 

 watching eagerly out of a little window for the signal 

 of departure for the course. 



" Sailor Jack" is another curiosity, with his alarm- 

 ing squint, and his utter disinclination to undergo 

 the slightest examination on nautical subjects. Jack 

 was sadly chaffed by his customers last year for not 

 joining the Baltic fleet ; but he bore it with wonder- 

 full complacency, and will doff" his naval garb for no 

 one. He has very little humour about him generally, 

 but is one of the maddest wags in existence when he 

 is " half seas over," which, owing to the exhorta- 

 tions of a teetotal friend, is now said to be only of 

 rare occurrence. " Lord Castlereagh " is also an 

 oddity ; and it is recorded of him that he had such 

 a favourite companion of his travels, in the shape of 

 a little French dog, that he has over and over again 

 been seen to cook beef-steaks for it, and dine off dry 

 bread himself. 



The profits of this strange crew are very various, 

 and the prices of cards equally so ; but on this head 

 it is hardly fair to them to say more, except that 

 Ascot is their great carnival, and Jerry has been 

 known to make as much as 20 clear on a Cup day. 



The number of cards bought by the "crowded 

 profession," at Doncaster, is very various. Some 

 contrive to dispose of two dozen, while others can 

 get through fifteen dozen. This latter number is 

 the maximum on a " great day," and six dozen the 

 average. It is a saying amongst them, that "it's all 



