34 The Post and the Paddock. 



that a more decided style of riding seemed to have 

 flashed on him all at once. In point of judgment and 

 knowledge of pace, there was little to choose between 

 them ; but while the one was more powerful, the other 

 was more elegant in his manner of finishing, and did 

 not sit so much back in his set-to. Sam's mode of 

 drawing his horse together, and then bringing it with 

 his unique and tremendous rush of nearly half a length 

 in the last three or four strides, was a picturesque 

 contrast to the exquisitely neat "short head," by 

 which Robinson used to nail his opponents on the 

 post, and send Will Arnull especially growling back 

 to scale with a maledictory " Done me again, Jim, by 

 a head!' In the one case you saw the whole, and 

 wondered at the fearful concentration of man and 

 horse power with which the deed was done ; in the 

 other, you wondered how it could be done so instan- 

 taneously that you hardly saw it. Poor little Pavis 

 used often to tell about a match which he rode with 

 Sam, and had his orders " never to leave him." Ac- 

 cordingly away they cantered, Pavis lying about a 

 length in front, and Sam lobbing behind. When they 

 had got about two hundred yards, Sam slowly ejacu- 

 lated, " W ell, young-un,arn't you going to make running? 

 Better take a cigar at once'.' Pavis took no heed, but 

 cantered on till about a hundred yards from the chair, 

 when he took his mare by the head, and dug the 

 spurs into her. " There was Clark's box close at hand, 

 and I thought I'd slipped him;' he used to add. " No, 

 no / might as well try to slip Old Nick : he was at my 

 neck like a flash of lightning before I had got two 

 strides ; my mare swerved and cannoned him, but he 

 pulled his horse straight, and just beat me a head on the 

 post. They tried to make out he had crossed me, but I 

 wouldn't have it, and stuck to it he had fairly outridden 

 me he's a rum-un to ride against, is Sam'' To see 

 Sam and Robinson eyeing each other's horses before 

 a great race or match, and to hear their dry, quaint 



