The Betting Ring. 59 



lowed that speculation is a normal vice in man, and 

 that the world, with its usual unfairness, will persist in 

 frowning on it when it is applied to horses and dogs, 

 and smiles complacently when it views it in connexion 

 with " bulls" and " bears." The very men who gamble 

 without scruple in time bargains and lives, would 

 think their credit as fathers of families compromised 

 if they were known to bet on a horse-race. Still, 

 while we point out this inconsistency, and believe that 

 the turf would sicken and droop without betting, as 

 completely as commerce and business without specu- 

 lation, we cannot but deeply deplore that men with 

 ample means will not consider such a noble sport 

 quite amusement enough of itself, without the extra 

 stimulant of "the jingle of the guinea." We do so 

 more especially, because, as long as those who ought 

 to be considered its leaders will make a business of 

 the odds, instead of occasionally backing their fancy, 

 it is impossible that they can exercise that healthy in- 

 fluence which the turf so much requires to raise its 

 tone, or speak with any real weight in a crisis. Look- 

 ing at the system of betting generally, not five men in 

 twenty can afford to lose, and certainly not one in 

 twenty afford to win. This may seem a paradox ; 

 but few men, unless they have a very large fortune 

 indeed, can take betting quietly. It can't be done. A 

 young man drawing his first winnings is like a tiger 

 tasting his first blood ; he seldom stops again till he 

 is brought to a dead-lock as a defaulter : the finer the 

 fleece, the more the rooks (who began their career as 

 pigeons) come about him ; his visits are extended 

 from a few afternoons to weeks after weeks of race- 

 meetings, and the mind becomes untuned for every- 

 thing else. The Legislature knew this when they 

 stepped in and smashed the deposit system in the list 

 houses. It may be a very Arcadian notion, but still 

 we hold that, to really enjoy sport, a man should 

 never go on to a race-course more than thirteen or 



