Cardsellers, Touts, and Aiigurs. 177 



writing a little poetry, and he was propped up in 

 bed his very last afternoon to indite a Farewell to all 

 his sporting friends ; but the pen dropped from his 

 hand when he was half through the thirtieth line. 

 Among racers, Beeswing and Crucifix were his idols ; 

 and he must have written many yards of "copy" 

 about this brace alone. 



Card-selling was not the flourishing trade twenty 

 years ago which it has since become, and was con- 

 fined to a few at each place. The railways have, as it 

 were, thrown open the trade, and from 800 to 600 live 

 by it almost entirely during eight or nine months of 

 the year. Of these about 400 confine themselves to 

 certain race circuits in the north, while the remaining 

 200 or 300 follow the races, week after week, with 

 quite as much regularity as the members of the ring. 

 In point of sex, the profession is about equally di- 

 vided ; several of them are married, and a most re- 

 markable " elopement in married life" once came off 

 in their circle at Hampton Races. Since the cele- 

 brated " Jerry" died,* they have owned no head 

 among the men ; but " Fair Helen," who once kept 

 an eating-house at Derby, was their Queen ; and 

 a handsome dame she was too, with her fine black 

 hair. Her predecessor was " Big Ann," who reigned 

 next in succession to " Sally Birch." Sally died at 

 Chester Races some years ago ; and her late subjects 

 were so loyal, that they not only subscribed three- 

 pences and sixpences to buy her a coffin and shroud, 

 but they stayed a day longer in the town, in order to 

 attend her funeral. In point of humour, nothing has 

 ever yet approached " Jerry ;" and he was equally at 

 home, whether dressed as a Broadway dandy with a 

 huge straw hat, or enacting the captain in a red coat, 

 a spy-glass, and a beaver " cock and pinch." On the 



* Many of the others mentioned in this chapter have died or dis- 

 appeared from the Turf. 



N 



