184 ashgill; or, the life 



immense service in those contemptible cases where 

 owners of horses like to mystify bookmakers and the 

 public. If an owner, either in joropria persona or by 

 deputy, was ' halting between two opinions ' — either to 

 back his horse to win or to milk him with a view to 

 scratching or losing — ' Stevey ' would very soon show 

 him the way and lead him a pretty dance. His conduct 

 in these cases was not only unique, but admirable and 

 enviable. 



" We have many times known him stand to lose 

 several thousands of pounds which, in the course of 

 a few seconds, he has seemingly thrown into the ocean 

 in his determination to unravel such mysteries. For 

 instance, if he thought there was any hanky-panky work 

 going on, he would begin by offering to lay the owner 

 (or his deputy) ten monkeys or ten thousand against his 

 horse, and the next moment offer to take six or seven 

 monkeys or thousands, and ' carry on ' with his taunts 

 and his offers till the poor owner became so bewildered 

 he could no longer keep the secret to himself, but had 

 to let the cat out of the bag. Then Stephenson would 

 deal hberally with him, and, if he wanted to back the 

 horse, lay a good price, and risk the chance of getting 

 it back or winning anything for himself. The extent 

 of his speculation was enormous, and his payments' 

 always prompt and punctual ; in short, he is a loss, and 

 we ' ne'er shall look upon his like again.' 



" Some of the penny scribblers who knew nothing of 

 the facts of the case, and did not care to take the 

 trouble to make inquiries, have attributed his suicide 

 mainly to the fact that he ' had a bad Derby book.' Now 

 the fact is that he had not a bad Derby book; on the 

 contrary, he had a pretty good one. He had ' got round ' 

 as nearly as possible, without having laid against several 



