AND TIMES OF JOHN OSBORNE 373 



£400, from that to £600, until Harry's eyes almost 

 started out of his head when John put £1000 on the 

 colt in the following spring before he had run as a 

 two-year-old. Thus, after twelve months' " naggling," 

 Harry got Quartus for the £1000, receiving £25 out 

 of the thousand as a douceur. Now, John was well 

 satisfied with what he considered a good price for 

 Quartus. But the wily old tenant of Spigot Lodge 

 held the trump card all through the deal. At that 

 period old Harry was, in a way, connected with 

 " Squire " Abington and had a sort of roving commission 

 to buy good horses. No doubt Quartus had been well 

 tried by Hall, as, indeed, he told us himself three days 

 before he ended his career at Spigot Lodge; nor did 

 the old man fail to let the wealthy squire know all 

 about him. The result was that within a few weeks of 

 giving John Osborne the £1000, " Squire " Abington 

 became the owner of Quartus for five times that amount. 

 A smart deal on the part of Harry, who used to gloat in 

 telling the story of how he had done " Master John " 

 in the matter. Quartus turned out a failure for " The 

 Squire," who soon got tired of him and parted with him 

 for a nominal sum, the horse coming back to Harr}^ Hall 

 again and doing stud duty at Middleham. 



Only on two occasions was it known of John Osborne 

 to so lose his temper as to raise his whip against an 

 offender. The first was at Manchester, as far back as 

 the later " fifties," when one of the jockeys in the race 

 attempted to pitch him over the rails. On coming back 

 to the paddock the offender received some whacks from 

 John's whip, which would teach him a lesson, let it be 

 hoped, to behave himself in good company for the future. 

 The second instance in which he raised his hand was at 

 Musselburgh some years later. He was riding a warm 



