My First Steeple-chaser, 109 



about ten miles from the town, a capital rider, had hgured in one 

 or two previous steeple-chases on this course, but never in a crack 

 one, and had come down to Bideford on this occasion expressly on 

 the off chance of getting a mount. 



He gave the old horse a rattling spin for half a mile on the race- 

 course in the afternoon, and his remark of "he'll do," as he got off 

 him, satisfied me that there was no mistake about our new jockey. 

 The jolly butcher himself was bursting with importance. Such a 

 strange thing to happen in his little back parlour j it seemed just as 

 if it was to be ! And although we all agreed to keep the thing as 

 dark as possible till next morning, he could not help confiding the 

 secret to a few friends, and when I went into the long room at the 

 Woolpack in the evening, I heard "What'll any one lay a^ira 

 jFfarcules ?" and observed two or three men quietly booking the 

 long odds against the old horse, who could hardly be said to have 

 come into the betting. The Vet. and myself walked over part of 

 the steeple-chase course that afternoon j there was not a fence in it 

 to compare with Findon, but as the country was pretty heavy, we 

 fancied it would suit our old horse, whose forte was in deep ground j 

 but then the same remark would apply to some other of the cracks, 

 especially "old Peter," who was a familiar acquaintance, and we 

 were far from confident about the result of the race. We got beds 

 at the civil butcher's, and, as all anxiety was now off my mind, I 

 slept well that night. 



About eight next morning we sat down to certainly the most 

 substantial breakfast I ever saw. Of course the chops and kidneys 

 were perfection — we were in the right shop for them ; but I cer- 

 tainly never expected to taste such ale — for we all fancied the 

 Findon tap was not to be equalled in England. All were in high 

 spirits. Jem had tried on the blue-and-white jacket and cap, and 

 liked the colours. The Vet. had been about the horse ever since 

 five, and his broad, good-humoured Yorkshire face beamed with 

 dehght as he entered the little room and saw a breakfast laid out, to 

 which he was quite prepared to do ample justice. The jolly butcher 

 and myself had become very friendly. He was a little bit of 



