AT LARGE 15 



who have never had a bet in their lives. They 

 like to know^ vs^hat, for instance, is the expert's 

 opinion as to the chances of his Majesty's horses 

 entered for the Derby ; or in v^hat estimation other 

 animals belonging to friends, or to notable person- 

 ages, are held. Betting is not illegal, and it is too 

 eccentric an idea to pretend that the publication 

 of the fact that bets have been made can properly 

 be regarded as an illegality. Even supposing that 

 the state of the odds could be excluded from the 

 newspapers, anyone who wished for information 

 about "the market" would know where to obtain 

 it — only the chances are that the odds would vary 

 more, and probably be less fair ; which, however, 

 would be a matter between the layers and takers 

 of them. Incidentally it may be observed that 

 there is the less reason why these good people 

 should trouble themselves, because the ante-post 

 betting diminishes greatly from year to year; there 

 are fewer races on which people bet in advance, 

 and the volume of the wagering so decreases that 

 nowadays a comparatively small bet revolutionises 

 the market. As to opening letters to see if there 

 is anything about betting in them, surely the 

 public would never stand such an outrage on the 

 privacy of correspondence ; though the inquisitive 

 local postmistress and her young lady assistants 



