150 THE GOODWOOD STABLE IN 1844. 



panied him an expression of their opinion as to the 

 merits of the horses which they inspected. If, as 

 sometimes, but not often, happened, their guesses 

 were correct, he never failed to reward them by 

 putting the successful guessers on some small sum 

 " to nothing," in case the horse of their choice 

 should win an engagement. So extensive, how- 

 ever, was the Goodwood establishment, between 

 1841 and 1846, that it would have puzzled not 

 only ladies, but also some of the keenest male 

 judges of racing in England, to make a selection 

 among the horses in the stable, or to read his 

 Lordship's intentions aright. One of his most 

 marked characteristics was, that he was always 

 ready to make matches. At and about that time 

 it was most unusual for a large party of noblemen 

 and gentlemen who owned race-horses, to sit down 

 to dinner without matches of all kinds being pro- 

 posed before the party broke up. It was his Lord- 

 ship's custom to note down the weights at which 

 the horses of his friends were pitted against each 

 other ; and when a match was proposed to him, 

 he rarely agreed to it until he had sent for me, 

 and consulted me upon it. If I thought that his 

 horse would win, he would go back and make the 

 match ; and his first question when I met him next 

 morning would invariably be, " How much of the 

 match money will you stand, John ? " It was his 

 express wish that I should have a money interest 

 in every match made by him under these circum- 



