220 " MY KINGDOM FOR A HORSE ! " 



fancy was somewhat prejudiced and not good enough 

 to risk another man's money on, so after careful delibera- 

 tion I sent the money across to George Crook, at Boulogne, 

 with instructions that 200 of it was to go on Claremont 

 i, 2, 3 for the Derby and 300 on Lord Falmouth's pair 

 for the Oaks, leaving it to him to do the best he could. 



Sir Charles Dodsworth had returned to Yorkshire the 

 morning after leaving the money with me. 



George Crook executed the commission admirably, 

 and both bets came off all right. Claremont was second 

 for the Derby and Lord Falmouth's pair, Spinaway and 

 Lady Love, were first and second for the Oaks. What the 

 total return for these bets was I do not remember, but it 

 was a very large sum : and my own two small bets were 

 both lost. 



Sir Charles Dodsworth came up to town forthwith on 

 hearing the good news, and asked me to go with him to 

 Tattersalls and help to buy hunters. Between us we 

 picked some of the best, and he bought I think four, 

 as good as a man could wish to own. His next whim 

 was that we should ride these horses in the Row to see 

 how they went. 



I had gone with him thus far, but there I drew the line, 

 for to ride strange horses in the Row, to the possible 

 danger of other people, was a tall order indeed, and it was 

 somewhere about the time when The Galloping Snob of 

 Rotten Row was a song which found much vogue. More- 

 over, I talked to him with newly found prudence and 

 earnestly exhorted him never again to dream of betting 

 in such a rash and ridiculous manner. I pointed out, too 

 as I remember well that he had placed me in an unfair 

 position, for had I lost the money, as might well have 

 happened, some of his friends would have been sure to 

 think I had stuck to it. He declared he had no friends 

 who would dare to think that. But the upshot of it all 

 was that he let well alone, and I don't think he ever made 

 another bet. He certainly never asked me to make 

 another for him. 



