178 ASHGILL; OR, THE LIFE 



fortune, sufficient, indeed, to provide handsomely for 

 his widow and children. Long before Ellington's career 

 he was known as a famous speculator, but when Aldcroft 

 sent the " Admiral's " outsider home a winner in 1856, 

 his position was confirmed, and from that time forth he 

 was regarded as one of the magnates of the Turf. 



Saunterer's Goodwood Cup was a tremendous betting 

 race. Mr. John Corlett, in giving some reminiscences 

 of the late Marquis of Queensberry, who died on 

 31st January, 1900, thus refers to it 



" The last time I saw the Marquis of Queensberry 

 he told me that he considered that the finest sport in 

 the world was steeplechase riding, and next to that he 

 got most fun nowadays out of his bicycle, which he 

 infinitely preferred to ordinary horse exercise. He was 

 a 'bold steeplechase rider, and, like his father, there 

 was no sport of any description he was not good at. He 

 succeeded his father at the age of fourteen, whilst still a 

 midshipman in the Royal Navy, after the extraordinary 

 gun accident that followed on the Saunterer disaster 

 at Goodwood, in which he was killed. The earlier 

 Marquis of Queensberry was one of those men who took 

 v fancies ' for or against a horse, and thus was often led 

 into making what is called a ' one-horse ' book. This 

 game may be carried on with profit and impunity for 

 years, but the crash is sure to come at last. I have 

 known men whose only visible means of existence was 

 the Derby. They would ' pot ' one of the favourites, 

 and the chance was always, of course, against the 

 backer. The Derby victory of Thormanby knocked out 

 a whole row of this class of speculators. Lord 

 Queensberry got it into his head that Saunterer was a 

 mere miler, and could not stay the Goodwood Cup 



