TOUTING BURLESQUED 245 



was bound to impute motives — "John Porter was 

 annoyed because the newspapers had forestalled 

 him with the information respecting the horse." 

 Then came the crushing question : "I, as a public 

 backer of horses, ask for what purpose Porter 

 wished the fact of Pageant's accident to be kept 

 secret ? " I doubt whether this transparent attempt 

 to draw a red-herring across the scent deceived any 

 of the "Backer of Horses'" readers. It certainly 

 did not humbug me. As to the insinuation, well, 

 one can cheerfully afford to treat such things with 

 contempt. 



' Turning aside for the moment from my personal 

 experience of the obnoxious touting system, I, per- 

 haps, ought not to dismiss the subject without recalling 

 in this place a joke which one of the sporting journals 

 played off against a contemporary when the Reports 

 from Training Quarters were first established. 

 Until 1866 — I think that was the year, but it may 

 have been 1865 — tne published reports of the touts 

 had appeared as a regular piece of sporting news, 

 trustworthy or not, exclusively in the racing circulars 

 of "Judex," "Locket," and Paul Walmsley, three 

 Manchester tipsters. Then the " Sportsman " 

 adopted them. When the late Mr. Henry Feist, 

 the editor of the rival paper, the " Sporting Life,' 

 was rallied on the subject, he (I may say this, 

 speaking from personal recollection) made rather a 

 wry face over it, but at the same time said : "I don't 

 want to argue the point. I dare say your view is 

 the right one. But we cannot afford to stand out. 



