YET A GRAVE GRIEVANCE 249 



gallop, the tout said) and began beating him about 

 the head with a hunting whip. The jury, at the 

 direction of the judge, gave a verdict for the plaintiff 

 for 200/. 



' As I have before observed, touting must now, 

 I suppose, be accepted as a necessary evil, so 

 anxious are the public to know how the horses in 

 the trainers' hands are progressing. Personally, I 

 have no objection to touts so long as they carry on 

 their business in a fair and legitimate manner. But 

 when it comes to touting your stable-boys — well, that 

 is a very different matter. Information so obtained 

 is not unfrequently ruin to the boy, and tends to 

 destroy that confidence which should exist between 

 employer and employed. That touts do obtain their 

 information from the boys, I am certain. In what 

 other way could it be obtained ? Take my own 

 case. On Sydmonton Downs there is a deep valley 

 where it is impossible for any one who is not actually 

 on the spot to see the horses gallop. I have varied 

 the work occasionally, but I have always found that 

 variation correctly reported by the sporting papers. 



