20G THE SPORTING WORLD. 



character of the steeple-chaser was that of the 

 gentleman and sportsman, or at least that of 

 the highly respectable man and fair sportsman. 

 It would have been well for steeple chasing 

 and those engaged in it had it stopped here, but 

 no sport on which a bet could be made or any 

 infamous practices introduced would ever be let 

 alone by a certain clique, till they thrust themselves 

 in. Their first object was to make it steeple- 

 racing, not steeple-chasing, for while it remained 

 the latter no betting, beyond a few bets on 

 the horse's known capabilities, could be made ; 

 and of this they had no criterion to go by, or 

 would they have trusted to it if they had. 

 Their next object was if possible to get rid of 

 the, to them, fatal practice of gentlemen riding 

 their own horses ; they could in no way sway or 

 induce them to join in the thousand-and-one 

 tricks they saw might be practised in steeple- 

 chasing. Flags were brought in vogue, they 

 frequently admitted of a wrangle, convenient at 



