5acft Hbel, ot IRorwicb 9 



which some of my readers may recollect stood on 

 Newmarket Heath at race times. 



This same Jack Abel, as I have said before, was 

 quite a character. He was a gipsy horse-dealer at 

 Norwich, and always wore a velvet coat and waist- 

 coat—the latter cut very low to show off three 

 splendid studs which adorned a white shirt, 

 with a narrow pleated front (or a full dress shirt 

 in those days). The studs were carbuncles and 

 diamonds, and were chained together with a thin 

 gold chain, and worth over ^loo. The low^er part 

 of Abel's dress did not correspond with the upper, as 

 he sported the very worst-fitting pair of corduroy 

 breeches and black jack-boots possible. There are 

 plenty of people still living who will recollect the 

 man, and recognise him by this description, amongst 

 others, my old friend Mr. Harry Ulph, who knew 

 him very well at Norwich. Abel was a well- 

 known character at Newmarket, and had a real good 

 mare called ' Adulation,' which he sold to Count 

 (afterwards Prince) Batthyany, who was very fond 

 of " Old Jack," as they always called him. I recol- 

 lect a funny thing happening to him at Yarmouth 

 the same year that ' Abel Jack ' ran. It was on the 

 second day. A man had lost his watch on the 

 stand, and Jack happened to be close by when it 



