3obn Mells 137 



' Watercress ' in the St. Leger, and by getting a 

 place, showing there was Hfe in the old dog yet. 

 With all due respect to the gentlemen who got 

 up his testimonial, and asked him to retire, I think 

 he still would be a good pattern to his profession 

 (not from his perfect seat), if only for his great 

 knowledge and judgment of pace. I can certainly 

 speak of his ability with the greatest confidence, as 

 I have known him the last thirty years. The only 

 thing one can complain of in Johnnie Osborne is 

 his extravagance in the direction of high collars 

 and diamond nng-s ! 



John Wells, or " Brusher " Wells, as he was 

 familiarly called, was rather eccentric, especially 

 with regard to his dress. You would one day see 

 him with a tall hat very much turned up at the 

 sides, and next day he would be wearing a cream- 

 coloured one with a deep black band. Upon one 

 occasion, when he was riding ' Pero Gomez ' out at 

 exercise on the course at Doncaster on the Tuesday 

 morning before Sir Joseph Hawley's horse won the 

 St. Leger, Wells appeared in an Alpine hat with 

 several feathers, a suit of clothes made from a 

 Gordon Scotch plaid, and a pair of red Morocco 

 slippers. When he arrived on the course about 

 seven o'clock in the morning everyone roared with 



