tlbe Mi^arb of tbe IRortb 179 



up the hill to the rubbing-house, where the horse 

 was stripped and rubbed down by two men, and 

 afterwards given a smart gallop of five furlongs or 

 three-quarters of a mile. I don't say Mr. Scott 

 made sweatingf as much a rule as the Newmarket 

 trainers did in those days, but he pursued the plan 

 more or less up to the time of his death. Take him 

 altogether, he was a real good man, and no one was 

 more respected. 



One of my earliest recollections of a Derby 

 favourite was seeing ' Toxophilite's ' van coming to 

 Webb's Hotel, Piccadilly (where the Criterion now 

 stands), with four gray horses, and two postilions with 

 blue jackets and white top hats, on their way to 

 Leatherhead. Mr. Scott always stayed at Webb's : 

 as it was not much out of their way, his horses in- 

 variably called there, and a nice crowd collected. 

 All this is, however, changed now, and instead of the 

 favourite coming up from the North on the Saturday 

 or Monday at the latest, he would more likely have 

 a special train on Tuesday afternoon. This Is 

 perhaps a better plan, as I believe horses prefer their 

 own stables to fresh ones, and many a favourite has 

 been upset by the old method, and afterwards reported 

 to have been poisoned or got at (a remark too often 

 made use of) without the slightest foundation. Of 



