THE TWO JOCKEYS. 45 



our respective riders as " boys," neither of them could be said, 

 strictly speaking, to come under that particular description ; 

 for even if Spanky's title to juvenility was not totally without 

 the semblance of support, the number of winters and summers 

 which must have passed over the smooth bald head of the 

 Cardinal's jockey, left his claim without the title of a prop. I 

 can see the small, lean, stunted, lemon-visaged man at this 

 moment, as I then saw him for the first time — ay, and while 

 life remains, his portrait will never become less vi\dd in my 

 memory. But for him, what might I not have been ? The 

 die, however, he cast, and here I stand — old, friendless, and 

 forgotten ! 



"Make good running from the start, Ned," said John 

 Sellusall, "and cut the work out strong as you come to the 

 bend ; then improve the pace if the young-un sticks to ye, and 

 shake him off if ye can." 



The small, lean, lemon-visaged man sat motionless in the 

 saddle while receiving his orders, and wdth his restless, suspi- 

 cious-looking eyes fixed upon the pommel of the saddle, listened 

 attentively to what was said ; but uttered not a syllable in reply. 



" Lie close all the way," said our trainer to Spanky ; " but 

 wait until past the dip. Then take the lead, and keep it 

 to where I stand, but no further." 



Spanky raised a finger and touched the peak of the rifle- 

 green cloth cap, as a signal of united acquiescence and compre- 

 hension, and in obedience to execution of final orders we now 

 turned to take up our position. 



Sir Digby, mounted on John Sellusall's handsome gray cob, 

 cantered towards the spot chosen for the finish, accompanied 

 by our trainer, who rode by his side a raw-boned, goose-rumped, 

 ewe-nccked, lop-eared, Eoman-nosed pony, vv^hich I saw for 

 years afterwards shambling along on many a racecourse with 

 the little shrivelled-up jockey, now sitting with the perfection 

 of ease and grace, York's Cardinal, and who, with the uniform 

 taste of his eccentric class, appeared to have taken some pains 

 in selecting, for his hack, one of the ugliest of its kind. 



By instinct I knew what was required of me, and as we 



