COLONEL NORTH 265 



weakness in the racing transactions, listening to, or 

 being diverted by, the latest adviser, with unfortunate 

 results. 



Colonel North used to have the box on the ground 

 floor in the Epsom stand, which has since been occupied 

 by Mrs Langtry. It was his custom to harangue 

 bookmakers from there at the end of a day's racing, 

 but as to betting with any discretion, I have again 

 and again been present when someone has come up 

 and said, " Colonel, you ought to back this," and he 

 has at once said, " All right, go and put me a ' pony ' on." 



Then another would come up and say, " This is the 

 one to back," and the Colonel would say, " Go and put 

 me a 'pony' on," and afterwards, while the race was 

 being run, he has more than once said to me, "What 

 was it I backed?" I, naturally, had made no note, 

 and perhaps did not remember. He certainly did not, 

 and I suppose many who backed horses for him in 

 that way did not remember either, if the horses won, 

 but simply collected the money. If the horses lost, 

 the Colonel had, of course, to pay. 



The good old Colonel when at Avery Hill, Eltham, 

 with Colonel Sir Alfred Kirby as Acting Colonel of 

 the Tower Hamlets Volunteers, used to have them in 

 camp there for a week every year, and had equipped 

 them with tents, baggage train and all other para- 

 phernalia. The week used to be wound up with sports, 

 for munificent prizes, and once when I happened to 

 arrive there I saw a somewhat inactive journalist 

 defeating several others more inactive than himself. 



Just then I met Colonel North, who said : " If you 

 had been here ten minutes earlier you could have 

 won ^"50 " and I certainly could, for that was the 



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