THE JOCKEf CLUB IN THE DAYS OF CHARLES JAMES FOX 



2J9 



produce of his Cliiltaby Arabian and certain brood mares against the stock to be 

 produced at the same period by breeders of far more knowledge and astuteness than 

 himself. The only colt who proved of any good was Mr. T. Douglas's Emetic, winner 

 of the 1,200 guineas subscription at Newmarket ; and the " mad Arabian " proved so 

 savage that he was sent to Mr. Hughes's Circus in St. George's Fields. Mr. 

 Jennings was also famous lor the antique carving he had bought, which was known 

 as the Dog of Alcibiades. But neither his taste for art nor his knowledge of blood- 

 stock was sufficient to enable him to keep 

 his fortune. He recognised this frankly 

 enough. " Queensberry," said he, "was 

 always honourable in his bets, only he was 

 a far better jockey than any of us." " Old 

 Q.'s " letters to Selwyn almost invariably 

 contain news of his racing projects, of his 

 winnings and losings. In one of them (in 

 1766) he writes from Newmarket, "Bully, 

 Wilmington, and myself are left here to 

 reflect coolly on our losses and the nonsense 

 of keeping running-horses." But Jesse is 

 wrong in saying that he retired from the 

 Turf when he succeeded to the Dukedom 

 in his fifty-fourth year. Jesse had not seen 

 those letters from Selwyn to Lord Carlisle 

 which the Historical Manuscripts Com- 

 mission recently published. They mention 

 the Duke's racing at a much later date, c.ff. 

 in August, 1789, Selwyn writes from Rich- 

 mond : " I did not come hither till to-day 



because I was resolved to stay to see the Duke set out, which he did this morning 

 for Newmarket, from whence he goes with his doctor to York. He said that he 

 should not go to Castle Howard, which I looked upon as certain, as that the 

 Princes would be there. It would have been in vain to have held out to him the 

 temptation of seeing his god-daughter, and I knew that if I had suggested it he 

 would have laughed at me, which would have made me angry." Another instance 

 of " Old Q.'s " half humorous insensibility is his saying to Wilberforce of the 



- Old Q." 



