PUECHASING HOESES. 183 



entrance, be it what it may ; but he only risks break- 

 ing down thirty or forty pounds against another 

 owner of a horse risking perhaps four or five hun- 

 dred. All this produces betting — that is, if any man 

 can (as steeple-chasing has been long carried on) be 

 foolish enough (not to risk, for he has not the ad- 

 vantage of risk to console himself with) but — to 

 stake his money where the way it goes is made a cer- 

 tainty. This has completely lowered steeple-chasing 

 in the estimation of every sportsman. It is no 

 longer the pursuit of gentlemen, or, collectively 

 speaking, of any but a set no man of honour would 

 wish to mix with." 



" You have put me as much out of humour with 

 steeple-chasing as you have with steeple-chase 

 horses," said Pupil. " I shall eschew both for the 

 future." 



" There can be no possible occasion that you should 

 eschew either. I should not object to start a horse 

 to-morrow for a steeple-chase, if I had one possess- 

 ing the required attributes ; but there are two other 

 unfortunate ifs not so easily managed as getting the 



