My First Steeple-chaser. 103 



the market-square (the principal sporting inn), the coach-office and 

 the steps outside were thronged with a group of knowing sporting- 

 looking characters of every grade and description. Our horse was 

 standing at this inn stables, attended' by the lad who had brought 

 him down, who was anxiously waiting our arrival. Great was the 

 lad's distress when he saw only two of our party alight from the coach, 

 and greater still when he heard of poor Tom's sad accident, for he 

 had backed the old horse up to nearly the whole of his year's 

 wages, more on the strength of Tom's jockeyship than anything 

 else. His spirits sank within him when he heard that we had 

 come down to seek a strange jockey in a strange town, where, 

 as the lad said, they did not speak even in the same language 

 as ourselves. However, the first thing was to see after lodgings, 

 and then try and engage a jockey for the morrow. As I picked my 

 way to the bar through a crowd of sporting-men to engage beds 

 for the night, " our Jem," as neatly got-up and looking as hand- 

 some as ever, was chaffing the pretty barmaid on the very same 

 subject. She was trying to persuade him that for one night he 

 must put up with the inconvenience of a double bed with a friend. 

 To which Jem strongly objected, adding something in an undertone 

 to the girl, which caused her to laugh heartily and turn away 

 quickly (evidently, however, not displeased), under pretence of 

 serving some other customer. I was quite prepared for her reply 

 of " all engaged," when I asked if I could procure beds for myself 

 and the Vet. ; but I thought she need not have regarded us quite 

 so contemptuously as she did, although we might both look a little 

 travel-soiled and seedy after our twenty-four hours' journey 

 outside a night coach. She treated us, however, very differently 

 next day, when the race was over but not to anticipate. We 

 considered ourselves lucky in procuring the loan of a bed-room for 

 half-an-hour to put ourselves a little straight, and to this we at once 

 retired my friend, the Vet., anxious to arange a toilette with 

 which he was bent upon astonishing the good people of Bideford, 

 and the sporting part of the community in particular. And it 

 certainly was a magnificent "get-up," built expressly for the 



