360 HORSE-RACING IN FRANCE 



spondents on their books, and each morning's post brings 

 scores and hundreds of letters from all parts of England, 

 Scotland, and Ireland,' which ' all contain money.' This 

 is, no doubt, a truly awful revelation, this gigantic betting 

 business, with its ' staff of clerks,' this unproductive 

 industry, this alchemical institution for the extraction of 

 money (without ' value received') from English, Scottish, 

 and Irish pockets. Still it is mentioned by his bio- 

 grapher as a 'rise' for Mr. Eobert Topping when he was 

 admitted by that acute gentleman the late Mr. George 

 Hardaway to be the very man the firm of Valentine and 

 Hardaway wanted. Mr. Topping's ' rise ' is said to have 

 come about in this way : He was born at Manchester 

 about the year 1845, and had to ' rise from the ranks,' 

 insomuch that his first bet is said to have been even 

 unmentionably more modest than the legendary half- 

 crown of the ' Leviathan.' But Mr. Topping, ' being 

 of the Lancashire school ' — which appears to mean that 

 he always ' preferred the nimble ninepence to the slow 

 shilUng ' (in other words, money obtained by speculation 

 rather than by equally hard work in the way of ' produc- 

 tive industry ') — became at a very early age ' identified 

 with the betting ring,' left Manchester for London, was 

 engaged as ' clerk ' to Mr. Shee, a ' bookmaker,' from 

 1865 (or thereabouts) to 1873 (or thereabouts), did so 

 well for his employer as to think himself justified in 

 demanding no longer a mere 'weekly wage,' but a 

 ' share of the book,' was promptly refused, took the 

 refusal cheerfully, but relinquished his post for the pur- 

 pose of ' bettering himself,' was snapped up by Messrs. 

 Valentine and Hardaway, became the hfe and soul of 

 the ' Boulogne agency,' and ' rose ' to ' wealtli and 

 affluence,' with a ' comfortable and substantial residence 

 in one of the prettiest suburbs of London.' The proto- 



