172 A MIRROR OF THE TURF. 



century, when the writer became interested in 

 horse-racing, consequent on having won a few 

 sovereigns by the victory of Merry Monarch in 

 the Derby — tipping was much less obtrusive 

 than it is to-day, and was carried on chiefly by 

 means of what may be called " disguises." Such 

 announcements as were made public usually bore 

 that the advertiser was in exclusive possession 

 of information about a horse which was certain 

 to win the Derby or some other important race ; 

 but, as a rule, the great event decided at Epsom 

 was, in the beginning of tipping, the race most 

 favoured, and the person advertising not seldom 

 posed as " a gentleman's valet out of a place," or 

 as " a stableman dying of consumption," or " an 

 old military man," or as some person very remote 

 from the being he really was. 



" Who, then," it will be asked, " were those 

 persons ? " Well, as there were not so many of 

 them as there are to-day, when "tipping," as was 

 said a few months ago to a magistrate, is a 

 " profession," it will not prove a difficult task to 

 give information about their ways of working, 

 as I happen to be able to speak with some degree 

 of knowledge of two or three of the number 

 who were among the first to advertise in days 

 when the mediums for such announcements were 

 anything but numerous, and advertising was some- 

 what costly, there being then an advertisement 

 duty of one shilling and sixpence exigible on each 

 announcement, whilst postage was also expensive. 



In the beginning of race tipping the 

 Queen's head had not been invented. The out- 

 side prophets had at first only a local audience, 

 but even during the " thirties " London was 



