WITH THE PROPHETS. 187 



a business over which no disguise is thrown, 

 although an occasional advertisement still crops 

 up in the old style. One or two of the present- 

 day tipsters correspond with " gentlemen only," 

 but on being communicated with, these persons 

 do not seem particularly anxious to restrict the 

 number of their clients ; what they really want is 

 "a remittance." At the present time there are 

 tipsters who carry on business in different fashions ; 

 some ask for a fee that will cover a week's work, 

 others seek an all-day remittance, whilst not a 

 few deal in single-horse wires or " paddock snips," 

 as they designate their information. There are 

 also tipsters who ask only to be paid by results. 

 " Put one shilling on each of the horses I select 

 for you to back, and if one wins, remit me the odds 

 obtained," indicates the mode of doing business 

 adopted by such prophets. 



As a matter of course, the tipsters of the time 

 are ever varying their names and addresses. 

 When they make a series of hits under one 

 designation they trade on that as long as they 

 can, but when business begins to decrease because 

 their tips fail to disclose winners, then a change of 

 locality and another name gives chances of re- 

 newed good fortune. Thus the man who was 

 "A. I." a month ago is now figuring as " X. Y. 3.," 

 whose tips, " privately given," made the fortunes 

 of several gentlemen two years ago, " so that I " 

 (that is "X. Y. 3.") "am induced to allow the 

 general public to participate in my information." 

 About the period of the Derby in each year I 

 take stock of the tipsters' advertisements, and have 

 found, as a general rule, that only about thirty 

 per cent, of those who advertised in the previous 



