232 A MIRROR OF THE TURF. 



which a pint or two of beer was not consumed, 

 so that landlords " made money," as the saying 

 goes, in the days of the lists, a list being an 

 excellent advertisement for every house in which 

 it was hung up. The chief centre of list betting 

 was Long Acre, and in that street was to be 

 found one of the " Leviathan's" lists, and so great 

 was the business done, that not only was his own 

 supervision necessary, but the aid of two or three 

 clerks became essential. Other "list masters" 

 carried on a roaring trade as well as Davis, but 

 he was undoubtedly the leader in that feature 

 of the betting business of his time ; " punctual 

 payment with a pleasant courtesy of words," 

 was his motto, and that way of doing his work 

 soon made him king of the list men. No man 

 engaged in betting was ever more punctual in 

 his payments than Davis. On various occasions 

 when he had lost big sums to gentlemen, he did not 

 delay his payments till the orthodox settling day, 

 but would hand over a cheque for the amount 

 he had lost immediately after the race had been 

 decided. 



As was to be expected in such a money- 

 making avocation as list betting seemed to be, 

 scores of the merest fortune hunters speedily 

 entered into the business, many of whom were 

 utterly dishonest scoundrels who pocketed all the 

 money they could collect, and then on the decision 

 of some important race on which they had 

 received large deposits, closed their offices and 

 were no more seen in their accustomed haunts. 



Davis in time retired from business and lived 

 for some years at Brighton, where he died, 

 leaving a sum of about ^150,000 behind him. 



