Riding Fees 



additions to his income are thoroughly accept- 

 able. They help appreciably to swell the volume 

 of that nest-egg which may be addling at home 

 on account of his want of business instinct and 

 the cunning it engenders. What is the good of 

 his long stocking if he does not know how to 

 conceal it effectually ? It is not fair, however, to 

 exaggerate his scale of presents. The thousand 

 pounds that I received for winning the Grand 

 National on " Ilex " was quite an exceptional 

 benefaction. I have often received a "pony" 

 with an air of thankfulness. I shall be glad to 

 do so again. I have frequently ridden winners 

 for which I have been paid only in harmony with 

 the strict schedule, since a lucky owner may be a 

 trifle shy at the last moment when his pecuniary 

 feelings are involved. I have been " outed " in 

 one act, so to speak, and nobody has called (with 

 cash in fist) to see whether the curtain would 

 ever rise again. There are employers of labour 

 who believe apparently that the labourer is not 

 worthy of his hire until he begins to stagger 

 about from fatigue and other causes, indicating 

 that if he toils much longer he will have to be 

 removed from the ridiculous, if not disreputable, 

 scene on a shutter. Riding winners is not, 

 in effect, the most rapid road to wealth, and 



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