Touting. 93 



shops, in which we shall find that the mutton is far better 

 than the beef, which fact shows that the grass is of the fine 

 quality relished by sheep and horses, and not of the coarse, 

 rank kind with which cattle like to fill their enormous 

 paunches. I may mention that when Irish racehorses are 

 brought over to England to be trained, they generally show 

 that the change has been of benefit to them from a galloping 

 point of view : an improvement which I am inclined to put 

 down to the superiority of English over Irish hay as a food 

 for horses. The emerald hue of the grass in Ireland indicates 

 that it is apt to be too rank for training requirements. 



The disease of touting is endemic in Newmarket. From 

 Rodney who had built himself an observatory from which he 

 used to search out the country from the Limekilns to the 

 July Course with a telescope that was able to bring Jupiter's 

 satellites to within a mile of the Heath, to the child in arms, 

 all who are not owners, trainers, jockeys, officials, or ' mugs ' 

 like myself, send or want to send ' winners ' to clients. My 

 washerwoman was a tout, who ' gave herself away ' to me 

 by handing me one day her circular of terms by mistake for 

 the washing bill. In this circular, she posed as the father of 

 one of the leading jockeys ! The desire which possesses the 

 British public of gaining information about the merits of race 

 horses, so that they may back winners, is to me, the height of 

 folly. What great advantage can it be to us to know that a 

 certain horse is ' meant,' or that his owner fancies him ; when 

 the intentions and hopes of, say, a dozen owners in the same 

 event have not been disclosed to us. Even if we did know 

 them, how could we tell which to ' follow ' ? You may reply 

 that if it is good enough for Mr Abledealer to back his 

 animal, it is good enough for you or me to do so. Quite 

 right, supposing Mr A. had truthfully unburdened his mind 

 to us or to our tout, and also supposing that we could get a 

 correct ' price.' Book-makers, like other folk, must live ; to 

 say nothing about the wearing of diamonds and the drinking 

 of champagne. Their finger is on the pulse of the market, so 



