CHAPTER XIV 



THE ROUT OF THE THIMBLE-MEN 



To the present generation of race-goers the thimble-rigger 

 is only known as an insignificant item among the motley 

 crowd of camp-followers that dog the march of the ever- 

 moving army of the Turf. It is only in odd holes and 

 corners that he ventures to ply his nefarious trade, and he 

 flies at no higher game than the simple bumpkin or the 

 drunken sportsman of Cockaigne. But it was far other- 

 wise at a time which some veteran sportsmen still living 

 can remember. The thimble-men frequented every race- 

 meeting of any importance in large gangs, and were as 

 desperate a set of ruffians as could be found anywhere. 

 Woe betide the inebriated sportsmen who fell into their 

 hands ! They stripped him of everything he had, and 

 often maltreated him as well. It was more by artful 

 dodges, however, that they earned their living as a rule, 

 and it seems strange that the race-goers of that day, who 

 were smart enough in other respects, should have allowed 

 themselves to be so openly and flagrantly victimised. 



There was a notorious case tried in 1823 in which plenty 

 of evidence was produced to show that gentlemen would 

 often stop their carriages in front of a thimble-rigger's table, 

 get out, and lose twenty or thirty pounds in a few minutes. 

 There was a certain countess who never could resist the 

 temptation to prove her skill in detecting the pea under the 

 thimble, and there used to be a scramble among the 

 thimble-men at Epsom and Ascot to secure her patronage. 

 She would generally continue her guessing until she had 

 lost twenty pounds — then she would give up the fascinating 

 game. And yet she was shrewd enough in other matters. 

 She was never known to make a bad bargain in horse- 



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