AND OTHER SKETCHES 157 



JACK THE BARBER SHAVES HIS BACKERS. 



Talk about taming a shrew! You could easier curb 

 the temper of a zebra of the plains than soothe that 

 crotchety provincial, Jack the Barber, if he felt in the 

 humor for acting mean. On the flat he was a respectable 

 performer, and as a jumper he was hard to equal when 

 he inclined to go about his business, but if he made up 

 his mind to play loafer not all the whips or spurs used by 

 jockeys could move him along. 



I have seen him when he was in decent humor, prick 

 his ears and clear a twenty-eight foot water jump as if 

 he were fond of it, and again I have seen him lug along 

 and stumble over an insignificant six-foot ditch. When 

 you had your money on him was his favorite time for 

 playing mean, but if you didn 't happen to back him for a 

 single dollar, he was pretty certain to run as kind as a 

 kitten. I remember once travelling to Ogdensburg in 

 company with his then owner, Uncle Joe Grand. Jack 

 had been entered in the hurdle race and steeplechase both, 

 and though the company was formidable in quantity, 

 the quality of the baker 's dozen of contestants was not of 

 high grade. In fact, if Jack was in decent temper, it was 

 quail on toast against cold porridge that he could land 

 both tricks. A triple partnership had been entered into 

 between Uncle Joe of the first part and a well-known 

 King street wine merchant who administered spiritual 

 consolation of the second part, and a sporting journalist 

 of the third part. Share and share alike in the expenses 

 and an even divide on the winnings was the basis of the 

 agreement. 



Arrived at the Burgh on the morning of the day of the 

 race, the three partners started to hunt up the horse 

 which, under the charge of Brown, his trainer and rider, 

 had been shipped a few days earlier. After nearly a two 



