114 TALES AND TRAITS OF SPORTING LIFE. 



rouleauj observed, with an air of the sincerest sympathy^ 



that he ^^ was afraid the company was a httle too g-ood 



for me." Some few, however, were more explicit in 



their opinions ; one pimply-faced g-entleman, in particular, 



who owned to having- been fool enough to put three 



sovereigns on, denouncing us bodily as '^aset of thieves — " 



that ''the horse was ^pulled/ as anybody could see — " 



that ''he never ran a yard to win;"' and that "it was a 



— (something) — robbery, and nothing else !" 



***** 



To a certain extent, I must admit, he was right — as 

 far as its being a — (something) — robbery, decidedl}- so. 

 In the exhilaration consequent on three glasses of British 

 b randy- and-water, *' Snowy " was heard to declare that 

 '* he'd settled it. If he couldn't win on him, nobody else 

 should; and they didn't either." A severe cross- 

 examination on this avowal, with a police-court sketched 

 in perspective, resulted in a deal of howhng, and a partial 

 confession. By the means of a worthy man who has 

 since been difficult to trace, the disappointed "Snowy'* 

 g-ot at his horse the night before the race, and so 

 sacrificed our hopes of a good thing- as effectually as he 

 did his own character. As it was, we let him off too 

 easily, with a " caution " in The Calendar ; and he is 

 now, I believe, on the strength of being " intimately con- 

 nected Avith all the great stables," living* comfortably 

 enough on P. 0. orders and postage-stamps, in some 

 street, Lambeth. 



Poor Bessie ! it was a hardish blow for her at first, as 

 women — bless them ! — always think the best ; and she 

 made sure of winning, directly she knew she would win 

 by it. I think it is nearly forgotten now, though some 

 of the phrases acquired by that heartrending explanation 



