PAGEANT AND ISONOMY 195 



to be told. He won the Grand National in 

 1885. 



One of the races in which Jupiter ran as a 

 two-year-old was at Shrewsbury. It may have 

 been on that occasion — if not, no matter — that, 

 when walking off the course, I saw a crowd 

 surrounding a tipster wearing racing colours. 

 Curiosity impelled me to stop and listen to him. 

 Presently he shouted : "If you want to know 

 who I am, I will tell you. I served my time 

 with John Porter at Kingsclere, and I rode 

 Isonomy in all his gallops.'* Inasmuch as I 

 had never seen the man before, his audacity, 

 not to say his mendacity, fairly took my breath 

 away. Moving towards him, I touched his elbow. 

 He turned round and instantly recognised me. 

 For a moment he seemed nonplussed, but he 

 quickly regathered his wits. Pointing at me, 

 he resumed his speech with the words ; ** If 

 you don't believe me, here is Mr. Porter, who 

 will vouch for what I have told you ! *' This 

 impromptu left me dumb, and I hurried away 

 as fast as my legs would carry me. I could 

 not but admire the man's cleverness. 



