BILL SMOOTHY. 43 



present position which he held in society, not generally known, 

 and for the sake of public morals, perhaps, it is better that they 

 should remained confined to a limited sphere of knowledge. 

 The ambition of Bill Smoothy, from his boyhood upwards, was 

 to be an associate of the sporting world. Keeping this object 

 steadily in view, and practising a large amount of self-denial in 

 travelling on foot, and frequently with an exhausted exchequer, 

 long and weary journeys from one race meeting to another, 

 and obtaining in the earlier part of his career a far more pre- 

 carious living than the London sparrows, winch are supposed to 

 pick up anything in the shape of crumbs, Bill Smoothy rose, by 

 degrees, to the dignity of a little bookmaker, and, at length, 

 found himself a great commissioner of the highest order, being 

 attached to the Great Stable of the North to make investments 

 for that renowned institution. Like the majority of i( sporting 

 characters," Bill Smoothy was peculiar in his personal appear- 

 ance. Having, possibty, an aversion to the full coat collar of 

 other days, his tailor, acting under instructions, left scarcely a 

 fragment of this part of his outer garment. By a single plain 

 gilt button it was invariably fastened across his breast, and two 

 similar buttons, placed widely apart behind, gave the effect of 

 Bill Smoothy possessing the longest waist of any mortal yet 

 seen, failing to reach the perpendicular of 5 feet 7 inches. 

 With the ordinary tendency of great length of vest in the 

 attaches of all stables, Bill Smoothy's waistcoat reached within 

 a few inches of his knee-caps, and his trousers looked much too 

 tight to be pleasant, being buttoned closely round the ankles 

 with no less than three buttons, and giving to view as large a 

 pair of feet, perhaps, and as unsightly a pair of boots, as the 

 eyes of a curious spectator in such objects could possibly desire 

 to rest upon. In the absence of what is generally known as a 

 forehead, Bill Smoothy's round, narrow - brimmed hat was 

 pressed down upon his eyebrows, and his eyes, as black as those 

 of a rat, glistened brightly beneath it. Pale, pimply, and 

 closely shaved were the cheeks, chin, and throat of Bill 



