"business." 99 



general basis of operations. Nothing but "a great event" stirs 

 up Newmarket, which, as a custom of ancient origin, seems to 

 be indulging in a slumber of profound depth, and dreams of 

 grandeur faded and by the world forgotten. 



Periodically as Newmarket is "stirred up," be it remem- 

 bered, nothing but "business" produces the sensation. No 

 vulgar episodes are permitted (by the laws of custom) to be 

 introduced in the race meetings of Newmarket;. Pigeon pies 

 are unknown. Lobster salads are as rarely to be seen upon 

 the Heath as the English bustard, and the lively popping of 

 champagne corks is a sound that is seldom heard. Odds 

 "offered" and odds "taken," with "a card of the races," are 

 words as familiar as any of the most common of household 

 upon the Heath of Newmarket ; but anything more would 

 be deemed an infringement upon a recognised prerogative. 

 The sayings and doings of Newmarket are confined to busi- 

 ness. 



And so the "muff" was to have the mount on the "crack" 

 for the Cesarewitch, was he 1 Such was the intelligence, con- 

 veyed with great dispatch, and in some instances breathless 

 speed, by "the post-horse Rumour." Puffy Doddles would 

 wear the yellow and black — the wasp-like colours — upon this 

 momentous occasion, and opinions differed concerning the 

 expediency of the measure. Was a "muff" to be trusted to 

 pet through a ^reat field of horses like the Cesarewitch 1 

 "Wouldn't he be shut in 1 Hadn't he thrown away a race 

 before, and wasn't it likely he'd do so again ? Why not put a 

 jockey up instead of a stable lad 1 Such were the questions 

 asked by those inimically disposed towards Robert Tojrs best 

 lad, and no more complimentary were put even by his 

 affectionate friends, assuming that he possessed any, which 

 appears doubtful. 



Once more arrayed in the yellow and black, and mounted 

 upon Sunshine, Puffy Doddles, it must be confessed, exhibited an 

 appearance of combined vanity and ambition, with a tendency 



g2 



