JOCKEYS. 



With a considerable section of tlie public a 

 leading jockey is one of the most important 

 and popular of personages, to be named and 

 welcomed with at least as much enthusiasm as 

 opera-goers bestow upon a favourite prima 

 donna. And there are, indeed, many points of 

 similarity between the heroines of the stage and 

 the heroes of the saddle. The rewards to be 

 gained in each case are enormous ; in each case, 

 too, the natural and acquired gifts and abilities 

 are rarely found in anything approaching to 

 perfection, and those who attain to the front 

 rank are few and far between. The prizes are 

 open to the humblest; there is no Eoyal road 

 to success, and proofs of merit must be con- 

 stantly forthcoming. One of the most popular 

 of prime donne played the fiddle at country 

 fairs ; others are known to have sprung from the 

 poorest classes ; and a jockey has usually been 

 a stable-boy. There is no lack of young ladies 

 with good voices, an adequate knowledge of 



