CHARLIE MITCHELL'S BANK-NOTES 



Guttenburg track. I picked up Charlie Mitchell and 

 took him with me. He asked me what they charged 

 to go in and pulled out a bunch of English notes. 

 They still look to me like writing-paper. I hadn't 

 any money with me, I remember. Mitchell gave an 

 English fiver to the gate-keeper but that worthy 

 wouldn't take it : he had never seen one before. We 

 asked several people if they could change one of the 

 notes but without success. It looked as if Mitchell 

 would be shut out till after the first race. After a 

 time I left him. I went inside and found a book- 

 maker named Ike Thompson to change a bundle of 

 notes into American money for Charlie. As a sequel 

 I think he had a tenner on the only winner I rode that 

 day and came out well to the good, for mine, a horse 

 named Osric, was an outsider. Mitchell was delighted. 



A novelty to me in England was the sight of the 

 steeplechase jockeys at Liverpool. I saw them for 

 the first time at the Liverpool Autumn Meeting. I had 

 never seen cross-country riders so tall and big. I 

 didn't know any of them but I didn't let that pre- 

 vent my staring. Not one of them offered to make 

 friends with me. Perhaps they looked upon me as a 

 curiosity, a kind of monkey. In the morning I had 

 gone out on the course and had a look at the fences. 

 It was all so colossal that it almost took my breath 

 away. Of course the jumps were greater and stiff er 

 than anything I had ever seen in America. It was 

 in the Grand Sefton I first saw them. To see the 

 horses going out into a country looking as if they were 

 never coming home again is the greatest sporting 

 living picture imaginable. I didn't have a chance of 

 seeing the Grand National till 1899. That of course 

 was more wonderful still. 



Lord William would sometimes wonder at my 



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