xlv 



his public career, died, as already stated, in the autumn of 1894, whereby 

 the poor fellow met with the greatest affliction that had ever befallen 

 him. 



Sir Visto and Derby of 1895. — Endowed with that bull-dog 

 courage which forbids the Anglo-Saxon ever to think he is beaten, 

 Mat rallied, and with another colt of Lord Rosebery's set about to try 

 to win the next Derby. This, as the world knows, he succeeded in 

 doing with Sir Visto, who started at odds against him of from 7 to 10 

 to 1. The race was in all respects the opposite to last year's. It was 

 the most open that ever was known, and a few days before 10 to 1 

 could have been got against almost any of the remarkably bad lot that 

 started. Sir Visto being in no way to be compared with Ladas in 

 either shape, make, action, or ability, I have nothing more to say 

 about him, except that I hope he will win the Leger, for which old 

 Mat is at present preparing him specially. 



Owing to his crippled state Mat Dawson was unable to go to either 

 of these Derbys or even to the Leger, but has had to pay more than 

 one visit to Bath during the past two years, the waters of which have 

 done him great good, and when I saw him last Whitsuntide he was 

 better on the pins than I had seen him since he was attacked by 

 the gout in 1893, wh^n for the first time in his life he suffered from 

 illness. He grew a moustache while laid up, but so little has it 

 affected his jovial appearance that I did not notice the addition until 

 he himself drew my attention to it. 



This Memoir. — Having now brought my history of Mr. Mathew 

 Dawson up to date, July, 1895, my readers will find in this book a 

 memoir more exhaustive than any other ever published of that gentle- 

 man, and with the assurance that the details are absolutely correct, 

 even to the spelling of his christian name, I wind it up by supplying 

 in a table the record of the classic races to which he is now entitled, 

 and which is to be taken instead of what is given with the others at 

 p. 407, and I hope the chronicle will soon have to be further added to : — 

 Two Thousand Guineas . . . .5 times. 

 One Thousand Guineas . . . . 6 „ 



The Derby 6 „ 



The Oaks 6 „ 



The St. Leger 5 



)> 



Total . . 28 



WHOO WHOOP! 

 Chapter XXIV. 

 The Sporting League.— The suggestion thrown out by me at 

 pp. 411, 412, that a combination between sportsmen of all classes should 



