240 Silk and Scarlet, 



figures in that Newmarket match picture which Mr. 

 Tattersall hung over the fire-place, just as he re- 

 ceived it from the Prince Regent, were headless 

 stumps ; but there was head enough to spare in the 

 assembly on which it looked down. " Knockings 

 out" have lost much of their pristine vigour ; a great 

 horse now takes generally about two days to go ; 

 and there is none of the grandeur which attached to 

 the process when those ancient heroes of metallic re- 

 nown appeared upon the scene, and dealt their smash- 

 ing blows. 



When Ogden's day was over, " Jerry Cloves," who 

 lost so heavily in his namesake's year, Crockford, 

 Gully, and Tanfiv-ld, all went to the fore, with their 

 twenty thousand to ten thousand books on the Derby ; 

 but the two Epsom events, the St. Leger, the Oat- 

 lands, the Chester Cup, and the Ascot Stakes were 

 almost the only races which they cared to notice at 

 The Corner. Right cautious point-dealers they were 

 too ; and 20 to i was the very outside they would lay 

 against either Priam or Emilius for The Derby, when 

 they were only colts in breaking. Crockford always 

 wrote with his left hand, and was not so bold a better 

 as Tanfield, of whom the saying went that " he wanted 

 all St. James'-street to himself" when he condescended 

 to walk down it. Peter and Dan Cloves, who were 

 large coal-merchants, also followed in their uncle's 

 footsteps ; but they had none of his dash and daring, 

 and were just as quiet as Jim Bland was noisy. The 

 latter could neither read nor write, though his second 

 wife so far instructed him in the literce humaniores as 

 to enable him to sign cheques. He could never make 

 a note of a bet ; but when he got home the list was 

 read over to him, and no Crocker or Jedediah Buxton 

 could have recounted more exactly what he had been 

 doing at the betting-post. Bob Steward, of the Navy 

 Office, was also esteemed cool and courageous ; and 

 so was Mr. Justice, though he seldom made more than 



