John Osborne. 187 



Stakes, and the year after that old John nailed one of 

 the classes again with Mongrel, under no very flatter- 

 ing weight, so that the Newnrarket Houghton Friday 

 had nothing but good omens for him. Great weight- 

 for-age races were not his forte, although he did 

 drop on to Blair Athol at York with The Miner. 

 Lady Tatton was third for him in the St. Leger, but 

 he never got so near for a Derby or Oaks. Honey- 

 wood's friends made a braying of trumpets about the 

 black, which not a little disturbed the repose of the 

 backers of "The West," but John was wrong that 

 time. He looked very downcast, following Saunterer 

 in the paddock on the Derby day, and threw up his 

 hands and told his friends he " knew nothing about 

 him ;" but the public watched the money, and knew as 

 much as he could tell them as to the " pencil fever," 

 which was slowly consuming the colt in the interior. 



In his day he trained for a number of good men — 

 Lord Zetland, Lord Londesborough, Sir Charles 

 Monck, and others ; but he was very independent, 

 and he had every right to be so. What was better 

 still, prosperity never puffed him up. He was really 

 and truly " Plain John" to the last. " Little fish" in 

 the way of stakes and little meetings were what he 

 loved. Handicap studies were his forte; and go past 

 who might, he hardly looked up from the desk at the 

 office-window, which looked into the yard at Ashgill. 

 The calculations he had in his head about forms were 

 as clear and well arranged as a senior wrangler's 

 differentials and integrals, and we never heard of but 

 one man who could thoroughly tackle him over 

 weights, and make him ring hurriedly for his slippers 

 at the inn, and say, M / think I'll be off to bed! 1 



The last time we saw him was at the Doncaster 

 meeting. He came in that long trainers' train, in 

 which Blair Athol's box was placed before General 

 Peel's, and so many accepted the omen. There was 

 the crush hat and the salmon-coloured handkerchief 



