Cardsellers, Touts, a7id Augurs, 173 



in hand, on the Thursday of the Derby week. It has 

 nevertheless (1856) fallen into the fashion at last, and 

 keeps its own prophet, " Meteor," who, after having 

 special attention called by advertisement to his 

 auguries, succeeded in prophesying the twenty-third 

 horse as the winner ! Ptcnch once made a Derby pro- 

 phecy, and went for Newcourt, on the ground that no 

 other prophet had even mentioned him. Grave 

 weeklies occasionally undertake to comment ironically 

 on the turf and its doings ; but owing to the writers' 

 spirited but impotent efforts to deal with racing terms, 

 the articles are barely English. One had a long one 

 on the St. Leger of 1854, in which it made Ivan the 

 winner ; and another disposed of the Goodwood 

 Meeting by simply saying that it " came off on Tues- 

 day ; Quince was the leading horse, winning easily by 

 a length." Shoe Lane has given up her sporting 

 oracle " Bunbury," who had a mania for " time- 

 handicaps," and regularly republished the great handi- 

 caps corrected on that scale ! " Vates" was long on 

 the Moriiiitg Advei^tiser ; the Globe had " ^sop ;" 

 the Sun, "A Fresh Man ;" the Daily Telegraph com- 

 menced by announcing the prophecies of " Her- 

 cules ;" and the Racing Times had great success with 

 " Priam." After all, there is nothing richer than the 

 style in which the minor prophets were wont to gloss 

 over their mistakes. Speaking of the Derby of 1854, 

 in which they came nearer the mark than usual, one 

 said — 



" There are no IFS, or shoulds, or coulds, or doubts in our pro- 

 phecy. The Mouse boldly said i, Andover ! 2, Wild Huntsman ! ! 

 3, Dervish ! ! ! What is the result ? Andover is First ! At Tatten- 

 ham Comer Wild Huntsman led, followed by Dervish, the latter even 

 now claiming the fourth place." 



And again — 



** We must congratulate our readers on the fulfilment of The Mouse's 

 Prophecy for the Oaks. He gave Omoo first, Meteora second. 

 Omoo did not run ; but Meteora came in second ; while, owing to 

 the weather possibly, Mincemeat, an outsider, won." 



