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matter of course, if not absolutely of duty, whose 

 carriages were always expected to be there, and 

 whose patronage was advertised in the days 

 when Town and Trade subscribed for a town 

 plate, the licensed victuallers put their little backs 

 together and endowed a race named after the 

 Trade, and you supported a meeting by subscrib- 

 ing to the fund, also partaking of the benefits of 

 the Race dinner, in whose interests were run 

 ''Claret" and "Champagne" Stakes, whereof 

 the winners were bound to furnish so many 

 dozens of each for the race subscribers' 

 delectation. 



Unless you knew the district, you would 

 scarcely believe what a lot of interest villagers in 

 these parts take in horse-racing. Yorkshire is 

 supposed to talk horse. I should stand on the 

 back blocks of Berkshire against the Tikes or 

 the Bites for interest in the Turf. Great 

 believers they appear to be in touts' tips, and 

 are, I guess, fine customers in their way to the 

 local s.p. merchants, not above taking small bets 

 at a time. Certainly they get enough certain 

 winners for a single race given them to last 

 through a three days meeting. I suppose this is 

 because there are so many stables handy. Any- 

 way, they all seem to know a powerful lot of 

 news more or less inaccurate, and do themselves 

 no harm through being so privileged. Fine, 

 healthy sites have the stables on the hills between 

 Lambourne, Wantage, and Newbury, with beauti- 

 ful country in the Lambourne Valley — the 

 Lambourne had retired for a while, after you 

 are a little further up the omnibus line than 

 Shefford, and was dry as a mouldy bone. I 

 wouldn't care much to be there long in the winter 



