that they all select their winners out
of the first four favourites. Anybody could do that. Now the first
four favourites do not by any means always win, and, when they do,
how short are the odds you get--hardly worth mentioning! Horses
occasionally win with odds of forty to one against them, _these_ are
the animals of which I was in search, not the hackneyed favourites
of the Press and the Public. This, I think you will find, is usually
the attitude of the Duffer, who, in my time, was known, I cannot say
why, as the "Juggins." I liked to bring a little romance into my
speculations. Often I have backed a horse for his name, for something
curious, or literary, or classical about his name. _Xanthus_, or
_Podargus_, or _Phaeeton_, or _Lampusa_ has often carried my investment
to an inconspicuous position in the ruck. Another plan of mine, which
I believe every Duffer adopts, was backing my dreams--those horses of
air. About the time of the Derby one always reads about lucky persons
who backed a dream. But one does not read about the unlucky persons
who take the same precaution. Several millions of people in this
country read, talk, and think about nothing but racehorses. When the
Socialists have their way, may I advise them to keep up Government or
communal racing studs and stables? What the betting is to be done in,
if there is no money (which is contemplated as I understand), is not
obvious. But the people will insist on having races, and what is a
race without a bet? However, these considerations wander from the
subject in hand. With a fourth of the population thinking about
horses, a large proportion must dream about horses. Out of these
dreams, perhaps one in one hundred and fifty thousand comes true, and
about that dream we read in the papers. We don't read about the other
dreams, such as mine were, for I have dreamed of winning numbers,
winning colours, winning horses, but my dreams came all through the
Ivory Gate, and my money followed them.

[Illustration: "Yet here I was finally unsuccessful."]

I don't pretend to be a judge of a horse; except for their colour they
all seem pretty much alike to me. Nor did I haunt race-courses much,
people there are often very unrefined, and the Ring is extremely
noisy and confusing. Once I heard a man offering to lay considerable
odds against the Field, and I offered in a shy and hesitating manner,
to accept them. He asked me what horse I backed? I said none in
particular, the