Page:Littell's Living Age - Volume 126.djvu/313

Rh  Mr. Gowett was the light weight of the hussars, and had already won two flat races at the meeting with horses belonging to officers of the regiment. Egan, also, in whose selection of the Indian army for his profession Newmarket and the home-ring had sustained an irreparable loss, had carried off more than one event for a sporting indigo-planter, who it was rumoured paid him a handsome commission thereon, and now appeared for the first time on the mysterious mare entered as Maid Marian, a ragged-hipped animal of undeniable blood and power, but with bent knees, and back sinews concealed from view by elastic stockings. Maid Marian, who seemed to walk lame, took her preliminary canter in very stiff fashion, suggestive of age and hard work, but went over the first fence in very business-like style. Mr. Egan himself, a slight sallow little fellow, with smooth face and a small scrubby moustache, who always made appearance a secondary consideration to business, was attired in a brown garment resembling a decayed stable-jacket, with serviceable brown cords and ancient top-boots, but looked, as to style of riding, every inch a jockey. "It's legs and arms that do the business," he observed to Mr. Sniffers of his regiment, when that gentleman had attempted to banter him on his personal appearance; "not what's outside of 'em. I'll tell you what, Sniff, I'll give you two stone over a mile for anything you like to name, and you shall wear silk tights and pumps, if you like," — an offer which his brother officer declined to close with. All the rest were got up in regular racing-trim, except Chupkin, who had a wife to dress as well as himself, and therefore with virtuous self-denial rode in his regimental jack-boots. Mr. Scurry was especially splendid in scarlet with a white cap, and polished tops just arrived from England. Yorke's colours were blue. The young man, in view of a certain promissory note rapidly maturing, had prudently refrained from investing in a new saddle for the occasion, but had supplied himself with new girths, stirrup-leathers, and bridle, all strong and serviceable.

Mr. Scurry's Roostum, as has been mentioned, was a hot favourite at the race-ordinary two days before; but the circumstance that this sporting young gentleman had lost both the races ridden by him on two different horses on the first day, compared with the obvious skill and address displayed by Messrs. Gowett and Egan, had depreciated Roostum in public estimation, and Veteran, a winner of the previous day, was now first favourite, with Maid Marian in close attendance; for although nothing was known about the antecedents of the latter animal, it was generally understood that Mr. Egan and his confederate knew what they were about. Nevertheless, when Mr. Scurry rode Roostum out of the paddock, the beauty of the horse and its unusual size for an Arab, contrasted with the gummy appearance of the mare and Mr. Lunge's ancient charger, led to a reaction of feeling, more especially as Roostum, although very fresh and impetuous, and almost unseating his rider in his efforts to get his head loose, nevertheless cleared the first fence in his preliminary canter like a deer; and before it returned to the starting-post the chestnut Arab was almost restored to its position in public estimation. The ladies, at any rate, were entirely in favour of the pretty creature with the smart jockey, as it bounded along with the springy action peculiar to Arabs, tossing its shapely neck, and ready to jump out of its skin.

The steeplechase-course extended beyond the circumference of the ordinary race-course, which it left at the quarter-mile post out and rejoined again at the distance-post, the run in being parallel to and inside the flat course, so that the fences could be set up beforehand without interfering with the previous flat races, while the same winning-post served for both. Thus the flat course intervened between the stand and the straight part of the steeplechase-course; but as the former was only wide enough for