The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-15 00:00:00

TRAITS OF SPOR7ING LIFE.

FROM THE NOTE BOOK OF " EDGARDO GREENHORN."
(From Bell's Life.)
No. I.—YE MAN IN YE STREET.

In days gone by, this well-known appendage of Turf
mysteries was supposed to be a myth—he is now a solid
mass of very commonplace humanity—in fact, there are
many of the species living, and I will describe some of
them. The present wayfarer, in his pilgrimage through
the busy streets of London, may not be aware that in a
part of the ancient City, within the precincts of the parish
of St. Bridget, otherwise St. Bride, and skirting its burial
ground, is a circuitous narrow street, called Bride-lane—
in the last generation when Lumber Troopers and other
political personages dwelt or met in the City, it was known
as containing a celebrated place of resort for venerable
fogies celled Cogers, who imbibed beer and puffed tobacco
in an inn called Cogers' Hall ; but Cogers and Lumber
Troopers are things of the past, and a new class frequents
the locality; for during the racing season the lane is
crowded by the strangest conglomerate of the human.
form divine to be met within the bills of mortality.

My younger brother, Mr. Wellington Hill Greenhorn,
had been intended from infancy for the army. The cash
was ready for a commission in her Majesty's Coldcreams,
but want o interest prevailed, and so the youth grew
beyond the age at which mushroom officers are gene-
rally received. He was apparently El, well-regulated
lad, decorous in outward form, of dashing, rollicking
spirit, when let loose ; and lighted up briar-wood pipes out
of sight of the paternal windows ; still we never supposed
him to he a backer of horses, and I had now and then taken
the trouble to caution him against the manyrisks insepara-
ble from any indulgence in that line. His father thought
that the popular movement would contrive to fill up his
leisure hours, and was glad to hear that he had enrolled
himself in a corps locally knovtn as the "Mile End Mons-
trosities ; " but he soon discovered that they were a very
snobbish set, and having satisfied himself that an invasion
of England from any quarter was not on the cards, he ex-
changed into the "Finsbury Funkingtens," whose uniform
was a little more dazzling than the other, and the rank and
file generally much more jelly. At squad drill he had
more particularly fraternised with an uncle, one' of the
ancient guild of Lombards, now bearing the sign of the
three golden dumplings, and with another enthusiastic
volunteer, who proved to be the son and heir of an eminent
undertaker; one was known as " Balls " and the other as
" Coffins," and both were addicted to "backing 'em," so
that it can scarce be wondered at Greenhorn, jun., follow-
ing suit, and it was from my having discovered this little
weakness that I paid an occasional visit to Bride-lane.
I had heard of the " London Welsh Brigade," and
seen it advertised in the daily newspapers, so that on
my first turning out of Fleet-street and finding
myself surrounded by " Welchers " of every grade, it
struck me that I had suddenly got into not over-
reputable company, and a very natural impulse suggested
an instant retreat ; but just at this moment I caught sight
of my worthy brother in earnest converse with a short,
middle-aged fellow, looking like a decayed jockey made up
for a funeral party. I stood a moment unobserved, when
he said, "You must stand him two pound, sir, and one soy
for a place," when a loud voice behind me said, " Now,
then, on you goes to Turkey ;" with which a portion of the
crowd began to move slowly forward, and, turning round,
I found that the voice was that of a good-tempered-looking
policeman, who walked along the footway followed by a
part only of the brigade, and this part gradually tailed off,
so that when the constable had arrived at the point where
the lane turns at a direct angle they were all busy at their
avocation, and he leisurely went to the other end, and as
leisurely returned. When he got to the angle again and
varied his speech by the simple words, "Move on," a few
then honoured him by walking quietly along to the Fleet-
street end, and so the thing went on. I found that there was
some joke about the inhabitants having been annoyed, and
the " traffic" of the street impeded, which had occasioned
the officer to be placed there on special duty, with instruc-
tions to apprehend any one infringing the law suppressing
betting houses, or committing a breach of the peace. The in-
, habitants in that portion of the betting exchange most fre-
quently appeared to be but few. On the right-hand side wee
the high wall of the churchyard, on the left a public house
milk and chandler shops, and a warehouse of some kind,
used as a hospital fcr decayed pianofortes ; and as to the
traffic, I should think that nothing beyond a dust cart
early in the morning, one of Herbert Clarke's coal waggons,
or an occasional " Shillibeor" on a Sunday, ever entered
the street; nor would pedestrians be likely to traverse it,
for as Dickens, I think, once said, it led out of some place
that nobody ever came from to some other place that nobody
ever went to. It is not worth while to record the common
slang used by the class of which I am writing, and which
I have noticed in modern print ad nauseam about " milk-
ing," " bottling," " roping," &c., &c. There was plenty
of it on this occasion, for the owner, trainer, and all con-
nected with one " Man Friday," were fearfully denounced
for having " misled" the public, the same " public" con-
sisting of the choice lot by whom I was surrounded. My
near relative on catching sight a his elder brother had
contrived to slip away somewhere, but I managed to un-
earth the young gentleman at the bar of an adjoining
"public," where several knowing old hands were assembled
for business, and where in very large letters stood the
words, "No betting allowed at this bar." A loquacious
fellow had followed me in, and, gently touching my arm,
said inquiringly,
" Want to back anything, sir ?"
I hastily, perhaps rudely, replied in the negative, and
said something bout a stranger taking a liberty.
" Never mind, never mind," he remarkei quietly, " no
liberty, sir; this is a free country. I saw you among the
noble army of martyrs, and thought, of course, you wanted
to lay out a trifle. I have a certainty, but never mind."
This was the exact way to touch the chord, and I told
him so ; he seemed to misunderstand me, but admitted that
there were several parties who ought to have "touched a
cord" long ago, and that it was not impossible Mr. Ketch
may some day or other get hold of them. I had now joined
my brother and his two friends; they turned out to be
Messrs. Balls and Coffin, the volunteers, who, having half
an hour to spare, had just looked in accidentally to hear
whether there was anything stirring. In answer to my
enquiry as to tho chance of the peripatetic bookmakers
meeting at settling day, they said, very much to my sur-
prise, that two or three were always to be heard of—pro-
bably because they had not been "hit"—and paid with
great regularity.
Having arrived outside, and standing on a step, I had a
full view of the betting exchange, which by that time had
become more crowded. There stood the policeman getting
bewildered, and repeating the phrase which half an hour
before had startled me, ,g Now my lads, on you goes to
Turkey; move on I" but the lads did not appear in any
hurry to get to that spot of oriental luxuriance. The
,ope-
ration was not easy, and getting much the same as Jullieanr:
"promenade" concerts in his best days. The man of minded
in the street was spare-looking, but intelligent—he rem
me of the performing elephant in a travelling menagerie,
who, without any apparent effort, picks up minute
things with its sensitive trunk from visitors' hands, and
deposits them with great rapidity in its mouth, The geia..