The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1852-10-27


liant mass of'bonnets that thronged the
grand stand: Eet.me. alone before the .peo. !
pie was the fayorits horse of the day, and
her rider was the most popular man in all
the county, so thai everybody within twenty
miles around. from the peasant to the peer,
turned out to see Little Ginger and his
mare. .,.ftF MN Essf .t5.I,..s@ u ay
Precisely at eleven o'clock, my grand
father made his appearance at the sweigh.
ing stand, in bis well-itting tops, white
feathers. and loose jacket Of green velvet,
trimmed with gold, the perfect model of a
gentleman rider. The ladies waved their
handkerchiefs to him from the grand,stand,
and the crowd below pressed forward to
see the little squire as he passed. m
..Arrshl" one would say. "av he's little,
he's good" "Begor," another would ex.
claim ,J"twould be a hard case il wan ofthe
ould stock like the squire there, couldn't
bate sich spalpeen as Jack Dwyer, whose
father stud behind counther in Main
sthreet" 2.sBlessings on him for a fine.
likely gintleman!" some peasant girl would
calculate; THAT he may niver see a dark
day, is my prayer" +
And thus, as he went by, every one had
some good wish to give him. while he had
a sweet smile and friendly nod for all.
He found a'lknot of men on the turf
lounging about the weighing stand, with
some Of his antagonists of the day, among
others, Jack Dwyer, the owner Of one Of
the horses entered for the rtce.--a bay
stallion called Blueskin. ~
"Well, Blake" said Dwyer. who was a
Brobdignagan compared with my small
progenitor, and addressing him as he
stood with his saddle on his arm and his
bridIe in his hand. preparatory 10 stepping
into the weighing machine-"Well. Blake.
have you put plenty Of lead in your sad.
die skirts to day!" it' p
p"Yes," said my grandfather with a
smile, 81 always prefer carrying weight in
the saddle, to carrying il in the head"
A laugh ran round the circle at this sal.
ly. which was very fair hit at Dryers
well.known dullness. si % -is Wh
p"Take care, Blake" lretorted Dryer.
'.that your tongue to-day does not run
faster than your mare"
''Let it," rejoined my grandfatherA"it
does not matter to me- as long as 1 I'm
able to beat you with both."ag iog\b
q As he uttered these words, and was juAt
about to seat himself in the weighing md
chine, little man with faded red waistl
coat darted from the crowd. and laying
one hand on my grandfather's shoulder,
pulled crumped bit Of paper from his
pocket with the other. exclaiming in a
triumphant tone Of voice, "At the shute
of Darcy an Burke, sur!"
Ny grandfather flew into great pas.
sion. %tf aai aralleA 4 p
"D4-n your eyes. you rascal! what do
you mean?' he said, jumping up like an
eptome of q tiger; stake your hand off
Of me this instant, orsI'll "
"Begor, squire" said the little man "'tis
myself that's sorry to be obleeged to ,hrou-
Bile you. But there's no use resisting. !
arrest you atthe shute Of Darcy an Burke,
for the sum Of five hundred pounds an
costs"
II seemed as If thunderbolt had sud-
denly smitten my ancestor. His features
instantly contracted with a painful sorrow,
and he staggered q little back. 1t was no
wonder that he was thus excited, for few
knew Of how much Importance this race
was to him. The arrest, however, was a
fast not to be surmounted. Unless he paid
the money on the spot, he must be drag.
ged to Jail and rot his lite away The
race must also be lost, and all he had
staked upon it's issue; as 50 late a with
drawal was tantamonnt to forfeiting every
thing. He had backed bis mare heavily
on the event, and were it mol for this un-
toward incident, had attssi.solute certainly
or winning. What was to be aohsl He
heard the'low litter that ran round the betL
lingering, among those who had laid
against him, and he saw lhe rival jockies
smiling with ill-concealed delight at tho,
sopportune removal Of so dreaded =. s'a an, !,
tagor,ist He had. m-'evver, snrewu
sisn,oion sh~r Jack Dwyer, who was dis
'tantly ected with the people at whose
sr.. I'D been arrested, had some hand
IN the aHalr, ennext to my grandiaiher's
mare, his bay hots. BlGesk;n vas the
fSvorite. For . moment, my grandfather
thought lof getting sons one else 10 ride
his mare, bu, the ideagwas dismissed as
sccn as formed. LentsH. .alone,beforsrthe,
people would no mcrf have allowed a.
s,raa eer Is cross her back Than she would
NV shau1hl,d permitting her feet ID BE-