Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-11-16

and fiacre at our entire disposal. l thought
1t good policy that Aluminium should not
be seen before the eventful day. It was not
that my conscience pricked me in the least
because Aluminium was mineral instead of
animal that took so many precautions. but
because in these old countries there are such
prejudiced and narrow minded people that
are always ready to war against new ideas as
if they We're culpable innovations. Accord
ing to my opinion, horse is no less a horse
because he Is not made of the old-fashioned
conventional flesh and blood. Look at the
wooden horse of Troy, the loadstone horse
| OF the Arabian Nights. the bronze horses Of
the blind Doge DaEdolo, and last, and not
least, the
famous horse of brass
On which the Tartar King did ride"
celebrated in immortal verse by Chaucer and
Milton! These last were metallic horses like
a horse Of mettle is an accepted and honored
term as we'll on the turf as at the Jockey
| Club. Nevertheless, it is well to guard
against malicious persons.
/ felt myself quite worn out with the
mental strain and anxiety to which had
been subjected even with the trifng pre-
liminaries / have sought to describe. Still
more arduous labors were in store for me.
felt that the greater part Of the respon-
sibility devolved upon me. as the machine.
win. FL
now turned my attention to the book.
| makers. Rymil's horse, Bruce, and the Duke
OF Hamilton's Fenelon, were the only oppo-
Aluminium's time. I went continually to
| the Jockey Club to endeaver to persuade my
most intimate friends to back my quadru-
ped. I had some trouble, blythe by, the
| day before the race. Although / had
| recorded Aluminium's pedigree as sired
by Invention and damned BY Cheek-this is
not profane-yet had entirely forgotten to
| nscribe on the committees books the exact
sex of my sentry" However, as this was
rather more q matter of taste than one OF
conjecture, gallantly put down ''flly."
| with a sublime Indifference for the Latin
| gender of the namely the way, is it Latin
| They then requested me to sign paper
! guaranteeing that Aluminium was not more
| fully complied with alacrity, as I knew
she had been riveted together only last au-
| tumn.
In going the rounds Of the book makers
| in the evening / met Monsieur Druot, q
| member Of the French Academy, mild.
| scientific old gentleman, decorated with a
| comm andership of the Legion of Honor. He
stated that having heard that had made an
entry for the Grand PriX, he took the iiber-
| ty OF begging me to use nv influence with
| the guardians of the course in order that he
might be permitted to place a recently per I.
| fected Photographic instrument under the
| judges stand, or at the winning post-any-
where, if it were only on the iine-so as to
last struggle. I returned that 1 should
| only be too proud to assist him in any way
| that lay within my power In the further
| ance of his scientific researches, and gave
| him rendezvous on the course for the NOR
row.
In the meantime, while 1 had been en-
gagged in arranging the last preliminaries in
town, Joe and Bill English. under cover OF
| the darkness, had proceeded to the Bots
| with Aluminium and the ffacre 1917. Some
oft mid iohf 7 n
| them in a little isolated building opposite to
| the course, to the left OF the grand stand,
| that had been hired by Joe for the occasion.
| The strictest incognito had been successfully
maintained. Bill English had taken advant-
age of the dim starlight to ride Aluminium
| twice over the course, about three thousand
meters. The 'stime" made could not be
more promising, the only thing wanting be-
horse had so carefully selected for his re-
semblance to the machine quietly munching
| his oats; it must have been a treat to him,
| for his usual fare could not have been better
than hay at the best of times.
Joe had disposed OF the driver, who was
evidently fresh from the provinces, by prom
| Using to pay two francs an hour, and keep
| ing the horse an indefinite length of time.
watched the quiet enjoyment reflected in
| the poor animals confiding eyes bv the flick
ering light of badly trimmed oil-lamp, and
could not help feeling twinge OF conscience
at the thought that I had taken him from
the pursuit of his honest calling to make a
| "guy" of him, shortly after sunrise. before
some of the first ''thoroughbreds'' OF
| France and England.
| We had agreed that it was safer to replace
Aluminium by No: 1917 in the usual early
| morning canter, as the ''knowing ones -
| would be there, and our jockey thought it
| unwise to run the risk of minute inspection.
must confess that on retiring to a little
! low loft above the stable / scarcely slept a
wink, though half dead with fatigue, until
early dawn, when l was aroused from con-
| fused vision of phantom jockeys on skeleton
| horses, and demons brandishing pitchfOrks
| on the judges stand, by the X-o'clock bell
| of the great stables. AS glided down from
my perch, No. 1917 was leaving the stable,
saddled and mounted. 1 joined Joe, who,
me that he had set up all night, fearing that
| some one might steal into the stable aud dis
| cover the machine. great many people
| had come out from town to see the morning
canter-sporting. characters, book-makers,
| and the simply curious, who often show as
much interest in such matters as if they had
thousands at stake. Many OF the other
horses were already out. No. 1917 Weighed as
| he stepped on to the course; but Bill En-
| glish looked sullen and depressed.
''I'll give yer five francs for lis tide 70
shouted one Individual close by us.
| ''Put some salt on is tail!' roared an
other.a FmTEE
''Chaik lis beak -, said a third
| "Don't you mind what they say" whis-
pered Joe.
! But these little incidental remarks of the
| bystanders were nothing to the shouts Of
| laughter that greeted our unfortunate ''bo-
gus" as the jockey called him, after the
canter, when he came in thirty lengths be-
/ hind alFthe Others. - I'D
"Pll make 'em laugh out of the other side
OF their mouths. SIR. I'll show 'em trick
or two before the day is done," remarked
| Bill, sulenly, but with CLEAN in his eve
which showed that he meant mischief. 1t
was evident that the chatting he had under
gone had not agreed with him, and that he
was now more determined than ever to pay
them ont. "I'll eat him, saddle and all,
| s'elp me bob, sir, if l don'l!' said her as
he passed me on his way back to the stables.
There was nothing now for us to do hat to
await the grand event, and abide by the is
sue of the day. The odds were now five
hundred to one against Aluminium. OF
course, at such price, we rsked all that we
possessed and all we could borrow mat
| ter of about one hundred and twenty louis.
Joe appeared perfectly calm and confident
about the matter. This greatly treasured
| 1Al,1 1r1 srStc