“I understood, however, that horse-racing, steeple-chasing, and dog fighting were the main subjects of their discourse. “‘You give a rare account of the aristocracy,’ said Peace. “‘I’ve had pretty much to do with them,’ returned the gipsy. ‘Well, the first night I went to bed in my lord’s house I couldn’t sleep a wink, the bed was so soft and uncomfortable. I got up early, and cleaned out the kennel. About eleven o’clock my lord and his friends came down the yard. “‘Well,’ ses he, ‘have you had a look at the stud yet?’ “‘No, my lord,’ says I; ‘your chaps wouldn’t like that.’ “‘They’ll have to learn better manners,’ said my lord. He then had ’em all turned out――eight or nine on ’em there were. ‘Harkye,’ said he to the men, ‘this is my training groom,’ pointing to me; ‘so for the future attend to his orders as coming from me. Put up the bar, and bring out Redfern, Curband, and Beeswing. We are going to have some leaping. Now,’ he said, addressing himself to me; ‘there will be some crack steeple horses here presently, and you must see what you can do with them. Jump up, and give these a breathing before the others arrive. Have the saddle put on which you like.’ “‘I don’t want a saddle, my lord,’ ses I; and up I jumped on a grey horse, named Custard, as I afterwards learnt. “After I had made a few leaps, I placed shillings between my knees and the ’oss’s sides, and the same under my seat, and to their astonishment cleared the bar without displacing them. “My lord was evidently delighted. He drew me on one side, out of earshot of the rest, and said, in a whisper, ‘You shall be my steeple-race jockey, but mind, don’t show all you can do at present.’ “‘All right,’ says I. “‘I had no idea Custard could do so much till you rode him.’ “‘Why, my lord,’ said I, ‘I knowed the grey horse when a baby. I could win all the steeplechases in the country with him.’” “Why, how came you to know the horse?” inquired Peace. The gipsy looked at the questioner with one eye only. “Why, Lord bless us,” he answered, with a merry twinkle in his eye, “father and I knowed every ’oss as was worth knowing in every country we travelled in, and got money by carrying information about ’em from place to place. “Well, a great race was to come off soon after this. My lord had taken the field twenty to one over and over ag’in against Custard for the steeplechase which was to be run on the following week, so he stood to win eight thousand if I could bring Custard in a winner, and that I felt I could make sure of. “But I must tell you, however, that my lord and I, after being so nutty upon one another, all of a sudden on this morning began to wrangle. First he began teaching me how to ride. Well, I couldn’t stand that nohow.