LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1925, 26 April 1880, Page 3

LITERATURE.

SKELETONS IN IHE CHALK. (From *' Chambers's Journal.") A few years ago, and in the spring time, there stood before a lonely public-house, beside the high road which runs from London to Salisbury, two men in earnest conversation. They were both slight of bnild and small of stature, but there was a difference In their age of, it might be, thirty years, the younger being apparently not more than twenty. It was sti 1 early in the morning, and a mist which had begun to fall soon after sunrise made objects at a hundred yards distance indistinct, though it did not entirely conceal them. ' We could scarcely have a better morning for the purpose,' said the elder of the two men. 'lf there should be anybody about here by chance who might happen to know me, he is not likely to be able to see much. Now, mind how you ride the mare, and do your very best with her, as if you were riding for the stakes. I shall start the horse at the toD of his speed when we get to Klinkman's Folly, and keep him at it as far as the Three Firs,' * I suppose you will time the distance ?' ' No, it is not worth while. I don't know the distance ; and, besides, I know there is not one among the lot that will run which could keep near the horse in such a trial as we are gcing to have.' Without exchanging any further remarks, they both went through the garden to the back of the house to the stables, when the trainer took a key from his pocket, and, after carefully examining the padlock, eo see if any attempt had been made to tamper with It—which, from the precautions he had taken, he would have discovered instantly —he nnlocked it, and entered the stable, followed by the jockey, to whom he had been giving the instructions just related. The stables belonging to the trainer were several miles distant. By some means, it had leaked out that the mare he had entered for the Derby was a 'flier.' Rumors of her speed and endurance were circulated among the few, which, if true, were such as to make her victory well-nigh secure, whatever t v e condition of the ground might be on the day of the race. Consequently, a man might be seen cutting turf very busily in one pla-e whenever thehorses appeared to take their exercise; in another a gipsy's wife was always assiduous at the tail of their travelling cart in making baskets or brushes, his son in leading the poor bea«t that drew it to get what little food it could find on the down, while he himself lurked about with a dog at his heels, aB if looking out for a stray rabbit. Besides these, as the time drew near for jthe race which takes half London out of doors, there were others who found their way to the place where Dawkin's horses took their exercise—tramps, who seemed to find the down a kind of 'enchanted ground,'for they always appeared asleep If anybody happened to come upon them when they were lying behind the furze and other bushes, though, if tbey were seen without their being aware of it, the spectator who did not i

know what they were doing there wonld have been very much surprised at seeing a beggar with a field-glasa. It waa to avoid the inquisitiveness of gentry of this kind that Dawkina had quietly removed the mare Stella from his stables to the inn referred to, in order to give her a final trial. Nobody in his stable knew where she had been taken to, and the only person who could speak of her performance waa Lester, the jockey who had been selected to ride her at the forthcoming races. When the mare was brought out of the stable, the first few inspirations of the fresh morning air seemed to intoxicate her; she reared and plunged about with the playfulness of a kitten, while the slightly older horse regarded her graceful bounds with an attentive gravity, and a critical expression that was almost humanlike, very much as if he were the manager of an opera watching the performance of a ballet-dancer whose services he thought of engaging. The tainer knew better than to attempt to produce greater sobriety in her demeanor by either threats or objurgations; holding her by the end of a long leather strap, he allowed her to curvet and bound to her heart's content till they came to a part of the plain perfectly free from obstructions ; here the cloth was stripped from her, and her bright and glistening coat flashed back the light from her sides with quite a dazzling effect. The fairest lady never had her dress adjusted with more scrupulous care on her bridal morn than was beatowed in placing and securing the saddle on the beautiful animal, nor could she have shown more amusingly, by her little pettish impatience, the effects of over indulgence. The preparations having been completed, the trainer assisted the jockey to mount, then threw his leg lightly over his own saddle, and the two animals attempted to go off with a rush, but were soon checked and kept at a moderate speed till the circulation had been gradually increased. At Klinkman's Folly, Dawklns, who had been looking about in all directions to see if any human being were visible, gave tbe order, and the horses|went away swifter than the wind. There were no coquettish tricks now on the part of the mate; emulation on the part of both animals absorbed every other feeling, and it was beautiful to see the eagerness expressed in the eye of the creature as she flew along side by side with her 'companion. The trial waa soon over, and one would almost believe she had the same desire which a woman feels when she has gained a victory over an opponent of the opposite sex to console him for the mortification she had inflicted, there was such a subdued, soothing expression evinced in the way in which she gently stroked her head against his neck. On the evening of the same day a similar trial wa3 attended with a similar result, and the following morning she was occupying her own particular stable, from which she had been removed for the purpose of the trial. The next day Dawkins's brother arrived, and returned to London with instructions to back the mare to an amount which if she lost would be the ruin of her trainer, and a letter to the owner, which ran thus—'My Lord, —The mare is altogether safe. I have put every penny I have on her.' Only five days had to elapse before the arrival of the Wednesday which was to affect the future of so many persons. Thomas Dawkins, the brother of the trainer, had the opportunity of getting the largest odds against the mare, though as soon as it became generally known that he waß backing her the odds offered against her at once diminished, and these fell lower and lower when her owner, who was noted for the uprightness of his conduct in regard to sporting matters, backed the horse as long as any odds were offered against it. On the Friday previous to the race a lady was lying on a sofa in a rather small but ex. ceedingly handsomely furnished room, idly glancing at the pages of a novel, which she got through at a great rate, as she read only those which were capable of exciting a sensation in the mind of a person to whom strong and exciting sensations were a matter of daily experience. The light, which was allowed to stream into the room through two

large open windows, illuminated every feature of a face whioh waa considered beautiful by those who follow the fashion in this bb in other things, but was in reality inferior in this respect to that of many who were scarcely noticed by the men who were not ashamed to class themselves among her adorers. The expression was gentle and intplligent, not at all that of one who desired to attract attention ; in fact, it was even quieter and more subdued than is usual among women who possess fewer attractions. Her occupation waa interrupted by the entrance of one of her own sex with a letter. This letter did not take her long to read, and all that is necessary for the elucidation of our narrative to say of it is, that it was written by Edward Lester, the jockey, and contained the information that the mare Stella was certain to win, and that her owner had backed her for an immense sum. _ After reading the letter several times, to impress it upon her memory, she took it into an adjoining room, lighted a match, and in an instant it was reduced "to ashes. She returned to the sofa, but not to reßume her novel, and there was something now in her mind which darkened her countenance and banished from it the expression of contented enjoyment of existence which it had exhibited just before. After ruminating for some minutes, Bho rose and opened one of those pretty caskets which the French send over here in scch profusion; from this she took a letter, and as she read it her cheeks became scarlet, her breathing quick and tronbled, and she had scarely strength enough to stagger to » chair. Her agitation on reading this old letter proved that her life had not been quite -without its troubles.

By degrees she recovered composure, bat remained turned in deep thought; suddenly she started into life like one waking from a horrible dream, and determined to do some* thing to shake off the recollection. Taking a pen, she hastily wrote a few lines to Letter, requesting him to come to town immediately as hia mother was not expected to live many hoars. This she signed as though it came from his sister. With this letter In his hand, he went to Dawkins, and told him he must go to London at onoe, bnt that he woald return the next morning. To this the trainer made no objection ; Lester was at least as respectable as other men of bis class, and Dawkins had an additional guarantee for his honesty on the present occasion in the knowledge that, in addition to the sum which had ban staked on the mare for the lad's benefit, by direction of the owner, be had expended as much money as he could command on his own account. The visitors who called to see Miss Stanley that evening, in the expectation of meeting friends and acquaintance*, were sent away disappointed, with the information that she was too unwell to receive company, Lester alone was admitted. »/b be continued.)