In
the sporting phrase, 'turf men never back any thing to win;'
they have no favourites, unless there is a X; and their
common practice is to accommodate all, by taking the odds,
till betting is reduced to a _certainty_.
~331~~He had it seems come off by the Brighton ten o'clock coach,
and was now, "according to his usual custom i' the afternoon," on the
look-out for an _invite_ to a good dinner and a bottle. As I knew he
would prove an agreeable, if not a very useful companion in our present
enterprise, I did not hesitate to present him to Echo and Transit, who,
upon my very flattering introduction, received him graciously; although
Bob hinted he was rather _too old_ for a _play-fellow_, and Echo
whispered me to keep a _sharp lookout_, as he strongly suspected he was
a _staff officer_ of the _new Greek corps of Sappers and Miners_. In
London you can neither rob nor be robbed genteelly without a formal
introduction: how Echo had contrived it I know not, but we were very
politely ushered into the grand club-room, a splendid apartment of
considerable extent, with a bow-window in front, exactly facing White's.
To speak correctly of the elegance and taste displayed in the
decorations and furniture, not omitting the costly sideboard of
richly-chased plate, I can only say it rivalled any thing I had ever
before witnessed, and was calculated to impress the young mind with the
most extravagant ideas of the wealth and magnificence of the members or
_committee_.
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