And I dreamed—such a dream! I was holding forth in court,
And the prisoners in the dock,—how the Sporting League 'twould shock!—
Were the Princes, and the Nobles, and the Leading Lights of Sport.
A supreme, successful raid on the Jockey Club we'd made.
No mere stuffy, sordid set, of poor betting-men this time,
No cheap winner-spotting snobs, but a lot of topping nobs,
And I had them on the hip, and I charged the lot with Crime!
It was prime to see a Prince at my language flush and wince,
And a Lord Chief Justice squirm, and a stern-faced Judge quite blench.
But—I could not fail to mark the demeanour of the Clerk,