LADY GAY'S SELECTIONS.

_Mount Street, Grosvenor Square._

DEAR MR. PUNCH,--Your marvellous judgment in the selection of your
"staff"--(I believe that is the correct term to use in speaking
of those who write for the paper, though as a rule a staff is
_wooden-headed_, which I am sure none of your contributors are!--I
can answer for _one_!)--has again placed you in the position
envied of all Journals, viz.,--(_why_ do people put "viz.," and
not "namely"?--it _is_ silly!) that of affording "information"
given by no other Journal! All of which preamble means,--(by
the way, why "pre-_amble_"?--if one is a speedy writer, why not
"pre-_canter_"?)--that _Punch_, in the person of LADY GAY--(that _may_
seem a little mixed, but it isn't)--was the _only_ Sporting Paper
which tipped the winner of the Cesarewitch!

For confirmation of this I refer the sceptical to my last week's
letter, in which I stated that in dreaming of the race I dreamt that
"_Burnaby came to the rescue_"--and if this is not giving the winner,
I should like to know what is! It is true I made _Brandy_ my "verse
selection," but that would only mislead the people who go no further
than the surface (not of the brandy), as anyone who gave the matter a
moment's thought would realise that Brandy is always applied _after_
a rescue! I hear there was a "ton of money" for the winner just before
the start, but I did not see anyone carrying it about, so I suppose it
was what they call "covering money," which, I presume, is covered over
for safety, as it would be risky to walk about a race-course with a
ton of loose money--not that I suppose anyone who goes racing would
touch it, but it _might_ be lost! Anyhow, there was a ton of money