The Life of a Great Sportsman 



There were many pictures in the old house at Limber where 

 we three were born and brought up, that grew up with us, and 

 of these, two life-size portraits impressed us with a certain 

 amount of awe, and interested us immensely, as soon as we 

 were old enough to understand who they were, and in what 

 relation they stood to us. 



One was a life-size portrait of an old gentleman with a kind 

 but fiery face, short grey hair, small yet twinkling grey-blue 

 eyes, dressed in a striped waistcoat, blue coat with brass 

 buttons, breeches and top boots. 



We were told this was our great-great-uncle, " Squire " 

 Richardson of Limber and Immingham, who, being childless 

 himself, had adopted our father when he was quite a small boy 

 — little older, in fact, than we were — had educated him ; and, 

 finally, when he and his wife died, left him all his money, which 

 last was to come to us in equal shares, when I, who was the 

 youngest, was twenty-one years old. Naturally it took some 

 time for this information to dawn upon us in its full value, but 

 we learned soon enough that we were indebted for all we 

 enjoyed, and were to enjoy in time to come, to this same jovial, 

 red-faced old gentleman. We also learned, that it was no 

 mean fortune we were each likely to inherit. 



It is a matter of history, as we were often told, that in the 

 first place, the artist who painted this picture had so modified 

 the tints of the face, that our uncle indignantly repudiated his 

 facsimile. "Paint me as I am, or not at all," said he. As a 

 matter of fact our grandmother, Mrs. Maunsell, used to tell us 

 that " the old gentleman could talk himself handsome in ten 

 minutes." He often laughingly told the story that he had 

 heard strangers say when travelling, " It's taken some port wine 

 to colour that face." In reality, "eczema" was to blame for his 

 high colour, for he was a water-drinker all the latter part o£ 



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