38 JOHN BAYNTON STARKEY, ESQ. 



menced hunting for the horse ; and for fear of losing 

 any of the innumerable saddle-cloths, or lest in a 

 moment of abstraction he should mistake another for 

 the right saddle, he would carry the whole of the 

 things with him. The animal was seldom found until 

 the last minute, and he himself out of breath and 

 nearly dead with exhaustion. In the consequent haste 

 his horse was generally saddled and despatched on the 

 chance of its reaching the starting-point in time to take 

 part in the race, with the greater chance of losing half 

 the saddle-cloths, or the jockey, before facing the 

 starter. 



I was on one or two occasions mixed up with the 

 transactions between Mr. Starkey and his amiable 

 friends, the money-lenders ; never, I need scarcely say, 

 to my own benefit, but merely to assist a friend. My 

 last assistance to him of this kind proved disastrous to 

 myself. Some twelve months before he finally left 

 England, ruined and despondent, I gave him my name 

 to an acceptance for 300. As might have been ex- 

 pected, it was not paid, but had to be renewed, the old 

 bill being cancelled and forwarded to me and destroyed. 

 It was subsequently renewed several times; but unfor- 

 tunately the last bill was not given up at the time of 

 renewal, I being satisfied with Mr. Starkey 's assurance, 

 over and over again, that it should be forthcoming. The 

 circumstance was forgotten, until it was brought to my 

 memory in the following unpleasant way : On the first 

 day of Stockbridge Eaces, a polite, suasive, and half- 

 gentlemanly-looking, bald-headed little man in sober 

 attire, 'tidy and respectable' such as are generally 

 engaged to look after property that belongs to other 

 people, having none of their own came to me and said : 



' Mr. William Day, I think?' 



