1773 THE MISTERS 117 



Foley) were confederates upon the Turf, and were, 

 respectively, the Hon. Thomas Foley (afterwards Lord 

 Foley) and the Hon. and Rt. Hon. Charles James Fox 

 (prince of orators and gamblers). 



Lord Foley (second Baron of the second creation) 

 was one of the ' shocking examples ' of the Jockey 

 Club. He is said to have begun his career upon the 

 Turf with about 20,OOOL a year, and 100,OOOL in 

 ready money ; and before his death (at the age of 51, 

 in July, 1793) he had been obliged to retire with no 

 ready money, with his estates dreadfully encumbered, 

 and with his constitution shattered. He was the 

 Foley of whom George Selwyn, the wit, remarked, 

 that ' when he crossed over to France (as he would do 

 to avoid his creditors) it was a pass-over not at all to 

 the liking of the Jews.' He was, as it were, the pro- 

 totype among members of the Jockey Club of the late 

 unfortunate Marquess of Hastings, even to the closest 

 similitude of dire humiliation ; for it is reported that 

 both noble Lords, at the conclusion of their career, 

 were insolently requested to ' stake down ' if they de- 

 sired to have a bet with the public ' layers of odds.' 



Mr. Fox (who was born in 1749 and died in 1806, 

 in the same year as Pitt, and just a dozen, or round 

 dozen, of years after his confederate) is well known 

 to have been ruined by gambling two or three times 

 during his life, and, though his splendid political 

 career is inconsistent with the appellation of * shocking 

 example ' in his case, yet he was undoubtedly as bad 



