THE TURF 95 



sitting yes, he once staked that sum on a 

 throw we were not surprised that the 

 domain of Blythe passed into other hands ; 

 and that the once accomplished owner of 

 it became the tenant of a premature grave. 

 1 The bowl of pleasure/ said Johnson, 'is 

 poisoned by reflection on the cost'; and 

 here it was drunk to the dregs. Colonel 

 Hellish ended his days, not in poverty, for 

 he acquired a competency with his lady, 

 but in a small house within sight of the 

 mansion that had been the pride of his 

 ancestors and himself. As, however, the 

 wind is tempered to the shorn lamb, Colonel 

 Hellish was not without consolation; he 

 never wronged any one but himself, and, as 

 an owner of race-horses and a bettor, his 

 character was without spot. 



Among other leading sportsmen of the 

 turf, now no more, were the late Duke of 

 Grafton, and Douglass, Duke of Hamilton. 

 The Duke of Grafton was a keen sports- 

 man, and an excellent judge of racing ; and 

 his horses having been well and honestly 

 ridden by South, he was among the few 

 great winners amongst great men. It is 

 somewhat singular that the success of the 



