THE FIRST OF THE PLUNGERS. 37 



that of his town residence. Lord Barrymore accepted the pro- 

 posal ; the song was finished that evening, and sang amid tre- 

 mendous applause to the members of the Jockey Club. And 

 here it will be as well to wind up our sketch of his career on the 

 Turf In 1792 he sold Chanticleer to the Duke of York for 

 2700 guineas ; and, at the close of that year, made such very 

 material reductions in his stud as to show his intention of 

 speedily retiring altogether from the fascinating sport, over 

 which in four years he had lost no less than 100,000/. There can 

 be little doubt that he was cheated both by his trainer and his 

 jockeys, all of whom were in collusion with blacklegs and 

 sharpers. And in those days it must be remembered that black- 

 legs and sharpers were to be found in the very highest circles — 

 indeed, even among the members of the Jockey Club itself! 

 Honesty was the exception, not the rule ; and it was generally 

 found in company with the simplicity and imbecility of the 

 pigeon. Lord Barrymore himself, prey though he was to the 

 sharpers, was not considered a sportsman of immaculate honesty, 

 for plunging is not necessarily a proof of probity. He was at 

 any rate suspected of sharp practice at play, and is said to have 

 won a large sum from Charles James Fox, owing to the latter 

 wearing big buttons of polished steel, which reflected his cards 

 and enabled his opponent to forestall his game. It is only jus- 

 tice to Lord Barrymore, however, to add that he and Charles 

 James Fox were considered the two best and fairest handicappers 

 of their time, and there were few, if any, complaints against their 

 adjustment of weights. 



The decline of Lord Barrymore's interest in the Turf was, 

 however, to be traced to other causes than his losses. He had 

 from the first a passion for theatricals, and in 1790 he built a 

 private theatre at Wargrave, which cost 60,000/., and was pro- 

 bably the finest theatre ever seen in England. He spent up- 

 wards of 3000/ on the wardrobe, and had a regular company of 

 professionals from London staying in the house for two-thirds of 

 the year. These professionals were not the most reputable of 

 their calling, and the orgies at Wargrave became such a scandal 

 in the neighbourhood that, when Lord Barrymore was steward 

 of the Reading Races, all the magnates of the county withdrew 

 their support. The course was almost deserted, and Lord Barry- 

 more had to run his own and his friends' horses for prizes given 

 by himself! He was at this time, too, a great patron of the Ring. 

 No less than six prizefighters were staying at Wargrave at the 



