THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



face, carrying the dog with him ; and, had not the severity of his 

 bite obHged the otter to let go his hold, Lion would have been 

 very shortly drowned. But the animal had received a wound 

 from the strong jaws of Lion, which so crippled his powers, that 

 in less than half an hour from the time he was first found, Mr. 

 Wright exhibited him on his spear-head, to the great joy of the 

 party, and particularly of Frank Raby, who, to use the words 

 of Taplin, one of the sporting authorities of that day, was 

 ' ecstatic with delight.' Unable to find another, the sports- 

 men returned to their homes, Frank and the huntsman having 

 been previously refreshed by the honest-hearted master of this 

 small pack. 



' Well, Frank,' said Mr. Raby to him, on his return, ' how do 

 you like otter-hunting ? ' ' Oh, very good fun,' he replied ; ' but 

 not so good as hunting with our own hounds, because it is so 

 soon over, for one reason ; and again, I don't much like hunting 

 on foot. But, papa, I could have told all about it from those 

 lines Mr. Egerton read to us last night, in the library, from 

 Somerville's Chase. It lis quite curious how well he described 

 everything I saw with Mr. Wright's hounds. What a sportsman 

 Mr. Somerville must have been, eh, papa ! ' 



' Why,' replied Mr. Raby, ' I am unable to speak decidedly 

 on that point ; but he was an amiable man, and a good country 

 gentleman ; although, by his liberality exceeding his means, 

 he greatly injured his estate, but not his family, for he had 

 none. Doctor Johnson, however, who lately wrote his life, 

 as a poet (the Doctor, I presume, could say nothing of him as 

 a sportsman), allows him one merit — that of setting a good 

 example to men of his own class, by devoting part of his 

 time to elegant knowledge; and showing, by the subjects which 

 his poetry has adorned, that it is practicable to be at once a 

 skilful sportsman and a man of letters — a hint which I trust, 

 Frank, you will take to yourself. But the Doctor could not 

 let him off" without a slap. He says — *' He writes very well for 

 a gentleman." ' 



' Well,' resumed Frank, ' I shouldn't wonder but Wilkins, 

 who drives the Balloon coach, had been reading what Dr. 

 Johnson said of Mr. Somerville ; for, on my asking him, the 

 other day, if Sir John Inkleton was not a very good coachman ? 

 he answered, " Why, Master Francis, Sir John drives very well 

 for a gentleman." ' 



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