THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



be entirely his own? Or where is the genius that we wish 

 to have trammelled by the impressions of others? Are we 

 sure Shakespeare would have been what he was, had he been a 

 deeply-read scholar? At all events, our public seminaries of 

 learning do not exactly correspond with the precept delivered 

 by the Spartan king, — " that the child should be instructed in 

 the arts which will be useful to the man " ; and if my father 

 had had nothing to boast of but a first-class degree at one of 

 your Universities, I should have never had the honour of being 

 a banker's son. Nevertheless, although it is possible that a 

 finished scholar may emerge from our schools and colleges, 

 in total ignorance of the business and conversation of English 

 gentlemen in the latter end of the eighteenth century, I am 

 still ready to admit the advantages to be derived from the 

 study of the Latin and Greek languages. They deposit, in 

 the hands of a disciple, the keys of two valuable chests: 

 and it is his own fault if they are afterwards lost, or laid 

 aside.' 



The morning of setting forward for school having arrived, 

 it produced various sensations at Amstead Abbey. As for the 

 two boys, the novelty of the thing, the thoughts of the journey, 

 and the pocket-money, made their hearts light; but there 

 were other hearts very differently affected, and one overpowered 

 Avitli its weight. This, as may be supposed, was that of the 

 good and affectionate Lady Charlotte, wdio, as she could not 

 command her tears, declined taking leave of her sons. Nor 

 w^as Mr. Raby very fit to appear in their presence, although he 

 strove to conceal what he felt. But there were tw^o belonging 

 to the establishment of the Abbey, whose feelings could not be 

 controlled, and these were Dick Perren and the cook : the one 

 absolutely bellowed from the effect of his grief at the loss of 

 Master Francis, his young master ; and the other, who, notwith- 

 standing what she occasionally suffered from his tricks, loved 

 him as the apple of her eye, betrayed the amiable weakness 

 of woman, but by no means to her discredit. Her method 

 of exhibiting it, however, was a singular one : she had taken 

 her station at the ffrst gate in the park, at which she knew the 

 carriage must stop while the footman opened it, and approaching, 

 with her face nearly enclosed in her apron, she chucked 

 into the carriage two half-guineas, wrapped in a bit of white 

 paper, with these words inscribed — ' God bless yon both.' And 



69 



