THE LIFE OF A SPORTSAFAN 



I woll reiuoTuber the scenes at Bui-rortl, iiiid all the neighbour- 

 ing towns, alter the races oi* the day were over. That at Burford 

 beggars description, for, independently of the bustle occasioned 

 by the acconnnodations necessary for the Club who were 

 domiciled in the town, the concourse of persons, of all sorts 

 and degrees, and all in want of something, was immense. 

 Our young Oxonians, however, had taken care to provide for 

 themselves in this respect; and with a few more collegians, 

 and kindred spirits too, had formed a select party of themselves, 

 and, by pa3ang the piper well, had no reason to complain. 

 But now for the hnale to this ' larl\ I might say, iDut that 

 word was not used in those days, in this sense, at least. On 

 the last day of the meeting, all having hitherto gone smoothly, 

 an awkward mishap occurred, but which will, in a great 

 measure, be accounted for by the scene that took place when 

 the tandem came to the door with Frank Raby on the hench. 



' Come along, Hargrave,' said Frank, ' I am sure you have 

 had wine enough ; and, as for myself, I can scarcely tell the 

 leader from the wheeler. Besides, you know this mare won't 

 stand nuicli longer ere she begins kicking, and we have only an 

 hour and forty minutes to do the twenty-one miles in.' 



' Kick away,' said Hargrave, as he came staggering towards 

 the tandem ; ' you know I had rather be upset than not ; who 

 cares for a kicker, with a kicking strap over her l)ack, and a 

 good coachman behind her ? ' 



'Many a true word is spoken in jest,' says the proverb; 

 the mare did not kick ; but in descending one of those sharp 

 ' pitches,' as they are called by coachmen, between Burford 

 and Witney — which, in those days, were often covered with 

 half -broken stone — and at by far too quick a rate, she stepped 

 on one of them, and fell, and was dragged some distance by 

 the leader. But now for the fate of her driver ; he escaped 

 with only some slight bruises, by falling on the mare whilst 

 she was being dragged, and rolling thence to the ground ; but 

 Hargrave was not so fortunate. A dislocation of his left 

 shoulder was the result, which, he being a very muscular young 

 man, it required the united strength of four men to reduce — 

 putting him to extreme torture for the time ; neither did he 

 speedily recover its eftects. 



But' there is another proverb which applies well here. ' Good 

 comes out of evil ' ; as it did in this case. Both these young 



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