THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



within the last 200 years — the name ot" Raby has never yet 

 appeared to a race-hoi-se ; nor am I by any means anxious 

 that it slioukl. A fox-lmnter j^ou may be, witli my liearty 

 approl)ation ; it is o^ettin<^ to the top branch of the tree, 

 altlioui;li I had not tlie nerve to ascend so hit^'h ; it is there, I 

 Ijrlieve, that perfection is to be found. But I would not com- 

 bine tlie pursuits which are in themselves so opposite ; it would 

 resemble the minglino; of garlands of roses with the poison of 

 deadly nightshade. But to the point, Frank ; I will increase 

 your allowance to £800 a year, paid half-yearly ; I will pay for 

 the hunter you have just bargained for, and for another as 

 good, if you can find him ; and then I should imagine, with 

 what is vulgarly termed the run of your own teeth, and those 

 of your horses and servants at home, when you wish to be at 

 home, you will not only have no cause for complaint, but be 

 enabled to make as good an appearance, and enjoy yourself as 

 much as any other young heir-apparent in this country, or the 

 next.' 



Here our hero nodded assent, and afterwards acknowledged 

 the kindness of his father in connnon-place words, which it may 

 not be worth while to repeat. But a bystander would have 

 observed a something in his manner at the moment, which too 

 plainly showed the final result of the conversation was by no 

 means satisfactory. In fact, though scotched, the snake was 

 not killed, and Frank said within himself, ' If I am not per- 

 mitted to breed him, I am determined to have a race-horse, 

 before I am much older.' 



Now, as it has been my desire to draw a portrait of Frank 

 Raby in his own true character — one which, on the whole, does 

 honour to our nature — I must endeavour not only to account 

 for, but to smooth down this too apparent disregard of the 

 wishes of a kind and indulgent parent. The real truth, then, 

 is this, startling as it may appear : — racing has been repre- 

 sented, and justly, in my opinion, to be a stimulus acting 

 powerfully on the generous ambition of man, prompting 

 him to personal exertion, and highly exciting to super iority. 

 What, then, is the result ? Wh}^ that, as a man now and then 

 violates his best principles for a woman, he now and then 

 violates them for a horse. Such, it appears, had been the 

 impression made on Frank Raby by his late intercourse with 

 Lord Dauntley, who had been introduced to him by his friend 



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