THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



his heart, he determined upon making known to each of his 

 benefactors the affair of the fillies, and the result of their 

 racing career, appending thereunto a promise that, until he was 

 in circumstances better suited to the pursuit, he had taken his 

 leave of racing. But how did the uncle relish this outbreak of 

 our young sportsman, and the somewhat clandestine spirit in 

 which it had been carried on ? The fact is, he was so much 

 pleased with the subsequent ingenuous deportment of his 

 dearly-beloved Frank, when detailing the various circumstances 

 as they occurred and related to himself, as the sufferer; and 

 more especially so with the small share of vituperation 

 bestowed by him on the scoundrel who had handled him so 

 mercilessly, that he merely made use of this short ex- 

 pression : — 



' Well, Frank, let all this be forgotten ; you wore in a 

 serious scrape, which, no doubt, will be a warning to you, 

 and you got out of it much better than might have been 

 expected.' 



The Baronet and his young friend having passed the evening 

 of this day together, the former took an opportunity of 

 expressing himself nearly in the following words : — 



' If you will follow my advice, Frank, I should recommend 

 you to abandon your present purpose of visiting Melton 

 Mowbray next season, and I know a man who will take the 

 stables you have engaged off your hands. I do this from a 

 regard to your comfort and good name, being convinced, from 

 experience, which is our best preceptor, after all, in matters 

 of this kind, that your present income is not equal to the 

 expenses of such an establishment as you would require at 

 that place. You would not like to be in the background 

 among your compeers, and nothing under a stud of ten efficient 

 hunters would keep you in the same rank with them. Six 

 good ones will be enough in almost all other counties but 

 Leicestershire; and, were I in your place, I would content 

 myself, for a few years, with what the Melton men call " the 

 provincials," making an annual visit to Melton at the con- 

 clusion of the season, if you like it, when the ploughed 

 countries get dry, and the sport they show, consequently, 

 becomes rare. I would recommend you to the following- 

 packs: — to those of the Duke of Beaufort and Sir Thomas 

 ]\Iostyn, in Oxfordshire; to that of Mr. Corbet, in Warwick- 



221 



