276 ANNALS OF THE ROAD. 



The sporting world must also be rejoiced to hear that 

 Mr. Warde has quite recovered from his late illness, and 

 is looking fresh and well. His spirits, however, never 

 forsook him, and when at his worst he had always a 

 joke for a friend. I called upon him one day in London 

 to ask him how he did. ' Oh,' said he, ' I am as well as 

 any man can be, who is allowed to drink nothing but 

 lemonade and soda water ; but my stomach thinks my 

 throat is cut.' He did not, as usual, make one of us at 

 Mr. Tattersall's dinner, the Sunday before last Epsom 

 races ; but ' Next year,' said he, ' I'll come to you, and 

 eat and drink for two.' 



Mr. Warde scarcely ever misses a dinner at the 

 B. D. C, and if he do not take a team of his own, he 

 is always to be seen on Sir Bellingham Graham's box, and 

 it is needless to say that he adds greatly to the pleasure and 

 jollity of the evening. He has, of course, several good 

 anecdotes of the performances of the B. D. C, many of 

 the members of which he might almost consider as his 

 children. It happened at one meeting that he did not 

 go down the road either with his own team or Sir 

 Bellingham's, but with another friend, who must be 

 nameless. The evening had been a merry one ; and 

 both himself and his brother dragsman — in the language 

 of the road were — sprung. As he mounted the box, his 

 friend addressed him thus: 'My horses have but two 

 paces by lamplight — a walk and a gallop — which will 

 you have ?' — ' Oh, a gallop, by all means,' answered Mr. 

 Warde. ' Now where do you think we pulled up ? ' con- 

 tinued he ; ' why, between the two last horses of an eight- 



