ASHGILL ; OR, THE LIFE 



Never a man of many words, but rather of many- 

 deeds, which, indeed, are worth myriads of words, John 

 Osborne's reticence about himself personally, apart from 

 his deeds publicly, during an unexampled career, was 

 not encouraging to one disposed to undertake the 

 onerous, self-imposed task of the biographer, or even 

 to extract from so reserved a subject the material for 

 an autobiography. As a last resource the resolve was 

 made to pursue " The Wizard " to his Middleham 

 haunts, and there, exercising the Socratic method of 

 probing him with questions, induce him to break cover 

 from his monosyllabic reticence, which to him, who 

 knew all, was satisfactory, but to the would-be 

 chronicler, who knew little, far from illuminating. 



En route to Brecongill, which had been the 

 dwelling-place of John Osborne since he quitted the 

 adjoining and paternal roof of Ashgill in 1869, the old- 

 world hamlet of Middleham is passed. A halt was made 

 at the old Swan Hotel, whose roof had sheltered many 

 turf celebrities of the past, of whom " The Flying 

 Dutchman " Earl of Eglinton, whose horses were trained 

 by John Fobert at the not far distant Spigot Lodge, 

 peered out in distinct prominence. Though brief was 

 the halt, one soon discovered at " The Swan " that he 

 was in a region where the jockey, the trainer, and the 

 " tout " had lived and had their being time out of mind. 

 Hardly had the wayfarer " discussed " a bottle of claret, 

 which'^ served to wash down the most wholesome of 

 Wensleydale bread and butter and the most dehcious 

 of Wensleydale cheese, ere a few "locals," who had 

 " touted " him into the hamlet, entered the apartment. 

 In a casual way the wayfarer asked if this was the 

 hostelry at which Lord Glasgow was wont to stop 

 when he paid his periodical visits to Middleham in the 



