i2 ashgill; or, the life 



racers that brought renown not only to this country, 

 but to foreign lands. 



And now, quitting the precincts of the churchyard, 

 and having gratified a little weakness to be a sort of 

 understudy to " Old Mortality " on paper, we, in musing 

 mood, take the path leading by the " Lady Bab," an 

 old wayside inn, where many a rousing night has been 

 spent by old Middleham trainers. Brecongill, nesthng 

 under the trees, soon presents its modest stone front 

 and its trellised garden gate. This is the house of the 

 " Wizard of Middleham " — John Howe Osborne, who 

 is destined to be a conspicuous figure in this history. 



