1 8 CHASING AND RACING 



Moat Mount, accompanied by the little old bitch. 

 Presently she was missing. From that day to this 

 her fate and what led to it has been a complete mystery. 

 Truly coincidence has a long arm. 



As the days passed we two inseparable young 

 bachelors became more and more fed up with our 

 menage and our polyglot menagerie. Our visits to 

 town became of daily occurrence. Both of us had 

 leanings to the sock and buskin; in my case another 

 example of direct heredity, for The Dads was one 

 of the best amateur actors, reciters, and readers whom 

 I ever remember to have seen or heard. So we joined 

 the Philothespian Dramatic Club. Whilst fretting 

 our hour before the footlights we made the acquaint- 

 ance of two fascinating sisters, with the result that 

 we soon found ourselves " engaged." One fine day 

 in October, 1881, our father-in-law elect was seen 

 proudly descending the aisle of St. James's, Piccadilly, 

 with a radiant daughter on each arm. Ted, having 

 doped himself with libations of champagne to calm 

 his nerves, was in peril of selecting my bride, instead 

 of his own liege lady ; but the latter promptly put 

 him right and all went well. 



To start domestic life in earnest I secured a 

 maisonette in S. Audley Street, and by way of diversion, 

 joined Hurlingham, the Gun and (later) the Ranelagh 

 clubs, with a view to exploiting my skill as a pigeon- 

 shot. It was at the first-named fashionable resort that 

 my attention was drawn to the pony races which 



