PRIVATE COURSING 



Inside, a motley party, in ratcatcher kit, would be 

 drinking hot coffee, trying to do justice to our host's 

 very early breakfast, and loud were the grumblings 

 when anyone was late. As well as I remember, we 

 never waited for anyone ; but there were two late 

 birds, who lived down the road we went. One of 



these, Parson , had always to be rattled up, 



and was made to do most of his dressing after he had 

 taken his place in the brake ; but he was a rare 

 cheery soul, and we would not have gone without him 

 on any consideration. It was different with the other 

 tardy guest, a sportitig man — using the term in oppo- 

 sition to sportstnan — whom we called ' Jingles,' and 

 who once got really left — a circumstance which taught 

 him to be ready on future occasions. This 'Jingles,' 

 however, was good fun, too, because he professed to 

 know all about it, and caused us great amusement 

 by the complications he got into when he tried, late 

 in the evening, to describe some particular course. 

 By 6.15 we used to be fairly on our way, and at first 

 the difficulties of our amateur whip with a scratch 

 team, the country being inky black at the time, kept 

 us alive. There was a locked turnpike gate, which 

 gave us a lot of trouble, until we thought of sending 

 a man with the fare overnight, and a request that the 

 gate might be left open. 



