PUGILISM AND PIGEON-SHOOTING 59 



Saccharometer was one of them, and Carnival another. 

 Many were the regrets expressed at that time that Sweet- 

 meat had been expatriated, and these were renewed 

 some years later when Sweetmeat's son Parmesan sired 

 Favonius and Cremorne. 



We did pretty much as we liked at Coxwold out of 

 school hours. There was an old chestnut pony which I 

 used to ride, and Tom had another mount. We used to 

 race these animals whenever opportunity arose, much 

 after the fashion of Benjamin and his friend exercising 

 Mr Jorrocks's hunters. Then too we were interested in 

 pugilism, as is shown by the Diary for i6th June 1863 : 



This morning we did our usual lessons, and then went and 

 talked with Billy Bowser about Tom King, who was coming in a 

 Circus to Easingwold. At night we went there, did not see Tom 

 King and got very wet. 



There is a world of disappointment in the above record, 

 for Easingwold is five or six miles from Coxwold. 



Before this time, when I was no more than ten years old, 

 my father had taken a great deal of trouble in teaching me 

 how to handle and load a muzzle-loading gun with safety, 

 in any event, to myself and others. I never forgot those 

 lessons, and whatever may have been my proficiency as 

 a game shot, I can say without fear of contradiction that 

 I have never caused the slightest feeling of apprehension 

 to anyone who has been shooting with me. So thoroughly 

 was I grounded in this respect that I was allowed to go 

 out with an old single -barrel muzzle-loader, with half 

 charges, to shoot fieldfares or rabbits. I find, in the 

 Diary for 2nd January 1863 : 



Out shooting this morning at Davison's, and killed three. 

 They let me shoot at the pigeons. 



This was really an iniquitous proceeding, for the farmer's 

 wife, Mrs Davison, had expressed doubt as to my 

 capacity to hit anything, and I offered her sixpence to 



