148 ASHGILL; OR, THE LIFE 



stood in the outside world. Reserved, selfish, and 

 indolent, he seemed to live for himself alone. Many 

 thought him proud, but in reality he was not so, for 

 that would have cost him an exertion he did not care 

 to make ; and he was very good-natured where he took. 

 His confederate, Mr. Villiers, set him against several 

 jockeys and trainers; but when the fatal incubus was 

 removed, he renewed his relations with them, and they 

 would always speak a good word for him. His luck 

 with his racehorses, from Surplice to Homily, was, on 

 the whole, very good, and far greater than he had a 

 right to expect for a young beginner, and had his 

 health permitted, we believe he would have gone on 

 after his marriage. His carriage appointments and 

 horses were always first-rate, and he astonished the 

 Florentines and Romans by travelling through Italy 

 with three carriages and a squadron of gendarmes, in 

 case of being attacked by the brigands; and as we 

 pursued the same route ourselves, in the week following- 

 the one in which he went from Florence to Rome, we can 

 bear testimony to the exalted opinions the landlords of 

 the hotels at Viterbo and other stages entertained of 

 him ; while in both those cities he laid out large sums in 

 the purchase of works of art, which his accomplished 

 mind could well appreciate. In his betting he was. 

 pretty fortunate, and he had enormous faith in ' Lord 

 Frederick,' whom he followed like a child, and nothing 

 amused him so much as his Lancashire patter. A 

 curious illustration of the opinion he entertained of him 

 we will give. At one of the Newmarket meetings a 

 young gentleman, a member of an Essex family, and 

 noted for his habit of whistling, came up to ' Lord 

 Frederick ' after dinner in the Subscription Room, and 



