FALSE STEP. 25 



pal London proprietors on the first in- 

 troduction of railroads; and by this, if 

 by no other means, he would have 

 been enabled to have saved himself 

 from that ruin which ultimately over- 

 took him. 



I was still in prosperous circumstances, 

 and, being fond of outdoor exercise and 

 employment, took a small farm, to which 

 was attached a large tract of land, which 

 was allotted to the owner by the Com- 

 missioners for enclosing the Bere Forest 

 and this was the first step I took in 

 the wrong direction, involving as it did 

 a considerable outlay of capital, which 

 might have been employed in a more 

 profitable direction. 



Nevertheless, it gave me a strong 

 relish and a farther opportunity of in- 

 dulging in the sports of the field, and 

 was a more general introduction to the 

 yeomanry and gentry of the county, 



