THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 17 



have been, many honourable exceptions. They partake 

 indeed," he would say, "of some of the obloquy that 

 attached to the Roman gladiators, humorously set forth 

 in a Greek epigram on a bad tenant, from the pen of 

 Palladus, which has been thus translated : 



' I let ray house, the other day, 

 To one who dealt in corn and hay : 

 Next morning I found, ah ! woe is me. 

 A dreadful pugilist is he. 

 When will you pay my rent ? quoth I ; 

 He lifts his fist and cocks his eye. 

 I then to Pollux made my vow, 

 Although on peace my thoughts were now, 

 That I, before next quarter day, 

 Might learn to box, or run away.'" 



It was not to be expected that much science in the art 

 of self-defence was to found in a gamekeeper's lad ; still 

 many " turns-up " with those who were bigger and older 

 than himself had imparted to Jem Perren a tolerable 

 notion of taking some care of himself ; and he boasted of 

 no less than three favourite stops, and likewise of one very 

 telling blow. These were, of course, imparted to our 

 hero, who would often be seen taking lessons from his 

 green-jacketed preceptor ; and truly he was soon a pro- 

 ficient. He could not only hit very hard, in which his 

 weight told to his advantage, but he could stop, and get 

 away, in a manner surprising for his age. Hence arose 

 one of the disadvantages of a slight knowledge of the 

 pugilistic art, combined with the power and inclination 

 to put it into practice. It created in Frank Eaby a 

 domineering spirit, which, notwithstanding his good 

 sense, and many excellent qualities, adhered to him, in 

 some measure, through life. Although his brother was 

 his senior by nearly two years, he treated him as his 

 junior, and, by the weight of his fist, established his claim 

 of precedence. No boys in the neighbouring villages 

 dared to cross his path in his pursuits, provided they 

 were near his own age, for his name was up. On one 

 occasion, however, he signalized himself beyond the ex- 

 pectation of his admiring friends ; and, from his extreme 

 good nature, and kind disposition towards the necessitous 

 poor, he had many such in the neighbourhood in which 

 he was known. Passing through a village, in one of his 

 roving walks, he espied one of those half-baked, half- 



