ii 4 THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



I may say, your sincerity ; for, as I purchased the horses 

 for you, you might have compromised truth for politeness' 

 sake. As I detest a boaster, I sincerely commend you for 

 what you have said ; and now, if you please, we will sit 

 down to our soup." 



In the course of the evening, the arrangements for 

 attending Ascot Kaces were thus stated by Sir John : 



" I shall send one team to Staines, where it will remain 

 during the meeting ; so that we shall go and return on 

 each day, which will add much to our amusement ; and 

 I think our party will be a pleasant one : at all events, I 

 will do my best towards making it such, and have given 

 orders that a good dinner, for eight, shall await us every 

 day, at the ' Bush ' ; so that we shall have the road clear 

 for us on our return to town, and travel in the cool of the 

 evening, when the crowd of cockneys will be dispersed." 



It is not worth while to enter into the detail of an 

 Ascot Meeting, so long passed by as this is ; but, as may 

 easily be imagined, the splendour of the scene, unrivalled 

 in the world, made a deep impression upon our hero. 

 Neither was it the scene alone, in which the enthusiastic 

 reception of the Royal Family formed a principal and pleas- 

 ing feature, that alone impressed his mind. He saw racing 

 to perfection. He saw the performance of the best horses 

 and the best jockeys of the day ; amongst the latter, the 

 famous Samuel Chifney, 1 and John Arnull, both riding for 

 the Prince of Wales ; Tom Goodison, and others of equal 

 Newmarket celebrity ; as also Billy Pierse, as he was 

 called, the noted Yorkshire jockey, then riding for his 

 Grace of Cleveland, at that time Lord Darlington. But 

 we must not forget Dennis Fitzpatrick, imported from 

 Ireland by Lord Clermont, who was at that period in the 

 height of practice, but whose life was cut short by 

 catching cold in wasting. Frank Raby's admiration of 

 these men, as also of the horses on which they distinguished 

 themselves, the best, perhaps, of their day, at all events 

 very superior to any he had ever seen before, was almost 

 boundless ; and he would, now and then, ask himself the 

 question : " Shall lever make a figure on this course ?" 

 The answer to which, he must be aware, depended upon 

 various circumstances, quite beyond his control, although 

 within the range of speculation. 



On the first morning of the meeting a beautiful one 

 1 Father of the present jockey. 



