152 THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



and Avas highly complimented in the schools ; and Frank 

 obtained one quite above the average of those taken, or 

 even tried for, by young gentlemen brought up as he had 

 been brought up, amongst hounds, horses, gamekeepers, 

 and coachmen, and whose mind was strongly bent towards 

 all the uses to which such animals are applied. 



Having completed their Oxford " trials," everything 

 was arranged for the departure of the two Rabys on their 

 travels, when an unexpected event put a stop to it. The 

 insidious disease which had long been making silent, 

 though certain, inroads on the naturally weakly constitu- 

 tion of the elder brother, now showed itself openly ; and 

 it was the opinion of his medical attendants that a conti- 

 nental tour was out of the question, whatever might be 

 the result of the benign influence of a more temperate 

 climate than the one in which he was then living. This 

 step was in contemplation, but met with the same fate, in 

 being also deemed impracticable, and was, of course, at 

 once abandoned. In short, the rupture of a blood-vessel 

 at the lungs, produced by a fit of coughing, brought on a 

 rapid exhaustion of a body already enfeebled by disease 

 and weakly from its birth ; and in less than a month from 

 the day on which that occurrence took place, this talented 

 and amiable, although somewhat eccentric young man, 

 was laid by the side of his ancestors in the family vault 

 of Amstead church. 



It is almost needless to remind the reader of the change 

 that had now taken place in the situation and prospects 

 of our hero. In the place of his being sure of succeeding 

 to nothing at the decease of his father, beyond his share 

 of the money settled on younger children on his marriage, 

 which, as there were only two, amounted to 15,000, he 

 now found himself heir-apparent to the entire Amstead 

 estate, settled by entail on male heirs ; and likewise heir- 

 presumptive at least, such had he a right to consider 

 himself to the very considerable wealth of his uncle. 

 The effect of this change very soon became visible ; two 

 more hunters were talked of, as necessary to hunt with 

 the foxhounds, the Amstead harriers and " old Dick " 

 being considered as infra dig., if not absolute bores. 

 Perren also was spoken to, by the " young Squire," in a 

 tone somewhat different to what he had been previously 

 accustomed to from the late "young Squire," or even from 

 our hero himself. " I will have lots of pheasants in the 



