THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 213 



coachman ; but I did hope to see him something beyond 

 a sportsman and a coachman qualified, in fact, which I 

 cannot at present consider him, for the useful and elegant 

 intercourse of common life, in the first place, and service- 

 able to his country, in the next." 



" You do me honour," replied the Baronet, also with a 

 smile on his countenance, " by attributing to me influence 

 over a mind so capable of judging for itself as that of our 

 friend Frank is. His coaching propensities may, perhaps, 

 be laid at my door ; but when you recollect that his 

 father sent him a-hunting before he was twelve years old, 

 I plead not guilty to the other charge. As to his 

 declining going abroad, I confess I agree with him that, 

 without a better knowledge of foreign languages than he 

 possesses, it would be two years of his life wasted, which 

 I certainly considered to have been the case with myself, 

 because my heart was all the time at home, where his, I am 

 sure, would be also. And then, with respect to his being 

 in Parliament, I scarcely know what to say on that 

 subject. To be sure, one reason for declining that of 

 being occasionally interrupted by a call of the House in 

 the hunting season is of rather a childish nature. If 

 every gentleman were to refuse to sacrifice a few of the 

 comforts of life to his duty to his country, where should 

 we find statesmen to carry on the business of the country ? 

 Still, it is my opinion there should be a kind of ad valorem 

 consideration here ; a man may, I think, with propriety 

 say this to himself : 'By going into Parliament I shall 

 make a great personal sacrifice, and the question is, shall 

 I be, beyond the value of my vote, worth anything when 

 I get there ? Had I not better (supposing him to be 

 aware that he will be of no further value than by his 

 vote) leave the vacant place to be filled by some one who 

 is better qualified than I am for so important a situation ? J 

 And, friend Beaumont," continued the Baronet, "as you 

 are fond of a classical allusion, I refer you to some- 

 thing like a case in point, in ancient days. Xenophon 

 describes Socrates in conversation with a very young man, 

 whom he knew, and who was, at that time, soliciting for 

 a principal post in the army. To what does he compare 

 him ? To a sculptor who undertakes to form a statue, 

 without having learnt the statuary's art ! ' In time of 

 war,' adds the sage, ' no less than the safety of the whole 

 community is intrusted to the general ; and it is in his 



