330 THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



Farndon, and my racing career will be at an end. In the 

 first place, I do not understand the system, and I have 

 reason to believe it would cost me a very large sum to learn 

 it. In the next, one pursuit of this nature is as much as 

 any man, situated as I am situated, ought to have on his 

 hands at one time ; in my opinion, between hunting and 

 racing there is no difficulty in the choice. In the one, 

 every man you meet with is your friend in the other, your 

 foe ; which a rival either for fame or money must more or 

 less be considered to be. Besides, I am very partial to my 

 coach-box, as well as to the humble but satisfactory 

 pleasures arising from a country life ; and, what is 

 more, one day or another I hope to be a master of fox- 

 hounds. I confess I should like to see myself the winner 

 of a Derby, an Oaks, or a St. Leger, because I am of 

 opinion that when once a man enters upon any pursuit, 

 he should not stop until he have exhibited some mark 

 of distinctive excellence ; but the odds against my 

 accomplishing either of these hazardous and difficult 

 undertakings are very great indeed. Then again, I 

 think my father is averse to my being on the turf : he 

 often makes his boast that, with the exception of a 

 nomination to a cup at the county races, the name of 

 Raby has never been associated with any gambling 

 speculation whatsoever ; and, although you are all aware 

 that I am now independent of him, and must succeed to 

 his estates, should I survive him, I should violate my 

 feelings by doing anything that he greatly dislikes." 



" Bravo ! " said Sir John. " Bravo ! " cried Hargrave. 

 "Fox-hunting and the coach-box against all the racing 

 in the world ! " resumed the former. " Fox-hunting for 

 ever !" exclaimed Hargrave ; "and I vote that we drink 

 it in a bumper." The bumper was drunk, and the room 

 rang with applause. 



On the following day, this meeting closed with six well- 

 contested races for stakes amounting, in the whole, to 

 1100, which, when looking back to the parent meeting 

 at Burford, when the horses of the Dukes of Marlborough 

 and Beaufort, Earls Abingdon and Ossory, Lords Ched- 

 worth and Oxford, Messrs. Yernon, Dutton, Pigot, and 

 Foley, all of high blood, and names renowned on the 

 turf, were contending, at heats, for a fifty-pound plate, 

 shows what rapid strides racing has made within the last 

 .seventy years, and also how much the value of money has 



