348 HISTORY OF THE 



career, left him a bankrupt both in pocket and in 

 health. For the history of his sporting exploits 

 and eccentricities, we refer our readers to his Me- 

 moirs, written by Nimrod, who has performed the 

 kind (!) office to the memory of his friend, of per- 

 petuating the remembrance of his almost insane 

 acts of reckless folly and -extravagance ; much, we 

 believe, to the sorrow of his family. 



His racing career commenced in 1817, and not- 

 withstanding the enormous sums* which he ex- 

 pended on his stud, he was never a winner of any 

 of the great stakes. His best horses were, Hab- 

 berley, Banker, Euphrates and Longwaist ; al- 

 though the latter was not successful while in his 

 hands. Dilly was his principal trainer, and 

 Whitehouse his jockey. The following anecdote 

 will sufficiently illustrate the character of this 

 erratic being, who preserved, in after life, the same 

 giddy thoughtlessness which might have been 

 excused in his youth. When at Westminister 

 School, he wrote to the then Lord Chancellor, 

 Eldon, (he being a ward in Chancery), to inform 

 him that as he was about to be married, he required 

 an increase in his allowance. We here must 

 explain that our hopeful youth was at this period 

 only about fourteen years old, and enjoyed an al- 

 lowance of £400 a-year. To this modest re- 

 quest the Chancellor returned the following laconic 



* Mr. Mytton himself declared that m 1826 he expended £70,000 

 on the turf. 



