CHAPTER YII 



COURTSHIP 



The New Forest — The Confines of Dorset — A Countrj' Town — 

 Shootmg — Lord Chancellor Eldon — Encombe — Sir Walter 

 Ealeigh — Smoking — Lulworth — Corfe Castle — Edward the 

 Martyr — King John — Lady Bankes — The Heroes of the Parlia- 

 mentary Army — Christian Preachers — Education — An Original 

 Sect— A Legend— The Isle of Wight— The Eoyal Cockpit— A 

 Joke — The Duke of Devonshire — Two Foreign Princes — A 

 Prince of Coach Proprietors — Friend in Need — A False Step — 

 An Establishment — Wedding — Breach of the Law — Mr. Justice 

 Burroughs — Soberton Downs — An Israelite Sportsman — A Bet 

 — A Fracas — Lawsuit — Judge Gazelee — A Dispute on a Point 

 of Law — Mr. Serjeant Pell. 



In the preceding chapters the reader will observe that I 

 broua'ht the history of mv life down nearlv to the close of 

 an epoch when, though the mind is generally occupied in 

 daily business or present enjoyment, the heart is left 

 ojDen to impressions that turn the stream of thought to 

 the anticipation of a more durable and a more rational 

 felicity. 



In seeking, or perhaps in finding without seeking, an 

 object whose qualifications would lead to the realiza- 

 tion of a very pleasing vision, I was induced seriously to 

 consider that alteration in my condition for which I had 

 manifested (chiefly from the example of my associates) a 

 strong predisposition. This object had fixed my attention 



VOL. I. K 



