192 THE COMPLETE SPORTSMAN 



account, without the assistance of an agent, 

 there is no need to be alarmed by the knowledge 

 that you are not armed mth the required pass. 

 All you have to do is to murmur, " Bruggins, 

 MuUett and Gripe !" or " Booker and Madge !" 

 in the resolute voice of one whose intentions are 

 strictly honourable, brush the caretaker aside, 

 step into the hall and proceed with your 

 domiciliary researches. 



Once inside you are immediately struck by 

 the taste in decoration displayed by those 

 persons who are justly anxious to get rid of 

 their houses. The umbrella-stand, cunningly 

 fashioned from the off fore-leg of a defunct ele- 

 phant, suggests that the master of the house is 

 (like yourself) a sportsman, while the seven 

 enormous oars, tied up with blue ribbon, which 

 adorn the staircase wall, speak volumes for his 

 prowess on the sliding-seat. 



Your guide now throws open a glass door at 

 the top of the front stairs and ushers you into 

 " The Rockery." 



The purpose fulfilled by this apartment pre- 

 sents the house-hunter with one of those prob- 

 lems which add fresh zest to his pursuit, as, 

 mastering his emotion as best he may, he 

 passes on to an inspection of the back drawdng- 

 room. Here the inevitable presence of dull 

 ^\dndows of frosted glass lends to the place a 



