Indian Racing Reminiscences. 



Madras round the Cape in a crazy old hulk with only 

 four or five passengers who were not lively. I was 

 little more than a boy then, so fretted for amusement. 

 Like a convict who spends the leisure of years in carving 

 rings and imitation books out of stone with a rusty nail, 

 I seized with enthusiasm the idea, suggested by one of 

 the sailors, of cutting a chain and anchor out of a piece 

 of wood. This industry of idleness kept me occupied for 

 the greater part of the hundred and fifty-three days of 

 our voyage, for, the wood being brittle, the links would 

 often break. As my magniLin opus approached comple- 

 tion, I used, in thinking of the triumph I would secure 

 in exhibiting it, to overlook the petty miseries of life ; 

 forget that we had run short of milk and sugar for our 

 tea ; that we were reduced to " hard tack " and " salt 

 tack," without even " soup and bully " as a change ; and 

 that a month sweltering in the " doldrums " had made 

 me spend all my spare cash on claret and sparkling- 

 wines, so that by the time wc were off Madeira and had 

 bade good-bye to the trade-winds, I had hardly enough 

 to buy a bottle of ship's rum. As soon as we got into- 

 the Channel and had picked up our pilot, I chucked the 

 once precious chain and anchor to the only child on 

 board, who promptly broke it to test its utility. Since- 



