32 TALES AND TRAITS OF SPORTING LIFE. 



recollect arig-lit, when on a visit to Lord Fitzwilliam, tells 

 of the impression made upon him by the appearance of a 

 iine handsome g-entleman coming* up the staircase, with a 

 beautiful girl in green velvet on either arm — the member 

 for Pontefract, with two of his daughters. But, if we do 

 borrow a sketchy it shall be from the pen of a sportsman ; 

 and to no other could we be so indebted as to Syhanus, 

 who thus pourtrayed Mr. Gully in the very zenith of his 

 career : *^ He had permanent lodgings at Newmarket, 

 well and tastefull}^ furnished, and dispensed his hospitality 

 to his friends with no sparing hand. An excellent cook, 

 claret from Griffiths, with an entertaining, gentlemanlike 

 host, left little to be desired at the dinner awaiting us. 

 Mr. Gull}^ is justly esteemed, having raised himself from 

 the lowest paths of life to the position not merely of 

 wealth, but to that of intimacy amongst gentlemen, 

 whether on or off the Turf, but still gentlemen in taste, 

 which nought but the undeviating good manners and 

 entertaining, unpresuming deportment of Gully could for 

 a moment, or rather for any length of time beyond a 

 moment, suffer them to tolerate. No man ever possessed 

 these quahfications, gained through innate acuteness, 

 great common sense, and a plastic disposition to observe 

 and benefit by the chance rencontres with the courtly 

 patrons of his day to a greater degree, taking the early 

 disadvantages he had to contend with into consideration^ 

 than John Gully. No man could be more above pretence, 

 or less shy at any allusions to his early and not very 

 polished career, than himself. When I dined with him 

 at Newmarket, as well as upon subsequent occasions, I 

 was most gratified by this manly openness and lack of 

 all sensitive, false shame, on any occasional appeal being- 

 made to the bygone. He, on the contrai-y, entered freely 



