4 TALES AND TRAITS OF SNORTING LIFE. 



very worthy man— a public trainei'; wlio lived in tlie 

 neig'libourliood, I learnt that nothing- was so likely to 

 answer as a little racing- in a quiet way, in support of 

 which opinion he called my attention to the case of one 

 Captain Sullivan. The Captain, a patron of a little racing- 

 in a quiet way, and my jNIentor's establishment in par- 

 ticulaj', followed it up till it followed him to Dover j and 

 then the same paper which announced his departure for the 

 continent, also contained an intimation to this effect — ^that 

 if a certain Captain S. did not take away his mare " the 

 Mountain Maid," and pay her expenses at the same time, 

 she would be sold forthwith to pay them. Considering' 

 how many there would have been too happy to take the 

 Captain himself, it was by no means extraordinary to find 

 he paid no attention to this piece of courtesy, and as he 

 didn't, I did the expenses. Chang-ing- her colours, but 

 not her quarters, the Mountain Maid commenced her 

 fourth year and second season in my name. 



And an exciting- season we had of it, too ! The way 

 Sam Mane used to sit down and g-rind his teeth at my 

 poor filly was something awful to see, and the heart with 

 which she continued to answer him, something- wondrous 

 to look upon. '^ Game little animal that, sir, as ever was 

 stripped ; " and so she was certainly if you came to tltat ; 

 but that wasn't all. Second, second, and second, without 

 end ; nothing- better, or as some knowing- g-entleman 

 affirmed, nothing- worse. Had there ever been such a 

 thing- in classic story as a female Tantalus, I should cer- 

 tainly have insulted the Captain by changing- her name ; 

 but as I believe there is not, *on we went, day after day, 

 and week after week, running for every heat and every- 

 thing. The round of rather shy meeting's we visited that 

 summer, had they possessed one grain of gratitude, would 



