THE PRIVATE PUPIL. 71 



in the excess of mv happiness and satisfaction, I had to 

 kick over the table, and ^'d — n the doomphng-s !" The 

 •excitement, then, of owning- a race-horse, coupled with the 

 further piece of luck of running- him on the sly, w^as, as 

 may he imagined, quite sufficient for mj young- idea, and 

 I was well content enough to watch Archy get out, and 

 in order, a pair of wonderfully well-cut leathers, with boots 

 almost as g'ood, and a "blue body with red sleeves," that 

 his '^ governor had lost many a hundred on." In short, 

 the old gentleman had spent all he could in supporting 

 the national sport ; and so his son, of course, was very well 

 grounded to take a leading- part in so all-engrossing a sort 

 of manly recreation. 



Thursday niorning found us once more at the Black Lion 

 on another hair-cutting expedition. Here rumour said that 

 the field w^ould not be a strong- one, but the line would ; 

 that the Weaver party were in great force, and that the 

 race was going- all one way. I heard this rather oddly 

 confirmed myself, while waiting in the coffee-room for 

 Archy, who had retired to don the immaculate boots and 

 breeches. For some little time I had it all to myself, but 

 was at length intruded on by a couple of gentlemen who 

 had evidently come in to talk business. At first they 

 seemed half inclined to leave me in undisturbed posses- 

 sion ; but supposing, no doubt, there could be nothing- to 

 fear from a fresh-coloured, good-looking youth in white 

 cord trousers and a blue monkey-jacket, they made good 

 their point, and walktid in, while I went on with my divided 

 occupation of looking out of the window and grinding- a 

 tooth-pick. I did not listen, but I could hardly help 

 gathering something of this from the observations of the 

 shorter man of the two, who spoke in a tone offensively 

 «<3onfident, and looked, in a suit of seedy black, like an 



