180 TALES AND TRAITS OF SPORTING LIFE. 



waiting' was born and bred in liim direct from his fethcr, 

 and if the family ever started a coat of arms, as possibly 

 they did, their motto should have been that of the Roman 

 General, Cunctando — free translation, "I'm a coming-!" 

 The father was always in hot water from disobeying or 

 arg-uing- over his orders. He would not make running^ 

 and how terse and telling is his description of one of those 

 notorious races with Escape ! The Prince had wished 

 rather than commanded him to make play, and " Skylark 

 chose to make play, and I waited with Escape, and 

 Escape won." This is a very epigram in its way, while 

 in our refined times he would have " landed the dibs," or 

 have done some dreadful thing* or other of the same kind. 

 William Chifney naturally sided with his father, for 

 the boys had been bred up to "use vengeance, so far as 

 they were able, ag'ainst insulting' injuries ;" and thus 

 '- on the 31st of May, 1803, I was creditably informed 

 Colonel Leigli had represented me to the Prince to be the 

 worst fellow living-. And, in those last October Meeting's, 

 as my son was standing by me on the exercise ground. 

 Colonel Leigh, the Prince's equerry, rode, calling to Air. 

 Christopher Wilson, one of the stewards of the Jockey 

 Club, to give Sam Chifney his stick to lick me with. 

 * * * * Colonel Leig'h was at me the same again on the 

 race ground ; and he knew I had been ill for two years, 

 from losing the use of my limbs." What a picture this 

 offers us of the manners of the age ! although we have 

 heard language almost as coarse upon Newmarket 

 Heath within this year or to. And then " my son 

 William, knowing of those and other insulting injurious 

 usage of Colonel Leigh to me, himself, and his brother, 

 and knowing, also, that I could get no redress from the 

 Prince, nor by law, the boy licked Colonel Leigh." For 



