5 o JOHN BAYNTON STARKEY, ESQ. 



was seldom found until the last minute, and lie him- 

 self out of breath and nearly dead with exhaustion. 

 In the consequent haste his horse was generally 

 saddled and despatched on the chance of its reaching 

 the starting-point in time to take part in the race, 

 with the greater chance of losing half the saddle- 

 cloths, or the jockey, before facing the starter. 



I was on one or two occasions mixed up with the 

 transactions between Mr. Starkey and his amiable 

 friends, the money-lenders ; never, I need scarcely 

 say, to my own benefit, but merely to assist a friend. 

 My last assistance to him of this kind proved disas- 

 trous to myself. Some twelve months before he 

 finally left England, ruined and despondent, I gave 

 him my name to an acceptance for £300. As might 

 have been expected, it was not paid, but had to be 

 renewed, the old bill being cancelled and forwarded to 

 me and destroyed. It was subsequently renewed 

 several times ; but unfortunately the last bill was not 

 given up at the time of renewal, I being satisfied with 

 Mr. Starkey's assurance, over and over again, that it 

 should be forthcoming. The circumstance was for- 

 gotten, until it was brought to my memory in the 

 following unpleasant way : On the first day of Stock- 

 bridge Eaces, a polite, suasive, and half-gentlemanly- 

 looking, bald-headed little man in sober attire, ' tidy 

 and respectable ' — such as are generally engaged to 

 look after property that belongs to other people, 

 having none of their own — came to me and said: 



