54 Sportsmen Parsons in Peace and War 



to anyone. He preached in a black gown, as was then custom- 

 ary, but was one of the first to adopt the more cheerful white 

 surplice, which was regarded as a frisky innovation by many. 



No sooner had the ecclesiastical conscience of England been 

 reconciled to the surplice than a fresh innovation came in the 

 shape of more cheerful Church music, and this, too, he whole- 

 heartedly introduced into his own church. 



He did not preach extempore, but his sermons were well 

 reasoned and delivered with obvious sincerity. He was always 

 careful to cut out anything that could be called " high flown," 

 and was equally careful to avoid expressing views that would 

 sound extreme to any of his hearers. 



" Every jockey rides best in his own saddle, and I preach 

 best in my own pulpit," was one of his sayings, and he had every 

 reason to be proud of his beautiful old three-decker, for it is 

 one of the most exquisite of its kind in the country. In 1844 

 Mr. Henry Green, an old hunting friend, offered him the living of 

 King's Norton. Mr. Costobadie accepted it, and held it for forty- 

 three years, although he did not live there until his return from 

 Coblentz in '57. Soon after this he had the bad luck to lose 

 a good deal of money, and was not able to hunt as regularly as 

 in years gone by, but he still managed to see a good deal of 

 sport, mounted on horses that carried him well enough, even 

 though they were not always much to look at. 



Things began to improve after a time, and, in 1869, a wind- 

 fall enabled him to settle up with his long-suffering tradesmen. 

 When this auspicious day arrived, he sallied out on horseback 

 to the town, his hat stuffed full of banknotes with which to 

 gladden the hearts of the butcher, baker, and saddle-makers. 

 He was so prompt with his settlements that most of his friends 

 had not even heard of the windfall, and he created quite a sen- 

 sation in' the main street of Leicester when he took off his hat to 

 a lady and strewed the roadway with notes that flew in all 

 directions. As his hard-up-ness was well known, banknotes 

 were about the last thing anyone expected to see issuing from 

 his hat. More horses now became possible, and it was not long 

 before the vicarage stabling became inadequate, so that the coal- 

 shed had to be converted into a loose box. 



He was one of the first to come to the conclusion that it was 

 unwise to wash horses' legs after hunting, a contention around 



