144 RECORDS OF OLD TIMES 



charge of the establishment, when he arrived at his 

 office in the mansion in the early morning, found the 

 place a barren desert, no desk on which to write, 

 nor a chair to sit upon! It" has never been satis- 

 factorily cleared up to this day what were the causes 

 that led to this sudden denudation of the mansion, 

 but it was said that it was done with the connivance, 

 if not at the suggestion, of X. Thus ended the 

 great Sporting Club and Racecourse. Mr. X. died 

 about three years since, leaving behind him a 

 fairly handsome fortune. De niortuis nil nisi 

 bonum. He was a generous, charitable man, as the 

 Orphan Asylum at Slough can well testify, as upon 

 several occasions he contributed some thousands of 

 pounds to its funds. 



