Rugby Days. 67 



distinguished of them, zealous for the welfare 

 of his erring pupils, would not be baffled, 

 and pushed his clever bay nag on to New- 

 market. There, after he had been sufficiently 

 bewildered by the betting hullabaloo in the 

 High Street, he reached the 'ropes and 

 stakes ' of the prize ring in safety. With a 

 desperate hope of seizing and admonishing 

 some of his young men, he got a country- 

 man to hold his horse, invested a fractional 

 part of his Fellowship receipts in an inner 

 circle ticket, stuck it in his hat, and placed 

 himself next to the cords. His position 

 here was one of no ordinary tribulation. 

 Three times was his hat knocked over his 

 eyes by disguised undergraduates ; a pick- 

 pocket's long-haired child, who was on active 

 duty that day among his elders, and whom 

 from parental instinct the kind-hearted Don 

 innocently endeavoured to protect, took a 

 fancy to his silk handkerchief ; and the 

 ' roughs ' pressed upon him sore, and used 

 considerably stronger language towards ' Old 

 White-choker' than that in which Demos 

 thenes defied the Macedonian. He was 

 especially annoyed, to boot, with the polite 



