The Earl of Glasgom, 3 1 



have a pleasant sound ; a chestnut with such a 

 peculiar white mark under the knee was of course 

 Knight of the Garter ; and " Rapid Rhone" was a 

 sterling compliment, such as that roan tribe might 

 not know again in the course of the century. Both 

 Knowsley and the Drake have repaid breeders well in 

 different lines, and The Earl was one of the results of 

 that " nick" of Orlando mares with his Young Mel- 

 bourne, which General Peel made so fashionable. 

 Hence, thanks to old Clarissa, he could turn the laugh 

 against stud critics at last. 



The more they jeered at his stud tribes, the more 

 he stuck by them, and the more assiduously he 

 matched the produce. He cared nothing what he 

 spent out of a reputed 60,000/. a year. If a privileged 

 queen of the card-women hit him a little too hard with 

 her chaff, he would rub his neck or back, as was his 

 nervous way, a little more vigorously than usual, and 

 throw her a sovereign to get rid of her. He liked 

 having his racing blood to himself, and therefore 

 he put his sires' fees at a pretty prohibitive figure. 

 In fact, he would rather lend than let, and infinitely 

 sooner shoot than sell. He has been known to go 

 down to Middleham out of the season, summon four 

 or five resident jockeys over-night to ride a score or 

 more of trials for him the next morning, and finish up 

 by shooting half-a-dozen of the worst twos and threes, 

 without benefit of clergy. Stern of mood as he might 

 be when he was crossed, " his hand was ever open, his 

 heart was ever warm." It was said that he once fed 

 half Paisley in a time of distress, and that yet not 

 even a baillie dare thank him on behalf of his brother- 

 townsmen, for fear of being assaulted. A 10/. 

 note or a " pony" was the very least he would pull 

 out of his pocket, if the hat went round, and good 

 cause was shown for some Turfite who had fallen 

 behind the world. For forty years after their con- 

 nexion had ceased, he would send one of his earliest 



