Eccentric Sporting Characters. t 75 



but why not a word for Mr. Matthew Briggs, who re- 

 spected the turf so much that he only condescended 

 to wear a shirt when he went to Derby and Lichfield 

 races ! The life of Hurst of Rawcliffe is, we are told, 

 the only light reading in which the water-drinkers at 

 Askern Spa, near Doncaster, indulge. About 1830, 

 he was quite a hero in that district. A fox, a bull, 

 and an otter were his chosen pets, and his coffin did 

 chest duty. When he went out shooting he rode the 

 bull, and taught the pigs and the dogs to do the 

 quartering and retrieving. His waistcoat was com- 

 posed of drakes' necks, and when he drove his asses 

 or dogs in his own home-made carriage to the St. 

 Leger, he distributed notes for sia 7 ., " payable to John 

 Bull on the Bank of Rawcliffe." Lumley Kettlewell 

 was of a far higher caste, and horses, dogs (which kept 

 up a roving commission among the shambles to save 

 their lives), a fox, a Maltese ass, ducks, and a monkey 

 were the solace of his existence, and resided under his 

 roof. He got in at his window by a ladder, and 

 packed himself at nights into a crate of straw for heat. 

 While his bank notes were lying about his drawers, 

 and were on one occasion devoured by rats, he was 

 eating cocks' heads and rabbits' feet, and any offal he 

 could light on. Looking up racehorse pedigrees was 

 his delight, and if he went to a friend's, he would seat 

 himself right in front of the fire, plant his elbows 

 between his knees, and study the Calendar in silence 

 from morning till night. 



Fox and hare-hunting have had some very queer 

 votaries. An American writer remarks that we must 

 be a cheerful-hearted people, as we clip our garden 

 hedges into fantastic shapes — here an urn, and there 

 a crowing cock. A turnpike man beguiled his weari- 

 ness in somewhat the same way, but he would not 

 rest short of a horse and rider, and during the hunting- 

 season he put the man into a scarlet coat. Other 

 enthusiasts have been even more practical and per- 



