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AN OLD-TIME PLUNGER OF HIGH FAKE. Ai tin- beginning i the last cento v. when ha i drinking was a national custom Ithere was so liquor control board to say an Englishman "nav" if he felt thirsty in those days! and heavy gambling at card-dice and on tie- ].i,e course he rule, there bnr* upon the racing world a young Yorkshire Bquii . win., in the words of a contemporary "tool world of sport bj storm." [bit was Henry Hellish, of Blytbe, who baring attained hi- majority ■■ year or two before the battle of Trafalgar, came into uncontrolled possession of a large estate. If contemnorarj historians wen right Mr. Hellish most have been a veritable "Admirable Crichton." f-i it i- -aid if hi;, thai the e wa- not a Single sport. manly or otherwise, in Which he did not excel a 1 hi- rivals. Imprimis, it was averred that he was the fastest amateur rnnncr and ti.. fine - rider to bounds i.i in- lay. while at boxing, fencing and wrestling be outshone all tin other amateurs. A- an artist and also as a musician he was facile princeps amongst non ■ professionals, and a- a dandy it wa- a rase -f "ti 1 1. .".lid lie" with Pe.-iu Brummci. As a whip, ii*. he was classed AI at Lloyds, and the. cynosure «.f all eyes when he drove oat • the eonrse .i Brighton ur elsewhere tooling his matchless team ef brown-. Into the feet that he had a colorless run-ph rion and curry jet black hair, also a long droopii g black moustache rather an acquisition for a youngster who had ju-i alt. lined hi- majority We iced not enter, although . inched for bj tittle-tattle his-IoCmijs of tin turf. la his fourth ..ear a- all owner Mr. Hellish won thw St. Leger with his colt Bunch . a 7 hi I Chance, with Buckle up, in. a held of Steven. Seem- ingly ;ie Judge only placed a second harm. Master Betty.* and far thnl matter "Ortona Annals" says nothing concerning the distance by which the race was won. being chiefly concerned with the fact that Vesta .ell in running, her jockey. R. Spencer, being badly hurt, and that sir Bertram] also came down. as .li.l Witchcraft at the "ending post." Mr. Mellisb again woo the Leger the next year by aid • ■f siavile-, . which was only fourth favorite, al though al the somewhat cramped price of 3 to 1. Tins is described by Orion a- a "great betting raie. which was won by about a length by John Jackson on Mr. Mellishs colt. Mr. Mellishs turf career, if brilliant, wa.- al tin tame time meteoric, for .t la-ted only live brief years, coming to an end in 1808. He commenced well, winning a match .if fifty guineas at the Durham meeting in 1801, the renowned "Billy" Peine riding the winner. Having "tasted blood." young Mellish thirsted for further victories, and. a- far as horse racing went, although a reckless plunger, he probably did not damage his patrimony to any serious extent. :, i- he was admitted to !«• one of the heat matchmakers and handii appers of his day. Like the late Squire Abiugton, he had a strong leaning to the prise riii.. and a largo amount of money was annually dispensed in the way of subsidies, er largesse, to mi minis of the fancy, who regarded him as a sort of milch cow. much as did. within the last thirty year-, the fistic hangers on of Mr. "Abington" Laird. Pice and cards, however, made the biggest Inroads on tiie princely patrimony of Hellish, and it is related that he once staked 40.000 pounds on :; single throw at hazard — and lost — while on another occasion it was stated thai at one sitting at P.rooks Club he "melted away" the trifle of !7.00i pounds. on baring the club he happened to meet a royal duke — the Duke of Sussex — to whom he avowed that ""he was ruined, having lost everything." The duke go d natnreilly patted the disconsolate young man on the back, savin;:. "Coine back, your luck may turn." The word- wen- prophetic, for. taking him at his word. Mellish turned back and won no less a sum than 100,000 pounds from the duke, which it :-said was compounded fir by the granting of an annuity ef 4.000 pounds a year, a mere tritle to a man of Mr. Mellishs lavish nature. Returning to consideration of Mr. Mellishs turf career, his matches Willi his St. Leger winne-. Sancho, against the astute Lord Pa "."ling tons Pari! i .in. aroused the greatest excitement In the sporting world. Pavilion bad met and beaten Sancho la tile New Claret Stakes Ditch in i at Men market, a race of 20t guineas each, half f rfelt, for which Sancho was second in a field of four. That was in the siuing of 1805, and Lord BgreUMHktS Hannibal. which was third, was subsequently matched by his owner for 1.000 guineas against Sancho one mib-i. the latter winning. A few days later Sancho b "at Pavilion in a match over four mile- at Lewes far 3.000 guineas 2,000 forfeit. Odds of 2 to t were laid en the loser. Subsequently Sancho broke down in some other match, but in 1806 bis owner again matched him against Lord Parlingt- n- Pavilion over tin- four miles at l.ewes. Mr. Mellish looked upon the match as a retriever and supported Sancho to win about 30.000 pounds. Odds ..f B and ■ to t wc:e laid on Pavilion and when Mellish drove onto the course in ids splendidly-appointed drag, with its superb team of browns, it is chronicled that he raised hi- white hat Ironically to his friends in the grandstand and said. "If SanCbos beat. 1 hope -oii.e of you will take me for a e achr.ian." It was a great race. Weutherbys "Calendar" of tint period mentioned no Jockeys in the returns, and even in that Of the Derby, won by Paris in 1808, no jockeys were given, not even the distance the winner won by. From a contemporary account of the match ii appears that Sam Cbifney rode Pavilion and Prank Buckle -Mr. Mellishs horse. San-cho is returned as having broken down in the race. but from ihe account just mentioned, it was only a 1 Ihe finish thai I e did -o. after looking all ovr a winner. Al thai time Mr. Melli-h had as a bettinsr conic! rate Lord Putey, and lively the two made it for the professional betting men. Mellish. for example, never opening his mouth in the ring under a "monkey." Exciting wagering was invariably w Itnessed at Brighton, fur Instance, when the partners were in their best plunging form. Those wore ihe days when ihe Prince of Wales afterwards jeorge l.i made Brighton aud Lewes ihe gayest scene of the year in England, and Tom Kail,.-- "Diary" noes on tn give a graphic picture oi Brighton: The Pavilion was full of guests, and the Steyne was crowded with all the rank and fashion from London. The legs and bettors, -who had arrived in shoals, used to assemble on the Steyne at an early hour to commence their opera-lions on the first day. and ihe buzz was tremendous till Lord Foley and Mellish. the two great confederates of that day. would approach the ring, and then a sudden silence ensued to await the pening of their books. They would come on. perhaps, smiling, but mysteriously, without making any deiiinnstriilii.il. At last Mr. Jerry Cloves would ang, nine. Mr. Mellisb, will you light the candle and s -t 11- a-golng?*. Then, if the master of Blytbe old say. Ill take :; to 1 about Sir Solomon. the whole pack opened, and the air resounded with 1 rerj shade of odds and betting." The- two eon-federatea pulled oB sumo big coups together, and on the whole held their own v.-ll against the ring. though, perhaps, not with such distinguished suc-1 e-s as Hie Hon. Richard Vernon. I nmmimlj called Dick Vernon, who. if we are to believe his biog-nupner. Thomas Bolcroft author of that admired comedy. ""The Road to Ruin**, was ""so adroit in hedging his bests" that he usually made a 10.001-porud book, by which "he lost nothing, nor could he ill any ease have lost anything." But Mellish lived at such a rate thai the wealth of Croesus could not have staid the strain. He had dose upon forty horses in training, seventeen carriage horses, a dozen hunters in Leicestershire, five chargers ai Brighton he was a captain in the Tenth Hussars, the ne plus ultra of fashionable soldiering, besides hack- Innumerable, and had a whom brigade of retainers in his pay. whose crimson liveries alone must have cost him a pretty penny. Yet not even all this lavish expenditure would have ruined Mr. Mellish if he could only have kept aloof from dice and can!-. A few examples of hi- reckless betting at hazard and cards have already been given. The last straw to break the camels back m Cue St. Leger of 1806, over which the betting wa-terrilic. The "Sporting Magazine." two months before the race wa- run. Stated that there was little ii uh: that upwards o; one million guineas had already been laid. Lord Foley and Mellish were amongst those who wore most heavily hit by the victory of Fyldener. The la Iter. Indeed, was ruined by the blow. In Ihe following December his si ml was sold, whilst he himself left England and went out as aide-de-camp to Sir Rowland Fergus-m in Spain, where the Peninsular war was then rag ing. Put before he bit he had the honor of entertaining his royal highness tin p ince nugent in his ancestral hall at Blytbe, which was no longer his. however, for he bad been compelled to sell it b Mr. Walker, the great ir nfoundcr. of Rotherhatn, who generously lent bun the house in order that be might play th« host to hi- distinguished guest in a manner worthy of his reputation. During the few days that Mr. Mellish gave his farewell reception to royalty, he and the Prime used to sit up all night engaged in the fascinating pursuit of hazard, and there may be still preserved in Doncaster the little table at which the ■raster of Ply the rattled the dice for the last time with he future sovereign of England. On bell g appointed aide-decamp to Sir Rowland Ferguson, Mr. Melli-h received the brevet rank Of Colonel, and whilst be was attached to that gen erals staff distinguished himself so conspicuously by his galantry and intelligence that he was more than once honored with special mention ami pralso in the dispatches of the Duke of Wellington. In-flur Innately, however. Mellish could not restrain his passion for gambling, a vice which the Duke viewed with the greatest abhorence during a campaign, and the consequence was the Colonel was advised to throw up his post and return home. During his absence his nncles had undertakes the management of his terribly embarrassed affairs. Out of his splendid property only one small farm was left to him— Hodsack Priory — ami there, with in sight of the noble mansion which Inul once been his. be lived the iniet life of a country gentleman, in company with is wife. Lady Harriet Petty, one of the daughters of the Marquis of Lunsdowne, whom he had married after bis return Irom the Peninsular War. She had a snug income of her own settled ui on herself, and as her husband from the day of his marriage forswore betting and gambling ef every description, they wore able t . live comfortably. Mr. Mellish devoted his attention to scientific farming, especially the breeding or 1 attic, and became al-o renowned for bis line ken-pel of greyhounds. — London Sportsman.
