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Sporting Magazine

For FEBRUARY, 1796.

MR. WILLIAM TAPLIN, With a beautiful engraved Portrait, by SCOTT, from an original Painting, by MARSHALL.

R. Taplin's literary produc

tions fo immediately appertain to the purport of our Mifcel lany, that we feel ourselves juftified in prefenting our readers with the portrait of that writer, which is from the original, painted by Mr. Marshall.

As but little, with modefty or propriety, can be faid of a living character, we fhall confine ourselves to a few circumstances of this gentleman's life. He comes before us as the author of a work on Farriery, in two volumes octavo, entitled, "THE GENTLEMAN'S STABLE DIRECTORY," and which has run through twelve editions. The book being in the hands of almost every sportsman in the kingdom, we fhall offer no opinion here on its merit, it having already ftood the test of criticism, and of profeffional inveftigation,

Mr. Taplin, the author, was the only fon of one of the body corporate of Old Windfor, and, at a proper age, put apprentice to an apothecary and furgeon, in London; he afterwards became a buck-a dashing young fellow on the town,-kept company with players,an adept at billiards,

engaged in a theatrical excurfion to Scotland and Ireland-poffeffed a tafte for literature,-wrote for the Dublin Evening Poft, always a fporting man,-kept the best horfes-run one or two racershunted frequently with great men's hounds both in England and Ireland-a great proficient in field fports, &c. &c.in fhort, he feems to have followed every thing but his profeffion, until he had fown his wild oats: At length he is found domesticated as an apothecary and furgeon, at Wokingham, in Berkshire, at which place, in the year 1788, he produced the firft volume of the Stable Directory, a work, it must be confeffed, that has given an entire new complexion to the practice of farriery. A new Compendium of Farriery is now announced from the prefs under his name, which will, no doubt, meet with the fame fuccefs as his former publication.

With talents fuch as Mr. Taplin poffeffes, aided by well-grounded profeffional knowledge, it is not to be wondered that he has been perfuaded to make an effort in the metropolis, where encouragement is fure to follow abilities and exertions like his. The progrefs he has made will be found in an article in our laft Magazine, which see in page 188.

Ff2

LIFE

228

Life of Mr. Tatterfall.

LIFE of Mr. TATTERSALL. (Contined from page 61.) MR. Tatterfall had_alfo an

eftate in Littleport Fen, confifting of one thousand acres, which he occupied, and which is now in the occupation of his fon; but as he was totally deftitute of all knowledge in farming, he loft a confiderable fum of money by it every year. But his favourite toaft, THE HAMMER AND HIGHFLYER, which he always gave after dinner, paid for all. About ten years back, he purchased another fmall eftate in Lancashire, which had formerly been the property of one of his ancestors: he took much pleafure for fome time in improving it, and declared his intention to leave it to his eldest natural fon, as the patrimony of the Tatterfalls. At intervals he feemed to have fome refpect for the memory of his anceftors, and wifhed to be confidered a man of family. When the painter had finished the laft portrait of Highflyer, he requested Mr. Tatterfall to furnish him with his coat of arms, in order to infert it in the back-ground of the painting: Mr. Tatterfall referred him to a gentleman of his name, who was then Rector of St. Paul's, Covent-Garden, and had a very large eftate in the county of Surrey. The Rector difmiffed him, with faying that Mr. Tatterfall, of Hyde-park-corner, was not of his family, and that he only knew him as a feller of horses: fome were of opinion, that this circumftance gave him a difguft to his Lancashire eftate; be that as it may, he foon after fold it, and never troubled himself again about his pedigree. We have followed the fame rule, as it is of very little confequence to the public whether the ancestors of a perfon

moving in his fphere were rich or poor, or whether he was nobly or ignobly born. When a great genius burfts fuddenly on the world, or by flow and progreffive degrees becomes an eminent member of the republic of Letters, we become interested in every period of his life, in his works, in his education, in his family, and progenitors. We are anxious to know what were the advantages and difadvantages under which he laboured, and what were the means of his improvement, whether natural or acquired. But in fpeaking of Mr. Tatterfall, it is enough to fay, that he began his career without education or capital, and died leaving a handfome fortune to his family. The biography of the Jews might, in many respects, be applied to him. In giving an account of the life of their great men, they only fay who the father was, how long the perfon lived, and how many children he had thus they fpeak of one of their moft diftinguished perfonages, METHUSELAH, lived nine hundred fixty and nine years, and he begat fons and daughters."

"He

But as Mr. Tatterfall had acquired confiderable property, without talents or fortune, it became neceffary to fhow, as we have done in fome meafure, how it was amaffed, and we shall proceed to fhow how it was increased.

He had procured a large ftud of mares, and the celebrity of Highflyer was fuch, that he found a ready fale for the produce. But the circumftance that contributed above all others to his almost engroffing the market, was, that he never trained or tried a colt or filly, There were many other gentlemen, and noblemen, who fometimes fold a part of their young

Duel between Major Sweetman and Captain Watfon. 229

were

young ftock, but they were always fufpected to have been tried, and therefore inferior to those that were retained. Mr. Tatterfall's was an open unqualified fale, where perfons might purchafe all or any part, without refervation, and where every perfon had an equal chance of procuring the best. The produce of feveral mares was often engaged for years to come, at the price of 150 guineas the colt, and 70 guineas the filly, to be delivered in October next after the time of foaling. They were generally in very good order, as his paddocks and lodges were peculiary convenient for the purpose. If any remained unfold the first year, they were always brought to Newmarket the next, and fold by without reserve. At auction, thofe fales it frequently happened that fome were fold for fourteen or fifteen guineas, which equal to thofe that had been fold the year before by private contract, at five or fix times the value. He often declared, when he put them up to auction, that if there were no bidders, he would order them to be unhaltered, and turned loose on the spot, and that they should become the property of those who should firft become poffeffed of them. He thus wifely prevented his farm being over ftocked, and kept up a conftant fucceffion for the turf. He was fo well connected with the keeper of the match-book, that he procured to be inferted after the name of the winner, "< bought of Mr. Tatterfall," which gave publicity to the excellence of his ftock. He was a mafter of the fmaller arts. If he did not affociate, he was perfectly familiar and stable-boys; he grooms gave annually a very fplendid

with

dinner to all the riders at Newmar-
ket. His house at Ely was al-
ways open to those who were pur-
chafers. Gentlemen's fervants par-
ticularly, who were fent by their
mafters to view the ftock, never
failed to make a favourable report
of their fuperiority, as well as his
hofpitality.
(To be continued.)

To the EDITORS of the SPORTING
MAGAZINE.

GENTLEMEN,

PERMIT me

PERMIT me to correct the
erroneous account given in
your laft Magazine refpecting the
fatal
between Major
Sweetman and Captain Watfon.

rencontre

They were entirely ftrangers to each other, and had never met before the difpute at the Operahouse. From that time they had no conversation whatever. They reached Cobham on Sunday night, about one o'clock, in feparate chaife, each attended by his fecond and furgeon. Major Sweetman's fecond, Col. Toole; furgeon Mr. Ford. Captain Watson's fecond, Captain Seymour; furgeon, Mr. Dunlop. Major S. was of an Independent Company lately raised in Ireland, and Captain Watson of the 90th. The feconds had conferences at the inn, but could not accomplish an accommodation. They went from the inn about nine o'clock, and proceeded on the road to Guildford, till they came to the end of Pain's-Hill Park: chaifes were left in the road, and they, with the seconds and furgeons, proceeded fome diftance to the fatal spot. An altercation then took place between the seconds 'refpecting distance; Captain Watfon's fecond propofing

the

ten

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ten or twelve paces, which was oppofed by the Major and his fecond, wishing it to be nearer on account of his being nearfighted.

Captain Watfon then begged that the business might not be protracted, but that they might be fuffered to go on;-upon which the seconds withdrew, and immediately (without any previous agreement) both piftols were difcharged at the fame moment, and at a diftance of about fix both

paces;

gentlemen fell; Major S. having received a fhot in his right breast, and Captain W. through the right thigh, which fractured the bone. The Major did not speak after receiving the fhot, and died on the way to Cobham. A coroner's inqueft was held the next day, when the only evidence was Captain W's furgeon, Mr. Dunlop, who, with Mr. Ford, the other furgeon, was at fome distance when the piftols

were fired, and did not fee the action, their faces being turned from the parties. Verdict of the Jury, manflaughter. Major S. was buried at Cobham the next day. Captain W. is an Irish gentleman, but not the fon of the Bishop of Llandaff, as has been stated in moft of the public prints. He is yet at the White Lion, Cobham, and in a fair way, as the bone has begun to callous, and every appearance of a perfect cure in a fhort time. Cobham, Feb. 25.

ONE OF THE JURY.

THEATRICAL REGISTER.

LOCK AND KEY.

Covent-Garden, Feb. 3.

LAST night a new mufical farce, called Lock and Key, from the pen of Mr. Hoare,

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The plot is as follows: Brummagem, an old country virtuofo, ridiculously attached to titles and pedigrees, having confined his niece Laura, under Lock and Key, in order to prevent her marrying Cheerly, to whom she is attached, and oblige her to marry Sir Andrew M'Gorget, a Spanish Grandee, whom she has never feen; the cruelty of his behaviour to her, excites the compaffion of Ralph, a confidential fervant, who undertakes, by a ftratagem, to deliver her from her imprisonment. To this purpofe, he beguiles the old man, with a ludicrous ftory, during which the girl is releafed by her lover.

Vain, a conceited coxcomb, has likewife formed a scheme to attain the fame end, but from prefumption on his own cleverness, fails of fuccefs. The young couple afk and obtain forgiveness.

The story is well managed, and the bufinefs is enlivened throughout with a series of comi cal and laughable incidents. Moft of the fcenes are highly ludicrous, but they are pleafant, and fully anfwer the purpose, for which all productions of this nature are intended.

The dialogue is very sprightly, and the equivoque neat and ftriking.

The mufic of the fongs by Mr. Shields, and the overture by the Junior Parke.-The piece was re

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