Lucky Bob is a fellow
of another stamp, "a _nation good vice_" as ever was attached to the
house of _Brunswick_. Then comes our host, a civil, well-behaved man,
without any of the exterior appearance of the ruffian, or perhaps
I should say of his profession, and with all the good-natured
qualifications for a peaceable citizen, and an obliging, merry landlord:
next to him you will perceive the _immortal typo_, the all-accomplished
Pierce Egan; an eccentric in his way, both in manner and person, but not
deficient in that peculiar species of wit which fits him for the high
office of historian of the ring. The ironical praise of Blackwood he has
the good sense to turn to a right account, laughs at their satire, and
pretends to believe it is all meant in _right-down earnest_ approbation
of his extraordinary merits. For a long while after his great
instructor's neglect of his friends, Pierce kept undisturbed possession
of the throne; but recently competitors have shown themselves in the
field _well found_ in all particulars, and carrying such witty and
weighty ammunition wherewithal, that they more than threaten "to
push the hero from his stool."{1} Tom 1 The editors of the Annals of
Sporting, and Bell's Life in London, are both fellows of infinite wit.
~338~~Spring, who is fond of _cocking_ as well as fighting, is seen with
his bag in the right-hand corner, chaffing with the Duck-lane doss man;
while Lawyer L----e, a true sportsman, whether for the turf or chase, is
betting the odds with brother Adey, Greek against Greek.
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