Ask Momma or The Richest Commoner In England by R. S. Surtees : (full image Illustrated)

It may be a recommendation to the lover of light literature to be told, that the following story does not involve the complication of a plot. It is a mere continuous narrative of an almost everyday exaggeration, interspersed with sporting scenes and excellent illustrations by Leech. March 31, 1858.
CHAPTER I. OUR HERO AND CO. - A SLEEPING PARTNER.
ONSIDERING that Billy Pringle, or Fine Billy, as his good-natured friends called him, was only an underbred chap, he was as good an imitation of a Swell as ever we saw. He had all the airy dreaminess of an hereditary high flyer, while his big talk and off-hand manner strengthened the delusion.
It was only when you came to close quarters with him, and found that though he talked in pounds he acted in pence, and marked his fine dictionary words and laboured expletives, that you came to the conclusion that he was "painfully gentlemanly." So few people, however, agree upon what a gentleman is, that Billy was well calculated to pass muster with the million. Fine shirts, fine ties, fine talk, fine trinkets, go a long way towards furnishing the character with many. Billy was liberal, not to say prodigal, in all these. The only infallible rule we know is, that the man who is always talking about being a gentleman never is one. Just as the man who is always talking about honour, morality, fine feeling, and so or never knows anything of these qualities but the name.
Nature had favoured Billy's pretensions in the lady-killing way. In person he was above the middle height, five feet eleven or so, slim and well-proportioned, with a finely-shaped head and face, fair complexion, light brown hair, laughing blue eyes, with long lashes, good eyebrows, regular pearly teeth and delicately pencilled moustache. Whiskers he did not aspire to. Nor did Billy abuse the gifts of Nature by disguising himself in any of the vulgar groomy gamekeepery style of dress, that so effectually reduce all mankind to the level of the labourer, nor adopt any of the "loud" patterns that have lately figured so conspicuously in our streets. On the contrary, he studied the quiet unobtrusive order of costume, and the harmony of colours, with a view of producing a perfectly elegant general effect. Neatly-fitting frock or dress coats, instead of baggy sacks, with trouser legs for sleeves, quiet-patterned vests and equally quiet-patterned trousers. If he could only have been easy in them he would have done extremely well, but there was always a nervous twitching, and jerking, and feeling, as if he was wondering what people were thinking or saying of him.
CONTENTS
PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION.
OUR HERO AND CO.—A SLEEPING PARTNER.
THE ROAD.
THE ROAD RESUMED.—MISS PHEASANT-FEATHERS.
A GLASS COACH.—MISS WILLING (EN GRAND COSTUME)
THE LADY'S BOUDOIR.—A DECLARATION.
THE HAPPY UNITED FAMILY.—CURTAIN CRESCENT.
THE EARL OF LADYTHORNE.—MISS DE GLANCEY.
CUB-HUNTING.
A PUP AT WALK.—IMPERIAL JOHN.
JEAN ROUGIER, OR JACK ROGERS.
THE OPENING DAY.—THE HUNT BREAKFAST.
THE MORNING FOX.—THE AFTERNOON FOX.
GONE AWAY!
THE PRINGLE CORRESPONDENCE.
MAJOR YAMMERTON'S COACH STOPS THE WAY.
THE MAJOR'S MENAGE.
ARRIVAL AT YAMMERTON GRANGE.—A FAMILY PARTY.
A LEETLE, CONTRETEMPS.
THE MAJOR'S STUD.
CARDS FOR A SPREAD.
THE GATHERING.—THE GRAND SPREAD ITSELF.
A HUNTING MORNING.—UNKENNELING.
SHOWING A HORSE.—THE MEET.
THE WILD BEAST ITSELF.
A CRUEL FINISH.
THE PRINGLE CORRESPONDENCE.
SIR MOSES MAINCHANCE.
THE HIT-IM AND HOLD-IM SHIRE HOUNDS.
THE PANGBURN PARK ESTATE.
COMMERCE AND AGRICULTURE.
SIR MOSES'S MENAGE.—DEPARTURE OF FINE BILLY.
THE BAD STABLE; OR, "IT'S ONLY FOR ONE NIGHT."
SIR MOSES'S SPREAD.
GOING TO COVER WITH THE HOUNDS.
THE MEET.
A BIRD'S EYE VIEW.
TWO ACCOUNTS OF A RUN; OR, LOOK ON THIS PICTURE.
THE SICK HORSE AND THE SICK MASTER.
MR. PRINGLE SUDDENLY BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE H. H. H.
THE HUNT DINNER,
THE HUNT TEA.—BUSHEY HEATH AND BARE ACRES.
MR. GEORDEY GALLON.
SIR MOSES PERPLEXED—THE RENDEZVOUS FOR