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Sarbarti  College  Litorarg 

JOHN    AMORY    LOWELL, 


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WKBON,  VINTO'N  &  C? 


1899. 


BAILY'S  MAGAZINE 


OF 


SPORTS  &  PASTIMES. 


VOLUME  THE  SEVENTY-SECOND. 

BEING 

NOS.   473-478.     JULY    TO    DECEMBER,    1899. 


LONDON : 

VINTON    AND   CO.,    LIMITED, 

9,  NEW  BRIDGE  STREET,  LUDGATE  CIRCUS,  E.C. 

1899. 


^ 


■^c 


l*W%4Jl.lo-J3> 


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£rf**>*v04 , 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


ENGRAVINGS. 


Cockburn,  Mr.  N.  C,  M.F.H. 
Dale,  Will     .... 
Leeds,  The  Duke  of 
MacGregor,  Mr.  Gregor 
Poore,  Major  Robert  M. 
Quilter,  Sir  Cuthbert 
Sanders,  Mr.  Robert  Arthur  - 


PAGE 

305 
Title 

379 
1 

231 

81 

157 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


PAGE 

Champion  Foxhounds  at  Peterborough  -         -        -114 

Duncombe 387 

Fiery  Ordeal,  The  - 96 

Gambler 249 

Hands  Holding  Reins 410,  412 

Head-Stalls  and  Halters        -         -  262,  263,  264 

Horses  of  the  Wild  wood         -         -         -  184,  1 86 

Houson,  The  Rev.  J. 250 

Leacroft,  The  late  Rev.  C.  H.        -         -         -         -     317 

Luther,  Mr.  Robert 420 

MacGregor,  George,  and  Stoddart,  A.  E.  -         3 

Map  of  the  Meets  of  the  Belvoir  Hounds      -         -     247 
Hunters,  Gendarme  and  Goldflake         -         -         -     200 

Shoeing  Forge,  The 325 

Spaniel  and  Pheasant 342 

Spanish  Pointer,  The 238 

Spoilsports  in  the  Shallow 33 

Targets  at  Bisley 416 

Where  the  Dard  Lie 31 

Working  Spaniels 16 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

African  Horse-Sickness 159 

After  the  Inter- Regimental 40 

All  Nature  Looks  Smiling  and  Gay 12 

Amateur  Huntsmen  (Illustrated) 387 

Anecdotal  Sport 22,  128,  195,  279,  344,  425 

Anecdotes  of  an  Old  Turfite 88 

Arab  Horse  as  a  Racer,  The 41 

"  Baily's  Hunting  Directory  " 353 

Bibury  Club,  The 83 

Biographies : — 

Cockburn,  Mr.  R. 3°5 

Leeds,  the  Duke  of 379 

MacGregor,  Mr.  Gregor      - 1 

Poore,  Major  Robert  M. 231 

Quilter,  Sir  Cuthbert 81 

Sanders,  Mr.  Robert  Arthur 157 

"  Bishop  of  Brackenfield,  The  " 3*7 

Black  Wood  of  Rannoch 201 

Bowls 2^7 

Century's  Coachbuilding,  A in 

Chances  of  the  Game,  The  : — 

Faro's  Daughter 269 

Father  and  Son 1 74 

Hammer  Hume 103 

Ivo  Treherne 35 

Curiosities  of  Shooting 258 

Dale,  Will 428 

Dard  Fishing  in  Normandy  (Illustrated) 29 

Day  With  the  Otter  Hounds,  A 266 

Deadly  Snakes  in  India 251 

Fowler,  The  (Verses) 46 

Foxhunter's  Widow,  The  (Verses) 4X3 

Game  Legislation  in  Norway 181 

Gendarme  and  Goldflake  (Illustrated) 200 

Hands  (Verses) 32° 

Head-Stalls  and  Halters  (Illustrated) 262 

Hind  Shooting 33^ 

History  of  the  Belvoir  Hunt  (Illustrated) 247 

Horses  of  the  Wild  wood  (Illustrated) 185 

Hunting,  Ancient  and  Modern  (Illustrated)         -  42° 


IV.  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Hunting  Season,  The 349 

Hunting  in  France 395 

In  East  Anglia 233 

Land  on  the  Starboard  Bow  ! 334 

Life's  Run  (Verses) 278 

Measurement  of  Ponies,  The 94 

Memories  of  My  Horses 4 

Modern  Marksmanship* (Illustrated) 414 

More  about  Mules 401 

Music  and  Morals  in  the  Kennel 273 

My  Mayfly  Diary 123 

"  Our  Van  M 49,  133,  209,  288,  354,  429 

Past  Polo  Season,  The 170 

Percy  Brown  (Verses) 265 

Peterborough  (Illustrated) 114 

Pointer,  The  (Illustrated) 238 

Poisoning  of  Vermin  and  its  Results,  The 118 

Public- School  Cricket 179 

Race  Meeting  in  China,  A 102 

Racehorses  from  Australia 239 

Racing 167 

Recollections  of  Racing  in  India 205 

Salmon  in  the  Statute  Book,  The 187 

Shades  of  Henley 121 

Side-Saddle  Riding  (Illustrated) 411 

Snipe 326 

Some  Spanish  Mules 312 

Spaniel  and  Pheasant  (Illustrated) 342 

Sporting  Intelligence  -  71,  151,  225,  300,  375,  448 

Sportsman's  Library 47,  275  427 

Sportsmen  to  the  Front 392 

Studs  in  France,  The 19 

Teal  and  Green,  The 90 

Trout  Fishing  in  Norway 43 

Twelfth  of  August  in  the  Irish  Midlands,  A  107 

Twenty-one  Years  of  a  Chalk-Stream  Diary        ....  381 

Vain  Glory  and  Egotism 193 

Veterinary  Profession,  The 284 

Village  Forge,  The  (Illustrated) 325 

What  is  a  Sportsman  ? 321 

What  Next  ?      -        -        -        - 405 

"  What  Shall  I  Subscribe  ?  " 307 

White  Heather  (Illustrated) 96 

Working  Spaniels  (Illustrated) 16 


"position  unrtvalleb  in  Xonbon." 

LANGHAM 

HOTEL, 

PORTLAND  PLACE  AND  REGENT  STREET, 
LONDON,    W. 

Quiet,  open,  and  healthy  situation  in  Fashionable  and 
Convenient  locality.  Built  on  a  gravel  soil  95  feet  above 
the  Thames  high-water  mark. 


Apartments  for  Regimental  and  Private  Dinners, 

Wedding:  Receptions,  &c. 


MODERN    IMPROVEMENTS.  MODERATE   TARIFF.  i 


MARTELL'S 


At  ail  Ban 
and  Restaurants. 


THREE  STAR 


Of  all  Wine  and 
8pirit  Merchants. 


BRANDY. 


DATS 

BLACK 

DRINK 


For  COLIC,  CULLS,  DEBILITY,  DURRHSi,  fte. 

The  remarkable  popularity  of  this  world-ftuned 
veterinary  remedy  has  been  earned  no  leaa  by  lta 
safety  than  by  lta  sure  and  prompt  action.  Not  relying 
on  any  drastio  or  dangerous  elements,  It  la  a  skilful 
combination  of  three  principleB— Pain  Ruling,  Tonic, 
and  Stimulant-end  wherever  either  of  these  Is  re- 
quired,  the  "Black  Drink"  cannot  be  wrongly  or 
nnbenendaily  employed.  ^^ 


IsV-  par  dot.  bottlas,  Oarrlatfa  Paid. 
-„  OILY  filium  FROM 

For  every  Stable  and  Farm,   pay  a  sons.  Cm 


BAILY'S    MAGAZINE 


OF 


SPORTS  and  PASTIMES 


No.  473. 


JULY,  1899* 


m 


J£ 


r-VQL.  LXXII. 


.l:  -l 


Ju 


v. 


\?m 


\ 


CONT 

PAGE 

Sporting  Diary  for  the  Month    ix. 

Mr.  Gregor  MacGregor 1 

Memories  of  My  Horses 4 

All  Nature  looks  Smiling  and  Gay    ...  12 

Working  Spaniels    16 

Anecdotal  Sport   22 

Dard  Fishing  in  Normandy    29 

The  Chances  of  the  Game. — III.   Ivo 

Treherne   35 

After  the  Inter- Regimental    40 

The  Arab  Horse  as  Racer 41 

Trout  Fishing  in  Norway   43 

The  Fowler  (Verses)   46 

The  Sportraan's  Library 47 

"Our  Van"  :— 

Epsom   49 

Ascot 50 

Polo — The  Season    55 

"Baily"  and  Polo  Reform 55 

Hurlingham 55 

WITH 

Steel   Engraved   Portrait  of    Mr.    Gregor    MacGregor. 

Portraits    of    Gregor    MacGregor    and    A.    E.    Stoddart. 

Engravings  of  Working  Spaniels,  Where  the  Dard   Lib,  and  Spoilsports 

in  the  Shallow. 


\\\\       ^O     • J  page 

The  Polo  Pony  Society  ...  / 58 

Railway  Charges  wfcj&vfra Ponies. . .  58 

^*t££m&Rwf&)'£j^*t\- 58 

County  Polo.-.rrr^T 59 

The  London  Polo  Club  59 

Ranelagh  59 

Polo  in  the  United  States  60 

The  Hunt  Servants'  Benefit  Society  60 

Mange  and  Distemper     60 

Thorpe  Satch ville  Beagles 61 

The  Horse  Shows    61 

To  Cavalry  Officers  and  Others 61 

Horse  Boxes  and  Infection 62 

Cricket  63 

Pictures  at  Dickinson  and  Foster's  66 

Sport  at  the  Universities 66 

Aquatics    68 

Golf   69 

The  "Man-eater's  Mark"  on  the  Tiger  71 

Sporting  Intelligence,  May — June     ...  71 


Mr.  Gregor  MacGregor. 


Familiar  indeed  to  most  lovers 
of  cricket  and  Rugby  football 
must  be  the  features  of  Mr. 
Gregor  MacGregor,  whose  por- 
trait is  the  latest  addition  to 
Baily's  gallery  of  distinguished 
sportsmen.  Born  on  August 
31st,  1869,  the  great  wicket- 
keeper  is  not  yet  thirty  years  of 
age,  but  he  has  managed  already 
to  get  through  enough  first-class 
cricket  and  football  to  satisfy  any 
ordinary  lifetime.  It  was  at 
Uppingham  School  that  Mr. 
MacGregor    first    gained  promi- 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  473. 


nence  as  an  athlete,  and.  his 
experience  of  two  years  in  the 
school  cricket  eleven  and  football 
fifteen  qualified  him  for  the  high 
honours  he  was  destined  to  take 
as  soon  as  he  went  up  to  Jesus 
College,  Cambridge,  where  he 
represented  the  'Varsity  at  cricket 
throughout  the  four  years  of  his 
residence,  and  twice  played  against 
Oxford  at  football.  The  years 
1888-91  may  be  regarded  as  the 
Golden  Age  of  Jesus  College  from 
the  athletic  point  of  view  at  any 
rate,  and  prominent  amongst  the 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


representatives  of  the  "red  and 
black "  might  be  reckoned  the 
versatile  Mr.  S.  M.  J.  Woods, 
with  Messrs.  A.  J.  L.  Hill,  Percy 
Illingworth,  W.  T.  Rowell,  Martin 
Scott,  and  many  another  who 
earned  distinction  in  Jesus  Close 
and  still  wider  fields  of  sport. 
Certainly  during  these  years 
Cambridge  was  immeasurably 
superior  to  the  sister  University  at 
cricket,  and  in  Messrs.  Mac- 
Gregor  and  Woods  possessed  the 
finest  amateur  wicket-keeper  and 
bowler  of  the  day,  so  during  the 
four  years  the  Dark  Blues  did 
well  to  escape  defeat  upon  one 
occasion,  the  other  three  matches 
going  rightly  enough  to  the 
stronger  side,  of  which,  in 
1891,  Mr.  MacGregor  was  the 
captain. 

A  batsman  with  much  judg- 
ment, and  any  amount  of  courage 
and  coolness,  he  has,  both  for 
Cambridge  and  for  his  county, 
scored  well  over  a  century,  while 
he  has  time  after  time  been  of 
the  utmost  value  to  his  side; 
those  who  witnessed  it  are  not 
likely  to  forget  the  gallant  stand 
he  made  with  his  stable  com- 
panion, Mr.  Woods,  in  1890,  for 
the  last  wicket  of  Lord  Londes- 
borough's  team  against  the 
Australians.  The  wicket  was 
entirely  in  favour  of  the  bowlers, 
and  a  very  powerful  batting  side 
had  been  got  out  for  some  fifty 
odd  runs,  leaving  thirty  or  so  to 
win,  when  the  famous  Cantabs 
came  together  at  the  fall  of  the 
ninth  wicket;  then  ensued  a 
desperate  game  of  "  tip  and  run," 
and  a  free  use  of  the  pad  as  an 
auxiliary  to  the  bat,  and  before 
the  wicket  fell  the  score  was  only 
seven  runs  short  of  the  Austra- 
lians' total.  It  was  in  the  same 
year,  at  Kennington  Oval,  on  a 
very  sticky  wicket,  that  England 
wanted  two  runs  to  beat  Australia 
with  but  two  wickets  to  fall,  and 


Mr.  MacGregor  and  Sharpe  were 
in  together.     Five  anxious  overs 
passed,  and  neither  seemed  able 
to  make  a  run,  so  in  their  despera- 
tion  they  agreed   to  run  for  the 
very  next  ball  that  touched  the 
bat.     The  run  was  a  desperately 
short  one,  but  fortune  favoured 
the  brave,  and  the  fieldsman   in 
his  anxiety  returned  the  ball  wide, 
and  an  over-throw  gave  England 
the  game.     After  the  expiration 
of   the  two    years    necessary  to 
establish  a  residential   qualifica- 
tion to  play  for  the  county,  Mr. 
MacGregor  became,  in  the  early 
nineties,  associated  with  Middle- 
sex cricket,  and  both  in  front  of 
the  wicket  and  behind  it  he  has 
rendered  the  greatest   assistance 
to  the   metropolitan   team ;    and 
only  the  other  day  he  enjoyed  the 
honour    of    being    appointed    to 
captain    the    forces  which    have 
been  so  long  and  so  ably  led  by 
that  keenest  of  cricketers,  Mr.  A. 
J.  Webbe. 

Upon  Mr.  MacGregor's  ability 
as  a  wicket-keeper  it  is  idle  to 
dilate ;  facts  are  quite  eloquent 
enough,  and  we  need  only  say 
that  in  1890  and  1893  ne  was 
selected  to  do  battle  for  England 
in  all  three  test  matches  against 
Australia ;  and  in  the  match 
at  Lord's  in  1890,  when  Black- 
ham  kept  wicket  for  the  Austra- 
lians, not  a  bye  appeared  on  the 
score  sheet  of  either  side  during 
the  match.  It  was  natural 
enough  that  Lord  Sheffield,  in 
1 89 1,  should  invite  Mr.  Mac- 
Gregor to  form  one  of  his  team  to 
visit  Australia,  and  in  regard  to 
his  trip  to  the  colonies  the  fol- 
lowing story  goes  to  show  how 
true  is  the  saying  that  "  a  prophet 
has  no  honour  in  his  own  country." 
Being  uncertain  how  much  money 
he  would  require  for  the  journey, 
Mr.  MacGregor  agreed  with  his 
brother  to  cable  home  the  extra 
amount    he  might  require.     His 


.899.] 


MR.    GKEGOR    MACGREGOR 


father  one  day  received  a  cable 
simply  saying  "  Hundred."  In 
great  delight  he  took  the  message 
to  the  brother,  and  said  "Gregor 
has  made  a  hundred."  Sadly  the 
brother  shook  his  head,  saying, 
"  Afraid  he  hasn't  made  it— he 
wants  it." 

At  Rugby  football  the  "  canny 
Scot "  has  admirably  availed  him- 


boy,  who  at  centre  three-quarter 
fed  his  colleagues  in  the  most 
artistic  and  accurate  manner.  In 
the  seasons  of  1890  and  189 1  he 
played  in  all  the  Scottish  inter- 
national matches,  as  also  in  1893 
and  1894,  his  visit  to  Australia 
keeping  him  out  of  the  football 
field  in  1892  ;  and  as  a  proof  of 
the  opinion  held   in  Scotland   of 


E.    STODDART. 


self  of  his  judgment  and  coolness, 
and  at  three-quarter  back  and 
full  back  has  shown  himself  to  be 
one  of  the  most  resourceful 
players  of  the  day.  It  was  a 
grand  day  for  Scotland  when 
England  was  beaten  fairly  and 
squarely  at  Blackheath,  in  1S91, 
and  no  one  did  more  to  gain  the 
victory  than  the  old  Uppingham 


his  value  to  the  side,  he  was,  in 
1896,  after  practically  two  seasons 
retirement  from  the  field,  after 
but  one  trial  game  selected  to 
play  against  England. 

The  exigencies  of  space  forbid 
us  here  to  attempt  to  mention  one 
tithe  of  the  great  performances 
which  have  made  Mr.  MacGregor 
famous  in  the  world  of  sport,  and 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[JUIY 


are  they  not  written  in  the  books 
of  the  chronicles  of  Lillywhite, 
Wisden,  and  the  others?  We 
may,  however,  be  pardoned  for 
mentioning  another  and  no  less 
distinguished  claim  to  fame, 
although  with  his  accustomed 
modesty  Mr.  MacGregor  may 
never  have  taken  to  himself 
sufficient  credit  for  it,  until  his 
full  merit  was  brought  home  to 
him  by  the  vox  populi.     It  was  a 


few  days  after  Mr.  Stoddart  had 
returned  from  Australia  fresh, 
from  his  first  victorious  career, 
that  Mr.  MacGregor — who  shares 
a  house  with  his  Middlesex 
colleague  —  walking  down  the 
street  at  Hampstead,  passed  two 
little  urchins,  one  of  whom  nudged 
the  other,  saying  (in  tones  of 
respectful  admiration),  "See,  Bill, 
who  that  is !  That's  the  cove  as 
lives  with  Stoddart !  " 


Memories  of  my  Horses. 


Probably  no  men  have  the 
opportunity  of  making  the  ac- 
quaintance of  so  many  and  so 
various  horses  as  English  cavalry 
officers.  Their  calling  takes  them 
into  almost  every  part  of  the 
world,  and  as,  besides  their  duty, 
they  generally  find  most  of  their 
amusement  in  the  saddle,  each 
one  at  the  end  of  his  career  may 
look  back  to  many  four-footed 
friends,  which  have  given  to  him 
staunch  and  loyal  service  and,  if 
they  have  had  eccentricities  and 
weaknesses,  have  proved  that  they 
also  possessed  numberless  good 
qualities,  weighing  down  the 
balance  of  merit  enormously  in 
their  favour.  It  has  been  said  that 
the  details  of  the  most  common- 
place life  would,  if  honestly  written 
down,  have  always  something  of 
interest,  perhaps  of  value ;  so  it  is 
possible  that  some  equine  re- 
miniscences of  an  old  soldier, 
whose  exiguous  purse  has  always 
very  strictly  limited  his  stud, 
may  not  be  unworthy  of  slight 
record. 

It  is  an  intense  delight  to 
any  young  man  when  he  first 
puts  on  his  uniform  and  feels  that 
he  is  really  an  officer  in  Her 
Majesty's  Service  and,  second 
only  to  this,   is  the  satisfaction 


with  which  he  contemplates  his 
first  "charger"  and  dreams 
vaguely  of  the  scenes  which  he 
and  that  good  steed  may  go 
through  together.  He  has  pro- 
bably never  before  been  the  un- 
disputed owner  of  any  horse  and 
he  has  the  deepest  concern  for  its 
well-being,  its  training,  its  feeding, 
its  shoeing,  and  its  equipment. 
During  his  future  life  he  may 
own  many  successors  to  it,  but 
never  will  he  be  able  to  look  upon 
them  with  the  same  interest  that 
he  bestows  upon  this  earliest 
acquisition. 

Let  me  think  of  the  animal  on 
whose  back  I  first  took  the  shine 
out  of  the  stock  of  saddlery  that 
formed  part  of  my  military  trous- 
seau. My  good-natured  colonel 
had  promised  to  help  me  to  buy 
my  chargers  and  I  received  a 
message  from  him  one  day  telling 
me  to  meet  him  in  London.  It 
was  near  the  end  of  the  hunting 
season  and  some  studs  were  ad- 
vertised for  sale  at  Tattersall's. 
Among  them  were  one  or  two 
fresh  young  horses  (all  hunters 
were  fresh  on  their  legs  at  the 
end  of  that  season,  for  England 
had  been  buried  in  snow  and 
bound  in  frost  for  more  than  six 
weeks    after    Christmas)    which 


1*9*1 


MEMORIES   OF   MY   HORSES. 


seemed  likely  to  suit  my  purpose. 
1  shall  never  forget  going  through 
the  stalls  and  boxes  (it  was  the 
old  TattersalTs,  near  the  Park) 
and  trying  to  understand  the 
words  of  wisdom  that  fell  from 
the  person  whom  I  then  considered 
the  greatest  man  on  earth.  I  had 
little  to  do  with  the  eventual 
purchase,  but  I  know  that  for  £60 
I  became  the  proud  possessor  of 
one  of  the  most  useful  beasts  that 
ever  looked  through  a  bridle.  In 
those  days  it  was  not  as  it  is 
now  the  fashion  to  dock  horses 
and  a  decent  looking  hunter  could 
always  pass  to  the  parade  ground. 
My  knowledge  of  equitation 
was  of  the  slightest  when  I  joined 
and  for  some  months  I  was  under 
the  sway  of  the  riding  master.  My 
charger  had  to  be  introduced  also 
to  the  arts  of  the  manege,  but  I  am 
bound  to  say  that  his  education 
took  a  much  shorter  time  than 
mine.  His  former  master  had 
been  an  old  dragoon  who  had,  I 
dare  say  unconsciously,  given  him 
many  hints  about  passaging  and 
shouldering  in,  preparing  him  in 
some  degree  for  the  rough-rider's 
lessons  in  the  school.  Our  first 
little  promenade  together  was  not 
a  very  dignified  performance  on 
my  part,  and  indeed  I  don't  think 
that  he  was  entitled  to  think  that 
he  had  behaved  altogether  be- 
comingly. I  had  often  seen  my 
comrades  sallying  forth  for  an 
afternoon  ride,  prepared  to  offer 
themselves  to  the  admiration  of 
the  public  and,  as  I  had  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  many  manoeuvres 
in  the  school  without  discomfiture, 
I  thought  that  the  time  had  come 
when  I  might  follow  their  ex- 
ample. My  riding  trousers  were 
new  and  fitted  beautifully.  My 
saddle,  too,  was  new  and  painfully 
slippery  and  alas!  I  had  not 
realised  how  insecure  was  my 
position  in  it.  Full  of  pride  in 
my   personal   appearance,  I  rode 


to  the  barrack  gate,  where  the 
stalwart  sentry  was  standing  at 
ease,  meditating  probably  on  the 
delights  of  that  pot  of  beer  which 
he  would  enjoy  when  the  guard 
was  relieved.  As  I  came  within 
the  orthodox  fifteen  paces,  he 
sprang  to  attention  at  the  passing 
of  an  officer.  Surely  there  was 
nothing  in  this  that  should  have 
jarred  on  a  horse's  nerves,  but 
"The  Chief"  gave  a  slight  shy 
to  one  side  and  I  incontinently 
slipped  off  his  back  to  the  other. 
He  glanced  round  at  me  with 
astonishment,  while  I  picked  my- 
self up  and  tried  to  look  as  if 
I  had  been  the  victim  of  an  un- 
avoidable accident.  1  was  not 
to  be  beaten  and  climbed  again 
into  the  saddle,  determined  to 
look  out  for  another  shy  away 
from  the  alarming  man  at  arms. 
This  time,  however,  the  shy 
was  made  towards  the  sentry. 
My  studied  precautions  were  in 
vain  and  again  I  found  myself 
sitting  on  the  ground.  The  whole 
of  the  guard  had  now  turned 
out  and  tried  to  look  solemn 
and  commiserating,  while  their 
sides  were  shaking  with  ill- 
suppressed  laughter.  My  third 
attempt  was  lucky  and  I  managed 
to  get  out  of  the  barrack  gate, 
but  my  pride  was  humbled  and 
my  ride  in  a  dusty  coat  was  cut 
very  short. 

Well,  when  one  is  young  a 
tumble  or  two  don't  matter 
much,  and  it  does  not  take  long 
for  a  limber  lad  to  find  him- 
self tolerably  at  home  in  the 
saddle.  Hands  are  really  a  gift 
of  nature  and,  though  I  can't 
pretend  that  I  ever  became  a 
professor  in  playing  on  that  deli- 
cate instrument,  a  horse's  mouth, 
1  think  that,  from  the  time  when  I 
ceased  to  find  my  reins  necessary 
as  something  to  clutch  at  for 
safety,  I  had  an  instinctive  apti- 
tude   for   using  the    bridle   in   a 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


rational  manner,  and  generally 
managed  to  be  on  fairly  good 
terms  with  any  beast  that  I 
bestrode.  In  a  sporting  regiment 
there  is  never  any  lack  of  practice 
and  the  original  duffer,  if  his 
heart  is  in  the  right  place,  is  soon 
polished  up  into  a  very  passable 
horseman. 

I  will  not  speak  of  the  other 
charger  which  joined  "The  Chief" 
in  my  stable.  I  think  it  came 
from  the  ranks  at  ^"50,  and  no 
doubt  did  its  work  in  a  modest 
and  unpretending  way.  By  the 
way,  what  a  lot  of  good  horses  at 
that  time  came  from  the  ranks ! 
I  could  name  two  or  three  which 
made  names  for  themselves  as 
chasers,  and  swept  the  board  at 
military  meetings  far  and  near. 
I  daresay  that  the  regimental 
racehorse  of  the  time  would  not 
cut  much  of  a  figure  beside  the 
animals  that  run  now-a-days  at 
Aldershot  and  Sandown,  spend 
their  lives  in  training  stables  and 
never  gallop  except  between  flags, 
but  they  were  right  good  useful 
nags  and  could,  and  did,  take 
their  turn  in  the  hunting  field  or 
on  parade  in  a  way  that  their 
more  speedy  modern  successors 
could  not  emulate.  "  The  Chief" 
very  soon  slipped  into  the  position 
of  second  charger  and,  as  such, 
was  the  real  subaltern's  horse, 
coming  out  in  every  capacity  in 
turn,  as  charger,  hack,  hunter, 
trapper,  and  even  on  occasion 
swelling  the  field  in  a  regimental 
steeplechase.  He  was  never  sick 
or  sorry,  and  we  lived  long 
together  in  unbroken  friendship. 

Even  a  pauper  subaltern  makes 
an  effort  to  have  an  extra  horse, 
when  he  finds  himself  at  a  quarter 
such  as  was  York  forty  years  ago, 
and  I  managed  to  scrape  together 
the  very  modest  sum  that  was 
required  to  purchase  the  "  Maid 
of  all  work."  "  A  rum  'un  to  look 
at,"  she  was  certainly  "  a  good  'un 


to  go."  She  had  lived  long  in  a 
very  sporting  establishment  and 
had  been  used  as  a  trial  horse  for 
cocktails,  so  she  had  a  fair  turn 
of  speed.  She  was  an  undeniable 
fencer,  never  turned  her  head 
from  anything,  and  jumped  as  if 
she  liked  it.  Her  most  memor- 
able performance  was  carrying 
me  in  such  pride  of  place  during 
forty  minutes  with  a  very  notable 
pack  that  the  noble  master  had 
the  gallant  fox's  head  stuffed  and 
presented  it  to  me  —  a  proud 
trophy  which  still  hangs  in  my 
hall  to  remind  me  of  old  times. 
Besides  the  great  gallop  that  we 
had,  that  day's  hunting  is  marked 
in  my  memory  by  the  fact  that  on 
it  every  officer  whose  name  was 
in  the  Army  List  as  belonging  to 
the  —  Hussars,  with  the  exception 
of  the  old  Quartermaster,  who 
"  took  the  belt,"  was  out  hunting. 
It  was  the  1st  January,  and  all 
who  had  been  on  first  leave  had 
returned,  while  those  who  were 
to  have  second  leave  had  not 
gone  away.  Forth  from  bar- 
racks issued  the  Colonel,  Major, 
Adjutant,  Riding-master,  two 
Doctors,  Veterinary  Surgeon, 
eight  Captains,  eight  Lieu- 
tenants, and  eight  Cornets.  It 
was  a  case  of  "  We'll  all  go 
a'hunting  to-day ."  Six  -  and  - 
twenty  of  the  lot  were  in  pink. 
Such  were  the  brave  days  of 
old,  and  such  was  the  love  of 
the  chase  in  an  old-fashioned 
regiment. 

I  have  mentioned  the  kindness 
of  one  Yorkshire  M.F.H.  and 
cannot  help  recording  here  a  most 
generous  act  of  another,  Sir 
Charles  Slingsby,  the  master  of 
the  York  and  Ainsty,  who  a  few 
years  later  met  such  a  tragic  end 
at  Newby  Ferry.  My  regiment 
had  left  York  for  a  less  happy 
quarter,  and  I  returned  to  visit  a 
friend  in  the  old  city.  The 
hounds  were  to  meet  hard  by  and 


1*99-] 


MEMORIES   OP    MY   HORSES. 


I  got  a  hireling  for  the  day  in 
order  to  have  one  more  dart  with 
them.  Such  a  hireling  it  was ! 
It  could  not  gallop.  It  would  not 
jump  and  it  had  every  failing  that 
a  horse  could  have.  I  spent  a 
miserable  morning,  but  fortunately 
every  covert  was  drawn  blank. 
At  last,  about  one  o'clock,  we 
came  to  a  covert  which  was 
certain  to  hold  a  fox.  Sir  Charles 
rode  up  to  me  and  said  "  You've 
been  very  unlucky  in  your  horse. 
Now  we're  sure  to  have  an  after- 
noon gallop  and  I  should  be  sorry 
if  you  missed  it.  Just  jump  on 
my  second  horse  and  send  him 
along.  The  one  I'm  riding  is 
quite  fresh  and  I  need  not  change." 
I  need  hardly  say  that  I  accepted 
the  offer  with  gratitude  and,  sure 
enough,  we  did  have  a  very  good 
and  quick  thing,  in  which  I  was 
superbly  carried.  Could  any 
greater  kindness  be  conceived 
than  for  the  master,  who  was  also 
hunting  the  hounds,  to  give  his 
own  second  horse  to  a  wretched 
cavalry  subaltern,  in  whom  he 
had  no  special  interest  and  whose 
only  possible  recommendation 
could  be  that  he  had  an  honest 
love  of  sport  ? 

To  be  quartered  in  Ireland  is 
an  episode  in  cavalry  life  which  is 
certain  to  come  sooner  or  later, 
and  indeed  no  one  would  wish  to 
escape  it,  for  there  is  still  much 
fun  to  be  had  in  the  green  island, 
though  I  believe  that  unscrupulous 
agitation  has  done  much  to  lessen 
the  old  time  chances  of  happiness 
and  contentment  both  for  the 
native  and  the  temporary  visitor. 
My  regiment  crossed  the  channel 
while  there  was  yet  a  national 
Church,  before  Home  Rule  had 
placed  Parliamentary  representa- 
tion in  the  hands  of  men  whose 
patriotism  shows  itself  in  sanction- 
ing midnight  outrage,  and  before 
ail  country  gentlemen  had  been 
rained  by  Land  Acts.     Sam  Rey- 


nell  was  master  of  the  Meath. 
Baron  de  Robeck  ruled  the  Kil- 
dare,  and  Mr.  Morrogh  led  the 
Ward.  For  my  comrades  and 
myself  it  was  a  golden  time. 
Horses  and  forage  were  cheaper 
than  in  England  and  the  blessed 
gift  of  blood  enabled  every  screw 
that  came  into  our  possession 
always  to  carry  us  within  hail  of 
hounds  and  not  seldom  in  a  very 
respectable  place. 

But  we  were  not  always  within 
reach  of  the  premier  packs  and 
sometimes  had  to  provide  our  own 
hunting  by  keeping  regimental 
harriers,  with  which  indeed  we 
were  able  often  to  draw  for  an 
outlying  fox.  And  Irish  hares 
are  very  straightbacked  and,  if 
any  sportsman  meant  to  see  the 
fun  with  the  —  Hussars'  hounds, 
he  had  as  much  galloping  and 
jumping  as  any  glutton  could 
desire.  I  could  describe  several 
animals  on  whose  backs  I  had  my 
share  of  the  sport  that  was  going.  , 
Their  merits  were  many  and  the 
nature  of  their  failings  may  be 
gathered  from  the  remark  of  our 
old  veterinary  surgeon — peace  to 
his  memory,  he  knew  more  about 
horses  than  any  other  man  that  I 
have  ever  met — "  I'll  tell  you 
what  it  is.  I  can't  make  your 
horses  sound,  but  I'll  take  care 
that  they  are  always  fit  to  go 
hunting."  And  he  did  manage  to 
tinker  up  the  cornets'  horses  in  a 
most  wonderful  way.  Every 
screw  was  ready  to  meet  the  day's 
necessities. 

I  said  that  Irish  horses  had  the 
gift  of  blood,  and  I  think  also  that 
never  anywhere  else  have  I  found 
animals  that  became  so  confi- 
dential and  accommodated  them- 
selves so  handily  to  any  emer- 
gencies. One  little  bay  mare — 
she  was  barely  over  fifteen  hands 
— was  positively  as  sensible  as  a 
human  being.  Once,  in  the 
course  of  a  run,  we  came  across 


8 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[July 


a  long  strip  of  bog  about  a 
hundred  yards  wide.  Fox  and 
hounds  squattered  through,  but  it 
was  impossible  for  a  mounted 
man  to  lollow  and  there  appeared 
no  alternative  but  to  make  a 
tremendous  detour  on  the  sound 
ground.  There  was  a  narrow 
bank  of  turf,  not  two  feet  wide, 
zig-zagging  across  the  obstacle. 
Knowing  that  the  mare  would 
follow  wherever  I  led,  I  jumped 
off  her  back  and  ran  along  the 
turf  bank  and  my  kind  little  steed 
hesitated  not  to  accompany  me. 
We  made  the  transit  all  right,  to 
the  envy  of  many  gentlemen  who 
were  riding  less  amiable  hunters 
of  price  and  saw  me  and  my 
modest  nag  enjoying  the  unwonted 
satisfaction  of  being  quite  alone 
with  the  hounds. 

I  never  was  better  mounted  for 
a  job  in  my  life  than  I  was  during 
a  spell  on  the  Staff  at  Aldershot. 
A  grey  mare  and  a  brown  horse, 
both  Patlanders,  both  good  look- 
ing in  different  styles  of  beauty, 
both  with  the  smallest  possible 
stains  in  their  pedigrees,  were  my 
soldiering  horses.  The  mare  used 
to  kick  and  the  horse  had  a  knack 
of  giving  an  occasional  buck,  but 
these  slight  ebullitions  of  spirits 
were  nothing  when  you  were  used 
to  them  and,  though  they  would 
have  been  a  nuisance  for  a  squad- 
ron leader,  they  did  not  matter  to 
an  aide-de-camp  who  had  always 
plenty  of  elbow  room. 

It  is  perhaps  a  little  too  much 
the  fashion  nowadays  to  think  that 
the  British  cavalry  of  thirty  or  forty 
years  ago  was  very  inferior  to  the 
squadrons  which  now  are  respon- 
sible for  the  credit  of  the  service. 
Well,  I  will  not  argue  the  point. 
The  old  cavalry  was  pretty  good, 
however,  and,  whenever  any  of 
its  officers  and  men  were  called 
upon  for  active  service,  they  gave 
a  reasonably  satisfactory  account 
of  themselves.    At  Aldershot  and 


other  big  training  stations  there 
was  no  lack  of  energy  and 
enthusiasm  and  there  were 
manoeuvres  and  field  days  which 
tested  pretty  thoroughly  the  horses 
both  in  and  out  of  the  ranks.  I 
know  that  my  two  chargers,  stout 
beasts  as  they  were  and  not 
carrying  a  crushing  weight,  had 
often  just  as  much  work  as  they 
could  well  get  through,  and  that, 
when  the  old  troopers  in  the 
various  regiments  got  back  to 
camp  or  stables  in  the  evening, 
they  were  glad  enough  to  lie  down 
at  once  and  rest  their  wearied 
limbs.  It  was  then  a  point  of 
honour  for  cavalry  aides-decamp 
and  orderly  officers  to  ride  with  a 
message  as  straight  and  fast  as 
possible.  I  daresay  they  do  the 
same  now.  On  our  staff  there 
were  two  officers,  the  memory  of 
whose  later  exploits  as  masters  of 
hounds  is  still  green,  and  I  am 
sure  that-  even  among  the  smart 
young  soldiers  of  to-day,  it  would 
be  hard  to  find  two  men  who 
could  get  faster  from  one  point  to 
another.  No  obstacle  stopped 
them,  and  it  was  a  very  rough 
piece  of  ground  indeed  that  made 
them  slacken  their  usual  pace. 
They  never  made  a  mistake  in 
their  orders  and  their  heads  were 
as  cool  as  their  hearts  were  bold 
and  their  grip  of  the  saddle  was 
strong. 

Let  me  pass  to  a  year  which  I 
spent  campaigning  in  South  Africa 
with  a  local  mounted  corps.  It 
was  by  no  means  easy  to  pick  up 
decent  horses  when  I  landed  at 
the  Cape,  but  still  they  were  to 
be  found  with  a  little  trouble.  As 
more  and  more  troops  came  out 
from  England,  the  demand  became 
excessive  and  animals  had  to  be 
sought  for  in  distant  provinces. 
Of  course  the  aim  of  everyone  in 
Africa  then  was  to  procure  horses 
which  had  been  what  was  locally 
called   "  salted,"  that    is    which 


1899-] 


MEMORIES   OP    MY   HORSES. 


had  suffered  and  recovered  from 
the  terrible  "  horse  sickness,"  and 
were  supposed  to  be  proof  against 
another  attack.  Such  were  always 
much  more  valuable  than  any 
others  and  the  prices  asked  and 
given  for  them  were  sometimes 
very  large.  I  never  owned  a 
"  salted  "  horse  and  my  impression 
is  that  the  supposed  immunity  is 
fallacious.  I  saw  one  virulent 
epidemic  of  "  horse  sickness," 
during  which  a  third  of  the  horses 
present  with  a  field  force  died 
in  a  week,  and  among  them  were 
several  which  I  knew  had  suffered 
but  recovered  during  an  epidemic 
in  the  previous  year.  They 
had  been  considered  thoroughly 
•'salted"  and  that  they  should 
have  died  was  a  matter  of 
astonishment  to  all  old  colonists. 

I  was  lucky  enough  to  be  able 
to  buy  two  horses  and  a  pony 
that  served  me  well  for  many 
months  and  marched  over  many 
hundreds  of  miles  with  occasional 
interludes  of  pretty  sharp  fighting. 
For  long  they  escaped  the  risks  of 
war  and  were  unscathed  by  bullet 
or  assegai.  They  were  stout, 
honest,  hard-working  hacks,  but  I 
don't  think  that  they  would  have 
shone  in  any  other  capacity.  At 
that  time,  at  any  rate,  nothing 
was  or  could  be  asked  from  a 
horse  but  to  be  able  to  keep 
moving  for  an  indefinite  time  over 
an  indefinite  distance.  The  enemy 
to  which  we  were  opposed  was 
never  mounted  and  our  business 
was  only  to  bring  a  certain 
number  of  rifles  within  firing 
range  and  to  take  them  away 
again  when  the  work  was  done 
or  the  numbers  against  us  were 
too  great.  Surefooted  beasts  these 
African-bred  horses  were.  How 
they  could  scramble  over  the 
rocky  passes  in  the  hills,  and  how 
they  could  look  out  for  and  avoid 
the  trappy  ant-bear  holes  in  the 
veldt!    I  only  had  one  bad  fall 


from  a  horse  coming  down  with 
me,  and  that  I  think  was  more 
from  my  fault  than  his.  He  had 
detected  an  ant-bear  hole  in  front 
of  him  when  we  were  galloping 
and  wished  to  swerve.  I  had  not 
then  sufficient  sense  to  know  that 
I  should  trust  to  his  instinct 
and  forced  him  forward.  When  I 
had  gathered  myself  together 
after  the  resulting  imperial 
crowner,  I  made  a  mental  resolu- 
tion never  to  interfere  again  with 
my  horse's  judgment  of  ground 
while  I  remained  in  Africa. 

I  may  record  a  hardish  and 
somewhat  typical  day's  work  in  the 
saddle.  There  was  a  day's  march 
of  between  thirty  and  forty  miles 
before  the  column  to  which  I  was 
attached,  but  I  had  been  ordered 
to  visit  a  Boer's  farm  which  lay 
to  one  side  of  our  route  and  to 
select  some  re- mounts  from  a  lot 
of  young  horses  that  the  farmer 
had  collected  or  bred.  With  a 
brother  officer,  an  orderly  and  a 
guide  I  started  from  camp  about 
five  in  the  morning.  As  we 
had  a  long  trek  before  us,  it  be- 
hoved us  not  to  hurry  our  nags, 
but  with  an  off- saddle  half  way 
for  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
we  arrived  at  the  Boer's  farm 
before  ten,  having  covered  nearly 
forty  miles.  The  Boer  was 
hospitable,  made  our  horses 
comfortable,  and  produced  the 
inevitable  coffee  for  ourselves, 
while  the  mob  of  horses  that  we 
had  come  to  see  was  being  driven 
from  the  veldt  into  a  kraal  for 
examination.  When  they  were 
ready  our  work  began.  One  by 
one  the  horses  were  taken  out 
of  the  kraal,  run  up  and  down 
and  examined  for  soundness  in  a 
very  rough  and  ready  fashion. 
Then  they  were  saddled  in  suc- 
cession and  galloped  by  either 
myself  or  my  comrade  to  prove 
their  wind  and  action.  By  the 
way,    I    may    here    note    that  in 


IO 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


South  Africa,  a  broken-winded 
horse  is  almost  unknown.  I  think 
that  I  mounted  about  twenty 
horses  that  day  and  my  comrade 
nearly  as  many.  As  none  of  them 
had  been  broken,  we  had  some 
amusing  and  indeed  rather  ex- 
citing episodes.  We  ended  by 
selecting  about  thirty-five,  and  a 
very  useful  addition  to  our  ranks 
they  proved,  filling  up  some  of  the 
gaps  made  by  the  horse  sickness. 
We  had  just  time  for  a  hurried 
meal  and  then  started  on  our  own 
horses,  now  somewhat  refreshed 
and  rested,  to  join  the  column 
at  its  evening  camp  thirty  miles 
distant.  We  had  been  all  day 
on  a  high  plateau  and,  before  our 
journey's  end,  we  had  to  gain  the 
lower  plain.  The  night  was 
closing  in,  our  guide  missed  the 
path  and  brought  us  to  the  brink 
of  a  steep,  rocky,  bush-covered 
pitch  that  was  only  one  degree 
removed  from  being  a  precipice. 
It  was  impossible  to  ride  down, 
and  even  on  foot  it  seemed  that 
the  descent  would  involve  a  very 
sufficient  amount  of  scrambling 
and  holding  on  with  our  hands. 
There  was  only  one  thing  to  be 
done  —  we  dismounted,  knotted 
up  the  reins  and  crossed  the 
stirrups,  and  then  drove  our 
horses  loose  before  us  to  the  cliff, 
leaving  them  to  negotiate  it  the 
best  way  they  could.  We  followed 
and,  in  the  dim  twilight,  saw  our 
poor  steeds  sliding  down  and 
struggling  to  keep  their  foothold. 
I  have  before  said  that  African 
horses  are  sure  footed,  but  this 
was  a  very  high  trial.  They  all 
reached  the  bottom  without  acci- 
dent, except  my  orderly's  horse, 
which  lost  its  balance  and  rolled 
over  and  over  till  it  joined  its 
comrades  —  fortunately  its  saddle 
was  not  broken,  and  it  was 
none  the  worse  for  a  scratch  or 
two.  The  camp  lights  could  be 
seen  glimmering  in  the  distance, 


and  both  horses  and  men  were 
not  sorry  to  find  themselves 
within  reach  of  supper  and  bed. 

Alas!  of  my  African  stud,  two 
were  lost  in  a  sad  catastrophe 
and  their  actual  fate  remained 
unknown — the  third,  after  many 
hardships  and  trials,  met  his  death 
from  a  merciful  bullet.  There 
was  no  chance  then  of  giving  to  a 
horse,  that  was  suffering  from 
many  complaints,  a  long  rest  in 
which  to  recover  his  strength,  and 
it  was  kindness  to  make  an  end  of 
his  sorrows  in  this  world.  South 
Africa  is  with  me  a  place  of  sad 
memories,  and  not  the  least 
melancholy  is  the  thought  of  my 
poor  horses,  which  worked  hard, 
suffered  much  and  died  unhappily. 

Few  officers  now  ever  wish  to 
exchange  to  avoid  Eastern  service, 
as  was  often  the  case  in  the  first 
half  of  the  century  ;  in  fact  the 
general  desire  is  rather  in  the 
opposite  direction.  I  must  confess 
that,  when  Indian  service  called 
me,  I  obeyed  very  gladly.  And 
one  of  the  greatest  delights  of 
India  is  the  facility  to  a  poor  man 
of  mildly  indulging  in  a  taste  for 
horseflesh.  Pay  is  more  liberal 
than  at  home  and,  though  in  late 
years  the  rupee  has  depreciated 
and  the  expenses  of  syces  and 
forage  have  increased,  it  is  still 
easy  for  a  cavalry  officer  of  very 
moderate  means  to  have  four  or 
five  nags,  and  there  are  few 
infantry  men  so  poor  that  they 
do  not  manage  to  support  a  tat 
or  two,  on  which  to  play  polo  or 
have  a  look  in  at  a  station  gym- 
khana. While  I  was  in  the  East 
I  owned  more  animals  than  at 
any  other  time  in  my  life,  Arabs, 
Walers,  country  breds,  and  once, 
I  think,  a  Katty war :  but  of 
course  Arabs  and  Walers  were 
the  two  classes  with  which  I  and 
indeed  all  other  Europeans  were 
most  familiar. 

The  Arab  has  a  great  reputation 


•8».] 


MEMORIES   OP    MY    HORSES. 


II 


and,  if  giving  long  prices  and 
having  the  best  advice  in  buying 
could  have  given  me  good  speci- 
mens of  the  noble  race,  I  should 
have  had  them.  But  I  am  bound 
to  say  that  my  Arabs  consistently 
disappointed  me.  I  daresay  they 
would  have  been  invaluable  on 
service  from  their  hardiness,  stout- 
ness and  unfailing  appetite  what- 
ever might  be  the  provender,  but 
alas!  for  me  the  war  trumpet  never 
sounded.  When  their  blood  was 
up,  too,  they  were  able  to  get  over 
rough  ground  without  a  mistake, 
but  for  the  ordinary  duties  of  life 
they  left  much  to  be  desired. 
The  best  of  them  were  most 
indifferent  hacks  and  were  in- 
veterate stumblers.  Too  often 
their  stumbling  culminated  in 
coming  down  altogether.  I  never 
could  make  out  the  reason  of 
this:  whether  it  came  from  care- 
lessness, laziness  or  from  some 
racial  tendency,  and  I  never  found 
any  one  who  could  tell  me.  I 
recollect  one  in  particular,  a  very 
handsome  horse,  with  magnificent 
shoulders  and,  apparently  fine 
true  action,  for  which  I  had  given 
2,500  rupees.  I  made  him  my 
first  charger  and  rode  him  as  such 
for  some  months.  He  stumbled 
occasionally,  but  I  thought  that 
this  was  perhaps  my  own  fault, 
from  not  having  sufficiently  kept 
him  at  "  attention."  One  fatal 
day,  however,  at  a  very  swagger 
parade,  the  regiment  was  to  gallop 
past.  As  we  wheeled  into  line, 
although  he  was  leading  with  the 
proper  leg,  I  felt  "  Akbar  "  begin 
knuckling  over.  I  did  my  best 
to  keep  him  on  his  legs  but  the 
pace  of  manoeuvre  was  too  great 
to  allow  of  a  check.  He  went  on 
knuckling  and  stumbling  till  at 
last  he  turned  completely  over, 
landing  me  in  the  dust  almost 
at  the  inspecting  General's  feet. 
There  was  much  loss  of  dignity 
but  little  shame  to  me  in  quitting 


his  back,  for  the  somersault  was 
so  complete  that  the  saddle  was 
smashed.  I  suppose,  in  fact  I 
know,  that  there  are  Arabs  which 
do  not  stumble  and  are  reliable 
hacks,  but  my  acquaintance  with 
the  race,  in  the  hands  of  others  as 
well  as  in  my  own,  gives  me  little 
confidence  in  it  except  under 
circumstances  that  do  not  often 
occur. 

The  most  comfortable  horses 
that  I  had  in  India  were  Walers, 
but  they  were  all  tainted  more  or 
less  with  the  vice  of  bucking. 
The  great  majority  had  the  good 
taste  only  to  misconduct  them- 
selves thus  occasionally  and  then 
only  in  a  frolicsome  straight- 
forward way  that  need  hardly 
have  discomposed  a  rider  unless 
he  was  sitting  very  loosely  or  was 
taken  unawares.  But  when  one 
did  come  across  a  horse  that 
bucked  with  a  purpose,  I  would 
defy  any  ordinary  man  to  remain 
saddle-fast.  I  bought  one  Waler 
to  supplement  my  stud  for  a  big 
camp  of  exercise,  during  which 
much  fatiguing  work  was  to  be 
done.  Never  have  I  ridden  a 
more  pleasant  animal  while  he 
was  on  his  good  behaviour.  He 
was  the  best  of  hacks;  he  could 
have  carried  two  stone  more  than 
my  weight,  and  he  could  jump  in 
the  most  accomplished  style. 
After  the  hard  work  was  over  he 
unfortunately  had  too  much  to 
eat  and  too  little  work  (syceS 
never  exercise  horses  except  by 
leading  them  about),  and  when 
he  was  brought  round  for  me  to 
ride  one  afternoon,  the  long- 
slumbering  devil  woke  in  him  and 
he  began  to  buck  with  a  ven- 
geance. If  he  had  only  bucked 
straight  forwards,  I  might  possibly 
have  got  the  better  of  him,  but 
he  bucked  round  and  round  in  a 
circle  till  I  became  giddy.  The 
rest  was  easy  for  him,  and,  not 
content  with  disposing  summarily 


12 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


of  me,  he  bucked  himself  clear  of 
the  saddle  also.  I  need  hardly 
say  that,  after  such  an  exhibition 
he  was  sold,  and  he  got  rid  of  two 
or  three  successive  owners  in  the 
same  masterly  way.  He  sank 
very  low  in  life,  and  was  last  seen 
drawing  a  ticca  gharry  (hack 
carriage). 

But  for  one  that  so  egregiously 
misbehaved,  I  had  several  that 
were  ornamented  with  every 
equine  virtue.  They  could  hold 
their  own  anywhere,  on  parade, 
on  the  steeplechase  course  or 
when  I  went  out  for  an  evening 
canter  to  "  eat  the  air "  during 
the  Indian  hot  weather.  The 
picture  of  "  the  pick  of  the 
basket"  hangs  before  me  as  I 
write.  Stainless  in  descent, 
brave,  handsome,  spirited,  trust- 
worthy, I  look  back  to  him  with 
affection  as  the  best  charger  and 
nearly  the  best  horse  I  ever 
owned. 


But  if,  as  a  very  humble  horse- 
owner,  I  go  on  to  talk  of  all  the 
horses  ridden  by  *  me  in  India, 
much  as  I  should  like  to  do  so, 
I  should  encroach  too  much  upon 
Baily's  valuable  space.  Neither 
can  I  enlarge  upon  the  friends  of 
a  later  date,  whose  mettle  has 
been  stirred  by  horn  and  hound, 
by  the  blast  of  trumpet  or  the 
crash  of  squadrons.  When  I 
think  of  the  horses  that  have 
called  me  master  during  many 
years — 

"  Old  faces  throng  around  me, 
Old  forms  go  trooping  past." 

I  cannot  tell  of  them  all,  and 
indeed  can  only  notice  casually  a 
very  few.  I  may  end  by  saying 
that  I  am  of  those  who  think  that 
there  is  much  sense  in  the  Pro- 
phet's words  written  in  the  Kuran : 
"  Weal  is  knitted  in  the  fore- 
locks of  horses  till  the  day  of 
judgment."  C.  Stein. 


All   Nature  looks  Smiling  and  Gay. 


How  often  the  unexpected  hap- 
pens to  most  of  us.  To  be  far 
from  the  madding  crowd  at 
Epsom's  carnival,  to  be  an  ab- 
sentee from  old  familiar  scenes 
that  carry  one  back  to  the  days  of 
Ellington,  Kettledrum,  and  Blink 
Bonny,  would  seem  not  only  un- 
likely, but  even  unbusinesslike, 
in  one  who  feels  it  a  duty  to  be 
au  fait  with  what  is  worth  seeing 
and  knowing  about  horseflesh. 
And  yet  the  confession  must  needs 
be  made  that,  apart  from  all  other 
considerations,  your  scribe  has  in 
this  memorable  Flying  Fox  year 
enjoyed  a  scene  as  opposite  as  it 
is  possible  to  conceive.  A  truly 
restful  scene,  where  not  the  faint- 
est  echo  of    a    surging,    excited 


crowd  could  ruffle  his  thoughts  or 
intensify  his  nerves. 

Perhaps  you  will  not  give  him 
credit  for  taking  an  interest  in 
anything  so  ephemeral  as  the 
birth  and  life  of  a  May  fly,  and 
yet  there  is  something  so  sublime- 
ly peculiar,  so  exquisitely  beauti- 
ful, in  this  short  and  eventful  life, 
that  your  scribe's  nature  seems  to 
take  a  rebound  of  youth  at  the 
sight  of  it,  and  he  even  makes  a 
decided  mark  in  his  almanack  de- 
noting his  intention  of  spending 
one  day  in  company  with  this 
majestic  member  of  our  insect  life 
— its  veritable  May  Queen  and 
the  daintiest  morsel  of  trout  fare. 
How  curious  is  it  that  the  May 
fly  is  only  to  be  found  on  certain 


1*99-] 


ALL   NATURE    LOOKS   SMILING   AND   GAY. 


J3 


favoured  rivers.  Our  northern 
climes  suit  it  not.  It  is  absent 
from  rocky,  impetuous  streams, 
such  as  those  of  wild  Wales  or 
parts  of  Devonshire.  It  has  no 
sanctum  in  our  larger  rivers. 
Perhaps  it  has  no  more  favourite 
abodes  than  those  of  the  Test  and 
Avon  in  Hants  and  Wilts,  on  the 
Coin  in  Gloucestershire,  or  on  the 
Teme,  Lugg,  and  Arrow  of  Shrop- 
shire, Herefordshire  and  Wor- 
cestershire and  their  tributaries, 
the  Clun,  Ohny,  Rhea,  and  Let- 
wych.  Never  having  essayed  to 
a  display  of  skill  with  the  dry  fly 
in  those  pellucid  streams  of  Hants 
and  Wilts,  it  would  be  wrong  to 
lay  claim  to  feats  of  arms  with 
these  lynx-eyed  giants.  Albeit  I 
believe  you  may  succeed,  pro- 
vided you  have  the  stealth  of  the 
tiger,  the  throw  of  a  Zulu,  and 
the  patience  of  Job.  No,  it  is  no 
use  trying  to  preach  what  you 
cannot  practise,  or  to  aim  higher 
in  the  piscatorial  line  than  your 
natural  abilities,  or  shall  we  not 
rather  say,  opportunities  have 
conferred  on  you. 

With  this  preface  I  would 
humbly  beg  your  most  indulgent 
readers  to  come  with  me  to  the 
banks  of  the  river  Lugg,  on  the 
confines  of  Herefordshire  and 
Radnorshire,  and  I  will  recount 
my  experiences  of  a  Derby  day 
with  a  May  fly — an  oft-told  tale, 
no  doubt,  but  veritable  as  com- 
pared with  some  heroics  that  are 
to  be  found  in  the  pages  of  sport- 
ing literature.  Your  knowledge 
of  the  art  piscatorial  must  be  a 
practical  one,  begotten  of  years  of 
youthful  study  and  strengthened 
by  experience.  To-day  I  am  to 
take  my  part  in  the  great  May  fly 
festival.  It  is  therefore  essential 
that  I  should  see  for  myself  that 
the  big  fly  is  properly  rising  out 
of  its  chrysalis  state  in  the  water, 
and  also  that  the  fish  are  on  the 
alert  for  their  repast  on  it.  If 
such  be  not  the  case,  it  is  of  little 


or  no  avail  that  I  put  an  artificial 
May  fly  on  my  cast,  or  even 
catch  the  real  article  and  bob  it 
over  the  bushes  on  a  tiny  hook, 
apparently  a  very  tempting  bait, 
and  yet  not  one  that  I  ever  did 
more  than  occasional  execution 
with,  and  to  do  this  with  effect 
you  require  a  gentle  hand  and  a 
long  stiff  rod,  which  you  can  hold 
in  awkward  places,  and  this  does 
not  give  you  the  same  play  with 
your  fish,  when  hooked,  as  an 
ordinary  light  nine-foot  rod. 

Having  accoutred  oneself  for 
the  fray,  what  an  exquisite  plea- 
sure it  is  to  find  that  you  are  lord 
of  all  you  survey  as  you  take 
stock  of  a  real  trout  river,  where 
every  turn  and  twist,  with  its 
natural  holts,  eddies,  and  rapids, 
speak  to  you  as  eloquently  of  its 
denizens  as  does  yonder  gorsey 
fox  covert  on  the  hillside.  This 
is  especially  so  where  every  yard 
is  well  known  to  you,  and  where 
at  each  throw  you  can  tell  when 
to  expect  a  rise  from  your  expec- 
tant fish — that  is,  if  his  inclination 
is  to  be  on  the  feed.  Now  you 
should  know  that  the  Lugg,  in 
these  its  upper  reaches,  runs  in 
an  ever-winding  course  through 
the  richest  of  meadow  land  and 
alluvial  soil,  and  where  trout,  and 
only  trout,  abound  at  every  point ; 
for  grayling  are  not  an  ambitious 
fish,  and  care  not  to  ascend  weirs 
on  their  own  account,  so  that  here 
in  my  playground  the  trout  are 
left  in  sole  and  happy  possession 
of  the  river.  Not  a  coarse  fish  has 
ever  as  yet  swam  in  this  favoured 
territory.  To-day  recent  rains 
have  made  the  river  somewhat 
on  the  big  side,  although  other- 
wise in  splendid  order.  A  May 
fly  at  once  settles  on  my  shoulder 
in  a  confiding  sort  of  way — any- 
thing but  a  bad  augury — as  I  tie 
on  my  fly,  and  ere  I  can  finish 
my  arrangements  and  marshal  my 
son  with  the  landing-net  (he  being 
just   then  engaged  in  locating  a 


»4 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


(July 


sandpiper's  habitation),  I  heard 
the  charming  "phlop"  which 
denotes  the  genuine  May  fly  rise 
of  a  good  fish. 

Do  not  imagine,  dear  readers, 
that  I  am  going  to  inflict  on  you 
a  minute  account  of  my  prowess. 
It  was  much  too  full  of  mistakes, 
and  even  of  big  d's,  when  my  fish 
beat  me  after  a  sharp  little  con- 
flict, to  permit  of  publication  in 
full.  Yet,  oh !  is  it  not  with  a 
flutter  of  true  delight  that  you 
triumph  in  victory  every  few 
minutes,  and  almost  as  often  taste 
defeat  with  attempted  composure  ? 
Your  basket  soon  assumes  a  more 
weighty  feeling  on  your  back,  and 
your  helpmate  with  the  landing- 
net  has  little  spare  time  for  bird's- 
nesting.  Ah,  how  little  I  thought, 
when  I  was  here  a  week  ago,  that 
under  yonder  stubb  some  half- 
grown  young  otters  were  probably 
watching  me ;  for  on  the  next 
day,  when  the  Hawkstone  otter- 
hounds came  on  the  scene,  two  of 
them  had  to  yield  up  their  lives 
after  half  an  hour's  hunting,  which 
was  very  much  of  the  cub-hunting 
order.  Surely  fifteen  couples  of 
hounds  are  more  than  sufficient 
to  hunt  an  otter  with  in  such 
a  river  as  this.  They  fairly 
tumbled  over  one  another,  and 
gave  their  prey  no  chance  of 
escape.  My  memory  carried  me 
back  to  a  day  in  June  twenty- two 
years  ago,  when  the  late  Major 
Geoffrey  Hill  killed  an  otter  not 
very  far  from  the  same  spot, 
weighing  27lbs.  (I  have  his  head 
now),  after  a  hunt  of  two  hours 
and  fifty  minutes,  and  on  that 
same  evening  was  born  to  me  a 
son,  the  veritable  six-foot  man 
(named  Geoffrey ,  after  the  master), 
who  was  there  tussling  with  the 
pack  in  mid-stream  for  a  portion 
of  the  otter's  skin;  but  in  those 
days  Geoffrey  Hill  seldom  worked 
more  than  eight  couples  of  hounds, 
unless  it  was  on  a  big  river  like 


the  Wye.  Otters  are  always 
religiously  preserved  here,  and  I 
do  not  believe  that  they  are  such 
depredators  to  trout  as  some 
people  would  make  out.  At  all 
events,  I  killed  three  fish  in  this 
identical  otter  corner  the  very 
day  before  the  hounds  found 
there. 

It  is  not  only  the  simple  delight 
of  catching  fish,  which  fascinates 
a  lover  of  Nature  by  the  river  side 
at  this  time  of  year.  You  have 
bird  life  around  you  to  perfection. 
The  cock  pheasant  is  ever  on  the 
crow.  The  carrion  crow  is  cawing 
at  your  presence  in  the  tall  trees 
over  yonder.  The  jay  is  chat- 
tering in  that  high  hedge  to  the 
right  of  you.  The  plover  is 
attending  to  his  nursery  duties  in 
that  rushy  meadow.  The  corn- 
crake is  on  the  move.  The 
curlew,  with  his  shrill  cry,  is 
whirling  across  from  hill  to  hill. 
The  water-hen  flutters  away  from 
her  nest  full  of  eggs  at  the  water's 
edge,  and  almost  under  your  feet. 
The  sandpiper,  the  kingfisher  and 
the  water  ouzel  are  ever  darting 
up  and  down  the  stream,  and  then, 
the  prettiest  sight  of  all,  there  is 
an  old  wild  duck  cleverly  con- 
ducting her  brood  of  nine  down  to 
a  place  of  safety.  I  chance,  too,  to 
spy  a  big  brown  owl,  apparently 
asleep  in  an  oak  tree,  and  on 
further  investigation  there  is  a 
fine  young  fellow  on  a  lower 
branch,  where  I  can  almost  reach 
him,  a  prize  too  valuable  to  be 
missed  by  my  boy  with  the  net. 

Nor  must  I  omit  another  inci- 
dent, which  came  about  during 
the  day,  and  which  was  to  me  an 
unique  experience.  I  had  just 
started  to  fish  a  very  favourite 
place,  and  risen  and  hooked  a 
fish,  when  my  son  called  out, 
"  Look,  father,  look,"  and  darted 
off  across  the  field  with  my  landing 
net,  leaving  me  to  struggle  with  a 
nice  fish  in  a  hopeless  state  on  a 


1899] 


ALL    NATURE    LOOKS   SMILING   AND   GAY. 


15 


high  bank.  There  was  nothing 
for  it  but  to  wait  until  he  came 
back,  which  he  did  at  last  (my  fish 
in  the  meantime  having  worked 
himself  free  and  departed),  carry- 
ing with  him  a  dead  magpie,  which 
he  had  seen  struck  down  and  killed 
by  a  curlew.  This  must  have 
been  a  case  of  revenge  for  the 
sucking  of  his  eggs,  or  the  carrying 
away  of  his  young  ones,  although 
it  is  only  natural  to  suppose  that 
the  magpie  would  have  proved 
the  master.  The  depredator's 
neck  was  broken,  however,  in  the 
encounter. 

Full  of  incident  as  had  been 
this  May  fly  day,  tired  nature  will 
be  assertive,  and  as  pleasure,  not 
mere  slaughter,  was  my  aim,  it 
was  with  great  contentment  I 
turned  homewards,  having  quite 
sufficient  fish  in  my  basket  to 
bring  down  the  scales  at  81bs. 
Yet  I  was  destined  to  have  the 
conceit  knocked  out  of  me  ere  I 
reached  home  ;  for  was  I  not  way- 
laid by  my  friend  the  sporting 
blacksmith,  who  produced  a  fish 
he  had  just  caught  at  the  bottom 
of  his  garden  (and  I  believe  he  had 
been  stealthily  feeding  him  up), 
weighing  2lbs.  40ZS. — a  beauty. 
Friends,  have  you  not  a  sporting 
blacksmith  somewhere  in  your 
vicinity  ?  Mine  is  a  capital  fel- 
low— he  can  shoot,  fish,  or  handle 
a  colt  with  anybody.  He  has 
done  duty  with  me  in  many  a 
field  of  sport,  and  has  paid  visits 
to  Newmarket  and  Doncaster  in 
charge  of  thoroughbreds,  all  which 
are  an  eye-opener  to  the  village 
blacksmith. 

There  was  still  another  delight 
to  be  got  through  ere  this  smiling 
day  had  been  accomplished,  for 
in  yonder  large  field,  ere  I  could 
reach  home,  are  happily  roaming 
two  yearlings,  in  which  my  heart 
rejoices.  Brought  up  as  they 
have  been  in  "  Borderer's  "  most 
approved,  yet  much  reprobated, 


way  to  make  a  racehorse.  With 
these  youngsters  there  has  been 
none  of  your  mol ley-coddling  so  rife 
among  public  breeders  for  sale — 
with  them  it  has  only  been  a  hovel 
to  Fun  into  throughout  the  winter, 
plenty  to  eat,  and  a  fine  healthy 
pasture  by  the  Lugg  side,  changed 
in  the  spring.  These  two  young 
horses  have  never  been  sick  nor 
sorry.  The  one,  a  grandson  of 
Sterling's  on  his  dam's  side,  is 
destined,  I  hope,  if  all  goes  well 
with  him,  to  find  a  purchaser  at 
Doncaster,  and  unless  I  am  much 
mistaken,  will  win  the  favour  of 
some  good  judges,  as  well  as  the 
judge's  eye  at  a  winning-post,  for 
he  is  a  beautiful  colt,  the  true 
type  of  a  racehorse.  The  other, 
alas !  although  he  rejoices  in  a 
pedigree  dating  back  nearly  a 
century  as  pure  as  crystal,  cannot 
find  admittance  within  the  sacred 
portals  of  the  Stud  Book,  and  it 
is  no  good  offering  a  half-bred 
horse  for  sale  at  Doncaster.  Not 
but  that  he  is  sure  to  win  races, 
if-  a  chance  is  given  him,  for  so 
far  back  as  1827  his  ancestors  in 
the  female  line  distinguished 
themselves  on  racecourses,  as  the 
racing  calendars  of  those  days 
will  prove,  and  he,  too,  has  all  the 
cut  of  a  racehorse.  To  cast  an 
admiring  eye  over  the  thorough- 
bred yearling,  whose  points  leave 
nothing  to  be  desired  in  your  eyes, 
how  nice  it  is !  and  so  home  to 
empty  your  basket  before  admir- 
ing kinsfolk,  that  at  once  bring 
up  their  visions  of  presents  to  old 
folk,  who  so  seldom  are  able  to 
enjoy  a  trout;  and,  for  the  rest, 
what  delicacies  for  breakfasts  and 
dinners  on  the  morrow.  Ah  !  who 
shall  say  that  when  "all  Nature 
is  smiling  and  gay  "  a  Derby  day 
cannot  be  enjoyed  as  "  Borderer  " 
there  enjoyed  it,  quite  as  plea- 
santly and  profitably  as  on  Epsom 
Downs? 

Borderer. 


i6 


[July 


Working  Spaniels. 


There  could  be  no  more  oppor- 
tune moment  than  the  present  to 
say  something  about  working 
spaniels,  seeing  that  the  subject 
of  the  capacity  for  work  of  the 
different  varieties  of  field  spaniels 
that  are  seen  on  the  show  bench 
is  being  freely  discussed,  and 
moreover,  because  only  a  few 
months  have  passed  since  the 
first  field  trial  meeting  for  working 
spaniels  was  held  on  the  estate 
of  Mr.  W.  Arkwright,  of  Sutton 
Scarsdale. 

The  spaniel  is  one  of  the  most 
prominent  instances  of  a  breed 
that  has  suffered  in  its  working 
capabilities  to  meet  the  exigencies 
of  the  show  ring,  for  not  by  the 
greatest  stretch  of  imagination 
could  anyone  contend  that  the 
long  -  bodied  and  short  -  legged 
specimens  that  win  prizes  at  dog 
shows  could  hold  a  candle  as 
working  dogs  to  the  old-fashioned 
spaniels,  generally  liver  and  white 
or  parti-coloured,  that  were  met 
with  half  a  century  and  more  ago. 

Those  of  us  who  are  left  who 
took  an  interest  in  sport  at  that 
time  will  remember  that  the  field 
spaniel  generally  seen  was  liver 
and  white,  a  nicely  proportioned 
dog,  symmetrical  in  build  with 
height  of  legs  in  proportion  to  its 
length  of  body,  a  fairly  long  head, 
large  well-feathered  ears,  and  eyes 
full  of  expression,  denoting  great 
intelligence ;  and  what  a  rare 
good  dog  he  was  in  the  field  if 
properly  broken ;  keeping  within 
twenty  yards  of  the  gun,  he  had 
the  best  of  noses,  would  drop  to 
hand  or  shot  and  retrieve  game 
when  killed,  or  locate  winged 
birds  or  wounded  ground  game 
when  occasion  required. 

The  reason  is  not  far  to  find 
why  the  spaniel  has  degenerated 
as  a  sporting  dog.     It  will  have 


been   observed   that   whenever  a 
specialist  club  has  been  formed  to 
look   after   the   interests   of    any 
breed  of  dogs,  ostensibly  with  a 
view  to  its  improvement,  the  con- 
trary has  generally  been  the  result 
from    the    sportsman's    point    of 
view,  who  cares  much  less  for  the 
beauty  of    his  dog  than   for    its 
proficiency  at   work.     Standards 
of  points  drawn  up  by  specialist 
clubs  make  no  allusion  to  work, 
and  for  the  most  part  are  formu- 
lated by  a  few  influential  devotees 
of  the  breed  who  air  their  fads 
to    the    detriment    of     the    dog. 
Spaniels,  as  they  are  seen  to-day 
in    the    show  ring,   are    striking 
examples  of  this,  but  thanks  to  a 
few  enterprising  admirers  of  them, 
a  club  has  recently,  been  formed, 
called  the  Working  Spaniel  Club, 
the  members  of  which  have  shaped 
their    rules    to    include   working 
capabilities  as  well  as  good  looks. 

With  the  exception  of  the  curly 
'  coated  retriever,  for  which  a  club 
has  only  very  lately  been  started, 
other  breeds  of  dogs  that  are  used 
with  the  gun  arQ  deprived  of  the 
benefit  of  a  society  specially 
instituted  to  consider  their  wel- 
fare ;  consequently  they  remain 
as  our  forefathers  knew  them. 
The  pointer  that  can  win  a  cham- 
pionship at  Birmingham,  the 
leading  show  for  sporting  dogs, 
if  properly  broken,  can,  if  a 
puppy,  carry  off  the  Field  Trial 
Derby,  or  if  more  advanced  in 
years,  win  the  Champion  Stakes 
at  Shrewsbury ;  and  so  it  is  with 
the  setter,  who  lives  his  life  like 
the  pointer,  untrammelled  by  the 
whims  and  fancies  of  the 
specialist. 

The  spaniel  is  undoubtedly  of 
very  ancient  origin,  is  in  fact 
amongst  the  first  dogs  spoken  of 
as  associated  with  the  hunting  of 


Ift»] 


WORKING    SPANIELS. 


17 


winged  game.  It  is  supposed  to 
be  from  the  spaniel  that  the  setter 
was  produced.  Upwards  of  400 
years  ago  the  spaniel  is  referred 
to  as  being  of  great  assistance  in 
hawking,  and  Stonehenge  says 
that  about  the  year  1555  a  Duke 
of  Northumberland  trained  one 
"to  set  birds  for  the  net  " ;  but 
in  connection  with  this  there  is 
some  doubt  as  to  whether  that  dog 
was  not  a  setter,  as  the  same 
writer  goes  on  to  say  that  "  soon 
afterwards  the  setter  was  produced 
either  '  by  selection '  or  by  cross- 
ing the  Talbot  hound  and  spaniel, 
and  further  on  that  the  larger 
spaniel  or  setter  would  point  or 
set  game." 

Our  ancestors  had  curious  ideas 
about  the  custom  of  shortening 
the  tails  of  spaniels,  the  chief 
reason  for  doing  so,  in  their 
opinion,  being  that  worms  were 
prevented  breeding  there.  The 
custom  is  continued  now,  but  for 
quite  a  different  reason,  we  prac- 
tising it  because  when  the  stern  is 
left  its  natural  length  it  is  likely 
to  be  lacerated  when  its  owner  is 
working  in  briars  and  thick  under- 
wood. 

The  subject  of  this  paper,  how- 
ever, is  the  spaniel  as  he  is  seen 
to-day,  of  which  in  addition  to  the 
Irish  water  spaniel,  which  is  quite 
to  distinct  breed  and  has  not  in 
any  way  suffered  from  its  associa- 
tion with  the  show  ring,  there  are 
five  varieties,  consisting  of  the 
Clumber,  the  Sussex,  the  Black, 
the  Any  Other  Colour,  and  the 
Cocker.  Of  these,  the  Clumber 
is  the  only  one  that  has  been 
guarded  against  crossing  with 
other  varieties  of  spaniels,  and 
has  retained  its  position  as  a 
sporting  dog  in  its  purity.  Clum- 
bers are  often  hunted  in  teams, 
and  sometimes  take  the  place  of 
beaters  in  covert.  This  variety  is 
perhaps  the  most  useful  spaniel  to 
take  out  with  the  gun,  as  from  the 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  473. 


colour  being  white,  with  slight 
lemon  or  orange  markings,  he  is 
easily  seen  in  the  densest  of 
undergrowth.  Not  so,  however, 
the  Sussex,  which  is  rich  golden 
liver  in  colour,  and  therefore  diffi- 
cult to  distinguish  from  his  quarry 
when  hunting  the  line  of  a  hare. 
This  dog,  once  famous  for  its 
working  qualities  in  the  south  of 
England,  has  been  crossed  and 
recrossed  with  other  varieties  of 
spaniels  until  the  family  in  its 
purity  is  a  very  select  one.  Its 
representatives,  as  seen  to-day  on 
the  show  bench,  with  their  long 
bodies  loaded  with  fat,  their  short 
legs  and  sleek  coats  scarcely  give 
one  the  idea  that  they  are  sporting 
dogs.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
the  black  and  any  other  colour 
spaniels,  which  are  all  built  on  the 
same  lines,  and  are  equally  in- 
capable of  doing  a  day's  work. 

The  smart  little  Cocker,  how- 
ever, who  must  not  weigh  more 
than  twenty-five  pounds,  and  is 
the  smallest  of  the  sporting 
spaniel  tribe,  is  to  be  seen  in  an 
unadulterated  condition  simply  for 
the  reason  that  no  advantage 
could  be  gained  by  crossing  him 
with  the  other  varieties,  as  neither 
in  head,  shape  of  body,  nor  short- 
ness of  legs  is  he  allied  to  them. 
The  statement,  however,  that  he 
is  the  smallest  of  the  sporting 
spaniel  tribe  may  be  called  into 
question,  for  it  is  on  record  that 
the  Blenheim  spaniel,  which  is 
now  only  seen  as  a  lady's  pet,  was 
at  one  time  used  for  covert  shoot- 
ing, and  in  Sir  Walter  Gilbey's 
possession  at  Elsenham  Hall  is  to 
be  seen  a  painting  by  Stubbs  of  a 
Blenheim  spaniel  depicted  as  a 
sporting  dog,  and  quite  large  and 
strong  enough  to  retrieve  a 
pheasant  or  rabbit.  The  Cocker 
may  be  black,  black  and  white, 
liver  and  white,  orange  and  white, 
black  and  tan,  or  liver  and  tan,  in 
fact,  may  be  any  colour  that  is 


i8 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


allowable  in  the  field  spaniel.  He 
is  a  merry  little  worker,  but  unless 
close  up  to  the  maximum  weight 
is  not  large  enough,  partly  on 
account  of  his  small  mouth,  to 
retrieve  a  pheasant,  much  less  a 
hare. 

As  already  stated,  exception  is 
being  taken  by  sportsmen  to  the 
very  long-bodied  and  short-legged 
spaniels  that  are  advocated  by  the 
Spaniel  Club,  or  rather,  it  should 
be  said,  to  the  spaniels  that  win 
prizes  at  dog  shows,  for  the 
Spaniel  Club  admit  that  all 
spaniels  should  be  so  formed  as  to 
be  able  to  fulfil  the  duties  for 
which  they  were  originally  in- 
tended, and  indeed  following  on 
the  lines  of  the  junior  institution, 
the  Sporting  Spaniel  Club,  the 
members  have  determined  to  hold 
a  field  trial  meeting  for  spaniels 
with  a  view  to  proving  that  long 
bodies  and  short  legs  do  not 
necessarily  incapacitate  a  spaniel 
for  ordinary  work. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  as 
the  general  run  of  spaniels  were 
too  fast  for  working  in  stubble  or 
turnips,  by  lengthening  the  body 
and  shortening  the  legs  pace 
would  be  reduced ;  but  it  was 
probably  never  intended  that  this 
should  be  carried  to  such  an  extent 
as  it  has  been.  Then  to  get  this 
abnormal  formation  it  has  been 
hinted  that  recourse  has  been  had 
to  a  cross  with  the  Basset  hound, 
which  carries  a  certain  amount  of 
conviction  from  the  malformed 
forelegs  that  many  prize  winners 
possess. 

Before  concluding  this  article,  a 
short  description  of  the  first  field 
trials  for  spaniels  may  be  interest- 
ing, the  inauguration  of  which 
may  be  attributed  to  the  interest 
taken  in  them  by  Mr.  W.  Ark- 
wright,  the  President  of  the 
Sporting  Spaniels'  Club,  under 
the  auspices  of  which  it  was  held. 
That  gentleman   kindly  lent   his 


estate  at  Sutton  Scarsdale,  than 
which  no  place  could  be  more 
admirably  adapted  for  the  pur- 
pose, there  being  every  facility 
for  trying  the  dogs  at  all  descrip- 
tions of  work  a  spaniel  is  expected 
to  do.  About  a  dozen  spaniels 
appeared-  on  the  morning  of  the 
meet,  of  which  two  were  small 
Clumbers,  two  blacks  that  have 
been  frequent  winners  at  dog 
shows,  three  livers  without  any 
pretensions  to  any  particular 
variety,  but  looking  all  over  like 
working  spaniels,  and  three  or 
four  that  were  liver  and  white, 
one  of  which  was  of  the  Cocker 
type,  weighing  not  more  than 
twenty-five  pounds,  but  built  on 
rather  more  racy  lines. 

The  work  was  divided  into  four 
sections,  a  trial  of  each  dog  in 
large  open  fields  of  sedge  grass, 
the  same  at  working  hedgerows  ; 
this  was  followed  by  work  in  thick 
undergrowth  where  briars  and 
ranges  of  cut  wood  had  to  be 
negociated  for  rabbits,  the  con- 
cluding work  being  in  an  enclosed 
nursery  of  young  fir  trees  which 
was  kept  for  pheasants. 

The  dogs  were  put  down  one 
at  a  time,  the  instructions  to  the 
handlers  being  to  keep  them  at 
work  within  twenty  yards  of  the 
judges,  one  of  whom  carried  the 
gun  ;  the  dogs'  duties  were  to  find 
rabbits  in  their  seats,  hares  in 
their  forms,  or  pheasants,  to  stop 
when  the  ground-game  went 
away  or  the  pheasant  rose,  to  be 
free  from  chase,  to  retrieve  the 
game  if  killed  or  to  go  on  to  order, 
and  make  out  the  line  if  a  rabbit 
or  hare  went  away  wounded  or  a 
winged  bird  ran. 

The  meeting  was  altogether 
quite  satisfactory.  The  little 
liver  and  white  spaniel,  which 
was  placed  first  in  both  the 
All-aged  and  the  Puppy  Stake, 
having  an  excellent  nose,  being- 
perfectly    under    command    and 


I899-] 


THE    STUDS    IN    FRANCE. 


19 


doing  nothing  wrong,  it  found 
rabbits  and  birds  under  all  con- 
ditions, retrieved  a  rabbit  that 
had  jumped  into  the  water  from 
its  seat  on  the  edge  of  a  lake, 
crashed  into  the  briars,  and  to 
finish  up  retrieved  a  wounded 
pheasant  that  was  running  in 
thick  gorse ;  this  little  animal  was 
soon  after  sold  by  its  owner  for 


^"35.  Most  of  the  others  did  credit- 
able work,  but  the  prizes  all  went 
to  dogs  that  could  not  win  on  the 
show  bench.  It  is  only  fair,  how- 
ever, to  say  that  the  two  blacks 
that  were  prize  winners  at  ex- 
hibitions, although  only  partly 
broken,  did  not  disgrace  them- 
selves. 

Fred.  Gresham. 


The  Studs  in  France. 


As  is  generally  known,  the  studs 
in   France  are  national,  and  al- 
though administered  by  civilians 
called  "  Officiers  des  Haras,"  they 
are,  if  not  military,  at  any   rate 
directed  by  the  Ministers  of  War 
and    Agriculture.       The    officers 
charged  with  the  administration 
of  studs  have  first  to  go  through 
a  course  of  instruction  and  must 
take  a  diploma  at  the  famous  stud 
school    of    "  Le   Pin,"   which  is 
situated    in    that    part    of    Nor- 
mandy called  TOrne.     Le  Pin  is 
a  vast  property  belonging  to  the 
State,  and  contains  a  large  num- 
ber of  horses,  consisting  of  Eng- 
lish thoroughbreds,  Anglo  -  Nor- 
mans, and  Arab  stallions.    During 
the  two  years  of  study  the  can- 
didates  are   taught   all   the  sub- 
jects appertaining  to   hippology. 
They  are  instructed,  in  a  judicious 
manner,  in  information  concern- 
ing  all   the  crossings,    with   the 
view  of  achieving  the  reproduction 
of  the  horse  in  its  different  breeds. 
There  is  a  splendid  riding  school 
attached  to  the  institution,  in  which 
pupils  are  taught  to  ride  and  drive  ; 
a   stable  of  brood    mares  serves 
excellent  purposes;  in  short,  the 
management  is  as  perfect  as  it  is 
possible  to  find  in  a  well-conducted 
stud.    The  stud  officers  are  gentle- 
men of  the  best  French  society ; 
they  are  often  sons  of  sportsmen 
and,  as  a  rule,  members   of  the 
nobility.     On  leaving  this  school 


they  are  appointed  inspectors, 
sub-directors  and  directors  of  the 
chief  studs  in  the  various  breeding 
districts  in  France.  There  are 
five  principal  breeding  districts 
in  the  country. 

These  studs  or  depdts  of  stal- 
lions, as  they  are  called  in 
France,  generally  contain  thor- 
oughbreds, while  horses  of  Oriental 
and  English  origin,  as  well  as  home- 
bred stallions,  are  well  represented. 
Sires  of  the  latter  class  are  gener- 
ally sent  out  of  the  district  to  avoid 
consanguinity.  During  the  win- 
ter the  horses  remain  in  the  stud, 
where  they  are  ridden,  driven  in 
harness,  or  otherwise  employed 
according  to  their  aptitudes;  all 
this  with  the  sole  view  of  main- 
taining them  in  condition  and 
in  good  health.  From  February 
to  July  these  horses  are  started 
for  the  "stations,"  which  are 
small  studs  composed  of  three, 
four  or  more  stallions,  according 
to  the  importance  of  the  locali- 
ties they  are  sent  to  and  the 
number  of  mares  they  are  to 
serve.  There  they  are  under 
the  supervision  of  stud  grooms, 
palefreniers,  who  register  the  number 
of  coverings. 

The  State  acquires  its  stallions 
in  the  following  manner :  Thor- 
oughbreds and  horses  of  high 
breed  which  have  given  proof  of 
excellence  on  the  race  course,  are 
bought  by  a  committee,  composed 


20 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


of  three  stud  officers  and  a 
' '  sworn ' '  veterin  ary  surgeon .  Th  e 
sales  always  take  place  at  Chan- 
tilly,  in  October,  on  a  day  notified 
in  advance,  so  as  to  bring  it  to  the 
knowledge  of  proprietors  and  train- 
ers desirous  of  selling.  Other 
thoroughbred  stallions  are  bought 
in  England  by  the  same  committee, 
which  is  also  responsible  for  the 
acquirement  of  Oriental  horses,  for 
which  purpose  they  travel  almost 
annually  to  Syria,  at  the  expense 
of  the  Board  of  Agriculture.  They 
only  buy  animals  of  absolutely 
approved  origin,  and  there  are 
some  difficulties  at  present  to  find 
them,  since  in  Syria,  as  well  as 
elsewhere,  many  crossings  have 
taken  place.  Some  sires  of  this 
kind  also  come  from  Algeria, 
but  they  are  Arabs,  or  so-called 
"  Barbs,"  and  their  price  is  below 
that  of  Syrian  horses. 

Stallions  of  English  origin  are, 
as  is  known,  those  which  are 
mostly  employed  in  France  for 
crossing.  Having  given  the  best 
results,  their  reproduction  is  being 
tried.  Among  others  they  have 
established  the  excellent  breed  of 
the  Anglo-Norman  horse,  whose 
reputation  is  universal.  The 
French  studs  are  regularly  send- 
ing delegates  to  almost  all  impor- 
tant horse  shows  in  England  for 
the  acquirement  of  Hackneys, 
Suffolks,  Shires,  Clydesdales,  &c. 

Finally,  home-bred  stallions  are 
bought  directly  from  trainers,  after 
a  thorough  examination  as  to  their 
origin,  their  performances  and 
their  success  in  exhibitions.  In 
all  cases  the  date  is  announced  for 
the  horses  to  be  presented  for  sale. 
For  instance,  the  sale  of  "Nor- 
mans" takes  place  at  Caen.  In 
Chartres  are  bought  the  Percher- 
ons  and  the  Boulonnais,  and 
other  heavy  horses  for  which 
this  district  is  famous.  Brit- 
tany and  La  Vendue  also  furnish 
excellent    sires,    chiefly    for    the 


reproduction  of  riding  horses  ;  at 
Landerneau,  in  the  picturesque 
department  of  Finistere,  the  sale 
takes  place  in  September.  There 
is  finally  the  sunny  South,  which 
boasts  of  a  breed  called  "  Tar- 
bais,"  and  which  supplies  pretty- 
looking,  pure-blooded  stallions, 
almost  all  of  them  of  Arab  or 
Andalusian  origin,  and  tracing 
their  origin  directly  to  the  epoch 
when  the  Moors  were  masters  of 
Spain.  The  sale  of  these  horses 
takes  place  at  Pau.  This  district 
at  the  foot  of  the  Pyrenees,  is  the 
only  one  in  France  where  fox- 
hunting is  indulged  in,  the  patrons 
of  which,  however,  are  nearly  all 
Englishmen.  Here  also  is  situate 
one  of  the  finest  racing  stables 
in  France,  owned  by  M.  Blanc. 

The  system  of  French  studs  is 
certainly  highly  satisfactory,  since 
it  permits  trainers  to  obtain  the 
service  of  stallions  of  the  best 
blood  at  a  minimum  price,  viz., 
from  5s.  to  £1  in  any  part  of 
France.  In  his  district,  the  di- 
rector of  each  stud  records  in  his 
stud  book  the  birth  of  every  foal, 
with  the  most  minute  description 
as  to  its  sex,  colour,  &c,  as  well 
as  the  name  of  the  mare,  its  pedi- 
gree, &c.  This  description  has 
to  be  attested  by  the  mayor  of  the 
district  in  which  the  owner  of  the 
foal  resides.  Thereupon,  the 
owner  receives  an  official  paper, 
with  the  Government  Seal,  called 
carte  d'origine,  in  which  the  pedi- 
gree of  the  foal  is  printed,  thus 
avoiding  all  possibility  of  fraud. 
This  procedure  obtains  through- 
out France  for  every  horse  de- 
scended from  a  stallion  belonging 
to  the  State-stud,  or  from  an 
"  approved  "  stallion.  The  other 
animals  have  no  certificate  or 
"card  of  origin,' '  which  fact 
causes  them  to  bring  very  much 
lower  prices  when  changing  hands. 

Besides  the  national  studs  a 
number  of  trainers  possess  three 


i»99.) 


THE    STUDS    IN    FRANCE. 


21 


or  four  stallions  of  their  own  and 
these  animals  are  called  ap- 
prouves,  that  is  to  say,  before 
employment  as  sires  these  horses 
have  undergone  an  examination 
at  the  hands  of  a  sworn  veterinary 
surgeon  of  one  of  the  national 
depots  and  received  a  certificate 
that  they  are  sound  and  without 
any  disease  that  would  prove 
hereditary.  This  is  done,  for 
instance,  to  prevent  "  wheezing," 
a  common  complaint  in  Normandy. 
When  passed  by  the  veterinary 
surgeon,  they  are  branded  under 
the  mane  with  a  star.  The  owner 
afterwards  receives  a  certificate 
of  the  pedigree  of  any  foals  de- 
scended from  these  approved  stal- 
lions, printed  on  a  red  paper  and 
couched  in  the  same  terms  as 
those  given  by  the  State,  which 
monopolises  the  white  colour  for 
its  own  certificates. 

Such,  in  brief,  are  the  functions 
of  the  studs  in  France.  They 
have  given  good  results,  not,  how- 
ever, as  satisfactory  as  one  would 
have  hoped,  in  regard  to  the  pro- 
duction of  the  war  horse.  This 
last  question  is  of  tremendous  im- 
portance for  a  country  like  France, 
which,  in  time  of  peace  has  100,000 
horses  both  for  cavalry  and  artil- 
lery, a  number  which  should  be 
trebled  at  the  outbreak  of  war. 
Hence  the  present  Government 
chiefly  favours  the  breeding  of 
saddle  horses.  It  is  easy  to  under- 
stand that  the  breeding  of  the 
latter  is  somewhat  neglected  in 
a  country  where  the  division  of 
estates  has  rendered  nearly  every 
kind  of  hunt  out  of  the  question, 
and  where  there  is  no  fox-hunt- 
ing; furthermore,  there  is  the  un- 
bounded enthusiasm  of  the  French 
for  cycling  and  "  automobilisme" ; 
and  finally,  another  important 
reason.  Breeding  in  France 
mostly  rests  in  the  hands  of  small 
farmers  with  but  little  money,  and 
when  they  are  offered    a  decent 


price,  they  are  ready  to  sell  to 
private  individuals  their  young 
mares,  instead  of  keeping  them 
for  reproduction.  If,  for  some 
reason  or  other,  the  horse  they 
are  breeding  for  the  army  is  not 
accepted  by  the  remounts,  and 
found  too  light  for  carriages,  there 
is  all  the  difficulty  of  disposing 
of  it. 

In  order  to  remedy  this  state  of 
affairs  the  Government  has  re- 
solved to  sell  at  a  nominal  price, 
in  some  cases,  even  to  present  to 
the  breeders  in  the  poorer  parts  of 
the  country,  mares  from  various 
cavalry  regiments,  which  have 
become  incapable  of  doing  any 
further  service  in  the  army,  for 
purposes  of  reproduction.  Finally, 
a  society  has  been  started,  namely : 
"  The  Society  for  Encouraging 
the  Breeding  of  French  War 
Horses. "  It  distributes  to  the 
breeder  premiums  for  preservation 
primes  de  conservation  on  condi- 
tion that  he  keeps  his  filly  as  a 
brood  mare  until  the  age  of  six 
years.  On  arriving  at  this  age 
he  is  free  to  sell  it  either  to  the 
military  authorities  or  to  private 
dealers,  and  to  replace  it  by  its 
daughter  or  another.  It  is  hoped 
in  this  manner  to  obtain  every 
three  years  an  additional  gene- 
ration for  reproduction.  This 
society  has  also  organised  special 
races  tending  to  develop  a  taste 
for  the  breeding  of  what  it  calls 
the  "  half  blood  galloper."  It  also 
promotes  horse  shows  and  distri- 
butes valuable  prizes. 

The  general  tendency  of  French 
breeding  now  is  to  specially  en- 
courage the  production  of  the  ride- 
and-drive  horse,  and  one  of  the 
types  which  is  looked  upon  with 
most  favour  at  the  present  moment 
is  the  Hackney,  which  by  its  size 
and  its  qualifications  as  a  riding- 
and-driving  horse  seems  to  realise 
their  ideal,  and  can  be  used  for  a 
general  purpose. 

L.  O.  Du  Reste. 


22 


[July 


Anecdotal   Sport. 

By   "  Thormanby." 

Author  of  "  Kings  of  the  Hunting- Field,"  "  Kings  of  the  Turf,"  &c. 


I  was  a  practical  rifle  shot  before 
Wimbledon     meetings    and    the 
National  Rifle  Association  came 
into  existence.     Hanging  on  the 
wall  in  front   of  me   as   I   write 
are  two  old  muzzle-loading  rifles 
— the    one    a    four-grooved,    the 
other  a  two-grooved — which  were 
manufactured,  I  suppose,  seventy 
years  ago,  and  have  seen  service 
all  over  the  world.     These  vener- 
able   weapons    would  excite  the 
derision  of  the  fin-de-siecle   crack 
shot,  accustomed  to  put  on  strings 
of  bull's-eyes  at  1,000  yards  with 
his    beautifully    accurate    match 
rifle.     When  these  two  old  rifles 
first  came  into  my  possession  each 
was  fitted  with  a  ponderous  steel 
ram -rod,  with  a  large  broad,  round 
top,  and  you  had  to  hammer  the 
bullet  down  with  a  mallet.     Yet, 
for  all    that,   I   can    testify  they 
were  deadly  weapons  in  a  skilful 
hand  up  to  200  yards.       I  have 
seen    some   good    shooting  done 
with  the  old  Brown  Bess,  too,  up 
to  the  same  range,  though,  per- 
haps, it  was  only  one  in  a  hundred 
of  those   weapons    that  could  be 
trusted  to  carry  straight  for  100 
yards ;  and  with  an  old  Spanish 
smooth-bore  gun,    of    about    18- 
gauge,  converted  from  a  flint  into 
a  percussion,  I    have    frequently 
beaten  rifles  at  150  yards. 

I  remember  well  watching  a 
detachment  of  the  23rd  Welsh 
Fusiliers  practising  with  the  Minie 
rifle  just  before  the  Crimean  War, 
and  hearing  military  men  go  into 
ecstasies  over  its  wonderful  power 
as  an  arm  of  precision  and  de- 
struction. Up  to  300  yards  I 
daresay  it  would  have  held  its 
own  fairly  well,  at  any  rate  against 


the  Enfield  and  the  Snider ;  but 
beyond  that  range  it  would  have 
taken  a  good  shot  to  have  made 
an  average  of  outers. 

In  those  days  the  Yankees  were 
supposed  to  be  the  crack  shots  of 
the  universe,  and  marvellous  tales 
were  told  of  the  prowess  of  the 
riflemen  of  Kentucky,  with  their 
six-foot  rifles,  carrying  a  bullet 
of  about  thirty-two  to  the  pound. 
Readers  of  James  Fenimore 
Cooper's  novels  will  remember 
that  the  target  for  a  Christmas 
prize  shooting  was  the  head  of  a 
turkey,  at  100  yards.  The  whole 
body  of  the  bird  was  buried  in 
the  snow,  leaving  nothing  but  the 
head  and  an  inch  of  the  neck 
visible.  Yet  the  immortal  Leather 
Stocking  never  failed  to  cut  the 
turkey's  head  clean  off  at  the 
first  shot.  Though  this,  after 
all,  was  but  a  trifle  compared 
with  hammering  in  an  ordinary 
nail  with  a  single  bullet  at  100 
yards — nothing  but  the  head  of 
the  nail,  remember,  visible  to  the 
shooter.  If  you  want  to  realise 
what  the  feat  means,  just  knock  a 
nail  into  a  board,  and  then  mea- 
sure a  hundred  paces ;  you  will 
And  that  even  to  see  the  head  of 
the  nail  at  that  distance  requires 
remarkably  good  eyes — what  Sam 
Weller  called  "  a  pair  o'  patent 
double  million  magnifyin'  gas 
microscopes  of  extry  power." 

One  of  the  best  rifle  -  shots  I 
ever  met  with — I  mean  before  the 
modern  express  and  match  rifles 
were  known — was  a  Mr.  Smith, 
of  Stone,  in  Staffordshire,  a 
miller,  and  a  wonderfully  keen 
sportsman.     I  have  seen  him,  in 


I899-] 


ANECDOTAL   SPORT. 


23 


a  match  for  ^20,  hit  five  penny 
pieces  in  succession  at  50  yards, 
and  in  the  year  1860,  when  he 
was  an  old  man,  obliged  to  wear 
spectacles,  I  saw  him  smash 
seven  oyster  shells  (natives)  in 
succession  at  100  yards.  And  he 
was  just  as  good  a  shot  with  a 
fowling  piece.  He  shot  par- 
tridges with  a  double-barrel  of 
18-bore,  and  seldom  failed  to  drop 
his  right  and  left  stone  dead.  But 
whether  he  would  have  been  any 
use  as  a  rifle  shot  at  the  long 
ranges  now  in  vogue  is  more  than 
I  can  say. 

But,  take  him  for  all  in  all,  I 
suppose  the  late  Captain  Horatio 
Ross  was  about  the  best  all- 
round  shot  we  have  ever  seen  in 
this  country.  He  had  no  supe- 
rior as  a  pigeon  and  game  shot, 
and  no  equal  as  a  pistol  or  rifle 
shot.  Talk  of  your  Bogarduses 
and  Carvers  of  recent  date,  I 
should  like  to  know  what  they 
ever  did  to  compare  with  Captain 
Ross's  feats  at  pigeon  shooting. 
Take  two  instances.  In  1820  he 
won  the  Red  House  Club  Cup  by 
killing  76  birds  out  of  80,  30  yards 
rise,  5  traps ;  three  more  hit  the 
top  of  the  palings  and  counted  as 
misses,  but  fell  within  the 
grounds.  One  got  over  the 
paling  owing  to  his  right  barrel 
missing  Are,  but  was  feathered 
with  the  left.  But  even  this  was 
eclipsed  in  1841,  when  the  Cap- 
tain, shooting  against  Lord  Mac- 
don  aid,  killed  52  pigeons  in  53 
shots  at  35  yards  rise.  In  his 
great  pistol  match  against  a 
Spanish  gentleman,  whose  name  I 
forget,  the  Captain,  in  his  last  25 
shots,  hit  the  small  bull's-eye, 
which  was  exactly  the  size  of  a 
sixpence,  23  times  at  12  yards,  the 
then  favourite  duelling  distance. 

But  it  is  as  a  rifle-shot  that  I 
call   particular  attention  to  Cap- 


tain Horatio  Ross.  When  rifle- 
shooting,  as  we  now  understand 
this  term,  came  into  vogue,  Ross 
was  upwards  of  sixty  years  of 
age,  and  although  he  had  had 
plenty  of  practice  at  deer-stalking, 
had  not  handled  a  rifle  to  shoot 
a  match  at  targets  for  more  than 
five  and  twenty  years.  Yet  he 
took  his  place  at  once  in  the  very 
front  rank  of  marksmen.  At 
Wimbledon  he  carried  off  the 
three  great  small-bore  prizes  at 
long  ranges,  the  Association  Cup, 
the  Any  Rifle  Wimbledon  Cup, 
and  the  Duke  of  Cambridge's, 
for  which  all  the  crack  shots  of 
the  day  competed.  When  he 
was  in  his  sixty-sixth  year  he 
wrote  as  follows  to  a  friend  : — "  I 
have  begun  my  training  for  the 
rifle  season  ;  I  am  shooting  won- 
derfully well,  all  things  con- 
sidered. Last  week  I  tried  the 
very  long  distance  of  1,100  yards, 
and  made  a  better  score  than  is 
often  made  at  that  great  range, 
seven  bull's-eyes,  three  centres, 
and  five  outers  in  fifteen  shots." 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  this 
score  with  that .  of  Captain  Mel- 
lish,  who  in  July,  1891,  won  the 
Any  Rifle  Wimbledon  Cup,  the 
last  time  it  was  shot  for,  with  nine 
bull's-eyes,  three  inners,  two 
magpies,  and  an  outer,  in  fifteen 
shots  at  the  same  distance.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  there 
were  no  "  magpies  "  in  Captain 
Ross's  day,  otherwise  it  is  pro- 
bable that  the  greater  number  of 
his  outers  would  have  ranked  as 
"  mags."  We  may  therefore  put 
Ross's  score  down  as  60,  against 
Captain  Mellish's  65.  But  it  must 
be  remembered,  first,  that  the 
veteran  was  in  his  sixty-sixth 
year,  and  secondly,  that  match 
rifles  have,  and  had  eight  years 
ago,  attained  a  far  higher  degree 
of  accuracy  than  existed  when 
Ross  made  his  very  fine  score. 


24 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


It  was,  I  think,  in  June,  1867, 
that  I  saw  this  wonderful  veteran 
win  the  Cambridge  University 
Long  Range  Club's  Cup  at  Cam- 
bridge against  all  the  best  shots  of 
the  day,  including  his  own  son, 
Edward,  the  first  winner  of  the 
Queen's  Prize.  If  I  remember 
rightly,  the  Captain  wound  up,  on 
that  occasion,  with  seven  conse- 
cutive bull's-eyes  at  1,000  yards. 
Cambridge  at  that  time  was  a 
great  centre  of  rifle-shooting,  and 
with  such  splendid  shots  as  Ed- 
ward Ross  and  J.  H.  Doe,  of 
Trinity,  and  Peterkin  of  Em- 
manuel, in  the  University  Corps, 
they  never  failed  to  carry  off  the 
Chancellor's  Plate  from  Oxford. 
Edward  Ross,  though  a  wonder- 
fully steady  and  accurate  marks- 
man, was  never  equal  to  his 
father,  and  his  somewhat  super- 
cilious manners  prevented  him 
from  being  generally  popular  at 
Cambridge.  He  and  his  father 
were  the  joint  heroes  of  one  me- 
morable feat.  At  the  Highland 
Rifle  Association  Meeting,  in,  I 
think,  1867,  there  were  thirteen 
open  prizes  to  be  competed  for, 
and  Captain  Ross  and  his  son 
Edward  won  eleven  of  them  ! 

A  not  less  remarkable  shot 
was  another  member  of  the  family, 
Hercules  Ross,  who  won  the 
Indian  Championship  three  years 
in  succession,  and  on  the  last  oc- 
casion made  nine  bull's-eyes  with 
his  ten  shots,  at  1,000  yards. 
Hercules  Ross  was  one  of  the 
heroes  of  the  Indian  Mutiny,  and 
did  signal  service  with  his  deadly 
rifle  during  that  terrible  struggle. 
On  one  occasion  he  performed  a 
feat  of  valour  and  skill  which  has 
seldom,  if  ever,  been  surpassed. 
He  rode  nearly  a  hundred  miles 
to  a  ford  on  the  River  Gogra, 
where  it  was  expected  that  a 
large  force  of  mutineers  intended 
to  cross.     It  was  of  vital  import- 


ance to  keep  them  at  bay  till  the 
women  and  children,  the  sick  and 
the  wounded  could  be  removed  to 
an  English  station  close  by. 
Hercules  Ross  undertook  the  task. 
He  had  a  pit  dug  on  the  bank  of 
the  river  commanding  the  ford, 
where  he  took  his  post,  with  a 
dozen  good  rifles,  and  four  attend- 
ants to  load  for  him.  Heavy 
rains  had  swollen  the  river,  and 
the  ford  was  impassable;  the 
enemy,  however,  had  a  large  boat, 
with  which  they  proceeded  to 
make  the  passage  of  the  stream  ; 
but  Ross,  from  his  pit,  picked  off 
the  rowers  one  by  one  with  mar- 
vellous skill ;  time  after  time  the 
boats  put  back ;  time  after  time 
they  came  on  again,  but  the 
quick  and  deadly  fire  which  that 
single  rifleman  kept  up  prevented 
them  from  ever  getting  nearer 
than  a  third  of  the  way  across. 
For  three  hours,  with  unfailing 
skill  and  nerve,  Ross  shot  down 
the  rebel  oarsmen  whenever  they 
attempted  to  cross,  till  at  last  a 
body  of  English  troops  with  three 
guns  came  up,  and  the  Sepoys 
retired.  By  his  courage  and 
skill  Ross  undoubtedly  saved  the 
lives  of  those  English  women  and 
their  wounded  companions. 

Another  feat  of  what  I  may 
call  practical  rifle-shooting  was 
done  at  Lucknow  during  the  long 
and  terrible  siege.  It  surpassed 
Ross's  achievement,  insomuch  as 
it  was  a  sustained  effort — kept  up 
for  many  days  under  circum- 
stances that  made  fearful  demands 
upon  the  watchfulness  and  en- 
durance of  the  solitary  marksman. 
The  hero  of  this  exploit  was 
Sergeant  Holwell,  of  the  32nd 
Foot.  The  Sepoys  had  hauled  a 
couple  of  guns  on  to  the  flat  roof 
of  one  of  the  palaces  which  sur- 
rounded the  Residency.  If  they 
could  only  have  mounted  those 
guns,  they  would  have  been  able 


1*990 


a> ;  i  j  ;  otai.  sj»c  kt. 


-  > 


to  pour  down  such  a  fire  epos  the 
Residency  thai  it  would  have  been 
untenable,  and  the  English  woiild 
have  been  compelled  :o  surrender. 
H dwell  being  a  crack  shot,  he  was 
supplied  with  the  best  rifles  the 
place  psssessed,  and  was  posted 
in  an  ansrle  of  the  Residmcv, 
with  orders  to  prevent  the  Sepoys 
from  mounting  those  guns.  The 
part  of  the  building  in  which 
Holwell  took  up  his  position  had 
already  been  battered  into  a  heap 
of  ruins,  and  behind  the  shattered 
masonrv  he  lav  at  full  length — 
there  was  just  cover  enough  to 
protect  him  in  that  posture. 
For  davs  he  remained  there, 
never  once  rising  to  his  feet,  or 
even  to  his  knees,  for  that  would 
have  been  to  court  instant  death 
from  the  swarm  of  rebel  marks- 
men surrounding  him.  The  only 
change  of  posture  in  which  he 
could  indulge  was  by  rolling 
over  from  his  back  to  his 
stomach,  and  via  versa.  The 
Sepoys  never  succeeded  in 
mounting  those  guns.  When- 
ever they  attempted  it  Holwell 
picked  them  off,  till  they  dared 
no  longer  expose  themselves  to 
his  deadly  aim.  In  the  dead  of 
night  provisions  were  conveyed  to 
him  by  men  crawling  on  their 
hands  and  knees,  to  avoid  the 
» shots  of  their  foes.  For  this 
service  Holwell  was  rewarded 
v/ith  the  Victoria  Cross,  and  never 
did  any  man  more  richly  deserve  it. 

Some  years  ago,  as  I  was  walk- 
ing along  New  Oxford  Street,  I 
saw  a  tall,  soldierly- looking  man, 
in  a  peculiar  costume,  pacing  up 
and  down  what  was  then  the 
establishment  of  Moses  &  Son. 
He  had  medals  on  his  breast,  and 
amongst  them  the  little  gun-metal 
cross  which  bears  the  simple  in- 
scription "  For  Valour."  J  got 
into  conversation  with  the  man, 
and  found  that  he  was  Sergeant 


Holwell,  the  hero  of  Lucknow. 
who  was  active  as  outside  attend- 
ant at  the  shop  of  ^3oses  *V  Sor.. 
I  had  more  th^n  one  con\  ersaiion 
with  h:m  arttruAids  and  thtn 
lost  sic-!  of  hirru  I  beheve  he 
has  been  dead  many  years,  I 
wonder  how  mary  of  the  la d.es 
whose  carriage  doors  he  opened, 
or  gentlemen  who  perhaps  gave 
him  a  trir.T.£  tip,  guessed  what  a 
valiant  sold.er  w^s  rendering  them 
his  humble  services. 

I  was  a  constant  attendant  at 
the  old  Wimbledon  meetings  and 
have  seen  rirle- shooting  make 
some  wonderful  strides  since 
Edward  Ross  won  the  Oueen's 
Prize  with  a  score  of  24  out  of  a 
possible  30  at  Soo,  900,  and  1,000 
yards.  But  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  there  were  no  centres  at 
the  long  ranges  in  those  days.  A 
bull's- eve  counted  two,  and  an 
outer  one,  so  that  to  make  even 
an  average  of  outers  was  no  mean 
performance  then.  I  think  the 
most  remarkable  sight  I  ever  saw 
at  Wimbledon  was  the  shooting 
for  the  Queen's  Prize  in  1S73. 
Sergeant  Menzies,  of  the  1st  Edin- 
burgh, had  made  65 ;  Private 
Pullman,  of  a  Somerset  corps, 
was,  if  I  remember  rightly,  only 
one  point  behind,  and  had  three 
shots  to  fire.  He  had  only  to 
hit  the  target  once  in  three  shots, 
and  the  prize  was  his.  Some 
rash  friend  acquainted  him  with 
this  fact.  The  excitement  was 
too  much  for  him  ;  he  missed 
every  shot,  and  lost  the  coveted 
prize  just  when  it  seemed  within 
his  grasp.  But  three  years  later, 
Pullman,  then  a  sergeant  in  the 
2nd  Middlesex,  wiped  out  the 
memory  of  that  failure  by  winning 
the  blue  riband  of  Wimbledon  in 
gallant  style. 

Angus  *  Cameron,    of    the    6th 
Inverness,  is  the  only  man  who 


26 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


fJULY 


has  won  the  Queen's  Prize  twice, 
and  each  time  he  was  credited 
with  a  higher  score  than  had 
previously  been  made  in  the 
competition.  But  the  most  re- 
markable point  about  this  feat 
was  that  between  his  first  and 
second  triumph  he  lost  the  sight 
of  his  right  eye,  and  had  to  shoot 
on  the  second  occasion  from  the 
left  shoulder  instead  of  the  right 
as  before.  Subsequently,  I  be- 
lieve, he  lost  the  sight  of  both 
eyes,  and  so  his  shooting  days 
came  to  an  untimely  end. 
Cameron  was  a  teetotaller,  and 
I  shall  not  forget  the  look 
of  disgust  on  the  faces  of  the 
gallant  and  hospitable  "  Vic- 
torias," who  claimed  phe  prescrip- 
tive right  of  handing  their 
splendid  regimental  loving  cup, 
foaming  with  champagne,  to  the 
winner,  when  that  little  Highland 
miller  refused  the  proffered  gob- 
let, and  asked  for — a  bottle  of  ginger 
beer!  What  a  contrast  to  his 
countryman,  McVittie,  of  Dum- 
fries, who  used  to  fortify  himself 
with  a  remarkably  stiff  dram  of 
"  mountain  dew  "  before  shooting 
at  each  range ! 

One  of  the  remarkable  features 
of  the  present  age  is  its  dull  uni- 
formity. Everyone  dresses  pretty 
well  alike,  from  the  mechanic  in 
his  Sunday  suit  to  my  lord  in  his 
everyday  attire,  and  there  is  as 
much  lack  of  distinctive  character 
in  the  wearers  as  there  is  in  the 
clothes.  Even  the  humours  of 
the  racecourse,  which  once 
abounded  in  oddities,  have  almost 
disappeared,  and  such  a  personage 
as  Matthias  Elderton  (better 
known  as  "Jerry"),  the  list- 
seller,  who  flourished  in  the  days 
of  our  fathers,  would  now  be  an 
impossibility.  We  have  become 
too  aristocratic  in  our  ideas  to 
tolerate  such  familiarities  as  Jerry 
exercised     upon     everyone    who 


came  in  contact  with  him,  irre- 
spective of  rank.  He  was  the 
king  of  the  card-sellers,  and  a 
sort  of  Jack  Pudding  who  made 
fun  for  the  lookers-on  during  the 
intervals  of  racing.  With  a  wig 
and  a  cocked  hat  on  his  head, 
and  an  old  ragged  uniform,  some- 
times naval,  sometimes  military, 
his  fingers  covered  with  brass 
rings,  the  neck  of  a  bottle  picked 
up  from  a  lunching-party  stuck  in 
his  eye,  he  would  strut  up  to 
some  grandee,  tap  him  on  the 
shoulder,  and  with  the  affectation 
of  an  aristocratic  drawl,  say, 
"  How  de  do,  my  lord,  how's  her 
ladyship,  and  the  little  Honour  - 
ables  ?  "  or  he  would  request  him 
to  take  his  arm,  with  "  Let  me 
show  your  lordship  a  little  life  !  " 
and  my  lord  would  laugh  and 
humour  the  joke.  Jerry  made  no 
bones  even  of  accosting  the  Prince 
Regent  and  holding  out  his  hand 
to  him,  which  the  Prince  did  not 
disdain  to  shake ;  and  Jerry  used 
to  talk,  like  Brummell,  about 
"his  fat  friend."  When  Prince 
Albert  visited  Ascot  soon  after 
his  marriage  with  the  Queen, 
Jerry  was  still  plying  his  calling, 
and  the  Prince,  who,  one  would 
suppose,  was  the  last  man  in  the 
world  to  tolerate  facetious  liber- 
ties, became  a  patron  of  his. 

As  may  be  supposed,  Jerry 
made  a  good  bit  of  money  during 
the  season,  which  he  invested  in 
jewellery,  watches,  chains,  &c. 
These  he  hawked  about  on  the 
courses  as  well  as  elsewhere.  On 
one  occasion  this  traffic  got  poor 
Jerry  into  trouble.  A  jeweller's 
shop  had  been  plundered  at  Man- 
chester, and  in  some  way  or  other 
the  suspicions  of  the  police  fell 
upon  the  card-seller  as  being  con- 
nected with  it ;  so  he  was  arrest edt 
and  such  a  number  of  valuables 
were  found  upon  his  vagabond 
person   that   he  was   locked   up. 


I899-] 


ANECDOTAL   SPORT. 


27 


And  now  came  the  test  of  Jerry's 
popularity.  Squire  Osbaldeston, 
as  soon  as  he  heard  of  it,  vowed 
he  would  have  Terry  out  of  quod 
before  twenty-four  hours.  The 
next  morning,  when  he  was 
brought  up  before  the  magistrate, 
the  Squire  was  in  court  with  a 
lot  of  other  swells,  to  speak  up 
for  the  poor  fellow's  honesty,  and 
they  gave  him  such  a  character  that 
he  was  at  once  released.  Among 
his  own  class  he  was  equally 
popular.  They  had  already  started 
a  subscription  for  his  defence ; 
inside  and  outside  of  the  police 
court  there  was  a  throng  of  them, 
and  as  soon  as  Jerry  came  out,  a 
free  man,  there  was  a  tremendous 
cheer.  Jerry  was  caught  off  his 
legs  and  lifted  upon  the  shoulders 
of  his  pals,  and  carried  through 
the  streets  in  triumph.  Jerry 
died  in  harness  as  he  had  lived. 
During  the  Goodwood  Meeting 
of  1848,  he  was  standing  on  a 
coach,  offering  his  cards,  and  ex- 
changing his  usual  chaff,  when 
the  horses  shied  and  upset  the 
vehicle.  The  poor  card  -  seller 
was  beneath  it ;  he  was  picked  up 
in  a  sadly  crushed  condition,  and 
conveyed  to  the  Chichester  In- 
firmary, where  he  expired  a  few 
hours  afterwards.  Before  the 
meeting  broke  up  seventy  pounds 
were  collected  among  Jerry's  swell 
friends  for  his  widow. 

It  is  curious  to  note  the  odd 
characters  for  which  the  Turf  has 
at  times  proved  attractive.  John 
Elwes,  most  famous  of  misers, 
loved  it  dearly,  and  another  dis- 
ciple of  Harpagon,  Counsellor 
Lade,  was  devoted  to  racing. 
Bred  to  the  law,  he  abandoned  his 
profession  for  the  more  congenial 
pursuit  of  the  Turf,  breeding  and 
training  a  number  of  horses  at  his 
seat,  Canon  Park,  between  Kings- 
clere  and  Overton,  Hampshire. 
His  attention  was  principally 
directed  to  endeavouring  to    win 


Country  Plates,  as  he  never  sent  a 
horse  to  Newmarket  until  two 
years  before  his  death,  when  he 
won  both  classes  of  the  Oat  lands 
Stakes  with  a  horse  he  christened 
Oatlands,  in  honour  of  the  event. 
As  a  miser,  he  extended  his 
saving  propensities  to  his  stables, 
as  well  as  to  his  kitchen  and 
pantry ;  and  so  wretched  was  the 
condition  of  his  numerous  stud 
when  the  horses  were  sold  at 
Tattersall's  after  his  death,  that 
they  excited  universal  pity  in  the 
towns  and  villages  through  which 
they  passed  between  Hampshire 
and  London.  Lade  would  drive 
his  curricles  and  greys  the  fifty - 
seven  miles  between  London  and 
Canon  Park  without  taking  them 
out  of  harness,  or  giving  them 
more  than  a  handful  of  hay  and 
a  mouthful  or  two  of  water.  He 
made  the  journey  unattended,  as  he 
considered  "  servants,  on  the  road, 
were  more  troublesome  and  ex- 
pensive than  their  masters." 

One  of  the  most  daring  Turf  tricks 
ever  perpetrated  was  the  follow- 
ing, given  on  the  authority  of  the 
late  Sergeant  Ballantine.  Every 
one  is  familiar  with  the  name  of 
"  Old  Crocky,"  "  Father  of  Hell 
and  Hazard,"  as  he  was  called, 
who  began  life  in  Billingsgate, 
and  ended  it  in  one  of  the  most 
magnificent  mansions  in  St.  James' 
Street.  As  a  betting  and  gambling 
house  Crockford's  was  the  first  in 
London,  and  stories  of  its  splen- 
dour, and  the  vast  sums  lost  and 
won  within  its  walls  have  been 
repeatedly  told.  Crockford  died 
in  1844.  He  was  largely  inter- 
ested in  the  Derby  for  that  year 
— the  year  of  the  Running  Rein 
fraud,  and  a  number  of  his  clients 
following  his  lead,  had  staked 
heavily  on  his  horse  Ratan. 
Crockford  had  been  ill  for  some 
time,  and  about  one  o'clock  on 
the  morning  of  the  Oaks  he  was 
seized  with  a  fit  and  died  within 


28 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


Duly 


an  hour.  Of  course,  as  death 
cancels  all  bets,  the  utmost  con- 
sternation prevailed  among  his 
satellites  at  this  untoward  event, 
by  which  they  might  lose  thou- 
sands. In  the  grey  dawn  of  that 
May  morning,  some  half-dozen 
white-faced  men  took  counsel 
together,  and  came  to  the  des- 
perate resolution  of  concealing 
the  old  man's  demise  for  twenty- 
four  hours,  no-one,  of  course, 
being  allowed  to  approach  the 
chamber  of  death  but  those  in 
the  secret.  How  anxiously  they 
watched  for  the  carrier  pigeons 
which  in  those  days  conveyed  the 
news  to  anxious  backers  !  They 
came  at  last  with  tidings  that 
the  filly  they  had  backed  had 
won.  And  now,  that  no  suspicion 
might  attach  to  them,  they  clad 
the  corpse  in  its  usual  costume, 
put  the  well-known  white  hat  on  its 
head,  and,  carrying  it  into  a  first- 
floor  front  room  facing  St.  James* 
Street,  sat  it  down  at  an  open 
window,  that  people  returning 
from  Epsom  might  see  it,  and  as  it 
were,  establish  an  alibi.  At  the 
best  of  times  Crockford  more 
resembled  an  animated  corpse 
than  a  man,  and  at  the  distance 
nothing  peculiar  would  be  noticed ; 
while  a  man  behind  raised  the 
white  hat  in  salutation  as  some 
well-known  person  passed,  and 
another  waved  a  hand  supposed 
to  be  Crocky's.  Next  morning 
the  news  went  abroad  that  the 
old  man  had  passed  away  in 
the  night,  and  it  was  only  some 
time  after  that  the  secret  gradu- 
ally leaked  out. 

A  curious  Turf  scandal  was  that 
of  Belshazzar,  who,  together  with 
Rockingham,  his  stable  com- 
panion, was  the  property  of  Mr. 
Watt,  of  Bishop's  Burton.  Both 
were  entered  for  the  St.  Leger  of 
1833,  but  the  owner  stood  to  win 
upon  the  former,  and  every  pre- 
caution was  taken"  to  protect  him 


from  treachery.  The  boy  who 
rode  him  to  exercise  was  fully 
trusted,  being  ordered  never  to 
take  his  eyes  off  him.  On  the 
morning  of  the  day  of  the  race 
Mr.  Watt  and  his  trainer  were  in 
the  box,  watching  the  head  lad 
plait  the  horse's  tail,  when  a  friend 
of  the  former,  entering  the  yard, 
they  strolled  out  to  speak  with 
him.  They  had  not  been  gone  a 
minute  when  the  head  lad  began 
to  groan  and  contort  himself  as 
though  in  great  pain.  "  Cuss 
them  plums,"  he  said,  "  they  have 
given  me  gripes.  I  say,  Jack," 
this  to  the  stable  boy,  "  ao  run 
out  and  get  me  two-pennorth  o* 
peppermint  drops,  or  I  shall  have 
to  give  up."  Never  suspecting 
danger  from  that  quarter,  as  the 
fellow  had  been  nine  years  in  Mr. 
Watt's  employ,  the  boy  ran  off 
and  got  the  drops,  not  waiting  for 
them  to  be  put  in  paper,  and  was 
back  again  in  the  stable,  as  he 
put  it,  "in  less  than  no  time." 
But  when  he  came  back  he  saw 
Belshazzar  licking  his  lips,  from 
which  the  water  was  dropping 
through  the  muzzle.  Although 
there  was  nothing  particular  in 
the  horse  being  given  a  drink,  a 
sudden  fear  and  a  feeling  that  he 
had  done  wrong  in  leaving  him, 
fell  upon  the  boy.  His  fore- 
bodings proved  too  correct,  for 
when  it  came  to  the  race  Bel- 
shazzar was  nowhere.  When  all 
was  over,  he  made  a  clean  breast 
of  it  to  Mr.  Watt,  and  the  head 
lad,  brought  to  book,  was  forced 
to  acknowledge  that  he  had  given 
the  horse  a  dose  in  his  drink;  but 
strange  to  say,  though  he  con- 
fessed his  crime,  he  could  not  be 
induced  to  divulge  the  name  of 
the  instigator  nor  the  sum  he  had 
received.  Of  course  he  was 
dismissed  and,  driven  by  re- 
morse into  dissipation,  he  soon 
squandered  his  ill-gotten  pelf,  fell 
into  the  ranks  of  idle  vagabondage, 
and  died  literally  on  a  dunghill. 


I899-J 


29 


Dard  Fishing  in  Normandy. 


"  All  kinds  of  fish  are  found  in 
our  beautiful  river,"  wrote  Mons. 
le  Cure,  to  whom  I  had  applied 
for  information  concerning  the 
angling  merits  of  the  Orne, 
41  Eels,  bream,  roach,  gudgeon ; 
also  trout  and  sometimes  salmon." 
"  Also  trout  and  sometimes  sal- 
mon." That  did  not  look  very 
hopeful;  eels  first  and  fish  of 
legitimate  desire  last ;  but,  when 
one  came  to  consider  the  reverend 
gentleman's  letter  in  a  dispassion- 
ate spirit,  his  promotion  of  eels 
to  first  place  in  the  scale  of  temp- 
tation was  not  entitled  to  too 
much  weight.  Mons.  le  Cur6  is 
not  an  angler,  I  argued ;  he  is  a 
man  of  portly  habit  (probably) ; 
regards  fish  from  a  serious  table 
point  of  view,  particularly  on 
Fridays,  and  is  (probably)  par- 
ticularly fond  of  stewed  eels ;  he 
numbers  among  his  flock  (also 
probably)  nobody  who  can  throw 
a  fly,  and  in  cataloguing  the  fish 
to  be  found  in  the  beautiful  river 
puts  first  the  fish  he  sees  oftenest. 
Altogether,  I  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  Orne  might  be 
tried  ;  trout  had  been  caught  in 
it ;  also  the  land  was  fair  to  see 
and  exceeding  cheap.  So  we 
went. 

The  river  at  first  sight  was 
not  encouraging.  It  was  beauti- 
ful, even  as  Mons.  le  Cur6  had 
said ;  or  it  flowed  through  par- 
ticularly lovely  country  which 
amounted  to  the  same  thing ;  but 
there  was  weed  in  it,  much  weed. 
Never  have  angler's  eyes  been 
saddened  by  the  sight  of  such 
masses  of  vegetation  in  an  other- 
wise hopeful  -  looking  stream. 
There  were  places  where  for 
fifty,  a  hundred,  nay  two  hun- 
dred yards,  the  river  bed  was 
literally  choked ;  and  as  we  rat- 
tled in  the  train  along  the  valley 


of  the  Orne  I  looked  from  the 
stream  to  the  parcel-rack  where 
the  rods  lay,  and  back  to  the 
weed-strangled  river  again,  won- 
dering if  I  should  be  able  to  wet 
a  line  at  all. 

Madame  the  patronne  of  the  inn, 
as  became  her  calling,  was  en- 
couraging; even  sanguine.  There 
were  beaucoup  de  poissons  in  the 
river;  why,  every  day  she  was 
purchasing  the  fish  taken  in  the 
nets.  Was  there  then,  much 
netting  on  this  river?  Madame, 
with  a  sympathetic  eye  on  the 
rods,  confessed  there  was  much  ; 
but,  added  this  indomitable 
woman,  Monsieur  would  under- 
stand there  must  be  much  fish 
since  there  was  so  much  netting. 
Weeds  ?  yes,  there  were  weeds ; 
but  weeds  sheltered  the  fish.  No 
weeds  no  fish,  urged  Madame 
with  a  large  smile;  then  as  this 
argument  failed  to  dispel  the 
gloom,  she  pointed  out  that  the 
weeds  bore  a  very  beautiful 
flower;  and  (hastily)  there  was 
no  weed  at  all  a  kilometre  higher 
up,  where  trout,  beautiful  trout, 
and  very  large,  were  caught  with 
the  mouche  artificiclle.  Madame  had 
entertained  white  men — pardon, 
Britishers — of  angling  proclivity 
before  ;  but  at  some  remote  period 
and  could  not  quite  recover  the 
ground  appropriate  to  their  tastes 
at  a  moment's  notice.  She  pro- 
ceeded to  add,  in  a  spirit  which 
I  am  sure  was  complimentary 
but  sounded  economical,  that  now 
I  had  come  she  should  not  have 
to  buy  any  more  fish. 

I  took  a  rod  to  the  river-side 
that  evening  and  threw  a  fly  over 
likely  looking  places ;  it  was  hot 
and  close,  so  I  was  not  disap- 
pointed when  half  an  hour's 
"whangin'  awa' "  as  a  friend 
calls  it,  produced  not  a  rise.     The 


3o 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July,  1899. 


sun  was  down  behind  the  pine 
clad  crest  of  the  cliffs  when  in  the 
tail  of  a  mill  race  I  struck  and 
hooked  my  first  Orne  fish ;  it  was 
a  quarter  pound  trout  and  a  nicely 
made  little  fellow  enough  who 
fought  as  fiercely  as  a  sprat  of 
his  size  has  any  business  to  fight. 
Now,  be  pleased  to  note  the 
tricks  played  by  Fortune  in 
cynical  mood.  Item,  I  had  come 
here  into  the  heart  of  Normandy 
for  trout ;  item,  I  wetted  my  cast 
two  hours  after  arriving  at  the 
very  primitive  quarters  available ; 
item,  I  got  a  quarter-pound  trout 
after  half  an  hour's  fishing;  and 
item,  I  never  got  another  trout  in 
the  twenty-six  days  of  steady 
whipping  that  followed.  It  was 
not  the  last  trout  in  the  Orne  that 
I  took  that  evening ;  because  a 
fortnight  later  we  had  at  dejeuner 
a  dish  of  excellent  trout  caught 
by  a  net-woman  ;  the  women  by 
the  way  are  the  most  successful 
sinners  with  the  nets.  I  gave 
myself  and  the  trout  every  chance ; 
rose  at  half-past  five,  and  lashed 
that  stream  through  the  scudding 
mists  of  dawn ;  I  fished  at  noon, 
in  afternoon,  in  twilight,  and  (in 
ignorance  of  the  law)  from  the 
punt  with  moth  at  night ;  I  tried 
dry  fly,  wet  fly,  worm  and  caddis, 
and  would  have  tried  minnow  had 
lavish  offers  of  sous  stimulated 
the  youth  of  the  village  to  success- 
ful minnow  fishing — which  it  did 
not ;  but  never  did  I  land  another 
trout.  I  have  reason  to  believe 
that  a  fish  which  broke  me  on  one 
occasion  was  a  trout ;  but  as  a 
smart  tug,  the  glint  of  a  yellow 
belly  and  a  lost  fly  are  all  the 
evidence  adducible  in  support,  the 
belief  must  be  taken  for  what  it 
is  worth. 

If  the  trout  were  irresponsive, 
there  was  a  fairly  good  substitute 
in  the  fish  the  natives  call  the 
Dard.  I  have  doubts  concerning 
the    correctness    of    the    name; 


Moreau,  in  his  "  Poissons,"  de- 
scribes the  dard  as  Sqwdius 
Leuciscus,  the  Dace  of  Yarrell  and 
Couch ;  in  all  respects,  save  the 
important  one  of  size,  the  so-called 
dard  of  the  Orne  answers  to  his 
description ;  but  his  measurements, 
25  to  30  centimetres,  or  9*82  to 
1 1 79  inches,  fall  short  of  the 
mark.  A  friend  has  suggested 
that  this  fish  is  a  variety  of  roach, 
guided  to  this  hypothesis  by  the 
pink  pectoral  and  anal  fins;  but 
it  appears  to  me  to  lack  the  depth 
of  the  typical  roach.  In  shape  it 
certainly  more  resembles  the  dace, 
but  dace  measuring  over  fifteen 
inches  long  from  the  snout  to  the 
fork  of  the  tail  seem  to  violate  the 
traditions  of  their  species.  I  leave 
the  question  of  species  for  others 
to  decide  ;  but  if  the  dard  of  the 
Orne  wants  a  character  as  a  game 
fish  he  may  count  on  me  to  give 
it.  Trout  failing,  I  "went  for" 
those  dard  ;  they  were  not  exact- 
ing— the  smaller  fry;  they  took 
dry  flies  and  wet  flies ;  dry  flies 
fished  wet,  and  wet  flies  fished 
dry ;  a  small  coachman  and  quill 
gnat  being  most  to  their  taste 
under  any  circumstances,  though 
a  black  palmer  used  dry  accounted 
for  some  of  the  best  among  those 
short  of  a  pound  weight.  They 
took  caddis ;  they  took  worm 
(offered  by  the  natives) ;  but  the 
lure  that  conjured  the  big  fellows 
from  the  still  deeps  whence  no  fly 
would  raise  them  was  a  ripe  and 
ruddy  cherry. 

It  was  a  professional  fisherman 
who  advised  me  to  use  the 
cherry ;  we  foregathered  one  even- 
ing on  the  bank  and  compared 
baskets;  or,  to  be  accurate,  com- 
pared my  basket  with  his  tin  can 
where  he  kept  his  fish  alive  for 
sale.  He  explained  that  his  cus- 
tomers preferred  to  buy  their  fish 
alive,  because  then  they  knew 
they  were  getting  fresh  fish ; 
whence    the  necessity  laid  upon 


WHERE    THE    DARD    LIE. 


32 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


him  of  carrying  a  four  gallon  oil 
tin  as  a  reservoir ;  but  that  by  the 
way.  He  explained  that  the 
mouchc  artificidlc  was  good  in  shal- 
low running  waters  and  for  small 
dard  only;  for  the  large  fish, 
m'sieur  should  try  a  cherry  in  the 
profondcs.  M'sieur 's  past,  in  so  far 
as  ground-fishing  is  concerned, 
had  been  blameless;  but  having 
seen  that  the  dard  in  the  can 
of  that  bucolic  professional  were 
much  bigger  than  any  he  himself 
had  taken  by  legitimate  methods, 
he  was  tempted  and  fell. 

Reckon  it  to  me  for  a  sign  of 
grace  that  the  quill  float  and  b.B. 
shot  went  to  equip  the  finest  gut 
cast  in  my  book.  The  small  dard 
had  made  himself  respected  as  a 
game  fish  ;  whether  hooked  in  the 
dear  shallows  or  in  the  boil  of  the 
mill  weir  the  half-pounder  fights 
fiercely,  and  calls  for  careful  play. 
He  is  up  to  all  the  dodges,  and  if 
you  give  him  half  a  chance  will 
break  you  in  the  weeds,  or,  by 
one  of  those  maddening  efforts  of 
mechanical  genius,  draw  the  hook 
against  a  stone.  While  it  lasts 
his  fight  is  as  hard  as  that  of  a 
trout  of  equal  size ;  but  he  has  not 
the  same  staying  power.  If  I 
used  the  cherry  it  should  be  on 
tackle  which  equalised  matters  to 
some  extent;  my  professional 
friend's  tackle  was  as  coarse  as 
his  foot-gear — sabots  and  straw — 
and  he  hauled  out  his  prey  by 
main  force.  Fine  tackle,  aided 
by  the  landing-net,  ought  to  pro- 
vide sport. 

It  did :  the  rational  system 
seemed  to  be  to  take  soundings, 
and  then  adjust  the  float  so  that 
the  cherry  should  drift  along  the 
bottom  or  should  just  touch  it, 
accordingly  as  there  was  current 
or  the  water  was  still.  It  soon  be- 
came evident  that  the  big  fish  lay 
deepest  and  furthest  in  mid- 
stream; and  there  were  times, 
reducible  to  no  law  so  far  as  I 


could  discover,  when  the  big 
fellows  took  the  cherry  eagerly. 
At  such  times  this  game  of 
"  cherry-bob  "  was  really  good 
sport ;  a  smart  strike  was  needed 
in  answer  to  the  duck  of  the  float, 
and  if  you  hooked  your  fish  the 
fun  began.  First  an  honest "  won't, 
shan't,  see-you-Aflwg^-first "  series 
of  tugs,  till  the  float  slipped  its 
ring  and  slithered  down  the  cast. 
Then  a  rush  up  stream,  another 
down  and  a  fresh  bout  of  fair  tug- 
ging, while  you  reel  in  every  inch 
of  line  you  can.  Then  your  fish 
takes  it  into  his  head  to  come  to 
the  surface ;  presumably  to  see 
what  sort  of  foe  he  has  to  deal 
with ;  he  evidently  doesn't  like 
your  looks,  for  he  throws  himself 
clean  out  of  the  water  and  settles 
down  again  to  fight  like  any  trout. 
Gradually  you  bring  him  nearer 
the  margin,  checking  firmly  but 
cautiously  every  rush  for  the 
weeds,  and — with  luck — get  the 
net  under  him  from  two  to  six 
minutes  after  hooking.  The  most 
critical  moments  are  the  last, 
when  you  are  coaxing  him  into 
the  net ;  at  a  certain  point  in  the 
proceedings  the  fish  stops  fighting 
and  makes  a  lightning  dart  at  the 
reeds,  downward  if  the  water  is 
deep,  and  a  slack  line  then  means 
a  lost  fish.  You  must  hold  him 
out  of  the  reeds  by  main  force  at 
this  juncture  though  you  tremble 
for  the  light  tackle  a  mistaken 
spirit  of  fair  play  (as  it  seems 
then)  bade  you  employ. 

The  game  with  a  sizeable  dard 
was  very  far  from  being  one- 
sided ;  three  times  I  was  fairly- 
broken  in  the  first  tugging  bout, 
having  held  too  jealously  in  fear 
of  the  weeds :  over  and  over  again 
did  some  unsuspected  snag  or 
stone  stand  the  quarry's  friend 
when  my  fingers  were  on  the 
handle  of  the  net,  and  a  greedy 
eye  was  already  measuring  the 
dark  grey  length    down    in    the 


i»99-] 


CARD    FISHING    IN    NORMANDY. 


33 


clear  water.  I  gave  up  using  the 
trout  rod  in  this  business ;  it 
"  gave  "  too  freely  when  the  fish 
was  coming  to  hand,  and  if  the 
junction  of  line  and  cast  Stuck  in 
the  top-ring,  grief  was  inevitable. 
I  tried  a  shorter  cast  with  the 
float  on  the  silk  line  ;  but  the  dard 
worth  catching  would  none  of 
it,  and  the  nine  foot  cast  and  a 


fell  back  on  measurement  which 
perhaps  conveys  as  good  an  idea 
of  the  size  as  the  scales.  A  local 
angler  said  that  they  seldom  took 
the  dard  larger  than  the  17*  inch 
example  ;  two  of  those  that  broke 
me — but  it  is  unprofitable  measur- 
ing fish  you  didn't  kill,  so  let 
possibilities  lie  undisturbed.  On 
the  average  the  fish  killed  with  a 


SPOILSPORTS    IN    ' 

trolling  rod  served  my  turn.  The 
best  fish  obtained  with  the  fly  was 
certainly  not  over  ten  inches  long ; 
the  three  biggest  taken  on  the 
cherry  were: — 17^  inches  from 
snout  to  fork  of  tail  in  a  straight 
line  with  a  greatest  girth  of  9J 
inches;  16  inches,  and  15}  inches; 
girth  of  the  two  latter  not  taken. 
Madame  made  heroic  efforts  to 
weigh  them ;  but  she  lived  in  such 
a  whirl  of  kitchen  industry  and 
produced  such  amazing  results  in 
kilogrammes  and  grammes,  that  I 
vol.  lxxii. — no.  473. 


cherry  ran  from  thirteen  to  four- 
teen and  a  half  inches. 

When  the  dard  is  feeding  there 
is  no  fear  of  your  going  to  sleep ; 
but  he  is  a  fish  of  irregular  and 
unregenerate  habit  an  whose  appe- 
tite or  whim  no  man  may  count. 
On  one  hot,  still  July  afternoon 
he  is  all  alert,  biting  eagerly  and 
taking  down  the  cherry,  stone  and 
all,  at  a  gulp ;  on  the  next,  a  day 
of  the  same  pattern,  he  will  not 
stir.  On  an  ideal  angler's  even- 
ing he  won't   move  a  fin,  and  a 


34 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


QCJLY 


storm  of  wind  and  rain  from  the 
north  seemed  sometimes  to  put 
hiin  in  fear  of  famine,  for  he 
seized  the  cherry  ere  the  float 
had  steadied  in  the  water.  It  is 
on  those  non-feeding  days  that 
you  appreciate  the  full  and  pene- 
trating significance  of  lzaak's 
phrase :  fishing  with  a  float  under 
these  conditions  is  truly  "  the 
contemplative  man's  recreation. " 
The  almost  imperceptible  drift  of 
the  instrument  on  the  oily  calm 
induces  something  more  than  con- 
templativeness :  it  enslaves  the 
eye  it  ought  to  serve,  and  asserts 
the  power  of  a  hypnotist.  You 
do  your  best,  swing  the  float  out 
as  tar  as  you  can  get  it,  and  kneel 
behind  the  reeds  out  of  sight. 
Kneeling  finds  out  the  weak  places 
in  your  knees,  so  you  change  your 
position,  your  eye  rivetted  on  the 
tiny  float.  There's  a  dragon  fly 
on  it,  perched  at  a  right  angle ; 
uncomfortable  position,  one  would 
think  ;  sick  that  insect  will  be  if  a 
fish  bites  and  gives  him  a  duck- 
ing !  Fish  bites  ?  Ah,  of  course, 
nearly  forgot ;  I'm  fishing.  Why 
do  dragon  flies  perch  on  floats  ? 
Why  do  wagtails  play  on  hay- 
cocks? There's  a  boy  asleep 
under  the  hedge ;  so  odd  of  those 
little  French  boys  at  the  inn  to 
wear  sailor  hats  with  "H.M.S. 
Hood"  on  the  ribbon.  Why  should 
they  and  their  mamma  be  angry 
when  you  tell  them  they're  English 
sailors  ?  Fine  service,  English 
navy.  French  wagtails — boys— 
birds  or  bees  making  that  noise 
in  the  rigging — Bless  me!  I'm 
sure  I  wasn't  asleep,  but  I've 
cramp  in  my  right  leg,  and  the 
tackle  has  drifted  into  the  weeds. 
It  does  not  do  to  sit  down  to  this 
sort  of  work  on  a  warm  evening  ; 
"  Contemplative  recreation  "  it  is 
with  a  vengeance ! 

That  the  local  angler  should 
seldom  basket  the  bigger  fish  is  not 
surprising  when  you  come  to  study 
his  methods :  he  rarely  tries  the 


fly  ;  when  he  does  he  drags  it  up- 
stream in  the  rapids  with  natur- 
ally barren  results ;  the  worm  is 
the  bait  he  most  affects,  and  his 
method  of  using  it  is  to  wreath  as 
much  of  a  six  inch  lob  on  a  No.  4 
hook  as  it  will  inconveniently 
hold,  and  cast  it  upon  the  waters 
with  a  third  of  its  length  hanging 
loose.  Another  disability  under 
which  he  labours  is  an  apparently 
unswerving  confidence  in  his 
quarry's  inability  to  see  him. 
Nothing  will  induce  him  to  crouch 
behind  a  bush  or  other  cover,  or 
take  any  measures  whatever  to 
hide  himself,  though  the  water  be 
but  a  foot  deep  and  clear  as 
crystal.  Then  again  his  naturally 
sociable  instincts  lead  him  to  form 
fishing  parties ;  and  six  peasants 
sitting  in  a  row  on  the  bank,  with 
the  cider-bottle  passing  from  hand 
to  hand,  do  not  observe  that  de- 
gree of  silence  which  the  more 
earnest  brethren  recommend  as 
essential  to  success.  He  may  be 
lacking  in  silence,  but  the  Norman 
peasant  angler  is  the  most  oblig- 
ing of  men,  and  a  true  sportsman 
at  heart,  though  he  does  leave  his 
fish,  when  he  catches  one,  to  die 
at  leisure  instead  of  knocking  it 
on  the  head.  If  he  can  give  you 
a  wrinkle  he  will,  and  he  only 
looks  mildly  surprised  if  by  aid  of 
his  advice  you  kill  fish  where  he 
has  achieved  conspicuous  and  un- 
broken failure. 

The  nets  are  the  bane  of  this 
lovely  river.  Save  from  mid- April 
to  mid-June,  the  close  season 
(which  rumour  saith  is  not  too 
scrupulously  observed),  there  are 
no  restrictions ;  the  pocket  net  is 
doing  its  work  in  the  runs  all 
night,  and  the  casting  net  in  the 
deeps  and  shallows  all  day.  These 
prove  the  presence  of  trout  (occa- 
sionally), bream,  roach  and  other 
fish,  but  they  ruin  the  stream  for 
the  anglers,  who  otherwise  might 
take  steps  to  get  the  weed  cleared 
away.  C. 


■899] 


35 


The  Chances  of  the  Game.* 

SOME    TALES    OF    PLAY. 
By   Major   Arthur   Griffiths. 

Author  of  "My  Grandfather's  Journals,"  &c,  &c 

III— IVO  TREHERNE. 


i 


"  Hb  was  as  nice  a  boy  as  you 
would  wish  to  meet  when  he  first 
came  out  to  India/'  said  Mac- 
naghten  -  Innes,  speaking  of  his 
whilom  friend  and  brother  sub., 
Ivo  Treherne.  "We  all  took  to 
him,  with  his  pretty  small  baby 
face  and  the  laughing  eyes  that 
would  make  any  woman  his  slave  ; 
and  he  won  on  us  too  by  his  ways, 
for  he  could  do  most  things  well, 
and  right  well.  He  was  A  i  at 
all  games.  I've  seen  him  take 
five  wickets  with  the  same  twister 
that  broke  in  behind  the  crease 
with  an  ugly  rush  there  was  no 
stopping ;  he  played  forward  at 
polo  with  the  surest  hand  at  a 
drive  in  the  best  team  in  India. 
Billiards!  He'd  have  given  *  Cue* 
Markham  a  hundred  up  in  five 
and  beat  him ;  at  lawn  tennis,  or 
golf — but  there !  he  was  quite  the 
best  sportsman  of  his  time,  as  we 
all  said  in  those  early  days. 

"  He  was  clever  too,  not  only 
in  books  and  all  that,  which  had 
passed  him  out  of  Sandhurst  fifth 
on  the  list,  but  he  had  a  turn  for 
languages,  and  a  quick  ear.  He 
got  hold  of  a  heap  of  things  out 
of  the  common.  I've  heard  him 
talk  in  native  dialects  as  though 
he  had  been  born  to  them.  He 
knew  chemistry  and  all  about 
drugs  as  well  as  if  he  had  passed 
the  Pharmaceutical  Society ;  he 
had  a  smattering  of  astronomy, 
and  understood  the  nautical 
almanack.  He  could  doctor  a 
watch,  take  it  to  pieces,  clean  it, 

*  All  rights  reserved  in  Great  Britain  and  the 
Untied  States. 


and  set  it  going  again.  Un- 
commonly neat  handed,  too,  and 
clever  with  his  fingers.  '  I  could 
make  anything  if  1  had  the  tools/ 
I've  heard  him  say,  *  except  per- 
haps a  steam  engine  or  raspberry 
jam.'  Of  course  we  spoilt  him, 
not  only  we  men  in  the  stations, 
but  the  women,  and  he  was 
always  weak  about  a  petticoat. 
No  wonder  they  made  so  much 
of  him;  he  was  such  a  smart, 
handsome  lad,  with  such  a  bold, 
gallant  look  about  him,  so  reck- 
less, to  tell  the  truth,  so  impu- 
dent ;  for  he  would  say  things,  aye, 
and  do  things  for  which  any  less 
favoured  youth  would  have  run 
the  risk  of  being  kicked. 

"  If  the  beau  sexe  was  a  weak- 
ness, it  was  pardonable  perhaps 
in  the  spoiled  boy.  But  he  had 
another  failing,  about  which 
people  looked  grave  sometimes, 
and  shook  their  heads.  It  was 
more  than  a  weakness ;  it  went 
very  near  a  vice.  He  was  mad 
for  play,  the  riskiest  for  choice,  a 
gambler  to  the  finger-tips,  ready 
at  any  time  to  stake  all  he  had, 
even  to  his  shirt,  on  any  sort  of 
chance.  Racing :  that  of  course  ; 
he  was  a  leading  spirit  at  every 
gymkhana,  and  ran  his  own 
horses  on  every  course  from 
Umballa  to  Bangalore.  At  cards, 
too  ;  he  loved  every  kind  of  game, 
and  played  most  of  them  with 
considerable  skill.  The  old  fogies 
at  the  clubs  wagged  their  heads 
and  said  that  his  whist  was  re- 
markable for  such  a  boy,  and  that 
he  might  make  some  day,  with 


36 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


pains,  a  good  second-class  player. 
And  he  had  mastered  liquet,  too, 
in  a  surprising  way.  Whist  and 
piquet  were  a  little  slow  for  him, 
though ;  he  liked  something 
quicker,  snappier,  with  more 
excitement ;  poker,  baccarat,  even 
pitch-and-toss  if  he  could  get 
nothing  else. 

"As  a  rule  he  was  very  lucky. 
It  was  curious  how  often,  and 
sometimes  how  largely  he  won. 
He  was  long  remembered  in 
India  as  a  wild  plunger,  fond  of 
long  shots,  which  turned  up 
trumps ;  he  would  pull  off  a  big 
bet  often  in  the  nick  of  time,  for 
he  was  perilously  near  Queer 
Street  now  and  again.  All  this 
he  could  be  forgiven,  perhaps. 
It  was  very  much  what  most  of 
us  did  in  those  days.  But  Ivo 
was  such  an  ardent  and  insatiable 
gambler  that  when  he  could  find 
no  other  outlet  he  condescended 
to  throw  himself  into  the  low- 
class  speculation  dear  to  the 
native  mind.  They  said  of  him 
that  he  narrowly  escaped  prose- 
cution m  for  being  caught  at  *  lal- 
sufed '  and  l  ekiviki,'  both  un- 
lawful forms  of  gaming.  It  was 
known  that  he  frequented  the 
fairs  near  Bombay,  and  was  seen 
in  the  gambling  stalls  staking  his 
money  against  the  Hindoos  and 
Chinamen  who  kept  the  gambling 
boards. 

"  He  came  at  last  to  conspicuous 
grief.  It  was  at  the  time  when 
the  '  Barsat  ka  satta '  or  '  rainfall 
gambling '  created  such  excite- 
ment in  Bombay.  That  ingenious 
method  of  speculation,  it  may  be 
remembered,  was  devised  when 
other  forms  of  gambling  had  been 
forbidden  by  law.  From  the 
obvious  uncertainty  of  the  game, 
and  the  simplicity  with  which  it 
could  be  played,  it  became  rapidly 
and  extensively  popular.  The 
season  for  it  was  towards  the 
close  of  the  hot  weather,  when 


the  rains  were  due,  and  at  any 
moment  the  floods  might  fall. 
The  excitement  grew  intense,  the 
betting  was  fast  and  furious  when 
clouds  came  up  and  rain  seemed 
close  at  hand.  Thousands  of 
natives  were  collected  around  the 
apparatus  by  which  the  game 
was  played.  It  was  a  simple 
enough  contrivance,  merely  a 
small  platform  with  a  smooth 
surface  erected  on  four  posts; 
the  top  had  a  slight  incline  to 
one  corner,  where  there  was  a 
tube  or  outlet  down  the  side. 
Whenever  water  flowed  out  at 
this  pipe  the  matter  was  decided  ; 
for  it  needed  something  more 
than  a  few  drops  from  a  passing 
cloud.  This  form  of  gambling 
attained  to  such  a  pernicious 
extent  that  the  Government 
decided  to  put  it  down  with  a 
strong  hand.  One  day  a  police 
raid  was  made  upon  the  principal 
centre  of  the  sport,  near  the 
Mombadevi  tank  in  the  native 
town.  The  place  was  like  a  fair  ; 
there  was  a  great  concourse ;  a 
living  mass  of  excited  people 
stood  watching  the  sky  with 
eager  intentness  as  the  clouds 
came  and  went  and  yet  the  rain 
delayed.  When  the  police  broke 
in,  making  arrests  right  and  left, 
one  of  those  taken  was  Ivo  Tre- 
herne.  It  was  a  bad  business ; 
an  English  officer  rubbing 
shoulders  with  the  lowest  riff- 
raff, and  mixed  up  in  such  a 
discreditable  transaction.  His 
friends  tried  to  hush  it  up,  but 
it  got  to  the  General's  ears, 
and  he  passed  it  on  to  superior 
authority.  Great  interest  was 
made  for  Ivo,  but  they  wouldn't 
let  him  off,  and  he  only  escaped 
being  brought  to  a  court-martial 
by  sending  in  his  papers  and  cut- 
ting the  Service. 

"  I  did  not  see  him  again  for 
years.  We  none  of  us  out  there 
in  the  '  shiny '  heard  what  became 


18990 


THB   CHANCBS   OP  TUB   GAME. 


37 


of  him ;  where  he  went,  what  he 
did,  how  he  lived.  He  was 
supposed  to  have  some  means  of 
his  own,  and  in  any  case  he  was 
clever  enough  to  take  up  a  dozen 
lines.  When  I  met  him  next  it  was 
at  Monte  Carlo,  ruffling  it  with 
the  best,  and  evidently  upon  the 
top  of  the  wave.  He  was  seated 
on  the  terrace  outside  Ciro's, 
discussing  an  elaborate  breakfast. 
They  were  a  party  of  three ;  one 
of  his  companions,  a  man,  big, 
fat,  overgrown,  with  a  very  dark 
face,  thick  lips,  and  rather  staring 
white  eyeballs  ;  the  other,  a  lady, 
a  remarkably  pretty,  exquisitely 
dressed  person,  petite,  with  a  trim, 
slight  figure,  well  finished  at  all 
points;  a  lot  of  fluffy  fair  hair, 
peach-like  cheeks.  She  knew 
how  to  use  dark  violet  eyes,  as 
1  soon  saw,  when  after  a  few 
whispered  words  from  Treherne 
she  turned  them  full  on  me. 

"He  had  evidently  recognised 
me,  but  was  doubtful  how  I 
should  treat  him.  His  face 
brightened  when  I  nodded  a 
pleasant  greeting ;  I  had  liked  the 
lad  in  old  days,  and  saw  no  reason 
why  I  should  not  resume  my 
acquaintance.  He  had  left  the 
Service,  not  quite  voluntarily, 
a  little  under  a  cloud,  perhaps, 
but  he  had  hardly  committed  an 
unpardonable  sin.  I  was  willing 
enough  to  let  bygones  be  bygones, 
and  when  he  rose  from  his  seat, 
and  came  over,  I  readily  gave 
him  my  hand. 

"  *  Good  old  Mac,'  he  cried, 
effusively  ;  '  it  warms  my  heart  to 
see  you  again  after  all  these  years. 
It  brings  back  all  the  old  times 
and  the  old  pals.' 

" '  What  are  you  doing  with 
yourself  these  times  ? '  I  asked 
with  kindly  interest; 

M  '  Breakfasting,  as  you  see,' 
he  answered,  evasively;  'come 
over  and  'be  introduced,  won't 
you  ?     Charming    people.    .  The 


Fitz   Greens.    They    would    be 
delighted  to  know  you.' 

44  They  hospitably  made  me 
take  a  seat  at  their  table.  '  Do 
join  us,'  said  Mr.  Fitz  Green ; 
*  we've  got  one  of  Ciro's  famous 
pdtes  fresh  in  from  Nancy.' 

"  '  It  is  a  perfect  dream,'  added 
his  wife  with  pretty  ecstasy,  as 
she  allowed  herself  to  be  helped 
to  another  spoonful. 

"  Of  course,  after  the  first  few 
commonplaces  the  talk  turned 
upon  the  only  subject  that 
interests  people  at  Monte  Carlo — 
the  tables,  the  chances  of  the 
game,  the  winning  numbers, 
phenomenal  runs  and  series, 
systems,  martingales,  super- 
stitions, and  all  the  rest  of  it. 

"  I  was  pretty  full  of  the  topic, 
for  it  so  happened  that  a  night  or 
two  before  I  had  won  a  very 
considerable  stake,  many  thou- 
sands of  pounds,  and  I  found  that 
they  had  already  heard  something 
of  my  good  fortune. 

" '  My  word,  was  that  you, 
Mac  ? '  cried  Treherne,  boister- 
ously. '  I  never  guessed  you  were 
the  lucky  man.' 

" '  I  hope  you  will  keep  what  you 
made,'  said  Mrs.  Fitz  Green,  more 
earnestly  than  I  could  quite  under- 
stand. 

"  *  If  you  will  be  advised  by  me, 
Major,  you  will  never  play  another 
coup,'  Mr.  Fitz  Green  added, 
also  very  earnestly.  '  Not  at  the 
tables.  I  would  not  of  course 
mean  to  bar  games  of  skill.  They 
are  intellectual  exercises,  and  in 
moderation  provide  much  enjoy- 
ment.   That's  my  view,  at  least.' 

" '  And  mine,'  echoed  Treherne. 
1 1  used  to  go  in  for  mere  chance, 
as  you  know,  the  wildest  and 
riskiest,  even  heads  and  tails. 
Now  I  am  older,  and  I  hope 
wiser.  The  finest  sport  I  think 
is  a  close  game  with  a  pretty 
well  matched  adversary  —  wit 
against  wit.1 


38 


baily's  magazine. 


tJULV 


"  '  Oh,  surely  you  can  talk  about 
something  else/  put  in  little  Mrs. 
Green  in  a  discontented  voice.  '  I 
hate  the  very  name  of  play.' 

"  •  Come,  come,  my  dear,'  and 
her  husband  took  her  up  rather 
angrily.  '  Let  everybody  enjoy 
himself  his  own  way.  You  may 
have  your  ideas.' 

1  My  idea  is  to  take  advantage 
of  this  heavenly  weather,  and 
have  a  day  in  the  open  air. 
Let  us  drive  somewhere.  Nice, 
or  the  Hanbury  gardens.' 

"  The  party  was  soon  arranged, 
and    I    was    asked    to   join,  but 
declined.     They  still  pressed  an 
invitation  on  to  me,  to  dinner  at 
their  villa  the  same  evening,  and  I 
went,   curious,  but  by  no  means 
keen  to  prosecute  my  acquaintance. 
The  more  I  saw  of  Treherne  and 
his  friends    the    less   favourably 
they  impressed  me.     It  was  what 
the  French  call  a  minage  d  trots, 
for  Ivo  Treherne  lived  with  them 
at  the  villa,  and,  as  I  understood, 
shared    in    the    expense.     There 
seemed    a   very    close     intimacy 
between    them ;     Ivo    was    very 
attentive     to    pretty    Mrs.    Fitz 
Green,    openly    so,    and    to    an 
extent  that   might  have  made  a 
jealous    husband    uncomfortable. 
But   Fitz  Green  seemed  to  care 
nothing ;  he  was  neither  blind  nor 
complacent,    as    I    thought,    but 
simply  indifferent.     Closer  obser- 
vation satisfied   me  that  he  was 
a    coarse,    brutal    sort    of   man, 
with  no  susceptibilities  to  wound, 
but  inclined  to  be    overbearing, 
and  exercising  some  sort  of  hold 
over  Treherne,  possibly  through 
his  wife,  and  I  could  see  that  she 
was  desperately  afraid  of  him. 

"  I  was  not  particularly  in- 
terested in  these  people,  Treherne 
had  come  back  into  my  life  by 
accident,  it  should  not  be  to  stay, 
and  the  Fitz  Greens  were  hardly 
people  to  cultivate.  So  I  told  my- 
self as  I  ate  my  dinner,  meaning 


to  go  early,  and  resisting  all  the 
blandishments  of  the  lady  who 
laid  herself  out — was  it  by  order  ? 
— to  be  particularly  gracious  to 
me — at  table.  She  beamed,  and 
after  we  left  it  she  made  room  for 
me  by  her  side  on  the  sofa,  saying, 

"  '  We  shall  be  more  cosy  here. 
Major  Innes.  Let  those  two 
settle  down  to  their  everlasting 
b6zique,  while  you  and  I  try  to 
entertain  each  other.1 

"  We  talked  the  usual  common- 
places for  half  an  hour,  and  then 
drifted  into  a  subject  that  seemed 
very  near  her  heart — Ivo  Tre- 
herne. How  long  had  I  known 
him  ?  Did  I  really  like  him  ? 
Why  had  he  given  up  the  Service  ? 
He  never  would  talk  about  it. 
Of  course  it  was  play ;  something 
to  do  with  play  ?  He  was  a  per- 
fect slave  to  it,  like  her  husband 
indeed,  only  more  so,  and  there 
were  times  when  she  was  afraid  it 
was  growing  into  a  perfect  tyranny 
from  which  he  could  never  escape. 

" *  I  feel  so  sorry  for  him.  His 
has  been  a  wasted  life.  He  could 
have  done  so  much ;  he  is  so 
clever,  naturally;  has  so  many 
gifts;  he  might  have  turned  his 
talents  to  such  good  account,  and 
now,  now — what  is  he  ?  How 
will  he  end,  God  help  him,  and — 

"  '  Me,'  she  meant  to  add,  but 
she  did  not  finish,  for  at  this 
moment  the  man  himself  came 
over  to  us,  rather  against  the  grain  r 
as  I  thought,  and  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  Fitz  Green,  who  stood 
looking  towards  us  with  an  in- 
scrutable face. 

"'I  say,  Macnaghten,'  asked 
Treherne,  '  won't  you  be  tempted 
to  try  your  hand  at  a  game  of 
some  sort  ?  I'm  your  man  at 
anything  you  like  to  name.' 

"  '  No,  no  ;  Major  Innes,'  said 
Mrs.  Fitz  Green,  « would  not  pay 
me  such  a  bad  compliment.  Go 
away.     He  does  not  want  to  play.' 

"  Now  the  look  in  Fitz  Green's 


l«99-] 


THE   CHANCES   OP   THE    GAME. 


39 


face  changed,  and  he  spoke  with- 
out reserve  under  the  pressure  of 
feelings  that  would  not  be  con* 
cealed.  Fury  at  his  wife's  neglect 
of  the  part  allotted  to  her,  that  of 
beguiling  and  befooling  me  ;  con- 
tempt for  Ivo  Treherne's  feeble, 
clumsy  effort  to  persuade  me,  and 
disappointment  at  losing  his  prey, 
were  all  written  in  his  black 
forbidding  face. 

**  1  rose,  resolved  to  end  the 
matter  by  leaving  the  house  then 
and  there,  but  a  strange  impulse 
prompted  me  to  stay,  and  solve  all 
doubts  and  suspicions. 

*'  *  Ecarte,  half  a  dozen  games 
if  you  like,  Ivo/  I  said,  as  I  walked 
across  to  the  card-table.  '  But  I 
expect  you  are  much  stronger 
than  me.  What  shall  we  play 
for  ? ' 

44 '  As  you  please.  High  as  you 
like.  I  know  you're  flush.  Give 
me  a  shy  at  those  Monte  Carlo 
winnings  of  yours.' 

44  Fitz  Green  rubbed  his  hands 
gleefully  as  we  settled  ^"10  a 
game,  and  at  once  offered  to  back 
Treherne  for  as  much  more. 

"Now,  I  have  made  rather  a 
study  of  cards.  I  went  through  a 
course  of  conjuring  with  a  famous 
French  prestidigateur,  and  not  only 
could  do  a  good  many  tricks,  but 
I  knew  enough  to  be  on  equal 
terms  with  even  the  most  adroit 
card  sharper.  Within  half  an 
hour  I  saw  beyond  all  doubt  that 
Ivo  Treherne  was  cheating,  at 
first  cautiously  and  then  gaining 
courage  by  my  seeming  simpli- 
city, in  the  most  barefaced.  He 
held  the  most  astonishing  cards, 
and  won  game  after  game. 

44  No  wonder.  He  was  an 
adept  in  every  device.  He  could 
4  deal    second/    as    it    is    called, 


change  a  card  in  dealing  so 
cleverly  that  it  was  some  time 
before  I  caught  him  at  it;  he 
knew  every  method  of  false 
shuffling,  and  could  classify  or 
arrange  the  pack  just  as  he 
pleased ;  he  tried  both  the  well- 
known  sleight-of-hand  '  cuts,'  the 
saut  de  coupe,  and  the  passe 
coup*,  and  once  also  the  enjambage. 

41  All  at  once  I  stood  up  at  the 
table  and  said  quickly  : 

14  4  So  this  is  what  you  have 
come  to,  Ivo  Treherne,  a  card- 
sharper  and  cheat.  You,  who 
once  were  a  commissioned  officer, 
have  sunk  to  be  confederate  of — 
what  shall  I  call  this  precious 
couple  ?' 

44  At  my  first  word  Fitz  Green 
had  pulled  out  a  revolver  and  put 
his  back  to  the  door. 

44  'You  don't  leave  this  place  till 
you  take  back  your  foul  charges, 
Major  Macnaghten  Innes.' 

44  But  now  his  wife  threw  her- 
self upon  him,  imploring  him  to 
hold  his  hand,  and  Ivo  joined  her, 
struggling  desperately  to  get  the 
weapon  from  him.  I  helped, 
anxious  only  to  get  free  of  the 
whole  discreditable  business,  and 
when  I  left  the  house  at  last  it 
was  to  shake  the  dust  from  my 
feet  for  ever. 

41 1  never  met  Ivo  Treherne 
again,  but  I  heard  of  him  in  the 
police  correctional  court  of  Nice, 
arrested  as  a  chevalier  d' Industrie, 
living  by  fraud  and  imposture. 
A  woman  was  with  him  in  the 
case  for  which  he  was  condemned, 
and  her  description  answered  to 
that  of  Mrs.  Fitz  Green.  She 
must  have  left  her  husband  or  he 
had  thrown  her  off ;  in  any  case 
the  man  Fitz  Green  did  not 
appear." 


40 


[July 


After  the  Inter- Regimental. 

REFLECTIONS  AND  SUGGESTIONS. 


There  is  no  tournament  in  the 
year  which  brings  so  many  sugges- 
tive reflections  to  the  polo  re- 
former as  the  Inter-regimental  at 
Hurlingham.  "  Over  -  regulation 
for  polo  would  be  a  mistake,"  is, 
we  know,  Mr.  John  Watson's 
view,  and  it  is  no  doubt  a  sound 
one.  We  might  easily  spoil  the 
dash  and  freedom,  the  charm  and 
variety  of  a  polo  match  by  over- 
legislation.  Indeed,  there  is  one 
party  which  is  in  favour  of  a  game 
even  freer  than  that  which  we  have 
now,  and  would  do  away  with 
"off  side.1'  We  know  too  that 
the  American  game  recognises  no 
fouls  and  penalties.  But  with 
the  necessity  of  caution  before 
our  eyes  in  the  matter  of  making 
rules  and  regulations,  yet  still  it 
is  scarcely  possible  to  watch  care- 
fully a  series  of  matches  such  as 
the  Inter-regimental  Tournament 
just  finished  at  Hurlingham  with- 
out wishing  at  least  for  some 
modifications  of  the  rules.  There 
can  be  little  doubt  in  the  minds 
of  those  who  witnessed  the  final 
of  the  Soldiers'  Tournament  on 
June  ioth  that  the  13th  Hussars 
to  some  extent  owed  their  defeat 
to  the  penalties  they  incurred  for 
fouls.  Twice  they  had  to  give 
up  ground  won  by  hard  and  very 
good  play  and  return  to  their 
boundary  line.  This  is  disheart- 
ening to  a  team,  as  well  as  a 
most  serious  disadvantage  in  other 
ways.  The  question  I  wish  to 
ask  is,  Is  not  the  penalty  too 
heavy?  Suppose,  and  we  have 
seen  such  things,  the  umpire  is 
wrong  in  his  decision.  This  may 
not  often  be  so,  but  nevertheless 
the  chance  of  such  mistakes 
makes  me  doubt  whether  the 
penalty  is  not  too  severe.     Why 


not  take  the  offenders  back  to  the 
centre  line  and  make  them  hit  out 
from  the  side  across  the  ground, 
ranging  up  on  either  side  as  for  a 
throw  in?  To  hit  out,  the  ball 
might  be  placed  one  yard  inside 
the  boards.  This  would  be  a 
very  considerable  penalty.  The 
hit  out  practically  occupies  one 
man,  and  enables  the  others  to 
use  four  men  against  three,  while 
the  necessity  of  hitting  across  the 
ground  gives  both  sides  a  fair 
start  for  possession  of  the  ball. 

The  next  point  that  has  struck 
me  is,  that  if  the  penalty  for  fouls 
which  happen  in  the  heat  of  the 
game  is  too  heavy,  that  for  hitting 
out  to  save  the  goal  is  not  nearly 
heavy  enough.  At  the  time  when 
this  rule  was  passed,  I  ventured 
to  suggest  that  by  inflicting  a. 
penalty  on  it,  this  hit  out  to  save 
became  a  legitimate  piece  of 
tactics.  No  doubt  before  that 
time  it  was  but  seldom  resorted 
to,  and  was  not  indeed  considered 
a  praiseworthy  method  of  defence. 
Yet  it  is,  in  fact,  as  the  observant 
spectators  noted  in  the  late  Inter- 
regimental,  a  most  powerful  de- 
fensive piece  of  tactics,  and 
calculated  to  make  goals  very 
difficult  to  hit  in  cases  where  the 
sides  are  equal.  In  fact,  if  we 
imagine  an  extreme  case,  and  sup- 
pose that  the  No.  4  of  a  side  gave 
orders  that  the  ball  was  to  be  hit 
behind  whenever  it  came  say, 
within  the  twenty-five  yards  limit, 
it  is  difficult  to  see  how  goals 
would  be  made  at  all,  or  even 
how  polo  itself  would  go  on  ;  for 
when  the  ball  reached  a  certain 
point  both  sides  would  be  playing 
in  the  same  direction.  We  have 
seen  from  the  first  how  absolutely 
non-deterrent  is  the  penalty.     My 


i«99.] 


THE   ARAB    HORSE   AS  A    RACER. 


41 


own  experience  in  India  leads  me 
to  think  that  the  middle  of  the 
goal  is  not  at  all  a  bad  place  to 
hit  off  from.  Being  exactly  in 
the  middle,  you  command  either 
side  of  the  ground,  and  a  hard 
hitting  Back  with  good  control 
can  send  the  ball  to  the  weakest 
point  of  the  opposing  side.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  ball  nearly 
always  gets  away  from  this  posi- 
tion. The  penalty  is  insufficient 
— a  fact  which  I  have  heard 
pointed  out  several  times  of  late. 

What  would  you  suggest  in- 
stead ?  is  a  natural  question, 
though  a  puzzling  one,  to  all 
would-be  reformers.  I  see  no 
alternative  but  to  make  "  hits  out 
to  save  "  the  fraction  of  a  goal,  but 
like  the  Indian  subsidiary,  to  count 
only  in  cases  of  equality  of  score. 
But  after  all,  the  exact  form  a  rule 
is  to  take  is  not  the  business  of  the 
critic  or  reformer.  He  has  but  to 
make  out  a  case  for  the  change, 
and  that,  few  people  will  doubt, 
has  been  done  in  this  instance. 

One  more  suggestion  as  the 
result  of  my  observations  on  the 
Inter-regimental  I  have  to  make, 
and  this  is  that  blows  with  a 
stick,  even  though  accidental,  as 
they  must  always  be,  should  be 


treated  and  penalised  as  fouls.  It 
is  a  distinct  and  unmerited  disad- 
vantage to  a  side  to  have  the 
teeth  of  its  No.  4  knocked  down 
his  throat  early  in  the  game.  Nor 
does  a  man  make  a  more  dashing 
No.  2  because  he  has  a  bad  cut 
on  his  face.  In  fact,  it  is  obvious 
that  although  the  pluck  and  esprit 
dt  corps  of  our  polo  players  make 
light  of  such  accidents,  yet  their 
play  cannot  be  improved  thereby. 
It  is  therefore  not  unreasonable  to 
inflict  a  penalty  on  the  unwilling 
cause  of  the  mishap,  not  with  a 
view  of  punishing  them  so  much 
as  to  compensate  the  other  side 
for  the  disadvantage  under  which 
they  are  placed  through  no  fault 
of  their  own. 

Lastly,  I  may  draw  attention 
to  the  admirable  arrangement  of 
the  "  draw "  for  the  Inter-regi- 
mental, and  to  the  wisdom  of 
Mr.  St.  Quentin's  plan  of  having 
the  same  umpires  as  far  as  pos- 
sible throughout  the  tournament. 
By  the  first  the  interest  of  the 
tournament  was  sustained  to  the 
end,  and  the  best  match  was 
played  on  the  last  day.  By  the 
second  uniformity  of  decisions  on 
disputed  points  was  secured  for  all 
alike.  T.  F.  D. 


The  Arab  Horse  as  a  Racer. 


In  the  interesting  paper  entitled 
"  Anecdotal  Sport  M  published  in 
your  June  number,  "Thormanby  " 
mentions  the  performance  of  an 
Arab  horse  who  defeated  a 
thoroughbred  English  mare  at 
Cairo,  in  the  year  1853,  over  a 
distance  of  9^  miles,  the  time 
being  27J  minutes.  May  I  be 
permitted  to  point  out  that  the 
performance  of  my  Arab  horse, 
The  Buffer,  in  India,  in  1852 
(which    was    described    in    your 


Magazine  of  April,  1898)  was 
very  much  better  than  the  above, 
the  time  for  10  miles  and  520 
yards  having  been  25  minutes 
and  35  seconds,  with  iost.  61b. 
up,  and  without  the  horse  being 
the  least  pressed.  This  race  was 
got  up  on  account  of  the  talk  at 
that  time  in  England  of  a  pro- 
posed ten-mile  race  between  the 
Arabs  of  the  Egyptian  Khedive 
and  the  English  thoroughbred 
horses,  and  there  could  not  be  a 


42 


baily's  magazine. 


[July 


better  exemplification  of  the  won- 
derful endurance  of  the  Arab  horse. 
On  the  general  question  of  the 
comparison  between  the  Arab  and 
the  English  racehorse  which 
"  Thormanby "  enters  into,  my 
own  experience,  derived  from 
having  trained  and  raced  both  the 
breeds,  as  well  as  colonial  horses, 
for  several  years,  is  that  a  first- 
class  English  thoroughbred  racer 
could  give  the  best  Arabs  almost 
any  weight  for  any  distance  up  to 
four  miles.  No  first  or  second- 
class  English  racehorse  ever 
appeared  on  the  Indian  Turf  up 
to  the  time  I  mention,  nor  I 
suppose  has  done  since  then,  but 
it  may  be  interesting  to  some  of 
your  readers  to  recall  some  of  the 
races  of  that  period  in  which  such 
third  or  fourth  class  English 
horses  as  were  then  running  met 
the  Arabs,  and  to  quote  the  con- 
ditions under  which  they  were 
brought  together.  In  1854,  tne 
Champion  Cup,  value  200  gs., 
was  run  for  at  Umballa,  and  won 
by  my  horse  Mercury,  an  Arab 
being  second,  and  an  English 
horse  fourth.  The  conditions 
were :  "  English  horses  gst.  51b. ; 
Colonials  8st.  71b. ;  Arabs,  a 
feather ;  2  miles." 

Mercury  (Tasmanian),  8s t.  7lb 1 

Banker  (Arab),  feather 2 

Boomerang  (N.  S.  Wales),  8st.  7 lb.  ...     3 

Oregon  (English),  9st.  $lb 4 

Won  by  I  length.  Time,  3  minutes  51$ 
seconds. 

Banker  was  at  that  time  the  best 
Arab  in  Upper  India.  He  carried 
about  6st.  71b.,  no  jockey  under 
that  weight  being  available.  At 
the  same  meeting  Oregon,  carry- 
ing iost.  51b.,  beat  two  good 
Arabs,  Figaro  and  Surplice, 
carrying  8s t.  I2lb.  and  8st.  41b., 
over  if  miles. 

At  Calcutta,  about  the  same 
time,  we  find  in  The  Turf  Club 
Purse,  1$  miles : — 

Beesw ing  (Tasmanian),  o,st.  7 lb 1 


Nero  (Arab),  8st.  61b 2 

Penthesilea  (English),  lost 3 

Meg    Merrilies    (Country-bred),    Sst. 

iolb.    4 

Nero  was  one  of  the  best  Arabs 
of  his  day,  and  was  the  winner  of 
the  Governor-General's  Cup  at 
Calcutta,  in  1856,  which,  how- 
ever, he  owed  to  a  great  mistake 
of  judgment  on  the  part  of  the 
riders  of  the  other  horses.  As  it 
was  a  very  memorable  race  I  may 
give  the  details  : — 

The  Governor-General's  Cup  of  ^"ioo ;  St. 
Leger  Course. 

Nero  (Arab),  8st.  5lb 1 

Mercury  (Tasmanian),  gst 2 

Beeswing  (Tasmanian),  9st 3 

Meg  Merrilies  (Country-bred),  8sL  91b.     4 

Diana  (English),  lost.  7lb 5 

Nero  made  strong  running  from 
the  post,  and,  the  other  horses  all 
waiting  on  each  other,  was  at  one 
time  a  distance  ahead.  Three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  home  they 
closed  up,  but  it  was  too  late,  and 
the  Arab  won  by  a  neck.  The 
editor  of  the  Indian  Sporting  Review 
wrote :  "  We  are  clear  that  if 
Mercury  had  been  with  him 
through  the  race  the  Arab  would 
not  have  had  a  chance  at  the  end. 
Time,  3  minutes  '32  seconds. 

Mercury,  by  the  way,  was  a 
good  instance  of  a  successful  cross 
between  an  English  thoroughbred 
horse  and  an  Arab  mare,  his  sire 
being  Lucifer,  who  won  the 
Goodwood  Stakes  about  the  year 
1840,  and  his  dam  an  Arab  mare 
sent  to  Tasmania  by  Mr.  Charles 
Prinsep.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
he  owed  his  stoutness  (for  his 
best  distance  was  two  miles)  to 
this  Arab  parentage,  and  also  his 
good  constitution,  for  at  the  time 
of  the  above  race  he  was  about 
eleven  years  old!  This  will  be 
interesting  to  your  correspondent 
"  Thormanby." 

I  will  just  add  one  more  instance 
of  the  weighting  of  English  and 
Arab  horses  in  a  handicap  at 
Calcutta    of    the    period    I    am 


«899-] 


TROUT  FISHING   IN    NORWAY. 


43 


writing  of,. which  shows  the  great 
superiority  of  the  former : — 

Handicap  for  the  Trades  Plate  ;  2  miles. 

Penthesilea  (English) list    olb. 

Deception  (Colonial) ost.  tolb. 

Babylonian  (English)    9st.    51b. 

Van  Dieman  (Colonial) 8st.  I2lb. 

Beeswing  (Colonial) 8st.    61  b. 

Harold  (Arab)    7st.  lalb. 

Right  Royal  (Arab)  feather. 

Right  Royal  and  Harold  were 
two  good  Arabs ;  the  former  won 
the  Calcutta  Derby  (for  Arabs 
only)  that  year. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  since 
those  days  better  English  horses 
have  been  sent  to  India,  and  that 
the  Arabs  have  had  little  chance 
with  them.  Perhaps  some  of 
your  readers  can  furnish  records 
if  you  care  to  pursue  the  subject. 
But  one  thing  I  must  mention 
before  concluding,  which  is  that 
the  Arabs  of  modern  times,  at 
any  rate,  on  the  Bengal  side,  have 
not  been  nearly  so  good  as  those 
of  former  days.     The  reason  is 


obvious  that  formerly  all  the  great 
prizes  of  the  Calcutta  Turf  were 
contended  for  only  by  Arabs  and 
country-breds.  Gradually  the 
Colonial  and  English  horses  came 
in  and  superseded  the  Arab. 
Even  so  long  ago  as  1853  we  find 
"  Abel  East,"  the  then  Turf  Editor 
of  the  Indian  Sporting  Review, 
writing  thus:  "The  Arabs  for 
several  years  have  been  deterio- 
rating ;  we  have  seen  nothing  like 
The  Child  of  the  Islands,  Minuet, 
and  Honeysuckle  since  their  day, 
and  it  is  doubtful  if  we  shall 
again.  There  is  a  growing  dis- 
taste for  investing  capital  in  them, 
not  only  on  account  of  the  exorbi- 
tant sums  charged  for  them,  but 
because  they  are  being  super- 
seded on  the  Turf  by  Colonial 
horses."  The  three  Arabs  he 
names  who  were  running  about 
1847-50  were,  I  imagine,  the  best 
of  any  time  before  or  after. 
Charles  W.  A.  Oakeley. 


Trout  Fishing  in  Norway. 


It  may  safely  be  asserted  that  no 
man  is  less  disposed  to  be  com- 
municative upon  any  subject 
under  the  sun  than  is  the  angler 
in  regard  to  the  whereabouts  of 
his  favourite  places  of  resort ;  the 
partner  of  his  joys  and  sorrows 
knoweth  them  not,  and  in  order 
to  keep  the  secret  to  himself  he 
will  not  hesitate  to  tell  his  dearest 
friend  the  most  barefaced  un- 
truths. Yet  singularly  enough, 
of  the  many  delusions  under 
which  the  disciple  of  the  gentle 
art  labours,  one  of  the  most 
common  would  seem  to  be  that 
by  merely  putting  an  inquiry  in 
or  through  a  newspaper  he  will 
obtain  valuable  and  exceptional 
knowledge  from  others  without 
further    trouble.      Thus    for    in- 


stance, during  the  spring  months 
the  columns  of  the  London 
weeklies  devoted  to  sporting 
matters  swarm  with  anxious 
queries  in  regard  to  really  good 
trout  fishing  in  Norway,  the 
ingenuous  authors  of  these  being 
apparently  under  the  impression 
that  those  who  have  spent  years 
and  much  coin  of  the  realm  in 
exploring  Scandinavia  with  the 
very  object  which  the  querists 
desire  to  attain,  will  hasten,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  latter,  to  dis- 
close the  exact  position  of  the 
various  angling  paradises  they 
may  have  discovered.  To  expect 
such  philanthropy  in  regard  to 
such  an  extremely  get-at-able 
country  as  Norway  is  manifestly 
absurd  ;  places  where  good  trout 


44 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


fishing  is  to  be  obtained  in  that 
tourist-afflicted  land  are  known  to 
comparatively  few,  and  naturally 
enough  they  keep  their  knowledge 
as  long  as  possible  to  themselves. 
This,  it  may  parenthetically  be 
added,  is  no  easy  matter,  and  the 
man  who  has  been  fortunate 
enough  to  hit  off  a  good  thing 
would  be  well  advised  to  repair 
thither  unaccompanied  by  a 
regular  Volk,  as  it  is  through 
these  and  such-like  persons  that 
information  frequently  leaks  out 
in  regard  to  sport. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  trout 
fisherman  who  is  modest  in  his 
aspirations  may  obtain  fair  sport 
in  most  of  the  inland  districts, 
even  should  he  adhere  to  the  main 
routes  of  travel ;  but  whatever  his 
modicum  of  success,  his  feelings 
during  such  a  progress  are  sure 
to  be  lacerated  to  a  very  trying 
degree.  The  ordinary  Norwegian 
landlord,  whether  his  establish- 
ment be  termed  a  "  hotel,"  "  sana- 
torium," or  "  gaard,"  is  incapable 
of  looking  upon  the  speckled  in- 
habitants of  the  waters  in  any 
other  light  than  as  food  for  his 
guests,  to  be  obtained  not  by 
hook  or  by  crook,  but  vi  et  armis; 
he  has  no  conception  of  the 
requirements  of,  or  sympathy  with, 
the  angler,  and  even  although  the 
latter  may  prove  himself  quite 
capable  of  amply  supplying  the 
household  with  trout,  his  host 
will  certainly  continue  his  ob- 
jectionable methods  of  capture  all 
the  same. 

As  soon  as  the  ice  disappears 
from  the  lakes,  and  the  rising  air 
temperature  induces  the  fish  to 
emerge  from  the  depths  in  search 
of  the  food  which  is  to  be  found 
along  the  shores  and  in  the  bays, 
nets  are  brought  out,  and  remain 
in  constant  use  throughout  the 
summer.  The  deadly  "  otter " 
may  be  observed  constantly  at 
work,  and  in  autumn  the  spear  and 


the  net  are  mercilessly  employed 
in  the  spawning  confluents. 
Were  it  not  for  these  practices 
there  are  hundreds  of  sheets  of 
water  in  Norway  where  sport  far 
superior  to  that  obtainable  on 
such  Scottish  lochs  as  Shin,  Ran- 
noch,  Tummel,  or  Ericht,  might 
be  enjoyed  from  comfortable 
although  not  exactly  luxurious 
quarters,  and  which,  as  angling 
resorts,  would  undoubtedly  con- 
tribute largely  to  the  welfare  of 
the  inhabitants  in  their  neigh- 
bourhood— as  has  been  the  case 
with  the  salmon  rivers.  But  in 
spite  of  the  extent  to  which  his 
country  has  been  exploited  by 
foreigners  for  such  purposes,  the 
Norwegian  peasant  appears  in- 
capable of  appreciating  this,  and 
continues,  year  after  year,  to  do 
his  best  to  destroy  the  goose 
which,  if  properly  treated,  would 
yield  him  golden  eggs  innumer- 
able. 

Small  wonder  that  the  English 
trout  fisherman,  accustomed  to 
the  methods  which  obtain  at 
home,  so  frequently  returns  from 
Norway,  disgusted.  In  brimming 
lakes  and  foaming  rivers  which 
Nature  has  intended  should  be 
full  of  trout,  he  now  and  again 
succeeds,  by  dint  of  perseverance 
and  hard  work,  in  making  a 
moderately  good  basket ;  but 
however  great  his  powers  of 
eloquence,  he  will  be  unable  to 
dissuade  his  temporary  host  from 
using  his  nets  with  aggravating 
persistency  on  the  very  waters 
which  that  worthy,  in  the  adver- 
tisement of  his  establishment, 
refers  to  as  affording  excellent 
trout  fishing.  Disappointed  in 
the  lakes  and  streams  within  easy 
reach  of  the  route  he  has  selected, 
he  is  induced  to  make  toilsome 
journeys  to  outlying  Saeters  and 
other  uncomfortable  abodes  among 
the  hills ;  but  there  in  all  proba- 
bility he  finds  the  same  eminently 


I**]' 


TROUT    FISHING    IN    NORWAY. 


45 


unsatisfactory  state  of  matters 
prevailing,  and  retraces  his  steps 
in  disgust. 

Ignorance  —  comparative  or 
otherwise — of  the  language  adds 
no  doubt  to  the  difficulties  with 
which  the  new  comer  has  to  con- 
tend, but  the  acquisition  of 
reliable  information  in  regard  to 
any  given  spot  is  never  an  easy 
matter  even  for  the  foreigner  who 
can  "  snakke  Norsk."  Perchance 
he  hears  of  some  loch  which  is 
said  to  contain  abundance  of 
trout  and,  full  of  hope,  proceeds 
thither ;  but  on  arriving  on  its 
shores  he  finds  that  although  the 
statement  may  be  literally  correct, 
the  sheet  of  water  in  question  is — 
owing  to  its  formation  or  the 
local  conditions — practically  use- 
less for  sporting  purposes,  or  that 
on  account  of  the  height  above 
sea-level  at  which  it  lies,  it  cannot 
possibly  fish  until  well  on  towards 
the  spawning  time.  The  ordinary 
native  has  no  conception  of  the  con- 
ditions requisite  for  successful  fly 
fishing,  and  looks  upon  the  in- 
habitants of  the  lakes  and  streams 
as  articles  of  food  only,  to  be 
captured  wholesale  in  or  out  of 
season,  and  by  whatever  means 
lies  in  his  power,  entirely  without 
regard  to  the  future. 

Nevertheless,  as  already  re- 
marked, first-class  sport  with  the 
trout  fly  is  even  yet  to  be  found 
in  Norway  by  those  who  diligently 
search  for  it  in  their  own  proper 
persons  in  the  country  itself,  and 
not  through  the  medium  of  queries 
in  newspapers.  Occasionally  it 
happens  that  it  may  be  enjoyed 
from  beneath  a  roof  not  composed 
of  canvas ;  but  the  angler  who 
penetrates  to  these  outlying 
districts  must  be  prepared  to 
rough  it  in  one  way  or  another, 
and  not  infrequently  to    endure 


the  weather  hardships  with  which 
the  wild  reindeer  stalker  on  the 
"  high  fjeld  "  has  to  put  up.  Even 
among  the  mountain  tracks  to 
the  south  of  the  Throndhjem 
Fjord  there  is  yet  a  good  deal  to 
be  done.  Thus  for  instance  at 
Galten,  situated  near  the  southern 
end  of  the  "  Faemund  Sjo " 
(which  lies  between  Osterdal  and 
the  Swedish  frontier),  there  is 
some  very  good  trout  fishing, 
while  from  certain  other  points  on 
that  great  inland  lake  several 
excellent  subsidiary  water-systems 
may  be  reached.  For  an  expedi- 
tion into  these  regions,  however, 
a  tent  is  an  absolute  necessity, 
and  a  "  Berthon,"  or  other  port- 
able craft  an  immense  advantage  ; 
nor  are  the  pleasures  of  life 
enhanced  by  the  mosquitoes, 
which  are  pretty  nearly  as 
numerous  as  in  Finmarken. 

The  head-waters  of  the  streams 
which  descend  from  the  mountains 
on  the  eastern  borders  of  the 
Nordland  and  Tromso  streets  are 
well  worth  visiting,  and  on  the 
practically  unlimited  reaches  of 
the  Tana  and  its  confluents  there 
are  many  places  where,  during 
the  brief  Arctic  summer,  a  single 
rod  can  easily  capture  eighty  or 
one  hundred  pounds  of  grayling 
pretty  nearly  every  day.  But 
should  the  distance  not  be  too 
great,  and  the  insects  not  an 
insuperable  objection,  let  the 
angler  betake  himself  to  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Pasvig,  and  if  in  the 
month  of  July  upon  the  series  of 
lakes,  rapids,  and  magnificent 
pools  which,  under  that  name, 
connects  the  great  Errara  Lake 
with  the  Varanger  Fjord,  he  does 
not  kill  a  sufficiency  of  trout,  char, 
and  grayling  he  must  be  a  glutton 
indeed. 

G.  L. 


46  [July 

The  Fowler. 

Down  in  the  sleeping  vale  the  stream 

Sings  to  the  Summer  days, 
The  dark-green  trees  on  the  hillside  dream, 

Wrapt  in  a  golden  haze, 
O'er  the  chequered  floor  of  grassy  glades, 

With  the  sunlight  peeping  through, 
And  afar  the  distance  softly  fades 

In  a  line  of  trembling  blue. 

But  I  dream  of  a  time  when  the  North  East  gale 

Comes  howling  down  from  the  Pole, 
And  the  scud  leaps  ice  to  the  fisher's  sail 

From  the  crest  of  the  North  Sea  roll ; 
When  the  lashing  trees  on  the  hill  forget 

That  the  Summer  Sun  has  shined, 
And  the  smile  on  the  dancing  mere  grows  set, 

At  the  kiss  of  the  wintry  wind. 

And  I  think  of  many  a  happy  day, 

And  many  a  night  of  toil, 
When  my  craft  crept  home  in  the  morning  grey 

With  her  forepeak  choked  with  spoil. 
Wigeon  and  Teal,  with  pencilled  sheen, 

And  the  swart  of  the  game  Black  Goose, 
And  the  glorious  gloss  of  the  mallard's  green 

Above  the  milk-white  noose. 

There's  a  cry  by  night  on  the  wastes  of  mud, 

There's  a  rush  at  the  peep  of  morning, 
There's  a  hum  at  the  head  of  the  creeping  flood 

That  speaks  to  the  fowler  warning. 
There's  a  cloud  blown  up  to  the  leaden  sky, 

Then  down  to  the  wind-torn  froth, 
Like  smoke  from  a  liner  rolling  by, 

'Tis  the  Wigeon  back  from  the  North  ! 

From  tundras  lone  they  wing  their  way, 

No  keeper  marks  their  flight, 
No  warning  notice-boards  betray 

The  spot  where  fowl  alight. 
Great  ocean  guards  their  feeding  ground, 

And  rocks  their  resting  place, 
The  swinging  tides  their  only  bound, 

Their  only  trammel,  space. 

There's  many  a  vessel  sails  the  sea, 

From  *'  Tramp  "  to  ocean  "  crack," 
But  give  me  the  craft  with  the  six  inch  "free," 

And  the  hue  of  the  seagull's  back. 


i»»] 


THE   SPORTSMAN  S   LIBRARY. 


47 


Were  a  hundred  teeming  coverts  mine, 

And  I  were  left  to  choose, 
I'd  change  them  all  for  the  free  tide  line 

On  a  ten-mile  stretch  of  ooze. 

Ah  me  !     How  the  glorious  Winters  fly, 

Pass  with  the  joys  they  held, 
And  the  only  one  that  I  dread  draws  nigh, 

The  idle  Winter  of  eld. 
But  I'll  pray,  when  the  tide  of  Life  ebbs  fast 

And  sporting  days  are  done, 
That  the  sound  that  will  ring  in  my  memory  last 

Be  the  roar  of  an  eight-foot  gun  I 

Scolopax. 


The  Sportsman's  Library. 


The  editors  of  this  little  book  on 
ladies'  golf"  must  be  congratulated 
on  having  produced  a  really  useful 
work,  and  one  which  all  lady 
players  should  read  and  digest. 
Perusal  is  a  pleasure,  for  the 
contributors  write  brightly  and 
with  knowledge ;  digestion  is  easy, 
for  the  instructive  passages  are 
concise,  lucid  and  much  to  the 
point.  Whether  Miss  Boys'  dream 
of  lady  professionals  will  ever  be 
realised  we  venture  to  doubt, 
though  we  know  some  ladies 
quite  competent  to  undertake  the 
multifarious  duties  of  the  "  pro," 
saving  those  as  club  maker  and 
repairer.  The  work  may  be  cor- 
dially commended  to  every  woman 
who  plays  the  game,  and  to  all 
who  are  about  to  serve  their 
apprenticeship. 

The  ever-increasing  popularity 
of  the  national  game  brings  with 
it  an  ever-increasing  literature, 
and  in  the  case  of  the  publication 
now  before  us,t  photogravure. 
Mr.  C.  B.  Fry  has  within  the  last 

•  "  Our  Lady  of  the  Green."  Edited  by  Louie 
Mackern  and  M.  Boys.    Laurence  and  Bulfen. 

t  "The  Book  of  Cricket."  A  new  gallery  of 
fiuooos  players.  Edited  by  C.  B.  Fry  (George 
Mcwnes,  Ltd.,  Southampton  St.,  Strand),  in  about 
faarteen  parts  weekly.    Fart  I.,  price  6d. 


year  or  two  developed  exceptional 
powers  as  a  cricketer  and  as  a 
writer  on  cricket,  and  his  most 
recent  notion  will  probably  prove 
a  popular  one ;  at  any  rate,  the 
promise  is  great,  namely,  that 
41  The  best  efforts  of  modern 
photography  will  unite  with  the 
most  highly  skilled  knowledge  of 
the  technique  of  cricket  to  obtain 
accurate,  instructive  and  interest- 
ing work.  For  instance,  Mr. 
F.  S.  Jackson  will  appear,  not 
sitting  in  a  green-house  with  a 
bat  in  one  hand  and  a  ball  in  the 
other,  but  making  his  on-drive  or 
his  cut  in  a  true  and  realistic 
manner."  Here  is  a  good  idea, 
and  one  worthy  of  pursuit,  but 
the  difficulties  and  obstacles  which 
must  of  necessity  stand  in  the 
way  of  its  fulfilment  have  not  yet, 
in  our  opinion,  been  overcome  in 
the  first  issue  of  "  The  Book  of 
Cricket." 

We  have  received  a  small 
book,$  published  at  the  small 
price  of  one  shilling,  which  em- 

X  "Giants  of  the  Game."    Being  reminiscences 
of  the  stars  of  cricket  from  Daft  down  to  the 

S  resent  day,  by  the  Hon.  R.  H.  Lyttelton,  W.  T. 
ord,  C.  B.  Fry,  and  George  Giffen.  (London  : 
Ward  Lock  &  Co.,  Ltd.,  Warwick  House,  Salisbury 
Square.)    8vo,  fancy  cloth,     is. 


1 


48 


baily's  magazine. 


[July 


bodies  articles  by  the  Hon.  R.  H. 
Lyttelton,  W.  T.  Ford,  C.  B.  Fry 
and  George  Giffen,  upon  a  variety 
of  cricketers.  We  do  not  find  any 
notice  in  the  volume  that  much 
of  the  matter  has  already  sought 
the  public  gaze  in  various  jour- 
nals, and  indeed,  if  we  are  not 
mistaken,  some  of  the  phrases 
used  by  Mr.  Fry  in  his  part  of 
the  work  were  long  ago  incor- 
porated in  Prince  Ranjitsinhji's 
work  on  Cricket.  However,  there 
is  plenty  of  good  reading  in  the 
little  book,  which  is  well  worth 
its  published  price  of  one  shilling. 

Mr.  H.  A.  Bryden,  who  has 
written  often  and  well  of  South 
Africa,  has  given  us  as  his  latest 
work  a  tale  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  in  the  form  of  passages  in 
the  life  of  a  Scotsman,  Ronald 
Banner  man,  who  escapes  with 
Prince  Charles  in  the  year  1746; 
takes  flight  to  Amsterdam,  and 
getting  away  to  the  settlements 
of  the  Dutch  East  India  Com- 
pany, experiences  a  series  of  ad- 
ventures which  are  detailed  by 
the  author  in  his  most  interesting 
manner.* 

Mr.  F.  Vaughan  Kirby,  in  his 
new  book  on  African  sport,  +  dis- 
plays again  all  the  qualities  which 
made  his  "  In  Haunts  of  Wild 
Game"  so  commendable.  He 
deals  with  shooting  excursions 
made  during  the  last  five  years  in 
Northern  Portuguese  Zambesia 
and  in  the  Mozambique  Province. 
Mr.  Kirby  is  a  naturalist  as  well 

•  "  An  Exiled  Scot."  By  H.  A.  Bryden.  With 
*  frontispiece  by  J.  S.  Compton,  R.I.  (London: 
Cbatto  &  Windus,  1899.)    8vo,  fancy  cloth. 

t  "Sport  in  East  Central  Africa."  By  F. 
Vaughan  Kirby.     Rowland  Ward,  Ltd. 


as  a  sportsman,  and  the  fruit  of 
his  close  observation  of  the  ways 
and  habits  of  wild  beasts  lend  his 
pages  a  value  which  is  wanting  in 
many  otherwise  excellent  books 
on  big  game  shooting.  Reading 
between  the  lines,  it  is  very  evi- 
dent that  the  author  owes  much 
of  his  success  to  his  taste  of 
observing  the  habits  of  animals. 
He  has  had  his  full  share  of  luck 
both  good  and  bad  with  elephant, 
rhinoceros,  buffalo  and  lion,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  many  species 
of  antelope  still  to  be  found  in 
East  Central  Africa  by  the  man 
who  knows  where  to  look  for 
them  and  is  willing  to  devote 
time  and  trouble  to  the  task. 

Mr.  Kirby  has  some  exciting 
adventures  to  recount :  not  the 
least  singular  was  that  with  a  dead 
hippopotamus,  whose  jaws  closed 
upon  the  hand  with  which  he  had 
seized  its  tusk  and  nearly  drowned 
him.  His  adventure  with  the  lion 
who  sought  him  out  in  the  hiding 
place  whence  he  hoped  to  get  a 
shot  at  it  is  another  anecdote 
which  remains  in  mind.  There  is 
wealth  of  game  to  be  got  in 
Portuguese  territory,  but  travel 
in  that  "  sphere  of  influence "  is 
attended  by  annoyances  which  do 
not  occur  elsewhere  in  Africa. 
In  Nyassaland,  the  authorities' 
judicious  action  in  creating  game 
reserves  has  had  its  reward,  for 
animals  in  vast  numbers  seek 
sanctuary  in  the  protected  tracts. 
The  book  is  one  which  deserves 
cordial  praise:  the  only  defects 
are  the  absence  of  map  and  index  : 
a  work  so  full  of  interesting  facts 
requires  the  latter  appendage. 


i8»] 


49 


"Our  Van." 


Epsom. — Each  year  makes  the 
Epsom  summer  meeting  of  four 
days  more  and  more  of  a  toil  and 
trouble.  It  is  because  we  are 
getting  spoilt  with  new  ways  of 
going  racing,  and  because  there 
are  few  but  old  ways  connected 
with  Epsom.  Generations  hence, 
probably,  people  will  go  in  their 
tens  of  thousands  to  see  the 
Derby  run,  though  the  Oaks  may 
possibly  continue  to  interest  them 
less  and  less  with  every  year,  as 
it  is  now  doing.  You  can  do 
nothing  at  Epsom  without  bother, 
and  there  is  usually  a  good  deal 
of  heat  and  dust  added.  The 
stand  is  about  as  uncomfortable  a 
place  as  could  be  devised,  and 
arranged  especially,  it  would  seem, 
for  the  convenience  of  pickpockets, 
who  have  a  rare  time  here.  The 
paddock  is  a  couple  of  hundred 
yards  from  the  stand,  and  when 
there  it  is  like  a  morning's  cub 
hunting  finding  the  horses,  so 
enormous  is  its  expanse.  The 
reserved  enclosure  is  the  resort  of 
welshers  and  thieves,  and  every- 
where else  outside  the  Club  Stand 
there  is  crushing  and  crowding 
and  vulgarity,  in  varying  grades. 
Still  people  like  it,  and  more  of 
them  witnessed  the  Derby  run  in 
1899  *nan  on  any  previous  occa- 
sion, so  far  as  statistics  can  prove. 

The  attendance  on  Derby  Day 
was  a  direct  contradiction  of  the 
dictum  that  a  one-horse  race 
is  of  no  interest  to  the  public. 
My  impression  is  that  they  will 
come  to  see  a  good  horse 
practically  walk  over  when  they 
will  not  stir  to  witness  a  race 
between  commoners.  Those  who 
believed  in  Holocauste,  M.  de 
Bremond's  champion,  although 
beaten  the  previous  Sunday  in 
the  Prix  du  Jockey  Club,  the 
Derby  of  France,  by  no   means 

vou  lxxii. — no.  473. 


thought  that  Flying  Fox  had  a 
walk-over ;    nevertheless,   Flying 
Fox     maintained    his    odds  -  on 
position  in  the  betting.    When  M. 
de  Bremond's  grey  was  seen  on 
previous  days,  observers  suggested 
something  was  not  quite  right  with 
one  of  his  fore  legs.     There  was 
no  suspicion  of  anything  wrong 
as  he  walked  in  the  parade,  but 
the    critics    seemed    to  be  right 
after  all.    Sloan  had  been  engaged 
to    ride     Holocauste,     and    with 
orders    coming    from    a    French 
owner,  it  was  not  surprising  to 
see    him    pushing    along.      But, 
push  as  he  would,  there  was  no 
getting  away  from   Flying   Fox, 
who    went    by    at     Tattenham 
Corner,  and  led  by  a  length   or 
more    into    the    straight.     What 
Holocauste  would  have  done  had 
he  stood  up  does  not  signify,  for 
at  this  point  something  gave  way 
in  a  fore  leg,  the  result  being  the 
complete    splitting    up    of     the 
pastern   bone.     This  accident  left 
Flying  Fox  to  win   at  his  ease, 
but  not  so  much  at  his  ease  as 
when  he  cantered  in  for  the  Two 
Thousand  Guineas.     It   may  be 
that'  he  prefers  a  mile  to  a  mile 
and  a  half ;  but  for  the  present  I 
will  content  myself  with  pointing 
out  that  the  Rowley  Mile  flatters 
an  easy  winner  much  more  than 
does   the   Epsom    course.     It    is 
easy  to  recall  numerous  instances 
of    winners    coming    out   of    the 
Abingdon  Mile  Bottom  and  going 
up  the  hill  as  though  they  could 
keep    on    to    the    "  Top  of    the 
Town,"  but  we  never  see  this  at 
Epsom.      They      always      know 
where  the  winning  post  is  there. 

With  the  fillies  from  I4lbs.  to 
281bs.  below  the  colts,  the  most 
notable  item  in  the  Oaks  was  the 
poor  riding  of  Sloan.  It  is  not  often 
that  we  see  him  lose  on  the  pal- 


5o 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE 


[July 


pably  best  horse  in  the  race,  but 
this  is  what  he  did  on  Sibola.  He 
got  badly  away,  made  up  most  of 
his  leeway  going  up  the  hill,  and 
then  found  Madden,  on  Musa, 
too  clever  for  him.  Just  when  he 
wanted  a  breather,  Madden  was 
off  for  the  winning  post,  some 
three  furlongs  away,  and  though 
Musa  tired  dreadfully  she  just  got 
home  by  a  head.  What  Musa's 
class  is  has  been  shown  on  several 
occasions,  so  no  more  need  be 
said  about  the  Oaks. 

The  starts  on  the  New  Course 
are,  by  the  very  nature  of  that 
course,  so  absurd  without  the  aid 
of  the  starting-machine  that  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  deduce  much 
from  results.  In  the  longer  races 
the  form  of  Knight  of  the  Thistle 
in  the  Craven  Stakes  was  very 
noticeable,  and  one  was  reminded 
of  the  excellent  opinion  that 
Jewitt  always  had  of  this  horse. 

Visible  signs  of  the  new  station 
at    Tattenham    Corner    on    the 
South  -  Eastern      system      were 
apparent  in  the  shape  of  a  stand 
for  spectators.     When  the  station 
is  built,  as  it  will  be  next  year,  it 
will  be  found  to  have  a   stand 
a-top  of  it.     Then,   O  joy !    we 
shall  be  taken  to  and  from  Epsom 
for  4s.,  first-class,  instead  of  the 
7s.  6d.  and  8s.  "  no  class  guaran- 
teed," of  the  London  and  Brighton 
and  London  and  South- Western. 
Asoot. — Ascot    has    to   be  re- 
garded from  the  two  standpoints 
of  a  society  function  and  a  race 
meeting.     Neither  aspect  can  be 
said  to  take  much  precedence  of 
the    other,    and    making    every 
allowance    for    the     fashionable 
patronage  accorded  to  Goodwood, 
and  of  the  importance  attached  to 
races    run    at    Newmarket     and 
Epsom,  in  both  it  is  easily  first. 
Ascot,    when    circumstances    are 
favourable,  is  as  nearly  a   State 
function  as  we  are  ever  likely  to 
get  in  England,  for  the  gathering 


takes  place  on  Crown  property,  is 
under  the  management  of  the 
Master  of  the  Royal  Buckhounds, 
a  Government  appointment  and, 
when  the  Court  is  not  in  mourn- 
ing, Royalty,  which  may  be  said 
to  be  never  absent,  makes  its 
appearance  in  semi- State.  Ad- 
mission to  the  most  coveted  of 
enclosures,  that  denominated  the 
Royal,  is  obtained  by  grace  of  the 
Master  of  the  Buckhounds;  and 
at  no  other  meeting  in  the  king- 
dom does  any  one  of  these  several 
conditions  prevail. 

It  is  a  common  state  of  things 
in  racing,  in  which  pursuit,  theo- 
retically, a  great  deal  of  levelling 
goes  on,  that  the  people  who  pay 
the  least  are  the  best  off  in  the 
matter  of  comforts.      It  is  so  at 
Ascot,  those  admitted  to  the  Royal 
enclosure  paying  one -third   less 
than    those    frequenting    the   re- 
served enclosure,  *.*.  Tattersall's. 
Perhaps  it  was  a  conviction — tardy, 
but  better  late  than  never — as  to 
the  incongruity  of  charging  £2,  for 
a  Grand  Stand  ticket,  and  only  £1 
for  a  badge  to  the  Royal  enclosure, 
that  caused  the  last-named  to  be 
raised  this  year  to  £2.   A  sovereign 
extra  is  charged  for  admission  to 
the   reserved    enclosure    (Tatter- 
sairs),  perhaps  on  the  principle 
that  people  who  came  professedly 
to  bet  should  be  taxed,  or  possibly 
under  the  implication  that  addi- 
tional security  would  be  afforded 
for  the  extra  money.     Anyone  who 
imagined  this  would   have  been 
grossly  deceived,  for  in  Tattersall's 
ring    as    choice    a    collection     of 
welshers,  pickpockets^  and  thieves 
of  other  descriptions  was  gathered 
together  as  could  be  seen   any- 
where.      Strange  to  say,   seeing 
that  we  are  speaking  of  Ascot,  the 
gate-keepers  did  not  have  fair  play, 
they  being  interfered  with  in  the 
exercise  of  their  discretion  as  to 
the  desirability  of  excluding  bad 
characters  known  to  them.     Ascot 


i*99] 


"  OUR   VAN. 


tt 


51 


is  very  much  under  military  rule, 
be  it  understood,  and  to  most 
people  who  come  into  contact 
with  it  it  appears  in  the  light  of 
military  rule  of  the  old  school. 

The  announcement  that  there 
was  to  be  no  Royal  procession  did 
not  impress  many  people  with  the 
notion  that  the  meeting  would  be 
affected,  but  affected  it  was,  by 
something.  Perhaps  it  was  the 
easterly  wind  that  was  blowing, 
causing  fur  boas  and  tippets  to  be 
largely  worn  on  the  first  two  days, 
that  caused  the  Royal  enclosure 
and  paddock  to  be  less  densely 
tenanted  than  usual,  and  I  suppose 
the  same  cause  must  be  rendered 
accountable  for  the  comparative 
thinness  of  the  crowd  on  the  free 
side  of  the  course.  There,  as  a 
rule,  one  progresses  with  the 
greatest  difficulty,  but  even  on 
Cup  Day  this  was  not  the  case. 
In  the  face  of  a  record  Derby  Day 
these  things  seemed  strange. 

The  traditions  of  the  lawn 
behind  the  stand  were  well  pre- 
served, and  no  where  else  can  the 
public,  with  money  in  its  pocket, 
obtain  so  many  comforts,  some  of 
the  finest  obtainable  music  being 
thrown  in  gratis  with  the  Grand 
stand  ticket.  Each  morning,  an 
hour  or  more  before  racing,  the 
process  of  music  soothing  the 
savage  breast  could  be  seen  in  full 
operation  through  the  medium  of 
the  fine  string  band  of  the  R.A., 
the  seats  with  which  the  lawn  is  so 
liberally  bestrewn  being  tenanted 
by  numbers  who,  a  little  while 
later,  would  be  rending  the  air 
with  raucous  cries  indicating  the 
state  of  the  odds.  If  everything 
at  Ascot  was  in  keeping  with  this 
lawn,  what  a  perfect  place  it  would 
be! 

It  would  not  be  easy  to  suggest 
any  nicer  way  of  witnessing  racing 
than  doing  it  from  one  of  the  many 
private  boxes  with  a  private  lun- 
cheon  room  conveniently   placed 


on  the  other  side  of  the  passage. 
I  do  not  think  that  arrangements 
as  sumptuous  exist  elsewhere. 
With  the  internal  economy  of  the 
Royal  enclosure  I  can  have  but 
little  interest,  still,  I  cannot  help 
observing  what  I  see,  and  it  seems 
a  little  strange,  seeing  that  ad- 
mission to  the  enclosure  is  a  matter 
of  social  distinctiveness,  that, 
where  so  many  of  social  standing 
are  unable  to  gain  admission,  play 
actors  of  none  are  met  with  within 
the  sacred  precincts.  This  more 
by  way  of  comment  than  of  criti- 
cism. 

The  arrangements  of  the 
coaches  on  the  side  opposite  the 
stands  struck  us  as  being  an  im- 
provement, the  intrusion  on  the 
privacy  of  lunchers  by  minstrels 
and  other  pestiferous  nuisances 
being  rendered  more  difficult  than 
formerly.  The  plan  of  ranging 
the  tents  of  the  military  and  other 
clubs  in  one  line  was  also  an  ad- 
vantage. "  Clubland  M  and  the 
Tiffin  Club,  now  one,  occupied 
the  space  formerly  occupied  by 
White's,  and  if  anyone  be  curious 
as  to  the  attendance  at  Ascot  this 
year  I  think  he  could  gain  his  in- 
formation from  the  directorate  of 
this  convenient  institution,  who 
come  to  the  rescue  of  many  a 
hungry  and  thirsty  one. 

As  to  the  racing,  one  is  met  at 
once  by  the  very  serious  matter 
of  the  state  of  the  course.  It  was 
of  the  hardness  of  adamant,  as 
was  to  be  anticipated  after  the 
spell  of  dry  weather.  It  is  no 
new  thing,  this,  for  hard  ground 
at  Ascot  is  far  more  the  rule  than 
the  exception,  and  it  is  the  one 
thing  that  militates  against  the 
meeting.  It  is  a  dreadfully  cruel 
thing  to  tempt  owners  of  valuable 
animals  with  an  array  of  prizes 
such  as  is  met  with  nowhere  else, 
at  one  meeting,  and  then  practi- 
cally ask  them  to  compete  for 
them  on  what  is  little  better  than 


52 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


asphalte,  at  the  imminent  risk  of 
putting  an  end  to  their  racing 
career.  A  list  of  horses  that  ran 
their  last  race  at  Ascot  would  be 
appalling.  The  question  is,  can 
this  deplorable  state  of  things  be 
altered  ?  There  are  people  who 
say  that  it  can.  Lord  Ribbles- 
dale,  towards  the  end  of  his  term 
of  office  as  Master  of  the  Royal 
Buckhounds,  seemed  to  be  taking 
steps  in  the  right  direction,  but 
there  is  little  evidence  of  anything 
of  the  kind  at  the  present  time. 
The  grass  was  allowed  to  grow  as 
long  as  it  would,  it  is  true,  but 
we  are  surely  not  asked  to  believe 
that  a  few  inches  of  dried-up 
grass  would  make  any  appreciable 
difference  to  a  galloping  horse. 
Something  much  more  radical 
than  this  is  needed.  A  dressing 
of  peat  moss  litter  twice  a  year, 
in  autumn  and  spring,  is  sug- 
gested, and  a  trial  of  this  would 
clearly  be  better  than  nothing :  it 
could  do  no  harm.  The  alterna- 
tive expedient  is  watering  the 
course.  This  sounds  a  very  big 
order  in  the  case  of  a  course  a 
few  yards  less  than  two  miles  in 
circumference.  It  is  not  the 
money  that  would  stand  in  the 
way,  for  they  have  plenty  of  that 
for  the  purpose  ;  the  difficulty  lies 
in  getting  the  water.  In  this 
direction  it  has  been  pointed  out 
that,  close  by,  is  Englemere  lake, 
which  may  or  may  not  be  avail- 
able for  the  purpose.  In  case  it 
is,  and  in  the  event  of  water  being 
obtainable  from  some  other  source, 
it  may  be  useful  to  point  out  that 
they  make  very  light  of  the  water 
question  in  Paris,  for  it  is  flowing 
over  the  turf  night  and  day. 
This  explains  why  they  are  able 
to  run  steeplechases  at  Auteuil  in 
June,  though  I  do  not  wish  to  go 
so  far  as  this — only  to  ensure 
reasonably  good  going  for  our 
best  horses.  Owners  have  the 
right  to  be  the  first  considered  in 


all  matters  of  racing,  but  I  do  not 
find  this  by  any  means  the  rule. 
Perhaps  it  is  because  they  are  too 
complacent  in  most  things. 

The  Duke  of  Westminster 
looked  like  having  a  great  time, 
judging  from  the  way  he  began. 
Running  a  Royal  Hampton  colt, 
Good  Luck,  for  the  first  time  in 
the  first  race,  the  Trial  Stakes,  he 
won  that  and  divided  the  next 
race,  the  Forty-Second  Biennial. 
This  was  by  means  of  another 
colt  making  a  first  appearance,  he 
being  the  first  Grey  Leg  seen  out, 
and  named  Goblet — because  out 
of  Kissing  Cup — the  other  dead- 
heater  being  Lord  Rosebery's 
Ladas  colt,  Epsom  Lad.  They 
made  His  Grace's  horse,  Batt, 
favourite  for  the  Ascot  Stakes, 
but  they  must  have  thought  the 
others  a  sorry  lot  to  do  this,  and 
in  truth  they  were  not  of  much 
account.  But  it  had  been  dis- 
covered that  Tom  Cringle  was  a 
stayer,  and  at  last  he  found  his 
distance,  which  appears  to  be  two 
miles  and  over.  The  success  of 
Lord  Rosebery's  colt  was  the 
more  appreciated  because  Sam 
Loates  allowed  Sloan  to  hug  the 
delusion  that  he  was  winning  on 
Nouveau  Riche,  only  to  pass  him 
close  home.  Nouveau  Riche 
swerved  towards  Tom  Cringle,  as 
so  many  horses  do  in  Sloan's 
hands,  but  did  not  interfere  with 
him. 

Cyllene  had  been  put  down  as 
a  non-starter  for  the  Forty-Fifth 
Triennial  of  two  miles  with  such 
confidence  that  surprise  was 
evinced  when  his  number  went 
up  on  the  board.  The  race  was  a 
very  false  run  one,  the  pace  being 
moderate  for  a  mile,  then  slowing 
down  to  a  canter  rising  the  hill, 
after  which  there  was  a  great 
sprint  for  the  winning-post.  This 
sort  of  thing  is  a  two  miles'  race 
by  courtesy  only,  for  if  they  will 
but  condescend  to  travel  slowly 


1*99-] 


(( 


OUR  VAN. 


»» 


53 


enough  for  the  first  mile  and  a 
half,  a  sprinter  like  Ugly  could 
win  most  two-mile  races.  As  the 
race  was  run,  Greenan,  within  only 
iolbs.  of  Cyllene,  was  able  to 
make  a  fight  of  it,  Cyllene  not 
getting  away  until  close  home, 
though  when  once  set  going  he 
went  away  rapidly. 

Besides  the  Royal  Hunt  Cup 
we  saw  some  nice  racing  on  Wed- 
nesday. We  read  a  good  deal 
about  Eager's  "heavy  burden," 
but  who  could,  or  would,  have 
given  him  less  than  9st.  4.1b.  ?  If 
his  was  a  heavy  burden,  what 
about  that  of  Knight  of  the 
Thistle,  who  was  carrying  o,st. 
7lb.  ?  The  Knight's  party  ridi- 
culed the  idea  of  being  beaten  by 
Eager  at  3 lbs.,  and  no  doubt  the 
improvement  in  the  horse  justi- 
fied a  good  deal  of  confidence. 
But  that  very  excellent  judge,  the 
public,  were  not  of  the  same  way 
of  thinking,  and,  taking  Eager, 
"burden"  and  all,  to  their  arms, 
they  backed  him  till  he  touched 
100  to  30,  which  was  a  very  short 
price  indeed  in  such  a  race.  Had 
not  the  Prism — Heartsease  colt, 
now  named  Refractor,  shown  un- 
doubted improvement  (not  very 
much  was  needed,  seeing  that  he 
was  receiving  43ISS.  from  Eager), 
Eager  would  have  won,  "burden" 
notwithstanding.  As  it  was  he 
beat  Knight  of  the  Thistle  com- 
fortably enough,  although  there 
was  but  a  neck  between  them, 
and  an  instantaneous  photograph 
of  the  actual  finish  shows  Cannon 
at  work.  Had  the  race  been  be- 
tween Eager  and  Knight  of  the 
Thistle,  Mr.  Fairie's  horse  would 
have  won  by  nearly  a  length,  but 
when  the  race  was  clearly  won  by 
Refractor,  Eager  was  eased, 
letting  up  the  Knight,  and  an- 
other effort  was  necessary  to 
make  the  second  money  sure. 

Fascination,  the  smallest  tho- 
roughbred in  training,  deservedly 


won  the  Coronation  Stakes,  in 
which  she  showed  her  customary 
doggedness,  for  she  had  none  the 
best  of  it  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
home.  Longy,  the  Trenton  colt, 
added  to  his  already  good  reputa- 
tion by  winning  the  Forty- Seventh 
Triennial,  and  became  one  of 
those  about  whom  men  will  argue 
till  the  end  of  the  season  as  to 
which  is  the  best  twq-year-old 
out.  In  this  connection  there 
had  been  a  sad  disappointment 
on  the  first  day  in  the  running  of 
Diamond  Jubilee  in  the  Coventry 
Stakes.  Diamond  Jubilee  is  own 
brother  to  Florizel  II.  and  Per- 
simmon, and  as  he  had  been  tried 
to  be  something  very  good,  here 
was  next  year's  Derby  winner. 
Winning  the  Coventry  Stakes 
would  be  a  necessary  stepping- 
stone,  and  this  was  regarded  as 
such  a  certainty  that  6  to  5  was 
the  starting  price.  '  Diamond 
Jubilee  got  half  a  mile  nicely 
enough,  but  could  do  no  more. 

The  race  for  the  Gold  Cup  was 
a  piece  de  resistance  indeed,  which  is 
more  than  can  be  said  for  the 
trophy  itself.  For  all  I  know  to 
the  contrary,  it  may  be  worth 
twice  the  1,000  sovs.  paid  for  it, 
but,  artistically,  it  was  anything 
but  a  triumph,  conventionality 
marking  it  for  its  own.  One  has 
almost  the  right  to  expect  that, 
in  cases  like  this,  something 
should  be  done  for  art,  preferably 
native  art.  Have  we  then  no 
sculptors  capable  of  dealing  with 
the  horse  ?  The  "  piece  of  plate" 
for  the  Royal  Hunt  Cup  con- 
sisted of  a  pair  of  candelabra  and 
a  waiter  of  the  period  of  George 
III.  Very  handsome,  and  all 
that,  but  of  no  use  to  contempo- 
raneous art.  After  the  success  of 
French  horses  at  Ascot,  the 
presence  of  one  was  all  that  was 
wanted  to  give  the  race  an  extra 
fillip.  I  say  extra  fillip,  because 
the  meeting  of  Herminius  (5  yrs., 


54 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


gst.  4lb.),  Cyllene  (4  yrs.,  gst.), 
and  Lord  Edward  II.  (3  yrs.,  7st. 
7lb.),  was  quite  enough  to  ensure 
great  interest  being  taken  in  the 
race.  The  coming  into  the  com- 
bination of  Gardefeu  (4  yrs.,  gst.) 
made  the  thing  international. 
Had  Herminius  been  mine,  the 
race  would  not  have  been  quite 
so  interesting,  because  he  would 
have  been  scratched.  Personally, 
but  I  may  be  peculiar  in  this,  I 
should  not  run  a  horse  in  a  two 
miles'  race  on  hard,  very  hard, 
ground,  if  I  thought  one  of  his 
legs  to  be  so  queer  that  it  was  not 
safe  to  canter  him  to  the  post. 
There  was  a  second  French  horse 
in  the  race,  Le  Senateur,  but  he 
was  merely  pacemaker  for  Gar- 
defeu, with  whom  the  owner  de- 
clared to  win.  The  Frenchman 
wanted  a  strong  run  race,  and  he 
got  it,  for  the  time  was  faster 
than  last  year,  even,  and  that  was 
a  record.  But  it  did  not  suit 
him,  and  he  was  a  beaten  horse 
half  a  mile  from  home.  Both 
Lord  Edward  II.  and  Cyllene 
seemed  to  revel  in  the  pace, 
which  had  so  little  effect  upon 
Cyllene  that  he  raced  away  from 
Lord  Edward  II.  in  the  straight 
and  was  full  of  running  as  he 
passed  the  post,  eight  lengths  in 
front.  Judged  by  any  standard 
one  pleases,  it  was  a  very  great 
performance,  and  I  understand  it 
to  have  been  the  colt's  last  ap- 
pearance on  a  racecourse. 

The  great  race  almost  monopo- 
lised the  interest,  but  one  was 
able  to  note  the  appropriate  appear- 
ance of  several  new  ones  in  the 
New  Stakes,  the  best  of  these  being 
a  St.  Simon  filly  out  of  Andromeda. 
The  Gorgon,  who  won,  beating 
Bonnie  Lad,  Bonarosa  and  Jou- 
vence,  amongst  the  tried  ones. 

The  day  ended  with  comedy,  for 
we  saw  Bettyfield  ridden  to  victory 
by  the  most  recent  introduction 
from    America,    the    tiny     ReifF, 


whose  bodily  weight  is  a  matter 
of  4st.  Of  course  he  rides  in 
American  fashion,  leaning  over  the 
neck,  and  he  is  of  cucumber  cool- 
ness. Keeping  his  mount  straight 
is  not  his  strong  point,  and  he  was 
lucky  to  escape  objection  after 
sending  his  opponents  flying.  As 
he  was  carrying  a  large  amount  of 
dead  weight,  it  was  as  much  as  he 
could  do  to  convey  it  to  the 
weighing  room,  which  operation 
was  performed  to  the  admiration 
of  a  large  crowd  of  ladies. 

Friday  was  notable  for  the 
victory  of  Eager,  in  the  Woking- 
ham Stakes,  and  if  ever  a  good 
horse  deserved  a  good  win  this 
was  he.  Not  many  finer  horses 
are  foaled  than  Eager,  and  it  does 
not  seem  to  matter  much  whether 
or  no  he  can  stay  a  mile.  Those 
who  aver  he  cannot,  consider  their 
case  proven  by  the  way  he 
"  smashed  up "  his  field  in  the 
Wokingham,  carrying  gst.  71b. 
But  only  one,  and  that  a  very  lightly 
weighted  one,  beat  him  in  the 
Hunt  Cup,  so  there  cannot  be 
much  in  it.  Had  there  been  no 
Wokingham  Stakes,  Eager  might 
have  been  seen  in  the  Queen's 
Stand  Plate,  run  just  before,  and 
then  what  a  sight  we  should  have 
witnessed  with  Eager  (lost.  2lb.), 
Kilcock  (iost.  2lb.),  and  Ugly 
(gst.  131b.)  antagonised.  As  it 
was  we  saw  enough,  for  Kilcock 
was  at  his  best,  and,  sticking  reso- 
lutely to  his  task,  gave  his  old 
rival  a  three-quarter  length  beating. 
The  pair  were  split  by  Good 
Luck,  who,  carrying  8st.  131b., 
must  be  considered  to  have  run 
remarkably  well.  The  distance 
for  the  Queen's  Stand  Plate  is  five 
furlongs,  136  yards,  that  for  the 
Wokingham  Stakes  six  furlongs, 
and  it  may  be  questioned  whether 
two  better  sprint  performances 
have  ever  been  seen  in  consecutive 
races.  That  of  Eager,  of  course, 
stands  out  the  more  prominently. 


•899-] 


•  • 


OUR   VAN. 


55 


Beyond  these  races,  one  noticed 
the  promising  debut  of  another  colt 
by  Rightaway,  Elopement,  who 
won  the  Windsor  Castle  Stakes; 
that  M.  de  Br6mond  won  a 
deserved  consolation  race  in 
the  Alexandra  Plate,  with  Le 
Senateur;  and  that  the  meeting 
finished  with  another  match 
between  S.  Loates,  on  Santa  Casa, 
and  Sloan,  on  Jolly  Tar,  Loates 
again  having  the  best  of  it. 

It  may  also  be  added  that  book- 
makers had  a  shocking  time  of  it : 
those  that  meant  settling  on  the 
Monday,  that  is. 

Polo— The  Season. — A  favour- 
able change  has  come  over  the 
weather  since  our  notes  last  month, 
and  it  is  possible  to  say  already  that 
this  is  a  most  important  season  in 
the  history  of  the  game.  Never 
since  first  we  began  to  write  of 
polo  have  we  found  so  great  a 
difficulty  in  keeping  pace  with  the 
spread  of  the  game.  So  recently 
as  1894  it  was  possible  to  see  all 
the  matches  of  the  season  worth 
seeing.  Now  it  is  difficult  to 
choose  among  the  embarrassment 
of  good  things  which  are  offered 
to  us  each  successive  week.  If  we 
go  to  Hurlingham  we  miss  Rane- 
lagh,  or  if,  with  the  help  of  keen- 
ness and  a  hansom,  we  manage 
both,  how  is  it  possible  to  see  the 
doings  at  Eden  Park,  Wimble- 
don, the  London  Polo  Club,  or 
Fetcham  or  Stansted?  Yet  at 
all  these  clubs  first-rate  matches 
are  to  be  seen,  and  on  one 
Saturday  the  notes  of  no  less 
than  fourteen  really  good  games 
reached  me.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, all  that  can  be  done 
is  to  give  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the' 
play  of  the  month  and  the  polo 
topics  of  importance. 

"Baily"  and  Polo  Reform- 
It  is  impossible  to  watch  the  game 
and  not  recollect  how  each  of  the 
successive,  and  it  may  be  said, 
successful,   changes   in    the  polo 


rules  or  customs  has  been  advo- 
cated in  these  columns.  The 
measurement  and  registration  of 
ponies,  the  division  of  periods  into 
ten  minutes,  the  increase  of  the 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  um- 
pires, the  return  of  the  County 
Cup  to  Hurlingham,  the  County 
Polo  Association,  the  shortening* 
of  second-class  matches  to  forty 
minutes,  each  and  all  have  been 
advocated,  and  some  originally 
suggested,  by  Baily.  And  one 
thing  more  let  us  suggest,  and 
that  is,  to  measure  all  ponies  with 
their  shoes  on  at  least  a  quarter 
of  a  inch  thick.  But  wherever 
the  credit  lies  of  putting  that 
gentle  pressure  which  suggests 
movement  to  legislative  bodies, 
one  thing  is  certain,  that  each  of 
these  changes  has  been  followed 
by  a  rise  in  the  standard  of  play 
and  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
players. 

Hurlingham. — The  senior  polo 
club  has  given  us  some  capital 
matches  this  year,  and  there  have 
been  plenty  of  good  members' 
games  ;  but  of  course  the  interest 
of  the  month  has  settled  on  the 
soldiers'  tournament.  Indeed, 
since  last  the  "  Van  M  was  pub- 
lished, most  of  the  matches  have 
had  some  reference  to  the  Inter- 
regimental  contest.  Captain 
Egerton  Greene  and  Mr.  St. 
Quintin  have  obviously  given 
great  pains  and  thought  to  the 
selection  of  teams  to  play  test  and 
practice  games  with  the  regimental 
teams.  The  actual  progress  of 
the  tournament  is  noted  below, 
but  so  far  as  the  trial  matches 
helped  us  to  judge,  three  teams 
stood  out  from  the  others — the. 
Inniskillings  and  the  13th  and 
27th  Hussars.  The  former  seemed 
in  better  form  than  ever,  and  the 
13th  played  beautifully  all  through. 

Two  very  great  improvements 
in  the  way  the  tournament  was 
arranged  may  be  noted.    The  first 


56 


baily's  magazine. 


(July 


was  the  division  of  the  entries  into 
two  sections — A  and  B.  This  pre- 
vented the  interest  of  the  tourna- 
ment being  discounted  by  the  meet- 
ing in  the  earlier  ties  of  two  of  the 
best  teams.  In  consequence,  we 
had  two  very  interesting  days' 
play,  besides  the  final.  On  Mon- 
day, the  ioth  Hussars  began  the 
tournament  with  a  fast  game 
against  the  15th  Hussars.  The 
latter  team,  all  comparatively 
young  players  except  Captain 
Hambro,  played  an  excellent 
game.  The  ball  was  always  tra- 
velling from  one  goal  to  the  other, 
and  the  15th  attacked  nearly  as 
often  as  the  ioth.  The  former 
certainly  had  none  the  best  of  the 
luck.  Nevertheless,  even  had 
fortune  been  kinder,  they  could 
hardly  have  beaten  the  ioth.  The 
second  match  was  a  poor  one,  the 
13th  Hussars  fairly  smothering  the 
1  st  Life  Guards.  The  latter 
worked  hard,  but  the  13th  played 
a  beautiful  game,  and  won  by  ten 
goals  to  nothing. 

Tuesday  brought  about  some- 
thing of  a  disappointment,  though 
the  first  match  was  not  without  its 
lesson  for  polo  players.  The  close 
struggle  between  the  7th  Hussars 
and  1 2th  Lancers  in  the  Army  Cup 
at  the  Crystal  Palace  had  prepared 
us  for  an  even  game.  In  the  re- 
sult, the  7th  Hussars,  at  Hurling- 
ham,  won  very  easily  indeed. 
Most  people  attributed  this  to  a 
falling-off  in  the  play  of  the  12th 
Lancer  team,  but,  in  the  light  of 
subsequent  events,  it  would  pro- 
bably be  more  accurate  to  say  that 
the  7th  Hussars  had  come  on  very 
much.  This  team  attracted  the 
notice  of  some  very  first  -  rate 
judges,  and  they  were  as  well- 
mounted  as  the  Royal  Horse 
Guards.  A  week  before  the  tour- 
nament the  regiment  had  bought 
all  Mr.  John  Watson's  five  good 
ponies,  and,  in  addition,  had 
secured  for  530  guineas  Colonel 


Le  Gallois'  mare,  Flexible,  an 
animal  which  justified  the  pur- 
chase by  doing  good  service  in  the 
now  memorable  struggles  against 
the  Inniskillings  and  13th  Hus- 
sars. But  this  is  to  anticipate. 
The  7th  beat  the  12th  in  a  mode- 
rate game  with  very  high  scoring, 
the  final  state  of  the  boards  being 
nine  goals  to  five.  When  the 
Royal  Horse  Guards  came  out  to 
meet  the  Inniskillings,  everyone 
was  full  of  expectation.  Each 
year  the  R.H.G.  have  been  de- 
feated, but  they  have  always  given 
the  Inniskillings  a  great  deal  of 
trouble.     The  sides  were : — 


INNISKILLINGS. 

Mr.  Higgin. 
Mr.  Ansell. 
Mr.  Neil  Haig. 
Major  Rimington. 


ROYAL    HORSE 
GUARDS. 

Hon.  D.  Marjoribanks. 
Hon.  R.  Ward. 
Captain  Fitzgerald. 
Captain  Drage. 


The  story  of  the  game  is  soon 
told.  Both  sides  played  at  full 
stretch  for  twenty  minutes,  for 
this  time  the  Inniskillings  had  but 
little,  if  anything,  the  best  of  the 
match.  About  half  -  time  the 
R.H.G.  gave  way,  and  the  result 
was  not  long  in  doubt. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  Wed- 
nesday and  Thursday  that  the  in- 
terest grew  acute.  On  the  former 
day  we  had  the  meeting  of  the 
ioth  and  13th  Hussars,  to  which 
I  think  everybody  looked  forward. 
Hurlingham  has  often  been  less 
crowded  on  a  Saturday,  and  seven 
coaches  came  from  the  meeting 
of  the  Four-in-Hand  Club  in  Hyde 
Park.     The  sides  were : — 


13th  HUSSARS. 

Mr.  Wigan. 
Mr.  Church. 
Mr.  F.  Wise. 
Captain  Maclaren. 


ioth  HUSSARS. 

Mr.  R.  S.  Chaplin. 
Mr.  Dawnay. 
Lord  W.  Bentinck. 
Hon.  G.  B.  Portman. 


The  ioth  are  always  an  unlucky 
team.  Fortune  must  have  many 
good  things  in  store  for  them  so 
persistently  does  she  thwart  them 
at  polo.  The  closest  inspection 
through  powerful  glasses  failed  to 
indicate  much  to  find  fault  with  in 
their  good  hitting,  but  if  a  ball 


i»990 


"OUR   VAN. 


i» 


57 


aimed  by  them  could  find  a  clod 
to  turn  it  off,  it  did  so,  and  they 
did  not  even  score  a  solitary  goal. 
Nevertheless  the  better  team  won. 
Not  only  did  the  ball  seem  ab- 
solutely unwilling  to  go  through 
the  posts  for  the  10th,  but 
their  Back,  Mr.  Portman,  met 
with  two  accidents  during  the 
game,  which  cannot  have  im- 
proved his  play.  In  the  first 
period  he  got  a  very  nasty  blow 
on  the  mouth,  and  later  he 
fell,  or  rather  his  pony  fell  with 
him,  in  a  manner  which  must  have 
shaken  him  a  good  deal.  The 
honours  of  the  match  remain  with 
him  for  the  plucky  stand  he  made 
and  the  steady  polo  he  played  after 
these  mishaps.  Later,  Mr.  Church 
(13th  Hussars),  received  a  blow  on 
the  mouth  from  a  stick,  and  he, 
too,  was  somewhat  put  off  by  the 
accident,  though  it  made  little 
difference  to  the  dash  and  energy 
of  his  play. 

But  to  the  13th,  Captain 
Maclaren  remained  a  tower  of 
strength,  and  he  played  with  that 
perfect  style  for  which  we  look  to 
him.  Of  the  four  goals  made  by 
his  side  he  contributed  three,  two 
were  beautiful  shots,  the  third  was 
an  easy  one,  but  was  an  opportu- 
nity which  a  player  less  quick 
would  never  have  seized  at  all. 
The  10th  pressed  hard  in  the  first 
period,  and  several  times  later  in 
the  game,  and  at  no  time  did  the 
13th  have  a  commanding  advan- 
tage from  the  spectators  point  of 
view.  We  separated  after  the 
match,  feeling  that  we  should 
see  nothing  so  well  worth  watching 
in  all  the  finals  on  the  Saturday. 
But  Thursday  had  in  store  for  us 
the  surprise  and  the  sensation  of 
the  tournament.  Who  would  have 
supposed  that  in  the  match  between 


7th  HUSSARS  and  INNISKILLINGS. 

Mr.  Vaughan. 
Captain  Beresford. 
Major  Carew. 


Major  Poorc 


Mr.  Higgin. 
Mr.  Ansell. 
Mr.  Neil  Haig. 
Major  Rimington. 


the  older  and  the  lighter  team,  and 
one,  too,    comparatively    new  to 
English  polo  grounds,  would  win, 
and  with  something  to  spare.    The 
writer  has  not  yet  quite  recovered 
from     his    astonishment.       Not, 
indeed,    at    the    fact     that     the 
Hussars  won,  for  there  are  many 
uncertainties  in  polo,  but  that  they 
should  have  done  so  by  a  margin 
on  the  scoring  board,  as  between 
teams    of     such    quality.        The 
victory  was  undoubtedly  due  to 
the  superiority  of    the   ponies  of 
the   7th,    which     fairly    galloped 
down  the  Inniskillings.     As  soon 
as  this  match  was  over,  everyone 
at  once  jumped  to  the  conclusion 
that     the     7th     Hussars    would 
win  the  tournament  easily.     The 
general  idea  was  that  the  Innis- 
killings would    have    beaten   the 
13th  Hussars.     The  writer,  how- 
ever,   held   to  the   13th,   remem- 
bering how  they  had  in  past  years 
played  themselves  into  form  when 
short  of  practice,  and   how  they 
had  a  way  of  rising  to  the  occasion 
when  a  difficult  task  was  set  them, 
and  he  believed  that  the  superiority 
of  their  combination  would  bring 
them  near  to  victory.      Nor  had 
those  who  shared  this  opinion  any 
reason    to    regret   it,    for    if    the 
victory  rested  with  the 7th  Hussars 
after  a  splendid  struggle,  the  13th 
had  the   best   of    the    game    for 
something  like  four-sixths  of  the 
play.     Never  has  the  writer  seen 
such  a  wonderful  display  of  passing 
as  the    13th    gave.      Frequently 
every    member  of    the  team   hit 
the    ball  in  turn  without  the  ad- 
versary once  touching  it.     On  the 
other  hand,  the  defensive  play  of 
the  7th  Hussars  was  marvellous. 
It  seemed   absolutely    impossible 
for  the  13th  to  hit  a  goal,  or  even 
to  obtain  a   good   chance  at   the 
posts,    although   they    were  con- 
tinually pressing  and  often  close  to 
the  line.     Captain  Maclaren  never 
played    better,     and     Mr.    Wise 


5» 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINF. 


[July 


surpassed    himself.      The    latter 
player    was  often    greeted    with 
deserved  applause. 
The  teams  were : — 


7th  HUSSARS. 

Mr.  Vaughan. 
Captain  Beresford. 
Major  Carew. 
Major  Poore. 


13th  HUSSARS. 

Mr.  Wigan. 
Mr.  Church. 
Mr  Wise. 
Captain  Maclaren. 


Umpires — Captain  Renton  and  Mr.  Buckmaster. 

In  the  first  ten  minutes  each 
side  made  a  goal,  and  no  other 
score  was  made  till,  just  at  the  end 
of  the  game,  Major  Poore  hit  the 
winning  goal.  The  game  was 
played  right  through,  the  tactics 
of  the  13th  Hussars  being  admir- 
able, in  that,  while  they  kept 
going,  they  never  allowed  the  7th 
to  force  the  pace.  In  the  end,  the 
superiority  of  ponies  told,  though, 
as  I  have  said,  the  teams  were  so 
level  that  there  was  very  little  to 
choose,  and  if  the  writer  does  not 
say  the  best  team  won,  it  is  be- 
cause he  is  quite  unable  to  decide 
which  was  the  best.  If,  in  the 
Champion  Cup  or  in  other  tourna- 
ments, we  see  the  7th  Hussars  team 
against  Rugby  or  the  Old  Cantabs, 
it  will  provide  most  interesting 
polo.  The  Duke  of  Cambridge, 
himself  an  old  7th  Hussars  man, 
gave  the  cup  to  the  winners. 
There  were  many  distinguished 
polo -players  present,  including 
the  Duke  of  Connaught,  Lords 
Airlie  and  Valentin,  Lord  Harring- 
ton, Lord  Roberts,  and  a  whole 
host  of  soldiers,  past  and  present, 
including  Captain  Daly,  Sir  Walter 
Smythe,  and  Mr.  John  Watson. 
The  general  crowd  never  was 
larger  or  more  enthusiastic. 

The  7th  Hussars  have  won  now 
every  possible  trophy  in  England, 
Ireland,  and  India,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Irish  Inter  -  regi- 
mental and  the  Champion  Cup  at 
Hurlingham.  The  Inter-regimen- 
tal at  Hurlingham  they  have  now 
won  five  times. 

The  Polo  Pony  Society.— The 
writer  congratulates  this  society 


on  its  increasing  prosperity.  Over 
one  hundred  additional  members 
have  joined  the  society  this  year. 
The  President,  Mr.  Norris  Mid- 
wood,  and  the  council,  will  be 
continued  in  office  till  next  March, 
which,  as  they  have  done  ex- 
cellent work  for  the  society,  is  a 
wise  measure.  The  council  have 
co-opted  Mr.  John  Barker,  of  The 
Grange,  Bishop  Stortford,  the 
owner  of  a  breeding  stud  of  ponies, 
and  Mr.  Bassett,  of  Watermouth 
Castle,  to  fill  existing  vacancies. 
The  society  have  also  arranged  for 
a  spring  show  of  ponies,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  Hunters'  Show  in 
London.  If  the  P.P.S.  can  show 
polo-players  that  the  society  is 
encouraging  the  breeding  of  the 
right  sort  of  pony,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  convince  breeders  that 
there  is  a  market  for  animals  of 
the  riding-pony  stamp,  on  the 
other,  the  success  of  the  society  is 
established  from  that  moment. 
The  fact  is,  the  Hurlingham  and 
Ranelagh  Shows  provide  suffi- 
ciently for  those  who  wish  to  exhibit 
first-class  playing  polo  ponies. 
The  P.P.S.  needs  to  draw  to  its 
exhibitions  the  pony  which  is  not 
yet  a  first-class  polo  pony,  but 
which  has  the  necessary  qualities 
to  become  so  in  proper  hands. 

Railway  Charges  and  Polo 
Ponies. — A  letter  has  been  sent 
out  by  the  President  of  the  County 
Polo  Association  to  all  the  leading 
Railway  Companies,  asking  that 
polo  ponies  playing  in  matches 
may  travel  at  the  same  fates  as 
hunters — namely,  a  return  journey 
at  a  single  fare. 

Champion  Cup. — At  the  time 
of  going  to  press,  Rugby,  The 
Blues  and  The  Students,  are  still 
left  in  for  the  Champion  Cup,  and 
on  paper  it  looks  as  if  the  Nickalls 
Brothers  may  be  in  the  final  to 
fight  Rugby,  and  the  latter  club, 
with  the  Miller  combination, 
should  have  an  easy  win. 


1899.] 


"  OUR  VAN. 


>• 


59 


County  Polo. — The  following 
clubs  have,  since  our  last  month's 
notes,  joined  the  Association : — 
Catterick  Bridge,  Four  Shore, 
Holderness,  Chislehurst,  Hert- 
fordshire, Kingsbury,  and  North 
Wilts.  The  Hurlingham  Club 
will  give  the  winning  team  of  the 
County  Cup  four  Silver  Cups. 
There  was  a  tournament  of  the 
clubs  of  the  S.E.  division  at  Eden 
Park  on  June  26th,  all  which  is 
most  satisfactory. 

Some  of  the  County  Cup  ties 
have  already  been  played  off. 
Liverpool  has  beaten  Edinburgh, 
and  Catterick  Bridge  defeated 
Holderness.  Besides  the  great 
County  Cup,  there  will  be  many 
autumn  tournaments.  Ports- 
mouth, one  of  the  latest  additions 
to  the  polo  clubs,  means  to  have 
a  tournament  in  August. 

The  London  Polo  Club.— As  in 
duty  bound,  the  writer  went  to 
inspect  our  new  "  popular  "  polo 
ground  at  the  Crystal  Palace.  If 
Major  Herbert  and  Major  Peters 
could  not  lay  out  a  polo  ground, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  find  anyone 
to  do  it.  The  ground  is  similar 
to  Hurlingham  in  shape,  being 
somewhat  oval.  It  is  about  280 
yards  long  by  170  broad,  well 
boarded.  The  turf  is  very  level 
and  good.  The  accommodation 
for  members  and  the  public  is 
admirable,  both  in  extent  and 
comfort.  The  polo  matches  have 
been  a  centre  of  attraction  to 
many  visitors  to  the  Crystal 
Palace  who  had  never  seen  the 
game  before,  and  their  great 
tournament  for  the  Army  Cup 
was  a  bold  idea  and  a  great  suc- 
cess, entries  being  obtained  from 
all  the  leading  polo- playing  regi- 
ments. The  trophy,  a  really 
magnificent  cup,  was  eventually 
won  by  the  Inniskillings  after  a 
good  match  with  the  10th  Hus- 
sars. Readers  of  Baily  interested 
in  polo  will  follow  the  fortunes  of 


the  London  Polo  Club  with  atten- 
tion, as  should  the  experiment 
succeed  and  polo  become  a  popu- 
lar spectacle,  it  will  necessarily 
bring  about  great  changes  in  the 
conduct  of  the  game.  Every 
polo  player  past  and  present, 
should,  however,  take  a  run  down 
to  the  Palace  and  see  a  club  which 
is  quite  a  new  departure  and  an 
interesting  experiment. 

Banelagh. — The  quality  of  the 
play  here  has  been  high  and  the 
quantity  large,  yet  no  match  of 
this  year  at  any  club  has  so  far 
equalled  in  interest  the  final  of 
the  Hunt  Cup.  It  was  not  only 
that  it  was  a  close  match,  but 
that  throughout  the  game  the 
play  was  of  a  very  high  class  in- 
deed. That  the  Hunt  Cup  has 
taken  a  foremost  place  among  our 
annual  polo  events  is  of  good 
omen  for  the  game.  Mr.  Goodwin 
Kilburne's  picture  of  the  final  for 
1898  has  shown  what  a  wide  in- 
terest, even  outside  the  limits  of 
the  usual  circle  of  polo  players, 
this  tournament  excites.  This 
year  the  two  teams  represented 
the  same  hunts,  although  the 
eight  men  were  not  the  same,  the 
Pytchley  having  Messrs.  C.  and 
P.  Nickalls  to  represent  them  in 
place  of  Mr.  Cumberland  Bentley 
and  Captain  Drage.  The  game 
was,  however,  no  less  exciting, 
and  the  result  in  doubt  up  to  the 
very  last  moment,  when  Mr. 
Buckmaster  hit  the  winning  goal 
for  the  Pytchley  Hunt.  The  third 
game  of  the  rubber  will,  it  may 
be  hoped,  come  next  year.  The 
game  was  an  object  lesson  on  good 
polo,  as  may  be  gathered  from  the 
names  of  the  players  : — 


PYTCHLEY. 

Mr.  C.  Nickalls. 
Captain  Renton. 
Mr.  Walter  Buckmaster. 
Mr.  P.  Nickalls. 


WARWICKSHIRE. 

Mr.  F.  Hargreaves. 
Mr.  Mackey. 
Mr.  F.  Freake. 
Mr.  W.  J.  Drybrough. 


Both  sides  made  goals,  and 
then  there  was  a  severe  struggle, 
which  was  for  long  doubtful  until 


6o 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


(July 


the  Pytchley  men,  staying  better 
than  their  opponents,  got  away, 
and  Captain  Renton,  with  a  very 
fine  and  difficult  stroke,  made  the 
winning  goal,  Mr.  Buckmaster 
having  worked  the  ball  into  posi- 
tion by  a  series  of  the  strokes 
alternately  on  the  near  and  the 
off  side,  which  make  him  so 
charming  a  player  to  watch. 
These  few  words  can  give  but 
little  idea  of  the  interest  of  the 
game,  or  of  the  grand  polo  shown 
by  no  one  more  than  .Mr.  Jack 
Drybrough,  whose  defence  was 
beyond  praise. 

Polo  in  the  United  States.— 
The  first  tournament  of  the 
American  polo  season  resolved 
itself  into  a  pair  of  matches  which 
were  played  on  the  Meadow  Brook 
Club  ground,  Long  Island,  on  May 
15th.  For  the  Hempstead  Cups, 
open  only  to  teams  consisting  of 
players  whose  handicap  does  not 
exceed  five  goals,  two  clubs  en- 
tered : — Meadow  Brook,  repre- 
sented by  Messrs.  Stevenson, 
Eustis,  J.  Appleton,  and  Roby ; 
and  Westchester,  represented  by 
Messrs.  Gould,  Collier,  Beck- 
inau,  and  Herbert.  The  National 
Handicap  under  which  the  game 
was  played  required  Meadow 
Brook  to  allow  Westchester 
two  goals ;  nevertheless,  the 
former  won  easily,  hitting  seven 
goals  to  their  opponents'  four. 
The  net  result,  deducting  penal- 
ties and  allowances,  gave  Meadow 
Brook  6|  goals  against  3|  at  credit 
of  Westchester.  For  the  Cups 
open  only  to  teams  whose  aggre- 
gate handicap  is  over  20  goals, 
Newport  and  Meadow  Brook  en- 
tered. The  former's  team  con- 
sisted of  Messrs.  Mortimer, 
Cowdry,  Keene,  and  Waterbury. 
Meadow  Brook  played  Messrs. 
W.  Eustis,  Baldwin,  Whitney, 
and  Nicoll.  Newport  won  by  eight 
goals  to  five.  This  match  derived 
additional   interest  from  the  fact 


that  the  contending  teams  are  the 
favourites  for  the  Championship 
to  be  played  in  September.  At 
the  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
National  Polo  Association,  which 
was  held  on  May  15th,  a  change 
was  made  in  the  rule  restricting 
the  height  of  ponies ;  the  standard 
being  raised  from  14  hds.  1  in.  to 
14  hds.  2  in.  The  alteration  will 
make  little  difference  in  practice, 
as  no  machinery  to  compel  measure- 
ment and  registration  has  been  in- 
troduced, and  probably  never  will 
be.  For  several  years  past,  ponies 
which  exceeded  the  regulation 
14  hds.  1  in.,  and,  indeed,  often  ex- 
ceeded 14  hds.  2  in.,  have  beeri 
played  without  objection,  and  it  is 
not  anticipated  that  the  new  rule 
will  be  effective.  The  number  of 
clubs  forming  the  Association  re- 
mains the  same ;  three  resigna- 
tions and  three  new  accessions, 
leaving  the  total  at  twenty  clubs. 
Each  of  the  new  clubs,  unfor- 
tunately, possesses  only  two  or 
three  playing  members ;  in  point 
of  fact,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Meadow  Brook,  whose  playing 
membership  shows  an  increase  of 
about  twenty,  the  polo  clubs  in 
the  vicinity  of  New  York  show 
a  great  falling  off  in  the  number 
of  active  members.  The  Essex 
Club,  once  so  successful,  has 
been  dissolved.  Rockaway  has 
only  two  first  class  players 
left,  Messrs.  Cowdry  and  Keene, 
and  was  unable  to  put  in  the 
field  a  team  for  either  of  the 
Cups  played  for  on  May  15th. 
Altogether  the  future  of  polo  in 
the  States  is  not  so  bright  as  it 
was  a  few  years  ago. 

The  Hunt  Servants  Benefit 
Society. — This  society  wishes,  and 
rightly,  to  reduce  the  age  at  which 
members  can  begin  to  receive 
annuities,  to  fifty.  This  seems 
most  desirable,  when  we  consider 
that  a  hunt  servant  may  be  per- 
manently disabled  from  active  ser- 


1899.3 


"OUR  van. 


II 


61 


vice,  long  before  he  can  receive 
an  annuity.  The  income  from 
honorary  members  is  not  what  it 
ought  to  be,  and  it  is  decreasing, 
which  is  far  from  satisfactory. 
No  body  of  men  deserve  better 
of  another  than  do  the  kindly,  civil 
sportsmanlike  hunt  servants,  from 
hunting  men  as  a  body. 

Mange  and  Distemper. — The 
Association  of  Masters  of  Hounds 
are  going  to  try  to  grapple  with 
the  second  of  these  curses.  If  the 
committee,  Lord  Galway,  Mr. 
Wroughton,  and  Mr.  Dunn  can 
succeed  in  collecting  any  evidence 
that  will  enable  scientific  men  to 
find  out  what  that  scourge  of  our 
kennels  really  is,  whether  it  is  a 
kind  of  canine  typhoid  or  influ- 
enza, or  something  different  from 
both,  they  will  have  done  great 
service.  It  is  possible  that  this 
knowledge  may  be  made  by  col- 
lecting careful  and  authentic  sta- 
tistics of  the  disease,  and  the 
conditions  of  climate  under 
which  outbreaks  are  most  common 
and  most  virulent.  The  writer 
having  kept  a  pack  of  hounds, 
and  even  raised  some  puppies  in  a 
hot  climate,  found  great  benefit 
from  disinfectants  as  preventives 
in  those  countries.  Cure  there  is 
none. 

One  precaution  against  mange 
in  foxes  is  to  refrain  from  turning 
down  any  ;  and  if  it  can  be  helped, 
do  not  draw  coverts  in  which 
turned  down  foxes  are  known  to  be. 
If  a  mangy  fox  wanders  in  from 
another  country,  shoot  him,  but 
this  should  be  done  by  master  or 
or  huntsman  himself.  Some 
keepers  find  a  difficulty  in  dis- 
tinguishing sound  from  mangy 
foxes. 

Thorpe  Satchville  Beagles. — 
Mr.  T.  0.  Paget,  so  well-known 
to  readers  of  the  Field  as  "  Q.," 
held  his  puppy  show  at  the  end 
of  May.  Mr.  Charles  McNeill 
and  George  Gillson  were  judges. 


Two  hounds  distinguished  them- 
selves by  the  excellence  of  their 
offspring,  Rector  securing  first 
and  second  prizes  with  two  capital 
young  beagles,  while  Nominal's 
son,  Marksman,  was  placed  third. 
The  entry  consisted  of  seventeen 
couples,  of  which  four  couples 
were  put  on,  and  the  remainder 
sold.  Good  beagles  are  so  scarce 
that  it  is  wonderful  they  were  not 
all  sold,  especially  when  we  con- 
sider the  Thorpe  Satchville  suc- 
cesses at  Peterborough  of  late 
years.  Some  four  or  five  couples 
only  found  purchasers. 

The  Horse  Shows.  —  During 
the  early  part  of  June  a  number 
of  shows  were  recorded.  The 
Crystal  Palace  led  off  on  the  3rd,, 
and  clashed  with  the  Southern 
Counties  at  Windsor  in  its  two 
last  days,  and  then  came  Wemb- 
ley Park  and  Richmond.  Things 
were  not  altogether  lively  at  the 
Palace,  in  spite  of  the  liberal  sum 
(^"1,000)  given  in  prizes.  The 
entries  were  not  as  numerous  as 
they  should  have  been,  nor  even 
the  attendance  up  to  the  mark. 
Since  the  alteration  in  the  pro- 
prietary of  the  Crystal  Palace  has 
taken  effect,  the  management  of 
the  horse  show  has  been  shifted 
from  Mr.  Vero  Shaw  and  his 
assistants  to  Major  F.  Herbert, 
so  Mr.  Shaw  started  another  show 
on  his  own  account  at  Wembley 
Park,  on  the  two  days  before 
Windsor,  and  a  better  place  for  a 
show  could  hardly  be  found,  the 
judging  ring  being  about  the 
largest  in  England  ;  but  somehow 
people  will  not  travel  far  to  see  a 
horse  show,  that  is  to  say,  in  any 
great  numbers. 

In  this  cluster  of  shows  many 
of  the  horses  made  more  than  one 
appearance.  Mr.  John's  Gen- 
darme, for  instance,  won  in  his 
class  and  was  champion  at  Wind- 
sor and  Richmond.  Sir  Humphrey 
de  Trafford's   fine   chesnut  Ros- 


62 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


common  competed  in  several 
classes  at  the  Crystal  Palace, 
Wembley  Park  and  Richmond, 
with  varying  success.  At  Syden- 
ham he  gained  a  second  and  third 
prize  ;  at  Wembley  he  did  better, 
taking  three  firsts,  but  was  beaten 
for  the  championship  by  Mr. 
Stokes's  bay  Delight,  who  won  in 
his  class  at  Richmond,  as  also  was 
Roscommon,  who  was  third  in 
another  class.  All  along  the  line 
Mr.  Haines's  thoroughbred  ches- 
nut  hack  Herald  won  class  and 
champion  prizes,  seven  or  eight  in 
all.  This  was  something  of  a 
record,  as  most,  if  not  all,  the 
judges  were  hackney  men  ;  but 
they  knew  a  hack  when  they  saw 
one,  and  gave  the  prize  to  a  horse 
which  is  unquestionably  a  pleasant 
mount,  though  not  quite  the  equal 
of  some  Mr.  Gooch  has  shown. 
In  the  harness  classes  such  well- 
known  horses  as  Lord  Bath,  and 
Duke  of  York,  Marvel,  Sonata, 
Amazement,  County  Gentleman, 
and  Country  Gentleman  met  with 
the  usual  measure  of  success. 

To  Cavalry  Officers  and  others. 
— F.  I.  D.  writes  : — "  Boulogne- 
sur-Mer,  Concours  Hippique  du 
Nord.  —  This  Horse  Show,  of 
which  there  are  six  in  France,  is 
now  held  yearly  at  Boulogne,  this 
being  the  second  year  it  has 
taken  place  there ;  it  was  pre- 
viously held  at  Lille.  It  is  chiefly 
a  half-bred  show  to  encourage  the 
breed  of  the  district,  but  the  inter- 
esting feature  to  cavalry  officers 
is  the  riding  and  jumping  in  uni- 
form of  the  officers  of  the  district. 
The  Horse  Show  commences  on 
July  20th,  and  ends  on  Sunday, 
the  30th  (the  great  day),  and  there 
is  generally  jumping  every  after- 
noon at  two  o'clock,  the  morning 
being  devoted  to  sundry  trials, 
&c.  By  leaving  London  for  the 
Folkestone  boat,  the  show  is 
reached  most  easily,  as  it  is  held 
at  Place  de  Capicure,  which  is  at 


the  back  of  the  station  for  Paris. 
On  referring  to  Baily  for  Sep- 
tember, 1898,  there  is  an  inter- 
esting article  on  *  Chargers  * 
written  by  a  cavalry  officer  of 
large  experience.  On  page  187 
he  writes :  '  Certainly  we  have 
heard  the  most  flattering  accounts 
of  the  riding  of  subalterns  in  the 
great  continental  armies.  They 
may  not  be  such  good  men  across 
a  country  as  the  officers  of  an 
English  regiment,  but  for  any 
ordinary  military  riding  they  are 
reported  to  be  quite  as  efficient, 
if  not  in  some  respects  better. 
Nor  is  their  training  confined  to 
the  manege  alone,  for  there  are 
really  fairly  formidable  fences  in 
all  the  training  grounds,  and  every 
horse  must  negociate  them.'  " 

Horse  Boxes  and  Infection. — 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Board 
of  Agriculture  will  lend  ear  to  the 
appeal  made  by  masters  of  hounds, 
trainers,  exhibitors  and  others, 
urging  the  regular  and  thorough 
disinfection  of  horse  -  boxes  on 
British  railway  systems.  In  view 
of  the  elaborate  and  most  proper 
sanitary  precautions  which  the 
law  obliges  railway  companies  to 
observe  in  connection  with  cattle- 
trucks,  it  is  rather  anomalous  that 
the  existing  regulations  in  respect 
to  horse-boxes  should  be  carried 
out  in  so  perfunctory  a  manner  as 
they  are  without  interference  by 
the  authorities.  Needless  to  say, 
horses,  more  valuable  than  cattle, 
run  greater  risks  when  travelling 
by  rail.  Not  only,  as  the  me- 
morialists point  out,  have  influ- 
enza and  other  infectious  equine 
diseases  been  prevalent  of  recent 
years :  the  horses  which  arrive 
from  abroad,  America  more  espe- 
cially, in  annually  increasing  thou- 
sands, are  distributed  all  over  the 
country  by  railway  without  refer- 
ence to  the  state  of  health  in 
which  they  may  be  landed.  As 
matters  now  stand   the  very  in- 


i«99-l 


it 


OUR   VAN. 


it 


63 


sufficient  course  of  disinfection 
required  by  law — washing  and 
sweeping  out  —  is  by  no  means 
regularly  carried  out,  and  even  if 
it  were,  sluicing  down  with  cold 
water  does  little  or  nothing  to  dis- 
lodge germs  of  disease.  The  owner 
of  a  valuable  horse  which  is  sent 
to  a  race-meeting,  or  of  a  hunter 
which  is  "  boxed  "to  a  meet,  has 
absolutely  no  guarantee  that  the 
horse-box  his  animal  will  be  shut 
up  in  has  not  been  recently  vacated 
by  an  influenza  patient  which  has 
left  the  germs  of  disease  behind 
him.  There  is  far  more  danger 
of  infection  clinging  to  the  close 
horse-box  than  the  open  cattle- 
truck,  and  ample  reason  has  been 
shown  for  the  Board  of  Agriculture 
to  move  in  the  matter. 

Cricket. — A  very  extraordinary 
day's  play  at  Lord's  Cricket 
Ground  on  June  12th,  saw  a  fresh 
record  of  the  game  broken.  For 
many  years  the  performance  of 
Briggs  and  the  celebrated  wicket- 
keeper  Richard  Pilling,  for  Lan- 
cashire against  Surrey  in  1887  or 
thereabouts,  was  the  record  stand 
for  the  best  wicket  in  a  first-class 
match,  and  that  amounted  to  1 73 
runs. 

The  fresh  record  was  achieved 
in  the  following  fashion : — Middle- 
sex, batting  first  upon  what  ap- 
peared to  be  a  good  fast  wicket, 
failed  miserably  before  the  fast 
deliveries  of  Messrs.  Bradley  and 
Mason  to  such  a  terrible  degree 
that  at  the  fall  of  the  ninth 
wicket  the  total  score  only 
amounted  to  55  runs.  Then  was 
it  that  Mr.  R.  Nicholls,  the  old 
Rugbeian,  who  had  gone  in  at 
the  fall  of  the  seventh  wicket, 
was  joined  by  Roche,  the  Austra- 
lian, and  the  first  stand  of  the 
innings  was  made  by  the  last 
pair  of  batsmen.  Favoured  with 
some  luck  the  pair  successfully 
defied  the  Kentish  attack  for 
forty  minutes  before  the  luncheon 


interval,  by  which  time  they  had 
raised  the  score  to  97.  In  the 
afternoon  the  batsmen  settled 
down  to  their  work,  and  as  ten 
after  ten  and  fifty  after  fifty  were 
added  to  the  score  the  spectators 
were  roused  to  a  high  pitch  of 
enthusiasm.  For  two  hours  and 
a  half  was  the  Kent  bowling  de- 
fied, and  such  good  use  did  Mr. 
Nicholls  and  Roche  make  of 
their  opportunities  that  the  score 
was  increased  by  no  less  than  230 
runs  before  the  Hornsey  amateur 
was  caught  at  point ;  he  had 
scored  154  runs  by  plucky  lucky 
cricket,  and  Roche  had  made  74 
runs  in  very  sound  fashion.  This 
stand  is  an  interesting  and  ter- 
rible example  of  the  awful  con- 
sequences which  may  ensue  from 
a  dropped  catch.  Mr.  Nicholls 
gave  a  chance  when  he  had  scored 
but  two  runs,  and  had  this  chance 
been  accepted  Middlesex  would 
have  been  out  for  under  60  runs, 
and  again  from  time  to  time 
opportunities  were  missed.  To 
the  Kent  eleven  this  should 
prove  a  grim  and  wholesome 
lesson,  for  when  nine  of  their 
opponents  had  been  dismissed 
before  luncheon  for  an  aggregate 
of  but  55  runs  it  appeared  as 
though  they  were  likely  to  win 
a  match ;  but  before  the  day's 
play  was  at  an  end  they  looked 
very  much  like  recording  another 
defeat. 

To  demonstrate  the  fact  that 
each  year  run-getting  becomes  an 
easier  matter,  it  is  interesting  to 
recall  the  fact  that  up  to  August 
of  1892  the  highest  stand  for  the 
first  wicket  in  first-class  cricket 
was  only  277,  and  now  we  have 
actually  had  an  instance  of  the 
last  wicket  putting  on  230. 

The  Australian  team  now  with 
us  is  probably  for  all  intents  and 
purposes  as  good  a  side  as  has 
visited  these  shores,  and  the  task 
which  has  been  set  Lord  Hawke 


64 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE, 


[July 


and  Messrs.  W.  G.  Grace  and 
H.  W.  Bainbridge  of  finding  an 
eleven  of  England  which  can 
beat  them,  proves  a  very  severe 
one.  The  trouble  is  that  not  only 
are  the  Australians  better  than 
they  have  been  in  some  of  their 
more  recent  visits,  but  they  have 
brought  this  fine  combination  at  a 
time  when  the  Old  Country  seems 
to  be  lamentably  short  of  good 
bowling. 

Mr.  Kortright  is  hors  de  combat, 
Lock  wood    is    suffering    from    a 
strain    which    makes    him   unre- 
liable as  a  bowler,  and  increase  of 
weight  would  appear  to  have  de- 
prived the  great  Tom  Richardson 
of    much    of     his     sting,    whilst 
Robert  Peel,  who    for   so  many 
years  was  always  a  thorn  in  the 
side  of  our  visitors,  is   not  now 
playing    in     first  -  class     cricket. 
Hence  it  was  that  in  the  first  test 
match  at  Nottingham  on  a  good 
wicket  the  English  bowling  looked 
terribly  plain  and  simple.      Jack 
Hearne  and  Hirst,   Mr.   Jackson 
and    Hayward,    Dr.    Grace  and 
Rhodes,    such     was      the      menu 
offered  to    the    Australians,  and 
never  were  they  in  any  difficulty 
so  long  as  they    did    not.  try  to 
force    the    run-getting.     On    the 
other  hand,  when  the  Englishmen 
were  at  the  wicket,  Jones,  Trum- 
ble,    Howell    and     Noble    never 
looked  easy,  except  perhaps  when 
Ranjitsinhji    was    performing  on 
them,   and  it  was  instructive  to 
notice  how,  in  marked  contrast  to 
the    plain    English    bowling,   all 
these    Australians    were    getting 
plenty  of  spin  and  stuff"  on  the 
ball  all  the  time. 

The  balls  with  which  Howell 
bowled  Grace  and  Jackson  in  the 
same  over  in  the  second  innings 
were  beauties,  that  came  back 
about  six  inches  on  the  wicket, 
where  an  hour  before  the  de- 
liveries of  the  home  side  had 
looked  so  innocuous. 


Poor  Somerset  has  fallen  upon 
evil  times,  and  we  doubt  if  ever 
in  the  history  of  County  Cricket  a 
side  has  done  so  consistently 
badly.  The  side  made  a  terrible 
start  at  Lord's  when  the  play  in 
Wilfred  Flower's  benefit  match 
did  not  extend  to  the  end  of  the 
afternoon,  and  out  of  six  candi- 
dates for  "  spectacles,"  no  fewer 
than  four  secured  the  unenviable 
distinction.  This  was  the  third 
occasion  within  three  years  that 
Somerset  had  been  beaten  in  one 
day. 

Their  next  appearance  upon  a 
Metropolitan  ground  was  at  the 
Oval,  when  Surrey  compiled  a 
mammoth  score  of  8n  and 
Robert  Abel  signalised  the  occa- 
sion by  scoring  no  less  than  327 
runs,  carrying  his  bat  through  the 
entire  innings. 

Again,  on  June  14th  at  Ports- 
mouth, attention  was  directed  to 
the  Somerset  side  from  the  fact 
that  Major  R.  M.  Poore  suc- 
ceeded in  scoring  two  centuries 
in  the  same  match  against  the 
Somerset  attack.  Heroic  Mr. 
Woods  deserves  all  sympathy,  he 
has  struggled  bravely  against  ad- 
versity, and  really  it  is  crushing 
luck  that  he  should  have  time 
after  time  to  go  into  the  field 
without  six  or  seven  of  his  best 
men.  Mr.  Lionel  Palairet  is  for- 
bidden by  his  medical  adviser  to 
play  any  cricket  at  present,  Tyler 
has  been  incapacitated  through  a 
strain,  whilst  Messrs.  Hill,  Phil- 
lips, Richard  Palairet  and  Hedley 
all  have  other  claims  upon  their 
time.  We  hope  that  August 
may  see  the  lion-hearted  captain 
of  Somerset  better  supported  and 
winning  his  matches  on  the  home 
ground. 

The  second  Test  Match,  which 
took  place  at  Lord's  on  June  15th, 
1 6th  and  17th,  resulted  in  a  de- 
cisive victory  for  the  Australians 
by  ten  wickets.      England  won 


i8»] 


"OUR  VAN 


r  i 


65 


the  toss,  and  batting  first  on  a 
magnificent  wicket,  soon  lost  six 
wickets  for  the  paltry  score  of  66 
runs :  then,  however,  an  invalu- 
able stand  by  Messrs.  Jackson 
and  Jessop,  who  scored  73  and 
51,  the  innings  finally  amounted 
to  206,  and  from  this  point  it  may 
be  said  that  the  match  was  lost. 
The  Australians  settling  down,  as 
they  so  well  know  how,  took  no 
risk  and  gave  nothing  away, 
whilst  they  ran  up  a  score  of 
421,  of  which  Clem  Hill  sub- 
scribed 135,  and  Victor  Trumper, 
the  14th  man  and  last  choice  of 
the  Australians,  135  not  out. 
After  this  there  seemed  but  little 
hope  for  England  except  to  avoid 
the  single  innings'  defeat,  espe- 
cially when  the  first  three  wickets 
fell  before  30  runs  had  been 
scored.  Mr.  MacLaren,  with  a 
magnificent  innings  of  88  not  out 
and  Tom  Hayward  with  77  came 
to  the  rescue,  but  the  visitors 
were  only  set  26  runs  to  win,  and 
these  were  scored  without  the  loss 
of  a  wicket. 

This  match  bears  out  the  public 
form  shown  by  the  Australians 
against  the  last  team  which  visit- 
ed the  Colonies  under  Mr.  Stod- 
dart,  and  it  would  appear  that 
under  fair  conditions  the  Austra- 
lian eleven  just  now  is  considerably 
better  than  any  side  which  we  can 
put  into  the  field.  The  Selection 
Committee,  alive  to  the  promise 
of  disaster  at  Nottingham,  made 
considerable  alterations  in  the 
team  for  the  second  Test  Match, 
and  it  is  probable  that  for  the 
next  Test  Match  they  will  pro- 
bably still  further  re-model  the 
side.  The  inclusion  of  Mr.  A.  C. 
Maclaren  was  regarded  by  many 
as  a  bold  venture,  as  this  great 
cricketer  had  up  to  the  time 
played  no  first-class  cricket,  and 
when  he  was  bowled  by  Jones  in 
the  first  innings  for  but  four  runs 
the  critics  were  more  or  less  justi- 

vol,  jjcxii. — no.  473. 


fied.  His  magnificent  second 
innings,  however,  should  make 
his  place  secure  for  the  rest  of 
the  series.  It  was  an  unlucky 
thing  that  the  selectors  found 
themselves  unable  to  include  J.  T. 
Brown  in  the  team  after  his  two 
great  innings  against  the  Austra- 
lians in  the  match  immediately 
preceding,  when  for  Yorkshire  he 
made  over  80  runs  first  innings 
and  over  160  second  innings. 
Arthur  Shrewsbury  easily  retains 
his  position  at  the  top  of  the 
batting  averages,  in  fact,  on  June 
17th  his  average  was  over  56  runs 
per  innings,  whilst  the  nearest  to 
him  is  Ranjitsinhji  who  averages 
47,  and  yet  he  has  not  been  picked 
for  England. 

The  lesson  which  we  have 
learned,  or  should  have  learned, 
is  that  upon  batsmen's  wickets 
we  have  not  at  present  available 
any  bowler  who  looks  like  dis- 
missing the  Australians  for  any- 
thing under  a  large  score.  On 
the  other  hand,  our  batting 
against  them  upon  good  wickets 
has  proved  consistently  unreliable, 
and  since  it  would  appear  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  strengthen  the 
English  bowling,  for  a  reason 
analogous  to  the  one  that  caused 
the  Egyptians  to  fail  in  their 
supply  of  bricks,  it  would  cer- 
tainly seem  advisable,  now  that 
we  are  on  the  defensive,  with 
every  prospect  of  disaster  and  de- 
feat, that  we  should  strengthen 
our  first  line  of  defence  and 
pack  the  next  team  with  the 
soundest  and  safest  batsmen  to  be 
found,  and  to  avoid  any  specu- 
lative experiments  until  our 
affairs  are  a  little  more  settled 
one  way  or  the  other.  The  Eng- 
land team  seemed  incomplete  and 
unnatural  without  W.  G.  Grace, 
and  we  hope  by  the  time  these 
lines  appear  he  will  be  captaining 
the  side  at  Leeds  and  will  bring 
out   one   of    his    double   century 


66 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


innings      to      set      our    visitors 
thinking. 

Pictures   at    Dickinson    and 
Foster's. — River  men  who  may 
find  themselves  in   Bond  Street 
should  make  a  point  of  calling  at 
No.  114,  where  Messrs.  Dickinson 
and  Foster  are  showing  a  collec- 
tion   of     paintings    of    Thames 
scenery  in  oil  and  water-colour 
by   various    artists.     Mr.  .  Hugh 
Fisher  contributes  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  pictures  on  the  walls 
of  the  gallery,   and  exceedingly 
clever  much  of  his  work  is.     No. 
85,    "  Wittenham     Clumps,"     is 
perhaps  one  of  the  best,  viewed 
from   the  artistic  point  of  view, 
but  there  are  many  other  paint- 
ings which,   not    far    behind    in 
merit,   appeal    more    directly  to 
boating  men   and   lovers  of    the 
Thames.     "  Oxford  :    the  Barges 
from    the   O.U.B.    Clubhouse;" 
"  Folly   Bridge,"    will    recall    to 
readers  of  Baily's  familiar  scenes; 
"  Nuneham  Woods  "  is  a  charm- 
ing bit  of  landscape,  but  would 
have  lost  nothing  had  the  artist 
allowed  the  bather  in   the  fore- 
ground to  dress    and    go    home 
before    he    painted    the    picture. 
"  The  Leather  Bottel,"   peeping 
through  the  trees  which  surround 
the  famous  old  inn,  is  very  good. 
Windsor  Castle,  Eton,  and  Eton 
Chapel  are  represented  by  many 
canvases.     Mr.    F.   Whitehead's 
"Distant  View  of  Windsor  Castle" 
(7)  is  bold  and  clever,  and  Mr.  G. 
M.    Hinton's   "The   Brocas  and 
Castle"  (50),  happily  recalls  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  views  of  the 
castle  that  can  be  obtained.     Of 
the    Eton    pictures    Mr.    Philip 
Norman's  "  Eton  College  :  Even- 
ing,"    the    chapel    and    schools 
sharply  defined  against  a  sunset 
sky,  most  appealed  to  us  ;  it  is  a 
bit  of  work  that  remains  vividly 
in  mind.     Henley  and  scenes  at 
the  regatta  furnish   subjects  for 
half  a  dozen   pictures.     That  of 


"The   Island"   (61)   is,  perhaps, 
the  most  interesting,  full  as  it  is 
of  portraits  of  men  whose  names 
are  "  household  words  "  (perhaps 
"  houseboat    words "    would     be 
more  apropos  in  this  case !)  on  the 
river — Messrs.   Fletcher,   Muttle- 
bury,   Kent,   McLean,  Heywood 
Lonsdale,  and  a  score  of  others 
might  be  named.     We  must  not 
omit  mention  of  Mr.  B.  Brook's 
excellent  portrait  of  Mr.  Rudolf 
Lehmann  (52)  while  referring  to 
river  celebrities.     From  scenes  of 
sport  and  flirtation  we  pass  into 
another  room  to  inspect  a  work 
of  very  different  character,  namely, 
"At   Last,"   Mr.    Caton   Wood- 
ville's    powerful    picture    of   the 
bivouac  on  the  field  after  Om- 
durman.     In  the  foreground  on  a 
low  hillock    stands    a   Highland 
sentry ;  a  little  to  the  right  two 
or  three  Soudanese  crouch  over  a 
tiny  fire  whose    smoke    rises,   a 
perpendicular  thread  in  the  still 
night  air ;  the  long  lines  of  sleep- 
ing forms,  amid  piled  arms  touched 
by  the  moonlight,  fill  the  middle 
distance,   and    disappear    in    the 
obscurity  of  night.     The  glare  of 
flames  lights    the    horizon,   and 
shows  up  the  tomb  of  the  Mahdi, 
and  on  the  right  shine  the  lights 
of   the    gunboats    on    the    Nile. 
Messrs.    Dickinson    and    Foster 
have    had    the    honour    of   sub- 
mitting     this    work      for      Her 
Majesty's  inspection  at  Windsor. 
Sport  at  the  Universities. — 
As  usual,  the  past  month  has  been 
pretty  eventful.     Both  the  Oxford 
Summer  Eights  and  Cambridge 
"  Mays  "  attracted  record  crowds, 
and  some  sensational  racing  was 
witnessed.       New    College    and 
First  Trinity  retained  "  Head  of 
the     River "     honours  —  as    we 
anticipated — but  only  after  terrific 
struggles    with     Magdalen     and 
Third    Trinity    respectively.     At 
Oxford  the  most  successful  crews 
were    Worcester,    Keble,     Pern- 


I899-] 


"OUR  VAN. 


tt 


67 


broke,  Lincoln,  and  Wadham ; 
and  at  Cambridge,  Pembroke, 
Third  Trinity  II.,  First  Trinity 
II.,  Peterhouse,  and  Caius  II. 
As  the  outcome,  both  Universities 
will  be  strongly  represented  at 
Henley.  Just  before  the  last 
day's  racing  at  Cambridge  a 
testimonial — for  which  over  200 
guineas  was  subscribed  by  Light 
Blue  "  wet  bobs  " — was  presented 
to  Mr.  W.  A.  L.  Fletcher,  the 
famous  Oxford  oarsman  and 
coach.  This  in  recognition  of  his 
valuable  services  as  mentor  to 
the  Cambridge  crews  of  1898-99. 
Never  was  testimonial  more  richly 
deserved.  As  we  also  anticipated, 
R.  O.  Pitman  and  C.  G.  Johnston 

gfew  College)  easily  won  the 
xford  University  Pairs,  and  C. 
V.Fox  (Pembroke)  the  University 
Sculls.  The  last  named  com- 
pleted the  course  in  the  record 
time  of  7  min.  15  sec. !  Both 
cricket  teams  got  through  their 
home  fixtures  with  a  fair  amount 
of  success.  Out  of  five  matches 
Oxford  won  two,  lost  two,  and 
drew  another;  whilst  Cambridge 
won  two  and  lost  three.  It  is 
noteworthy  that  Messrs.  Cham- 
pain  (Oxford),  Moon  and  Taylor 
(Cambridge),  all  made  "centuries" 
against  the  Australians,  whilst 
the  Cantabs  made  a  first  innings 
total  of  43(3 — the  highest  made 
against  the  Cornstalks  so  far. 
As  we  write,  final  selection  of 
the  teams  to  appear  at  Lord's 
on  July  3rd  has  not  been  made, 
but  we  understand  that  Messrs. 
Champain  (captain),  Foster, 
Eccles,  Bosanquet,  Stocks,  Pil- 
kington,  Collins,  Martyn,  Knox, 
Lee,  and  Hollins  will  represent 
Oxford ;  and  Messrs.  Jessop  (cap- 
tain), Stogdon,  Winter,  Hawkins, 
Day,  Wilson,  Hind,  Moon,  Blaker, 
Taylor  and  Wright,  Cambridge. 
The  match  should  be  stubbornly 
contested  and — after  close  obser- 
vation   both    ways  —  we     fancy 


Oxford    will    repeat    their    1898 
victory. 

Up  to  date  the  only  Inter- 
"Varsity  contest  decided  this  Term 
is  the  annual  Polo  match  at  Hur- 
lingham.  As  last  year,  the  tussle 
requires  very  little  comment. 
The  Oxonians  always  held  the 
whip  hand,  and  won  as  they  liked 
by  11  goals  1.  Of  the  swim- 
ming, lawn- tennis,  cycling,  shoot- 
ing, &c,  competitions — yet  to  be 
fought  out — we  shall  speak  next 
month.  So  far  the  year's  record 
reads  : — Oxford  7  events,  Cam- 
bridge 7  events,  1  draw.  For  the 
tennis  matches,  played  simultane- 
ously with  the  cricket  match, 
Messrs.  Biedermann  and  Page 
(Oxford),  and  Messrs.  Bderlien 
and  Watney  (Cambridge)  will  be 
in  opposition.  We  anticipate  the 
victory  of  Cambridge  in  both 
doubles  and  singles. 

To  universal  satisfaction,  an 
athletic  contest  between  Oxford 
and  Cambridge  and  Harvard  and 
Yale  (U.S.A.)  Universities,  has 
been  arranged  for  July  22nd,  at 
the  Queen's  Club.  Recognising 
the  fact  that  Harvard  and  Yale 
have  been  thoroughly  cleansing 
the  Augean  stable  of  late  years, 
the  English  Universities  took  the 
initiative,  and  challenged  them  to 
a  trial  of  strength.  This  was 
promptly  accepted,  and  the 
American  team  sail  from  New 
York  on  July  5th.  The  pro- 
gramme will  consist  of  nine 
events,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Oxford  v.  Cambridge  meeting, 
with  one  exception — the  weight 
putting  will  be  eliminated,  and  a 
half-mile  included.  At  this  early 
stage  it  would  be  idle  to  talk  with 
any  assurance  of  the  issue ;  but  if 
coming  events  cast  their  shadows 
before,  perhaps  that  shadow  (in 
this  case)  is  speculative  thought. 
On  the  recent  form  of  both  teams 
we  fancy  the  Americans  will  excel 
in  the   High  Jump,    "Quarter," 


68 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE 


[July 


Half-Mile,  and  Hammer ;  and  the 
English  team  in  the  "  Hundred," 
Long  Jump,  Hurdles,  Mile,  and 
Two  Miles.  Anyway,  we  shall 
expect  to  witness  a  very  exciting 
fight  in  every  event,  and  the 
victory  of  the  Sister  Blues. 
Among  other  notabilities  who 
have  announced  their  intention  to 
be  present  are  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of 
York,  the  American  Ambassador, 
&c. 

General  news  may  again  be 
briefly  vouchsafed.  A.  M.  Hol- 
lins  (Eton  and  Hertford)  has  been 
elected  President  of  the  O.U.A.C., 
and  W.  G.  Paget  -  Tomlinson 
(Aldenham  and  Trinity  Hall),  his 
confrere  of  the  C.U.A.C.  Still 
further  tribute  to  the  value  of  a 
thew-and-thought  curriculum  has 
been  afforded  by  the  marked 
success  of  Cambridge  sportsmen 
in  the  Senate  House  just  lately. 
As  at  Oxford,  the  names  of 
athletes  simply  abound  in  the 
Honours  Lists  !  Among  other 
notabilities  who  received  honorary 
D.C.L.  degrees  at  Oxford  on  June 
21st  were  the  Earl  of  Elgin,  the 
Sirdar,  and  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes. 
Lord  Kitchener,  in  particular, 
received  a  tremendous  ovation. 
Congratulations  are  due  to  G.  L. 
Jessop  (Cambridge)  upon  being 
selected  to  play  for  England  v. 
Australia  at  cricket,  and  to  G.  R. 
Bardswell  (Oxford)  upon  his 
selection  as  captain  of  the  Lanca- 
shire County  team.  Rumours 
are  afloat  that  H.D.  G.  Leveson- 
Gower  (Oxford)  will  succeed  K. 
J.  Key  —  another  old  Oxonian 
skipper — as  captain  of  the  Surrey 
County  XI.  next  season.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  it  proves  the 
importance  of  University  cricket, 
from  an  educational  point  of 
view,  that  nearly  every  first-class 
county  team  is  now  captained  by 
either  an  Oxford  or  a  Cambridge 
man. 


Aquatics. — Henley, and  nothing 
but  Henley  I — it's  no  good  dis- 
guising the  fact. — Until  after  the 
Royal  Meeting  is  over,  little  else  is, 
or  will  be  spoken  about  in  aquatic 
circles.  From  a  racing  point  of 
view,  the  outlook  is  exceptionally 
rosy.  Foreign  crews  from  Canada , 
Holland,  and  Germany,  have  en- 
tered for  the  principal  events,  and 
English  clubs  are  rising  to  the 
occasion  in  the  keenest  possible 
style.  It  would  be  absurd  to  affect 
profundity  on  such  matters  at  this 
early  stage.  Exigencies  of  the 
press  constrain  us  to  write  these 
remarks  long  before  the  entries  are 
closed,  hence  anything  in  the  way 
of  criticism  or  discrimination  would 
be  ex  curia.  This  we  can  say, 
however : — rarely  have  the  Met- 
ropolitan, University,  and  other 
clubs  sent  forth  more  promising 
crews  than  this  year.  Both  the 
Canadians  and  Germans  come  over 
with  big  reputations,  but  we  shall 
be  hugely  surprised  if  they  succeed 
in  taking  away  any  of  the  classical 
trophies  from  Henley.  A  special 
account  of  the  racing  shall  be  given 
next  month.  Now  that  certain 
aggrieved  ones  have  conquered  the 
phantoms  of  their  own  imagina- 
tion, the  innovations  at  the  Royal 
Meeting  are  viewed  with  greater 
favour.  Not  only  will  a  clear 
course  be  assured,  but  the  comfort 
of  the  spectators  will  be  as  much 
looked  after  as  ever.  We  congrat u- 
late  Mr.  Secretary  Cooper,  and 
all  concerned,  upon  sticking  to  their 
guns  in  the  face  of  so  much  absurd 
opposition  1  As  regards  the  house- 
boat question — still  raging — we 
also  admire  the  firm  attitude  taken 
by  the  Henley  Stewards  all  along. 
Henley  Regatta  was  never  meant 
to  be — what  the  Shrine  of  Diana 
was  to  the  Ephesians  of  old — a 
great  and  unique  source  of  profit, 
it  is  this  commercial  aspect  for  ever 
facing  us,  which  is  slowly  but 
surely      injuring     all     sorts      of 


1899-1 


"OUR   VAN. 


>• 


69 


sport  in  England.  All  thoughtful 
people  will  appreciate  the  en- 
deavours of  the  Henley  authori- 
ties to  thwart  this  obvious  desire 
to  make  profit  out  of  their 
meeting. 

Harking  back  to  Henley  racing, 
it  is  regrettable  that  most  of  the 
great  Northern  and  Midland  Clubs 
still  show  marked  apathy  as  re- 
gards this  great  rowing  festival. 
They  seem  to  consider  it  merely  a 
Southern  function,  whereas  it  is 
admittedly  the  ultima  Thule  of 
amateur  oarsmanship  all  the  world 
over.  Once  again  the  fact  remains 
that  such  crews  will  be  conspicu- 
ous by  their  absence.  Happily, 
England  will  be  well  represented 
in  the  "  Grand,"  "  Stewards,"  and 
"Diamonds," — the  three  events 
upon  which  foreigners  are  always 
so  keen.  Our  present  form — and 
we  say  this  apart  from  any  desire 
to  criticise — Trinity  (Cambridge), 
Leander,  Ballioi  (Oxford),  and  the 
London  and  Thames  crews  are 
exceptionally  strong  this  season. 
It  will  take  an  ideal  eight  to  carry 
away  the  **  Grand  "  trophy  from 
the  old  country.  All  these  clubs 
are  also  sending  "  Stewards  " 
fours,  but  the  St.  George's  Hos- 
pital crew  will  have  to  be  very 
seriously  reckoned  with  for  this 
event.  Few  will  forget  the  sensa- 
tional defeat  of  the  Canadians  by 
inches  the  last  time  they  were 
here,  and  (from  all  accounts)  they 
are  even  stronger  this  year.  All  the 
same,  we  have  every  confidence  in 
our  crews  to  more  than  hold  their 
own.  With  B.  H.  Howell, 
(amateur  champion),  and  H.  F. 
Blackstaffe  (Vesta  R.  C.)  already 
in  splendid  form,  putting  aside 
many  other  vastly  improved  ex- 
ponents, most  "  wetbobs "  are 
perfectly  easy  in  mind  as  regards 
this  event.  By  the  way,  universal 
regret  is  felt  that  the  entry  of  Dr. 
McDowell  arrived  too  late  to  be 
accepted.      The  famous  Canadian 


is  persona  grata  with  all  sorts  of 
oarsmen  over  here. 

Until  after  Henley,  punting  will 
hardly  begin  in  earnest,  albeit 
we  have  noticed  a  goodly  number 
of  exponents  practising  for  the 
numerous  contests  later  on.  Sailing 
goes  on  merrily  almost  daily,  and 
the  Bourne  End  Week  this  year  was 
a  huge  success.  Glorious  weather, 
record  entries,  and  some  exciting 
racing  in  almost  every  event  were 
features  of  this  carnival  once  again. 

Socially  the  season  has  started 
with  a  flourish  of  trumpets.  The 
attractions  of  a  river  and  riparian 
life  seem  to  appeal  to  society 
more  and  more  every  year,  and 
small  wonder  !  What  says  Justin 
McCarthy  ? — "  What  can  beat  the 
'  Sweete  Thames '  of  Spencer  and 
Collins  ?  That  silver  name  re- 
calls pictures  of  osiered  reaches  of 
shining  spakes  of  water  flattened 
by  the  passing  oar,  of  green  lawns 
reaching  to  the  river's  lip,  of  back- 
waters where  the  water-rat  watches 
with  amazement  his  reedy  kingdom 
invaded  by  the  daring  canoe  and 
gliding  punt,  of  pleasant  rural 
inns  dear  to  anglers,  of  gardens 
and  locks  crowded  with  a  gaily- 
coloured  crowd,  and  all  sorts  of 
craft,  of  pleasing  weirs,  of  launches 
disturbing— like  Leviathan — the 
sanctity  of  the  river-god's  repose." 
Given  a  continuation  of  the  present 
glorious  weather  we  anticipate  a 
record  season  in  every  sense  of 
the  word. 

Golf. — There  are  many  points 
of  view  from  which  to  regard  the 
championships  of  the  year,  but 
probably  the  point  of  view  most 
common — certainly  most  common 
among  those  who  are  not  privi- 
leged to  see  the  actual  play — is 
whether  they  bring  to  light  any 
new  golfer,  and  so  regarded,  the 
championships  of  1899  cannot  be 
spoken  of  as  a  success.  The 
names  of  Mr.  John  Ball,  junior, 
and    Harry    Vardon,   the    actual 


7o 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


QULY 


winners,  are  familiar  as  household 
words,  and  have  been  for  several 
years,  and  there  is  not  a  player 
either  in  the  Amateur  or  the  Open 
Meeting  who  distinguished  him- 
self in  any  way  who  is  other  than 
a  well-known  golfer  of  established 
reputation.  Much  different  was 
it  last  year,  at  any  rate  in  the 
Amateur  Championship,  when, 
except  in  the  final  stages,  new 
men  were  conspicuous  for  success 
and  old  men  for  failure,  and  in 
1897,  when  the  first  place  was 
won  by  the  late  Mr.  A.  J.  T. 
Allan,  a  youth  of  twenty,  who 
had  never  been  heard  of  before 
except  in  his  own  neighbourhood. 
This  year  at  Prestwick  the  new 
men  went  down  before  the  old; 
Mr.  John  Laidlay,  the  winner  in 
1889,  beat  Mr.  John  Graham, 
junior,  the  rising  hope  of  the 
Royal  Liverpool  Club  ;  Mr.  Leslie 
Balfour- Melville,  who  has  been 
before  the  golfing  world  as  a  first- 
class  player  these  twenty  years 
and  more,  disposed  of  Mr.  James 
Robb,  St.  Andrews,  who  last  year 
defeated  Mr.  John  Ball,  junior, 
and  Mr.  Horace  Hutchinson,  and 
was  only  put  out  in  the  semi-final 
by  Mr.  Mure  Ferguson ;  Mr. 
F.  G.  Tait  beat  Mr.  Sydney  H. 
Fry,  the  young  wonder  of  the 
Mid-Surrey  Club,  at  Richmond; 
Mr.  John  Ball,  junior,  who  won 
the  Amateur  Championship  eleven 
years  ago,  beat  Mr.  R.  Maxwell, 
Tantallon,  the  young  gentleman 
who  two  years  ago  played  tre- 
mendous havoc  with  the  veterans 
at  Muirfield ;  and  so  on  down  the 
list.  Indeed,  the  feature  of  the 
meeting  was  the  success  of  these 
same  veterans.  The  actual  win- 
ner, Mr.  John  Ball,  junior,  showed 
that  he  has  lost  none  of  his  old 
fire  and  brilliance.  In  the  final 
tie  with  Mr.  F.  G.  Tait  he  played 
not  merely  sound,  good  golf,  but 
when  occasion  required,  he  let 
himself  out  and  ventured  on  such 


daring  strokes  as  one  is  more 
accustomed  to  associate  with 
younger  hands.  All  the  time, 
however,  he  was  persistent  and 
determined  as  of  old,  and  always 
playing  best  when  the  best  was 
required  of  him.  The  saying 
about  Mr.  Tait  always  winning 
his  morning  match  was  exempli- 
fied on  this  occasion.  At  the  end 
of  the  first  round  he  led  by  three 
holes,  but,  alas  for  Mr.  Tait, 
there  is  a  saying  that  Mr.  Ball 
invariably  wins  his  afternoon 
game,  and  this  too  had  its  illus- 
tration on  this  occasion,  for  while 
the  Scotch  player  slackened  per- 
ceptibly in  the  second  round,  the 
English  one  improved  in  his 
game,  wiped  off  the  lead,  tied  at 
the  eighteenth  hole,  and  with  a 
magnificent  three  won  the  extra 
hole  played  to  decide  the  tie. 

At  the  Open  Championship 
Meeting  at  Sandwich  the  amateur 
players  made  a  strong  bid  for 
success,  no  fewer  than  twenty-one 
of  them  entering.  None  of  them, 
however,  came  out  any  way  near 
the  top.  Those  accustomed  to 
see  first-class  amateurs  playing  in 
the  company  of  first-class  profes- 
sionals know  that  the  latter  almost 
invariably  get  a  few  more  yards 
out  of  the  ball  than  the  former, 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  enor- 
mous distances  to  be  covered  at 
Sandwich,  coupled  with  the  wind 
that  prevailed  on  both  days, 
account  for  the  want  of  success 
of  the  amateurs.  The  hero  of 
the  occasion  was  the  invincible 
Harry  Vardon.  All  the  honours 
fell  to  him  save  that  of  having 
the  lowest  single  score,  which  was 
divided  by  Braid  and  Jack  White. 
On  the  four  rounds  Vardon  came 
out  with  a  total  of  310,  an  ave- 
rage of  jyi  per  round,  as  against 
the  score  of  326  of  J.  H.  Taylor, 
when  the  latter  won  at  Sandwich 
in  1894.  Following  Vardon  came 
Jack   White    with    315,    Andrew 


*8»] 


Kirkaldy  with  319,  J.  H.  Taylor 
with  520,  James  Braid  with  522, 
and  Willie  Fernie  with  322.  Mr. 
John  Ball,  junior,  the  Amatecr 
Champion,  stood  far  down  the 
list  with  339,  and  Willie  Park, 
junior,  of  whom,  in  view  of  past 
success  and  his  match  in  prospect 
with  Vardon,  better  things  had 
been  hoped  for  and  expected, 
came  out  with  an  aggregate  of 
330,  which  of  course  placed  him 
well  out  of  the  prize  list. 

The  "Haunter's  Muk  '  <n 
the  Tiger. — In  the  last  issue  of 
the  Journal  of  the  Bombay  Satmwal 
History  Society  (Vol.  xiL,  No.  2/, 
Lieut.-Colonel  W.  B.  Ferris  re- 
cords a  curious  incident  which 
came  under  his  notice  in  1S94- 
A  tigress  with  a  male  cub  about 
three  parts  grown  had  established 
a  scare  among  the  people  of  the 
valleys  on  the  western  slope  of 
the  Amboli  Ghats  near  Goa — the 
one  small  remnant  of  Portuguese 
dominion  in  India.  This  tigress 
had  killed  several  men  and  women, 
but  according  to  native  report 
never  ate  human  flesh  herself, 
invariably  tossing  her  human  vic- 
tims to  the  cub.  For  this  reason, 
when  Colonel  Ferris  took  the  field 
after    the    mother    and  son,  the 


tJL-rT  iSS^Tt^i 


the  -eft  side  of  the  bcor. 

To  cut  the  scorv  sh~rr.  Cclr-d 
Ferris  shoe  the  cub  c=  New  Year's 
Day,  1^95 — six  weeks  after  he 
had  been  regaled  wiih  what  he 
naturally  accepted  as  a  **  yarn  '" 
born  of  superstition ;  and  en  turn- 
ing over  the  carcase,  which  had 
fallen  on  its  left  side,  the  "  man- 
eating  mark  "  was  fcusd.  Colonel 
Ferris  observes  that  the  people 
could  not  have  seen  the  mark  on 
the  living  beast ;  but  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  such  a  distinctive 
badge  has  never  before  been  seen 
or  heard  of  in  India,  it  is  only 
reasonable  to  conclude  that  those 
natives  had  had  opportunities  of 
noting  the  peculiar  marking  of 
the  cub. 


Sporting   Intelligence. 

[Daring  May— June,  1899.] 


The  late  Mr.  William  E.  M.  Watts, 
whose  remains  were  interred  at  Battle 
Abbey  on  May  i6tb,  was  the  last  of  the 
original  members  of  the  East  Sussex  Hunt, 
a  pack  he  assisted  to  establish  nearly  6fty 
years  ago.  Mr.  Watts,  who  was  joint 
master  in  1870-72,  was  out  daring  the 
whole  of  the  past  season. 

On  May  23rd,  H.R.H.  the  Prince  of 
Wales  held  a  sale  of  harness  horses  at 
Sandringham.  The  total  amount  of  the  sale 
was  11,581  gs.,  giving  an  average  of 
^178  per  animal*  The  best  price  was 
925  gs.,   paid  for  Sir  Edgar  Vincent  for 


Coop  de  Grace,  a  chestnut  gelding  4  years 
old,  15.14  hands  high. 

Lord  Esher,  for  many  years  Master  of 
the  Rolls,  died  at  his  residence  in  London 
on  May  24th,  at  the  age  of  84  years. 
Whilst  at  Cains  College,  Cambridge,  in 
1839,  he  rowed  in  the  University  eight, 
being  No.  7  of  the  winning  crew.  In  184 1 
he  was  stroke  in  the  crew  of  the  Cambridge 
Subscription  Rooms,  London,  which  won 
the  Grand  Challenge  Cup  at  Henley. 
Lord  Esher  retired  from  the  Mastership  of 
the  Rolls  at  the  end  of  1897.  His  lordship 
was  a  good  sportsman,  and  was  often  to  be 


72 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[July 


seen  at  Sandown  Park,  in  which  racecourse 
his  brother,  Sir  Wilford  Brett,  is  interested. 
Lord  Esher  will  be  remembered  as  one  of 
the  judges  who  in  the  Court  of  Appeal  laid 
it  down  that  a  racecourse  enclosure  is  not  a 
"  place  "  within  the  meaning  of  the  Betting 
Houses  Act,  a  judgment  subsequently  con- 
firmed by  the  House  of  Lords. 

The  celebrated  animal  painter,  Rosa 
Bonheur,  died  on  May  26th,  at  the  age  of 
77  years. 

The  following  appeared  in  the  Field  of 
May  27th  : — "  A  Fox's  Larder.— On  May 
1 8th,  we  found  a  fox's  earth  in  the  moun- 
tains near  here,  in  which  we  counted  the 
remains  of  fifteen  lambs,  three  grouse, 
three  hares,  and  a  weasel. — D.  J.  W. 
Edward es  (Gweedore,  co.  Donegal).  TBy 
"  weasel"  we  presume  the  stoat  is  intended, 
since  no  specimen  of  the  common  little 
weasel  procured  in  Ireland  has  ever  been 
produced  for  the  inspection  of  naturalists. 
—Ed.] 

Playing  against  Somerset  at  Kennington 
Oval  on  May  29th- 30th,  Surrey  piled  up 
the  huge  total  of  811  runs,  the  largest 
score  ever  made  on  the  ground,  and  rank- 
ing next  to  the  Yorkshire  total  of  887 
against  Warwickshire  in  1896. 

Abel's  contribution  of  357  runs  not  out 
places  him  next  to  A.  C.  Maclaren,  who 
scored  424  runs,  also  made  against  Somer- 
set, and  ahead  of  W.  W.  Read's  338,  made 
in  1887  ;  W.  G.  Grace's  famous  344,  at 
Canterbury  in  1876,  withstood  all  attempts 
to  overcome  it  until  A.  C.  Maclaren's  424 
at  Taunton. 

A  wonderful  stand  for  the  last  wicket 
was  made  at  Lord's  in  the  match  between 
Middlesex  and  Kent.  Nine  wickets  of  the 
home  team  were  down  for  55  runs  when 
K.  W.  Nicholls  and  Roche  held  together 
until  they  had  added  230  runs,  which  is  a 
record  for  last  wicket. 

With  the  victory  of  Flying  Fox  for  the 
Derby  on  May  31st,  the  Duke  of  West- 
minster has  won  the  event  four  times — 
Bend  Or  1880,  Shotover  1882,  and  Or- 
monde 1886.  With  the  exception  of  Shot- 
over,  all  were  bred  at  the  Eaton  stud. 

Flying  Fox  made  the  second  best  time 
for  the  Derby  (May  31st),  doing  the  dis- 
tance (1  mile  4  furlongs  29  yards)  in  2  min. 
42 \  sec.  The  record  is  held  by  Per- 
simmon, who  covered  the  course  in  1896 
in  2  min.  42  sec.  Previous  to  that  year 
the  best  was  2  min.  43  sec.  by  Isinglass  in 
i?93>  Ayrshire  in  1888,  Merry  Hampton  in 
1887,  Blair  Athol  in  1864,  and  Kettledrum 
in  1861. 

With  the  success  of  Flying  Fox  in  the 
Derby,  John  Porter  can  count  seven  win- 


ners prepared  by  him,  the  others  being — 
Blue  Gown  1868,  Shotover  1882,  St. 
Blaise  1883,  Ormonde  1886,  Sainfoin  1890, 
and  Common  1 891. 

The  particulars  below  are  from  the 
Sportsman  of  June  1st: — Flying  Fox 
added  another  to  the  several  previous 
instances  in  which,  with  odds  betted  on, 
the  favourite  has  won  the  Derby,  the  others 
being — in  1788,  Sir  Thomas,  6  to  <f  on  ; 
1789,  Skyscraper,  7  to  4  on ;  1792,  John 
Bull,  6  to  5  on  ;  1866,  Lord  Lyon,  6  to  5 
on ;  1886,  Ormonde,  85  to  40  on ;  1888, 
Ayrshire,  6  to  5  on;  1889,  Donovan,  11 
to  8  on;  1891,  Common,  11  to  10  on  ; 
1893,  Isinglass,  9  to  4  on ;  1894,  Ladas,  9 
to  2  on ;  and  1897,  Galtee  More,  4  to  I 
on.  In  1831,  Riddles  worth,  with  6  to  4 
betted  on,  was  second  ;  in  1870,  with  9  to 
4  on,  Macgregor  was  unplaced ;  in  1887 
The  Baron  was  second  with  5  to  4  on  ;  and 
another  instance  of  the  overthrow  of  a 
warm  favourite  was  supplied  in  1890,  when 
Surefoot,  with  95  to  40  betted  on  him,  ran 
fourth.  Ladas  was  the  hottest  favourite 
ever  known  in  connection  with  the  race, 
Galtee  More  coming  next  in  order  at  4  to 
1  on. 

At  Tattersall's,  on  June  1st,  polo  ponies 
realised  good  prices.  Mr.  John  Watson 
sent  up  four  which  brought  1,110  gs. , 
the  top  price  being  450  gs.  for  a  grey 
pony,  Lily.  Colonel  Le  Gallais  also  sold 
four  aggregating  885  gs.,  the  dun  pony 
Flexible,  realising  530  gs. 

The  7th  Hussars,  who  won  the  Inter- 
regimental  Polo  Tournament  at  Hurling- 
ham  on  June  10th,  are  the  only  team  who 
have  won  the  Cup  four  years  in  succession, 
viz.,  1883,  1884,  1885  and  1886,  and  it  is 
interesting  to  note  that  Major  Carew,  one 
of  the  team  this  year,  was  playing  for  the 
regiment  in  1 886.  The  following  are  the 
winning  teams  from  the  commencement  of 
the  Tournament  in  1878 :— In  1878-79T,  5th 
Lancers  ;  1 880-8 1,  16th  Lancers ;  1882,  5th 
Lancers  ;  1883-86,  7th  Hussars ;  1887,  5th 
Lancers;  i888>  10th  Hussars;  188991, 
9th  Lancers;  1892,  13th  Hussars;  1893, 
10th  Hussars;  1894-95,  13th  Hussars; 
1896,  9th  Lancers;  1897-98,  Inniskilling 
Dragoons ;  1899,  7lh  Hussars. 

The  celebrated  greyhound  Fullerton  died 
on  Tune  5th  at  Short  Piatt  Tower,  North- 
umberland, where  he  was  born  and  reared 
by  Mr.  Edward  Dent.  Fullerton,  who 
was  whelped  in  April,  1887,  divided  one 
and  then  won  three  Waterloo  Cups  in  four 
successive  years. 

As  the  result  of  an  accident,  Major  the 
Hon.  Arthur  Stewart  Hardinge  died  in 
London  on  June  5th,  in  his  fortieth  year. 
Major  Hardinge  had  seen  a  considerable 
amount  of  active  service,  having  been  in 


1899-3 


SPORTING   INTELLIGENCE. 


73 


the  Zulu  War  of  1 879,  and  in  the  Boer 
Campaign  of  1881,  the  Burma  War  of  1886, 
and  with  the  Lagos  Expeditionary  Force  in 
1891.  At  the  hunt  meetings  held  in  the 
South  Major  Jlardinge  was  one  of  the 
best-known  gentlemen  riders,  and  his 
services  were  in  much  request.  Among 
the  horses  he  owned  was  Waitaki,  who 
won  for  him  quite  a  number  of  races  at 
south-country  meetings,  including  the 
United  Hunt,  Eridge  Hunt,  Southdown 
Hunt,  East  Sussex  Hunt,  Plump  ton,  San- 
down  Park,  Lingfield,  and  Folkestone. 

It  is  reported  (June  8th)  that  a  very  fine 
trout  was  taken  in  the  Thames  at  Radcot. 
The  fish  weighed  171b.  302. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Isaac  Stordy  occurred 
on  June  8th  at  Kirkandrews-on-Eden.  Mr. 
Stordy  was  joint- master  and  huntsman  of 
the  Thurstonfield  Hounds,  a  pack  of  ten 
couples,  which  have  regularly  hunted  foxes 
in  North  Cumberland  since  1877.  Prior  to 
that  date  they  hunted  hares.  Mr.  Isaac 
Stordy  spent  some  period  of  his  life  in 
America,  but  returning  to  his  native  place, 
he  organised  a  pack  of  otter-hounds  at 
Thurstonfield,  and  shortly  afterwards  estab- 
lished the  harriers.  The  Stordy  family, 
says  ffarse  and  Hound,  have  dwelt  in  the 
locality  of  Carlisle  for  many  generations, 
and  Mr.  Stordy' s  death  is  greatly  lamented 
by  North  Cumberland  sportsmen. 

At  the  Coney  Island  Athletic  Club  on 
June  9th,  Fitzsimmons  fought  Jim  Jefferies 
of  California  in  defence  of  his  title  as 
heavyweight  champion  of  the  world.  After 
a  well -contested  battle,  Jefferies  cave  a 
knockout  blow  in  the  eleventh  round. 

In  the  yacht  race  from  the  Nore  to  Dover, 
for  the  Queen's  Cup  on  June  10th,  Sir  S. 
King's  Caprice  proved  the  winner,  Mr. 
Carl  von  Sie main's  Tutty  taking  second 
place.     Eleven  yachts  competed. 

Mr.  \V.  S.  Heavens,  well  known  to 
racing  men  as  station-master  of  Newmarket, 
died  on  June  15th.  Mr.  Heavens  had  held 
his  post  for  thirty  years. 

The  sale  of  the  Benham  yearlings  was 
held  at  Ascot  on  Wednesday  and  Friday, 
June  14th  and  1 6th.  On  the  first  day  the 
best  price  paid  was  for  a  bay  colt  by  Buc- 
caneer— La  Gitana,  by  Mask,  purchased 
by  Mr.  J.  Russel  for  500  gs.  Better  prices 
were  obtained  on  Friday,  when  Mr.  J.  Peace 


gave  750  gs.  for  a  bay  filly  by  Carbine, 
dam  Ariette,  by  Ayrshire.  Mr.  Walmsley 
bought  the  brown  filly  by  Loved  One — 
Lauretta,  by  Petrarch,  at  730  gs.,  the  same 
gentleman  taking  a  bay  colt  by  Buccaneer, 
dam  Woodroof,  by  Cymbal,  at  610  gs. 
A  bay  colt  by  Trenton — Airedale,  was  pur- 
chased by  Sir  E.  Cassel  for  530  gs.  Mr. 
T.  F.  Joy  secured  a  bay  Chittabob  colt  for 
510  gs. 

An  interesting  statement  was  made  in 
the  House  of  Commons  in  answer  to  Major 
Rasch,  who  asked  the  Under  Secretary  of 
State  for  War  the  average  age  of  field  bat- 
ter)' horses  on  the  home  establishment,  of 
the  Royal  Horse  Artillery,  and  of  the 
cavalry.  Mr.  Wyndham  replied  that  the 
average  age  of  cavalry  horses  was  eight 
years  and  ten  months,  in  the  Royal  Horse 
Artillery  nine  years,  and  in  the  field  artil- 
lery eight  years  and  ten  months. 

Early  in  June  the  celebrated  sire  Galopin 
died  suddenly  at  Blankney,  where  he  had 
been  standing  since  the  sale  of  Prince 
Batthyany's  stud  in  1883.  Galopin,  by 
Vedette — Flying  Duchess,  was  bred  early 
in  1872  by  Mr.  W.  Taylor  Sharpe,  and 
disposed  of  as  a  foal  to  Mr.  Blenkiron, 
ana  the  next  year  at  the  sale  of  the  Middle 
Park  yearlings  Prince  Batthyany  bought  the 
colt  for  520  guineas.  During  his  Turf 
career,  Galopin  ran  with  much  success, 
and  was  only  once  beaten,  in  the  Middle 
Park  Plate.  At  the  end  of  his  three -year-old 
career  he  went  to  the  stud,  and  has  been 
a  wonderful  success,  his  stock  from  1879 
up  to  date  having  won  457i  races,  worth 
£248,800,  and  so  recently  as  last  year  he 
headed  the  list  of  winning  sires  with 
^21,698  to  his  credit.  The  grea'test  horse 
by  Galopin  was  St.  Simon  ;  he  also  sired 
Donovan,  Corrie  Roy,  and  Gal  Hard,  and 
many  others. 

News  comes  of  the  death  in  Australia, 
at  the  age  of  29  years,  of  the  stallion 
Gang  Forward.  Bred  by  the  late  Mr. 
W.  S.  Crawfurd,  by  Stockwell  out  of  Lady 
Mary,  Gang  Forward  did  good  service,  his 
greatest  success  being  the  Two  Thousand 
Guineas,  won  by  a  short  head  from  Kaiser ; 
with  whom  he  also  ran  a  dead -heat  for 
second  place  in  the  Derby,  a  length  and  a 
half  behind  Doncaster.  In  1876  Gang 
Forward  was  sold  to  go  to  the  Antipodes, 
where  he  proved  a  fairly  successful  stallion. 


74 


BA1LY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[July 


TURF. 

YORK.— Spring  Meeting. 

May  16th. — The  Great  Noithern  Handicap 
Plate  of  445  sovs.  ;  one  mile  and  a 
half. 

Mr.  E.  Carlton's  ch.  c.  Flavus, 
by  Hampton — Alvara,  4  yrs., 
7st.  I2lb F.  Leader    1 

Mr.  G.  H.  Plummets  b.  f.  Car- 
natum,  5  yrs.,  8st.  51b.  F.  Finlay    2 

Lord    Stanley's    ch.    c.     Loreto, 

4  yrs.,  7st.  nib T.  Loates    3 

7  to  1  agst.  Flavus. 

The  Zetland  Stakes  of  5  sovs.  each, 
with  300  sovs.  added,  for  two-year- 
olds  ;  New  T.Y.C.  (five  furlongs). 

Mr.  James  Joicey's  b.  f.  Queen  of 
the  Vale,  by  Raebum — Queen 
of  the  Isles,  8st.  61b.... T.  Loates     1 

Mr.  J.  Lowther's  b.  f.  New  Broom, 
8st.  61b.  F.  Finlay    2 

Mr.  Jas.  Snarry's  b.  f.  Modern 
Agnes,  8st.  61b.  Moore    3 

5  to  I  agst.  Queen  of  the  Vale. 
May   17  th. —-The      Flying     Dutchman's 

Handicap  of  275  sovs.  ;  one  mile 

and  three  furlongs. 
Mr.    Edward   Clark's  b.   h.    The 

Shaughraun,     by    Shillelagh — 

Valeswood,  6  yrs.,  8st.  31b. 

S.  Chandley     1 
Mr.    John    Scott's  b.    g.    Monte 

Carlo,  6  yrs.,  7st.  131b. 

F.  Finlay    2 
Lord  Ellesmere's  b.  f.    Fairmile, 

4  yrs.,  7st.  81b T.  Loates    3 

3  to  1  agst.  The  Shaughraun. 

BATH  AND   SOMERSET.  — County 

Meeting. 

May  1 6th. — The  Badminton  Plate  of  200 
sovs.,   for  two-year-olds;  five  fur- 
longs. 
Mr.  P.  C.  Patten's  b.  c.  Corblet's 
Bay,    by    Chittabob — Lauretta, 

ost O.  Madden     1 

Mr.  L.  Pilkington's  ch.  c.  Dulce- 

mona,  8st.    11  lb S.  Loates    2 

Major  J.    D.   Edwards's  Robino, 

8st.  nib K.Cannon    3 

1 1  to  8  agst.  Corblet's  Bay. 
May   17th.  —  The  Somersetshire    Stakes 
(Handicap)  of  387  sovs.  ;  one  mile 
and  a  quarter. 
Mr.    J.    E.    M 'Donald's    ch.    h. 
Rensselaer,  by  Hayden  Edwards 
— The  Belle,  5  yrs.,  7st.  71b. 

S.  Loates     1 
Mr.   R.  Trimmer's  ch.  c.  Bobbie 

Burns,  4  yrs.,  8st.  lib. ..  Segrott    2 
Mr.   T.    Worton's    b.   c.    Johnny 
Sands,  4  yrs.,  gst.  ...M.  Cannon    3 
6  to  4  agst.  Rensselaer. 


DONCASTER.— Spring  Meeting. 

May  18th. — The  Doncaster  Spring  Handi- 
cap of  500  sovs. ;  the  Sandall  Mile. 

Mr.  W.  Sanderson's  b.  c.  Reaper, 
by  Breadknife  —  Twincaster, 
4  yrs.,  6st  81b.  ...G.  Sanderson     I 

Sir  E.  Vincent's  ch.  c.  Bonnebosq, 
4yrs,7st.  41b T.  Loates    2 

Mr.  W.  T.  Robinson's  ch.  h. 
Prince  Barcaldine,  6  yrs.,   8st. 

5lb N.  Robinson     3 

100  to  8  agst.  Reaper. 

The  Hopeful  Stakes  of  5  sovs.  each, 
with  200  sovs.  added,  for  two-year- 
olds  ;   Hopeful    Course    (five    fur- 
longs.) 
Lord  Durham's  b.  c.  Overbury,  by 
Crowberry— Proof,  8st.  7lb. 

Rickaby     1 
Lord  Decies'  b.  f.  Aylsha,  8sL  41b. 

Woodbura    2 
Mr.   Reid  Walker's  b.  or  br.  c 
Yester  Morn,  8st.  7lb. 

N.  Robinson    3 
3  to  I  on  Overbury. 

The  Portland  Stakes  (High-weight 
Handicap)  of  5  sovs.  each,  with  200 
added  ;  one  mile  and  three  furlongs. 

Mr.  C.  S.  Newton's  b.  c.  Ameer, 
by    Orme — Quetta,   4  yrs.,   8st. 
I2lb Segrott     I 

Mr.  T.  Weldon's  ch.  c.  Justice 
Royal,  4  yrs.,  8sL  iolb.    Owner    2 

Prince  SoItykofFs  br.  c.  Canopus, 

4  yrs.,  9st.  31b W.  Bradford     3 

9  to  4  agst.  Ameer. 

May  19th. — The  Chesterfield  Handicap  of 
500  sovs.  :  one  mile  and  a  half,  over 
the  Old  Course. 
Lord  Durham's  b.  c.  Polycrates,  by 
Tyrant — Lunelle,    3    yrs.,    6st. 

9lb.  Dalton     1 

Mr.  T.  Weldon's  ch.  c.  Justice 
Royal,  4  yrs.,  7st  2 lb. 

Lofthouse    2 
Lord  Ellesmere's  b.  f.  Fairmile,  4 

yrs.,  7st.  7lb T.  Loates    3 

9  to  2  agst.  Polycrates. 

HURST  PARK  CLUB.— Whitsuntidr 

Meeting. 

May  22nd.— The  Great  Whitsuntide  Han- 
dicap of  775  sovs. ;  one  mile. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Houldsworth's  b.  c. 
Greenan,  by  St.  Simon — Sun- 
rise, 4  yrs.,  7st.  *2lb.  ...T.  Loates     1 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  ch.  h.  Berzak, 

5  yrs.,  7st.  I2lb Sloan     2 

Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  b.  c.  Champ 

de  Mars,  4  yrs.,  7st.  iolb. 

O.  Madden     3 
3  to  I  agst.  Greenan. 


1899.] 


SPORTING    INTELLIGENCE. 


75 


MANCHESTER.— Whitsuntide 
Meeting. 

May  24th. —The  Summer  Breeders'  Foal 
Plate  of  890  sovs.,  for  two-year- 
olds  ;  five  furlongs. 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  b.  f.  Vain 
Duchess,  by  Isinglass — Sweet 
Duchess,  8st.  61b.... O.  Madden     1 

Mr.  P.  Lorillard's  ch.  g.  Jouvence, 
Sst.  61b Sloan    2 

Mr.  J.  Hanbury's  b.  c.  Capstan, 
8st.  91b F.  Leader    3 

11  to  8  on  Vain  Duchess. 

The  Trial  Handicap  of  500  sovs.  ; 
second  receives  50  sovs. ;  one  mile 
and  a  half. 

Mr.  J.  Scott's  br.  g.  Scrivener,  by    ' 
Grafton — Scrutiny,  6  yrs.,   7sL 
131b S.  Chandley    1 

Mr.  Cunningham's  ch.  c.  Dermot 
Asthore,  4  yrs.,  7sL  iolb. 

Lofthouse    2 

Mr.  W.  I' Anson's  b.  or  br.  c.  Dr. 
Jim,  3  yrs.,  7st.  7lb.  ...Allsopp    3 

6  to  1  agst  Scrivener. 

The  Beaufort  Handicap  of  437  sovs. ; 
five  furlongs. 

Mr.  W.  Sanderson's  b.  c.  Cutler, 
by  Bread  Knife — Mermaiden,  4 
yrs.,  6st.  7 lb G.  Sanderson     I 

Lord  Howe's  b.  f.  Rose  Tree,  3 
yrs.,  6st.  61b.    Weatherell    2 

Mr.  T.  A.  Roberts's  b.  h.  Lord 
Molescroft,  6  yrs.,  7st.  lib.  (51b. 

ex.) Segrott    3 

10  to  1  agst.  Cutler. 

May  25th.— The  De  TrafTord  Handicap  of 
438  sovs. ;  one  mile  and  a  quarter. 

Sir  John  Thurshv's  br.  h.  Trevor, 
by  Juggler — Cnevrette,   5  yrs., 

8st.  91b. Allsopp    1 

Mr.  E.  Clarke's  b.  h.  The  Shaugh- 
raun,  6  yrs.,  Sst.  61b.  (7lb.  ex.) 

S.  Chandley    2 
Mr.    F.    Hardy's    ch.    g.    Bonny 
Winkfield,  4  yrs.,  6st  12I0. 

Purkiss     3 

2  to  1  agst.  Trevor. 

The  John  C  Gaunt  Plate  of  444  sovs. 
for  two-year-olds ;  five  furlongs. 

Mr.  Russel's  b.  c.  Bright  Key,  by 
Sheen — Tourniquet,  8st.  81b. 

O.  Madden    1 
Sir   R.    Waldie    Griffith's    ch.  f. 

Bettyfield,  8st.  1 31b Sloan    2 

Mr.  W.  E.  Elsey's  b.  Filly  by 
Janissary — Maybloom,  8st.  5lb. 

EX  Weldon    3 

7  to  4  agst.  Bright  Key. 


May  26th.— The  Manchester  Cup  of  1,787 
sovs. ;  one  mile  and  three-quarters. 
Mr.   J.   Hammond's  br.  h.    Her- 
minius,    by    Lowland    Chief— 
Herminia,  5  yrs.,  8st.  13th. 

M.  Cannon     1 

Lord  Durham's  b.  c.  Sherburn,  4 
yrs.,  7st.  11  lbs.    F.  Allsopp    2 

Mr.  Fairie's  b.  c.  Chubb,  4  yrs. ,  7st. 
lib.  (car.  7st.  5lb.)...0.  Madden    3 

7  to  4  agst.  Herminius. 

May  27th. — The  Salford  Borough  Handi- 
cap of  880  sovs. ;  one  mile. 

Mr.  W.  F.  Lee's  ch.  h.  Royal 
Flush,  by  Favo — Flush,  6  yrs. , 
7st.  81b Lofthouse     1 

Mr.  J.  Daly's  ch.  c.  Succoth,  4 
yrs.,  8st.  91b M.  Cannon    2 

Mr.  H.  J.  King's  b.  f.  Schoolgirl, 
3  yrs.,  7st.  31b Sloan     3 

100  to  9  agst.  Royal  Flush. 

The  Whitsuntide  Plate  of  887  sovs. ; 
for  two-year-olds ;  five  furlongs. 

Mr.  A.  Stedall's  b.  Colt  by  Free- 
mason— L'Excepcion,  8st.  13IK 

T.  Loates     I 

Mr.  C.  D.  Rose's  ch.  f.  Ambri- 
zette,  8st.  iolb S.  Loates    2 

Mr.  Arthur  James's  b.  f.  Dum 
Dum,  8st.  iolb O.  Madden    3 

7  to  I  agst.  L'Excepcion  colt. 

EPSOM. — Summer  Meeting. 

May  30th. — The  Woodcote  Stakes  of  25 
sovs.  each,  with  200  sovs.  added ; 
for  two-year-olds ;  last  six  furlongs 
of  the  Derby  Course. 

Mr.  E.  Cassel's  ch.  c.  Bonarosa, 
by  Bonavista  —  Rose  Madder, 
8st.  I2lb S.  Loates     1 

Mr.  J.  W.  I,arnach's  b.  c.  Simons- 
wood,  8st.  1 2lb O.  Madden    2 

Lord  Rosebery's  b.  c.  Dandy  Lad, 
8st.  9lb C.  Wood    3 

7  to  4  agst.  Bonarosa. 

The  Epsom  Plate  ( Handicap)  of  500 
sovs. ;  seven  furlongs  on  the  New 
Course. 

Captain  Forester's  br.  m.  Tender 
and  True,  by  Veracity — Pales, 
6  yrs.,  7st.  I2lb Chapman     1 

Mr.  W.  E.  Oakeley's  br.  g.  Peace 
and  Plenty,  4  yrs.,  7st.  131b. 

K.  Cannon    2 

Mr.  J.  G.  Mosenthal's  b.  h.  Leap 
On,  aged,  7st.   13ID....S.  Loates    3 

100  to  15  agst.  Tender  and  True. 


76 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[July 


May  31st.— The  Derby  Stakes  of  5,450 
sovs. ;  for  three-year-olds ;  one  mile 
and  a  half  and  29  yards. 

Duke  of  Westminster's  b.  c.  Flying 
Fox,  by  Orme — Vampire. 

M.  Cannon     1 

Mr.  W.  R.  Marshall's  ch.  c. 
Damocles S.  Loates    2 

Mr.    J.   A.    Miller's    br.   c.    Inno- 
cence  W.  Halsey    3 

5  to  2  on  Flying  Fox. 

The  Stanley  Stakes  of  318  sovs. ;  for 
two-year-olds ;  five  furlongs. 

Mr.  J.  Musker's  b.  f.  Lady  Schom- 
berg,  by  Aughrim — Clonavarn, 
8st.  91b O.  Madden     1 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  b.  g.  Yum- 
boe,  8st.  I2lb Sloan    2 

Sir  S.  Scott's  b.  Colt  by  St.  Angelo 
— Lottie  Hampton,  8s t.  91b. 

M.  Cannon    3 

4  to  I  agst.  Lady  Schomberg. 

June  1st. — The  Royal  Stakes  (Handicap) 
of  900  sovs.  ;  six  furlongs,  on  the 
New  Course. 

Mr.  J.  B.  Leigh's  b.  c.  The 
Wyvern,  by  Bend  Or — Flyaway, 
4yrs.,  7st.  iolb Sloan     1 

Mr.  A.  Bailey's  ch.  c.  Mount 
Prospect,  5  yrs.,  8st.  51b. 

N.  Robinson    2 

Mr.  E.  Melly's  br.  m.  Bewitch- 
ment, 5  yrs. ,  8st Allsopp    3 

7  to  1  agst.  The  Wyvern. 

The  Great  Surrey  Breeders'  Foal 
Plate  of  1 ,084  sovs.  ;  for  two-year- 
olds  ;  five  furlongs. 

Mr.  Arthur  James's  ch.  g.  O'Dono- 
van  Rossa,  by  Donovan,  dam  by 
Barcaldine — Symmetry,  8st.  91b. 

O.  Madden     1 

Mr.  Russell's  b.  f.  Tiresome,  8st. 
3lb T.  Loates    2 

Mr.  T.  R.  Dewar's  ch.  Colt  by 
Royal  Hampton— St.  Elizabeth, 
8st.  61b N.  Robinson    3 

6  to  I  agst.  O' Donovan  Rossa. 

The  Epsom  Cup  of  500  sovs. ;  the 
Derby  Course  (about  one  mile  and 
a  half. ) 
Mr.    W.    Cooper's  ch.    h.    New- 
haven    II.,    by     Newminster — 
Oceana,  6  yrs.,  9st.  61b. 

M.  Cannon     1 
Mr.  Leopold  de  Rothschild's  b.  h. 
Jaquemart,  5  yrs.,  9st.  61b. 

T.  Loates    2 
7  to  2  on  Newhaven  II. 


The    Durdans    Plate    (Handicap)    of 

930  sovs.  ;  one  mile  and  a  quarter, 

on  the  Derby  Course. 
Lord  Ellesmere's  b.  c.  Pheon,  by 

Hampton — Photinia,  4  yrs.,  7st. 

61b S.  Loates     1 

Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  b.  c.  Champ 

de  Mars,  4  yrs.,  8st.  71b. 

Rickaby     2 
Duke  of  Devonshire's  b.  c.  Neish, 

4  yrs.,  7st.  41b O.  Madden     3 

10  to  1  agst.  Pheon. 

June  2nd. — The  Oaks    Stakes    of  4*150 
sovs.,  for  three-year-old  fillies;  9st- 
each ;  one    mile    and  a    half  and 
twenty-nine  yards. 
Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  b.  f.  Musa,  by 
Martagon — Palmflower 

O.  Madden     1 
Lord  W.  Beresford's  b.  f.  Sibola 

J.  Sloan     2 
Lord  Rosebeiy's  b.  f.  Corposant 

C.  Wood     3 
20  to  1  agst.  Musa. 

The  Acorn  Stakes  of  522  sovs.,   for 

two-year-old  fillies ;  five  furlongs. 
Mr.    Arthur   James'    b.    f.   Dum 

Dum,  by  Carbine— Charm,  8st. 

9lb O.  Madden     1 

Duke  of  Portland's  b.  f.  La  Roche, 

8st.  91b... T.  Weldon     2 

Captain  Laing's  br.  f.  Papdale,  8st- 

I2lb :W.  Bradford     3 

1 1  to  6  agst.  Dum  Dum. 


KEMPTON  PARK.— First  Summer 
Meeting. 

June  3rd. — The  Kempt  on  Park  Two-year- 
old  Plate  of  600  sovs.  ;  five  furlongs. 
Sir    R.    Waldie  Griffith's  ch.   c 
Rice,    by    St.     Seif — Wedding 

Bell,  8st.  2lb Sloan     1 

Mr.  Horatio  Bottomley's  ch.  c. 
Stage  Marriage,  8st.  51b. 

F.  Finlay     2 
Mr.  R.  C.  Garton's  ch.  Colt  by 
Wiseman — Mohican  II.,8st.  sib. 

Allsopp     3 
7  to  4  agst.  Rice. 

The  Coronation  Cup,  a  handicap  of 
437  sovs.  ;  one  mile  and  a  half. 

Sir  E.  Vincent's  ch.  c.  Bonnebosq, 
by  Trapeze — Pink  Thorn,  4 yrs., 
8st  7lb T.  Loates     1 

Mr.  W.  M.  Redfern's  b.  h.  Father- 
less, aged,  7st.  91b... O.  Madden     2 

Mr.  C.  A.  Brown's  ch.  h.  Rough- 
side,  6  yrs. ,  9st ..M.  Cannon     3 

15  to  8  agst.  Bonnebosq. 


18990 


SPORTING    INTELLIGENCE. 


77 


LINGFIELD  PARK.— Spring 
Meeting. 

June  6th. — The  Lingheld  Spring  Two- 
year-old  Plate  of  417  sovs;  five 
furlongs. 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  b.  f.  Lutetia, 
by  Pomiac— Luella  B.,  9st. 

Sloan     I 

Mr.  J.  Muskegs  b.  or  br.  f.  Our 
Grace,  8s t.  131b O.  Madden    2 

Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  br.  c.  Mam- 
brino,  8st.  I  lib Rickaby    3 

7  to  4  on  Lutetia. 

June  7th. — The  Second  Imperial  Stakes  of 
1,200  sovs.,  for  three-year-olds; 
one  mile. 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  ch.  c 
Caiman,  by  Locohatchee — 
Happy  Day,  <jst  Sloan     I 

Sir  J.  Blundell  Maple's  br.  c. 
Royal  Whistle,  cpt.  31b. 

E.  Martin    2 

Mr.  J.  Wallace's  br.  f.  Queen 
Fairy Rickaby    3 

20  to  1  on  Caiman. 


LEWES.— Spring  Meeting. 

June  9th. — The  Lewes  Spring  Handicap 
of  300  sovs.  ;  one  mile. 
Mr.  H.  C.   White's  ch.  g.  Form, 
byCranbrook — La  Mode,  aged, 

8st.  7lb L.  Reiff    1 

Mr.  C-  J.  Merry's  b.  Colt  by  Deuce 
of  Clubs — Sweet  Mart,  3  yrs., 

7st.  4lb Chapman    2 

Mr.    H.    de    Paravicini's    en.   c. 
Rookwood,  4  yrs.,  8st.  81b. 

C.  Wood    3 
8  to  1  agst.  Form. 

June  10th. — The  Southdown  Club  Open 
Welter  Handicap  of  262  sovs. ;  one 
mile  and  a  half. 
Sir   J.    Thursby's    br.  m.   Grace 
Skelton,      by      Grafton — Mrs. 
Skelton,  6  yrs.,  I2st.  41b. 

Mr.  G.  Thursby     1 
Mr.  H.  Pack's  b.  c.  Ballyleck,  3 
yrs.,  lost.  7lb. 

Mr.  Lushington    2 
Mr.  Barclay's  b.  f.  Netta,  3  yrs., 
9&t.  2lb.  (car.  9st.  41b.). 

Mr.  F.  Hartigan    3 

7  to  4  agst.  Grace  Skelton. 


ASCOT  MEETING. 

June  13th.—  The  Trial  Stakes  of  600  sovs.; 
the  New  Mile  (seven  furlongs  and 
166  yards). 
Duke  of  Westminster's  ch.  c  Good 
Luck,    by    Royal    Hampton  — 


Farewell,  3  yrs.,   6s t.  Sib.  (car. 

6st.  iolb Purkiss     I 

Captain   Machell  s  ch.  f.  Vira,  3 

yrs.,  6st.  81b Dalton     2 

Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  b.   c.  Champ 

De  Mars,  4  yrs.,  ost.  lib. 

Rickaby    3 

100  to  8  agst.  Good  Luck. 

The  First  Year  of  the  Forty -Second 
Ascot  Biennial  Stakes  of  1,214 
sovs.,  for  two-year-olds;  T.Y.C. 
(five  furlongs,  136  yards). 

Lord  Rosebery's  br.  c.  Epsom 
Lad,  by  Ladas — Disorder,  ost. 

C.  Wood    t 

Duke  of  Westminster's  br.  c.  Gob- 
let, by  Grey  Leg — Kissing  Cup, 
9st M.  Cannon     f 

Mr.  Russel's  b.  c.  Dancing  Mahdi, 
9st T.  Loates    3 

7  to  1  agst.  Epsom  Lad. 

The  Coventry  Stakes  of  1,826  sovs., 
for  two-year-olds;  T.Y.C.  (five 
furlongs,  136  yards).     1 16  subs. 

Lord  William  Beresford's  ch.  g. 
Democrat,  by  Sensation — 
Equality,  ost Sloan     1 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  b.  f.  Vain 
Duchess,  8st.  nib.  ...O.  Madden    2 

M.  E.  Blanc's  b.  f.  Lucie  II.,  8st. 
I  lib.  (car.  8st.  I2lb.) Barlen     3 

5  to  I  agst.  Democrat. 

The  Ascot  Stakes  (Handicap)  of  1,680 
sovs.  ;  once  round,  starting  at  the 
distance  post,  about  two  miles. 
Lord     Rosebery's    ch.     c.     Tom 
Cringle,      by      Donovan — Sea- 
breeze, 4  yrs.,  7 st.  91b. 

S.  Loates     1 
Lord   Farquhar's  b.   h.   Nouveau 
Riche,  5  yrs.,  8s t.  31b. 

Sloan    2 
Mr.  Fairie's  b.  c.   Chubb,  4  yrs., 
7st.  41b.  (car.  7st.  81b.) 

O.  Madden    3 

9  to  2  agst.  Tom  Cringle. 

The  Prince  of  Wales'  Stakes  of  1,900 
sovs. ,    for     three-year-olds ;     New 
Course  (about  one   mile  and   five 
furlongs). 
Duke  of  Portland's  b.  c.  Manners, 
by  St.  Simon — Tact,  8st.  31b. 

M.  Cannon     1 
Mr.  J.  H.  Houlds worth's  b.  or  br. 
c.  Carbiston,  8st.  31b. 

T.  Loates    2 
Mr.   J.    W.   Larnach's  br."  f.  Vic- 
toria May,  8st.  iolb. 

O.  Madden    3 
7  to  2  agst.  Manners. 


78 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[JULY 


The  Third  Year  of  the  Forty-Fifth 
Triennial  Stakes  of  682  sovs.,  400 
added  for  the  owner,  and  100  sovs. 
for  the  nominator,  for  four-year- 
olds  ;  once  round  and  in,  starting 
opposite  the  Grand  Stand  (two 
miles). 

Mr.  C.  D.  Rose's  ch.  c.  Cyllene, 
by  Bona  Vista — Arcadia,  9st.  61b. 

S.  Loates    1 

Mr.  Houldsworth's  b.  c.  Greenan, 
8st.  iolb M.  Cannon    2 

Prince  SoltykofTs  ch.  g.  Ecu  d'Or, 
7st.  iolb C.  Wood    3 

4  to  I  on  Cyllene. 

June  14th. — The  Visitors'  Plate  (Handicap) 
of  490  sovs. ;  Swinley  Course    (one 
mile  and  a  half). 
Lord  W.  Beresford's  b.  f.  Jiffy  II., 
by  The  Sailor  Prince — Joy,  4 

yrs.,  8st Sloan     1 

Mr.  Fairie's  br.  c.  Galliot,  3  yrs., 

6st.  91b Pratt    2 

Mr.  F.  S.  Barnard's  ch.  c.  Silver 
Fox,  5  yrs.,  7st.  I  lib. 

F.  Finlay    3 
5  to  4  agst.  Jiffy  II. 

The  Forty-First  Ascot  Biennial  Stakes 
of  1,097  sovs.,  for  three-year-olds; 
one  mile. 

Mr.  A.  W.  Merry's  br.  c.  Sir 
Hercules,  by  Sir  Hugo,  dam  by 
Galopin— Miss  Foote,  8st.  7lb. 

C.Wood     1 

Mr.  Maine's  b.  c  Matoppo,  8st. 
7lb T.  Loates    2 

Mr.  W.  E.  Oakeley'sch.  c.   Dod- 
dington,  9st.  61b.   ...M.  Cannon    3 
5  to  4  agst.  Sir  Hercules. 

The  Royal  Hunt  Cup  of  2,520  sovs. ; 
New  Mile  (seven  furlongs  and  166 
yards). 

Mr.  D.  J.  Jardine's  br.  c.  Re- 
fractor, by  Prism — Hartsease,  3 
yrs.,  6st.  31b Wetherell     1 

Mr.  Fairie's  b.  h.  Eager,  4  yrs., 
9st.  41b M.  Cannon    2 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  b.  h.  Knight 
of  the  Thistle,  6  yrs.,  9st.  2lb. 

Sloan     3 
25  to  1  agst.  Refractor. 

The  Fern  Hill  Stakes  of  520  sovs.  ; 

five  furlongs. 
Mr.   Russel's  br.  f.  Emotion,  by 

Nunthorpe — Emita,  2  yrs.,  6st. 

I3lb Purkiss     I 

H.R.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales'  b.  f. 

Eventail,  3  yrs.,  8st.  ulb. 

M.  Cannon    2 
Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  ch.  c.  Vae 

Victis,  2  yrs.,  7st.  2lb.    ...Sloan     3 
7  to  2  agst.  Emotion. 


The  Coronation  Stakes  of  2,600  sovs. , 
for  three-year-old  fillies ;  Old  Mile. 

Mr.  Arthur  James'  b.  f.  Fascina- 
tion, by  Royal  Hampton — 
Charm,  8st.  iolb.  ...O.  Madden     I 

Mr.  C.  D.  Rose's  b.  f.  Zanetto, 
8st.  31b S.  Loates     2 

Mr.  P.  Lorillard's  ch.  f.  Myakka, 

8st  iolb Sloan     3 

4  to  I  agst.  Fascination. 

The  Forty-Seventh  Triennial   Stakes 

of   818  sovs.,    for    two-year-olds; 

T.Y.C  (five  furlongs,  136  yards). 
Mr.  P.  C.  Patton's  b.  c.  Longy,  by 

Trenton—Saintly,  8st  I2lb. 

M.  Cannon     1 
Mr.    Arthur  James's  b.   f.    Dum 

Dum,  9st J.  Watts    2 

Mr.  P.  Lorillard's  ch.  g.  Jouvence, 

8st  I2lb.  Sloan     3 

9  to  4  agst.  Longy. 

The  Ascot  Derby  Stakes  of  1,250 
sovs.,  for  three-year-olds ;  Swinley 
Course  (one  mile  and  a  half. 

Duke  of  Westminster's  ch.  c.  Fron- 
tier, by  Orme — Quetta,  8st.  iolb. 

M.  Cannon     1 

Lord  Wm.  Beresford's  b.  g.  Jolly 
Tar.Sst.  3IU    Sloan     2 

Mr.  W.  Low's  b.  c.  Mark  For*ard, 

8st.  iolb T.  Loates     3 

6  to  4  agst.  Frontier. 

June    15th. — The    Second    Year   of    the 
Thirty-Sixth  New  Biennial  Stakes 
for  three-  and  four-year-olds.     Old 
Mile. 
Lord  W.    Beresford's  ch.  c.  Cai- 
man,  by  Locahatchee — Happy 

Day,  3  yrs.,  8st.  i2lb Sloan     1 

Prince  SoltykofTs  b.  c.  Leisure 
Hour,  4  yrs.,  9st.  41b. 

C.  Wood     2 
Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  b.  c.  Brio,  4 

yrs.,  9st Rickaby     3 

9  to  4  agst.  Caiman. 

The  St.  James's  Palace  Stakes  of  100 
sovs.  each,  h.  ft.,  with  300  added, 
for  three-year-olds;  second  to  re- 
ceive 300  sovs.,  third  to  save  stake.. 
Old  Mile.    40  subs. 

Duke  of  Devonshire's  b.  c.  Mil- 
lennium, by  Melanion — Snood, 
8st  7lb O.  Madden     1 

Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  b.  c.  Mazagan, 
9st T.  Loates     2 

Mr.  L.  Brassey's  b.  c.  Boniface, 

8st.  7lb W.  Bradford    3 

6  to  1  agst.  Millennium. 

The  Gold  Cup,  value  1,000  sovs  , 
with  3,000  in  specie  in  addition  ; 
about  two  miles  and  a  half. 

Mr.  C.  D.  Rose's  ch.  c.  Cyllene, 
by  Bona  Vista — Arcadia,  4  yrs., 
9st S.  Loates     1 


1899-] 


SPORTING    INTELLIGENCE. 


79 


Mr.  H.  V.  Long's  ch.  c  Lord 
Edward  IL,  3  yrs.,  7st.  7lb. 

T.  Loates    2 
M.  J.  de  Bremond's  b.   c.    Gar- 
defeu,  4  yrs.,  ost.  ...£.  Watkins    3 
6  to  4  agst.  Cyllene. 

The  New  Stakes  of  10  soys,  each, 
with  1,000  soys,  added  ;  for  two- 
year-olds  ;  T.Y.C. 

Mr.  Arthur  James'  b.  f.  The 
Gorgon,  by  St.  Simon — Andro- 
meda, 8sL  71b Madden     1 

Lord  Rosebery's  bl.  c.  Bonnie 
Lad,  8st.  lofb C.  Wood    2 

Sir  John  Kelk's  b.  c  Kerseymere, 

8st.  iolb Weldon    3 

7  to  2  agst.  The  Gorgon. 

The  Rous  Memorial  Stakes  of  10 
sovs.  each,  h.  ft.,  with  1,000  sovs. 
added  ;  New  Mile  (seven  furlongs 
and  166  yards). 

Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  b.  c  Champ 
de  Mars,  by  Martagon — Fleur 
de  Marie,  4  yrs.,  8st.  131b. 

M.  Cannon     1 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  b.  or  br.  c. 
Dominie  II.,  3  yrs.,  8st.  51b. 

Sloan    2 

Sir  J.  Kelk's  ch.  c  The  Baker,  4 

yrs.,  8st.  iolb T.  Weldon    3 

6  to  1  agst.  Champ  de  Mars. 

The  First  Year  of  the  Thirty-seventh 
New  Biennial  Stakes  of  15  sovs., 
500  sovs.  added;  T.Y.C.  (hve 
furlongs  136  yards). 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  ch.  f. 
Bettyfield,  by  Amphion  — 
Thistlefield,  2  yrs.,  7&L  31b. 

J.  Rieff    1 

Duke  of  Portland's  b.  f.  St.  Vigila, 

2  yrs.,  6st.  131b Purkiss    2 

Lord    Falmouth's    b.    c    King's 

Evidence,  3  yrs.,  8st  71b. 

Rickaby    3 
9  to  2  agst.  Bettyfield. 

June  16th.— The  Queen's  Stand  Plate  of 
800  sovs.,  added  to  a  Sweepstake  of 
10  sovs.  each  ;  T.Y.C.    30  subs. 

Mr.  S.  Darling's  br.  h.  Kilcock, 
by  Kilwarlin  —  Bonnie  Morn, 
aged,  lost.  2lb S.  Loates     1 

Duke  of  Westminster's  Good  Luck, 

3  yrs.,  8st.  131b.     ...M.Cannon    2 
Lord  Wolverton's  Ugly,  aged,  9st. 

I3lb J.  Watts    3 

6  to  5  on  Kilcock. 

The  Wokingham  Stakes  (Handicap) 
of  15  sovs.  each,  5  ft.,  with  500 
added;  last  three-quarters  of  the 
New  Mile.     79  subs. 

Mr.  Fairie's  b.  h.  Eager,  by  En- 
thusiast— Greeba,  o  yrs.,  osL 
7lb M.  Cannon    1 

Mr.  Abe  Bailey's  Mount  Prospect, 
5  yrs.,  7st  12 lb.  ...N.  Robinson    2 


Mr.  J.  B.  Leigh's  The  Wyvern,  4 
yrs.,  7st.  41b.  (car.  7st.  $lb. ). 

O.  Madden     3 
9  to  4  agst.  Eager. 

The  Hardwicke  Stakes  of  2,000  sovs., 

added  to  a  Sweepstakes  of  10  sovs. 

each  ;   Swinley   Course   (one    mile 

and  a  half). 
Prince  SoltykofFs  b.  c.  Ninus,  by 

Sheen — Nina,  4  yrs.,  ost.  iolb. 

C.  Wood     1 
Duke  of  Portland's    Manners,   3 

yrs.,  8st.  51b M.  Cannon     2 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  St.  la,  4 

yrs.,  9st.  71b Sloan     3 

7  to  4  agst.  Ninus. 

The  Alexandra  Plate  of  1,500  sovs., 
added  to  a  Sweepstakes  of  25  sovs. 
each  ;  start  at  the  New  Mile  post 
and  go  once  round  (about  three 
miles).     25  subs. 

M.  J.  de  Bremond's  Le  Se*nateur, 
by  B^ranger — Farceaux,  4  yrs., 
9st  E.  Watkins     1 

Sir  J.  Thursby's  Grace  Skelton,  6 
yrs.,  ost.  31b.... Mr.  G.  Thursby     2 

Lord  Farquhar's  Nouveau  Kiche, 

6  yrs.,  ost.  7lb Rickaby    3 

Even  on  Le  Senateur. 


CRICKET. 

May  17th. — At  the  Oval,  Australians  v. 
Surrey,  former  won  by  an  innings  and 
71  runs. 

May  17th. — At  Bristol,  Gloucestershire  v. 

Yorkshire,  latter  won  by  an  innings 

and  193  runs. 
May    19th.— -At     Lord's,     M.C.C.      and 

Ground  v.  Derbyshire,  latter  won  by 

2  wickets. 
May  20th. — At  Leyton,  Essex  v.  Sussex, 

former  won  by  1  wicket. 

May  20th. — At  Eastbourne,  Australians  v. 

An  England  XL,  former  won  by  172 

runs. 
May  20th. — At  Oxford,  The  University  v. 

Somerset,  former  won  by  83  runs. 

May  20th. — At  Cambridge,  The  University 
v.  Yorkshire,  latter  won  by  an  innings 
and  83  runs. 

May    23rd. — At    Lord's,     Middlesex    v. 

Somerset,   former  won  by  an  innings 

and  7  runs.     Match  completed  in  one 

day. 
May  26th. — At  Manchester,  Lancashire  v. 

Australians,  latter  won  by  an  innings 

and  84  runs. 

May  26th. — At  Lord's,  Middlesex  v. 
Gloucestershire,  former  won  by  7 
wickets. 

May  26th. — At  Leyton,  Essex  v.  York- 
shire! latter  won  by  241  runs. 


8o 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[July,  1899. 


May  26th. — At  Cambridge,  The  University 
v.  Surrey,  latter  won  by  171  runs. 

May  27th. — At  Oxford,  The  University  v. 
Worcestershire,  latter  won  by  7 
wickets. 

May  31st. — At  the  Oval,  Surrey  v.  Somer- 
set, former  won  by  an  innings  and 
379  runs. 

May  31st.— At  Lord's,  Middlesex  v.  York- 
shire, former  won  by  an  innings  and  2 
runs. 

June  2nd. — At  Lord's,  M.C.C.  and 
Ground  v.  Kent,  former  won  by  2 
wickets. 

June  3rd. — At  Nottingham,  England  v. 
Australia  (first  test  match),  drawn. 
Scores :  Australia,  252  and  230  for  8 
wickets  (declared) ;  England,  193  and 
155  for  seven  wickets. 

June  3rd. — At  Manchester,  Leicestershire 

v.    Lancashire,    former    won    by  79 

runs. 
June  6th. — At  Chesterfield,  Derbyshire  v. 

Surrey,  latter  won  by  an  innings  and 

164  runs. 
June  7th. — At  Sheffield,  Yorkshire  v.  Essex, 

latter  won  by  9  wickets. 
June  7th. — At  Lord's,  M.C.C.  and  Ground 

v.  Australians,  latter  won  by  8  wickets. 

June  7th. — At  Tonbridge,  Kent  v.  Sussex, 

latter  won  by  112  runs. 
June  10th. — At  Manchester,  Lancashire  v. 

Surrey,  latter  won  by  an  innings  and  9 

runs. 


June  10th. — At  Cambridge,  The  University 
v.  Australians,  latter  won  by  10 
wickets. 

June  10th.  — At  Lord's,  Middlesex  v. 
Sussex,  former  won  by  5  wickets. 

June  10th. — At  Dewsbury,  Yorkshire  v. 
Derby,  former  won  by  9  wickets. 

June  14. — At  Oxford,  The  University  v. 
Surrey,  latter  won  by  5  wickets. 

June  14th. — At  Lord's,  Middlesex  v.  Kent, 
former  won  by  118  runs. 

June  14th. — At  Manchester,  Lancashire  v. 
Derbyshire,  former  won  by  8  wickets. 

June  17th. — At  Lord's,  England  v.  Aus- 
tralia (test  match),  latter  won  by  10 
wickets.  Scores:  England  206  and 
240;  Australia  421  and  28  for  no 
wicket 

POLO. 

June  10th. — At  Hurlingham,  7th  Hussars 
(Mr.  J.  Vaughan,  Hon.  J.  G.  Beres- 
ford,  Major  Carew  and  Major  R.  M. 
Poore)  v.  13th  Hussars  (Messrs.  J. 
Wigan,  J.  F.  Church,  F.  H.  Wise 
and  Capt  McLaren),  former  won  the 
game  and  the  Inter-regimental  Tourna- 
ment by  2  goals  to  I. 

TENNIS. 

June  3rd. — At  Queen's  Club,  Sir  Edward 
Grey  (holder)  v.  Mr.  E.  H.  Miles,  for 
the  Amateur  Championship,  latter 
won  by  3  sets  to  o. 


S.  &  H.  HARRIS. 


MANUFACTORY:  LONDON,  E. 


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BAILY'S 


SPORTS  and  PASTIMES 


No.  474- 


AUGUST,  1899. 


Vol.  LXXII. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Sporting  Diary  for  the  Month    ix. 

Sir  Cuthbcrt  Quilter    81 

The  Bibury  Club 83 

Anecdotes  of  an  Old  Turfite  80 

The  Teal  and  Green.    A  Dee  Problem    90 

The  Measurement  of  Ponies  94 

White  Heather.     The  Tragedy  of  an 

English  Moor   96 

A  Race  Meeting  in  China  102 

The  Chances  of  the  Game. — 

IV.  Hammer  Hume    103 

A  12th  of  August  in  the  Irish  Midlands  107 

A  Century's  Coach- building  ill 

Peterborough    114 

The    Poisoning    of  Vermin    and    its 

Results  118 

Shades  of  Henley 121 

My  Mayfly  Diary 123 

Anecdotal  Sport   128 

"Otir  Van"  :— 

The  Newmarket  July  Meetings 1 33 

The  Bibury  Club 134 


PAGE 

Lingfield   135 

The  Sandown  Eclipse  Meeting 136 

Polo — Ranelagh    Open    Challenge 

Cup    137 

The  Novices' Cup    138 

Hurlingham 138 

TheCountyCup  139 

The  Beresford  Cup,  Simla 140 

The  Polo  Pony  Society  140 

The  London  Polo  Club  141 

Wimbledon  Park  Polo  Club  141 

The  Autumn  Season   142 

Colonial  and  Foreign 142 

The  Stage  Coaches  at  Ranelagh    ...  142 

The  Crystal  Palace  Pony  Show 143 

Cricket  144 

Salmon  for  the  Thames 146 

The  Proposed  Naval  Tournament...  147 

Aquatics    147 

Sport  at  the  Universities 149 

Golf  150 

Sporting  Intelligence,  June — July 151 


WITH 


Steel  engraved  portrait  of  Sir  Cuthbert  Quilter. 
Engravings  of  The  Fiery  Ordeal  and  Champion  Foxhounds  at  Peterborough. 


Sir  Cuthbert  Quilter. 


Member  of  Parliament  for  the 
South  or  Sudbury  Division  of 
Suffolk,  Deputy- Lieutenant  and 
Justice  of  the  Peace  for  the 
County,  Alderman  of  the  West 
Suffolk  County  Council,  President 
or  Vice  -  President  of  several 
societies  and  associations  for  the 
promotion  of  agricultural  and 
stock-breeding  interests,  it  might 
well  be  that  the  owner  of  Bawdsey 
Manor,  Woodhridge,  could  find 
little  leisure  for  sport.  In  the 
world  of  sport,  however,  Sir  Cuth- 
bert    is    widely    known    as    an 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  474. 


enthusiastic  yachtsman.  In  May, 
1875,  he  was  elected  Vice-Commo- 
dore of  the  Royal  Harwich  Yacht 
Club,  which  office  he  has  held 
ever  since,  much  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  members.  Among  the  vessels 
he  has  owned,  mention  may  be 
made  of  the  schooner  Zoe,  161 
tons,  and  the  famous  40-tonner 
Britannia.  His  steam  yacht  the 
Firefly,  and  more  recently  the 
45-ton  steam  yacht  Peridot,  built 
by  White  &  Sons,  of  Cowes,  in 
1894,  are  well  known  at  the  regattas 
during  the  yachting  season.     Sir 

6 


82 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


Cuthbert's  latest  prolonged  yacht- 
ing trip  was  that  he  made  with 
Sir  Nevile  Chamberlain  to  the 
West  Indies,  to  report  to  the 
Government  on  the  condition  and 
prospects  of  the  sugar  -  planting 
industry. 

A  practical  sailor,  with  wide 
knowledge  of  yachting  affairs,  Sir 
Cuthbert's  annual  address  from 
the  chair,  at  the  dinner  which 
follows  the  regatta  of  the  Royal 
Harwich  Club,  is  always  antici- 
pated with  interest  by  the  mem- 
bers. During  the  last  quarter  of 
a  century  he  has  on  only  two 
occasions  missed  the  dinner.  In 
1893  ne  remained  at  Westminster 
to  share  the,  opposition  to  the 
Home  Rule  Bill,  and  this  year  his 
health  would  not  allow  him  to  be 
out.  The  Royal  Harwich  Yacht 
Club,  which  was  founded  in  1843, 
has  prospered  greatly  during  the 
long  period  of  Sir  Cuthbert's  Vice- 
Corn  modoreship.  It  now  numbers 
over  three  hundred  members,  and 
sends  two  representatives  to  the 
meetings  of  the  Yacht  Racing 
Association.  The  regatta,  which 
is  held  early  in  the  season,  is  an 
important  fixture,  for  the  pro- 
sperity of  the  club  enables  it  to 
offer  an  attractive  prize-list,  which 
brings  a  large  fleet  of  yachts  of  the 
first  class  to  compete. 

As  owner  of  an  estate  extending 
to  over  4,000  acres,  in  a  county 
where  agricultural  depression  was 
very  keenly  felt,  Sir  Cuthbert's 
interest  in  the  farm  and  stock- 
yard has  found  ample  scope  for 
valuable  exercise.  He  is  Presi- 
dent of  the  Suffolk  Horse  Society, 
and  was  one  of  the  leaders  in 
formulating  and  carrying  out  the 
scheme  set  on  foot  in  1897,  to 
encourage  the  breeding  of  Suffolk 
horses.  The  "Suffolk  Punch" 
was  famous  in  days  gone  by,  and 
it  was  the  aim  of  Sir  Cuthbert 
and  his  fellow-workers  to  restore 
the  breed  to  the  high  position  it 


formerly  held.  The  value  of  the 
Suffolk  horse  for  crossing  purposes 
has  long  been  recognised,  and 
many  famous  sires  have  been  ex- 
ported to  countries,  particularly 
to  Russia,  where  their  merits  were 
appreciated.  Chiefly  at  the  in- 
stigation of  their  energetic  Presi- 
dent, the  Suffolk  Horse  Society 
resolved  to  take  power  to  purchase 
every  year  thirty  nominations  to 
approved  sires,  whose  owners  were 
required  to  give  a  guarantee  that 
their  services  should  be  restricted 
to  eighty  mares  in  each  season. 
Nominations  for  service  by  these 
sires  are  granted  for  approved 
mares,  owned  by  tenant  farmers, 
occupying  not  over  200  acres ;  the 
foal  dropped  by  such  a  mare  be- 
comes the  property  of  the  Society 
on  payment  of  ^"15  to  the  owner, 
who  delivers  it  unweaned  on  a  date 
appointed.  On  the  day  appointed 
a  show  and  sale  is  held,  prizes 
being  awarded  to  the  breeders  of 
the  best  foals ;  the  youngsters  are 
afterwards  put  up  for  unreserved 
sale,  and  the  breeders,  if  they 
please,  may  bid  and  buy  on  the 
same  terms  as  the  general  public. 
In  pursuance  of,  and  contributory 
to  the  nomination  scheme,  Sir 
Cuthbert  was  mainly  responsible 
for  the  establishment  of  an  annual 
sale  of  pedigree  Suffolks ;  the 
object  of  this  is  to  afford  breeders 
an  opportunity  of  securing  sound 
mares  to  send  to  the  approved 
sires,  and  with  this  end  in  view 
only  animals  eligible  for  entry  in 
the  Suffolk  Stud  Book,  and  certi- 
fied to  be  sound  by  a  veterinary 
surgeon,  are  allowed  a  place  on  the 
catalogue.  The  whole  system  is 
well  devised  to  assist  and  en- 
courage the  breeding  of  good 
sound  horses  by  small  farmers, 
and  will,  it  cannot  be  doubted, 
achieve  the  success  it  promises  in 
these,  the  first  years  of  its 
working. 

Sir  Cuthbert    Quilter    is   Pre- 


1899] 


THE    BIBURY   CLUB. 


83 


sident  of  the  well  known  Wood- 
bridge  Horse  Show,  at  which  he 
is  a  regular  and  successful  ex- 
hibitor of  Suffolks.  At  the  show 
of  1898,  in  the  yearling  class,  he 
took  first  prize  with  Bawdsey 
Star  (2727),  by  Prince  Wedge- 
wood;  at  the  Suffolk  Show  he 
took  first  and  second  in  the 
yearling     class     with     Bawdsey 


Brownie  (2732)  and  Bawdsey 
Willie  (2725) ;  his  Bawdsey  Pearl 
(4012),  by  Prince  Wedge  wood,  a 
two-year-old  filly,  was  adjudged 
the  championship  prize  as  the 
best  mare  in  the  show. 

Sir  Cuthbert  Quilter  is  also 
President  of  the  South  Suffolk 
Colt  and  Foal  Association,  and  of 
the  Suffolk  Sheep  Society. 


The  Bibury  Club. 


The  exact  date  at  which  horse  races 
were  first  held  on  those  flowery 
downs  known  as  the  Burford,  half 
in  Gloucestershire  half  in  Oxford- 
shire, is  wrapped  in  obscurity; 
but  the  most  reasonable  supposi- 
tion concerning  the  foundation  of 
these  meetings,  from  which  sprang 
the  famous  Bibury  Club,  is  that 
they  were  instituted  some  time  in 
the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  when  the 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  neces- 
sitated the  removal  of  the  Court 
and  Royalist  headquarters  from 
Whitehall  to  Oxford.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  Cavaliers  were 
sportsmen  in  the  truest  sense  of 
the  term,  and  many  instances  are 
on  record  of  their  having  got  up 
impromptu  race  meetings  in  the 
vicinity  of  their  camps  and  places 
of  refuge.  Again,  when  the  mon- 
archy was  overthrown  such  fix- 
tures were  sometimes  utilised  for 
combined  sporting  and  political 
purposes ;  and  Cromwell,  realis- 
ing this,  once  made  a  fine  haul 
on  what  is  now  the  Epsom 
course,  the  bag  including,  be- 
sides many  gentlemen  of  quality 
"  wanted  "  by  the  Parliament, 
four  hundred  horses.  Whatever, 
though,  may  have  been  the  date 
of  the  original  Burford  meeting, 
it  is  quite    clear    from    the  ex- 


tant contemporary  records  of  the 
period  that,  with  the  return  of 
Charles  II.  to  the  possession  of 
the  throne  of  his  fathers,  Burford, 
as  a  place  of  sport,  quickly  estab- 
lished itself  in  regal  and  courtly 
favour.  Sir  William  Coventry,  in 
a  letter  to  Pepys,  dated  Minister 
'  Lovell,  June  25th,  1673,  in  which 
he  solicits  the  interest  of  the 
diarist  for  a  protegi  anxious  to 
enter  the  Navy,  says : — "  I  am 
very  unlikely  ever  to  make  you  a 
return  unless  you  have  occasion 
to  keep  a  running  horse  at  Bur- 
ford, in  which  case  I  offer  you 
my  diligence  to  overlook  him." 
The  idea  of  Pepys  as  an  owner — 
what  a  nuisance  the  worthy  gossip 
would  have  proved  himself  to  his 
trainer ;  no  stable  secrets  then  ! — 
opens  up  an  entertaining  vista  of 
possibilities ;  but  Sir  William 
Coventry's  offer  shows  that  Bur- 
ford must  have  already  become  a 
horse-racing  centre  of  considerable 
importance,  and  one  boasting 
many  influential  patrons. 

In  the  spring  of  1681,  writes 
Mr.  J.  P.  Hore  in  his  "Annals  of 
the  Turf,"  "  the  races  at  Burford 
were  held  under  novel  circum- 
stances. In  those  days  the  King 
was  at  issue  with  the  members  of 
the  House  of  Commons  on  the 


84 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[August 


burning  question  of  the  Royal 
succession,  the  fears  of  popery, 
and  arbitrary  government.  The 
Commons  refused  to  vote  the 
King  supplies,  whereupon  a  pro- 
clamation was  published  dis- 
solving the  Parliament,  and 
calling  another  to  meet  at  Oxford 
in  the  ensuing  March,  where,  in 
order  to  draw  attention  from  the 
political  crisis,  a  race  meeting  at 
Burford  was  projected.  The 
King,  who  is  said  to  have  con- 
ceived the  idea,  worked  hard  to 
make  the  races  the  most  popular 
on  record.  To  secure  success 
at  Burford,  Newmarket  Spring 
Meeting  was  boycotted.  Under 
Court  influence,  all  the  principal 
Turfites  in  the  country  were  in- 
duced to  contribute  to  its  success, 
by  entering  their  horses,  and  per- 
sonally attending  with  elaborate 
suites  and  large  retinues.  It  was 
sought  to  make  Burford  a  species 
of  political  Ascot,  some  fifty  years 
before  the  Ascot  of  the  future  was 
dreamt  of.  All  the  best  horses  at 
the  Royal  racing  establishment 
were  brought  from  Newmarket, 
and  the  greatest  difficulty  was 
experienced  in  finding  stabling 
for  these  and  similar  strings, 
which  had  arrived  there  early  in 
March  from  all  parts  of  the 
country." 

Such  is  the  story  of  the 
culminating  circumstances  which 
raised  Burford  races  from  what 
would  now  be  termed  a  local  hunt 
meeting  into  a  racing  fixture  of 
the  first  importance,  known  both 
as  Bibury  and  Burford,  from  the 
fact  that  the  racecourse  itself,  in 
the  shape  of  the  figure  8,  was 
located  on  the  Burford  Downs, 
exactly  half-way  between  the 
Oxfordshire  village  of  Burford, 
and  the  Gloucestershire  hamlet  of 
Bibury.  During  the  remaining 
years  of  the  reign  of  Charles  II., 
as  well  as  in  those  of  his  suc- 
cessors, James  II.  and  William 


III.,  Burford  appears  to  have 
been  the  fashionable  meeting  par 
excellence.  In  a  metrical  itinerary 
by  one  Mathew  Baskervile,  a 
Gloucestershire  squire,  who  men- 
tions having  attended  the  races 
about  the  year  1693,  the  praises 
of  the  fine  company  they  attracted 
are  sung  as  follows : — 

"  Next  for  the  glory  of  this  place 
Here  has  been  rode  many  a  race. 
King  Charles  the  2<*>  I  saw  here, 
But  I've  forgotten  in  what  year. 
The  Duke  of  Monmouth  here  also 
Made  his  horse  to  swet  and  blow ; 
Lovelace,  Pembroke  and  other  gallants, 
And  Nicholas  Bainton  on  Black  Sloven 
Got  silver  plate,  by  labour  and  drudging. 
Sutlers  bring  Ale,  Tobacco,  Wine, 
And  this  present  have  a  fair  time." 

An  early  peculiarity  about  these 
races  is  that,  in  the  notices  of  the 
Plates  to  be  contested  for,  as 
published  in  the  London  Gazette, 
the  weights  are  fixed  at  1 1  St.,  to 
allow  of  "  all  gentlemen  to  ride." 
On  his  return  from  Newmarket 
in  1695,  William  III.  visited 
Burford,  where  he  was  presented 
by  the  Corporation  with  two 
hunting  saddles,  according  to 
custom.  The  little  Oxfordshire 
town  was,  indeed,  famous  for  its 
trade  in  saddlery,  an  industry  that 
flourished  there  till  a  much  later 
date. 

During  the  eighteenth  century* 
no  records  are  extant  to  demon- 
strate the  continuation  or  pros- 
perity of  Burford  races.  It  is 
believed,  however,  that  meetings 
were  more  or  less  regularly  held 
on  these  downs — so  admirably 
adapted  for  the  purpose;  and  it 
may  also  be  presumed  that  a 
place  which  had  once  attracted 
Royal  visitors  and  the  cream  of 
the  racing  world  would  not 
quickly  relinquish  its  pristine 
glories.      Certain    it    is    that   in 

*  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  1722  the  Govern- 
ment received  information  that  a  Jacobite  clnb, 
known  as  the  Burford,  was  in  existence.  On  insti- 
tuting inquiries,  however,  it  was  found  that  the 
informers  had  absconded. 


I899-] 


THE    BIBURY   CLUB. 


»5 


the  exclusive  character  of  the 
early  Burford  meetings,  we  have 
the  germ  of  the  members'  en- 
closure. 

The  ancient  and  memorable 
traditions  of  the  course  must  have 
been  the  reason  for  its  selection 
when  the  Bibury  Club  proper  was 
established  there  in  1798  by 
Colonel,  afterwards  Field-Marshal 
Thomas  Grosvenor,  one  of  the 
most  staunch  and  honourable 
patrons  of  the  British  Turf  during 
the  first  half  of  the  present  cen- 
tury.* This  gallant  officer,  it 
should  be  noted,  had  only  returned 
from  the  campaign  in  Flanders  in 
1796,  and  in  1799  he  was  again 
off  to  the  wars,  with  the  expedi- 
tion to  the  Helder,  where  he  was 
wounded  in  the  affair  at  the  lines 
of  Zuype.  At  that  period  there 
was  a  great  craze  among  fashion- 
able young  men  for  essaying  the 
art  of  jockeyship ;  consequently, 
Colonel  Grosvenor  had  no  lack  of 
support  in  his  scheme  for  resusci- 
tating the  past  glories  of  the 
Burford  Downs;  indeed,  candi- 
dates for  membership  were  so 
numerous  that  many  had  to  be 
refused,  for  whose  accommodation 
other  clubs,  notably  the  Madding- 
ton,  sprang  up  in  imitation.  The 
Bibury  Club  started,  therefore, 
as  a  most  exclusive  circle  of 
aristocratic  sportsmen,  who  at- 
tended the  meetings  in  all  the 
glory  of  the  club  uniform.*  The 
first  public  mention  of  these  races, 
however,  occurs  in  the  "  Racing 
Calendar"  for  1801,  when  the 
results  for  that  year  are  given  in 
full,  together  with  a  notice  that 
the  horses  were  all  the  property 
of,  and  rode  by,  members  of  the 
Bibury    Club,    no    others    being 

*  Field-Marshal  Grosvenor  died  in  1851. 

t  Mr.  Robert  Black,  in  his  work  on  the  "  Jockey 
Club  and  its  Founders/'  speaks  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  in  1784  or  thereabout,  calling  on  his  old 
tutor  at  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  in  "full  Bibury 
Club  costume."  The  Prince  may  have  attended 
Burford  Races  at  that  date,  but  certainly  the 
Bibury  Club  was  not  yet  in  existence. 


allowed ;  also  that,  "  having  the 
permission  of  the  Club  to  publish 
them  in  future,  it  is  our  intention 
to  give  an  account  of  these  races 
for  the  last  three  or  four  years 
in  our  next  volume."  Accord- 
ingly, at  the  very  end  of  the 
"  Calendar"  for  1802  we  find  "  an 
account  of  the  sport  at  the  Bibury 
Meetings  in  the  years  1798,  1799 
and  1800,"  from  which  it  may  be 
seen  that  the  weights  were  never 
under  lost. 

In  addition,  however,  to  the 
Club  meeting  held  over  the  old 
Burford  course  in  the  middle  of 
June,  a  Burford  meeting  proper, 
open  to  all,  was  also  held  in  the 
month  of  September  of  each  year. 
The  most  prominent  habitues  of 
these  early  fixtures  were  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards 
George  IV.;  Lord  Foley  (Steward) ; 
Colonel  Grosvenor ;  Lord  Sack- 
ville ;  Lord  Sherborne ;  Sir  W. 
Wynne ;  Messrs.  Cholmondeley, 
Vanneck,  Talbot,  Cavendish, 
Bradshaw,  Butler,  Danvers, 
Berkeley  and  Craven.  In  1802 
the  Prince  carried  off  the  two  big 
events  of  the  meeting,  viz. :  the 
Craven  Stakes  with  the  four-year- 
old  Pacificator,  and  a  Weight-for- 
age Sweepstakes  with  the  six- 
year-old  Lucan.  Strenuous  efforts 
appear  to  have  been  made  to  keep 
the  annual  reunion  as  private  as 
possible,  and  all  racing  reporters 
were  tabooed.  But  when,  how- 
ever, these  scribes  did  get  a  look 
in  they  revenged  themselves  by 
satirising  the  performances  of  the 
gentlemen  jockeys,  for  justice 
compels  us  to  admit  that  many  of 
these  enthusiasts,  resplendent  in 
the  professional  costume  of  the 
Club,  were  "'ossy  men  on  fut, 
but  futty  men  on  'oss."  For 
instance,  in  1801,  Lord  Charles 
Somerset,  riding  for  Lord  Oxford, 
cut  an  ignominious  voluntary 
when  winning  in  a  canter;  and 
there  is  a  mysterious  story  about 


86 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[August 


the  Duke  of  Dorset,  who,  while 
riding  one  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales's  horses,  broke  a  blood- 
vessel, a  mishap  that  prevented 
him  speaking  again  for  a  year. 
But  the  best  gentlemen  jockeys 
the  Club  could  boast,  namely,  Mr. 
Delme  (father  of  Mr.  Delm6  Rad- 
cliffe,  Master  of  the  Hertfordshire 
Hunt)  and  Lord  Sackville,  were 
very  good  indeed,  and  proved 
their  ability  to  beat  such  masters 
of  the  art  as  Sam  Chiffney  and 
Frank  Buckle. 

For  twenty  -  nine  successive 
summers  the  Bibury  Club  held 
their  al  fresco  meetings  on  the 
Gloucestershire  border,  tents 
being  erected  for  their  temporary 
accommodation ;  but  in  1 826,  a 
dispute  having  arisen  as  to 
cartage,  a  change  of  venue  was 
announced,  and  Cheltenham 
selected  as  the  new  home.  Ac- 
cordingly, July  3rd,  1827,  saw 
the  Bibury  fixture — curtailed  from 
three  days  to  one — decided  on  the 
Cheltenham  course.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  the  ordinary  Chelten- 
ham and  Bibury  Club  meetings 
were  amalgamated  into  a  three- 
day  fixture,  one  day  devoted  to 
the  members  of  the  Cheltenham 
Club  and  Subscribers  to  the 
Gloucestershire  Stakes,  the  re- 
maining two  to  the  visitors, 
who  now  guaranteed  prize  money 
to  the  total  of  ^"1,100.  But  the 
club's  sojourn  at  Cheltenham 
only  lasted  four  seasons ;  the 
races  at  this  favourite  inland 
watering  place  were  a  veritable 
"  carnival  of  rascality  "  ;  and  the 
course  itself  on  Cleeve  Hill  not 
only  a  wretched  one,  but  with  its 
access  so  difficult  and  dangerous 
to  carriages,  that  very  few  except 
those  actually  interested  in  the 
races  attended.  Accordingly,  in 
the  spring  of  183 1,  on  the  motion 
of  the  Marquis  of  Worcester, 
the  Club  again  shifted  its  quarters, 
this  time  to  Stockbridge.     Prior 


to  the  first  reunion  there  on  the 
last  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  of 
June,  a  meeting  of  the  club 
officials,  held  at  the  Clarendon 
Hotel,  on  March  31st,  resolved 
that  "  in  future  no  members  shall 
try  the  horse  of  any  other  person 
than  his  declared  confederate 
within  twenty-five  miles  of  Stock- 
bridge  without  giving  notice  of 
the  trial  to  Mr.  Weatherby ;  and 
that  all  bets  and  engagements 
made  between  the  time  of  the  trial 
and  the  receipt  of  the  notice  shall 
be  void." 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Bibury 
Club  on  the  Stockbridge  course 
went  off  with  great  eclat.  The 
racing  itself  was  altogether  excel- 
lent, and  the  company  of  what 
Bell's  Life  termed  the  "first  class." 
"  Indeed,"  continues  this  journal, 
"  from  the  anxious  wish  of  so 
many  gentlemen  to  become  mem- 
bers of  the  Club,  added  to  the 
beauty  of  the  course,  we  predict 
that  this  fixture  will  in  a  short 
time  rank  with  the  first  in  the 
kingdom."  It  was  here  that  Mr. 
Osbaldeston  matched  himself 
against  Colonel  Charite  for  one 
thousand  guineas  to  ride  two 
hundred  miles  in  ten  successive 
hours,  with  the  use  of  as  many 
horses  as  he  might  choose.  This 
sensational  match,  which  created 
a  perfect  furore  in  the  sporting 
world,  did  not  come  off  until  the 
Saturday  of  the  following  New- 
market Houghton  Meeting,  when 
the  squire  accomplished  his  task 
in  eight  hours  forty-two  minutes. 
Mr.  Osbaldeston  was  one  of  the 
most  prominent  members  of  the 
Bibury  Club  of  his  day,  and  it 
was  due  to  this  fact  that  Lord 
George  Bentinck  so  long  refused 
to  join  the  famous  confraternity. 
The  haughty  spirit  of  the  great 
Turf  reformer  could  not  brook  the 
idea  that  his  ballot  for  election 
might  mean  blackballing  at  the 
hands  of  the  far  from  scrupulous 


I899-] 


THE    BIBURY   CLUB. 


87 


Turfite  whom  he  had  accused  of 
robbing  him  of  ^"200,  and  with 
whom  in  consequence  he  had 
been  out  on  Wormwood  Scrubbs. 
Thanks  to  the  good  offices  of  Mr. 
John  Day,  however,  a  recon- 
ciliation was  eventually  effected 
between  the  old  antagonists,  and 
Lord  George  became  a  member. 

It  is  wrong  to  suppose  that  the 
Stockbridge  meeting  by  itself  did 
not  originate  until  the  Bibury 
Club  entered  Hampshire.  This 
fine  old  fixture  dates  back  to 
1769,  when  the  very  first  volume 
of  the  "  Racing  Calendar  M  tells 
of  racing  being  held  on  its  rolling 
downs.  Again,  the  Maddington 
Club,  which  we  have  already 
mentioned  as  the  chief  rival  to 
the  Bibury  Association,  had  for 
some  years  brought  off  its  sport 
on  this  course,  moving  thither 
from  Winchester  about  1812. 
The  Maddington  Club,  however, 
had  expired  in  the  year  1823,  and 
with  the  decease,  at  about  the 
same  period,  of  other  clubs, 
limited  to  horses  the  property  of, 
and  ridden  by,  gentlemen  riders, 
the  Bibury  clan  was  left  to  reign 
supreme.  In  1832  the  regular 
Stockbridge  and  Bibury  Club 
meetings  were  amalgamated,  and 
the  combination  immediately 
proved  a  great  success,  owing  to 
the  excellent  arrangements  made 
by  Mr.  John  Day.  The  same 
season  saw  the  inauguration  of 
the  famous  *'  Danebury  Red- 
Books,"  which  until  1865  set 
forth,  in  full  detail,  the  doings, 
triumphs,  chances,  gains,  losses, 
and  hopes  entertained  concerning 
the  inmates  of  what  was  long  the 
premier  racing  stable  in  England. 

Within  the  limits  of  this  paper 
it  would  be  an  impossible  task  to 
chronicle  the  sport  of  the  com- 
bined meetings  from  the  year 
1 83 1  to  the  last  reunion  held  on 
the  classic  course  in  July,  1898. 
One    feature,    though,    must    be 


noted,  and  that  the  delightfully 
impromptu  and  strictly  workman- 
like atmosphere  which  long  con- 
tinued to  characterise  the  annual 
gatherings.  On  Burford  Downs 
a  few  tents  had  served  the  purpose 
of  weighing  room  and  other  offices, 
and  this  elementary  state  of  affairs 
also  prevailed  at  Stockbridge  down 
to  so  late  a  period  as  1866,  when 
the  Club  erected  its  first  per- 
manent stand,  which  was  built  by 
subscription  from  a  fund  started 
by  Sir  John,  then  Colonel  Astley. 
"  The  Mate,"  in  fact,  was  an 
energetic  officer  of  the  Club,  and 
seldom,  if  ever,  missed  a  meeting. 
In  1879,  the  conviviality  that  at- 
tended the  annual  club  dinner  at 
the  Grosvenor  Arms  Hotel  led  to 
his  making  three  amusing  wagers 
with  his  colleague,  Lord  Caledon, 
viz.,  to  plough  an  acre  of  land  for 
^"200 ;  to  shoot  fifty  pigeons  for 
^"200 ;  and  to  match  his  horse 
Drumhead,  6  yrs.,  against  Lord 
Caledon's  mare,  Briglia,  5  yrs., 
owners  up,  over  the  Suffolk  Stakes 
Course,  at  the  ensuing  Newmarket 
July  Meeting,  for  a  monkey.  All 
these  matches  were  written  out 
and  duly  signed.  The  last- 
mentioned  came  off  first,  and  Sir 
John,  who  went  to  scale  at  i6st. 
61bs.,  his  opponent  at  i6st.,  won 
by  three  lengths.  The  ploughing 
match  was  never  decided,  but 
Lord  Caledon  won  the  pigeons  at 
Brighton,  the  Saturday  after 
Goodwood  races. 

Alas  for  the  immutability  of 
mundane  affairs !  When  the 
Stockbridge  arena  seemed  likely 
to  serve  the  Bibury  Club  members' 
convenience  for  all  futurity,  there 
came  the  intelligence  that  owing 
to  the  expiry  of  a  lease,  which  a 
new  proprietor  refused  to  renew, 
this  ancient  meeting  would  be 
compulsorily  deleted  from  the 
fixture  list.  Accordingly,  for  the 
third  time,  the  Bibury  Club  has 
had  to  seek  a   new  home,   their 


88 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINF. 


[August 


choice  falling  upon  Salisbury, 
which  from  being  a  natural 
course,  situated  upon  command- 
ing ground,  and  in  the  depths  of 
the  country,  sufficiently  preserves 
the  time-honoured  traditions  of 
the  reunion  as  initiated  at  Burford. 
Needless  to  say,  though,  the 
final  gathering  at  Stockbridge  in 
July  of  last  year  was  accompanied 
by  many  expressions  of  regret  at 
leaving  a  rendezvous  which,  it  is 
no  exaggeration  to  state,  had 
endeared  itself  to  all,  even  to  the 
youngest  frequenters  brought  up 
in  a  far  more  luxurious  school 
of  racing  surroundings  than  that 
to  which  their  seniors  had  been 


accustomed.  Certainly  as  far  as 
a  picturesque  entourage  goes,  the 
Salisbury  course  can  vie  with  its 
predecessor,  but  where  roominess 
and  seeing  races  from  natural 
points  of  vantage  are  concerned, 
no  parallel  can  be  drawn.  How- 
ever, all  things  considered,  the 
move  has  been  satisfactorily 
effected,  and  with  it  the  names  of 
the  races  preserved  unchanged 
(though  it  does  seem  rather  odd 
to  read  of  Hampshire  Stakes  in 
Wiltshire);  therefore,  it  only 
remains  for  us  to  wish  the  Club 
many  years  of  unbroken  prosperity 
at  its  new  and  fourth  headquarters 
in  its  long  and  honourable  history. 


Anecdotes  of  an  Old  Turfite. 


I  don't  suppose  many  people 
who  go  racing  to-day  remember 
Mr.  Alder.  He  was  a  Scotch 
merchant,  who  made  a  fortune 
in  indigo — clearing  ^"15,000  in  one 
year,  I  have  been  told.  He  was 
an  odd  character,  and  had  some 
funny  ideas ;  he  would  not  bet  on 
horse-racing,  but  did  not  mind 
joining  others  in  a  bit  of  smug- 
gling ;  as  an  all-round  speculator 
perhaps  he  thought  it  was  legiti- 
mate business.  One  of  the  most 
successful  undertakings  of  this 
kind  was  a  big  deal  in  French 
gloves,  which  he  or  his  confeder- 
ates arranged  very  cleverly.  The 
gloves  were  packed  in  two  dis- 
tinct descriptions  of  bales,  one 
containing  only  right  hand  gloves, 
the  other  only  left  hands;  and 
the  bales  were  shipped  by  differ- 
ent vessels,  lest  the  preventive 
men  should  discover  them.  As 
it  turned  out,  one  lot  of  the  bales 
was  seized,  and,  in  accordance 
with  the  rules  of  the  Custom 
House,  was  put  up  for  sale  by 
auction ;  intending  buyers  of  course 


examined  the  goods  before  bidding, 
and  found  to  their  astonishment 
that  the  gloves  —  hundreds  of 
dozens — were  all  for  one  hand. 
Naturally  the  whole  parcel  was 
knocked  down  for  nothing  to  the 
wily  smugglers,  who  had  had  this 
contingency  in  view  when  they 
devised  their  original  method  of 
packing. 

Though,  as  before  stated,  he 
never  bet,  Mr.  Alder  was  ex- 
tremely fond  of  racing,  and  kept 
three  or  four  horses,  which  Mr. 
D.  D.  Boyce  trained  for  him  and 
which  ran  in  the  name  of  Mr. 
Cooper,  a  friend  of  his.  Mr.  Alder's 
great  delight  was  to  watch  horses 
at  exercise.     One  morning,  when 

Jem  Edwards  had  some  noted 
orses  of  Lord  Jersey's  in  his 
stables,  he  went  to  look  at  them 
while  the  lads  were  leading  them 
round  in  a  circle  after  their  gallop. 
Jem  Edwards,  always  a  hasty- 
tempered  man,  was  annoyed  by 
the  old  gentleman's  curiosity; 
waddling  up  to  him — Edwards 
was  terribly  bow-legged — he  said. 


I899J 


ANECDOTES   OF   AN    OLD   TURFITE. 


89 


in  a  very  unpleasant  tone  and 
manner, 

"You've  had  a  good  look  at 
them,  and  I  hope  you're  satisfied. 
What  do  you  think  ?  " 

"  I  think,  Mr.  Edwards,  that  a 
pig  might  run  between  your  legs 
without  touching  either  of  them," 
was  the  cool  reply. 

Upon  Epsom  Downs  on  one 
occasion  Mr.  Alder  had  his  pocket 
picked,  and  everything  in  it,  in- 
cluding his  purse,  stolen.  Soon 
afterwards  he  felt  a  hand  again  at 
work  in  the  same  pocket ;  looking 
over  his  shoulder  at  the  thief  he 
remarked,  drily,  "  Y'are  just  tae 
late ;  there's  one  been  there  before 
ye,"  and  coolly  turned  his  pockets 
inside  out  to  show  their  emptiness 
and  save  himself  further  annoyance. 

At  the  time  Mr.  Alder  had  his 
horses  in  Boyce's  stable  Lord 
George  Henry  Cavendish  (after- 
wards Earl  of  Burlington)  also 
trained  with  Boyce;  in  the  year 
1824  Lord  George  won  the  Ascot 
Cup  with  Bizarre,  beating  Lord 
Darlington's  Barefoot,  ridden  by 
J.  Chifmey,  the  odds  being  7  to  4 
on  Barefoot.  In  the  following  year 
(1825)  Bizarre  was  again  engaged 
in  the  Ascot  Cup,  and  Lord  George 
consulted  his  jockey,  Wm.  Arnull, 
about  the  horse's  chance.  Arnull 
said  that  unless  Bizarre  had  some- 
thing to  make  the  running  for 
him  at  a  good  pace  he  feared 
Longwaist  would  beat  him, 
Bizarre  being  a  bad  one  to  make 
play  with.  The  son  of  Orville 
was,  however,  game  to  the  very 
bottom,  and  would  go  any  dis- 
tance. Boyce,  who  was  present 
at  the  interview,  advised  his  lord- 
ship to  ask  Mr.  Alder  to  lend  him 
Streatham  to  make  the  pace  for 
Bizarre.  Lord  George,  not  caring 
to  ask  the  favour  himself,  desired 
Boyce  to  do  it,  charging  him  to 
say  that  he— Lord  George — would 
pay  the  stake,  jockey's  fee,  and  all 
attendant  expenses. 


Mr.  Alder  was  only  too  proud 
to  grant  the  favour;  Streatham 
made  the  pace  a  cracker,  and 
enabled  Bizarre  to  win  ;  though 
the  betting  was  6  and  7  to  4  on 
Longwaist  and  7  to  4  against 
Bizarre. 

Lord  George's  delight  at  this 
triumph  was  unbounded,  and  he 
offered  Mr.  Alder  a  hundred 
guineas  in  return  for  the  loan  of 
his  horse.  Mr.  Alder  declined  the 
money,  saying  he  was  only  too 
pleased  to  have  been  the  means  of 
gratifying  Lord  George's  wish 
tor  the  success  of  his  favourite 
horse,  whose  stoutness  made  him 
an  ornament  to  the  British  Turf. 
Under  pressure  Mr.  Alder  at 
length  accepted  the  hundred 
guineas,  but  he  sent  it  to  the 
clergyman  of  the  parish  in  which 
Ascot  racecourse  lies,  requesting 
him  to  distribute  a  certain  portion 
of  it  among  the  aged  and  deserving 
poor  every  Christmas  till  the  sum 
was  exhausted  ;  and  expressing  a 
hope  that  some  one  might  then 
renew  the  gift  upon  the  same 
conditions. 

Mr.  Alder,  when  he  chose, 
could  give  as  good  as  he  got.  He 
went  once  one  day  to  consult  the 
famous  Dr.  Abernethy,  who,  as  is 
well  known,  was  more  skilful  than 
courteous.  He  repeatedly  in- 
formed the  great  doctor  how  he 
felt,  &c,  &c,  and  Dr.  Abernethy 
as  often  replied, 

"  Hold  your  tongue,  Mr.  Alder. 
I  know  your  complaint  much 
better  than  you  can  explain  it  to 
me. 

The  consultation  concluded,  Mr. 
Alder  put  a  guinea  on  the  table 
and  turned  to  leave. 

"  Stay,"  said  the  doctor,  touch- 
ing him  on  the  shoulder, "  another 
guinea,  if  you  please." 

"  Hold  your  tongue,  doctor. 
I  know  your  fee  better  than  ye 
can  tell  it  me,"  rejoined  Mr.  Alder. 

John  Kent. 


9Q 


[August 


The  Teal  and  Green. 


A    DEE    PROBLEM. 


For  one  whole  month  there  had 
not  been  as  much  rain  as  would 
colour  the  moss-burn  that  came 
tumbling  down  from  Corrie  Erine, 
and  through  the  alders  and  birches 
at  the  foot  of  the  narrow  valley  to 
the  Dee.  The  noble  stream  was 
as  clear  as  crystal,  and  shrank  up 
almost  into  a  thread,  prattling 
away  down  among  stones  and 
rocks  that  had  not  felt  the  heat  of 
a  July  sun  bleaching  them  for 
forty  years  before.  So  at  least  I 
took  care  to  mention,  by  way  of 
apology,  as  I  slung  off  my  basket 
after  an  almost  "  blank M  day's 
work,  and  stuck  my  fly-book  into 
its  accustomed  corner  in  the 
"  aumrie."  I  had  come  there  to 
have  a  month's  fishing,  and  there- 
fore made  a  point  of  being  at  the 
river  every  day,  and  if  I  didn't  get 
fish  I  had,  at  any-rate  learnt  to 
cast,  and  could  lay  a  fly  as  neatly 
round  the  corner  of  the  Kelpie 
Stane  as  the  keeper,  Andrew 
Flinganphail,  himself. 

It's  all  very  well  to  argue  when, 
say,  you  are  seated  comfortably 
round  a  fire  in  December,  chatting 
over  the  achievements  of  last 
summer,  with  a  select  few  of  the 
piscatorial  brotherhood,  that  you 
never  enjoyed  so  fine  a  bit  of  sport 
as  the  day  you  captured  three  or 
four  trout,  when  the  water  would 
have  shown  a  threepenny  bit  on 
the  bottom,  and  the  sky  above  was 
as  clear  as  a  blazing  summer  sun 
could  make  it.  Theoretically, 
perhaps,  the  doctrine  should  be 
sound,  but  I  never  yet  saw  the 
man  who  believes  it  practically. 
Stewart  says  somewhere  that  if 
the  business  of  an  angler  is  to 
catch  fish,  the  more  fish  he  catches 
the  better  sport  he  will  have.  Be 
that  as  it  may.     I  felt  that  matters 


were  getting  serious  :  as  the  river 
fell,  my  basket  proportionately 
decreased,  till  for  the  last  week,  as 
far  as  fish  contributed  anything  to 
its  weight,  it  might  be  described 
with  the  closest  approximation  to 
accuracy  as  imponderable.  The 
day  before  I  had  arranged  to 
return  to  town,  I  had  been  at  the 
river  all  forenoon,  and  about  mid- 
day fell  in  with  my  friend  Andrew. 
He  came  down  almost  every  day, 
some  time  or  another,  but  I  had 
strong  suspicions  that  for  a  week 
or  two  it  was  only  a  pro  forma 
visitation.  At  any  rate,  he  didn't 
seem  to  be  busy  to-day,  and  I  had 
little  difficulty  in  persuading  him 
to  "  ease  his  shanks,"  as  he  ex- 
pressed it,  for  a  little.  We  ac- 
cordingly retired  to  the  shade  of 
some  birch  bushes  (ubiquitous  on 
Upper  Deeside),  and  had  a  re- 
freshing siesta  in  the  deep  and 
fragrant  heather.  When  we  got 
our  pipes  set  a-going,  and  a  com 
fortable  position  selected,  Andrew 
and  I  had  a  long  discussion  on  the 
critical  state  of  events.  I  had 
hoped  to  get  some  wrinkle  or  other 
from  an  old  hand,  but  found  him 
pessimistic  and  inclined  to  regard 
the  position  as  hopeless  from  our 
common  point  of  view.  "  Na, 
na,"  said  he,  in  the  sententious 
and  judicial  tone  I  have  often 
noticed  keepers  adopt  to  us 
amateurs  who  may  happen  to  con- 
sult them,  "  You'd  better  lay  by 
your  rod  for  a  day  or  twa,  till  the 
weather  changes.  I'll  be  breakin' 
in  some  dogs  for  the  'Twelfth* 
the  morn,  and  if  ye  care  to  see  hoo 
the  beasties  work,  we  could  tak'  a 
turn  round  the  Balbreg  Moor  the- 
gither." 

"  That's  very  kind,   Andrew," 
said  I,  "  but  I'm  sorry  I  have  to 


IS990 


THE   TEAL  AND    GREEN. 


91 


start  for  home  to-morrow  after- 
noon, and  as  I  should  like  to  take 
a  trout  or  two  in  with  me  for  my 
friends,  I  intend  spending  the 
forenoon  here/' 

"  Aweel,  there'll  be  nae  troots 
for  them  the  morn,  I'm  sure ; 
they'll  just  need  to  mak'  oot 
wantin'  them,  as  the  good  wife  of 
Dalrory  said  to  the  tinkler  that 
spiered  the  loan  of  a  table-cloth 
for  his  dinner." 

"  I'm  afraid  you're  right,"  said 
I,  with  a  laugh,  "but  I'll  give 
them  one  other  chance." 

Next  morning  there  was  indeed 
a  change,  only  I  didn't  know 
whether  it  was  for  the  better  or 
the  worse.  During  the  night  the 
wind  had  been  blowing  strongly 
from  the  south-west,  but  when  1 
woke  I  found  it  had  gone  com- 
pletely round,  and  was  coming  up 
the  valley  from  the  east  a  moderate 
breeze,  and  that  the  air  was  a 
good  deal  colder.  An  east  wind 
isn't  an  angler's  wind,  in  spring,  at 
any  rate;  but  in  summer,  parti- 
cularly after  a  spell  of  hot  weather, 
it  will  generally  be  found  bene- 
ficial. I  was  in  a  more  hopeful 
mood  as  I  got  my  fishing  gear 
together,  and  set  out  about  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  The 
verse  I  found  myself  humming  as 
I  jumped  over  the  wall  of  the 
garden,  and  proceeded  to  ascend 
the  hillock  as  the  nearest  way  to 
the  river,  was  a  jeu  d 'esprit  on  the 
Laird  of  Balmawhapple's  song  in 
"  Waverley": — 

"  It's  up  Kilbarchan's  brae  I  gaed, 
And  by  the  bents  of  Killiebraid, 
And  mony  a  weary  cast  I  made, 
To  kittle  the  salmon's  tail." 

There  was  a  slight  inaccuracy  in 
the  last  line,  as  my  permission  did 
not  extend  to  the  highest  species 
of  the  genus  salmo,  but  only  to  the 
common  yellow  or  river  trout ;  but 
the  word  suited  the  rhythm,  and 
the  idea  my  case  exactly. 

Arrived  at  the  scene  of  action,  I 


put  up  my  rod  and  began  work 
with  the  very  finest  tackle  I  could 
get,  and  flies  that  did  not  seem 
capable  of  holding  a  minnow. 
And  aren't  the  first  five  or  ten 
minutes  in  some  respects  usually 
the  best  of  a  day's  fishing  ?  As 
you  go  down  to  the  water  it 
almost  always  looks  attractive  and 
in  trim  ;  and  when  you  are  getting 
out  line  don't  you  expect  every 
moment  to  feel  the  delicate, 
delicious  obstruction  of  the  flies, 
and  then  to  strike  ? 


it 


But  pleasures  are  like  poppies  spread, 
You — 


>> 


fish  half  an  hour,  and  find  that  the 
bottom  of  your  basket  is  still  un- 
covered, and  that  you  are  to  have 
a  commonplace  day  after  all.  To- 
day, however,  I  was  agreeably 
surprised.  I  began  in  a  listless 
sort  of  way,  hardly  expecting  to 
do  anything,  and  hadn't  made 
half-a-dozen  casts  when  I  was 
busy  with  a  nice  quarter-pounder. 
Three  or  four  of  these  followed  in 
quick  succession,  and  I  passed  on 
to  the  next  pool,  where  a  pretty 
similar  experience  awaited  me. 
Thereafter,  whatever  was  the 
reason,  sport  fell  off,  the  time  of 
the  take  was  over,  and  I  had  to  be 
contented  with  a  trout  or  two  in 
the  course  of  an  hour.  However, 
by  about  eleven  o'clock  I  had  a 
very  presentable  basket,  and  that, 
too,  though  the  water  had  not 
risen  an  inch  overnight, and  though 
the  sky  was  as  unclouded  as  it  had 
been  for  these  many  days  past. 
The  improvement  was  clearly  due 
to  the  change  of  temperature,  the 
sense  for  which  is  keener,  I  fancy, 
in  fish  than  for  anything  else. 
Most  of  them  fell  to  a  Black 
Spider,  and  a  few  to  a  dun- 
coloured  fly. 

When  fishing  on  the  particular 
stretch  of  water  I  am  speaking  of, 
I  am  always  in  the  way  of  leaving 
my  favourite  pool  to  the  last — not 


92 


baily's  magazine 


[August 


that  it  is  the  best  policy,  but  it  is 
a  delightful  bit  to  fish,  and  lies 
nearest  where  I  happen  to  stay. 
Perhaps  it  is  just  an  ideal  salmon 
cast ;  at  any  rate,  as  Andrew  says, 
"  I  hinnaseen  ane  up  or  doon  Dee 
better  yet,  nor  ane  you're  surer  of 
a  fish  in."  The  beauty  of  it  is 
that  it  is  not  a  "  linn  "  ;  the  water 
does  not  come  tumbling  into  a 
deep  black  hole,  and  die  dead  at 
the  other  end  of  the  pool.  It  is  a 
stream,  properly  so  called,  from 
head  to  foot,  running  at  a  nice 
moderate  pace,  and  the  surface  has 
just  as  much  roughness  as  gives  it 
that  peculiar  appearance  which 
none  but  an  angler's  eye  can 
appreciate.  The  result  is  that 
however  low  the  water  falls  it  is 
"fishable,"  even  when  the  other 
pools  far  and  near  are  perfectly 
hopeless. 

After  so  good  a  beginning  in  the 
morning,  I  hoped  to  put  half  a 
dozen  to  my  credit  here,  and 
fished  the  little  bit  of  backwater  at 
the  top  (usually  the  best  for 
trouting)  very  carefully,  but  with- 
out success.  I  had  got  pretty 
well  down  the  pool,  and  was  fishing 
in  a  listless  and  careless  fashion, 
when  I  felt  something,  and  struck 
sharply.  Whatever  it  was  it 
went  off  with  a  sharp  run,  and 
judging  from  the  "  feel  "  of  it  that 
it  was  a  good-sized  trout,  I  gave 
it  plenty  of  liberty,  my  tackle 
being  so  fine.  Then  in  a  moment 
or  two,  intending  to  try  its  mettle, 
I  put  a  little  strain  on,  and  away  it 
went  across  and  up  stream,  and  to 
my  utter  surprise  a  beautiful 
silvery  little  grilse  sprang  two  feet 
out  of  the  water,  and  left  my  line 
floating  loose  down  stream.  I 
gazed  helplessly  for  a  minute  or 
two  where  the  fish  disappeared, 
half  expecting,  as  I  have  noticed 
many  folks  do,  to  see  it  again,  then 
reeled  up  and  sat  down  shaking 
with  the  excitement  of  the  surprise 
I  had  got. 


"  Tis  better  to  have  hooked  and  lost, 
Than  never  to  have  hooked  at  all," 

would  probably  be  assented  to  by 
most  anglers,  but  it's  cold  com- 
fort, and  apt  to  make  most  men 
desperate  and  bloodthirsty.  I 
didn't  for  my  part  mean  to  let  the 
fish  off  on  such  easy  terms.  (The 
fly  the  grilse  had  risen  to  was  a 
very  small,  teal- winged,  green- 
bodied  fly.)  Accordingly  I  changed 
my  gossamer  thread  for  an  or- 
dinary trout-casting  line  (con- 
science would  not  let  me  use  any- 
thing stronger),  and  put  on  for  a 
point  hook  a  fly  of  exactly  the 
same  pattern,  only  two  sizes 
larger — teal  wing,  green  body  with 
a  touch  of  yellow  at  the  tail,  silver 
tinsel,  and  black  hackle.  I  tried 
my  gut  with  a  pretty  severe  strain, 
found  everything  sound,  and 
started  at  the  head  of  the  pool 
again.  I  had  little  difficulty  in 
throwing  right  across,  and  the 
nice  stream  brought  the  line 
swinging  round  beautifully.  Every 
cast  was  as  carefully  made  as  if 
my  life  and  reputation  had  been  at 
stake,  and  my  hand  was  ready — 
too  ready,  in  fact,  for  it  wasn't 
steady  enough — to  send  the  barb 
home.  I  was  pulling  up  my  line 
and  coiling  some  of  it  among 
my  feet,  preparatory  to  making 
another  thjrow,  when  the  stoppage 
came,  and  away  went  my  line, 
cutting  the  water  like  the  bows  of 
a  steamer.  I  stepped  back  from 
the  stones,  and  on  to  the  bank, 
my  hand  shaking  for  a  little,  but 
I  soon  steadied  down  to  the 
"  tuilzie "  in  earnest.  I  inferred 
from  the  heavy  pull  that  the  fish 
was  a  "  fish  "  (Scottice)  not  a  grilse 
or  sea  trout,  and  my  chances  of 
getting  the  better  of  it  seemed 
precarious.  The  tackle  was  far 
too  light  to  put  any  great  de- 
pendance  on,  and  my  rod  was 
only  10  or  n  feet  long. 

Fortunately    I    had    plenty  of 
line,   and  the  bank  on  which   I 


1*9*1 


THE   TEAL   AND   GREEN. 


93 


stood  was  well  above  water's  level, 
and  consequently  I  could  get  well 
over  the  fish,  and  save  having  to 
let  any  of  my  line  get  •'  dead." 
One  thing  I  feared  would  be 
fatal ;  if  the  fish  were  to  take  to 
jumping:  but,  poor  fool,  it  didn't, 
and  therefore— but  you'll  see  pre- 
sently. 

After  the  first  rush  it  turned, 
and  came  slowly  down,  then  went 
away  again,  and  so  on,  as  all 
salmon  do. 

Presently  it  tried  a  new  plan, 
stopped  dead,  and  began  to  shake 
its  head,  making  the  point  of  the 
rod  move  ominously  in  a  suc- 
cession of  jerks.  This  wouldn't 
do,  so  I  stooped  down  and 
managed  to  get  a  few  pebbles  to 
stir  it  up  with.  After  three  or 
four  attempts  I  succeeded  in 
getting  the  "  beast "  on  the 
move  again,  and  back  to  its  old 
tactics. 

By  and  by,  perhaps  in  ten 
minutes,  I  had  managed  to  reduce 
the  area  of  its  evolutions  con- 
siderably, but  still  had  very  little 
real  command  over  it.  However, 
I  kept  on  all  the  strain  I  could, 
and  waited  patiently  for  signs  of 
exhaustion. 

In  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
from  the  beginning  of  the  tussle 
they  came.  First  the  tip  of  the 
tail  began  to  show  itself  occa- 
sionally, and  the  black  back  as  it 
turned  round  to  dart  away  again, 
and  a  white  gleam  of  the  silvery 
belly. 

But  as  difficult  a  problem  re- 
mained. How  was  I  to  land  my 
victim  ?  I  had  no  gaff,  and  there 
was  no  sandy  cove  or  beach  up  or 
down  the  pool,  but  only  large- 


rounded  stones  or  "  stanners," 
dipping  into  water  a  foot  or  two 
deep. 

I  was  looking  about  for  some 
suitable  spot,  when  I  noticed  quite 
close  to  where  I  had  the  fish  a 
stone  with  a  smooth,  flat  top, 
which  was  just  lapped  by  the 
water;  I  would  land  it  here. 
Guiding  it,  therefore,  towards  this 
stone,  and  watching  my  oppor- 
tunity, in  one  of  its  splashes  I  got 
its  head  and  shoulders  lifted  on  to 
the  stone,  caught  hold  of  my  line, 
lowered  it  close  to  the  water,  and 
with  a  gentle  pull  slid  my  quarry 
over  the  stone,  and  in  among  the 
dry  pebbles  and  "  stanners."  In 
a  moment  I  had  grasped  it  by  the 
"  wrist "  of  the  tail,  and  a  beautiful 
10  lb.  salmon  was  lying  on  the 
green  bank  beside  me. 

Just  one  other  question  re- 
mained— what  was  I  to  do  with 
it  ? — and  a  rather  subtle  question 
too.  I  had  no  liberty  to  take 
salmon,  and  therefore  the  fish  was 
not  properly  mine.  It  was  no  use 
throwing  it  into  the  river  again — 
that  was  absurd.  The  proper 
owner  must  be  the  great  Andrew 
Flinganphail  himself.  But  then, 
Andrew  was  miles  away,  and  I 
had  to  go  in  a  couple  of  hours  to 
the  railway  station.  And  then  the 
tempting  thought — how  nice  it 
would  be  to  be  able  to  afford  some 
concrete  demonstration  of  one's 
skill  in  the  art  to  your  friends. 
Altogether  it  was  a  problem  for  a 
casuist — doubtful,  difficult,  and 
delicate.  "Well,  but  what  did 
you  do?"  "What  did  I  do, 
courteous  reader  ?  "  I  did  what 
you  would  have  done  in  the 
circumstances. 


94 


[August 


The  Measurement  of  Ponies. 

A   DIALOGUE. 

[Time,   2  p.m.     Smoking-room  of  the  Vulpine  Club.     Present :   Woodman  and 
Lawson,  both  keen  polo  players.] 


"  What  is  the  matter,  Wood- 
man ?  You  seem  out  of  sorts 
to-day." 

"  So  I  am.  I  have  just  been 
to  Hurlingham  to  have  my  ponies 
measured/ ' 

"Oh,  I  suppose  they  didn't 
pass  ? " 

•  "  Yes,  they  did,  all  of  'em,  easy 
enough,  but  what  bothers  me  is 
that  all  the  others  passed  too,  and 
I  declare  one  or  two  were  over 
15  hands." 

"  But  how  could  they  be  if 
they  walked  under  Rawlinson's 
patent  measuring  stand  ?  It 
always  seems  to  me  that  that  is 
about  the  most  perfect  arrange- 
ment for  measuring  ponies  that 
ever  was  invented." 

"  Yes,  the  measuring' s  all  right. 
Besides,  Sir  Henry  wouldn't 
stand  any  nonsense.  It's  the 
way  ponies  are  prepared  that  is 
the  mischief." 

"But,  my  dear  fellow,  where 
have  you  been  ?  Don't  you  know 
that  most  big  ponies  want  a  little 
training  before  they  will  measure  ? 
The  fact  is,  most  ponies  have  two 
or  three  different  heights,  accord- 
ing to  circumstances.  Look  at 
my  old  mare  Barbara.  When 
she  is  tired  or  at  rest  I  can 
measure  her  14  hands  easily,  but 
in  action  and  when  she  is  pulled 
up  by  excitement,  the  standard 
goes  over  her  wither  with  diffi- 
culty at  14. 1  J.  Which  is  her 
real  height  ?  I  don't  quite  see 
even  now  why  you  are  so  annoyed 
because  another  fellow's  ponies 
measured." 

"Why?  Because  I  buy  good 
ponies,  and  I  will  have  'em  the 
right    height,    say     rather     over 


1 4. 1,  and  some  other  fellow  buys 
a  great  hulking  brute  of  1 5  hands. 
You  can't  bring  the  two  sizes 
together,  for  when  it  comes  to 
racing  for  the  ball  or  there  is  a 
bit  of  a  hustle,  where  are  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  dear  boy,  I  know ; 
but  that's  just  where  your  toes 
turn  in.  It's  the  same  with 
everybody.  Everyone  assumes, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  that  the 
bigger  the  pony  the  better  he  is 
for  polo." 

"  And  isn't  it  so  ?  " 

"No,  I  think  not.  In  the 
first  place,  speed  and  size,  in 
ponies,  at  all  events,  are  not 
necessarily  correlated  at  all.  Did 
you  ever  do  any  pony  racing  in 
India?  Yes?  Well,  then,  did 
you  never  see  the  small  ones  beat 
the  big  ones  ?  Look  at  Chorister, 
nearly  13.2,  and  Rex  and  Blitz, 
all  of  them  little  ones.  Rex 
could  beat  horses  a  couple  of 
hands  higher  than  himself.  So 
much  for  speed.  Then  I  think 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  handiest 
are  those  about  14.1.  After  that 
they  become  difficult  to  turn. 
These  long  raking  ponies  cannot 
come  round." 

"  Exactly.  I  ha'd  not  thought 
of  that,  but  now  you  mention  it, 
I  see  what  you  mean.  Moreover, 
I  have  been  watching  ponies 
closely,  and  I  think  that  while 
the  smaller  ponies  turn,  as  it 
were,  on  all  fours,  the  larger  ones 
spin  round  on  their  hocks.  I 
have  seen  a  pony  make  a  complete 
circle  with  its  forelegs  oflf  the 
ground,  drop  them,  and  go  off  on 
the  line  of  the  ball." 

"  Yes.  Then  I  believe  at 
present  that  ponies  are  at  their 


1899-] 


THE    MEASUREMENT   OF    PONIES. 


95 


best  height  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses at  about  14.1." 

"  That's  all  very  well,  but  there 
are  so  few  of  them." 

"Of  course  there  are  not 
enough  to  go  round,  there  never 
is  of  anything  good,  and  the 
small  boys  and  the  poor  men 
must  go  without.  Then  what  we 
have  to  consider  is  how  to  en- 
courage people  to  raise  ponies 
for  the  market,  and  in  order  to  do 
that,  as  wide  a  latitude  in  mea- 
surement as  possible  is  desirable." 

"  That  is  true ;  but  what  I 
have  been  trying  to  say  all  this 
time  is  that  something  ought  to 
be  done  to  stop  '  faking.'  " 

"  There  I  agree  with  you  ;  but 
I  should  like  you  to  define  what 
you  mean  by  faking.  There  is 
such  a  thing  as  teaching  a  pony 
to  measure — er — shall  we  say  at 
his  best  ?  " 

"Well,  I  should  call  it  all 
faking  ;  but  give  me  your  idea." 

"Look  here,  then.  Suppose 
you  have  a  pony  14. 2 J.  If  you 
take  that  pony  in  his  raw  state, 
he  won't  come  under  the  stan- 
dard. You  must  teach  him  to 
measure  by  making  him  stand 
quietly  under  the  standard ;  give 
him  an  apple  or  bit  of  sugar  off 
the  ground,  and  you  will  find  he 
will  keep  trying  to  lower  his 
head,  which  in  some  cases  will 
materially  assist  the  measure. 
After  some  practice  the  height 
will  come  off  every  time  you  try 
him,  and  you  will  find  that,  as  a 
rule,  he  will  measure  smaller  in 
cold  weather  than  in  warm,  and 
less  after  a  sharp  gallop  than 
before.  All  this,  including  a 
careful,  but  not  excessive  lower- 
ing of  his  heels,  is  legitimate 
preparation.  In  this,  too,  I 
would  include  the  removal  of 
superfluous  hair  from  the  wither." 

"  So  far,  good.  Now  what  do 
you  call  faking  ?  " 

"  I  will  tell  you.     If,  when  the 


pony  goes  under  yDur  standard 
he  finds  the  business  end  of  a  tin 
tack  or  a  broken  steel  pen  at  that 
point  of  the  standard  where  his 
withers  come,  so  that  he  shrinks 
together,  as  it  were,  directly  he 
finds  himself  under  it.  Or  a^ain, 
if  the  withers  have  been  eently 
bumped  with  a  stocking  full  of 
wet  sand  till  they  swell  up  and 
the  swelling  is  reduced  with  an 
ice  poultice  before  measuring, 
this  plan  will  take  off  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  at  once." 

"But  those  are  not  all,  I  am 
sure,  for  I  saw  a  couple  of  ponies 
that  could  hardly  crawl,  and 
seemed  half  asleep." 

"  Ah  !  those  are  methods  quite 
indefensible,  inasmuch  as  they  are 
cruel,  and  for  the  most  part  defeat 
their  own  ends.  It  is  true  that 
you  can  generally  make  the  pony 
measure,  but  the  process  often 
renders  him  useless  afterwards. 
I  remember  a  bay  mare  of  great 
beauty  and  promise,  which  I  saw  in 
a  dealer's  yard.  I  wanted  to  buy 
her  badly,  and  made  every  effort 
to  bring  her  under  the  standard. 
But  it  was  all  to  no  purpose,  14.3 
was  the  very  lowest  she  would 
measure,  so  I  reluctantly  left  her. 
The  next  thing  I  heard  was  that 
some  one  else  had  bought  the 
mare,  and  that  she  had  measured. 
My  man  was  there  when  she 
came  up,  and  he  told  me  that  the 
boy  who  brought  her  told  him  she 
had  been  kept  walking  all  night, 
and  then  had  had  a  dose  of 
chloral.  Her  feet  had  been 
lowered  till  they  were  so  tender 
she  could  hardly  walk — but  she 
measured." 

"  Surely  the  pony  would  be  no 
good  again  ?  " 

"  Very  likely  not,  but  then,  on 
the  other  hand,  she  might  come 
round,  and  she  certainly  was  no 
use  to  her  owner  if  she  would  not 
measure." 

11  Ah  !  I  see,  it  was  a  choice  of 


96 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


ills,  and  the  owner  took  the  least 
— for  himself.  But  now,  before 
we  go,  I  should  like  to  know  if 
you  have  any  remedy  to  suggest. 
Can  such  things  be  prevented  ?  M 

"  Yes,  I  think  they  can.  I 
should  like  to  oblige  ponies  to  be 
measured  in  shoes.  Then,  too, 
I  would  add  to  the  certificate 
that  the  pony  bore  no  evidence 
of  having  been  prepared  in  any 
improper  manner.  Lastly,  ponies 
playing  in  first-class  tournaments 


might  be  liable  to  re-measure- 
ment within  a  week  of  the  date 
fixed/' 

"Very  good,  my  dear  fellow, 
but  how  about  the  tin-tack  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  that  you 
can  prevent  that ;  but  then  it 
doesn't  matter.  It's  not  cruel, 
and  it's  the  same  for  all.  But 
time's  up,  and  I  must  be  off.  I 
have  to  play  at  Hurlingham  at 
four." 

(Exeunt.) 


White  Heather. 


THE  TRAGEDY  OF  AN  ENGLISH  MOOR. 


Sceptics  and  matter-of-fact  people 
do  make  light  of  ghosts,  but 
those  who  remember  the  story 
of  the  tragedy  that  happened 
some  years  ago  on  a  Yorkshire 
grouse  moor,  give  some  licence  to 
such  thoughts.      It   was  on   the 

eve  of  the  12th,  and  R Station 

gave  the  travelling  public  the  in- 
timation that  they  were  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  grouse-land,  for 
from  the  luggage  vans  and  lock- 
ups came  notes  of  game  dogs, 
who  so  heartily  hate  the  dis- 
comfort of  travel.  A  party  of 
gunners  was  assembled  on  the 
platform  to  catch  the  special 
saloon  carriage  which  was  to  take 
them  up  the  loop  line  which  runs 
to  the  valley  junction. 

"  Look  here  ! "  exclaimed  one 
young  man,  who  had  already  got 
a  sprig  of  heather  in  his  button- 
hole ;  "  that  is  a  pretty  woman ! 
I  wish  I  were  going  her  way ! " 

"By  her  costume  I  shouldn't 
wonder  if  she  is  bound  for  the 
moors,"  remarked  his  companion, 
"  but    I    am    afraid     she's     not 


for  our  shoot,  for  you  know  our 
billet  is  the  village  inn,  and  our 
host  a  confirmed  woman  hater." 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
lady  was  the  cynosure  of  two 
pairs  of  eyes  belonging  to  young 
Englishmen  who  were  the  pride 
of  their  respective  regiments, 
there  was  not  the  least  appear- 
ance of  embarrassment  or  even 
consciousness  of  the  sensation  she 
created.  Her  face  reminded  one 
of  a  beautiful  picture,  such  as  a 
painter  might  dream  of  in  his 
most  ecstatic  moments.  Nothing 
could  have  been  in  better  taste 
than  her  travelling  costume  and 
the  soft  brown  hat,  just  relieved 
by  two  blue  feathers,  sat  jauntily 
over  a  captivating  pair  of  brown 
eyes. 

"  Take  your  seats,  please,"  said 
the  guard  to  the  gunners,  as  he 
bustled  down  the  train,  after 
stowing  away  the  valets,  loaders, 
and  general  paraphernalia  of 
grousing  warfare  in  the  front 
carriages. 

The    first  -  class   compartment 


THE    FIERY    ORDEAL. 


1899-1 


WHITE   HEATHER. 


97 


had  been  reserved  for  the  gunners, 
the  train  being  only  a  short  one, 
made  up  of  a  few  carriages  and 
many  goods  trucks.  There  being 
no  seat  for  the  lady,  the  guard, 
just  before  starting,  asked  per- 
mission for  her  to  travel  with  the 
party.  The  old  white-whiskered 
gentleman,  who  preferred  strong 
tobacco  to  ladies'  petticoats, 
shrugged  his  shoulders  and 
grumbled  about  the  wretched 
accommodation  on  these  side 
lines,  but  the  young  man  with 
the  sprig  of  heather  in  his  button- 
hole, who  was  George  Trevor  of 
the  Buffs,  just  home  from  India 
on  furlough,  left  any  further  ar- 
gument out  of  the  question  by 
alighting  from  the  carriage  to 
help  the  lady  in.  She  was  pro- 
fuse with  thanks,  and  quickly 
settled  in  the  most  comfortable 
corner. 

11  Thank  you  so  much,  it  is  such 
a  difficult  matter  travelling  on  an 
unknown  route,"  was  the  answer 
in  a  musical  voice,  which  was 
just  what  one  expected  to  hear. 

The  evening  beauties  of  heather- 
clad   hills,  as    the    train    slowly 
wound  its  way  up  the  valley  of 
the  river,    did    not   prevent    the 
vis-a-vis   of    the     fair   lady  from 
studying    his   companion,   giving 
an  opportunity  for  conversation, 
as  the   whole  journey  was  over 
familiar  ground.      The  imposing 
masses    of    hills     stood    out    in 
purple   and    azure   blue    against 
the   setting    sun.        Every    mile 
brought  variety  of  scenery  in  hill 
and  dale,  in    moor   and    stream. 
Angry   torrents    rushed  through 
lonely  dells,  eating  slowly  deeper 
their  rocky  beds,  falling   in    en- 
trancing loveliness  over  boulders 
and  crags.     Wherever  the  river 
wound  its  way,  the  country  was 
rich  and  green,  abounding  in  trees 
and  woodland.      Nature  appeared 
to  have  exhausted  her  paint-box 
in   fantastic    colouring     on     the 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  474. 


heather-clad  hills,  and  as  the 
train  sped  through  the  rocky 
cutting,  with  yellow  gorse  re- 
lieving the  cold  grey  of  the 
boulders,  grouse,  scared  by  the 
whistle,  flew  down  to  the  valley. 
One  even  of  a  less  romantic  tem- 
perament than  George  Trevor's 
must  have  admitted  that  such  a 
setting  was  worthy  of  the  beauti- 
ful figure  that  sat  watching  the 
scene  as  it  glided  by.  As  for  the 
old  white  -  whiskered  gentleman, 
he  button-holed  the  other  soldier 
gunner,  and  much  against  his  in- 
clinations began  a  long  argument 
about  the  merits  of  the  newest 
things  in  gunpowder,  oblivious  of 
the  passing  scene. 

The  whole  party  in  the  carriage 
were  bound  for  the  same  destina- 
tion, an  isolated  little  village, 
whose  solitary  retirement  from 
the  sights  and  sounds  of  the  out- 
side world  was  once  a  year 
relieved  by  the  invasion  of  the 
grouse-driving  party  and  a  few 
stray  fishermen.  It  was,  in  fact, 
an  undiscovered  sportsman's  para- 
dise, for  in  this  county  there  are 
hills  of  peace  and  dales  of  joy, 
with  scenery  to  rival  Switzer- 
land. 

We  all  have  our  ideals  in  life, 
and  at  the  most  unexpected  mo- 
ments we  meet  our  fate,  which 
proves  a  rock  on  which  we  anchor 
or  split.  George  Trevor,  when 
he  alighted  from  the  train  at  the 
little  wayside  station,  and  helped 
his  fair  companion  to  collect  her 
wraps,  realised  that  life  for  him 
at  least  had  new  interests. 


The  three  gunners  were  glad  of 
the  excuse  to  stretch  their  legs  by 
walking  up  the  steep  road  with  its 
loose  stones  winding  up  the  hill- 
side to  the  village,  for  the  evening 
air  was  laden  with  the  invigorating 
scent  of  heather.  The  keeper  was 
at  the  station  full  of  bustle  and 


98 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


importance,  awaiting  the  next 
train,  which  was  timed  some  ten 
minutes  later,  bringing  the  Colonel, 
who  was  the  host  of  the  party, 
and  annually  established  himself 
at  the  village  inn  with  his  guests 
to  shoot  the  moor  on  the  opening 
day.  The  forward  reports  of  the 
abundance  of  birds  was  reassuring. 

"  There  be  a  sight  of  birds  and 
never  remember  them  so  strong 
on  the  wing — only  one  pack  of 
cheepers  on  the  hill.  It  will  be  a 
famous  day,  sir ! "  said  the  man 
of  leathers,  as  the  party  waited  on 
the  platform  for  the  arrival  of 
their  host. 

"  Who  is  the  lady  who  has  just 
driven  off  in  the  conveyance  from 
the  inn  ?  "  was  asked  of  the  keeper, 
who  replied : — 

"  I  could  not  well  say,  sir,  for 
there  will  be  no  lady  in  the 
Colonel's  party,  and  we  don't  see 
many  in  these  parts  during  the 
course  of  a  year." 

"  Quite  right  too,  they  are  only 
in  the  way,  and  quite  out  of  place 
in  a  shooting  party  2  "  snapped  the 
old  gentleman,  who  was  making 
up  for  lost  time  by  lighting  his 
much-loved  pipe. 

"  Hope  the  tobacco  is  strong 
enough  to  blow  your  head  off," 
muttered  George  under  his  breath ; 
"  it  would  be  a  poor  world  without 
the  ladies,  God  bless  them  !  " 

"  Well,  thank  goodness,  sir,  we 
are  here  to  shoot  grouse  not  make 
love ! "  said  the  old  gentleman 
with  emphasis,  for  he  was  one 
of  the  most  zealous  of  shots. 

The  arrival  of  the  Colonel  was 
the  signal  for  much  hand-shaking 
and  congratulations  before  the 
party  made  their  way  up  the  hill 
to  the  village  built  of  solid  grey 
stone.  Scrupulous  cleanliness 
characterises  these  hill-side  vil- 
lages, the  inhabitants  being  re- 
markable for  their  love  of  soap, 
water  and  whitewash.  From  the 
windows  of  the  inn  glittered  the 


light  of  a  fire  oh  the  hearth,  and 
very  welcome  and  comfortable  it 
looked  after  a  hard  day's  travel- 
ling. The  landlord  stood  on  the 
threshold  to  meet  the  party,  and 
bustled  about  to  attend  to  the 
wants  of  his  guests  by  relieving 
them  of  their  coats  and  wraps. 
To  the  Colonel  he  had  important 
information  to  impart,  to  the 
effect  that  a  strange  lady  had  ar- 
rived unexpectedly  at  the  inn, 
but  in  no  way  should  the  shoot- 
ing party  be  disturbed  by  the 
additional  guest. 

"  I  hope  not,  Turner,"  said  the 
Colonel,  "  it  will  be  as  much  as 
your  place  is  worth  if  you  let  me 
even  set  eyes  on  her  during  my 
stay  here." 

And  the  landlord  humbly  bowed 
his  apologies,  inwardly  wishing 
he  could  put  his  lady  guest  under 
lock  and  key  in  the  two  rooms 
which  she  occupied  upstairs. 
Over  love  affairs  the  Colonel  had 
not  been  fortunate,  and  there  was 
a  story  that  he  had  tied  a  knot 
with  his  tongue  which  he  could 
not  undo  with  his  teeth  late  in 
life  ;  but  the  lady  was  unknown. 

Certainly  the  shooting  party 
dinners  at  the  wayside  inn  were 
very  cheery  gatherings,  and  many 
a  good  story  of  the  gun,  of  won- 
derful shots,  inexplicable  misses, 
and  gigantic  coveys  were  told 
round  the  old  oak  table  in  the 
panelled  room.  The  village  brass 
band,  which  had  been  practising 
together  for  weeks  in  anticipation 
of  the  grouse  party's  visit,  hon- 
oured the  company  with  a  per- 
formance outside  during  dinner, 
playing  such  lively  airs  as  "  Oh 
for  the  roast  beef  of  old  England, ** 
"The  blue  hills  of  Scotland," 
"  He's  a  jolly  good  fellow,"  varied 
with  selections  from  "  Pinafore." 
Dinner  concluded,  the  first  impor- 
tant step  for  the  grouse  campaign 
took  place,  and  the  position  of 
butts  for  the  morrow's  shoot  were 


1899] 


WHITE    HEATHER. 


99 


drawn  for.  The  butts  numbered 
one  to  seven,  each  gunner  drawing 
a  corresponding  number,  moving 
up  one  for  each  drive  during  the 
day ;  a  fair  distribution  of  chances 
by  so  doing  being  meted  to  all  the 
party. 

Early  hours  and  an  early  start 
m  the  morning  were  the  rule,  for 
a  man  must  be  in  good  condition 
to  go  through  a  day's  grouse 
shooting  without  feeling  undue 
fatigue. 

The  bed  -  rooms  at  the  inn 
opened  out  of  a  wainscotted  cor- 
ridor, and  George  Trevor  found 
his  at  the  far  end,  having  dark- 
stained  walls  with  old  oak  rafters 
across  the  ceiling.  Pure  air 
which  has  swept  over  acres  of 
heather  is  conducive  to  sound 
sleep,  not  rivalled  by  hop  pillows 
or  persuasive  draughts,  and  the 
present  occupant  of  the  inn  room 
was  an  old  campaigner  who  could 
take  his  rest,  in  no  way  disturbed 
by  new  surroundings.  Opening 
the  lattice  window  to  have  one 
look  at  the  hills,  the  scene  of 
to-morrow's  action,  perhaps  his 
thoughts  led  him  to  look  towards 
the  stars,  which  conjured  up  the 
memory  of  a  pair  of  bright  eyes. 
Being  a  man  of  action  rather  than 
sentiment,  he  wasted  little  time 
in  thought,  and  before  returning 
to  rest,  made  preparation  of 
shooting  kit  for  the  morrow.  The 
number  of  the  butt  drawn  after 
dinner  was  placed  in  the  corner 
of  the  mirror  lit  by  wax  candles 
on  either  side,  and  then  soothed 
by  the  accompaniment  of  distant 
music  from  the  game  dogs  ken- 
neled in  the  yard,  he  glided 
unconsciously  into  refreshing 
sleep. 

What  dreams  of  anticipation 
the  old  gunner  has  on  the  eve  of 
the  twelfth !  The  fat  -  faced 
cherubs  that  hover  around  his 
pillow  have  wings  which  sus- 
piciously resemble  those  of  grouse. 


The  little  cherub  whispers  in 
willing  ears  that  all  cartridges  are 
loaded  with  straight  powder, 
making  his  listener  feel  in  good 
feather  with  himself.  But  George 
Trevor's  dream  was  of  fair  women, 
for  his  heart  beat  elsewhere  than 
down  a  gun-barrel  after  the 
events  of  the  day.  He  could  not 
have  slept  long,  for  the  candles 
were  still  alight  on  the  mirror, 
and  waking  suddenly  with  a  start 
he  caught  a  reflection  in  the 
glass  which  set  his  heart  beating 
wildly.  It  was  but  a  momentary 
picture  of  a  fair  oval  face  with 
lustrous  brown  eyes  which  met 
George's  bewildered  gaze.  Be- 
fore he  could  collect  scattered 
thoughts  or  realise  whether  he 
was  dreaming  or  waking,  a  faint 
rustle  as  of  a  light  garment,  passed 
out  of  the  room  and  he  was  alone. 
The  strange  part  abQut  it  was 
that  when  George  Trevor  roused 
himself  to  action,  it  was  to  find 
that  the  number  of  the  butt 
which  he  had  drawn  for  the 
morrow  had  vanished  from  the 
looking-glass,  and  a  sprig  of 
white  heather    was  there  in  its 

place. 

*        *        *        *        * 

On  the  feast  of  St.  Grouse  the 
whole  village  is  astir  before  day- 
break, a  flock  of  geese  being  the 
first  to  move,  and  these  birds, 
like  those  of  the  ancient  Roman 
Capitol,  go  gabbling  up  the 
street  to  wash  at  the  mountain 
stream  before  gleaning  on  the 
wastes  and  steeps.  There  was 
no  further  chance  of  sleep  after 
the  army  of  beaters  and  drivers, 
numbering  about  thirty,  gathered 
from  the  neighbouring  villages, 
came  trooping  in  to  take  their 
orders  from  the  head  keeper. 
Soon  the  scent  of  heather  gave 
way  to  the  savoury  smell  of 
home-fed  bacon  and  eggs — which 
told  all  those  at  the  inn  that  it 
was  time  to  get  up. 


IOO 


BA1LY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


Airy  dreams  over  night  are  not 
always  realised  with  the  awaken- 
ing morn,  for  as  often  as  not  in 
these  hilly  districts  the  report  in 
the  morning  is  that  the  hills  are 
wreathed  in  mist  and  drifting 
rain-clouds,  though  the  valley  is 
lit  up  with  sunshine.  Such  a 
prospect  for  the  glorious  twelfth 
is  a  damper  for  the  most  buoyant 
spirits,  and  the  anticipation  of 
spending  the  day  in  the  frousty 
atmosphere  of  an  hotel  billiard 
room,  instead  of  up  in  the  clouds 
amongst  the  heather,  too  dreadful 
to  contemplate.  It  is  under  such 
trying  circumstances  that  a 
shooting  party  experiences  the 
blank  caused  by  the  absence  of 
cheering  lady  society,  proving 
how  helpless  a  creature  poor  man 
is  without  his  better  half. 

Early  reports  reached  the 
ColonePs  bedroom  from  the  head 
keeper  that  the  morning  looked 
"  verra  unpromising,"  for  nothing 
could  be  seen  of  the  hill-tops  and 
such  a  state  of  things  was  known 
to  last  sometimes  for  a  week. 
The  party  of  gunners  spent  a 
miserable  hour  after  breakfast  in 
debate,  those  under  forty  de- 
claring that  the  weather  would 
lift,  those  showing  the  grey  hairs 
of  experience  opinioning  that  it 
was  not  fit  to  fire  a  cartridge. 
The  toss  of  a  crooked  sixpence 
decided  that  the  traditions  of  the 
glorious  twelfth  must  be  carried 
out  weather  or  no.  An  hour  after 
the  appointed  time  the  keepers 
and  loaders  were  on  their  way  up 
the  hill-side,  the  drivers  and  flag- 
men who  knew  every  inch  of  the 
moor  having  preceded  them.  The 
rough  roadway  winds  its  way  up 
the  hill-side,  bounded  on  either 
side  by  stone  walls,  with  here  and 
there  patches  of  trees,  which  grow 
less  frequent  as  the  ascent  is 
made.  The  gunning  party  be- 
strode village  ponies  to  save  their 
energies,  for  the  distance  to  the 


top  is  the  best  part  of  a  mile  and 
a  half  until  the  table  land  of  the 
moor  is  reached,  which  is  two 
thousand  feet  above  sea  level. 
By  the  time  half  the  ascent  had 
been  made  the  atmosphere 
changed,  becoming  moist  and 
getting  more  dense,  until  the 
tobacco  in  the  pipe  fizzled  with 
the  fine  penetrating  rain.  The 
wind,  which  was  hardly  percep- 
tible in  the  sheltered  valley, 
whistled  and  whirled  as  soon  as 
the  cloud-capped  top  was  reached, 
and  the  Colonel,  as  he  pulled  his 
shooting-cape  closely  around  him, 
remarked,  "  it  was  a  morning  not 
fit  to  turn  a  dog  out  of  doors." 

"  She'll  lift  yet,  Colonel ! "  re- 
assuringly  remarked  the  weather- 
wise  prophet  of  the  party,  as  the 
gateway  on  to  the  moor  was 
reached,  and  the  party  of  loaders 
and  dog-boys  awaited  the  guns. 

"What's  the  betting  on  it?" 
grunted  the  Colonel,  "  1*11  lay  odds 
we  don't  see  which  way  a  grouse 
flies  to-day." 

"  Grouse  or  no  grouse,  Colonel, 
I've  seen  a  fair  lady  cross  the 
moor  this  morning,  which  ought 
to  bring  good  luck  if  nothing  else 
could." 

"The deuce  you  have ! "  grunted 
the  Colonel,  "  what's  she  want 
here  on  the  12th,  I  wonder  ? 
Which  way  did  she  go  ?  " 

"  She  took  the  road  across  the 
moor,  Colonel,  and  asked  me  to 
tell  her  the  most  likely  spot  to  find 
a  bunch  of  white  heather." 

"  And  surely,  man,  you  were 
not  fool  enough  to  let  her  go 
disturbing  the  moor  ?  "  inquired 
the  Colonel. 

"  No,  Colonel,  no  ;  I  just  said, 
'  sure,  lady,  it's  to  your  own  fair 
brow  as  we  should  look  to  see 
white  heather  blooming,'  "  which 
reply  from  the  old  hillsman  greatly 
tickled  the  Colonel,  who  laughed 
immoderately,  declaring  that  a 
drive  should  at  once  be  attempted, 


1899-] 


WHITE    HEATHER. 


XOI 


even  if  the  day's  shooting  had  to 
begin  and  end  with  it. 

George  Trevor's  vein  of  thought 
took  quite  another  turn  from  the 
rest  of  the  party.  The  story  of 
the  lady's  early  appearance  on 
the  moor  wildly  excited  his  im- 
agination, and  the  veil  of  drifting 
fog,  which  made  it  impossible  to 
see  farther  than  a  few  yards, 
maddened  him  beyond  measure. 
At  once  he  felt  convinced  that  it 
was  none  other  than  the  fair  lady 
whose  chance  meeting  the  day 
previous  had  left  so  great  an  im- 
pression on  his  mind.  What 
cruel  luck  that  he  had  not  known 
her  intention  to  walk  up  to  the 
moor.  What  was  the  pleasure  of 
shooting  grouse  in  the  fog,  com- 
pared to  a  search  for  white 
heather  with  so  fair  a  companion. 
He  chafed  impatiently  as  he 
groped  through  the  wet  heather 
to  take  his  stand  in  the  butt 
made  of  peat-sods,  which  was 
next  to  that  occupied  by  the 
Colonel.  The  moment  the  drive 
was  over,  Trevor  was  resolved  to 
search  the  moor  and  never  leave 
it  until  the  fair  owner  of  the 
brown  eyes  was  discovered,  and 
his  undying  passion  declared. 

Bad  weather  takes  half  the 
pleasure  out  of  shooting  and 
walking,  but  then,  is  not  life 
made  up  of  hopes  and  fears? 
teaching  us  to  accept  the  rough 
with  the  smooth.  Grouse  in  a 
fog  fly  as  if  they  were  lost, 
hugging  the  wind  and  coming  low. 
Crack,  crack,  rang  out  the 
artillery  all  along  the  line,  an- 
nouncing the  fiery  ordeal  had 
begun  in  earnest,  though  the  de- 
ceptive light  and  drifting  mist 
saved  many  a  bird's  life.  Their 
sharp  note  was  heard  as  they 
called  to  one  another,  swishing 
by  at  express  speed,  and  the 
loaders  were  hard  at  work  in  each 
butt  ramming  in   the  cartridges 


for  each  gunner,  directly  he  smelt 
powder,  rose  to  the  occasion. 

The  changes  of  atmosphere  on 
a  mountain  top  are  very  rapid 
and  unexpected,  a  floating  veil  of 
mist  perceptibly  thins  and  lifts 
with  startling  rapidity.  As  if  by 
magic  eyesight  was  restored  to 
the  little  party  on  the  hill,  who 
looked  right  and  left  down  the 
line  of  butts  that  had  opened  into 
view.  In  front  and  behind  were 
great  rolling  banks  of  heather, 
whilst  far  away  down  in  valley 
were  emerald  streaks  of  field  and 
wood,  stretching  away  into  blue 
distance,  making  a  scene  of  en- 
trancing loveliness. 

The  figures  of  the  beaters  with 
their  red  flags,  splashing  through 
the  wet  heather,  were  drawing 
up  to  the  guns,  whose  fusilade 
had  silenced.  One  of  the  beaters 
stopped  suddenly,  and  taking  his 
hat  off,  pointed  in  fear  to  some- 
thing he  had  stumbled  across  in 
the  bed  of  heather.  Others 
joined  him,  midway  between  the 
two  butts  in  which  the  Colonel 
and  George  Trevor  had  taken 
their  stand.  The  younger  man 
was  with  the  terror-stricken  party 
first,  and  in  a  moment  recognised 
the  lifeless  form  of  the  girl,  who 
was  shot  through  the  heart. 
Bending  down  he  gently  raised 
her  head,  but  the  beautiful  brown 
eyes  were  closed  for  ever,  and 
the  fair  hand  in  death  grasped 
a  bunch  of  white  heather  wet 
with  the  dew.  Stupefied  for  the 
moment  by  the  sudden  tragedy, 
his  mind  wandered  into  spirit 
land  with  the  fair  form  that  lay 
motionless  in  his  arms.  A  touch 
on  the  shoulder  as  the  Colonel 
bent  down  to  gaze  at  the  upturned 
face  with  the  exclamation,  "  Mer- 
ciful heavens  !  my  poor  wife  !  " 
brought  George  Trevor  back  to 
life  and  its  stern  realities. 

Cuthbert  Bradley. 


102 


[August 


A  Race  Meeting  in  China, 


In  earlier  days  all  the  big  English 
firms  in  China  used  to  maintain 
racing  stables,  but  now  more  is 
left  to  private  enterprise,  and 
owners  appear  in  the  most  un- 
likely persons,  from  the  apparent- 
ly penniless  clerk  to  the  rich  Jew 
stockbroker  who  does  not  know 
one  end  of  a  pony  from  the  other. 
In  Shanghai  many  of  the  best 
ponies  are  owned  by  Chinamen. 

The  pure  Mongolian  pony  aver- 
aging about  1 3. i  in  height  is  the 
Chinese  racehorse ;  grey  is  the 
commonest  colour,  but  chesnuts, 
brows,  duns  and  blacks  are  also 
common.  The  ponies  are  bred  in 
the  north,  and  the  usual  way  of 
obtaining  them  is  for  a  number  of 
men  to  subscribe  and  buy  a  drove 
of  about  twenty  from  a  dealer : 
they  cost  about  150  Mexican 
dollars,  or  roughly  £15  per  head, 
delivered  at  Hong  Kong :  in  the 
northern  ports  they  are  cheaper, 
the  breeding  grounds  being 
nearer.  Immense  droves  of 
ponies  run  on  the  plains  300  or 
400  miles  north  of  Pekin,  and  if 
luck  lead  you  to  that  district  you 
may  take  your  pick  for  seven  or 
eight  taels,  a  tael  being  about  3s., 
but  there  are  the  risks  of  the 
journey  down,  including  the  pas- 
sage of  narrow  stone  bridges,  and 
the  contingent  expenses  at  inns 
to  be  considered. 

On  their  first  arrival  the  ponies 
are  very  sorry  looking  specimens, 
all  bones,  hair  and  sores;  but 
they  pick  up  wonderfully  fast 
under  good  management.  The 
age  of  the  ponies  sent  to  the 
Treaty  Ports  averages  about  six 
years :  their  "  form  "  seldom  im- 
proves on  that  shown  in  their  first 
season,  and  by  consequence  the 
Turf  career  of  any  pony  does  not 
often  extend  beyond  two  seasons. 
Ponies  that  have  won  good  races 


are  sometimes  run  for  three  or 
four  seasons,  but  these,  of  course, 
are  the  exceptions.  As  the  jockeys 
are  all  amateurs,  the  scale  of 
weight  for  inches  is  high,  10  st. 
for  a  12-hand  pony  and  3  lbs.  for 
every  additional  inch. 

The  Hong  Kong  annual  meeting 
— three  days  and  an  off  day, 
takes  place  in  February,  when 
the  weather  is  not  too  hot,  and 
the  course  is,  or  ought  to  be,  in 
good  order.  The  race-week  is  a 
holiday :  men  come  down  from 
up-country  for  it,  nearly  all  busi- 
ness is  at  a  standstill,  the  banks 
close  early  in  the  morning,  and  all 
flock  to  the  racecourse  every 
morning,  where  the  ponies  are 
galloped  between  six  and  eight 
o'clock.  The  Hong  Kong  course 
lies  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
the  town:  it  is  prettily  situated 
in  a  dip  in  the  hills  called  the 
Happy  Valley. 

Starting  for  the  course  early  on 
a  race-day,  you  find  the  Queen's 
Road  literally  packed  with  China- 
men moving  eastward.  The  races 
are  nominally  the  attraction,  but 
really  it  is  the  prospect  of  un- 
limited gambling  which  draws 
the  crowd ;  for  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  before  you  reach  the  course 
the  road  on  either  side  is  lined 
with  Chinamen  begging  the  cus- 
tom of  passers-by  at  the  gam- 
bling boards  they  have  before 
them  on  light  trestles.  The 
space  round  the  course  is  covered 
with  booths  and  temporary  stands, 
some  of  the  latter,  built  of  pine 
poles  and  bamboos,  being  three 
stories  high.  Inside  the  ropes 
the  Chinese  crowd  again  to  eat  or 
gamble  at  the  countless  booths, 
while  here  and  there  his  brilliant 
uniform  and  turban  singles  out  a 
Sikh  policeman. 

The  saddling  bell    ringing   for 


1899.] 


THE   CHANCES   OF   THE   GAME. 


IO3 


the  first  race,  I  returned  to  the 
paddock  in  time  to  see  four  ponies 
face  the  starter.  The  winner 
turned  up  in  a  rank  outsider,  who 
seemed  to  enjoy  churning  through 
the  mud  into  which  a  week's  un- 
welcome rain  had  converted  the 
course.  Then  the  second  race, 
for  which  several  of  last  season's 
ponies  ran,  and  which  the 
favourite  won  by  a  length.  Little 
interest  attached  to  this  event,  as 
the  form  of  the  several  ponies 
was  pretty  well  known.  After 
the  third  race,  won  by  a  smart 
little  yellow  pony  12.3  in  height, 
carrying  iost.  gib.,  the  Governor, 
his  family  and  staff  arrived  in  a 
long  procession  of  chairs,  and 
were  received  by  the  Clerk  of  the 
Course  arrayed  in  scarlet  coat, 
boots  and  breeches.  An  hour's 
interval  for  lunch  followed  the 
fourth  event  — a  race  for  sub- 
scription "griffins,"  or  maiden 
ponies,  and  there  remained  five 
more  races  for  the  afternoon's 
sport. 

The  great  events  of  the  meeting, 


the  Challenge  Cup,  value  100 
guineas,  if  mile,  and  the  Cham- 
pionship, i£  mile,  a  forced  entry 
for  all  winners,  came  off  on  the 
third  day.  Both  were  won  by  a 
13.2  Shanghai  pony,  which  had 
won  the  former  event  in  the 
previous  year,  and  according  to 
the  conditions  of  the  race,  made 
his  fortunate  owner  the  absolute 
possessor  of  the  Cup.  After  win- 
ning his  second  race  he  was  led 
in  by  a  Shanghai  lady  amid  a 
scene  of  the  wildest  enthusiasm. 

Perhaps  a  few  of  the  official 
timings  taken  at  last  year's  meet- 
ing may  be  of  interest.  It  must 
be  mentioned  that  the  course  in- 
cludes a  steep  hill.  Half-mile 
race  run  in  59I  sees. ;  three- 
quarter  mile,  1  min.  32  sec. ; 
mile,  2  min.  7  J  sec. ;  i£  mile,  2 
min.  38  sec. ;  i£  mile,  3  min.  14I 
sec,  and  2  mile  race,  4  min.  23 
sec.  These,  for  ponies  averaging 
13. 1,  and  carrying  the  weights 
mentioned,  I  think  not  at  all 
bad. 

A.  N.  O. 


The  Chances  of  the  Game. 

SOME     TALES    OF    PLAY. 
By   Major   Arthur    Griffiths. 

Author  of  "  My  Grandfather's  Journals,"  &c,  &c. 

IV.— HAMMER  HUME. 


Captain  Ralph  Hume,  D.S.O., 
of  H.M.  Scarlet  Guards,  was 
stone  broke :  shattered,  completely 
smashed,  stock,  lock,  and  barrel. 

It  was  no  uncommon  story. 
He  had  been  launched  on  London 
life  some  ten  years  previously 
with  everything  in  his  favour. 
He  had  an  independent  fortune, 

*  All  rights  reserved  in  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States. 


small  relatively,  but  what  many 
would  call  affluence,  a  couple  of 
thousands  a  year  and  no  en- 
cumbrances. He  was  "  his  own 
father,"  as  the  saying  goes,  the 
head  of  his  house,  with  no  near 
relations,  and  luckily  for  him,  no 
landed  estates;  good-looking,  a 
fair  -  haired,  blue  -  eyed,  kindly 
young  giant,  who  speedily  made 
troops    of    friends.     Great  ladies 


104 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[August 


smiled  on  him  ;  he  was  welcomed 
at  every  house  in  town  or  country, 
and  everything  was  couleur  de  rose. 

He  was  a  fine  specimen  of  the 
English  gentleman,  strongly  im- 
bued with  the  creed  of  his  class — 
the  best  and  most  honourable  in 
the  world.  To  tell  the  truth  and 
do  the  right  thing  was  his  gospel ; 
you  could  see  it  in  his  honest  face 
and  open  fearless  eyes.  His  tastes 
were  simple,  and  he  was  without 
vice,  he  neither  gambled  nor  in- 
dulged in  the  pleasures  of  the  tables, 
nor  did  Circe  enslave  him  in  her 
debasing  net.  A  keen  sportsman, 
his  worst  extravagance  was  a  set 
of  new  guns,  a  share  in  a  moor  or 
salmon  river,  a  couple  of  hunters 
up  to  his  weight  two  days  a  week 
in  the  shires,  a  full  price,  any 
price  almost,  for  a  polo  pony  that 
filled  his  eye.  He  was  an  athlete 
in  his  way,  too,  a  cricketer,  and  a 
mountaineer,  gentle  as  a  big 
Newfoundland  puppy,  with  no 
boastfulness  about  the  strength  he 
could  use  on  occasion,  and  the 
skill  he  had  gained  at  school  with 
the  gloves.  They  called  him 
"  Hammer  "  because  once  a  cab- 
man who  had  been  swindling  a 
weak  woman  about  her  fare  took 
his  interference  in  bad  part,  and 
challenged  him  to  fight.  Ralph 
Hume  hammered  him  to  pulp, 
and  was  called  "Hammer  Hume" 
ever  afterwards. 

So  with  "youth  at  the  prow 
and  pleasure  at  the  helm "  he 
sailed  on  his  prosperous  voyage, 
making  straight  for  the  haven  of 
married  life  when  his  smaller 
peccadilloes  ended.  He  would 
grow  gradually  into  the  portly 
paterfamilias,  bringing  up  stalwart 
sons  and  blameless  daughters  to 
carry  on  the  traditions  of  his  race. 
Kind  fate  still  stood  by,  as  he 
thought,  when  his  choice  fell  upon 
Lady  Betty  Dinton,  whom  he 
met  one  autumn,  when  he  was 
shooting    at    her  father's  house. 


It  was  love  at  first  sight  with 
both  of  them.  Betty,  a  frail, 
fragile  little  creature,  with  deep 
dark  eyes,  surrendered  on  the 
spot  to  the  great,  good-humoured 
Guardsman,  and  he  was  at  her 
feet,  so  to  speak,  the  moment  she 
entered  the  room.  There  was  no 
tedious  courtship ;  it  was  all  over 
as  soon  as  it  was  begun. 

Lady  Betty  might  have  looked 
higher  than  Captain  Hume. 
That  was  her  mother's  view ; 
but  Betty  was  staunch — for  a 
time.  Who  shall  say  what  turned 
her  ?  The  continual  dropping 
poison  instilled  into  her  ears  by 
her  more  mercenary  folk  or  her 
own  willingness  to  believe  that 
she  was  throwing  herself  away  on 
a  poor  soldier  with  only  a  modest 
competence  and  no  expectations  ? 
Either  or  both  decided  her.  She 
behaved  badly,  as  girls  have  done, 
and  will  do  again.  Hume  was 
jilted,  heartlessly,  cruelly.  Lady 
Betty  threw  him  over  for  a  man 
thirty  years  her  senior,  many 
times  a  millionaire,  with  a  town 
house,  a  country  castle,  a  shooting 
lodge,  and  all  those  fine  posses- 
sions that  unlimited  wealth  can 
command.  Yet  there  are  some 
things  that  money  will  not  buy  : 
a  clear  conscience,  for  example, 
freedom  from  self-reproach  after 
an  evil  deed.  Nor  did  Betty's 
marriage  bring  her  happiness ; 
millions  were  no  set-off  against 
the  burthen  of  a  sickly,  querulous, 
old  husband  whom  she  had  never 
loved,  and  whose  fortune  when  it 
came  to  her  at  his  death  was  but 
a  poor  compensation  for  years  of 
wretchedness. 

Hume  had  taken  his  disappoint- 
ment greatly  to  heart.  In  a  way 
he  was  a  changed  man.  His 
faith  in  human  nature  was  ship- 
wrecked, and  he  cared  little  what 
happened  to  him.  He  retired 
from  the  Service.  Nowadays  he 
would    have    gone    to     Central 


i*9*] 


THE  CHANCES  OF  THE  GAME. 


I05 


Africa,  Uganda,  the  Niger,  the 
Soudan,  seeking  an  anodyne  in 
hard  knocks  ;  but  this  was  before 
such  time,  and  for  want  of  a 
better  panacea  he  took  to  play. 
He  began  to  gamble,  not  merely 
in  the  belief  that  to  be  crossed  in 
love  brings  good  luck,  but  because 
he  found  pleasure  and  distraction 
in  the  chances  of  the  game.  He 
tried  speculation  of  all  kinds ;  at 
cards,  on  the  money  market,  the 
Turf.  Not  strangely,  he  burnt  his 
fingers  badly,  and  lost  heavily  all 
round.  He  was  one  of  those 
"  run  in  "  by  the  police  when  they 
raided  that  notorious  West  End 
club,  the  Adventure,  and  found 
himself  in  the  dock  with  many 
scions  of  our  highest  aristocracy  ; 
he  was  caught  in  a  "  slump  "  in 
copper,  and  the  payment  of  his 
differences  nearly  landed  him  in 
Queer  Street ;  he  made  several 
indifferent  books  on  the  great 
events,  and  was  very  hard  hit 
when  Centurion  sold  the  gentle- 
men so  badly  on  the  Leger;  he 
was  "  left,"  with  many  more,  by 
the  shameless  "  in  and  out  " 
running  of  a  certain  sportsman's 
stable,  which  had  ruined  his 
backers  and  his  own  reputation. 

They  said  that  Hammer  was 
pretty  well  at  the  end  of  his 
tether  when  a  good  old  friend, 
knowing  he  was  likely  to  get  the 
"  knock,"  gave  him  a  tip  that 
seemed  likely,  on  the  face  of  it,  to 
restore  his  fortunes.  Lord  Wey- 
mouth was  a  pillar  of  the  British 
Turf,  upright,  clean  -  handed, 
straight  as  a  die.  He  betted  very 
little  himself,  but  when  he  knew 
of  a  really  good  thing  he  was  no 
curmudgeon,  and  passed  it  on  to 
one  or  two  chosen  intimates.  In 
this  way  Hammer  came  to  know 
quite  early  that  the  Silverdale  colt 
would  go  very  near  winning  the 
next  Derby,  and  he  got  on  at  a 
highly  profitable  figure.  He  in- 
creased his  venture  as  time  passed, 


and  the  colt's  fine  performances 
sent  him  well  up  in  the  betting. 
Within  a  few  weeks  of  the  race 
the  horse  became  a  hot  favourite, 
and  as  near  a  "  moral  certainty  " 
as  anything  can  be  counted  in  a 
game  full  of  risks. 

Hammer's  luck,  nevertheless, 
was  dead  against  him.  Here  he 
had  piled  up  so  many  long  shots, 
that  he  stood  well  to  win  a  "  pot," 
an  amount  to  put  him  altogether 
on  his  legs.  All  at  once  the 
colt  broke  down.  It  was  an  old 
story.  A  lot  of  careless  picnicing 
'Arries  on  the  Downs  hard  by 
where  Mr.  Manver's  string  took 
their  gallops,  had  thrown  down  an 
empty  bottle,  which  broke,  and  a 
jagged,  razor-edged  fragment  re- 
mained upright  in  the  grass.  A 
deep  wound  in  the  fetlock  injured 
the  Silverdale  colt  irretrievably, 
and  he  had  to  be  scratched  on  the 
very  eve  of  victory. 

How  did  Hammer  take  it  ? 
Bravely,  to  all  outward  seeming, 
and  yet  it  spelt  ruin,  absolute 
collapse.  If  he  paid  up — and 
indeed  it  was  doubted  whether  he 
could  meet  all  his  engagements — 
there  would  not  be  enough  left  to 
keep  him  from  the  street.  Some 
provision  might  perhaps  be  found 
for  him — a  vice-consulate  at  the 
back  of  beyond,  a  station-master's 
billet  in  Manitoba,  or  a  police 
appointment  at  the  Cape — but  he 
did  not  cotton  to  exile,  still  less 
did  he  approve  of  the  idea  of 
starvation  at  home.  There  was 
only  one  way  out  of  the  dilemma 
he  told  himself,  when  the  outlook 
was  blackest.  It  was  never  more 
so  than  when  he  let  himself  into 
his  lodgings  one  afternoon  with 
his  latchkey,  and  putting  his  hand 
into  the  pigeon  hole  over  the  hall 
table  with  the  initial  H.,  and 
appropriated  to  his  use,  he 
gathered  together  the  letters  lying 
waiting.  He  hurriedly  looked 
through    them,    seeking    one    in 


io6 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[August 


particular.  This  quickly  caught 
his  eye,  and  crushing  the  others 
into  a  side  pocket,  without  further 
examination  he  tore  open  the  one 
that  so  evidently  deeply  interested 
him. 

It  was  a  heavy  parcel,  and 
inside  was  a  book — a  betting 
book,  and  a  written  communica- 
tion from  his  sporting  commis- 
sioners conveying  the  news  he 
so  feverishly  expected.  It  was 
ominous  indeed. 

"  Dear  Sir, 

"  We  have  gone  very  care- 
fully into  your  liabilities,  and 
regret  to  find  that  the  balance 
is  heavily  against  you.  The 
scratching  of  the  Silverdale  colt 
has  made  it  impossible  for  you  to 
retrieve  your  position  by  hedging, 
and  the  net  result  will  be  that 
you  will  have  to  produce  a  sum 
of  £1 1,000  to  meet  your  engage- 
ments. 

"  Hall  &  Hornsea." 

"  It's  just  what  I  anticipated, 
only  a  little  worse  perhaps,"  said 
Hammer  Hume,  as  he  went  up 
to  his  rooms  with  a  listless  step 
and  a  hopeless  weight  on  his 
heart.  "  Anyhow  I'm  broke, 
clean  stoney  broke,  that  is  the 
long  and  short  of  it.  Nothing 
can  save  me,  short  of  a  miracle. 
^"11,000;  I  haven't  11,000  pence. 
There  is  no  way  out  of  it  but  one 
— I'm  not  afraid  of  it ;  but  it  is 
a  mean  cowardly  way,  at  best, 
Ralph  Hume." 

He  hurried  upstairs  to  his 
little  bachelor  den,  and  walking 
straight  to  a  cupboard  took  from 
it  a  flat  polished  case — an  un- 
mistakeable  revolver  case,  from 
which  he  extracted  the  weapon. 
It  was  a  six-shooter,  all  the  cham- 
bers loaded,  as  he  verified  easily, 
balancing  the  revolver  in  his 
hand  long  and  thoughtfully — still 
talking  to  himself. 

"  A  mean  way,  yes.     The  very 


worst,  because  to  give  me  present 
ease  I  shirk  my  responsibilities 
and  entail  loss  on  others  for  ever. 
I  cannot  settle  now ;  that  is  clear. 
But  why  should  I  not  do  so  by- 
and-bye,  if  I  turn  my  hand  to 
some  honest  business  and  earn 
enough  to  do  it  ?  At  least  I'll 
stand  the  racket.  I  will  not  dis- 
grace my  name  irretrievably." 
And  he  tossed  the  revolver  aside. 

"  Well  said,  Hammer  Hume," 
cried  a  woman  in  a  voice  full  of 
emotion,  who  came  from  behind 
the  curtains.  "I  should  have 
stopped  you,  somehow,  at  any 
risk.  But  I  am  proud  to  think 
your  better  nature  triumphed. 
Do  you  still  refuse  my  aid  ?  " 

"I  do  not  understand  you, 
Lady  Betty  Tingcombe ;  nor  why 
you  are  here !  "  said  Hammer. 

"  You  have  had  my  letter  ? 
You  did  not  come  to  me  as  I 
begged  of  you.  So,  so — I  had 
still  arguments  as  I  thought,  and  I 
came  here  to  use  them.  Will  you 
not  listen?  Are  you  quite  im- 
placable, Ralph  Hume  ?  " 

"  Letter  ?  Letter?  I  had  none 
from  you.     What  is  this  ?  " 

He  had  put  his  hand  almost 
mechanically  into  his  pocket,  and 
drew  forth  another  letter,  one  that 
he  had  overlooked.  It  was  in 
the  familiar,  once- loved  hand,  and 
again  as  of  old  his  heart  thrilled 
with  emotion,  when  he  looked  upon 
her  writing,  or  upon  anything  that 
belonged  to  her,  or  came  from 
her. 

"  May  1  read  it  ?  " 

It  was  brief  and  to  the  point. 

"  Is  this  really  true,"  asked 
Lady  Betty,  "that  you  are  all 
but  ruined,  that — Ralph,  darling 
Ralph,  will  you  not  in  your  sore 
need  let  me  try  to  make  amends 
and  help  you  now  ?  I  am  yours 
now,  as  I  have  always  been. 
Will  you  not  forget  and  forgive, 
and  take  me  back  into  your  heart  ? 


1899-] 


A    I2TH    OF   AUGUST   IN    THE    IRISH    MIDLANDS. 


IO7 


May  I  not  be  permitted  to  bring 
back  a  little  brightness  into  your 
life  after  all  you  have  suffered — 
mainly  at  my  hands  ?  All  I 
possess,  my  poor  self  included, 
is  entirely  yours  whenever  you 
choose  to  claim  it. 

"  Betty. 

"  I  shall  be  at  home  all  the 
afternoon.  Come  and  give  me 
your  answer  in  person." 

"  I  waited,"  now  said  Lady 
Betty  Tingcombe,  "and  as  time 
passed  and  you  did  not  appear  I 
blamed  myself  for  being  so  bold. 


And  yet  I  could  not  think  you  had 
received  my  letter,  and  that  you 
would  turn  your  back  on  me — 
so  I  came  humbly,  hopefully 
here.  I  have  ventured  thus  far, 
and  it  will  prove  to  you  that  I 
am  in  earnest.  What  is  your 
answer  ?  " 

Hammer  Hume  put  out  his 
hands  and  took  Lady  Betty's  into 
his  without  another  word. 

"  I  will  never  make  another  bet, 
dear,  and  if  you  will  take  me  now 
at  the  eleventh  hour,  I  will  try  to 
prove  myself  worthy  of  your  great 
kindness." 


A  1 2th  of  August  in  the  Irish  Midlands. 


A  few  ominous  drops  of  rain 
winch  showed  themselves  on  the 
handlebar  of  the  bicycle  made  one 
fear  that  the  first  day  of  the  grouse 
would  not  be  a  favourable  one. 
How  often  has  it  happened  in  this 
part  of  the  world  that  the  12th 
has  turned  out  a  soaking  wet  day, 
and  all  the  expected  enjoyment 
dashed  in  a  moment!  Some  of 
your  readers  will  wonder  at  the 
bicycle  being  used  as  a  means  of 
conveyance  when  going  to  shoot 
grouse,  and  will  want  to  know 
where  the  guns,  cartridges,  dogs, 
the  lunch,  and  other  parapher- 
nalia inseparably  connected  with 
shooting  have  got  to!  This  is 
easily  explained  ;  the  keeper,  with 
his  assistant,  a  sharp,  though 
somewhat  lazy  boy,  has  arranged 
all  these  matters  beforehand,  and 
has  started  in  good  time  with  the 
game  cart  and  all  the  accessories 
stowed  carefully  therein.  To  me 
it  always  seems  that  it  is  not 
merely  the  actual  day's  shooting 
which  is  enjoyable,  but  the  pre- 
parations beforehand  have  their 
attractions,  and  so  many  matters 


have  to  be  discussed,  whereabouts 
the  keeper  is  to  be  met,  which  end 
of  the  bog  is  the  most  likely  to 
begin  on  in  view  of  the  generally 
prevailing  wind  at  this  time  of 
year — south-west,  and  often  laden 
with  rain — which  of  the  dogs 
ought  to  be  used  first,  and  which 
of  them  kept  up  for  the  afternoon. 
All  these,  and  innumerable  other 
small  details,  every  shooting  man 
who  is  a  sportsman  at  heart  will 
sympathise  with,  and  take  an  in- 
terest in. 

But  to  go  back  to  the  writer, 
whom  we  left  on  his  bicycle, 
steadily  making  his  way  along  the 
ten  miles  of  road  which  separate 
him  from  his  shooting  ground — 
often  and  often  have  I  wished  that 
this  was  shorter.  There  is  some- 
thing peculiarly  attractive  in 
having  a  big  bog  near  one's 
residence,  from  a  sporting  point  of 
view  it  always  must  afford 
opportunities :  it  is  easier  to  pre- 
serve, and  that  curse  to  shooting 
in  Ireland,  the  poacher,  does  not 
dare  to  show  himself  when  the 
keeper  is,    or    may    be,    at    any 


io8 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[August 


moment  "  near  handy."  And  is 
there  not  something  bracing, 
something  healthy,  in  having  a 
big  stretch  of  bog  close  to  one's 
doors  ?  To  many  it  may  seem  a 
dreary  waste,  but  to  me,  and  to 
others  I  feel  sure,  who  know 
Ireland  well,  it  has  its  good  points 
and  its  attractive  features;  there 
is  always  some  wild  life  to  be 
found  on  it ;  even  in  the  depths  of 
winter  do  we  not  find  numberless 
wild  fowl  and  plover,  together 
with  plenty  of  snipe  ?  Many 
places  do  I  know  in  these  Irish 
Midlands  having  these  advantages, 
but  in  my  own  case  the  bicycle  or 
dog  cart,  or  some  other  means  of 
conveyance  (perhaps  ere  long  it 
will  be  the  motor  car)  must  be 
brought  into  requisition  to  reach 
the  desired  place.  In  spite,  then, 
of  the  drive  or  ride,  however, 
perhaps  I  am  more  fortunate  than 
one  of  my  neighbours  who,  having 
a  grouse  shooting  in  the  fastnesses 
of  the  Leitrim  Mountains,  is 
obliged  to  stay  at  a  village  for 
a  night  or  two  when  the  12th 
comes  round  ;  the  accommodation 
is  not  all  that  can  be  desired, 
judging  by  the  fact  that  one  of 
the  guns  forming  the  party  last 
year,  killed  two  and  a  half  brace — 
not  of  grouse — but  of  a  somewhat 
smaller  type,  an  insect  indigenous 
to  Irish  hotels,  and  this,  as  my 
friend  said,  on  the  night  of  the 
nth,  and  without  any  license! 

I  remember  once,  with  a  party 
of  shooters  on  a  wet  day,  the  sky 
covered  with  dismal  clouds,  waiting 
as  we  were,  and  bored  to  dis- 
traction, one  of  the  party  infused 
new  life  into  the  hearts  of  his 
friends  by  a  brilliant  suggestion 
that  we  should  all  go  out  to  see  if 
it  was  raining ;  an  all  too  patent 
fact  from  the  interior  of  our 
shelter — to  such  lengths  are  dis- 
appointed shooters  driven !  And 
now  at  last  we  commence, 
soon   after    ten   o'clock,   because 


there  is  a  great  deal  of  ground  to 
cover,  and  an  early  start  is 
essential.  The  keeper  and  his 
satellite  await  us  at  the  place 
arranged,  and  after  a  few  pre- 
liminary regulations  the  three 
guns  get  on  the  move.  How  is 
it  that  in  Ireland  so  often  the 
local  wit  attaches  himself  to  a 
party  of  shooters,  or  at  any  rate 
some  man  or  boy  is  sure  to  drift  in 
during  the  day  and  walk  the  bog 
with  one  ?  If  the  shooting  is  good 
no  exception  is  taken  to  this,  but 
if  bad,  or  if  the  dogs  are  wild,  and 
sport  indifferent,  even  the  most 
complacent  amongst  us  is  inclined 
to  be  "  brittle "  in  the  temper, 
and  to  anathematise  these  volun- 
teers. Discussions  on  grammar 
would  seem  out  of  place  on  such 
occasions,  but  when  one  of  these 
was  asked  to  what  part  of  speech 
the  word  "not"  belonged,  the 
ready  answer  came,  "  an  eggative 
adverb." 

In  spite,  then,  of  the  rain  which 
had  threatened,  the  day  gradually 
cleared  up,  and  remained  fine  and 
warm  throughout. 

The  first  dogs  to  get  to  work 
are  a  pair  of  steady  old  Pointers, 
11  Spot,"  and  a  younger  one, 
11  Grouse  "  by  name.  Some  of 
your  readers  would  suppose  that 
on  a  bog  Irish  Setters  should  be 
used,  but  after  many  years'  ex- 
perience I  candidly  confess  that, 
as  a  rule,  they  are  too  wild  for  the 
purpose,  unless  exceptionally  well 
trained,  and  how  seldom  is  this 
the  case !  There  always  seems  to 
me  the  danger  of  ranging  too  far, 
and  do  not  all  of  us  know  how 
terribly  aggravating  it  is  to  see 
birds,  by  no  means  too  plentiful, 
put  up  well  out  of  shot  ?  For 
choice,  therefore,  where  birds  are 
not  too  numerous,  Pointers  are, 
on  the  whole,  safest.  But  there  is 
"  Spot "  come  to  a  set,  and  how 
pretty  to  see  "  Grouse"  backing, 
and  how  it  makes  one's  heart  beat 


18990 


A    I2TH    OP   AUGUST   IN    THE    IRISH    MIDLANDS. 


IO9 


to  walk  rapidly  up  to  them  !  The* 
next  moment  up  gets  a  covey  of 
eight  or  nine  birds,  three  of  which 
are  accounted  for  by  the  four 
barrels  fired  at  them,  and  we 
enjoy  the  pioud  feeling  that  the 
first  grouse  of  the  year  has  been 
bagged !  One  of  the  volunteers 
who  was  close  by  was  exuberant 
in  his  praise,  saying,  "  Why  Mr. 

could  put  a  shot  through  the 

eye  of  a  needle!  " 

A  long  interval  now  before 
"  Spot "  comes  to  a  standstill 
again,  and  many  of  your  readers 
may  know  what  trudging  an  Irish 
bog,  and  a  wet  one  too,  on  a  hot 
August  day  means ;  there  is  no 
harder  test  of  the  fitness  of  a 
man,  and  those  amongst  shooters 
who  have  been  living  too  well,  and 
are  in  bad  training,  will  soon  be 
brought  to  a  stop.  The  writer 
has  seen  Englishmen  and  Scotch- 
men tired  out,  and  almost  unable  to 
move,  although  well  able  to  do  a 
long  day's  work  at  home ;  and  so 
it  seems  as  if  the  power  of  tramp- 
ing over  a  bog  must  be  inherent 
in  the  Irish  nature. 

When  lunch  hour  comes  round 
the  three  guns  have  accounted 
for  a  fair  share  of  game,  and, 
together  with  the  keeper,  and  no 
less  than  three  volunteers,  are 
very  glad  to  see  the  signs  of 
refreshment,  and  not  less  because 
several  ladies  of  the  house  party 
have  come  out  to  minister  to 
the  creature  comforts  of  the 
sportsmen.  One  of  the  draw- 
backs to  shooting  on  Irish  bogs  as 
contrasted  with  a  moor  in  Scot- 
land, is  the  want  of  drinking  water; 
there  are  no  burns  at  every  few 
yards,  giving  a  grand  supply  of 
what  is  so  often  wanted. 

Our  facetious  companion,  after 
a  nip  from  more  than  one  flask 
offered  to  him,  becomes  loqua- 
cious, and  tells  of  his  exploits 
with  poachers,  and  the  experi- 
ences   he    has  had  when    trying 


to   safeguard    "  Your    Honours'  " 
interests. 

One  expression  he  made  use  of 
was  quite  unknown  to  all  of  us, 
i.e.,  the  "  Skyline  boys,'*  and  until 
he  explained  that  by  these  he 
meant  the  men  who,  on  a  shooting 
day,  may  be  seen  at  times  standing 
right  away  on  the  skyline,  perhaps 
at  the  far  mearing  or  march  of  the 
estate,  either  as  lookers-on  or 
watching  for  a  chance  at  a  driven 
bird,  none  of  us  could  understand 
it.  When  referring  to  a  murder 
or  rather  manslaughter  case  which 
had  occurred  lately  in  the 
mountainous  district  of  the 
county,  the  prisoner  having  been 
tried  and  lightly  sentenced  at  the 
Assizes,  our  friend  said,  "  And  he 
only  got  twelve  months  for  it  ? 
Why,  I  know  a  dozen  men  that  I 
would  be  willing  to  serve  that 
length  of  time  for."  There  is 
nothing  like  shooting  for  bringing 
one  amongst  strange  companions, 
The  writer  was  amused  at  an 
incident  during  a  grouse  drive 
some  short  time  ago ;  the  birds 
were  coming  across  the  road,  and 
a  farmer  who  was  busy  filling  his 
crate  cart  with  turf  on  the  road- 
side, thereby  being  in  a  position 
to  scare  the  birds,  was  at  once 
assisted  to  get  his  load  filled,  and 
started  away  by  an  ex-High 
Sheriff,  and  ex-A.D.C.  to  a 
Colonial  Governor,  who  happened 
to  be  the  nearest  gun,  and  right 
well  he  did  his  work  too. 

On  seeing  one  of  the  guns  (a 
big  man)  take  a  "  baby  "  soda  and 
a  little  whisky  at  his  lunch,  our 
volunteer  said,  "  What  good  is 
that  in  such  a  great  big  wilder- 
ness of  a  man  ?  " 

As  an  example  of  delicate  Irish 
satire,  let  me  quote  his  criticism 
of  a  dog.  "  That  pointer,"  said  he, 
"  was  a  well-bred  one  long  ago" 

He  detailed  to  us  how,  on  a 
famous  occasion,  he  had  fairly 
scored  off  the  shooters  (who,  tired 


no 


BA1LYS   MAGAZINE. 


[August 


after  a  hard  and  hot  walk,  had 
taken  a  few  moments'  sleep  under 
the  shelter  of  the  turf  bank)  by 
opening  and  drinking  the  three 
last  bottles  of  soda  which  had 
been  carefully  reserved  by  them 
for  their  evening's  refreshment. 
Even  the  sound  of  the  corks  going 
off  did  not  arouse  them  from  their 
dreams. 

And  now  we  make  ready  to 
start  again  for  three  or  four  hours' 
more  tramp  on  the  bog,  the  ladies 
having  kindly  volunteered  to  see 
the  debris  of  the  lunch  disposed 
of,  which  the  car  boy  (a  man  of 
about  sixty,  who  has  been  known 
on  occasions  to  get  "  speechless/ ' 
but  never  when  driving  ladies) 
will  easily  succeed  in  doing,  and 
also  attend  to  the  packing,  &c. 

Very  soon  the  gun  on  the  left 
gets  two  birds — one  with  each 
barrel,  although  they  rose  "  con- 
trairey,"  i.e.,  to  the  right  hand. 
Our  casual  friend,  in  ecstasies  at 
witnessing  such  prowess,  says, 
"  That  whips  them  now  of  all  the 
work  ever  I  seen  in  hill  or 
hollow."  By  degrees  the  after- 
noon grows  cooler,  a  pleasant 
change  for  all  of  us,  and  as  often 
happens  towards  evening,  the 
stock  of  birds  seems  to  increase, 
and  we  got  some  nice  sport, 
varied,  because  it  consists  of 
snipe,  grouse,  hares,  some  wild 
fowl  and  plover.  By  the  time  we 
reach  the  farmer's  house  in  the 
evening,  where  we  change  our 
things  and  are  refreshed  by  some 
excellent  tea,  we  consider  that  we 
have  had  a  really  nice  day,  even  if 
our  total  bag  does  not  tot  up  to 
over  thirty-two  head,  yet  we  are 
satisfied,  and  after  all  is  not  this 
the  great  test  ? 

The  great  curse  in  Ireland  is  the 
poacher,  one  who  shoots  and  traps 
all  for  the  benefit  of  his  pocket, 
and  who  has  no  idea  of  sport. 


"  'Tis  impossible  hard  to  nail 
sich  a  poacher,"  was  the  pithy 
reference  made  by  our  friend,  as 
we  started  for  our  drive  home. 
And  this  aptly  illustrates  the 
difficulties  which  game  preservers 
in  this  country  have  to  contend 
with. 

Not  perhaps  so  impossible  to 
"  nail "  the  man,  as,  when  caught, 
to  get  a  conviction;  no  one  will 
voluntarily  give  evidence ;  no 
farmer,  no  matter  how  pleased  he 
may  be  to  welcome  his  landlord 
out  shooting,  or  how  delighted  to 
see  the  "  quality  "  come  tor  lunch 
(which  in  most  cases,  except 
where  the  blight  of  the  agitator 
has  struck  deep,  is  generally  the 
case),  will  take  upon  himself  the 
odium  incurred  by  appearing 
before  a  Court  to  give  evidence. 
It  is  this  sad  want  of  moral 
courage  on  the  part  of  the 
occupiers  that  is  the  greatest  bar 
to  successful  game  preserving  in 
Ireland,  and  yet  is  it  not  a  short- 
sighted policy  ?  Would  not  the 
country  as  a  whole  be  the  richer, 
the  temperament  of  the  people  the 
healthier  and  brighter  if,  as  in 
Scotland,  the  country  was  looked 
upon  by  strangers  as  well  as 
resident  sportsmen,  as  a  field  for 
their  sporting  proclivities,  and  for 
spending  their  spare  cash  ?  Per- 
haps, fostered  by  the  Game  Pro- 
tection Association,  and  by  those 
interested  in  the  tourist  develop- 
ment of  Ireland,  a  brighter  day 
may  be  in  store  for  those  who,  in 
fair  weather  or  foul,  are  always 
ready,  and  always  love  to  spend 
an  August  day  on  an  Irish  Bog, 
returning  home  each  time  more 
than  ever  filled  with  the  con- 
viction that  a  healthier  or  more 
enjoyable  employment,  when  a  fair 
share  of  sport  offers,  cannot  be 
experienced. 

J.  Mackay  Wilson. 


i89»] 


III 


A  Century's  Coach-building. 


At  a  time  when  the  attention  of 
the  whole  country  is  arrested  by 
the  varied  forms  of  locomotion 
that  seem  daily  to  be  developed, 
it  may  not  be  altogether  out  of 
place  to  offer  a  few  remarks  upon 
a  beautiful  and  useful  art.  Of  the 
new  discovery  whereby  oil  and 
electricity  are  to  take  the  place 
of  horses,  and  this  not  upon  rails 
constructed  exclusively  for  them, 
but  on  the  ordinary  lanes  and 
highways,  we  can  say  but  little. 
The  idea  is,  of  course,  only  in  its 
infancy,  but  the  fact  that  the 
difficulty  of  guidance  seems  in  a 
great  measure  to  have  been  over- 
come, must  make  sanguine  the 
experts  and  developers  of  the 
work.  None  but  these  are,  I 
think,  competent  to  pronounce 
upon  the  possibilities  or  the  future 
completeness  of  the  new  vehicle ; 
it  is  perhaps  our  part  to  call  at- 
tention to  another  branch,  and  a 
by  no  means  unimportant  factor 
in  the  new  trade  which  must  hope 
to  follow. 

In  the  pictures  already  sub- 
mitted to  the  public  of  these 
motor  carriages,  the  types  of  con- 
veyance are  many  and  various ; 
there  are  the  waggonette,  the 
omnibus,  the  phaeton  of  various 
kinds ;  and  it  is  not  difficult  to 
predict  that  any  sort  of  known 
carriage  will  be  capable  of  being 
so  fitted.  But  it  is  here  that  we, 
the  lovers  of  the  road,  would  ask 
to  be  allowed  to  express,  if  not 
advice,  at  any  rate  our  opinion. 
The  drawings  present  the  types 
of  the  vehicles,  but  the  carriages 
are  not  those  of  the  coach-builder. 
They  lack  the  elegance,  the  fine 
lines,  the  classic  style,  the  finish  : 
in  a  word  they  are  crude  and  un- 
developed. Before  the  motor  can 
be  altogether  a  success,  be  the 
mechanism  ever   so    perfect,  the 


carriage  upon  it  must  be,  as  ever, 
the  work  of  a  master  in  his  craft. 
It  is  this  fact,  so  apt  to  be  over- 
looked in  the  craze  for  a  new 
invention,  that  we  think  should 
claim  our  comment  at  such  a 
critical  stage  in  its  career.  We 
would  desire  to  put  on  record  the 
necessity  that  if  motor  locomotion 
be  generally  adopted  the  beauti- 
ful art  of  coach-building  should  in 
nowise  surfer. 

But  let  us  leave  the  new  in- 
vention and  say  a  word  about 
carriages  generally.  Coach- 
building  would  seem  ever  to 
have  been  a  beautiful  and 
dainty  art,  but  as  the  great  roads 
began  to  grow  and  multiply  at 
the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury it  came  to  the  front  with 
rapidity.  Then  as  "  the  Road  "  be- 
comes almost  a  national  pastime, 
we  see  the  style,  the  strength,  the 
lightness,  which  in  the  mail 
coach  has  never  been  excelled. 
Slight  improvements  there  have, 
of  course,  been  from  time  to  time, 
but  the  model  is  still  there,  never 
displaced,  standing  as  it  were  a 
monument  of  strength,  and  speed 
and  smartness. 

The  improvements  in  the  art 
of  coach -building  would  seem  to 
have  had  their  first  impetus  in 
the  numerous  forms  of  carriage 
which  in  the  earlier  decade  of  this 
century  sprang  suddenly  into  life. 
Developed  from  the  ponderous 
state  coaches  of  the  last  century 
there  came  the  town  coach  and 
the  chariot,  each  with  its  hammer- 
cloth  and  cee-springs,  the  latter 
finding  its  commonplace  counter- 
part in  the  post-chaise  once  so 
universal  on  the  road ;  then  a 
little  later  came  the  barouche,  the  v 
clarence,  and  last  of  closed  car- 
riages, the  brougham,  now  fined 
down  into  such  a  model  of  smart- 


112 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[August 


ness  that  its  progenitors  could 
scarcely  acknowledge  the  family 
likeness.  The  landau  should  not 
be  forgotten  in  this  enumeration 
it  is  undoubtedly  the  most  useful 
of  all  carriages  for  the  country, 
and  in  it  more  perhaps  than  in 
any  other,  except  the  beautiful 
victoria,  has  the  fashion  of 
turning  the  round  into  the  square 
and  again  the  square  into  the 
round,  been  thoroughly  ex- 
emplified. The  canoe  -  shape  is 
unquestionably  the  most  elegant 
and  probably  the  most  comfort- 
able. The  victoria,  following  on 
the  cab-phaeton,  is  of  all  carriages 
the  most  popular ;  whether  of  the 
severe  square  cut  or  of  the  classic 
sweep  with  cee- springs,  it  is  in 
all  respects  worthy  of  its  great 
and  honoured  name. 

Remarkable  among  carriage 
fashions  is  the  recent  alteration 
of  the  victoria;  when  it  first 
came  in  some  five-and-twenty 
years  ago,  one  of  its  chief  char- 
acteristics, in  contra  -  distinction 
to  the  cab-phaeton,  was  the  angu- 
larity of  its  shape,  and  indeed  so 
rigid  did  this  at  last  become,  that 
the  grace  and  beauty  of  real 
carriage  lines  seemed  in  danger 
of  being  lost  in  the  skeleton  form 
it  had  begun  to  assume.  Now 
all  this  is  rapidly  changing;  it 
began  with  a  slight  return  to  the 
old  "  chair  back,"  and  though 
this  is  still  seen,  the  pronounced 
fashion  is  now  the  thick,  and  we 
may  almost  say  clumsy,  body  of 
the  phaeton  of  the  French  Em- 
pire. Colour,  too,  is  not  to  be 
unnoticed  ;  there  was  a  time 
when  a  carriage  could  not  be  too 
plain  and  dark,  and  indeed  it  had 
seemed  as  if  it  was  all  painted 
the  same  shade.  Now,  however, 
the  brilliant  yellow  and  canary 
are  re  -  appearing  on  the  old- 
fashioned  bodies,  though  the  old 
French  delicate  drab  lining  is  as 
yet  rare.    I  am  inclined  to  approve 


of  this  development,  provided  it  go 
not  to  extremes ;  the  fuller  body, 
following  the  lines  of  the  old 
Roman  chariot,  is  undoubtedly 
noble  and  graceful,  but  when 
robbed  of  its  sweep,  as  is  some- 
times now  the  case,  and  its  curve 
accentuated  almost  to  a  crescent, 
it  may  assume  a  form  not  far 
short  of  grotesque.  It  is  in  this, 
as  in  all  else,  that  extremes 
should  be  avoided. 

I  cannot  but  welcome  this  new 
departure  for  another  reason. 
This  was  undoubtedly  the  carriage 
built  first  of  all  without  a  box,  to 
be  used  as  a  ladies'  dress  carriage 
and  driven  by  a  postilion,  and  I 
am  not  without  the  hope  that  this 
revival  will  be  the  means  of 
bringing  in  once  more  this  most 
elegant  and  finished  form  of 
charioteering.  Unquestionably  for 
a  smart  woman  who  does  not 
drive  herself,  the  postilion  car- 
riage is  by  far  the  most  stylish. 
The  graceful  and  well-hung  body, 
the  easy  cee-springs,  the  ample 
leather  dash,  the  accurately  trot- 
ting and  well -matched  horses,  and 
the  faultlessly-  turned-out  post- 
boy, go  far  to  make  a  perfect 
equipage. 

In  the  matter  of  utility,  cer- 
tainly for  country  use,  comes  the 
waggonette,  invented  about  i860. 
It  is  difficult  to  make  these  pretty, 
but  undoubtedly  they  have  been 
improved  almost  to  a  pitch  of  nat- 
tiness,  and  when  well  set  up,  and 
with  an  upstanding  pair  of  horses, 
they  will  hold  their  own  on  a 
country  road. 

From  the  mail  coach  was 
evolved  the  mail  phaeton,  by  far 
the  most  perfect  pair-horse  carri- 
age for  a  man's  own  driving ;  for 
the  park,  for  town,  and  above  all 
for  a  driving  tour,  it  has  never 
been  equalled.  But  it  must  be  a 
real  one  ;  it  must  have  the  mail 
springs,  the  perch,  the  hind  boot 
shaped  like  that  of  a  coach,  the 


1899.] 


A   CENTURY  S   COACH-BUILDING. 


"3 


mail  lamps  and  the  "  whip 
springs " ;  if  it  can  have  the 
old  "chair"  or  "britzka"  back 
so  much  the  more  perfect  will 
it  be. 

And  what  of  two-wheeled  car- 
riages ?  There  were  phaetons  in 
the  last  century,  but  it  must  have 
been  with  the  classic  curricle  that 
the  taste  for  elegant  two- wheeled 
carriages  came  in  ;  rare  are  these 
now,  if  not  altogether  gone.  Some 
of  us  must  remember  Mr.  Tolle- 
mache's  curricle  with  the  high- 
stepping  chesnuts  and  the  silver 
bar  over  their  backs,  only  a  sur- 
vival then  of  a  long  departed 
fashion. 

A  carriage  which  came  into 
vogue,  I  think,  with  Count 
d'Orsay,  and  of  which,  even 
now,  one  at  least  is  generally 
seen  in  a  season,  was  the  cab- 
riolet, by  far  the  daintiest  and 
most  elegant  town  carriage  that 
has  ever  been  known.  That 
these  have  almost  entirely  disap- 
peared is  to  me  a  matter  of 
marvel;  the  classic  sweep  of  the 
body,  the  easy  and  graceful  swing 
of  the  cee-springs,  the  high-step- 
ping horse  with  his  back  bending 
like  whalebone,  the  head  half  up, 
the  little  "  tiger  "  on  the  spring- 
board behind,  his  hat  put  on  to 
a  hair's-breadth,  and  his  boots 
and  breeches  fitting  to  perfection, 
made  up  an  equipage  of  inde- 
scribable charm. 

Few  young  women  would  be 
found  to  scorn  the  offer  of  a 
drive  in  such  a  stylish  vehicle  as 
this;  apart  from  its  own  appear- 
ance, the  head  half  thrown  back 
forms  the  most  becoming  back- 
ground, and  to  those  of  shapely 
figure  and  neat  ankles,  to  say 
nothing  of  high  boots,  the  piquant 
possibilities  were  undeniably  at- 
tractive. It  is  not  easy  to  believe 
that  the  cabriolet  has  gone  for 
ever,  and  though  season  after 
season  we  may  look  in  vain  for 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  474, 


its  resuscitation,  I  believe  the 
whirligig  of  time  will  bring  it  in 
again. 

It  was  but  last  season-  I  saw 
a  well-known  leader  of  fashion 
driving  herself  in  a  high  "buggy" 
with  her  groom  beside  her,  and 

I  could  not  help  feeling  how  much 
better  she  would  like  a  real  cab- 
riolet, did  she  only  try  one.  It 
would  certainly  be  a  striking 
fashion  to  set. 

That  the  times  have  changed  is 
an  undoubted  fact.  The  fashion- 
able hours  of  the  park  are  known 
no  more  ;  the  craze  for  new  things, 
the  scorn  of  many  old  ones,  must 
perforce  occupy  the  minds  of  men 
and  women  a  little  longer ;  no 
more  do  we  see  the  smart  riding 
habits  with  the  tall  hats  of,  say 
at  least,  1880,  but  for  all  the 
boots  are  smarter  and  the  skirts 
shorter,  the  ugly  and  coat-shaped 
habits  will  easily  degenerate  into 
dowdyism  and  clumsiness.  The 
liveries  are  suggestive  of  the 
"  Stores  "  and  the  horses  of  the 
job-master;  hard  times  have  fos- 
tered cheap  imitations,  and  we 
may  almost  cry  with    Macbeth, 

II  Nothing  is  but  what  is  not." 
But   we   have  strayed  a   little 

from  our  subject.  Other  two- 
wheeled  carriages  besides  the 
"cab"  have  come  to  us  in  the 
present  century.  The  high  break- 
neck phaetons  of  which  the  prints 
of  Georgian  times  are  with  us 
still,  some  elegant  and  some 
almost  over  -  balanced  in  their 
height,  have  passed  into  the  til- 
bury, the  gig,  and  the  dog-cart, 
with  their  latter-day  developments 
of  the  "  buggy,"  the  car,  and  the 
pony-cart.  In  many  of  these 
lightness  and  smartness  rule,  but 
they  are  carriages  essentially  for 
the  country  and  not  for  town. 

Among  the  lighter  vehicles  on 
four  wheels  which  seem  to  have 
reached  their  acme  of  perfection, 
must  be  placed  the  four-wheeled 

8 


U4 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


dog-cart,  the  stanhope,  and  the 
lady's  driving  phaeton,  the  last  of 
these  brought  to  the  greatest  per- 
fection probably  but  a  few  years 
since ;  it  is  now  set  higher,  and 
with  the  wheels  closer,  without 
losing  its  graceful  body  or  its 
highly  feminine  cachet,  and  it  is 
a  matter  of  regret  that  so  ladylike 
a  carriage  and  one  so  eminently 
suitable  for  town  driving,  has  been 
put  aside  too  often  for  the  buggy, 
which  is  sometimes  but  one 
remove  from  the  tradesman's 
cart.  The  servant,  boy  or  man, 
does  not  look  well  beside  his 
master  or  mistress,  but  to  see 
him    nearly  doubled    up  at    the 


back  of  a  small  dog-cart  produces 
an  effect  which  it  is  impossible  to 
describe. 

Perhaps,  after  all,  the  happiest 
development  of  the  old-fashioned 
handsome  carriage  into  the  very 
smart  modern  one  is  found  in  the 
translation  of  the  massive  chariot 
into  the  single-seated  cee-spring 
brougham ;  and  with  the  hope 
that  this  neatest  and  most  elegant 
of  fin-de-siecle  vehicles  may  never 
be  displaced  from  its  well-earned 
favour,  I  will  take  leave  of  a 
subject  which,  to  its  lovers  and 
patrons,  would  seem  to  be  of 
never-ending  interest. 

John  Bluett. 


Peterborough. 


Weather  of  the  most  glorious 
description  favoured  Peterborough 
this  year,  the  popular  show  taking 
place  on  Tuesday,  July  4th,  and 
the  two  following  days,  under  the 
Presidency  of  Sir  Gilbert  Greenall, 
the  Master  of  the  Belvoir  Hounds. 
Some  of  the  best  known  Show 
hunters  and  harness  horses  had 
gone  to  Edinburgh,  which  was 
rather  a  relief  than  otherwise,  and 
as  it  was  we  had  several  horses 
which  had  been  seen  out  at  Wem- 
bley Park,  Windsor,  the  Crystal 
Palace,  and  Richmond ;  but  thanks 
to  the  fact  that  one  set  of  judges 
reverse  the  findings  of  another  set 
there  is  always  an  element  of 
novelty  about  Horse  Shows,  even 
when  the  same  animals  appear. 
Both  the  brood  mare  classes  at 
Peterborough  were  far  in  advance, 
as  regards  numbers  and  quality,  of 
those  at  the  Royal,  and  there  were 
some  more  than  useful  matrons  in 
the  class  for  mares  between  i2st. 
and  i4st.  It  was  pretty  well  im- 
possible for  the  judges  to  get  away 
from  the  power  and  quality  of  Mr. 


Wilkinson's  Lady  Grosvenor,  but 
we  should  very  much  have  liked 
to  see  Mr.  Custrance's  thorough- 
bred mare  Silver  Roan,  by  Phil- 
ammon,  in  the  prize  list.  This 
mare  runs  back  to  Rapid  Rhone 
and  Voltigeur;  speaking  by  the 
eye  she  must  have  eight  inches 
or  eight  inches  and  a  half  of 
bone  below  the  knee,  and  mated 
with  a  strong  horse  (her  foal  is  by 
Grammont)  she  ought  to  breed  a 
good  hunter.  Mr.  Cory's  Circus 
Girl  made  a  very  good  second, 
but  we  certainly  were  sorry  for 
Silver  Roan's  absence. 

In  the  weight-carrying  class  it 
must  have  been  rather  a  near  thing 
between  Mr.  Graham  Cooper's 
Blue  Blood,  by  Blood  Royal,  and 
Mr.  Swallow's  Beatrice,  by  Hori- 
zon. It  is  true  that  they  are 
mares  of  a  different  stamp,  and 
no  one  could  say  that  the  judges 
were  wrong  in  preferring  Beatrice, 
a  mare  of  immense  power.  She, 
by  the  way,  carried  Will  Dale  for 
four  seasons  when  he  was  hunts- 
man   to  Lord  Yarborough,  so  if 


1899.] 


PETERBOROUGH. 


"5 


her  hunting  ability  be  hereditary 
her  stock  ought  to  do  well.  The 
foals  and  the  other  young  hunters 
were,  with  the  exception  of  the 
two-year-olds  (which  were  poor), 
just  about  up  to  the  average,  but 
so  far  as  one  could  see  there  was 
nothing  of  extraordinary  merit, 
though  Mr.  Bradley's  three-year- 
old  filly  Roseberry,  by  Downy 
Bird,  which  gained  the  Hunters' 
Improvement  Society's  medal, 
though  not  in  the  prize  list  in 
her  class,  must  be  regarded  as 
a  very  promising  brood  mare. 

In  the  weight-carrying  class  up 
to  not  less  than  15  stone,  several 
well-known  hunters  came  before 
the  judges — Mr.  P.  A.  Muntz  and 
Mr.  T.  H.  Hutchinson.  A  big  bay 
horse  of  Mr.  Stokes's,  which  came 
to  Wembley  Park  without  a  name, 
but  was  afterwards  called  Delay, 
now  figured  as  Flyer,  and  he  gained 
first  prize.  He  once  belonged  to 
Mr.  Muntz,  who  is  said  to  have 
regarded  him  as  one  of  the  best 
hunters  he  ever  rode.  He  is  cer- 
tainly a  big  strong  horse  and 
moved  freely.  Those  who  came 
next  to  him  were  Sir  Humphrey 
de  Trafford's  The  Peer  and  Mr. 
Stokes's  great  chestnut  Sandow, 
who  the  other  day  gained  champion 
honours  at  a  show.  Mr.  John's 
horses  were  among  those  which 
had  gone  to  Edinburgh,  otherwise 
it  is  just  possible  that  we  might 
have  seen,  in  the  light-weight 
class,  one  of  his  and  Mr.  Arthur 
Brocklehurst's  Sir  Richard,  by 
Merry  Go  Round — Wishful  Jane, 
by  Wisdom,  in  competition.  He 
is  a  beautiful  blood  horse  with 
splendid  shoulders,  and  the  best 
galloper  seen  in  the  ring  for  a  very 
long  time,  while  as  Mr.  Brockle- 
hurst  himself  was  in  the  saddle  it 
is  needless  to  say  that  that  con- 
summate horseman  and  once  well- 
known  steeplechase  rider  handled 
him  so  as  to  do  him  full  justice. 
Sir  Richard,  of  course,  won  in  the 


medium  weight  class  for  horses 
up  to  between  i3jst.  and  i5st., 
and  was  afterwards  awarded 
championship  honours,  while  in 
the  light  weight  class  and  the  class 
for  four-year-olds  Mr.  Stokes  was 
successful  with  Gold  Flake,  a  very 
nicely  turned  horse  by  Warpath. 

As  the  great  Hackney  breeding 
places  are  within  easy  distance  of 
Peterborough  one  always  expects 
to  see  a  good  show  of  Hackneys, 
and  no  one  was  disappointed, 
though  some  of  the  classes  were 
not  very  strong  in  point  of  num- 
bers. The  one  class  for  polo  ponies 
attracted  but  five  entries,  and  of 
these  the  Messrs.  Grainger's  Serf 
Belle  was  put  first,  she  also  receiv- 
ing the  Polo  Pony  Society's  gold 
medal.  The  harness  classes  pre- 
sented no  particular  features.  Mr. 
Mosley's  well-known  roan  Amaze- 
ment and  the  same  owner's  Country 
Gentleman  won  in  their  respect- 
ive classes,  while  Country  Gentle- 
man and  County  Gentleman  were 
first  in  tandems.  The  ponies  were 
pretty  strong,  in  fact  the  growth  of 
these  classes  sufficiently  indicates 
how  much  ponies  are  growing  in 
popular  estimation.  The  bulk  of 
them,  however,  were  decidedly 
harness  ponies,  there  being  very 
few  which  fulfilled  all  the  require- 
ments for  riding  purposes. 

Wednesday,  the  second  day  of 
the  Show,  saw  the  place  alive 
with  Masters  of  Hounds,  hunts- 
men, and  whippers-in,  and  very 
uncomfortable  the  latter  appeared 
in  their  scarlet  coats,  breeches 
and  boots.  It  was  a  day  when 
flannels  and  straw  hats  were  the 
most  comfortable  wear,  and  one 
could  not  help  pitying  the  wearers 
of  that  dress  of  which  most  of  us 
are  so  fond.  It  is  just  forty  years 
ago  since  Mr.  Thomas  Parrington 
organised  the  Hound  Show  at 
Redcar,  of  which  "The  Druid" 
has  given  such  a  graphic  descrip- 
tion.    Five  years  ago   Mr.  Par- 


Ii6 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


rington  was  present  at  Peter- 
borough, when  he  was  President, 
and  on  that  occasion  presented 
the  Cup  for  the  best  three  couples 
of  dog- hounds.  This  year  he  was 
again  present,  while  another  old 
Master  of  Hounds  was  Colonel 
Anstruther  Thomson,  as  upright 
as  a  dart,  and  apparently  as  keen 
on  hunting  as  the  day  on  which  he 
rode  the  Waterloo  run,  and  turned 
up  in  the  ballroom  late  at  night. 

Among  the  goodly  company 
present  were  Earl  Bathurst,  the 
Duke  of  Beaufort,  the  Earl  of 
Enniskilien,  Lord  Chesham,  Lord 
Lonsdale,  the  Hon.  C.  Brand,  Sir 
Gilbert  Greenall,  Major  Aikman, 
Mr.  T.  Merthyr  Guest,  Mr.  Whar- 
ton, Mr.  Wroughton,  Mr.  Rawns- 
ley,  the  Hon.  G.  C.  Fitzwilliam, 
Mr.  C.  B.  E.  Wright,  Col.  Jago, 
Capt.  Kemble,  R.N.,  Mr.  Hey- 
wood  Lonsdale,  Sir  H.  H.  Lang- 
ham,  Mr.  John  Watson,  Mr. 
Coryton,  Mr.  Preston,  Mr.  F. 
Ames,  Mr.  W.  H.  Dunn,  Mr. 
G.  P.  E.  Evans,  Mr.  Fernie,  Mr. 
John  Hargreaves,  Mr.  T.  B. 
Miller,  Mr.  J.  Ashton  Radcliffe, 
Mr.  J.  R.  Rawlence,  Mr.  F.  W. 
Slingsby,  Mr.  C.  W.  Wicksted, 
Mr.  Selby  Lowndes,  &c. 

It  frequently  falls  to  the  lot  of 
some  particular  pack  to  take  the 
lion's  share  of  the  prizes,  and  of 
recent  years  it  has  been  the  War- 
wickshire which — under  the  able 
guidance  of  Lord  Willoughby  de 
Broke,  now  unhappily  in  bad 
health — has  figured  so  promin- 
ently, but  on  this  occasion  it  was 
the  Duke  of  Beaufort's  pack  which 
carried  nearly  everything  before 
it,  Will  Dale's  coat  telling  of  n.o 
fewer  than  seven  first  prizes, 
while  to  that  worthy  huntsman 
accrued  the  useful  sum  of  some- 
thing like  twenty-three  sovereigns. 
The  dog  hounds  which  brought 
success  to  the  Badminton  were 
among  those  purchased  by  the 
Duke  of  Beaufort  from  Mr.  Austin 


Mackenzie  when  he  decided  to 
give  up  the  Woodland  Pytchley 
country,  which  he  has  hunted 
with  such  signal  success,  while 
the  bitches  went  to  Mr.  Wrough- 
ton, of  the  Pytchley.  Mr.  Mac- 
kenzie was  a  singularly  successful 
and  painstaking  hound  breeder, 
and  managed,  as  soon  as  he 
first  made  his  bow  as  a  Master 
of  Foxhounds,  to  get  together  a 
really  splendid  pack.  Mr.  Mac 
kenzie  himself  has  shown  at 
Peterborough,  where  his  hounds 
were  always  greatly  admired, 
and  those  which  have  passed  to 
the  Badminton  Kennels  as  seen 
at  Peterborough  were  certainly 
models  of  what  foxhounds  should 
be. 

It  would  perhaps  be  difficult  to 
find  two  better  couples  of  entered 
hounds     than     Victor,     Raglan, 
Ringwood,   and    Woldsman,    all 
by  Bel  voir  sires,  and  they  gained 
first    prize    from     the     Pytchley 
representatives,  these  being  Po- 
tentate,  Marksman,    Miner,   and 
Pageant,  the  first-named  of  the 
four    being    also    by    a    Belvoir 
hound — Gordon,   the   dam   being 
the  Oakley  Dancer,  a  strain  much 
appreciated    in     other     kennels 
besides.     Mr.   Mackenzie's  judg- 
ment in  breeding  was  again  shown 
when    Vaulter,    by   the    Belvoir 
Vaulter,  out  of  Mr.  Mackenzie's 
Lightning,  won  the  prize  for  stal- 
lion hounds  for  the  Duke  of  Beau- 
fort.   He  has  all  the  strength  and 
substance  one  looks  for  in  a  stal- 
lion hound,  while  his  feet  are  as 
close    and    as   round  as  anyone 
could  wish  to  see,  and  his  shoul- 
ders are  quite.irreproachable.   The 
Pytchley  Potentate  came  next  to 
him,  and  it  is  doing  Mr.  Wrough- 
ton's  hound  no  injustice  to   say 
that  the  verdict  could  not  have 
been  reversed.     There  were  some 
other    very  well  shaped  hounds, 
notably    the    North    Cotswold's 
Paleface  and  the  Ledbury  Comet, 


I899J 


PETERBOROUGH. 


117 


but  they  had  hardly  bone  enough 
to  please  the  judges. 

The  third  of  the  Badminton 
victories  was  in  the  three  couple 
class,  when  in  addition  to  the 
winning  couple  mentioned  above, 
Valiant  and  Spartan  were  added, 
making  up  three  couples  which 
would  be  hard  to  beat.  It  was  en- 
couraging to  see  so  many  Masters 
coming  from  a  distance,  the  Scot- 
tish packs  including  the  Dum- 
friesshire and  the  Lanark  and 
Renfrewshire,  while  the  Ledbury, 
both  divisions  of  the  V.W.H.,  the 
Pytchley,  the  Warwickshire,  the 
Woodland  Pytchley,  the  Oakley, 
and  the  Brocklesby  were  among 
the  twenty-one  packs  represented, 
the  number  being  the  same  as 
last  year,  though  not  quite  so 
many  couples  were  found  in  the 
yard.  The  unentered  hounds  made 
up  a  very  good  class  numerically, 
no  fewer  than  nine  packs  entering, 
but  the  majority  of  critics  thought 
the  quality  was  hardly  up  to  the 
usual  standard.  Mr.  Butt  Miller's 
and  the  Lanark  and  Renfrew- 
shire's were  the  two  who  had  to 
fight  out  the  issue  for  the  first 
prize,  and  the  judges — Lord  En- 
niskillen  and  Mr.  Austin  Mac- 
kenzie— gave  preference  to  the 
Scottish  pack,  who  were  by  the 
Belvoir  Resolute,  a  hound  re- 
garded as  certainly  one  of  the 
best  Gillard  ever  had.  He  stood, 
however,  a  little  over  at  the  knees, 
and  Rival,  one  of  the  Lanark  and 
Renfrewshire,  does  the  same,  but 
that  was  no  drawback  in  the  eyes 
of  the  judges.  His  partner  was 
Resolute,  while  the  V.W.H. 
couple  were  Hercules  and  Haugh- 
ty, the  former  by  Pytchley 
Potentate,  the  latter  by  War- 
wickshire Hermit.  Pytchley  Mar- 
quis carried  off  the  prize  for 
the  best  single  unentered  hound, 
and  if  his  companion,  Monarch, 
had  been  as  good  as  he  they 
might  have  won.     All  the  same, 


there  were  some  people  who 
would  not  care  particularly  about 
Marquis's  feet ;  many  thought 
them  just  a  trifle  open,  but  as 
they  passed  the  judges  there  could 
not  have  been  much  the  matter 
with  them. 

The  judges  for  the  bitches  were 
Mr.  Cecil  Legard  (the  Editor  of 
the  Foxhound  Kennel  Stud  Book) 
and  Mr.  John  Williams,  and  in 
the  first  class  that  came  before 
them — the  unentered  bitches — 
thirteen  packs  competed.  The 
Badminton  again  came  to  the  fore 
with  their  home-bred  Rapture  and 
Lusty,  who  had  excellent  feet, 
shoulders,  and  loins,  and  were 
about  as  smart  a  couple  as  one  is 
likely  to  see  at  the  covert  side. 
Rapture  then  took  the  prize  for 
the  best  single  hound,  but  when 
the  two  couples  of  entered  hounds 
came  in  success  lay  with  the 
Warwickshire,  whose  Tragedy, 
Foresail,  Heiress,  and  Timorous 
left  nothing  to  be  desired.  The 
second  prize  went  to  Mr.  Wrough- 
ton's  (the  Woodland  Pytchley) 
Daylight,  Delta,  Wildfire  and 
Trusty.  Sentiment,  from  the 
Warwickshire  kennels,  was  the 
best  of  the  brood  bitches,  while 
Rapture  scored  another  success 
for  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  as  the 
best  unentered  bitch  coming  from 
a  pack  which  had  not  won  a  first 
prize  at  Peterborough  for  three 
years,  and  some  idea  of  her  quality 
may  be  gained  from  the  fact  that 
she  was  afterwards  chosen  as  the 
best  bitch  in  the  Show.  The 
Warwickshire  won  the  three- 
couple  prize,  which  they  have 
taken  so  often.  The  judging 
lasted  till  pretty  late  in  the  after- 
noon, for  the  merits  of  some  of  the 
candidates  were  so  evenly  balanced 
that  it  was  difficult  to  give  pre- 
cedence to  one  over  another. 

The  Harriers  and  Beagles  were 
judged  on  Wednesday,  when  there 
was  quite  a  long   catalogue,  Mr. 


n8 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


Wharton  and  Mr.  Barthropp 
taking  the  Harriers,  and  Mr. 
Rowland  Hunt,  one  of  the  masters 
of  the  Shropshire,  and  Mr.  Faber 
judging  the  Beagles.  Save  for 
one  or  two  specimens  this  was 
really  another  Foxhound  Show, 
for  all  the  best  and  the  straightest 
specimens  were  nothing  more  than 
dwarf  foxhounds.  There  were,  of 
course,  some  exceptions,  and 
notably  one  of  the  Boddington,  of 
which  Mr.  Gibbons  is  master. 
It  was  a  little  blue  ticked  hound, 
and  Mr.  Gibbons  stated  that 
there  was  not  one  drop  of  fox- 
hound blood  in  him.  The  most 
successful  packs  were  Major  Aik- 
man's,  Mrs.  Pryce  Rice's,  the 
Bentley,  and  Mr.  Quare's,  the 
former  having  a  particularly 
strong  kennel  from  which  to 
choose.       The    Aspull     and    the 


Hamilton  also  showed  some  nice 
hounds,  as  also  did  Lord  Hope- 
toun.  The  Harriers,  of  course, 
as  usual,  were  shown  according  to 
size,  from  sixteen  to  nineteen 
inches  being  the  one  limit,  and 
from  nineteen  to  twenty-one  inches 
the  other,  while  in  two  classes  they 
were  not  to  exceed  twenty-two 
inches,  that  being  enough  for  a 
harrier  in  all  conscience. 

There  was  a  very  fair  display  of 
Beagles,  but  they,  like  the  Har- 
riers, are  being  altered  in  character. 
They,  too,  are  getting  something 
of  the  foxhound  head,  and  in  the 
main  are  growing  more  like  har- 
riers, just  as  the  latter  have  all 
the  appearance  of  foxhounds, 
which  indeed  they  are,  though 
with  perhaps  one  exception,  all 
the  harriers  shown  were  bred  at 
harrier  kennels. 


The  Poisoning  of  Vermin  and  its  Results. 


It  would  be  well  indeed  if  all 
householders  and  all  sportsmen 
were  to  make  it  a  law,  so  far 
as  their  servants  are  concerned, 
that  no  poison  should  be  used  in 
or  about  their  premises  for  any 
purpose  whatever  without  their 
employers*  express  consent.  In 
so  speaking  one  is  of  course  quite 
aware  that  several  substances  in 
common  use  might  be  pointed  at 
which  would  infringe  the  sug- 
gested regulation.  Oxalic  acid, 
for  instance,  enters  largely  into 
top-boot  liquids,  and  there  are 
substances  which  are  at  least 
deleterious  to  health,  if  not  quick 
poisons.  We  all  know  what  a 
favourite  black  antimony  is  with 
grooms,  who  use  it  for  the  pur- 
pose of  giving  horses  under  their 
charge  a  glossy  coat,  but  the 
stableman  not  being  a  trained 
chemist,  frequently  goes  upon  the 
plan  that  the  more  you  give  the 


greater  the  gloss,  with  the  result 
that  some  of  the  horses  in  his 
care  fall  victims  to  the  poison. 
Criticism  may  at  this  point  be 
disarmed  by  admitting  that  the 
Poisons'  Act  can  in  spirit  be  at 
least  easily  violated,  for  there  is 
nothing  to  stop  man,  woman  or 
child  from  going  to  buy  carbolic 
acid  at  an  oil  shop ;  but  without 
going  into  the  law  of  poisons  in 
detail,  it  is  sufficient  to  express  a 
hope  that  a  sportsman  will,  as 
far  as  possible,  strictly  forbid  the 
use  of  poisons. 

A  very  sad  case,  which  forms  the 
basis  of  these  remarks,  happened 
not  long  ago  on  the  Debden  Hall 
estate.  It  would  appear  that 
rats  had  made  an  onslaught 
among  some  young  pheasants, 
so  the  head-keeper  determined  to 
poison  them,  and  as  they  carried 
on  their  depredations  in  the  open 
it  is  perfectly  obvious  that  laying 


1899.] 


THE    POISONING   OF  VERMIN   AND   ITS   RESULTS. 


119 


the  poison  in  any  drain  or  house 
would  have  been  of  no  use.  The 
keeper,  therefore,  purchased  a 
quantity  of  strychnine,  which  he 
kept  on  a  shelf  in  a  hut  which 
adjoined  the  ground  on  which  the 
young  pheasants  were  reared. 
The  under -keeper  had  some  of 
the  poison  served  out  to  him  for 
the  purpose  of  rat-killing,  and  to 
assist  him  in  various  duties  was 
a  lad  of  about  fourteen  years 
of  age,  who  had  access  to  the 
hut  and  knew  where  the  strych- 
nine was  kept.  For  some  reason 
or  other,  which  we  shall  never 
know,  the  lad  one  day  called  to 
the  under -keeper  and  informed 
him  that  he  had  taken  some  of 
the  poison.  He  had  put  some  of 
the  strychnine  in  water  and  had 
drunk  it.  Whether  he  knew  that 
he  was  taking  poison,  or  whether 
he  was  merely  trying  an  experi- 
ment, or  whether  a  lad  of  his 
tender  years  contemplated  suicide 
does  not  appear  to  be  known. 
The  under-keeper  and  his  chief 
did  all  that  they  could  in  the  way 
of  first-aid  to  administer  an  emetic, 
but  owing  to  the  quantity  of 
poison  swallowed  their  efforts 
were  of  no  avail,  and  the  case, 
which  was  hopeless  from  the 
first,  ended  fatally,  a  result  which 
will  necessarily  cast  a  shadow  of 
sadness  over  the  next  season's 
shooting.  The  suggestion  at  the 
inquest  was  that  the  boy  thought 
he  would  test  the  poison  for  what 
was  grimly  designated  as  "  fun." 
There  was  no  suggestion  of  any 
harsh  treatment  on  the  part  of 
the  keepers ;  it  was  not  even 
hinted  that  the  boy  was  not  per- 
fectly in  his  right  mind;  on  the 
contrary,  he  appears  to  have  been 
an  active  country  lad,  who  took 
rather  more  delight  than  usual  in 
the  duties  he  was  called  upon  to 
perform. 

As  most    householders    know, 
they  are   perfectly   at    liberty  to 


lay  rat-poison  in  their  houses,  at 
the  mouths  of  drains  and  scul- 
leries where  the  rats  come  for 
water,  under  the  slates,  or  in  fact, 
anywhere  inside  the  place,  out  of 
reach  of  dogs  and  cats,  but  as 
was  said  before,  it  is  clear  that 
this  permission  would  not  have 
availed  in  the  present  case,  as  the 
rats  were  out  of  doors.  Without 
full  knowledge  of  the  facts,  we 
must  not  of  course  venture  to 
hint  that  the  keepers  elected  to 
lay  the  poison  in  the  rat  runs 
which  led  to  and  from  the  coops, 
but  the  fact  remains  that  if  they 
did  they  would  be  acting  illegally. 
That,  however,  is  a  matter  of  no 
consequence,  because  even  if  the 
law  were  infringed,  it  need  not 
necessarily  have  led  to  the  boy's 
death,  and  the  mere  fact  of  the 
poison  being  kept  in  the  hut  is 
also  of  no  moment,  because  had  it 
been  kept  in  the  house  it  might 
equally  have  been  taken  by  him 
or  some  other  boy,  or  by  any 
domestic  servant. 

In  well  -  conducted  chemists' 
shops  there'  is  usually  a  poison 
cupboard,  or  some  special  part  of 
the  dispensary  set  apart  for  the 
reception  of  poisons,  while  in 
more  than  one  establishment  the 
poison  cupboard  is  acted  upon  by 
an  electric  bell,  so  that  no  assist- 
ant can  take  any  poison  without 
the  bell  informing  the  whole  esta- 
blishment of  the  fact.  In  face, 
therefore,  of  the  extreme  care 
taken  by  chemists  in  the  use  of 
poisons,  it  does  appear  rash  in  the 
extreme  that  the  gamekeeper 
should  have  at  his  disposal  so 
deadly  a  poison  as  strychnine, 
which  could  easily  be  taken  by 
anybody  who  knew  where  it  was 
kept.  Vermin,  one  knows,  are  a 
great  plague  to  many  country 
houses,  and  it  is  frequently  neces- 
sary to  use  poison  to  exterminate 
them,  but  certainly  no  empioyl 
should  be  permitted  to  go  to  a 


120 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


shop  and  lay  in  what  store  he 
pleased  in  order  to  bring  about 
the  desired  results,  for  having  ob- 
tained it  for  one  purpose,  it  would 
be  a  very  easy  step  to  use  it,  and 
often  with  disastrous  consequences, 
against  what  he  considered  the 
enemies  of  his  master's  game  out 
of  doors. 

Scarcely  a  season  passes  but 
hounds  fall  victims  to  strychnine 
or  arsenic.  In  their  over- zeal  to 
do  away  with  every  foe  to  fur  and 
feather,  keepers  are  in  the  habit 
of  surreptitiously  laying  poisoned 
meat  about  the  place,  and  some 
of  the  best  hounds  in  England 
have  fallen  a  victim  to  this  per- 
nicious practice.  It  was  only 
at  the  close  of  last  season  that  a 
couple  of  hounds  belonging  to 
the  Old  Berkeley  West  met  their 
death  through  taking  strychnine, 
and  within  a  very  few  days  several 
vixen  foxes  were  picked  up  dead 
in  the  same  district,  apparently 
from  the  same  cause.  At  the  first 
blush  it  is  commonly  thought  that 
the  poison  has  been  laid  for  the 
express  purpose  of  killing  hounds, 
and  in  the  first  place  inquiries 
are  made  concerning  the  move- 
ments of  certain  loafers  or  others 
who  may  have  been  heard  to  ex- 
press opinions  antagonistic  to  fox- 
hunting; but  when  the  matter 
comes  to  be  sifted  it  is  more  often 
than  not  discovered  that  the 
poison  has  been  laid  not  to  kill 
foxes  or  hounds,  but  simply  ver- 
min in  shooting  preserves.  This, 
therefore,  shows  how  inexpedient 
it  is  that  even  the  most  trusted 
keeper  should  be  allowed  to  have 
poison  in  his  possession  for  any 
purpose  whatever. 

The  same  remark  applies  to 
stablemen,  because  in  nineteen 
cases  out  of  twenty  every  person 
about  the  premises  has  access  to 
it,  and  the  fatal  results  which  hap- 
pened to  the  lad  on  the  Debden 
Hall  estate  may  easily  overtake 


anyone  else.  Heretofore  disin- 
fecting fluids  have  been  mistaken 
for  fluid  magnesia,  while  the  mis- 
taking of  one  bottle  for  another 
has  caused  many  fatalities,  and 
narrow  escapes  innumerable.  It 
must,  of  course,  be  admitted  that 
it  is  by  no  means  an  easy  task  to 
get  gamekeepers  and  stablemen 
to  obey  the  directions  given. 
For  them  the  possession  of  poison 
appears  to  have  some  extraordi- 
nary charm,  but  it  is  a  weakness 
which  all  employers  of  labour 
should  do  their  best  to  sternly 
root  out.  Nor  must  it  be  for-  « 
gotten  that  many  a  murder  has* 
been  committed  by  the  adminis- 
tration of  poison  which  would 
never  have  been  dreamed  of  had 
not  the  drug  been  bought  for 
other  purposes  and  been  found 
ready  to  hand. 

That  poison  is  frequently  laid 
in  the  open  to  protect  young  birds 
is  a  fact  so  well  known  that  no 
attempt  need  be  made  to  empha- 
sise it,  but  it  would  be  well  if  the 
rigours  of  the  law  were  fully  exer- 
cised in  every  case  which  could 
be  detected.  The  last  thing  that 
the  keepers  in  the  case  above 
mentioned  dreamed  about  was 
probably  that  anyone  should 
suffer,  yet  an  inquisitive  boy 
found  no  difficulty  in  giving  him- 
self a  dose  which  proved  fatal. 
That  is,  of  course,  the  worst  side 
of  the  matter,  that  human  beings 
should  suffer,  but  the  practice  of 
laying  poison  is  undoubtedly  too 
common.  Foxhounds,  foxes, 
sporting  dogs,  and  even  trespass- 
ing dogs  frequently  meet  their 
death  by  eating  poisoned  flesh, 
and  all  sporting  men  owe  it  to 
themselves  as  well  as  to  their 
neighbours  to  do  all  that  in  them 
lies  to  prevent  their  servants  from 
making  secret  use  of  any  poison- 
ous drug  for  what  they  may 
rightly  or  wrongly  conceive  to  be 
their  masters'  interests. 


I899-] 


121 


Shades  of  Henley. 

A   Reverie   by  an   Old   Oarsman. 


Like  as  the  midnight  Hellene 
wanderer  on  plains  of  Marathon 
was  wont  to  hear  the  clash  of 
ghostly  arms,  blended  with 
wraith-sung  war-cries,  so  on 
Henley  Bridge,  in  a  solitude  of 
midsummer  moonlight,  may  a 
flood  of  recollections  thrill  the 
fancy  of  one  who,  more  than  a 
generation  ago,  accepted  his  rudis. 
They  call  up  dream-pictures  of 
tkranitai  of  the  past,  of  brethren 
of  the  oar  who  now  survive  only 
in  well  cherished  memories. 

As  the  senses  are  lulled  to  the 
spell,  the  moonbeams  seem  to 
dilate-  to  a  sunlight  of  quondam 
genial  Junes ;  and  the  chill  north 
breeze  to  warm  to  a  tropical  heat, 
such  as  of  Henley,  1859.  The 
last  lights  die  out  of  Leander  and 
Red  Lion  windows,  and  gradually 
long-lost  pictures  fill  the  reach 
below. 

The  old  and  vanished  Lom- 
bardy  poplars,  that  the  "  Visitors' 
Cup"  depicts  in  silver  for  pos- 
terity, sway  once  more  in  sunlight, 
and  sunbeams  ^  .nee  on  ripples  at 
the  Point.  From  the  reach  below 
there  sweeps  round  the  corner  and 
up  to  the  old  winning  post,  a 
dream-land  procession  of  the  past. 

At  head  of  the  ghostly  line 
comes  Tom  Staniforth,  stroking 
the  first  winners  of  a  University 
match  (1829),  and  with  him — 
some  as  colleagues,  some  as  rivals 
of  the  day  —  Wordsworth  and 
Selwyn,  of  the  subsequent  episco- 
pate, and  Merivale,  Freemantle, 
and  Gamier,  deans  in  the  then 
future.  Then  an  interval,  and 
see  Leander  with  Bishop  Pelham 
toiling  for  Oxford  in  their  wake 
(1831).  Behind  them  Queen's 
College,  Oxon,  defeating  St. 
John's,    Cambridge    (1838),    and 


then  arrive  the  spirits  of  Henley 
Regatta  itself,  vision  upon  vision, 
line  upon  line. 

"  Beauty  Brett "  (Lord  Esher) 
and  George  Denman  in  victorious 
Cantab  crews,  (robed  in  flannels, 
not  in  ermine)  and  Shadwell  and 
Egan  as  rival  dark  and  light  blue 
Palinuri.     Then   George   Hughes 
and    his    immortal    "  seven -oar " 
(1843),  three  of  them  shades,  and 
four  still  hale  in  the  flesh.     The 
murdered  and  unavenged  Bagshawe, 
stalwart    at    Putney    but     never 
starting  at  Henley,  cheering  the 
efforts  of  Cantab  colleagues  that 
are  handicapped  by  the  station  in 
1849.      Then    Joe    Chitty   (Lord 
Justice),    stroking     Oxonians    in 
early   fifties,    and    Philip    Nind, 
perfection  of  style,  in   the  same 
decade.     "Argonauts"  then  ap- 
pear,   and    their    later    develop- 
ment,    "London."      The     "iron 
soul"    of    Herbert    Playford    (as 
Egan      penned      it),      struggling 
against     sunstroke    in    the    Dia- 
monds ;    or    he   with    Casamajor 
— the   invincible   sculler — leading 
London    to    victory,   and    simul- 
taneously   the     standard     "  war 
shriek  "  of  Casamajor  echoing  to 
call    a    spurt    to    capture     some 
opponent's    water.      The      huge 
George      Morrison,     winning     a 
Ladies'  Plate  for  Balliol  in  1858, 
or  losing  a  Grand  the  next  year. 
"  Bob  "    Risley,  stroking  in  turn 
losing  and  winning  crews  for  the 
Grand  ;  A.  P.  Lonsdale,  with  the 
Head  of  Eton  for  partner,  facile 
principes  in  pair-oars  of  their  day. 
"Jack"    Hall  (Cantab)    stealing 
the  Grand  with  a  spurt  sui  generis, 
1858;    Weldon    Champneys,     of 
Brasenose ;   and  George  Cardale 
leading   Kingston   for    their  first 
win  of  the  Grand  in  1864. 


122 


baily's  MAGAZINE. 


[August 


Then  follows  a  "  record  break- 
ing" Third  Trinty  four:  only 
thirty-four  years  past,  and  yet, 
alas !  the  two  forward  oars,  John 
Chambers  and  Billy  Selwyn — 
second  generation  of  family  epis- 
copacy— are  shades  and  not  sub- 
stance. So  is  J.  H.  D.  Goldie, 
stroking  the  first  winning  Grand 
of  revived  Leander  (1875),  and 
Jack  Dale,  contemporary  with 
him  in  Putney  victories.  Also 
Jack  Bunbury,  stroking  Eton 
boys  (1870),  or  winning  the  Grand 
for  Oxford  Etonians  (1871). 
Another  winning  Leander — 1880 
— steals  past,  and  the  chief  of  it, 
the  paragon  No.  7.  "  Cottie " 
Edwards- Moss,  seems  to  come 
back  to  life  in  style  unsurpassed, 
or  to  figure  yet  again  in  his 
Diamonds'  win  by  a  yard  (on  the 
"  outside  ")  against  the  American 
professional,  Lee.  Poor  Lowndes, 
who  could  win  the  Diamonds 
again  and  again  when  Edwards- 
Moss  was  not  against  him,  and 
could  stroke  crack  Hertford  fours 
to  victory,  follows  in  his  wake. 

On  the  bank  are  time-honoured 
London  veterans  as  of  old  ;  genial 
Frank  Playford  the  elder,  and 
cheery  Tom  Nickalls,  with 
Lay  ton,  their  first  president,  and 
George  Ryan,  who  landed  many 
a  Henley  medal  for  his  club. 
Then  E.  H.  Fairrie,  C.U.B.C., 
sometimes  oarsman  and  some- 
times judge  in  the  box ;  Charlton 
Lane,  the  Admirable  Crichton  of 
his  day :  cricketer  for  England's 
gentlemen,  blue  oarsman,  artist, 
and  Apollo. 

Then  comes  the  first  Thames 
winning  Grand  crew  of  1876, 
with  the  shades  of  Jemmy  Hastie 
and  genial  Otter.  Still  the  pro- 
cession sweeps  by.  These  all 
have  passed  away :  some  in  ripe 
old  age,  some  in  midday  prime ; 
but  there  are  younger  brethren  to 
join  them ;  whose  sun  set  even 
before  its  noon. 


Lo !  Leander  sends  up  her  later 
victors  of  the  current  decade, 
and  the  moonbeams  stream  trans- 
parently and  pitilessly  through 
two  consecutive  No.'s  5,  Theodore 
Stretch  and  "Luny"  Balfour, 
each  too  magnificent  to  be  spared : 
"  lost,  .  .  .  like  summer-dried 
fountains,  when  need  was  the 
sorest ; "  and  the  moralist  muses, 
why  are  some  taken  and  others 
left? 

At  the  very  moment,  though 
the  dreamer  knows  it  not,  the  in- 
comparable and  all-popular  cox- 
swain, G.  L.  Davis,  of  Clare, 
"  The  Great  Mr.  D.,"  as  N.  B.  C. 
intimes  styled  him,  lies  on  a 
death-bed  that  will  lower  Lean- 
der's  flag  to  half-mast  on  July 
9th. 

The  wood  -  tressed  slopes  of 
Remenham  seem  once  more  to 
awaken  to  echoes  of  audiences 
long  since  mouldering,  as  when  of 
old 

"  Plausu     fremituque     virum,     studiisque 
faventum 
consonat  omne  nemus  .... 
.  .  .  .  pulsati  colles  clamore  resultant" 

There  might  be  the  old- 
fashioned  Henley  midsummer 
thunderstorm  gathering  behind 
Phyllis  Court,  the  blaze  of  after- 
noon sun-rays  on  the  water ; 
the  kaleidoscope  of  toilettes,  and 
the  church  bells  "  firing"  to 
wind  up  the  day's  sport.  Fifty 
and  more  regattas  concentrated 
into  one  Elysian  dream !  Old 
friends  and  old  faces  beaming; 
old  hands  outstretched  for  vic- 
torious congratulations.  A  magic 
lantern  of  a  lifetime,  and  more, 
fleeting  past  in  a  five-minute 
phantasy,  while  night  winds  sigh 
a  symphony,  and  aspens  whisper 
a  coronach  ....  till  the  spell 
is  broken  by  the  dreamy  chant 
of  Henley  belfry,  telling  one  a.m. 
and  of  rest  for  all  but  the  step  of 
Time. 

W.  B.  Woodgate. 


i*99.J 


123 


My  Mayfly  Diary. 


I  looked  from  my  railway-carriage 
window  deep  down  into  a  gorge 
at  the  bottom  of  which  babbled  a 
clear  flowing  stream,  and  pre- 
sently, coming  to  a  still  pool, 
there  suddenly  appeared  on  the 
surface  of  the  water  a  central 
point  of  movement  round  which 
rings  expanded.  It  was  the  first 
rise  of  a  Derbyshire  trout  which  I 
saw  in  this  year  of  grace,  and  I 
longed  to  be  out  of  the  stuffy,  hot 
carriage,  and  down  among  those 
moss-covered  rocks,  with  alders 
and  silver  birches  lining  the  banks, 
and  great  limestone  cliffs  rising 
above  me,  making  ineffectual 
attempts  to  get  a  nicely  cocked 
fly  over  this  rising  fish.  Then 
came  a  change  at  a  little  station 
among  the  dales,  where  four 
events  of  more  or  less  importance 
took  place.  I  obtained  lunch,  I 
lost  a  hat -box,  a  mayfly  flew  in  at 
the  carriage  window,  and  a 
damsel  floated  down  the  platform, 
with  a  blue  ribbon  round  her  hat, 
the  ends  of  which  fluttered  in  the 
breeze. 

The  blue  ribbon  carried  my 
thoughts  back  to  that  past 
pleasant  mayfly  day  by  the  Dove, 
when  my  kind  host,  while  wander- 
ing up  the  river  to  meet  me, 
allowed  a  zephyr  of  evening  to 
carry  his  mayfly  some  eight  feet 
above  the  centre  of  the  king's 
highway  at  the  very  moment  a 
beauteous  damsel  was  being 
driven  by.  How  that  mayfly, 
either  by  the  skill  of  my  friend, 
who  is  one  of  the  most  dexterous 
wielders  of  the  fly-rod,  or  by 
happy  chance,  or  by  interposition 
of  Puck,  who  may  have  been 
joining  the  grey-drakes  in  their 
gambols  among  the  birch  trees — 
how  that  mayfly,  I  say,  caught  in 
the  blue  ribbon  round  the  damsel's 
neck,    immediately  beneath    her 


chin,  and  how  the  damsel  blushed 
and  the  youth  driving  her  scowled 
while  the  successful  fly  fisherman, 
with  unusual  clumsiness,  for  some 
minutes  vainly  endeavoured  to 
extract  the  hook  without  injuring 
the  ribbon — how  this  little  idyll 
occurred,  how  these  things  took 
place :  are  they  not  recorded  in 
the  ninth  number  of  Baily's 
Magazine  of  that  year  of  bad 
mayfly  fishing,  1898  ?  Should 
we,  1  wondered,  see  the  damsel 
again  ?  Who  was  she  ?  Whence 
had  she  come  ?  Whither  had  she 
gone}? 

While  I  still  reflected  on  this 
pleasant  subject,  the  train  stopped 
definitely  at  Buxton,  and  after 
much  telephoning  for  a  convey- 
ance, behold  me  in  a  veritable  gig 
driving  over  hill  and  dale  to  the 
valley  of  the  Manifold.  As  we 
turned  the  corner  by  the  old 
mine,  now  long  disused,  and  came 
in  sight  of  my  friend's  house,  I 
saw  standing  on  the  hillside,  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  valley,  a 
square  tower  surmounted  by  a 
flag  ;  and  of  this  tower  and  of  its 
connection  with  the  Lady  of  the 
Blue  Ribbon  more  anon.  It  was 
early  evening,  and  I  found  that 
my  host,  with  a  friend,  had  gone 
down  the  river — or  I  should  say, 
the  bed  of  the  river — to  look  after 
some  remarkable  works  he  was 
carrying  on.  I  was  to  join  him, 
and  bring  my  fly-rod. 

Just  after  passing  Swainsley, 
the  Manifold,  in  summer  time, 
gradually  disappears  through 
crevices  called,  in  Staffordshire, 
sink-holes.  As  each  of  these 
takes  more  and  more  of  the 
water,  the  river  becomes  small  by 
degrees  and  unbeautifully  less, 
dwindling  to  a  mere  thread. 
Finally  there  is  no  river,  only  dry, 
dusty  looking  stones  showing  the 


124 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


course  of  the  stream  in  winter 
time.  The  absence  of  water  is  a 
serious  matter  for  both  agricul- 
turist and  angler,  and  is  also  to 
be  deplored  by  the  lover  of  the 
picturesque.  Some  years  ago  a 
local  clergyman  filled  up  the 
crevices,  so  far  as  the  surface  was 
concerned,  and  for  a  while  the 
river  flowed  above  ground.  But 
this  did  not  suit  the  poachers, 
who  took  out  the  stoppings  and, 
as  the  river  fell  through  its  sieve- 
bed,  stole  the  trout. 

My  friend  had,  for  over  a  year, 
been  battling  with  the  limestone 
strata,  having  made  up  his  mind 
to  no  longer  condone  the  shy  and 
retiring  peculiarities  of  this  river 
of  many  folds  or  turns.  With 
much  cement,  and  more  labour,  he 
had  gradually  worked  down  the 
bed,  filling  up  the  cracks  wherever 
they  could  be  found.  It  was  a 
colossal  task,  on  which  some 
hundreds  of  pounds  had  already 
been  spent.  Just  below  Trior's 
Cave,  the  entrance  to  which  is  in 
a  huge  bluff  of  rock,  halfway  up 
the  hillside,  I  came  upon  him 
standing  at  the  mouth  of  a  deep 
hole.  He  had  been  endeavouring 
to  quarry  right  down  to  the 
underground  channel ;  for  if  that 
could  once  be  stopped,  the  water 
would  rise,  and  the  labour  would 
be  far  less  than  cementing  over 
the  surface  of  the  river  bed.  I 
climbed  down  the  hole  for  twenty 
feet,  and  then  by  means  of  string 
and  a  stone  plumbed  the  fissure 
below  me  to  a  measured  distance 
of  thirty-two  feet.  This  took  the 
stone  down  fifty  feet  below 
ground  level,  and  though  it  struck 
a  soft,  oozy  bottom,  it  did  not 
touch  water.  The  river  was  evi- 
dently flowing  at  still  greater 
depths,  and  that  portion  of  the 
project  would  have  to  be  given 
up. 

After  this  decensus  averni  we 
walked  up  the  river  bed,  reached 


the  water,  and  I  began  fishing  in 
the  pretty  pool  below  Wetton 
Mill.  There  was  no  mayfly  on 
the  Manifold,  and  few  trout  rising. 
But  as  the  shadows  grew  long  the 
gnats  began  to  dance  over  the 
surface  of  the  pools,  the  sedges 
came  out  for  their  evening  flight, 
and  the  quiet  waters  became 
dimpled  with  feeding  fish.  A 
quick  eye  might  detect  occasional 
rises  in  the  sharp  runs  at  the  tails 
and  heads  of  pools.  Before  I 
reached  the  house  I  had  three  and 
a  half  brace  of  nice  trout  in  my 
creel.  All  were  taken  by  a  sad- 
coloured  brown  fly,  far  more  like 
the  natural  insect  than  the  alder 
of  commerce. 

Next  morning  opened  smilingly, 
too  smilingly,  indeed,  for  the  fly- 
fisher.  A  brisk,  invigorating 
north-east  wind  was  caressing  the 
hawthorn  bushes  on  the  hillside, 
and  from  out  a  clear  blue  sky 
the  sun  beat  down  pitilessly. 
The  first  thing  I  noticed  from  my 
bedroom  window  was  the  square 
stone  tower  rising  high  above  me 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley, 
and  then  there  flashed  across  my 
mind  the  meaning  of  certain 
mysterious  verses  written  by  a 
certain  professor,  who  had  been 
made  acquainted  with  the  Idyll  of 
the  Lady  of  the  Blue  Ribbon. 
Here  are  three  of  them,  at  any 
rate : — 

"  Where   Manifold    steals    amid    caverns 
darksome, 
Till  be  rises  again  in  the  arms    of 
Dove, 
On  the  mountain's  brow,  like  a  falcon's 
eyrie, 
Behold  the  bower  of  a  ladye  love  ! 

Oh  I  a  hazel  nut  in  the  autumn  season, 
A  blue-ribbon'd  damsel  of  Beresford 
Dale— 
When  a  gallant  Knight  hooks  a  dainty 
maiden, 
I  think  you  can  reckon  how  runs  the 
tale. 

t 

So  pass  on  your  way  with  eyes  averted, 
For  it  is  not  fitting  a  Knight  to  cross  i 


J 


'*99.3 


MY   MAYFLY   DIARY. 


"5 


And    let    him    beware    of    a    vengeful 
dagger, 
Thai  ventures  too  near  to  the  lonely 
schloss." 

That  day  my  host  had  magis- 
terial duties  requiring  his  atten- 
tion. I  went  by  myself  to  Mill 
Dale.  On  the  shallow,  calm, 
spreading  mill-head  two  broods  of 
young  ducks  were  cruising  from 
side  to  side,  gobbling  up  the  may- 
flies as  they  arose  ;  and  quantities 
of  grey  drakes  flitted  about  the 
bushes.  I  wasted  an  hour  here 
trying  to  tempt  a  trout,  but  all  in 
vain.  Even  those  few  natural 
flies  which  escaped  the  attention 
of  the  ducks  were  left  unharmed 
by  the  fish  which  seemed  fright- 
ened of  them,  rising  indeed  again 
and  again,  but  hardly  ever  taking 
them ;  and  when  a  trout  is  shy  of 
a  natural  drake  of  what  use  the 
angler's  lure  ?  Truly  one  fish  did 
come  and  inspect  my  fly,  even 
pushing  it  once  or  twice  with  his 
nose.  But  there  the  matter 
ended. 

Passing  up  the  river,  I  devoted 
all  my  attention  now  to  the  sharp- 
running  streams,  fishing  carefully 
with  a  hackled  fly  kept  as  dry  as 
possible.  And  here  let  me  say 
that  on  the  Dove  a  hackled  mayfly 
will,  as  a  rule,  kill  far  more  fish 
than  the  preposterous  parachute 
with  huge,  outcurved  wings, 
which  does  not  in  the  slightest 
degree  resemble  a  mayfly,  but, 
none  the  less,  kills  well  enough 
in  southern  streams.  There  is  no 
prettier  portion  of  the  Dove  than 
the  half-mile  of  river  between  Mill 
Dale  and  Lode  Mills.  For  a 
portion  of  the  way  the  road  runs 
by  the  river,  and  as  here  both 
water  and  highway  are  overhung 
by  trees,  fly-fishing  is  difficult, 
but  often  successful,  for  the  leafy 
background  and  shade  is  of  much 
service  in  obscuring  the  move- 
ments of  the  angler  from  the  eyes 
of  the   fish.     At   the  bridge   by 


Lode  Mills  I  might  have  lingered 
in  hopes  of  again  seeing  the 
"  blue-ribbon'd  damsel  of  Beres- 
ford  Dale,"  but  what  use  to  linger 
there  so  long  as  "  the  lonely 
schloss  still  stands  on  the  moun- 
tain's brow  like  a  falcon's  eyrie  ?" 

Here,  however,  I  had  what 
pleased  me  more  than  a  thousand 
blue  ribbons  ;  for,  sending  my  fly 
down  under  the  willows  by  Lock's 
cottage  1  rose  and  hooked  a  fish 
which  leapt  three  times,  showing  a 
silvery  flash  as  the  sunlight  struck 
its  sides.  Only  sea-trout  or  rain- 
bow trout  could  fight  like  that,  I 
said  to  myself.  Could  it  be  pos- 
sible that  a  migratory  fish  had 
by  any  chance  found  its  way  up 
from  the  sea  ?  As  to  rainbows, 
I  dismissed  the  idea  instantly,  for 
I  had  not  heard  of  any  being 
placed  in  the  river.  And  yet,  as 
I  drew  it  to  the  bank,  there  was 
the  graceful  form,  the  silvery 
scales,  and  the  pale  rosy  blush 
down  its  sides  which  declared  it 
instantly  to  be  a  Saltno  iridcus.  A 
few  minutes  later  Heaton,  the 
keeper,  who  had  been  having  a 
chat  with  Lock  who  looks  after 
the  river  on  the  other  side,  came 
up  and  told  me  it  was  one  of  some 
200  two-year-old  fish  which  had 
been  turned  into  the  river  by  my 
host  the  previous  autumn,  not 
twenty  yards  away  from  where 
I  caught  this  specimen. 

I  regard  this  experiment  with 
rainbow  trout  as  one  of  the 
highest  importance.  These  fish 
are  superior  in  every  respect  to 
our  ordinary  brown  trout:  they 
rise  more  freely,  they  keep  in 
better  condition,  they  play  more 
vigorously,  and  they  are  better  on 
the  table.  The  one  great  question 
which  is  now  troubling  fish-cul- 
turists  and  owners  of  fisheries  is, 
will  rainbow  trout  stop  in  English 
trout  streams  ?  In  the  Dove,  so 
far,  they  have  stopped,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  there  was  a 


L 


126 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[August 


very  terrible  flood  a  few  weeks 
after  they  were  placed  in  the  river 
last  October.  Some  sixty  have 
been  taken  this  spring,  and  of 
course  returned  to  the  water  ;  but 
only  one  of  these  had  gone  any 
distance  down  stream,  while 
several  had  been  taken  upstream 
above  the  point  where  they  were 
introduced.  One  thing  is  fairly 
certain  about  these  fish.  They 
are  most  voracious  feeders,  which 
accounts  for  their  strength  and 
condition.  Being  voracious  feed- 
ers, they  require  much  food,  and, 
like  all  other  fish,  will  not  stop  in 
any  piece  of  water  where  food  is 
scarce,  but  travel  until  they  can 
find  a  sufficient  supply.  In  years 
to  come  we  shall  probably  arrive 
at  the  conclusion  that  rainbow 
trout  are  a  success  where  there  is 
sufficient  food  for  them,  and  that 
to  obtain  good  results  with  these 
fish  it  will  be  found  necessary  to 
supplement  the  natural  food  sup- 
ply if  it  is  insufficient. 

I  rose  two  other  rainbow  trout, 
and  saw  others  rising,  throwing 
themselves  out  of  the  water. 
There  was  no  difficulty  in  distin- 
guishing them  from  the  ordinary 
Dove  trout,  they  were  so  bright 
and  silvery.  Higher  up  the  river 
I  came  upon  a  farmer,  one  of  my 
host's  tenants,  who  had  been 
given  a  two  or  three  days'  per- 
mission to  fish.  He  was  using 
the  natural  mayfly.  It  may  seem 
a  paradox  to  say  that  he  was  a 
skilful  angler  and  a  good  sports- 
man. The  mere  mention  of  the 
natural  fly  used  as  bait  on  such  a 
river  as  the  Dove  is  enough  to 
send  the  hair  bristling  of  the 
orthodox  fly-fisher,  who  even  looks 
askance  at  dapping  with  the  green- 
drake  as  practised  on  the  big 
Irish  lakes.  But  Mr.  N.'s  fishing 
was  infinitely  more  difficult  than 
dapping,  more  skilful  even  than 
casting  the  natural  fly.  He  used 
a  very  small  double  hook,  a  cast 


of  fine-drawn  gut,  and,  after  im- 
paling a  mayfly,  would  with  great 
dexterity  and  lightness  of  hand 
cast  it  in  front  of  a  rising  fish. 
Several  times  I  saw  him  send  the 
natural  fly  right  across  the  river ; 
and  never  once  did  he  whip  off  his 
fly  by  an  awkward  cast.  It  was 
certainly  an  exhibition  of  skill  of 
a  very  high  order.  The  only 
objection  I  had  to  make  to  it 
was  its  deadliness ;  for  the  farmer 
was  able  with  his  natural  fly 
to  kill  quite  three  fish  for  every 
one  the  best  of  us  could  catch 
with  the  artificial  fly.  He  was 
an  angler  of  the  generous  type 
one  loves  to  meet — very  differ- 
ent to  the  unpleasant  persons  one 
all  too  often  comes  across,  who 
carry  their  business-like  habits  to 
the  water's  edge,  even  to  the 
extent  of  closing  up  their  mouths, 
fearing  lest  any  information  they 
should  give  as  to  fly  or  locality 
would  result  in  their  capturing  a 
fish  or  two  less  than  the  angler 
desiring  information.  Mr.  N.,  on 
the  other  hand,  showed  me  his 
methods,  and  generously  gave  me 
some  most  useful  advice  about 
the  water,  by  which  I  materially 
profited. 

In  the  afternoon  both  mayfly 
and  trout  began  to  rise  merrily, 
but  never  have  I  seen  trout  rise  so 
short,  either  to  the  natural  or  the 
artificial  fly.  I  tried  the  experi- 
ment of  counting  the  number  of 
rises  I  had,  and  at  the  end  of  an 
hour  found  that  I  had  risen  twenty- 
seven  trout,  and  in  that  time 
captured  two  brace.  Altogether 
that  day  I  took  five  brace  of  trout, 
several  of  which  were  about  a 
pound  each.  Some  smaller  fish  I 
returned.  About  seven  o'clock 
the  rise  was  all  over,  and  I  drove 
back  to  the  valley  of  the.  Manifold, 
my  host  greeting  me  with,  "  Well, 
did  you  see  the  Lady  of  the  Blue 
Ribbon  ?  "  I  glanced  through  the 
window  at  the  square  stone  tower 


i»99-] 


MY   MAYFLY   DIARY. 


127 


on  the  mountain's  brow.  It  was  a 
sufficient  answer.  No  more  was 
said. 

On  Thursday  we  again  journeyed 
to  the  Dove,  but  by  way  of  Wet- 
ton,  having  to  pay  a  hasty  visit  to 
the  sink-holes,  where  the  men 
reported  that  they  kept  finding 
new  crevices,  through  which  the 
water  trickled  away.  "  Then  fill 
them  up !  "  was  the  order.  And 
by  this  time,  doubtless,  a  bab- 
bling trout  stream  is  running 
where,  on  that  sunny  June 
morning,  were  dry,  powdery 
boulders,  with  no  water — no,  not 
even  a  drop  sufficient  to  support 
an  aquatic  microbe. 

There  was  a  Sabbath-day  look 
about  the  little  stone  village  of 
Wet  ton.  Work  seemed  suspended, 
and  all  the  good  people  of  the 
place  were  in  their  Sunday  clothes. 
It  was  the  Duke's  rent  day ;  so 
we  stopped  to  see  the  agent  and 
tell  him  of  the  great  work  being 
carried  on  in  the  Manifold  valley. 
Then,  from  the  tops  of  the  hills, 
where  a  north-east  wind  blew 
keenly,  the  good  horse  took  us 
down  the  slippery  limestone  roads 
into  the  valley  of  the  Dove,  to 
Mill  Dale,  where  on  the  mill-head 
the  ducks  were  as  busy  as  ever 
skirmishing  after  mayflies. 

I  had  not  yet  seen  the  dale 
below  the  mill,  so  I  sauntered 
down  stream,  picking  up  a  brace 
of  trout  by  the  way  on  a  tiny 
hackled  mayfly,  tied  by  Foster, 
of  Ashbourne,  which  had  served 
me  in  good  stead  on  the  previous 
day.  The  sun  shone  brightly, 
the  mayflies  appeared  to  be  almost 
absent  from  this  part  of  the  river, 
and  the  fish  were  anything  but 
numerous.  Coming,  firstly,  upon 
bevies  of  tourists,  comprising 
young  women  who  had  white 
parasols,  and  all  strolling  close  to 
the  river,  and  later  on  three  fol- 
lowers of  Cotton,  diligently  flailing 
a  quiet  unfishable  pool,  I  abruptly 


turned  on  my  heel  and  hastened 
back  to  Mill  Dale.  I  only  saw 
one  rising  fish  on  the  way.  It  was 
in  an  open,  exposed,  shallow  pool, 
so  I  crouched  down,  and  was  just 
preparing  to  send  the  little  hackled 
mayfly  in  front  of  his  troutship 
when  three  quacking  ducks  and  a 
drake  came  swimming  towards  the 
place  I  was  about  to  cast  over. 
So  I  sent  my  line  in  front  of  the 
leading  duck  to  turn  them  if  pos- 
sible. Instead  of  being  alarmed 
the  duck  made  an  attempt  to 
gobble  my  fly.  I  struck  hastily, 
and  somehow  the  hook  caught  in. 
the  tough  skin  of  its  yellow  leg. 

I  played  the  bird  for  ten  minutes 
or  more,  when  the  cast  cut  on  a 
rock.  Then  ensued  a  mighty 
duck  chase,  and  eventually  the 
White  Lady  of  the  Dove  was. 
secured  and  the  fly  recovered.  I 
had  no  other  of  that  pattern— a 
small  hackled  mayfly — and  valued 
it.  Passing  up  the  river  I  caught 
a  trout  from  the  bridge  at  Mill 
Dale,  and  in  the  afternoon,  by 
diligently  fishing  the  runs,  added 
materially  to  my  bag.  To-day  I 
visited  the  little  trout  hatchery  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river,  where 
Lock,  the  keeper,  has  many 
thousands  of  vigorous  trout  fry, 
which  are  being  reared  in  Dove 
water. 

Friday,  until  evening  was,  pis- 
catorially  speaking,  a  melancholy 
time.  The  valley  of  the  Dove 
was  an  oven-like,  midge-haunted 
gorge;  the  water  was  low,  the 
sun  poured  down,  and  the  fish 
resolutely  declined  to  rise.  We 
fled  from  sheer  hopelessness, 
dined  early,  and  in  the  evening 
caught  many  fish  in  that  wonder- 
ful pool  of  Sir  Thomas  Wardle's, 
near  Swainsley,  which  I  have 
already  described  in  Baily's.  A 
pool  full  of  rainbows,  Loch  Levens,. 
fontinalis,  fario,  and  hybrids;  all 
thriving.  Every  three  or  four 
casts  I  hooked  a  fish,  and  caught 


128 


BAILYS   MAGAZINE. 


[August 


specimens  of  every  variety  of  trout 
in  the  pool. 

On  Saturday  I  was  leaving, 
but  before  lunch  had  a  delightful 
three  hours  on  the  Manifold. 
This  little  stream  was  low,  and 
the  sun  was  bright,  but  by  wading 
up-stream,  and  fishing  with  a 
single  fly  (the  same  fly,  by  the 
way,  which  I  had  rescued  from  the 
duck)  I  caught  nine  and  a  half 
brace  of  trout,  of  which  the  larger 
portion  was  sizeable.  In  the 
afternoon  I  drove  over  the  moor- 
lands to  Leek,  and  after  dinner 
spent  a  couple  of  hours  upon  a 
huge  compensation  reservoir 
which,  thanks  to  the  distant 
mountains,    the    solitude    of   the 


place,  and  its  sylvan  surroundings, 
might  very  well  pass  for  one  of 
Scotland's  most  charming  lochs. 
But  the  water  was  calm,  a  mist 
came  stealing  out  over  its  surface, 
and  neither  rainbow  nor  fario  were 
rising.  Very  soon  we  hastened 
home,  chilled  and  troutless.  The 
following  day,  as  I  travelled  south- 
ward by  a  cross-country  route 
with  many  changes,  the  down 
wardness  of  the  fish  was  ex 
plained,  for  big  black  clouds 
gathered  and  burst.  The  rain  had 
come  at  last,  but  too  late  for  the 
fly-fisher,  whose  brief  visit  to  the 
hills  and  dales  of  Derbyshire  and 
Staffordshire  had  come  to  an  end 
all  too  soon. 

John  Bickerdyke. 


Anecdotal    Sport. 

By   "  Thormanby." 

Author  of  "  Kings  of  the  Hunting- Field,"  "  Kings  of  the  Turf,"  &c 


Plutarch  tells  us  that  Anthony 
and  Cleopatra  were  both  ex- 
tremely fond  of  angling,  and 
pursued  the  pastime  together. 
How  did  they  do  it,  I  wonder  ? 
Did  they  sit  side  by  side  in  a  punt, 
watching  their  bobbing  floats  with 
rapt  gaze  and  absorbed  attention  ? 
Fly-fishing  was  unknown,  so  they 
could  not  have  indulged  in  that 
form  of  the  sport.  And  yet  who 
can  picture  to  himself  the  fiery 
warrior  and  the  "  Serpent  of  Old 
Nile  "  engaging  in  what  old  Izaak 
calls  that  "  calm,  quiet  innocent 
recreation  ?  "  A  world  too  tame, 
surley,  was  such  a  sport  for  two 
such  wild  spirits !  But  one  may 
safely  infer  that  if  it  were  Cleo- 
patra's whim  to  "  go-a-angling  " 
Anthony  would  have  promptly 
followed    suit.      And,    indeed,    I 


know  of  some  modern  instances 
where  a  wife  has  inoculated  her 
husband  with  a  taste  for  angling 
and  vice  versa  with  mutual  benefit. 
I  won't  go  so  far  as  to  say  that 
there  are  no  happier  husbands  and 
wives  than  those  who  have  some 
favourite  sport  which  they  can 
enjoy  in  common.  But  such  a 
community  of  interest  certainly 
tends  to  domestic  happiness,  and 
I  know  of  no  sport  which  a 
husband  and  wife  can  more  satis- 
factorily enjoy  together  than 
angling.  By  which  I  mean, 
primarily,  fly-fishing,  in  which 
there  is  nothing  to  shock  feminine 
delicacy,  whilst  a  woman  with  a 
good  figure  can  display  it  to  ex- 
cellent advantage  in  the  graceful 
wielding  of  the  fly-rod.  Let 
anglers'  wives  take  the  hint,  and 


I**] 


ANECDOTAL   SPORT. 


129 


act  upon  it — txperto  crede — trust 
one  who  has  tried — and  they  may 
rest  assured  that  they  will  never 
regret  the  experiment. 

I  am  not  going  to  enter  upon  a 
rhapsody  of  fly-fishing  —  rhap- 
sodies are  wearisome  unless  one 
has  some  sympathetic  enthusiast 
to  victimise — but  I  will  frankly 
admit  that  from  a  piscatorial 
point  of  view  Charles  Cotton,  as 
one  of  the  Fathers  of  Fly-fishing, 
seems  to  me  a  greater  man  than 
his  more- renowned  friend,  Izaak 
Walton,  who  was  for  the  most 
part  a  bottom-fisher.  I  will  only 
add  that  the  man  who  has  never 
hooked  and  landed  a  2olb.  salmon 
does  not  know  what  the  real  joy  of 
fishing  is.  Whilst,  personally,  I 
consider  a  single  pound  trout, 
taken  fairly  with  the  fly,  worth  a 
dozen  pounds  of  bream  or  barbel 
or  roach.  That,  however,  is 
merely  individual  taste.-  "Ang- 
ling," said  old  Izaak,  "is  some- 
what like  poetry,  men  are  to  be 
born  so.'*  But  there  be  various 
kinds  of  angler — and  there  be  fish 
to  suit  all.  Heaven  forbid  that  I 
should  claim  for  myself  or  others 
who,  like  me,  are  votaries  of  the 
fly,  a  superiority  over  those  who 
worship  the  worm — though  it  is 
not  without  a  quiet  chuckle  of 
satisfaction  that  I  feel  my  withers 
unwrung  by  the  great  Lexico- 
grapher's definition  of  angling  as 
r'a  rod  with  a  worm  at  one  end 
and  a  fool  at  the  other." 

The  fly-fisher's  noblest  quarry 
is,  of  course,  the  salmon,  and  I 
believe  the  record  salmon  taken 
with  the  rod  in  these  islands  is 
54jlbs.,  though  Sir  Hyde  Parker 
eclipsed  that  in  Sweden  with  a 
fish  of  6olbs.,  and  the  Earl  of 
Home  landed  one  of  7olbs.  in 
Norway.  But  to  few  mortals  have 
such  catches  been  granted,  and 
the  man   who  can    boast    (vera- 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  474. 


ciously)  of  having  taken  a  251b. 
salmon  with  the  rod  is  a  person  to 
be  envied.  Even  so  good  and 
successful  a  fisherman  as  Mr. 
Cholmondeley  Pennell  has  never 
had  the  good  fortune  to  take  one 
of  more  than  23lbs.,  and  he  is  a 
veritable  king  among  fishermen. 
The  largest  salmon  that  has  ever 
come  to  hand  in  the  nets  weighed 
83lbs.,  and  was  exhibited  in  a 
London  fishmonger's  shop  in  the 
summer  of  the  year  1821. 

The  Thames  can  boast  of  the 
largest  trout,  though  they  are  as 
rare  as  they  are  large.  Fish  of 
23 Jibs.,  2 ilbs.  and  i6£lbs,  have 
been  taken  in  the  "  silver  stream- 
ing Temmes  "  within  the  last  ten 
years.  Other  rivers,  however, 
though  unable  to  show  anything 
like  such  an  average  of  large  trout 
as  the  Thames,  have  beaten  it  in 
individual  instances.  For  example, 
in  1889,  a  trout  weighing  27IDS. 
was  taken  in  the  Hampshire 
Avon,  and  another  of  25lbs.  two 
years  previously.  But  whether 
these  were  taken  with  the  rod 
I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain. 
A  2 1  lb.  trout  was  taken  twenty 
years  ago  from  the  Trent,  and  in 
the  preserves  of  Sir  Home  Pop- 
ham,  near  Hunger  ford,  where  the 
trout  are  artifically  fed  on  chop- 
ped liver,  fish  of  23lbs.  70ZS.  and 
i81bs.  respectively  have  been 
taken. 

Colonel  Peter  Hawker,  the 
famous  wild-fowl  shooter,  killed 
some  20,000  trout  in  a  score  of 
seasons,  but  I  daresay  that  record 
has  been  beaten  by  others.  Not 
so,  however,  the  following,  which 
I,  at  least,  have  never  heard  of 
anyone  even  rivalling,  much  less 
surpassing.  The  New  Sporting 
Magazine  for  July,  1834,  savs  tnat 
a  Dr.  R.  Rooertson,  supposed  to 
be  one  of  the  best  fishers  in  the 
county,  took  in  August,  1833,  at 


130 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


Ballater,  in  one  day,  in  a  small 
loch  adjoining  the  stream,  thirty- 
six  dozen  of  trout,  and  a  friend 
killed,  on  the  same  day,  twenty- 
five  dozen ;  these  were  all  about 
the  size  of  a  herring,  the  trout  will 
seldom  exceed  this  size  in  the 
small  mountain  streams. 

Among  the  curiosities  of  salmon- 
fishing  I  submit  the  following 
from  the  Sporting  Magazine  of 
July,  1835.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Waring, 
of  Isle  worth,  having  tired  and 
brought  to  the  top  of  the  water  a 
fine  salmon,  and  being  on  the 
point  of  taking  it  into  the  punt, 
another  large  fish  was  observed  to 
be  following  close  after  it,  and 
apparently  attached  to  it,  but  so 
intent  upon  the  pursuit  of  the 
hooked  one  was  he,  that  they  pro- 
cured a  landing  hook,  and  without 
any  resistance  he  allowed  the 
hook  to  be  inserted  under  his  gill, 
and  was  thus  securely  taken. 
Upon  examination  it  was  found 
the  first  was  a  female,  and  the 
second  a  male  fish,  and  doubtless, 
as  this  happened  during  the 
spawning  season,  the  female  was 
about  to  deposit  her  eggs,  and  the 
male  fish  was  following  to  ensure 
the  propagation  of  the  species. 

In  illustration  of  the  queer 
things  which  salmon  will  bolt, 
and  particularly  their  love  for 
anything  bright,  the  following 
anecdote  is  told.  A  gentleman 
of  Uleaborg,  going  by  sea  to 
Stockholm,  dropped  a  silver 
spoon  into  the  water,  which  was 
swallowed  by  a  salmon,  carried 
in  his  belly  to  Uleaborg,  where 
the  fish  was  accidentally  bought 
by  the  gentleman's  wife,  who 
immediately  concluded,  on  seeing 
the  spoon,  that  her  husband  was 
shipwrecked;  he  returned,  how- 
ever, in  time  to  prevent  any 
ill  consequences.  A  somewhat 
similar  incident  occurred  in  Eng- 


land not  long  ago.  A  large  pike, 
weighing  281bs.,  was  taken  in  the 
Ouse,  and  sold  for  a  guinea  to  a 
gentleman  in  Littleport.  When 
the  cook  came  to  clean  the  fish 
she  found  inside  of  it  a  watch, 
with  black  riband  and  keys,  which 
were  subsequently  identified  as 
having  belonged  to  the  same 
gentleman's  valet,  who  had  been 
accidentally  drowned  in  the  river 
some  months  before. 

Human  sportsmen  do  not,  how- 
ever, have  all  the  fun  of  fishing  to 
themselves.  They  have  no  mean 
rivals  among  the  feathered  bipeds. 
Mr.  Maxwell,  in  his  "  Wild  Sports 
of  the  West,"  says  that  eagles  are 
constantly  discovered  watching 
the  fords  in  the  spawning  time, 
and  are  seen  to  seize  and  carry 
off  the  fish.  Some  years  ago  a 
herdsman,  on  a  very  sultry  day 
in  July,  observed  an  eagle  posted 
on  a  bank  which  overhung  a 
pool ;  presently  the  bird  stooped 
and  seized  a  salmon,  and  a  violent 
struggle  ensued  ;  when  the  herds- 
man reached  the  spot  he  found 
the  eagle  pulled  under  water  by 
the  salmon,  and  his  plumage  so 
drenched  that  he  was  disabled  from 
extricating  himself.  With  a  stone 
the  peasant  broke  the  pinion  of  the 
eagle,  and  actually  secured  the 
spoiler  and  his  victim,  for  he  found 
the  salmon  dying  in  his  grasp. 

But  far  more  remarkable  than 
that  was  the  case  of  a  duck  which 
hooked  a  trout  under  the  following 
extraordinary  circumstances,  as 
related  in  vol.  xlviii.  of  the 
Sporting  Magazine.  As  a  gentle- 
man was  angling  in  the  Mill  Dam 
below  Winchester,  he  accidentally 
threw  his  line  across  a  strong 
white  duck,  which,  suddenly 
turning  round,  twisted  the  gut 
about  her  own  neck  and  fixed  the 
hook  of  the  dropper  fly  in  her 
own  breast.    Thus  entangled  and 


I899-] 


ANECDOTAL   SPORT. 


131 


hooked,  she  soon   broke  off  the 
gut  above  the  dropper,  and  sailed 
down  the  stream  with  the  end  of 
the  other  fly  trailing  behind  her. 
She  had  not  proceeded  far  before 
a   trout    of  about   a  pound-and- 
a-half   took    the    fly    effectually. 
Then  commenced   a  struggle  as 
extraordinary  as   was  ever    wit- 
nessed.      Whenever    the     trout 
exerted  itself  the  terrors  of  the 
duck  were  very  conspicuous ;    it 
fluttered  its   wings  and  dragged 
the  fish  along.     When  the  trout 
was  more  quiet  the  duck  evidently 
gave  way,  and  suffered  herself  to 
be    drawn    under    some   bushes, 
where  the  shortness  of  the  gut 
did  not  allow  the  trout  to  shelter 
himself.      The  duck's  head  was 
frequently    drawn    under    water. 
By  chance,  however,  the  gut  got 
across    a    branch    which    hung 
downwards  into  the  water,  and  the 
duck    taking    advantage    of    the 
purchase  which    this    gave  her, 
dragged    her  opponent   from   his 
hole,   and  obliged  him    to  show 
his  head  above  water.     Then  it 
became    a    contest    of    life    and 
death ;    the  trout  was  in  its  last 
agonies,  and  the  duck  evidently  in 
a  very  weak  state,  when  the  gut 
broke  and  suffered  them  to  depart 
their  own  way. 

Remarkable,  however,  as  that 
incident  is,  it  is  capped  by  the 
performance  of  a  gander  who 
was  the  hero  of  the  annexed 
phenomenal  feat.  Some  years 
ago  a  farmer  living  near  Loch- 
maben,  Dumfriesshire,  kept  a 
gander,  who  not  only  had  the 
trick  of  wandering  himself,  but 
also  delighted  in  leading  his 
cackling  harem  to  circumnavigate 
their  native  lake,  or  to  stray 
amidst  the  fields  on  the  opposite 
shore.  Wishing  to  check  this 
habit,  he  one  day  seized  the 
gander  just  as  he  was  about  to 
spring  into  his  favourite  element, 


and  tying  a  large  fish-hook  to  his 
leg,  to  which  was  attached  part 
of  a  dead  frog,  he  suffered  him  to 
proceed    on    his  voyage   of    dis- 
covery.    As  had  been  anticipated, 
this  bait  soon  caught  the  eye  of  a 
greedy    pike,   which,   swallowing 
the  deadly  hook,  not  only  arrested 
the    progress  of   the    astonished 
gander,  but  forced  him  to  perform 
half-a-dozen    somersaults  on  the 
surface  of  the  water !     For  some 
time     the     struggle     was     most 
amusing — the    fish    pulling,    and 
the   bird  struggling  with  all  its 
might;    the    one    attempting    to 
fly,  the  other  to  swim  from  the 
invisible  enemy,   the  gander  for 
one     moment     losing,    the    next 
regaining  his  centre  of  gravity, 
and  casting,  between  times,  many 
a  rueful  look   at  his  snow-white 
fleet  of  geese  and  goslings,  who 
cackled   out   their   sympathy    for 
their    afflicted    commodore.      At 
length  victory  declared  in  favour 
of    the    feathered    angler,    who, 
bearing     away    for    the    nearest 
shore,  landed  on  the  smooth  green 
one    of    the    largest    pikes    ever 
caught  in   the  castle  loch.     The 
adventure  is  said  to  have  cured 
the  gander  of  his  propensity  for 
wandering. 

In  the  reservoir  near  Glasgow 
the  country  people  were  reported 
to  be  in  the  habit  of  employing 
ducks  in  this  novel  mode  of 
fishing.  Whether  that  be  a  fact 
or  not  1  am  unable  to  say,  but 
Thomas  Barker,  author  of  the 
"  Art  of  Angling/'  published  in 
1 65 1,  a  writer  of  some  note  in  his 
day,  gravely  assures  us  that  "  the 
principal  way  to  take  a  pike  in 
Shropshire  is  to  procure  a  goose, 
take  one  of  the  pike  lines,  bait  it, 
tie  the  line  under  the  left  wing 
and  over  the  right  wing  of  the 
goose,  turn  it  into  a  pond  where 
pike  are,  and  you  are  sure  to 
have  some  sport." 


132 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


But  after  all,  that  mode  of 
catching  fish  is  not  so  remarkable 
as  the  method  which  a  Mr. 
Darcy,  of  Oxford,  adopted  for 
taking  barbel.  "  Darcy,"  says 
a  writer  in  the  New  Monthly 
Magazine,  "  kept  a  music  shop  at 
Oxford,  and  though  very  lusty, 
was  an  excellent  swimmer.  He 
used  to  dive  after  barbel  into  a 
deep  hole  near  the  Four  Streams, 
a  bathing- place  well  known  to  the 
Oxonians,  and  having  remained 
under  water  a  minute  he  returned 
with  a  brace  of  barbel,  one  in 
each  hand.  The  report  that 
Darcy  made  was  that  many  of 
these  fish  lay  with  their  heads 
against  the  bank,  in  parallel  lines, 
like  horses  in  their  stalls.  They 
were  not  disturbed  at  his  ap- 
proach, but  allowed  him  to  come 
quite  close  to  them,  and  select  the 
finest." 

Most  Midland  anglers  knew 
Mr.  "  Jim  "  Gregory,  of  Birming- 
ham, the  manufacturer  of  artificial 
spinning  bait,  one  of  the  most 
genial  of  Waltonians,  and  as 
clever  as  any  who  handle  the  rod 
and  line.  He  was  said  to  have 
found  out  that  fish  do  not  object 
to  certain  impurities  in  the  water 
they  swim  in,  for  being  one  day  at 
Burton-on-Trent,  and  near  to 
Bass's  Brewery,  he  discovered 
that  a  large  sewer  was  discharging 
its  contents  into  the  River  Trent. 
His  olfactory  nerves  being  rather 
sensitive,  he  was  about  to  fly 
from  the  spot,  when  he  observed 
a  brother  Waltonian  working 
away  in  the  middle  of  the  odour 
with  rod  and  line.  Curiosity 
caused  him  to  stay,  despite  the 
fragrance ;  so  covering  his  nose 
with  his  pocket  handkerchief,  he 
called  out,  "  Codt  anything  ?  " 
The  fisherman  replied,  "  Rather  ! 
this  is  the  best  spot  on  the  river." 
Jim,  still  keeping  his  nose  plugged, 
"  Well,  I  ab  surprised.    Do  you 


bead  to  tell  be  that  ady  fish  will 
live  id  this  stig  ?  "  Fisherman : 
"Live!  I  should  just  think  so! 
Look  here,"  holding  up  a  dozen 
of  fine  perch.  "  That  is  rebark- 
able,"  said  Jim,  still  behind  his 
handkerchief;  "  how  cad  you 
stad  the  stedtch  ?  "  Fisherman  : 
%  "  Stand  it !  why  it's  healthy. 
That's  what  it  is.  Come  and 
chuck  your  line  in,  and  see  how 
the  fish  stand  it!"  Jim:  "No, 
thag  you,  I'b  off.  I'll  fish  id  the 
Birbigad  sewers  whed  I  got  hobe. 
Good  hording."  And  then  he 
fled  from  the  banks  of  the  River 
Trent;  but  on  reflection  he  con- 
cluded that  there  must  be  some- 
thing salubrious,  from  a  fishy 
point  of  view,  in  what  emanates 
from  a  big,  brewery,  and  with  his 
nose  plugged  with  cotton  wool,  he 
ventured  to  try  that  unsavoury 
swim  for  himself.  The  experi- 
ment was  a  success,  and  many  a 
fine  perch  did  Jim  pull  out  of 
those  tainted  waters. 

A  few  years  since,  a  well-known 
daily  newspaper  commenced  a 
furious  crusade  against  the  sense- 
less slaughter  of  game  which 
characterised  the  modern  battue 
and  "  drive."  Unfortunately,  the 
editor's  zeal  outran  his  discretion, 
and,  being  lamentably  ignorant  of 
the  subject  on  which  he  thundered 
forth  his  oracular  utterances,  he 
was  led  into  a  trap  into  which  he 
fell  only  to  come  out  covered  with 
ridicule.  A  correspondent  sent 
him  what  purported  to  be  a  full, 
true  and  particular  account  of  a 
great  grouse  shoot  by  electric 
light.  The  moors  were  lit  up 
with  the  brilliant  artificial  light. 
The  bewildered  birds,  dazed  and 
only  half  awake,  flew  almost  into 
the  muzzles  of  the  guns,  and 
many  were  even  knocked  down 
with  sticks.  The  editor  accepted 
the  extraordinary  statement  with- 
out inquiry,  and  published  it  with 
some  scathing  comments  on  "this 


I899-] 


"  OUR  VAN. 


I» 


133 


so-called  sport."  Then  came  the 
inevitable  exposure.  He  was 
compelled  to  own  that  he  had 
been  made  the  victim  of  a  humili- 
ating hoax ;  but  his  absolute 
ignorance  of  anything  connected 
with  shooting  was  exposed,  and 
from  that  moment  his  diatribes 
ceased.  It  was  not,  however,  the 
first  time  such  a  hoax  had  been  per- 
petrated, nor  had  shooting  by  night 
been  unknown  as  an  actual  fact. 

In  one  of  his  novels  ("  Harry 
Lonrequer,"  I  think),  Charles 
Lever  introduces  a  verdant  Eng- 
lishman who  has  crossed  St. 
George's  Channel  in  order  to 
make  himself  perfectly  acquainted 
with  the  manners  and  customs  of 
the  wild  Irish.  Landing  at  night 
"  on  the  Shannon  shore,"  he  is 
taken  charge  of  by  one  of  the 
hospitable  Burkes  or  Blakes  in 
the  County  Clare,  and  when  his 
mission  has  been  ascertained  he 


is  soon  told  more  about  the 
Paddies  than  could  be  found  in 
any  of  the  histories  or  guide-books 
of  the  period.  By  the  help  of 
powerful  doses  of  potheen  he  is 
kept  asleep  all  day,  and  being  up 
all  night,  is  easily  made  to  believe 
that  the  sun  is  only  seen  for  an 
hour  or  two,  about  Christmas 
each  year.  Into  the  programme 
of  sport  arranged  for  his  benefit, 
pheasant  shooting  entered  largely, 
at  which,  although  he  could  not 
see  an  inch  in  front  of  his  nose, 
the  Saxon  was  assured  he  was 
wonderfully  proficient.  But  a 
fortnight  of  darkness  and  whisky 
unlimited  was  enough  for  the 
stranger  who,  in  spite  of  strong 
invitations  to  remain,  would  de- 
part, saying,  however,  as  he  left, 
that  "  though  Ireland  was  a 
lovely  country,  and  its  sons  and 
daughters  brave  and  beautiful,  he 
fancied  they  would  be  all  the 
better  for  a  little  more  light." 


"Our   Van." 


The  Newmarket  July  Meetings. 

— The  two  summer  meetings  that 
are  held  "behind  the  ditch"  on 
the  July  Course,  are  regarded 
with  great  favour  by  the  few 
really  enthusiastic  aristocratic 
followers  of  racing  who  are 
generally  to  be  seen  wherever  any- 
thing called  racing  is  going  on. 

On  the  third  day  of  the  First 
July  Meeting  there  was  the  cus- 
tomary increase  of  spectators  to 
witness  the  decision  of  the  Princess 
of  Wales's  Stakes,  though  there 
were  not  so  many  as  when  Velas- 
quez beat  Persimmon  two  years 
ago.  It  was  Flying  Fox's  race, 
and  yet  those  wonderful  people, 
the  bookmakers,  stood  there 
ready  to  take  6  to  4  from  all  and 
sundry  that  the  Duke  of  West- 
minster's    colt    did    not    defeat 


Ninus  and  Co.  It  was  the  Two 
Thousand  Guineas  over  again, 
Flying  Fox  holding  his  field  from 
the  very  start,  and  winning  in  a 
common  canter.  He  had  his  old 
place  out  on  the  right,  but  it  was 
noticed  that  Cannon  brought  him 
across  close  to  the  left  hand  rails, 
where  he  would  be  sure  of  some 
company  to  race  with.  As  has 
been  before  explained,  Flying  Fox 
is  a  sociable  beast,  and  hates 
running  alone;  and  no  one  who 
has  taken  part  in  athletic  compe- 
tition requires  to  be  told  of  the 
effect  of  company.  Ninus  was 
giving  Flying  Fox  61bs.,  but  it 
was  clear  that  the  result  would 
have  been  the  same  at  even 
weights.  After  that  of  Flying 
Fox,  the  running  of  Royal  Ena- 
blem,  by  Royal  Hampton  out  ef 


*34 


baily's  magazine. 


[August 


Thistle,  was  the  most  noticeable. 
He  was  making  a  first  appear- 
ance, and  whilst  only  just  escaping 
being  common,  still  has  a  useful 
look  about  him.  He,  of  course, 
had  a  pull  in  the  weights,  carrying 
8st.  2lbs.  to  the  9s t.  5lbs.  of 
Flying  Fox,  and  whilst  this  was 
of  no  use  to  him  against  the 
winner,  it  enabled  him  to  beat  all 
the  others,  and  first  and  second 
money  went  to  the  same  stable. 

It  was  with  some  surprise  that 
one  saw  an  astute  man  like 
Darling  put  Sloan  up  on  Birk- 
enhead since,  to  our  thinking, 
a  more  inappropriate  combination 
could  not  be  devised.  The 
result  was  appalling,  for  Sloan 
could  do  absolutely  nothing  with 
the  swerving  colt,  who  was  all 
over  the  course.  The  conse- 
quences of  this  were  serious,  for 
he  lost  the  third  money  of  1,000 
sovs.  by  a  head  only.  In  the 
very  next  race,  the  July  Cup, 
Sloan  gave  another  glaring  in- 
stance of  his  lack  of  horsemanship 
on  Knight  of  the  Thistle,  who 
swerved  about  with  him  just  as 
Birkenhead  had  done.  As  Eager 
was  in  the  race,  giving  61bs., 
there  was  not  much  opportunity 
for  vagarious  running  if  the  win- 
ning post  was  to  be  reached  first 
and,  of  course,  Eager,  who  would 
no  doubt  have  won  in  any  case, 
had  a  very  easy  victory. 

The  tide  has  been  unmistake- 
ably  setting  strongly  from  America 
of  late,  thanks  to  the  success  of 
Lord  William  Beresford  with  his 
American  horses  and  trainer. 
More  than  one  owner  has  put 
himself  in  possession  of  American 
stock,  and  the  movement  was  so 
evident  that  a  prominent  Cali- 
fornian  breeder  was  induced  to 
send  as  many  as  eighty-seven 
youngsters  for  sale.  They  were 
put  up  at  the  Second  July  Meet- 
ing, and  whilst  prices  varied  very 
much,  the  total  amount  realised 


is  considered  to  have  been  highly 
satisfactory.     No    better    adver- 
tisement for  America  could  have 
been   supplied    than    the    racing 
results     at     this     meeting,     for 
American  horses  were  successful 
all  along  the  line.     On  the  first 
day    they    won    three    races,     a 
fourth  being  lost  by  a  head  only, 
and    Caiman    won    the    Zetland 
Plate  and  Dominie  II.  the  Mid- 
summer     Stakes.       It    is    very 
noticeable      how      often      Lord 
William  Beresford  has  been  able 
to  pick  up  a  nice  little  stake  this 
season    whilst    having    only    the 
slenderest  opposition  to  meet,  and 
both  Caiman  and  Dominie  II.  had 
but  a  single  opponent  to  dispose 
of.    Caiman  was  certainly  meeting 
Damocles,   second  in  the  Derby, 
and  giving  him   5lbs.,   but  they 
betted  11  to  4  on  his  ability  to  do 
so,  and  it  looked  more  like  100  to 
4  from  the  distance.     That  Sloan 
does  not  necessarily  ride  a  pushing 
race  he  showed  this  time,  for  the 
first  quarter  of  a  mile  was  run  at 
a    hack    canter.       In    the    Mid- 
summer Stakes  the  odds  were  100 
to  4  that  Dominie  II.  beat  Mor- 
gante,  and  there  was  no  semblance 
of    a    race.       The     Chesterfield 
Stakes,  the  most  valuable  race  of 
the  meeting,  looked  all  right  for 
The   Gorgon,   but    Hayhoe    had 
done  wonders  with  Atbara,  who 
won  easily,  and  so  turned   Mr. 
Leopold  de   Rothschild's  stream 
of  ill-luck. 

The  Bibury  Club.—  The  stuff 
of  which  the  Bibury  Club  is  made 
has  enabled  it  to  survive  the  hard 
knocks  of  fortune,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  it  will  come  up  smil- 
ing after  even  such  a  blow  as  that 
it  received  at  Salisbury.  The 
number  of  young  men  who  elect 
to  devote  their  energies  and  their 
purses  to  the  maintenance  of 
clubs  on  the  Bibury  lines  is  not 
large,  and  it  is  likely  to  become 
further  attenuated  by  the  superior 


1899-] 


"OUR   VAN." 


135 


attractions  of  a  game  like  polo, 
where  the  man  who  pays  gets 
most  of  the  fun,  which  is  far  from 
being  the  rule  at  racing.  As  a 
survival  of  the  past  one  would  not 
like  to  see  a  club  like  the  Bibury 
die  out,  and  I  have  not  heard  any- 
one suggest  such  a  contingency, 
but  it  is  clear  enough  that  there  is 
not  nowadays  the  same  scope 
for  the  exercise  of  its  whilom 
functions.  As  an  institution  for 
the  practice  of  racing  amongst  its 
members  the  Bibury  is  no  concern 
of  others,  but  when  it  assumes 
the  attitude  of  a  holder  of  a  public 
three  days'  meeting  it  throws  it- 
self open  to  criticism,  and  of  the 
three  days'  racing  that  took  place 
at  Salisbury  under  its  auspices  on 
the  4th,  5th,  and  6th  ult.,  there  is 
nothing  to  chronicle  but  failure 
deep  and  dire.  The  races  that, 
at  Stockbridge,  at  one  time 
attracted  good  horses,  even  to 
the  recent  times  of  Galtee  More, 
were  the  most  pronounced  failures 
of  all;  and  it  was  difficult  to 
gather  from  the  details  of  the 
races  restricted  to  members  as 
jockeys,  that  the  enthusiasm  is 
very  widespread  in  the  club.  It 
does  not  seem  probable  that  the 
meeting  will  be  accorded  three 
days  next  year  (I  doubt  their 
being  applied  for) ;  but,  whatever 
its  duration,  the  local  public  will 
have  to  be  relied  upon,  for  few, 
except  the  "  regulars,"  will  go 
from  London. 

Salisbury  has  earned  an  awful 
reputation  for  the  depredations 
committed  at  it,  and  in  this  direc- 
tion the  Bibury  Club  meeting 
was  useful  in  supplying  an  object 
lesson  in  what  can  be  done  if  one 
is  but  determined  that  it  shall  be 
done.  So  well  was  the  ring  kept 
that  the  ring-keeper  was  pre- 
sented with  a  sum  subscribed  by 
the  bookmakers  and  others.  I 
like  to  see  merit  rewarded ;  but 
what  a  comment  on  ring-keeping 
in  general. 


Rumours  have  been  freely 
printed  to  the  effect  that  the  land- 
owner who  was  directly  respon- 
sible for  the  break-up  of  the 
Stockbridge  meeting  by  refusing 
to  renew  the  lease  of  her  portion  of 
the  course,  had  relented  in  defer- 
ence to  the  piteous  lamentations 
of  the  villagers,  who  are  repre- 
sented as  having  earned  their 
year's  rent  during  the  three  days' 
racing.  I  have  reason  for  saying 
that  doubt  may  be  cast  upon  the 
authenticity  of  this  rumour,  and, 
moreover,  I  do  not  believe  that 
the  more  staid  inhabitants  of 
Stockbridge  yearn  to  have  the 
meeting  back.  Rents  cannot  be 
high  there  if  they  were  paid  by 
the  few  shillings  earned  by  the 
letting  of  bedrooms  for  three 
nights,  whatever  a  few  tenants  of 
outside  cottages  may  have  done. 

Lingfield. — The  Lingfield  ex- 
ecutive deserve  encouragement  in 
their  attempts  to  introduce  races 
of  class  into  their  programme. 
This  year  they  added  one  of  3,000 
sovs.  to  their  July  meeting,  this 
being  the  Lingfield  Park  Stakes 
of  a  mile,  the  Imperial  Stakes  of 
1,200  sovs.  having  been  shifted  to 
the  June  meeting  to  make  room 
for  it.  For  a  wonder  the  race  did 
not  fall  a  prey  to  the  American 
division,  but  it  came  perilously 
near  doing  so,  for  nothing  but  an 
unexpected  revelation  of  his  best 
form  on  the  part  of  Harrow 
prevented  Sibola  from  winning. 
A  fortnight  previously  Harrow 
had  shown  the  white  feather  in 
the  Sandringham  Foal  Stakes  at 
Sandown,  where  Sinopi  beat  him 
at  iolbs.  But  there  is  a  wide  differ- 
ence between  the  two  courses, 
and  Harrow  evidently  prefers  the 
Lingfield  gradient,  for  it  was 
there  that  he  last  year  beat 
Victoria  May.  After  his  display 
in  the  Princess  of  Wales's  Stakes 
Royal  Emblem  was  a  very  strong 
order,  6  to  4  being  laid  on,  but 
he  ran  a  tired  sort  of  race,  and 


136 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


sweated  profusely,  and  finished 
fourth,  though  getting  weight 
from  Harrow,  Sibola,  and  Sinopi, 
who,  meeting  Harrow  at  even 
weights,  was  this  time  not  in  it. 
Another  great  upset  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  was  that  of  Elope- 
ment in  the  Great  Foal  Plate, 
Jouvence  winning  by  a  head.  For 
Elopement  it  was  reasonably 
pleaded  that  he  had  spent  nine 
hours  consecutively  in  a  horse- 
box on  the  railway  on  the  pre- 
vious day,  in  the  tropical  heat. 
Nothing  will  make  us  believe  that 
a  horse,  especially  a  young  horse, 
can  be  subjected  to  such  treat- 
ment and  not  suffer.  As  might 
have  been  expected,  there  was  no 
dash  in  his  finish,  though  he  stuck 
to  his  work  pluckily  enough. 

The  Sandown  Eclipse  Meet- 
ing.— It  is  the  stress  of  journalis- 
tic competition,  I  suppose,  that 
leads  to  the  spreading  of  mani- 
festly absurd  rumours  which  are 
rendered  all  the  more  possible 
by  the  class  of  ignoramus  that 
seems  to  find  favour  with  the 
average  editor  for  the  manufac- 
ture and  dissemination  of  alleged 
sporting  news.  To  these  people 
it  came  easy  enough  to  believe 
that  the  Duke  of  Westminster 
would  rely  upon  Frontier  to  win 
the  Eclipse  Stakes  and  reserve 
Flying  Fox  for  something  else — 
what,  was  not  clear.  Had  a 
glance  been  taken  at  the  condi- 
tions of  the  race  it  would  have 
been  seen  that  500  sovs.  attached 
to  the  second  place ;  and  was  not 
Good  Luck  sent  from  Kingsclere 
to  Sandown  in  June  to  win  a 
plate  of  101  sovs.  r  Why  assume, 
then,  that  500  sovs.  would  be 
thrown  away  ?  The  Eclipse 
Stakes  is  a  race  of  about  one  mile 
and  a  quarter,  and  the  course 
does  not  at  all  resemble  those  at 
Newmarket  in  which  Flying  Fox 
has  gained  his  easiest  victories. 
The  two  features  of  the  Sandown 


course  are  the  long  up-hill  finish 
and  the  sharp  turn  before  commenc- 
ing the  same.  Each  I  take  to  be 
an  important  factor  in  the  results 
of  races.  The  long  climb  favours 
horses  strongly  built  behind,  but 
I  do  not  subscribe  to  the  conten- 
tion that  it  is  also  in  favour  of 
stamina,  for  nothing  can  try  that 
quality  so  much  as  a  galloping 
course  with  something  to  take 
the  field  along  at  its  best  pace. 
Severe  gradients,  either  ascending 
or  descending,  favour  physical 
conformation,  but  there  can  be  no 
question  of  fast  galloping  up  a 
steep  incline.  The  sharp  turn 
from  the  railway  entrance  to  the 
straight  materially  affects  the  run- 
ning, because  it  is  impossible  for 
horses  to  race  round  it  at  top 
speed.  In  a  mile  race  at  San- 
down, therefore,  the  race  is  run 
in  three  sections,  the  first  being 
a  matter  of  three  furlongs  at  top 
speed  till  the  turn  has  to  be  eased 
for,  steady  going  round  the  turn 
and  then  a  fresh  start  for  the 
half  mile  climb  home.  The  Cam- 
bridgeshire, if  run  at  Sandown, 
would  be  a  totally  different  race 
to  that  decided  on  the  last  mile 
and  a  distance  Across  the  Flat  at 
Newmarket.  The  muscles  on 
Flying  Fox's  rump  show  that  he 
has  the  propelling  power  that  is 
so  useful  in  hill  climbing  ;  but 
hill-climbing,  I  shall  venture  to 
assert,  is  not  the  true  test  of  the 
thoroughbred  who,  however  much 
we  may  appreciate  stamina,  must 
have  speed  as  well.  For  what  is 
staying  power  if  not  allied  to 
speed  ?  The  cab-horse  stays — 
at  its  own  pace. 

The  Eclipse  Stakes  is  a  race  of 
ten  furlongs  with  a  distinct  break 
in  the  middle  due  to  the  sharp 
turn  that  is  inimical  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  free  striding,  speedier 
horse.  If  the  turn  makes  no  dif- 
ference why  is  it  that  we  rarely, 
if  ever,  see  one  horse  gain  upon 


1*9*1 


"OUR   VAN. 


t» 


137 


another  on  making  it,  and  why 
should  we  regard  the  jockey  who 
tried  to  make  up  his  ground  there 
anything  but  an  idiot  ?  As  was 
the  case  at  Epsom,  Flying  Fox, 
though  a  winner,  was  thought 
not  to  have  done  his  work  in  the 
style  he  showed  at  Newmarket. 
That  the  addition  of  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  to  the  distance  run  should 
make  so  much  difference  I  regard 
as  unreasonable,  and  it  would  be 
a  very  pretty  thing  to  see  the 
Eclipse  Stakes  runners  brought 
together  again  Across  the  Flat.  I 
do  not  know  whether  Flying  Fox 
would  be  more  affected  than  any 
other  runner  by  the  circumstance 
that,  on  the  July  course,  the 
going  was  of  the  best,  dry  weather 
notwithstanding,  whereas  at  San- 
down  it  was  very  hard,  but  it  may 
be  mentioned.  One  expects  a 
good  horse  to  show  to  greater 
advantage  on  a  perfect  course 
than  on  one  like  a  pavement. 
When  we  have  considered  all 
these  things  we  may  look  at  the 
facts  of  the  race.  At  Newmarket, 
over  the  Bunbury  Mile,  Ninus 
was  giving  Flying  Fox  5lbs.,  and 
was  never  in  the  hunt ;  at  San- 
down  he  was  giving  gibs.,  and  was 
beaten  a  length  and  a- half,  having 
made  up  some  lengths  in  the  last 
quarter  of  a  mile.  Frontier,  with 
3lbs.  from  Flying  Fox,  was  beaten 
a  length. 

On  the  second  day  American 
stock  went  up  still  higher,  for 
Democrat  won  the  National 
Breeders'  Produce  Stakes,  the 
most  valuable  two- year-old  race 
of  the  year,  the  sum  of  4,357 
sovs.  net  accruing  to  the  winner. 
There  may  have  been  a  spice  of 
luck  in  the  victory,  though  I 
should  be  sorry  to  be  regarded  as 
trying  to  depreciate  it,  the  highly- 
tried  and  much  fancied  Forfar- 
shire being  so  hampered  in  the 
early  portions  of  the  race  that 
Democrat  was  able  to  get  a  long 


lead  of  him,  and  this  the  most 
strenuous  efforts  on  his  part  could 
not  reduce  to  less  than  a  neck. 

Whilst  Democrat  secured  the 
spoils,  to  Forfarshire  a  large  meed 
of  credit  undoubtedly  belongs,  and 
the  next  meeting  between  the  two 
must  be  highly  interesting.  This 
might  well  occur  in  the  Kempton 
Park  Imperial  Stakes  on  October 
6th.  Forfarshire,  unfortunately, 
is  not  entered  for  the  Middle  Park 
Plate  or  Dewhurst  Plate.  Forfar- 
shire was  bred  by  Mr.  R.  A. 
Brice,  and  sold  to  a  well-known 
owner,  who  returned  him  on  sus- 
picion of  unsoundness.  Mr. 
Dewar  then  became  the  pur- 
chaser, and  probably  no  one  has 
a  sounder  colt  in  training,  or  one 
more  likely  to  turn  out  well. 
With  Blacksmith  winning  the 
great  Kingston  two-year-old  race 
the  day  before,  Haggin's  winning 
total  was  materially  increased, 
and  the  scramble  for  American  - 
bred  ones  should  be  more  pro- 
nounced than  ever.  Personally, 
were  I  an  owner,  I  should  go 
in  search  of  a  second  Haggin, 
though  with  small  hope  of  finding 
one.  The  success  this  trainer  has 
had  with  all  sorts  of  horses  has 
been  surprising,  and  I  cannot  see 
that  Sloan  has  done  for  him  any- 
thing that  his  horses  were  not 
capable  of  on  their  own  merits, 
whilst  an  important  race  like 
the  Oaks  was  absolutely  thrown 
away.  The  appearance  next  year 
of  a  number  of  American -bred  ones 
will  be  very  interesting,  for  then 
we  shall  see  to  whom  the  credit 
really  belongs,  horse  or  trainer. 

Polo— Ranelagh  Open  Chal- 
lenge Cup. — Marred  though  it 
was  by  the  accident  to  Mr.  E.  D. 
Miller,  the  series  of  matches  for 
this  Cup  were  certainly  next  in 
interest  to  the  County  Cup  and 
superior  to  it  in  point  of  play. 
The  conditions  of  this  Tourna- 
ment   almost   ensure    that   there 


1 38 


BA1LY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[August 


shall  be  two  good  games  at  least, 
since  those  teams  that  have  en- 
tered play  together  for  the  right 
of  challenging  the  holders  of  the 
Cup.  It  was  thought,  and  rightly, 
that  the  chance  of  doing  this  lay 
between  the  Old  Cantabs  and 
Rugby.  The  latter  team,  playing 
without  Mr.  E.  D.  Miller,  were 
beaten,  and  the  final  therefore 
remained  between : — 


OLD  CANTABS. 

Mr.  Godfrey  Heseltine. 
„    F.  Freake. 
„  W.  Buckmaster. 
„    L.  McCreery. 


FREEBOOTERS. 

Mr.  Vaughan. 
G.  k.  Ansell. 
A.  Rawlinson. 


>> 


«i 


Captain  Beiesford. 


This  is  the  first  appearance  of 
the  Freebooters  in  an  important 
match  this  season.  It  will  be 
noted  that  their  team  was  entirely 
made  of  soldiers.  Although  prac- 
tically playing  together  for  the 
first  time,  the  good  training  of 
the  soldiers  enabled  them  to  play 
together  well,  and  Mr.  Rawlinson 
can  of  course  fit  into  any  team. 
The  writer  saw  the  first  part  of 
the  match  only,  being  anxious  to 
have  a  look  at  the  final  of  the 
County  Cup.  Shortly  after  half- 
time  the  Old  Cantabs  went  ahead, 
and  seemed  likely  to  win.  But 
the  Freebooters  had  not  a  weak 
place  in  their  team,  and  held  on, 
improving  as  the  game  got  more 
even.  Although  the  match  was 
so  even  to  the  last,  I  am  told  that 
the  Freebooters  evidently  had  the 
better  chance  in  the  fifth  and 
sixth  ten  minutes.  True,  the 
winning  goal  was  hit  by  Mr. 
Vaughan  after  the  ball  had  placed 
itself  by  a  ricochet  off  a  pony,  but 
the  Freebooters  were  pressing  at 
the  time.  It  was  satisfactory  to 
see  the  famous  old  club  win  a 
tournament.  No  doubt  we  shall 
see  them  again  at  Rugby. 

The  Novices'  Cup.  —  Sixteen 
teams  must  be  considered  a  good 
entry  for  this  popular  tourna- 
ment, even  though  it  was  a  little 
short  of  last  year's  total  of  twenty- 


two.     Of    these   teams    the    sur- 
vivors were : — 


TREKKERS. 

Captain  Schofield. 
Mr.  F.  Mcnzies. 
Captain  L.  Jenner. 
Mr.  O.  Thynnc. 


EDEN  PARK. 

Mr.  L.  Bucknill. 
„    P.  Bucknill. 
A.  de  Lascarus. 


I 


J.  C  de  Lascarus. 

Eden  Park  had  many  well-wishers. 
The  game  was  very  fast  and  even 
till  half-time,  when  the  Trekkers 
began  to  press  hard,  and  it  must  be 
confessed  they  played  with  better 
combination  than  Eden  Park,  and 
won  by  six  goals  to  three. 

Hurlingham. —  The  Champion 
Cup  was  a  great  success  this  year, 
with  the  exception  of  the  con- 
fusion about  the  final,  which  was 
no  one's  fault.  Two  very  fine 
games  marked  the  progress  of  the 
tournament.  Of  these  no  doubt 
the  most  exciting  was  : — 


RUGBY. 

Mr.  Walter  Jones. 
G.  A.  Miller. 


ti 
»» 


•I 


E.  D.  Miller.        j 
W.  J.  Drybrough. 


OLD  CANTABS. 

Mr.  Godfrey  Hesehine. 
„     F.  Freake. 
„     W.  Buckmaster. 
,,    L.  McCreery. 


The  game  was  a  very  good  and 
close  one  all  through,  and  both 
sides  played  as  though  it  was  the 
final  tie.  But  the  training  of  the 
Rugby  ponies  and  the  schooling 
of  the  Rugby  men  enabled  them 
to  win.  It  was  said  that  some  of 
the  champion  team  were  not  in 
their  best  form  on  the  day, 
but  I  failed  to  notice  any  falling 
off*.  Good  polo  was  played 
throughout,  and  sound  tactics  and 
perfect  combination  in  exactly 
the  points  which  render  a  team 
independent  of  the  variations  in 
form  of  individual  members 
thereof.  There  is  no  game  in 
which  men  do  not  vary  a  good 
deal  from  day  to  day,  but  there 
is  none  in  which  the  variations 
are  so  remarkable  as  at  polo. 
There  is  not  the  least  doubt  that 
on  the  Saturday  Rugby  felt  the 
effects  of  the  severe  struggle  on 
the  previous  Wednesday,  and 
were  hardly  up  to  the  form  they 
had  shown   then.     Perhaps,  too, 


I899-] 


"  OUR   VAN. 


»t 


139 


the  youth  of  the  students  was  in 
their  favour.  At  all  events,  this 
was  their  finest  performance  this 
season,  in  which  this  young  team 
has  showed  such  good  form.  The 
sides  were : — 

RUGBY. 


Mr.  Walter  Jones. 
„  G.  A.  Miller. 
„  E.  D.Miller. 
„    W.  J.  Drybrough. 


STUDENTS. 

Mr.  Cecil  Nickalls. 
,,    Maurice  Nickalls. 
Captain  de  Lisle. 
Mr.  P.  W.  Nickalls. 


The  features  of  the  match  were 
the  way  in  which  the  two  brothers 
Miller  played  for  each  other  and 
the  dash  and  control  of  the  ball 
shown  by  Captain  de  Lisle,  which 
helped  us  to  understand  the  secret 
of  the  successes  of  the  Durham 
Light  Infantry  teams.  This  game 
was  played  on  June  24th,  in  the 
presence  of  T.R.H.  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  York,  but  the  final 
came  on  the  following  Tuesday 
between  Rugby  and  the  Royal 
Horse  Guards.  The  latter  team 
were  beautifully  mounted  and 
played  individually  well,  but  they 
were  hardly  as  well  in  their  places, 
and  Rugby  playing  steadily,  had 
no  difficulty  in  winning  the  Cup 
for  the  third  time.  May  they 
keep  it  till  a  better  team  arises. 

The  County  Cap. — The  wisdom 
of  the  rules  which  the  County 
Polo  Association  laid  down  for 
this  contest  have  been  abundantly 
approved  by  the  entries  for  the 
Cup.  It  is  difficult  to  estimate 
now  the  effect  on  the  future  of 
polo  which  the  conditions  of  this 
contest  will  have ;  but  it  must 
be  considerable.  Practically  the 
preliminary  series  of  games  at 
leading  centres  will  lead  to  a 
greater  interest  in  the  games. 
For  example,  the  South-Eastern 
Division  matches  at  Eden  Park 
drew  as  many  people  almost  as 
the  tournament  itself  last  year. 
No  doubt  in  the  near  future  clubs 
-will  come  to  look  on  the  right  to 
play  in  the  semi-finals  at  Hur- 
lingham as  in  itself  an  honour  to 
be   coveted.      That   the    County 


Cup  brings  out  good  players  is 
established  by  the  fact  that  of 
last  year's  winners  three  were 
found  this  year  playing  against 
Rugby  in  the  semi-final  of  the 
Champion  Cup,  and  at  one  part 
of  the  game  holding  their  own 
against  that  famous  team.  The 
County  Cup  has  thus  in  its  first 
year  given  to  polo  three  first-class 
players  in  the  Messrs.  Nickalls. 
In  its  second  it  has  provided  a 
series  of  most  interesting  contests 
for  the  honour  of  playing  in  the 
semi-finals  at  Hurlingham,  and  it 
will  give  new  life  to  county  clubs 
by  creating  a  healthy  rivalry 
among  members  for  the  distinc- 
tion of  representing  their  club  in 
the  County  Cup.  That  the  con- 
test creates  much  interest  is  evi- 
denced by  the  fact  that  although 
Ranelagh  had  a  particularly  at- 
tractive programme  more  than 
three  thousand  people  passed  the 
gates  at  Hurlingham. 

The  match  itself  was  in  many 
respects  a  satisfactory  one,  for  it 
was  won  by  a  team  which  showed 
in  practice  all  the  best  principles 
of  sound  polo.  It  was  careful 
and  steady  play  that  enabled 
Stansted  to  win  their  second 
County  Cup.  In  all  they  played 
five  matches  and  made  a  total  of 
fifty  goals.     The  teams  were : — 


STANSTED. 

Mr.  Philip  Gold. 
Captain  Bennett  Gosling. 
Mr.  Tresham  Gilbey. 
,,    Gerald  Gold. 


LIVERPOOL. 


Mr.  G.  Melly. 
„    Pilkington. 

Wii 


1* 


Tyrer. 

Agnail. 


Liverpool  are  also  past  winners 
of  the  Cup,  and  they  galloped  and 
hit  hard,  but  never  seemed  to  play 
together.  The  arrangement  of 
the  Stansted  team  was  very  good, 
each  man  was  in  his  right  place, 
and  Captain  Bennett  Gosling  as 
No.  2  was  very  brilliant  and  yet 
steady,  and  is  probably  one  of  the 
best  No.  2's  ever  seen  in  County 
polo. 

The  Cup  was  presented  by 
Lady    Harrington.       The  writer 


140 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


shared  too  in  the  generally-ex- 
pressed pleasure  at  the  return  of 
the  County  Cup  to  its  original 
home,  and  under  conditions  which 
seem  likely  to  give  the  tournament 
its  right  place  among  our  annual 
polo  contests. 

The  Beresford  Cup,  Simla. — 
Once  more  this  trophy,  played 
for  on  the  Annandale  Ground 
by  teams  of  three,  has  fallen  to 
a  Patiala  team.  These  players 
are  undoubtedly  the  champion 
team  of  India.  The  Durham 
Light  Infantry  and  the  18th 
Hussars  are  the  only  English 
teams  that  have  beaten  them.  It 
is  a  pity  we  have  never  been  able 
to  see  them  in  England,  but  for 
political  reasons  it  has  not  been 
possible  for  the  Maharaja  to  leave 
his  state.  Yet  even  if  the  team 
came  over  we  could  not  see  them 
at  their  best,  since  they  could  not 
bring  their  ponies,  and  it  is  in  the 
perfection  of  the  training  of  these 
that  some  of  the  excellence  of  the 
team  consists.  Three  members 
of  the  team,  the  Maharaja,  Gurdit 
Singh,and  Hira  Singh,  have  played 
together  now  for  many  years,  and 
have  the  same  perfect  accord  with, 
and  trust  in,  eachother's  play  which 
we  note  in  such  famous  teams  as 
Rugby  and  the  13th  Hussars. 

Polo  Pony  Society. — This  So- 
ciety has  had  a  very  active  time 
since  the  last  Baily  appeared. 
After  having  been  received  some- 
what coldly  by  the  Polo  world, 
the  Society,  under  the  guidance  of 
practical  men  who  knew  what 
they  wanted,  has  grown  into 
importance  step  by  step,  and 
promises  to  be  not  the  least  suc- 
cessful of  the  Horse-breeding  Asso- 
ciations which  have  their  head- 
quarters at  12,  Hanover  Square. 
The  foundations  of  the  Society 
were  laid  by  such  men  as  Lord 
Harrington,  Sir  Humphrey  de 
Trafford  (still  a  warm  and  liberal 
supporter)   and    Mr.   John    Hill. 


On  these  the  last  three  Presidents, 
Sir  Walter  Gilbey,  Lord  Arthur 
Cecil,  and  Mr.  N orris  Midwood 
have  built  up  the  fortunes  and 
influence  of  this  Society,  well 
supported  by  a  strong  and  busi- 
ness like  council.  With  an  addi- 
tion of  102  new  members  and  the 
strengthening  of  the  Council  by 
the  addition  of  Lieut.-Col.  Henri- 
quez,  R.A.,  Mr.  John  Barker, 
and  Mr.  Charles  Basset,  of 
Watermouth  Castle,  the  Society 
has  started  well  on  the  new  year. 
It  was  perhaps  too  much  to 
expect  that  the  new  Society  should 
receive  much  support  from  polo 
players  at  first.  But  now  that  it 
must  be  evident  to  all  men  that 
its  success  is  certain,  it  may  hope 
for  more  help  from  those  who  are 
interested  in  the  game. 

The  various  shows  of  the  past 
month,  from  Hurlingham  and  the 
Royal  at  Maidstone  to  the  Crystal 
Palace,   have  brought  out  good 
mares  and  likely  stallions,  besides 
showing  to  the  breeders  the  type 
to    aim    at     in    such   ponies    as 
Matchbox  and  Silver  Star.     The 
judging  at  Hurlingham  and   the 
Crystal   Palace  was    very  good, 
but  at  the    Royal    some   ponies 
found  favour  in  the  polo  classes 
which  certainly  showed  more  than 
a    suspicion    of  Hackney  blood. 
The  writer  is  a  great  admirer  of 
the   Hackney   pony,  which    is   a 
beautiful  animal  and  a  splendid 
harness    pony,   but  which   could 
never  make  a  really  useful  polo 
pony.    It  is  satisfactory,  however, 
to    learn    that    the     Polo    Pony 
Society    feel    themselves    strong 
enough  once  more  to  hold  a  show 
of  their  own,  and  that  this  exhi- 
bition will  be  in  connection  with 
that  of  the  Hunters'  Improvement 
Society  at  Islington.     Sir  Walter 
Gilbey  has  offered  two  gold  Chal- 
lenge Cups,  and  Mr.  John  Barker 
has  placed  a  sum  of  £50  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Show  Committee. 


i»99.} 


*•  OUR   VAN.'* 


I4I 


This  is  a  breeders'  Society,  but  is 
well  worthy  of  the  support  of 
those  whose  interest  in  polo  is 
somewhat  wider  and  more  un- 
selfish than  the  mere  personal 
enjoyment  of  a  glorious  game. 

The    London    Polo    Clnb.  — 
Imitation  is  the  sincerest  form  of 
flattery,    and    the    County    Polo 
Association  may  take  some  credit 
to  themselves  that  Major  Herbert 
has  been  able  to  bring  off  a  kind 
of  secondary  county  cup   at  the 
Crystal  Palace.     The   Provincial 
Clubs'  Tournament  was,  in  fact, 
an  excellent  idea,  and  gave   the 
chance  of  some  good  matches  to 
the    county    teams    which     the 
greater  tournament  had  brought 
to  town.     To  add  to  the  interest, 
the  winning  club,  Tiverton,  has 
not  appeared  before  in   London, 
and  they  succeeded  in  defeating  a 
strong  Wimbledon  team.  Another 
remarkable  feature  of  the  tourna- 
ment was  that  the  winners  were 
four  brothers,  the  Messrs.  de  Las 
Casas,    two    of   whom  are   well 
known  in  the  West  of  England  as 
whippers-in  to  Sir  John  Amory's 
Staghounds.       The      Provincial 
Clubs'  Tournament  also  brought 
out  a  new  club,  the  Holborough, 
the    headquarters  of  which    are 
near  Chatham.       Polo  by  lime- 
light is  another    novelty  which, 
however,   does  not  greatly  com- 
mend itself  to  the  writer,  who  is 
disposed     to     take     the     game 
seriously.      At    the    same    time 
Major      Herbert      has      historic 
authority    for    polo    by  artificial 
light,  for  Mr.  Moray  Brown  tells 
of  polo  in  the  sixteenth  century 
in    the  East    being   played  with 
balls    which  were  made  of  wood 
which,  being  set  on  fire,  burnt  for 
some    time.    The    idea    did    not 
catch  on  even  in  India,  where  the 
heat  by  day  might  make  polo  by 
night,  in  any  form,  attractive. 

Wimbledon  Park  Polo  Club.— 
The  management  has  taken  time 


by  the  forelock  in  issuing  a  cir- 
cular detailing  the  arrangements 
for  season  1900.  Two  efficiently- 
watered  grounds  are  promised,  so 
that  there  will  be  play  every  day 
of  the  week.  Both  grounds  are 
to  be  open  on  Saturdays,  one 
being  chiefly  reserved  for  members' 
games.  During  the  present  season 
matches  have  been  restricted  to 
Saturdays,  so  as  to  give  young 
players  who  only  perform  in 
members'  games  better  oppor- 
tunities of  practice.  Next  season 
matches  will  be  booked  for  any 
day  of  the  week  and,  by  arrange- 
ment, two  visiting  teams  may 
play  against  each  other.  Outside 
the  principal  fixtures  to  be 
arranged  by  the  executive,  it  will 
now  be  with  members  themselves 
to  get  together  balanced  teams 
for  friendly  private  matches. 
That  the  fine  old  turf  can  stand 
the  test  of  severe  extremes  of 
weather  has  been  proved  by  the 
fact  that  while,  with  only  tempo- 
rary watering  arrangements,  it 
has  never  been  objectionably 
hard,  it  has  only  been  necessary 
to  close  the  ground  on  one  Satur- 
day owing  to  rain.  On  that 
occasion,  early  in  April,  the 
nursing  was  rather  a  case  of 
expediency  than  of  necessity.  As 
regards  recent  play,  the  conditions 
of  the  Age-Limit  Tournament, 
permitting  only  players  whose 
ages  fall  within  a  cycle  of  five 
years  to  play  in  the  same  team, 
have  been  found  effectual  in 
breaking  down  existing  powerful 
combinations,  some  of  which  have 
grown  so  strong  as  to  prevent 
other  teams  entering  against  them. 
This  year  "35  to  39 "  won, 
beating  "45  and  over"  in  the 
final.  The  Visiting  Teams' 
Tournament  for  the  Auld  Lang- 
syne  Challenge  Cup,  presented  by 
Mr.  T.  B.  Drybrough,  the  first 
captain  of  the  club,  was  won  by 
the  7th  Hussars  (Subalterns;.  The 


142 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


date  clashing  with  the  autumn 
manoeuvres  unfortunately  pre- 
vented several  military  teams 
from  competing.  This  tourna- 
ment will  grow  in  interest  year 
by  year  as  more  clubs  become 
eligible  to  compete.  The  cup,  a 
beautiful  silver-gilt  vase  of  Greek 
design,  with  plinth  bearing  a  polo 
trophy  subject,  was  supplied  by 
Messrs.  Watherston  &  Son,  Pall 
Mall.  Four  souvenir  cups  were 
also  given  by  the  club.  Begin- 
ning play  on  April  1st,  and  con- 
tinuing till  the  end  of  August, 
Wimbledon  is  the  earliest  to  open 
and  latest  to  close  of  the  London 
clubs.  Arrangements  have  been 
made  for  wintering  polo  ponies  in 
the  park. 

The  Autumn  Season.  —  Polo 
has  now  a  regular  autumn  season, 
and  some  first-rate  tournaments 
are  to  be  seen  in  August.  Not 
even  Cowesor  Goodwood  can  draw 
away  players  or  spectators  from 
polo.  Rugby,  Leamington,  and 
Cirencester  are  all  regular  August 
fixtures,  and  this  year  Portsmouth 
intends  to  have  a  tournament, 
and  no  doubt  there  will  be  others 
in  due  course.  These  annual 
tournaments,  with  their  accom- 
paniments of  pony  shows  and  gym- 
khanas, do  much  to  popularise  polo. 

Colonial  and  Foreign. —  The 
latest  addition  to  the  list  of  Polo 
Clubs  is  Singapore,  where  the 
game  is  now  being  regularly 
played,  though  the  players  have 
hardly  yet  attained  to  tourna- 
ment. But  the  most  important 
tournament  was  that  at  Sydney 
for  the  Burdekin  Challenge  Cup. 
There  were  four  entries  in  all, 
Tamarang,  Camden,  Sydney,  and 
Camperdown,  the  last  named 
being  the  holders  of  the  Cup.  In 
the  first  ties  Tamarang  defeated 
Camden,  and  Camperdown  Syd- 
ney. There  was  a  general  expec- 
tation of  a  fine  game  in  the  final. 
Tamarang — Messrs.  A.  Hall,  R. 


Turnbull,  J.  M* Master  and  Dun- 
can M'Master.  Camperdown — 
Messrs.  W.,  T.,  and  E.  Mani- 
fold and  Mr.  R.  S.  Murray.  The 
match  was  divided  into  six  tens, 
but  it  is  the  practice  in  Australia 
to  count  the  hits  behind  against 
the  side  whose  boundary  line  is 
crossed.  These  would,  however, 
only  affect  the  result  if  the  goals 
won  were  equal  at  the  call  of  time. 
English  players  will  notice  that 
family  teams  are  as  successful  at 
the  Antipodes  as  they  are  with 
us.  Tamarang  played  with  tre- 
mendous dash,  and  made  two 
goals  at  the  start.  This  advan- 
tage they  held  all  through,  their 
forward  player  having  more  dash 
than  that  of  Camperdown,  and 
their  defence  being  quite  as  good. 
Nevertheless,  at  the  call  of  time 
they  were  equal.  In  the  additional 
time,  however,  Mr.  Turnbull, 
extracting  the  ball  from  a  smart 
scrimmage,  raced  away  for  goal 
and  scored.  Tamarang  won  by  a 
single  goal  only  after  a  splendid 
match.  In  Colombo  polo  flou- 
rishes well,  and  there  are  regular 
games  on  the  beautiful  grounds 
on  Galle  Face. 
The  Stage  Coaches  at  Rane- 

lagh. — An  assemblage  of  thirty- 
six  coaches,  of  which  sixteen 
were  working  road  coaches,  for 
a  driving  competition,  was  a 
novelty  which  drew  a  large 
number  of  people  to  Barn  Elms. 
It  was  the  most  interesting,  and 
to  the  amateur  coachman  certainly 
the  most  instructive,  exhibition  of 
the  kind  ever  seen.  The  way  in 
which  the  professionals1  horses 
were  put  together,  and  the  ease 
and  certainty  with  which  they 
were  handled,  both  in  the  parade 
and  before  the  judges  (Lords  Lons- 
dale and  Ancaster)  shows  that 
coachmanship  of  a  high  order  is 
still  existent  among  us.  Captains 
Spicer  and  Hamilton,  who  won 
the  challenge  cup  for    the   best 


/%J 


"OUR  van. 


M 


143 


turned-out  coach,  showed  us  four 
horses  which  for  substance  and 
quality  would  have  been  remark- 
able anywhere.  These  horses  the 
V.D.  had  looked  over  in  their 
stalls,  and  "  Wait  till  you  see 
them  going "  had  said  another 
proprietor  and  an  excellent  judge. 
The  Nimrod  (Brighton)  four 
moved  like  one  horse.  Nor  were 
they  show  horses,  but  are  doing 
their  daily  stages.  E.  K.  Fownes 
drove  them,  and  nothing  more 
need  be  said.  Very  workmanlike 
was  the  Shamrock  (Reigate), 
driven  by  another  Fownes,  and 
with  a  very  coachinglike  team  and 
very  smart  drag.  T.  Hally  won 
the  driving  competition,  and  the 
way  he  handled  his  team  round 
the  by  no  means  simple  course 
was  a  good  bit  of  real  coachman- 
ship. His  time  was  good,  and  he 
did  not  upset  a  single  obstacle. 
Captain  Steed's  team  (Brighton) 
were  a  grand  lot  of  horses,  but 
looked  at  least  as  much  like 
crossing  a  country  as  drawing  a 
coach.  They  were  almost  too 
good  for  their  place.  As  a 
spectacle  the  whole  was  a  magni- 
ficent show,  and  the  attendance 
of  critical  spectators  shows  what 
a  strong  interest  coaching  is. 

The  Crystal  Palace  Pony 
Show.  —  As  might  have  been 
expected,  the  strength  of  this 
show  lay  in  the  direction  of  the 
polo  pony  classes,  which  con- 
tained many  fine  animals,  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  several  well-known 
players  could  not  be  spared  by 
their  owners,  who  required  them 
for  work.  In  the  thoroughbred 
stallions,  Sir  Walter  Gilbey's 
charming  brown  Rosewater,  be- 
yond all  doubt  by  far  the  best 
little  horse  of  his  inches  living, 
had  no  difficulty  in  beating  his 
two  opponents;  whilst  in  the 
other  than  thoroughbred  class, 
the  Elsenham  Stud  was  again  to 
the   fore    by    the    assistance    of 


Lord  Polo  by  Rosewater,  a  really 
fine  stamp  of  sire,  but  scarcely  so 
good  in  shoulders  as  the  second 
prize,  Sandiway,  another  clinking 
fine  pony  exhibited  by  Mr.  John 
Barker.  So  far  as  the  Arab 
stallions  were  concerned,  there 
was  some  surprise  expressed  at 
the  relegating  of  the  Rev.  D.  B. 
Montefiere's  Mootrub  to  the  re- 
serve position,  as  he  is  better  in 
expression  and  bone  than  the 
winner,  Mr.  CeciPs  grey  Ben 
Azrell.  Only  one  Barb  stallion 
was  exhibited,  this  being  the 
London  Polo  Club's  Aziz,  but  he 
was  a  power  of  strength  in  him- 
self, being  the  most  admired 
horse  in  the  show,  and  certainly 
it  is  impossible  to  conceive  a 
more  lively  pony.  The  thorough- 
bred brood  mares,  headed  by  Mr. 
iohn  Barker's  Lightning  and 
lessrs.  Grainger's  Serf  Belle, 
two  nice  blood-like  ponies  with 
substance,  were  a  fair  class  of 
eight ;  whilst  no  doubt  the  best 
of  the  new-comers  in  the  polo 
brood  mare  class  was  the  Keyn- 
sham  Stud  Company's  Oh  My, 
a  tremendously  powerful  mare 
for  her  inches,  and  a  well-known 
winner  and  dam  of  winners. 
Premier  honours  in  the  barren 
polo  mares,  which  numbered 
twenty-one,  went  properly  enough 
to  Mr.  J.  Gouldsmith's  Silver 
Star,  the  Hurlingham  winner, 
but  Mr.  Tresham  Gilbey's  Early 
Dawn  made  a  good  second  and 
settled  down  better  in  the  ring. 
The  Keynsham  Stud  Company 
were  to  the  fore  in  both  the  three 
and  two-year-old  classes,  with  the 
own  brothers  St.  Moritz  and  Bir- 
mingham Royal,  a  pair  of  very 
stylish  breedy- looking  youngsters. 
In  the  made  polo  pony  classes  the 
judges  can  scarcely  be  congratu- 
lated upon  their  decisions,  as  the 
position  of  Mr.  Gouldsmith's 
Silver  Star  in  the  light-weight 
class,  when  beaten    by   Captain 


i44 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


Renton's  Nip  -  cat,  was  scarcely 
compatible  with  the  views  of  the 
majority  of  the  spectators.  Captain 
Renton's  well  -  known  Matchbox 
took  first  for  heavy  weights,  first 
prize  in  the  unmade  class  falling 
to  Mr.  Guy  Gilbey's  clean  bred 
Bright  Pearl,  by  that  good  little 
horse,  the  expatriated  Pearl  Diver. 
In  the  riding  class,  Mr.  J.  Barker 
was  to  the  fore  with  Meddlesome, 
a  very  powerfully-built  bay,  with 
the  stylish  Early  Dawn  second, 
and  another  heavy-weight,  Lord 
Harrington's  Acorn,  third ;  the 
weight  carriers  being  headed  by 
Miss  Hawkins'  All  Fours,  a  good 
specimen  of  his  type,  and  the 
under  13  hands  riding  ponies  by 
the  very  stylish  Wonder,  exhibited 
by  Miss  Gilbey.  The  classes  for 
Argentine  ponies  and  Welsh  were 
moderately  well  filled,  but  those 
for  harness  animals  were  by  no 
means  good  ;  the  Hackneys,  more- 
over, being  a  very  moderate 
collection. 

Cricket. — Such  a  dose  of  test 
matches  has  never  been  known  in 
this  country  before,  and  that  too 
at  a  time  when  it  would  appear 
that  our  Australian  visitors  are 
perhaps  a  side  more  difficult  to 
beat  than  at  any  time  in  the 
history  of  international  cricket. 
At  Nottingham  disaster  was  only 
just  averted  by  our  representatives, 
and  then  at  Lord's  England  suf- 
fered a  crushing  defeat  by  ten 
wickets.  The  third  match  of  the 
series  played  at  Leeds  went 
better  for  the  Old  Country,  who 
appeared  to  have  a  chance  of 
winning,  when  a  deluge  of  rain 
on  the  last  day  of  the  match 
rendered  further  play  impossible 
and  left  the  game  drawn.  J.  T. 
Hearne  achieved  the  distinction 
of  the  "  hat  trick  "  by  dismissing 
three  of  the  best  Australian  bats- 
men in  three  consecutive  balls, 
both  Noble  and  Gregory  obtain- 
ing the  unwelcome  pair  of  spec- 


tacles. Perhaps,  however,  the 
best  English  bowler  was  Young, 
of  Essex,  whose  left-handed  de- 
liveries always  had  the  batsmen 
in  difficulties,  whilst  with  the 
worst  luck  imaginable  he  time 
after  time  missed  the  wicket  by 
the  proverbial  coat  of  paint. 

There  is  only  time  to  say  as 
regards  the  fourth  test  match  at 
Manchester  that  it  resulted  in  a 
draw.  Noble  made  a  fine  stand 
for  Australia,  and  Hay  ward  con- 
tributed 130  runs  to  the  English 
total.  The  bowling  of  Young 
and  Bradley  was  very  successful 
in  the  first  innings. 

Gentlemen  and  Players  was 
this  year  overshadowed  by  all 
this  test  cricket  to  a  marked 
degree,  and  the  match  at  Lord's 
was  played  by  fine  teams  with  an 
absence  of  quite  the  usual  amount 
of  enthusiasm  on  the  part  of  the 
crowd. 

Dr.  W.  G.  Grace  captained  a 
powerful  eleven  of  amateurs,  in 
which  Major  R.  M.  Poore,  on  the 
strength  of  his  string  of  centuries 
for  Hampshire,  found  a  place  for 
the  first  time ;  and  winning  the 
toss  the  amateurs  settled  down 
on  a  splendid  wicket  to  pile  up 
the  large  score  of  480  runs ; 
whilst  almost  everybody  made  a 
fair  score  of  over  thirty  or  so. 
Mr.  Charles  Fry  was  top  scorer 
with  104,  an  innings  which  fol- 
lowed immediately  upon  his  great 
effort  of  162  not  out  made  on  the 
previous  Saturday  for  his  county 
against  Yorkshire.  Ranjitsinhji 
played  in  his  most  delightful 
fashion  for  38  when  he  was  caught 
at  third  man  off  a  miss  hit,  and  it 
is  worthy  of  note  that  this  great 
batsman  has  this  season  to  leave 
the  wicket  for  the  first  mistake  he 
makes  ;  in  1896,  when  his  large 
scores  were  the  talk  of  the  cricket 
world,  the  Indian  Prince  was  fre- 
quently favoured  by  fortune,  and 
could    make    a    mistake  without 


1*99.] 


"OUR   VAN. 


»» 


*45 


suffering  for  it.  During  this 
season,  however,  his  innings  has 
generally  been  closed  by  his  first 
indiscretion ;  however,  even  under 
these  harsh  terms  he  has  proved 
himself  a  most  prolific  scorer. 
W.  G.  Grace,  who  contented 
himself  with  going  in  number 
seven,  played  a  fine  innings  of  76 
and  bitterly  must  Mr.  J.  R. 
Mason  regret  the  indiscretion 
which  led  to  his  running  W.  G. 
out  when  the  great  cricketer 
looked  all  the  way  like  scoring 
his  century.  It  was  an  impossible 
run  to  mid-off  for  which  the  Kent 
captain  called  his  partner  and 
W.  G.  was  cut  off  in  the  prime  of 
his  innings  when  he  was  doing  as 
he  liked  with  the  Players1  bowl- 
ing. Mr.  Mason  made  a  good 
score,  and  Messrs.  Townsend  and 
Jackson  each  made  close  upon  50 
runs,  the  former  gentleman  com- 
pleting in  this  match  his  aggregate 
of  one  thousand  runs  this  season. 
Abel,  who  was  only  selected  for 
the  Players'  team  in  the  absence 
of  Shrewsbury  and  Quaife,  led 
off  the  batting  for  the  Players, 
but  failed  before  the  fast  bowling 
of  Mr.  W.  M.  Bradley,  who  has 
this  season  bowled  so  successfully 
for  Kent  that  on  July  10th  he  ac- 
tually headed  the  bowling  aver- 
ages with  some  76  wickets  at  a 
cost  of  14  runs  each.  In  the 
second  innings  Abel  was  out  for  a 
duck's  egg  to  the  same  bowler, 
thereby  emphasising  the  theory 
that  away  from  the  Oval  he  is 
more  likely  to  fail  to  fast  bowling 
than  to  slow,  as  Mr.  C.  Heseltine 
and  his  Hampshire  colleagues 
confidently  assert.  Hayward 
played  a  very  fine  innings,  and 
the  Players  were  holding  their 
own  fairly  well  until  Mr.  Jephson, 
coming  on  with  his  lobs,  turned 
the  whole  game  in  the  course  of 
an  hour.  In  some  18  overs  he 
captured  six  wickets  at  the  small 
cost  of  26  runs,  and   it   is  inter- 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  474. 


esting  to  note  that  during  the 
whole  time  he  was  only  once  hit 
to  the  boundary.  The  Players 
followed  on  and  were  beaten  by 
an  innings  and  59  runs. 

It  was  in  this  match  that  W.  G. 
Grace  achieved  the  extraordinary 
feat  of  scoring  his  50,000  runs  in 
first-class  cricket  after  a  career  of 
35  years.  It  is  stated  that  of 
those  taking  part  with  him  in  this 
Gentlemen  and  Players'  match  of 
1899  only  one  man  was  born  when 
W.  G.  played  his  first  Gentlemen 
and  Players'  match,  and  that  is 
Robert  Abel,  who  at  that  time 
was  five  years  old!  Some  com- 
ment was  invited  by  the  action  of 
the  M.C.C.  Committee,  who,  in 
selecting  the  Players'  team,  left 
out  Young,  whose  place  in  the 
England  eleven  is  assured,  and  it 
is  a  strange  anomaly  that  a  man 
who  plays  for  the  first  eleven  of 
England  should  fail  to  gain  a 
place  in  the  twenty-two,  which  is 
practically  the  position  of  Young. 
.  T.  Hearne,  also  fresh  from  his 
at-trick  at  Leeds,  was  left  out,  as 
was  Tyldesley,  who  has  been 
amongst  the  men  selected  for  each 
of  the  test  matches,  and  who 
amused  himself  during  the  days 
of  the  Gentlemen  and  Players' 
match  by  scoring  249  runs  for 
his  county  against  Leicestershire. 
The  ways  of  Selection  Committees 
are  indeed  strange. 

The  Inter-University  Match  of 
1899  was  not  very  interesting, 
and  ended  in  a  draw.  Probably 
Oxford  were  fancied  a  shade 
more  than  their  opponents  before 
the  match,  but  by  winning  the 
toss  it  is  probable  that  the  Dark 
Blues  got  rather  the  worst  of  the 
wicket,  which  at  the  start  of  the 
match  was  on  the  soft  side.  Ox- 
ford led  off  with  192,  subscribed 
chiefly  by  Messrs.  Knox  (37), 
Eccles  (32),  and  Martyn  (27). 
Cambridge  replied  with  241, 
although  at  one  time  there  were 

10 


1 


146 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[August 


seven  wickets  down  with  but  89 
runs  on  the  board.  It  was  an  in- 
valuable stand  by  Messrs.  S.  H. 
Day  (62)  and  Hind  (52)  which 
saved  the  Light  Blues,  and  Mr. 
Hind,  who  was  actually  the 
eleventh  choice  for  Cambridge, 
is  to  be  congratulated  upon  his 
success  also  with  the  ball,  for  he 
secured  in  the  match  five  wickets 
for  62  runs.  In  the  second  innings 
Mr.  Pilkington,  who  had  been 
dismissed  for  a  duck's  egg  in  the 
first  innings,  showed  more  of  his 
true  form,  and  when  time  was 
called  on  Tuesday  night  had  93 
runs  to  his  credit  out  of  the  174 
scored  by  Oxford :  he  was  unfor- 
tunately out  next  morning  to  the 
first  ball  without  increasing  his 
score,  and  after  some  very  quiet 
play  six  men  were  out  for  206. 
At  this  juncture  Oxford  were 
driven  to  play  for  safety,  and 
Messrs.  Knox  and  Montmorency 
with  73  not  out  and  62,  were  the 
chief  scorers.  The  slow  play  pre- 
vented Mr.  Champain  from  declar- 
ing his  innings  closed  until  half- 
past  three  o'clock,  when  nine 
wickets  had  fallen  for  347  runs, 
and  Cambridge  were  thus  set  299 
runs  to  make  in  two  hours  and 
forty  minutes.  Mr.  Jessop  him- 
self came  in  at  the  fall  of  the 
first  wicket,  and  set  about  win- 
ning the  match  for  his  side,  but 
when  he  had  scored  48  runs  in 
twenty-five  minutes  he  was  well 
caught  by  the  Oxford  captain 
at  long-off,  and  then  a  drawn 
game  was  inevitable,  and  Messrs. 
Taylor  (52)  and  Day  (50)  quietly 
played  out  time,  Cambridge  at 
the  finish  requiring  70  runs  to 
win  and  having  six  wickets  in 
hand.  Mr.  Bosanquet  was  the 
most  successful  of  the  Oxford 
bowlers,  and  Mr.  Hind  did  best 
for  Cambridge..  Mr.  Jessop  was 
far  from  well,  and  although  he 
worked  like  a  hero  his  efforts 
were    not    attended    with    much 


success.  Mr.  Hawkins,  of  Cam-* 
bridge,  required  much  apparent 
exertion,  and  a  run  of  quite  20 
yards  to  produce  a  medium  paced 
ball  of  no  great  apparent  merit, 
and  we  must  protest  against  the 
practice  growing  amongst  in- 
different bowlers  of  indulging  in 
exaggerated  and  fanciful  runs. 
The  waste  of  time  involved  in 
these  manoeuvres  is  considerable, 
and  the  average  time  consumed 
by  Mr.  Hawkins  between  the 
receipt  by  him  of  the  ball  and  the 
subsequent  delivery  was  some- 
where about  nineteen  seconds. 
As  the  laws  stand  at  present  any 
bowler  who  was  desirous  of  wast- 
ing time  would  apparently  be 
quite  within  his  rights  if  he  were 
to  commence  his  run  from  the 
Pavilion  steps  every  ball,  or  even 
run  round  the  entire  ground  pre- 
vious to  the  delivery.  The  Mary- 
lebone  Club  Committee  might 
well  consider  whether  it  might 
not  be  expedient  to  limit  the  run 
of  bowlers  to  say  10  yards  or 
some  such  useful  distance,  and  so 
abolish  these  absurd  and  irrit- 
ating preliminaries.  Mr.  Stocks, 
of  Oxford,  who  failed  to  get  a 
wicket  in  the  match,  is  another 
bowler  with  a  prolonged  and 
grotesque  run  up  to  the  wicket ; 
and  the  other  day  we  played  with  a 
man  whose  practice  it  was  to  throw 
the  ball  in  the  air  and  catch  it  three 
times  as  he  started  to  bowl  many 
yards  away  from  the  wicket. 

Salmon  for  the  Thames. — A 

good  deal  of  interest  has  been 
aroused  in  the  scheme  of  the 
newly  formed  Thames  Salmon 
Association,  as  propounded  at  the 
recent  meeting  at  the  Mansion 
House.  Whether  the  experiment 
will  be  successful  or  not,  time 
alone  can  show,  though  Mr. 
R.  B.  Marston,  who  may  in  a 
way  be  said  to  have  represented 
the  opposition,  did  not  think  the 
time  was  yet  ripe  for  the   com- 


i899l 


"our  van. 


tt 


147 


mencement  of  operations.  How- 
ever, a  resolution  was  carried  to 
the  effect  that  steps  should  be 
taken  to  re- introduce  salmon  into 
the  Thames,  and  eyed  ova  are  to 
be  procured  from  foreign  sources, 
which  will  be  hatched  under  an 
arrangement  with  the  owners  of 
fish  hatcheries  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  Thames,  and  turned 
into  the  river  when  ready  to  go 
down  to  sea.  These  experiments 
are  expected  to  cover  a  period  of 
some  seven  years,  and  as  the 
sinews  of  war  are  of  course  a 
primary  essential  in  matters  of 
this  kind,  cheques  may  be  made 
out  to  the  Thames  Salmon  Asso- 
ciation, Capital  and  Counties 
•Bank,  Piccadilly  Branch,  Lon- 
don, W. 

By  a  curious  coincidence  the 
oldest  and  one  of  the  youngest  of 
angling  bodies  connected  with  the 
Thames  held  more  or  less  import- 
ant meetings  during  the  same 
week,  but  while  the  Thames 
Salmon  Association  was  dealing 
entirely  with  the  re-introduction 
of  a  fish  that  has  now  become 
wholly  extinct  in  the  Thames,  the 
Thames  Angling  Preservation  So- 
ciety was  taking  steps  to  preserve 
and  keep  up  the  stock  that  exists 
at  the  present  day.  Thames 
angling  bodies  are  always  faced 
by  the  ever-present  question  of 
funds,  and  the  old  T.A.P.S.  is  no 
exception  to  the  rule,  but  they 
still  go  on  watching  and  preserv- 
ing, and  seeing  that  the  rules  and 
regulations  existent  in  their  part 
of  the  water  are  strictly  observed. 
The  chief  event  of  their  past 
year,  as  stated  in  their  annual 
report,  was  the  removal  of  the 
barren  swans  during  the  coarse 
fish  spawning  season,  as  well  as 
the  ducks  at  Hampton  Court. 
Their  limited  funds  prevent  them 
aiding  in  the  proposed  scheme  for 
erecting  a  general  fish  hatchery 
.  near  the  Thames. 


The  Proposed  Naval  Tourna- 
ment. —  Newspaper  paragraphs 
have  been  going  the  rounds  during 
the  past  few  weeks  regarding  the 
organising  of  a  Naval  Tournament 
to  be  held  in  the  Agricultural 
Hall  at  Islington,  on  lines  similar 
to  those  which  have  made  the 
Military  Tournament  the  estab- 
lished success  it  now  is.  Up  to 
the  present  no  definite  or  official 
step  appears  to  have  been  taken, 
but  should  the  Naval  Tournament 
become  an  established  fact,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  it  will  at  once 
"catch  on,"  as  the  phrase  now 
goes.  Anyone  who  has  visited 
the  Military  Tournament  and  wit- 
nessed the  smart  gun  display 
given  by  the  naval  detachment, 
and  heard  the  hearty  applause 
which  always  greets  their  entry 
into  the  ring,  must  feel  sorry  that 
the  programme  cannot  be  ex- 
tended so  as  to  allow  those  visitors 
who  are  more  or  less  ignorant  of 
naval  life  and  ways  to  become 
better  acquainted  with  them,  and 
this  probably  can  never  be  ade- 
quately done  till  a  friendly  separa- 
tion takes  place,  and  our  soldiers 
and  sailors  each  fight  (?)  for  their 
own  hand. 

Aquatics. — Retrospect,  to  be 
palatable  to  the  medium,  and 
caviare  to  the  general,  should  be 
altogether  unclouded,  even  sunny. 
Happily,  nothing  but  honeyed 
words  can  be  spoken  of  Henley 
Regatta  this  year.  "  Royal "  in 
every  sense  of  the  word  was  the 
far-famed  festival — even  Queen's 
weather  prevailed  throughout — 
whilst  enormous  crowds  were  en 
evidence  every  succeeding  day. 
House-boats,  &c,  were  fewer  than 
usual,  but  this  meant  more  en- 
closure space — a  far  more  attrac- 
tive feature  in  our  opinion.  It 
would  require  the  pen  of  a  Virgil 
and  the  fervour  of  a  Macaulay  to 
fittingly  describe  the  panorama  of 
e  ver-shifting  boats,  the  polyglotic 


1 48 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


crowd  on  the  banks,  the  thousand 
types  of  faces,  the  stalwart  oars- 
men and  fair  English  girls  re- 
clining in  graceful  abandon  in 
varied  craft.  Let  us  briefly  re- 
mark that-— despite  all  sorts  of 
pessimistic  predictions  to  the  con- 
trary— the  social  side  of  the  Royal 
Meeting  was  more  pronounced 
than  ever.  The  racing  was  quite 
worthy  the  occasion.  Anything 
finer  than  the  general  exposition 
and  sensational  finishes  of  many 
of  the  races  has  rarely  been  wit- 
nessed. Competitors  from  Canada, 
Holland,  France,  and  Germany 
threw  down  the  gauntlet  to  native 
oarsmen,  but  in  no  single  instance 
did  they  carry  off  a  trophy.  Per- 
haps the  most  exciting  race  of  the 
week  was  that  between  the  Cana- 
dians and  Dutchmen  in  Heat  I. 
of  the  "  Grand."  It  was  a  tussle 
of  the  Greek  v.  Greek  order  from 
pillar  to  post,  and  egad  !  the  shout 
that  rose  among  the  hills  when 
Canada  won  by  two  feet ! 

Certainly  the  echo,  image  of 
the  Berkshire  hills,  made  itself 
heard  on  this  occasion;  and  ap- 
plause that  fills  a  valley  is  some- 
thing to  remember  for  all  time. 
The  events  were  hardly  equitably 
distributed,  for  the  University 
crews  (including  Leander)  once 
again  ruled  the  roost.  No  purely 
Metropolitan  crew  caught  Judge 
Fenner's  eye  this  year,  albeit  the 
London  combination  for  the 
"  Grand "  made  a  bold  bid  for 
victory.  For  future  reference, 
we  append  a  list  of  actual 
results : — 


"Grand' 

"Ladies" 

"  Thames" 

"Stewards" 

"Wyfolds" 

"Visitors" 

"Goblets" 

"Diamonds" 


Leander  R.C 

Eton  College. 

First  Trinity  (Cambridge). 

Magdalen  College  (Oxford). 

Trinity  Hall  (Cambridge). 

Balliol  College  (Oxford). 

Leander  R.C. 

B.  H.  Howell  (Thames  R.C.) 


Altogether,  however,  the  out- 
come was  highly  satisfactory, 
from  a  national  point  of  view. 
The  Canadians,  Dutchmen,   and 


Germans  were  crews  much  above 
the  ordinary  accredited  cham- 
pions in  their  own  countries,  and 
all  rowed  splendidly.  That  they 
should  return  defeated  affords  dis- 
tinct testimony  to  the  high  excel- 
lence of  English  rowing  in  1899. 
The  Henley  stewards  certainly 
put  their  detractors  to  confusion 
re  the  much-discussed  booming  of 
the  course.  Not  only  was  a  clear 
course  provided  this  year,  but  the 
vast  traffic  was  controlled  in 
fashion  almost  mechanical.  The 
boom  has  come  to  stay!  They 
also  deserve  high  praise  for  their 
indefatigable  efforts  to  please 
everybody ;  from  Mr.  Secretary 
Cooper  upwards,  they  were  as 
courteous  and  ubiquitous  as  ever. 
No  records  were  made  this  year 
in  actual  racing,  and  no  one  crew 
showed  vast  superiority  over 
another — as  in  1898.  By  com- 
mon consent,  however,  Mr,  Har- 
court  Gold  (Leander  R.C.)  can 
justly  claim  to  be  one  of  the  very 
finest  strokes  who  ever  wielded 
oar  over  the  famous  course. 

Just  as  the  Inter-'Varsity  Boat 
Race  inaugurates  the  river  season, 
so  Henley  strikes  the  keynote  of 
regatta  fray  all  down  the  line. 
Capifal  entries  and  some  fair 
racing  was  seen  at  the  Metro- 
politan Regatta,  next  after  Hen- 
ley, but  the  attendance  was  very 
poor.  The  fact  is,  scope  for  con- 
comitant festivities — beloved  of 
Society — is  not  so  much  to  the 
fore  at  Putney  as  at  strictly 
riparian  meetings.  Say  what  you 
will,  a  modern  regatta  is  nothing 
(from  a  spectator's  point  of  view) 
without  a  strong  social  side.  The 
rowing  results  emphasised  our 
last  month's  opinion  that  1898 
history  is  likely  to  repeat  itself; 
in  other  words,  that  the  London 
R.C.  bids  fair  to  assert  all-round 
supremacy.  Under  this  heading, 
however,  we  shall  be  able  to 
speak  authoritatively  next  month, 


I899-] 


<< 


OUR  VAN. 


«i 


149 


after  the  decision  of  many  import- 
ant meetings.  Sailing  and  punt- 
ing continue  to  exercise  the 
attention  of  conntless  devotees  of 
;*  Ye  Silverie  Temes."  Strict  train- 
ing is  now  the  order  of  the  day 
for  the  Punting  Championships, 
and  we  anticipate  some  fine 
tussles  over  the  Shepperton  course 
— allowing  of  separate  ryepecks — 
very  shortly.  What  are  called 
*'  amusing  regattas  "  will  soon  be 
in  full  swing  also.  It  is  instruc- 
tive that  the  regatta  season  on 
the  Thames  begins  at  high  mark 
with  Henley,  descends  gradually 
through  replicas  of  *  the  great 
meeting,  such  as  Kingston,  Mole- 
sey,  &c,  at  which  we  find  real 
rowing  in  racing  boats,  to  aquatic 
carnivals  such  as  Teddington 
Reach,  where  we  get  real  racing 
in  rowing  boats,  any  craft  that 
will  temporarily  support  an  ex- 
cited competitor,  and  finishes 
finally  with  the  various  club  re- 
gattas in  which  we  return  to  real 
rowing  in  racing  boats.  The  popu- 
larity of  these  "  amusing  regattas" 
is  due  to  the  interest  that  the 
general  public  nowaday  takes  in 
boating  as  distinct  from  rowing. 

Socially,  the  season  promises 
to  prove  a  red-letter  one.  Only 
continued  fine  weather  is  required 
to  enable  it  to  reach  its  zenith. 
A  pleasure  traffic  little  less  than 
vast  has  sprung  up,  and  a  perfect 
torrent  of  pleasure  craft  may 
daily  be  seen  passing  along  the 
favoured  reaches  of  the  Thames. 
Some  may  sigh  for  the  quietude 
of  earlier  times  and  the  "  peaceful 
calm  "  of  Montgomery.  Time  has 
its  compensations,  however,  and 
it  would  be  ungracious  to  grudge 
that  thousands  now  for  hundreds 
in  days  that  are  past  enjoy  the 
beauties  of  "  the  imperial  stream 
for  every  sort  of  social  rite,1'  to 
quote  Collins.  From  royalty 
downwards,  the  river  this  season 
is    patronised   by   all  sorts   and 


conditions   of    folk,    and    small 
wonder ! 
Sport  at  the  Universities.— 

Another  academical  year  is  over. 
That  of  1898-99  will  always  be 
remembered  as  the  dead-heat 
year,  i.e. : — Light  and  Dark  Blues 
finishing  up  exactly  level  in  Inter- 
'Varsity  fray.  Our  last  month's 
predictions  were  fulfilled, very  hap- 
pily in  the  main.  Cambridge 
won  the  Swimming  Contest  at 
the  Bath  Club  by  2  events  1,  and 
Oxford  the  Cycling  Competitions 
at  Sheen  House  by  10  points. 
As  we  thought  likely,  the  cricket 
match  at  Lord's  ended  in  a 
draw.  Splendid  all-round  play 
was  evinced  throughout,  batting 
honours  being  fairly  claimed  by 
Pillington,  Knox,  Montmorency 
(Oxford),  and  Day,  Hind,  Stog- 
don  (Cambridge).  At  bowling, 
Bosanquet,  Knox  (Oxford),  and 
Hind,  Wilson,  Hawkins  (Cam- 
bridge) were  the  best  exponents, 
and  the  fielding  generally  was  of 
very  high  calibre.  So  also  was 
the  wicket-keeping  of  H.  Martyn 
(Oxford),  who  looks  like  develop- 
ing into  another  Gregory  Mac- 
Gregor.  Even  now,  after  the 
fulfilment  of  events,  we  still  think 
the  Dark  Blues  were  the  smarter 
and  more  consistent  team.  Both 
at  tennis  proper,  and  lawn  tennis 
— "  the  other  tennis,"  as  it  has 
been  called — honours  were  di- 
vided this  year.  The  exposition 
was  fairly  "  classy  "  throughout, 
and  (by  common  consent)  this 
divided-honours'  result  about  re- 
presented the  merits  of  the  rival 
blues  in  either  direction.  Follow- 
ing the  precedent  of  the  last 
seven  years,  we  now  permit  a 
complete  list  of  Inter-'Varsity 
contests,  results,  &c,  for  1898-99, 
as  a  permanent  reference  : — 


Crosscountry     ..  Oxford 
Rugby  Football  . .  Cambridge 
Association    Foot- 
ball        . .         Cambridge 
Hockey  ..  Cambridge 

Boxing  &  Fencing  Oxford 


. .  30  points  aj. 

..  iz  points  ml. 

. .  3  goals  x. 

. .  s  goals  2. 

..  5  events  i. 


150 


baily's  magazine. 


[August 


Billiards  (Single).. 
Billiards  (Double) 
Point  to  Point 

Steeplechase . . 
Athletic  Sports     . . 
Boat  Race.. 
v»[ies&  . . 

Golf 

Racquets  (Single) 
Racquets  (Double) 
Polo 

Swimming  .. 
Lawn  Tennis 

(Single) 
Lawn  Tennis 

(Double) 
Cycling 
Cricket  Match 
Tennis  (Single) 
Tennis  (Double)  . . 


Oxford 
Oxford 

Oxford 

Draw 

Cambridge  , 

Cambridge 

Oxford 

Cambridge 

Cambridge 

Oxford 

Cambridge 

Oxford 

Cambridge  . 

Oxford 

Draw 

Cambridge 

Oxford 


49  points. 
ao8  points. 

easily. 

5  events  all. 
easily. 

5i  games  ij. 
1 8  holes. 

4  setts  t. 

3  setts  love, 
zi  goals  i. 
a  events  i. 

6  matches  3. 

5  matches  4. 
10  points. 

6  games  a. 
6  games  5. 


Total.. Oxford,  10  events;   Cambridge,  xo events ; 

a  draws. 

Critically  speaking,  the  Light 
Blues  might  justly  claim  supre- 
macy on  these  results  alone.  Out 
of  the  five  major  events,  viz. : — 
both  football  and  cricket  matches, 
boat  race,  and  sports,  they  have 
won  three  and  drawn  the  other 
two. 

After  subsequent  representative 
prowess  at  Henley  and  Bisley, 
however,  we  fancy  readers  of 
Baily  will  agree  that  any  real 
superiority  is  much  more  appa- 
rent than  otherwise.  The  Oxon- 
ians revenged  their  1898  reverses 
at  Bisley  by  carrying  off  both  the 
Humphrey  Plate  and  Chancellor's 
Trophy,  whilst  at  Henley  they 
fully  atoned  for  their  defeat 
at  Putney  last  March.  The 
"  Grand  "  and  "  Stewards  "—the 
proudest  trophies  any  eight  and 
four-oared  crews  can  win — fell  to 
their  prowess,  as  well  as  the 
"Visitors."  Altogether,  the  Sister 
Universities  won  six  out  of  the 
eight  events !  Outside  represen- 
tative fray,  University  exponents 
have  also  asserted  themselves  at 
Dublin, Wolverhampton,  &c.  For 
the  third  successive  year  R.  L. 
Doherty  (Cambridge)  has  won  the 
All  England  Lawn  Tennis  Cham- 
pionship; whilst  W.  G.  Paget- 
Tomlinson  (President  of  the 
C.U.A.C.)  very  easily  disposed 
of  his  rivals  for  the  Athletic 
Hurdle    Championship   of   Eng- 


land, and  little  later  on  C.  V. 
Fox  (Oxford),  a  very  promising 
sculler,  subsequently  carried  off 
the  championship  of  Ireland  in 
that  direction — but  enough.  We 
might  go  on  enumerating  Light 
and  Dark  Blue  successes  in 
every  branch  of  sport,  but  let 
it  suffice  to  mention  that  they 
are  once  again  playing  a  very 
important  part  therein.  Further- 
more, that  prominent  sports- 
men have  again  excelled  in  the 
"Schools,"  &c,  to  a  surprising 
degree.  Despite  the  irrespon- 
sible chatter  of  sundry  uninitiated 
ones,  the  ifnmense  advantages  of 
a  thew-and-thought  curriculum 
has  now  been  acknowledged  by 
most  Oxford  and  Cambridge  men. 
"  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them  "  is  still  a  truism  in  every 
walk  or  gallop  of  life.  On  July 
22nd  the  long-expected  Anglo- 
American  athletic  fray  came  off 
at  Queen's  Club.  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  athletes  were  in  op- 
position to  those  hailing  from 
Harvard  and  Yale  (U.S.A.),  and 
an  immense  crowd,  from  Royalty 
downwards,  foregathered  to  wit- 
ness the  fray.  In  the  result  the 
English  Universities  won  the 
contest  by  five    events  to  four. 

The  time  has  now  come  for  us 
to  say  an  revoir  to  our  readers 
once  again  until  October  Term. 
The  weeks  will  soon  roll  round, 
and  then  for  another  period  of 
exciting  sport  and  pastime  all 
down  the  line.  Many  well-known 
sportsmen  will  be  missed,  yet  life 
is  a  series  of  social  equivalents. 
Compensation  will  be  afforded 
by  a  tremendous  influx  of  new 
comers  at  both  Universities. 

Golf. — The  native  golfers  in  the 
United  States  are  at  last  able  to 
claim  one  of  their  number  as  the 
Amateur  Champion  of  the  year. 
It  is  five  years  .since  the  compe- 
tition for  the  Amateur  Champion- 
ship  was  instituted,  and  until  this 


1899-3 


SPORTING   INTELLIGENCE. 


15* 


year,  the  winner  has  always  been 
a  stranger — indeed,  a  direct  im- 
port from  the  home  of  golf, 
Scotland.  On  this  occasion  the 
winner  is  Mr.  Herbert  M.  Harri- 
man,  of  the  Meadowbrook  Hunt 
Club  (Long  Island),  a  graduate 
of  Princetown  University,  and  a 
weH -known  American  athlete.  In 
the  Final  Round  he  defeated  Mr. 
Findlay  Douglas,  who  won  last 
year,  and  who,  before  going  to 
the  United  States,  was  a  familiar 
figure  on  the  links  of  St.  Andrews. 
The  match  consisted  of  two  rounds 


or  36  holes  of  the  Onwentsia 
Course  at  Chicago,  and  though 
Mr.  Harriman  gained  a  lead  of 
eight  holes  in  the  first  round,  he 
only  won  by  the  narrow  margin 
of  3  up  and  2  to  play.  The 
Americans  have  adopted  a  sug- 
gestion often  made  in  connection 
with  the  Amateur  Championship 
in  this  country  of  having  a 
weeding-out  process  by  means  of 
medal  play.  They  only  admit  to 
the  match  play  the  32  competitors 
with  the  lowest  scores  in  the 
medal  play. 


Sporting  Intelligence. 

[During  June— July,  1899.] 


Mr.  William  Miles  I'Anson,  the  well- 
known  racing  official,  died  suddenly  on 
Jane  14th  at  his  residence,  Burley-in- 
Wbarfedale,  in  his  forty-second  year. 

The  yacht  race  from  Dover  to  Heligo- 
land, for  the  Gold  Cup  presented  by  the 
German  Emperor  to  commemorate  the 
eightieth  birthday  of  the  Queen,  com- 
menced on  June  19th.  Thirteen  out  of 
the  eighteen  entries  competed,  and  Char- 
mian  finished  first.  Wendur  lost  a  sail 
when  almost  in  sight  of  Heligoland.  On 
the  22nd,  the  Royal  Yacht  Squadron  at 
Cowes  received  a  telegram  stating  that  the 
German  Emperor  bad  awarded  the  prizes 
in  the  following  order : — First  prize  (gold 
cap),  Charmian  (schooner),  175  tons,  Mr. 
F.  S.  Atkinson ;  second  prize,  Betty 
(cutter),  92  tons,  Mr.  J.  Gretton,  jun.  ; 
thitd  prize,  Wendur  (yawl),  143  tons,  Mr. 
Lees;  fourth  prize,  Brynhild  (yawl),  153 
tons,  Mr.  J.  S.  Calverley ;  and  fifth  prize, 
Florinda  (yawl),  135  tons,  Sir  James 
Pender. 

The  blood-stock  sales  held  at  Newmarket 
daring  the  week  of  the  First  July  Meeting 
commenced  on  June  26th,  and  attracted 
a  large  attendance.  The  brood  mares' 
foals  from  ihe  Blankney  Stud  were  included 
in  the  first  day's  catalogue.  These  com- 
prised twenty-five  lots.  Sir  E.  Cassel  pur- 
chased listen,  foaled  1886,  by  Charibert, 
and  bay  filly  foal  by  Galopin,  for  1,150  gs. 
A  hay  maie,  foaled  1887,  V  Galopin,  and 
bay  colt  foal  by  Friar's  Balsam,  went  to 
Mr.    C.    Howard  at  1,100  gs.  ;  Baron  de 


Rothschild  bought  Flur  Bella,  oaled 
1 89 1,  by  Barcaldine  from  the  Hermit  marc 
Wallflower,  at  830  gs.  ;  and  Mr.  A.  Bailey 
took  Mary  Seaton,  foaled  1896,  by  Isoo- 
omy,  at  ihe  same  figure  ;  Queen  Adelaide, 
foaled  1881,  by  Hermit,  sold  to  Sir  E. 
Cassel  at  7 10  gs.  ;  a  bay  or  brown  mare  by 
Galopin,  foaled  1891,  went  to  Mr.  Brod- 
rick  Cloete  at  670  gs. ;  and  another  Galopin 
mare,  unnamed,  fetched  500  gs.,  Mr.  £. 
A.  Wigan  buying.  The  total  amount 
realised  for  the  mares  and  foals  was  8,090 
gs.,  giving  an  average  of  323 J  gs. 

Among  other  properties  Mr.  Brodrick 
Cloete  purchased  Santa  Stella,  by  St. 
Simon,  from  the  Knowsley  Stud,  for  630 
gs.  ;  Mr.  Simon  Harrison's  Orsova,  by 
St.  Simon,  sold  to  Baron  Harkanyi  for 
1,100  gs.  ;  Mr.  James  £.  Piatt  sent  up  two 
animals — Lady  Kendal,  by  Kendal,  made 
610  gs.  from  Mr.  H.  D.  Brock lehurst ;  and 
Miliora  went  to  Mr.  P.  Chaloner  at  700  gs. 
Baron  de  Rothschild  purchased  two  of  the 
half  dozen  from  Mr.  R.  Marsh's  stud, 
Cheam,  foaled  1892,  by  Hampton,  with  a 
brown  filly  by  St.  Frusquin,  at  3,500  gs., 
and  Twelfth  Night,  by  Galliard,  for  1,500 
gs.  M.  £.  Blanc  secured  the  Melanion 
mare  Venia  at  1,650  gs.  The  Duke  01 
Devonshire  purchased  Greeba,  by  Melton, 
with  bay  colt  Lai  by  Enthusiast,  from  Mr. 
J.  Wallace  for  3,100  gs.  Business  was 
good,  and  the  day's  sale  totalled  about 
28,000  gs. 

On  Tuesday,  the  principal  items  at  the 
morning  sale  included  the  late   Mr.   Ra 


*5* 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[August 


phael's  Amurath,  sold  to  Mr.  H.  J.  King  for 
1, 600  gs. ;  Mr.  Blackwell  bought  Sligo 
from  Messrs.  Dobell  and  Inglis's  lot  at 
1,500  gs. ;  and  Mr.  Leonard  Brassey 
secured  the  bay  mare  Acmena,  by  Martini 
Henry,  at  900  gs.  The  evening  sale 
included  Captain  the  Hon.  A.  G re vi lie's 
yearlings ;  Mr.  J.  A.  Miller  paid  1,650  gs. 
for  a  bay  filly  by  St.  Angelo,  dam  La 
Vierge,  by  Hampton;  other  purchasers 
including  Mr.  J.  Larnach,  bay  filly  by 
Kendal,  and  Mr.  H.  W.  Gilbey,  brown 
filly  by  Prisoner,  dam  Hostage,  by 
Hampton. 

On  Wednesday  morning  the  sale  in- 
cluded the  Blankney  yearlings,  twelve  in 
number.  Mr.  Hall  Walker  gave  1,250  gs. 
for  a  bay  filly  by  Galopin,  dam  Mary 
Seaton ;  another  Galopin  filly,  dam  Queen 
Adelaide,  was  purchased  by  Sir  ]'.  Miller 
at  830  gs. ;  the  lot  averaged  265  gs.  The 
Marquis  of  Londonderry  sent  up  eight 
yearlings.  Sir  Edgar  Vincent  paid  top 
price,  1,150  gs.,  for  Una-Nina,  a  bay  filly 
by  Ravensbury ;  Lord  Farquhar  gave  610 
gs.  for  Bistonian,  by  Carbine ;  the  lot 
averaged  386  gs.  From  Mr.  J.  Porter's  lot 
Mr.  W.  Raphael  secured  the  bay  colt  by 
Sheen,  dam  Brooch,  by  Blue  Green,  for 
800  gs.  Mr.  Raphael  also  bought  Rusk  in, 
the  first  St.  Frusquin  yearling,  for  2, 100 
gs.  Mr.  Donald  Maclennan  secured  Petrox, 
by  St  Simon,  for  900  gs.  In  the  evening, 
yearlings  from  the  studs  of  Sir  Robert 
Affleck  and  the  late  Mr.  Bruce  Seton  were 
sold.  From  the  first  Mr.  J.  A.  Miller 
purchased  a  chestnut  colt  by  Or i veto  for 
510  gs. ;  and  Mr.  S.  Darling  gave  600  gs. 
for  a  bay  colt  by  Trenton,  from  the  second 
lot.  Mr.  II.  T.  Birdsey's  bay  colt  by 
Royal  Hampton  sold  to  Mr.  G.  Faber  at 
710  gs. 

On  Thursday,  the  last  day,  at  the  morn- 
ing sale  the  Earl  of  Derby  bought  Andrea 
Ferrara,  by  St.  Frusquin,  from  Mr.  Russell 
Swan  wick  at  800  gs. ;  Mr.  R.  Marsh  took 
a  brown  colt  by  Oberon  at  600  gs.,  from 
Mr.  Daniel  Cooper's  lot ;  Sir  R.  Waldie 
Griffith  bought  Ghin,  by  Kendal,  for  950 
gs.  In  the  evening  Mr.  Wallace  Johnstone 
secured  Best  of  All,  by  Best  Man,  at  770 
gs.,  from  the  Howburn  Hall  Stud.  Con- 
siderable competition  took  place  over  the 
Cottinghatn  Stud  yearlings.  Mr.  J.  B. 
Joel  got  a  bay  filly  by  Orme  at  1,500  gs., 
and  also  a  bay  colt  by  Kendal  at  870  cs. 
Mr.  J.  Larnach  gave  880  gs.  for  a  bay  filly 
by  Isinglass ;  and  Mr.  Wallace  Johnstone 
secured  a  bay  colt  by  Carnage  for  850  gs. 
The  average  for  Mr.  J.  Simons  Harrison's 
six  was  780  gs.  Two  lots  from  Captain 
Fife's  stud  ran  into  money,  a  bay  colt  by 
Isinglass,  Mr.  C.  Beatty,  750  gs.,  and  a 
bay    colt    by    St.    Frusquin,    Mr.   J.   A. 


Miller,  820  gs.  The  week's  business  was 
considered  satisfactory,  the  actual  sales 
amounting  to  about  70,000  gs. 

A  new  cricket  record  for  the  highest 
ndividual  score  has  been  set  up  by  A.  E.J. 
Collins,  a  lad  of  barely  fourteen  years  o 
age.  Playing  in  a  junior  house  match  at 
Clifton  College— Clark's  House  v.  North- 
town — Collins  carried  out  his  bat  for  628 
runs  out  of  a  total  of  836.  The  innings 
commenced  on  June  22nd,  and  continued 
in  unequal  instalments  over  five  days, 
being  completed  on  June  28th.  Collins 
was  batting  altogether  six  hours  and  fifty 
minutes,  and  his  hits  included  a  six,  four 
fives,  thirty-one  fours,  thirty-three  threes, 
and  one  hundred  and  forty -six  twos. 
After  finishing  at  the  wickets  he  obtained 
eleven  wickets  in  the  two  innings  of 
North  Town.  The  previous  best  score 
was  485,  made  by  A.  E.  Stoddart  playing 
for  Hampstead  v.  Stores  in  1886.  Mr. 
Stoddart  sent  the  young  cricketer  a  con- 
gratulatory letter  and  a  present  of  a  bat. 

Mr.  E.  J.  Hanraham,  hon.  secretary  to 
the  Clonmel  and  Kilcheeban  Coursing 
Club  since  its  start,  was  thrown  from  his 
horse  near  Clonmel  on  July  6th  and  killed 
instantly. 

The  annual  race  or  the  Long  Distance 
Amateur  Swimming  Championship  was 
decided  on  the  Thames  between  Kew  and 
Putney  on  July  8th,  over  a  course  measur- 
ing five  miles  and  sixty  yards.  J.  A. 
Jarvis,  the  Leicester  swimmer,  proved  an 
easy  winner,  taking  the  lead  from  the 
start,  winning  by  400  yards  from  T. 
Wildgoose,  the  winner's  time  being  I  h. 
9  min.  45  sec,  and  the  second  man's 
1  h.  13  min.  4  sec.  A  London  swimmer, 
II.  F.  Clarke,  of  Grove  House,  was  third, 
250  yards  away,  in  I  h.  14  min.  55  sec 

The  Newmarket  Second  July  blood  stock 
sales  commenced  on  Tuesday  morning, 
July  nth,  when  forty-four  American-bred 
yearlings,  the  property  of  Mr.  I.  B.  Haggin, 
sent  over  from  his  large  stud  in  California, 
were  offered.  All  found  purchasers  save 
two,  and  the  forty-two  lots  sold  totalled 
5,075  gs.,  giving  an  average  of  about  120 
gs.  Mr.  P.  P.  Gilpin  paid  best  price, 
1.850  gs.,  for  a  chestnut  colt  by  Goldfinch, 
dam  Fleurette.  At  the  evening  sale  Mr. 
Gilpin  took  a  St.  Simon  filly  at  2.000  gs., 
and  Mr.  A.  Sadler  gave  750  gs.  for  a  colt 
by  Glenwood,  the  property  of  Lord 
Hastings. 

Continued  on  Wednesday  morning,  the 
catalogue  commenced  with  twelve  Ameri- 
can yearlings,  purchased  last  winter  by  the 
late  Mr.  Bruce  Seton.  Two  fillies  by  Iri- 
quois  made  330  gs.  (Mr.  C.  H.  Seton)  and 
320  gs.  (Mr.  P.  C.  Paton).     Mr.  J.  Russe 


i8oo.] 


SPORTING   INTELLIGENCE. 


153 


purchased  a  chestnut  filly  by  Bend  Or  at 
520 gs.  from  S.  Loates's  lot;  Sir  J.  Miller 
gave  620  gs.  for  a  brown  filly  by  Match- 
maker, from  the  Tickford  Park  stud  ;  from 
Mr.  Bardett-Coutts's  lot  the  best  price 
obtained  was  490  gs.  for  the  bay  filly  by 
Ayrshire,  bought  by  Mr.  \V.  Hall  Walker. 
In  the  evening  the  remainder  of  American 
yearlings,  the  property  of  Mr.  Haggin,  were 
sold,  realising  5,200  gs.,  an  average  of 
about  121  gs.  for  forty-three  lots.  Mr. 
Hall  Walker  paid  600  gs.  for  a  filly  by 
Golden  Garter,  and  Mr.  T.  Simpson  Jay 
gave  650  gs.  for  a  filly  by  Watercress. 
Among  other  purchasers  were  Earl  Cado- 
gan,  Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith,  Lord  William 
Beresford,  Mr.  P.  P.  Gilpin,  Mr.  Lort- 
Phillips,  Mr.  Leonard  Brassey,  Mr.  E.  C. 
Clayton,  &c. 

The  principal  item  in  the  Thursday's 
sales  was  the  Duke  of  Westminster's  Batt, 
brown  colt,  4  yrs.,  by  Sheen,  dam  Vam- 
pire, who  drew  considerable  competition, 
and  eventually  went  to  Mr.  Hamilton 
Laogley  for  2,100  gs. 

Jim  Cockayne,  the  Puckeridge  hunts- 
man, sends  us  the  following  particulars  of 
a  foxhound  puppy  born  alive,  but  since 
dead : — Head  and  neck,  two  bodies,  eight 
legs.  Cockayne  has  the  monstrosity  pre- 
served in  spirits. 


The  death  is  announced  at  his  residence, 
The  Cottage,  Ocklev,  Dorking,  of  Mr. 
Lee  Steere,  Master  of  the  Warnham  Stag- 
hounds.  The  deceased,  who  was  in  his 
seventy- first  year,  was  in  command  up  to 
the  end  of  last  season.  Mr.  Lee  Steere 
was  a  good  shot  in  addition  to  his  keeness 
for  hunting,  and  also  took  great  interest  in 
county  affairs,  being  an  alderman  of  the 
Surrey  County  Council. 

H.R.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales  has  just 
sustained  a  serious  loss  by  the  death  at 
Sandringham  stud  of  the  well-known 
brood  mare,  Perdita  II.,  the  dam  of  Per- 
simmon, winner  of  the  Derby  of  1896,  as 
well  as  the  St.  Leger  and  other  events  of 
importance.  The  mare  also  produced  a 
good  horse  in  Florizel  II.,  winner  of  the 
St.  James's  Palace  Stakes  and  Gold  Vase 
at  Ascot,  Prince's  Handicap  at  Gatwick, 
Manchester  Cup,  Goodwood  Cup,  Jockey 
Club  Cup,  &c.  Perdita  II.,  bred  by  Lord 
Cawdor  in  1 88 1,  was  by  Hampton,  dam 
Hermione.  As  a  three  year-old  she  won 
the  Great  Cheshire  Handicap  and  the  Ayr 
Gold  Cup.  At  the  close  of  her  five-year- 
old  racing  career,  the  mare  was  purchased 
by  John  Porter,  on  behalf  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  results  proved  the  sound  judg- 
ment of  the  Kingsclere  trainer. 


TURF. 

NEWCASTLE  AND  GOSFORTH 
PARK.— Summer  Meeting. 

June  20th. — The  North  Derby  of  1,275 
so  vs.,  for  three-year-olds  ;  one  mile 
and  a  half. 
Prince  SoltykofTs  b.  c.  Airolo,  by 
Ayrshire — Radiancy,  8st.  7lb. 

Rickaby     I 
Lord  Penrhyn's  b.  g.  Moralist,  ost. 

lib T.  Weldon    2 

Mr.  F.  Alexander's  br.  c.  Wolf's 

Hope,  95L  lib M.  Cannon    3 

5  to  4  on  Airolo. 

June  21st. — The  Northumberland  Plate  (a 
Handicap)  of  925  sovs.,  for  three- 
year-olds  and  upwards ;  two  miles. 
Lord  Durham's  b.  c.  Sherburn,  by 
Sheen — Primrose  Day,   4  yrs., 

8st  5lb Rickaby     1 

Mr.  Newton's  b.  c  Ameer,  4  yrs., 

7st,  131b Segrott    2 

Mr.  Cunningham's  ch.  c.  Dermet 
Asthore,  4  yrs.,  7st.  7lb. 

Lofthouse    3 
13  to  8  agst.  Sherburn. 

VOL.  LXXII. — NO.  474. 


June  22nd.—  The  Seaton  Delaval  Plate  of 
1,200  sovs.,  for  two-year-olds ;  five 
furlongs. 

Mr.  Arthur  James's  ch.  g. 
O 'Donovan  Ro<sa,  by  Donovan, 
dam  by  Barcaldine — Symmetry, 
9$t.  7lb J.  Watts     1 

Mr.  J.  Snarry's  ch.  g.  Maquereau, 
8st.  7lb F.  W.  Lane    2 

Mr.  Vyner's  bl.  c.  Lumley  Moor, 

8st.  iolb Black    3 

1 1  to  10  agst.  O'Donovan  Rossa. 


SANDOWN  PARK.— First  Summer 
Meeting. 

June  23rd. — The  Sandringham  Foal  Stakes 
of  1,724  sovs.,  lor  three-year-olds; 
one  mile. 
Mr.  A.  James's  b.  g.  Sinopi,  by 
Marcion — Simonetta,  ost. 

O.  Madden     1 
Mr.    Wallace   Johnstone's    b.    c. 

Harrow,  9st.  iolb J.  Watts     2 

Mr.  L.  Brassey 's  b.  f.  Umbrosa, 

8st.  I  lib W.  Bradford    3 

6  to  1  agst.  Sinopi. 

II 


154 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[ADGOST 


June  24th. — The  British  Dominion  Two- 
Year- Old  Race  of  1,000  sovs.,   for 
two-year-olds ;  five  furlongs. 
Mr.  J.  B.  Leigh's  b.  c.  Siealaway, 
by  Morion — Flyaway,  8st.  iolb. 

O.  Madden     I 
Mr.  P.  C.  Patton's  b.  c.   Longy, 

9*t.  9lb J.  Watts    2 

Lord  Kosebery's  b.  c  Dandy  Lad, 

8st.  51b C.  Wood     3 

6  to  1  agst.  Siealaway. 


NEWMARKET.— First  July 
Meeting. 

June  27th.— The  July  Stakes  of  50  sovs. 
each,  for  two-year-olds  ;  New 
T.Y.C  (five  furlongs  142  yards). 

Mr.  Wallace  Johnstone's  b.  c.  Cap- 
tain Kettle,  by  Buccaneer— 
Comette,  ost Allsopp     1 

Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  b.  c  Galves- 
ton, 9st Rickaby     2 

Duke  of  Portland's  b.  f.  Alt-Na- 
Bea,  8st.  nib M.  Cannon    3 

100  to  8  agst.  Captain  Kettle. 

June  29th.  —  The  Princess  of  Wales's 
Stakes  of  7,190  sovs. ;  B.M. 

Duke  of  Westminster's  b.  c.  Flying 
Fox,  by  Orme — Vampire,  3  yrs., 
ost.  5lb.  M.  Cannon     1 

Sir  F.  Johnstone's  b.  c.  Royal 
Emblem,  3  yrs.,  8st  2lb. 

O.  Madden    2 

Prince  SoltykofTs  b.  c.  Ninus,  4 
yrs,  est.  1  lib. C.  Wood    3 

6  to  4  on  Flying  Fox. 

The  July  Cup  of  300  sovs.  ;  Exeter 
Course  (six  furlongs). 

Mr.  Fairie's  b.  c.  Eager,  by  En- 
thusiast— Greeba,  5  yrs.,  ost. 
iolb M.  Cannon     I 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  b.  h.  Knight 
of  the  Thistle,  6  yrs.,  9st.  41b. 

Sloan    2 

Mr.  Covington's  b.  h.  Candelaria, 
5  yrs. ,  ost.  7lb A.  Covington    3 

100  to  30  on  Eager. 


BIBURY  CLUB  MEETING. 

July  4th. — The  Hampshire  Stakes  of  10 
sovs.,  with  500  sovs.  added,  for 
three-year-olds ;  one  mile. 

Mr.  Russel's  b,  c  Stage  Villain, 
by  Buccaneer — Mary  Anderson, 
8st  I2lb O.  Madden    I 

Captain  Homfray's  b.  c  Trussing 
Cup,  8st.  51b.  ...W.  Freemantle    2 

Mr.  W.  E.  Oakeley's  ch.  c.  Dod- 

dington,  ost  lib M.  Cannon    3 

5  to  1  agst.  Stage  Villain. 


The  Bibury  Stakes  (Handicap)  of  300 

sovs.  ;  last  mile  and  a  half. 
Sir  J.  Thursby's  b.  or  br.  h.  Pal- 

merston,     by     Parlington — Pal- 

mula,  6  yrs.,  lost.  2ib. 

Mr.  G.  Thursby     1 
Lord   Stanley's  ch.    c.   Loreto,  4 

yrs.,  list.  131b.. ..Mr.  H.Owen     2 
Mr.  Spender  Clay's  ch.  m.  Silent 

Watch,  5  yrs.,  list. 

Mr.  R.  Ward     3 

6  to  5  agst.  Palmerston. 

July   5th.— The  Beaufort  Handicap  Plate 
of  300  sovs.  ;  one  mile  and  a  half. 
Mr.     H.     McCalmont's     ch.     c 
Hougoumont,  by  Sir  Hugo — La 
Croise  Doree,  3  yrs.,  7st.  4 lb. 

O.  Madden     1 
Mr.  S.   B.  Joel's  b.  c.  Latheron- 
wheel,  3  yrs.,  7st. 

C  Archer,  jun.     2 
Mr.    A.    Bailey's    ch.    c     Oreo, 
3  yrs.,  7st.  31b. 

A.  P.  Robinson     3 
7  to  2  agst.  Hougoumont. 
July  6th. — The  Hurst  bourne  Stakes  of  30 
sovs.  each,  with  300  sovs.  added; 
for  two-year-olds ;  five  furlongs. 
Mr.  W.  Low's  br.  c.   Elopement, 
by  Rightaway — Maid  of  Lorn, 

ost.  51b.    M.  Cannon     I 

Lord  Radnor's  b.  f.  Nettlecreeper, 

8st.  81b A.  Bushell     2 

33  to  I  on  Elopement. 
The  Alington  Plate  of  300  sovs. ;  one 

mile. 
Mr.  C.  J.  Merry's  b.  Colt  by  Deuce 
of  Clubs — Sweet  Mart,  3  yrs., 
6st.  81b.  (car.  6st.  91b.  ..  Purkiss     I 
Mr.  T.  Simpson  Jay's  ch.  c.  West- 
man,  4  yrs.,  7st.  nib. 

K.  Cannon     2 
Mr.    A.    Bailey's    ch.    h.    Prince 
Barcaldine,  6  yrs.,  8st  61b. 

N.  Robinson     3 

7  to  I  agst.  Westman. 

LINGFIELD  PARK.— Summer 
Meeting. 

July  7th.— The  Lingfield  Park  Slakes  of 
3,000  sovs. ;  one  mile. 

Mr.  Wallace  John>tone's  b.  c. 
Harrow,  by  Orme — Lady  Prim- 
rose, 3  yrs.,  8st.  iolb...S.  Loates     1 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  b.  f.  Sibola, 
3  yrs.,  Sst  13I0. J.  T.  Sloan     2 

Mr.   A.  James's  b.  g.  Sinopi,   3 

yrs.,  8st.  iolb. O.  Madden     3 

6  to  I  agst.  Harrow. 
July  8th.— The  Fourth  Year  of  the  Great 
Foal   Plate  of  835  sovs.;  for  two- 
year-olds  ;  five  furlongs. 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  ch.  g.  Jou- 
vence,  by  Pontiac — Joy,  8st. 
nib Sloan     1 


'«9*1 


SPORTING   INTELLIGENCE. 


155 


Mr.  W.  Low's  br.  c.  Elopement, 
9*t    M.  Cannon     2 

Mr.    Arthur   James's  b.    f.   Dum 

Dum,  8st  1  lib O.  Madden    3 

4  to  1  agst.  Jouvence. 


NEWMARKET.— Second  July 
Meeting. 

July    nth.— The  Beaufort  Stakes  (Welter 
Handicap)  of   360  sovs.    Beaufort 
Course,  about  seven  furlongs. 
Sir   J.   Blundell    Maple's    br.    h. 
Forcett,   hy   Forager — Maid    of 
Catterick,  5  yrs.,  SsL  lib. 

S.  Loates    1 
Mr.  T.  Simpson  Jay's  ch.  c.  West- 
man,  4  yrs.,  7st.  nib. 

K.  Cannon    2 
Sir  J.  Miller's  b.  g.  Korosko,  3 

yrs.,  7st.  I  lib Sloan    3 

7  to  2  agst  Forcett. 

The   DuUingham   Plate  of  430  sovs. 

Suffolk  Stakes  Course  (one  mile  four 

furlongs  25  yards). 
Mr.  Fairie's  b.  c  Chubb,  by  Cbil- 

lington — Stocklock,  4  yrs.,  8s t. 

iolb. M.  Cannon     1 

Mr.  Russel's  b.  c.  Stage  Villain, 

3  yrs.,  8st  101b Allsopp    2 

Mr.  Arthur  James's  b.  g.  Sinopi, 

3  yrs.,  ost  lib.  O.  Madden    3 

100  to  30  agst.  Chubb. 

The  Sol  tykoff  Stakes  of  400  sovs. ;  for 
two  year-olds ;  New  T.Y.C.  (five 
furlongs  142  yards). 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  br.  f.  Siloah, 
by  Pontiac — Saluda,  8st.  51b. 

Sloan    1 

Mr.  Musker's  b.  f.  Lady  Schom- 
berg,  SsL  nib T.  Weldon    2 

Mr.  Russell  Monro's  br.  f.  Goo- 
sander, 8st  51b S.  Loates    3 

5  to  1  agst.  Siloah. 

July    12th- — The  July    Handicap  of  555 
sovs. ;  Exeter  Course  (six  furlongs). 
Duke  of  Devonshire's  b.  f.  Vara,  by 
St  Angelo— Cheap  Loaf,  3  yrs., 
7st  31b.  (car.  7st.  51b.) 

O.  Madden    1 
Mr.   A.  L.  Duncan's  br.  g.  Lon- 
don, 3  yrs.,  6sL  iolb.  ...Purkiss    2 
Lord  W.  Beresford's  br.  f.  Chinook, 

4  yrs.,  8st  alb. Sloan    3 

4  to  I  aqst.  Vara. 

The  Zetland  Plate  of  490  sovs. ;  B.M. 

(one  mile). 
Lord  W.  Beresford's  ch.  c  Caiman, 

by    Locohatchee — Happy  Day, 

9st.  61b. Sloan     1 

Mr.     W.    R.    Marshall's    ch.    c. 

Damocles,  est.  lib.  ...Wood burn    2 
II  to  4  on  Caiman. 


July    13th. — The    Midsummer  Stakes   of 
455  sovs.  ;  for  three-year-olds ;  B.  M. 
(one  mile). 
Lord  W.    Beresford's  b.  or  br.  c. 
Dominie    II.,    by    Sensation — 

*  Dolores,  ost.  31b Sloan     1 

Lord  Dunraven's  b.  c  Morgante, 

8st.  81b O.  Madden    2 

25  to  I  on  Dominie  II. 

The  Chesterfield  Stakes  of  590  sovs.  ; 

for  two-year-olds ;  last  five  furlongs 

of  B.M.     41  subs. 
Mr.  Leopold  de  Rothschild's  b.  f. 

Atbara,  by  Galopin — Eira,  8st. 

7lb T.  Loates    I 

Mr.  Arthur  James's  The  Gorgon, 

9st J.  Watts    2 

Lord  Stanley's  ch.  c.  Pellisson,  8st 

iolb Rickaby    3 

8  to  I  agst  Atbara. 

SANDOWN  PARK.— Second  Summer 

Meeting. 

July  14th.  —  Twelfth  Renewal  of  the 
Eclipse  Stakes  of  9,285  sovs.  ;  for 
three  and  four-year-olds  ;  about  one 
mile  and  a  quarter. 

Duke  of  Westminster's  b.  c.  Flying 
Fox,  by  Orme — Vampire,  3  yrs., 
ost.  41b.    M.  Cannon     1 

Duke  of  Westminster's  br.  c.  Fron- 
tier, 3  yrs.,  ost.  lib.    ...J.  Watts    2 

Prince  SoltykofFs  b.  c.  Ninus,  4 

yrs.,  ost  13ID. C.  Wood    3 

ico  to  14  on  Flying  Fox. 

July  i  5th.— The  National  Breeders'  Pro- 
duce Stakes  of  4,357  sovs. ;  for 
two-year-olds ;  five  furlongs. 

Lord  w.  Beresford's  ch.  g.  Demo- 
crat, by  Sensation — Equality, 
ost.  olb Sloan    1 

Mr.  R.  Dewar's  b.  c.  Forfarshire, 
ost S.  Loates    2 

Mr.  R.  Crokert  b.  f.  Salina,  8st. 

8lb L.  Reiff    3 

7  to  4  agst.  Democrat 


CRICKET. 

June  20th. — At  Eastbourne,  Sussex  v. 
Cambridge  University,  former  won  by 
10  wickets. 

June  2 1st. — At  Portsmouth,  Oxford  Uni- 
versity Past  and  Present  v.  Aus- 
tralians, latter  won  by  10  wickets. 

June  24th. — At  Lord's,  Middlesex  v. 
Notts,  latter  won  by  32  runs. 

June  24th. — At  Leicester,  Leicestershire  v. 
Australians,  latter  won  by  248  runs. 

June  28th.— At  Derby,  Derbyshire  v. 
Australians,  latter  won  by  an  innings 
and  249  runs. 


156 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[August,  1899. 


1 


June  28th. — At  Sheffield,  Yorkshire  v. 
Lancashire,  latter  won  by  59  runs. 

June  28th. — At  Nottingham,  Notts  v. 
Kent,  latter  won  by  365  runs. 

June  28th.— At  Lord's,  M.C.C.  v.  Cam- 
bridge University,  former  won  by  2 
wickets. 

June  30th. — At  Lord's,  M.C.C.  v.  Oxford 
University,  former  won  by  6  wickets. 

July  1st. — At  Leeds,  England  v.  Australia, 
drawn  owing  to  rain,  England  220 
and  19  for  o,  Australia  172  and  224. 

Jury  1st. — At  Portsmouth,  Hants  v. 
Surrey,  former  won  by  6  wickets. 

July  5th. — At  Lord's,  Oxford  v.  Cambridge, 
drawn,  Oxford  192  and  347  for  8 
wickets  (declared)  Cambridge  241  and 
229  for  4  wickets. 

July  5th.— At  Trent  Bridge,  Notts  v.  Au- 
stralians, drawn. 

July  8th. — At  Maidstone,  Kent  v.  Middle- 
sex, former  won  by  30  runs. 

July  8th. — At  Kennington  Oval,  Gentle- 
men v.  Players,  latter  won  by  an 
innings  and  36  runs. 

July  1 2th.  —  At  Lord's,  Gentlemen  v. 
Players,  former  won  by  an  inriings 
and  59  runs. 

July  15th. — At  Lord's,  Eton  v.  Harrow, 
drawn,  Eton  274  and  264  for  2 
wickets  (declared),  Harrow  283  and 
133  for  5  wickets. 

July  14th. — At  Leyton,  Essex  v.  Surrey, 
latter  won  by  9  wickets. 

ROWING. 

July  7th. — Leander  beat  London  in  the 
final  heat  and  won  the  Grand  Chal- 
lenge Cup  at  Henley. 

July  7th.— Balliol  College  (Oxford)  beat 
New  College  (Oxford)  in  the  final 
heat  and  won  the  Visitors'  Challenge 
Cup  at  Henley. 

July  7th.— First  Trinity  College  (Cam- 
bridge) beat  Kingston  in  the  final  heat 
and  won  the  Thames  Challenge  Cup 
at  Henley. 

July  7th. — Eton  College  beat  Pembroke 
College  (Cambridge)  in  the  final  heat, 
and  won  the  Ladies'  Challenge  Plate 
at  Henley. 

July  7th. — Magdalen  (Oxford)  beat  Fa- 
vourite Hammonia  (Hamburg)  in  the 
final  heat,  and  won  the  Stewards' 
Challenge  Cup  at  Henley. 

July  7th.— Trinity  Hall  (Cambridge)  beat 
London  in  the  final  heat,  and  won 


the  Wyfold  Challenge  Cup  at 
Henley. 

July  7th.— Leander  (Phillips  and  Willis) 
beat  St.  George's  Hospital  (Orme  and 
Pennington)  in  the  final  heat,  and  won 
the  Silver  Goblets  and  Nickalls  Chal- 
lenge Cup  at  Henley. 

July  7th.— B.  H.  Howell  (Thames)  beat 
H.  T.  Blackstaffe  (Vesta  R.C.)  in  the 
final  heat,  and  won  the  Diamond 
Challenge  Sculls  at  Henley. 

POLO. 

June  27th. —  At  Hurlingham,  Rugby 
(Messrs.  Walter  Jones,  George  Miller, 
E.  D.  Miller,  and  W.  J.  Drybrough) 
v.  Royal  Horse  Guards  (Messrs.  Marjori- 
banks,  R.  Ward,  Captain  Fitzgerald, 
and  Captain  Drage),  former  won  the 
final  by  10  goals  to  2  and  the  Cham- 
pion Cup  for  1899. 

July  8th.— At  Hurlingham,  Stansted  (P. 
Gold,  Captain  Gosling,  Tresham  Gil- 
bey  and  Gerald  Gold)  v.  Liverpool 
(G.  H.  McKay,  G.  H.  Pilkington, 
A.  Tyrer  and  F.  W.  Wignall),  former 
won  by  13  goals  to  2  and  became  the 
holders  of  the  County  Cup. 

TENNIS. 

July  ioth.— At     Prince's    Club,     Oxford 
(E.    A.    Biedermann  and    A.  Page} 
v.  Cambridge  (E.  M.  Baeren  and  J«' 
C.  Tabor)  (doubles),  former  won  by] 
3  set  to  1. 

July  nth.— At     Prince's     Club,     Oxfc 
(E.  A.    Biedermann)    v.    Cambric 
(E.  M.  Baeren)  (singles),  latter  w< 
by  3  sets  to  1. 

SHOOTING. 

June  20th. — At  Hurlingham,  Mr.  Pali 

won  the  Hurlingham  Cup. 
June  2 1  st. — At  Hurlingham,  Comte  de 

Chapelle  won  the  Hurlingham  Inl< 

national  Cup. 
June  22nd. — At  the  Gun  Club,  Mr.  Fi 

rell  won  the  Paris  Cup. 
June  23rd.— At  the  Gun  Club,  Comte 

la  Chapelle    and    Mr.    F.    Mai 

divided  first  and  second  for  the 

Cup. 
June  24th. — At   the     Gun    Club, 

Dorlodot  won   the  Gun  Club  In1 

national  Cup. 


"position  linrivaUeo  in  Xonbon." 

LANOHAM 

HOTEL, 

PORTLAND  PLACE  AND  REGENT  STREET, 
LONDON,    W. 


Ouiet,  open,  and  healthy  situation  in  Fashionable  and 
Convenient  locality.  Built  on  a  gravel  soil  9S  feet  above 
the  Thames  high-water  mark. 

Apartments  for  Regimental  and  Private  Dinners, 

Wedding  Receptions,  &c. 

MODERN    IMPROVEMENTS.  MODERATE    TARIFF. 


MARTELL'S 


"  Particularly     suitable 
for  medicinal  purposes." 
— The  Lancet. 


THREE  STAR 


"A  genuine  old  Brandy  made 
from  Wine."—  Medical  Press. 


BRANDY. 


DATS 

BLACK 

DRINK 


tECllUMO     SMAMC  THE  BOTTLE  W6U.  BErftffl    UttfflC, 


BUCK 


V^i^^^ 


.BiniSTiomran  was 


(( 


PROFESSOR  SHBLDOH  has  written: 

It  is  not  likely  the  Black  Drink  will  fail ;"  this  refers 


to  DAYS*  BLACK  DRINK  for  Colic,  Gripes,  Chilis, 

"  ~ *    "  id  r 


and  Debility  In  Horses,  Hoven  and  Scour  In 
Cattle  and  Sheep,  price  19/-  per  do*,  bottles, 

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out it  after,  and  its  sure  action  is  such  that  a  leading! 
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19/-  per  dos.  bottles,  Carriage  Paid. 

OHLY  GKBUtHB  PROM 

For  every  Stable  and  Farm.     DRY  «%  SONS,  Crewe. 


n/T LJCLu.cIju^> 


V 


BAILY'S    MAGAZINE 


OF 


SPORTS  and  PASTIMES 


Sr.lTF.MHKR,   iSoq.       Vol..  LX\!'. 


CONTENTS 


TACK 

ix. 

.  ■     i'.v    ..  it  A:   '  .f  Svkl»'i<? 

1^7    , 

»       m    K                  *          -   .             •          •  '»       »    *           ••        •  •       •••••••       ♦ 

KQ 

107 

'.'   *    •  '••»     >f*a-'»ri    

170 

",  •              ^:n  ;     ,.  *t.t:  Irimc,    V.  1  .itj-or 

'  ■**-     i 

174 

t  .      '    >.  "•  •  i!  i.iwki :       

179 

-  '...         .'     r.  in  V-_irw;iv   

KM 

iSs 

!.'"•:       *.  n  '  ■■     Si  'i'c  '>  >ik 

IS7 

*                       >  » '         i     »*  1      *     i  ■* «   J  '     k      .'I      •••     ••»•»■•»•• 

'93    ' 

if.5 

•  •  -"  •     ".'iii           i »  ** 

2CO 

L            '  •        A       :  . ..  k  inn'-r1-- 

2r'l 

-v    .     .    ••.    .«    if  Il'.'i'!^  in  in-iia 

2C5 

i  ••  ;   '.  -i.\     .-- 

ri  *_*  r  i . «,'  *  j  i  v .     •  ♦  • » •  §  •  •  ■  •  •  •  •*.»■>•• 

2'JQ     ' 

->    .•  '  SiT.i'i^i  Mcitin^ 

209 

V*"*1         *t                      k         •   •    .         »   •    ■        •             ■        •   •■•••••»•••*■*        ft 

?io 

i  — ,'     "l*    *    "             .      ■         •         -         • .•«.«..«• 

212 

WITH 

H  jrst  Park  and  k«::ujit  >n     ... 
l'.,;..--l>    nh  of  Mr.*\\.  J     D  •. 

K  »r « 0  j' » *  1   

A.-ri-IiM  *■»  at  ^'nl'7 

A:':i.  Cup  at  K  «^  i»' 

torei^n  a?!  J  ("'   i'Tiial  P  >\o 

Uat^i'-k^iiit:  Tournament 

Krnes.i  'h 

SL.''v'];err.-)' T..arnuii  '  ui    

Ilt.riin^him     

Dc.t'H'  iir      

IT'iiving-— Tl.o  Devon  an!  Sou  r- 

scrt 

The  Fntry  i.f  iV*>«;i 

( )Urr-noun.l;> 

o;  u.t    

1  it» nl  Tri««N  in  So^U'i-l    

Swimni.n^  

Aquatics 

Ci-iii"  

Nporr.ijj  lni  •!hr>--i.  c,  July  — Au^. 


-  l  -!  cn;ra\(rd  p*  tiinit  uf  Mr.   Roi.krt    \r:htr.  Sanpkks, 
i\. 'rv.n;^  i^  r.ii/ii-WiNMNr,  !1i:nifrs  Gend\rme  and  (ini.nw  akk. 


:«  % 
21  \ 

J.  i 
**> 

2ir, 

71»i 
2lS 
2i^ 
221 

2  24 
-8-25 


Mr.    Robert  Arthur  Sanders. 


i  :-• 


un-irT  of  the  Devon  and 
:  ".-'::»l  >t  a  {{hounds,  whose  por- 
..i  v  -.-Mrs  in  this  number  of 
..1....  \vi>  born  in  the  year 
i^  ;.  He  \s  as  in  due  course  sent 
r  •  l\\r  i  v,  th.it  m:rsery  of  sports- 
n  :t..ii  ..t.'nietes,  and  at  the  time 
Ijr.  Vv  ididcn's  appointment  as 
-.ii:Tin>:^r  the  suL>ject  of  our 
;i  h..i  <«tiained  tu  the  dignity 
Il'v.d  of  th.e  Scho<)i.  Douht- 
"=>  b's  po  .it i«m  as  Head — far 
■  re  important  in  the  eyes  of 
/J:  than  tM.Lt  of  th^  Headmaster 
r-l»"d   liini    to  train   his  pre- 

vql.  lxxii. — no.  475, 


i  - 


ceptor  in  the  mysteries  of  Harrow 
usages  and  customs  whieh  ditfer 
in.  many  respects  from  tho>e  of 
the  rival  establishment  where  the 
recently  oidained  bishop  of  Cal- 
cutta received  his  early  edrcation. 
From  Harrow,  Mr.  Sanders  weul 
to  Balliol  College,  Oxtord,  which 
he  found,  as  many  have  done 
before  and  since,  a  convenient 
centre  for  attending  the  meets  of 
.the  Jucester  and  Warden  Hill, 
South  Oxfordshire  and  other 
packs.  Devotion  to  the  chase 
notwithstanding,   when    the    time 

12 


■*  * 


..«.  * 


.V- 


V: 


A. 


s 


\~> 


I 


V  I     '  i^/i  UM^CiJL^rs 


BAILY'S    MAGA 


OP 


SPORTS  and  PASTIMES 


No.  475- 


SEPTEMBER,  1899.       Vol.  LXXII. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Sporting  Diary  for  the  Month  ix. 

Mr.  Robert  Arthur  Sanders 157 

African  Horse -Sickness   159 

Racing.    Sport  of  the  Autumn   167 

The  Past  Polo  Season  170 

The  Chances  of  the  Game,  V.  Father 

and  Son  174 

Public  School  Cricket  179 

Game  Legislation  in  Norway  181 

Horses  of  the  Wildwood 185 

The  Salmon  in  the  Statute  Book 187 

Vain  Glory  and  Egotism  193 

Anecdotal  Sport 195 

Gendarme  and  Goldnake 200 

The  Black  Wood  of  Rannock 201 

Recollections  of  Racing  in  India 205 

"Our  Van"  :— 

Summer  Racing 209 

Liverpool  Summer  Meeting 209 

Goodwood  210 

Lewes 212 

WITH 


PACK 

Hurst  Park  and  Kempton    212 

Polo— Death  of  Mr.  W.  J.  Dry- 
borough  212 

Accidents  at  Polo  213 

Army  Cup  at  Rugby 213 

Foreign  and  Colonial  Polo  213 

Warwickshire  Tournament  214 

Ranelagh 214 

Subalterns' Tournament   215 

Hurlingham    215 

Deauville     215 

Hunting — The  Devon  and  Somer- 
set      216 

The  Entry  of  1899 216 

Otter-hounds 218 

Cricket    218 

Field  Trials  in  Scotland    221 

Swimming  222 

Aquatics 223 

Golf 224 

Sporting  Intelligence,  July — Aug.  225 


Steel  engraved  portrait  of  Mr.  Robert  Arthur  Sanders. 
Engravings  of  Prize- Winning  Hunters  Gendarme  and  Goldflake. 


Mr.   Robert  Arthur  Sanders. 


The  master  of  the  Devon  and 
Somerset  Staghounds,  whose  por- 
trait appears  in  this  number  of 
BaiiYs,  was  born  in  the  year 
1867.  He  was  in  due  course  sent 
to  Harrow,  that  nursery  of  sports- 
men and  athletes,  and  at  the  time 
of  Dr.  Welldon's  appointment  as 
Headmaster  the  subject  of  our 
sketch  had  attained  to  the  dignity 
of  Head  of  the  School.  Doubt- 
less his  position  as  Head — far 
more  important  in  the  eyes  of 
youth  than  that  of  the  Headmaster 
—enabled  him   to  train  his  pre- 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  475. 


ceptor  in  the  mysteries  of  Harrow 
usages  and  customs  which  differ 
in  many  respects  from  those  of 
the  rival  establishment  where  the 
recently  ordained  Bishop  of  Cal- 
cutta received  his  early  education. 
From  Harrow,  Mr.  Sanders  went 
to  Balliol  College,  Oxford,  which 
he  found,  as  many  have  done 
before  and  since,  a  convenient 
centre  for  attending  the  meets  of 
the  Bicester  and  Warden  Hill, 
South  Oxfordshire  and  other 
packs.  Devotion  to  the  chase 
notwithstanding,  when   the   time 

12 


»58 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[SEPTEMBER 


came  he  took  honours,  a  first  in 
law,  entered  at  the  Inner  Temple, 
and  was  duly  called  to  the  Bar. 
Field  sports,  however,  offered 
more  attractions  than  prospects 
of  success  as  a  barrister,  and  at 
this  period  he  spent  more  of  his 
time  in  the  Vale  of  White  Horse 
than  in  the  Law  Courts. 

It  was  in  the  autumn  of  1890 
that  Mr.  Sanders  made  acquaint- 
ance with  the  charms  of  the  west 
country  where,  staying  for  the 
season  at  the  well-known  Stag- 
hunters'  Inn,  Br  en  don,  he  hunted 
with  the  Devon  and  Somerset. 
He  fell  a  victim  to  the  fascinations 
of  the  moorland  and  its  sport,  and, 
with  occasional  excursions  to 
Leicestershire  and  other  less  dis- 
tinguished fields,  he  has  continued 
to  reside  in  the  land  of  his  adop- 
tion. In  1893  ne  established  a 
stronger  tie  to  the  west  country 
by  his  marriage  to  Miss  Lucy 
Halliday  of  Glenthoone,  at  Dare 
Church  which  occupies  a  site  in 
one  of  the  most  picturesque  dis- 
tricts of  Exmoor.  Mrs.  Sanders 
from  her  earliest  childhood  has 
been  a  follower  of  hounds :  her 
beautiful  home  lying  within  a  few 
miles  of  Dare  Church  on  the 
shores  of  the  Bristol  Channel. 

On  Colonel  Hornby's  resigna- 
tion of  the  mastership  in  1895, 
Mr.  Sanders  was  unanimously 
accepted  as  that  gentleman's  suc- 
cessor by  the  committee  of  the 
Devon  and  Somerset  Staghounds, 
and  since  that  date  he  has  dis- 
charged the  onerous  duties  of  the 
office  with  equal  satisfaction  to 
the  landowners  and  farmers,  to 
the  regular  followers  of  the  pack 
and  occasional  visitors.  And  here 
let  it  be  observed  the  master  of 
the  Devon  and  Somerset  has 
to  cope  with  difficulties  which 
masters  of  all  other  packs  know 
only  in  a  modified  form.  Begin- 
ning his  season  in  the  early  part 
of  August,  when  every  corner  of 


the  two  popular  counties  has  its 
full  quota  of  summer  holiday- 
making  strangers,  the  master  of 
the  Devon  and  Somerset  has  to 
control  a  field  often  numbering 
hundreds  and  always  including  a 
large  proportion  of  horsemen  who 
combine  with  the  best  and  most 
sportsmanlike  intentions  the  smal- 
lest possible  knowledge  of  the  art 
of  hunting  the  wild  red  deer. 
These,  in  their  ignorance  of  its 
very  rudiments,  unwittingly  do 
much  to  spoil  sport.  In  any  given 
field  of  fox-hunters  the  novices  are 
few,  and  take  their  cue  for  the 
most  part  from  the  experienced 
many.  At  the  earlier  meets  of 
the  Devon  and  Somerset  the 
novices  far  outnumber  the  experi- 
enced men.  In  the  later  months 
of  the  season,  when  his  field  is 
reduced  to  a  few  enthusiasts,  Mr. 
Sanders  finds  his  task,  in  so  far  as 
the  field  is  concerned,  an  easy  one  ; 
but  in  no  fox-hunting  country  do 
three  or  four  days'  hunting  a  week 
entail  harder  work  on  the  master 
and  his  staff.  The  great  extent 
of  country  over  which  the  pack 
hunts — fifty  miles  by  thirty — the 
frequent  long  runs  and  long 
journeys  home  in  the  trying  winter 
climate  of  the  moorlands  require 
more  than  ordinary  devotion  to 
sport  on  the  part  of  the  master. 

The  history  of  sport  on  the 
moors  may  be  traced  to  the  days 
of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  "  Ex- 
moor  Forest "  belonged  to  the 
Crown  until  the  earlier  decades  of 
the  present  century.  Hugh  Pol- 
lard, Ranger  of  Exmoor  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  kept  a  pack 
of  hounds  at  Simonsbath,  and  his. 
successors  maintained  the  estab- 
lishment for  many  years.  The 
last  of  the  true  staghounds  were 
sold  to  go  abroad  in  1825,  and 
since  then  the  kennel  has  con* 
tained  foxhounds.  The  most  im- 
portant of  recent  changes  in  the 
country  was  the  establishment  of 


1*990 


AFRICAN   HORSE-SICKNESS. 


159 


Sir  John  Heathcote  Amory'spack 
at  Hensleigh,  near  Tiverton.  This 
pack  was  formed  in  1896  at  Mr. 
Sanders'  suggestion  to  hunt  a 
district  over  which  the  Devon 
and  Somerset  hold  rights  of  chase, 
but  which  they  could  not  con- 
veniently hunt  with  regularity. 
The  deer  were  increasing  in  this 
area  and  the  new  pack  perform 
good  service  to  the  farmers  by 
keeping  their  numbers  within 
bounds. 

Last  season's  sport  was  a 
"  record,"  hounds  having  killed 
141  deer;  this  season,  judging 
from  reports,  men  who  purpose 
hunting  in  these  parts  have  every 
prospect  of  equally  good  sport. 
There  are  plenty  of  deer  on  the 
moor,  and,  what  is  perhaps  more 


important,  Mr.  Sanders  has  been 
careful  to  maintain  the  pack  at 
its  accustomed  high  standard  of 
excellence.  There  are  at  present 
about  fifty  couples  of  hounds  in 
kennel,  including  a  very  promising 
entry  of  twenty  couple.  They  are 
all  dog-hounds,  drafted  for  the 
most  part  from  the  leading  packs, 
for  size  only.  They  will  meet  as 
usual  three  and  four  days  a  week, 
the  master  himself  hunting  them 
one  day  each  week. 

Besides  his  occupation  of  hunt- 
ing, Mr.  Sanders  serves  his 
country  in  the  capacity  of 
Captain  of  the  Royal  North 
Devon  Hussars,  of  which  a 
former  master  of  the  staghounds, 
Lord  Ebrington,  is  Colonel ;  he 
is  also  a  magistrate  for  the  county. 


African  Horse-Sickness. 

[At  the  moment  when  we  are  going  to  press,  the  war  clouds  are  hanging  heavy  over 
Sooth  Africa.  We  may  fervently  pray  that  they  will  harmlessly  disperse,  but  it  may  well 
happen  that  England  will  find  it  is  her  duty  at  least  to  concentrate  a  large  force  in  Natal. 
Such  a  force  must  necessarily  include  many  animals  belonging  to  mounted  corps  and 
many  more  belonging  to  the  transport.  All  these  animals  will  be  liable  to  the  ravages  of 
the  local  pestilence,  and  the  British  public  should  be  made  in  some  degree  acquainted 
with  a  factor  which  may  have  a  very  strong  influence  on  the  conduct  of  any  possible 
military  operations.  It  is  well  therefore,  in  Baily's  pages,  to  draw  attention  to  the 
African  horse-sickness  which  is  little  known  except  among  those  who  have  seen  its 
deadly  operation.] 


South  Africa  is  remarkable  for 
the  extraordinarily  fatal  epidemics 
of  various  diseases  which  sweep 
off  the  animals  most  useful  to 
man.  In  recent  years  we  have 
heard  that  the  oxen  which  do  so 
much  of  the  transport  work  in  the 
interior  of  the  country  and  whose 
herds  constitute  the  wealth  of  the 
farmers,  have  been  ravaged  by  a 
visitation  of  rinderpest  causing 
widespread  ruin  and  paralysis  of 
trade.  But  worse  almost  than 
rinderpest  among  cattle  is  the 
horse  sickness  or  "Paard  Zic^e^ 
which  is  a  yearly  visitor  in  most 


districts,  sometimes  taking  a 
specially  virulent  form.  All 
officers  who  have  served  in  our 
recent  campaigns  in  South  Africa 
or  have  been  garrisoned  in  any  of 
the  country's  military  stations, 
must  have  had  more  or  less 
experience  of  it  and  know  well 
how  much  it  is  to  be  dreaded  lest 
it  should  peremptorily  destroy  the 
efficiency  of  an  army's  mounted 
troops  and  render  any  force  im- 
movable by  the  wrecking  of  all 
transport. 

The  horse  sickness  is  no  new 
curse  that  has  smitten   the  land, 


1 6a 


BAILYS   MAGAZINE. 


[S 


but  it  has  been  a  familiar  evil 
since  the  first  European  settle- 
ment. It  appears  however  that 
during  the  early  half  of  the 
century  it  only  came  in  a  virulent 
epidemic  form  at  long  intervals  of 
time  and  lay  partially  dormant 
for  the  intermediate  periods. 
1856  and  1857  were  particularly 
disastrous  years  and  it  is  recorded 
that  then  more  than  64,000 
animals  died  in  Cape  Colony 
alone,  causing  severe  agricultural 
depression  in  the  eastern  and 
western  districts.  In  our  own 
time  however  the  recurrence  of 
outbreaks  of  this  fatal  disease  has 
been  more  and  more  frequent  and 
now  it  may  be  said  that  no  year 
passes  without  its  appearance. 
The  amount  of  damage  done  may 
not  always  be  equally  great,  but 
the  possibility  of  the  scourge 
always  looms  sufficiently  threat- 
ening to  cause  the  deepest  anxiety 
in  the  minds  of  those  who  have 
the  charge  of,  or  are  dependent 
upon  the  usefulness  of,  horses, 
asses  and  mules.  As  an  example 
of  what  may  happen,  I  may 
mention  that  two  years  ago,  in 
Natal  alone,  600  Government 
animals,  horses  and  mules,  died, 
and  this  in  time  of  peace  when 
there  was  no  unusual  exposure  or 
trial. 

But  it  is  in  the  midst  of  field 
operations  that  an  outbreak  of 
horse  sickness  is  most  discon- 
certing and  I  may  enlarge  a  little 
on  the  staggering  nature  of  the 
blow  to  a  commanding  officer  of 
mounted  troops  when  such  an 
outbreak  takes  place  in  the  lines 
of  his  corps.  He  has  had  to  look 
out  for  and  guard  against  all  the 
ordinary  casualties  which  may 
occur  under  the  stern  conditions 
of  war,  of  themselves  quite  suf- 
ficient to  reduce  the  effective 
strength  of  his  command,  but  by 
constant  care  and  vigilance  he  is 
able  to  keep  his  troopers  equal  to 


their  duties.  In  the  presence  of 
horse  sickness  however  he  finds 
himself  almost  utterly  helpless. 
The  pestilence  strikes  suddenly, 
rapidly  and  irretrievably.  Its 
arrival  cannot  be  foreseen,  for 
though  its  cause  is  known  the 
action  is  still  to  a  great  extent 
wrapped  in  mystery,  and  though 
precautions  may  be  taken  in  peace 
time  that  have  a  preventive  value, 
they  cannot  be  carried  out  in  any 
effective  manner  during  a  cam- 
paign when  it  is  necessary  to  act 
with  other  troops  or  to  vigorously 
complete  a  strategical  operation. 
Our  commanding  officer  has  had 
a  hard  day's  work  in  the  saddle 
and  possibly  has  done  a  little 
fighting.  He  carefully  inspects 
all  his  horses  as  they  stand 
picketed  in  the  evening  in  camp 
or  bivouac  and  his  spirits  rise 
within  him  when  he  sees  that  they 
look  bright  and  well  and  are 
munching  their  feeds  with  a  good 
appetite.  He  thinks  with  satis- 
faction that  all  are  fairly  sound 
and  fit  for  the  morrow's  work 
whatever  it  may  be  and  that  the 
men  whom  he  has  trained  so  care- 
fully will  be  well  carried  and  able 
to  show  their  intelligence  and 
gallantry.  But,  when  the  morrow 
comes,  perhaps  the  first  report  he 
receives  is  that  four  or  five  horses 
have  been  found  lying  dead  in  the 
lines.  There  has  been  no  dis- 
turbance during  the  night  and  the 
sentries  have  noticed  nothing 
unusual.  The  poor  brutes  have 
simply  laid  down  and  have  been 
overtaken  by  a  swift  death. 

Besides  those  that  are  dead 
there  are  several  more  that  are 
reported  as  "  looking  rather  queer." 
And  indeed  so  they  are,  some 
glancing  with  uneasy  eyes  at  their 
heaving  flanks,  as  if  suffering  from 
internal  pains,  and  some  with 
hanging  heads  and  a  profuse  dis- 
charge pouring  from  their  nostrils. 
These  sick  ones  of  course  cannot 


**»] 


AFRICAN   HORSB-SICKNESS. 


j6i 


be  saddled  for  the  morning's 
parade  and,  though  they  will  have 
immediate  treatment  it  may  be 
feared  that  the  hand  of  the 
destroyer  is  upon  them.  At  one 
fell  stroke  perhaps  eight  or  ten  of 
the  best  horses  (and  they  that 
are  taken  are  generally  the  best) 
are  cut  off  from  the  available 
strength  of  the  corps.  All  the 
other  horses  however  eat  their 
morning's  feed  with  apparent  zest 
and  it  is  hoped  that  the  worst  is 
known.  The  parade  is  formed 
and  the  corps  moves  off  for  its 
day's  duty,  but  before  they  have 
gone  half  a  mile  one  of  the 
troopers  gives  a  suspicious  cough 
which  strikes  the  commander's 
ear.  He  hopes  that  the  cough 
may  mean  nothing  but  he  has 
misgivings  and  sends  the  horse 
back.  He  has  lost  the  services  of 
another  man,  a  very  serious 
matter  indeed,  if  there  is  any 
chance  of  a  skirmish,  and  he  has 
to  get  through  the  day  as  best  he 
can.  When  he  is  once  more  in 
his  bivouac  he  finds  that  all  the 
horses  are  dead  which  he  left  sick 
in  the  morning  and  the  horse  with 
the  suspicious  cough  barely  lived 
till  midday.  And  so  on,  and  so 
on.  Night  by  night  and  day  by 
day  horses  fall  sick  and  die  or,  if 
by  chance  a  few  recover,  they  are 
so  shattered  and  pulled  down  that 
they  are  quite  unfit  for  work  until 
they  have  had  a  long  rest  and 
sedulous  nursing.  It  may  be 
conceived  what  this  means  in  war 
time  and  how  rapidly  a  mounted 
corps  melts  away  under  -  such 
conditions.  And  besides  the 
actual  losses  there  are  numberless 
embarrassments  that  follow  in  the 
train  of  the  horses'  deaths.  The 
dead  bodies  cannot  be  left  in  a 
camp  that  is  to  be  occupied  for  a 
few  days,  but  must  be  removed 
to  a  considerable  distance.  If  no 
remounts  are  procurable,  the  men 
must  be  disposed  of.      True,  they 


can  do  some  useful  work  on  foot, 
but  that  is,  to  say  the  least, 
inconvenient,  when  they  have 
been  equipped  for  riding.  Then 
the  saddlery  cannot  be  abandoned 
and  must  be  carried  somehow,  a 
very  serious  addition  to  the  im- 
pedimenta of  a  force.  And  it  is 
to  be  remembered  that  the  trans- 
port, if  the  waggons  are  drawn 
by  mules,  will  very  likely  have 
suffered  at  least  equally  with  the 
mounted  corps  and  its  capacity 
will  by  so  much  be  reduced.  The 
supply  of  food  and  forage  will  be 
impeded  and  it  will  be  lucky 
indeed  if  it  is  not  partially  cut  off. 
It  may  well  be  said  that  the 
casualties  among  animals  of  a 
hard-fought  and  prolonged  cam- 
paign will  in  all  probability  not 
produce  greater  disorganisation 
than  those  of  an  outbreak  of  horse 
sickness  during  a  fortnight. 

It  is  not  proposed  here  to 
attempt  to  describe  scientifically 
the  symptoms  of  horse  sickness,* 
but  though  unquestionably  the 
disease  is  the  same,  there  are, 
roughly  speaking,  two  distinct 
manifestations  of  it,  one  when  it 
attacks  the  pulmonary  organs  and 
one  when  the  stomach  and  diges- 
tive organs  are  specially  affected. 
The  only  difference  in  the  result 
between  these  two  forms  is  that 
death  is  generally  much  more 
rapid  in  the  first  case  than  in  the 
last.  When  the  pulmonary  organs 
are  the  seat  of  the  disease  the  first 
indications  are  a  dull  cough  or 
laboured  breathing  followed  im- 
mediately by  other  well-known 
signs  of  high  fever  and  extreme 
illness.  Occasionally  the  horse's 
head  swells  enormously,  and  from 
this  the  Dutchmen  give  the  name 
"Dik-kop"  (big  head)  to  the 
complaint.  There  is  a  discharge 
from  the  nostrils ;  the  animal 
rapidly  sinks  to  the  ground  and 
lies  on  its  side,  and  in  its  last 
moments  the  nose  discharge  turns 


1 6a 


BAILY  S  MAGAZINE. 


[September 


to  a  froth  as  white  as  snow  which 
forms  a  cloud  in  which  the  victim 
is  half  concealed  before  death 
comes  as  a  relief  from  its  agony. 
In  this  case  a  post-mortem  examina- 
tion shows  the  respiratory  organs 
to  be  gravely  affected  while  the 
digestive  organs  are  comparatively 
healthy.  When  the  reverse  is  the 
case  and  the  digestive  organs  are 
attacked,  in  most  cases  the  signs 
of  disease  do  not  succeed  each 
other  with  such  startling  rapidity, 
but  the  horse  first  shows  unusual 
dulness  and  lethargy,  refuses  his 
food  and.  shows  that  he  is  suf- 
fering from  internal  pains  by 
pawing  the  ground,  looking  rest- 
lessly at  his  flanks,  then  lying  down 
and  rolling  in  his  uneasiness. 
Slower  though  the  progress  of 
this  form  of  the  malady  may 
generally  be,  it  too  is  sometimes 
almost  instantaneous  in  operation 
and  may  cause  death  in  a  very 
few  hours. 

In  epidemics  of  horse  sickness 
it  is  remarkable  that  the  virulence 
of  the  poison  that  affects  the 
animals  never  seems  to  decrease. 
At  the  end  of  an  outbreak  or  at 
the  end  of  the  sickly  season  the 
severest  cases  may  occur,  and  at 
any  time  there  may  be  cases  in 
which  the  symptoms  are  not  so 
exaggerated  and  in  which  treat- 
ment and  nursing  may  be  effective 
and  the  animals  may  recover. 

Apropos  of  recovering  there  is 
a  general  belief  in  South  Africa 
that  horses  which  have  recovered 
from  horse  sickness  are  thence- 
forth supposed  to  be  safe  in  a 
succeeding  epidemic.  They  are 
locally  said  to  be  "  salted "  and, 
being  so,  they  have  a  very  special 
value.  In  fact,  other  qualities 
being  equal,  a  "  salted "  horse 
will  fetch  nearly  double  the  price 
that  would  be  paid  for  one  which 
had  not  gone  through  an  attack 
of  the  disease.  It  is  conceivable 
that  a  horse,  which  has  sufficient 


strength  of  constitution  to  throw 
off  an  attack  of  horse  sickness, 
may  not  be  so  liable  to  the 
disease  as  others,  but  the  belief 
that  the  passing  through  one 
attack  gives  any  immunity  from  a 
second  is  quite  fallacious.  It  is 
certain  that,  in  a  local  mounted 
corps  employed  in  the  Transvaal, 
several  horses  which  had  suffered 
and  recovered  from  well-marked 
attacks  of  horse  sickness  in  1877 
were  among  the  first  to  die  during 
an  epidemic  in  1878.  Let  not 
anyone  therefore,  who  goes  to 
South  Africa,  think  that  by  spend- 
ing large  sums  of  money  he  is 
going  to  collect  a  stud  that  is 
secure  from  horse  sickness.  He 
may  find  animals  that  have  good 
sound  constitutions,  but  they 
may  be  cut  off  like  any  others. 

How  is    horse  sickness  gene- 
rated ?       What    are    the    causes 
that  lead  up  to  such  fatal  issues  ? 
In    order    to    explain   the    most 
commonly    received    theories  on 
the  subject  a  word  must  be  said 
on  the  general  method  of  feeding 
horses  in  South  Africa.     Oats  are 
very    little    known    and    hay    is 
seldom  made  and  is  expensive  and 
difficult  to  procure.     In  place  of 
the  former,  horses  receive  rations 
of  what  are  locally  called  "mea- 
lies," that  is  the  dried  grain  of 
Indian    corn,    and,   in    order    to 
supply  the  more  bulky  form   of 
nutrition,  they  are  turned  out  to 
graze  on  the  Veldt.     To  prevent 
them  from  straying  while  grazing 
the  head  of  each  horse  is  fastened 
by  a  raw-hide  strap  to  the  upper 
part  of  its  leg  just  above  the  knee 
in  a  fashion  called  knee-haltering. 
This  permits    a    horse  to  move 
comparatively  slowly  without  dis- 
comfort but   prevents  him  from 
galloping  and  being  quite  inde- 
pendent.    Two  or  three  mounted 
men  can  easily  watch  a  mob  of 
two  or  three  hundred  horses  thus 
hobbled  and,  if  any  of  them  show 


l«»] 


AFRICAN    HORSE-SICKNESS. 


163 


a  disposition  to  wander  can  with 
small  exertion  overtake  them  and 
drive  them  back  to  their  comrades. 
Good  South  African  grass  is  very 
nourishing  and  horses  thrive  and 
grow  fat  upon  their  mealies  and 
their  grazing  in  a  most  satisfac- 
tory manner.  The  mere  facts  of 
being  necessarily  in  the  open  and 
picking  up  their  own  food  are  an 
approach  to  natural  conditions 
which  has  many  advantages. 

To   revert    to    horse    sickness. 
Like  most  epidemic  diseases,  it  is 
believed  to  be  due  to  the  action 
of  a  specific  bacillus,  which  enters 
the  animal's  system    by  the  air 
which  it  breathes  or  by  the  food 
which    is    eaten.     This    bacillus 
comes  from  the  soil  and  especially 
from    foul,    swampy    or    marshy 
ground.     The  vegetation  on  such 
ground  is  laden    with    it    and  it 
floats  in  the  watery  vapour  that 
rises  with  evaporation.       It  may 
thence  be  caught  up  and  wafted 
on  currents  of  air,  but  it  is  then 
no  longer  in  overpowering  num- 
bers and  its  influence  may  some- 
times,   though     not     necessarily 
always,    be    so    far    diminished. 
The  Dutch  farmers  of  the  Cape 
have  long  had  a  practical,  if  not 
scientific  knowledge  of  the  con- 
ditions most  favourable  to  horse 
-sickness  and  they  have  laid  down 
the  rule  that   horses  which   are 
turned  out  to  graze  should  not  be 
allowed,  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year,  to  feed  along  river  banks  or 
near  the  swampy  hollows  known 
as" Vleys,"  neither  should  they 
be  turned  out  before  the  sun  is 
well  up  and  has  scattered  the  mi- 
asmatic vapours,  nor  allowed  to  be 
on  low-lying   ground   after    sun- 
down when  the  evening  mists  are 
rising.  And,  unless  extreme  vigil- 
ance is  practised,  it  is  difficult  to 
keep  horses  away  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood   of    watercourses,    for 
naturally  in  such  places  the  grass 
is  peculiarly  rich,  fresh,  green  and 


tempting :  if  they  are  left  to  them- 
selves, they  will  almost  certainly 
seek  the  most  unhealthy  spots  and 
expose  themselves  to  the  germs 
of  a  deadly  malady.  The  Boers 
too  were  well  acquainted  with  the 
fact  that  the  horse  sickness  clings 
especially  to  low-lying  plains  and 
they  have  always  been  in  the 
habit  of  moving  their  horses  dur- 
ing the  sickly  months  to  high 
ground.  Even  an  elevation  of 
300  feet  was  considered  to  give 
comparative  safety  and  in  certain 
districts  that  formed  elevated 
plateaux  cases  of  horse  sickness 
were  very  rarely  known  to  occur. 
As  we  have  seen,  the  theory  of  a 
bacillus  falls  in  with  and  endorses 
all  these  old  Dutch  precautions 
and  safeguards,  but,  in  actually 
dealing  with  a  terrible  scourge, 
the  appearance  of  science  on  the 
scene  has  really  done  very  little 
so  far  to  help  us. 

It  has  been  said  that  safety 
from  disease  may  be  counted  upon 
at  an  elevation  above  the  plains, 
but  this  immunity  is  not  always 
existent,  for  cases  of  horse  sick- 
ness have  appeared  both  on  the 
Biggersberg  and  Drakensberg 
mountains.  These  may  have  been 
caused  from  bacilli  being  carried 
up  the  hillside  by  some  current  of 
air,  but  of  course  it  may  be  that 
science  is  still  far  from  a  complete 
solution  of  the  problem  and  that 
the  bacilli  may  originate  on  the 
hill  itself  and  not  be  altogether  de- 
pendant for  their  being  on  low 
and  marshy  ground. 

But  the  conviction  that  the 
theory  of  science  and  the  rude 
practice  of  the  old  Dutch  settlers 
are  correct  is  further  supported 
by  the  fact  that  the  seasons  of  the 
year  when  the  horse  sickness  is 
most  rife  and  shows  the  greatest 
virulence  are  just  those  in  which, 
if  they  are  correct,  we  should  ex- 
pect to  suffer  from  its  attacks. 
The  Cape  being  south  of  the  line! 


164 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


the  order  of  the  year's  seasons  is 
exactly  the  reverse  of  that  in  the 
northern  hemisphere.  The  spring 
is  August,  September,  October; 
summer  is  November,  December, 

ianuary;  autumn  is  February, 
larch,  April,  and  winter  is  May, 
June,  July.  The  horse  sickness 
generally  appears  in  greatest 
severity  towards  the  middle  or 
end  of  autumn,  which  is  also  the 
rainy  season.  The  semi-tropical 
showers  loosen  and  soften  the 
soil,  and  the  emanations  that 
then  arise  carry  the  poison  with 
them  into  the  grass  and  the  air, 
giving  it  free  scope  for  action. 
With  the  approach  of  the  cold 
weather  in  May  the  disease  dis- 
appears or  at  least  there  is  no 
general  epidemic,  though  occa- 
sional sporadic  cases  have  been 
known  to  occur  in  winter.  The 
belief  that  there  is  no  horse 
sickness  after  the  first  frost  is 
roughly  speaking  correct.  Pro- 
bably the  bacillus  dies  when  the 
atmosphere  is  below  a  certain 
temperature.  It  has  been  re- 
marked above  that  particular  dis- 
tricts have  an  immunity  from  the 
disease,  in  some  cases  of  course 
because  they  are  elevated  above 
the  surrounding  plains.  Some- 
times however  it  is  not  so  easy  to 
give  a  reason  for  their  security ; 
there  is  no  very  appreciable  in- 
crease in  height  and,  to  the 
ordinary  observer,  there  are  no 
special  conditions  which  would 
point  to  extreme  healthiness.  A* 
case  in  point  may  be  noted.  A 
mounted  corps  was  marching  from 
the  Transvaal  to  Natal.  It  had 
suffered  terribly  from  horse  sick- 
ness and,  even  on  the  line  of 
march,  continued  to  lose  horses 
from  day  to  day.  It  was  pre- 
dicted by  the  local  farmers  that, 
as  soon  as  the  corps  crossed  a 
certain  river,  the  curse  that  had 
so  long  accompanied  it  would 
cease.     The  passing  of  the  river 


was  keenly  anticipated  and,  sure 
enough,  no  other  cases  of  disease 
thereafter  showed  themselves.  It 
is  difficult  to  express  the  relief 
that  was  felt  in  the  little  column 
when  the  plague  that  had  dogged 
its  footsteps  was  finally  left  be- 
hind. And  yet  no  high  plateau 
had  been  ascended,  no  difference 
in  vegetation  had  presented  itself 
and  the  cold  weather  was  still  far 
in  the  future. 

It  may  be  believed  that  close 
scientific  observation  may  still 
reveal  that  some  special  conditions 
of  soil,  climate  or  vegetation  exist 
affording  the  safety  to  one  part 
of  the  country  which  the  others 
lack.  In  this  connection  it  may 
be  remarked  that,  for  the  last 
thirty  years,  there  lias  been  com- 
parative freedom  from  horse  sick- 
ness in  Cape  Colony.  This 
period  is  coincident  with  the 
large  introduction  of  sheep,  whose 
flocks  have  eaten  down  and  de- 
stroyed the  small  shrub  called  the 
karoo  bush  that  at  a  former  time 
sheltered  the  rank  grass.  The 
grass  used  to  soak  up  and  retain 
the  rain,  returning  it  to  the  atmo- 
sphere in  miasmatic  vapour,  and 
thus  causing  horse  sickness.  With 
the  killing  of  the  karoo  bush  the 
character  of  the  herbage  was 
changed,  and  the  germs  of  sick- 
ness have  disappeared.  Some- 
thing of  the  same  kind  may 
happen  elsewhere  in  the  future, 
or  at  any  rate  we  may  be  led  to 
believe  that  a  different  method  of 
using  the  plains  of  Natal  and  the 
Transvaal  may  so  alter  their 
herbage  as  to  reduce  the  proba- 
bility of  destructive  epidemics 
among  grazing  horses. 

After ,  all,  the  most  important 
point  at  which  we  now  wish  to 
arrive  is  the  proper  method  for 
doing  battle  with  a  disease  con- 
fessedly rife  over  a  vast  extent  of 
country,  and  deadly  in  the  highest 
degree.     When   the    poison    has 


i«99l 


AFRICAN   HORSE-SICKNESS. 


165 


once  been  received  into  any  ani- 
mal in  a  vigorous  form,  there 
seems  to  be  no  doubt  that  no 
known  treatment  may  be  reckoned 
upon  to  effect  a  cure.  The  only 
question  that  remains  is,  what 
are  the  preventive  measures  which 
may  be  adopted  either  to  ward  off 
an  epidemic  or  to  modify  its 
effects?  Nothing  in  the  nature 
of  inoculation  has  been  discovered, 
and  indeed,  as  we  have  seen  that 
horses  that  have  undoubtedly 
suffered  from  the  disease  are  still 
liable  to  its  subsequent  fatal 
action,  so  it  would  seem  to  be 
time  wasted  to  create  a  mild 
attack  with  the  view  of  staving  off 
a  more  serious  one.  The  only 
thing  that  seems  to  be  in  our 
power  is  to  guard  our  horses  from 
the  miasmatic  air,  and  the  food 
which  is  laden  with  the  deadly 
bacillus.  Nobody  has  more  tho- 
roughly and  closely  grappled  with 
the  question  than  Veterinary- 
Colonel  Lambert,  C.B.,  late  Di- 
rector General  of  the  Army  Vete- 
rinary Department,  in  a  most 
valuable  pamphlet  written  in  188 1, 
giving  the  fruits  of  his  large  scien- 
tific experience  as  P.V.S.  in 
Natal,  and  anything  that  may 
here  be  said  is  gathered  almost 
entirely  from  his  observations. 

We  should  "  take  steps  to  place 
our  horses  and  mules  during  the 
sickly  season  as  much  as  possible 
out  of  the  reach  of  the  soil- 
developed  poison,  especially  during 
the  tight  and  early  morning,  for  these 
are  the  most  dangerous  times, 
when  the  foul  poison  germ  charged 
mists  and  dews  are  concentrated, 
and  are  not  dispersed  by  the  life- 
giving  sun.  When  we  can  do 
this,  as  we  often  can,  without  in- 
terfering with  the  animals'  daily 
work,  it  is  an  act  of  folly  not  to 
do  so  *  *  *  If  we  have  any 
number  of  animals,  and  some 
begin  to  be  attacked  by  horse 
sickness,  we  ought  at  once  to  remove 


the  rest  to  fresh  ground,  and  it 
should  be  if  possible*  high  and 
healthy  ground,  the  higher  the 
better,  for  these  soil-developed 
poisons  appear  only  to  be  able 
to  rise  to  a  certain  distance  from 
where  they  are  usually  produced 
*  *  *  It  must  not  be  thought 
that  the  removal  is  a  failure 
because  a  case  occurs  during 
the  first  day  or  two  afterwards, 
because  it  may  have  been  con- 
tracted on  the  old  ground.  But, 
if  cases  continue  after  the  first  two 
or  three  days,  another  move 
should  be  made  *  *  *  We  saw 
last  season  here  a  most  destruc- 
tive attack  of  horse  sickness  cut 
short  by  moving  the  animals  less 
than  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to 
very  much  higher  ground,  whence 
they  did  their  ordinary  work. 
Where  it  is  inconvenient  or  im- 
practicable to  change  the  situation 
of  animals,  as  those  working  in 
towns,  they  should  be  fed  during 
the  sickly  season  on  dry  foods — 
oat  forage,  mealies,  bran,  &c. — 
and  no  wet  or  freshly  cut  grass,  or, 
better  still,  no  grass  at  all  should 
be  given." 

There  is  a  very  common  belief 
that  horses  which  are  stabled  are 
not  so  liable  to  horse  sickness  as 
others,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  better  cared  for  an  animal 
may  be,  the  more  he  is  protected 
from  draughts  and  the  more  atten- 
tion that  is  paid  to  the  quality  of 
his  food,  the  less  likelihood  is  there 
tnat  he  will  be  struck  by  disease. 
But  stables  that  are  "  located  on 
or  surrounded  by  foul,  swampy  or 
marshy  ground  or  close  to  run- 
ning streams,"  can  give  no  pos- 
sible security.  Special  preventive 
horse  equipment  has  had  a  trial, 
but  its  employment  does  not  ap- 
pear to  have  had  any  measure  of 
success.  "  During  the  Zulu  war, 
we  had  in  the  17th  Lancers,  on 
our  arrival  in  this  country,  nose- 
bags of  flannel  issued  to  filter  the 


1 66 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


air  at  night,  and  to  prevent  the 
horses  from  eating  the  dewy  grass, 
but  we  did  not  find  those  which 
wore  them  less  liable  to  the  sick- 
ness than  those  without  them. 
This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  for 
such  contrivances  are  constantly 
getting  out  of  order,  and  besides, 
are  obviously,  when  we  consider 
how  the  disease  is  produced,  im- 
perfect and  inadequate  for  the 
purpose  intended.  It  is  not, 
however,  denied  that  in  some 
bad  situations  they  might  be 
useful." 

Something  has  now  been  said 
about  the  knowledge  of  horse 
sickness  that  we  possess,  how  it 
originates,  how  it  acts,  and  how  it 
may  in  some  degree  be  combated. 
It  >will  be  seen  that,  so  far,  science 
has  not  progressed  beyond  mak- 
ing some  suggestions  as  to  avoid- 
ing its  ravages,  and  it  will  be 
easily  understood  how  difficult  it 
would  be  to  carry  out  with  an 
army  in  the  field  any  effective 
preventive  measures.  It  would 
be  impossible,  when  the  great 
magazines  are  left  behind,  to  pro- 
vide all  the  horses  of  cavalry  and 
artillery  and  the  mules  belonging 
to  the  transport  with  hay  and 
other  dry  foods,  and  all  must  of 
necessity  be  turned  out  to  graze 
sometimes.     With  the  exercise  of 


great  care  and  strict  surveillance 
they  may  be  prevented  from  feed- 
ing near  watercourses  and  vleys, 
though,  where  numbers  are  con- 
cerned, this  will  be  very  difficult. 
High  ground  may  be  sought  for 
the  establishment  of  camps  and 
bivouacs,  but  in  doing  this  much 
must  depend  on  the  movements 
of  the  enemy  and  the  other  con- 
ditions of  a  campaign,  and  when 
an  outbreak  of  disease  takes  place, 
it  may  be  quite  impossible  to  move 
the  military  animals  even  a  short 
distance  for  the  sake  of  changing 
the  lines  where  they  are  picketed. 
The  only  absolute  resource  that  is 
left  is  that  no  campaign  in  South 
Africa  should  be  undertaken  in 
the  sickly  season,  and  that  all 
great  movements  of  troops  should 
be  restricted  to  the  winter  and 
spring.  It  is  a  source  of  satisfac- 
tion to  know  at  least  that  the  dan- 
gers of  horse  sickness  are  perfectly 
well  recognised,  and  that  every 
difficulty  and  embarrassment  that 
can  arise  may  be  foreseen  and 
provided  for  if  they  cannot  be 
avoided.  It  is  obvious  also  that 
the  horses  of  a  possible  enemy 
will  be  exposed  to  the  same  danger 
as  our  own,  though,  as  they  are 
native  to  the  soil  and  are  therefore 
acclimatised,  it  may  be  in  a  some- 


what smaller  degree. 


C.  Stein. 


I899-] 


167 


Racing. 


SPORT  OF  THE  AUTUMN, 


After  Goodwood,  Turfites  begin 
to  calculate  what  chances  remain 
to  them  of  winning  a  few  more 
races  ere  the  winter  closes  in  upon 
them.  York  and  Doncaster  may 
yet  remain  to  them  as  fine  weather 
fixtures,  when  they  can  rely  on 
firm  going  and  summer  form  to 
guide  them  ;  but  after  the  middle 
of  September  horses  change  their 
coats,  and  as  often  their  form. 
The  ground  cannot  then  afford 
such  reliable  going,  waterproofs 
and  topcoats  are  indispensable, 
and  much  of  the  pleasure  of  racing 
has  departed  ;  although  nurseries 
and  selling  races  swell  the  fields, 
and  these,  with  the  two  big 
autumn  handicaps  at  Newmarket, 
serve  to  keep  the  professional 
racegoer  in  full  fling  for  another 
couple  of  months,  the  plum  has 
indeed  departed  from  the  pudding. 
In  another  twelve  months  we 
shall  draw  the  curtain  over  the 
racing  of  this  eventful  century. 
How  full  of  history  it  has  been  ! 
How  steadily  onward  has  been 
its  progress  during  the  last  fifty 
years  !  Its  statistics  shall  be  left 
in  abler  hands ;  they  are  dry 
reading  in  Baily.  There  is  yet  a 
long  march  ahead  ere  it  reaches 
perfection,  and  he  would  indeed 
be  as  a  prophet  of  old,  who  could 
foretell  what  another  fifty  years 
will  produce  in  the  world  of 
racing.  One  thing,  however,  at 
least,  it  behoves  us  to  do,  and 
that  is  to  keep  ourselves  nation- 
ally ahead  of  the  world  in  racing 
as  well  as  horse-breeding,  and 
while  this  thought  is  passing  in 
our  minds  it  is  not  a  little  curious 
to  see  that  we  are  probably  within 
measurable  distance  of  a  gelding 
winning  the  Derby.  In  the  entries 
for  the  Derby  of  1901   there  are 


six  geldings  entered  by  people 
training  in  fashionable  style. 
Perhaps  I  am  a  faddist,  or  may  be 
over-critical,  when  I  say  that  I 
fail  to  see  how  a  gelding  can 
legally  be  entered  at  all  for  our 
classic  races,  the  conditions  being 
for  °  colts  or  fillies,"  and  this 
has  always  been  read  in  Turf 
parlance  to  mean  "  entire  colts." 
That  a  horse  should  not  be 
thought  worthy  of  being  kept 
entire  even  in  his  early  yearling 
days,  and  yet  be  thought  good  to 
win  the  Derby,  appears  to  be 
self  contradictory  and  much  as 
I  favour  the  present  idea  of 
"  altering  "  those  of  our  yearlings 
that  are  likely  to  become  heavy  in 
their  crests,  evil  tempered,  or  not 
good  enough  ever  to  become  sires, 
I  think  the  line  ought  to  be  drawn 
at  entering  such  horses  in  our 
classic  races.  Fancy  the  outcry 
when  a  gelding  pops  up  first  for 
the  Derby  ?  I  am  aware  that  the 
event  nearly  happened  in  the  case 
of  Curzon,  although  he  was  an 
entire  colt  when  entered,  and 
probably  the  chief  reason  why  he 
became  a  gelding  was  that  he  was 
half  bred.  His  present  value  as  a 
selling  plater,  good-looking  horse 
that  he  is,  is  probably  under  100 
sovs. 

We  shall  be  told  that  in  raising 
this  growl  over  the  entry  of 
geldings  in  classic  races  we  are 
really  unnecessarily  interfering 
with  the  right  of  owners  to  do 
what  they  choose  with  their 
property.  Yet  somehow  owners 
have  sometimes  to  be  saved  from 
themselves,  and  no  one  will  deny 
that  the  owner  of  a  gelding,  a 
classic  winner,  will  have  reason  to 
curse  the  day  when  he  thus 
reduced  the  value  of  his  horse  by 


1 68 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


.  many  thousands  of  pounds,  and 
all  for  the  sake  of  a  whim  or 
fancy  !  It  would  appear  to  be 
within  the  province  of  the  Jockey 
Club  to  forbid  such  entries,  and 
surely  it  would  be  in  the  interest 
of  the  Turf  that  they  should  do  so. 
A  thorny  subject  this,  but  being 
like  "The  Man  of  Thessaly," 
"  Borderer  "  must  get  out  of  it  as 
well  as  he  can. 

The  Jockey  Club  are  to  be  con- 
gratulated on  their  resolution  to 
give  the  starting  machine  a  fair 
trial  in  the  spring  of  1900,  as  far 
as  two-year-old  racing  is  con- 
cerned, and  it  will  not  surprise 
me  if,  ere  the  season  is  half  over, 
the  edict  were  not  extended  to  all 
races  of  six  furlongs  or  under, 
whilst  1 90 1  will  probably  see  its 
universal  adoption.  Lord  Dur- 
ham's speech  at  the  Jockey  Club, 
when  he  brought  forward  this 
subject,  was  a  masterly  one,  and 
admitted  of  no  answer,  for  this 
season  has  more  than  ever  exem- 
plified the  way  in  which  horses' 
chances  are  ruined  by  bad  starts, 
even  as  are  their  tempers  by  long 
delays.  As  Lord  Durham  truly 
said,  the  jockeys  now  make  the 
starts,  and  have  mastered  the 
starter.  The  latter,  at  last,  was 
aroused  to  make  a  complaint,  and 
none  too  soon  our  little  American, 
the  best  abused  and  the  smartest 
of  his  day,  but  over  presumptuous 
and  daring  to  a  degree,  had  to  bite 
the  dust  after  his  display  at  San- 
down.  It  reads  somewhat  of  the 
twentieth  century  when  we  find 
Tod  Sloan  arriving  at  Liverpool 
in  .  his  special,  and  forthwith 
ensconsing  him  in  his  specially 
reserved  cabin  on  board  the 
Campania  I  Evidently  this  spoilt 
young  man  will  not  be  on  view  in 
the  saddle  until  Doncaster,  if  then. 
Seriously,  however,  is  it  not  rather 
unwholesome  that  a  jockey  should 
affect  the  airs  that  this  American 
cousin  of  ours  has  imported  ? 


To  my  somewhat  antiquated 
ideas,  the  charm  of  a  first-rate 
jockey  is  that  quiet,  well-behaved 
manner  which  has  always  charac- 
terised him.  To  be  steady  and 
business-like  should  ever  be  his 
aim.  In  this  he  is  never  out  of 
his  place.  His  position  is  one  of 
the  greatest  trust,  and  of  ample 
remuneration,  far  different  from 
that  of  his  ancestors  fifty  years 
ago,  when  rooms  at  Hotel  Cecil 
and  boxes  at  the  theatres  would 
have  been  fairy-tales  indeed. 
The  jockey  who  cannot  bear  the 
smiles  of  success  and  the  adula- 
tion of  the  British  public  without 
losing  his  balance,  is  on  the  vor- 
tex of  Vesuvius,  as  likely — aye, 
more  likely  to  meet  with  well- 
merited  disaster  than  in  any  pro- 
fession that  we  know  of.  Let  us 
be  thankful  that  Tod  Sloan's 
example  has  not  yet  spread,  and 
that  although  we  as  a  sporting 
nation  thoroughly  admire  a  first- 
rate  horseman,  let  him  ride  in 
whatever  form  he  may,  we  still 
more  delight  in  sober-minded 
honesty  and  servant -like  beha- 
viour, believing  also  that  as  it  is 
with  the  jockey,  so  it  also  should 
be  with  the  trainer  in  later  life. 

And  now  to  cast  a  glance  at 
this  racing  season  entering  -on  its 
autumn  season.  As  far  as  our 
three-year-olds  are  concerned,  it 
has  been  decidedly  a  one-horse 
affair — Flying  Fox,  and  the  rest 
nowhere.  Some  doubts  have  been 
thrown  upon  the  prospect  of  this 
good  horse  starting  in  the  St. 
Leger.  No  doubt  he  has  been 
kept  well  at  work  all  the  year, 
and  it  has  been  one  of  hard 
ground  throughout.  Still  it  would 
seem  that,  if  there  were  doubts 
of  the  horse  standing  training, 
the  third  classic  race  of  the  year 
being  so  well  within  his  reach  a 
decision  as  to  his  future  would 
have  been  come  to  by  his  noWe 
owner  and  trainer  before  it  was 


4» 


RACING. 


X69 


resolved  to  start  him  for  the 
Eclipse  Stakes  in  July,  instead  of 
afterwards,  when  the  damage,  if 
any,  has  been  done  to  him.  Not- 
withstanding all  this,  I  look  for- 
ward at  the  time  of  writing  to  see 
Flying  Fox  at  the  post  on  the 
St.  Leger  day.  He  is  by  no 
means  a  heavy  horse,  or  difficult 
to  train,  and  the  ground  will  be 
the  same  for  all.  It  is  nearly 
always  good  going  at  Doncaster, 
and  he  has  only  Caiman  to  fear. 
It  will  indeed  be  a  reversal  of 
form  if  Caiman  stretches  his 
neck,  and  I  fail  to  see  how  the 
field  can  run  into  double  numbers, 
although  in  addition  to  Caiman, 
Birkenhead,  Dominie  II.,  Mil- 
lenium, St.  Gris  or  Trident, 
Musa,  Victoria  May,  and  impro- 
bably Sandringham  and  Royal 
Emblem,  may  be  included  in  the 
field  of  starters.  I  feel  sure  that 
the  Duke  of  Westminster  would 
prefer  to  win  the  St.  Leger  rather 
than  any  other  race  this  year, 
and  Frontier  would  be  a  frail  reed 
to  rely  on  against  Caiman. 

It  is  curious,  as  showing  how 
difficult  it  is  to  breed  good  horses, 
however  much  money  and  talent 
you  may  expend  upon  the  busi- 
ness, that  the  lord  of  the  Eaton 
Stud  has  only  been  able  in  twenty 
years  to  breed  four  really  first- 
rate  colts,  and  no  first-rate  fillies. 
The  colts  have  been  Bend  Or, 
Ormonde,  Orme,  and  Flying  Fox, 
each  a  son  of  his  predecessor  in 
this  list,  and  descended,  as  every 
horse-lover  knows,  from  Stock- 
well's  second  best  son,  Doncaster. 
I  always  place  Blair  Athol  first  in 
that  noble  list.  Had  he  gone  to 
Eaton,  instead  of  standing  at 
Cobham,  and  being  overdone  with 
a  lot  of  bad  mares,  what  a  much 
greater  inheritance  would  he  have 
left  to  our  Turf  and  Stud  Book ! 

Casting  our  eyes  down  the  list 
of  Derby  horses  for  1900,  we  find 
the  following    two  -  year- olds  as 


possibly  good  enough  to  compete 
— Democrat,  Sailor  Lad,  Steal- 
away,  Simondale,  Griffon,  Cap- 
tain Kettle,  Sir  Tristram,  Bona- 
rosa,  Atbara,  Jeunesse  Dor6e, 
Lictor,  Epsom  Lad,  Winifreda, 
Forfarshire,  Jouvence,  Jubert,  and 
Alderney ;  and  besides  these 
several  dark  ones,  about  whom 
rumour  has  been  busy.  It  should 
be  noted  that  probably  Democrat 
would  now  be  first  favourite,  if 
any  genuine  betting  took  place, 
and  this  promising  American-bred 
one  was  entered  as  a  gelding. 

In  next  year's  Oaks  we  find 
Vain  Duchess,  Greenway,  Atbara, 
Bettyfield,  The  Gorgon,  Dum 
Dum,      Ambrizette,      Simonella, 

Jeunesse  Dor6e,  Tiresome,  La 
Loche,  Edith  Craig,  Glaze, 
Nushka,  Winifreda,  Corona  Cor- 
ona, and  Bakery,  among  the  best 
that  have  met  the  public  eye. 
And  there  are  many  other  finely 
bred  dark  fillies,  which  are  likely 
to  be  heard  of  before  next  May 
comes  round. 

Of  our  Cup  horses  Cyllene 
stands  out  almost  alone,  his  per- 
formance in  the  Ascot  Cup  being 
a  superb  one.  There  is  little 
probability,  I  fear,  of  a  great 
fight  in  the  Champion  Stakes  at 
Newmarket  between  him  and 
Flying  Fox,  which  would  be  a 
fine  test  of  merit  between  the 
champions  of  1898  and  1899. 
Cyllene,  however,  is  engaged  in 
the  Caesarewitch  and  Cambridge- 
shire, and  the  handicapper  will 
be  saved  the  trouble  of  casting 
about  in  the  former  race  for  a 
top  weight. 

Our  best  handicap  horses  can 
easily  be  summed  up  in  Eager, 
Newhaven  II.,  King  of  the 
Thistle,  Herminius,  Flambard, 
Hawfinch,  King's  Messenger, 
Tom  Cringle,  Lord  Edward  II., 
Merman,  Sligo,  Calveley,  and 
Greenan.  It  will  be  a  puzzle  for 
the  handicapper  to  put  these  to- 


170 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[September 


gether  on  the  fairest  terms,  espe- 
cially to  place  Merman,  if  his  per- 
formances before  and  in  the  Liver- 
pool July  Meeting  are  weighed 
with  those  at  Goodwood 

It  is  an  excellent  idea  of  the 
Jockey  Club  to  ordain  the  exten- 
sion of  apprenticeship  races  be- 
yond the  confines  of  Newmarket, 
and  we  trust  that  our  trainers  will 
take  full  advantage  of  them,  for 
there  is  none  too  great  a  plethora 
of  good  jockeys  at  present,  and  no 
jockey  is  worth  his  riding  fee 
who  has  not  had  practice  in 
public.  The  coming  of  the  start- 
ing-gate will,  however,  prove  a 
great  boon  to  the  younger 
jockeys,  who  will  have  practised 
with  it  at  home,  and  will  soon 
become  as  au  fait  as  their  elders 
in  getting  off. 


There  is  one  thing  that  both 
breeders  and  racing  men  should 
take  to  heart,  and  that  is  the 
marked  superiority  of  the  imported 
two -year -olds  this  season  over 
our  home-grown  produce,  for  has 
not  Lord  William  Beresford  won 
more  races  than  any  other  owner  ? 
Is  not  the  reason  for  this  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  our  young- 
sters are  brought  up  too  artifici- 
ally, and  are  too  crowded  in 
paddocks]  rendered  horse  sick  by 
years  of  use,  which  things  natur- 
ally tend  to  the  injury  of  their 
constitutions  and  powers  of  en- 
durance ?  I  am  once  more 
treading  on  tender  ground,  and 
will  therefore  conclude  with  the 
hope  that  fair  trial  will  be  given 
to  a  better  system. 

Borderer. 


The  Past  Polo  Season. 


A  deep  shadow  was  thrown  over 
the  close  of  a  successful  season 
by  the  accident  which  deprived 
polo  of  one  of  the  finest  players 
of  the  day.  Serious  mishaps  at 
polo  are  rare  in  England,  and 
thus  the  news  came  to  us  with 
all  the  shock  of  a  great  surprise. 
Mr.  W.  J.  Drybrough  learned  polo 
at  Edinburgh,  and  was,  with  his 
brother,  Mr.  Tom  Drybrough,  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Edinburgh 
Club.  Mr.  Drybrough  was  a  leading 
member  of  the  team  from  that  club, 
which  twice  won  the  County  Cup 
at  Hurlingham  in  1893-4.  About 
1896  he  went  to  live  near  Rugby, 
and  in  that  excellent  school  for 
first-class  polo  he  rapidly  improved 
his  play  until  he  became  one  of 
the  best  back  players  of  the  day. 
His  great  length  of  reach  enabled 
him  to  put  immense  power  into 


his  back-handers,  and  he  was  one 
of  that  Rugby  team  which  have 
for  three  years  past  held  the  Polo 
Championship.  Mr.  Jack  Dry- 
brough was  a  man  who  played  a 
sound  and  thorough  game,  and 
who  united  great  hitting  power 
with  a  remarkable  control  of  the 
ball.  Of  his  character  as  a  man 
this  is  not  the  place  to  speak,  but 
he  was  a  true  sportsman,  loving 
the  music  of  the  pack  as  well  as 
the  grand  game,  and  in  the 
memory  of  those  who  knew  him 
he  will  long  occupy  a  place  side 
by  side  with  T.  Kennedy  or  James 
Moray  Brown.  Mr.  W.  J.  Dry- 
brough was  one  of  the  best 
mounted  polo-players  of  the  day, 
and  his  chestnut  mare  Charlton 
was  in  her  time  perhaps  tbe 
cleverest  heavy-weight  pony  ever 
seen. 


I899-] 


THE   PAST   POLO  SEASON. 


171 


Had  not  this  shadow  of  death 
fallen  across  its  close,  the  season 
of  1899  must  have  been  reckoned 
among  the  most  successful  of  late 
years.     Never  has  the  standard  of 
play  been  higher,  nor  have  there 
been  so  many  teams  of  the  first 
class  or  approaching  that  standard 
playing.       Hurlingham     has    re- 
turned to  its  old   traditions,   the 
new  management  working  on  the 
lines  of   their  predecessors,    and 
infusing  a  new  life  and  enthusiasm 
into  the  polo  at  the  senior  Club. 
There  have  been  many  first-class 
games  in  the  course  of  the  season, 
of  which   none   stand    out   more 
clearly  than  the  final  of  the  Inter- 
regimental,     in    which     the     7th 
Hussars  won  the  Cup  for  the  fifth 
time,  and  sustained  the  polo  repu- 
tation which  the  regiment   made 
in  the  early  days  of  the   game. 
In  Major  Poore  the  7th  have  a 
player  of  quite  remarkable  excel- 
lence, whose  triumphs  in    other 
athletic  fields  have  given  him  a 
name  more  widely  known  than  is 
at  present  accessible  to  the  most 
distinguished  of  polo-players.   The 
contest  for  the  Champion  Cup  was 
marked  by  two  notable  matches, 
of  which  the  contest  between  the 
Old  Cantabs  and  Rugby  was  the 
most  interesting.     It  is  a  striking 
evidence  of  the  general  improve- 
ment in  the  standard  of  play  that 
while  Rugby  still  holds  the  cham- 
pionship, they  have  had  no  easy 
task  to  do  so.     Two  teams,  the 
Old  Cantabs  and    the   Students, 
made   them    put    out    their    full 
strength  in  order   to  retain  their 
supremacy. 

If  we  turn  from  Hurlingham  to 
Ranelagh,  we  shall  notice  the 
same  high  average  of  excellence 
in  the  first-class  matches.  Sel- 
dom has  a  handicap  tournament 
been  of  such  uniform  interest  as 
that  with  which  the  Messrs. 
Miller  opened  their  season,  while 
the  Hunt  Cup  gave  one  of  the 


very  best  and  closest  games  of  the 
year,  when  the  three  Messrs. 
Nickalls  and  Mr.  Buckmaster  for 
the  Pytchley  Hunt  wrested  the 
Cup  from  Warwickshire  after  a 
close  game.  Polo  at  Ranelagh 
each  year  takes  a  higher  place 
among  the  attractions  of  that  very 
attractive  club,  and  a  good  match 
will  always  fill  the  pavilion,  even 
when  one  of  the  Ranelagh  shows 
offers  counter  -  attraction.  One 
other  point  that  should  not  be 
passed  over  is  the  way  in  which 
all  teams,  whatever  the  individual 
merits  of  the  men,  now  play  the 
game.  Sound  polo  and  careful 
combination  is  now  the  rule,  and 
not  the  exception,  as  well  in 
county  clubs  as  in  the  brilliant 
teams  to  be  seen  at  London  clubs. 
While  on  this  subject,  it  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  it  is  from 
county  polo  that  all  the  new  re- 
cruits to  our  best  teams  have 
come  this  year. 

Of  the  other  clubs,  Eden  Park 
has  held  its  own  well,  in  spite  of 
the  attractions  of  Wimbledon  and 
the  Crystal  Palace.  The  South- 
fields  club,  with  a  membership  of 
over  300,  has  received  powerful 
local  support  and  is  in  a  fair  way 
to  reward  the  enterprise  and  liber- 
ality of  those  who  started  it  by 
becoming  an  established  institu- 
tion. 

The  London  Polo  Club  at  the 
Crystal  Palace  has  taken  in  hand 
the  task  of  popularising  polo,  and 
has  succeeded  to  a  great  extent. 
The   Army   Cup    at   the   Crystal 
Palace  produced  some  good  con- 
tests, and  rather  increased   than 
lessened  the  interest  of  the  Inter- 
regimental,  while  the  Provincial 
Clubs'  Tournament  brought  to  trie 
front  the    Tiverton    Club,  wnicn 
has  for  some  years  past   quieT;4 
but  effectively  upheld  polo  in  t» 
West  of  England.     The  Stanstea 
Club  won  the  County  Polo  ^=~~d 
ciation  Cup  at  Hurlingham,  »** 


172 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


thus  wound  up  a  successful 
season.  The  ground  at  Silver 
Leys  is  only  second  to  Rugby 
among  county  clubs  in  bringing 
out  players  of  the  first  class. 

Turning  from  particular  events 
of  the  polo  year  to  some  of  the 
lessons  of  the  season's  play,  we 
mafy  note  two  points  which  call 
for  some  consideration  by  those 
who  aspire  to  first  -  class  polo. 
These  are  the  great  advantages  in 
the  present  state  of  the  game  of 
good  horsemanship  and  well- 
trained  ponies.  Polo  will  serve  a 
useful  end  if  it  tends  to  a  higher 
standard  of  horsemanship  among 
Englishmen.  Of  the  thousands 
who  ride  there  are  comparatively 
few  really  good  horsemen,  not 
because  many  men  could  not  ride 
a  great  deal  better  than  they  do, 
but  because  beyond  a  certain 
point  few  concern  themselves 
with  the  niceties  of  horsemanship, 
yet  every  year  we  have  evidence 
on  the  polo  field  of  the  increas- 
ing value  of  good  horsemanship. 
Among  those  who  are  the  best 
players  will  be  found,  as  a  rule, 
the  finest  horsemen,  and  without 
mentioning  names  no  polo  player 
or  experienced  spectator  will  find 
any  difficulty  in  identifying  those 
who  are  remarkable  both  as 
players  and  horsemen.  The  firm 
and  easy  seat,  the  light  hand,  the 
right  use  of  the  legs  as  a  guide  to 
the  pony  must  and  do  add  greatly 
to  the  chances  of  the  player  in  a 
fast  game.  The  good  horseman 
economises  his  own  strength  and 
gets  the  most  out  of  his  pony.  It 
is  not  everyone  who  can  gallop 
with  the  ball  without  upsetting 
his  pony's  mouth  or  pulling  him 
out  of  his  stride.  Yet  those  who 
do  this  are  far  more  likely  than 
others  to  hit  and  go  on  hitting  till 
they  reach  the  goal.  How  is  it 
that  so  many  are  good  in  a  slow 
game  who  seem  lost  directly  they 
are  asked  to  gallop  in  real  earnest  ? 


Simply  because  they  cannot  sit 
still  in  the  saddle  at  a  fast  pace 
without  holding  on  by  the  bridle, 
nor  can  such  riders  really  make 
a  pony  gallop  his  best.  Yet  the 
man  who  hunts  in  winter  and 
plays  polo  in  summer  cannot  want 
practice;  all  he  needs  is  to  feel 
the  necessity  and  to  master  the 
first  rules  of  the  art.  These  can 
be  learned  by  taking  pains  to 
practice  the  leading  principles  ac- 
quired from  a  good  cavalry  riding 
master,  or  failing  that,  from  some 
familiar  treatise  such  as  the  Bad- 
minton volume  on  Riding  or  other 
well  -  known  books.  The  pains 
and  thought  expended  will  be 
well  rewarded  by  next  polo  sea- 
son. 

The  second  point  is  the  training 
of  ponies.  The  success  of  the 
Polo  Pony  Society  in  showing  the 
way  to  breeders  of  ponies  and  the 
steady  demand  in  the  polo  market 
which  has  brought  about  a  con- 
siderable rise  in  the  average  price 
of  ponies  during  the  past  season 
is,  we  know,  drawing  the  atten- 
tion of  many  men  towards  this 
source  of  profit.  It  is  one  thing 
to  offer  good  -  looking  promising 
ponies  for  sale,  quite  another 
to  obtain  good  prices  for  them. 
The  prizes  of  the  market  in  the 
future  will  be  for  those  who  can 
convince  the  ordinary  polo  player 
that  their  ponies  have  been  well 
schooled.  The  animal  likely  to 
make  the  best  polo  pony  is  not 
the  fastest  pony,  and  not  always 
the  best  looking,  but  the  handiest 
to  respond  to  the  leg  and  hand  of 
the  rider.  Those  then  who  have 
it  in  their  minds  to  supply  the 
polo  pony  market  with  suitable 
animals  should  bear  in  mind  the 
truth  that  their  education  cannot 
be  begun  too  early.  There  is  no 
necessity  to  teach  the  pony  the 
game;  few,  very  few,  are  those 
that  will  refuse  to  play  unless 
they  have  been  previously   spoilt 


1899.) 


THE  PAST  POLO  SEASON. 


173 


by  bad  handling.  The  temper, 
mouth,  and  courage  of  the  polo 
pony  are  his  most  valuable  quali- 
ties, and  the  whole  course  of 
training  should  be  directed  to  pre- 
serving the  first  uninjured,  the 
second  unspoilt,  and  the  third  un- 
exhausted. 

To  attain  these  ends  the  training 
of  ponies  should  begin  at  an 
earlier  age,  and  be  more  thorough 
than  is  usually  the  case  now. 
One  of  the  great  faults  of  our 
English  systems  of  horse-breaking 
is  that  we  are  in  too  great  a  hurry, 
and  having  to  deal  with  an  animal 
of  very  limited  intellect  and  a 
timid  nature,  we  try  to  teach  him 
too  much  at  once,  and  try  harder 
methods  if  we  do  not  at  once 
succeed.  The  old  Mahratta 
horsemen,  whose  cavalry  swept 
over  India,  believed  in  well- 
trained  horses,  and  so  gradual 
was  their  system,  and  so  great 
their  patience,  that  they  would 
take  months  to  teach  a  pupil  a 
single  pace.  No  doubt  they  were 
rewarded.  The  modern  game  of 
polo  demands  a  handiness  not 
less  than  is  needed  in  a  cavalry 
charger.  On  the  whole,  in  other 
respects,  we  have  every  reason  to 
be  satisfied  with  the  state  of  the 
game.  Few  alterations  seem  to  be 
needed,  and  of  these  none  can  be 
said  to  be  urgent,  except  possibly 
some  further  regulations  with  re- 
spect to  the  measurement  of  ponies. 
There  seems,  so  far  as  can  be 
seen,  to  be  no  object  in  making 
rules  to  prevent  any  pony  from 
going  under  the  standard  if  he 
can  do  so  fairly.  Considering 
the  formation  of  a  horse,  it  would 
be  impossible  to  say  that  any  pony 
is  or  is  not  14.2  exactly.  We 
must  be  content  to  take  that 
height  as  a  standard,  and  approxi- 
mate to  it  as  nearly  as  nature  will 
permit.  On  the  other  hand,  if  as 
is  said,  ponies  are  prepared  for 
measurement  by  unfair  or  cruel 

vol.  lxxii. — no,  475. 


means,  these  should  be  put  down. 
It  would  do  no  harm  to  make 
rules  directed  against  these  prac- 
tices. To  do  so  would  express 
the  disapproval  of  the  Hurling- 
ham  Polo  Committee,  and  by 
their  mouth,  of  the  polo  world,  of 
anything  cruel  or  unfair ;  while  if 
the  practices  are  rare,  as  they 
probably  are,  the  rules  would  at 
least  do  no  harm  and  inflict  no 
injustice. 

In  the  next  place  it  is  difficult 
to  understand  why  there  should 
be  a  movement  against  "off- 
side." There  can  now  be  few 
English  polo  men  who  have 
played  without  that  rule.  Of 
those  who  have  done  so  the 
majority  will  agree  with  the 
present  writer  that  no  one  rule 
has  done  so  much  to  raise  the 
character  of  polo  as  a  game  of 
skill  as  Rule  18  of  our  present 
code.  The  existence  of  this  rule 
it  is  which  made  polo  the  fine 
game  of  combination  which  it  is. 
Those  who  like  the  present  writer 
played  before  offside  was  in 
existence  must  remember  how 
independent  the  game  was  then, 
each  man  playing  for  his  own 
hand.  Indeed,  in  those  days,  the 
one  cry  was  "  Keep  on  the  ball," 
and  riding  your  man  or  passing 
the  ball  quite  unknown.  Almost 
of  necessity,  a  dribbling  game 
was  played,  and  the  bold,  dashing 
game  of  to  -  day  impossible. 
A  great  point  was  never  to  let  the 
ball  get  out  of  reach,  not  to  hit  it 
further  than  you  could  get  to  it, 
lest  some  skirting  player  should 
pounce  down  on  it,  and  carry  it  off. 
Those  were  the  days  when  we 
practised  all  sorts  of  iniquities, 
such  as  taking  the  ball  round 
instead  of  hitting  back-handers, 
and  even  riding  one's  own  side  off 
to  get  the  ball.  But  there  is 
another  consideration — which  the 
sad  event  at  Rugby  last  month 
obliges  us  to   think  of.     Offside 

13 


174 


baily's  magazine. 


[September 


makes  the  game  safer.  When 
everyone  is  in  a  cluster  on  the 
ball,  and  one  man  comes  down,  he 
brings  the  others  with  him,  and 
an  accident  which  is  now  excep- 
tional was  in  days  before  Rule  18, 
not  uncommon,  and  three,  or  even 
four,  men  and  ponies  were  some- 
times on  the  ground  together. 

So  much  for  the  ponies  and  the 
rules.  Before  I  finish  this  review 
of  the  season  1  should  like  to 
offer  a  suggestion  as  to  tactics. 
Lookers  on,  they  say,  see  most  of 
the  game,  and  it  is  as  a  spectator 
but  of  necessity  an  attentive  one 
that  I  write.  Is  the  present 
system  of  making  No.  i  hunt  the 
opposing  No.  4  sound  ?  Is  not 
that  player  often  completely 
wasted  and  out  of  the  game  owing 
to  his  efforts  to  impede  No.  4  ? 
Without  altering  the  main  lines 
of  the  play,  would  it  not  be  wiser 
to,  so  to  speak,  to  combine  No.  1 
and   No.   2,   making  them  abso- 


lutely interchangeable  according 
to  the  position  of  the  ball  ?  No.  1 
often  wastes  a  good  deal  of  energy 
in  trying  to  ride  off  No.  4,  and 
there  is  something  quite  touching 
in  the  sight  of  an  ardent  young 
player  clinging  to  a  "back" 
whose  motions  he  never  really 
impedes,  and  whose  stroke  he 
never  hinders.  I  am  not  suggest- 
ing that  back  should  go  free 
entirely,  but  only  that  it  should 
be  equally  the  duty  of  No.  1  or 
No.  2,  according  to  circumstances, 
to  hit  the  ball  or  ride  off  No.  4. 
A  good  deal  of  the  hunting  of 
No.  4  is  at  present  probably 
waste  of  time  and  energy.  This 
is  a  point  well  worth  considering, 
at  all  events  during  the  season 
when  different  sports  will  take 
up  the  time  now  given  to  polo, 
but  will  not,  I  think,  drive  our 
favourite  game  entirely  from  our 
thoughts. 

T.  F.  D. 


The  Chances  of  the  Game. 

SOME     TALES    OF    PLAY. 
By   Major   Arthur   Griffiths. 

Author  of  "My  Grandfather's  Journals,"  &c,  &c. 

V.— FATHER  AND  SON. 


Crowther  Woburn  had  been  a 
member  of  the  Stock  Exchange 
for  many  years,  but  he  had  never 
greatly  prospered.  He  was  too 
great  a  gambler,  too  fond  of 
speculative  business,  of  long  shots 
and  risky  coups,  of  dealing  in 
stocks  and  shares  that  ran  up  and 
down  like  quicksilver.  So  his 
career  had  been  chequered ;  now 
he  made  a  fine  income,  and  went 
near  high  fortune,  now  he  was  in 

*  All  rights  reserved  in  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  Slates. 


Queer  Street,  and  was  more  or 
less  on  the  verge  of  ruin.  He 
did  not  bear  the  highest  reputa- 
tion ;  strait  -  laced  people  called 
him  a  bad  lot,  and  it  was  hinted 
that  he  might  some  day  fall  under 
the  displeasure  of  the  Committee 
of  the  House.  His  own  son, 
Harold  Woburn,  who  had  fought 
his  way  up  from  clerkdom  to 
modest  independence,  would  not 
accept  partnership  with  him  ;  "the 
young  man  was  of  a  different 
kidney,  taking   life  a  little    more 


«899] 


THE   CHANCES   OP  THE   GAME. 


17 


seriously,  and  although  he  was  a 
trifle  weak  and  yielding,  he  pre- 
ferred to  run  alone.  As  it  was, 
his  parentage  rather  oppressed 
and  handicapped  him. 

The  elder  Woburn,  whose 
offices  were  in  Copthall  Court, 
stepped  round  one  morning  to 
have  a  few  private  words  with  his 
son  at  his  little  place  in  Austin 
Friars. 

Crowther  Woburn's  face  wore 
a  look  of  unusual  gravity  ;  he  was 
generally  very  buoyant  and  light- 
hearted,  having  a  cheery,  rubicund 
face  fringed  in  with  snow-white 
hair,  which  went  well  with  the 
jovial,  hearty  manner  the  old  man 
always  affected. 

"  Anything  wrong  ?  "  asked 
Harold  anxiously.  "  My  mother  ?  " 
The  Woburns  lived  St.  John's 
Wood  way,  Harold  with  them, 
for  he  was  wrapped  up  in  his  suf- 
fering invalid  mother.  But  just 
now,  the  height  of  summer,  he 
had  a  lodging  at  Marlow,  and  ran 
up  to  business  every  morning. 

"Your  mother  is  much  the 
same,  Hal.  She  will  never  be 
much  better ;  God  help  her — and 
us,'1  said  old  Woburn,  with  a 
deep,  heart-felt  sigh.  "  I  don't 
know  what  will  happen  to — her, 

unless You  see,    she  needs 

the  utmost  care,  every  luxury, 
and  it  has  been  my  delight  to  give 
them  to  her,  so  long  as  it  was  in  my 
power.  But  Hal,  my  boy,  all 
that  must  come  to  an  end  now. 
I'm  not  worth  sixpence.  I  cannot 
meet  my  engagements.  I  must 
be  'hammered/" 

11  Oh !  surely  not  ?  Things 
cannot  be  so  bad  as  that,  father  ? 
I  was  afraid  you  were  feeling 
the  pinch  —  we  all  do.  The 
times  are  bad,  but  I  never  dreamt 
you  were  so  hard  hit." 

"Hal,  my  boy,  listen.  Not  a 
soul  knows  it  yet,  but  I  am  broke 
— stone  broke,  and  must  go  under. 
God  help  your  mother,  I  say." 


"  Is  there  nothing  that  can  be 
done,  nothing  that  I  can  do  ?  I'm 
not  worth  much,  you  know  that ; 
but  if  I   can  help,   if  I  can  tide 

you  over  the  account,  if— if . 

It  is  my  duty,  and  I  will  do  any- 
thing for  my  mother's  sake." 

"You're  a  good  lad,  Hal.  I 
knew  I  could  rely  on  you,  but  I 
would  not  touch  your  hard  earn- 
ings, not  for  worlds,  or  only  in  the 
very  last  resort.  And  I  want  no- 
thing at  this  moment,  my  *  book  ' 
is  clear,  I  have  met  the  account 
in  full,  but  it  has  completely 
cleaned  me  out.  I'm  not  worth  a 
row  of  pins.  It's  beggary;  blue 
ruin.  The  workhouse  hospital 
for  your  mother,  and  a  pauper's 
grave  for  me.  I  don't  care  how 
soon." 

The  old  man  covered  his  face 
with  his  hands  and  groaned  aloud. 
But  through  his  fingers  he  watched 
his  son  closely. 

11  Don't  give  way,  father.  Is 
there  no  way  out  of  it  ?  None  ?  " 
asked  the  young  man,  placing  his 
hand  on  the  old  man's  shoulder 
with  affectionate  concern. 

"  I  have  an  idea — yes,  a  grand 
idea,"  said  old  Woburn,  looking 
up  briskly,  .seeming  to  recover  his 
composure  at  the  mere  thought  of 
it.  "  But  I  cannot  work  it  alone. 
There  must  be  two  people  in  it. 
It's  a  sure  fortune  for  one  of  them, 
the  winner,  which  the  other,  the 
loser,  would  divide.  What  do 
you  say,  Hal  ?      Will  you  join  ?  " 

"  I  must  know  more  about  it, 
father,"  said  the  son  evasively. 
He  distrusted  his  father's  schemes. 

"It's  like  this.  You  know  the 
situation  as  well  as,  and  better, 
than  I  do.  There's  trouble  brew- 
ing: a  crisis  impending.  Peace 
or  war  hang  in  the  balance,  and 
we  may  be  hard  at  it  within  a 
week's  time.  It's  as  certain  as 
crime.  You  have  read  what 
Gladstone  means  to  do ;  he  is  to 
make  an  important   statement  in 


176 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


the  House  to-night,  and  it  will 
turn  on  that.  Peace  or  war — do 
you  tumble  ?  " 

"  Well  ? M 

"  The  market  will  be  agitated 
to  an  extent  not  known  since — 
since  Waterloo.  There  must  be 
a  great  move  in  stocks,  especially 
Russian,  a  tremendous  drop,  or  it 
is  on  the  cards  a  sudden  rise. 
Either  way  there  is  a  fortune  for 
some  one " 

"  Go  on,  father." 

"  Say  two  operators  —  for  in- 
stance, you  and  I ;  don't  shake 
your  head  till  you  hear  —  two 
people  agree  to  deal  in  Russian. 
One  sells  a  heavy  J  bear,'  a  hun- 
dred thousand;  more,  a  quarter  of 
a  million ;  the  other  becomes  a 
'  bull '  to  the  same  amount. 
Something  good  must  fall  to  one 
of  them." 

"  And  the  other  ?  " 

"  He  will  be  '  left,'  of  course. 
That  is  the  chance  of  the  game. 
But  he  won't  lose." 

"  Why,  he  would  be  *  ham- 
mered.' He  could  not  pay  his 
differences. " 

"  Yes,  he  would  be  '  hammered,' 
so  far  he'd  suffer ;  but  he  would 
get  half  the  swag,  half  what  his 
confederate  made." 

"But,  father,  surely  you  do  not 
seriously  propose  such  a  scheme  ? " 
protested  Harold.  "  Think  what 
it  means,  what  it  would  be  called. 
It's  not  straight,  it's  not  fair  play. 
It's  not  even  an  honest  gamble ; 
for  neither  of  us  have  the  money 
at  our  backs  to  pay  what  we  may 
lose." 

"  Ta,  ta,  ta.  You  put  it  too 
strongly.  You're  far  too  squeam- 
ish. This  wouldn't  be  the  first 
time  it's  been  done.  I'll  admit 
it's  a  bold,  perhaps  a  desperate 
game.  But  then  my  case  is  des- 
perate, and  everything  depends 
upon  my  pulling  through.  Think 
of  your  poor  mother,  Hal.  What 
he  will    suffer    if    I   go    under. 


And  it's  all    so    easy;   easy    as 
pie." 

Crowther  Woburn  plied  his 
son  with  such  arguments  as  these 
for  an  hour  or  more,  and  finally 
overcame  his  scruples.  Harold 
consented,  albeit  very  reluctantly, 
to  join  his  father  in  the  transac- 
tion. He  gave  in  to  the  old  man's 
importunity,  and  hated,  despised 
himself  for  it,  feeling  that  what- 
ever happened,  he  would  know  no 
more  peace  of  mind ;  one  of  them 
— who  could  say  which  ? — might 
possibly  score  a  great  success; 
but  at  what  a  cost !  The  other 
would  be  lost  utterly  and  irrepar- 
ably, and  which  way  it  might  fall, 
Harold's  self-respect  would  be 
sacrificed  for  ever. 

The  compact  settled,  they  put 
the  business  through  promptly. 
They  had  drawn  lots  who  should 
"bull"  and  who  should  "bear." 
The  latter  course  fell  to  Crowther 
Woburn,  who  went  into  the  mar- 
ket and  sold  250,000  Russians, 
distributing  his  orders  through  a 
number  of  brokers,  and  doing  no 
more  than  160,000  himself.  At 
the  same  time  Harold  instructed 
the  friends  with  whom  he  chiefly 
dealt,  young  men  like  himself 
with  their  way  to  make  in  the 
world,  to  buy  a  like  sum  of  Rus- 
sians for  the  next  "  account."  It 
was  a  long  account,  nineteen  days 
ahead,  one  of  the  longest  known 
in  the  financial  year. 

The  two  transactions  were 
completed  the  same  afternoon, 
within  a  few  hours  of  the  father's 
appeal  to  his  son.  The  secret 
between  them  was  of  course 
closely  guarded ;  the  slightest 
whisper  of  it  would  have  spoilt 
the  game,  and  no  one  as  yet  had 
any  suspicion  that  Crowther 
Woburn  was  so  near  collapse. 
But  the  rumour  passed  that  he 
had  become  a  heavy  "  bear  "  of 
Russian  stock,  and  much  curiosity 
was  aroused  as  to  the  information 


i899j 


THE   CHANCES   OP  THE   GAME. 


177 


on  which  he  had  acted.  Would 
it  prove  true  or  false  ?  Would  he 
be  right  or  wrong  ? 

The  question  was  answered  that 
night  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
It  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
occasions  in  recent  history.  The 
conduct  of  the  Government  had 
been  challenged,  impugned,  and 
the  attack  elicited  a  startling  defi- 
nition of  policy  from  the  Premier. 
Mr.  Gladstone  declared  that  un- 
ites Russia  receded  from  her  in- 
tolerable pretensions,  war  was 
certain. 

"  The  book  is  closed,"  he  said. 
'  Diplomacy  has  spoken  its  last 
word.  The  next  will  be  voiced 
by  our  artillery." 

An  extraordinary  storm  of  panic 
broke  upon  the  city  of  London  in 
the  morning.  Men's  hearts  failed 
them  for  fear ;  stocks,  even  the 
best,  ran  down  "  out  of  sight ;  " 
business  was  at  a  standstill ;  peo- 
ple were  throwing  their  stuff  out 
of  the  window,  and  a  terrible 
financial  disaster  was  imminent. 

The  " bears"  went  wild  with 
joy.  Old  Crowther  Woburn,  with 
jubilant  looks  and  paeans  of  satis- 
faction, went  to  and  fro  among 
the  excited  throng  in  the  market 
and  listened  to  the  news.  Every- 
thing was  going  to  the  dogs. 
Russians  were  dropping,  dropping, 
always  downward,  faster  and 
faster,  70,  67,  66,  65,  64,  63— 
eighteen  points  since  he  had  sold 
—was  the  bottom  reached  yet? 
How  much  longer  should  we 
wait  ?  The  profit,  if  he  "  bought 
back"  now  at  63,  would  exceed 
/4O1O00. 

It  was  enough.  He  had  made 
his  "  bit,"  and  he  would  cut  it  at 
that.  He  terminated  his  bargains, 
bought  back  his  stock  at  63,  and 
was  once  more  a  comparatively 
rich  man. 

His  gain  was  Harold's  loss,  of 
course.  Now  for  the  first  time 
he  thought  of  his  unhappy  son 


whom  he  had  scarcely  seen  since 
the  conclusion  of  their  agreement. 
For  the  last  day  or  two,  when  the 
scene  was  at  its  highest  and  the 
" slump"  most  appalling,  Harold 
had  kept  out  of  his  way.  No 
doubt  the  lad  was  feeling  it. 
Poor  lad  !  The  luck  had  been  all 
against  him,  the  chances  had 
ruled  that  he  should  buy  for  the 
rise,  while  fortune  was  in  the  fall. 
Well,  well ;  it  might  have  been 
the  other  way.  He  must  abide 
by  his  luck ;  he  would  be  "  ham- 
mered," declared  bankrupt,  and 
expelled  from  the  Stock  Exchange. 
But  he  should  not  be  quite  left 
out  in  the  cold.  No,  the  winner 
must  make  it  up  to  the  loser,  and 
Mr.  Crowther  Woburn  generously 
resolved  to  make  his  son  an  allow- 
ance, forgetting  that  he  had 
promised  him  the  half  of  his  gains. 
The  time  slipped  by,  a  week,  ten 
days,  and  still  Harold  Woburn 
did  not  show  up  at  his  office  or 
in  the  House.  Things  were  not 
so  bad  as  they  had  been,  still  his 
drop  in  Russians  was  very  severe, 
entailing  a  loss  of  differences  of 
quite  ^"30,000.  All  the  brokers 
with  whom  Harold  had  dealt 
grew  seriously  alarmed.  If  Harold 
did  not  show  up,  if  he  failed  to 
meet  his  engagements  the  brunt 
of  it  would  fall  upon  them.  They 
called  continually  at  his  office,  they 
harassed  the  one  clerk  Harold 
kept,  they  found  out  the  Marlow 
address  and  sent  down  to  it ;  and 
they  constantly  worried  the  father, 
asking  persistently,  angrily  for  his 
son. 

Crowther  Woburn  shrugged  his 
shoulders,  repudiating  all  responsi- 
bility. Harold  was  on  his  own 
hook,  he  made  his  own  bargains, 
they  must  look  to  him  and  not  to 
his  father. 

"Leery  lad!"  thought  Crow- 
ther Woburn,  "  of  course  he  has 
bolted.  I  didn't  think  he  had  it 
in  him.     Better  so.     I    shall  not 


178 


baily's  magazine. 


[September 


look  for  him — if  only  I  can  pacify 
the  mother." 

For  the  poor,  infirm  invalid, 
Mrs.  Woburn,  was  hungering  to 
see  her  son.  Harold,  although  he 
had  been  holiday  making  at  Mar- 
low,  paid  regular  visits  home,  yet 
now  for  several  days  he  had  not 
appeared.  Mrs.  Woburn  fretted, 
wondering;  old  Woburn  tried 
glibly  to  explain  the  absence 
away. 

Then  suddenly  there  was  an 
end  of  all  necessity  for  conceal- 
ment. The  situation  changed; 
Russia,  as  it  is  written  in  history, 
climbed  down,  and  there  was  a 
general  recovery  in  the  money 
market. 

"  Six  clear  days  yet  to  cotango 
day,"  chuckled  Crowther  Woburn. 
"  Russians  already  at  79  and 
going  better.  Why  should  the 
boy  keep  away  ?  Strange.  Surely 
he  knows ;  he  must  see  the  papers." 

The  old  man  resolved  to  run 
down  to  Marlow  and  inquire  for 
his  son.  Yet  they  could  tell  him 
nothing  at  the  little  lodgings ;  Mr. 
Harold  Woburn  had  not  been 
down  there  for  some  days,  he  had 
said  he  was  too  busy  to  leave 
town.  Several  people  had  asked 
for  him,  but  nothing  more  was 
known. 

And  now  at  last  came  the  dread 
explanation.  Harold  had  met  his 
death  or  drowned  himself,  for 
they  found  his  body  below  the 
weir  while  his  father  was  still  in 
Marlow.  It  was  identified  and 
brought  to  the  lodgings,  where  it 
was  laid  waiting  the  inquest.  But 
Crowther  Woburn  begged  that 
the  catastrophe  might  not  be  made 
known  for  at  least  another  day.  It 
must  be  broken  to  his  mother,  poor 
soul,  and  for  pity's  sake  let  him 
have  a  little  time.  He  hurried 
back  to  town,  taking  with  him  a 


letter  found  in  the  breast  pocket  of 
the  drowned  man. 

It  was  addressed  to  Mrs.  Wo- 
burn, but  Crowther  opened  and 
read  it. 

"  I  could  not  face  the  ignominy. 
What  I  consented  to  do  was 
infamous,  criminal,  and  I  richly 
deserved  my  punishment.  But  I 
could  not  have  borne  it.  Your 
pardon,  darling  mother,  and  come 
to  me  soon ;  it  cannot  be  long. 

"  Hal." 

The  father  crushed  up  the  letter 
in  his  hand  with  a  groan  of  awful 
remorse,  oppressed  with  the  guilty 
knowledge  that  he  had  really 
killed  his  son.  But  he  kept  the 
secret  of  the  suicide  not  only  from 
his  poor  wife,  but  from  everyone, 
and  went  boldly  into  market  an- 
nouncing that  he  would  answer 
for  his  son.  He  had  already 
called  in  Austin  Friars,  had 
secured  Harold's  book,  and  made 
himself  master  of  all  transactions 
pending. 

Meanwhile  Russians  had  con- 
tinued to  rise  under  the  frantic 
eagerness  of  the  bears  to  buy 
back  their  commitments,  and  be- 
fore the  day  was  out  the  stock 
touched  97.  Crowther  Woburn 
got  out  at  nearly  the  highest  price 
and  thus  realised  another  ^50,000. 

He  had  won  all  round.  But 
the  news  of  Harold's  death  had  a 
fatal  effect  on  the  poor  mother, 
and  the  successful  Stock  Ex- 
change gambler  found  himself 
alone  and  without  a  near  relation 
or  a  single  friend.  For  some 
inkling  of  what  occurred  spread 
through  the  City,  and  although 
there  was  not  sufficient  evidence 
for  the  committee  to  act  upon,  and 
he  held  his  position  as  a  member 
of  the  House,  no  one  hereafter 
would  speak  to  him  or  take  his 
hand. 


I899-] 


179 


Public-School  Cricket. 


In  a  season  when  many  of  the 
finest  bowlers  in  England  have 
had  to  acknowledge  their  inability 
to  get  a  side  out  on  the  hard,  true 
wickets  which  have  prevailed,  it 
is  absurd  to  assert  that  our  public 
school  bowlers  have  had  a  fair 
chance  of  distinguishing  them- 
selves. The  chances  that  have 
come  their  way  they  have  certainly 
made  the  most  of,  and  one  is 
inclined  to  think  that  there  were 
more  good  bowlers  in  the  schools 
this  year  than  for  some  seasons. 

Unquestionably  the    most    ex- 
citing match  of  the  year  was  that 
between    Eton   and  Winchester. 
So-called  Society  is  not  perhaps 
very  capable    of   criticising    the 
finer  points  of  cricket,  but  during 
the  concluding  stages  of  this  game 
the  excitement  was  so  great  that 
everyone    forgot    to  criticise,   or 
even   speak  except   to    applaud. 
As  everyone  knows,  Eton  won  the 
match  by  one  wicket,  and  if  it  be 
acknowledged  that  the  defeated 
team   were   rather  unlucky  it  is 
no  disparagement  to  the  victors. 
The   chief    features  of   a  game, 
fought  keenly  from  start  to  finish, 
were  the  magnificent  fielding  of 
the  Wykehamists  (until  they  lost 
their    heads    in     the     last    few 
minutes),  the  batting  of    R.    S. 
Darling  and  O.  C.  S.  Gilliat,  the 
wicket-keeping   of    W.    Findlay, 
and  the  bowling  of  A.  C.  Bernard. 
The  points  in  which  the  Etonians 
were  undoubtedly  superior  to  their 
opponents  were  wicket  -  keeping 
and  running.     Findlay  is,   at  the 
present  time,  capable  of  "  keeping  " 
in  first-class  cricket,  and  when 
Longman  and  Denison  began  the 
Eton  innings  they  ran  runs  which 
the   Winchester    boys    had    not 
shown  any  inclination  to  attempt. 
The  fact  is  that  both  schools  had 
very  strong  teams  indeed.    Ber- 


nard, plain  as  he  is  on  a  fast 
wicket,  is  a  tricky  bowler  when 
the  ground  helps  him,  and  Martin 
and  Howard  -  Smith  are  fast 
bowlers  of  the  fast  and  rather 
bumpy  type.  The  best  batsmen 
in  the  Eton  XI.  were  Longman 
(who  captains  the  team  next  year), 
Gilliat,  and  Grenfell.  Gilliat  is 
probably  destined  for  the  army, 
or  he  would  train  into  a  very  fine 
batsman.  Winchester  have  a 
most  useful  bowler  in  G.  J.  Bruce, 
who  goes  up  to  New  College  in 
October,  and  should  do  exceed- 
ingly well.  Hunter  and  Joy  were 
also  good  bowlers,  and  their 
fielding  could  hardly  be  surpassed. 
Darling  played  a  fine  innings 
when  things  were  going  against 
his  side,  and  is  a  far  better  bats- 
man than  his  average  would  sug- 
gest; and  S.  N.  Mackenzie  has  a 
delightfully  free  and  easy  style, 
which  helps  him  to  make  some 
immense  on  -  drives  when  the 
bowler  least  expects  them.  Un- 
fortunately for  Winchester,  Bon- 
ham-Carter  their  wicket-keeper 
also  bowled  and  his  substitute 
was  hardly  capable  enough  to 
prevent  "  byes  "  :  and  extras  in 
quantities  are  terrible  things  when 
a  match  is  won  by  one  wicket. 
The  Eton  and  Harrow  match, 
except  for  one  flickering  but 
delusive  moment  when  it  seemed 
as  if  Eton  might  gain  a  victory, 
which  they  well  deserved  to  win, 
always  looked  like  being  a  drawn 
game.  For  Eton,  Longman 
added  to  his  reputation,  a  remark 
which  also  applies  to  Gilliat,  and 
Grenfell  (who  had  been  kept  out 
of  the  Winchester  match)  played 
good  cricket.  The  Etonian 
bowling  was,  however,  not  deadly 
on  the  hard,  true  wicket,  Howard- 
Smith  being  the  most  dangerous 
bowler  on  the  side.     In  the  early 


i8o 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


stages  of  the  game  £.  M.  Dowson, 
the  Harrow  captain,  enjoyed  one 
more  personal  triumph,  for  after 
taking  6  wickets  for  108  runs  he 
made  87  not  out.  In  the  second 
innings,  however,  his  bowling  was 
not  successful,  but  although  he 
made  few  runs  his  defence  was 
again  impregnable.  H.  J.  Wyld 
and  G.  Cookson,  the  only  other 
old  choices  in  the  Harrow  team, 
played  fine  cricket,  and  Paravicini 
kept  wicket  neatly  and  well.  W. 
D.  Black  met  with  some  success 
as  a  bowler,  but  E.G.  McCorquo- 
dale,  from  whom  much  was 
expected,  was  treated  with  no 
leniency  whatever. 

The  Rugby  and  Marlborough 
match  at  Lord's  was  noticeable 
for  the  extraordinary  ability  of 
the  Marlburian  captain,  R.  H. 
Spooner.  Chiefly  owing  to  his 
efforts,  the  Marlburians  gained  an 
easy  victory,  and  as  they  had 
previously  defeated  Clifton  they 
had  a  thoroughly  successful  season. 
Spooner,  at  this  stage,  is  con* 
sidered  to  be  the  best  batsman 
ever  sent  out  from  Marlborough, 
and  there  would  appear  to  be 
ample  justification  for  this  opinion. 
He  has  every  stroke,  except  the 
11  hook,"  and  his  wrist  power  is 
abnormal.  Unfortunately,  he  is 
not  expected  to  go  to  either 
University,  but  when  he  takes  his 
place  in  the  Lancashire  team  he 
is  bound  to  meet  with  unqualified 
success.  Of  the  other  batsmen  in 
the  Marlborough  XI.  M.  R.  Dick- 
son is  very  stylish,  and  H.  C.  B. 
Gibson  very  sound.  The  Marl- 
burians possessed  any  amount  of 
bowlers,  Napier,  who  is  only 
fifteen  years  old,  being  the  best. 
He  has  a  natural  swerve  from  leg, 
and  if  he  profits  by  experience  he 
ought  to  be  most  useful  in  future 
years.  H.  C.  B.  Gibson  can  keep 
an  excellent  length,  and  has  a 
great  variety  of  pace,  but  the 
wickets  have  been  against   him 


this  season.  Spooner  can  pitch 
his  leg-breaks  with  more  accuracy 
than  some  bowlers  who  are  now 
trying  to  pitch  them  in  county 
cricket.  The  Rugbeians  were 
really  a  very  capable  side,  but  at 
Lord's  they  seemed  to  be  depressed 
by  the  ability  of  Spooner.  E.  W. 
Dillon  is  both  useful  as  a  batsman 
and  bowler ;  C.  B.  Henderson  is 
an  exceedingly  smart  wicket- 
keeper;  and  H.  B.  Grylls  is  a 
fast  bowler  of  some  merit,  but 
uncertain  length. 

Unfortunately,  illness  interfered 
with  the  Cheltenham  XI.  this 
year,  and  their  annual  .matches 
with  Marlborough  and  Clifton 
had  to  be  scratched.  At  the  end 
of  Term  they  were  defeated  by  an 
innings  by  Haileybury,  but  some 
excuse  must  be  made  for  them, 
and  if  they  had  ever  had  a  chance 
they  might  have  become  a  good 
side.  They  had  good  batsmen  in 
the  XL,  notably  their  captain,  A. 
K.  G.  White,  O.  M.  Samson,  and 
R.  S.  Bridge;  and  two  fair 
bowlers,  J.  P.  Winterbotham 
(who  bowls  slow  left  with  a  large 
break)  and  D.  W.  Salter.  Clifton 
were  quite  useful,  the  Robinsons 
doing  many  good  performances; 
and  Malvern  kept  up  their  reputa- 
tion. The  latter  did  not  get  the 
better  of  a  drawn  game  with 
Uppingham,  but  easily  defeated 
Repton.  B.  A.  White,  W.  H.  B. 
Evans,  and  G.  B.  Sanderson  were 
the  most  stylish  batsmen  on  the 
side.  Haileybury  beat  Wellington 
by  eight  wickets,  and  were  un- 
doubtedly a  good  eleven,  and 
Wellington,  thanks  to  centuries 
by  H.  R.  Elliott  and  V.  N. 
Lockett,  easily  beat  Charterhouse. 
K.  O.  Goldie,  the  Wellington 
captain,'  is  a  cricketer  of  much 
promise.  Charterhouse  also  suc- 
cumbed to  Westminster,  although 
they  nearly  succeeded  in  playing 
out  time.  In  this  game,  F.  Young, 
B.  H.  Willett,  and  H.  S.  Bompas 


r 

i 


1899.] 


GAME   LEGISLATION    IN    NORWAY. 


I8l 


batted  finely  for  the  winners ;  and 
8.  £.  S.  Eddis  played  a  splendid 
innings  for  the  Carthusians.  Up- 
pingham were  again  a  good  side, 
G.  H.  S.  Fowke  playing  some 
innings  which  were  exceedingly 
good,  and  A.  Von  Ernsthausen  is 
a  reliable  and  steady  fast  bowler, 
with  a  distinct  knack  for  getting 
his  opponents  out. 


Among  the  minor  schools  one 
hears  very  good  accounts  of  E. 
Fawcett,  of  Newton  Abbot.  He 
is  a  fast  bowler  and  successful 
batsman.  In  these  days,  when 
no  county  can  afford  to  neglect  a 
bowler,  Gloucestershire  (for  which 
county  he  is  qualified)  would  do 
well  not  to  forget  him. 

A.  B.  C. 


Game  Legislation  in  Norway. 


When  an  individual  not  oppressed 
with  a  superabundance  of  coin  of 
the  realm  finds  himself  in  posses- 
sion of  a  large  supply  of  some 
article  about  which  he  himself  is 
not  particularly  keen,  and  for 
which  there  is  a  practically  un- 
limited demand  at  extremely 
remunerative  prices,  he  usually 
takes  such  steps  as  may  enable 
him  to  dispose  of  his  goods  in  the 
best  market.  For  some  time  past 
the  Norwegians  have  been  fortu- 
nate enough  to  occupy  such  a 
position.  Originally  exploited 
some  sixty  years  ago,  on  account 
of  the  magnificent  salmon  angling 
which  its  rivers  then  afforded, 
their  country  has  gradually 
become  the  favourite  resort  of  a 
very  considerable  number  of 
Englishmen  whose  sporting  pro- 
clivities are  not  confined  to  the 
rod ;  and  the  elk  hunter,  the  rein- 
deer stalker,  and  the  ryper  shooter 
have  been  made  heartily  welcome 
in  the  rural  districts  where  they 
have  their  temporary  abodes,  and 
where,  of  course,  they  spend  a 
good  deal  of  money.  It  is  a  well- 
known  fact  indeed  that  owing  to 
the  sums  received  from  foreigners 
in  the  way  of  sporting  rental  and 
its  inevitable  collaterals,  the 
inhabitants  of  many  Norwegian 
valleys   have    been    raised  from 


poverty  to  comfort  and  even  com- 
parative, wealth;  while  the  only 
thing  required  to  make  such 
improvement  more  general,  con- 
tinuous, and  permanent  was  a 
rational  game  law.  The  one 
which  at  present  exists  contains 
faults  innumerable ;  pretty  nearly 
every  Amt  has  a  separate  set  of 
close  times  for  each  individual 
variety  of  animals  and  birds ; 
unlimited  snaring  is  permitted ; 
capercailzie  and  blackgame  may 
be  killed  far  on  into  the  breeding 
season ;  while  the  regulations 
which  apply  to  elk  and  wild  rein- 
deer conduce  to  an  infinite  amount 
of  poaching  and  wanton  destruc- 
tion. 

The  fundamental  fault,  how- 
ever, from  the  economic  as  well 
as  from  the  sporting  point  of  view, 
of  the  present  Norwegian  Game 
Law  is  that,  except  as  regards  the 
larger  animals,  the  owner  of  the 
soil  does  not  possess  a  monopoly 
of  the  sporting  rights  upon  his 
property,  and  Ole,  Per  and  Johan 
are  perfectly  entitled  to  go  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  where  they 
please  in  pursuit  of  willow  grouse, 
capercailzie  or  blackgame  as  long 
as  they  are  accompanied  by  a  dog. 
Obviously,  therefore,  the  ground 
landlord  has  no  inducement  to 
preserve,  for  these  worthy  com- 


i8a 

patriots  of  his  may  corny 
any  moment  and  effectua 
every  head  of  game  wi 
radius  of  their  peregn 
and  for  his  right  to  use 
cannot  obtain  any  adeqv 
from  a  sporting  tenant. 
this  is  connection  with 
amount  of  snaring  by 
irresponsible  and  imp 
persons  which  goes  on 
let  or  hindrance  throug 
winter  months,  it  is  hare 
wondered  at  that  game 
all  kinds  are  rapidly  deer 
numbers,  and  that  in  s 
tricts  where  formerly  tl 
plentiful  they  have  ceasec 
To  obviate,  if  possible, 
these  eccentricities,  a 
sion  was  appointed 
Storthing  to  inquire 
matter,  and  after  obtaini 
valuable  evidence  froi 
owners,  professional 
ryper  snarers,  game  dea 
others  in  different  part 
country,  the  members  of 
mission  presented  their 
voluminous  document, 
proposals  founded  tl 
The  first,  and  by  far 
important  of  tbese  wa 
effect  that  the  landowm 
be  vested  with  a  monopc 
sporting  rights  upon  his 
and  this  has,  as  a  matte 
been  conceded,  "fri  jag 
by  the  new  Act,  whic 
into  force  on  July  is 
abolished  ;  but  at  a  later 
the  proceedings  the  san 
legislators  who  approved 
step,  by  some  extr 
mental  process,  came  to 
elusion  that  it  should  be 
abortive,  and  proceeded  i 
September  15th  as  the 
which  the  shooting  c 
grouse,  capercailzie,  b' 
hares,  &c,  shall  in  fut 
mence. 

Now  in  spite  of  the 


!*»•] 


CAME   LEGISLATION   IN   NORWAY. 


I83 


shooting  is  to  be  permitted  nearly 
a  month  earlier  than  elsewhere  in 
Norway.  And  why  ?  Simply  be- 
cause an  Englishman  pays  a  con- 
siderable sum  for  the  shooting 
rights  upon  one  of  these  islands. 

But  although  the  foreign  sports- 
man has  been  thus  scurvily  treated 
by  the  Norwegian  legislation,  his 
native  prototype  who  is  a  dweller 
in  towns  is  in  even  worse  plight ; 
the  former  can  and  will  of  course 
go  elsewhere ;  but  the  period 
during  which  the  latter  can  absent 
himself  from  his  business  or  pro- 
fessional duties  is  limited,  and  as 
a  rule,  moreover,  he  has  his  hut 
or  other  pied  a  terre  in  a  certain 
fjeld  tract  upon  which  he  has 
leased  the  shooting  rights.  But 
now  a  paternal  Legislature  has 
rendered  it  impossible  for  him  to 
utilise  these,  and  the  disgusted 
owners  are  crying  aloud  at  the 
loss  alike  of  their  money  and  their 
favourite  amusement. 

Since  the  passage  through  the 
Storthing  of  the  new  Game  Law 
the  writer  has  discussed  the  sub- 
ject with  many  Norwegians,  and 
with  the  exception  of  one  or  two 
—who  evidently  knew  very  little 
about  it,  and  who  seemed  to  think 
that  instead  of  there  being  at 
least  fifty  birds  snared  for  every 
one  shot,  the  reverse  was  the  case 
—all  expressed  themselves  to  the 
effect  that  it  was  devoid  of  com- 
mon sense,  that  it  would  be  the 
cause  of  much  loss  to  the  country, 
and  that  it  must  be  altered.  In 
as  much  as  the  Clause  which  fixes 
the  commencement  of  the  season 
during  which  game  birds  may  be 
killed  for  September  15th,  puts  an 
end  to  all  shooting  over  dogs,  in 
time  no  doubt  it  will  be  altered. 
But  the  matter  will  not  be  again 
discussed  by  the  present  Storthing. 
In  1900  there  will  be  a  General 
Election,  and  it  is  practically  cer- 
tain that  the  legislative  eccentricity 
perpetrated  last    May  will    con- 


tinue to  be  the  law  of  the  land  for 
three  or  four  years.  By  that  time, 
however,  the  mischief  will  have 
been  done,  and  Norwegian  owners 
of  sporting  property  will  discover 
that  the  recent  action  of  their 
parliamentary  representatives  has 
caused  them  to  "  miss  their 
market." 

As  regards  the  larger  kinds  of 
game,  the  close  times  for  elk  have 
been  synchronised,  and  in  future 
the  big  deer  may  not  be  killed  in 
any  part  of  the  country  except 
between  September  10th  and  30th. 
The  red  deer  stalking  season  Tin 
deference  to  the  wishes  of  trie 
English  lessees  of  Hitteren)  will 
extend  to  six  weeks — from  August 
15th  to  September  30th ;  and  the 
period  during  which  wild  reindeer 
may  be  shot  is  reduced  to  a  fort- 
night— from  September  1st  to  14th. 

Amongst  the  undesirable  Clauses 
which  the  new  Act  contains,  Nos. 
10  and  1 1  may  be  cited.  The  one 
gives  a  hunter  the  right  to  follow 
big  game  put  up  on  ground  where 
he  is  entitled  to  shoot,  to  any  dis- 
tance beyond  the  limits  thereof ; 
the  other  gives  permission  to  all 
Norwegian  subjects  to  go  where 
they  please  in  pursuit  of  animals 
and  birds  of  prey  for  whose 
destruction  Government  rewards 
are  offered ;  and  both  are  con- 
ducive to  poaching,  and,  collater- 
ally, to  injury  to  private  property 
by  evil- disposed  persons. 

When  it  is  added  that  in  future 
the  foreigner  will  not  be  per- 
mitted to  shoot  birds  on  the  vast 
tracts  of  "high  fjeld"  owned  by 
the  State  under  any  circumstances, 
and  that  before  he  fires  a  cartridge 
elsewhere  than  upon  property 
owned'  by  himself  he  must  take 
out  a  one  hundred  kroner  license, 
a  good  many  English  sportsmen 
will  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  is  time  they  sought  shoot- 
ing quarters  elsewhere  than  in 
Norway.  L. 


184  BAILV'S   MAGAZINE. 


NEW  FOREST  PONIES:  A  GOOD  TYPE  OF  MARE. 


FOREST   PONIES. 
(Frem  photographs  by  P.  G.  Short,  Lyndkurst.) 


I899J 


1 85 


Horses   of  the   Wild  wood. 


Although  to  trace  the  pedigree 
of  the  New  Forest  horse  would 
be  difficult,  if  not  quite  impos- 
sible, yet  their  supposed  Spanish 
extraction  opens  up  the  fact  that 
the  Conqueror  imported  a  number 
of  stallions  from  Spain,  and  most 
probably  had  more  than  one 
turned  loose  into  the  wide  region 
of  Hants  then  being  laid  out  for 
the  purposes  of  the  chase. 

Up  to  about  half  a  century  ago 
the  New  Forester  was  a  pony 
somewhat  diminutive,  with  a  low 
croup  and  head  ill-set.  Usually 
in  herds  of  from  twenty  to  thirty, 
these  little  horses  roamed  practi- 
cally wild,  requiring  invariably  a 
good  deal  of  rope  and  noose 
manoeuvring  before  a  capture  was 
effected. 

By  development  the  Forest 
pony  of  Hants  may  be  said  to 
have  grown  to  a  galloway,  while 
the  breed  has  become  greatly 
improved  since  the  turning  out, 
during  a  part  of  the  year,  of 
several  entires,  the  Verderers 
being  careful  that  such  stallions 
are  good  and  sound. 

Nothing  could  well  be  rougher 
than  existence  upon  the  coarse 
and  in  many  parts  scant,  herbage 
of  the  New  Forest,  the  more  so 
as  some  of  the  districts  there 
are  almost  waterless,  while  even 
in  the  most  inclement  weather 
the  only  shelter  to  be  found  is 
that  which  is  afforded  by  the  trees 
and  undergrowth. 

An  unfair  charge  has  been  laid 
to  the  Forest  horses'  discredit  in 
an  allegation  that  they  crop  off 
the  seedling  trees,  the  fact  being 
that  not  the  teeth  of  the  animal, 
but  the  scythe  of  the  commoner 
in  mowing  the  bracken  reaps 
down  the  young  oaks  and 
beeches. 


Nature,  by  a  wonderful  pro- 
vision, guards  the  infant  tree  life 
of  the  New  Forest  in  a  most 
remarkable  way,  and  may  well  be 
considered  as  a  silent  witness  on 
behalf  of  the  unfairly  maligned 
animals.  No  sooner  does  the  tiny 
tree  make  its  appearance  than  its 
nurses,  the  briar  and  the  holly, 
grow  and  entwine  about,  prevent- 
ing the  cattle  from  browsing  off 
the  bantling  sapling,  though  such 
guards  are  not  proof  against  the 
wholesale  destruction  of  a  thrust- 
in  sickle. 

The  Forest  ponies,  although 
roaming  in  comparative  wildness 
over  parts  of  the  half  a  thousand 
acres  to  which  commoners'  rights 
are  attached,  become  most  tract- 
able after  breaking  in,  displaying 
but  little,  if  any  vice,  while  their 
stamina  is  remarkable. 

The  Brockenhurst  race  meeting, 
annually  held  at  Balmer  Lawn, 
has  done  much  to  show  the 
sterling  all-round  qualities  of  the 
Forest  galloways,  while  the  fairs 
periodically  are  becoming  more 
than  ever  advantageous  to  the 
commoner  who  seeks  to  dispose 
of  his  animals  to  advantage. 
Martinstown,  a  few  miles  from 
Dorchester,  is  also  noted  for  its 
"  Forest  pony  "  fair. 

Swan  Green,  a  mile  from  Lynd- 
hurst,  on  the  Christchurch  road, 
is,  on  the  ninth  of  every  August, 
annually  the  scene  of  a  large 
number  of  little  Foresters  being 
trotted  out  for  sale,  and  also  the 
rendezvous  of  the  considerable 
dealer  element  of  the  wide  district. 

For  many  years  pony  races 
have  formed  an  attractive  feature 
whenever  held  in  Hants,  usually 
in  connection  with  flower  shows, 
and  at  a  recent  Horticultural 
Society's    Show     at     Eastleigh, 


'54 

luDt  Mih— The  Briu-h 
V«u  Old  Kace  .,i 

Mr.  J.  B.  U«h»  I. 
by  Murion-H)« 

Mi.  P-  C  l'llloni 
91L  9'h 

Sm.  sib-  

6 10  I  afist-  Si. 


June  *7ih--  IT"  JuIr  h 

'         neb,    l"«    i*n' 

T.Y.C.|fi«fiitl. 

Mr.  WJL.ce  Johnsl 
■■in    Ktfile,    li) 

G.melle.  9*1 

Mr.  Douglis  Biird 

Duke'  or  Porliind'- 

bn.8st.  nib... 

iooioS^si,U[ 

law    »9iri.-The    Pn 

'         Sukrao*  7.'9° ' 

Uukt  of  Weuminsi 

F  01,  br  Onae— 

9sl  5lb- ; 

Sir  F.  Johnstone 
Emblem,  J  !<*•■ 

Prince  Soliykoffs 
!*•*■»■*■- 

6to4«lF, 
TheJ.lT&P,0' 

Cou«  (»»  ""' 
Mr.  Kwrie'' ■  b-  c 

thnsUsl— Creel 

loib. -■ 

Lord  W.  Beresfoi 
of  ibe  Tbisde, 

Mr.  Coring*"? 

100  W  30 

B1BURY  CLl 

Mr.  Rio*1^  u 
^Buceineei 

8sl  !»">■  ■•:' 

dington,  9s1- 
j  »!•**■ 


NEW  FOREST   PONIES. 


NEW  FOREST   PONIES  AND   FOAL. 

C    (From  photographs  by  F.  G.  Short,  Lyndkurst.) 


I8»] 


THE   SALMON    IN   THE   STATUTE    BOOK. 


I87 


several  events  for  Foresters  and 
their  like  type  were  ridden  off 
with  the  greatest  success ;  Mr.  J. 
Willis  Fleming,  of  Chilworth 
Manor,  who  was  mainly  instru- 
mental in  arranging  the  event, 
being  highly  enthusiastic  over  its 
great  success. 

Such  pony  race-meetings  not 
only  afford  an  innocent  and  inter- 
esting feature  to  the  people  at- 
tending, but  tend  to  engender  a 
greater  interest  in  the  animals  on 
the  part  of  their  owners,  for  to 
win  a  prize  means  local  reputation 


and  an  enhanced  value  for  the 
successful  competitor. 

There  is  certainly  every  reason 
why  a  much  greater  industry 
should  be  carried  on  in  horse 
rearing  by  the  commoners  of  the 
New  Forest  who  have  practically 
unlimited  rights  over  so  large  an 
area.  There  is  an  ever  ready 
market  for  smart  little  light  con- 
veyance animals  such  as  those 
reared  in  the  Lyndhurst  country, 
and  in  the  prices  likely  to  be 
realised  there  should  be  a  very 
fair  margin  of  profit. 


The  Salmon  in  the  Statute  Book. 


Fish,  both  sea  and  river,  held  a 
very  important  place  on  the  dietary 
of  our  ancestors.  There  were  long 
periods  when,  under  the  dominion 
of  the  Church,  enforced  abstinence 
from  meat  on  "  Fish  days  "  and  at 
prescribed  seasons,  made  the  fish- 
supply  a  matter  of  the  first  con- 
cern; thus,  as  we  might  expect, 
fish  came  under  the  care  of  the 
Legislature  long  before  game, 
other  than  deer,  were  honoured 
by  such  attention. 

It  is  quite  in  keeping  with  Scot- 
land's modern  fame  as  a  sporting 
country  that  her  kings  should  have 
been  first  in  the  field  with  measures 
for  the  protection  of  salmon.  More 
than  a  hundred  years  before  the 
first  Act  of  Parliament  was  pass- 
ed for  the  preservation  of  the  fish 
in  English  streams,  William  the 
Lion,  at  the  "  Assize  of  Waters," 
held  at  Perth  in  1175,  adopted 
steps  to  secure  free  passage  for 
salmon  in  rivers  north  of  Tweed. 
The  earls,  barons,  and  judges  of 
Scotland, in  Parliament  assembled, 
certainly  did  not  insist  upon  a  fish 
fairway  either  extravagant  or 
precise;   and  they  worded  their 


enactment  in  a  fashion  that  could 
be  understanded  of  any  man : — 
"  The  mid-streams  are  to  be  left 
free  for  the  length  of  a  three-year- 
old  pig."  Assuming  the  average 
length  of  a  three-year-old  porker 
to  have  been  3  feet,  a  mid-stream 
fairway  of  that  width  was  little 
to  ask  in  such  rivers  as  the  Tay, 
Forth,  and  Clyde — it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  remind  the  reader 
that  the  Clyde  was  a  salmon  river 
as  far  as  the  Falls  till  recent  times. 
In  the  clause,  "  no  one  shall  take 
fish  from  Saturday  at  even  till 
Mononday  (sic)  at  the  sun  be 
risen,"  the  same  Act  adopted  the 
weekly  close-time  principle,  which 
has  been  observed  ever  since. 
This  old  Scots  law  plainly  indicates 
understanding  of  the  movements 
of  salmon  on  the  part  of  William's 
advisers. 

One  of  the  earliest  mentions  of 
salmon  in  English  history  occurs 
in  Madox'  History  of  the  Exchequer, 
wherein  is  recorded  Henry  lll.'s 
mandate  to  the  Sheriff  of  Glou- 
cester to  have  twenty  salmon  "  put 
into  pyes  against  Christmas."  At 
this  period  the  fish  was  uncared 


1 88 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


for  by  legislators,  but  in  the  next 
reign  it  received  attention.  The 
first  English  law  in  the  interests  of 
salmon  was  passed  in  1285  (*3 
Edward  I.,  Stat.  Westm.).  This 
provided  that  the  streams  of 
Yorkshire,  enumerated  by  name, 
and  all  other  salmon  rivers  in  the 
Realm  should  "  be  in  defence" 
(observe  the  literal  rendering  of  the 
original  French)  from  taking  sal- 
mon, from  the  Nativity  of  our  Lady 
September  8th)*  until  St.  Martin's 
Day  (November  nth).  Thus  a 
•close  season  for  the  king  of  game 
fish  was  first  established  in 
England  over  three  centuries 
before  the  close-time  principle  was 
■adopted  in  the  interests  of  winged 
game  ( 1  James  I.,  c.  27;seeBAiLYfs 
Magazine  for  May).  Edward  I.'s 
Act  did  not  stop  here;  it  took 
salmon  fry  under  protection, 
making  it  illegal  to  take  or  destroy 
young  salmon  by  nets  or  other 
•engines  at  mill  pools,  from  the 
middle  of  April  to  the  Nativity  of 
St.  John  the  Baptist  (June  24th). 
Mill  pools  would  afford  peculiar 
facilities  for  netting  fry  in  large 
numbers,  and  if  this  law  were 
duly  carried  into  effect  it  would 
-doubtless  have  been  productive  of 
no  small  benefit.  Another  pro- 
vision in  this  Act  deserves  notice  : 
for  centuries  our  sovereigns  made 
laws  for  the  protection  of  game, 
but  omitted  to  create  machinery  to 
-enforce  their  provisions.  Edward 
I.'s  salmon  law  declared  that  there 
•should  be  appointed  "  overseers  of 
this  statute,"  who,  being  sworn, 
should  "  often  times  see  and 
inquire  of  offenders."  The  water 
bailift's,  therefore,  is  a  much  older 
•office  than  the  gamekeeper's. 

The  statute  (date  uncertain,  but 
in  all  printed  copies  of  English 
Laws  referred  to  the  seventeenth 
year  of  Edward  I  I.'s  reign),  which 
made  whales  and  great  sturgeons, 

*  All  dates  are  New  Style. 


taken  in  the  sea  or  elsewhere,  save 
in  privileged  places,  the  king's  pre- 
rogative, does  not  come  within  our 
purview,  but  deserves  passing 
mention,  inasmuch  as  it  is  still  the 
Royal  prerogative  to  claim  every 
sturgeon  caught  in  the  Kingdom. 
Nor  need  Richard  I  I.'s  law,  for- 
bidding the  fishmongers  of  London 
to  buy  for  sale  again  any  fish 
except  "  eels,  luces,*  and  pykes," 
detain  us.  We  may  pass  on  to 
the  year  1389,  when  Edward's 
law  for  the  preservation  of  salmon 
fry  was  confirmed  and  extended 
(13  Richard  1 1.),  the  destruction  of 
young  fish  by  nets  and  engines 
being  absolutely  prohibited.  This 
law  is  noteworthy  by  reason  of  a 
clause  which  indicates  recognition 
by  legislators  of  the  fact  that 
salmon  movements  vary  in  dif- 
ferent waters.  It  altered  the  close 
season  on  all  Lancashire  rivers, 
making  it  illegal  to  take  fish 
between  Michaelmas  Day  (Sep- 
tember 29th)  and  the  Purification 
of  our  Lady  (February  2nd), 
"  because  that  samons  be  not 
seasonable  in  the  said  waters  at 
the  time  aforesaid."  The  penalties 
under  English  law  at  this  period 
for  taking  salmon  out  of  season 
were  tolerably  severe ;  confisca- 
tion of  nets,  &c,  for  the  first 
offence,  three  months  imprison- 
ment  for  the  second,  and  one  year 
for  the  third.  In  Scotland  they 
were  much  more  drastic ;  in  1398 
the  penalty  was  a  fine  of  one 
hundred  shillings  for  the  first 
transgression,  while  the  third  was 
punishable  with  death. 

Richard  II.  appears  to  have 
been  much  alive  to  the  importance 
of  regulating  the  salmon  fisheries, 
for  his  law  of  1394  (17  Rich.  II., 
c.  9)  appoints  Justices  of  the 
Peace,  conservators  to  survey  all 
weirs,  "  that  they  shall  not  be  very 


*  "  Luce,"  according  to  Chambers's  Dictionary, 
1884,  is  "  a  full-grown  pike. ' 


I%] 


THE   SALMON   OF  THE    STATUTE    BOOK. 


189 


strait  for  the  destruction  of  fry, 
but  of  reasonable  wideness  " :  the 
latitude  left  for  the  exercise  of 
judgment  on  the  part  of  the  local 
authorities  will  be  remarked.  With 
the  recent  discussion  concerning 
the  feasibility  of  making  the 
Thames  once  more  a  salmon  river, 
fresh  in  our  minds,  it  is  interesting 
to  note  that  this  old  law  granted 
the  citizens  of  London  leave  to 
remove  and  take  away  all  the 
weirs  in  the  Thames  and  Medway, 
the  "  Mayor  or  Warden  "  of  the 
City  of  London  being  accorded 
the  authority  of  a  LP.  over  the 
river,  from  the  Bridge  of  Staines 
to  London,  and  from  thence  ;  and 
also  over  the  Medway. 

Our  ancestors  must  have  been 
exceedingly      improvident       and 
wasteful  in  the   matter   of  fish  ; 
from    the    preamble    of    an  Act 
passed  by  Henry  VII.  in  1489  it 
appears  that    people  caught    far 
more  fry  of  sea  fish  than   they 
could  eat,  and  were  in  the  habit  of 
feeding  their  dogs  on  them ;  also 
they  buried   large   quantities,   of 
which  they  could  dispose  in   no 
other  way,  and  did  it  so  carelessly 
as  to  cause    a    nuisance.      The 
good  people  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk 
were  particularly  remiss  in   this 
respect,  and  the  law  in  question 
had  special  application  to  Orford 
Haven,    whither     fish     in    large 
numbers  resorted  to  deposit  their 
spawn.     A  law  passed  in  the  year 
'483  by  Edward  IV.  shows  how 
plentiful  was  the  salmon  in  English 
rivers  at  the  time,  and  how  im- 
portant the  fish  was  as  an  article 
of  food.     This  Act  was  made  to 
put  an   end  to   "  divers  deceits, 
practised  in  respect  of  measures  of 
vessels,"  called  butts,  barrels  and 
half-barrels,  ordained  for  packing 
salmon.      The    butt    was  of    84 
gallons9  capacity,    and    the    full- 
sized  butt  only  was  to  be  used ; 
large  salmon  were  to  be  packed  by 
themselves,     "  without    mingling 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  475. 


any  grills  (grilse)  or  broken-bellied 
salmon.  All  small  fish  called 
grills  shall  be  packed  by  them- 
selves." Eels — which  were  for 
centuries  prominent  as  food-fish  in 
England — and  all  other  fish  were 
packed  and  sold  by  the  barrel, 
half-barrel,  and  firkin,  the  barrel 
containing  32  gallons,  or  half  the 
quantity  of  the  salmon  butt.  The 
difference  in  size  of  measure, 
making  all  allowance  for  the 
superior  size  of  the  salmon,  seems 
to  indicate  a  large  trade  in  these 
fish. 

The  Humber  and  Ouse  must 
have  been  a  splendid  fishing 
ground  in  the  sixteenth  century ; 
in  1 53 1  Henry  VIIL's  advisers 
realised  that  the  prosperity  of  the 
city  of  York,  due  to  the  free 
passage  of  vessels  from  Hull,  was 
threatened  with  "  utter  destruc- 
tion, ruin,  and  decay,"  by  reason 
of  the  number  of  engines  for  taking 
fish,  called  fish  garths,  which 
were  set  in  the  fairway  where 
ships  should  have  clear  water. 
The  stakes,  piles  and  other  obstruc- 
tions used  for  these  "  fish  garths  " 
were  a  source  of  jeopardy  to 
vessels  and  to  mariners  ;  and  for 
this  reason  it  was  enacted  that  all 
such  obstructions  which  hindered 
traffic  were  to  be  pulled  up.  The 
owners  of  these  fish  traps  evidently 
recked  little  of  the  safety  of  ship- 
ping, for  we  gather  that  the  piles 
and  stakes  employed  were  un- 
marked, so  that  their  tops  must 
have  been  a  fruitful  cause  of 
damage  to  the  hulls  of  ships  coming 
up  at  high  water.  The  law  re- 
quired the  proprietors  of  all  fish 
garths  which  were  left  standing 
to  set  piles  which  should  appear  at 
least  one  yard  above  high  water, 
"  to  remain  and  stake  out  the  safe 
waterway."  Henry  VIII.  passed 
another  law  which  came  into 
operation  in  1535,  to  protect  the 
fry  of  "  Eeles  and  salmon " 
(salmon  yielding   priority  to  eels 

14 


190 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[S 


looks  curious  to  our  eyes),  and 
also  to  prevent  the  killing  of  kelts. 
The  stout  monarch  showed  him- 
self a  sportsman  in  his  legislation 
for  protection  of  furred  and 
feathered  game,  and  to  him  is  due 
credit  for  the  first  specific  legisla- 
tion in  favour  of  spent  fish,  at  the 
time  "  when  they  be  unsesonable 
and  not  holesome  for  mann's 
body,  commonly  called  kipper 
salmon."  The  use  of  the  word 
"  kipper "  is  nowadays  most 
usually  applied  to  the  fish  split, 
salted,  dried,  and  smoked,  but  let 
that  pass.  By  Henry's  Act  kelts 
or  kippers  were  protected  from 
Holy  Cross  Day  (September  14th) 
to  St.  Martin's  (November  nth). 
This  close  time  was  in  force  on  all 
English  and  Welsh  rivers,  "  in- 
cluding Berwick,1'  taking  no 
account  of  the  variations  in  the 
spawning  season  on  different 
waters.  This  Act  (25  Hy.  VIII. 
c.  7)  also  created  a  close  season, 
May  1st  to  September  1st,  to  re- 
main in  force  during  ten  years,  in 
favour  of  "  any  frye,  spawne  or 
brode  of  any  kind  of  salmon  called 
lakspynkes,  smowtis  or  salmon 
peles,"  otherwise  parr  (still  called 
"  laspring"  in  some  parts),  smolts 
and  peal  or  grilse.  It  is  not  very 
clear  what  was  in  the  minds  of  the 
experts  who  drafted  this  Bill. 
The  passage  quoted  may  be  read 
as  meaning  that  the  "  fry,  spawne 
or  brode"  were  called  parr,  smolts 
or  peal ;  or  that  the  three  were 
regarded  as  different  sorts  of 
salmon,  each  capable  of  re- 
producing its  kind.  Considering 
the  uncertainties  which  surrounded 
the  life  history  of  the  salmon  until 
recent  years  we  are  inclined  to 
suppose  that  in  the  sixteenth 
century  the  three  stages  of  de- 
velopment were  regarded  as  three 
distinct  varieties. 

In  prescribing  penalties  for  con- 
travention of  this  Act  the  "en- 
gines "   used   in   those   days    for 


taking  fish  are  enumerated ;  they 
are  the  "  wele,  butte,  nett  herd, 
net  of  heare,  tainyng,  lepe,  hyve, 
crele,  rawe  webbe,  lister,  syer." 
None  of  these  appliances  can  be 
interpreted  to  mean  "'rod"; 
whence  we  conclude  that,  although 
our  ancestors  then  angled  success- 
fully for  coarse  fish,  the  salmon  was 
beyond  the  powers  of  hook  and 
line  in  Henry  VIII. 's  day.  A 
proviso  in  a  law  passed  in  1558-9, 
which  we  shall  notice  in  its  place, 
may  be  read  to  mean  that  in 
Queen  Elizabeth's  reign  English 
anglers  were  beginning  to  try  their 
luck  with  salmon. 

Before  going  further  it  may  be 
mentioned  that  Scotland  was  far 
ahead  of  England  in  protecting 
kelts.  James  II.,  in  1457,  con- 
firmed laws  then  in  existence 
north  of  Tweed  agamst  the  killing 
of  "  red  fish." 

Fish  ponds  or  stews  were  very 
common  adjuncts  of  large  country 
houses  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
the    fish    therein   formed  a   sore 
temptation    to     "light    and    un- 
reasonable persons  "  by  night  and 
day.     Not    only   did   these   light 
persons  enter  private  grounds  at 
all   hours,  and  fish    with    "  net, 
hook,  and  bait "  ;  they  assembled 
in  gangs,  and  broke    down    the 
heads  or  artificial  banks  of  ponds, 
and  netted  the  fish  wholesale  as 
the  water    rushed  out ;    a    pro- 
ceeding distinctly  "  unreasonable." 
In  1539  (31  Hy.  VIII.,  c.2)  night 
fishing  in  private  ponds,  stews  or 
moats,  against  the    will    of    the 
owner,  and  breaking  the  heads  of 
fish    ponds,    was    made    felony, 
punishable  with  death. 

We  now  come  to  an  Act  (1 
Elizabeth,  c.  17)  of  some  consider- 
able importance,  inasmuch  as  it 
contains  the  first  mention  of  trout. 
This  Act,  passed  in  1558-9,  had 
for  its  direct  purpose  again  the  - 
protection  of  fry;  wasteful  persons*  ■ 
it  seems,   still  continued  to  take 


J 


i*9*] 


THE  SALMON  OF  THE  STATUTE  BOOK. 


191 


the  young  of  "Eles,  samons, 
pykes,  and  all  other  Ash  "  in  large 
quantities,  and  fed  swine  and  dogs 
thereon.  This  law  absolutely  for- 
bade the  taking  of  spawn ;  also 
the  taking  of  "  salmons  or  trowtes 
not  in  season,  being  kipper  salmon 
or  kipper  trowtes,  shedder  salmon 
or  shedder  trowtes  "  (cock  salmon 
or  trout  after  spawning  time,  hen 
salmon  or  trout  after  spawning). 
Pike  of  less  length  than  ten  inches, 
salmon  under  sixteen  inches,  and 
trout  under  eight  inches,  or  barbel 
under  twelve  inches,  might  not 
be  taken,  "  angling  excepted." 
This,  as  above  remarked,  is  the 
first  indication  that  salmon  were 
taken  by  rod  and  line  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  we  may 
perhaps  infer  from  the  wording  of 
the  Act,  apart  from  what  we 
know  of  the  angling  tackle  of  the 
time,  that  only  the  smaller  fish 
were  so  caught.  We  have  in  the 
negative  form,  inseparable  from 
the  evidence  of  the  Statute  Books, 
proof  that  during  the  latter  half  of 
the  century  salmon  angling  was 
practised  north  of  Tweed.  James 
VI.,  in  1579,  passed  a  new  law 
prohibiting  the  capture  of  "red 
fish"  by  blazes,  wands,  or  other- 
wise. 

In  Act  15,  of  the  year  1581, 
passed  by  James  VI.,  lines  are 
mentioned  in  company  with  cruives 
and  "  loops."  For  more  than  120 
years  after  Elizabeth  passed  her 
law  (5  Eliz.,  21)  to  protect  fish  in 
ponds  (Henry  VIII.'s  statute, 
with  its  drastic  penalties,  having 
become  obsolete),  there  was  no 
further  attempt  to  protect  or  im- 
prove the  river  fishings  of  England. 
Certain  laws  were  made  by  Eliza- 
beth and  James  I.  in  the  interests 
of  sea  fisheries  and  fishermen,  but 
these  do  not  come  within  our 
scope.  It  may  be  remarked,  how- 
ever, that  two  of  these  Acts  were 
passed,  less  with  the  object  of 
improving  the  fisheries  than  with 


the  view  of  encouraging  the  craft 
of  sea  fishing ;  that  fishermen,  in 
the  words  of  1  Jac.  I.  c,  29,  "  may 
encrease  to  furnishe  the  Navie  of 
England,  of  which  the  fishermen 
of  England  have  ever  been  the 
chiefest  seminarie  and  nuserie." 
These  laws  required  the  con- 
sumption by  all  persons  of  fish  in 
Lent  and  on  fish  days  ;  and  the 
Act  quoted  went  so  far  as  to 
empower  Justices  to  enter  victual- 
ler's dwellings,  inns,  cook-houses, 
and  eating-houses,  to  search  for 
meat. 

Charles  II.,  in  1670-1,  passed  a 
law  (22  Car.  IL,  25)  protecting, 
more  especially  fish,  in  ponds  and 
stews,  but  also  "  other  water " 
from  the  unauthorised  fisherman. 
It  specifies  the  methods  of  taking 
fish,  and  so  requires  mention. 
The  "net,  angle,  haire  noose, 
troll,  or  speare,"  are  the  weapons 
enumerated.  Anglers,  a  few  years 
before  this  Act  was  placed  on  the 
Statute  Book,  had  had  their  hands 
strengthened  by  the  discovery  of 
gut  or  by  its  application  to  tackle. 
On  March  8th,  1667,  you  may 
remember,  Mr.  Caesar  showed 
Samuel  Pepys  "  a  pretty  experi- 
ment of  his  angling  with  a  miniken, 
a  gutt  string,  varnish'd  over, 
which  keeps  it  from  swelling,  and 
is  beyond  any  hair  for  strength  and 
smallness."  Pepys  liked  the 
secret  mightily — as  he  did  many 
other  things — but  we  do  not  find 
that  he  tried  his  own  hand  withthis 
improved  tackle.  James  Saunders, 
in  The  Compleat  Fisherman,  pub- 
lished 1724,  is  the  first  angling 
author  who  mentions  gut  ;  it 
seems  probable  that  the  article 
did  not  come  into  very  general 
use,  for  some  time  after,  however, 
as  a  writer  in  the  Field  of  January 
2nd,  1864,  mentions  having  un- 
earthed a  tacklemaker's  advertise- 
ment of  the  year  1760,  in  which 
silkworm  gut  is  announced  as  a 
"  new  article." 


192 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


Although  comparatively  recent 
writers  on  angling — conspicuously 
William  Scrope,  whose  "  Days  and 
Nights  of  Salmon  Fishing  on  the 
Tweed"  was  published  in  1843 — 
include  the  spear  and  leister 
among  the  weapons  a  fisherman 
may  legitimately  employ,  it  must 
be  pointed  out  that  salmon 
spearing  on  Scottish  rivers  was 
made  illegal  as  far  back  as  1639. 
Charles  ll.'s  law,  above  referred 
to,  only  forbade  use  of  the  spear 
among  other  weapons,  except  with 
leave  of  the  owner  of  the  water ; 
a  very  different  thing. 

Fish  poaching,  like  other 
poaching,  would  seem  to  have 
become  an  extremely  common 
offence  at  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  4  W.  and  M.,  c. 
23,  empowered  Justices  to  search 
suspected  dwellings  for  fish,  and 
require  the  possessor  to  render  a 
satisfactory  account  of  the  same ; 
and  it  made  illegal  the  possession 
of  nets,  angles  and  other  engines 
for  taking  fish  to  the  damage  of 
their  owner.  The  proprietor  or 
occupier  of  any  fishery  might  seize 
such  gear,  and  detain  it  for  his 
own  use.  It  should  be  added  that 
the  provisions  of  this  law  did  not 
apply  to  tacklemakers  nor  to 
fishermen  in  navigable  waters. 

Queen  Anne  passed  two  laws  in 
the  interests  of  salmon  fishing  ; 
one  in  1705,  with  special  reference 
to  the  streams  of  Hampshire  and 
Wiltshire ;  the  other  (1710)  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Thames.  The 
rivers  in  Hants  and  Wilts  were 
suffering  from  "  engines  and  de- 
vices," which  prevented  the  free 
passage  of  fish  to  and  from  the 
sea ;  further,  the  dykes  and  water- 
cuts  made  for  draining  the  pastures 


tempted  salmon  into  places  where 
they  could  be  easily  killed.  The 
old  close  season  prescribed  by 
Edward  I.  in  the  year  1285  was 
renewed  and  extended,  the  close 
time  beginning  June  30th  instead 
of  September  8th,  and  various 
steps  were  taken  to  secure  free  ac- 
cess to  the  redds  for  adult  fish,  and 
to  the  sea  for  young.  For  ex- 
ample, it  was  made  compulsory 
that  eel  pots  laid  between  January 
1  st  and  March  10th  should  have 
racks  set  before  them  to  keep  out 
"  old  salmon  or  kippers,  which 
during  that  season  are  out  of  kind 
and  returning  to  sea  " ;  and  from 
March  10th  to  May  31st  no  pot- 
net  nor  engine  with  meshes  not 
wide  enough  to  let  salmon  fry 
through,  might  belaid.  This  Act 
(5  Anne,  c.  8)  is  the  first  to  take 
cognisance  of  "  bouges,  otherwise 
called  sea  t routs  "  ;  and  it  ordains 
for  them  the  same  close  season  as 
that  established  for  salmon,  June 
30th  to  November  nth. 

The  Act  for  the  protection  of 
the  Thames  salmon  fisheries  had 
a  twofold  object ;  the  preservation 
of  "good,  wholesome,  cheap,  and 
seasonable  fish,"   and  the  main- 
tenance of  fisheries  which  were  of 
value  "in  breeding  up  able-bodied, 
sea -faring  men,  and  the  prevention 
of  smuggling,"  from  which  latter 
reason    we     conclude     that     the 
valuable  Thames  fishings   lay  in 
the  mouth  of  the  river.     It   was 
the  old  story  over  again.     At  this 
time  it  appears  "  Salmon  fish  are 
become  very  scarce,"  owing  to  the 
destruction  of  great  quantities  of 
"  salmon  and  salmon  kind  of  fish  " 
out  of  season — September  24th  to 
November  nth. 

C. 


I899-] 


193 


Vain  Glory  and  Egotism 


In  1834  ^r-  R*  Broughton  found 
himself  in  the  position  of  "  the 
last  man  "  at  Harrow,  qua  cricket, 
he  being  the  only  one  left  of  the 
eleven  whp  played  against  Win- 
chester and  Eton  at  Lord's  in 
1833,  so  it  feM  upon  him  to  form 
a  perfectly  new  eleven  barring 
himself.  He  told  me  some  years 
ago,  when  he  was  giving  me 
some  particulars  of  the  early  life 
of  his  friend  and  schoolfellow,  the 
Hon.  Robert  Grimston,  that  he, 
as  the  ex~officio  captain  of  the 
eleven,  asked  Mr.  Grimston  to  aid 
him  in  the  choice  of  the  little 
army  who  were  to  meet  Harrow 
and  Winchester  at  Lord's,  and  he 
put  "  Bob  Grimston's  "  name 
down  along  with  his  own  as  two 
of  the  eleven.  Having  completed 
his  list,  he  found  his  nominee  to 
be  a  deserter,  as  "  Bob  Grimston  " 
ran  his  pen  through  his  own 
name,  saying  that  "  he  was  not 
certain  enough  in  the  field/' 
How  many  boys  or  men  would  do 
so  now? 

This  same  Mr.  Broughton,  who 
had  a  good  career  from  his  Har- 
row days  onwards,  in  University 
and  M.C.C.  matches,  and  is  well 
known  to  have  been  a  staunch 
supporter  of  the  M.C.C,  and  to 
have  served  on  committees  and 
held  high  office  in  days  when 
support  was  needed,  has  written 
an  admirable  letter  in  the 
Morning  Post  of  August  4th  daring 
to  intimate  that  the  bowling  and 
fielding  are  inferior  now  to  that  of 
the  past ;  that  the  law  of  l.b.w.  is 
administered  most  unsatisfactorily; 
that  the  greed  for  average  has 
caused  many  players  to  guard 
their  wicket  with  their  pads  in- 
stead of  with  their  bats;  and  to 
regard  the  quantity  and  not  the 
quality  of  their  runs  as  a  proof  of 
excellence.      Mr.     Broughton    is 


"  the  bad  man  "  of  the  story  in 
the  eyes  of  the  modern  exhibition 
cricketers,  for  he  has  dared  to 
speak  the  truth,  the  whole  truth, 
and  nothing  but  the  truth. 

In  his  letter  Mr.  Broughton 
deprecates  the  modern  custom  of 
boundary  hits  being  adopted  in- 
stead of  running  hits  out,  where- 
by the  batsman  saves  his  legs  and 
wind,  and  has  the  advantage  of 
not  risking  a  "  run  out."  He 
tells  us  in  his  letter  that  he  has 
tried  some  amendment  laws  at 
the  M.C.C.  when  the  batting 
interest  swamped  him.  And  so 
it  will  be  again  probably,  for  as 
things  are  now  colossal  scores  and 
draws  seem  to  be  the  order  of  the 
day. 

The  old  saying  is  that  you  can- 
not "get  butter  out  of  a  dog's 
mouth  ;  "  and  that  saying  applies 
by  analogy  to  men  as  well  as 
dogs,  as  after  some  years  of  im- 
munity from  danger  of  being 
bowled,  owing  to  the  unsportsman- 
like use  of  the  pad,  which  is  used 
as  the  second  line  of  defence  ;  and 
of  the  danger  of  being  "  run  out," 
or  getting  fatigued  and  winded  by 
running  the  runs  when  the  ball 
passes  a  boundary,  it  is  not  likely 
that  those  who  are  enjoying  the 
luxury  of  the  present  ignoble  and 
lazy  cricket  rest,  will  be  parties  to 
disturbing  the  modern  state  of 
things. 

The  absurd  law  that  the  ball 
must  pitch  on  the  eight  -  inch 
ribbon  of  turf  between  wicket  and 
wicket  has  practically  deprived 
the  bowler  of  any  value  from  an 
on  break  or  to  get  a  man  out 
l.b.w.,  and  the  modern  fashion  of 
the  Catherine  wheel  over  head 
pound  on  the  hard  billiard  table 
wicket,  which  makes  it  impossible 
for  a  ball  to  "  shoot,"  has  enabled 
the  batsman    who    defends    only 


194 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


eight  inches  of  ground  to  adopt  a 
mechanical  forward  poke  which  is 
as  monotonous  as  Peel  on  the 
spot  stroke. 

When  the  Hon.  Mr.  Bligh  sug- 
gested a  law  that  a  batsman 
should  be  out  l.b.w.  if  his  leg  was 
on  the  eight  inch  "  ribbon  of 
turf,  and  he  stopped  a  ball  which 
would  have  hit  the  wicket,"  the 
proposition  "  fell  dead,"  and  so  it 
will  be  as  regards  any  proposition 
which  would  endanger  the  much- 
coveted  average. 

We  are  inundated  now  with 
photographs  of  Jones  preparing 
"  to  hook  "  ;  Smith  preparing  "  to 
catch  "  ;  Johnson  preparing  "  to 
glide  " ;  and,  strange  to  say,  there 
is  not  one  of  Thomson  preparing 
to  miss  a  catch. 

The  only  proposition  seems  to 
be  for  Mr.  Broughton  to  appeal  to 
his  friends  to  join  him  in  a  protest. 
There  must  be  hundreds  of  well- 
known  men  who  have  played  for 
the  Gentlemen  against  the  Players 
willing  to  do  so. 

Dropping  all  prefixes,  let  me 
name  a  few — Harvey  Fellows, 
George  Yonge,  William  Nichol- 
son, Charles  Ridding,  T.  E.  An- 
son, Emilus  Bay  ley  Laurie  and 
Bull  Pickering — no  win  Vancouver, 
coaching  the  young  Canadians  in 
his  leisure  hour — and  numberless 
others  whose  names  are  world- 
known  at  Lord's,  of  the  later 
school  such  as  Lytteltons,  Lub- 
bocks,  Walkers  and  the  heroes  of 
the  sixties  onwards.  If  a  protest 
was  published  and  signatures 
asked  for,  doubtless  they  would 
come  in  wholesale. 

There  was  no  difficulty  in 
umpires  deciding  l.b.w.  when  it 
was  reckoned  from  bowler's  hand 
to  wicket,  as  the  umpires  "  sighted 
the  ground  "  constantly  on  giving 
guard.  As  regards  boundaries, 
the  complaint  of  modern  batsmen 
is  that  if  the  ball  was  stopped  by 
a  fence,  and  a  fieldsman  picked  it 


up  and  threw  the  ball  in,  it  might 
only  count  2  runs,  instead  of  4  as 
now. 

If  it  were  possible  to  have  a 
private  ground  for  members  only, 
like  Prince's  Racquet  Club  in 
Hans  Place  used  to  be,  to  be 
called  "  The  Old  England  Club," 
when  cricket  could  be  played  ac- 
cording to  the  old  rules,  there 
would  be  lots  of  clubs  who  would 
be  delighted  to  come  and  play 
against  them,  and  numberless 
home  matches  would  be  arranged 
amongst  old  cricketers;  and  we 
could  dispense  with  the  average 
mongers  and  play  the  game  like 
men. 

The  greatest  treat  in  the  season 
to  myself  is  to  watch  the  two-day 
matches  at  Lord's  in  August, 
when  we  see  a  lot  of  players  whom 
we  never  saw  before,  and  can 
watch  the  game  without  hearing 
the  cackle  about  Tom's  average 
and  Jack's  maiden  over,  and  the 
rubbish  which  is  talked  on  modern 
grounds.  I  have  attended  these 
matches  regularly  ever  since  1894, 
as  having  been  habitue  of  Lord's 
for  just  on  sixty  years,  the  Execu- 
tive very  kindly  make  me  free  of 
the  Pavilion  on  these  two-day 
matches,  and  they  are  my  delight ; 
as  I  don't  know  the  names  of 
very  many  on  either  side,  and  as 
the  M.C.C.  always  provide  good 
bowlers,  the  matches  are  a  fair 
test  of  batting,  much  of  which  is 
admirable.  They  are  like  the 
good  old  country  matches  which 
were  played  years  ago  at  Black- 
heath,  West  Kent,  Chislehurst, 
and  the  commons  and  greens  in 
Surrey,  from  which  the  county 
players  were  drawn. 

I  received  a  letter  from  an  old 
friend  and  schoolfellow  which 
commenced  with  "82  not  out/* 
It  was  written  on  his  eighty -second 
birthday.  He  sent  me  a  book  of 
1898  on  cricket,  and  he  says  : — 
"  The  writer  of  the  book  is  cruelly 


1*9*1 


ANECDOTAL   SPORT. 


195 


oblivious  of  Gentlemen  and 
Players  in  1836  .  .  .  quorum  pars 
parva  fui,  when  the  author  writes, 
'Between  1822  and  1842  the  Gen- 
tlemen did  not  bring  off  a  single 
win.9 "  The  fact  was  that  in  1836 
the  M.C.C.,  having  seen  my 
correspondent  bowl  twenty  wickets 
in  *  1835  against  Harrow  and 
Eton  at  Lord's,  came  down  to 
see  the  school  play  against 
Oxford  at  Winchester,  and  asked 
him  to  bowl  in  Gentlemen  and 
Players,  1836,  which  he  did ; 
and  his  coadjutor  being  Alfred 
Mynn,  Bell's  Life  christened  them 
"  Alfred  the  Great "  and  «•  Alfred 
the  Little,"  the  boy  bowler  being 
only  five  feet  six  inches  in  height. 
He  took  nine  wickets,  and  the 
Gentlemen  won ;  and  when  Gentle- 
men and  Players  was  finished  he 
went  on  against  Eton  and  Harrow. 


So  historians  who  write  ancient 
history  of  things  which  happened 
long  before  they  were  born  are 
not  always  accurate,  any  more 
than  the  upstart  young  England 
of  to-day,  who  literally  knows  no- 
thing, and  who  cocks  his  oiled  hat 
over  his  ear  and  arranges  the 
proper  "  wobble  "  of  his  cigarette 
to  his  satisfaction,  is  to  be  lis- 
tened to  when  he  tries  to  de- 
preciate men  of  the  past  with 
his  sapient  and  only  argument, 
"  They  played  in  tall  hats  in  those 
days." 

The  bowler's  name  is  A.  J. 
Lowth,  who  was  one  of  the  best 
bowlers  ever  seen  at  Oxford,  and 
in  company  with  Sir  Frederick 
Bathurst  and  the  present  Warden 
of  Winchester,  bowled  for  Hants 
for  many  seasons. 

F.G. 


Anecdotal    Sport. 

By  "  Thormanby." 

Author  of  "  Kings  of  the  Hunting- Field,"  "  Kings  of  the  Turf,"  &c. 


Midnight  shooting  was  not  at 
that  time  a  form  of  sport  entirely 
confined  to  Ireland,  as  at  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century 
the  twelfth  Lord  Saye  and  Sele 
was  in  the  habit,  at  Belvedere  in 
Kent,  of  providing  that  kind  of 
amusement  for  his  guests  most 
evenings  before  they  retired  to 
rest.  After  supper,  Croker,  his 
lordship's  head  keeper,  would 
come  up  to  the  room,  and  say, 
"My  lord,  the  game  be  hall 
ready."  "  All  right,  Croker, 
come  and  have  a  glass  of  wine," 
his  lordship  would  reply,  handing 
him  a  tumbler  of  port,  three  parts 
full.  "  Have  you  got  many 
rabbits  for  us,  Croker  ?  "  "  Vy, 
my   lord,    hi    netted    honly  two 


dozen,  thinkin*  has  *ow  it  wos  has 
much  as  your  lordship  and  the 
other  gemmen  would  care  habout. 
My  lord,  please  mind  the  moon's 
hall  right,  and  the  sooner  we're 
hat  hour  work  the  better." 
"  Whenever  you  are  ready, 
Croker,  we  shall  be."  "  Hi  his 
ready  now,  my  lord." 

The  plan  adopted  was  to  fasten 
white  paper  collars  round  the 
rabbits*  necks,  and  let  them  out 
one  at  a  time  from  a  trap.  The 
gentlemen,  guns  in  hand,  stood 
round  in  a  semi-circle,  and  blazed 
away  at  each  bunny  as  it 
appeared ;  yet  the  hits  were  few. 
On  the  occasion  I  refer  to  only 
six  rabbits  were  killed  out  of  the 


196 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[September 


two  dozen,  but  how  near  the 
sportsmen  were  to  shooting  one 
another  may  be  gathered  from 
what  Croker  said  in  the  morning. 
One  of  the  guests  was  congratu- 
lating the  head  keeper  on  having 
provided  such  good  sport,  when 
the  latter  broke  in  with,  "Veil,  ve 
shan't  have  nothink  to  say,  that  I 
vos  never  so  thankful  to  see  his 
lordship's  friends  goin'  hall  right 
to  thjeir  beds  as  I  vos  last  night, 
for  some  of  you  gentlemen — I 
means  no  hoffence — voud  better  a 
gone  there  afore  you  corned  to 
shoot." 

There  were  many  gun  accidents 
in  those  days,  as  well  as  now,  but 
when  we  read  how  careless  as  a 
rule  the  old  sportsmen  were,  the 
wonder  is  that  the  casualties  were 
so  few.  Sir  James  Graham  of 
Netherby,  father  of  the  statesman, 
escaped  an  accident  by  mere 
chance.  The  talk  one  day  turned 
upon  guns,  when  he  being  present, 
said,  "  Well,  I  have  used  my  Joe 
Manton  regularly  for  thirty  years, 
and  it  carries  as  well  now  as  the 
day  I  got  it."  "  I  wonder,"  said 
the  Duke  of  Abercorn,  who  was 
of  the  party,  "  it  has  not  carried 
your  head  or  arm  off  before  now  ; 
let  me  see  the  wonderful  gun." 
The  Joe  Manton  was  produced, 
and  the  muzzle  was  found  to  be 
as  thin  as  a  wafer.  "  If  ever  you 
put  an  extra  half  charge  of  powder 
into  that,  Netherby,"  the  Duke 
remarked,  "  the  gun  will  burst." 
This  Sir  James  would  not  admit, 
so  a  bet  was  made  between  his 
Grace  and  himself  to  decide  the 
question.  The  gun  was  carefully 
loaded  with  a  charge  and  a  half 
of  powder,  placed  on  the  ground, 
and  discharged  by  the  aid  of  a 
string.     The  gun  burst. 

The  elder  Sir  James  was  a  very 
little  man,  while  his  son  was  a 
splendid  fellow,  standing  6  ft.  2  in. 


in  his  stockings,  and  muscular  in 
proportion.  One  day  the  two 
being  together  in  Pall  Mall,  an 
old  friend  accosted  the  baronet, 
when  Sir  James  introduced  his 
son  to  him.  The  introduction 
over,  the  friend  said,  "  Why, 
Netherby,  your  son  could  put 
you  in  his  pocket."  ,c  That  may 
be,"  the  father  replied,  "  but  all  I 
can  tell  you  is  that  he  is  never 
out  of  mine."  As  is  pretty  well 
known,  the  tall  young  man  became 
afterwards  First  Lord  of  the 
Admiralty,  besides  filling  other 
important  posts  in  the  Cabinet  of 
that  day.  But  he  got  into  trouble 
through  opening  letters  passing 
through  the  English  post  to 
foreigners  in  this  country,  to 
oblige  the  Italian  Government. 

Sir  James  tumbled  into  a 
scrape  which,  had  it  been  known, 
would  have  caused  quite  an  ex- 
plosion in  the  north.  Travelling 
one  Sunday  with  George,  sixth 
Duke  of  Marlborough,  then  Mar- 
quis of  Blandford,  from  Glasgow 
to  Lord  Galloway's  seat  in  Wig- 
townshire, their  servants,  as  the 
carriage  was  passing  over  a  moor, 
let  two  pointers  down.  The  dogs 
shortly  after  put  up  some  part- 
ridges, when  the  Marquis,  for- 
getting he  was  in  Scotland,  seized 
his  gun,  jumped  out,  and  bagged 
a  brace.  The  affair  got  wind, 
and  an  awful  outcry  was  made  in 
the  papers  of  how  the  son-in-law 
of  an  exemplary  Scotch  peer 
(Lord  Galloway)  had  not  only 
been  shooting  on  the  Sabbath, 
but  had  trespassed  on  another 
man's  estate.  At  Galloway 
House  a  consultation  was  held  as 
to  what  was  best  to  be  done, 
when  a  gentleman  said,  "  Part- 
ridges are  more  plentiful  than 
marquises  here,  so  I  should  advise 
his  lordship  to  drive  over  to- 
morrow to  Kerrachtree,  see  Lady 
Maxwell,  and   make  apology  for 


I«99-J 


ANECDOTAL   SPORT. 


197 


his  inadvertence."  The  Marquis 
took  the  advice,  receiving  not 
only  complete  absolution,  but 
carte  blanche  to  shoot  over  the 
estate  whenever  he  chose. 

But    parsons    themselves,     in 
those  days,  were  not  ashamed  to 
indulge  in  their  favourite  sports 
on   the    Sabbath,    and    some  of 
them     were      as      unscrupulous 
poachers    as    there  were    to    be 
found    anywhere.      Here    is    an 
example : —  The     Rev.     William 
Butler,   rector    of    Frampton    in 
Dorsetshire,  known  all  round  the 
countryside  among  high  and  low  as 
"Billy  Butler,"  was  a  divine  of 
the   port    wine    school,   plus    an 
inordinate  love  of  sport,  which  he 
gratified  without  stint,  and  with- 
out scruple  in  season  and  out  of 
season,  utterly  regardless  of  the 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  his 
"  cloth."     He  was  fond  of  telling 
stories    of    his    own    defiance  of 
conventional  rules.     One  of  these 
I  remember  was  to  the  effect  that 
he  had  been  out  cub-hunting  one 
Sunday  morning,   and  was  only 
able,  by  dint  of  hard  riding,  to 
reach  the  church  door  just  as  the 
bell    had     stopped     ringing     for 
service.     He     made    no     secret, 
either,    of    the    fact    that     little 
Sunday  cocking  parties  were   in 
vogue    at     Frampton.      A     few 
choice  spirits  would  meet  at  the 
Rectory  after  service,  and  enjoy  a 
quiet  main  without  fear  of  inter- 
ruption.    With    equal   zest,   too, 
did  Parson  Billy  tell  yarns  of  his 
poaching  experiences,  for  he  was 
an  arrant  old  poacher  whenever 
he  had  the  chance.     For  example, 
one  afternoon,  when  he  was  re- 
turning   from     hunting,     as     he 
passed  the  preserves  of  a   large 
landed  proprietor,  he  spied  a  lot 
of  pheasants,  which  had  strayed 
just    outside    the  woods    of   the 
noble  lord  who  owned  them,  and 
were  feeding  in  front  of  a   long 


hedgerow  on  the  property  of 
another  gentleman  who  was  not  a 
game  preserver.  Butler  here  saw 
too  good  a  chance  to  be  missed  ; 
he  woke  up  his  nag  with  the  spur, 
and  on  reaching  home  astonished 
his  own  man  by  telling  him  not 
to  put  the  weary  horse  into  the 
stable,  as  he  should  want  him 
again  directly.  Then  the  parson 
ran  into  the  house,  got  his  gun 
and  a  steady-going  old  retriever 
that  knew  his  ways,  and  away  he 
rode,  as  fast  as  his  jaded  hunter 
would  carry  him,  to  the  spot 
where  he  had  seen  the  pheasants 
feeding.  Getting  between  them 
and  their  coverts,  he  drove  them 
into  the  hedgerows  just  outside 
the  noble  lord's  domains,  and  there 
killed  some  five  or  six  brace, 
which  he  hung  on  each  side  of 
his  horse,  and  then  rode  coolly 
home  again. 

I  referred  just  now  to  accidents 
in  the  shooting-field.  Some  not- 
able ones  occur  to  me.  The  father 
of  the  present  Marquis  of  Queens- 
berry  was  said  to  have  accidentally 
shot  himself  when  out  rabbit- 
shooting  in  1858,  but  there  were 
those  who  doubted  whether 
the  act  was  not  intentional. 
Captain  Speke,  the  famous  African 
explorer,  was  the  victim  of  a  gun 
accident  just  the  day  before  he 
was  to  have  confronted  Captain 
Richard  Burton  in  public,  and 
explain  his  conduct  in  appropriat- 
ing to  himself  the  credit  which 
Burton  alleged  to  be  due  to  hint. 
Frederic  Gye,  the  once  well-known 
manager  of  the  Royal  Italian 
Opera  at  Covent  Garden,  was 
shot  dead  by  accident  whilst 
pheasant  shooting  on  Lord  Dil- 
lon's estate  at  Dytchley  on  the 
same  day  on  which  Major  Whyte- 
Melville  was  killed  out  hunting. 
The  late  Professor  Fawcett  was 
shot  by  his  father  when  partridge 
shooting,  only  two  pellets  struck 


198 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[September. 


him,  but  they  penetrated  both 
eyeballs,  and  left  him  stone-blind 
for  life.  Mr.  F.  P.  Delme-Rad- 
cliffe,  a  celebrated  "  King  of  the 
Hunting-field/'  and  a  brilliant 
writer  to  boot,  was  also  the  victim 
of  a  gun  accident,  which  however 
was  attended  with  less  tragic 
results  than  any  of  those  I  have 
mentioned.  When  out  with  a 
shooting  party  on  his  own  estate 
he  got  somewhat  out  of  the  line, 
and  consequently  received  the 
contents  of  one  of  his  guest's  guns 
in  the  head  and  face.  He  fell 
senseless,  and  for  a  moment  it  was 
thought  he  was  killed.  But  in  a 
few  minutes  he  recovered  con- 
sciousness, and  as  soon  as  he  did 
so,  exclaimed  earnestly  : — "  I  call 
you  all  to  witness  it  was  my  own 
fault."  The  sight  of  his  left  eye 
was  completely  destroyed,  but  his 
other  injuries  were  not  serious. 
Even  after  the  loss  of  his  eye  Joe 
Manton,  the  famous  gun -maker, 
said  he  would  not  advise  anyone  to 
offer  Mr.  Delme-Radcliffe  many 
dead  birds  in  a  pigeon- match. 

A  remarkable  recovery  from  a 
terrible  gun  accident  was  that  of 
Mr.  Thomas  Smith,  of  Hamble- 
don,  who  was  as  great  £  Master  of 
Hounds  as  his  celebrated  name- 
sake, Thomas  Assheton  Smith. 
When  he  was  a  boy  his  head  got 
n  the  way  of  a  sportsman  aiming 
at  a  rabbit,  and  down  went  Tom, 
apparently  dead.  He  recovered, 
however,  but  his  escape  from 
death  was  marvellous,  for  a  full 
charge  of  shot  was  taken  out  of 
his  head,  and  afterwards  shown  to 
him  in  a  wine-glass. 

You  may  always  know  a  true 
sportsman  by  the  carefulness  with 
which  he  handles  his  gun.  He 
never  carries  it  so  that  the  muzzles 
of  the  barrels  point  in  the  direction 
of  any  of  his  fellow-shooters.  The 
surest  sign  of  a  Cockney  sports- 


man is  the  recklessness  with  which 
he  handles  his  gun.  To  let  the 
barrels  of  a  gun,  whether  loaded 
or  not,  point  in  the  direction  of 
any  person  standing  near  is  de- 
testably unsportsmanlike  as  well 
as  stupidly  inconsiderate.  For 
how  is  any  one  to  know  whether  a 
gun  is  loaded  or  not  ?  It  is  only 
thoughtless  fools,  who  know  little 
about  firearms,  that  perpetrate 
these  acts  of  criminal  carelessness. 
The  sportsman  who  is  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  use  of  fire- 
arms is  always  scrupulously  care- 
ful to  avoid  the  remotest  risk  of 
endangering  the  lives  or  upsetting 
the  nerves  of  others.  And  the 
man  who  does  not  know  how  to 
hold  his  gun,  without  sending  a 
shudder  through  everyone  who  is 
within  range  of  him,  ought  to  have 
his  weapon  taken  from  him,  and 
be  entrusted  with  nothing  more 
lethal  than  a  child's  pop-gun. 

The  man  who  loses  his  temper 
when  shooting  is  also  a  person  to 
be  avoided.  For  loss  of  temper 
may  not  only  cause  accidents,  but 
may  also  entail  loss  of  sport. 
Here  is  a  case  in  point.  A  noble 
lord  of  an  excitable  nature  on  one 
occasion  was  rather  put  out  be- 
cause he  had  had  so  little  sport,  so 
sternly  asked  his  head  keeper  if 
they  would  find  a  better  supply  in 
the  next  covert.  "  I  hope  so,  my 
lord,"  said  the  dependent.  "  Hope 
so  !  "  roared  the  peer  ;  "  do  you 
think  I  give  you  a  hundred  a  year 
to  hope  ?  Now  go  of!  at  once, 
and  beat  that  wood  this  way,  and 
I'll  post  the  guns."  "  Your  lord- 
ship means  this  wood,"  said  the 
functionary,  pointing  in  an  opposite 
direction.    "  No,  I  don't."    "  But, 

my    lord ."      "Not    a    word 

more,  sir.  Obey  my  orders." 
The  wood  was  traversed  through 
and  through,  but  without  the  least 
result  so  far  as  filling  the  sports- 
man's bags  was  concerned.     His 


»«993 


ANECDOTAL   SPORT. 


199 


lordship's  wrath  was  terrible,  until 
the  head-keeper  managed  to  get 
out :  "  This  is  not  your  wood  at 
all,  my  lord ;  it  belongs  to  your 
neighbour,  who  shot  over  it  last 
Friday  1  " 

Canon  Lyttelton,  Head-master 
of  Haileybury  College,  was  in  his 
day  one  of  the   finest  cricketers 
that  Cambridge  ever  turned  out, 
and  was  a  member  of  that  grand 
light  blue  eleven  which  in   1878 
lowered  the  colours  of  the  hitherto 
invincible    Australian    team.       I 
cannot     recall     any      University 
eleven  that   could   compare  with 
that  which  included  Edward  and 
Alfred  Lyttelton,   C.    T.    Studd, 
A.  G.  Steel,  A.  P.  Lucas,  F.  J. 
Ford  and  P.  H.  Morton.     When, 
therefore,  Canon  Lyttelton  speaks 
upon  "The   Use   and   Abuse  of 
Athletics,' '  he  rightly  commands 
the  attention  of  athletes.     In  his 
address,  however,  on  that  subject 
recently  to  the  teachers  assembled 
in  congress  at  the  College  of  Pre- 
ceptors, the   Canon,   if  correctly 
reported,    most    clearly   stultified 
himself.    His  object  was  to  show 
that  the  national  taste  for  athletic 
games  has  had  little  or  nothing  to 
do  with  the  greatness  of  England, 
and  he  made  fun  of  Wellington's 
saying  that  "  Waterloo  was  won 
upon  the  playing  fields  of  Eton." 
At  the  time  when  Wellington  and 
Nelson  were  smashing  the  French, 
Canon    Lyttelton    contends    that 
there  were  not  fifty  boys  at  Eton 
who  played  cricket — ergo — games 
could    have    had    nothing    to  do 
with  the  formation  of  the  qualities 
which  won  Waterloo. 

But  the  Canon  made  one  ad- 
mission fatal  to  his  argument. 
41  Games,"  he  said,  "  played  in 
England  in  the  Elizabethan  time 
were  enormously  greater  in  num- 
ber than  they  have  been  since.". 
Now,  even  Canon  Lyttelton  will 


hardly  deny  that  the  Elizabethan 
age  was  one  of  the  greatest  and 
the  most  glorious  in  English  an- 
nals. There  has  only  been  one  as 
great  and  glorious,  and  that  is  our 
own.  And  a  distinctive  feature  of 
both  ages  has  been  the  extra- 
ordinary popularity  of  games.  I 
do  not  say  that  the  greatness  and 
glory  in  either  case  are  owing  to 
the  taste  for  games.  But  this  I 
do  say,  that  at  the  two  most 
vigorous  periods  of  our  history 
the  superabundant  energy  of  the 
people  of  England  has  found  ex- 
pression in  athletic  games,  from 
which  I  draw  the  inference  that 
the  spirit  which  finds  its  outlet  in 
athletic  sports  is  part  and  parcel 
of  the  spirit  which  seeks  Imperial 
expansion.  And,  remembering 
with  what  enthusiastic  abandon- 
ment the  English  people  gave 
themselves  up  to  games  in  the 
days  of  Elizabeth,  I  hail  with  de- 
light the  present  mania  for  ath- 
letic pastimes  as  proof  of  a  re- 
vival of  the  Elizabethan  spirit — 
surely  as  noble  a  spirit  as  could 
animate  any  nation. 

In  another  way  our  popular 
sports  and  pastimes  have  exer- 
cised a  healthy  influence,  the 
value  of  which  it  is  impossible  to 
over-estimate,  and  that  is  by  their 
democratic  character.  There  is 
no  aristocratic  monopoly  of  sport 
in  this  country.  On  the  race- 
course and  in  the  hunting  field, 
on  the  river  and  the  running  path, 
at  cricket  and  football,  all  sorts 
and  conditions  of  men  meet  in 
rivalry  without  distinction  of  class, 
•all  animated  alike  by  a  common 
love  of  the  sport  in  which  they 
are  participating.  It  is  this 
democratic  community  of  interest 
in  the  pastimes  of  air  ranks  of 
society  that  has  promoted  a  kindly 
feefing  between  the  "  classes  "  and 
the  "masses"  in  England  which 
is  unknown  in  countries  where  the 


200 


BA1LY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[September 


spirit  of  caste  has  erected  an  im- 
passable barrier  between  the  aris- 
tocracy and  the  proletariat  in 
every  relation  of  life.  And  for 
this  England  has,  in  a  large 
measure,  to  thank  her  games, 
which  are  thus  {pace  Canon 
Lyttelton)  indissolubly  linked  with 
her  greatness. 

It  is  odd  that  in  this  latter-day 
craze  for  games  the  two  oldest 
pastimes  known  in  these  islands 
should  have  come  to  the  front 
again  and  distanced  all  rivals  in 
popularity.  I  refer  to  golf  and 
football.  All  our  other  sports, 
with  the  single  exception  of 
polo,  and  that  is  an  exotic,   are 


mere  things  of  yesterday  com- 
pared with  the  antiquity  of  these 
two.  Horse-racing,  as  a  popular 
sport,  dates  no  further  back  than 
the  last  quarter  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Cricket  will  not  cele- 
brate its  bi-centenary  for  another 
fifty  years,  but  golf  and  football 
were  flourishing  six  hundred  years 
ago.  Indeed,  they  were  so  en- 
thusiastically patronised  that  it 
was  deemed  necessary  to  restrict 
the  indulgence  in  them  by  Act  of 
Parliament  both  in  Scotland  and 
England,  because  the  people  were 
neglecting  the  more  important 
exercise  of  archery  in  their  pas- 
sion for  these  two  fascinating 
games. 


Gendarme  and  Goldflake. 


It  happens  every  now  and  then 
that  at  horse  shows  some  phenom- 
enal steed  appears,  and  for  a  year 
or  two  sweeps  the  board.  One  of 
these  successful  horses  is  Mr. 
John's  Gendarme,  a  fine  chestnut 
which  has  now  for  some  time 
been  winning  prizes  all  England 
over.  Gendarme  is  a  chestnut 
standing  about  16  hands,  and  is 
said  to  be  by  Blue  Blood,  but  as 
his  breeder  is  unknown,  his  pedi- 
gree may  be  doubtful.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  however,  Gendarme  is  a 
beautifully  made  horse,  showing 
a  great  deal  of  quality,  and  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  John  Goodwin,  a 
fine  horseman,  and  once  upon  a 
time  a  noted  steeplechase  rider, 
he  has  achieved  a  long  series  of 
victories.  Like  most  other  show 
ring  candidates,  he  has  expe- 
rienced defeat,  but  as  a  rule  he 
comes  out  at  the  head  of  the 
list.      Last   year,    at    Bow,    Mr. 

iohn  showed  both  Gendarme  and 
docket  in  the  same  class,  and  the 


former  was  beaten  by  his  stable 
companion,  presumably  upon  the 
ground  that  the  latter  was  up  to 
more    weight    than    the    famous 
chestnut.      Then    again,    at    the 
Royal    Show    this    year,  in    the 
class  for  hunters  up  to  at  least 
13   st.    7   lbs.,   Gendarme    found 
himself  in   competition  with   Sir 
Humphrey  de  Trafford's  powerful 
chestnut,  Roscommon,  and  to  the 
latter  went   the   first    prize.      A 
good   many   show    hunters    have 
the  reputation  of  being  unable  to 
cross  a  country,  but  Gendarme  is 
said  to  be  a  very  good  jumper, 
and  to  be  regularly  schooled  over 
the  fences    in    his  owner's   pad- 
docks.    Mr.  John  lives  at  Cardiff, 
and  if  the  noble  chestnut  can  get 
over  Lord  Tredegar's  country,  he 
must  be  indeed  a  good  hunter,  as 
a  variety  of  fences  are  there  to  be 
met  with. 

Another  famous  show  horse  is 
Mr.  Stokes's  Goldflake,  bred  in 
Yorkshire,   like    so    many    other 


GENDARME. 


GOLDFLAKE. 


I 


l»99  J 


THE    BLACK  WOOD   OF    RANNOCH. 


20Z 


good  hunters.  His  breeder  was 
Mr.  M.  Kendal,  of  Ness  Hall, 
Nunnington,  and  Goldflake  is  by 
Warpath  out  of  Wildmint  by 
Peppermint.  He  is  a  beautifully 
made  horse,  with  great  power  and 
symmetry,  and  though  only  four 
years  old,  is  exceedingly  well 
furnished,  and  next  year  may  be 
expected  to  develop  into  a  grand 
hunter.  Like  Gendarme,  he  has 
won  a  great  many  prizes,  and  at 
the  Royal  Show  at  Maidstone  was 


placed  first  in  the  four  year  old 
class,  in  which  there  were  but 
four  competitors.  At  the  Great 
Yorkshire  Show,  at  Hull,  how- 
ever, Goldflake  was  one  of  a  very 
large  and  strong  class,  and  there 
he  was  beaten  by  Mr.  Hadland's 
Baronet,  a  good  looking  bay  by 
Linthorpe.  A  good  many  of  the 
decisions  at  the  show  ring  may 
seem  contradictory  ;  but  if  all  the 
judges  at  shows  agreed,  horse 
shows  would  soon  come  to  an  end. 


The  Black  Wood  of  Rannoch. 


Most  persons  have  derived  some 
notion  of  the  great  wood  of  Scotch 
firs  which  runs  down  the  moor- 
lands to  Loch  Rannoch  from  the 
paintings  of  it  in  the  Academy 
and  elsewhere.  The  huge  gnarled 
"stems,  with  their  red  boles,  the 
grey  arms  branching  into  each 
other  overhead,  the  dark-green 
foliage,  perhaps  with  patches  of 
blue  sky  showing  between  the 
noontide  darkness  of  the  inter- 
lacing roof  of  the  boughs — these 
features  offer  a  glow  of  colour, 
set  with  deep  shades  and  gloomy 
recesses,  that  strikes  the  most 
inartistic  with  delight.  When  he 
is  told,  too,  that  this  forest  is  only 
a  small  fragment  of  woodland 
compared  with  the  huge  forest  of 
firs  which,  in  historic  times,  grew 
over  much  of  the  Highlands,  and 
that  it  once  gave  shelter  to  the 
bear,  the  wolf,  and  the  wild  bull, 
interest  can  hardly  fail  to  be 
aroused.  Opinions  will  differ 
whether  the  firs  look  better  when 
massed  in  groups  as  described 
above,  or  when  seen  in  more 
scattered  order  and  surrounded 
with  heather,  which  again  is 
profusely  dappled  in  red,  yellow, 
and  white  wild-flowers. 


Perhaps  the  pleasantest  peep 
of  all  is  at  the  edge  of  the  loch, 
where  the  big  trees  are  reflected 
in  a  mirror  during  summer — a 
mirror  whose  lucid  smoothness  is 
only  broken  here  and  there  at 
times  by  the  splash  of  a  big  fish, 
for  which  Loch  Rannoch  is 
famous.     There  may  be  seen — 

"  The  pines  that  stood 
The  giants  of  the  waste, 
Tortured  by  storms  to  shapes  as  rude  "; 

and  their  other  selves  appear  re- 
flected in  the  clear  loch. 

"  There   lay  far  glades  and  neighbouring 
lawn, 
And,  through  the  dark -green  crowd, 
The  white  sun  twinkling  like  the  dawn, 
Under  a  speckled  cloud," 

as  Shelley  sings.  There  are  other 
woods,  perhaps,  in  themselves 
quite  as  picturesque  to  the  artist ; 
but  the  character  of  the  neigh- 
bouring scenery,  the  land  on  which 
these  trees  grow,  which  is  never 
touched  by  plough  or  spade  of 
man,  the  associations  of  the  still 
living  Black  Wood  with  the  half- 
fossil  woods  dug  out  everywhere 
in  the  highlands,  and  which  the 
natives  carefully  store  for  fuel — 
nothing    appears   so    fair  to  the 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


lover  of  Scotland  as  these  time- 
honoured  woodlands,  laden  with 
their  solemn  burden  of  dark  trees, 
creeping  down  to  the  southern 
shores  of  the  loch.  The  effect  of 
the  wood  resembles,  perhaps,  most 
clearly  the  pines  about  Ravenna ; 
both  forests  possess  the  same 
unearthly  stateliness,  the  same 
majesty  of  beauty. 

Loch  Rannoch  stretches  eleven 
miles  from  east  to  west,  and  is 
about  one  mile  broad.  The  trav- 
eller must  walk  some  miles 
from  Kinloch  Rannoch  at  the 
eastern  end  before  he  finds  the 
wild  strip  of  country  which  con- 
tains the  Scotch  firs.  Perhaps  he 
has  feasted  his  eyes  on  the  fine 
specimens  of  Salmo  ferox  and  other 
fishes  which  the  host  at  the  large 
inn  at  Kinloch  has  had  stuffed 
for  his  hall,  and  envied  the  fisher- 
men whom  he  sees  being  rowed 
about  the  loch  by  their  gillies. 
Let  him  comfort  himself  by  think- 
ing how  few  big  fish  are  caught 
after  the  most  lavish  pains  and 
expense  have  been  bestowed  upon 
them.  In  1895  an  angler  fished 
all  day  without  catching  one,  and, 
when  reeling  up  in  disgust  in  the 
evening,  found  his  artificial  min- 
now seized  in  earnest  as  it  neared 
the  boat.  After  a  long  struggle, 
he  succeeded  in  killing  a  thirteen- 
pound  ferox.  Where  Fortune, 
however,  is  fickle,  Nature  is 
always  kind,  and  when  the  trav- 
eller at  length  reaches  the  confines 
of  the  Black  Forest,  he  will  not 
be  disappointed.  Clumps  of  birch 
and  young  oak  grow  here  and 
there,  while  scattered  among  them 
are  firs,  but  of  no  special  size. 
These  might  be  planted  merely 
to  whet  his  appetite  for  forest 
scenery,  and  at  length  he  enters 
the  wood  itself  and  finds  noble 
Scotch  firs  glooming  against  the 
brilliant  sky  on  each  side  of  him. 
The  curving  tops  and  grasping 
arms  are  in  themselves  beautiful. 


Enchanting  glimpses  of  the  loch 
are  caught  between  the  stems  of 
trees,  and  beyond  are  the  faint 
grey  shores,  and  then  dark  moor- 
lands running  up  to  peak  after 
peak  far  up  into  the  shadowy  deer 
forests  of  Rannoch  and  Ben  Alder, 
overlooking  Loch  Ericht,  which 
is  the  wildest  loch  in  Scotland. 
Over  all  these,  again,  a  mountain 
may  raise  its  head,  tipped  by  sun- 
light, in  far  Lochaber,  and  beyond 
all  lies  the  Great  Glen.  A  glance 
into  the  opposite  direction  dis- 
closes pillar  after  pillar,  ruddy  in 
the  sunshine  and  roofed  with 
living  green,  like  a  vast  natural 
temple.  The  tout  ensemble  is  as 
exquisite  to  an  eye  fond  of  tree- 
beauty  as  is  each  separate  tree. 
Each  of  these  plainly  belongs  to 
the  same  family,  but  each  pos- 
sesses its  own  individuality  of 
gnarled  top  and  grasping  boughs. 

Let  the  naturalist  enter,  and, 
after  the  first  bewilderment  caused 
by  the  grateful  coolness  has  some* 
what  passed  off,  he  will  find 
enough  to  do  in  struggling  through 
the  tall,  matted  heather,  extri- 
cating himself  from  deep  mosses, 
pushing  his  way  between  dead 
branches,  and  stumbling  over  big 
stones  which  are  littered  on  the 
floor  everywhere.  Few  small 
birds  flit  about;  they  are  wise 
enough  to  remain  outside  in  the 
sunshine.  Every  here  and  there 
are  huge  ant-hills,  a  couple  of 
yards  across,  composed  largely  of 
the  ends  of  fir-branches.  If  the 
visitor  steps  into  these  accident- 
ally, or  stirs  them  up  with  his 
walking-stick,  myriads  of  large 
black  ants,  of  exceptional  size  and 
ferocity,  rush  out,  and  it  is  just  as 
well  for  the  intruder  to  remove 
before  they  attack  him.  The 
wood  is  also  celebrated  for  ento- 
mological treasures  of  all  kinds. 
Some  wonderful  moths  have  been 
taken  in  it.  So  little  has  it  been 
thoroughly   searched    that    it  is 


■**1 


THE    BLACK   WOOD   OF    RANNOCH. 


203 


1 


quite  possible  moths  and  insects 
as  yet  unknown  to  the  British 
fauna  may  lurk  within  its  depths. 

At  present,  some  of  the  mar- 
vellous effects  of  the  great  gale 
which  swept  over  the  Black  Wood 
in  November,  1893,  may  be  ob- 
served. Rushing  across  the  loch, 
one  blast,  more  terrible  than  the 
others,  cut  a  lane  straight  through 
the  wood,  tearing  up  every  tree 
that  confronted  it.  The  strength 
of  the  blast  must  have  been 
terrific.  Hundreds  of  fine  firs 
were,  in  a  moment,  torn  up  by 
the  roots  and  swept  over,  while  a 
mass  of  earth,  stones,  and  debris, 
matted  together  and  standing  ten 
or  fifteen  feet  above  the  heather, 
testifies  in  the  case  of  each  tree 
how  resistless  had  been  the  blast. 
The  trees  grow  on  as  they  lie, 
and  are  left  in  unstudied  con- 
fusion, being  too  far  from  a  rail- 
road to  make  it  worth  while  to 
remove  them.  The  looker-on  may 
well  be  thankful  that  he  was  not 
in  a  boat  on  Loch  Rannoch  dur- 
ing that  storm,  and  also  that  he 
was  not,  at  that  time,  in  the  Black 
Wood.  Yet  the  wood  itself  doubt- 
less rises  higher  and  higher  in 
consequence  of  such  storms,  and 
has  done  so  for  untold  centuries, 
tree  growing  over  tree  above  the 
ruins  of  its  parent,  and  itself  perish- 
ing in  its  turn  before  some  such 
mighty  convulsion  of  Nature. 
The  same  process  goes  on  here, 
only  more  slowly,  that  is  con- 
stantly in  operation  in  the  tropical 
forests  of  South  America. 

There  is  a  lovely  apparition  ! 
Twenty  yards  on  one  side,  looking 
over  a  fallen  patriarchal  fir,  an 
old  roebuck,  with  beautiful  horns, 
gazes  fearlessly  at  the  intruder, 
attended  by  two  does,  whose  large 
and  lustrous  eyes  might  almost 
put  to  shame  a  woman's.  Their 
warm,  reddish-brown  coats  glow 
in  the  sunshine,  and  they  seem 
more  astonished  than  frightened 


at  their  visitors,  so  long  as  they 
are  motionless  ;  but  one  stirs,  and 
off  the  deer  bound,  leaping,  as  if 
it  cost  no  exertion,  three  or  four 
prostrate  monarchs,  till  they  are 
hidden  in  the  gloom.  The  keen 
eye  of  the  late  John  Colquhoun 
(author  of  "  The  Moor  and  the 
Loch")  has  noticed  the  roe's 
sagacity  in  discovering  real  from 
apparent  danger :  "  The  crouching 
shooter  with  his  deadly  gun  is 
instantly  detected,  while  the 
harmless  workman  may  even 
blast  a  rock  and  cause  no 
alarm.1'  *  After  all,  this  trait 
may  be  noticed  in  the  rook,  and 
in  other  animals  and  birds. 

The  ornithologist  knows  that 
among  these  pines  one  of  the 
rarest  of  nature's  titmice,  the 
crested  titmouse  (Parus  cristatus) 
may  be  expected.  It  is  distinc- 
tively a  northern  bird,  and  only 
occurs,  for  the  most  part,  in  Scot- 
land, among  very  old  pine-woods. 
A  specimen  or  two  might  well 
have  strayed  from  this  primeval 
forest  to  Pitlochrie,  where  they 
have  been  captured.  There  are 
several  instances  of  its  having 
been  seen  in  England,  but  the 
large  pine  forests  of  Perthshire, 
Inverness,  Ross,  and  Elgin,  are 
the  true  homes  of  these  pretty 
birds.  Without  a  good  field-glass, 
it  is  difficult  to  discern  the  crested 
tit,  or,  indeed,  any  of  the  family 
of  tits  (many  of  which  abound  in 
the  Black  Wood),  the  foliage  is  so 
thick,  the  birds  themselves  so 
small,  and  their  mode  of  hiding 
among  and  under  the  tresses  of 
the  firs  so  puzzling.  These  birds 
appear  to  favour  the  outskirts  of 
the  forest,  coming  down  especially 
to  the  loch  where  the  road  to  Kin- 
loch  Rannoch  runs  alongside  it. 
The  treasures  of  the  wood, 
whether  in  the  way  of  plants, 
birds,  or  moths,  seem  to  have 
been  very  partially  examined. 

*  Vol.  I.,  p.  107,  (Edition  4X 


204 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[  September 


Whirr  !  whirr  !  Up  flies  a  large 
bird  from  the  visitor's  feet.  It  is 
a  hen  capercailzie,  and,  being  the 
middle  of  June,  her  laboured 
flight  and  tardy  rise  on  the  wing; 
suggest  that  she  has  a  brood  near 
at  hand.  "  Tweet !  tweet !  tweet !" 
a  pitiful,  continuous  cry  comes 
from  the  heather  at  his  side,  and, 
looking  down,  a  young  caper- 
cailzie, the  exact  miniature  of  its 
mother,  is  perceived,  with  the 
white-marked  feathers  of  the  tail 
very  conspicuous.  It  is  about  as 
large  as  a  thrush,  and,  with  its 
large,  trustful  eyes,  is  a  beautiful 
and  confiding  specimen  of  a  game 
bird.  Once  an  indigenous  bird, 
apparently,  throughout  Scotland,  it 
was  exterminated  about  a  century 
ago.  A  chapter  of  romance  now 
attends  its  re-introduction  by  Lord 
Fife  in  1828,  and  nowhere  can 
that  interesting  story  be  read 
more  carefully  drawn  out,  with  the 
fullest  particulars  attainable,  than 
in  Mr.  Har vie- Brown's  excellent 
monograph  on  "  The  Capercailzie 
in  Scotland"  (1879).  The  little 
"  old  man  of  the  woods "  (for 
such  is  the  meaning  of  "caper- 
cailzie ")  is  tenderly  lifted  up  and 
duly  admired,  and  then  gently 
replaced  on  the  heather,  and  left 
to  its  mother.  He  would  indeed 
be  a  brute  who  could  injure  so 
beautiful  and  trustful  a  bird. 

A  ramble  through  the  Black 
Wood  generally  ends  by  the  visitor 
descending  the  hill  to  the  road, 
crossing  it,  and  sitting  upon  one 
of  the  big  rocks  which  strew  the 
side  of  Loch  Rannoch.  There  a 
libation  is  duly  poured  from  his 
flask  to  the  genius  of  the  scene, 
and  then  the  visitor  scans  the  far- 
spread  loch,  and  most  certainly, 
if  he  be  a  fisherman,  is  seized 
with  what  Homer  would  have 
called  a  divine  longing  to  catch 
one  of  its  mighty  salmones,  known 
by  the  distinguishing  name  of 
Ferox,     These  monsters  are  pro- 


bably but  overgrown  trout,  which 
have  taken  to  cannibalish  ways, 
escaped  hook  and  line  several 
times,  and  are  now  huge,  ugly, 
piratical  brutes,  poor  when 
brought  to  table,  but  struggling 
like  demons  when  once  firmly 
hooked  on  a  minnow.  However, 
a  keen  controversy  rages  at  every 
Scotch  hotel  during  the  summer, 
night  after  night,  when  pipes  are 
lit,  about  5.  ferox ;  whether  it  is 
a  distinct  species  or  not  from  S. 
farioy  the  common  trout.  The 
subject  may  be  confidently  sug- 
gested as  a  never-failing  topic  of 
table  talk,  "  et  adhuc  sub  judice  lis 
est"  Any  amount  of  ink  has  been 
spilt  over  the  controversy,  but  the 
most  sensible  contribution  to  its 
settlement  occurs  in  a  letter  of 
Mr.  J.  Colquhoun  to  the  Field,  in 
November,  1880.  He  shows  that 
the  largest  feroces  caught  in  Scot- 
land have  been  taken  out  of  Loch 
Rannoch,  but  of  late  years  that 
the  constant  trailing  of  spoons, 
phantom  minnows,  and  other 
gaudy  lures  have  pricked  and 
terrified  so  many  of  the  larger 
fish  that  it  is  extremely  difficult  to 
get  hold  of  one  at  present.  This 
is  the  experience  of  all  anglers 
who  have  paid  attention  to  the 
subject. 

It  becomes  increasingly  difficult, 
year  by  year,  to  slay  a  large  ferox} 
whatever  loch  the  fisherman  may 
try.  Mr.  Colquhoun,  during  the 
many  fishing  years  of  his  life, 
knew  of  one  landed  from  Loch 
Rannoch  of  23  lbs.,  another  of 
22lbs.,  and  a  third  of  about  20  lbs. 
weight.  The  largest  authenti- 
cated specimen  on  record  was 
killed  by  the  grandfather  of  Sir 
Robert  Menzies  of  Menzies.  The 
writer  has  seen  one  of  21  lbs. 
caught  in  the  last  ten  years.  He 
is  disposed  to  regard  the  capture 
of  a  good  ferox  as  a  worthy  object 
of  a  summer  holiday.  With  fair 
luck,  the  angler  will  get  several 


1*99] 


RECOLLECTIONS   OF    RACING    IN    INDIA. 


205 


below  ten  or  a  dozen  pounds,  but 
there  the  difficulty  begins.  After 
all,  however,  what  would  be  the 
charm  of  fishing  were  it  not  fertile 
in  chances  ?  The  incidents,  also, 
of  catching  a  ferox,  the  fine  ex- 
panse of  water,  the  wooded  hills, 
the  distant  mountains,  bestow  a 
peculiar  delight  upon  the  sport. 
At  any  moment,  too,  a  ferox  may 
take  the  angler's  minnow,  the 
capture  of  which  will,  for  a  time, 
confer  a  newspaper  immortality 
upon  the  fortunate  fisherman ;  and 
which,  when  stuffed  and  put  up 
in  his  hall  (like  Mr.  Brigg's  spotted 
hunter),  will  hereafter  be  gazed  at 
by  generations  as  yet  unborn  as 
a  monument  of  their  ancestor's 
piscatorial  skill. 

But  the  wood,  rather  than  the 
loch,  demands  a  parting  glance  of 
admiration ;  the  visitor  lingers  till 
evening,  and  then  notes  the  set- 


ting sun  light  up  the  dark  green 
roof  of  pine  foliage  and  draw  out 
their  long  shadows  over  the 
heather.  The  white  stems  of  the 
birches  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
wood  stand  out  vividly  against 
the  enclosing  brushwood.  A  pair 
of  oyster-catchers  fly  swiftly  past 
the  edge  of  the  loch,  uttering  their 
melancholy  wail.  Far  out  some 
gulls  are  swimming  and  rising 
with  noisy  screams.  Meanwhile 
darkness  gathers,  and  the  different 
trees  in  the  Black  Wood  are 
scarcely  to  be  distinguished,  while 
the  loch,  on  the  other  hand,  is  yet 
lit  up  with  reflected  splendour, 
placid  as  the  remembrance  of  a 
grateful  dream.  One  more  glance, 
and  then  heigh  ho !  for  the  hotel 
and  life's  grim  earnest ;  but  the 
Black  Wood  of  Rannoch  will 
never  be  forgotten. 

M.  G.  Watkins. 


Recollections  of  Racing  in  India. 


Having  spent   eighteen  years  of 
my  life  in  various  parts  of  Asia,  I 
have  long  since  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  there  is  no  more  jolly 
station  in  the  whole  of  that  warm 
continent  than  Secunderabad,  in 
Madras.     At  least,  it  was  in  my 
day,  which,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  was 
close  on  forty  years  ago.     Tempora 
mutantur,  so  I  do  not  vouch  that  it 
will  be  found  the  same  now.     At 
the   time  of  which  I  write  there 
certainly  were  never  a  better  set 
of  fellows  than  were  then  to  be 
met  with  at  the  Hyderabad  Club ; 
whether  assembled  to  settle  the 
preliminaries  of  a    sky    meeting, 
discuss  the  prospects  of  the  Deccan 
hunt  (then  one  of  the  most  ccle- 
|   brated  meets  in   India),   have  a 
quiet  rubber,  or   take  a   ball   at 
black  pool  after  dinner. 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  475. 


At  the  time  in  question,  a  great 
gathering  had  taken  place,  for 
keen  sportsmen  and  hard  riders 
had  come  together  to  attend  the 
races,  and  the  meet.  Captain 
Garrow,  a  celebrated  elephant 
hunter,  as  well  as  one  of  the  best 
race  riders  in  the  "  benighted  " 
Presidency,  was  one  of  the  leaders 
in  all  sporting  matters  at  that 
time  ;  and  he  was  well  supported 
by  Malcolm,  the  Assistant  Resi- 
dent, besides  all  the  officers  of  the 
garrison,  and  of  the  Nizam's 
troops.  Tiffin  was  over,  and  had 
been  voted  a  great  success ;  for 
was  not  Tutia  our  chef,  and. 
Riddell,  of  the  Nizam's  service, 
the  secretary,  the  benefactor  of 
the  whole  Anglo- Indian  race  for 
his  famous  book  on  "  Cookery  in 
Tropical  Climates  ?  "  Everything 

15 


206 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


was  most  satisfactory ;  donations 
had  tumbled  in,  subscriptions  had 
filled  the  coffers  of  the  treasurer ; 
even  the  ladies  had  contributed  a 
purse,  and  also  a  cup.  There  was 
every  prospect  of  a  jolly  gathering, 
and  plenty  of  sport. 

The  meeting  having  broken  up, 
many  sat  down  to  cards.  Others 
went  off  to  billiards,  where  a  chick 
pool  was  soon  started,  with  some 
smart  betting  on  the  result  of  each 
stroke.  Gambling  was  never  my 
game;  and,  as  there  were  some 
knowing  ones  about,  both  with 
the  cards,  and  cue,  I  contented 
myself  with  watching  the  game, 
and  taking  notes  for  future 
guidance.  Whilst  thus  engaged, 
with  a  long  cheroot  between  my 
lips,  a  man  entered,  and,  to  my 
surprise,  presented  me  with  a  sus- 
picious-looking billet,  on  highly- 
scented  rose-tinted  paper,  the 
address  evidently  m  a  lady's  hand- 
writing. Three  chums  on  my 
right  looked  queerly  at  me  as  I 
tried  to  decipher  the  motto  on  the 
seal.  And  a  shockheaded  Scotch 
medico  made  an  ass  of  himself  by 
yelling  at  the  top  of  his  vQice 
•'  Noosed !  by  the  piper  that 
played  before  Moses."  A  roar  of 
laughter  from  the  whole  room 
followed  this,  and  I  knew  that 
every  eye  was  upon  me. 

Receiving  a  love-letter  is  a 
sensation,  perhaps  not  unpleasant 
when  the  writer  is  young  and 
pretty  ;  but  to  be  found  out,  makes 
a  fellow  feel  awkward  and  nervous, 
and  the  greatest  dare-devil  in  the 
field  will  blush  like  a  school  girl, 
if  caught,  or  if  he  has  to  confide  to 
his  chums  that  he  has  put  his  foot 
in  it,  and  is  about  to  get  married. 
My  feelings,  under  the  circum- 
stances, were  none  of  the 
pleasantest.  When  the  roar  of 
laughter  had  subsided,  I  opened 
the  letter,  and  at  once  saw  it  was 
from  one  of  the  male  sex ;  so,  to 
take  a  rise  out  of  the  doctor,  I 


pretended  to  walk  away  in  order 
to  read  the  suspicious  document 
on  the  quiet.  This  had  at  once 
the  desired  effect,  and  there  were  at 
once  half  a  dozen  volunteers  for 
the  post  of  private  secretary. 
"  Give  him  room  to  blush,"  sug- 
gested one, "  I'll  bet  five  gold  mo- 
hurs  he  is  not  game  to  show  us  his 
letter,"  roared  the  doctor,  as  he  tried 
to  bar  my  way  to  the  door.  "  Done 
with  you,  Sawbones!  "  I  replied; 
"  there  is  the  letter,  down  with  the 
dust !  "  "  Read  it  out,  Pills,  read 
it  out ! "  was  now  the  cry ;  and 
when  the  clamour  was  hushed, 
the  following  was  made  public  :— 

Dear  Henry, — Carrie  has  made 
me  promise  not  to  ride  "  Ever- 
green "  in  the  steeplechase;  and 
as  I  paid  a  long  price  for  the 
horse  on  purpose  for  the  race,  and 
have  backed  him  for  money  as 
well,  I  really  do  not  know  what  to 
do,  unless  you  will  ride  him  for 
me.  The  animal  is  in  good  con- 
dition, and  if  not  in  one  of  his 
tempers,  may  do  the  trick.  "  The 
Butcher,"  who  approves  of  my 
request,  says  he  will  bet  any 
amount  of  gloves  on  you. 

Yours  truly, 
Daddy. 

After  the  letter  had  become 
public  property  I  chaffed  the 
doctor  to  some  tune,  for  he  did 
not  look  happy  at  having  given 
five  gold  mohurs  for  what  he 
might  have  had  for  nothing.  1 
then  replied,  asking  to  have  the 
horse  sent  to  my  stable,  so  that  I 
could  get  to  know  something  of 
him  before  the  day  on  which  I 
was  to  ride.  After  dinner,  we  sat 
in  the  open,  and  songs  were  the 
order.  Many  a  good  one  was 
sung;  and  it  was  not  until  day- 
light began  to  appear  that  lights  \ 
were  extinguished  and  we  went 
to  bed. 

Early  the  next  morning  Ever- 
green was   brought  round  to  my 


1*990 


RECOLLECTIONS    OF    RACING    IN    INDIA. 


207 


stable.  He  was  a  high-caste 
Arab,  a  dark  bay,  standing  nearly 
fifteen  hands,  with  many  good 
points ;  but  his  temper  had  been 
spoilt  by  bad  treatment,  and  he 
had  been  bought  at  one-fifth  his 
value  on  that  account.  George 
Smith,  who  was  the  leading 
trainer,  and  jockey  at  this  time  in 
Southern  India,  had  declared  him 
to  be  dangerous,  and  refused  to 
have  anything  to  do  with  him. 
The  horse  was,  by  his  advice, 
discarded  by  a  large  racing  stable 
at  Madras.  His  character  had 
become  so  notorious  that  Fred's 
(or,  as  he  was  always  called  by  his 
intimates,  Daddy)  intended  had 
forbidden  him  even  to  mount  the 
animal  Not  being  so  restricted, 
and  free  from  petticoat  govern- 
ment, I  resolved  to  try  his  metal 
at  once.  I  had  him  saddled  and 
led  to  the  Artillery  parade  ground, 
a  large,  sandy  plain  where  he  could 
not  do  much  harm.  Daddy  and  I 
followed  in  a  buggy.  When  I 
first  mounted,  he  began  all  sorts  of 
capers,  tried  all  he  knew  to  throw 
me,  and  finding  I  did  not  part 
company,  bolted  across  the  plain. 
As  it  was  large  and  soft,  he  soon 
had  such  a  gruelling  that  he 
became  quite  passive,  and  we 
began  to  understand  each  other.  I 
devoted  as  much  time  as  was  left 
me  to  getting  him  perfectly  fit ;  had 
a  miniature  course  made  at  the 
back  of  the  lines;  and  by  kind, 
firm,  and  judicious  treatment, 
soon  had  him  thoroughly  gentle, 
and  a  good  lepper. 

The  time  of  the  races  drew 
near ;  the  programme  had  been 
published  in  all  the  papers ;  a  few 
lotteries  had  been  held  as  soon  as 
the  Secretary  had  been  able  to 
announce  the  acceptances;  and, 
in  spite  of  the  sneers  of  the  know- 
ing ones,  and  the  advice  of 
genuine  friends,  I  had  backed  the 
horse  to  win  the  Rs.5000,  whilst 
I  could  only  drop  Rs.125   if  he 


lost.  There  were  two  days1  flat 
racing,  and  the  third  day  was 
devoted  to  steeplechases  and 
hurdle  racing.  There  was  a  grow- 
ing fancy  for  the  latter  class  of 
sport  at  this  time  all  over 
Southern  India,  but  Secunderabad 
and  Bangalore  led  the  way.  The 
hurdles  were  noopen  sheep-hurdles, 
but  strong  wattles  over  four  feet 
high,  strongly  bound  to  posts.  If 
they  were  not  jumped  clean,  it  was 
a  case  of  a  fall  to  a  certainty. 
Neither  a  horse  nor  a  man  cared 
to  get  more  than  one.  We  had 
many  good  men  and  true  riding  at 
this  time.  Fane,  Johnstone,  Mal- 
colm, the  Assistant  Resident,  Eric 
Sutherland,  Davidson,  and  a  host 
of  others;  the  15th  Hussars  at 
Bangalore  sent  in  Otter  Sharp, 
Chetwoode,  Madigan,  and  others  ; 
whilst  the  Hyderabad  Subsidiary 
Force  supplied  a  contingent  of 
choice  spirits. 

The  flat  races  passed  off  very 
successfully.  Everyone  attended 
and  with  a  large  contingent  of 
Rajahs  and  their  followers, 
from  Hyderabad,  with  their  gor- 
geously caparisoned  elephants 
and  horses  the  whole  business 
was  more  like  a  pageant  than  a 
race  meeting. 

The  momentous  day  at  last 
arrived  when  I  was  to  make  my 
debut  as  a  steeplechase  rider,  and  I 
must  own  to  a  feeling  of  excite- 
ment and  nervousness  that  I  had 
not  before  thought  possible.  It 
was  not  the  idea  of  the  riding  that 
caused  it,  but  the  thought  of  what 
the  old  and  expert  hands  would 
think  and  say.  Should  I  be 
classed  as  a  duffer,  or  admitted 
into  the  coterie  of  acknowledged 
horsemen  ?  The  race  was  set  for 
five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the 
third  on  the  card.  At  daybreak  I 
had  Evergreen  saddled,  and  rode 
him  quickly  around  the  course, 
taking  him  over  all  the  practice 
jumps  on  the  way.    The  distance 


208 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


was  about  three  miles,  the  fences 
were  stiff,  with  eighteen  feet  of 
water.  After  breakfast  I  went  to 
the  marquee  where  the  lotteries 
were  being  held,  and  found  the 
horse  was  quite  despised.  One 
man  who  had  drawn  him  '  in  a 
thousand  rupee  lottery  was  so 
disgusted  that  he  sold  me  his 
ticket  for  a  gold  mohur,  which  was 
only  half  what  he  had  given  for  it. 
Having  paid  every  attention  to 
my  toilet,  and  made  Sure  there 
was  nothing  to  invite  criticism  or 
betray  queer ness  I  made  my  way 
to  the  weighing  shed,  and  found 
that  I  was  eleven  stone  eight 
pounds,  just  lib.  over  weight.  As 
my  horse  was  a  maiden  I  was 
in  receipt  of  seven  pounds,  whilst 
each  of  the  others  had  to  put  up 
seven  extra.  Just  as  I  weighed 
out  the  tr  urn  pet  sounded  "  Boot 
and  Saddle,"  and  having  seen  the 
horse  saddled  I  turned  out  for  the 
canter  past.  The  favourite,  a 
grand  chestnut  Arab,  had  won 
several  chases,  but  he  was  hot 
and  fretful,  and  lathered  con- 
siderably. The  man  on  his  back 
was  one  of  the  best  horsemen  in 
India,  and  if  horsemanship  was  to 
do  the  trick  my  chance  was  gone. 
The  second  favourite  was  a  grey 
Arab,  but  I  feared  neither  horse 
nor  rider  here.  The  one  I  most 
dreaded  was  a  flea-bitten  grey, 
belonging  to  a  Jemadar  in  the 
Nizam's  service,  but  as  he  was 
ridden  by  his  owner  I  had  not 
much  fear.  An  officer  of  the 
Contingent  rode  a  celebrated  pig- 
sticker, but  he  had  too  much 
weight  for  the  distance.  The 
start  was  in  front  of  the  stand, 
once  round  the  course.  As  the 
horses  walked  up  to  the  starter 
the  hum  of  the  crowd  was  hushed, 
so  great  was  the  interest  evoked 
by  the  race.  At  last  the  word 
"  Go  "  was  given,  and  we  were 
away.  As  I  expected,  the  Jemadar 
made  the  running,  and  a  cracker 


he  set  us.     I  kept  close  to  the  big 
chestnut,  as  I  knew   he  was  the 
most  dangerous  antagonist  I  had. 
The  first  and  second  fences  were 
safely  negotiated  by  all.     At  the 
water  one  ran  out  and  two  fell  in. 
The  Jemadar  had  got  a  lead  of 
three  or  four  lengths,   and  just 
behind  him  came  the  hog  hunter. 
I  still  kept  close  to  the  favourite, 
who  was  going  well  within  himself, 
whilst  his  rider  was  as  calm  as 
if  taking  a  constitutional  canter. 
We  rode  side  by  side,  taking  the 
jumps  together,  and  for  the  first 
mile  there  was  scarcely  any  per- 
ceptible difference  in  our  horses 
strides.  The  pace  was  tremendous, 
and    I  knew  could  not  last.     I 
therefore  took  a  pull,  and  allowed 
the  favourite  to  forge  ahead,  and 
though  I  knew  my  horse  was  full 
of  running  I  determined  to  nurse 
him.      My  judgment  was  correct. 
In  a  very  few  strides  I  found  the 
Jemadar's  horse  coming  back  to 
me,  and  the  twitching  tail  of  the 
second  favourite  told  that  his  bolt 
was    shot.      The    race  now   lay 
between  myself  and  the  favourite, 
and  so  nearly  were  we  matched 
that  the  slightest  mistake  on  the 
part   of  either  horse  would  lose 
him  the  race.     I  had  a  stone  in 
hand,    but     that     was    counter- 
balanced by   the  superior  know- 
ledge and  riding  of  my  opponent, 
who  was  every  inch  a  horseman. 
All  at  once  I  noticed  that  he  held 
his     horse    more    in    hand,    and 
allowed  me  to  take  the  lead  at 
the    next    fence,    beyond    which 
there  was  only  one  more  of  any 
consequence,  which  was  a  big  on 
and  off,  with  a  four-foot  ditch  on 
each  side,  then  one  more,  and  a 
straight   run  in   past  the   stand. 
Could  I  but  win !     I  was  almost 
wild  with  the  thought,  but  did  not 
lose  my  head.     I  pulled  my  horse 
together  for  the  on  and  off,  and 
then  let  him  race.      On  looking 
back  I  saw  the  chestnut  evidently 


i 


I*»] 


"OUR  van. 


»i 


209 


labouring,  and  he  nearly  came  on 
to  his  head  on  landing  over  the 
on  and  off.  He  scrambled  on, 
however,  but  came  down  at  the 
next  fence,  whilst  Evergreen, 
having  cleverly  cleared  it,  I 
cantered  past  the  stand  at  my 
ease,  a  winner  by  half  a  distance. 
Had  the    favourite   stood   up   it 


might  have  had  a  different  ending. 
It  was,  however,  a  red-letter  day 
in  my  career,  and  my  heart  beats 
a  trifle  faster  even  now  when  I 
recall  it.  I  have  ridden  many 
chases  since,  but  never  one  that 
took  such  a  hold  of  my  memory, 
and  gave  me  such  pleasure  in 
winning.  C.  O. 


"Our   Van." 


Bummer  Racing. — "  Going  on 
the  hard  side,"  that  is  the  legend 
attached  to  any  truthful  report  of 
a  summer  race-meeting  in  nineteen 
seasons  out  of  twenty.     So  far  as 
quantity  is  concerned,  there  is  no 
shortage  in  summer,  yet  one  is 
strongly  impelled  to  consider  sum- 
mer racing  to   consist  of   Ascot 
and  Goodwood,   the  weather  at 
Epsom  being  as   often  wintry  as 
summery,  with  a  couple  of  acci- 
dents in  the  shape   of  the   Ten 
Thousand  Pounders  at  the  New- 
market First   July  and  Sandown 
Eclipse  Meetings.  The  promoters 
of  other  meetings  not  included  in 
this  brief  list  will   be  inclined  to 
demur,  but  it  will  be  difficult  for 
them  to  show   that    any   special 
interest    centres    in     the    racing 
taking    place     at     them.      The 
greater    public,   as   distinguished 
from    that     body    which    follows 
racing  from  January  to  December 
from  infatuation  or  personal  in- 
terest, is  not   so  wedded  to  the 
sport  that  it  will  give  up  cherished 
summer  diversions  for  it,  though, 
if  life  were  all  bank  holiday  and 
the  weekly  wage  went  on  just  the 
same,  this  feature  might  not  be  so 
pronounced.     However,  we  have 
to  take  things  as  they  are,  and, 
with  the  setting  in  of  the  holiday- 
taking  season  in  July,  there  is  a 
marked  falling  oft  in  the  attend- 
ances at    races.     The    finer    the 


weather  the  more  people  find 
other  things  to  do,  and  racing  is 
regarded  as  a  pis  alley  when  the 
meteorological  surroundings  are 
unpropitious  to  the  proper  enjoy- 
ment of  outdoor  pleasures  in 
which  the  individual  takes  more 
active  part  than  he  does  in 
racing. 
Liverpool  Summer  Meeting.-- 

Judging  from  what  is  seen  in 
March,  the  uninformed  person 
would  be  justified  in  regarding 
Liverpool  as  a  racing  centre  with 
such  pronounced  Turf  proclivities 
that  any  amount  of  racing  would 
be  practicable  there.  The  facts 
that  confront  one  are  that  the 
summer  meeting  once  extended 
over  three  days,  but  is  now 
limited  to  two  and  that  the  attend- 
ance is  a  mere  shadow  of  that 
assembling  to  see  the  Grand 
National  run.  Oi  Polloi  is  dis- 
porting itself  in  the  Isle  of  Man, 
in  Wales,  or  some  other  unfortu- 
nate place,  and  the  listman's 
business  in  the  cheap  enclosures 
is  limited  indeed  by  contrast. 
Seeing  that  the  Duke  of  York, 
finding  himself  in  Liverpool  in 
connection  with  a  public  function, 
made  one  of  the  Knowsley  party 
on  each  of  the  two  days,  it  would 
not  have  been  surprising  if  Society 
had  appeared  in  greater  force 
than  usual,  but  it  did  not  do  so. 
The  stakes  are  endowed  with 


2IO 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[September 


no  illiberal  hand,  and  this  of 
course  saves  the  meeting.  We 
began  with  one  of  the  pitcts  dc 
resistance,  the  Great  Lancashire 
Breeders'  Produce  Stakes,  and 
though  but  three  ran,  the  element 
of  interest  was  largely  present. 
The  runners  were  Vain  Duchess, 
who  had  not  once  run  badly  in 
her  four  previous  races,  for  she 
was  twice  second  to  Democrat, 
after  winning  the  Breeders'  Plate 
at  the  Newmarket  Second  Spring 
and  the  Summer  Breeders'  Foal 
Plate  at  Manchester,  in  which 
she  beat  Jouvence ;  Atbara,  who 
had  smashed  up  The  Gorgon  at 
the  Newmarket  Second  July,  and 
Jubert.  Early  in  the  day  it  was 
mooted  that  the  American  jockey, 
Martin,  was  to  ride  Vain  Duchess, 
but  Madden  had  no  notion  what- 
ever of  standing  down  and  speedily 
put  an  end  to  such  aspirations. 
The  race  between  Atbara  and 
Vain  Duchess  was  a  fine  one,  and 
it  was  as  well  for  the  Vain 
Duchess  party  that  Madden  did 
ride,  for,  in  his  weak  state, 
Martin  would  scarcely  have 
proved  equal  to  Tommy  Loates's 
determined  finish. 

Martin  rode  Sweet  Marjorie  in 
the  St.  George's  Stakes  of  a  mile 
and  three  furlongs,  which  he  all 
but  lost  through  his  poor  state  of 
health.  He  showed  the  American 
cleverness  in  taking  the  lead  at  a 
propitious  moment  and  opening 
up  a  gap,  but  when  Wood  came 
up  on  Flambard,  Martin  all  but 
fell  off,  losing  his  reins  and 
pitching  forward  out  of  the  saddle. 
He  got  back  again,  secured  the 
reins,  and  managed  to  win  by  a 
head.  Birkenhead,  the  colt  with 
hind  feet  so  turned  in  that  they 
overlap  as  he  walks — a  peculiarity 
which  we,  to  our  astonishment, 
were  told  he  would  grew  out  of 
by  the  autumn — was  made  a  very 
hot  favourite  for  this  race,  on  the 
strength   of    his    running  in   the 


Princess  of  Wales's  Stakes,  where 
he  swerved  all  over  the  course 
with  Sloan,  but  he  made  a  sorry 
show  and,  in  the  bitterness  of 
their  hearts,  those  who  had  laid 
the  foolish  odds  muttered  some- 
thing about  Selling  Plates.  And 
he  a  colt  by  Orme  out  of 
Tragedy ! 

Eleventh  hour  scratcbings  for 
the  Liverpool  Cup  brought  about 
the  unexpected,  for  Madden  be- 
came available  for  Lord  William 
Beresford's  Grodno.  The  scratch- 
ings  were  not  far  removed  from 
the  sensational.  Newhaven  II. 
had  gone  out  the  day  before, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  race 
Sligo  followed  suit.  Grodno, 
whom  Madden  rode  at  least  as 
well  as  Sloan  could  have  done,  all 
but  did  the  trick,  Easthorpe's 
head  being  all  there  was  between 
him  and  the  winning  post.  Little 
McCall  rode  the  winner  with  the 
coolness  of  a  veteran. 

Goodwood.  —  Over  Goodwood 
there  had  come  one  of  the 
mightiest  changes  that  has  ever 
been  noted  from  one  year  to 
another  in  racing.  Goodwood's 
41  glory"  was  there  in  the  shape 
of  the  most  perfect  harvest 
weather  conceivable,  and  the 
whole  country  was  a  glow  of  gold 
from  ripe  corn.  The  heat  was 
great,  but  a  lovely  breeze  blew 
throughout  the  four  days  and 
made  matters  extremely  pleasant 
on  the  heights.  The  ukase 
having  gone  forth  that  flannels, 
or  other  preferable  comfortable 
wearing  apparel  would  be  dt 
rigueur  in  place  of  the  deposed 
top-hat  and  frock  coat,  no  excuse 
could  be  advanced  on  the  score  of 
inconvenience;  yet  Goodwood  was 
practically  empty.  The  house- 
parties  had  their  full  quota  and  no 
doubt  they  rejoiced  in  the  fact 
that  a  most  marked  falling  off  in 
the  general  public — the  public 
which  attends  Goodwood  at  the 


'«»] 


ft 


OUR  VAN. 


»» 


211 


largest  amount  of  inconvenience — 
gave  them  more  space  in  which 
to  enjoy  themselves.  Everyone 
who  seeks  to  earn  money  out  of 
Goodwood,  from  the  fly-drivers, 
some  of  whom  did  not  earn  their 
corn-bill,  was  able  to  testify  to 
the  decided  falling  off. 

Possibly  out  of  kindly  feeling  to 
the  meeting,  perhaps  from  habit, 
but  more  probably  because  of  a 
belief  in  the   policy  of  allowing 
two-year-olds    to    mature    before 
running  them,  Goodwood  is  com- 
monly the  scene  of  the  first  ap- 
pearance of  promising  youngsters. 
The    Ham    Stakes    brought    out 
Simon  Dale,  a  dark  St.  Simon  colt 
out  of  Ismay,  of  whom  the  best 
that  could  be  said  was  circulated. 
He  was  meeting  a  previous  win- 
ner in  The  Gorgon,  gave  her  4lbs., 
and    won    in   a    canter.     If  this 
means  that  the  Duke  of  Portland 
has  something  capable  of  beating 
Democrat  1  shall  be  patriotically 
glad,  as  well  as  pleased  to  see  the 
wheel  of  fortune  once  more  point- 
ing  his    Grace's    way.     On    the 
third  day  the  two-year-olds  made 
high  holiday  with  the   Prince  of 
Wales's     and     Rous     Memorial 
Stakes.     In  the  first-named,  Dia- 
mond Jubilee,  in  spite  of  claims 
for  improved  behaviour,  ran  some- 
thing of  a  cur,   or  would    have 
beaten  Epsom  Lad  easily  enough, 
and  the  Rous  Memorial  was  a  gift 
to  Forfarshire,  who  was  getting 
from  3lbs.  to  5lbs.  from  inferior 
animals.    Not   much   more   diffi- 
cult was  the  victory  of  O'  Dono- 
van    Rossa     in     the     Molecomb 
Stakes. 

I  wish  I  could  bring  myself  to 
think  that  the  Stewards'  Cup  was 
always  won  by  the  best  horse  at 
the  weights,  for  then  there  would 
be  some  pleasure  in  referring  to 
it.  Unfortunately,  I  cannot  think 
that  way,  and  look  upon  the  race 
very  much  in  the  light  of  a 
scramble    or    lottery.     The    race 


was  preceded  by  that  rumour  of 
which  we  have  far  too  much  in 
racing,  for  it  is  impossible  to  sup- 
pose that  there  is  not  good  cause 
for  pronounced  market  move- 
ments. When  we  arrive  on  the 
course  and  find  20  to  1  on  offer 
against  a  horse  that  was  so  fancied 
as  was  Dieudonne,  somebody  must 
have  been  at  work.  Dieudonnd 
would  not  run,  said  one  ;  Madden 
rides  Vara,  asserted  another ;  and 
in  the  end  Dieudonn6,  with  Mad- 
den up,  started  first  favourite. 
The  vaunted  superiority  of  the 
present  mode  of  starting  over  the 
starting  gate  was  well  proven  by 
the  end  of  the  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  that  were  spent  at  the  post. 
This  sort  of  thing  is  so  fair  on  the 
handicapper,  and  upon  a  horse 
like  Eager,  who  by  the  time  the 
flag  fell  was  practically  carrying  a 
5lb.  penalty  over  and  above  his 
iost.  2lb.  And  still  there  are 
people — owners,  too — who  can  see 
system  !  No  fault  could  be  found 
nothing  wrong  with  the  two-flag 
with  the  success  of  Northern  Far- 
mer, though  his  owner  did  remark 
immediately  after  the  race  that 
had  he  been  a  little  more  confi- 
dent he  need  never  have  come 
racing  any  more.  So  the  gentle- 
men on  the  rails  had  a  narrow 
escape  from  permanent  penury. 

Merman  scored  a  couple  of  wins 
on  consecutive  days,  which  came 
as  a  decided  surprise  after  his 
moderate  display  in  the  Liver- 
pool Cup.  We  now  know  (if  we 
like  to  accept  the  information) 
that  such  sprints  as  eleven  fur- 
longs are  no  manner  of  use  to  this 
horse.  And  yet  he  once  won  the 
Lewes  Handicap.  On  the  second 
day  he  won  the  Goodwood  Plate 
of  two  miles  with  ease,  and  on  the 
third  day  he  won  the  Goodwood 
Cup  of  two-and-a-half  miles  with 
similar  facility,  Newhaven  II. 
breaking  down,  at  which  no  on 3 
who  had  seen  him  gallop  the  day 


212 


baily's  MAGAZINE. 


[SffiembeR 


before  was  surprised.  Nun  Nicer 
enjoyed  her  old  luck  in  running 
second  in  both  the  Stewards1  Cup 
and  the  Drayton  Handicap.  Uni- 
form was  to  run  away  with  the 
last-named  race,  everybody  said, 
but  he  was  not  so  much  as  started. 
"  Now  we  know  what  will  win  the 
Cambridgeshire,"  was  the  subse- 
quent reflection. 

Lewes. — Strange  to  say,  the 
weather  was  too  fine  for  Lewes, 
the  powerful  sun  keeping  hun- 
dreds away,  though  the  never- 
failing  breeze  blew  on  the  top  of 
the  downs.  The  feature  of  the 
meeting  was  the  winning  of  the 
Lewes  Handicap  by  an  Austra- 
lasian horse  for  the  fourth  year  in 
succession,  and  for  the  third  year 
consecutively  by  the  same  owner. 
The  field  was  of  the  smallest, 
three  only  running,  though  even 
this  was  not  a  record,  and  the 
winner  turned  up  in  the  very  Uni- 
form that  was  such  a  good  thing 
for  the  Drayton  Handicap  of  seven 
furlongs  (the  Lewes  Handicap 
being  a  mile  and  a-half),  and  who 
was  to  win  the  Cambridgeshire. 
As  the  Lewes  Handicap  is  worth 
over  900  sovs.  to  the  winner  this 
is  much  better  than  a  Cambridge- 
shire very  much  in  the  bush. 

Hurst  Park  and  Kemp  ton. — 
With  the  Bank  Holiday  awarded 
it,  Hurst  Park  had  all  the  best  of 
matters  in  the  matter  of  dividend 
earning.  The  chief  race,  the  Holi- 
day Handicap  of  two  miles,  was 
won  by  Palmerston,  the  fact  being 
noted  because  it  emphasised  the 
ability  of  Mr.  Thursby  as  a 
trainer.  When  the  property  of 
Sir  J.  B.  Maple,  Palmerston  was 
worked  to  the  last  degree  of  state- 
ness. Purchased  by  Sir  John 
Thursby  (on  his  son's  advice)  for 
400  sovs.,  the  first  thing  done  was 
to  give  him  a  rest,  and  each  time 
out  afterwards  he  has  won  a  good 
race.  The  previous  owner  is 
understood  to  be  displeased  at  the 


course  which  events  have  taken, 
which  is  sad. 

At  Kempton  the  card  for  the 
International  Breeders'  Two-year- 
old  Stakes  was  an  imposing  sight, 
but  discretion  was  exercised  in 
the  case  of  such  good  ones  as 
Vain  Duchess,  The  Gorgon,  and 
O'Donovan  Rossa.  This  left  For- 
farshire to  give  the  weight  away 
to  the  likes  of  Cutaway  and  Solid 
Gold  in  handsome  style. 

Polo— The  Death  of  Mr.  W.  J. 
Drybrough. — Fatal  accidents  are 
so  rare  at  polo  in  this  country 
that  the  death   of    Mr.    "Jack" 
Drybrough,     whose     name    was 
known  wherever    the  game  was 
played,  came  upon  everyone  with 
a  shock.     Polo  in   our  time  has 
suffered  no  greater   loss,  for  he 
was    without  doubt    one  of  the 
strongest   back  players  we    have 
seen.     Many   and  ample  expres- 
sions of  appreciation  and  regret 
there  have  been  and  will  be,  but 
none  more  sincere  than  that  of  the 
writer,  who  has  so  often   told  of 
Mr.  W.  J.  Drybrough's  feats,  or 
of  the  readers  of  Baily,  whose  in- 
terest   in    the    game    may    have 
prompted   them    to    follow  these 
records  of  its  progress  month  by 
month.       Others    there    will    be 
whose    sorrow    will    be   no    less 
deep,   old  friends  of    the  Fife  or 
Pytchley  Hunts,  and  those  mem- 
bers of  the  Rugby  team  who  felt 
that  when   "Jack"   was    behind 
them  no  chance  would  be  thrown 
away,   and  that  sooner   or   later 
from    that   strong    arm    the   ball 
would  be  passed  to  them,  and  a 
stout  defence  would  be  changed 
into   an  eager  attack.     But   Mr. 
Drybrough  held  a  peculiar  posi- 
tion in  the  game,  he  represented 
not  merely  a  club,  but  a  people, 
and  as  Mr.  John  Watson  for  Ire- 
land,   or    Mr.     Buckmaster    for 
England,  so  Mr.   Drybrough  for 
Scotland  was  the  representative  of 
the    game.      Long    before    these 


1«99J 


"OUR   VAN. 


n 


213 


lines  are  in  print,  the  grave  will 
have  closed  over  the  remains, 
though  not  over  the  memory,  of  a 
kind  friend,  a  loyal  polo-player, 
and  a  true  sportsman. 

Accidents  at  Polo.— The  ma- 
jority of  serious  accidents  at  polo 
happen  from  crosses,  and  it  is 
perhaps  a  testimony  to  the  sound- 
ness of  the  rule  and  the  efficiency 
of  umpires  that  so  few  of  these 
mishaps  happen  in  England.  It 
is  generally,  however,  the  man 
who  crosses,  and  not  the  one  who 
is  crossed,  who  comes  to  grief. 
There  was  an  accident,  unhappily 
with  fatal  results,  which  I  recol- 
lect seeing  in  India.  I  was  play- 
ing at  No.  3,  backing  up  my 
No.  2,  who  was  in  possession  of 
the  ball.  Another  player  came 
up  on  our  near  side,  passed  me, 
and,  I  suppose,  attempted  to  close 
on  the  ball.  He  collided  with  my 
No.  2,  and  brought  him  down, 
and  was  himself  carried  off  the 
field  with  injuries  to  which  he 
succumbed.  No  doubt  he  mis- 
judged the  pace  at  which  we  were 
travelling.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
a  player  not  in  possession  of  the 
ball  should  be  allowed  to  come  up 
on  the  near  side  at  all.  This  is 
always  dangerous,  for  in  the  first 
place  it  is  difficult  to  see  a  man 
coming  up  from  behind  on  the 
near  side  when  one  is  hitting  on 
the  off  side.  Let  me  give  an 
instance.  I  was  running  the  ball, 
hitting  and  trying  to  avoid  an 
adversary  coming  up  on  the  off- 
side; the  ball  ran  close  to  my 
pony,  almost  underneath,  and  I 
swung  her  away  to  obtain  a  clear 
shot ;  when  doing  this  I  never  saw 
a  man  coming  up  on  my  near  side, 
and  puljed  right  into  him,  both  of 
us  coming  down  together.  No 
harm  was  done.  Another  danger 
from  coming  up  on  the  near  side 
is  that  a  pony  will  sometimes 
swerve  away  to  the  right  towards 
the  bail  when  you  are  partly  in 


front  of  the  man  in  possession,  in 
which  case  his  pony  cuts  into 
yours,  and  one  or  both  come  down. 
This  action  of  the  pony  is  often 
quite  involuntary  on  the  part  of 
the  rider,  though  I  think  it  likely 
that,  with  eye  and  mind  concen- 
trated on  the  ball,  one  may  in- 
sensibly incline  the  animal  in  that 
direction.  I  have  often  thought 
that  if  men  were  forbidden  to  ride 
or  hustle  except  on  the  off-side  of 
the  man  in  possession  of  the  ball, 
it  would  make  for  safety  in  the 
game. 
The  Army  Cup  at  Rugby.— 

Every  year  polo  begins  a  little 
earlier  and  ends  a  little  later,  and 
the  Messrs.  Miller  are  preparing 
to  give  us  a  good  tournament  in 
September  if  only  it  will  rain  first. 
If  county  polo  had  done  nothing 
more  than  lengthen  our  season 
by  nearly  three  months  it  would 
have  benefited  the  game.  It  is 
hoped  that  the  Rugby  Cup  will 
encourage  soldiers'  polo  and  bring 
out  new  players,  as  no  team  is  to 
be  allowed  to  play  more  than  one 
man  from  the  Inter-regimental 
team.  As  in  most  cases  this  will 
be  the  back,  the  young  players 
will  have  all  the  advantage  to  be 
derived  from  having  a  good  back 
to  give  them  confidence  and  direct 
their  tactics. 

Foreign  and  Colonial  Polo.— 

The  pluck  of  the  Johannesberg 
Polo  Club  is  certainly  admirable. 
In  spite  of  all  their  troubles  and 
difficulties  they  have  kept  the  ball 
rolling,  and  the  other  day  sent  a 
team  to  Durban  for  the  tourna- 
ment. The  final,  however,  lay 
between  the  18th  Hussars  —  a 
regiment  which  shares  with  the 
Durham  Light  Infantry  the  dis- 
tinction of  having,  when  in  India, 
beaten  the  Patiala  team — and  the 
5th  Lancers.  The  former  won 
after  a  tremendous  struggle  by 
one  subsidiary. 
At  Gibraltar. — For  the  final  of 


214 


baily's  magazine. 


[September 


the  local  tournament  the  Artillery 
met  the  Grenadiers  (A  Team). 
The  Artillery  beat  the  Engineers 
and  the  Coldstreamers,  while  the 
Grenadiers  had  a  very  hard  fight 
with  the  Manchesters.  The  scores 
were  two  all  at  the  close  of  time, 
and  it  took  the  Guards  four 
minutes  of  the  extra  time  to 
make  the  winning  goal.  The 
teams  stood  as  follows : — 


R.  A. 

Mr.  Myers. 

„     Bnerley. 
„    Ziegler. 
Captain  Massie. 


GRENADIER 
GUARDS  A. 

Mr.  Ward  Forester. 
,,    Douglas  Pennant, 
i     ,,    Seymour. 
I     M    J*  Quilter. 


After  a  quick  period  of  fast  and 
even  play  the  scores  were  two  all. 
In  the  subsequent  periods  the 
Royal  Artillery  showed  a  consis- 
tent improvement,  and  gradually 
getting  the  upper  hand,  entirely 
won  by  five  goals  to  two. 

The  Warwickshire  Tourna- 
ment.— The  town  of  Leamington 
has  taken  up  polo  heartily.  The 
Mayor  is  a  playing  member,  and 
the  town  presents  a  sixty-guinea 
challenge  cup  to  be  played  for  at 
the  annual  tournament.  Each 
succeeding  year  the  polo  week 
has  brought  together  a  number  of 
first-rate  players.  This  present 
season  was  no  exception.  It  is 
almost  impossible  to  over-rate  the 
importance  to  polo  of  these  county 
tournaments,  which  make  the 
game  of  polo  at  its  best  known 
to  so  many  people.  The  entry  at 
Leamington  was  a  very  strong 
one,  local  teams  being  well  repre- 
sented by  the  Warwickshire  A 
and  B  teams,  the  North  Warwick- 
shire Hunt,  Rugby  (Spring  Hill), 
the  Rugby  Ishmaelites,  while  the 
polo  world  at  large  was  repre- 
sented by  the  North  Cotswold 
Hunt,  and  last,  but  not  least,  the 
Old  Cantabs.  Of  these  teams 
the  Rugby  Ishmaelites  put  War- 
wickshire A  out,  and  the  North 
Cotswold  Hunt  team  beat  War- 
wickshire B.     In  the  second  ties 


the  Rugby  Ishmaelites  scratched, 
and  the  North  Cotswold  were  dis- 
posed of  by  the  Warwickshire 
Hunt,  and  the  Old  Cantabs  beat 
Rugby  Spring  Hill.  For  the  final 
there  remained : — 


OLD  CANTABS. 


WARWICKSHIRE 
HUNT. 


Mr.  Walter  McCreery.  Mr.  F.  Harfreavcs. 
,,    Godfrey  Heseltine*         ,,     F.  Mackey. 

,,     F.  Freake.  C  aptain  Egerton  Green. 

,,    Waller  Kuckmaster.  Mr.  W.  J.Drybrough. 

The  Old  Cantabs,  who  have 
been  playing  together  for  the 
whole  season,  were  naturally  much 
the  better  combined  team  of  the 
two,  and  up  to  half  time  the 
Warwickshire  Hunt  held  their 
own,  and  chiefly  by  reason  of  the 
late  Mr.  Jack  Drybrough's  fine 
defence.  The  scores  were  two  all 
at  half  time.  After  that  the  Cam- 
bridge team  had  matters  much 
their  own  way,  and  putting  on  no 
less  than  eight  goals  in  the  last 
half  of  the  match,  won  by  ten 
goals  to  two. 

As  usual,  there  was  a  handicap 
tournament  during  the  week,  for 
which  there  were  entries  enough 
to  provide  five  teams.  The  final 
was  between: — 


A   TEAM. 


i 


C  TEAM. 


Mr.  Oscar  Bland. 
„    G.  Heseltine. 


Mr.  C.  H.  Barker. 
Comte  de  Madre. 

Mr.  E.  Flower.  Captain  G.  R.  PowelL 

fl    W.  J.  Drybrough.     Mr.  A.  Tice. 

After  a  galloping  game  A  team 
won  by  six  goals  to  two. 

Rahelagh. — The  two  principal 
events  at  Ranelagh  were  the  pony 
show  and  the  finals  of  the  Subal- 
terns' Tournament.  At  the  pony 
show  Mr.  Buckmaster  and  Cap- 
tain Renton  acted  as  judges.  The 
presence  of  the  latter  player  in 
the  ring  put  the  champion  Match- 
box out  for  the  day.  Lord  Ken- 
sington's Sermon,  also  a  no  are  and 
a  chestnut,  won,  beating  two  such 
ponies  as  Mademoiselle  and  Luna. 
Mr.  Walter  Jones  won  in  light- 
weights with  a  beautiful  black 
pony,  Syren.  It  will  be  noted 
that  the  winners'  names  are  new 


i*»] 


11  OUR  VAN. 


•  i 


215 


to  the  show  ring.  Poor  Mr. 
W.  J.  Drybrough  had  a  well- 
deserved  win  for  the  best  team  of 
ponies.  They  were  all  much  of  a 
stamp,  and  were  well  suited  for 
carrying  weight  at  polo  in  a  fast 
match.  The  supply  of  first- class 
ponies  seems  to  remain  at  about 
the  same  level.  Every  two  or 
three  years  a  new  champion  makes 
his,  or  more  generally  her,  ap- 
[  pearance.  It  is  greatly  to 
be  hoped  that  when  their  polo 
days  are  over  some  of  the  beauti- 
ful mares  will  fall  into  the  hands 
of  those  who  are  trying  to  breed 
polo  ponies. 

The  Subalterns'  Tournament. 
— The  whole  interest  of  this  series 
of  matches  centred  in  the  meet- 
ing  of  the.  7th  Hussars  and  the 
Inniskillings,  whenever  that  might 
happen.  As  it  turned  out,  theirs 
was  the  first  game  in  the  Tour- 
nament. The  teams  were  arranged 
thus : — 


rm  HUSSARS. 

Mr.  Fidden. 
„    Holford. 
„    Wormald. 
„    Yaughan. 


'    INNISKILLINGS. 

Mr.  Paterson. 
„    Ansel). 
„    Neil  Hatg. 
„    C.  H.  Higgin. 


The  7th  had  a  comparatively 
new  team,  while  the  Inniskillings 
played  their  Inter -regimental 
team,  with,  of  course,  the  excep- 
tion of  Major  Rimington.  It  will 
also  have  been  noted  that  each 
team  was  playing  as  No.  4  the 
man  who  played  No.  1  in  the 
regimental  team. 

The  7th  Hussars  won,  as  every- 
one knows,  playing  a  good  sound 
game,  and  proving  to  everyone 
how  good  the  first  team  must  be 
if  the  second  can  do  so  well.  The 
space  of  the  Ranelagh  ground 
suited  their  galloping  ponies  well. 
Afterwards  the  7th  Hussars  beat 
the  13th  and  the  R.H.G.  teams 
without  very  much  difficulty. 

Hurlingham.  —  Very  little  re- 
mains but  to  tell  of  the  fall  of  the 
curtain  at  the  Senior  Club.     The 


last  series  of  matches  of  import- 
ance at  the  Club  and  of  the  season 
was  the  Consolation  Tournament, 
which  produced  some  good  games, 
Mtdgrave  House,  a  scratch  team, 
but  a  strong  one,  proving  the  win- 
ners. They  were  made  up  of: — 
Mr.  F.  Bellville,  Mr.  F.J.  Mackey, 
Captain  Egerton  Green,  and  Mr. 
W.  J.  Drybrough.  They  had  to 
beat  the  Gadflies  : — Mr.  G.  Hesel- 
tine,  Mr.  F.  Menzies,  Mr.  Neil 
Haig,  and  Mr.  L.  McCreery, 
another  scratch  team.  The  match 
was  a  very  even  one.  At  half- 
time  the  score  was  even.  The 
Gadflies  were,  however,  the 
quicker  team  of  the  two,  and 
when  once  Mr.  Heseltine  or  Mr. 
Menzies  got  away  with  the  ball 
there  was  no  catching  them.  At 
one  time  the  Gadflies  were  two 
goals  ahead.  Then  came  an  in- 
teresting example  of  the  general 
truth  that  if  of  two  nearly  equal 
teams  one  is  stronger  in  attack 
and  the  other  in  defence,  the  team 
that  is  better  at  No.  3  and  No.  4 
will  win.  If  brilliant  forwards 
fling  themselves  time  after  time 
on  impregnable  defence,  they  tire 
themselves,  and  sooner  or  later 
No.  3  and  No.  4  will  pass  the  ball 
forwards,  and  the  game  will  be 
theirs.  Other  things  being  equal, 
on  reflection  we  shall  see  that  the 
chance  of  such  a  side  as  this 
scoring  is  greater  than  that  of  the 
other.  Polo  is  in  all  its  phases 
so  interesting  a  game  both  to  play 
and  to  watch  that  we  are  apt  to 
forget  that  goals  win  the  game 
after  all. 

DeauYille.— The  Deauville  polo 
season  is  a  very  short  one,  but 
what  it  lacks  in  length  is  more 
than  atoned  for  by  the  various 
tournaments  which  are  crowded 
into  the  fortnight,  and  with  good 
management,  one  of  the  finest 
polo  grounds  in  the  world,  and 
blue  skies  and  perfect  weather, 
the  meeting  is  naturally  a  most 


si6 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


enjoyable  one.  This  year  three 
teams  made  the  journey  across  the 
Channel  to  meet  the  Paris  Polo 
Club  players  in  friendly  rivalry. 
There  was  also  some  talk  of  the 
ioth  Hussars  team  coming  over, 
but  in  the  end  they  found  it  im- 
possible to  do  so.  The  only  change 
in  the  committee  was  that  Lord 
Shrewsbury  resigned,  the  vacancy 
being  filled  by  that  good  sports- 
man, the  Marquis  de  Villa vieja, 
who  was  one  of  the  French 
players  who  visited  Hurlingham 
in  1897.  The  ground,  which  is 
situated  in  the  middle  of  the  race- 
course close  to  the  sea,  was  opened 
for  play  on  the  7th,  but  few 
players  turned  up  until  the  fol- 
lowing Thursday,  the  day  fixed 
for  the  Prix  d'Ouverture.  The 
handicap  for  this  tournament  had 
been  made  by  Mr.  Reginald  Her- 
bert, and  the  four  teams  he  had 
arranged  were  as  follows : — A 
team  (Vicomte  Foy,  Baron  de 
Tessier,  Baron  Lejeuhe,  and  Mr. 
A.  Rawlinson);  B  team  (Mr.  Beau- 
mont, M.  Fanquet-Lemaitre,  Lord 
Villiers,  M.  "Rice");  C  team 
(M.  Faider,  Mr.  Freake,  Mr. 
Holden  Watt,  Marquis  de  Villa- 
vieja) ;  D  team  (M.  Bischoffsheim, 
Mr.  W.  McCreery,  Mr.  Barton, 
Mr.  L.  McCreery).  The  first  ties 
ended  in  B  team  beating  A  team 
by  four  goals  to  two,  while  the  C 
quartette  defeated  the  D  side  by 
four  goals  to  love.  In  the  final 
C  team  scored  an  easy  victory 
over  B  team  by  six  goals  to  love. 
The  next  contest  was  the  County 
Cup  tournament,  for  which  the 
competitors  were  the  "  Bagatelle  " 
representatives  (Mr.  Wright,  M. 
Etistache  de  Escandon,  M. 
"  Rice,"  and  the  Marquis  de 
Villa  vieja),  the  Uniteds  (BaTon 
de  Tessier,  Mr.  Holden  Watt, 
Mr.  Beaumont,  and  Lord  Vil- 
liers), the  Fox-hunters  (Mr.  W. 
McCreery,  Mr.  Freake,  Captain 
Egerton  Green,  and  Mr.  A.  Rawlin- 


son), and  the  Buccaneers,  who 
came  over  in  the  steam  yacht 
Marguerite  (Messrs.  Marjoribanks, 
Reginald  Ward,  F.  Menzies,  and 
L.  McCreery).  The  two  first  tics 
were  both  fast  and  exciting, 
especially  the  one  between  the 
Fox-hunters  and  the  Buccaneers 
(holders),  which  the  last-named 
only  just  won  by  two  goals  to  one. 
Bagatelle  beat  the  United  by  four 
to  two,  and  therefore  opposed 
the  holders  in  the  final,  which 
was  played  on  the  13th  in  St.,  after 
the  races.  The  match  was  disap- 
pointing, for  M.  de  Escandon,  the 
Marquis  de  Villavieja's  brother, 
hurt  his  arm,  and  half-way  through 
the  game  had  to  stop  playing,  the 
Englishmen  scoring  their  fourth 
successive  victory  by  three  goals 
to  love.  Mr.  Henry  Ridgway, 
the  president  of  the  club,  gave 
away  the  four  cups  to  the  winning 
team. 

Hunting  —  The  Devon  and 
Somerset. — The  following  from  a 
correspondent  tells  its  own  tale: — 
"You  ask  for  a  word  for  Baily 
about  our  opening  meet.  The 
night  before  we  had,  thank  good- 
ness, a  splendid  fall  of  rain,  good 
for  sport  and  bad  for  trippers. 
Had  it  not  been  for  this  I  should 
not  have  gone  to  Cloutsham  at  all. 
"  Owing  to  the  improvement  in 
scent,  due  to  the  rain,  tufting  did 
not  take  nearly  as  long  as  usual, 
and  a  little  before  one  the  master 
came  along  with  the  pack.  There 
was  some  music  when  they 
touched  the  line,  I  can  assure  you. 
Hounds,  however,  soon  divided, 
some  six  couple  holding  to  the 
hunted  deer.  These  were  stopped 
while  the  pack  was  got  together. 
Hounds  now  ran  a  good  pace  and 
had  (need  it  be  said)  much  the 
best  of  us  up  the  ascent  at 
Lucott.  After  that  those  who 
managed  to  keep  with  the  pack 
found  things  much  easier,  as  after 
just    touching    Lord     Lovelace's 


J 


!%1 


"OUR   VAN. 


»» 


217 


plantations  the  deer  ran  a  ring. 
He  ran  down  to  the  sea  at  Por- 
lock,  but  did  not  take  to  the  salt 
water  as  is  usual,  but  turned  right 
back ;  but  as  this  move  was  quite 
unexpected,  he  gained  a  great 
deal  of  time  by  it  and  eventually 
beat  hounds.  "  The  run  was  twisty, 
but  hounds  ran  well,  and  the  pace 
•  was  as  fast  as  horse  or  man  want 
in  August." 

The  Devon  and  Somerset  are  to 
hunt  four  days  a  week  this  season 
and  have  twenty  couple  more 
hounds,  chiefly  from  the  Belvoir, 
and  which  is  much  the  same 
thing  from  the  Grafton,  so  we 
shall  see  the  blood  of  Rally  wood 
and  Gambler  take  to  the  chase  of 
the  wild  red  deer  of  Ex  moor,  at 
which  they  will  probably  dis- 
tinguish themselves  as  much  as 
they  have  done  in  many  countries 
after  their  natural  enemy,  the  fox. 

The  Entry  of  1899. — In  almost 
every  kennel  the  entry  for  this 
season  is  a  short  one.  The  reason 
is  distemper  in  a  new  form,  which 
has  been  a  veritable  scourge  this 
year,  and  has  carried  off  many 
most  promising  puppies. 

Only  the  other  day  the  writer 
was  talking  over  this  important 
matter  with  a  master  of  an  old- 
established  pack  of  beagles,  and 
although  he  has  bred  hounds  for 
some  years,  he  told  me  that 
beyond  the  old  prescriptions  of 
warmth  and  nourishment,  he 
could  recommend  no  special  treat- 
ment. Sometimes  one  method 
would  succeed  and  at  other  times 
another,  but  there  was  no  panacea 
nor  anything  approaching  one 
discovered  as  yet.  If,  however, 
the  different  entries,  so  far  as  I 
have  heard  or  seen,  are  deficient 
in  quantity,  in  quality  there  is 
little  to  seek.  Before  going  into 
particulars  we  may  note  as  an 
encouraging  fact  how  very  well 
the  young  hounds  have  been  cared 
'  for  by  the  puppy  walkers  as  a  rule. 


This  has  been  remarked  on  by 
many  masters  and  huntsmen.  To 
the  puppy  walkers  we  owe  much 
of  the  high  standard  of  the  fox- 
hound at  the  present  time.  An- 
other most  satisfactory  point  to 
notice  is  the  way  the  Belvoir 
blood  holds  its  own.  Was  there 
ever  a  better  stallion  hound  than 
Dexter  ?  Well,  without  going 
into  comparisons,  which  are  use- 
less, we  are  fortunate  to  have 
such  an  one  in  our  time.  In  the 
first  place,  Ben  Capell,  no  mean 
judge,  has  put  on  at  Belvoir  many 
of  Dexter's  puppies.  In  the 
second,  he  was  sire  of  Marquis, 
the  champion  at  Peterborough, 
and  recently  at  the  Cottesmore 
puppy  show  three  dogs  from  one 
litter,  Dexter — Songstress,  were 
placed  first,  second  and  third. 
But  this  is  not  all,  for  at  this  show, 
Belvoir  Singer's  bitch  puppies 
won  prizes,  and  Rusticus,  from 
the  same  kennel,  sired  some  beau- 
tiful bitches  for  Lord  Rothschild 
of  the  big- boned  stamp,  for  which 
the  Ascott  kennels  are  famous. 
Then  Frank  Gillard  was  heard  to 
speak  in  high  praise  of  the  Graf- 
ton entry,  and  this  kennel  is,  as 
we  all  know,  full  of  Belvoir  blood. 
It  has  been  quite  a  Belvoir  year, 
both  at  Peterborough  and  at  the 
leading  puppy  shows,  and  Sir 
Gilbert  Greenail  and  his  huntsman 
have  reason  for  a  just  pride  in 
that  splendid  pack.  It  is  too 
early  to  speak  of  other  hunting 
prospects  yet,  but  at  all  events 
the  foxhound  never  was  better 
fitted  for  his  work. 

Hunting  in  Wales.  — The 
Neuadd  Fawr  Hounds,  which 
were  given  up  in  1898,  have  been 
re-established,  and  in  the  coming 
season  will  hunt  their  old  country 
in  Carmarthenshire  and  Cardigan- 
shire. The  Hunt  was  originally 
started  in  1876  by  Mr.  T.  H.  R. 
Hughes  of  Neuadd  Fawr,  near 
Lampeter,    and   that    gentleman 


218 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


provided  sport  entirely  at  his  own 
expense  until  1898,  when  he  sold 
his  pack,  one  of  the  best  bred 
packs  of  Welsh  smooth  hounds  in 
existence,  to  Mr.  T.  P.  Lewes. 

Otter-hounds. — The  harrier  is 
now  a  reduced  foxhound,  the 
beagle  a  miniature  of  the  same 
animal,  and  the  V.D.,  who  has 
been  studying  otter-hounds,  is 
bound  to  confess  that  the  fox- 
hound hunts  the  otter  better  than 
any  other  breed.  The  last  month 
has  necessarily  been  a  bad  scent- 
ing time  even  for  otter-hottnds. 
At  first  sight  it  would  seem  likely 
that  the  tine-nosed  otter-hounds 
would  be  especially  valuable  on  a 
bad  scent.  But  it  is*  not  so.  I 
was  watching  a  mixed  pack  the 
other  day,  and  although  the  otter- 
hounds throw  their  tongues  on 
the  faintest  provocation,  and 
sometimes,  I  fear,  on  none  at  all, 
it  was  the  foxhounds  that  got 
forward  on  the  drag  and  enabled 
us  to  work  up  to  our  otter.  I 
fancy  that  otter-hounds  are  best 
on  a  strong  scent,  when  their 
lively  melody  gives  life  to  the 
chase,  and  their  little  failings  do 
not  matter.  But  to  see  the  fox- 
hounds making  the  most  of  every 
trace  of  the  drag  was  a  lesson  in 
hound  work.  It  is  perhaps  in 
otter-hunting  that  one  has  most 
of  all  the  leisure  to  watch  the 
hounds  at  work,  and  see  points  in 
the  hunt  which  in  the  hurry  of  a 
fox  chase  are  easily  missed.  Mr. 
Courtenay  Tracy  has  been  hunt- 
ing the  beautiful  waters  of  the 
New  Forest,  and  with  consider- 
able success.  A  hunt  from 
Holmsley  Station  in  a  blazing 
heat  and  with  a  bad  scent  being 
a  triumph  of  hound  work  by  the 
pack  and  woodcraft  by  the  master. 
Let  me  tell  the  story  in  few  words, 
and  also  draw  a  moral.  When 
we  started  hounds  hit  a  drag  and 
hunted  slowly  but  surely  up  the 
stream.       Scent    was     bad,    and 


catchy  in  the  extreme,  but  hounds 
made  the  most  of  it,  and  even- 
tually the  otter  was  worked  up  to 
and  started.  Unluckily  some  men 
who  joined  in  at  this  point  viewed, 
and  full  of  excitement,  yelled  and 
holloaed  till  they  got  hounds 
heads  fairly  up.  This  just  gave 
the  otter  his  chance,  and  when  the 
master  at  length  got  the  pack  to 
put  down  their  noses  again  the 
otter  had  slipped  into  a  place  from 
which  he  could  not  be  moved. 
The  master  called  off  the  hounds 
and  the  field,  and  we  sat  down  to 
lunch  for  about  an  hour.  All 
being  quiet,  the  otter  slipped  out, 
and  when  hounds  were  taken  back 
to  the  water  they  at  once  hit  off 
the  line,  and  so  after  a  sharp  hunt 
we  killed  him.  In  otter-hunting 
holloaing  is  generally  useless,  and 
often  mischievous.  It  is. a  sport 
in  which  the  hounds  must  do  the 
work  themselves;  we  certainly 
cannot  do  it  for  them. 

Cricket. — It  is  a  nice  problem 
for  students  of  cricket  to  attempt 
to  explain  why,  of  the  Public 
School  matches,  the  encounter 
between  Eton  and  Harrow  should 
of  late  years  almost  invariably 
terminate  in  a  draw ;  whilst  the 
match  between  Rugby  and  Marl* 
borough  played  upon  the  same 
ground  and  ostensibly  with  no 
longer  time  devoted  to  it,  should 
generally  end  in  a  victory  for  one 
or  the  other  school.  Undoubtedly 
the  two  matches  are  played  under 
very  different  conditions,  for  the 
Eton  and  Harrow  match  being 
regarded  as  one  of  the  events  of 
the  end  of  the  London  season, 
attracts  a  crowd  numbering  some 
many  thousands,  who  invade  the 
ground  at  every  opportunity  of  a 
promenade  between  the  innings 
and  during  the  luncheon  intervals, 
The  extra  time  taken  to  clear  tbij 
ground  of  these  perambulators  it 
likely,  in  the  course  of  two  da]  * 
to  become  an  appreciable  amount; 


1*99-] 


"OUR  VAN. 


tt 


219 


when  we  allow  for  five  intervals, 
that  is  to  say,  two  for  luncheon 
and  three  between  the  innings. 
If  we  allow  the  liberal  estimate  of 
ten  minutes  wasted  over  each  in- 
terval we  can  then  only  point  to  a 
loss  of  fifty  minutes  over  the 
entire  two  days;  and  this  does 
not  afford  an  adequate  explanation 
why  Eton  and  Harrow  should 
struggle  till  after  7  o'clock  on  the 
Saturday  with  nothing  but  a 
drawn  game  before  them,  whilst 
this  year,  for  instance,  Marl- 
borough had  defeated  Rugby  at  a 
comparatively  early  hour  on  the 
second  afternoon,  and  no  less  than 
thirty-eight  wickets  had  fallen  in 
the  match,  which  was  played  upon 
a  fine  run-getting  wicket,  as  was 
the  case  in  the  Eton  and  Harrow 
match. 

There  has  seldom  been  a  public 
school  match  at  Lord's,  or  indeed 
anywhere  else  in  which  one  man 
has  shone  so  conspicuously  above 
his  fellows,  as  did    Mr.    R.   H. 
Spooner,  the  Marlburian  captain, 
upon   this    recent    occasion.     In 
1898   he    inspired    a    wholesome 
dread  in  the  minds  of  Rugbeians 
by  scoring  139  runs  in   his  first 
innings,  and  this  year  he  gave  his 
opponents  further  and  better  evi- 
dence   of    his    great    ability,   by 
scoring  69  runs  in  his  first  innings 
and  no  less  than  198  in  his  second 
innings.       Before  this  match  we 
understand  that  his  batting  aver- 
age for  the  College  was  something 
over  sixty  runs  per    innings,   so 
he  should  now  be  able  to  point 
to   a  phenomenal  set  of  figures. 
Had  the  Rugby  bowlers  been  for- 
tunate  enough    to    dismiss    Mr. 
Spooner    for    a    small    score    all 
might  have  been  well  with    the 
wearers  of  the  light  blue  shirts, 
and  it  was  certainly  sad  for  them 
to   see  the  one   man  whom  they 
idreaded  get  going   so   well  each 
'time.     In  the  second  innings,  as 
he    neared    his    second  hundred, 


Mr.  Spooner's  play  visibly  dete- 
riorated, and  when  his  score  stood 
at  198  he  seemed  quite  unable  to 
get  along,  and  after  missing  a 
variety  of  leg  balls  he  presently 
fell  to  a  catch  at  mid-off,  when  he 
still  wanted  two  runs  to  make  200. 
He  had  scored  about  two-thirds  of 
the  runs  made,  and  in  addition  to 
a  couple  of  fives,  he  had  hit 
thirty-one  fours.  The  Marlborough 
captain's  next  course  was  to  de- 
clare the  innings  closed  with 
eight  wickets  down,  leaving  Rug- 
by with  382  runs  to  make  in  four 
hours  and  a  half.  He  then  se- 
cured the  first  three  of  his  oppo- 
nents' wickets,  and  ultimately 
Rugby  were  all  out  for  156  runs 
before  five  o'clock.  We  have 
seldom  seen  a  finer  school-bats- 
man than  Mr.  Spooner  appeared 
in  this  match,  and  we  have  heard 
with  regret  that  he  is  not  destined 
to  continue  his  career  at  either 
University ;  his  county  is  Lan- 
cashire, and  after  scoring  158  in 
his  first  trial  for  the  Lancashire 
second  eleven  against  Surrey 
second  eleven,  he  has  most  pro* 
perly  been  given  a  place  in  the 
first  eleven  of  the  County  Pala- 
tine. 

For  the  second  time  this  season 
the  Australians  have  beaten  the 
Marylebone  Club  at  Lord's,  this 
time  by  the  handsome  margin  of 
nine  wickets.  The  match  com- 
menced on  the  last  day  of  July 
afforded  an  interesting  example  of 
the  way  in  which  the  Australian 
team  play  up  when  the  game  has 
gone  against  them.  At  the  end  of 
the  first  day  M.C.C.  had  scored 
258  runs  and  had  dismissed  four 
Australians  for  but  54  runs,  so 
that  the  prospects  of  the  visitors, 
were  far  from  rosy ;  and  yet  when 
play  ceased  on  the  evening  of  the 
second  day  M.C.C.  were  to  all 
intents  and  purposes  a  beaten 
side.  A  fine  innings  by  the  cap- 
tain, Darling,  who  made  128,  was 


220 


BA1LY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[September 


well  supported  by  scores  of  46 
and  51  by  M'Leod  and  Jones,  and 
the  Australians  left  off  with  a  lead 
of  over  sixty  runs  in  the  first  in- 
nings. Some  fine  bowling  speedily 
dismissed  five  of  the  best  Mary- 
lebone  batsmen,  and  despite  a 
fine  not-out  innings  of  69  by  Mr. 
C.  L.  Townsend,  there  was  never 
any  further  hope  for  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  premier  club. 
Thus,  including  the  second  test 
match,  our  visitors  have  up  to 
date  secured  three  most  decisive 
victories  upon  the  three  occasions 
of  their  appearing  at  headquarters. 
The  more  we  see  of  the  play  the 
more  are  we  impressed  with  the 
great  ability  of  their  four  bowlers, 
Jones,  Trumble,  Howell  and 
Noble.  Since  Darling  has  adopted 
the  wise  course  of  sending  Hugh 
Trumble  in  to  bat  first  he  has 
had  a  better  opportunity  of  dis- 
playing his  ability  as  a  batsman, 
and  has  scored  with  the  greatest 
consistency.  The  biggest  innings 
scored  for  M.C.C.  was  92  by 
Ranjitsinhji,  who  reached  his 
2,000  runs  on  this  occasion,  and 
looks  like  surpassing  his  own 
record  of  2,700  runs  in  the  season 
should  he  be  favoured  with  run- 
getting  wickets  in  August. 

The  magnificent  wickets  and 
weather  of  this  season  have  ren- 
dered high  scoring  such  a  simple 
matter  that  one  takes  little  ac- 
count of  centuries  which  are  scored 
upon  an  average  of  about  four  in 
each  first-class  match. 

An  interesting  record  was  made 
by  Messrs.  W.  L.  and  R.  E. 
Foster  for  Worcestershire  against 
Hampshire  on  the  County  Ground 
at  Worcester,  when  each  brother 
scored  a  double  century  in  the 
match,  W.  L.  Foster  140  and  172 
not  out,  R.  E.  Foster  134  and  101 
not  out.  We  can  pardon  the  wag 
who  suggested  that  the  name  of 
the  midland  county  should  be 
hanged    to    Forcestershire.      In 


this  same  match  Major  Poore 
compiled  another  of  his  frequent 
centuries  for  Hampshire,  and  as 
we  write  he  stands  at  the  head  of 
the  batting  averages  with  an 
average  of  over  87  runs  per 
innings,  which  is  very  good  for  a 
man  who  is  reported  to  have 
taken  to  cricket  at  a  comparatively 
late  age.  Hampshire  may  be  re- 
garded as  quite  the  most  military 
of  the  counties,  with  Captain  Wyn- 
yard  in  command,  supported  by 
Major  Poore  and  Captains  Quin- 
ton,  Bradford,  and  Spens,  with 
Barton,  the  ex-bombadier. 

Why  is  it  that  Kent  should  so 
frequently  beat  the  Australians  at 
Canterbury  ?  The  victory  by  two 
wickets  secured  by  the  Hop 
Country  as  on  the  last  three  days  of 
the  recent  Canterbury  week  was 
the  fifth  scored  by  Kent  out  of 
ten  Australian  matches.  Kent 
never  shows  up  over- prominently 
in  matches  against  other  counties, 
and  it  was  with  considerable  sur- 
prise that  her  victory  over  the 
Cornstalks  was  received,  and  cer- 
tainly that  the  bowling  of  Mr, 
C.  J.  Burnup  should  be  the  main 
factor  in  the  defeat  of  the  Colonists 
was  a  very  extraordinary  thing. 
Even  after  the  strange  failure  of 
the  Australian  batting,  the  county 
was  anything  but  sure  of  winning, 
and  although  not  set  many  more 
than  a  hundred  runs  to  get  in  the 
last  innings,  the  Kent  eleven  only 
struggled  home  by  the  narrow 
margin  of  two  wickets. 

After  this  phenomenal  failure  on 
the  part  of  the  Australians,  there 
were  critics  ready  to  say  that  the 
team  were  played  out  and  stale ; 
and  when  in  the  final  test  match  at 
Kennington  Oval  England  com- 
piled on  the  first  day  of  the  match 
considerably  over  four  hundred 
runs  for  the  loss  of  but  four 
wickets,  there  were  jubilant  out- 
cries amongst  the  ignorant  that  our 
representatives  were  at  last  to  win 


l%] 


u  OUR  VAN." 


221 


a  test  match  again.  However,  on 
the  perfect  Oval  wicket  the  Aus- 
tralians batted  with  such  patient 
determination  that  on  the  last  day 
of  the  match,  after  following  their 
innings,  they  had  cleared  off  the 
arrea.'S  with  the  loss  of  but  two 
wickets,  and  a  drawn  game  was 
assured. 

So  of  these  much-discussed  test 
matches  but  one  has  been  finished 
and  four  have  been  left  drawn ; 
and  the  wisdom  of  the  committee 
of  the  Marylebone  Club  is  like 
to  be  invoked  by  cricketers  to  de- 
vise a  remedy  for  the  present  un- 
interesting and  effete  condition  of 
cricket  on  good  wickets. 

Field   Trials   in    Scotland.— 

Terrible  weather  on  the  first  day 

threatened  to  spoil  the  meeting  of 

the    International     Pointer    and 

Setter     Society,    held    on    Glen 

Taggart      Moors,      Lanarkshire, 

part  of  the  Douglas  estate  of  Earl 

Home.     The  owner  of  this  fine 

property    was    not     present    on 

either    day,   but   Lord  Dunglass 

put   in    an    appearance    on    the 

opening  day,  and  appeared  to  be 

,   very    much     interested     in     the 

working  of  the  meeting,  the  first 

field  trials  yet  held  in  Scotland. 

Keepers     from     many    of     the 

southern      shootings    were     also 

|  among  those  who  closely  followed 

the  competitions,  and  judged  by 

interest  aroused  by  the  meeting, 

:  the  club  will  again  be  invited  to 

decide  the  autumn  trials  over  the 

I  Border.      Compared     with      the 

I  moors  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Peak 

!  in  Derbyshire,  and  at  Bala,  North 

I  Wales,     the     ground     at     Glen 

[Taggart  is  far  more  suitable  for 

j  the  decision   of  trials,   one   very 

!  great  advantage  being  the  close 

[proximity  of  the  trial  ground  to  a 

[good  road  on  which  conveyances 

jjCan  run.     The  inaccessibility   of 

[Bala  has   always  been  a  bar  to 

fthe  success  of  the  meeting  on  Sir 

[Watkin  Wynn's  moors,  and  if  the 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  475. 


trials  over  grouse  are  to  remain 
popular,    meetings   in    alternate 
years  in  North  Wales  and  Scot- 
land will  gain  far  more  support 
than  if  the  former  ground,  good  as 
it  is  as  regards  game,  is  made  the 
annual  rendezvous,  as  at  one  time 
seemed    very    probable.     Twelve 
months  ago  Sir  Watkin  Wynn, 
on    his    own    moor,    proved    in- 
vincible in  the  brace  competition, 
and    won    Mr.    W.    Arkwright's 
trophy  with  the  smart  pointers, 
Bliss    o*    Gymru    and    Die    o' 
Gymru.    They  were  handled  by 
the  Welsh  baronet  himself,  and 
few    men    are   more   capable   in 
this  respect,  although  he  works 
them  too  closely  to  please  every- 
one.     Still,    it    is     his    way    of 
assisting  his  dogs  to  find  game, 
and  that  the  method  is  a  success- 
ful one  was  proved  by  the  very 
easy  win,  for  the  second  year  in 
succession,  with  the  same  brace. 
Both  are  splendid  game  finders, 
quartering  their  ground  very  care- 
fully,   and    are    also    under  fine 
control.     In    this    respect    they 
would  make  a  fine  match  with  the 
continental  winners  of  the  Trophy, 
Bendigo  and   Flirt   of    Brussels, 
and  in  the  interests  of  sport  it  was 
to  be  regretted  that  M.  Morren's 
superb  brace  were  prevented  from 
competing  by  the  restrictions  of 
Mr.    Walter    Long's    quarantine 
order.  Sir  Watkin  Wynn  was  also 
in  the  money  in  each  of  the  other 
stakes,  Matfen,  however,  following 
up  his  Ipswich  win  by  beating  Mr. 
Purcell   Llewellin's   Kitty   Wind 
'Em,  the  best  broken  animal  at 
the  meeting,  and  the  Wynnstay 
representative,   Ruth  o*    Gymru, 
in  the  all-aged  event ;  whilst  M. 
Baron's  Merry    Mood  beat  Spin 
o'  Gymru  in  the  puppy  stakes. 
The  winner  here,  although  owned 
by  a  French  sportsman,  has  been 
at    Watts's    place  near  Burton- 
on  -  Trent    for    several    months, 
quarantine  restrictions  thus  being 

16 


22a 


baily's  magazine. 


[Srptembbe 


over-ridden.  All  round,  the 
gathering  was  a  brilliant  success, 
all  visitors  hoping  that  Scotland 
will  again  be  visited.  Birds  were 
both  plentiful  and  strong  on  the 
wing,  disease  among  them  being 
practically  unknown  —  a  good 
augury  for  the  season  which  is 
now,  however,  well  advanced. 

Swimming. — By  sheer  dogged 
pluck,  M.  A.  Holbein,  the  famous 
long-distance  cyclist,  was  able  to 
swim  forty-three  miles  in  the 
Thames  at  the  end  of  July,  and 
if  he  can  improve  in  pace  and 
style,  he  will  this  year  attempt 
the  feat  of  swimming  across  the 
Channel — a  performance  only  ac- 
complished so  far  by  the  late 
Captain  Webb.  Holbein  is  by 
no  means  an  ideal  swimmer,  his 
pace  being  very  slow,  and  his  style 
a  cross  between  the  old  side  stroke 
and  the  back  stroke.  Yet  through- 
out his  swim,  which  lasted  12  hrs. 
27  min.  42 J  sec,  he  never  flagged, 
and  kept  up  an  uniform  pace 
throughout.  At  the  finish  he  was 
almost  as  fresh  as  when  he  started, 
and  would  have  gone  on  to  com- 
plete fifty  miles,  had  his  coach 
not  advised  him  otherwise.  His 
original  intention  was  to  swim 
from  Blackwall  to  Gravesend,  but 
after  a  trial  swim  he  elected  to 
swim  from  Blackwall  as  far  as 
the  tide  would  serve  him,  and 
back  again.  It  was  necessary 
that  an  early  start  should  be 
made,  and  accordingly,  at  3.30 
a.m.,  on  Tuesday,  July  25th,  he 
plunged  into  the  dirty  water  at 
Blackwall.  The  temperature  of 
the  water  was  then  67  degrees, 
and  during  the  day  it  occasionally 
reached  70,  the  average  working 
out  at  68*2.  This  was,  of  course, 
all  in  favour  of  the  swimmer,  but 
it  hardly  accounts  for  the  warmth 
of  his  body  when  he  gave  up 
swimming.  His  vitality  is  of  an 
extraordinary  character,  and  his 
Staying  powers  remarkable.     For 


an  hour  after  the  start  the  experts 
with  him  hardly  credited  him  with 
being  able  to  reach  Gravesend, 
let  alone  accomplish  the  double 
journey;  but  as  hour  after  hour 
went  by,  and  still  a  regular  stroke 
of  27  to  the  minute  was  kept  up, 
they  had  cause  to  change  their 
opinions.     Gravesend  Town  Pier 
was  reached  in  the  early  morning, 
and,  the  tide  serving,  the  swimmer 
went  on  for  another  forty-one  and 
a-half   minutes  before  it  turned. 
Then  the  wind  was  against  him, 
and  the  outgoing  steamers  sent 
up  a  big  wash.    Still  no  loss  of 
power  was  apparent,  and  though 
Holbein  swallowed  plenty  of  the 
vile  water  to  be  found  in  the  lower 
Thames,  he  made  every  inch  of 
the  tide.    Opposite  Barking  there 
was  only  a  thin  streak  of  it,  but  he 
struggled  on  to  within  a  mile  of 
his  starting  point,  when  the  tide 
failed  him,  and  he  made  no  further 
headway.    This   he  quickly  ob- 
served, and  then  quietly  asked  if 
he  should   go  down  on  the  ebb 
for  another  seven  miles.    His  ad- 
visers said  "  No,"  and  thus  ended 
a    famous  swim.      Not    content 
with  this,   Holbein    had  a  trial 
swim  in  the  sea  at  Portsmouth 
on  August  14th,  and  then  stayed 
in  twelve  hours,  covering  in  that 
time  some  forty-six  or  forty-seven 
miles.     For  the  first   four  hours 
he  suffered  agony  with  his  eyes, 
as  the  wind  was  against  the  tide, 
and  the  salt  spray  blinded  him. 
His  style  was  found  to  be  greatly 
improved,  the  alteration  in   the 
leg  kick  and  the  position  of  the 
body  being  very  noticeable.    He 
again  finished  fresh  and  well,  and 
when  he  came  out  of  the  water 
his  body  was  quite  warm. 

The  Australian  amateur  cham- 
pion, F.  C.  V.  Lane,  who  is  now 
on  a  visit  to  this  country,  won  the 
furlong  championship  in  the  re- 
cord time  of  2  min.  38^  sees,  at- 
Brighton,  on  August  3rd.      Ha 


j 


r**J 


"OUR  van. 


99 


aaj 


swims  with  the  "  Trudgen  "  stroke, 
high  out  of  the  water,  and  like 
the  ex-Australian,  J.  H.  Hellings, 
is  very  fast  in  starting.  Unfor- 
tunately the  holder  of  the  cup,  J. 
H.  Derbyshire,  of  the  Manchester 
Osborne,  was  too  unwell  to  oppose 
him,  but  had  he  done  so  great 
doubt  exists  whether  he  would 
have  been  able  to  retain  his  title, 
for  Lane  was  never  extended,  and 
yet  beat  record.  When  the  cham- 
pionship was  instituted  in  1880, 
the  late  E.  C.  Danels  won  in  the 
record  time  of  3  min.  9$  sec.,  but 
in  1883  T.  Cairns,  of  Everton, 
reduced  the  time  to  2  min.  59  j  sec. 
In  1889  and  1890  the  record  was 
again  beaten,  and  when  J.  H. 
Tyers  first  became  prominent  it 
stood  at  2  min.  51I  sec.  Tyers 
made  two  big  reductions,  and, 
when  he  left  the  amateur  ranks, 
2  min.  38*  sec.  stood  to  his  credit. 
It  was  this -record  which  Lane 
beat. 

When  Joseph  Nuttall  swam  a 
mile  in  26  min.  8  sec.,  in  1893,  m 
a  professional  match  with  J.  L. 
McCusher,  of  America,  the  time 
was  considered  so  wonderful  that 
experts  predicted  it  would  never 
be  beaten  in  their  time.    Yet  on 
Tuesday,  August  8th,  J.  A.  Jarvis, 
of  Leicester,  won  the  mile  cham- 
pionship   in    25  min.    13}    sec, 
thereby  beating  all  records.  Jarvis 
commenced  speed  swimming  com- 
paratively late  in  life,  but  has  im- 
proved considerably   since   1897, 
when  he  first  won  the  mile  cham- 
pionship.    The  race  was  decided 
at  the  West  India  Docks,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess 
of   York,   and   on  that  occasion 
Jarvis  beat  J.  H.  Tyers,  Arnold 
Toepfer   (amateur    champion    of 
Germany),     and     Percy     Cavill 
(amateur  champion  of  Australia). 
In  1898  Jarvis  won  every  cham- 
pionship, from   a  quarter   of   a 
mile    up  to  five  miles,  and  beat 
several  records.    His  latest  per- 


formance stamps  him  as  the  most 
wonderful  swimmer  of  his  time. 

Aquatios. — The  rowing  season 
has  now  concluded:  the  fours 
and  eights  that  flaunted  it  so 
gaily  at  Henley,  &c,  are  slung 
up  in  the  boat  sheds  until  spring 
comes  round  again.  As  for  the 
class  oarsman,  he  smokes  greatly, 
eats  and  drinks  indiscriminately 
and  recklessly ;  in  fact,  does  all 
he  can  to  banish  from  his  mind 
all  thoughts  of  Spartan  simplicity 
and  training.  Just  as  we  antici- 
pated earlier  in  the  season,  the 
London  Rowing  Club  has  again 
asserted  its  supremacy  in  class 
fray  right  down  the  line.  As  in 
1898,  their  only  defeat  this  season 
was  at  Henley,  where  they  suc- 
cumbed to  the  Leander  crew  in 
the  "  Grand,"  after  a  terrific 
fight.  At  the  Walton,  Metro- 
politan, Staines,  &c,  meetings, 
all  the  principal  events  fell  to 
their  prowess,  and — what  is  more 
-^-next  year's  prospects  are  rosier 
than  ever.  It  is  authoritatively 
announced  that  the  L.R.C.  and 
First  Trinity  (Cambridge)  Club 
will  amalgamate  for  racing  pur- 
poses. Other  clubs  who  have 
shown  good  form  this  season  are 
the  Marlow,  Kingston,  Twicken- 
ham, Kensington,  Vesta,  &c, 
organisations.  As  in  1898  also, 
the  once-famous  Thames  Rowing 
Club  have  not  excelled  this  year, 
and  a  strain  of  new  blood  is 
sadly  needed. 

Legion  is  the  number  of  amus- 
ing regattas  which  have  followed 
the  orthodox  ditto.  That  Society 
is  grateful  for  such  was  evidenced 
again  at  the  Sunbury,  Long  Dit- 
ton,  Hampton  Court,  &c,  meet- 
ings. Immense  crowds  fore- 
gathered at  each  and  all  of  these, 
and  gave  proof  positive  of  the 
amazing  interest  now  taken  by 
the  general  public  in  boating — as 
distinct  from  rowing.  .Your  real 
earnest    rowing  man   affects   to 


224 


baily's  MAGAZINE. 


[SepteMbw 


despise  these  functions  as  being 
derogatory  to  the  dignity  of  oars- 
manship, yet  this  contempt  is 
more  affected  than  real.  Any- 
way, a  careful  study  of  the 
reports  of  these  meetings  will 
reveal  a  good  many  names  of 
leading  oarsmen  among  the  com- 
petitors. With  the  present  issue 
of  Baily  a  return  to  class  rowing 
will  be  the  order  of  the  day,  ».«., 
the  decision  of  the  various  club 
regattas.  Up  to  date,  very  pleas- 
ing advance  in  exposition  generally 
has  to  be  reported,  albeit  critical 
comment  and  statistics  under  this 
heading  will  best  come  in  next 
month.  Then — as  for  the  past 
seven  years — we  shall  endeavour 
to  sum  up  the  season's  work 
briefly,  yet  fully.  History  repeated 
itself  in  the  race  for  the  coveted 
Wingfield  Sculls  this  season.  B. 
H.  Howell  (holder),  the  old  Can- 
tab and  Thames  R.C  exponent, 
retained  the  proud  title  of  Ama- 
teur Champion  of  England,  de- 
feating H.  T.  Blackstaffe  (Vesta 
R.C.)  somewhat  easier  than  last 
year.  C.  V.  Fox  (Pembroke 
College,  Oxford)  also  threw  down 
the  gauntlet,  but  he  obviously 
lacked  the  strength  and  expe- 
rience of  the  first-named  cracks. 
It  is  pleasing  to  note  that  scul- 
ling has  entered  upon  a  new 
lease  of  life,  as  it  were,  many 
promising  young  amateurs  having 
shown  distinct  promise  of  late. 
Messrs.  Fox,  Clouttee  (L.R.C.J, 
Beresford  (Kensington  R.C), 
Isler  (Vesta  R.C),  Large  (King- 
ston R.C),  &c,  all  come  under 
this  category. 

Needless  to  add,  punting  races 
have  been  a  feature  of  most 
regattas.  N.  M.  Cohen  (the  old 
Cantab  athlete  "  Blue "),  won 
the  Championship  of  the  Upper 
Thames,  and  C.  R.  Muliins  the 
Championship  of  the  Lower 
Thames— both  anomalous  titles, 
by  the  way.    There  is  only  one 


championship  title  proper,  the 
competition  for  which  took  place 
over  the  Shepperton  Course  on 
August  3rd.  In  the  result,  Cohen 
beat  W.  Colin  Romaine  (holder) 
by  a  length,  thus  repeating  his 
victory  of  1891.  His  sojourn  in 
Australia  had  evidently  not  done 
him  any  harm,  from  a  punting 
point  of  view!  Other  punting 
events  may  be  briefly  summar- 
ised. C  R.  Muliins  won  the 
Mellodew  Challenge  Cup  at 
Cookham  for  the  third  year  in 
succession,  and  the  Tielkens 
Challenge  Bowl  for  lady  punters 
— at  the  same  meeting — fell  to 
Mrs.  Coleman  once  again.  Both 
the  winner  and  Miss  L.  Harvey 
gave  a  fine  exposition. 

Golf.  —  The    match    for  £200 
between  Harry  Vardon  and  Willie 
Park,  junr.,  spoken  of  frequently 
as  the  match  of  the  century  and 
otherwise  exaggerated  in  advance, 
yielded  less  interest  than  many  a 
friendly  game  arranged  in  unpre- 
tentious fashion  at  a  club-house 
fireside  of  an  evening.    At  North 
Berwick  the  only  feature  of  conse- 
quence was  the  crowd,  which  was 
the  largest  ever  seen  at  a  golf 
match,  and  the  masterly  way  in 
which   it   was   managed   by  the 
people  in  charge  of  the  arrange- 
ments.   As  for  the  play,  it  did  not 
rise  to  the  level  of  those  evening 
matches  which  Ben  Sayers  is  in  the 
habit  of  getting  up  for  the  benefit 
of  North  Berwick  visitors  when 
the  latter  seek  some  relief  from 
the  monotony  of  their  own  exer- 
cises.    The  course  was  shortened 
at  several  places,  in  order  that  the 
crowd  might  be  the  better  handled; 
but  in  spite  of  this  neither  man 
had  a  lower  score  than    80,  and 
that  too  only  after  making  liberal 
allowance  for  holes  not  actually 
played  out.     Vardon's  approach 
play  and  his  putting  were  sadly 
imperfect,     and    those     among 
the    crowd    who    saw     him    at 


•8»J 


"6uft  VAN. 


ft 


1*5 


work  for    the    first    time,    must 
have  felt    some    wonder    at    his 
Jong    career   of  success.      Park, 
on  the    other    hand,   maintained 
equally  his  reputation  for  uncer- 
tain driving  and  for  good  approach 
play  and  putting.     It  was  his  suc- 
cess in  these  tyro  latter  depart- 
ments of  the  game,  and  Vardon's 
failure  in    them,   which    enabled 
him  to  leave  North  Berwick  only 
two  holes  to  the  bad.     At  Ganton, 
with  wet  weather  and  a  crowd  of 
insignificant  proportions,  Vardon 
had  everything  his  own  way.    He 
drove  in  his  best    style,   getting 
both  good  distance  and  good  line, 
and  his  approach  play  and  putting 
showed  a  distinct  improvement  on 
North  Berwick,  while  as  for  Park 
he  might  have  received  a  third 
and  still  been  beaten,  so  thoroughly 
unsatisfactory  was  his  game.  Two 
days    after    the    decision  of   the 
match,    Mr.     John    Ball,    junr., 
Amateur  Champion,    and  Harry 
Vardon,  Open  Champion,  played 
at  Ganton  a  foursome  with  Mr. 


F.  G.  Tait,  the  runner-up  in  this 
year's  Amateur  Championship, 
and  Willie  Park,  junr.,  when 
the  former  couple  won  on  the 
two  rounds  by  5  up  and  4  •  to 
play. 

The  tournament  of  the  Royal 
and  Ancient  Club  for  the  Calcutta 
Cup  brought  out  some  very  good 
play.  The  handicap  allowances 
in  this  competition  which  is  played 
over  the  new  course,  are  made  in 
the  form  not  of  strokes  but  of 
holes,  an  arrangement  which  in 
practice  works  out  greatly  to  the 
advantage  of  the  strong  players. 
On  this  occasion  the  players  in  the 
final  round  were  Mr.  F.  G.  Tait, 
who  on  the  handicap  had  to  give 
away  4  holes,  and  Mr.  John  L. 
Low,  who  had  to  give  away  half 
that  number.  In  their  first  round 
On  the  Friday  afternoon  they  tied, 
Mr.  Low  being  saved  from  defeat 
by  two  stymies,  but  when  they 
met  again  on  the  Saturday  morn- 
ing, Mr.  Tait  won  easily  by  4  up 
and  2  to  play. 


Sporting   I  ntelligence. 

[During  July— August,  1899.] 


The  shooting  for  the   Queen's   Prize  at 

the  National  Rifle  Association  meeting  at 

Bisley  was  very  closely  contested  in  the 

final  stages  on  July  22nd,  when  three  men 

\    tied  with  a  score  of  336  each.     Ultimately 

Private    Priaulx,   of   Guernsey,    won    the 

I   Queen's  Prize,  Sergeant  Anderson,  of  the 

!  Scottish  Rifles,  and  Sergeant-Cyclist  Jones, 

I  3rd  V-B.   Welsh,  being  second  and  third 

;  respectively.  This  is  the  first  time  the  prize 

I  has  been  won  for  the  Channel  Islands. 

Although  there  were  seven  competitors 
I  for  the  Half  Mile  Swimming  Championship, 
i  which  took  place  at  South  wick  on  July 
'  22nd,  the  event  was  practically  a  match 
[  between  J.  A.  Jarvis,  English  amateur 
r  champion,  and  F.  C.  V.  Lane,  Australian 
I  mnateur  champion.  Jarvis  won  by  34  sees* 
;io  12  xnins.  4^|  sees. 


In  proposing  the  health  of  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Sutherland  at  the  puppy- 
walkers  luncheon  of  the  North  Staffordshire 
Hunt,  on  July  25th,  the  Earl  of  Lonsdale 
made  the  following  remarks : — The  only 
way  to  rear  a  fox-hound  puppy  was  to  give 
it  its  freedom,  keep  it  dry  at  night,  and  not 
give  it  too  much  food.  Those  were  the 
three  principal  things  that  he  would  ask 
them  as  puppy- walkers  to  bear  in  mind. 
It  was  on  occasions  like  that  that  agri- 
culture and  fox-hunting  met  together  more 
noticeably  than  at  any  other  time,  and  he 
should  like  to  ask  those  who  were  inter- 
ested  in  the  chase — the  chase  that  had 
existed  in  this  country  so  long  and  brought 
all  classes  togetherr  that  made  friends  of 
kings  and  peasants  and  intimacy  among 
jevery  conceivable  class — to  do  their  best  to 
maintain  hunting. 


L 


*s6 


BAILY  S  MAGAZINE. 


[Septembo 


The  one  thine  that  might  stop  hunting 
eventually  was  the  use  of  barbed  wire.  It 
would  not  only  stop  fox-hunting,  but  if 
they  would  take  the  trouble  to  read  of  the 
injuries  caused  by  it  they  would  find  that 
it  would  considerably  increase  the  rate  of 
insurance,  because  injuries  to  animals  were 
now  15  per  cent,  more  than  they  used  to 
be  fifteen  years  ago.  If  they  were  to  be 
tempted  by  the  cheapness  of  barbed  wire 
as  a  fence,  there  would  soon  be  no  such 
thing  as  an  English  thorn  fence  at  all. 
The  use  of  it  was  simply  a  means  of 
avoiding  the  proper  repair  of  their  fences. 
On  his  own  land  he  was  always  willing  to 
keep  the  fences  good,  and  he  had  himself 
a  very  strong  feeling  that  hedging  and 
ditching  were  matters  for  the  landlord. 

The  Duke  of  Sutherland,  in  replying, 
said  that  hunting  was  a  great  industry,  as 
well  as  an  amusement.  An  enormous 
amount  of  money  was  spent  in  hunting. 
As  a  gentleman  told  them  at  Peterborough, 
there  were  221  packs  of  hounds — 180  in 
England,  26  in  Scotland,  and  15  in 
Ireland,  with  80,000  couples  of  hounds, 
with  100,000  horses  worth  ^7,000,000, 
and  involving  a  cost  of  ^5,000,000  per 
annum  for  their  keep.  The  cost  of  the 
hounds  was  not  mentioned,  and  there  were 
a  great  many,  other  expenses  entailed  by 
hunting. 

With  regard  to  wire,  he  thought  that 
any  landowner  who  looked  over  his  estate 
and  saw  old  fences  dying  away  should 
use  every  effort  he  could  to  keep  those 
fences  alive.  This  was  a  question  quite 
apart  from  bunting  altogether — the  dying 
out  of  the  old  natural  fences.  It  was 
a  thing  he  would  not  suffer  on  his  own 
estate,  because  the  natural  fences  were 
valuable  also  as  shelter  for  stock,  and  he 
thought  it  the  landlord's  duty  to  see  that 
they  did  not  die  out,  and  if  the  landlords 
did  their  duty  the  tenants  would  do  theirs. 
In  their  country  they  had  been  working 
away  quietly  for  the  last  four  or  five  years. 
The  Hunt  spent  £$co  a  year  on  the 
renewal  of  the  fences  in  their  country,  and 
they  were  doing  everything  they  could  in 
that  direction. 

A  great  feat  of  endurance  was  accom- 
plished on  July  25th  by  M.  A.  Holbein, 
the  well-known  bicyclist,  who  swam  some 
forty- three  miles  in  12  hrs.  27  mins.  42  J 
sees.  Entering  the  Thames  at  Blackwall 
pier,  the  course  extended  to  two  miles  below 
Gravesend  and  back,  but  owing  to  the 
ebbing  of  the  tide  Holbein  was  compelled 
to  give  up  about  one  mile  below  Blackwall 
pier.  The  swim  was  accomplished  on  the 
ebb  and  flood  tides. 

The  sculling  race  over  the  championship 
course  from  Putney  to  Mortlake  for  the 


Wingfield  Sculls,  the  Amateur  Champion- 
ship of  England,  took  place  on  July  27th, 
when  B.  H.  Howell,  Thames  Rowing 
Club;  H.  T.  Blackstaffe,  Vesta  Rowing 
Club ;  and  C.  V.  Fox,  Pembroke  College, 
Oxford,  competed.  After  a  good  race 
between  Howell  and  Blackstaffe,  the 
former  won  by  three  lengths.  Time,  23 
mins.  6  sees,  on  the  last  of  the  tide. 

The  time  occupied  by  Merman  (ost.  51b.) 
in  covering  the  Goodwood  Cup  coarse, 
over  two  and  a  half  miles,  on  July  27th, 
was  5  mins.  30  sees.,  and  the  value  of  the 
stake  £490.  In  1898  Lord  Penrhyn  won 
with  the  three-year-old  King's  Messenger 
(7st«  7lb.),  who  did  the  distance  in  5  mins, 
23  sees. 

A  very  interesting  cricket  record  was 
established  at  Worcester  in  the  match 
Worcestershire  v.  Hampshire,  played  Jury 
27th,  28th  and  29th,  when  the  brothers 
W.  L.  and  R.  E.  Foster  each  compiled 
two  separate  centuries;  W. ,  L.  Foster 
scored  140  and  172  not  out,  and  R.  E. 
Foster  134  and  101  not  out 

Mr.  J.  A.  Drake-Smith,  the  prominent 
oarsman ,  died  on  J  uly  29th.  The  deceased 
joined  the  Thames  Rowing  Club  in  1879. 
In  1880  he  stroked  the  winning  trial  eight, 
and  rowed  No.  2  in  the  Thames  Cop  crew 
at  Henley.  In  1883  he  was  No.  2  in  the 
Grand  Challenge  Cup  eight,  and  for  the 
seven  years  following  was  stroke,  winning 
in  i8»8  and  1889.  For  six  years,  from 
1883  to  l888»  he  was  stroke  of  the 
Stewards'  Cup  four,  winning  in  1883  and 
1886,  and  in  1885  he  competed  for  the 
Silver  Goblets  with  J.  M.  Hastie  as  a 
partner.  He  was  at  one  time  captain  of 
the  Thames  Rowing  Club,  and  was  also  a 
steward  of  Henley  Regatta. 

M.  Albert  Menier,  who  died  on  July 
30th,  at  Chateau  de  Chamant,  near  Chan- 
tilly,  owned  one  of  the  largest  studs  in  the 
world,  and  although  he  only  began  racing 
in  1894  he  won  something  like  £1 50,000 
in  stakes,  on  the  flat  and  across  country* 
M.  Menier  was  forty-one  years  of  age. 


Mr.  Thomas  Ramsbay,  a  prominent 
in  the  Border  coursing  world,  died  at 
Head's  Nook,  near  Carlisle,  on  July  30th* 
Mr.  Ramshay  was  the  breeder  of  Fair 
Fortune  ;  he  was  also  for  some  time  Master  { 
of  the  Brampton  Harriers. 

The  annual  sculling  race  for  DoggettVl 
Coat  and  Badge  was  decided  on  Augost] 
3rd,  when  the  winner,  John  See,  of  Ham-f 
mersmith,  rowed  the  course  from  LondoaJ 
Bridge  to  Chelsea  in  the  fast  time 
27  mins.  34  sees. 

Mr.  WK  John  Drybrough,  the  cel< 
polo  back,  met  with  an  accident  at " 
on  August  3rd,  while  playing  in  the 


V 


1ft*] 


SPORTING   INTELLIGENCE. 


227 


mentfor  Rugby  v.  Mulgrave  House,  and 
succumbed  to  the  injuries  received  on  the 
following  morning. 

A  meeting  of  followers  of  the  recently 
disestablished  Avon  Vale  Hunt  was  held 
at  the  Bear  Hotel,  Devizes,  on  August  3rd, 
when  a  presentation  was  made  to  the  mas- 
ter, Mr.  George  Llewellyn  Palmer.  The 
presentation,  made  by  Sir  George  Walling- 
ion,  K.CB.,  took  the  form  of  a  circular 
cop,  formerly  the  property  of  William  the 
Fourth  and  Queen  Adelaide,  whose  crown 
and  cyphers  appear  on  its  covers.  It  is 
wrmounted  by  the  Royal  crown,  and  has 
Hon  and  unicorn  feet,  and  oak  leaf  handles, 
the  weight  being  203  ozs.  Among  those 
present  were  the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  Mr. 
Edward  Colston,  M.P.,  Colonel  Helme, 
CB.,  Mr.  Herbert  Harris,  Mr.  R.  G. 
Gwatkin,  Mr.  J.  E.  Martin,  Captain  E. 
Wallington,  #Mr.  Chas.  Awdry,  Mr.  W. 
Stancomb,  jun.,  and  Mr.  W.  Howard 
Bell. 

The  death  occurred,  on  August  7th,  of 
Captain  Percy  Alexander  II ope- Johnstone. 
Captain  Hope- Johnstone,  who  was  fifty- 
four  years  of  age,  resided  at  Ardsallagh 
House,  Navan,  was  keen  to  hounds,  and  a 
salmon  fisher,  but  it  was  as  a  breeder  of 
greyhounds  and  in  coursing  circles  that  his 
name  was  most  widely  known  in  the  world 
of  sport. 

The  Mile  Amateur  Swimming  Cham- 
pionship was  decided  at  Abbey  Park, 
Leicester,  on  August  8th,  when  the  holder, 
J.  A.  Jarvis  (of  Leicester),  won  in  25  mins. 
13}  sees.,  beating  the  previously  existing 
record  for  the  distance  of  26  mins.  8  sees, 
by  44$  sees. 

A  remarkable  cricket  match  was  con- 
cluded at  Kennington  Oval  on  August 
12th.  The  fixture  was  between  Surrey 
and  Yorkshire  ;  the  latter  county  won  the 
toss,  went  to  the  wickets  on  Thursday 
and  remained  in  until  half-past  three  on 
Friday  afternoon,  scoring  a  total  of  704 
runs.  Of  this  number,  Wain w light  (228) 
and  Hirst  (186)  scored  340  runs  for  the 
fifth  wicket.  When  Surrey  went  in  they 
remained  at  the  wickets  until  close  of  play 
on  Saturday,  totalling  551  runs  for  7 
wickets.  Of  this  number  Abel  (193)  and 
Hayward  (273)  scored  448  runs  for  the 
y  fourth  wicket.  During  the  three  days' 
1,225  runs  were  scored  for  the  loss  of 

wickets. 

The  Marquis  of  Ripon's  shooting-party 
the  1 2th,  including  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of 
fork,   Earl  de  Grey,  the  Earl  of  Pern- 
Lord   Gosforth  and   Sir    Charles 
bagged    248   brace    of  grouse    on 
lowgill  Moon. 


Shooting  over  Apedaleon  the  12th,  Lord 
Bolton,  Lord  Galway,  Lord  Exeter,  Lord 
Wenlock,  Hon.  W.  J.  Orde-Powlett,  and 
three  other  guns  got  101  brace  of  grouse ; 
on  the  14th  the  bag  was  100J  brace. 

Shooting  over  dogs  at  Clova,  Aberdeen- 
shire, on  the  1 2th,  Mr.  Hugh  P.  Lumsden, 
Colonel  Skeen,  Mr.  G.  Duff  and  Mr.  H. 
Gordon,  got  126  brace;  the  same  party 
killed  141  brace  on  the  14th  and  116  brace 
on  the  15th. 

Dr.  Farquharson,  M.P.,  and  three  other 
guns,  killed  103  brace  on  the  12th  on 
Finzcon. 

Major  Dent  and  three  other  guns  got 
150  brace  of  grouse  on  Glenogil  on  the 
1 2th. 

The  Marquis  of  Tweedale  and  nine  guns 
killed  151 J  brace  on  the  12th  at  Yesler ; 
the  same  party  got  140  brace  on  the  15th. 

Captain  Vyner's  party,  shooting  over 
Askngg  on  the  12th  and  14th,  killed  610 
brace  of  grouse. 

Mr.  J.  S.  Cram  killed  68  brace  to  his 
own  gun  on  the  opening  day  at  North 
Dunbrath. 

On  the  opening  day  at  Penbucket  Mr. 
Percy  Hargreaves  and  four  guns  bagged 
132  brace  over  dogs,  and  on  the  14th  and 
15th  the  same  party  secured  112  brace  and 
92  brace. 

Balmacaan  Deer  Forest  yielded  1191 
brace  on  the  opening  day,  shot  over  dogs. 
The  party  consisted  of  Mr.  Bradley  Martin, 
the  Earl  of  Aylesford  and  three  other 
guns. 

Hazlewood  Moor  was  shot  on  August 
14th,  when  the  Duke  of  Devonshire's 
party  of  seven  guns,  including  the  Earl  of 
Essex,  Lord  Acheson,  Lord  Farquhar, 
Lord  Charles  Montagu,  Mr.  A.  Sassoon, 
and  Mr.  W.  James  killed  298  brace  of 
grouse. 

Sir  James  Bell,  Bart.,  and  party  of  six 
guns  killed  124  brace  of  grouse  on  Ardoch. 

Mr.  Younger,  Mr.  C.  J.  Cunningham, 
Captain  Adims,  Captain  Duff,  Mr.  J. 
Younger  and  Major  Robertson- Aikman 
killed  15  J  brace  of  grouse,  over  dogs,  on 
Dalnaspidal. 

Mr.  Robert  Peck,  the  well-known 
trainer,  owner  and  breeder,  died  on  Au- 
gust 17th  at  Scarborough,  where  he  was 
staying  for  the  benefit  of  his  health.  Mr. 
Peck  was  born  at  Malton  on  March  4th, 
1845,  an(*  w*'  consequently  in  his  fifty- 
fourth  year. 


2?8 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[September 


TURF, 

SANDOWN  PARK.— Second  Summer 

(Eciirss)  Meeting, 

July  14th.— The  Twelfth  Renewal  of  the 
Eclipse  Stakes  of  9,285  sovs. ;  for 
three  and  four-year-olds ;  Eclipse 
Stakes  Course  (about  one  mile  and 
a  quarter). 

Duke  of  Westminster's  b.  c.  Flying 
Fox,  by  Orme — Vampire,  3  yrs., 
9st.  41b M.Cannon     1 

Duke  of  Westminster's  br.  c.  Fron- 
tier, 3  yrs.,  9st.  lib.    ...J.  Watts    2 

Prince  SoltykufTs  b.    c.   Ninus,  4 

yrs.,  9st.  131b C.  Wood    3 

100  to  14  on  Flying  Fox. 

The  Great    Kingston    Two- Year-Old 
Race  of  461  sovs.  ;  five  furlongs. 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  bl.  g.  Black- 
smith,  by  Wolfs  Crag — Maxima, 
9st Sloan     1 

Captain  J.  G.  R.  Homfray's  ch.  f. 
Locasta,  8s t.  81b.    ...rreemantle    2 

Mr.  H.   Lambert's  ch.    c.  Bourne 
Bridge,  8st.  nib.  ...W.  Bradford    3 
5  to  1  agst.  Blacksmith. 
July   15th. — The  National  Breeders'  Pro- 
duce   Stakes    of   4,357  sovs.  ;    for 
two- year-olds  ;  five  furlongs. 

Lord  W.  JBe.sford's  ch.  g.  Demo- 
crat, by  Sensation  —  Equality, 
9st.  9lb Sloan     1 

Mr.  T.  K.  De war's  b.  c,  Forfar- 
shire, 9st S.  Loates    2 

Mr.   R.   Croker's  b.  f.  Salina,  8st. 

81b L.  Reiff    3 

7  to  4  agst.  Democrat. 

LIVERPOOL.— July  Meeting. 

July  20th.-  The  Thirtieth   Great   Lanca- 
shire Breeders'   Produce  Stakes  of 
1,611  sovs. ;  for  two-year-olds  ;  five 
furlongs. 
Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  b.  f.  Vain 
Duchess,  by  Isinglass — Duchess, 

9st.  2lb. O.  Madden     1 

Mr.  Leopold  de  Rothschild's  b.  f. 

Albnra,  gst.  2lb C.  Loates     2 

Mr.  J.  Best's  b  c.  Jubert,  8st.  11  lb. 

M.  Cannon    3 
1 1  to  10  on  Vain  Duchess. 

The  St.  George  Slakes  of  875  sovs.  ; 
for  three-year-olds;  one  mile  three 
furlongs. 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  ch.  f. 
Sweet  Marjorie,  by  Kendal — St. 
Marguerite,  7st.  131b. 

H.  Martin     I 

Lord  Rosebery's  b.  c.  Flambard, 
9st.  61b C.  Wood     2 

Mr.  W.  M.  G.  Singer's  b.  c.  H ear- 
wood,  9st.    ...* O.  Madden    3 

10  to  I  agst.  Sweet  Marjorie. 


The    Molyneux    Plate   of  402    sovs. 

Canal  Point-in  (abmt  six  furlongs). 
Mr.  J.  Tyler's  b,  h.  Saint  Noel,  by 

Theophilus— Christmas    Gift,    6 

yrs.,  7&t.  81b O.  Madden     1 

Mr.    Ernest   Gibbs's   ch.  c.   Orris 

Root,  4  yrs.,  7$t.  iolb....AUsopp    2 
Mr.  D.  Seymour's  b.  m.  Sapling, 

aged,  7st.  lib S.  Chandley    3 

15  to  8  agst.  St.  Noel. 

July  2 1st. —The  (Forty-Second)  Knowsley 

Dinner  Stakes    of   500  sovs. ;  for 

three-year-olds;    one    mile    and    a 

furlong. 
Mr.  J.S.  Guthrie's  b.  c.  Convoy, 

by  Orme — Grace   Conroy,    8*t. 

4lb K.  Cannon     1 

Mr.  W.  E.  Oakeley's  c.  c.   Dod- 

dington,  9st.  7 lb.     ...M.  Cannon     a 
Mr.  E.  C.  Clayton's  br.  f.   Rower 

of  Wit,  7st  131b.    ...O.  Madden     3 
11  to  10  on  Convoy* 

The  Seventy  Second  Liverpool  Cup  of 
1,000  sovs. ;  Cup  Course  (one  mile 
and  three  furlongs). 

Mr.  P.  Buchanan's  br.  h.  Eas- 
thorpe,  by  Bend  Or — Tiger  Lily, 
6  yrs.,  6st.  41b G.  M'Call     1 

Lord  W.  Bere>ford's  ch.  c.  Grodno, 
4  yrs.,  7st.  71b O.  Madden     2 

Sir  K.  Waldie  Griffith's  br.  f.  St 
la,  4  yrs.,  7st.  61b.  ...li.  Martin     3 
10  to  I  agst.  Easthotpe. 

GOODWOOD  MEETING. 

July  25th. — The  Stewards'  Cup,  value  300 
sovs.  ;  for  three-year-olds  and  up- 
wards. 

Mr.  Horatio  Bottomless  b.  h. 
Northern  Farmer,  by  Laureate 
II. — Smock  Frock,  5  yrs..  7st. 
61b K.  Finlay 

Sir  J.  Blundell  Maple's  b.  f.  Nun 
Nicer,  4  yrs.,  8st S.  Loates 

Mr.  C.  A.  Mills's  b.  f.  Mazeppa,  3 

yrs.,  6st.  I  lib S.  A.  lieapy 

20  to  I  agst.  Northern  Farmer. 

July  26th.— The  Goodwood  Plate  (Handi 
cap)  (if  800  sovs.  ;  two  miles. 

Mr.  Jersey's  ch.  h.  Merman,  by 
Grand  Flaneur — Seaweed,  aged, 
9st C.  Wood 

Mr.  A.  Wagg's  b.  c.  Mite  ham,  3 
yrs.,  6st.  lolb Heapy 

Mr.  L.  Brassey's  b.  c.  Merry  Buck, 

4  yrs.,  6st.  12I0. Gant 

4  to  1  agst.  Merman. 

The  Sussex  Stakes  of  25  sovs.  each, 
10  ft,    with    5CO   sovs.  added  ;  f< 
three-year-olds.      New    Mile, 
subs. 

Lord  William  Beresford's  ch.  c. 
Caiman,  by  Locohatchee — Happy 
Day,  8st.  131b M.  Cannon 


SPORTING   INTELLIGENCE. 


229 


L 


Mr.    Wallace  Johnstone's    b.    c. 
Harrow,  gst  lib.  S.  Loates    2 

Duke  of  Devonshire's  b.  c.  Mil- 
lenium, 9SL  lib.  J.  Watts    3 

11  to  4  on  Caiman. 

July    27th— The  Goodwood  Cup  of   500 
sovs. ;  two  miles  and  a  half. 
Mr.    Jersey's  ch.  h.   Merman,  by 
Grand  Flaneur — Seaweed,  aged, 

ost.  5lb C.  Wood    I 

Lord  Penrhyn's  b.  c.  King's  Messen- 
ger, 4  yrs.,  9s t.  lib.    F.  Rickaby    2 
Mr.  William  Cooper's  ch.  h.  New- 
haven  II.,  6  yrs.,  9st.  I2lb. 

M.  Cannon    3 
6  to  5  agst.  Merman. 

The  Prince  of  Wales'  Stakes  of  2,400 
sovs.,  for  two-year-olds;  T.Y.C. 
(six  furlongs). 

Lord  Rosebery's  br.  c  Epsom  Lad, 
by  Ladas — Disorder,  8st  91b. 

C.  Wood    I 

H.  R.H.  Prince  of  Wales'  b.  c.  Dia- 
mond Jubilee,  gst  ...M.  Cannon    2 

Mr.  L.  de  Rothschild's  b.  c.  Grif- 
fon, ost T.  Loates    3 

15  to  8  agst.  Epsom  Lad. 

The  Rous  Memorial  Stakes  of  1,115 
sovs.,  for  two-year-olds;  T.Y.C. 
(six  furlongs). 

Mr.  Dewar's  ch.  c.  Forfarshire,  by 
Royal  Hampton— St  Elizabeth, 
8st.  51b S.  Loates    1 

Mr.  L.  Brassey's  b.  c.  Lictor,  8sL 
81b. W.  Bradford    2 

Mr.    Wallace   Johnstone's    b.    f. 

Paigle,  8st  81b Allsopp    2 

100  to  30  on  Forfarshire. 

July  23rd. — The  Chesterfield  Cup  value  400 
sovs. ;  Craven  Course  (one  mile  and 
a  quarter). 

Duke  of  Westminster's  b.  c.  Cal- 
vetey,  by  St.  Serf— Sandiway,  5 
yrs.,  8st  41b M.  Cannon    1 

Mr.  W.  Low's  b.  c.  Hcrmiston,  4 
yrs.,  7st.  7lb K.  Cannon    2 

Sir  J.  Blundell  Maple's  b.  c  Royal 
Whistle,  3yrs.,6st  41b.  Wetherell    3 
100  to  12  agst  Calveley. 

BRIGHTON.— August  Meeting. 

August  2nd.— The  Brighton  Cup  of  485 

sovs.,  for  three-year-olds  ;  one  mile 

and  a  quarter. 
Mr.  D.  Seymour's  b.  f.  Clarehaven, 

by  Sweetheart — Crosshaven,  7st. 

81b. S.  Loates    1 

Mr.  J.   H.  Peard's  ch.  c.  Merry 

Methodist,  8st  41b.  O.  Madden    2 
Lord  W.   Beresford's  b.  g.  Jolly 

Tar,  8st  lib.    .T.  H.  Martin    3 

6  to  1  agst.  Clarehaven. 

VOL.  LXXII. — NO.  475. 


August  3rd. — The  Brighton  High- Weight 
Handicap  of  442  sovs.  ;  one  mile. 

II. R.H.  Prince  of  Wales'  ch.  c. 
Lucknow,  by  St  Angelo — Luck, 
4  yrs.,  8st  nib. O.  Madden     1 

Lord  Ellesmere's  b.  c.  Pheon,  4 
yrs.,  get.  1  alb S.  Loates    2 

Sir  E.  Vincent's  ch.  c.  Bonnebosq, 

4  yrs.,  8st.  ialb T.  Loates    3 

3  to  I  agst  Lucknow. 

LEWES  MEETING. 

August  4th. — The  Astley  Stakes  of  650 
sovs.,  for  two-year-olds;  five  fur- 
longs. 

Mr.  Leopold  de  Rothschild's  br,  c. 
Griffon,  by  Galopin — St  Pride, 
8st  nib.    T.  Loates     I 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  ch.  c.  Rice, 
9st J.  II.  Martin    2 

Mr.  J.  Musker's  ch.  c.  Chevening, 

9st  Tilbury    3 

Evens  Griffon. 

August  5th. — The  Lewes  Handicap  of  885 

sovs* ;  one  mile  and  a  half. 
Mr.  Jersey's  b.    h.    Uniform,   by 

Hotchkiss — Formo,  6  yrs.,  7st. 

131b C.  Wood     I 

Mr.  H.  W.  Gilbey's  ch.  h.   Ram- 

pion,  6  yrs.,  8st.61b.  M.  Cannon    2 
Lord  W.  Beresford's  b.  f.  Jiffy  II., 

4  yrs.,  8st  81b J.  H.  Martin    3 

7  to  I  agst.  Uniform. 

KEMPTON    PARK.— August 
Meeting. 

August  8th. — The  Kempton  Park  Inter- 
national Breeders'  Two- Year-Old 
Stakes  of  800  sovs.,  for  two-year- 
olds  ;  five  furlongs,  on  the  Straight 
Course. 

Mr.  T.  R.  Dewar's  ch.  c.  Forfar- 
shire) by  Royal  Hampton — St. 
Elizabeth,  Qst.  iolb.  ...S.  Loates     I 

Mr.  Fame's  b.  g.  Cutaway,  8st. 
I  lib.  (car.  Qst.  lib.)  M.  Cannon    2 

Mr.  G.  Edwardes'  ch*  c.  Salvador, 
8st.  9lb K.  Cannon    3 

II  to  10  agst.  Forfarshire. 

August  9th. — The  City  of  London  Breed- 
ers' Foal  Plate  of  1, 180  sovs.,  for 
three-year-olds;  "Jubilee"  Course 
(one  mile). 
Mr.  C.  D.  Rose's  b.  f.  Santa  Casa, 
by  Bona  Vista — Lorette,  Qst. 

W.  Bradford     1 
Mr.    Russell    Swan  wick's    ch.    f. 
Crowborough,  8st.  11  lb. 

M.  Cannon    2 
Mr.  Wallace  Johnstone's  b.  c.  Har- 
row, Qst.  31b S.  Loates    3 

8  to  1  agst.  Santa  Casa. 

17 


230 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[SBPTBMBBK,  il 


STOCKTON  MEETING. 

August  15th.— The  Wynyard  Plate  of  535 
so  vs.,  for  two-year-olds:  five  fur- 
longs. 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffiths1  ch.  f. 
Bettyfield,  by  Amphion — Thistle- 
field,  9$t.  5lb.  J.  H.  Martin     I 

Sir  J.  Miller's  ch.  c.  Marconi,  8st. 
71b Segrott    2 

Mr.  J.  Muskegs  b.  or  br.  f.  Our 

Grace,  8st.  131b T.  Weldon    3 

5  to  I  agst.  Bettyfield. 

The  Stockton  Handicap  Plate  of  325 
sovs.  •  one  mile  and  a  half. 

M  r.  L.  Brassey's  b.  c.  Merry  Buck, 
by  Merry  Hampton — Papana,  4 
yrs.,  7st.  8lb F.  Finlay    1 

Mr.  E.  Carlton's  ch.  c.  Flavus,  4 
yrs.,  8*t.  31b F.  W.  Lane    2 

Mr.  E.  Courage's  b.  f.  Silverpoint, 

3  yrs.,  7st.  lolb.    J.Hunt    3 

5  to  4  agst.  Merry  Buck. 

The  Hardwicke  Stakes  of  477  sovs., 

for  two-year-olds ;  five  furlongs. 
Mr.  James  Joicey's  ch.  c  Alvescot, 

by  Raeburn— Alberton,  Sst.  41b. 

T.  Loates    I 
Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffiths'  b.  f.  Vain 

Duchess,  9st.  2lb.  ...O.  Madden    2 
Mr.  J.  Snarry's  ch.  g.  Maquereau, 

8st.  4lb F.  Finlay    3 

2  to  1  on  Vain  Duchess. 

The  Great  Northern  Leger  of  443 
sovs.,  for  three-year-olds  ;  one  mile 
five  furlongs. 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffiths'  br.  f. 
Landrail,  by  St  Serf— Thistle- 
field,  ost.  2lb J.  H.  Martin     1 

Mr.  E.  J.  Rose's  br.  c.  Sir  Regi- 
nald, 8st  I2lb O.  Madden    2 

Mr.  T.  W.  Hornby's  b.  or  br.  f. 
Lively  Lady,  Sst.  41b.  T.  Weldon    3 
6  to  5  on  Landrail* 


August  17th. — The  Durham  County 
duce  Plate  of  733  sovs.,  for  tl 
year-olds,  one  mile  two  furlongs. 

Sir  R.  W.  Griffith's  ch.  f.  Sweet 
Marjorie,  by  Kendal — St.  Mar- 
guerite, 9st.  61b.  ...J.  H.  Martin 

Mr.  E.  Courage's  b.  f.  Silverpoint, 
8st.  I2lb J.  Hunt 

Lord  Carnarvon's  b.  c  Simonside, 

9st.  12I0.  T.  Holden 

2  to  1  agst.  Sweet  Marjorie. 

CRICKET. 

July  19th. — At  Manchester,  England 
Australia,  drawn,    scores  :—  Engl 
372  and  94  for  3  wickets ;  Aust 
196  and  346  for  7  wickets  (declared).] 

July  26th.— At  Kennington  Oval,  Si 
v.   Australians,    former  won    by 


runs. 


v. 


July  29th.—  At  Brighton,  Sussex 

tralians,  drawn. 
August    2nd. — At     Lord's,    M.C.C. 

Ground  v.  Australians,  latter  woo 

9  wickets. 
August  4th. — At  Lord's,  Rugby  v. 

borough,  latter  won  by  225  runs. 
August    1 2th. — At    Canterbury,    Kent 

Australians,  former  won  by  2  wi< 
August    1 6th. — At     Kennington 

England  v.  Australia,  drawn, 

England,   576;    Australia,   352, 

254  for  5  wickets. 

RACKETS. 

July   26th.— At     Prince's   Club,    E- 
Mills  (holder)  v.  Sir  Edward  Grey 
the  M.C.C  Gold  Racket,  former 
by  3  sets  to  2. 

POLO. 

July  22nd.— At  Ranelagh,  7th  Hussar* 
13th  Hussars,  former  won  the 
the  Subaltern  Inter-Regimental 
nament  by  7  goals  to  2. 


( 


B  A I  LY\S     M  AG  AZI N  K 


'Mr 


:S FORTS  and,  PASTI M ES 


.    > 


i-0 


OCTOUr.K,  J  Soy." 
CONTENTS 


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v-  's  *r«ii  H\t!tcrA  202 

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'  ';•;•.  orjif  (miuo,    Vi   Karo's 

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290 


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Ilun.-.n^ — Tv>.«  <  *  ,-c'   v  I?  v;i's     .. 
The  Wi.mIu'p  '  :.i- 

The  Gri'i  w  ;    J":.    '  •  ..s.rr 

Mr.  J.  I\  V,..;i    .,  1'.    < 

T!'/  i»'th  :«ri.'  i  '  ■•  '  1      1!  i"',cr» 

T' >e  V*  «.li,'v  ::>•  ■!•.'■  >:*       

!k:::tt :i««  ;i*  ii.if'.i  SS"W     

T)\*:  ]?.lf  C!  it.«  »>  L^'d'a-n     

T:v:  W.ir-.vi'k  '^rc 2  -^ 

An  1  »!d  hrj.-p.l    

T^.o  T  ii'  k«-r "':*r 

Th?*  Cvb-h.ir 'iii^  S«mv»       

Ivor*;  I'"i(  '.w  iliLini*^  1   !,»py  *>:,-->w    .. 

Tito  Snb.Liiciirs'  Cip 

LiM(]«in  Kilo  Club >••,*♦ 

AH    Jr.- 1.10(1    (],p 2*f7 

Tho  Lit*  Mr.   Dr/hrj'vh  •»  1  m-is     ?<jj 

St.ms'e.l  WS 

The  K.ineLu'h  l\.io  Picture ?<  *1 

KHd  Tr'.ila  for  Spinels  2«\) 

Golf 2'v'l 


*    ■     •  •  • 


1  1*1 

2'»>> 


■•  ......  •• —-y^~  —   ■-, , .  *.      1-f 

..  J  iJoi  CiWi-.*»  Yearling  S.\lcs 292    I  Sporting  I.ito' licence,  Au^.  —  Sjj>t....      500 

WITH 

S*'.*'-'!  en^ravcM?  portrait  of  Major  Kohkrt  M.   1'odrk. 
..    i.  ^.-   .,1   Tim:   Si ani^h    Foinirr,    Map  of    iiik    Mfkts    of    thr   IiE:i.vriiR 

Hounds,  Tub  Rev.  J.  Hou^on,  and  Gam>*:kr 


Major  Robert   M.   Poore. 


.*  O'li  privilege  this  month  to 
••-.^m  to  our  lenders  a  portrait  of 
'  I.  ,1  R.  M.  Poore,  wliose  extra- 
'  J  Liar  \  succf.^sts  as  a  batsman, 

e  *.i  is  year  naile  his  name  very 

•  li.'iar   Uj    all   followers  of   first- 

•  -  ^ii;Vf  t. 

.M  i;'/r  }J.'«^e  is  to  be  congratu- 
:»jvj  urv,n  a  mcist  unique  per  form - 
fi\  iur  ariunlly  at  the  end  of 
>  ><y<jn«l  ^■••ison  of  English 
.  uty  Cr1'  k-ji  lie  heads  the  first- 
•".'•-  b-.tti:-^  averages  with  the 
•  a::,^  wonderful  figures: — 
■» -!i:y-oi>r:     innuigs,    1,551     runs, 

v.'L.  1 ;  •  ;r. — .\o.  47G. 


highest  score  304,  four  times  not 
out,  average  per  innings  91  "4. 
Most  of  his  cricket  has  been 
played  for  the  County  of  I  lamp- 
shire,  which  was  fortunate  enough 
to  secure  the  benefit  of  Major 
Poore's  assistance  on  his  return 
from  active  set  vice  in  South 
Africa,  with  his  regiment,  the 
7th  Hussars. 

Hampshire,  in  addition  to  being 
the  most  ancient  of  the  cricketing 
counties,  has  another  claim  to 
fame  nowadays,  as  the  most  mili- 
tary of  the  first-class  county  com- 

18 


.V* 


■*  V       *  \* 


i  f     ■ 

'  -r.i  l  ' ' 


BAILY'S 


SPORTS  an 


No.  476. 


OCTOBER,  1899.  Vol.  LXXII 


CONTENTS 


Sporting  Diary  for  the  Month  

Major  Robert  M.  Poore   

In  East  Anglia  

The  Pointer    

Racehorses  from  Australia   

History  of  the  Belvoir  Hunt    

Deadly  Snakes  of  India   

Curiosities  of  Shooting 

Head-Stalls  and  Halters  

Percy  Brown  (Verses)   

A  Day  with  the  Otter  Hounds    

Bowls  

The  Chances  of  the  Game,  VI.  Faro's 

Daughter 

Music  and  Morals  in  the  Kennel 

The  Sportsman's  Library 

Life's  Rnn  (Verses)   

Anecdotal  Sport 

The  Veterinary  Profession   

"Our  Van":— 

Racing — Stockton 

Leopardstown ;  York;  Derby 

Doncaster  

The  Doncaster  Yearling  Sales 


PACK 

ix. 

231 

233 

238 

239 

247 
251 

258 

262 

265 

266 

267 

269 

273 
27$ 
278 

279 
284 

288 
289 
290 
292 


Hunting — The  Oakley  Hounds  ... 

The  Whaddon  Chase    

The  Grafton ;  The  Bicester 

Mr.  J.  P.  Vaughan  Pryse 

The  Bath  and  County  Harriers  ... 

The  Wells  Subscription    

Hunters  at  Bath  Show 

The  late  Charles  Leedham 

The  Warwickshire 

An  Old  Friend  

The  Puckeridge 

The  Cub-hunting  Season 

Lord  Fitzwilliam's  Puppy  Show  ... 
Polo — Dublin  Inter- Regimental  ... 

The  Subalterns'  Cup 

London  Polo  Club 

All  Ireland  Cup. 

The  late  Mr.  Drybrough's  Ponies 

Stansted  

The  Ranelagh  Polo  Picture 

Deauville    

Field  Trials  for  Spaniels  

Golf 

Sporting  Intelligence,  Aug.  —Sept .. . 


PAGK 

293 

294 
294 

294 
295 

295 

295 

295 
295 

296 

296 

296 

296 
296 
297 
297 
297 

297 
298 
298 
298 
299 

299 
300 


WITH 


Steel  engraved  portrait  of  Major  Robert  M.  Poors. 
engravings  of  The  Spanish  Pointer,  Map  of   the   Meets   op   the  Belvoir 

Hounds,  The  Rev.  J.  Houson,  and  Gambler. 


Major  Robert  M.  Poore. 


It  is  our  privilege  this  month  to 
present  to  our  readers  a  portrait  of 
Major  R.  M.  Poore,  whose  extra- 
ordinary successes  as  a  batsman, 
bave  this  year  made  his  name  very 
familiar  to  all  followers  of  first- 
class  cricket. 

Major  Poo-w  is  to  be  congratu- 
lated upon  a  most  unique  perform- 
ance, for  actually  at  the  end  of 
bis  second  season  of  English 
County  Cricket  he  heads  the  first- 
class  batting  averages  with  the 
following  wonderful  figures : — 
twenty-one    innings,   1,551    runs, 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  476. 


highest  score  304,  four  times  not 
out,  average  per  innings  91*4. 
Most  of  his  cricket  has  been 
played  for  the  County  of  Hamp- 
shire, which  was  fortunate  enough 
to  secure  the  benefit  of  Major 
Poore's  assistance  on  his  return 
from  active  service  in  South 
Africa,  with  his  regiment,  the 
7th  Hussars. 

Hampshire,  in  addition  to  being 
the  most  ancient  of  the  cricketing 
counties,  has  another  claim  to 
fame  nowadays,  as  the  most  mili- 
tary of  the  first-class  county  com- 

18 


232 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[October 


binations,  and  in  the  Hampshire 
batting  averages  for  the  season  of 
1899,  six  out  of  the  first  eight 
places  are  filled  by  a  Colonel,  three 
Captains,  an  ex-Bombardier,  and 
Major  Poore,  the  latter  being  at  the 
actual  top  of  the  list  with  the  fol- 
lowing figures: — sixteen  innings, 
1,399  runs,  304  highest  score,  four 
times  not  out,  average  115*58. 
This  constitutes  a  very  astonishing 
record  for  a  batsman ;  and  on  no  less 
than  seven  occasions  did  he  com- 
pile a  century ;  moreover,  he  ac- 
complished the  double  feat  of 
scoring  two  three-figure  innings  in 
the  same  match,  and  of  making 
three  centuries  in  succession. 

It  was  from  the  Somerset  bowl- 
ing that  the  gallant  Hussar  helped 
himself  most  liberally,  making  1 19 
not  out  and  104  in  the  match 
against  the  Westerners  at  Ports- 
mouth, and  304  at  Taunton  in 
the  return  match,  when  Captain 
Wynyard  scored  225,  and  the 
two  enjoyed  a  partnership  of  41 1 
runs. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting 
thing  in  connection  with  Major 
Poore's  cricket,  is  the  fact  that  it 
was  at  a  comparatively  late  age 
that  he  identified  himself  with  the 
game.  His  early  cricket  was  played 
under  Mr.  Tabor,  at  Cheam,  a 
school  from  which  so  many  promis- 
ing cricketers  have  gone  on  to  our 
Public  Schools.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  two  or  three  village  matches 
Major  Poore  had  no  opportunities 
of  playing  cricket  until  he  joined 
his  regiment  in  India,  and  speedily 
demonstrated  his  great  natural 
ability  for  the  national  game.  He 
was  responsible  for  many  centuries 
at  Poona  and  other  cricket  centres 
in  the  gorgeous  East;  amongst 
others,  100  against  the  Parsees, 
and  101  against  the  Madras  Presi- 
dency, whilst  upon  one  occasion  he 
topped  the  second  century  with 
202  not  out,  in  1892,  for  Govern- 
ment House,  Poona.     In  Novem- 


ber, 1895,  he  went  with  the  7th 
Hussars  to  Natal,  a  few  weeks 
only  before  the  stupid  and  wicked 

Jameson  raid  took  place,  and  by 
is  batting  for  15  of  Natal,  against 
Lord  Hawke's  team,  speedily 
gained  a  good  reputation;  at  Pieter- 
maritzburg  he  scored  112  and  in 
the  following  match  at  Durban 
107 ;  this  being  against  the  bowl- 
ing of  George  Lohmann,  Tyler  and 
Hayward,  Messrs.  Woods,  Hesel- 
tine,  and  others. 

Upon  the  cocoa-nut  matting 
wickets  uniformly  used  in  South 
Africa  the  Major  proved  himself  a 
most  consistent  run-getter,  and 
upon  his  return  to  this  country 
in  the  spring  of  1898,  it  was  with 
interest  that  his  earlier  appear- 
ances were  watched.  He  made  a 
promising  start  by  scoring  51  for 
M.C.C.  and  Ground  against  Lan- 
cashire upon  a  slow  wicket  at 
Lord's,  and  his  first  innings  for 
Hampshire  realised  49  not  .out. 
Major  Poore's  success,  however, 
last  season  upon  wickets  which 
were  so  strange  to  him,  was  a 
qualified  one,  and  no  one  could 
anticipate  the  marvellous  success 
which  he  has  this  season  enjoyed 
upon  the  fast  true  wickets  which 
have  prevailed,  when  his  fine 
physique  and  commanding  height 
of  6  feet  4  inches  enable  him  to 
push  the  bowling  about  the  field 
hour  after  hour. 

We  have  dwelt  at  some  length 
upon  his  performances  at  cricket, 
but  this  branch  of  sport  by  no 
manner  of  means  monopolises 
Major  Poore's  triumphs ;  it  is  mat- 
ter of  ancient  history  now  that  for 
each  year  since  his  return  from 
Africa  he  has  gained  the  chief 
prize  at  the  Military  Tournament 
at  the  Agricultural  Hall,  for  the 
best  man  at  arms  in  the  Army,  and 
it  was  a  grand  experience  to  in- 
clude, as  he  did  in  one  brief  fort- 
night of  this  summer,  three  such 
great  and  diverse  triumphs  as  the 


■*99J 


IN    EAST   ANGLIA. 


*33 


scoring  of  two  centuries  in  one 
cricket  match,  the  winning  of 
the  chief  prize  at  the  Military 
Tournament,  and  at  Hurlingham, 
amidst  the   greatest    excitement, 


the  hitting  of  the  winning  goal 
in  the  final  tie  of  the  Inter- Regi- 
mental Polo  Tournament.  Major 
Poore  may  well  be  proud  of  his 
summer  of  1899 ! 


In  East  Anglia. 


From  London  to  Cromer  without 
a  stop,  unless  the  ticket-taking  at 
North  Walsham  can  be  reckoned 
as  a  stoppage,  is  good  work  on 
the  part  of  the  Great  Eastern 
Railway  Company.  What  a  con- 
trast to  the  state  of  the  case  when 
about  forty  years  ago,  after  sun- 
dry changes,  it  took  us  the  best 
part  of  the  day  to  get  to  any  place 
beyond  Ipswich,  and  in  those 
days  this  much-maligned  company 
was  dubbed  the  slowest  and 
unsurest  in  England.  Honestly 
speaking,  although  their  perma- 
nent way  cannot  vie  with  that  of 
the  London  and  North-Western 
for  smoothness,  their  train  service 
is  well  managed,  their  carriages 
are  good,  and  they  certainly  com- 
pare favourably  with  the  Great 
Western  in  their  all-round  accom- 
modation. For  the  latter,  except 
on  their  main  lines,  are  certainly 
behindhand,  and  steadily  refuse 
to  march  with  the  times,  as  wit- 
ness the  fact  that  they  take  seven 
and  a-half  hours  to  convey  me  to 
London — about  160  miles ! 

Once  in  the  heart  of  Norfolk 
you  seem  to  recognise  at  the 
glance  the  reality  of  early  British 
history,  the  fights  of  Saxons  and 
Danes,  in  the  inhospitable  nature 
of  our  eastern  sea,  the  rich  corn- 
growing  nature  of  the  soil,  the  tall 
towered  churches,  perched  on  the 
highest  ridges,  irrespective  of  their 
congregations  in  the  villages  be- 
low, evidently  carefully  so  placed 
as  watch  towers,  from  which  could 


be  flashed  the  warnings  of  inva- 
sion, as  well  as  other  news  from 
the  coast  landwards.  Just  as  in 
the  same  way  in  my  own  border 
country  of  Wales,  earthen  mounds 
abound,  which  command  the  passes 
of  every  valley,  and  so  placed  as 
to  communicate  by  signals  with 
each  other  from  the  Bristol  Chan- 
nel to  Chester,  and  the  estuary  of 
the  Dee.  This  was  indeed  the 
wireless  telegraphy  of  our  early 
centuries. 

Here  in  East  Anglia  was  the 
first  growth  of  our  landlord  feudal- 
ism. Here  British  enterprise  in 
agriculture  first  flourished ;  from 
here  came  our  food  supplies,  and 
here  settled  our  lordly  ancestors, 
who  thrived  on  their  peasants* 
labour.  As  witness  the  splendid 
piles  of  mansions  that  everywhere 
abound,  some  now  alas !  in  ruins, 
yet  all  speaking  to  us  plainly  of 
the  glories  of  this  rich  country, 
long  before  the  idea  of  foreign 
competition  in  corn,  or  free  trade, 
had  been  thought  of. 

To  take  a  short  flit  into  Norfolk 
in  this  holiday  month  of  August 
was  a  thorough  change  of  scene, 
and  not  altogether  foreign  to  a 
sportsman's  interest.  As  a  hunt- 
ing man  you  eye  the  fine  coverts 
lying  spread  on  the  landscape,  not 
as  the  abodes  of  foxes,  but  of 
pheasants.  You  know  that  in  a 
few  days  those  great  turnip  fields 
will  be  the  rendezvous  of  hordes 
of  desperate  gunners,  and  that 
these  broad  acres  command  the 


234 


BAILYS   MAGAZINE. 


[OCTOBEt 


top  of  the  market  as  shootings  go 
— not  even  short  of  the  average 
Scotch  moors.  In  your  mind's 
eye  you  see  how  each  field  will  be 
driven  to  that  convenient  long  line 
of  bank  and  hedge,  behind  which 
the  murderous  and  unerring  Pur- 
dey  will  pour  its  incessant  charge 
into  the  birds  as  "  over "  they 
come,  and  go,  and  you  cannot  re- 
sist the  feeling  that  if  shooting 
were  really  your  bent  it  would  be 
here  you  would  come,  where  the 
light  sandy  and  gravelly  soil  is 
indigenous  to  the  "plump  little 
partridge." 

Yet,  dear  readers,  you  will 
hardly  suppose  that  "  Borderer  " 
would  make  holiday  merely  to  ad- 
mire the  Norfolk  stubbles  and 
turnip  fields,  or  to  gambol  on 
Cromer  sands.  He  admires  a 
really  good  Hackney,  he  loathes  a 
bad  one,  but  he  can  see  plenty  of 
Hackneys  nowadays  without  com- 
ing here  in  search  of  them.  As 
for  foxhounds,  he  must  travel  still 
further  north  to  be  within  their 
ken,  but  it  delights  him  to  hear 
that  one  with  the  good  name  of 
Barclay  has  turned  what  was 
lately  a  great  pheasant  preserve 
into  an  abode  for  foxes,  and  that 
the  shadow  of  foxhunting  in  West 
Norfolk  is  certainly  not  growing 
less  under  Mr.  Seymour's  manage- 
ment. As  to  the  rearing  of 
thoroughbreds,  I  cast  about  for 
the  old  landmarks,  and  they  are 
gone — gone  like  the  prosperity  of 
wheat  growing,  and  many  of  the 
old  resident  aristocracy  are  gone 
with  them.  Easton  Hall,  in  Suf- 
folk, it  was  a  delight  to  pay  a  visit 
to  in  days  of  the  late  Duke  of 
Hamilton.  Lord  Rendlesham,  I 
believe,  rears  some ;  Lord  Strad- 
brooke's  beautiful  domain  heralds 
the  birth  of  a  few  young  hunters ; 
but  Lords  Suffield,  Cholmondeley, 
and  Orford  no  longer  cherish  the  his- 
torical name  hereabouts  for  breed- 
ing and  encouraging  racehorses. 


His  Royal  Highness  the  Prince 
of  Wales  has  taken  up  the  cudgels 
of  the  thoroughbreds  at  Sandring- 
ham,  the  extreme  corner  of  this 
large  county,  and  it  is  on  him  and 
Lord  Hastings  at  Melton  Con- 
stable that  the  mantle  of  race- 
horse breeding  has  fallen.  Curi- 
ously enough  in  both  cases  have 
they  begun  for  the  honour  of  Nor- 
folk in  breeding  a  Derby  winner 
in  their  first  year.  Melton,  the 
expatriated,  and  lately  returned 
prodigal  to  the  country  of  his  birth, 
was  ever  a  great  favourite  of  mine, 
and  I  well  remember  discoursing 
with  old  Mackerell  at  Hampton 
Court  on  the  crime  of  his  being 
about  to  be  sent  to  Italy,  and 
afterwards  repeating  my  lament 
in  print.  Still  more  remarkable 
is  the  fact  that  Mr.  Musker,  his 
present  owner,  is  about  to  bring 
back  his  young  Meltons  into  Nor- 
folk, having  purchased  an  estate 
at  Rushford,  where  he  has  started 
training,  although  his  stud  farm 
will  still  be  at  Westerham.  Sure- 
ly the  glories  of  the  county  are 
not  quite  on  the  wane  after  all! 
To  find  myself  at  Melton  Con- 
stable, and  enjoying  myself  in 
the  midst  of  this  fine  domain  with 
horses  and  hounds,  was  worth  a 
long  journey  and  a  commemora- 
tion in  your  pages. 

Melton  Constable  Hall  has  been 
favoured  by  the  advent  of  the 
Midland  and  Great  Northern 
Railway  in  its  vicinity,  which  has 
the  important  Yarmouth  Junction 
within  a  mile  of  its  gates,  and  I 
trust  that  the  list  of  large  land- 
owners, who  in  the  present  day 
would  drive  away  from  their  con- 
fines that  all  important  fructifier 
and  means  of  communication,  the 
iron  horse,  are  few  and  far  be- 
tween. At  all  events,  Lord  Hast- 
ings cannot  be  reckoned  among 
their  number.  How  many  noble 
owners  of  land  throughout  Eng- 
land, and  in  Norfolk  in  particular, 


J 


*»1 


IN   EAST  ANGLIA. 


235 


have  blocked  the  way  to  railway 
enterprise,     and     thus     brought 
corses  upon  themselves  and  losses 
on     their     inheritants  ?        Lord 
Hastings  is  an  owner  after  one's 
own  heart.     His  noble  domain  is 
made  the  most  of  in  every  depart- 
ment;  faultless  care  greets  your 
eye  even  from  the  station  gates, 
"  and  what  a  place  for  a  gallop !  " 
you  exclaim  as  you  pass  into  the 
park,  and   swing  through  it  for 
'    half  a  mile  or  so  up  to  the  house. 
The  stables  will  vie  with  Bad- 
minton for  their  ample  dimensions 
and  excellent  arrangements ;  and 
their   splendid   boxes   were   well 
filled  with  useful  hunters  just  up 
from  summer  quarters.    On  these 
I  dare  not  dwell  here,  although  I 
stood  beside  several  in   admira- 
tion.   Passing  on  in  front  of  the 
main  entrance  to  the  hall  across 
the  deer  park  I  soon  found  myself 
at  the  kennels,  or,  as  old  times 
called  them,  the  menagerie.     The 
late    lord's    fondness    for     wild 
beasts  is  well  known.     But  now 
the  lions  and  tigers,  &c,   have 
been  banished  by  the  present  lord, 
whose  tastes  are  quite  sufficiently 
sporting  without  indulging  in  a 
love  for  captive  Central  African 
beasts  of  the  forest.     Here  are 
the  kennels  of  his  harrier  pack, 
until   lately   called    the    Bacons- 
thorpe,  but  now  the  Melton  Con- 
stable pack,  under  the  personal 
supervision  of  Mr.  Beard,  whose 
acquaintance  I  had  happened  to 
make  in  the  Old  Berkshire  country 
a  few  years  ago. 

There  is  a  certain  charm  about 
harriers,  quite  apart  from  fox- 
hounds, which  few  sportsmen 
perhaps  recognise  as  fully  as 
"  Borderer."  A  harrier  should 
not  be  a  dwarf  foxhound ;  quite 
the  contrary.  He  or  she  should 
be  a  quick,  sparkling,  and  light 
little  fellow  of  eighteen  inches,  or 
even  nineteen  inches,  in  height, 
industry  and   persever- 


ance in  every  movement  and  look 
Sense,  too,  with  the  advent  of  age, 
to  cope  with  the  clever  tactics  on 
cold  scenting  ground,  that  make 
the  hare  of  all  animals  the  most 
difficult  to  tackle  in  the  hunting 
field.  Whereas  the  dwarf  fox- 
hound, heavier  of  timber,  yet 
elegant  and  taking  as  he  is,  and 
no  mean  pleasure  to  gaze  upon  on 
the  flags,  lacks  the  characteristics 
of  a  true  harrier.  His  dash  is 
thrown  away,  because  it  continu- 
ally overruns  the  line,  and  neither 
his  tongue  nor  his  hunting  abili- 
ties are  suited  to  hare  hunting. 
Besides  which  you  must  be  a 
paragon  of  patience  if  you  suc- 
ceed in  building  up  a  pack  of 
harriers  from  dwarf  foxhounds. 
Lord  Hastings  has  as  yet  only 
the  raw  material  to  work  upon, 
but  "  Borderer  "  was  delighted  to 
find  at  least  fifteen  couple  of  real 
harriers  here  of  the  Foxbush,  Ea- 
mont,  and  Mr.  Race's  blood,  as 
well  as  some  of  Lord  Albemarle's, 
that  were  good  enough  for  a  start, 
and  even  if  he  turned  aside  from 
about  three  and  a-half  couple  of 
nondescripts,  whose  height  alone 
should  bring  their  condemnation, 
he  did  not  on  this  score  the  less 
enjoy  his  kennel  day,  and  particu- 
larly was  he  pleased  with  the 
young  entry,  which  Mr.  Beard 
has  reason  to  be  proud  of.  "  Quite 
fit  to  take  the  field  in  a  fortnight's 
time/'  suggested  "B."  "Ah! 
not  until  the  end  of  September," 
replied  the  huntsman,  "  on  ac- 
count of  the  shooting  tenants." 
Oh,  the  pang  that  those  words 
gave  "  B.,"  forgetting  as  he  did 
for  the  moment  that  he  was  in 
Norfolk,  and  there  at  least  the 
shooting  tenant  is  paramount,  just 
as  much  as  the  lowlander  or  Yan- 
kee is  among  the  deer  forests  of 
the  north.  I  am  sure  that  Lord 
and  Lady  Hastings,  and  those 
nice  Eton  boys  who  helped  to 
show  us  the   hounds,   will  have 


236 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[OCTOBEX 


plenty  of  fun,  notwithstanding  the 
shooting  tenants. 

It  was  time  to  tear  myself  away 
from  the  kennels,  and  after  lunch 
to  pay  a  happy  visit  to  the  stud 
farm  and  its  supervisor,  Gilbert, 
whose  father  is  an  old  friend,  and 
has  long  presided  over  the  desti- 
nies of  the  Blankney  Stud. 

I  have  before  alluded  to  the 
great  horse  Melton,  as  the  first- 
fruits  of  Lord  Hastings'  breeding 
experience.  Would  that  he  dwelt 
here  still,  for  dreadful  as  it  may 
sound,  I  always  preferred  him  in 
make  and  shape  to  St.  Simon, 
Donovan,  or  Ayrshire. 

His  legitimate  place  of  honour 
here  has,  however,  been  taken  by 
his  second  best  son,  Avington.  I 
purposely  say  second  best,  because 
I  consider  Best  Man  stands  No.  1 
among  the  sons  of  Melton — more 
like  Melton  himself,  short  on  the 
leg,  and  true  made.  Avington  is 
perhaps  the  finer  horse  in  point 
of  length  (if  not  a  trifle  too  long), 
and  stands  on  rare  short  and 
sound  limbs,  but  is  wanting  in  the 
quality  of  Best  Man.  The  future 
will  show  whether  this  estimate 
is  right  or  wrong.  Avington  cer- 
tainly had  three  promising  foals 
to  his  credit  in  the  chesnut  colt 
out  of  old  Violet  Melrose,  who 
carries  her  twenty-four  years  most 
wonderfully ;  a  bay  colt  out  of 
Sylphine  (by  Galliard),  and  a  bay 
colt  out  of  Marish  (by  Lowland 
Chief).  All  these  three  had  just 
been  weaned,  and  certainly  seemed 
to  bear  away  the  palm  of  this 
year's  produce,  although  a  big, 
loose- made  colt  by  Child  wick  out 
of  Pitcroy  may  fill  out  into  some- 
thing useful. 

Petros,  the  once  despised 
brother  to  St.  Serf,  occupies  the 
stallion  box  next  to  Avington.  I 
fear  I  was  somewhat  of  a  Balaam 
when  shown  into  Petros'  box — a 
nicely-turned  horse,  of  a  good 
hard  colour,  but  wanting  in  the 


reach  and  liberty  of  a  true  race- 
horse sire ;  his  forelegs  also  are  too 
much  under  him,  and  not  growing 
nicely  out  of  his  shoulders  as  are 
Avington's.    Nevertheless,  Petros 
has  sired  a  nice  colt  in  Riccarton, 
and  perhaps  I  am  hardly  doing 
him  justice  in  these  notes.  Seaton, 
that  is  the  remaining  sire  at  Mel- 
ton, is  an  own  brother  to  Melton, 
but,  having  said  this,  I  can  cany 
my  recommendation  no  further, 
for  he  lacks  the  quality  or  grandeur 
of  Melton,  and  is  coachy,  and  a 
commoner.      If    Seaton    Delaval 
had    been    kept  here,  instead  of 
being  sent  abroad,  I  should  not, 
I  think,  have  had  to  say  this,  as 
well  as  to  express  my  regret  that 
good  mares,  such  as  Belsamine, 
Sylphine,  and  Portree,  should  have 
been  in  Seaton's  harem  this  season. 
Avington's   chesnut  colt    out  of 
Violet  Melrose  is  an  inbred  one, 
indeed,  but  he  is  a  sweet  shaped 
little  fellow.     I  was  puzzled  to  re- 
member where  he  gets  his  white 
legs  and  blazed  face  from,  until  I 
recollected  that  Avington's  dam, 
Annette,    is    a    chesnut    of  this 
stamp,    and    I    believe  that  old 
mares  often  breed  back. 

The  Melton  Constable  stud  com- 
prises fifteen  brood    mares,  and 
they  all  looked  healthy  and  well. 
Yet  I  could  not  help  thinking,  as 
the  afternoon  advanced,  and  I  was 
wandering  among  dairy  cows  (red 
polls  and  Jerseys)  on  the  home 
farm,  how  much  to  the  advantage 
of  those  weaned  foals  in  after  life 
would  be  a  few  months  on  those 
marshy  meadows,not  horse  tainted, 
where  rough  sheds  could  be  con- 
structed for  a  few  pounds.    But 
here  I  am  on  my  pet  hobby  again, 
and  it  ought  not  be  for  me  to 
teach  a  Gilbert  anything  in  stud; 
management.     He    is   an   enthu- 
siast in  his  work,  and  1  wish  him 
and   Lord   Hastings  all   success.; 
Few  people   enjoy  such    advan» 
tages  in  the  race  of  horse  breeding* 


'899-J 


IN    EAST   ANGLIA. 


237 


The  pleasures  of  hound  lore  in 
Norfolk,  however,  were  not  con- 
fined to  Melton  Constable,  for  it 
chanced  that  I  had  not  long  ago 
done  a  bargain  in  Welsh  ponies 
for  Mr.  Springfield,   the  whilom 
master  of  the  Baconsthorpe  har- 
riers, and  now  in  the  same  position 
for  the  Dunston  pack,  which  is 
kennelled  near  Swainsthorpe,  on 
the  other  side  of  Norwich  from 
Cromer,  under   the  aegis  of  Mr. 
Geoffrey  Buxton,  and  it  was   at 
Mr.  Springfield's  invitation    that 
I  found  myself  on   the   Dunston 
flags.    "Not  a  show  pack,"  was 
the  master's  careful  introduction, 
yet  there  was  plenty  here  of  the 
true  harrier  type  to  admire,  espe- 
cially a  couple  and  a  half  of  stud 
hounds,  Anchor,   Gamester,   and 
Driver  (the  second  of  Mr.  E.  R. 
Portal's  blood)  and  their  progeny, 
and  it  tickled  the  pride  of  your 
scribe  to  find  Welsh  blood  appre- 
ciated even  in  East  Anglia,  where 
Mrs.  Pryse   Rice's    and    Neuadd 
Fawr  blood  was  in  evidence,  and 
did  honour   to  its  surroundings. 
Mr.  Springfield  is  by  no  means  a 
novice  in  his  work,  as  he  under- 
took some  years  ago  the  master- 
ship of  the  Curraghmore  after  the 
late  Earl  of  Waterford  was  driven 
to  forego  the  pack,  and  struggled 
there  with  the   bitterest    foes  to 
sport  that  Ireland  has  ever  pro- 
duced.   At  last  in  disgust  he  came 
away  into  Norfolk,  and  has  been 
a  devoted  exponent  of  hare-hunt- 
ing ever  since.      If  therefore  the 
Dunston  do  not  succeed  both  in 
the  kennel   and  field,  we   much 
doubt   whether    practical    know- 
ledge   of    the  work    can    be    of 
any  avail.     Happily,  however,  we 
had  the  assurance  that  the  Dun- 
ston were  proving  themselves  a 
capital  pack,  with  plenty  of  country 
to  hunt  over,  and  good  sport  into 
the    bargain.      Who    shall    say, 
therefore,  that  pheasants  and  fus- 


tians are  able  to  kill  even  hare- 
hunting  ? 

There  are,  however,  the  draw- 
backs to  East  Anglian  hunting, 
those  dry  sandy  and  gravelly 
ploughs,  which  not  only  try  the 
scenting  powers  of  hounds,  but 
also  the  temper  of  their  hunts- 
men, and  there  are  also  those 
treacherously  deep  and  blind 
ditches,  which  add  danger  to  the 
banks,  and  help  to  make  Norfolk 
by  no  means  an  easy  country  to 
cross.  In  this  brief  stay  I  had  to 
give  up  several  intended  excur- 
sions— an  investigation  of  the  in- 
teresting old  city  of  Norwich, 
especially  its  wonderful  museum 
— a  look  in  upon  an  old  friend, 
Mr.  Garret  Taylor,  and  with  him 
a  visit  to  Sir  Humphrey  de  Traf- 
ford's  stables  and  model  farm  ;  a 
trip  to  Yarmouth  and  on  the  way 
home  a  halt  in  Suffolk,  where 
sportsmen  are  come  across  in 
quite  as  great  numbers  as  in  the 
Midlands.  Nevertheless,  no  visi- 
tor into  Norfolk  can  fail  to  be 
struck  with  the  singularly  inter- 
esting character  of  the  country. 
To  a  shooting  man  it  is  a  paradise. 
To  the  driving  man  the  birth- 
place of  Hackney  breeding.  To 
the  health  seeker  and  holiday 
maker  a  paragon  of  sea  air.  To 
the  golfer  it  is  plentiful  in  rinks. 
To  the  boating  man  the  Broads 
are  ever  an  attraction  ;  and  what 
would  the  costermonger  do  if 
there  was  no  Yarmouth,  and  no 
bloaters  ?  To  the  hunter  it  is  a 
proof  that  his  sport  can  prevail 
over  difficulties  however  great. 
To  the  racing  man  it  is  the  scene 
of  no  racecourses,  except  at  Yar- 
mouth ;  yet,  as  upheld  by  Lord 
Hastings  at  Melton  Constable, 
and  in  the  future  by  Mr.  Musker 
at  Rushford,  it  is  the  home  of 
breeding  and  training  racehorses, 
and  those  of  no  mean  standard. 

Borderbr. 


238 


[October 


The    Pointer. 

By  Sir  Walter  Gilbey,  Bart. 


It  may  be  of  interest  to  your 
readers  to  consider  the  history 
of  the  modern  pointer.  At  the 
time  when  George  Stubbs  painted 
his  picture  of  the  Spanish,  or, 
as  it  was  long  denominated,  the 
double-nosed  pointer,  the  breed 
had  been  well  established  in 
England,  and  prominent  sports- 
men occupied  themselves  in  im- 
proving the  strain.  That  the 
Spanish  pointer  differed  in  some 
essential  respects  from  the  modern 
English  pointer  is  obvious  from 
this  picture  by  the  great  animal 
artist  ;  it  was  heavier  in  build, 
somewhat  shorter  on  the  leg,  and 
the  head  was  less  elegant  in 
shape.  The  peculiar  formation 
of  the  nostrils  which  gave  the 
animal  its  alternative  name  has 
long  since  been  bred  out  of  the 
modern  pointer  without  sacrifice 
of  scenting  powers ;  but  its  colour, 
liver  and  white,  is  perpetuated  in 
some  of  the  best  Field  Trial 
Kennels  of  the  present  day. 

The  precise  date  of  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Spanish  pointer 
into  this  country  cannot  now  be 
ascertained.  It  is  stated  that  a 
certain  Baron  Bechill,  a  Norfolk 
sportsman,  was  the  first  to  import 
specimens  from  Spain  about  the 
year  1720.  It  is  probable  that 
the  latter  period  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  or  the  first  quarter 
of  the  eighteenth  century  was 
the  period  that  saw  the  impor- 
tation of  this  dog,  for  shooting 
birds  on  the  wing  was  then  be- 
coming general  among  English 
sportsmen,  and  adoption  of  this 
practice  would  give  good  reason 
for  employment  of  a  dog  which 
could  render  such  invaluable 
assistance.  Guns  were  of  course 
used  for  sporting  purposes  long 
before  that  period ;  Edward  VI., 
in   1548,    passed   an   Act   which 


forbade  "the  shooting  of  hayle 
shot,"  but  there  is  a  passage  in 
the  statute  which  indicates  that 
the  gunner  of  the  time  shot  his 
birds  sitting.  When  shooting  on 
the  wing  began  to  grow  popular, 
the  cumbrous  mechanism  of  sport- 
ing firearms  made  the  employ- 
ment of  dogs  peculiarly  necessary. 

The  circumstance  that  Spain 
was  the  country  from  which  our 
sporting  forefathers  obtained  their 
first  pointers  is  not  without  inter- 
est ;  it  reflects  once  more  the  high 
position  Spain  held  among  the 
nations  of  Europe.  Spanish 
horses  had  long  been  prized  in 
England  as  in  France,  Germany 
and  Italy ;  and  the  fact  that  the 
best  dog  for  the  gun  had  been 
produced  in  that  country  points 
to  the  ability  of  Spanish  breeders 
and  to  a  taste  for  sports  among 
the  upper  classes. 

The  advantage  to  be  obtained 
in  introducing  into  this  country 
the  Spanish  pointer,  with  his  un- 
deniably good  scenting  power, 
was  to  improve  the  then  existing 
breed.  Owing  to  the  dry,  hot 
climate  of  Spain,  the  scent  on 
the  soil  of  that  country  is  natur- 
ally meagre  compared  to  the  scent 
which  hangs  to  our  strong  lands 
and  moist  climate,  consequently 
the  effect  of  cross-breeding  was  to 
produce  a  keener  hunter. 

In  the  middle  of  the  last  century 
the  dog  termed  the  pointer  was 
well  depicted  in  a  large  painting 
by  George  Stubbs,  R.A.,  which 
work  is  now  hanging  in  the 
mansion  of  William  Fuller  Mait- 
land,  Esq.,  at  Stansted  Hall, 
Essex.  It  was  reproduced  in 
mezzotint  at  the  time,  and  is  a 
splendid  specimen  of  engraving 
of  the  last  century.  The  dog 
portrayed  was  the  property  of 
Lord  Claremont,  and  was  named 


i«99J 


RACEHORSES   FROM   AUSTRALIA. 


239 


"  Phyllis."  There  is  also  in  exist- 
ence another  sporting  painting,  by 
Stubbs,  of  a  similar  dog,  now  in 
the  possession  of  R.  N.  Sutton 
Nelthorpe,of  Scorby,  Lincolnshire. 

For  many  years  the  old  breed, 
with  the  intermixture  of  the 
blood  of  the  Spanish  importa- 
tion, satisfied  the  requirements 
of  English  sportsmen,  but  in 
course  of  time,  probably  in  sym- 
pathy with  improvements  in  guns 
which  made  more  certain  and 
rapid  fire  possible,  endeavours 
were  made  to  correct  in  the  breed 
defects  which  had  not  before  been 
held  of  consequence. 

The  famous  Colonel  Thornton, 
of  Thornville  Royal,  in  Yorkshire, 
is  entitled,  it  is  believed,  to 
credit,  for  having  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  modern  breed.  Colonel 


Thornton,  whose  extraordinary 
career  was  at  its  zenith  between 
1780  and  1 810,  was  famed  for  his 
sporting  dogs — as  well  he  might 
be,  for  he  spared  neither  trouble 
nor  money  to  procure  the  best  of 
everything  pertaining  to  sport. 
He  crossed  the  then  breed  of  point- 
ers with  the  English  foxhound, 
and  produced  a  more  speedy  dog 
for  the  gun.  The  English  pointer 
of  to-day  is  descended  from  this 
mixture  of  blood  of  the  three 
breeds,  the  early  English  pointer, 
the  Spanish  pointer,  and  the  more 
speedy  English  foxhound. 

George  Stubbs'  picture,  here 
reproduced,  was  painted  in  the 
year  1768,  and  was  also  engraved 
at  that  date.  The  picture  is  now 
in  the  collection  of  the  King  of 
Bavaria  at  Schleissheim. 


Racehorses  from  Australia. 


To  most  English  readers  the 
name  of  Australia  in  connexion 
with  sport  will,  at  the  present 
moment,  instinctively  suggest  the 
exploits  of  Jones  and  Gregory 
and  Noble  and  their  colleagues. 
The  Australian  invaders  whom 
I  purpose  to  lay  before  the  readers 
tf  Baily  are  not  bipeds,  but 
juadrupeds.  Between  Australian 
fricketers  and  Australian  race- 
horses I  can  only  think  of  one 
joint  of  likeness.  Mr.  A.  G. 
Steel,  in  one  of  his  delightful  con- 
ributions  to  the  Badminton 
ricket-book,  tells  how  on  the 
occasion  when  the  first  Australian 
earn  visited  England,  a  distin- 
guished and  reverend  member  of 
he  M.C.C.  addressed  him  on  the 
lavilion  with  "  Well,  Mr.  Steel, 
Ol  hear  you  are  going  to  play 
gainst  the  niggers  on  Monday/' 
ad  was  forthwith  put  to  shame 
[hen  Spofforth  was  introduced  to 
im  as  "  the  demon  nigger  bowler." 


Some  such  delusion  seems  to  have 
got  into  certain  people's  mind 
about  the  Australian  racehorses 
who  have  visited  us.  They  are 
occasionally  written  of  as  if  they 
were  made  of  different  material 
from  our  English  thoroughbreds, 
descended,  I  suppose  it  is  thought, 
from  "  brumbies  "  who  have  wan- 
dered free  over  the  plains  of 
Australia,  instead  of  being  animals 
whose  ancestors,  near  or  far, 
crossed  the  sea  and  who  in  com- 
mon with  their  parents  have  been 
subjected  to  somewhat  different 
influences  of  climate  and  treat- 
ment. 

I  remember  reading  somewhere 
e*  other  a  newspaper  article  which 
held  forth  on  the  conspicuous  merits 
of  Dieudonn6's  pedigree,  though 
two.  crosses  of  Hermit  might,  I 
think,  have  inspired  some  little 
distrust.  It  was  specially  claimed 
for  him  that  he  was  quite  un- 
contaminated   by  any  Australian 


240 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[OCTOBfR 


mixture.  That  criticism  recurred 
to  me  somewhat  forcibly  when  at 
Ascot  in  the  St.  James's  Palace 
Stakes  I  saw  Dieudonne  with  his 
race  well  won  at  the  Spagnoletti 
board,  suddenly  curl  up  like  a 
cheese  maggot  on  the  first  symp- 
tom of  pressure.  And  then  I  re- 
membered how  in  the  last  Cesare- 
witch  I  had  seen  the  horses  sweep 
past  me  some  fifty  yards  from  the 
posts.  The  Rush,  with  his  race 
seemingly  in  hand,  and  Merman 
at  his  shoulder,  "  faint  but  pursu- 
ing," and  finally  struggling  home 
under  as  severe  pressure  as  ever  I 
saw  put  on  a  horse.  I  cannot  re- 
member to  have  seen  with  my 
own  eyes  such  a  display  of  pluck 
since  Albert  Victor  and  Sterling 
fought  out  the  Queen's  Vase — 
that  was  in  the  happy  pre- 
Sandown  days,  when  a  Queen's 
Vase  was  thought  worth  winning 
— and  Mr.  Cartwright's  horse  wor- 
ried down  his  speedier  and  longer- 
striding  opponent  by  sheer  game- 
ness.  Not  that  there  was  any 
faint-heartedness  shown  by  that 
good  and  unlucky  horse,  the 
Rush.  But,  take  our  horses  all 
through,  there  is  none  too  much 
of  the  Tom  Sayers  temper  among 
them,  and  if  the  Australian  blood 
can  give  us  something  of  it,  we 
ought  to  be  grateful,  even  if  it 
costs  us  a  little  of  that  high-class 
quality  and  dash  of  which  we  have 
no  lack. 

And  if  the  Australian  cross  does 
not  at  once  give  us  Derby  win- 
ners, or  even  Cup  horses,  there  is 
every  reason  to  hope  that  it  will 
revive  that  soundness  of  limb  and 
hardiness  of  constitution,  those 
"  wear  and  tear  "  qualities  which 
among  our  own  horses  are  some- 
what on  the  wane.  Year  by  year 
it  seems  becoming  more  and  more 
an  accepted  doctrine  that  a  hard 
race  necessitates  a  temporary  re- 
tirement to  the  shelf.  Time  was 
when  it  was  thought  that  a  Leger 


winner  "  feared  his  fate  too  much  or 
his  deserts  were  small "  if  he  was 
not  ready  to  face  all  and  sundry 
in  the  Cup.  Who  thinks  of  such 
a  thing  nowadays  ?  And  yet  our 
three-year-olds  are  in  outer  aspect 
far  more  mature.  Ever  should  it 
be  remembered  to  the  honour  of 
Voltaire  that  he  begot  two  sons 
capable  of  winning  the  Leger 
"at  twice,"  and  then  on  Friday 
tackling,  the  one  Beeswing  and 
Lanercost,  the  other  the  hitherto 
unbeaten  Dutchman.  And  Buck- 
stone  showed  himself  a  worthy 
member  of  that  tribe  when  on  iron 
ground  and  under  a  June  sun  he 
ran  a  dead  heat  for  the  Ascot  Cup 
in  the  remarkable  time  of  4mm. 
24secs. — anyone  with  half  an  eye 
could  see  that  it  was  an  excep- 
tionally fast  run  race — and  then 
won  the  decider  in  eight  seconds 
less.  His  opponent,  Tim  Whif- 
fler,  too,  inherited  some  rare  old 
staying  strains,  on  the  one  side 
Tramp  through  Lanercost  and 
Van  Tromp,  on  the  other  Venison 
and  the  stout  blood  of  Lord 
Egremont.  With  such  perform- 
ances as  those  of  Charles  XII., 
Voltigeur  and  Buckstone,  before 
one,  it  is  strange  that  there  should 
ever  have  been  two  opinions  as  to 
the  overwhelming  merit  of  the 
Blacklock  blood. 

Nowadays  to  divide  a  big  race 
after  a  dead  heat  is  looked  on  as 
quite  the  normal  course,  humane 
and    sportsmanlike.     I    well    re- 
member meeting  that  old-fashioned 
racing    enthusiast,    Sir     Francis 
Doyle,  reared  in  reverence  for  the 
old   northern    giants,   Filho    and 
Reveller,  and  Fleur-de-lis  and  the 
like,  just  after  the  Derby  dead 
heat  of  1884.  "  Well,  Sir  Francis,  ■ 
what  did  you  think  of  a  divided 
Derby  ?  "    Those  who  remember 
him  will  understand  how  his  stick 
came  down  on  the  pavement  and 
the  corners  of  his  mouth  became 
parenthetical :  "The  owners  ought 


i*99J 


RACEHORSES   FROM  AUSTRALIA. 


24I 


both  to  have  been  flogged  on  top 
of  the  hill ! "     Corporal    punish- 
ment publicly  administered  was, 
by  the  way,  his  favourite  remedy 
for  breaches  of  his  unwritten  code 
of  Turf  morals.   I  have  a  letter  by 
me  in  which  he  vented  his  wrath 
on   Lord    Grosvenor,    who    sold 
Mambrino  to  the  Americans — "  for 
which  he  ought    to    have    been 
publicly  flogged  on  the  quay  at 
Liverpool — or  I  suppose  Bristol." 
I  think  his  heart  would  have 
gone  out  to  our  kinsmen  beyond 
the  sea  if  he  had  known  the  kind 
of  tasks  tbat  they  ask  from  their 
horses,    and    that     successfully. 
Take  the  doings  of  Aurum,  now 
among  us,  as  a  three-year-old.    At 
the  Flemington  meeting  early  in 
the  season  his  "  record "  was  as 
follows.     (Let  it  be  premised  that 
here  as  is  usual  in  the  Antipodes, 
the  racing  is  on  alternate  days.) 
As   a    two-year-old  Aurum    had 
run  for  eight  races,  and  won  them 
all  easily.     Consequently  he  was 
handicapped    for  the  Melbourne 
Cup,  to  be  run  on  the  second  day 
at  Flemington  with  8st.  61b.  This, 
be.it  remembered,  is  early  in  the 
season.   We  should  think  it  rather 
a  large  order  if  even  in  these  days 
when  the  Chester  Cup  is  some- 
what decadent,  a    three-year-old 
had    to    carry    8s t.    61b.   for    it. 
Perhaps    the    Kempton    Jubilee 
would   be    a   better    parallel.      I 
think  we  may  be  very  sure  that  if 
a  three-year-old  did  so  adventure 
himself  he  would  not   be  pulled 
out  two  days  earlier.     Yet  that 
was  what  befell  Aurum.     On  the 
first  day  of  the  meeting  he  started 
for  the  Victoria  Derby  over  a  mile 
and  a  half;   2  to  1  was  laid  on 
him,  but  he  was,  it  is  said,  inter- 
fered with,  and  only  ran  second. 
In  all  likelihood  the  excuse  was  a 
good  one.     Amberite,   who   beat 
him,   had  twice    finished  behind 
him  in  the  previous  year,  and  at 
this  very  Flemington  meeting  they 


again  met  three  times,  and  each 
time  Aurum  had  the  best  of  it. 

In  the  Melbourne  Cup  itself 
Aurum  could  only  get  third, 
while  Amberite,  with  2lbs.  less, 
was  nowhere.  On  the  third  day 
Aurum  won  a  seven  furlong  race, 
with  Amberite  third.  On  the 
fourth  and  last  day  he  won  two 
races,  the  first,  in  which  he  again 
beat  Amberite,  over  a  mile  and  a 
quarter,  the  second  at  two  miles. 

I  am  not  sure  that  the  perform- 
ances of  Carbine's  son  Wallace 
are  not  even  more  impressive. 
Like  many  good  stayers,  Fan- 
dango, Skirmisher,  Fisherman, 
Tim  Whiffler  and  Hampton  for 
example,  Wallace  showed  little 
promise  as  a  two-year-old,  only 
winning  once  in  eight  attempts. 
Owners  and  trainers  of  Carbine's 
stock  will  do  well  to  bear  this  in 
mind.  Wallace  began  his  three - 
year-old  career  by  winning  on 
October  12  th  (in  the  Australian 
spring,  I  need  hardly  remind  my 
readers)  the  Caulfield  Guineas,  a 
mile  race.  At  the  Flemington 
meeting,  not  three  weeks  later, 
he,  like  Aurum,  ran  every  day. 
On  the  first  day  he  won  the 
Victoria  Derby,  on  the  second  he 
ran  unplaced  for  the  Melbourne 
Cup,  on  the  third  he  ran  second 
for  a  seven  furlong  race,  and  on 
the  last  he  ran  a  dead  heat  over 
two  miles.  Nor  should  the  per- 
formances of  Wallace's  rival  and 
Aurum's  sister  Auraria  at  the 
same  meeting  be  overlooked.  She 
ran  third  for  the  Derby  won  by 
Wallace,  she  won,  carrying  7st. 
4lb.,  the  Melbourne  Cup,  in  which 
he  was  nowhere,  and  it  was  with 
her  that  he  ran  his  dead  heat  on 
the  last  day.  On  February  29th, 
Wallace  ran  second  over  the 
Derby  distance,  on  March  3rd  he 
was  second  for  a  big  handicap  at 
two  miles  and  a  quarter,  giving 
2 ilbs.  to  the  six-year-old  winner, 
and  on  March  3rd,  at  weight  for 


242 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


age,  he  ran  a  dead  heat  over  three 
miles  with  Quiver,  a  first-class 
four-year-old. 

A  bare  month  elapses  and  we 
find  Wallace  at  the  Australian 
Jockey  Club  Meeting  winning  on 
the  first  day  the  Leger  at  a  mile  and 
three-quarters,  on  the  second  the 
Sydney  Cup,  a  two  mile  handicap, 
with  8st.  I2lb.,  and  on  the  third 
a  weight  for  age  race  at  two  miles. 

It  is  worth  notice  that  both 
Aurum  and  Wallace  are  not  only 
grandsons  of  Musket,  but  also 
possess  the  Fisherman  blood,  the 
former  inheriting  it  on  both  sides, 
the  latter  twice  and  at  close  quar- 
ters, through  his  dam.  And  of  all 
horses  there  perhaps  never  was 
one  who  combined  as  Fisherman 
did,  the  hardness  of  an  every  day 
plater  with  the  brilliancy  of  a 
first-class  Cup  horse. 

I  wonder  whether  any  sup- 
porters of  the  Australian  Turf 
know  how  much  they  owe  to  the 
late  Tom  Dawson.  .  My  readers 
will  no  doubt  many  of  them  re- 
member how  Lord  Glasgow  used 
to  have  periodical  battues,  whereat 
wholesale  execution  was  done  on 
the  useless  or  unpromising  mem- 
bers of  his  stud.  The  conditions 
of  his  will,  whereby  his  horses 
were  left  to  General  Peel  and  Mr. 
Payne,  without  option  of  sale, 
necessitated  a  continuance  of  the 
same  policy.  Among  the  victims 
one  day  led  out  into  the  yard  at 
Tupgill  for  execution,  was  a  brown 
colt  by  Toxophilite,  who  was 
judged  by  his  early  trials  to  be 
hopelessly  slow.  Tom  Dawson 
thought  there  was  promise  in  the 
colt  and  interceded.  Happily  Mr. 
Payne  was  one  of  those  people  to 
whose  lips  yes  came  easier  than 
no.  He  gave  way,*  somewhat 
grudgipgly,  it  is  said,  and  Musket 
was  saved,  much  as  Dr.  Syntax 
was  rescued  by  Mr.  Riddell's 
trainer  from  a  less  tragic,  if  even 
more  ignominious  fate. 


As  a  three-year-old  Musket  was 
good  enough  to  win  the  Ascot 
Stakes  under  8s t.  I2lb.  But  the 
company  was  very  bad,  and  un- 
doubtedly his  reputation  as  a 
racehorse  must  rest  on  his  per- 
formance that  autumn  in  the 
Shrewsbury  Cup,  a  two  mile  race 
then  of  considerable  importance. 
He  beat  at  even  weights  the  four- 
year-old  Cardinal  York,  just  fresh 
from  a  Cesarewitch  victory  with 
7st.  81b.  on  his  back.  The  Car- 
dinal was  a  horse  who  could  go 
fast  as  well  as  stay,  as  was  shown 
by  his  second  in  the  Cambridge- 
shire. This  performance  of  Musket 
was  supplemented  by  a  victory 
next  year  in  the  Alexandra  Plate. 
Nevertheless,  when  the  conditions 
of  Lord  Glasgow's  will  expired 
and  Musket  came  into  the  market, 
he  was  suffered  to  leave  the 
country  for  the  very  moderate 
price  of  ^"700.  Nor  consider- 
ing the  very  strong  tendency  to 
roaring  which  he  inherited  on 
the  one  side  through  Longbow, 
and  on  the  other  through  Mel- 
bourne, can  one  fairly  blame  Eng- 
lish breeders  for  letting  him  go. 

Of  his  representatives  who 
have  come  back  to  us  Carbine 
has  been  already  described  in  the 
pages  of  Baily.  Musket's  other 
distinguished  son,  now  with  us, 
Trenton,  is  three  years  Carbine's 
senior.  To  have  run  second  for 
the  Melbourne  Cup  at  five  years 
old  under  gst.  51b.  stamps  him  as 
a  good  horse,  but  I  think  there 
can  be  no  question  as  to  the 
superiority  of  Carbine  on  the  turfc 
At  the  stud  it  is  perhaps  hardly 
fair  to  compare  them,  as  Trenton 
had  four  years'  start  of  his  rival. 
But  so  far  as  their  careers  run 
parallel,  Trenton  certainly  stands 
well  away  not  only  from  his  half- 
brother,  but  from  all  colonial 
sires.  In  appearance  he  is  dis- 
tinctly less  of  a  typical  Australian 
horse  than  Carbine.     Whatever 


1%] 


RACEHORSES   FROM  AUSTRALIA. 


243 


imported   strains    may    be   bred 
from,  there  seems  a  tendency  to 
develop  rather  long  drooping  hind- 
quarters of   a  greyhound    type, 
with  powerful    hocks    near    the 
ground,  and  somewhat  plain  but 
business-like  fore  hands.     That 
is  the  general  type  to  which  Car- 
bine  and  Carnage,  Abercorn  and 
Merman  conform.    Trenton  is  an 
upstanding  horse  with  a  stylish 
fore  hand,     faultless    shoulders, 
which  he  uses  in  his  walk  as  few 
horses  can,  and  rather  doubtful 
hocks — not  an  uncommon  failing 
in  the  Toxophilite  blood,  and  one 
which  will    necessitate    care    in 
crossing   it    with     the     Galopin 
strain.    In   one  point,    however, 
the  possession  of  excellent  fore- 
legs, Trenton  is  quite   a  typical 
Australian.     As  to  blood,   I    do 
not  know  that  there  is  much  to 
choose     between     Carbine     and 
Trenton.     It   is  in  favour  of  the 
former    that     he    goes    back    to 
Mulatto's  daughter,  Martha  Lynn. 
There  is  no   harder    or    stouter 
blood  in  the  Stud  Book  than  that 
of  Catton  and  his  son   Mulatto. 
1   remember    an    old    Yorkshire 
racing  man  saying  to  me  of  Volti- 
geur,  that   he  had  contrived  to 
combine  Blacklock's  stride  with 
Mulatto's    forelegs.     Musket,   be 
it  remembered,  inherits  Catton's 
blood  through  Miss  Bowe,  and  I 
have  little   doubt    that    Carbine 
owes    much    of   his    exceptional 
stoutness  to  his  double  portion  of 
it.    On  the  other  hand,  Trenton's 
dam    is    by  Goldsborough.     He 
was  by  a  descendant  of  Weather- 
tit  out  of  a  Fisherman  mare,  and 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  two 
strains  of  Sheet  Anchor,  one  of 
them  coming  through  Fisherman, 
form   a    tower  of  strength  in  a 
pedigree.  So  instead  of  endeavour- 
ing to  compare  the  relative  merits 
and    the    prospects    of   the  two 
horses,  I  prefer,  to  think  that  there 
is  ample  room  for  both. 


Trenton's  son  Aurum,  of  whom 
I  have  already  spoken,  is  of  a 
wholly  different  type.  The  criti- 
cism which  at  once  rises  to  one's 
lips  is  "  a  neat  little  horse — would 
make  a  nice  i2st.  hunter."  But 
a  closer  examination  shows  that 
under  that  apparently  cobby  as- 
pect there  is  plenty  of  length  and 
power  where  it  is  really  wanted. 
He  is  after  the  pattern  of  Touch- 
stone and  Hampton.  An  even 
closer  likeness  may  be  found  in 
the  portrait  of  Bedlamite  in  Mr. 
Taunton's  Gallery  of  famous  race- 
horses. 

Carnage  has  left  us,  and  I  think 
it  is  to  be  regretted.  He  was  a 
good,  honest,  not  quite  first-class 
racehorse,  in  appearance  a  smaller 
and  more  compact  edition  of  Car- 
bine, marvellously  powerful  for 
his  size  and  with  limbs  which 
looked  as  if  no  work  could  shake 
them.  His  blood  differs  but  little 
from  that  of  Carbine.  Both  were 
from  the  same  mare,  Carbine  by 
Musket,  Carnage  by  Musket's 
son,  Nordenfeldt,  through  whose 
dam  came  the  invaluable  Fisher- 
man blood. 

Australia  has  preserved  for  us 
another  family  more  remote  from 
our  fashionable  strains  and  more 
wholly  extinct  in  this  country 
than  that  of  Musket.  Turf  tra- 
dition tells  one  that  in  run- 
ning off  the  dead  heat  for  the 
Derby  Cadland  defeated  The 
Colonel  wholly  through  Robinson's 
brilliant  riding  and  the  failure  of 
Bill  Scott's  nerve.  Looking  at 
The  Colonel's  subsequent  run- 
ning and  his  known  inferiority  to 
his  luckless  stable  companion 
Velocipede,  it  is  difficult  not  to 
think  that  the  best  horse  won. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  there  was 
nothing  in  The  Colonel's  stud 
career  to  make  breeders  lament 
over  the  disappearance  of  the 
blood.  He  got  one  rather  brilliant 
but  very  infirm  horse  in  Chat- 


244 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[October 


ham,  and  he  figures  in  the  pedi- 
grees of  Red  Heart,  Andover  and 
Rifleman,  and  that  is  about  all. 
About  1830  a  son  of  his  named 
Cap-a-pie  was  exported  to  New 
South  Wales.  His  dam  was  by 
Sultan  from  a  Waxy  mare,  excel- 
lent blood,  no  doubt,  but  the 
performances  of  his  immediate 
relations  (he  himself  never  ran  in 
England)  would  have  led  no  one 
to  foresee  a  great  future  for  him 
or  his  progeny.  But  in  a  happy 
hour  he  was  mated  with  a  mare 
closely  related  to  himself,  by  Sir 
Hercules,  dam  by  Partisan.  Sir 
Hercules  and  The  Colonel,  be  it 
remembered,  were  got  respectively 
by  Whalebone  and  his  brother 
Whisker,  and  they  as  well  as 
Partisan  were  grandsons  both  of 
Pot-8-o's  and  Prunella.  The  off- 
spring, called  after  his  grandsire 
Sir  Hercules,  begot  Yattendon,  a 
horse  whose  services  to  the  Aus- 
tralian Turf  have  been  only  second 
to  those  of  Musket.  His  blood 
was  carried  on  through  Grand 
Flaneur,  an  unbeaten  racehorse, 
and  Chester,  and  of  both  these 
lines  we  have  representatives  in 
this  country. 

Grand  Flaneur  is  represented 
by  Merman  and  Patron.  No  one 
could  claim  for  Merman  that  he 
is  more  than  a  very  sound  second- 
class  horse.  It  is  not  often  that 
a  horse's  stud  record  rises  very 
greatly  above  his  Turf  perform- 
ance (though  it  often  falls  short  of 
it),  and  we  can  hardly  anticipate 
that  Merman  is  to  be  a  sire  of 
kings.  Moreover,  he  is  far  from 
a  good  mover,  and  I  think  most 
of  my  readers  will  agree  that  this 
is  no  small  fault  in  a  sire.  Still  I 
venture  to  believe  that  if  he  goes  to 
the  stud  in  this  country  his  name 
in  a  pedigree  will  always  be  a  guar- 
antee for  gameness  and  hardness. 

His  half-brother  Patron  is  quite 
a  different  type  of  horse.  He  is 
full   i6h.    2in.,   with    very    light 


action  and  with  more  style,  and 
less  length  and  "  wear  and  tear" 
look  than  most  of  the  Australian 
horses.  Of  horses  that  I  can  re- 
member, Citadel  is  perhaps  the 
best  parallel  to  him  in  looks  that 
I  can  think  of.  His  Melbourne 
Cup  victory,  easily  achieved  as  a 
five-year-old  carrying  gst.  51b., 
stamps  him  as  a  first-class  horse 
over  a  distance  of  ground.  And 
yet  I  must  confess  that  he 
interests  and  appeals  to  me  less 
than  our  other  Australian  visitors. 

There  is  a  story  of  an  intelligent 
Hindoo  criticising  a  certain  Go- 
vernor General :  "  We  do  not  ad- 
mire him  as  much  as  you  do. 
You  say  he  has  a  hand  of  steel 
under  a  glove  of  silk.  We  do  not 
care  for  your  silk  glove.  We 
can  make  that  article  so  much 
better  for  ourselves.' '  We  can 
breed  fine  big  horses  of  the  Patron 
type,  though  not  all,  I  admit, 
with  such  bone.  Moreover,  three 
crosses  of  Melbourne  not  far  back 
hardly  suggests  stoutness  and 
soundness.  When  horses  of 
Patron's  size  and  build  stay,  it 
is  generally  not  from  innate 
hardness,  but  because,  as  with 
Morion  and  Ladas,  an  ordinary 
opponent  cannot  go  fast  enough 
to  extend  them. 

To  me  a  far  more  attractive 
representative  of  the  Yattendon 
blood  is  Chester's  son  Abercorn* 
His  two-  and  three-year-old  re- 
cords were  good  ones,  including 
the  Australian  Jockey  Club  Derby, 
the  Leger  and  the  Three  Mik 
Champion  Stakes  at  Flemingtonu 
Next  season  the  mighty  star  of 
Carbine  arose.  Abercorn,  how 
ever,  held  his  own  against 
younger  rival  better  than  any 
his  contemporaries.  In  a  rub 
of  seven  Carbine  just  scored 
odd  trick.  At  a  mile  and  a  q 
ter,  a  mile  and  a  half,  at 
miles  and  a  quarter  Abercorn 
successful.     Twice  Carbine 


l%] 


RACEHORSES   FROM   AUSTRALIA. 


245 


him    at    two     miles    and    twice 
at  three,    and    one    may    fairly 
assume,  I  think,  that  the  son  of 
Musket  was  distinctly  the  better 
stayer.     Like  Trenton,  Abercorn 
inherits  through  his  dam  the  in- 
valuable blood  of  Goldsborough, 
hacked  up   by  more  of  the  old 
Bishop    Burton    blood,    that    of 
Tramp    and     Mandane    through 
Liverpool    and  Lottery.    To  de- 
scribe  a    horse    in    conventional 
fashion  as  low  and  lengthy  with 
the  best  of  limbs,  or  to  attempt  an 
inventory  of  his  points,  as  Olivia 
did  of  her  charms,  does  not  pro- 
duce any  very  definite  impression, 
and  the  comparative  method    is 
when  it  can  be  adopted,  I  think,  the 
best.  But  I  cannot  call  to  mind  any 
very  exact  likeness  to  Abercorn. 
In  his  racing  days  I  should  guess 
that  he  was  not    unlike  Border 
Minstrel,  though  probably  stronger 
limbed  and  more   angular.     The 
portrait  of  Fandango  suggests  a 
likeness.     That  is  confirmed    by 
the " Druid's"  description  of  "  The 
tew  and  lengthy  Fandango,  with 
those  great  hooped  ribs  knit  into 
the  most  muscular  of  quarters." 
At  all  events,  I  feel  pretty  sure  that 
if  Abercorn  had  to  meet  all  his 
Australian    brethren   in    a    show 
ring  with  a  hunting  judge  the  first 
,  prize  ribbon  would  go  to  him,  and 
a  good  many  of  our  crack  English 
ares  might  be  thrown  in  without 
affecting  the  result. 

It  may  seem  matter  for  regret 
Mod  even  reproach  that  we  should 
■flow  be  bringing  back  from  Aus- 
tralia  what  we  let  go  so  cheaply. 
Neither  in  the  case  of  the  Musket 
ifor  the  Cap-a-pie  strains  do  I  take 
t  view.  There  were  quite 
ugh  weak  points  about  Musket 
nably  to  deter  English 
s.  I  greatly  doubt  whether 
he  had  stayed  here,  and  even  if 
had  been  well  supported,  he 
d  have  given  us  Trentons 
Carbines.     Roaring,  be  it  re- 


membered, is  an  Jinknown  danger 
"down  below."  The  blood  has 
come  back  to  us  purified  and  re- 
novated by  its  altered  conditions, 
and .  even  now  breeders  will  do 
well  to  remember  that  it  is  not  a 
strain  with  which  to  take  liberties. 
Wider  paddocks,  a  more  natural 
system  of  rearing,  the  prevalence 
of  long  distance  races,  have  all 
developed  that  hardness  of  limb 
and  stoutness  of  constitution  which 
were  latent  in  the  blood,  but  which 
under  our  conditions  would  never 
have  come  to  the  surface.  Nor, 
as  I  have  said,  is  there  the  least 
reason  to  suppose  that  Cap-a-pie 
would  have  had  a  distinguished 
career  if  he  had  remained  in  this 
country. 

There  is,  however,  one  great 
Australian  strain,  for  the  banish- 
ment of  which  English  breeders 
are,  I  consider,  very  blameworthy. 
It  says  very  little  for  their  judg- 
ment that  such  a  horse'  as  Fisher- 
man should  ever  have  left  the 
country.  His  sire  Heron,  was  not, 
it  is  true,  a  " fashionable M  sire; 
but  he  was  a  most  genuine  stayer, 
and  it  was  only,  I  believe,  the 
whim  of  a  couple  of  elderly  ladies 
into  whose  hands  he  passed  which 
kept  him  practically  almost  locked 
up  when  at  the  stud.  In  limbs, 
temper  and  constitution,  Fisher- 
man was  exactly  the  horse  to 
supplement  the  shortcomings  of 
those  brilliant  but  rather  flashy 
strains  which  are  now  in  the  as- 
cendant. Let  me  give  one  instance 
of  his  endurance,  an  instance  which 
shows  whence  Aurum  and  Wal- 
lace and  Auraria  got  the  power 
which  enabled  them  to  go  through 
the  tasks  that  I  have  already  de- 
scribed. Nowadays  it  is  thought 
a  rare  exploit  if  a  horse  faces  the 
iron  ground  of  Ascot  twice  in  a 
meeting,  and  if  he  does  he  is  gene- 
rally the  worse  for  it.  In  1859 
Fisherman,  then  six  years  old, 
won  the  Ascot  Cup.     His  owner 


246 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


learnt  that  a  friend  had  backed 
the  old  horse  to  win  the  Queen's 
Plate  also.  Mr.  Starkie  was  not  a 
gentleman  ever  likely  to  err  on  the 
side  of  caution.  Fisherman  re- 
appeared and  polished  off  a  fresh 
field  of  horses  at  three  miles.  What 
should  we  say  nowadays  if  a  horse 
were  asked  to  win  the  Cup  and 
the  Alexandra  Plate  on  the  same 
day  ?  We  could  better  have 
spared  a  good  many  Derby  win- 
ners. 

Our  list  of  Australian  visitors 
does  not  include  a  descendant  of 
Fisherman  in  the  direct  male  line ; 
but  his  is  evidently  one  of  those 
strains  which,  like  Touchstone, 
makes  itself  felt  through  all  chan- 
nels, male  and  female,  direct  and 
indirect,  and  even  if  we  get  no 
more  of  the  blood,  Trenton  and 
Abercorn  will  bring  it  back  in  the 
female  line. 

The  less  a  man  commits  himself 
to  definite  and  confident  predic- 
tions on  a  matter  so  uncertain  as 
racehorse  breeding  the  wiser  he 
is.  In  comparing  English  and 
Australian  form,  all  that  we  have 
got  to  go  by  is  the  performance  of 
Merman ;  he  would  seem  to  be 
here  just  what  he  was  in  his  own 
country — a  good,  honest,  handicap 
horse,  and  the  chances  are  there- 
fore that  the  form  of  the  two 
countries  will  be  found  to  corres- 
pond pretty  closely.  It  is  quite 
conceivable  that  the  Australian 
sires  bringing  back  our  own  blood 
invigorated  by  a  new  climate  and 
conditions,  may  at  once  score  a 
brilliant  success.  We  may  have 
a  "  boom  "  in  Australian  sires  and 
their  produce,  and  if  so  I  shall 
expect  the  back  swing  of  the 
pendulum.  When  Gladiateur  won 
the  treble  event,  we  heard  wail- 
ing as  if  the  glory  had  wholly  de- 
parted from  the  English  Turf.  I 
remember  when,  in  the  year  of 
Iroquois'  Derby  and  Leger  vic- 
tories, Foxhall  achieved  a  feat  in 


the  Cambridgeshire  which  no 
English  three-year-old  had  ever 
attempted,  an  impulsive  friend  of 
mine  declared  "  we  can  never 
breed  horses  to  touch  these  Ame- 
ricans." Yet  there  has  been  no 
second  Gladiateur  or  Foxhall. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  possible 
that  the  immediate  offspring  of 
our  visitors  may  fall  short  in  the 
qualities  which  are  tested  on  an 
English  racecourse.  If  so,  I  feel 
pretty  sure  that  the  breeder  who 
looks  out  for  young  mares  by 
Carbine,  Abercorn  and  so  on,  will 
reap  his  reward.  AH  that  I 
really  want  to  impress  on  my 
readers  is  that  the  Australian 
horses  evidently  do  possess  cer- 
tain qualities  which  at  present  we 
greatly  need.  Those  who  look  on 
a  thoroughbred  horse  as  something 
more  than  an  instrument  of  gamb- 
ling, as  the  ultimate  foundation  on 
which  the  hunter,  the  cavalry 
horse,  the  general  utility  horse 
must  be  built  up,  must  surely  feel 
that  our  racehorses  are  not  doing 
all  they  might  for  us,  and  that  it 
is  well  worth  risking  a  little  in 
any  experiment  which  promises 
improvement. 

I  would  plead  on  exactly  the 
same  principle  for  another  Aus- 
tralian invader  which  threatens 
us,  the  starting-gate.  The  whole 
question  is  far  too  large  a  one  to 
be  discussed  at  the  fag  end  of  an 
article,  even  if  I  had  the  needful 
technical  knowledge,  which  I 
have  not.  But  it  needs  no  tech* 
nical  knowledge  to  see  that  many 
a  young  one  is  ruined  by  being 
hauled  about  and  swung  round 
and  fretted  by  repeated  jumps  off. 
And  how  can  anyone  be  confident 
that  a  system  which  has  suc- 
ceeded elsewhere  must  fail  here  ?  , 
Why  cannot  people,  instead  o£  j 
taking  the  attitude  of  advocates  j 
on  one  side  or  the  other,  frankly  J 
say  "  let  us  give  the  thing  a  good  M 
trial    and    then    make     up 


^V*""""""7**"**,^ 


FROM    "NIMROD'S"    HUNTING    REMINISCENCES. 


1899-3 


HISTORY   OF   THE    BELVOIR   HUNT. 


247 


minds?"  All  that  I  contend  for 
is  that  those  who  recommend  the 
change  have  made  out  a  very 
strong  prima  facie  case  for  experi- 
ment, and  that  it  is  neither  wise 
nor  honest  to  indulge  in  prophecies 
which  prevent  the  experiment 
from  being  fairly  made. 

And  in  conclusion  I  should  like 
to  say  a  word  concerning  another 
innovation  which  has  come  to  us 
from  Australia,  the  so-called  figure 
system  of  Mr.  Bruce  Lowe.  I 
have  already  criticised  that  sys- 
tem somewhat  fully  in  the  pages 
of  Baily,  and  my  friend  and  col- 
league, "  Borderer,"  has  also 
brought  his  large  practical  ex- 
perience to  bear  on  it.  I  have  no 
intention  of  going  over  the  ground 
again,  but  I  should  like  to  remind 
my  readers  that  the  only  test  of 
such  a  system  is  that  of  practical 
results.  At  the  end  of  my  article 
I  set  down  certain  definite  con- 
clusions which,  as  it  appeared  to 
me,  after  a  careful  study  of  Mr. 
Lowe's  book,  would    follow. .    I 


pointed  out  that  if  his  theories 
were  correct,  among  the  young 
sires  of  the  day  whose  merits  had 
not  yet  been  tested,  a  few,  whom 
I  tried  more  or  less  to  place  in 
order,  should  be  specially  success- 
ful. In  some  cases  those  expec- 
tations have  been  fulfilled,  in 
others  as  yet  falsified.  But  I 
should  like  to  point  out  that  Orme 
and  Isinglass  stood  high  on  the 
list.  And  I  should  also  like  to 
point  out  that  certain  young  sires 
in  whose  names  great  and  wholly 
unfulfilled  things  were  prophesied 
did  not  appear  on  that  list.  That 
I  think  at  least  confirms  the  view 
which  I  then  expressed  that  if 
Mr.  Lowe's  theories  do  nothing 
else,  they  hang  out  signal  lights 
to  warn  breeders  off  certain  sires, 
who  are  almost  certain  to  bring 
failure  with  them.  And  I  would 
add  that  if  I  had  to  re- write  the 
article  to-day  there  is  not  a  single 
horse  of  any  importance  who  has 
gone  to  the  stud  since,  whom  I 
should  care  to  include. 

J.  A.  D. 


History  of  the  Belvoir  Hunt. 


Mr.  Dale  has  enjoyed  the  best 
opportunities  for  compiling  his 
14  History  of  the  Belvoir  Hunt,"* 
having  had  access  to  the  volumin- 
ous records  preserved  at  Belvoir 
Castle,  and  we  may  say  at  once  that 
he  has  rendered  more  than  justice 
to  the  facilities  placed  at  his  com- 
mand. He  has  produced  a  book 
which  is  much  more  than  its  title 
promises,  a  book  which  stamps 
the  author  a  man  of  cultivated 
and  scholarly  tastes  and  broad 
sympathies  not  less  than  a  sports- 
ma  1.  He  has  indeed  been  for- 
tunate in  his  subject.   The  famous 

•  "The  HUtory  of  the  Belvoir  Hunt."    By  T. 
F/Dak,M.A.    Archibald  Constable  &  Co. 

VOL.  LXXII. — NO.  476. 


pack,  since  its  earliest  beginnings, 
has  remained  in  possession  of 
a  family  whose  members  have 
played  no  inconspicuous  part  in 
the  social  and  political  history  of 
the  country.  It  had  been  easy 
to  write  the  history  of  the  hunt 
without  trenching  upon  the  wider 
spheres  of  interest  involved  by  the 
high  position  and  varied  abilities 
of  the  Manners  family  ;  but  while 
Mr.  Dale's  record  centres  upon 
the  hunting-field  and  kennel  with 
scrupulous  care  for  the  detail  that 
hunt  history  demands,  he  invests 
it  with  stronger  claims  upon  at- 
tention by  sketching  the  parts 
taken    by  the    members    of   the 

19 


248 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


family  in  the  affairs  of  their  time, 
socially  and  as  soldiers  and  states- 
men. 

It  is  curious  that  we  should  owe 
the  earliest  mention  of  the  Belvoir 
pack  not  to  a  sportsman  but  to 
Michel  Maittaire,  some  time  tutor 
to  the  third  duke.  Maittaire  had 
plainly  a  profound  affection  for  his 
noble  pupil,  and  if,  as  Mr.  Dale 
says,  "  nothing  puzzles  and  vexes 
Maittaire  more  than  the  love  of 
the  duke  for  field  sports  and  for 
hunting,"  the  courtier-like  French- 
man conceals  his  perplexity  and 
vexation  in  his  letters  with  re- 
markable success.  There  are  four 
volumes  of  Maittaire's  letters  to 
the  duke  in  the  castle  library,  and 
the  correspondence  shows  conclu- 
sively, says  the  author,  that  a 
pack  of  foxhounds  had  been  in 
existence  for  some  time  previous 
to  1730,  which  date  has  been  as- 
signed by  some  authorities  as  that 
which  marks  the  commencement 
of  strict  foxhunting  by  the  Belvoir 
pack.  The  Belvoir  country  took 
shape  at  about  this  period,  and  it 
is  certain  that  the  third  duke,  who 
died  in  1779, "  was  the  first  master 
of  the  Belvoir  Hunt  as  we  know 
it  in  the  present  day."  Compari- 
son of  the  map  of  the  country 
drawn  by  "  Nimrod  "  in  the  year 
1825  with  modern  maps,  shows 
that  for  the  last  seventy-five  years, 
at  all  events,  the  area  hunted  by 
the  pack  has  undergone  little 
change  in  its  boundaries.  The  his- 
tory of  the  hunt  during  the  time 
of  the  Marquis  of  Granby,  who 
died  in  1770,  is  practically  un- 
written. The  marquis  is  better 
known  to  fame  as  a  soldier  than  a 
sportsman,  and  Mr.  Dale  is  no 
doubt  quite  correct  in  his  conjec- 
ture that  he  was  the  first  M.  F.  H. 
to  lead  a  cavalry  charge — at  War- 
burg in  1760.  It  is  quite  in 
accord  with  his  fame  as  a  soldier 
that  he  should  have  been  an  en- 
thusiastic    foxhunter :     he     paid 


great  attention  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  family  pack,  and  must 
be  regarded  as  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  modern  Belvoir  strain. 
What  perhaps  is  more  important 
from  the  wider  point  of  view  the 
Marquis  of  Granby's  own  popu- 
larity, due  to  his  military  successes, 
made  for  the  greater  popularity  of 
foxhunting.  In  his  day  a  hard 
and  fast  line,  inexplicable  to  us 
under  modern  conditions,  was 
drawn  between  "gentlemen  and 
foxhunters."  Town  life  and  coun- 
try life,  owing  largely  to  difficulties 
of  communication,  lay  apart,  and 
the  man  who  identified  himself 
with  the  pursuits  of  the  one  was 
held  in  contempt  by  the  other. 
Lord  Granby,  equally  esteemed 
among  all  classes,  held  a  position 
which  enabled  him  to  do  much  to- 
wards breaking  down  these  barriers 
of  prejudice ;  and  the  fact  that  a 
master  of  the  Belvoir  Hunt  was 
instrumental  in  laying  the  founda- 
tions of  a  great  social  change  alone 
entitles  the  Manners  family  to  a 
place  of  peculiar  importance  in 
sporting  history. 

It  was  during  the  long  minority 
of  John,  fifth  Duke  of  Rutland— 
1 787- 1 799 — that  the  most  system- 
atic and  careful  endeavours  to 
improve  the  pack  were  made. 
The  guardians  of  the  young  duke 
placed  Mr.  Perceval,  brother  of 
the  Prime  Minister,  at  the  head 
of  affairs  ;  and  Mr.  Perceval,  with 
the  aid  of  his  huntsman  Newman, 
set  themselves  to  improve  the 
hounds  by  the  importation  from 
neighbouring  kennels  of  sires 
boasting  size,  bone  and  other 
essentials  in  which  the  Belvoir 
kennel  was  lacking.  The  fifth 
duke,  when  he  attained  his  ma- 
jority, continued  the  system  begun 
by  Mr.  Perceval ;  he  purchased 
Mr.  George  Heron's  Cheshire 
pack  and  eleven  couples  by  the 
Pytchley  Dancer,  and  also  made 
use   of    Lord   Fitzwilliam's   best 


1899-1 

stallion  hounds.  Mr.  Dale  doubts 
whether  the  famous  "  Belvoir 
tan  "  was  derived  from  the  use  of 
Lord  Monson's  Dash  wood,  point- 
ing out  that  there  was  no  pre- 
dominance of  colour  in  the  Belvoir 
kennels  until  Mr.  Heron's  pack 
was  incorporated  with  the  duke's 
pack.  During  the  first  thirty- 
seven  years  or  so  of  the  present 
century  the  history  of  the  Belvoir 
hounds  and  their  sport   is    fully 


1  THE    BELVOIR   HUNT.  249 

Contemporary  writers  have  done 
something  to  repair  the  omission 
to  keep  journals  from  1829  to 
'855.  The"  Druid"  in  bis  famous 
Dick  Christian  lectures,  "Cecil" 
and  "  Nimrod "  among  others, 
afford  glimpses  of  the  sport  en- 
joyed during  this  period— which 
covers  the  greater  part  of  Lord 
Forester's  mastership.  In  the 
latter  year,  1855,  the  journals  are 
resumed  and  carried  on  in  turn 


GAMBLER. 

(From  tie  picture  by  Basil  Nightingale  at  Belvoir  Castle. ) 


recorded  in  the  dukes  own 
journals ;  and  it  is  fortunate  that 
this  record  should  exist  to  prove 
the  advances  made  in  hound 
breeding  by  Mr.  Perceval,  for  to 
bis  work  and  to  that  of  the  fifth 
Duke  the  Belvoir  pack  undoubt- 
edly owes  the  foundations  of  its 
fame.  Furthermore,  this  period 
embraces  the  first  thirteen  seasons 
of  Goosey's  career  as  huntsman. 


by  Lord   Forester,   W.  Goodall, 

iames  Cooper,  and  Frank  Gillard. 
-ord  Forester  was  one  of  the 
hardest  men  that  ever  rode  to 
hounds,  and  some  wonderful  runs 
were  scored  by  the  Belvoir  during 
his  reign  ;  Mr.  Dale  does  not  for- 
get particulars  of  the  famous  33- 
mile  run  on  December  18th,  1833, 
and  we  owe  him  thanks  for  tracing 
on  the  excellent  map  others  less 


250 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


well  known  and  nearly  as  re- 
markable. Good  runs  during 
the  "  Golden  Age  "  of  the  hunt, 
which  the  author  defines  as  1842- 
1859,  were  innumerable,  thanks 
largely  to  the  rare  talents  of 
Will  Goodall. 

It  is  safe  to  assert  that  no 
country  has  been  the  school  of 
more  and  keener  sportsmen  than 
the  Belvoir ;  and  prominent 
among  them  have  been  the  hunt- 
ing clergy.  The  Rev.  "  Jack  " 
Russell  himself  was  not  a  more 
famous  figure  in  the  west  country 
than  the  Rev.  J.  Houson  in  Lin- 
colnshire and  Leicestershire ;  one 
of  the  best  horsemen  of  his  time, 
Mr.  Houson  had  been  seen  to 
lead  the  Belvoir  field  when  eighty 
years  of  age,  so  wonderfully  did 
he  retain  the  nerve,  seat,  hands 
and  judgment  for  which  he  was 
famed. 

Mr.  Cuthbert  Bradley's  recent 
"  Reminiscences  of  Frank  Gil- 
lard  "  has  somewhat  taken  the 
wind  out  of  the  author's  sails 
when  he  comes  to  deal  with  the 
Belvoir  history  of  the  last  three 
decades;  but  the  great  hunts- 
man's personal  recollections  are 
rather  material  for  history  than 
history  itself,  and  Mr.  Dale  does 
rightly  in  giving  us  his  chapter 
"The   Old    Order  Changes,"   in 


which  he  treats  of  events  from 
1870  to  the  death  of  the  sixth 
Duke  in  1 888. 

Though   space    has    limits  we 
must  give  a  word  of  praise  to  the 
thought  which  prompted  inclusion 
as  an  Appendix  of  the  Hound  List 
showing  the  Belvoir  Entry,  with 
sires  and  dams  for  every  season 
from   1 79 1   to  1876.     The  author 
awards  to   Gambler,  whose  por- 
trait by  Mr.  Basil  Nightingale  is 
here   given   from    the   book,  the 
palm  as  the  best  hound  of  modern 
times,    but    owns   to    admiration 
scarcely     less    for     Dexter,    the 
"  pick  of  the  basket  M   of  which 
Ben    Capell    is    so    proud.    Mr. 
Frederick    Sloane    Stanley   con- 
tributes a  chapter  on  "  Personal 
Recollections"  from  1858  to  1888, 
and   thus   lends  completeness  to 
an  admirable  piece  of  work. 

Where  so  large  a  mass  of  facts 
and  dates  are  marshalled  errors 
are  bound  to  creep  in,  but  we  may 
point  out  that  George  Stubbs  was 
yet  unborn  at  the  date  (1719)  to 
which  Mr.  Dale  refers  a  picture  of 
Ringwood  by  that  famous  painter. 

We  have  to  express  our  obliga- 
tion to  Messrs.  Constable  for  kind 
permission  to  reproduce  the  map 
and  illustrations  here  given. 
Throughout,  the  illustrations  are 
well  chosen  and  of  great  merit. 


THE    REV.    J.    HOUSON, 
Late  Rector  of  Brant  Brouc.htoi 

(From  a  sketch  at  Belvoir  Castlt.) 


1899] 


251 


Deadly  Snakes  of  India. 


There  has  been  some  corre- 
spondence lately  in  the  papers 
about  the  various  poisonous  snakes 
of  India  and  enough  was  said  to 
show  how  vague  is  the  knowledge 
that  many  people  have  on  the 
subject.  It  may  not  be  out  of 
place  for  a  man  who  has  seen  and 
taken  some  interest  in  most  of 
them  to  record  in  Baily's  pages  a 
few  rough  notes  about  animals 
which  are  credited  with  causing 
annually  the  death  of  at  least 
20,000  of  our  fellow-subjects.  If 
this  vast  loss  of  life  occurred 
among  Europeans,  it  is  probable 
that  most  energetic  measures 
would,  long  ago  have  been  taken 
either  to  reduce  the  numbers  of 
the  deadly  creatures  or  at  least  to 
guard  against  their  fangs,  but 
among  the  seething  millions  of 
the  native  population,  the  deaths 
of  even  so  many  thousands  are 
hardly  noticeable,  and,  though 
they  may  be  regretted,  are  looked 
upon  as  an  almost  unavoidable 
portion  of  the  year's  mortality. 

First,  a  word  or  two  on  the 
method  of  injecting  its  poison 
which  the  snake  employs.  The 
fangs  that  make  the  wound  are 
not  at  all  times  carried  erect  in 
the  jaw,  but  are  generally  laid 
recumbent  and  harmless.  It  is 
only  when  the  animal  is  irritated 
and  about  to  strike  that  the  act  of 
opening  its  mouth  erects  the  fang 
and  makes  it  the  most  terrible  of 
weapons.  The  poison  itself  is 
contained  in  a  bag  or  gland,  be- 
hind the  fang  and  the  act  of 
striking  presses  the  gland,  dis- 
charging the  poison  through  a 
duct  into  the  base  of  the  fang, 
which  is  perforated  and  acts  like 
a  hypodermic  syringe.  A  wound 
is  made  by  the  needle-like  point 
through  which  pours  the  fluid 
that  has  been  stored  in  the  gland 


and,  if  this  mingles  with  the  blood 
of  the  man  or  beast  that  is  struck, 
death  is  the  almost  inevitable 
consequence.  Snakes  may  be 
rendered  harmless  for  evil  by  the 
removal  of  the  fang,  but  this 
effect  is  only  temporary,  for  by 
a  provision  of  nature  another 
hitherto  embryonic  fang  takes  the 
place  of  that  which  has  been  re- 
moved and  in  short  space  of  time 
becomes  as  deadly  a  weapon  as 
its  predecessor.  There  is  only 
one  way  in  which  a  poisonous 
snake  may  be  rendered  harmless 
and  that  is  by  the  excision  or 
complete  destruction  of  the  gland 
in  which  the  poison  is  secreted. 

The  danger  to  life  that  threatens 
Europeans  in  India  from  poison- 
ous snakes  is  very  small  indeed. 
Long  years  may  be  spent  in  our 
Eastern  Empire  without  ever  en- 
countering one  on  anything  like 
intimate  terms.  Some  may  of 
course  be  seen  but  they  will  gene- 
rally be  in  rapid  flight.  The 
well  shod  gentleman  or  lady 
makes  so  much  noise  by  his  or 
her  approach  that  the  nervous 
reptile  takes  quick  alarm  and 
removes  itself  before  its  presence 
can  be  detected,  and  it  is  only  by 
the  trail  that  it  has  left  in  dust  or 
mud  that  it  may  be  known  to 
have  its  home  somewhere  in  a 
garden  or  compound.  It  is  the 
barefooted  native,  whose  noiseless 
tread  gives  no  warning  of  his 
movement,  that  comes  suddenly 
upon  the  sleeping  death  and  may 
be  struck  by  the  frightened  crea- 
ture that  has  not  time  to  seek  its 
quiet  sanctuary.  The  English- 
men who  follow  field  sports  and 
are  familiar  with  country  villages 
and  the  wilds  of  the  jungle  may 
run  some  risks,  but  I  have  never 
heard  of  one  who  was  injured 
and,  though  on  every  shikar  trip 


252 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


some  snakes  may  be  seen,  it 
seems  to  be  almost  impossible 
that,  if  the  most  ordinary  pre- 
cautions are  observed,  their  power 
for  harm  can  ever  be  exercised. 

Of  all  the  poisonous  reptiles  in 
India,  the  one  best  known  by 
reputation  and  indeed  probably 
the  most  common  is  the  cobra  or 
hooded  snake.  It  is  found  every- 
where even  to  the  height  of  many 
thousand  feet  in  the  Himalayan 
mountains.  There  has  been  some 
discussion  and  a  good  deal  of  mis- 
conception as  to  the  size  to  which 
the  cobra  grows,  but  Sir  J.  Fayrer, 
the  most  exact  of  modern  ob- 
servers, says  that  he  has  never 
seen  one  more  than  5  ft.  8  in.  in 
length.  It  is  possible  that  larger 
specimens  may  exist,  but  it  may 
be  considered  as  certain  that  they 
very  rarely,  if  ever,  arrive  at  a 
length  of  6  ft.  There  are  appar- 
ently many  varieties  of  this  snake, 
distinguished  by  difference  of 
colouring,  &c,  and  snake  charmers 
profess  to  be  able  to  discriminate 
between  them  in  regard  to  their 
powers  of  destruction :  but  the 
difference  of  colour  is  most  proba- 
bly due  to  the  influence  of  natural 
surroundings  and  we  may  believe 
that  there  is  really  only  one  species, 
whose  members  vary  in  appear- 
ance, as  do  other  animals  accord- 
ing to  the  power  of  circumstances 
in  which  they  are  placed.  Wher- 
ever the  cobra  is  found  and  what- 
ever size  or  colour  it  may  present, 
there  is  no  doubt  that,  if  the 
animal  is  young  and  vigorous,  the 
intensity  of  its  poison  is  every- 
where equal. 

I  have  said  that  Europeans  see 
venomous  snakes  comparatively 
seldom,  but  it  does  not  follow  that 
because  they  are  not  seen,  the 
environs  of  a  bungalow  are  not 
haunted  by  two  or  three  families 
of  cobras.  They  are  nocturnal 
animals  and,  when  they  are  in 
search  of  food,  their  quest  com- 


mences after  nightfall.  It  is  a 
prudent  custom,  pretty  generally 
followed,  that  every  man  or 
woman  who  moves  about  a  canton- 
ment or  village  during  the  dark 
hours  should  stick  to  the  middle 
of  the  footpaths  and  either  carry 
a  lantern  himself  or  have  a  servant 
in  front  of  him  with  a  light  to 
dispel  the  shadows  in  his  way. 

The  food  of  the  cobra  is  like 
that  of  other  snakes,  principally 
small  animals,  insects,  frogs,  fish 
or  birds'  eggs.  The  prey  is  never 
masticated  but  is  swallowed  whole 
and  when  it  is  of  any  size,  the 
digestion  is  a  prolonged  operation, 
during  which  the  snake  is  in  a 
partially  comatose  and  harmless 
condition.  I  remember  on  one 
occasion  a  cavalry  regiment  with 
its  band  playing  was  returning  on 
foot  from  divine  service  at  the 
cau  ton  men  t  church.  Suddenly  the 
crash  of  the  musical  instruments 
melted  into  a  discordant  quaver 
and  then  ceased  altogether,  the 
bandsmen  scattering  right  and  left 
upon  the  road.  A  sleepy  cobra 
was  trailing  its  slow  length  across 
the  regiment's  route  and  checked 
it  most  effectually.  A  sergeant 
at  the  head  of  the  column  drew 
his  sword  and  cut  its  head  off 
before  it  could  escape  and  order 
was  quickly  restored  to  the  ranks. 
There  was  a  curiously  large 
elongated  bulge  in  the  body  of 
the  cobra,  and  when  it  was 
brought  into  barracks  and  ex- 
amined a  small  bandicoot  was 
found  in  the  stomach.  Only 
recently  swallowed,  it  was  still 
perfect  in  every  respect  and  its 
presence  accounted  for  the  lethargy 
of  the  cobra  and  the  ease  with 
which  it  was  killed. 

If  this  deadly  snake  is  to  be 
followed  to  its  home,  it  will 
generally  be  found  in  old  ruins, 
under  logs  of  wood,  in  cellars  or 
old  masonry,  the  roof  of  an  old  hut, 
a  hole  in  the  wall,  a  fowl-house, 


I899-] 


DEADLY   SNAKES   OF   INDIA. 


2.53 


but  even  during  the  day  the 
cobra  may  be  encountered  in  any 
cool,  quiet  spot,  even  among  the 
branches  of  a  tree.  It  wanders 
far  in  search  of  food,  and  if  it 
has  found  a  comfortable  shelter, 
it  may  remain  there  for  the  day 
instead  of  returning  to  its  nest. 
Woe  to  the  incautious  native  who 
steps  upon  or  suddenly  disturbs 
such  a  hiding-place.  The  cobra 
is  known  as  a  "do  guntawalla," 
which  means  that  its  bite  is  fatal 
in  two  hours,  and  indeed  the 
poison,  when  thoroughly  inocu- 
lated by  a  fresh  and  healthy 
animal  may  take  effect  in  even 
much  shorter  time.  Paralysis 
of  the  nerves  takes  place,  and  no 
treatment  has  yet  been  discovered 
that  has  the  smallest  effect  in 
saving  or  prolonging  life. 

It  might  be  supposed  that  a 
being  with  such  awful  destructive 
power  would  find  every  man's 
hand  against  it,  and  would  lead 
a  most  precarious  existence  near 
the  dwellings  of  human  kind,  but 
the  Hindoo  theology  makes  the 
cobra  an  object  of  superstitious 
veneration,  and  in  mythological 
histories  it  takes  an  important 
place.  Vishnu  is  depicted  lying 
asleep  on  the  folds  of  the  serpent 
Sesha,  or  piping  under  the  shadow 
given  by  the  outspread  hoods  of 
the  great  five-headed  cobra.  In 
a  religion  that  deprecates  the 
wrath  of  a  cruel  power  by  wor- 
shipping the  deities  in  whom 
that  power  is  vested,  it  is  only 
natural  to  find  that  the  incarna- 
tion of  sudden  death  in  a  de- 
structive reptile  is  regarded  with 
awe  and  deference.  Most  Hin- 
doos object  to  killing  a  cobra, 
and,  if  one  takes  up  its  abode  in 
or  near  a  house,  it  is  propitiated, 
fed  and  protected,  lest  an  injury 
done  to  it  might  bring  misfortune 
upon  the  family.  Even  if  the 
incarnate  demi-god  should  so  far 
forget  itself  as  to  cause  the  death 


of  one  of  the  house's  inmates,  it 
may  not  be  destroyed,  but  is 
caught,  handled  tenderly,  and 
carried  to  some  distant  field 
where  it  is  allowed  unhurt  to 
depart  in  peace. 

Government  rewards  have  been 
offered  for  the  killing  of  venomous 
snakes,  and  the  head  of  each 
snake  had  to  be  brought  to  the 
magistrate  as  a  verification,  but 
this  system  has  only  been  partial, 
and  has  never  formed  part  of  an 
energetically  conducted  campaign 
throughout  Hindostan,  nor  could 
it  be  carried  out  by  any  natives 
except  those  of  the  lowest  castes. 
Four  annas  were  given  in  one  dis- 
trict for  each  snake's  head,  and 
the  astonishing  number  of  cobras 
may  be  gathered  from  the  fact 
that  between  fifty  and  sixty  heads 
were  brought  in  daily.  The  re- 
ward was  reduced  to  two  annas, 
but  this  was  not  sufficient  temp- 
tation. As  the  magistrate  re- 
marked, "  There  are  few  persons 
who  would  risk  their  lives  for  two 
annas."  It  may  be  worth  while 
here  to  mention  the  best  means 
of  encountering  a  cobra  as  noted 
by  one  of  the  most  delightful 
writers  in  Indian  natural  history. 
"  In  my  walks  abroad  I  generally 
carry  a  strong  supple  walking-cane. 
This  is  the  prime  weapon  for 
encountering  snakes ;  armed  with 
it,  you  may  rout  and  slaughter 
the  hottest  -  tempered  cobra  in 
Hindostan.  Let  it  rear  itself  up 
and  spread  its  spectacled  head- 
gear and  bluster  as  it  will,  but 
one  rap  on  the  side  of  the  head 
will  bring  it  to  reason,  and  another 
about  the  middle  of  its  body  will 
bring  it  to  its  end — without  a 
stick  you  can  do  nothing.  Twice 
have  I  fled  before  an  angry  " 
cobra,  having  unwisely  attacked 
it  with  stones.  The  cobra,  though 
of  a  peaceable  disposition  in  the 
main,  is  hasty  in  his  temper." 

Terrible  as  the  cobra  is,  there 


254 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


is  this  to  be  said  in  its  favour, 
that  it  is  "  of  a  peaceful  dispo- 
sition/' and  never  exerts  its 
deadly  power  unless  it  is,  or  con- 
ceives itself  to  be,  molested,  and, 
even  then,  it  confines  itself  purely 
to  defence,  and  never  follows  up 
an  assailant  or  assumes  the  offen- 
sive. Very  different  is  it  in  this 
respect  from  the  great  Hama- 
dryad, the  Ophiophagus  or  snake- 
eating  snake,  which  is  the  largest 
poisonous  reptile  that  is  known. 
Fortunately  though  widely  dis- 
tributed, it  is  not  very  common. 
It  does  not  appear  to  be  known  in 
the  North-west  or  in  Central  India, 
but  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  damp 
climate  of  Southern  India,  in 
Assam,  Bengal  and  Orissa.  It  is 
hooded  like  the  cobra  and  re- 
sembles it  in  many  chaiacteristics. 
It  grows  to  the  length  of  fourteen 
feet  and  is  very  active  and  agres- 
sive.  As  its  name  implies,  it  feeds 
upon  other  snakes,  though  pro- 
bably, if  they  are  not  to  be  pro- 
cured, it  contents  itself  with  eggs, 
birds,  fish,  frogs,  &c,  like  others 
of  its  family.  But  its  great 
peculiarity  is  that  it  is  not  only 
always  ready  to  attack  but  also  to 
pursue  any  man  or  animal  that  has 
roused  its  wrath.  Sir  J.  Fayrer 
records  a  very  typical  instance  of 
this  ferocity  :  "  An  intelligent  Buf- 
man  told  me  that  a  friend  of  his 
one  day  stumbled  upon  a  nest  of 
these  serpents  and  immediately 
retreated,  but  the  old  female  gave 
chase.  The  man  fled  with  all 
speed  over  hill  and  dale,  dingle 
and  glade,  and  terror  seemed  to 
add  wings  to  his  flight,  till, 
reaching  a  small  river  he  plunged 
in,  hoping  that  he  had  then 
escaped  his  fiery  enemy ;  but  lo ! 
on  reaching  the  opposite  bank  up 
reared  the  furious  Hamadryad,  its 
dilated  eyes  glistening  with  rage, 
ready  to  bury  its  fangs  in  his 
trembling  body.  In  utter  despair 
he  bethought  himself  of  his  turban, 


and  in  a  moment  dashed  it  upon 
the  serpent,  which  darted  upon  it 
like  lightning  and  for  some 
moments  wreaked  its  vengeance 
in  furious  bites ;  after  which  it 
returned  quietly  to  its  former 
haunts." 

In  this  aggressiveness  the 
Ophiophagus  resembles  the  Black 
'Mamba  of  South  Africa,  which  is, 
as  far  as  I  know,  the  only  other 
snake  that  is  said  to  pursue  a 
supposed  enemy.  Unfortunately 
the  habits  of  African  snakes  have 
not  been  studied  as  closely  as 
those  of  India  and  the  neighbouring 
countries  and  the  Black  'Mamba's 
reputation  only  rests  upon  popular 
belief  which  is  sometimes  wanting 
in  scientific  exactness. 

The  numbers  of  different  more 
or  less  venomous  snakes  in  India 
is  legion  and  space  is  wanting  here 
to  enter  upon  a  detailed  descrip- 
tion of  each  in  the  long  list. 
Some  from  the  shortness  of  their 
fangs  do  not,  so  often  as  others, 
succeed  in  dealing  a  deadly  stroke ; 
in  some  the  venom  is  less  power- 
ful, some  are  sluggish  and  are 
easily  avoided,  and  some  are  so 
rare  that  they  are  not  often  en- 
countered. The  Krait  must  how- 
ever have  particular  notice  and  a 
word  of  warning  must  be  given 
about  it,  for  it  is  the  snake  which 
more  than  almost  any  other  in- 
sinuates itself  into  dwelling-houses 
and  may  be  met  with  in  the  most 
familiar  places.  It  takes  up  its 
resting  place  in  verandahs,  bath- 
rooms, on  the  ledges  of  doors,  in 
book-cases  and  cupboards,  and 
may  even  be  found  snugly  coiled 
up  under  cushions  or  in  beds.  No 
place  that  is  warm  and  comfort- 
able comes  amiss  to  its  luxurious 
habits  and  a  case  has  been  known 
when,  "  after  a  night's  dak  in  a 
palanquin,  a  lady,  in  taking  her 
things  out  on  arriving  at  her 
destination,  found  a  Krait  coiled 
up    under    her    pillow;    it    had 


*9J 


DEADLY  SNAKES  OF  INDIA. 


255 


been  a  travelling  companion  all 
night." 

The  Krait  is  common  all  over 
India  and,  though,  as  I  have  said, 
it  finds  its   way  freely  into   the 
haunts  of  men,  it  is  nevertheless 
to  be  met  in  field  and  plain,   in 
rice  cultivation,  in   scrub  jungle 
and  in  old  ruins.     As  a  rule  it  is 
between  two   and  three    feet    in 
length,   though    specimens    have 
been  known  of   a  much  greater 
size.  Audacious  as  it  is  in  entering 
dwelling-houses,    it    is    fortunate 
that  its  fangs  are  much   shorter 
than  those  of  the  cobra  and  its 
chances    of    giving    an    effective 
wound    are    therefore    so     much 
diminished.     Its  poison  too  is  less 
rapid  in  its  action    and    there   is 
greater  hope  that  medical  aid  may 
be  able  to  save  life.      Even  so, 
however,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  Krait  may  be  reckoned 
among  the   most   dangerous  and 
destructive    of  Indian   poisonous 
snakes  and  it  is  certainly  the  one 
against  which  Europeans  should 
be  most  carefully  on  their  guard. 
Towards   the  end    of  the   last 
century   there  was  living  in  the 
south  of  India  a  very  distinguished 
scientist,  Dr.  Patrick  Russell,  who 
held  the  appointment  of  naturalist 
to   the    Honourable    East   India 
Company.      He  was  the  first  to 
examine  and  classify  the   deadly 
snakes  of  India  and,  even  in  our 
day,  his  great  work  on  the  subject 
remains     a     standard     authority. 
Recent  investigations  have  added 
little  to  the   practical  knowledge 
which  he  collected  and  the  classi- 
fication   which    he    made.      His 
name    has    been     given     to    the 
Daboia    Russellii,   which  in  Cey- 
lon is  dreaded  as  the  Ticpolonga, 
and  is  generally  known   to  Euro- 
peans in  India  as  the  chain  viper. 
It  seldom    grows    to    a    greater 
length  than  four  feet  and,  though 
nearly   equally  deadly    with    the 
cobra,  it  has  the   merit  of  giving 


warning  of  its  presence  by  loud 
hissing  when  it  is  disturbed.  It 
is  less  known  than  the  cobra  and 
is  not  credited  with  causing  so 
many  deaths.  As,  however,  much 
mortality  in  official  returns  is  as- 
cribed to  snakes  unknown,  it  is 
probable  that,  if  the  real  offender 
could  be  detected,  the  Daboia 
would  have  a  more  guilty  pro- 
minence than  it  has  at  present. 

Many  as  are  the  poisonous 
snakes  of  India,  there  are  very 
many  more  that  are  quite  harm- 
less and  do  much  good  by  waging 
war  upon  rats,  mice  and  the 
superabundance  of  animal  life 
which,  if  unchecked,  would  be- 
come an  even  greater  nuisance 
than  most  Europeans  and  indeed 
natives  find  it.  In  the  matter  of 
destroying  field  rats  alone,  whose 
ravages  would  otherwise  ruin 
many  crops,  both  the  poisonous 
and  harmless  snakes  do  good  ser- 
vice to  the  State.  It  may  be  con- 
fidently said  that  practically  no 
natives  and  very  few  Europeans 
can  distinguish  between  the  deadly 
and  the  innocent  reptiles  and  that 
both  share  the  same  fate  when- 
ever and  wherever  they  are  met. 
Perhaps  it  is  best  that  the  prim- 
aeval curse  upon  the  serpent  should 
always  fall  and  in  his  case  it  is  to 
be  preferred  that  half  a  dozen 
innocent  should  perish  rather  than 
that  one  guilty  should  escape. 
Apropos  of  natives'  conviction  that 
all  snakes  are  poisonous,  it  is 
worth  while  to  notice  their  belief 
in  the  existence  of  what  they  call 
the  Biscobra.  This  is,  they  say, 
a  species  of  lizard  and  they  credit 
it  with  even  more  deadly  power 
than  the  cobra.  It  may  be  said 
at  once  that  the  Biscobra  is 
purely  fabulous.  There  is  no 
lizard  of  any  kind  with  a  poison 
gland  connected  with  a  fang  and 
though  some  lizards  bite  hard, 
they  are  all  perfectly  innocent  as 
to  venom.     Natives  have,  before 


256 


BAILY  S  MAGAZINE. 


[October 


now,  pointed  out  what  they  called 
a  Biscobra  and  it  has  invariably 
been  found  to  be  a  young  iguana 
or  some  other  absolutely  harmless 
animal. 

Needless  to  say  there  have  been 
numerous  suggestions  made  as  to 
antidotes  to  snake  poison.  From 
time  immemorial  charms  and 
talismans  have  existed  which  have 
been  supposed  to  secure  immunity 
from  the  effects  of  the  venom  and 
even  in  Dr.  Russell's  day  there 
were  medical  prescriptions  which 
the  natives  regarded  as  a  specific. 
Alas !  careful  experiment  has 
established  the  fact  that,  when  an 
effective  bite  has  been  given  by  a 
young  and  vigorous  poisonous 
snake,  no  treatment  can  in  any 
way  control  its  effects.  Of  course 
the  merits  of  charms  and  talis- 
mans may  be  put  entirely  out  of 
the  question.  Doubtless  treat- 
ment should  always  be  undertaken 
on  the  chance  that  the  wound  may 
be  slight  or  that  the  poison,  for 
some  reason  or  another,  may  only 
have  been  communicated  in  a 
weakened  form.  The  snake  that 
inflicted  the  wound  may  have 
been  old  and  feeble  or  something 
may  have  intercepted  the  venom. 
I  have  known  a  case  in  which  an 
officer  on  his  way  to  mess  was 
undoubtedly  bitten  through  his 
Wellington  boot  by  a  cobra  and, 
the  leather  having  afforded  some 
protection,  the  effects  of  the  bite 
were  slight  and  yielded  to  treat- 
ment. It  may  however  I  fear  be 
taken  for  granted  that,  when  a 
cure  for  snake  bite  is  supposed  to 
have  taken  place,  either  the  snake 
was  of  a  harmless  species  or  else, 
from  some  circumstance  or  an- 
other, the  bite  was,  at  any  rate 
partially,  ineffectual.  I  may  sum- 
marise the  treatment  that  is  re- 
cognised as  most  likely  to  be 
effective.  It  sounds  heroic,  but 
it  should  be  remembered  that  it 
must  be  undertaken  with  the  least 


possible  delay,  so  there  is  no  time 
available  for  less  painful  measures. 
Ligatures  should  be  applied  at 
intervals  of  a  few  inches  above 
the  wound  and  tightened  to  the 
utmost.  The  wound  itself  should 
be  deeply  scarified  with  a  pen- 
knife or  cutting  instrument.  Better 
still,  the  punctured  part  should  be 
altogether  excised,  or  if  it  is  a 
finger  or  toe  should  be  at  once 
cut  off.  The  wound  should  be 
allowed  to  bleed  freely  and  a  hot 
iron  or  hot  coal  should  be  thrust 
to  its  very  bottom  or  some  car- 
bolic or  nitric  acid  should  be  ap- 
plied. Diluted  ammonia  or  hot 
spirits  and  water  should  be  given 
internally.  This  is  the  immediate 
treatment  which  anybody  can 
carry  out,  and  if  poisoning  symp- 
toms then  appear,  the  rest  will  be 
in  the  hands  of  a  medical  man, 
who,  it  may  be  hoped,  will  be 
early  on  the  scene.  The  rough 
treatment  of  the  jungle  is  noted 
by  that  well  known  shikari 
Colonel  Pollock.  "  If  bitten  there 
are  two  alternatives — to  blow  the 
piece  out  with  a  gun  or  to  cut  it 
out  with  a  knife;  there  would 
then  be  some  chance  of  life,  but, 
otherwise,  absolutely  none." 

I  have  said  something  about 
the  land  snakes  of  India,  and  the 
sea  snakes  cannot  be  left  un- 
noticed. It  may  be  said  with 
certainty  that  many  as  are  their 
varieties,  all  the  sea  snakes  which 
inhabit  the  eastern  seas,  the 
estuaries  and  tidal  rivers,  are 
venomous  and  are  to  be  dreaded 
accordingly.  They  seldom  attain 
a  greater  length  than  5  ft.  and 
they  exist  in  great  numbers,  feed- 
ing upon  fish  and  aquatic  animals, 
which  their  rapidity  of  movement 
enables  them  to  pursue  and  catch. 
Probably  they  are  seldom  seen  so 
well  as  on  a  calm  day  in  the  Bay 
of  Bengal.  As  the  great  ship 
ploughed  its  way  through  the 
glassy,  oily  sea,  I  have  watched 


I**] 


DEADLY  SNAKES  OF  INDIA. 


257 


the  snakes  lying  by  scores  on  the 
surface,  basking  in  the  scorching 
rays  of  the  midday  sun.  They 
hardly  took  any  notice  of  the 
steamer's  passage  but  allowed 
themselves  to  be  rocked  on  the 
swell  caused  by  its  displacement 
of  the  waters.  Marvellous  how 
true  to  nature  is  Coleridge  in  the 
Ancient  Mariner. 

"Within  the  shadow  of  the  ship 
I  watched  their  rich  attire. 
B1uef  glussy  green,  and  velvet  black, 
They  coiled  and  swam  ;  and  every  track 
Was  a  flash  of  golden  fire." 

The  fishermen  on  the  coast 
know  well  their  dangerous  quali- 
ties and  carefully  avoid  them. 
Fortunately,  when  they  are  thrown 
on  the  land  by  the  surf,  as  they 
constantly  are,  they  are  helpless 
and  nearly  blind.  The  only  occa- 
sions when  their  presence  must  be 
carefully  watched  for  are  when 
nets  are  being  drawn  in  which 
they  may  be  accidentally  en- 
closed. 

No  remarks  on  the  poisonous 
snakes  of  India  would  be  complete 
without  a  few  words  about  the 
snake  charmers,  those  wonderful 
men  who  claim  to  have,  and  I 
believe  do  have,  such  extra- 
ordinary powers  of  persuasion 
and  control  over  animals  which 
might  so  easily  and  so  quickly 
strike  them  to  death.  Everybody 
who  has  visited  India  has  seen  a 
snake  charmer  give  an  exhibition 
of  his  craft,  has  seen  him  produce 
cobra  after  cobra  from  the  recesses 
of  some  basket  and,  piping  to 
them  on  a  rude  instrument,  cause 
them  to  rear  themselves  with 
inflated  hoods  and,  as  if  fascinated, 
to  follow  the  movements  of  his 
hands.  Of  course  the  snake 
charmers  profess  to  attribute 
their  apparent  immunity  from  the 
danger  of  the  poison  and  their 
power  of  handling  and  to  a 
certain  extent  controlling  the 
deadly  reptiles  to  the  influence  of 


i 


muntras  or  spells,  and  there  is 
no  doubt  that  the  mass  of  the 
people  look  upon  their  perform- 
ances with  wonder  and  super- 
stitious awe. 

We  cannot  help  admitting  that 
this  faculty  of  handling  snakes  is 
like  many  other  things  in  India, 
a  matter  so  strange  that  we  can 
hardly  offer  any  explanation  of  it. 
It  has  never  I  believe  been 
acquired  by  any  European  and 
some  of  the  performances  of  the 
best  snake  charmers  are  so  mar- 
vellous that,  even  after  seeing 
them,  one  is  hardly  able  to  believe 
the  evidence  of  one's  senses. 
Cobras  are  the  favourites  of  the 
snake  charmers  and  I  have  fre- 
quently seen  them  seized,  handled 
with  ease  and  freedom  and  com- 
pelled to  follow  the  will  of  man, 
even  when  I  knew  that  they  had 
been  newly  caught  and  were  in 
full  possession  of  their  fangs  and 
poison  glands. 

It  is  only  reasonable  to  believe, 
however,  that  snake  charmers 
depend  entirely  upon  a  full  know- 
ledge of  the  character  and  qualities 
of  the  animals  that  they  handle 
and  extraordinary  deftness  and 
boldness  in  handling  them.  In 
many  cases  also  the  snakes,  with 
which  they  take  the  greatest 
liberties,  have  certainly  been 
deprived  of  their  fangs  and  have 
been  rendered  innocuous.  Besides 
giving  exhibitions  with  more  or 
less  trained  and  familiar  snakes, 
the  snake  charmers  will,  for  a 
trifle  of  money,  find  and  catch  the 
snakes  in  your  garden,  or  at  any 
rate  some  of  them.  It  may  how- 
ever be  believed  that  if  a  local 
man  is  employed  to  do  this  he  is 
careful,  like  an  English  profes- 
sional ratcatcher,  to  leave  a 
sufficient  stock  on  the  premises 
to  secure  that  he  shall  have  a 
future  job  of  the  same  kind. 

I  cannot  conclude  better  than 
by   again   quoting    from  the  de- 


258 


BAILYS   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


lightful  naturalist  whom  I  have 
cited  above : — 

"  Poisonous  snakes  are  a  great 
mystery.  Out  of  a  class  of 
animals  so  harmless,  so  gentle, 
and  so  gracefully  beautiful,  one 
here  and  one  there,  for  no  assign- 
able reason,  carries  with  it  an 
instrument  exquisitely  contrived 
for  inflicting  almost  instant  death 
on  creatures  fifty  times  its  own 
size.  And  this  provision  is  of 
no  conceivable  use  to  itself.  It 
cannot  be  necessary  for  self- 
defence,  since  for  one  that  has  it 
many  do  without  it ;  nor  can  it  be 
of  much  service  in  overpowering 


prey  which  consists  of  nothing 
more  formidable  than  rats  and 
frogs.  And  those  which  bear  this 
poisoned  dagger  often  belong  to 
totally  different  genera,  and  re- 
semble each  other  far  less  than 
they  resemble  kinds  which  are 
innocent,  thus  the  more  effectually 
blasting  the  reputation  of  the 
whole  family,  and  making  us 
shun  and  abhor  a  race  which 
would  be  universal  favourites,  not 
only  on  account  of  their  grace 
and  the  brightness  of  their  hues, 
but  for  their  intelligence,  and 
the  pleasantness  of  their  dis- 
positions." C.  Stein. 


Curiosities  of  Shooting. 


It  happens  to  all  of  us  at  times 
to  make  shots  or  to  witness  inci- 
dents which  inspire  the  resolve  to 
"  write  to  the  Field "  as  soon 
as  we  get  home.  That  resolve, 
hastily  made,  is  too  often  forgotten 
and  we  content  ourselves  with 
reserving  the  anecdote  for  after- 
dinner  consumption  when  stories 
are  going ;  but  fortunately  some 
men  are  as  good  as  their  inten- 
tions and  place  these  incidents  on 
record,  to  be  believed  or  doubted 
according  to  the  disposition  or 
experience  of  the  reader. 

Having  made  a  collection  of 
"  shooting  incidents "  for  some 
years  it  may  possibly  be  worth 
setting  a  few  of  them  out  in  detail 
for  the  information  of  sportsmen 
in  search  of  precedents ;  I  think 
it  will  be  conceded  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult for  us  nowadays  to  perform 
a  feat  which  has  never  been  per- 
formed before,  whether  by  design 
or  accident.  Only  one  incident 
in  my  collection  stands  without 
parallel  and  will  probably  retain 
its  proud  isolation  ;  it  can  hardly 


be  called  a  "  shooting  incident," 
but  as  it  occurred  on  a  grouse 
moor  may  have  a  place  here.  Mr, 
Tower  Townshend,  shooting  at 
Drumoleague,  co.  Cork,  in  1891, 
had  the  pith  helmet  he  was  wear- 
ing blown  from  his  head  in  a  high 
wind  ;  and  the  fates  so  guided  his 
head  gear  that  it  literally  "bon- 
netted  "  a  sitting  grouse;  the 
bird  was'  unhurt  and  took  wing 
promptly  when  the  astonished 
keeper  picked  up  the  helmet. 
The  nearest  approach  to  this — 
distant  enough — was  a  capture  -j 
made  by  an  officer  in  the  Tele- 
graphs Division  of  the  Public  '\ 
Works  Department  in  Burma* 
He  was  inspecting  a  line  of  wire 
carried  through  remote  jungle 
districts,  and  found  occasion  to -J 
mount  the  ladder  against  a  tele*.- 
graph  post  to  examine  the  insula- 
tors ;  by  some  accident  he  kick* 
the  ladder  down  ;  it  fell  upon  andj 
stunneti  or  killed,  I  forget  which^ 
a  fawn  lying  perdu  in  the  h 
grass. 

Accidental  double  kills  are 


I899-] 


CURIOSITIES   OF    SHOOTING. 


259 


mooer  than  many  men  suppose. 
Mr.  Edmund  Loder  (as  he  was 
then)  made  an  extraordinary  shot 
in  a  deer  drive   on   a    Rosshire 
forest   in    1872.      His    first   shot 
cut  through  the  jugular  vein  of 
a  barren   hind,  and    his    second 
severed  the  neck  vertebrae  of  one 
deer    and    entered    the    eye    of 
another    beyond,    making    three 
deer  to  two   barrels.     The  deer 
were   going  fast  and   the   range 
was  about  150  yards.     A  hunter 
of  Lunenburgh  county,   Halifax, 
N.S.,  once  killed  a  moose  and  a 
hare    with    the  same   shot ;    one 
regrets  to  observe  that  the  moose 
was  lying  down,  which   position 
made  the  accidental  double  event 
possible.     In   1887,  a  gentleman 
who  preferred  to  remain  unknown 
to  fame,   made    a   curious   shot. 
He  knocked  over  the  hare  he  had 
fired  at,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
charge  went  on  to  kill  a  brace  out 
of  a   covey  of  partridges  which 
rose  to  the  report  just  beyond  the 
hare.     Major   H.  L.  Mackenzie, 
R  A.,  shooting  one  day  in   1887, 
on  the  shore  near  Kirkwall  in  the 
Orkneys,  made  quite  a  respectable 
bag  of  snipe  with  one  shot ;    a 
wisp  got  up  and  he  fired  at  the 
leading  bird,  killing  that  and  nine 
more.    Five  couple  of  snipe  to  one 
cartridge   must  be   considered   a 
[  record.     An  Anglo-Indian  sports- 
man,    shooting    at     Chingleput, 
thought   with   good    reason    that 
[be  had   done  something   worthy 
.-of  record    in   a    Madras    paper, 
hen  he  dropped  three  snipe  out 
five  with  one  barrel,  but  his 
r„:hievement  pales  beside  the  one 
ve    mentioned.      Rabbit    and 
[crouching)  cock  pheasant ;  wood- 
and   blackbird;   rabbit  and 
ridge  are   among   the  many 
idental  doubles  recorded.    Per- 
the  famous  stag,  grouse  and 
pound  salmon  legend  may 
take    its    place    in    sporting 
tstory  as  an  actual  occurrence ! ! 


1 


The  sportsman  who,  on  Octo- 
ber 30th,  1879,  flushed  six  phea- 
sants as  they  were  running  in  an 
unused  grass  lane  near  Rudge- 
wick  in  Sussex,  and  dropped  five 
of  them  to  one  barrel,  would  no 
doubt  put  the  performance  down 
to  luck ;  so  probably  would  Cap- 
tain Ilderton,  who,  while  shore- 
shooting  near  Tralee  killed  three 
wild  swans  with  one  shot  from  a 
shoulder  duck  gun.  A  particu- 
larly bad  shot  of  my  acquaintance 
once  betrayed  himself  in  rather 
comical  fashion  over  a  double — or 
to  be  accurate  treble — shot  at 
rabbits.  It  was  in  a  Scottish 
shooting  on  January  2nd,  and  the 
sportsman  was  one  of  a  party 
who  had  "  seen  the  New  Year  in  " 
with  more  than  common  enthu- 
siasm. He  killed  a  rabbit  in 
covert ;  then  in  his  own  words,  "  I 
saw  a  kicking  and  I  said  to  my- 
self '  I'm  not  so  bad  as  I'm  feeling,' 
and  went  to  raise  it ;  while  I  was 
putting  it  in  the  bag  I  saw  kicking 
beyond  and  went  to  look,  and 
man !  I  just  shook,  for  there  was 
another  rabbit.  It  was  just  a 
relief  when  I  found  it  was  a  rabbit, 
but  when  I'd  pouched  that  and 
a  step  or  two  along  saw  another  I 
dared  tta'  touch  it.  I  put  the  gun 
against  a  tree  and  sat  down,  and 
I  said  X —  Y — ,  you've  got  them 
this  time."  He  was  more  accus- 
tomed to  spend  three  cartridges  for 
one  head  of  game  than  to  get  three 
head  with  one  shot,  and  in  his 
"  weak  state  "the  unexpected  was 
too  much  for  him.  He  could 
hardly  be  convinced  that  he  had 
really  and  truly  killed  three  rab- 
bits with  one  shot ;  but  he  told 
the  story  against  himself  with 
gusto  for  years  after. 

A  curiosity  among  intentional 
doubles  was  one  scored  by  Mr. 
Alexander  Henderson  of  Stem- 
ster,  Caithness.  Shooting  along 
the  margin  of  a  loch  one  day  he 
dropped  a  couple  of  wild  duck 


260 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[OCTOBRX 


with  his  first  barrel ;  one  fell  into 
the  water  and  was  seized  by  an 
otter,  which  he  killed  with  his 
second. 

We  will  not  consider  records 
with  the  punt  gun ;  such  a  shot 
as  700  dunlins  killed  at  one  dis- 
charge (2  lbs.  of  shot)  rather 
nauseates  than  inspires  admira- 
tion. 

Nor  do  successful  shots  at  un- 
sportsmanlike ranges  appeal  to 
us,  though  they  undoubtedly  pos- 
sess interest  as  showing  what  a 
good  gun  may  do.  In  1864,  the 
late  Marquis  of  Anglesey,  shoot- 
ing from  a  pony,  killed  a  partridge 
at  the  astonishing  range  of  97 
yards.  The  late  Mr.  Francis 
Francis,  of  angling  memory,  re- 
cords having  fired  in  a  moment  of 
impatience  to  "  dust  the  jackets  " 
of  a  wild  covey,  and  to  his  own 
and  keeper's  amazement  brought 
down  one  of  the  lot  at  90  yards. 
A  woodcock  fell  with  one  wing 
broken  and  three  or  four  pellets 
in  the  body  at  94  yards ;  but  most 
notable,  perhaps,  was  the  clean 
killing  of  a  hare  with  a  charge  of 
No.  6  from  a  12-bore  at  85  yards. 
One  is  inclined  to  ask,  Did  the 
shot  ball  ?  on  reading  that  "  the 
whole  charge  "  struck  the  hare  in 
the  head ;  but  perhaps  we  shall 
be  right  if  we  understand  the 
phrase  to  mean  "  all  the  pellets 
that  did  strike  "  found  their  billet 
in  the  head.  We  do  not  record 
these  performances  as  feats  worthy 
of  emulation  ;  on  the  contrary,  the 
ranges  are  far  beyond  those  pre- 
scribed by  the  rules  of  the  game. 

Two  cases  are  recorded  in  which 
gamekeepers,  firing  at  a  single 
weasel,  have  killed  a  whole  family ; 
on  one  of  these  occasions  the  bag 
was  seven,  father,  mother,  and 
five  young  ones ;  and  on  the  other 
nine,  mother  and  eight  young  cut 
off  at  a  shot  as  they  were  playing 
about  a  tree. 

Two  gun  accidents  deserve  in- 


clusion among  our  collection  of 
curiosities.      A    poacher,    named 
Dixon,  in  1870  was  shooting  with 
a  muzzle  loader,  and  having  made 
as  good  a  bag  as  he  thought  safe 
to  carry  home,  essayed  to  draw 
the  charge  in  his  gun.     He  ex- 
tracted  the  top  wad  and  poured 
out   the    shot,   but   in    trying  to 
withdraw  the  next  wad,  somehow 
managed  to  pull  the  trigger,  with 
the   result   that   he   received  the 
blank    charge    in    his  arm.    He 
walked     home     and     was     duly 
attended  by  a  doctor ;  but  after 
a   week  lockjaw  set    in,   and  he 
died    in    twenty-four    hours.     It 
may  be  doubted  whether  there  is 
another  case  on   record  of  fatal 
wounding   by  powder  and  wads 
only.     Another  more  singular  case 
which    happily   had    not    a  fatal 
ending  was  that  of  Mr.  Bower,  a 
young  gentleman  seventeen  years 
of  age,  who  was  out  ferreting  on 
the  Craig  shootings  in  Ayrshire. 
He   was  using   a  muzzle  loader 
(it  was  in   1869),  and  having  dis- 
charged  the   right  barrel  he  re- 
loaded it  and  was  in   the  act  of 
putting  a  cap  on  the  nipple  when 
the  hammer  fell.    The  recoil  threw 
the  gun  out  of  his  hand  behind 
him,  and  impact  with  the  hard 
ground  (probably)  discharged  the 
left  barrel,  which  lodged  its  con- 
tents in  his  thigh.    By  way  of  acci- 
dental compensation   the  charge 
struck  the  shot  bag  in  his  right 
pocket  and  drove   its  metal  cap 
into  him ;  but  being  thus  deflected 
from  its  course  the  shot   missed 
the  bone  and   lodged  in  a  lump 
under  the  skin  on  the  outside  of 
the  thigh. 

A  curious  accident,  which  may 
be  usefully  quoted  as  a  warning; 
against  carelessness  in  leav 
firearms  about,  occurred  in  18* 
at  Panishill  House,  Cobb; 
The  farm  bailiff  left  his  gun 
full  cock  on  the  corn  bin  in 
stable ;  a  fowl  happened  to  fly  o| 


1899.] 


CURIOSITIES   OF    SHOOTING. 


26l 


to  the  bin,  perched  or  stepped  on 
the  trigger  and  fired  the  gun  into 
the  face  of  an  old  stable  helper. 

Worthy  of  place  among  Baron 
Munchausen's  adventures,  but 
nevertheless  said  to  be  well 
authenticated,  are  two  instances 
of  men  being  shot  by  the  game 
they  were  pursuing.  One  of 
these  comes  from  Ceylon.  A 
native  was  shooting  in  the 
Bootala  jungles  in  1873,  when 
quite  unexpectedly  he  found  him- 
self face  to  face  with  an  elephant. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  least  im- 
probable about  that ;  I  have  more 
than  once  come  within  a  few 
yards  of  an  elephant  drowsing 
at  noon  on  a  still  day  in  heavy 
jungle  without  either  of  us  being 
aware  of  it.  Well,  the  man  was 
not  prepared  for  elephants,  and 
immediately  turned  to  bolt,  which 
is  also  quite  easy  to  believe.  Then 
we  are  told  the  elephant  chased 
him :  that  is  the  unlikely  detail. 
The  only  way  of  explaining  it  is 
to  assume  either  that  the  beast 
was  in  ntustk,  or  was  a  solitary 
rogue  and  vicious.  An  un- 
wounded  elephant  not  in  the 
state  of  sexual  excitement  would 
have  fled  from  man  on  scent  or 
sight.  However,  we  are  assured 
on  authority  said  to  be  excellent, 
that  the  elephant  did  chase  the 
native,  and  either  striking  or 
seizing  with  his  trunk  the  butt  of 
the  gun  he  carried  at  the  trail, 
discharged  it,  the  contents  lodg- 
ing in  the  sportsman's  leg.  The 
report  frightened  the  elephant  off; 
he  retired  to  the  jungle,  and  the 
man  succeeded  in  crawling  home, 
whence  he  was  taken  to  hospital. 

The  other  story  is  told  by  the 
J2ev.  John  Mackenzie  in  his  book, 
Ten  Years  North  of  the  Orange 
"ver."      A   Dutchman  was  the 

o  in  this  case ;  he  was  hunt- 
on   the  veldt   on  horseback, 

en  a  buffalo  charged  out  from 
eme  bush,  and  bowled  man  and 


horse  over.  He  gored  and  killed 
the  horse,  while  the  Boer,  much 
shaken,  lay  as  flat  and  still  as 
possible,  hoping  to  escape  the 
brute's  notice,  or  if  it  were  turned 
upon  him,  to  escape  being  tossed. 
The  buffalo  did  turn  upon  him, 
but  while  skirmishing  around  he 
kicked  the  man's  rifle,  and  a  twig 
or  creeper  having  become  en- 
tangled in  the  trigger  it  went  off, 
and  shot  the  owner  through  the 
arm.  In  this  case  also  we  are 
told  that  the  report  frightened  the 
beast  into  hasty  retreat. 

With  the  diffidence  born  of 
others'  scepticism  a  gentleman 
ventured  to  place  the  following  on 
record  in  1891.  He  was  one  of  a 
party  walking  up  partridges,  and 
appears  to  have  been  at  the  end 
of  the  line.  A  covey  of  birds 
flushed  at  the  other  end  swept 
past  him  where  he  stood,  on 
ground  lower  than  his  com- 
panions. He  shot  one  bird,  and 
as  he  stooped  to  pick  it  up, 
another  struck  the  butt  of  his 
gun  and  fell  behind  him,  half 
stunned,  and  with  a  broken  wing. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  incident 
that  need  cause  qualms  of  doubt, 
when  we  remember  that  collisions 
between  flying  birds  are  by  no 
means  uncommon;  that  pheasants 
occasionally  fly  through  windows ; 
we  find  the  simple  explanation  in 
the  obvious  inference  that  fright- 
ened birds  sometimes  lose  their 
heads,  and  do  not  look  where 
they  are  going.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances a  partridge  might  fly 
into  anything  that  came  in  its 
path,  with  disastrous  results  to 
itself.  Sheer  stupidity  would 
seem  to  account  for  such  a  singular 
accident  as  that  witnessed  in 
1869  by  Mr.  Oakeley,  of  Kil- 
maronaig.  He  saw  a  pheasant 
rise,  strike  its  head  against  a 
comparatively  small  bough  of  a 
beech  tree,  and  fall  dead  with  a 
broken  skull.  C. 


Head-Stalls  and  Halters.* 


By  M.  H.  Hayes,  F.R.C.V.S. 


An  ordinary  head  collar  (rig.  i) 
consists  of  a  nose- band,  two 
cheek  pieces,  a  throat-latch,  a 
fore  head -band  (front),  an  under  - 
piece  which  connects  the  nose- 
band and  throat-latch  together, 
and  a  crown-piece  which  is  pro- 
vided with  a  buckle,  so  that  it 
can  be  lengthened  or  shortened. 
The  nose-band  is  divided  into 
three  parts,  which  are  connected 


The  best  head  collars  are  of 
leather,  and  cheap  ones  of  web- 
bing. For  stable  use  leather  bead 
collars  are  almost  always  made  of 
brown  leather,  except  the  forehead 
band,  which  may  be  of  pipe-clayed 
buckskin  or  patent  leather,  either 
white  or  coloured.  The  use  of 
pipe -clayed  buckskin  fronts  is 
generally  reserved  for  horse  show 
purposes,    and  is  then   as  a  rale 


Fig. 

together  by  rings  that  are  made 
square,  so  as  to  give  rigidity  to 
the  nose-band.  The  ring  of  the 
nose-band  which  is  underneath  the 
horse's  lower  jaw  serves  as  an  at- 
tachment for  the  tying-up  chain, 
rack-chain,  or  leading  rein.  The 
under  strap  is  fixed  to  the  lower 
ring  of  the  nose-band,  and  its  up- 
per end  is  provided  with  a  loop, 
through  which  the  throat-latch 
slides.  The  throat-latch  is  gener- 
ally  made  round. ^^^ 


*1  by  ll 


limited  to  Hackneys  and  cart 
horses.  Patent  leather  does  not 
wear  well,  as  it  is  liable  to  crack. 
It  is  evident  that  the  ring 
farmed  by  the  crown-piece  and 
the  throat-latch  is  greater  when 
the  forehead -band  is  employed 
than  when  it  is  absent,  and 
when  this  leather  ring  is 
placed  more  or  less  at  right 
angles  to  the  horse's  neck;  sup- 
posing that  this  leather  ring  is 
equally  tight  in  both  instances. 
Hence,    removing    the   forehead- 


J-STALLS   AND    HALTERS. 


of  his  tymg-up  chain  or  tying-up 
rope,  which,  as  a  preliminary 
movement,  he  got  over  his  neck. 

Halters. 

A  halter  is  a  head-collar  whose 
nose-band  forms  a  running  loop 
with  the  rope  or  chain  to  which  it 
is  attached.  Halters  are  gener- 
ally made  of  webbing. 

The  simplest  way  to  improvise 
an  ordinary  halter  is  to  take  a  rope 
about  half-an-inch  in  diameter, 
and  about  nine  yards  long ;  make 
it  double  for  about  3  ft.  6in.,  and 
put  a  knot  on  the  doubled  part, 
so  as  to  form  a  large  loop,  in 
which  make  a  small  loop  for  the 
loose  end  of  the  rope  to  pass 
through.  The  second  knot  should 
divide  the  large  loop,  so  that  the 
head-piece  may  be  about  twice  as 
long  as  the  nose-band.  This  hal- 
ter will  now  be  ready  to  put  on 
(Fig.  3).  The  nose-band  should 
be  made  sufficiently  long  to  pre- 
vent it  from  hurting  the  horse's 
Dose  or  jaws,  when  the  free  end  of 


Fig.  3. 
the  rope  is  drawn   tight.     Or  a 
knot  may  be  made  with  that  part 
of  the  rope  which  serves  as  a  lead- 
ing rein,  at  the  ring  through  which 


36, 


may  not  sqi 

together  (F 

Mr.  Ton 

known  breei 


neys  and  c 
Ganymede, 
ing  method 
fit  any  hor 
convenient 
and  make  a 
its  ends  an 
about  4  in. 
hatter  is  cot 


I899-]  265 


Percy  Brown.* 


Comb,  lend  me  a  moment  and  lend  me  an  ear 

Ye  riders,  who  ride  to  the  chase, 

Come,  lend  me  a  moment,  and  lend  me  an  ear 

And  join  in  the  chorus  and  give  him  a  cheer, 

For  the  Sportsman  I  mean  may  be  praised  without  fear, 

You  may  read  the  man's  life  in  his  face. 

In  point  to  point  races  'tis  always  the  same, 

He  leads  on  the  gallant  old  grey, 

With  Portman's,  the  Vale  and  the  South  Wilts  he  came 

Out  best  in  all  three,  in  one  year,  and  the  fame 

The  two  have  won  down  in  the  West,  show  how  game 

Both  rider  and  steed  are  to-day. 

In  hunting  the  country,  he's  courteous  and  fair, 

The  hunt  goes  on  smoothly  and  well, 

There's  never  a  note  of  dissent  in  the  air, 

And  quarrels  are  settled  and  farmers  declare 

He's  the  man  for  the  job.     There  are  few  can  compare 

With  the  one  whose  life's  story  we  tell. 

And  ever  in  chase,  on  the  Downs  or  the  Vale, 
His  back  is  a  beacon,  they  say, 
When  the  gallant  pack,  gallantly,  gallantly  sail, 
When  it's  "  Forrard  away,"  over  bullfinch  and  rail, 
When  it's  over  the  open  you  see  him  and  hail 
A  Sportsman,  courageous  and  gay. 

A  Sportsman  ?  Why  yes,  there's  the  root  and  the  test, 
The  Chase  claims  the  credit,  you  see, 
For  hunting  makes  men  such  as  this,  and  the  best 
Are  the  type  of  the  man  who  lives  down  in  the  West, 
Who  rides  to  his  hounds  with  such  judgment  and  zest, 
And  greets  you  with  such  courtesy. 

A  Sportsman  ?  We  know  them,  the  kind  and  the  sort 
Who  live  in  this  England  so  fair, 
Who  hold  that  a  man  should  be  tutored  and  taught, 
That  courage  and  courtesy  gracefully  wrought 
Into  one  happy  blend  are  not  counted  for  nought, 
By  the  men  who  love  England  so  fair. 

So,  here's  to  the  chase,  to  the  hound  and  the  horn, 
The  music  that  sounds  through  the  dell, 
To  the  fox  who  steals  out  of  his  lair  in  the  morn, 
To  the  game  disposition  to  which  he  was  born, 
To  the  sportsman  in  question,  long  may  he  adorn 
The  country  he  governs  so  well. 

W.  Phillpotts  Williams, 


*  Master  of  the  South  and  West  Wilts  Foxhounds. 


266 


[OCTOBEI 


A  Day  with  the  Otter  Hounds. 


A  few  summers  ago,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  an  old  friend's  invitation 
to  spend  a  few  days'  much  needed 
holiday  with  him  in  the  country, 
I  packed  up  my  bag,  adding  to  my 
ordinary  wardrobe  (as  his  letter 
advised)  the  oldest  suit  of  clothes 
I  could  find,  and  a  pair  of  stout 
boots  and  gaiters. 

After  a  pleasant  journey,  passing 
through  the  heart  of  the  New 
Forest  (surely  part  of  the  most 
lovely  scenery  in  England),  I  found 
myself  landed  at  a  wayside  station 
between  Dorchester  and  Yeovil, 
where  my  host  was  awaiting  my 
arrival.  I  had  come  down  with 
the  express  purpose  of  putting  in 
at  least  one  day  with  the  otter 
hounds,  a  sport  of  which  I  had  had 
no  previous  experience. 

We  left  Yeovil  the  next  day, 
making  our  way  both  by  train  and 
coach,  to  Winsford,  a  peaceful  old 
village  in  the  valley  of  the  Exe, 
where  my  friend  had  arranged  for 
us  to  stay  the  night,  so  as  to  be  on 
the  spot  for  the  meet  of  the  Culm- 
stock  otter  hounds  at  an  early 
hour  the  following  morning.  We 
walked  from  the  nearest  station  to 
our  Inn,  which  is  one  of  the  old- 
world -looking  public  houses  of  the 
"  good  old  times/'  with  its  quaint 
windows  and  curious  old  door- 
ways. The  landlord,  one  of  the 
right  sort,  ever  ready  to  "  welcome 
the  coming  guest,"  met  us  with  a 
genial  smile,  saying  that  we  should 
have  to  share  the  only  sitting  room 
the  house  afforded  in  common  with 
his  other  guests,  as  more  visitors, 
on  otter  hunting  bent,  were  already 
in  possession. 

Amongst  them  we  found  that 
fine  all-round  sportsman  and  good 
fellow,  Colonel  Mount  Batten,  Mr. 
Cecil  Archer,  facile  princeps  after 
both  otter  and  badger,  and  a  few 
more  of  the  same  calibre. 


We  went  to  bed  in  good  time, 
having  to  meet  the  hounds  some- 
where about  5  o'clock,  and  judging 
by  myself,  I  think  we  all  enjoyed 
the  rest  which  pleasant  surround- 
ings, a  good  dinner,  and  easy 
consciences  ought  to  afford. 
Rising  in  good  time,  we  snatched 
a  hasty  breakfast,  which  included, 
I  recollect,  some  lovely  trout, 
freshly  caught. 

After  a  short  walk,  we  came  up 
with  Mr.  Fred  Collier,  the  popular 
master,  Captain  Kinglake,  and 
other  well-known  members  of  the 
hunt.  Before  starting  work,  I  had, 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  mas- 
ter, an  opportunity  of  looking  over 
the  hounds.  They  were  a  good 
level  lot,  but  to  my  surprise,  were, 
with  very  few  exceptions,  drafted 
from  fox  or  stag  hounds,  only  two 
or  three  of  the  old  rough  coated, 
otter  hound  blood  being  requisi- 
tioned. Setting  to  work  as  soon 
as  possible,  under  a  warm  sun,  we 
were  for  some  time  unable  to  get 
on  the  trail,  and  even  then  scent 
was  very  thin.  Having  made  one 
or  two  futile  casts,  owing  to  the 
depth  of  the  water,  we  moved  on 
higher  up  stream,  and  were  soon 
rewarded  by  the  sight  of  an  otter, 
hounds  working  steadily. 

After  several  checks,  some  half 
dozen  members  of  the  hunt  lined 
across  the  stream,  knee-deep,  with 
a  net  to  prevent  the  otter  passing 
into  deep  water,  being  then  near 
a  mill-dam,  nearly  an  impregnable 
stronghold  for  our  quarry.  The 
master  had  tried  back  and  soon  we 
heard  the  sound  of  his  horn,  giving 
us,  who  had  remained  by  the  net, 
notice  that  the  otter  was  working 
our  way ;  the  hounds  too,  crossing 
and  recrossing,  took  up  the  note 
like  a  musical  peal  of  tells,  rather 
marred  by  the  short,  sharp  yapping 
of  a  couple  of  wire-haired  terriers. 


1899-] 


BOWLS. 


267 


necessary  accompaniments  of  the 
pack.  Hurrying  along,  we  found 
that  the  otter  had  taken  refuge 
under  the  bank,  on  a  ledge  in  some 
deepish  water,  inaccessible  to  all 
but  a  terrier,  and  neither  of  those 
to  hand  proved  good  enough  to 
bolt  our  friend. 

Drawing  off  the  pack,  most  of  us 
then  jumped  simultaneously,  with 
what  must  have  seemed  to  him  a 
thunderous  noise,  over  the  otter's 
lair,  which  eventually  succeeded 
in  dislodging  him.  He  again  got 
away,  travelling  at  the  bottom, 
faster  than  a  trout  can  swim,  when 
three  or  four  hounds,  who  knew  their 
work  thoroughly,  drew  the  atten- 
tion of  the  rest  of  the  pack,  and 
after  another  short  run  the  otter 
landed  and  was  killed  in  the  open. 

It  is  a  very  moot  point  whether 
otters  are  so  destructive  as  they 
are  painted.  That  grand  hunting 
parson,  who  has  lately  passed 
away,  the  Rev.  William  Awdry, 
rector  of  Ludgershall,  in  Wilt- 
shire, himself  an  ardent  fisherman, 
always  maintained  that   the  otter 


is  a  much  maligned  animal  by 
trout  fishers.  The  animal  lives 
mostly,  he  asserted,  on  frogs, 
coarse  fish,  and  was  far  from  being 
destructive  amongst  "  sporting 
fish." 

One  can  say  without  exaggera- 
tion that  a  few  days  spent  with 
Mr.  Collier's  hounds  in  the  lovely 
neighbourhood  of  the  Exe  Valley, 
repays  many  a  month  of  hard  work 
in  town. 

This,  moreover,  is  one  of  those 
countries  which  can  show  three 
different  kinds  of  sport  within  a  day 
of  twenty-four  hours.  Given  fine 
weather,  and  the  necessary  physi- 
cal capacity,  one  may,  during  the 
month  of  August,  have  a  run  with 
the  otter  hounds — being  up  be- 
times in  the  morning — ride  with 
the  Devon  and  Somerset  stag- 
hounds  at  mid-day,  and  after  din- 
ner hunt  the  badger  by  moonlight 
with  terriers,  in  the  open.  Surely 
this  is  a  perfect  Arcadia  for  those 
who  are  seldom  able  to  steal  a  few 
days  away  from  the  burdens  of 
business.  Philocunos. 


Bowls. 


Although  for  half-a-dozen  cen- 
turies at  least,  bowls  has  more  or 
less   flourished,   no    international 
events  had   taken   place   on    our 
country's  greens  until  during  the 
present  month,  when  a  team  of 
Australian  bowling  men,  now  resi- 
dent in  England,  tried  conclusions 
with  the  Saxe- Weimar,  Southsea, 
Priory     Park,     Chichester,     and 
Southampton     County     Bowling 
Clubs ;    and   these  may   be  con- 
I  sidered  as  introductory  games  to 
:  the   matches  being  arranged   for 
next  summer,  when  a  number  of 
;  bowlers   from  the  Antipodes  will 
icome  over  to  compete  with  the 
mother  country's  champions. 


Mr.  John  Young,  who  twenty 
years  ago  initiated  and  arranged 
the  first  intercolonial  matches  be- 
tween the  New  South  Wales  and 
Victoria  Bowling  Clubs,  is  now  in 
England,  with  Mr.  C.  Woods,  of 
Melbourne,  and  several  other 
prominent  Australians,  endeavour- 
ing to  bring  about  a  most  success- 
ful series  of  games  with  the  mother 
country  clubs.  Mr.  S.  E.  Yelland, 
of  Southsea,  is  equally  zealous  by 
way  of  taking  a  lead  on  behalf 
of  the  home  organisations. 

Although  no  definite  programme 
has  yet  been  drawn  up  for  next 
summer's  international  events,  the 
decision   has  been  arrived  at  for 


268 


baily's  magazine. 


[October 


i 


the  colonial  players  to  be  the 
guests  of  each  club  visited,  and 
admission  to  the  greens  being 
entirely  by  invitation,  and  not  by 
gate  money,  the  company  present 
in  each  case  is  likely  to  be  parti- 
ticularly  select,  while  the  prover- 
bial social  qualities  of  bowling  men 
generally,  are  likely  in  such  festive 
foregatherings  to  produce  a  gen- 
erous display  of  good  ellowship 
and  kindness. 

More  than  half-a-hundred  British 
Clubs  have  already  signified  their 
intention  of  inviting  the  Austra- 
lians to  compete,  and  there  appears 
every  probability  that  before  any- 
thing like  a  definite  programme 
has  been  arranged,  not  a  few  such 
applications  will  have  to  remain 
unaccepted. 

It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that 
just  as  there  are  different  rules 
governing  the  counting  of  points 
for  game  in  this  country,  so  in 
Australia  the  greens  vary  in  size, 
those  in  Victoria  being  thirty  feet 
or  so  longer  than  the  grounds  of 
New  South  Wales. 

There  might  well  be,  as  an  out- 
come of  the  international  events  of 
next  year,  the  adoption  of  a  general 
standard  of  regulations  for  the 
game  of  bowls.  The  Australians 
usually  play  the  same  version  as 
the  Scottish  Clubs,  the  greatest 
number  of  points  in  two  hours  and 
a  half  securing  the  victory. 

The  Earl  of  Jersey,  in  accept- 
ing the  Presidency  of  the  newly 
formed  Inter  -  Colonial  Bowling 
Association,  will  in  a  remarkable 
way  bring  the  Australian  clubs 
into  line  with  those  of  the  Mother 
Country,  both  Lord  and  Lady 
Jersey  taking  the  greatest  interest 
in   both   the   playing    and   social 


side  of  bowls  at  the  Antipodes, 
while  also  welcoming  the  Colonial 
bowlers  in  the  present  tour. 

There  is  quite  a  probability  that 
other  ladies  will  follow  the  recent 
example  of  those  of  the  Saxe- 
Weimar  Club,  who  instituted 
bowls  as  a  pastime  for  the  fair, 
the  game  thus  being  brought  on 
a  par  with  croquet,  tennis,  golf 
and  archery,  in  all  of  which  ladies 
display  the  highest -class  form. 

Mr.  John  Young  is  leaving  for 
Sydney,  and  Mr.  C.  Wood  for 
Melbourne.  Both,  in  the  coarse 
of  a  week  or  two,  will,  as  the 
leaders  of  Australian  bowling, 
carry  back  the  hearty  good  wishes 
of  the  many  clubs  in  England 
which  they  have  visited ;  while 
the  bringing  over  their  representa- 
tive team  next  year  is  likely  to  he 
a  most  popular  feature  in  our 
national  coming  events. 

Widely  as  the  game  now  finds 
favour  on  both  sides  of  the  border, 
yet  there  are  not  a  few  towns  and 
districts,  both  in  England  and 
Scotland,  in  which  so  well  favoured 
a  pastime  does  not  find  representa- 
tion, and  with  the  ever  growing 
popularity  of  all  that  pertains  to 
healthful  and  pleasant  recreation, 
there  may  well  be  brought  about 
a  greater  spreading  of  the  game, 
as  a  result  of  the  England  and 
Australia  bowling  engagements. 

The  London  and  Southern 
Counties  Bowling  Association  has 
concluded  a  most  successful  season 
of  inter-club  matches,  Mr.  H. 
Childs,  of  the  Reading  Bowling 
Club,  winning  the  Championship 
Gold  Badge.  Mr.  Ernest  C.  Price, 
the  Hon.  Sec,  holds  a  similar 
important  position  in  the  Inter- 
national Bowling  Association. 


i«99.] 


269 


The  Chances  of  the  Game.* 

SOME     TALES    OF    PLAY. 
By   Major   Arthur    Griffiths. 

Author  of  **  My  Grandfather's  Journals,"  &c,  &c 

VI.— FARO'S  DAUGHTER. 


The  passengers  for  the  s.s.  Der- 
wcntwater  were  to  join  her  at 
lsmailia,  and  they  left  Cairo  by 
the  morning  train  in  time,  as  they 
thought,  to  catch  their  ship.  But 
on  reaching  lsmailia  they  found 
she  had  passed,  and  that  they 
must  follow  her  to  Port  Said.  It 
was  a  nuisance  to  change  into  the 
narrow  gauge  line  that  runs  by 
the  Suez  Canal  nearly  all  the  way 
between  the  two  places,  and  the 
vexation  felt  was  increased  by  the 
sight  of  the  masts  and  smoke 
stack  of  the  Derwcntwater  as  she 
steamed  along  a  stone's  throw 
away.  The  failure  to  connect 
seemed  specially  to  annoy  one 
gentleman  who,  with  his  daugh- 
ter, was  to  sail  in  the  Devwent- 
water. 

He  was  rather  a  gorgeous  per- 
son :  puffy,  plethoric,  consequen- 
tial. A  man  of  wealth,  presum- 
ably, and  of  recently  acquired 
wealth,  who  gave  himself  the  airs 
and  claimed  the  special  con- 
sideration often  noticeable  in 
nouveaux  riches.  Mr.Jaspar  Crookes 
was  very  indignant  at  the  breach 
of  faith  committed  by  the  captain 
of  the  Derwent water.  Why  had  he 
not  waited  for  his  passengers  ? 
Why  should  they  be  obliged  to 
transfer  themselves  and  their 
baggage  into  a  tin- pot,  tea-kettle 
line,  instead  of  going  straight  on 
board  ?  He  would  demand  an 
explanation  of  the  company,  have 
the  law  of  them,  write  to  the 
Times.    All  the  while  his  daughter, 

*  All  rights  reserved  in  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States. 


well  trained  to  his  tantrums,  no 
doubt,  sought  to  pacify  him,  and 
was  assisted  to  the  best  of  his 
ability  by  her  friend  Major  For- 
rest, of  the  Egyptian  Army.  He 
had  been  her  frequent  partner  in 
the  dances  at  the  Gezireh  Palace, 
and  was  now  taking  short  leave 
for  the  pleasure  of  travelling  home 
in  her  company. 

Mr.  Crookes  did  not  cease  from 
his  complaining  when  they  arrived 
at  Port  Said.  They  had  beaten 
the  steamer,  which  had  been  de- 
tained at  the  Canal  crossings,  and 
so  had  to  go  to  an  hotel,  to  dine 
there,  probably  to  sleep  there; 
and  be  prepared  to  turn  out  at 
any  hour  to  get  on  board  amid  the 
dirt  and  noise  of  coaling.  It  was 
altogether  abominable.  But  Miss 
Cissie  and  her  Major  took  it  very 
philosophically,  which  meant  that 
they  sat  about  among  the  baggage 
in  the  hall  or  in  dark  corners, 
where  they  flirted  undisturbed  by 
the  delay. 

It  was  all  over  before  daylight, 
and  they  were  safe  in  their  berths 
by  the  time  the  Derwentwater  got  to 
sea.  Mr.  Crookes  was  in  better 
temper  when  he  came  on  deck, 
although  he  glared  at  the  many 
strange  faces  around,  for  the  ship 
was  coming  from  Burmah,  Galle 
and  Aden.  He  knew  no  one  as 
he  thought,  until  one,  a  seedy, 
rather  tall,  and  debauched-looking 
person,  came  up  with  easy  greasy 
swagger  and  claimed  acquaint- 
ance. 

"  Why,    Jaspar,      old      pard, 
who'd   have   thought  of  meeting 


270 


BAILYS   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


you!  Where  have  you  dropped 
from  ?     What  cheer  ?  " 

"  I  want  to  have  nothing  to  say 
to  you,  Gunther,"  was  Mr. 
Crookes'  short,  surly  reply  to  the 
familiar  greeting.  He  was  very 
stiff  and  dignified,  but  his  fingers 
twitched  and  his  lower  lip  had 
dropped. 

"  Come,  I  say ;  after  all  these 
years — would  you  turn  your  back 
on  a  pal  ?  Shan't  stand  that,  I 
tell  you — straight,"  said  the  other 
in  angry  remonstrance. 

"  I  do  not  know  you,"  went  on 
Mr.  Crookes,  still  trying  to  brave 
it  out. 

"  But  I  do  you,  and  I  haven't 
forgotten  old  times.  You've  got 
to  be  civil,  ay,  and  more,  obliging, 
to  the  tune  of  a  couple  of  hun- 
dred quid,  or  1*11  expose  you 
before  the  whole  ship.  Is  it  to 
be  peace  or  war  ?  " 

The  defiance  had  faded  out  of 
Mr.  Crookes'  face  before  this 
speech  was  ended,  and  the  self- 
sufficient,  arrogant  demeanour 
was  much  toned  down.  He  looked 
round  nervously  to  see  if  anyone 
had  heard  or  was  watching  them, 
and  he  answered  quite  humbly — 

"  Very  well,  I  agree  to  that ; 
you  shall  have  your  two  hundred, 
not  quite  the  whole  sum,  but  all 
I  can  spare,  and  the  rest  at  the 
first  place  we  land." 

"  And  no  more  of  your  hoity- 
toity  airs,  Master  Jasp,"  went  on 
Gunther  insolently.  "  We  were 
partners  once,  and  I  stand  on  that ; 
what  though  you've  made  your 
pile  and  I'm  a  little  under  the 
weather.  We  must  be  good  pals 
all  the  voyage,  or  I  shall  be  nasty." 

He  was  nasty  enough,  never- 
theless, in  fixing  his  society  on 
Mr.  Crookes,  and  claiming  to  be 
his  familiar  friend. 

"That  your  little  girl?"  he 
asked.  "  She's  a  clipper.  Fa- 
vours her  mother,  as  I  remember 
her.     Old  woman's  gone — eh  ?  " 


"  My  wife  died  many  years 
ago. 

"And  the  young  'un's  pre- 
paring to  flit.  Got  a  sweetheart, 
I  see." 

Mr.  Crookes  groaned  aloud, 
and  walked  away,  but  his  perse- 
cutor was  still  at  his  heels. 

"  Your  father  seems  to  have 
found  some  one  he  knows,"  said 
Major  Forrest,  who  was,  as  ever, 
in  Cissie's  pocket.  "  Proper 
bounder  he  looks." 

"  He's  known  a  lot  of  rough 
people  in  his  time,  at  the  diamond 
fields.  This  is  probably  one  of 
them.  I've  never  seen  him  be- 
fore, and  don't  want  to  see  him 
again." 

"No  more  does  your  father,  by 
the  look  of  him." 

Till  now  very  little  notice  had 
been  taken  on  board  of  the  shady 
personage  who  called  himself 
Gunther,  who  had  loafed  about 
the  smoking-room  bar  cadging 
for  drinks,  abjectly  grateful  for  a 
cheap  cigar,  looking  wistfully  at 
the  card-table,  but  never  .taking 
a  hand,  for  the  obvious  reason 
that  he  had  no  funds. 

But  he  came  out  in  a  new  light 
soon  after  his  meeting  with  Mr. 
Crookes.  He  made  at  once  for 
the  bar,  and  called  upon  the 
bystanders  to  name  their  poison, 
filled  his  pockets  with  Trichino- 
polies,  and  seized  the  first  chance 
of  a  seat  at  poker,  where  he 
played  uncommonly  well. 

It  was  only  a  small  game,  three- 
penny "  ante,"  and  it  did  not 
satisfy  Mr.  Gunther,  who  was  a 
gambler,  evidently,  to  the  finger 
tips. 

"  Any  gentlemen  here  seen  the 
game  of  faro  ?  There's  not 
enough  snap  in  this." 

"  How  is  .faro  played  ?  "  some 
one  asked  incautiously. 

•'  I  shall  be  very  happy  to  show  j 
you.  It's  easy  as  pie.  Only  I 
wants  one  or  two  bits  of  appar-    ] 


1899.3 


THE   CHANCES   OF  THE    GAME. 


271 


atus,  a  faro  box,  and  a  '  lay  out/ 
They're  about  the  most  important 
—eh,  Mr.  Crookes  ?  "  He  looked 
up  and  winked  knowingly, 
whereat  Mr.  Crookes,  who  had 
weakly  ventured  into  the  smoking- 
room,  turned  tail  and  fled. 

That  same  afternoon  a  faro 
table  was  started,  all"  in  proper 
form,  with  the  usual  appurte- 
nances, the  "faro  box,"  "check 
rack,"  "cue  keeper,"  "shuf- 
fling board"  and  "lay  out." 
It  was  hinted  that  Mr.  Gunther 
travelled  with  them  in  his  port- 
manteau, but  his  baggage  was 
of  very  limited  dimensions,  and 
his  own  story  was  that  the 
ship's  carpenter  had  knocked  the 
things  up  very  handily.  The 
"  faro  box "  was  ingeniously 
contrived  from  an  old  cigar- box, 
and  the  springs  which  keep  the 
cards  against  the  square  open 
panel  on  top  were  pieces  of  whale- 
bone from  one  of  the  stewardesses' 
stays.  A  backgammon  board  had 
been  converted  into  a  "  cue 
keeper  " ;  on  this  the  index  cards 
had  been  pasted,  and  the  balls 
that  were  slipped  from  left  to 
right  as  the  game  marked  were 
ordinary  Spanish  nuts  strung  on 
wire ;  the  "  lay  out,"  in  other 
words,  the  staking  table,  was  a 
large  strip  of  canvas  upon  which 
cards  of  all  the  values,  ace  to 
king,  as  used  in  faro,  had  been 
stitched  in  two  parallel  rows. 
Gunther,  who  appointed  himself 
both  banker  and  dealer,  took  his 
seat  in  a  corner  of  the  smoking- 
room,  with  his  table  across,  and 
was  ready  to  face  all  comers. 

The  faro  bank  was  an  immense 
"  boom."  Now  that  the  voyage 
had  lasted  some  weeks  the  inevit- 
able boredom  had  set  in,  and 
this  new  game  was  a  great  fillip 
to  the  amusements  on  board. 
Everyone,  even  ladies,  flocked  to 
the  smoking-room  to  stake  against 
the   bank,  and  a  great   deal    of 


money  changed  hands.  The  luck 
was  mainly  on  Gunther's  side, 
who  played  with  great  sangfroid. 
In  front  of  him  was  the  faro  box, 
from  which  he  drew  a  single  card 
alternately  for  self  or  company; 
the  card  left  exposed  through 
the  opening  or  window  on  the 
top  of  the  box  decided  the  coup. 
Players  won  or  lost  according  as 
they  had  staked  on  the  "layout," 
either  on  ace,  two,  three,  four, 
and  so  forth,  for  in  faro  it  is  the 
value  of  the  card  alone  that  tells  : 
suit  or  colour  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  game. 

Gunther,  as  has  been  said,  had 
generally  the  best  of  it.  He  won 
steadily,  if  not  largely,  and  it  was 
explained  that  the  bank,  as  a 
rule,  did  win.  To  lose  with  equa- 
nimity, however,  is  not  given  to 
all,  and  there  were  some  of  the 
victims  who  chafed  enough  to  go 
to  the  captain  protesting  against 
the  continuance  of  the  play. 
Games  of  hazard  should  not  be 
permitted  on  board  any  decent 
ship,  the  Derwentwater  was  be- 
coming as  bad  as  any  "  hell," 
and  this  man  Gunther  was 
"  skinning  "  the  passengers 
shamefully.  No  one  knew  any- 
thing about  him,  where  he  came 
from,  or  where  he  was  going, 
and  no  one  believed  he  played 
fair. 

The  Captain,  thus  adjured,  took 
the  matter  up  and  tackled  the 
keeper  of  the  faro  table,  who 
coolly  referred  him  to  that  emi- 
nent millionaire,  Mr.  Jaspar 
Crookes,  who  was  his  partner  in 
the  business.  He  would  tell 
them  (this  was  in  the  Captain's 
cabin  before  a  sort  of  enquiry  at 
which  Major  Forrest  assisted) 
that  the  game  of  faro  was  simple 
and  straightforward,  as  harmless 
as  the  sweepstake  on  the  day's 
run  which  went  on  regularly  on 
board  the  Derwentwater. 

Mr.    Crookes    was    summoned 


272 


BAILY'S   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


and  came,  accompanied  by  his 
daughter  Cissie.  He  entirely  re- 
pudiated the  statement  made  by 
Gunther. 

"  I  know  him,  yes,  but  I  have 
had  no  dealings  with  him  on 
board."  It  cost  him  much  to 
say  this,  and  he  spoke  with 
averted  face,  but  he  said  it, 
braving  the  consequences. 

"  You  mean  hound  !  "  cried 
Gunther,  with  a  sudden  access  of 
hideous  rage.  "  By  the  Lord,  I'll 
expose  you  here  and  now,  before 
them  all." 

"  Do  not  believe  him,  I  beg," 
began  Crookes,  with  a  white 
face. 

"  It  is  the  solemn  truth.  This 
smug  high-toned  plutocrat  before 
whom  you  all  bow  low  is  Faro 
Crookes,'  once  the  most  noted 
gambler  in  South  Africa.  His 
saloon  at  Dutoit's  Pan  was 
notorious  as  the  worst  swind- 
ling, thieving,  cheating  den  in 
South  Africa.  He  robbed  all 
who  came,  skinned  them  alive, 
crunched  their  very  bones  !  " 

44  It's  a  lie,  a  lie,  no  one  could 
accuse  me  of  foul  play.  But  I 
had  a  partner,  for  my  sins — " 

"  Whom  you  sent  to  the  break- 
water at  Simon's  Bay  by  your 
false  perjured  evidence,  when 
yours  was  the  guilt  and  yours 
should  have  been  the  penalty. 
Retribution  has  reached  you 
at  last.  I  will  publish  your 
shame  everywhere,  far  and 
wide—" 

"  Lies,  lies,  lies  !  "  retorted 
Crookes  in  a  thick  guttural  voice, 
which  suddenly  failed  him.  He 
gasped  for  breath,  threw  out  his 
hands,  clutching  convulsively  at 
space,  and  then  fell  heavily  to  the 
ground. 

"  You've  killed  him,  you  base 
black-hearted  villain  !  "  shouted 
Cissie  hysterically,  •'  his  blood 
will  be  on  your  head." 

But  now  her  father  needed  all 


her  care.  They  lifted  him  and 
removed  him  to  his  berth,  the 
ship's  doctor  was  called  in  and 
looked  grave.  He  feared  cerebral 
haemorrhage. 

Major  Forrest,  left  with  the 
Captain  and  Gunther,  spoke  with 
great  firmness  to  the  latter. 

"  This  can  go  no  further. 
Don't  dare  repeat  your  libellous 
story.  If  I  hear  another  syllable 
of  it  you  will  have  to  do  with  me." 

"I  do  not  choose  to  be  hec- 
tored and  brow -beaten  by  you.  I 
will  speak  when  and  where  I 
please,"  said  Gunther  hotly. 

"Not  on  board  my  ship,  any- 
way," interposed  the  Captain  with 
authority,  "  for  I  shall  make  you 
keep  your  cabin  for  the  rest  of  the 
voyage;  and  if  you  attempt  to 
break  out,  by  George,  I'll  put  you 
in  irons.  I'll  have  no  more  faro, 
and  you  shan't  talk.     See  ?  " 

Mr.  Crookes'  sudden  seizure 
was  a  shock  to  the  whole  ship. 
He  had  everyone's  sympathies; 
Gunther  none.  Some  whispers 
got  abroad  of  the  charges  he  had 
brought,  but  Forrest  took  up  the 
talkers  very  short,  and  the  story 
was  never  exactly  known. 

Nor  was  the  last  episode  on 
board  the  Derwentwater.  On  the 
third  day  after  Mr.  Crookes'  attack, 
when  he  was  slowly  mending, 
although  complete  cure  was  hope- 
less, Cissie  left  his  cabin  and 
sought  out  her  lover. 

"  Will  you  see  me  through 
something  desperate,  Frank,  and 
think  no  worse  of  me  whatever  I 
do?" 

"  I  shall  think  no  evil  of  you, 
Cissie,  whatever  you  do." 

"  Come,  then,  I'm  going  to 
bring  that  scoundrel  to  book. 
Let's  find  out  his  cabin." 

He  lay  on  his  sofa  smoking 
when  the  pair  entered,  and  stared 
in  amazement  when  Cissie  stood 
in  front  of  him,  with  her  father's 
revolver  in  her  hand. 


*99.] 


MUSIC   AND   MORALS    IN   THE    KENNEL. 


273 


11  See  to  the  door,  Frank.  As 
for  you,"  to  Gunther,  "you 
don't  deserve  to  live,  but  I  will 
spare  you  on  condition  you  sign 
this  paper.  I  mean  it.  My  blood 
is  up.  You  have  done  a  foul 
wrong." 

41  It's  gospel  truth,  s*  help  me! " 
protested  Gunther. 

"  Sign  this.  Quick.  It  is  an  ac- 
knowledgement of  your  falsehood, 
and  a  complete  exoneration  of 
my  poor  father.  Sign.  You  had 
better." 

Gunther  looked  at  the  brave 
girl,  wondering  whether  she  would 
dare  enforce  her  threats,  and  then, 


cur  that   he  was,  tried  to  make 
terms. 

"  You  can  buy  my  signature." 
"Sign  first.  After  that  we 
may  pay  you  a  price  on  condition 
that  you  never  show  your  face 
within  a  thousand  miles  of  us. 
You  shall  go  back  to  South  Africa, 
to  Hong  Kong,  Chili,  where  you 
choose.  That  will  do,  good 
day." 

Mr.  Crookes  never  fully  re- 
covered, but  he  was  no  more 
troubled  by  Gunther,  and  he 
gladly  gave  his  daughter  to  For- 
rest when  he  knew  what  she  had 
done. 


Music  and  Morals  in  the  Kennel. 


Is  the  music  of  foxhound  packs 
less  than  it  used  to  be?  If  we 
may  trust  the  complaints  that  find 
their  way  into  the  Field  on  this 
subject  every  hunting  season,  a 
great  many  people  think  so.  In- 
deed, it  seems  to  be  taken  for 
granted  on  all  sides  that  whether 
because  he  is  required  to  go  faster 
or  for  whatever  reason,  the  fox- 
hound is  losing  his  tongue.  And 
on  scientific  grounds  this  seems 
not  unlikely.  The  custom  of 
"speaking"  on  the  line  of  the 
quarry  is  a  "wild  trait,"  as  Dr. 
Louis  Robinson  would  call  it, 
surviving  in  our  kennels  from  the 
days  when  the  hunting  dog  was 
one  of  a  clan  which  worked  to- 
gether for  the  common  good,  and 
therefore  learned  to  proclaim  a 
find  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

Of  course  the  giving  tongue  is 
not  now  really  necessary  to  the 
existence  of  the  hunting  dog  in 
domestication,  and  we  might 
therefore  expect  that  it  would  be 
the  first  attribute  of  its  natural 
state    the   dog   would    lose,   and 


this  is  actually  the  case.  All 
hound-breeders  will  agree  that 
nothing  is  more  easily  lost 
in  a  pack  than  tongue.  Nor 
is  the  tendency  to  silence  a  new 
thing,  as  some  people  seem  to 
think ;  it  has  always  existed,  and 
chariness  of  tongue  or  even  posi- 
tive muteness  has  appeared  in 
all  famous  kennels  from  time  to 
time.  The  older  writers  are  just 
as  decided  in  their  outcries  about 
the  growing  silence  of  the  fox- 
hound as  we  are  at  the  present 
time.  Thus  Mr.  Osbaldeston's 
hounds  were  very  chary  of  their 
tongue,  Sir  Thomas  Mostyn's 
were  almost  mute.  Mr.  Horlock 
says  of  the  Badminton  pack  of  his 
day,  "  They  have  the  knack  of 
getting  away  pretty  close  to  their 
fox,  without  saying  much  about  it 
either."  Twice  at  least  in  the 
present  century  the  Belvoir  have 
been  very  light  of  tongue,  and 
it  is  recorded  by  Mr.  Cuthbert 
Bradley  in  his  interesting  "  Remi- 
niscences of  Frank  Gillard"  that 
when   Gillard   became   huntsman 


274 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


the  first  problem  in  breeding  he 
had  to  solve  was  how  to  give  the 
pack  more  music. 

The  lack  of  tongue  is,  then, 
no  new  thing;  on  the  contrary, 
it  is  a  kind  of  malady  which 
has  broken  out  in  all  kennels  from 
time  to  time,  and  does  so  still. 
In  this  paper  I  wish  to  suggest 
that  the  appearance  in  any  pack 
or  in  any  strain  of  hound  of  light- 
ness of  tongue  is  the  first  sign  of 
decay  of  stamina  and  of  hunting 
qualities. 

Let  us  go  back  for  a  moment 
to  the  wild  hunting  dog  of  primi- 
tive times.  The  animal  that  most 
often  called  the  pack  to  the  scent 
of  their  prey  with  a  deep  and 
powerful  note  was  naturally  the 
strongest,  most  active,  and  bold- 
est dog— that  is,  he  possessed  the 
greatest  vitality  and  the  soundest 
constitution,  and  he  naturally 
became  the  father  of  puppies  that 
would  be  likely  to  survive  and 
take  a  leading  place  in  the  pack. 
There  was  therefore  no  doubt 
in  those  times  a  correlation 
between  tongue  and  strength, 
activity  and  courage.  But  this 
still  exists  in  every  kennel ;  for  the 
leading  hounds,  those  to  which 
the  others  fly  in  the  field  and 
yield  in  the  kennel,  are  hardly  ever 
mute  ones.  Muteness  is  often 
found  with  shy,  jealous,  or  sulky 
natures,  and  in  the  kennel,  music 
and  (canine)  morals  go  together. 

Let  us  take  an  example  well 
known  to  all  hound  -  breeders. 
When  Frank  Gillard  wished  to 
give  back  their  lost  melody  to  the 
Belvoir,  he  chose  for  this  purpose 
a  certain  hound  named  Wonder, 
a  great  grandson  of  Brocklesby 
Rallywood  and  of  the  famous  Bel- 
voir Caroline.  Wonder  had,  the 
huntsman  says,  a  beautiful  voice, 
"  like  a  bell,"  which  "he  did  not 
fail  to  use  at  the  right  moment." 
To  Wonder's  son  Warrior  was 
born  the  celebrated  Weathergage, 


the  founder  of  a  line  of  hard 
workers.  I  have  a  boxful  of 
letters  from  huntsmen  and  hound- 
breeders  telling  of  the  wonderful 
stoutness  and  working  qualities  of 
this  strain.  From  the  ploughs  of 
Yorkshire,  the  forests  of  North- 
amptonshire, or  the  grass  of 
Leicestershire,  the  witness  is  the 
same,  while  of  the  symmetry  of 
Weathergage's  descendants  in  the 
line  of  Gambler,  Watchman  and 
Dexter  let  the  prize  list  this  year 
at  Peterborough  tell.  From  Won- 
der, then,  the  hound  with  the 
voice  "  like  a  bell "  come  many 
descendants  who  all  inherit  sound 
constitutions  and  working  power. 
Wonder  was  chosen,  no  doubt,  for 
his  voice  in  the  first  instance,  but 
of  course  it  could  not  escape  so 
fine  a  judge  of  hound-breeding  as 
Frank  Gillard  that  Wonder  was 
bred  for  stoutness  on  both  sides. 

Of  Brocklesby  Rallywood  every- 
one knows,  but  Wonder's  great 
grandmother  Caroline  was  a  bitch 
of  extraordinary  boldness,  hunt- 
ing power  and  endurance.  On 
this  instance,  and  others  which 
have  come  under  my  notice,  I 
formed  the  theory  that  tongue,  con- 
stitution and  hunting  qualities,  are 
closely  correlated  in  the  foxhound, 
and  I  believe,  therefore,  that 
lightness  of  tongue  in  any  family 
or  in  any  kennel  should  be  taken 
as  the  first  sign  of  degeneracy,  of 
failing  stamina,  and  a  loss  of  that 
vitality  which  is  so  necessary  to 
the  hunting  qualities  of  a  pack. 
All  the  evil  consequences  of  light 
tongue  may  not,  indeed  I  know 
they  do  not,  appear  all  at  once, 
but  none  the  less,  chariness  of 
tongue  is  a  sign  of  weakness  and 
slackness,  nay,  it  is  a  kind  of 
slackness  in  itself. 

I  do  not  know  whether  the  fox- 
hound is  faster  than  he  used  to  be 
in  the  days  of  our  ancestors,  but 
I  am  sure  that  our  method  of 
hunting  is  quicker,   so  that  only 


t 


i*990 


THE    SPORTSMAN  S    LIBRARY 


275 


the  very  best  and  stoutest  hounds 
can  give  tongue  when  the  pack  is 
running  hard.  Many  hounds  that 
would  speak  at  a  slower  pace  are 
fairly  swept  off  their  noses,  and 
have  no  power  to  speak,  or  indeed 
to  do  anything  else  but  strain  to 
keep  their  place  in  the  pack.  So 
that  when  hounds  are  racing  over 
grass  it  is  only  from  the  middle  ' 
of  the  park  where  the  Rally  woods 
run  that  there  comes  the  few 
notes  to  which  we  are  treated. 
Many  of  the  weaker  hounds 
would  gladly  speak  if  they  could. 
I  well  remember  watching  a  very 
famous  bitch  pack  hunting  a  fox 
over  a  park  in  which  long 
stretches  of  grass  were  broken  by 
little  clumps  and  spinnies.  As  it 
happened,  the  fox  had  run  through 
every  one  of  these,  and  it  was 
noteworthy  how  few  hounds  spoke 
while  straining  over  the  open  pas- 
tures of  the  park,  yet  when  the 
pace  was  checked  by  the  under- 
growth the  whole  body  broke  out 
into  an  eager  burst  of  melody. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  many  of 
the  complaints  of  silence  in  fox- 
hounds we  hear  from  hunting  men 
are  not  well  founded,  or  are  per- 

.  haps  only  another  way  of  saying 
that  the  writers  are  growing  old, 
but  it  is  equally  certain  that 
silence  is  no  new  thing,  nor  is  it 
a  matter  to  be  passed  over 
lightly    when    it    is    noticed    by 

.    masters,  huntsmen  and  others  able 


to  judge.  Roughly  speaking, 
silence  in  a  pack  is  (to  make  a 
bull)  Nature  asking  for  new  blood 
to  restore  vitality  in  constitutions 
that  are  degenerating.  I  am 
aware,  too,  that  many  men  are 
indifferent  to  music  in  their  pack, 
treating  any  complaints  of  mute- 
ness as  rather  a  sign  of  slowness 
in  the  complainer  than  of  faulti- 
ness  in  the  pack,  and  a  half 
silent  hound  may  do  very  well, 
but  in  the  next  generation 
all  sorts  of  vices  will  ap- 
pear, skirting,  jealousy,  and 
sulkiness.  It  will  be  noted  that 
no  great  hound-breeders  of  our 
day  have  really  been  indifferent 
to  tongue :  whether  they  have 
noted  the  correlation  between 
music  and  morals,  tongue  and 
stamina  which  I  have  suggested, 
I  do  not  know,  but  they  invari- 
ably act  as  if  they  did.  My 
theory  is,  at  all  events,  well 
founded  on  established  facts,  and 
is  in  any  case  well  worth  con- 
sidering by  practical  hound- 
breeders.  On  the  other  hand, 
those  who  believe  that  foxhounds 
are  being  bred  mute  may  be  com- 
forted by  knowing  that  the  fear 
of  this  is  no  new  thing,  but  that 
the  malady  has  broken  out  at  all 
periods  in  the  history  of  fox- 
hunting, and  can  be  bred  out  by 
judicious  choice  of  the  fathers  and 
mothers  of  the  pack. 

T.  F.  Dale. 


The  Sportsman's  Library. 


M.  Edouard  FoA  is  already 
known  in  France  as  the  author 
of  **  Mes  Grandes  Chasses,"  a 
spirited  record  of  sport  in  Africa. 
He  has  enjoyed  opportunities  of 
collecting  material  for  a  dozen 
books,  since  the  last  fourteen  years 
of  his  life  have  been  passed  in  ex- 
ploration and  in  collecting  speci- 


mens for  the  Natural  History 
Museum  in  Paris.  His  new  work* 
renders  an  account  of  sporting  in- 
cidents during  thirty-nine  months 
spent  in  the  country  north  of  the 
Zambesi  and  south  of  Lake  Barig- 


* "  After  Bir  Game  in  Central  Africa."  By 
Edouard  Foa,  F.R.G.S.  Translated  by  Frederic 
Lees.    Adam  and  Charles  Black. 


276 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


weolo ;  and  very  graphic  many  of 
his  pages  are.    As  a  collector  it 
was  his  business  to  kill,  and  he 
pursued  his  business  systematic- 
ally,  his    own    large    experience 
enabling  him  to  direct  his  native 
aides  to  the  best  advantage.     His 
bag  was  a  very  heavy  one,  488 
head  of  large  game,  including  39 
elephants  and  16  lions;  he  shot 
520  head  of  small  game,  birds, 
monkeys,     and     lemuridae  ;    and 
snared  or  caught  alive  over  200 
animals,    varying    in    size    from 
zebra,  waterbuck  and  leopard,  to 
a  civet  cat.    As  may  be  supposed, 
he  had  some  exciting  adventures ; 
one  of  the  most  dramatic  anec- 
dotes in  his  book  is  that  which 
describes  his  narrow  escape  from 
an   elephant.      The    Briton   may 
perhaps  think   the  author    occa- 
sionally theatrical,  but  allowance 
must  be  made  for  the  Gallic  char- 
acter,  and    his   method   has  the 
merit  of  rendering  his  narrative 
of  interest  to  readers  other  than 
sportsmen.      The   dimensions  he 
gives  of  his  largest  specimens  in- 
vite speculation    concerning    the 
means  employed  to  arrive  thereat ; 
as  when   he   makes  an  elephant 
12  ft.  2£  in.  high  at  the  shoulder: 
1  ft.  5J  in.  more  than  the  biggest 
yet    recorded !      His     translator, 
on    the    whole,    has    done    jus- 
tice to  a   most  entertaining  and 
vividly-written  book  ;  but  he  may 
be    reminded  that   English  does 
not  include  such  a  word  as  "  cor- 
pulescence,"  and  that  the  hinder 
parts  of  an  animal  are  called  the 
"  quarters,"    not    "  cruppers,"    a 
too  literal  rendering  of  the  French 
croupe.     The  illustrations,  chiefly 
from  photographs,  are  exceedingly 
good; 

A  perfectly  ideal  work*  for  the 
library,  billiard  room,  smoking 
room,  or  whatsoever  place   men 

•  "  Old  Faby  Hunt  Club  Album."  By  George 
A.  FothergiU.  Printed  by  George  Waterston  & 
Sons,  Edinburgh. 


do  congregate  in  to  talk  horse  and 
hound,  is  this  Album,  by  Mr. 
George  A.  Fothergill.  The  con- 
spicuous feature  of  the  book  is  the 
series  of  portraits  of  members  of 
the  Old  Raby  Hunt  Club ;  these 
are  inimitable.  Mr.  Fothergill  has 
studied  his  sitters  with  the  eye  of 
a  true  artist,  and  invests  each  one 
with  a  character  and  individuality 
that  stops  short  of  clever  carica- 
ture. An  outline  history  of  the 
Club,  which  was  established  in 
1872,  long  after  the  old  Hunt  had 
become  extinct,  and  brief  bio- 
graphical sketches  of  the  mem- 
bers occupy  the  first  thirty  pages ; 
then  we  have  forty- three  full  page 
portraits  in  colour.  The  Album 
has  interest  beyond  the  circle 
of  the  Club,  for  among  its  mem- 
bers are  such  well-known  men  as 
Lord  Zetland,  the  president,  Lord 
Londonderry,  Lord  Castlereagh, 
Lord  Barnard,  Sir  William  Eden, 
six  members  of  the  Pease  family, 
including  Mr.  Joseph  Pease,  M.P., 
Mr.  W.  H.  A.  Wharton,  the  Hon. 
G.  W.  Hamilton  Russell,  and 
Colonel  J.  G.  Wilson.  Some  few 
of  these  portraits  have  already  ap- 
peared in  Vanity  Fair — a  fact  which 
of  itself  is  a  hall-mark  of  no  mean 
significance.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  speak  too  highly  of  the  Album, 
for  the  clever  artist  has  been  for- 
tunate in  printers  who  have  pre- 
served the  character  of  his  work 
and  have  rendered  justice  to  the 
very  uncommon  skill  with  which 
he  catches  a  likeness.  We  ob- 
serve that  only  fifty  copies  of  the 
edition  de  luxe  are  to  be  published. 
Major  Drury,  of  the  Royal 
Marines,  has  published  a  collec- 
tion of  fourteen  most  excellent 
short  stories.*  These  deal  for 
the  most  part  with  members  of 


*  "  Bearers  of  the  Burden."  Being  storks  of 
Land  and  Sea,  by  Major  W.  P.  Drury,  Royil 
Marines.  (London  :  Lawrence  and  Bulfea,  Lid., 
16,  Henrietta  Street,  Covent  Garden,  1899.) 
Crown  8vo,  fancy  boards.    Price  33.  6d. 


1899-3 


THE   SPORTSMAN  S    LIBRARY. 


277 


that  most  interesting  service,  the 
Royal  Marines,  and  the  author  is 
obviously  well  qualified  to  write 
of  "  Her  Majesty's  jolly,  soldier 
and  sailor  too,*  as  Rudyard  Kip- 
ling sings.  There  is  a  keen  vein 
of  observant  humour  running 
through  the  stories :  and  we  have 
gained  great  pleasure  from  the 
perusal  of  this  neat  little  volume. 

The  second  edition  of  Colonel 
Sir  Henry  Smith's  work  upon 
"  Retrievers,  and  How  to  Break 
Them,"*  published  at  the  very 
modest  price  of  one  shilling,  is 
welcome  to  all  lovers  of  one  of 
the  most  charming  and  useful  of 
our  sporting  breeds.  Originally 
in  the  form  of  an  article  in 
Blackwood's  Magazine  for  June, 
1897,  Sir  Henry's  views  appeared, 
and  the  article  was  so  much  ap- 
preciated that  the  author  has 
reprinted  it  with  some  additions, 
as  a  separate  contribution  to  our 
sporting  literature. 

A  very  useful  little  work  on  "  the 
sport  of  kings  "  is  "  Flat  Racing 
Explained  ;"  t  and  "  Analyst "  suc- 
ceeds in  affording  in  a  small  space 
a  large  amount  of  valuable  in- 
formation. 

It  was  the  immortal  Peter  Beck- 
ford,  if  we  do  not  mistake,  who  first 
voiced  in  print  the  difficulty  of 
finding  suitable  names  for  hounds ; 
and  though  the  day  is  long  past 
when  a  master  could  reconcile 
it  with  the  rules  of  orthography 
to  name  the  sons  of  Jester  "  Gowler, 
Govial  and  Jasper  "  in  order  to  pre- 
serve the  sire's  initial,  the  busi- 
ness of  christening  the  youngsters 


*  "  Retrievers,  and  How  to  Break  Them."  By 
Uent.-ColoDel  Sir  Henrv  Smith,  K.C.B.,  with 
introductory  chapter  by  Mr.  Shirley  of  Ettington, 
President  of  the  Kennel  Club.  Second  edition, 
revi«d  and  enlarged.  (William  Blackwood  & 
Sons,  Edinburgh  and  London,  1899.)  8vo,  paper. 
Price  x».  net. 

t  M  Flat  Racing  Explained."  By  "  Analyst." 
A  practical  treatise  on  Racing,  designed  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  owners,  breeders,  trainers, 
jockeys  and  the  general  public.  (London  :  Edmund 
Seale,  10,  Imperial  Arcade.  E.C.  New  York  : 
Goodwin  Bros.,  1899.)  Small  cr  8vo.  Price  3s.  6d. 


grows  by  no  means  easier.  To 
masters  and  huntsmen,  therefore, 
we  heartily  commend  "  Kennel 
Nomenclature,"*  compiled  by  Mr. 
Lloyd  Price,  M.H.  This  little 
book  contains  more  than  2,000 
exceedingly  well-chosen  names  for 
dog  hounds  and  bitches,  and  also 
a  list  of  names  appropriate — very 
appropriate  in  most  cases — for 
terriers.  Mr.  Lloyd  Price  has 
earned  the  thanks  of  all  who  find 
themselves  called  upon  to  name 
hounds.  When  pedigrees  are  as 
carefully  registered  as  they  are 
nowadays,  a  large  choice  of  names 
is  an  invaluable  aid  to  him  who 
seeks  to  avoid  the  confusion  sure 
to  arise  from  repetition.  The  book 
can  be  obtained  only  from  the 
compiler. 

Every  hunting  man  will  have  a 
ready  made  welcome  for  this  new 
editiont  of  an  old  favourite,  illus- 
trated by  the  capable  pencil  of 
Mr.  Charlton.  Good  print  and 
paper  are  VVhyte  Melville's  deserts 
and  this  neat  volume  does  his  work 
justice. 

Golfers  will  do  wisely  to  pro- 
vide themselves  with  the  handy 
bookletj  which  contains  particu- 
lars of  the  numerous  links  within 
reach  of  the  North  British  Rail- 
way Company's  system.  It  is 
packed  full  of  the  information  a 
golfer  requires,  and  the  idea  on 
which  it  is  based  might  be  ap- 
plied toother  fields  with  advantage. 

All  farmers  and  estate  agents 
should  read  this  lucid  and  well- 
written  pamphlet  §  on  Hedges,, 
by  Mr.  W.  J.  Maiden,  into  the 
thirty-two  pages  of  which  the 
author  has  succeeded  in  packing 


* "  Kennel  Nomenclature."  By  M.  L.  W.. 
Lloyd  Price,  M.H.,  Bryn  Cothi,  Nantgaredig, 
S.  Wales,     is.  6d. 

t  "  Riding  Recollections."  By  Whyte  Melville. 
New  Edition,  3s.  6d.    Ward,  Lock  &  Co. 

if  "The  N.B.R.  Golfers'  Guide."  By  James 
Fairbairn  and  G.  I.  Moriarty,  3d.  Fairbairn,  Ld., 
Edinburgh. 

§  "Hedges  and  Hedge-making."  By  W.  J. 
Maiden.    John  Murray. 


278 


BAILYS   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


I 


all  the  information  on  the  subject 
the  practical  husbandman  is  likely 
to  require.  It  is  an  expensive 
matter  to  raise  a  hedge  which 
shall  prove  a  reliable  fence,  but 
.once  raised  it  is  not  a  costly  busi- 
ness to  keep  it  in  repair.  The 
great  thing  to  aim  at  is  density  of 
lower  growth :  as  Mr.  Maiden 
happily  puts  it,   "  a    big-topped 


hedge  with  weakness  below  is  as 
much  a  mistake  as  a  big- topped 
horse  with  uncertain  legs."  White- 
thorn is,  above  all,  the  plant  with 
which  to  form  serviceable  and 
lasting  hedges.  Hunting  men 
will  perhaps  read  with  sympa- 
thetic interest  the  directions  for 
creating  bullfinches  :  this,  as  may 
be  supposed,  is  the  work  of  years. 


Life's    Run. 

Bright  shines  the  sun  on  November's  first  morning, 

Decking  with  diamonds  the  dew-laden  spray, 

Clouds  in  the  distance  conveying  a  warning ; 

Autumn  yet  lingers,  suggestive  of  May. 

Eagerly  waited  for,  now  the  day  beckons  on 

Youth,  ever  ready  to  take  his  place  there, 

Down  by  the  covert-side  ;  all  that  he  reckons  on, 

Twang  of  the  horn,  and  a  cap  in  the  air, 

Faith  in  himself,  and  the  good  steed  that  carries  him ; 

Fight  to  the  valiant,  and  race  to  the  fleet, 

Gone  is  the  care,  and  the  sorrow  that  harries  him — 

Care  finds  no  place  on  the  way  to  the  meet. 

For'ard  away !  'ere  we  know  it  we've  started  ! 
Racing  and  jostling,  we're  in  for  the  run, 
Striving  to  pass  by  our  fellows,  light-hearted, 
Only  concerned  to  lose  none  of  the  fun. 
Soon  the  field  changes ;  and  while  some  are  beating  us, 
Some  that  we  loved  have  fallen  far  in  the  rear, 
Fresh  faces  flit  by  us  ;  fresh  voices  greeting  us, 
Some,  started  badly,  now  drawing  up  near. 
Still  for'ard  on — though  the  effort  be  weariness, 
Still  struggling  on  for  position  and  place — 
Gone  the  glad  vigour  of  morn,  and  its  cheeriness ; 
Left  but  the  fear  to  drop  out  of  the  race. 

Westward  the  sun  sinks,  in  splendour  and  glory, 
Tinting  the  hill-tops  with  orange  and  gold, 
Swift  to  its  close  draws  the  day  and  its  story, 
Day  drawing  nightward — the  tale  well-nigh  told. 
Gone  all  the  eagerness,  morning's  gay  blithesomeness ; 
Stiffening  the  muscle,  and  weary  the  brain. 
Pleasant  fatigue  comes  in  lieu  of  the  lithesomeness ; 
Who  would  commence  the  day's  struggles  again  ? 
Who  will  regret,  when  the  shadows  are  lengthening, 
Bidding  us  cease,  and  no  farther  to  roam  ? 
Memory  is  cheering  us,  sweet  Hope  is  strengthening ; 
Welcome  the  mandate — "  'Tis  time  to  go  home."* 

Harry 


*  ti 


the  whirl  and  tumult  of  the  day  are  over,  and  it  is  time  to  go  homt"— Whytk-Mei.viijlk. 


I899-) 


279 


Anecdotal    Sport. 

By   "  Thormanby." 

Author  of  " Kings  of  the  Hunting- Field,"  "  Kings  of  the  Turf,"  &c 


Charles  I.  was  an  enthusiastic 
golf- player,  and  it  is  alleged, 
though  some  antiquarians  ques- 
tion the  veracity  of  the  statement, 
that  he  was  playing  on  Leith  links 
when  a  letter  was  put  into  his 
hand  announcing  the  first  news  of 
the  rebellion  in  Ireland.  He  did 
not,  however,  display  on  this  oc- 
casion the  sang-froid  which  heroes 
in  like  circumstances  have  evinced 
when  engaged  in  a  favourite  re- 
creation. He  did  not  deliberately 
finish  the  round,  or  even  allow 
the  fate  of  the  first  hole  to  be 
ascertained,  but  took  the  arm  of 
an  attendant,  and  in  great  agita- 
tion rode  to  Holyrood,  from 
whence  he  next  day  set  off  for 
London.  The  Duke  of  York, 
afterwards  James  II.,  was  also  a 
keen  golfer,  and  when,  visiting 
Scotland  in  1681-82,  in  the  capa- 
city of  Commissioner  to  the  Scotch 
Parliament,  he  kept  court  at 
Holyrood  along  with  the  Duchess, 
H.R.H.  was  often  a  competitor  for 
>  golf  honours  on  the  Leith  links. 

At  this  time  golf  was  also 
practised  at  the  English  Court 
(most  likely  because  patronised 
by  the  Stuarts),  and  two  noble- 
men in  the  Duke's  suite  insisted 
that  it  was  as  much  an  English 
as  a  Scotch  game.  There  being 
no  historical  data  for  the  settle- 
ment of  the  question,  it  was 
agreed  to  decide  it  by  a  pas- 
sage at  arms.  The  two  noblemen 
were  to  be  on  one  side,  and  the 
Duke  was  allowed  to  select  an 
Edinburgh  player  as  his  partner. 
Inquiry  was  of  course  made  for 
the  champion  golfer  in  Edina, 
and  universal  suffrage  pointed  to 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  476. 


one  Pater  son,  a  poor  shoemaker, 
whose  ancestors  had  been  equally 
famous  for  the  like  prowess. 
With  some  difficulty  Paterson 
was  induced  to  play,  and  whether 
from  real  superiority  or  by  favour 
of  their  antagonists — for  sincerity 
is  not  always  found  amongst  the 
train  of  the  blood  royal  —  the 
Duke  and  his  humble  coadjutor 
gained  the  day. 

For  what  stakes  the  match  was 
played  is  not  stated.  But  I  pre- 
sume they  must  have  been  heavy, 
for  Paterson's  share  was  so  large 
as  to  enable  him  to  build  a  house 
in  the  Canongate,  to  which  the 
Duke  contributed  a  stone,  bearing 
the  arms  of  the  Paterson  family, 
surmounted  by  a  crest  and  motto 
appropriate  to  the  distinction 
which  its  owner  had  acquired  as 
a  golfer.  The  crest  is  a  dexter 
hand  grasping  a  golf-club  with 
the  motto,  "  Far  and  Sure."  The 
house  is,  I  believe,  still  standing. 

But  enough  of  the  antiquity  of 
golf— it  is  with  its  later  develop- 
ment that  I  am  concerned.  It 
has  been  a  severe  blow  to  the 
amour  propre  of  the  patriotic  Scot 
to  find  what  he  maintains  to  be 
his  own  national  game  gaining  a 
popularity  among  the  Southron 
far  greater  even  than  that  which  it 
enjoys  in  the  land  of  its  birth. 
What  the  feelings  of  Scotchmen 
were  when  they  saw  their  best 
golfers,  both  amateur  and  profes- 
sional, beaten  at  their  own  game 
and  on  their  own  links  by  Mr. 
John  Ball  and  Mr.  Hilton — who 
are  not  only  Englishmen,  but 
amateurs — the  imagination  shrinks 

21 


2&> 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


from  picturing.  And  it  is  still 
more  galling  to  Scotsmen  to  re- 
mind them  of  the  fact  that  the 
oldest  golf  club  in  existence  is  to 
be  found  not  in  Scotland,  but  in 
England,  for  the  Royal  Black- 
heath  Golf  Club,  founded  by 
James  I.,  is  more  than  a  hundred 
years  older  than  "  The  Royal  and 
Antient  "  of  St.  Andrews  —  the 
oldest  in  Scotland. 

Another  sore  point  with  your 
Scottish  golfer  is  that  Englishmen 
will  not  learn  the  true  pronuncia- 
tion of  the  name  of  the  game.  It 
is  "goff."  The  "  1"  is  not 
sounded.  In  this  connection  I 
recall  rather  a  good  story.  Some 
years  ago  a  friend  of  mine,  whom 
an  enthusiastic  Scottish  "  goffer  " 
had  inoculated  with  his  own  craze 
for  the  pastime,  was  advised  to 
supplement  his  practice  by  study- 
ing a  "  handbook"  of  the  game. 
He  accordingly  ordered  by  word 
of  mouth  from  his  English  book- 
seller a  "  Handbook  on  Goff" 
and  in  due  course  received 
"  The  Hand  of  Providence  Ex- 
emplified in  the  Life  of  J.  B. 
Gough."  I  need  hardly  remind 
my  readers  that  at  that  time  the 
name  of  J.  B.  Go  ugh,  the  great 
temperance  orator,  was  familiar 
in  men's  mouths  as  a  household 
word. 

Canon  Lyttelton,  in  the  address 
to  which  I  have  already  referred, 
had  something  to  say  about  golf. 
"  As  people  got  on  in  life  and  tried 
to  recoup  they  took  to  golf.  He 
had  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
golf  was  good  for  elderly  men, 
but  not  a  good  game  for  boys, 
and  he  hoped  it  would  never  be 
extended  to  girls'  schools.  It  was 
lacking  in  co-operation."  I  agree 
with  him  to  a  certain  extent.  I 
don't  think  golf  is  a  good  game 
for  boys  for  the  reason  he  assigns, 
viz.,  lack  of  co-operation.     What 


is  wanted  in  boys*  games  is  some- 
thing to  promote  a  spirit  of  fellow- 
ship, to  foster  esprit-de-corpsy  and 
not  to  encourage  individual  prow- 
ess, and  the  natural  conceit  which 
it  engenders.  The  same  argument 
would  apply  to  girls'  schools ;  but 
if  Canon  Lyttelton  means  to  im- 
ply that  golf  is  not  a  fit  game  for 
ladies — I  beg  to  differ  from  him. 
It  is  true  that  the  attitudes  of  the 
correct  golfer  are  not  elegant  or 
attractive  when  ladies  assume  the 
pose — but,   after  all,  elegance  is 
not  everything,  and  a  woman  who 
is  naturally  graceful  in  her  move- 
ments will  contrive  to  make  even 
the  driving  posture  attractive.    It 
is  absurd,  however,  in  these  en- 
lightened days,  to  credit  women 
with  no  other    motive    in    their 
games  than   the    desire    to  look 
"  fetching  "  in  the  eyes  of  men. 
The  athletic  girl-graduate  of  Gir- 
ton  and  Newnham  would  justly 
resent  that  insinuation  as  an  insult. 
So  let  them  play  golf,  and  more 
power  to  their  elbows !    Though 
their  introduction  into  the  game 
robs  of  its  point  the  story  of  an 
enthusiastic  old  golfer,  who  on 
hearing  that   there  had  been  an 
addition  to  the  family  of  an  inti- 
mate friend,  asked  anxiously,  "  Is 
it  a  gowffer  ? " 

It  has  been  objected  to  golf  that 
it  is  a  game  trying  to  the  temper 
of  even  veteran  players,  and  sorely 
provocative  of  profane  language, 
even  in  the  most  staid  and  sober 
of  its  votaries.  Dean  Boyd  of  St. 
Andrews  (the  once  well-known 
A.K.H.B.)  tells  the  following 
story  illustrative  of  this  peculiarity 
of  golfers : — 

"  On  a  day  in  April  I  walked 
round  the  links  with  a  'four- 
some,' the  only  time  I  ever  did 
so.  It  is  sad  to  make  such  a  con- 
fession, but  truth  must  be  told. 
My  brother  Alexander  and  Lord 
Colin    Campbell    played   against 


I899-] 


ANECDOTAL   SPORT. 


28c 


Tulloch  and  a  departed  golfer.  It 
was  extraordinary  how  peppery 
the  golfers  became.  Tulloch  and 
his  partner  were  being  badly 
beaten,  and  became  demoralised. 
Tulloch  seeing  his  partner  doing 
something  stupid,  made  some  sug- 
gestion to  him,  on  which  his  irate 
friend  brandished  his  club  in  the 
air  and  literally  yelled  out,  '  No 
directions!  I'll  take  no  direc- 
tions ! '  Tulloch  used  to  complain 
that  an  old  story  of  the  Links  and 
their  provocations,  applicable  to 
another  Principal,  had  come  to  be 
told  of  him.  i  How  is  the  Prin- 
cipal getting  on  with  his  game  ?  ' 
was  asked  of  one  of  the  caddies  of 
a  returning  party.  '  Ah  ! '  said 
the  caddie,  with  an  awe-stricken 
face,  '  he's  tappin'  his  ba's,  and 
damnin'  awfuV  " 

But  perhaps  even  more  painful 
to  the  onlooker  is  the  suppressed 
swear  when  the  player  is  debarred 
by  his  profession  from  the  relief 
so  welcome  to  the  profane  lay- 
man. 

A  well-known  Anglican  divine, 
a  dignitary  of  the  Church,  was 
golfing  on  the  St.  Andrews  Links, 
and  like  everybody  else  got  into 
trouble  in  a  bunker.  Stroke  fol- 
lowed stroke,  but  he  couldn't  get 
out.  At  length,  his  lips  moving 
with  extreme  irritation  and  the 
effect  of  continued  muscular  effort, 
his  caddie  interposed,  and  coming 
up  to  the  Rev.  Canon,  exclaimed, 
"  Wull  I  say  it  for  ye,  sir  ?  " 

There  are  still  some  sportsmen, 
who  at  the  risk  of  being  sneered 
at  as  "fogies"  by  the  present 
generation,  agree  with  me  that 
shooting  over  well-broken  dogs  is 
the  highest  and  most  enjoyable 
form  of  the  sport.  It  may  not  be 
out  of  place,  therefore,  to  chron- 
icle some  notable  exploits  of  dogs 
in  the  shooting  -  field.  I  have 
before  me  as  I  write,  a  letter  of 


the  late  Mr,  John  Tharp  Phillip- 
son,  one  of  the  finest  sportsmen  of 
his  day,  in  which  the  following 
passage  occurs :  "  I  am  celebrated 
for  my  breed  of  milk-white  setters 
which  I  sell  at  long  prices  as  fast 
as  I  can  breed  them.  I  break  all 
my  own  dogs,  and  all  who  see 
them  are  astonished  at  their  per- 
fection. I  can  take  a  brace  and  a 
half  of  setters  out  with  a  retriever 
at  my  heel ;  they  find  and  I  kill — 
not  a  dog  moves  till  ordered.  I 
then  tell  which  of  the  four  I  like 
to  fetch  the  bird  and  the  others 
remain  down.  The  advantage  of 
the  white  setters  over  the  dark- 
coloured  dogs  is  that  you  rarely 
lose  them.  I  have  known  people 
looking  for  hours  for  a  staunch 
dog  the  colour  of  the  heather,  or 
indeed,  black,  without  finding 
him:  the  white  you  can  see  at 
any  distance." 

George  Osbaldeston,  "  The  Old 
Squire,"  one  of  the  finest  game- 
shots  that  ever  lived,  had  a  brace 
of  pointers,  Mark  and  Flirt,  for 
which  he  refused  two  hundred 
pounds,  a  very  big  price  indeed 
in  those  days.  Their  excellence 
in  the  field  was  so  extraordinary 
that  the  Squire  offered  to  back 
himself  and  the  brace  of  dogs  for 
^"10,000  against  any  man  and 
brace  of  dogs  in  the  kingdom. 
Of  Mark's  staunchness  his  master 
used  to  tell  the  following  story  : — 
"  One  day  he  made  a  point.  I 
watched  him  for  ten  minutes  or 
more,  during  the  whole  of  which 
time  I  could  see  a  fly  on  his  nose, 
but  so  staunch  was  the  dog  that 
though  his  foot  was  up  and  near 
to  the  fly  the  whole  time  I  was 
watching,  he  never  offered  to 
brush  of?  the  fly.  On  my  walking 
up  and  flushing  the  game  (par- 
tridges), I  found  the  fly  had  so 
stung  the  dog  all  the  time  as  to 
leave  a  lump  of  congealed  blood 
on  his  nose." 


28a 


BAILY  S  MAGAZINE. 


[OCTOBEI 


But  not  content  with  orthodox 
shooting  -  dogs,  "The  Squire" 
trained  a  bull-dog  as  a  retriever 
and  trained  him  so  well  that  there 
was  no  fault  to  be  found  with  him, 
except  that  from  the  shortness  of 
his  legs  he  used  to  tread  the 
pheasants'  tails  out  as  he  carried 
them  in  his  mouth.  A  more  re* 
markable  feat  than  this,  however, 
was  that  of  Sir  John  Sebright, 
who  trained  a  pig  to  point,  and 
not  only  that,  but  taught  an 
Italian  greyhound  to  fetch  sticks 
from  a  half-frozen  pond  and  a 
Newfoundland  to  play  cards.  But 
Sir  John's  pig  pointer  had  a  rival, 
for  Mr.  Toomer,  a  New  Forest 
gamekeeper,  had  a  pig  which  would 
not  only  beat  for  game,  but  stand 
and  back  as  staunchly  as  the  best 
bred  pointer-dog. 

There  is  a  story,  too,  of  a  pony 
who  would  point — but  there  was 
a  trick  about  this.  A  horse-dealer 
who  had  not  even  the  small 
amount  of  conscience  conceded  to 
his  class,  had  a  pony  which  he 
was  anxious  to  sell  to  a  sporting 
squire.  The  dealer  declared  that 
the  pony  would  find  a  hare  and 
stand  it  as  staunchly  as  any 
pointer  in  the  Squire's  kennels. 
Riding  to  a  place  where  hares 
abounded,  the  dealer,  who  was 
quick  at  finding  a  hare,  soon  spied 
one.  Knowing  that  a  dig  of  the 
spur  would  instantly  bring  his 
pony  to  a  dead  stop,  a  sharp  dig 
was  accordingly  given  and  an 
equally  sharp  pull-up  resulted. 
"  A  hare  somewhere,"  said  the 
dealer,  and  a  moment  later  up 
got  puss.  The  simple-minded 
Squire  was  satisfied  and  agreed  to 
buy  the  pony.  He  mounted  his 
new  purchase  to  ride  to  the  Hall 
and  hand  over  the  purchase 
money.  In  crossing  a  bridge  he 
applied  his  spur,  as  the  pony 
hung  a  bit  at  a  little  rise  on 
the  bridge.     Instantly   the   pony 


stopped  and  "  pointed."  "  Here, 
I  say,  what  does  this  mean?" 
exclaimed  the  Squire  testily. 
"  Why,  by  Jove,  he's  stood  a 
trout,"  cried  the  dealer,  "  If  I'd 
ha  knowed  he'd  stand  trout  I 
wouldn't  ha'  sold  him  for  double 
the  money." 

There  was,  however,  an  eccen- 
tric old  sportsman  named  John 
Parsons,  who,  having  lost  the  use 
of  his  legs  and  being  passionately 
fond  of  shooting,  was  drawn 
about  the  fields  in  a  light  gig  by 
a  donkey,  which  donkey  he  de- 
clared would  find  a  hare  and 
stand  like  a  pointer.  And  I  be- 
lieve the  late  Mr.  E.  H.  Budd, 
the  great  cricketer,  athlete  and 
all  -  round  sportsman,  was  one 
of  several  gentlemen  who  tested 
his  declaration  and  found  it  true. 

I  remember  some  thirty  years 
ago  seeing  a  wonderful  feat  of 
retrieving  performed  by  a  spaniel 
bitch  at  Rugby.  A  penny  piece 
was  thrown,  as  far  as  a  strong 
arm  could  send  it,  into  a  field  of 
standing  corn — the  spaniel  was  or- 
dered to  fetch  it,  and  fetch  it  she 
did  in  an  extraordinarily  short 
space  of  time.  In  order  to  bother 
her,  if  possible,  the  thrower  would 
pretend  to  throw  the  penny  in  one 
direction,  and  directly  the  bitch 
darted  forward  would  send  it 
flying  in  the  opposite  direction. 
But  the  sagacious  bitch  always 
discovered  the  trick  and  brought 
back  the  penny.  She  always 
fetched  her  master's  slippers 
from  the  cupboard  at  night,  and 
in  order  to  save  a  second  journey 
used  to  push  one  slipper  into  the 
other, 

Mr.  E.  H.  Budd,  to  whom  I 
have  already  referred,  had  a  fine 
retriever  named  Porter,  and  the 
way  he  came  by  him  was  this.  A 
man  named  Douglas  had  a  won* 


tS&l 


ANECDOTAL  SPORT. 


283 


derful  bitch,  who  when  her  master 
was  out  shooting  one  day,  to  his 
great  surprise  brought  his  watch 
and  laid  it  at  his  feet.  He  had 
no  idea  that  he  had  lost  the 
watch,  but  imagined  that  it  must 
have  been  pulled  from  his  pocket 
in  getting  through  a  hedge  some 
distance  back.  Budd  told  Doug- 
las he  must  have  a  pup  from  that 
bitch's  first  litter.  Porter  was 
that  pup,  and  Mr.  Budd,  in  train- 
ing him,  used  to  keep  a  stick 
dropped  into  a  staple  in  the 
outer  hall  and  the  dog  would 
fetch  it  when  told,  but  not  other- 
wise. One  day  Porter  had  fol- 
lowed his  master  indoors  and 
received  orders  to  fetch  the  stick. 
It  so  happened  that  someone  had 
removed  it,  and  the  dog,  thinking 
he  must  not  come  back  empty- 
mouthed,  lugged  in  the  double- 
barrelled  gun  which  had  been  left 
outside. 

The  following  anecdote  of  a 
retriever's  sagacity  I  give  in  Mr. 
Budd's  own  words.  "  When  the 
Regent's  Park  was  pasture-land 
and  had  on  it  but  one  house, 
Willan,  the  occupant  of  that 
single  house,  kept  his  thousand 
cows  there.  I  happened  to  be  in 
the  hay-field  with  a  friend  named 
Powell,  son  of  the  Equerry  to  the 
Duke  of  Sussex.  Powell,  speak- 
ing of  the  wonderful  sagacity  of  a 
retriever  he  had  brought  with  him, 
said  that  I  might  hide  his 
(Powell's)  glove  anywhere  in  the 
held  and  the  dog  would  find  it. 
The  owner  held  the  dog's  head 
pointed  away  from  the  direction  I 


took.  I  pushed  the  glove  right 
under  a  large  summer-rick ;  but 
the  dog,  on  being  released,  quickly 
found  it." 

One  of  the  best  trainers  of 
setters,  who  was  known  as  Old 
Potts,  gave  out  his  experience  of 
the  art  usually  in  the  following 
manner : — "  Come  and  take  a 
walk  with  me  this  morning,  and 
see  me  take  the  first  steps  to 
break  in  this  young  dog ;  but  stop 
a  moment.  Come  in,  here,  Cato, 
or  Caesar,  or  whatever  the  name 
might  be.  See,  this  wanton  young 
devil  has  got  a  hundred  yards 
ahead  already.  Come  in,  I  say. 
Remember  this  is  one  of  the  first 
secrets,"  he  would  add,  "in  the 
science  of  dog  breaking,  and  it 
has  an  influence  far  beyond  your 
power  to  conceive.  Never  suffer 
your  dog  on  his  road  to  the  ground 
to  have  his  nose  an  inch  ahead  of 
you.  Even  an  old  dog  should  be 
at  heel ;  but  with  a  young  one  it 
is  indispensable.  Keep  him  literally 
close  to  your  knee,  checking  his 
anxiety  to  ramble  with  the  voice 
or  a  crack  of  the  whip,  and  should 
these  fail  let  him  feel  the  lash. 
The  words *  Come  in,  here,'  should 
be  obeyed.  Then  with  a  whip  in 
one  hand,  a  powder-trier  in  the 
other,  the  dog  close  to  your  heel, 
proceed  to  throw  him  off.  Choose 
a  piece  of  ground  of  good  extent, 
where  you  are  likely  to  find 
game.  Perhaps  you  would  soon 
tire,  but  depend  upon  it  that  game 
killing  and  the  breaking  in  of 
dogs  are  very  much  mixed  up- 
together." 


»8+ 


[OCTOBML 


The  Veterinary  Profession. 


Many  who  feel  an  interest  in  the 
treatment  of  animal  diseases,  may 
be  astonished  to  learn  that,  al- 
though institutions  for  instruction 
in  Veterinary  Science  had  long 
been  established  in  France,  Ger- 
many, and  other  European  states, 
it  was  not  until  the  year  1791 
that  a  well-recognised  Veterinary 
College  was  founded  in  England. 

There  is  no  necessity  for  us  to 
draw  comparisons  between  the 
ancient  and  modern  veterinary 
student,  to  the  detriment  of  the 
former.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that 
nowadays  those  who  take  their 
"  diplomas"  at  this  seat  of  learn- 
ing, situated  in  Camden  Town, 
London,  have  their  industry  more 
severely  tested  than  would  have 
been  the  case  had  they  entered  a 
century  ago. 

In  order  that  we  may  sufficiently 
appreciate  their  labours,  we  will 
try  and  glean  an  insight  into  "The 
Royal  Veterinary  College  "  course, 
and  briefly  describe  the  career  of 
the  full-blown  "vet.,"  finishing  up 
with  a  few  hints  that  may  be  useful 
lo  whomsoever  cares  to  choose  this 
profession. 

Before  students  can  enter  the 
college,  they  must  pass  a  pre- 
liminary examination  in  general 
education  :  such  subjects  as 
English  grammar  and  composi- 
tion, Latin,  mathematics,  and 
either  Greek,  a  modern  language, 
or  logic  are  compulsory.  Those 
who  can  show  certificates  that 
clearly  prove  they  have  passed  a 
precisely  similar  or  a  more  diffi- 
cult examination  embracing  these 
particular  subjects,  are  exempt 
from  the  veterinary  matriculation. 

The  college  fees  are  eighty 
guineas,  which  can  be  paid  in 
lour  instalments.  There  is  a 
Winter  and  a  Summer  Session, 
but  the  Winter  Term — it  begins 


October  1st — is  the  more  strongly 
recommended  by  the  college  au- 
thorities. 

Speaking  generally,  the  stu- 
dents' ages  vary  from  sixteen  to 
four-and-twenty.  Regular  attend- 
ance at  lectures  is  strictly  enforced, 
and  the  professors  examine  their 
pupils  monthly. 

Even  supposing  a  diploma-can- 
didate possesses  only  medium 
ability,  he  ought,  with  eight  hours' 
work  a  day,  to  "  pass  "  in  the  pre- 
scribed period  —  namely,  four 
years.  Yet  no  candidate  can 
receive  "  The  Diploma  "  until  he 
has  attended  four  sessions  of  not 
less  than  thirty  week$  each,  and 
also  have  satisfied  the  Court  of 
Examiners  of  the  Royal  College 
of  Veterinary  Surgeons ;  which  is 
totally  distinct  from  the  Educa- 
tional Staff. 

In  order  to  explain  how  scien- 
tific the  veterinary  course  has 
become,  it  may  be  advisable  to 
mention  the  mere  headings  of 
subjects  that  students  receive 
instruction  in. 

Examination  for  Class  A  — (first  year). 

(a)  Anatomy  of  all  domesticated 

animals,   including    bones, 
ligaments  and  joints. 

(b)  Chemistry  and   Elementary 

Physics. 

(c)  Biology,Elementary  Zoology 

and  Botany. 
At  first  sight,  it  does  not  appear 
a  very  difficult  task  to  attain  pro- 
ficiency in  these  three  subjects, 
after  a  preparation  of  a  twelve- 
month. But  we  must  not  forget 
the  various  divisions  and  sub- 
divisions into  which  the  headings 
are  split  up.  Usually,  Botany  is 
the  great  stumbling-block  in 
Class  A.  This  may  be  accounted 
for  by  the  fact,  that  the  poisonous 
and  non  poisonous  grasses  are  not 


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THE  VETERINARY  PROFESSION. 


385 


as  a  rule  so  closely  connected  with 
sick  animals  as  anatomy  and 
chemistry  seem  to  be.  Most  stu- 
dents who  get  through  this  first 
examination  pluck  up  courage 
and  take  their  diplomas.  At  the 
risk  of  wearying  the  reader,  it  is 
necessary  to  briefly  specify  the 
remaining  headings. 

Examination   for  Class  B — (second 

year), 

(a)  Anatomy  of  the  domestic- 
ated animals. 

(b\  Histology  and  Physiology. 

(c)  Stable  -  management,  the 
manipulation  of  the  domes- 
ticated animals  and  the 
principles  of  shoeing. 

Class  C — (third  year). 

(a)  Morbid     Anatomy,     Path- 

ology and  Bacteriology. 

(b)  Materia  Medica,  Pharmacy, 

Therapeutics    and    Toxic- 
ology. 

(c)  Veterinary     Hygiene      and 

Dietetics. 

Class  D— final — (fourth  year). 

(a)  Principles  and   Practice  of 

Veterinary    Medicine    and 
Clinical  Medicine. 

(b)  Principles  and   Practice  of 

Veterinary     Surgery,    Ob- 
stetrics and  Shoeing. 

(c)  Meat  Inspection. 

A  student  who  is  rejected  three 
times,  for  any  one  of  these  ex- 
aminations, forfeits  his  right  of 
pupilage.  Out  of  the  two  or  three 
hundred  candidates  for  the  di- 
ploma, a  small  percentage  are 
too  lazy  to  qualify;  others,  who 
are  endowed  with  more  grit,  take 
a  pleasure  in  their  work  and  are 
heartily  sorry  when  they  bid  fare- 
well to  their  friends  at  the  Royal 
Veterinary  College  in  order  to  take 
upon  themselves  the  responsi- 
bilities of  a  practice. 

At  this  epoch  in  the  lives  of 
newly-fledged    "vets.,"   it    is    of 


the  utmost  importance  that  they 
should  not  only  feel,  but  also  in- 
spire confidence  in  their  healing 
powers.  Hitherto,  they  were  al- 
ways able  to  consult  a  professor 
on  any  doubtful  points;  so  it  is 
not  surprising  that  young  men 
who  start  in  a  district  far  removed 
from  Camden  Town,  are  apt  to  be 
disconcerted  by  the  great  change 
in  their  mode  of  life.  Instead  of 
being  light-hearted  students  any 
longer,  their  nerves  get  upset 
when  their  surgery  bell  summons 
them  to  treat  a  disease  which  they 
have  only  met  with  theoretically, 
but  which  they  cannot  recognise 
from  an  illustration.  In  course  of 
time  the  requisite  experience  is 
gained — too  frequently  at  the  ex- 
pense of  their  unfortunate  patients ; 
for  it  takes  a  long  time  to  as- 
certain how  to  treat  the  different 
constitutions  of  every  horse  and 
dog  in  a  large  practice,  to  say 
nothing  of  choked  bullocks,  swine 
fever  cases,  &c,  &c. 

As  an  instance  of  high  examina- 
tion marks  being  no  criterion  that 
a  "  vet."  is  competent,  we  may 
mention  that  many  an  Indian 
student  returns  to  his  home,  high- 
ly qualified,  certainly ;  but  too 
prone  to  regard  sick  animals  from 
a  text-book  point  of  view. 

What,  then,  is  the  best  train- 
ing for  a  veterinary  surgeon,  who 
desires  to  be  equally  proficient  in 
both  the  theory  and  practice  of 
his  profession  ? 

To  begin  with,  he  ought  to  serve 
an  apprenticeship  to  a  leading 
country  "  vet."  This  will  enable 
him  to  watch  the  growth  of  young 
animals  in  their  natural  state.  It 
will  also  give  him  opportunities  to 
excel  in  horsemanship,  and  to 
cultivate  a  "  natural  touch  "  with 
animals.  This  will  prove  most 
advantageous  to  him  in  after-life ; 
for  good  horsemen  do  not  feel 
much  respect  for  "  vets.,"  who  do 
not  handle  stock  in  a  persuasive 


286 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[OCTOBEl 


manner,  which  convinces  them 
that  the  animal  doctor  has  been 
accustomed  to  such  patients  from 
boyhood. 

It  is  scarcely  fair  to  send  a  youth 
to  the  Veterinary  College  and 
expect  him  to  learn  everything 
there  connected  with  the  profes- 
sion; unless  he  has  previously 
served  an  apprenticeship,  the 
chances  are  in  favour  of  his  being 
too  theoretical  when  he  leaves 
Camden  Town. 

A  subordinate,  in  a  hard-work- 
ing country  practice,  has  his  hands 
constantly  dirty.  Sometimes  he 
is  engaged  cleaning  or  putting  on 
hobbles,  making  up  medicine, 
rubbing  in  blister,  or  giving 
patients  balls ;  not  infrequently 
even  grooming  or  harnessing  a 
horse.  Or  else  keeping  the  day- 
book, or  4I  attending  distant  cases 
in  the  small  hours  of  the  morning." 

After  he  has  matriculated,  the 
student  who  has  been  so  trained, 
is  able  to  contrast  the  diseases 
which  are  prevalent  in  the  country 
with  those  that  are  more  peculiar 
to  towns. 

By  now,  the  reader  will  have 
surely  placed  the  veterinary  on  a 
level  with  the  medical  profession, 
if  not  quite  socially,  at  all  events 
scientifically !  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
a  first-rate  "vet."  requires  ability 
almost  superior  to  a  leading  so- 
licitor's or  a  well-known  doctor's. 
The  reason  is  obvious :  Balaam's 
ass  always  excepted — animals  are 
born  dumb,  and  so  cannot  inform 
those  who  treat  them  where  their 
aches  and  pains  are  felt  most 
keenly.  Again,  there  is  a  likeli- 
hood that  an  owner  or  his  groom 
have  experimented  with  a  patient 
before,  as  a  last  resource,  they 
"  send  for  the  vet." 

Any  amateur  who  has  tried  to 
u  examine "  a  horse,  more  espe- 
cially one  that  he  has  never  seen 
before,  will  endorse  the  statement 
that  a  "vet."  who  has  built  up 


a  good  practice  is  very  rarely  an 
impostor,  because  the  majority 
of  horses  and  cattle  are  kept  by 
shrewd,  practical  business  -  men, 
who  are  quick  to  find  out  if  their 
animals  are  cured  by  those  who 
are  well  paid  to  attend  them  in 
sickness.  In  this  way  a  clever 
member  of  the  veterinary  pro- 
fession sooner  or  later  makes  his 
way;  whilst  his  inferiors  are 
employed  only  by  those  who 
consider  it  economy  to  call  in 
a  second  -  rate  practitioner  who 
charges  less  for  his  services. 

Unlike  similar  institutions  on 
the  continent,  the  Royal  Vete- 
rinary College,  London,  is  not 
subsidised  by  Government.  Nor 
has  it  a  riding  -  school.  In  the 
present  college  grounds  there  is 
not  sufficient  space  to  erect  so 
large  a  building.  In  the  near 
future,  perhaps,  some  arrange- 
ment will  be  made  by  which 
"  diploma  -  candidates  "  can  be 
taught  riding  and  driving.  Yet  it 
must  be  remembered  how  fully 
occupied  the  veterinary  student  is 
during  his  four  years'  course. 
Not  unnaturally,  he  seeks  manly 
recreation  far  away  from  the 
scene  of  his  labours  ;  his  slender 
allowance  will  seldom  permit  such 
an  expensive  luxury  as  a  day  with 
the  staghounds  or  hacking  in 
Richmond  Park,  or  a  canter  in 
Rotten  Row. 

Recently  a  scientific  club  has 
been  formed  in  connection  with 
the  Royal  Veterinary  College. 
Only  professors,  teachers  and  stu- 
dents are  privileged  to  become 
members  of  this  Veterinary  Medical 
Association.  On  certain  days  the 
college  class  rooms  are  placed  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Association, 
which  awards  certificates  and 
honorary  certificates.  Needless 
to  say  that  the  club  is  dependent 
on  the  pleasure  of  the  Royal 
Veterinary  College  authorities  for 
its    existence,    whose    rules   and 


'899-] 


THE   VETERINARY  PROFESSION. 


287 


regulations  it  is  compelled  to 
obey;  otherwise  it  might  violate 
privileges  granted  by  the  College 
Charter. 

Veterinary  surgeons  may  be 
said  to  be  divided  into  five  distinct 
classes,  namely : — 

(1)  The  College  Educational  Staff f 
who  are  specialists  in  medicine, 
anatomy,  surgery,  or  hospital 
surgery. 

(2)  The  Army  Veterinary  Surgeons , 
who  when  young  conform  to  mili- 
tary discipline,  and  are  more 
connected  with  "  red  tapism " 
than  the  rest  of  their  fraternity. 

(3)  Town  Veterinary  Surgeons, 
who  see  many  cases  of  lameness, 
chiefly  due  to  concussion — the 
roads  in  cities  are  of  course  much 
harder  than  those  in  agricultural 
districts.  Glanders  and  lung 
affections  are  more  frequently  met 
with  in  large  towns  than  else- 
where. 

(4)  Country  Veterinary  Surgeons 
usually  have  a  mixed  practice. 
This  is  because  they  generally 
reside  in  a  small  country  town, 
and  attend  foaling  and  calving 
cases  in  the  surrounding  farms. 
Country  vets  examine  many 
carriage-horses,  cart-horses,  hunt- 
ers and  hacks  in  the  course  of 
the  year,  and  are  frequently  con- 
sulted about  growing  stock. 

(5)  Racing  Veterinary  Surgeons  are 
found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a 
large  breeding- stud,  or  at  a  train- 
ing centre ;  for  the  many  ills 
which  thorough-bred  horses  are 
heir  to  require  the  opinion  of  a 
specialist,  who  has  had  a  wide 
experience  amongst  racehorses 
both  in  and  out  of  training. 

Having  briefly  touched  upon 
the  scientific  and  practical  side  of 
veterinary,  let  us  roughly  estimate 
the  cost  of  a  student's  education, 
and  compare  it  with  the  pecuniary 
return  he  may  reasonably  expect 
to  get  later  on. 

Apart  from  buying  a  town  or  a 


country  practice,  the  sums  which 
those  who  are  responsible  for  a 
student's  welfare  must  be  pre- 
pared to  lay  out  on  his  behalf 
are — 

j£ioo  for  an  apprenticeship  of  two 
years  wiih  a  country  "  vet." 

j£ioo  for  entrance  to  college,  for 
instruments,  books,  and  ex- 
amination fees. 

,£500  for  fjod,  lodging,  and  pocket- 
money. 

Total  ,£700  during  a  pupilage  of  two  years, 
and  subsequently  a  four  years' 
college  course. 

Supposing  a  junior  partnership 
is  bought  for  a  thousand  pounds 
in  a  first-rate  practice,  the  outlay 
has  positively  amounted  to  seven- 
teen hundred  pounds  before  a 
veterinary  surgeon  has  earned  a 
single  penny. 

In  the  case  of  an  accomplished 
"  qualified  man,"  who  has  excep- 
tional business-push,  it  may  be  a 
mistake  to  throw  money  away 
only  to  play  the  part  of  second 
fiddle  in  an  old-established  prac- 
tice. Besides,  all  those  who  are 
entitled  to  write  M.R.C.V.S.L. 
after  their  names  have  not  suffi- 
cient money  at  their  command  to 
do  so. 

Probably  in  no  other  profession 
is  exceptional  ability  and  steadi- 
ness more  widely  appreciated. 
Several  of  our  leading  veterinary 
surgeons  have  risen  to  fame  purely 
through  their  own  efforts.  For 
influence  will  not  induce  those 
who  keep  a  great  number  of  ani- 
mals to  employ  inferior  men  to 
treat  them. 

The  best  paying  practices  bring 
in  as  much  as  three  thousand 
pounds  a  year.  The  average 
"  vet."  makes  from  four  to  seven 
hundred  a  year.  Even  the  least 
fortunate  are  rewarded  with  a 
bare  livelihood  of  two  hundred 
pounds  per  annum,  but  it  must 
not  be  overlooked  that  a  horse 
and    trap    has    to    be  kept,  and 


238 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[OCTOBBft 


drugs  purchased;  and  these  are 
expensive  items. 

Many  "  vets "  keep  large 
shoeing- forges  in  some  market- 
towns.  Their  clients  often  turn 
these  forges  into  temporary  stables 
on  market  days,  and  call  at  the 
surgery  for  bottles  of  medicine. 

In  conclusion,  let  us  try  and 
pick  up  a  few  hints  from  those 
who  have  been  most  successful  in 
the  veterinary  profession.  Who- 
ever desires  to  follow  in  their 
footsteps  must  be  cautioned 
against  dealing  in  horses,  unless 
they  make  a  speciality  of  buying 
and  selling  animals  that  are  un- 
deniably sound. 

As  a  rule,  private  purchasers 
do  not  look  for  hunters  in  a 
"  vet.'s  "  stableyard.  Because,  to 
put  it  bluntly,  a  dealer  who 
has  "  qualified "  is  supposed  to 
know  more  than  is  good  for  him. 
There  is  always  a  likelihood  of  a 
purchaser,  who  becomes  dissatis- 
fied with  a  horse  that  he  has 
purchased  from  a   "vet.,"  after- 


wards injuring  the  character  of 
the  seller. 

Of  course  there  are  plenty  of 
pitfalls  which  a  qualified  man 
must  try  to  escape.  Insobriety  is 
fatal  to  any  practice.  Bad  horse- 
manship is  apt  to  bring  down 
ridicule,  for  owners  and  grooms 
quickly  detect  anything  that  indi- 
cates ine  x  perience.  For  in  stance, 
if  a  "  vet.,"  when  giving  a  horse 
a  "ball,"  injures  his  patient's 
tongue  by  pulling  it  too  severely, 
or  else  gets  his  hand  bitten,  some 
one  is  sure  to  notice  it — and 
afterwards  to  discuss  the  little 
mishap.  Supposing  he  is  often 
clumsy,  his  employers  will  even- 
tually lose  all  confidence  in  him, 
and  consequently  employ  some 
one  else.  Neatness  in  the  sur- 
gery is  strongly  to  be  recom- 
mended :  unfailing  tact,  and  also 
an  agreeable  professional  manner, 
are  gifts ;  but  they  can  some- 
times be  acquired  by  constant 
care. 

B. 


"Our   Van." 


Racing — Stockton. — Coming  at 
short  intervals  after  Redcar  and 
before  the  York  Autumn  Meeting, 
Stockton  is  made  the  middle  of  a 
fortnight's  sojourn  in  the  north, 
for  which  those  whose  business 
demands  do  not  compel  them  to 
make  long  flying  journeys  to 
Windsor,  Folkestone,  and  else- 
where, find  Saltburn-by-the-Sea 
as  charming  headquarters  as  can 
be  devised.  The  corning  together 
of  all  communities  is  one  of  the 
features  of  the  racecourse,  and  it 
is  one  that  is  very  marked  at 
Stockton.  Those  to  whom,  in 
turn,  falls  the  pleasant  duty  of 
hospitable  entertainment  are,  at 
Stockton,  Lord  Londonderry  and 


Mr.  J.  Lowther,  and  the  house- 
parties  of  these  hosts  contribute 
materially  to  the  gaiety  of  the 
club  stand,  where  is  seen  a  strong 
contrast  to  the  dense  masses 
outside. 

Stockton  gives  us  some  pre- 
sentable racing,  and  it  is  quite 
possible  that  this  year's  winner  of 
the  Hardwicke  Stakes  may  de- 
velop into  something  above  the 
average.  This  is  Alvescot,  a 
chestnut  colt  by  Raeburn  out  of 
Alberta,  bred  by  Mr.  James 
Joicey.  He  had  performed  not 
too  brilliantly  at  the  Newmarket 
First  July  in  running  second  to 
Bourne  Bridge,  but  here,  with 
I2lbs.  of  Vain  Duchess,  he  beat 


1899-1 


"OUR   VAN. 


t» 


289 


her  comfortably  by  a  length  and  a 
half.  Sir  Waldie  Griffith  con- 
tinued his  run  of  luck  with  his 
fillies,  Bettyfield  winning  the 
Wynyard  Plate  of  600  sovs.  on 
the  first  day,  Landrail  the  Great 
Northern  Leger  of  500  sovs.  on 
the  second,  and  Sweet  Marjorie 
the  Durham  County  Produce 
Stakes  of  1,000  sov6.  on  the  third. 
This  did  not  leave  very  much  for 
anyone  else. 

Leopardstown. — There  is  no 
meeting  held  in  England  at  which 
it  is  the  custom,  as  it  is  at 
Leopardstown,  to  hold  a  two-day 
meeting  on  a  Saturday  and  Mon- 
day. Such  an  arrangement  would 
be  certainly  regarded  by  a  large 
section  of  English  racegoers  with 
strong  disfavour.  However,  Ire- 
land is  not  England,  and  at 
Leopardstown,  anyway,  a  two- 
day  meeting  with  Sunday  be- 
tween finds  favour,  and  this  year 
the  second  day  happened  to  be 
the  first  day  of  Ireland's  greatest 
annual  social  function,  the  Dublin 
Horse  Show.  This  meant  a  col- 
lection of  beauty  in  the  members' 
stand  such  as  cannot  be  excelled, 
if  equalled,  elsewhere.  The 
money  on  offer  is  scarcely  in  keep- 
ing with  the  occasion,  but  the 
Grand  Prize,  a  race  of  five  fur- 
longs, is  a  stake  of  1,000  sovs. 
It  was  won  by  one  of  the  hand- 
somest fillies  that  has  ever  been 
foaled  in  Ireland,  Irish  Ivy,  by 
Marmiton  out  of  Wild  Ivy,  who 
was  thus  celebrating  her  fourth 
consecutive  success.  Her  three 
previous  successes  had  been 
gained  at  two  miles,  three  miles, 
and  one  mile,  respectively,  so  she 
exhibited  herself  as  a  decidedly 
all-round  performer  when  she 
cantered  away  with  this  sprint, 
under  the  top  weight  of  9s t.  41b. 

York. — York  was  full,  as  usual, 
for  the  autumn  meeting,  for  which 
special  occasion  the  hotels  raise 
their  prices.     In  the  spring  every 


justification  existed  for  calling  the 
Knavesmire,  quagmire — a  peren- 
nial quip,  when  weather  permits ; 
but  the  dry  spell  that  had  in- 
tervened had  made  the  course 
terribly  hard.  Nevertheless, 
though  trainers  grumbled,  they 
ran  plenty  of  horses,  but  we  saw 
none  of  class.  Greenan,  for  in- 
stance, was  top  weight  in  the 
Great  Ebor  Handicap,  in  which  he 
was  beaten  by  a  short  head  only  by 
Cassock's  Pride,  whose  chance  was 
so  lightly  estimated  that  serious 
thoughts  were  entertained  in  the 
morning  of  sending  him  home. 
The  real  quality  of  J.  H.  Martin 
as  a  jockey  was  shown  clearly 
enough  in  the  Yorkshire  Oaks,  in 
which  he  rode  Landrail,  the 
favourite,  on  whom  he  made 
running,  but  with  such  bad  judg- 
ment that  he  had  the  filly  settled 
before  the  distance,  and  Victoria 
May  won  by  a  neck. 

Something  to  talk  about  was 
provided  by  the  double  winning 
appearance  on  the  second  day  of 
the  eleven -year-old  mare  Xenie 
who,  after  producing  five  foals, 
against  one  of  whom  she  recently 
ran,  and  spending  some  time  in 
the  hunting-field,  came  out  wilh 
the  freshness  of  a  two-year- old  to 
win  the  Falmouth  Selling  Welter 
Handicap  and  the  Londesborough 
Handicap,  each  of  a  mile.  In 
view  of  other  things  to  come,  the 
success  of  Manners  (gst.  i2lb.)  in 
the  Great  Yorkshire  Stakes,  over 
the  St.  Leger  distance,  gained 
in  handsome  style,  was  inter- 
esting. 

Derby. — Being  at  Derby  on 
August  29th,  I  could  not  go  to 
Cork  Park  to  see  how  they 
manage  to  run  over  fences  and 
hurdles  at  a  time  when  English 
trainers  are  half  afraid  to  trust 
their  horses  to  gallop  on  the  flat. 
But  it  seems  to  work  out  all 
right,  though  it  is  like  playing 
football  in    midsummer.      Derby 


2QO 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


had  a  grievance,  circumstances 
which,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  could 
not  be  controlled,  contributing  to 
throw  the  whole  of  the  three 
days'  racing  into  August.  Now, 
in  the  past,  considerable  ingenuity 
had  been  displayed  by  that  most 
courteous  of  racing  officials,  Mr. 
W.  J.  Ford,  in  getting  the  first  of 
the  Nurseries,  as  it  is  agreed  to 
call  handicaps  confined  to  two- 
year -olds,  for  Derby ;  but,  since 
two-year-old  handicaps  may  not 
be  run  before  the  First  of  Sep- 
tember, the  awkward  way  the 
calendar  fell  defrauded  Derby  of 
what  must  be  regarded  as  its  birth- 
right. Nevertheless,  there  was 
no  falling  off  to  record.  The  race 
to  which  clung  the  most  impor- 
tant associations  was  the  Sixth 
Champion  Breeders'  Biennial 
Foal  Stakes  (first  year),  amongst 
the  fourteen  starters  being  Forfar- 
shire, O' Donovan  Rossa,  Jou- 
vence  and  Jubert,  besides  one  of 
Robinson's  making  a  first  appear- 
ance, viz..  Merry  Gal,  by  Galopin 
out  of  Mary  Seaton,  of  whom 
much  was  expected,  and  not  al- 
together without  good  reason. 
Jouvence  and  O'Donovan  Rossa 
were  both  better  favourites  than 
Forfarshire,  whose  public  running 
was  no  better  estimated  than  was 
the  private  reputation  of  Merry 
Gal.  The  two  proved  to  be 
much  of  a  muchness,  at  the  differ- 
ence of  171b.,  Forfarshire  winning 
a  good  race  from  Merry  Gal  by 
three-quarters  of  a  length. 

The  fifth  series  of  this  race 
(second  year)  was  voted  to  lie 
between  Sibola  and  Flambard,  as 
it  proved  to  be,  and  remarkable 
it  was  to  note  that  the  starting 
price  of  Sibola  was  11  to  10, 
whereas  that  of  Musa,  her  con- 
queror in  the  Oaks,  was  20  to  1. 
Flambard  was  backed  with  con- 
fidence to  beat  Sibola,  but  he  did 
not  quite  run  his  race  out,  and 
the  filly,  on  whom  Sloan  rode  a 


non-forcing  race,  won  by  three- 
quarters  of  a  length. 

Donoastar.  —  Doncaster,   with 
its  St.  Leger,  brings  us  back  to 
racing  in  its  most  severely  classic 
form,    from    which,    during  the 
summer,  we  are  prone  to  stray. 
Though  not  every  regular  race- 
goer   attends,    there    is    still  a 
mighty  gathering  of   the    clans, 
and  it  would  be  a  surprise  indeed 
to  nations  less   energetic    in  the 
pursuit    of   sport    to  realise  the 
trouble  taken  by    so    many  and 
the  distances  they  travel  to  come 
to  see  the  great  race.    That  the 
St.  Leger  is  what  they  come  to 
see  there  can  be  no  manner  of 
doubt,  and  if  there  be  people  who 
regard  the  race  as  being  a  more 
satisfactory  test  of  three-year-old 
excellence  than  either  the  Two 
Thousand  Guineas  or  the  Derby, 
surely  they  have  something  to  go 
upon.      As    regards     the    Two 
Thousand  Guineas,  there  can  be 
little  comparison  between  a  race 
of  a  mile  run  in  April  and  one  of 
a  mile  and  six  furlongs  run  more 
than  four  months  later,  whilst,  as 
concerns  the   Derby,  the  peculi- 
arities   of     the     Epsom    Course 
strongly  favour  horses  of  certain 
conformation.        Given     capable 
jockeys,   no  fault  can  be  found 
with  the  test  supplied  by  the  mile 
and  three-quarters  on  Doncaster 
Town  Moor. 

As  the  meeting  began  it  looked 
like  raising  the  record  for  attend- 
ance, so  far  did  the  numbers  present 
exceed  those  of  any  previous  first 
day.  But  Wednesday,  the  St. 
Leger  day,  opened  threateningly, 
and  the  effect  was  wonderful  — 
not  upon  the  lower  order  of  visi- 
tor, who  was  a  trifle  more  numer- 
ous than  before,  but  upon  those 
who  had  clothes  to  spoil.  The 
result  was  a  very  marked  decrease 
in  the  chief  enclosure  which,  by 
the  way,  is  the  strangest  of  all 
racecourse  enclosures  for  size  and 


1*9*3 


<« 


OUR   VAN. 


»» 


29I 


arrangement.  The  enormous  dis- 
tance, for  a  racecourse  enclosure, 
that  separates  one  end  from  the 
other,  is  looked  upon  with  favour 
by  backers,  who  fancy  that  the 
wide  separation  of  the  leading 
bookmakers  that  is  compulsory 
tends  to  the  betterment  of  prices. 
Probably  an  industrious  man  may 
pick  up  longer  prices  in  one  part 
than  another,  with  each  impor- 
tant layer  making  his  own  ring, 
as  it  were,  but  it  must  be  very 
hard  work  in  so  large  a  place. 

The  Americans  had  been  carry- 
ing matters  before  them  so  com- 
pletely that  plenty  were  prepared 
to  see  them  reach  the  climax  by 
carrying  off  the  St.  Leger,  in  spite 
of  Flying  Fox.     There  is  scarcely 
an  Englishman  who  is  not  now 
prepared  to  swear  that  Flying  Fox 
is  one  of  the  finest  three-year-olds 
seen  on  the  Turf,  a  stayer  of  the 
first  water,  and  sure  to  perpetuate 
the    high    fame    of    his    several 
famous  forefathers.     Nothing    is 
now    heard    of    those    ingenious 
dissertations  on  the  comparative 
merits  of  Flying  Fox  and  Caiman, 
in  which  it  was  shown  that  all  the 
previous  running  of  Flying  Fox 
proved  him   to  be   a  miler,  and 
nothing  else,  and   that  the  mile 
and  six  furlongs  of  the  St.  Leger 
course  would  find  him  out.     The 
agony  was  piled   up   at   a   great 
rate,  and  we  were  told  of  the  im- 
mense improvement  that  Caiman 
had  made.     It  was  allowed  to  leak 
out  that  he  had  beaten  the  best 
time  ever  made  for  the  St.  Leger 
distance,  and  no  surprise  would 
have   been  felt  had  there  been  a 
run  upon  him  on  the  day.      But 
those  whose  betting  transactions 
affect  the  market  kept  their  heads, 
and,  so  far  from  the  price  of  Fly- 
ing   Fox  shortening,  it    widened 
until  7  to  2  had  to  be  laid  on  by 
anyone  wishing  to  back  him.  Fly- 
ing Fox  gave  some  trouble  at  the 
start,   declining  to  join  the  field, 


and  but  for  Mr.  Coventry's  watch- 
ful eye  the  flag  might  have  fallen 
with  him  at  a  great  disadvantage. 
Cannon  had  every  reason  for  sup- 
posing that  the  Americans,  two 
of  whom  were  in  the  same  interest, 
would  dispute  the  lead  with  him 
every  inch  of  the  way,  but  they 
did  not  adopt  these  tactics,  and 
Cannon  soon  found  it  expedient 
to  take  up  his  own  running. 
When  once  he  did  this  it  was  all 
over.  Dominie  II.  could  not  go 
fast  enough  to  push  him,  and 
when  Caiman  was  called  upon  in 
the  straight  he  could  do  no  better ; 
indeed,  he  had  his  work  cut  out  to 
keep  the  second  place  from  being 
filled  by  Scintillant,  who  might 
plausibly  have  done  still  better 
had  he  reserved  for  the  race  the 
energy  he  dissipated  in  his  kick- 
ing displays  in  the  paddock,  dur- 
ing the  preliminary  and  at  the 
start. 

The  Doncaster  meeting  was  far 
from  being  the  St.  Leger  and 
nothing  else,  though  the  interest 
unquestionably  waned  on  the  third 
and  fourth  days.  The  Cham- 
pagne Stakes  was  one  of  the 
most  interesting  two -year -old 
races  of  the  year,  Democrat  and 
Simon  Dale  meeting  in  it.  The 
public  form  of  Democrat  was 
certainly  the  better,  and  odds  had 
to  be  laid  on  him;  at  the  same 
time,  Simon  Dale  was  heavily 
supported  to  beat  him,  though 
the  American  gelding  came  best 
out  of  the  paddock  inspection. 

It  is  a  pity  that  a  race  of  this 
importance  cannot  be  run  on  a 
straight  course,  but  we  must  take 
things  as  they  are.  Democrat 
won,  and  Simon  Dale  was  second, 
beaten  a  neck,  and  if  the  race 
were  run  again,  on  a  straight 
course  or  a  curved  one,  the  result 
would  be  the  same,  save  that 
Democrat  might  win  further.  He 
certainly  should  have  done  so  on 
this  occasion,  but  he  swerved  as 


2Q2 


BA1LY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


he  pleased  in  the  straight,  and 
Simon  Dale,  whose  course  had  to 
be  changed  from  outside  to  inside 
in  consequence  of  the  swerve, 
caught  him  rapidly. 

On  the  same  day  the  result  of 
the  Great  Yorkshire  Handicap, 
over  the  St.  Leger  course,  gave  a 
forecast  of  the  big  race  of  the 
next  day  that  wise  men  could  not 
ignore.  Calveley  had  been  the 
principal  horse  to  lead  Flying  Fox 
in  his  work.  He  was  reckoned 
about  21  lbs.  worse  than  the  Derby 
winner,  and  his  trainer  considered 
that  he  had  trained  himself  stale. 
Yet,  in  capital  style,  he  won, 
giving  weight  away  to  Rensselaer, 
Asterie,  Candelaria  and  Uncle 
Mac,  amongst  others.  On  the  last 
day  Calveley  won  the  Doncaster 
Cup  from  St.  la  and  Innocence. 

The  Portland  Plate  saw  Eager 
and  Ugly  antagonised,  as  last 
year,  when  Eager,  with  5  lbs.  the 
best  of  the  weight,  beat  Ugly 
by  a  couple  of  lengths.  This  year 
Eager  was  giving  Ugly  as  much 
as  12  lbs.,  but  the  result  was 
precisely  the  same.  Such  form 
as  this  should  have  given  Eager 
the  race,  but  he  had  to  be  content 
with  second  place  to  Mazeppa, 
whose  advantage  of  34  lbs.  proved 
a  trifle  too  much.  Mazeppa  was 
not  a  dear  purchase  at  80  guineas. 

In  the  Park  Hill  Stakes,  run 
over  the  St.  Leger  course,  we 
saw  Irish  Ivy  back  to  her  old 
distance.  She  had  four  other 
fillies  to  beat,  and  they  included 
St.  Lundi  and  Sweet  Marjorie. 
The  task  was  easily  accomplished, 
and  further  attention  was  drawn 
to  the  very  nice  character  of  this 
filly.  In  her  connection  a  hu- 
morous incident  is  said  to  have 
taken  place,  an  Irishman,  after 
the  St.  Leger,  having  congratu- 
lated John  Porter  on  having  in 
his  stable  the  second  best  three- 
year-old  in  training.  "The  second 
best  I  "  exclaimed  the  trainer,  who 


can  take  a  joke  as  well  as  anyone, 
but  this  was  trying  him  high, 
"and  pray  which  is  the  first 
best  ?  "  "  Why,  Irish  Ivy,  to  be 
sure." 

The  Doncaster  Yearling  Sales. 

— The  morning  yearling  sales 
formed  the  usual  attractive  fea- 
ture of  the  week,  and  the  course 
of  events  in  the  way  of  prices  was 
awaited  with  interest.  So  far, 
apparently,  breeders  cf  the  most 
fashionable  stock  need  not  quake 
in  their  shoes,  for,  despite  the 
average  failure  that  attends  the 
purchase  of  the  highest  -  priced 
yearlings,  the  determination  to 
gamble  in  them  seems  as  pro- 
nounced as  ever.  Whether  it  is 
wise  or  not  to  pay  thousands  time 
after  time  on  the  off  chance  of  one 
day  getting  a  "  classic  "  winner, 
is  no  business  either  of  mine  or  of 
anyone  save  those  who  take  plea- 
sure in  the  operation ;  and  I  shall 
not  be  contradicted  when  I  say 
that  a  very  serious  change  will  be 
brought  about  when  buyers  de- 
cline to  go  into  four  figures.  The 
sale  ring,  of  course,  controls  the 
racecourse,  and  the  transactions 
in  the  one  may  be  taken  as  a 
barometer  to  the  other.  If  pedi- 
gree was  everything,  there  was 
plenty  of  justification  for  some  of 
the  high  prices.  What,  for  in- 
stance, could  read  more  tempting 
than  yearling  colt  by  St.  Simon 
out  of  Mimi,  or  yearling  filly  by 
Isinglass  out  of  La  Fleche  ?  Yet 
the  produce  of  La  Fl£che,  La 
Veine  and  Strongbow,  costing  to- 
gether 5,800  guineas,  have  so  far 
won  one  race  between  them.  Still, 
for  the  filly  by  Isinglass  some  one 
was  willing  to  give  2,300  guineas, 
although  she  is  decidedly  small, 
ther  some  one  being  the  owner 
who  is  already  possessed  of  the 
two  previous  failures.  However, 
as  I  have  hinted,  it  will  be  a  cold 
day  for  breeders  when  this  sort  of 
purchaser  ceases  to  be.    The  pur- 


■»99-] 


t( 


OUR  VAN. 


>> 


293 


chase  for  3,000  guineas  of  a 
chestnut  colt  by  Bend  Or  out  of 
Silver  Sea,  by  Sir  J.  B.  Maple, 
was  not  looked  upon  as  an  ex- 
travagance, the  yearling  being 
regarded  as  quite  the  nicest  sold 
for  some  time.  His  sire  must  be 
getting  on  in  years,  by  the  way. 

Hunting— The  Oakley  Hounds. 
— On  August  22nd  Mr.  P.  A.  O. 
Whitaker  had  twenty-nine  couples 
of  hounds  at  Radwell  Bridge  by 
4.45  a.m.     It  was   unfortunately 
a  dense   fog  in  the  early  morn- 
ing,  and  the  attendance  at   the 
tryst  naturally  select,  though  one 
man  had  ridden  two   and   thirty 
miles  since  eleven  o'clock  on  the 
previous  night   to  catch  the  first 
glimpse  of  hounds  in  the  field  and 
to  listen  to  the  first  burst  of  music 
of  the  season.     A  litter  of  cubs  had 
moved  from  the  Ash  Beds  fring- 
ing  the  hillside  above  the  river, 
so  the  master  drew  on  to  Paven- 
haxn,   accepted    his   first    "  toss " 
over  some  rails  into  covert  with 
good  grace,  and  having   reached 
Pavenham  Osiers,  found  his  first 
fox.     It  was  so  thick  that  it  was 
impossible  to  see,  but  there  was 
no  doubt  it  was  an  old  campaigner, 
and  when  the  village  was  reached 
the  pack  were  stopped,  their  pilot 
having  threaded  the  main  street. 
In    Freers'  Wood  a  strong  litter 
was   found  and  dusted  up.     The 
following   morning    saw    them  at 
Biddenham.    Messrs.  Whit  worth, 
Peacocke  and  Hawkes,  who  farm 
this  peninsula,  had  tidings  of  some 
cubs   kennelling  in   some  potato- 
fields.     True  enough,  there  they 
were,  and  hounds  dropped  on  to 
them  at  once,  taking  a  brace  at  a 
rare    pace   by  Biddenham  village 
to    Bromham    Bridge,    the    going 
better  than  we  had  expected.     At 
that   point  they  were  headed,  and 
one     at    least    paid    the    penalty 
.before     Mr.    Whit  worth's    house 
was  reached,  its  companion  cross- 
ing   the    same    field,    while    due 


honour  was  being  done  to  its 
manes.  Mr.  Whitaker  lost  no 
time  in  getting  his  hounds  on  to 
him,  but  it  took  some  time  before 
another  mask  was  hanging  from 
the  saddle. 

The  Ravensden  fixture  also 
proved  another  excellent  outing 
for  hounds,  a  glorious  rainfall  on 
the  previous  night  having  im- 
proved matters  vastly.  One  cub 
was  accounted  for  in  the  Ravens- 
den coverts,  and  the  Putnoe  was 
visited  and  toll  was  taken  of  a 
very  strong  litter  after  they  had 
duly  received  the  orthodox 
drilling. 

On  August  29th  Mr.  Whitaker 
visited  the  preserves  of  that  keen 
sportsman,  Mr.  "  Billy  "  Mitchell, 
who  for  so  many  years  hunted 
the  Bedford  Harriers ;  in  fact, 
had  his  old  grey  lived,  he  would 
still  have  hunted  them  to  this  day, 
for  he  was  an  excellent  lead  over 
an  awkward  place,  easy  to  mount 
again,  and  knew  as  much  about 
the  game  as  his  owner.  It  goes 
without  saying  these  coverts 
teemed  with  foxes  both  old  and 
young,  and  a  very  hard  morning's 
work  for  hounds  was  spent 
amongst  them,  without  the  just 
reward. 

The  month  was  ushered  in  with 
a  capital  morning  from  Knotting 
Fox,  where  Mr.  Farrar  keeps  not 
only  foxes,  but  pheasants,  a  bright 
example  to  some  parts  of  the 
country.  All  honour  to  him  and 
his  keepers,  for  it  matters  not  in 
what  part  of  the  hunt  his  shooting 
is,  foxes  at  any  rate  are  plentiful. 
A  proof  of  this  came  on  the  4th, 
when  with  Chicheley  Brickway  as 
the  fixture,  a  brace  of  cubs  to 
ground  and  a  brace  brought  to 
hand  was  the  tally  of  the  morning's 
work. 

Operations  were  commenced  in 
Thickthorns  in  a  dense  fog  which 
hung  over  the  country,  until  with 
one    to    ground    and   one    killed 


294 


BAILYS   MAGAZINE. 


[October 


sufficient  had  been  done  there. 
Hall's  Spinney  held  another  good 
litter,  one  of  which  paid  the 
penalty. 

At  Kimbolton,  on  the  8th,  a 
brace  were  handled  out  of  a  good 
show,  and  on  Monday  nth,  from 
Moulsoe  they  proved  the  resources 
of  that  district  by  finding  at  least 
three  and  a  half  brace  in  Drake's 
Gorse.  Orthodox  cub -hunting 
was  adhered  to  for  some  time, 
but  at  length  hounds  were  allowed 
to  go  away  after  a  cub  which 
headed  for  the  Newport  Pagnell 
road,  and  rolled  him  over  close 
to  the  house  of  that  good  sports- 
man, Mr.  Whiting. 

The  Whaddon  Chase.— Mr. 
Selby  Lowndes  commenced  by 
having  a  morning  in  the  home 
woodlands  on  September  7th.  It 
was  a  thick  fog,  however,  and 
beyond  finding  plenty  of  cubs  and 
marking  one  to  ground  in  Codi- 
more  Hill  nothing  worthy  of  note 
occurred.  September  12th  they 
again  took  the  field  and  found  a 
nice  show  of  cubs  in  Nash  Brakes, 
Thornton,  and  Furzen  Fields, 
bringing  one  to  hand  at  the  latter 
coverts.  The  young  hounds  enter 
well,  and  as  Sturman  has  the 
best-looking  lot  to  put  forward 
that  has  been  seen  in  those  ken- 
nels for  some  years,  he  has  some- 
thing to  be  proud  of. 

The  Grafton. — These  hounds 
delayed  their  start  on  account  of 
the  drought  until  September  12th, 
when  they  killed  their  first  cub 
from  Stoke  Park  after  some 
capital  work  in  those  coverts. 

The  Bicester.  —  The  hard 
ground  kept  Mr.  Heywood  Lons- 
dale in  kennel  until  September 
9th,  when  he  was  able  to  make  a 
start  in  Lord  Jersey's  coverts  at 
Middleton.  It  goes  without  say- 
ing foxes  were  plentiful  in  those 
well-cared -for  preserves,  and  find- 
ing at  once,  hounds  hunted  one 
cub  from  covert  to  covert  in  the 


park  until  the  foiled  ground  made 
scent  so  bad- that  the  master  de- 
cided to  let  them  go  if  a  cub 
should  face  the  open,  and  getting 
away  on  one  towards  Bignell  they 
drove  him  by  Bucknell  Lodge  to 
Trough  Pool  to  taste  their  first 
blood  at  the  end  of  two  and  a  half 
hours'  work.  Returning  to  the 
park  the  pack  were  soon  busy 
with  a  cub  which  had  been  moved 
earlier  in  the  morning,  and  twenty 
minutes  sufficed  to  see  him 
brought  to  hand. 

September  12th  found  them  at 
Shelswell,  "  the  squire's  "  coverts 
teeming  with  foxes.  The  first 
hour  was  spent  in  Pond  Head 
where  there  were  at  least  two  and 
a  half  brace,  the  scapegoat  of 
which  was  lucky  to  save  his 
brush  below  ground  just  when  his 
death  appeared  most  assured. 
Going  on  to  Spilsmore,  Cox  soon 
had  at  least  five  brace  on  foot, 
and  hounds  ran  one  to  ground  in 
a  drain  in  the  adjoining  field. 
Curiously  enough,  at  the  time 
another  cub  came  for  shelter  at 
the  same  place,  and  getting  the 
pack  on  to  him  they  raced  him  to 
another  drain  at  Shelswell  Farm, 
from  which  he  was  dislodged  later 
on  by  a  terrier.  Meanwhile,  how- 
ever, the  kennel  terrier,  Appleby 
Sam,  had  been  inserted  into  the 
first  drain  and  hounds  had  the 
satisfaction  of  handling  their  cub. 
Going  back  to  Spilsmore  another 
was  booked  before  it  was  decided 
to  turn  homewards,  a  leash  of 
cubs  to  their  credit. 

Mr.  J.  P.  Yaughan  Pry  Be.— 
Congratulations  to  Mr.  J.  P. 
Vaughan  Pryse,  who  is  about  to 
enter  upon  his  forty- second  season 
as  master  of  the  pack  of  harriers 
he  founded  in  1858  and  has  since 
maintained  at  his  own  cost.  Mr. 
Vaughan  Pryse's  place  is  among 
the  Nestor s  of  the  hunting  field,, 
as  in  his  eighty-second  year  hefeels 
as  fit  to  carry  the  horn  as  ever. 


1899-1 


"OUR   VAN. 


»» 


295 


The  Bath  and  County  Har- 
riers.— No  pack  of  harriers  has 
shown  more  marked  improvement 
than  this.  Mr.  Hugh  Clutterbuck 
when  he  had  them  set  to  work  to 
bring  them  up  to  the  Peter- 
borough standard,  and  the  present 
master,  Captain  Delaval  Astley, 
has  carried  on  the  work.  The 
result  is  a  pack  of  Stud-Book 
harriers  of  the  modern  type  which 
should  be  able  to  hold  its  own  in 
the  show  ring  as  well  as  in  the 
field.  Of  the  bitches,  Gossamer 
and  Dainty  are  a  beautiful  couple, 
and  there  is  a  dark  dog-hound, 
Monarch,  I  think,  which  is  very 
much  the  ideal  of  the  modern 
type  of  harrier.  The  foxhound 
cross  is  noticeable,  but  the  blood 
is  of  the  best,  Belvoir  Pirate  being 
the  ancestor  of  some  of  the  best 
hounds  in  the  kennel.  The  Bath 
and  County  have  a  good  country 
to  hunt  over,  and  the  Sod  bury 
Vale  is  well  known  to  fame. 

The  Wells  Subscription.— This 
old-established  and  well-managed 
pack  is  not  to  be  given  up  after 
all,  Major  J.  Sherston  having  come 
forward  to  take  them  in  hand. 
The  arrangement,  it  has  been 
whispered  to  the  writer,  gives 
great  satisfaction  to  the  farmers 
and  those  who  follow  these 
hounds  over  a  country  which, 
by  the  way,  is  none  too  easy  to 
cross. 

Hunters  at  Bath  Show. — This 

is  not  the  place  for  a  description 

or  criticism  of  show-ring  hunters, 

but    it   may   be   permitted   to  us 

to     express    our    satisfaction,    in 

that   the   prizes  went    to    horses 

which,  with  one  exception,  looked 

like  being  able  to  take  their  own 

part  across  country.     Mr.  Charles 

McNeil     and     Mr.     John     Hill 

are     both    practical    men.     Pan- 

cake,    the    heavy-weight  winner, 

and     Mr.   Drage's    Brampton    (a 

particularly  charming  ride)  were 

two   of  the  most  typical  hunters 

VOL  LXXII. — NO.  476. 


that  have  been  seen  out  for  some 
time.  There  was  one  polo  pony 
in  the  show,  Mr.  T.  Gouldsmith's 
Silver  Star.  This  pony,  which 
is  a  lengthy  bay  with  capital 
shoulders  and  beautiful  forelegs, 
appeared  in  the  covert  hack  class 
very  appropriately,  for  a  good 
many  polo  ponies  earn  their 
winter  corn  in  that  way  to  their 
own  advantage  and  the  profit  of 
their  owners.  A  well-bred,  well- 
mannered  polo  pony  is  the  perfec- 
tion of  a  covert  hack. 

The  late  Charles  Leedham.— 

It  is  just  a  century  ago  that  the 
grandfather  of  the  late  huntsman 
to  the  Meynell  went  to  Hoarcross. 
Charles  Leedham,  who  was  con- 
nected with  the  Meynell  hounds 
for  forty  years  was  the  fourth  of 
his  family  to  carry  the  horn  with 
these  hounds.  Tom  Leedham 
was  immensely  popular  in  the 
country,  and  was  in  due  course 
succeeded  by  Charles.  There 
never  was.  a  hunt  servant  more 
liked  and  respected  and  who  de- 
served it  more.  As  a  family  of 
sportsmen  the  Leedham  family 
will  rank  in  the  history  of  fox- 
hunting with  the  Smiths  and  the 
Goodalls. 

The  Warwickshire.— The  Hon. 
R.  Verney  has  been  acting  as 
master  during  the  illness  of  his 
father.  It  is  sad  to  think  that  we 
shall  not  again  see  that  fine  hunts- 
man, Lord  Willoughby  de  Broke, 
in  the  field.  The  magnificent 
pack  of  hounds  he  has  formed 
will,  however,  long  be  a  memorial 
of  his  services  to  the  country. 
We  may  still  be  permitted  to 
hope  that  his  life  will  be  spared. 
The  new  huntsman,  Brown,  who 
came  from  Lord  Harrington's, 
began  «his  season  with  the  bitch 
pack  early  in  September,  and  with 
rather  indifferent  scent  managed 
to  account  for  a  cub.  In  War- 
wickshire as  elsewhere  the  cry  of 
the  sportsman  is  still  for  rain. 

22 


ig6 


baily's  magazine. 


[October 


In  Old  Friend.— The  passing 
away  of  Bartlett,  formerly  whipper- 
in  and  afterwards  feeder  to  the 
Queen's  Hounds,  reminds  me 
of  early  days  when  I  had  my 
first  lessons  in  hound  lore  from 
the  old  man  whose  long  and  faith- 
ful service  was  rewarded  with  a 
pension  some  eighteen  or  twenty 
years  ago. 

The  Puokeridge.— The  writer 
had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the 
bitch  pack  at  work,  and  by  the 
kindness  of  the  master,  Mr.  £. 
Barclay,  was  able  to  note  the  pedi- 
grees of  some  of  the  entry.  It  may 
be  said  generally  that  the  pack  is 
full  of  fashion  and  quality  to  look 
at,  while  for  drive  and  music  they 
are  noted.  In  routing  the  cubs 
in  a  notoriously  bad  scenting 
covert  they  showed  that  they 
could  hunt,  that  they  must  go 
fast  their  make  and  shape  are 
a  sufficient  witness.  Mr.  Barclay 
is  a  firm  believer  in  Belvoir  blood, 
and  so  is  his  rising  young  hunts- 
man, Jem  Cockayne.  It  was  a 
pleasant  sight  to  see  the  young 
Delegates  and  Dexters  entering 
eagerly  to  their  quarry.  The 
Puckeridge  have  not  escaped  the 
curse  of  distemper,  a  large  num- 
ber of  puppies  having  succumbed. 
Luckily  this  pack  is  one  of  the 
most  fortunate  in  England  in  its 
walks,  and  can  send  out  from  sixty 
to  eighty  couples. 

The  Gab  Hunting  Season.— 
Up  to  the  time  of  writing,  the 
season  has  been  marked  by  want 
of  rain,  and  the  ground  has  been 
very  little  affected  by  what  has 
fallen.  Foxes  are  plentiful  in 
most  countries,  and  there  is  so 
far  a  considerable  decrease  in  the 
mange.  The  Quorn  especially 
has  stamped  out  this  curse.  The 
young  entries  of  the  year  are 
good  and  coming  on  well,  but  dis- 
temper has  made  some  kennels 
rather  short  in  numbers,  but  the 
quality  is    everywhere  good.     A 


fortnight's  steady  rain  is  what  is 
wanted  now,  if  we  are  to  have  a 
good  October  and  November. 

Lord  Fitz  William's  Pappy  Show 
and  Luncheon.  —  The  annual 
puppy  show  on  August  2nd  was 
this  year  made  the  occasion  of  a 
great  luncheon  given  by  members 
of  the  hunt  to  the  farmers  over 
whose  lands  they  hunt,  and  their 
wives.  The  entertainment  was 
held  in  the  Riding  School  at 
Went  worth,  and  in  a  large 
marquee.  The  former  is  capable 
of  seating  easily  600  guests,  but 
so  unanimous  was  the  response  to 
the  hunt  invitation  that  accom- 
modation had  to  be  provided  for 
300  more.  Before  lunch  the 
guests  had  assembled  to  watch 
the  judging  by  the  Right  Hon. 
F.  J.  S.  Foljambe,  Mr.  J.  S.  H.  Ful- 
lerton,  M.F.H.,  and  Mr.  C.  B.  E. 
Wright,  who  had  to  adjudicate 
upon  a  capital  entry  of  i6£ 
couples,  8£  couples  dogs  and  8 
bitches.  Mr.  F.  P.  Smith,  who, 
in  the  absence  of  a  member  of  the 
veteran  master's  family,  officiates 
as  Field  Master,  took  the  chair  in 
the  Riding  School,  and  Mr.  G.  A. 
Wilson,  the  popular  hon.  secre- 
tary, presided  in  the  marquee. 
The  speeches  were  few  and  brief. 
Mr.  Foljambe  proposed  "Our 
Visitors  the  Farmers,"  and  dwelt 
upon  the  debt  members  of  the 
hunt  owed  to  the  occupiers  of  the 
land.  The  house,  grounds  and 
gardens  were  thrown  open  to  the 
visitors,  and  it  was  late  before 
the  guests  took  their  leave  after 
a  most  enjoyable  day. 

Polo—The  Dublin  Inter-Regi- 
mental.— This  series  of  games 
produced  no  very  close  contests, 
the  superiority  of  the  17th  Lan- 
cers being  very  marked.  The 
return  of  this  famous  regiment  to 
the  polo  ground  will  be  welcomed 
by  all.  Some  of  the  best  players 
of  our  time  have  been  trained  in 
the  team  of  the  17th,  notably  Mr, 


'«9*] 


"  OUR  VAN. 


S97 


£.  D.  Miller  and  Captain  Renton. 
It  is  possible  that  had  Major 
Rimington  been  playing,  the  Innis- 
killings  might  have  made  a  better 
score  in  the  semi-final.  Their 
play  was  very  good  till  it  came  to 
hitting  goals,  and  then  luck  and 
skill  both  failed  them.  The  final 
took  place  on  September  2nd,  be- 
tween the  following  teams,  on  a 
ground  made  sticky  and  uncertain 
by  rain. 


17TH  LANCERS. 

Mr.  Fletcher. 
Captain  Tilney. 
Mr.  Carden. 
Captain  Portal. 


RIFLE    BRIGADE. 

Mr.  Boden. 
Major  Tenner. 
Major  Jenkins. 
Captain  Vernon. 


The  game  was  marked  by  the 
excellent  passing  of  the  ball  by 
the  17th  on  a  difficult  ground, 
and  eventually  they  won  by  fifteen 
goals  to  three. 

The  Subalterns'  Cap.— In  the 

final  of  this  cup  the  Inniskillings 
turned  the  tables  on  the  17th 
Lancers.  The  game  was  slow 
owing  to  the  wet  ground,  and  the 
hard  hitting  of  Mr.  Haig  and 
Mr.  Ansell  told  well  on  the  Nine 
Acres,  which  is  apt  to  get  a  bit 
sticky  in  bad  weather. 
The  teams  were  as  follows: — 


INNISKILLINGS. 

Mr.  Paterson. 
„    Ansell. 
„    Dixon  Johnson. 
„    Neil  Haig. 


17TH  LANCERS. 

Lord  Beauclerk. 
Mr.  Davis. 

Fletcher. 

Carden. 


11 


There  was  a  sharp  struggle  up 
to  half  time,  after  that  the  Dra- 
goon team  with  the  goals  in  hand 
went  ahead  and  won  as  they 
pleased. 

London  Polo  Club. — Thecourse 
taken  in  keeping  the  club  open 
through  the  autumn  has  been 
amply  justified  by  the  results,  and 
few  better  games  have  been  seen 
on  the  Crystal  Palace  ground  than 
that  between  Woolwich  and  a 
home  team  on  September  2nd. 
The  London  Club  team  had  the 


best  oi  the  game  at  first,  but  after 
a  hard  struggle  the  match  ended 
in  a  draw. 

All  Ireland  Cup. — Among  many 
interesting  matches  played  during 
the  Dublin  polo  tournaments  none 
surpassed  the  final  of  the  All  Ire- 
land Cup  on  Saturday,  August 
26th.  We  are  always  certain  to 
see  good  polo  when  the  Innis- 
killings play,  and  to  add  to  the 
interest,  County  Sligo,  the  winners 
of  the  County  Cup,  had  to  meet 
the  Dragoons  in  the  final.  I 
have  more  than  once  drawn  at- 
tention to  the  splendid  school 
for  polo  which  the  Irish  County 
Union  has  proved,  and  thus  the 
appearance  of  a  county  team  in 
the  final  added  greatly  to  the 
interest.  The  attendance  was 
as  large  as  is  ever  seen  at  a 
polo  match  in  the  Phcenix,  and 
that  is  saying  a  great  deal. 

Nor  were  those  disappointed 
who  expected  a  great  game.  The 
struggle  was  worthy  to  be  recorded 
alongside  the  finest  seen  on  the 
Nine  Acres.  It  is  of  no  use  to  look 
at  the  final  score  of  four  to  one, 
for  the  scores  were  even  till  the 
Sligo  ponies  gave  way.  There 
was  nothing  to  choose  between 
the  teams,  and  it  is  quite  possible 
that  if  their  ponies  could  have 
stayed  Sligo  might  have  won, 
especially  as  the  Inniskillings 
were  very  uncertain  at  times  in 
their  shots  at  the  goal  posts. 
The   teams   in   this   fine   match 


were  :— 

INNISKILLINGS. 

Captain  Paynter. 
Mr.  Ansell. 

,,    H i$gins. 

ft    Haig. 


COUNTY  SLIGO, 

Mr.  Connolly. 
„    O'Hara. 
,,    L'Estrange. 
„    Fitzgerald. 


Lady  Cadogan  gave  away  the 
cup  to  the  winners. 

The  late  Mr.  Drybrough's 
Ponies.  —  The  old  favourite, 
Charlton,  will  not  be  among  the 
ponies  to  be  sold  at  Rugby  on 
October  6th.     She  is  to  be  pen- 


298 


baily's  magazine. 


[October 


sioned  off.  We  all  know  how 
great  a  favourite  she  was  with 
her  late  master,  and  what  good 
service  she  has  done.  It  is  satis- 
factory to  think  that  she  will  have 
a  quiet  and  comfortable  old  age. 
Charlton,  a  dark  chestnut  with  a 
blaze,  was  probably  one  of  the 
very  best  heavy-weight  polo 
ponies  of  recent  years. 

Mr.  W.  J.  Drybrough's  collec- 
tion of  sporting  pictures  and 
prints  is  to  be  sold  at  Christie 
and  Manson's,  and  is  well  worth 
the  notice  of  amateurs  in  such 
things.  There  is  a  very  large 
number  of  pictures,  some  of  which 
are  excellent  examples  of  well- 
known  artists  of  sporting  subjects. 

Stansted. — A  very  interesting 
series  of  games  on  the  American 
system  were  played  at  the  ground 
of  this  club  on  the  week  end- 
ing September  2nd.  Thus  there 
were  four  teams  entered  ;  each 
goal  obtained  counted  one,  each 
game  won  reckoned  as  three,  and 
a  draw  as  one  and  a  half.  On  a 
slippery  ground  the  final  was 
played  on  September  2nd  be- 
tween : — 


A. 

Mr.  Gerald  Gold. 
„    P.   Bulliva.nL. 
1,    A.  Lobb. 
„    R.  Blyth. 


C. 

Mr.  W.  Buclcmaster. 
tf    G.  Game. 
„    O.  Blyth. 


it 


G.  B.  Game. 


Mr.  Buckmaster's  team  won  by 
q\  points  after  a  close  struggle, 
his  No.  4,  Mr.  G.  B.  Game,  play- 
ing a  capital,  though  somewhat 
rash  game.  This  was  good 
tactics,  with  Mr.  Buckmaster  in 
front  of  him,  and  was  justified  by 
the  result. 

The  Ranelagh  Polo  Picture.— 
Mr.  Goodwin  Kilburne  has  this 
now  well-known  picture  at  his 
studio.  The  portraits  of  Lord 
Shrewsbury  and  Captain  Han- 
well  are  to  be  added,  and  every- 
one will  agree  that  this  will  make 
the  group  more  representative  of 
Ranelagh  polo. 


DeaUYille. — The  principal  tour- 
nament of  the  season,  the  Prix 
International,  was  fought  out  by 
five  teams,  and  the  final  tie  pro- 
duced as  exciting  a  game  as  has 
ever  been  witnessed  at  Deauville. 
The  three  teams  who  succumbed 
in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  com- 
petition were  the   Uniteds   (Mr. 
Beaumont,    Mr.    Holden    Watt, 
Baron  de  Tessier  and  Lord  Vil- 
liers),  a  Paris- Madrid  team  com- 
posed of  Mr.  Wright,  M.  Larios 
(vice  M.  de  Escandon,  who  had 
put  out  his  arm  in  the  County 
Cup  final),  M.  "  Rice,M  and  the 
Marquis  de    Villavieja,  and  the 
following    Deauville    Polo    Club 
quartette : — M.  Louis  Faider,  M. 
Fauquet-Lemaitre,  Mr.  C.  Barton 
and  Baron  Lejeune,  the  popular 
ex-master  of   the   Pau   Hounds. 
The  two  teams  who  were  left  to 
try  conclusions  in  the    final  tie 
were  both  English,  the  Foxhunt- 
ers  and  the  Buccaneers,  the  last- 
named    having    in    1898,  as  the 
Wanderers,  scored  their  third  suc- 
cessive victory  in  the  tournament. 
It  should  be  noted,  however,  that 
there  was  one  change  in  the  team ; 
Mr.   Davison,    who    played   last 
year,  giving   place  to  Mr.  Lau- 
rence McCreery;    The  other  three 
members  of  the  team  were  Messrs. 
Marjoribanks,  Reginald  Ward  and 
F.  Menzies.    Their  opponents  the 
Foxhunters  were  Messrs.  Waker 
McCreery,  F.  J.  Mackey,  F.  M. 
Freake,  and  A.  Rawlinson.   On 
this  occasion  the  Foxhunters  more 
than  avenged  their  defeat  by  the 
Buccaneers  in  the  County  Cup, 
and  after  leading  by  two  goals  to 
one  at  half-time,  ultimately  won  a 
galloping  game   by  six  goals  to 
three.     The  prizes,  four  tankards 
of  quaint  design,  were  presented  to 
the  winners  by  Mr.  Henry  Ridg- 
way,  who  in  conjunction  with  the 
Prince  de  Poix,  has  done  so  much 
to    promote    sport   in   Deauville, 
Paris  and   the  south  of  France. 


1899- 


It 


OUR  VAN. 


t* 


As  there  were  more  players  present 
this  year  than  usual,  a  polo  pony 
race  meeting  and  show  of  ponies 
was  held  during  the  last  week, 
the    Deauville    Race  Committee 
lending  the  course  and  stands  for 
the  occasion.    Out  of  the  three 
flat  races  on  the  card,  Mr.  Freake 
won  the  two  in  which  he  com- 
peted    with  his  well-known  bay 
mares,  Sheila  and    Swallow    re- 
spectively.  In  the  other,  M.  Louis 
Faider's    brown    mare     Arcadia 
(owner)  walked  over  the  course, 
and  Mr.  Laurence  McCreery  won 
the  mile  steeplechase  on  his  grey 
pony  Denis.     At  the  conclusion  of 
the  races  a  polo  pony  show  was 
held,  for  which  the  Marquis  de 
Castelbajac,  Comte  le  Marois  and 
Comte  de  Uribarren  officiated  as 
judges.      The    Vicomte    de    la 
Rochefoucauld's    chestnut    mare 
Norah  won  the  jumping  competi- 
tion   and   Mr.     L.     McCreery's 
Denis  secured  first  honours  as  the 
best  pony  which  had  played  polo 
during  1899  at  Deauville  or  Baga- 
telle (Paris).     In  the  mare  class 
the  judges   placed  Mr.  Freake's 
Sheila  first,  and  he  also  won  the 
prize  for  the  best  stud  of  four  with 
Sheila,  Swallow,  Sunshade    and 
Evy.    The  last  polo  match  of  the 
season  was  that  between  the  Buc- 
caneers and  Calvados  for  the  Con- 
solation prize;    the    latter    team 
being  really  the  Foxhunters,  with 
the  Marquis  de  Villavieja  playing 
instead  of  Mr.  Mackey.    Calvados 
hit  a  goal  soon  after  the  start,  but 
so  well  were  the  teams  matched 
that  nothing  further  was  scored 
until  the  fifth  period,  when  the 
Buccaneers  managed  to  equalise. 
The  interest  was  maintained  until 
the  very  end,  the  match  ending 
in  a  draw  of  three  goals  all.    So 
ended  the  1899  Deauville  season, 
the  success  of  which  must  have 
been  a  source  of  great  gratification 
to    Mr.  Reginald    Herbert,   who 
worked  so  hard  to  that  end. 


Field  Trials  for 

Two  lots  of  trials  for  sporting 
spaniels  are  announced  for  the 
coming  season,  the  Sporting 
Spaniel  Club  being  the  first  in 
the  field  with  a  meeting  on  De- 
cember 1 2th  and  following  days. 
This  will  be  held  00  Mr.  B.  J. 
Warwick's  estate  at  Little  Green, 


:,  quite  as 
as  Sutton  Scarsdale,  where  the 
inaugural  trials  were  held  in 
January  last.  A  month  later  the 
first  trials  arranged  by  the  com- 
mittee of  the  Spaniel  Club  are  to 
be  held  on  the  Duke  of  Portland's 
Welbeck  estate,  his  Grace,  this 
year's  President,  having  con- 
sented to  place  his  coverts  at  the 
service  of  the  club.  Both  meet- 
ings are  open,  and  considerable 
interest  is  being  taken  in  the 
scheme  of  working  trials  as  drawn 
up  by  the  two  clubs.  The  breed 
ought  to  benefit  very  materially. 

tSotf. — In  the  matter  of  the 
Irish  Championship  the  state  of 
things  seems  to  be  the  same  as 
in  the  old  days,  when  in  event  of 
a  vacancy  occurring  it  was  a 
case  of  "No  Irish  need  apply.** 
The  Championship  has  been 
played  for  cm  eight  occasions, 
and  each  time  it  has  been  won, 
either  by  a  Scotchman  or  an 
Englishman,  and  the  few  natives 
of  Ireland  who  have  ventured  to 
enter  the  contest  have  alrn'/rt 
invariably  succumbed  in  one  of 
the  early  rounds  of  the  tourna- 
ment. This  year  Mr.  John  Ball, 
junior,  of  Hoylake,  is  the  Imh 
Champion.  The  play  was  at 
Portmarnock  near  Dublin,  and 
he  won  with  a  measure  of  eate 
in  striking  contrast  with  hi*  ex* 
perience  m  the  Amateur  Cham- 
pionship this  year  when  he  fought 
with,  and  defeated  Mr,  V .  (s, 
Tait.  His  opponent  in  the  Final 
round  was  Mr.  J,  M,  William* 
son,  a  Musselburgh  player  who 
did  well  in  the  Amateur  Cb*m< 


3<*> 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[October 


pionship  and  who  at  Portmar- 
nock  distinguished  himself  in  the 
Semi-final  by  defeating  Mr.  H. 
H.  Hilton  by  a  single  hole. 
Playing  against  Mr.  Ball,  how- 
ever, Mr.  Williamson  showed  poor 
form,  as  poor  indeed  as  he 
showed  a  few  years  ago  in  this 
same  Irish  Championship,  when 
he  met  Mr.  W.  B.  Taylor  in  the 
Final  round.  He  was  beaten 
by  Mr.  Ball  by  no  less  than 
12  up  and  ii  to  play.  At  the 
same  meeting  there  was  a  medal 
and  match  competition  for  pro- 
fessionals, in  which  Harry  Vardon 
once  more  carried  all  before  him. 
One  of  his  medal  rounds  he  did 
in  72  strokes  while  in  the  Final 
round  of  the  match  play  he  beat 
J.  H.  Taylor  of  Richmond  by  13 
up  and  1 1  to  play.  Willie  Park, 
junior,  of  North  Berwick,  took 
part  in  the  competition,  but 
neither  in  the  one  class  of  play 
nor  in  the  other  did  he  show  to 
much  advantage.  Following  close 
upon  this  meeting  there  was  the 
annual  contest  for  the  South  of 
Ireland  Championship,  which  was 
won  by  Mr.  J.  R.  Gairdner,  Rich- 
mond, who  defeated  Mr.  Josiah 
Livingstone,  a  young  Edinburgh 
University  player  in  the  .Final 
round,  by  6  up  and  5  to  play. 
The  play    was  on  the    links  at 


Lahinch.  Both  Mr.  Gairdner  and 
Mr.  Livingstone  were  at  Port- 
marnock,  where  the  former  was 
put  out  by  Mr.  Hilton  and  the 
latter  by  Mr.  Ball. 

The  Royal  and  Ancient  Club 
of  St.  Andrews  had  a  most 
successful  meeting  for  the  Victoria 
Jubilee  Vase.  The  links  were 
in  splendid  condition,  and  the 
weather  all  through  the  meeting 
was  everything  that  could  be 
desired.  Like  the  play  for  the 
Calcutta  Cup  the  play  for  the 
Victoria  Jubilee  Vase  is  under 
handicap,  but  unlike  the  former 
the  handicap  takes  the  form  of 
strokes,  nqt  holes.  In  the  later 
rounds  there  were  a  number  of 
very  exciting  matches  which 
afforded  great  interest  to  the 
spectators.  In  these  the  brothers 
Tait  and  the  brothers  Blackwell 
lost  their  places,  and  it  fell  to 
Mr.  H.  C.  Ellis,  and  Mr.  C.  A. 
W.  Cameron  to  fight  out  the 
Final  round.  The  latter  received 
a  stroke  at  five  holes,  and  playing 
a  steady,  though  by  no  means 
brilliant  game,  he  succeeded  in 
halving  the  match.  The  re- 
sult of  a  second  round  was 
that  Mr.  Ellis  won  by  3  up 
and  2  to  play  and  thus  became 
the  holder  of  the  Vase  for  the 
year. 


Sporting   Intelligence. 

[Daring  August— September,  1899.] 


"  Contrary  to  general  expectation,  the 
coarse  fishermen  appear  to  have  obtained 
a  very  fair  amount  of  sport  during  the 
August  holidays.  The  record  performance 
probably  has,  however,  been  the  capture 
ty  a  boy  of  fifteen  of  a  fine  pike,  weighing 
261bs.  He  was  fishing  in  the  Dorsetshire 
Stour,  near  Bland  ford,  and  suddenly  found 
himself  fast  to  a  very  heavy  fish,  which 
was  successfully  landed  after  some  twenty 
minutes'  exciting  play.  It  was  in  magnifi- 
cent condition,  and  measured  42m.  from 


eve  to  fork  of  tail,  and  22in.  round  the 
shoulders.  The  skin  was  forwarded  the 
same  evening  to  Mr.  J.  Richardson,  i*3» 
Euston  Road,  for  preservation,  and  was 
exhibited  in  his  shop  window  on  Wednes- 
day, when  it  attracted  numerous  spec- 
tators."— Field,  August  12th. 

The  following  is  from  the  Sportsman  of 
August  24th  :—"  Mr.  Smith,  of  Glencave, 
is  said  to  have  shot  a  stag  with  ten  points, 
made  a  good  bag  of  grouse,  and  landed  a 
clean  run  salmon,  all  in  a  single  day." 


'»99  ] 


SPORTING   INTELLIGENCE. 


301 


The  death  occurred,  on  August  27th,  of 
Mr.  Arthur  Budd,  a  past  president  of  the 
Rugby  Football  Union,  and  ex-captain  of 
the  Blackheath  F.C.,  at  the  early  age  of 
forty-six.  Mr.  Budd  was  educated:  at  Clif- 
ton College  and  Pembroke  College,  Cam- 
bridge, and  five  times  appeared  for  his 
country  in  International  matches. 

The  Quarter  Mile  Amateur  Running 
Championship  at  Blackpool,  on  August 
28th,  resolved  itself  into  a  race  between 
F.  C.  V.  Lane,  the  Australian,  and  J.  A. 
Jarvis,  the  former  winning  by  about  five 
yards,  after  a  keen  struggle. 

Mr.  Ernest  Renshaw,  the  celebrated 
lawn-tennis  player,  died  at  Walt  ham  St. 
Lawrence,  on  September  2nd,  aged  thirty- 
eight  years.  His  principal  performances 
in  public  include  the  championship  in 
1888,  the  All-Comers'  Singles  in  1882-83- 
88,  the  Double  Championships  in  1880-81- 
84-85-86-88-89,  the  Mixed  Double  Cham- 
pionship in  1888,  the  Irish  Championship 
in  1885-87-88  and  1892,  the  Irish  Douhle 
Championship  in  1883-84-85,  and  the  Irish 
Ladies'  and  Gentlemen's  Double  Cham- 
pionship in  1881-87. 

The  Doncaster  sales  commenced  on  Tues- 
day, September  5U1,  but  business,  as  is 
often  the  case  early  in  the  week,  was  quiet. 
The  best  price,  710  gs.,  was  paid  by  Mr.  S. 
Darling  for  a  yearling  colt  by  Royal  Hamp- 
ton ;  Mr.  Chaloner  bought  Daring,  by 
Bomaby,  for  600  gs. ,  and  Captain  Forester 
purchased  a  filly  by  Gallinule  at  500  gs. 
The  Earl  of  Crewe  sent  up  four  yearlings ; 
of  these  Irish  Idyll,  a  filly  by  Kilwarlin, 
made  400  gs.,  Mr.  R.  Chaloner  buying. 
Mr.  J.  Hornsby  gave  400  gs.  for  a  colt  by 
Burnaby. 

The  feature  of  Wednesday's  sale  was  the 
Bruntwood  yearlings,  Mr.  Piatt  sending  up 
eight,  which  realised  7,070  gs.,  giving  an 
average  of  883  gs.  Captain  Machell  paid 
2,000  gs.  for  a  Kendal  colt,  dam  St  Mar- 
guerite ;  Mr.  G.  Faber  gave  the  same 
figure  for  a  colt  by  St.  Simon — Sea  Air, 
and  Mr.  W.  Cooper  secured  a  filly  by 
Trenton — Musidora,  for  1,000  gs.  From 
the  Worksop  Manor  yearlings  Mr.  S.  B. 
Joel  secured  a  colt  by  Bunbury — Pales,  at 
710  gs. 

Sir  Tatton  Sykes'  yearlings,  sold  at 
Thursday's  sale,  numbered  six,  making 
7,490  gs.,  an  average  of  1,248  gs.  Of  these 
the  top  price,  2,300  gs.,  was  paid  by  Mr. 
J.  \V.  Larnach  for  the  filly  by  Isinglass — 
La  Fleche.  Mr.  Beatly  bought  a  colt  by 
St.  Simon  —  Mimi,  at  1,600  gs.  ;  Sir 
Blandell  Maple  gave  1,550  guineas  for  a 
colt  bylKendal — Chrysalis,  a  filly  by  Isin- 
glass being  knocked  down  to  Mr.  Marsh  at 
the  same  price.  Mr.  Simons  Harrison  ob- 
tained an  average  of  1,113  8s*  *or  s*^11) 


the  top  price  being  3,000  gs.,  paid  by  Sir 
J.  B.  Maple  for  Silver  Bay,  a  colt  by  Bend 
Or— Silver    Sea ;    Major    Fen  wick    gave 

'•S00  gs-  f°r  a  c°l*  «y  St.  Serf — Orlet; 
Sir  J.  Thursby  secured  the  colt  by  Orme — 
Pamela,  at  880  gs.  ;  Mr.  £.  C.  Wadlow 
gave  850  gs.  for  a  colt  by  Orme  or  Kendal 
— Stirrup  Cup,  and  Lord  Crewe  took  a 
filly  by  Bend  Or — Irish  Melody,  at  700  gs. 

Fourteen  yearlings  from  the  Theakstone 
Hall  Stud  changed  hands,  Mr.  C.  J.  Miller 
paying  1,400  gs.  for  a  colt  by  Bona  Vista — 
Hinton.  Mr.  J.  H.  King  gave  1,300  gs. 
for  a  colt  by  Orme,  and  Mr.  S.  B.  Joel 
purchased  a  colt  by  Royal  Hampton  for 
1,200  gs. 

On  Friday  Mr.  Ralph  Snevd's  young- 
sters were  forward,  and  twelve  sold ;  the 
best  price  was  paid  by  Captain  Bewicke, 
who  gave  830  guineas  for  a  colt  by  Blue 
Green — Pink,  and  Mr.  Cooper  purchased 
a  filly  by  the  same  sire  at  700  gs.  Mr. 
Miller  bought  a  colt  by  Father  Confessor 
at  500  gs. ,  being  the  top  price  obtained  in 
Mr.  Taylor  Sharpe's  consignment. 

The  death  is  announced,  on  Septem- 
ber 6th,  at  Uttoxeter,  of  Charles  Leedham, 
late  huntsman  of  the  Meynell.  The  de- 
ceased, who  only  retired  in  1898,  was 
fifty-eight  years  of  age. 

The  Duke  of  Westminster's  Flying  Fox 
won  the  St.  Leger  on  September  7th  in 
3  min.  15^  sees. ;  Wildfowler  occupied 
3  min.  13  sees,  last  year,  and  Galtee  More 
was  3  min.  31$  sees.,  covering  the  course  in 
1897. 

By  the  victory  of  Flying  Fox  the  Duke 
of  Westminster  is  credited  with  two  St. 
Legers,  Ormonde  winning  in  1886,  and  is 
the  only  owner  of  two  horses  who  have 
'  each  won  the  Two  Thousand  Guineas,  the 
Derby,  and  the  St.  Leger.  Other  winners 
of  the  triple  event  are — West  Australian, 
1853 ;  Gladiateur,  1865  ;  Lord  Lyon  in 
1866  ;  Common,  1891 ;  Isinglass,  1893 ; 
and  Galtee  More,  1897. 

An  interesting  table,  published  in  the 
Sportsman  of  September  7th,  gives  the 
amounts  won  as  two-  and  three-year-olds 
by  winners  of  the  St.  Leger  for  thirty-four 
years  past,  together  with  the  number  of 
starts  and  wins.  Donovan  is  credited  with 
the  greatest  value  of  stakes,  viz.,  £44»563» 
winning  seventeen  times  out  of  nineteen 
starts.  Flying  Fox,  this  year's  winner, 
comes  next  with  £32,906,  winning  eight 
out  of  ten  starts  ;  Galtee  More  secured 
£24,977,  and  Isinglass  won  £23,437 ; 
Lord  Lyon  and  Achievement  each  totalled 
over  £22,000,  and  Ormonde's  winnings 
stand  at  £20,121. 

A  correspondent  writes  to  the  Field  of 
September  16th  as  follows: — "Baccarat, 


302 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[0C10BF.R. 


a  well-bred  hunting  mare,  standing  16 
hands,  and  girthing  $ft.  11  in.,  stands  in  a 
large  loose  box,  with  the  ordinary  doors 
dividing  half-way  up,  the  lower  door  being 
4ft  4m.  from  the  floor,  and  3ft  6in.  wide; 
the  top  door  remains  open,  leaving  a  space 
of  aft.  7m.  high  and  3ft  6in.  wide.  The 
mare  jumped  clear  out  of  the  box  through 
this  opening,  the  outside  ground  being 
8in.  lower  than  the  floor  of  the  box.  She 
rubbed  herself  on  the  top  and  bottom  of 
the  opening,  but  not  enough  to  take  the 
hair  off." 

Master  Kildare,  who  won  the  City  and 
Suburban  Handicap  in  1880,  died  early  in 
September  at  the  Napagedl  Stud,  Austria- 
Hungary,  where  he  had  been  standing 
since  1892.  Foaled  in  1875,  by  Lord 
Ronald,  Master  Kildare  won  the  Liverpool 
Autumn  Cup  in  1879,  carrying  8st.  13I0. 
The  horse  was  probably  best  known  as  sire 
of  Melton,  the  Derby  winner. 

Heavy  scoring  was  the  feature  of  cricket 
in  1899,  no  less  than  223  scores  of  100 
and  over  being  recorded  ;  there  were  three 
scores  of  300,  viz.,  Abel,  357  (not  out), 
Major  Poore,  304,  and  300  (not  out)  by 
Trumper,  the  Australian.  On  ten  occa- 
sions in  county  cricket  200  and  upwards 
were  made.  The  following  scored  a  cen- 
tury and  upwards  more  than  once  : — C.  L. 
Townsend,  9 ;  Ranjitsinhji,  8  ;  Abel,  Hay- 
ward  and  Major  Poore  each  7 ;  W.  G. 
Quaife  and  Perrin,  6;  C.  B.  Fry,  F.  S. 
Jackson,  and  J.  Darling  (Australian),  5  ; 
Shrewsbury  and  A.  O.  Jones,  4. 

At  Broomhead,  Yorkshire,  Mr.  R. 
Remington-Wilson  and  eight  guns,  in- 
cluding Lords  Powis,  Savile,  and  Sondes, 
and  Messrs.  F.  Fryer  and   Pearson  Gre- 


gory, in  two  days  got  2,024  and  1,920 
grouse  respectively,  and  another  day  914 
rabbits. 

A  good  bag  for  four  days*  shooting  was 
obtained  at  Farr,  Inverness  shire,  when 
Mr.  Mackenzie  and  party  killed  1,324 
grouse,  besides  1 1 1  hares  and  2  blackcock. 
On  one  day  262}  brace  of  grouse  were 
killed. 

Shooting  over  the  Bolton  Abbey  Moors 
during  the  first  seventeen  days  of  the 
season,  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  and  party 
bagged  close  upon  six  thousand  brace  of 
grouse. 

A  correspondent  writing  to  the  Field 
gives  some  interesting  particulars  of 
sport  on  the  south-east  coast  of  Ame- 
rica. The  following  is  the  total  bag 
obtained  by  H.M.S.  Bcagk  during  the 
period  1897-1899  :— Partridges  (Tinaimi), 
small,  5,228 ;  partridges  (crested),  156 ; 
martineta,  91  ;  montoras,  42  ;  pigeon,  120 ; 
duck,  380 ;  teal,  434 ;  widgeon,  38 :  snipe, 
350 ;  swan,  4  :  geese,  50 ;  hare,  162  :  rab- 
bits, 130 ;  guanaco,  27  ;  cavies,  41  ;  puma, 
2 ;  ostrich,  10 ;  wild  cattle,  15 ;  various, 
174.    Total,  7,454. 

At  the  puppy  show  of  the  Albrighton 
Hounds,  held  at  the  kennels,  a  presentation 
was  made  to  Captain  Foster,  the  late 
master,  consisting  of  a  life-size  portrait, 
painted  by  the  Hon.  J.  Collier. 

The  resignation  of  Frank  Goodall, 
huntsman  to  the  Kildare  Hounds,  is  re- 
ported. In  recognition  of  his  services 
during  thirteen  years,  a  testimonial,  consist- 
ing of  a  service  of  silver  plate,  a  cheque  for 
^400,  together  with  a  list  of  the  subscribers, 
was  presented  on  behalf  of  the  members 
of  the  Hunt  by  Colonel  the  Hon.  C. 
Crichton. 


TURF. 

YORK.— August  Meeting. 

August  22nd. — The  Yorkshire  Oaks  of 
425  sovs.  ;  for  three-year-old  fillies ; 
one  mile  and  a  quarter. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Lamach'sbr.  f.  Victoria 
May,  by  St.  Simon — Hampton 
Rose,  8st.  iolb O.  Madden     I 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  br.  f. 
Landrail,  8s t.  iolb.  J.  H.  Martin    2 

Mr.  F.  Alexander's  b.  f.  Quassia, 

8st.  iolb M.  Cannon    3 

2  to  1  agst.  Victoria  May. 

The  Prince  of  Wales's  Plate  of  885 
sovs.  ;  for  two-year-olds ;  New 
T.Y.C.  (five  furlongs,  straight). 

Mr.  J.  W.  Larnach's  b.  c.  Simons- 


wood,     by    St.    Simon — Daisy 

Chain,  8st.  7lb O.  Madden    I 

Sir  J.  Blundell  Maple's  b.  f.  Royal 

Step,  8st.  41b. J.  H.  Martin    2 

Mr.  Russell  Monro's  b.  c   Victor 

Wolf,  8st.  7IU Rickaby    3 

5  to  1  agst.  Simonswood. 

August  23rd. — The  Duke  of  York  Stakes 
of  510  sovs.  ;  for  three-year-olds; 
one  mile  and  a  half. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Houldsworth's  b.  or  br. 
c.  Carbiston,  by  Donovan — 
Caserta,  8st.  $lb M.  Cannon    I 

Mr.  J.  A.  Miller's  br.  c  Inno- 
cence, ost.  31b Halsey    2 

Mr.    Wallace    Johnstone's   ch.   f. 
Lady  Ogle,  8st.  91b.  ...S.  Loates    3 
3  to  1  agst.  Carbiston. 


18990 


SPORTING   INTELLIGENCE. 


303 


The  Convivial  Produce  Stakes  of  480 
sovs. ;  for  two-year-olds ;  New 
T.  Y.C.  (five  furlongs,  straight). 

Mr.  H.  J.  Mills'  b.  f.  Satyrica,  by 
Allaway— Satira,  8s t.  2 lb. 

M.  Cannon     I 

Captain  Laing's  b.  f.  Papdale,  7st. 
I3lb.    F.  Finlay    2 

Mr.  A.  Henderson's  ch.  f.  Guidwife 
(late  Oxtail),  8st.  olb.   Chapman    3 
6  to  4  agst.  Satyrica. 

The  Great  Ebor  Handicap  Plate  of 
925  sovs.  ;  one  mile  and  three- 
quarters. 

Major  J.  D.  Edwards'  b.  g.  Cas- 
sock's Pride,  by  Cassock — dam 
by  Brown  Prince,  6  yrs.,  7st. 
13IU  (car.  8st.) Fagan     1 

Mr.  J.  H.  Houldsworth's  b.  c. 
Greenan,  4  yrs.,  9s t.   ...Rickaby    2 

Mr.  Arthur  James'  b.  g.  Sinopi, 
3  yrs.,  7st.  41b.  (car.  7st.  51b.) 

O.  Madden    3 
100  to  6  agst.  Cassock's  Pride. 
August  24th.— The  Great  Yorkshire  Stakes 
of  885  sovs.  ;  for  three-year-olds  ; 
one  mile  and  three-quarters. 

Duke  of  Portland's  b.  c.  Manners, 
by  St.  Simon — Tact,  9st.  I2lb. 

T.  Loates     1 

Mr.  Fairie's  br.  c.  Galliot,  9St.  41b. 

Rickaby    f 

Mr.  R.  C.  Harrison's  br.   c.  Sir 

Reginald,  8st.  1 2lb Allsopp 

11  to  10  agst.  Manners. 

The  Harewood  Handicap  Stakes  of 
570  sovs.  ;  six  furlongs. 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  br.  f.  Chinook, 
by  Sensation — Breeze,  4  yrs.,  8st. 
4lb. J.  H.  Martin     I 

Mr.  D.  Seymour's  ch.  h.  Sirdar,  5 
yrs.,  9st S.  Loates    2 

Mr.    W.    E.   Elsey's   b.   h.  Car- 
donald,  aged,  7st.  1  lib.   Yamell    3 
9  to  2  agst.  Chinook. 

The  Gimcrack  Stakes  of  465  sovs. ; 
for  two-year-olds  (six  furlongs, 
straight). 

Mr.  Russel's  br.  f.  Dusky  Queen, 
by  St.  Simon — Virginia  Shore, 
8st.  41b O.  Madden     1 

Mr.  L.  Alvarez's  bl.  or  br.  Filly  by 
Rusticus — La  Carolina,  9st. 

Nunez    2 

Mr.  Russell  Monro's  br.  f.  Goos- 
ander, 8st.  41b S.  Loates    3 

13  to  8  agst.  Dusky  Queen. 

DERBY. — September  Meeting. 

August  29th. — The  First  Year  of  the  Sixth 
Champion  Breeders'  Biennial  Foal 
Stakes  of  1,030  sovs. ;  for  two-year- 
olds  (five  furlongs,  straight). 
Mr.  Dewar's  ch.  c.  Forfarshire,  by 
Royal  Hampton— St.  Elizabeth, 
9»t.  2lb.  S.  Loates     1 

VOL.  LXXII. — NO.  476. 


Mr.  W.  H.  Walker's  b.  f.  Merry 
Gal,  7*t.  13th N.  Robinson    2 

Mr.  T.  B.  Miller's  ch.  f.  Madame 

Rachel,  7st.  131b F.  Finlay    3 

5  to  1  agst.  Forfarshire. 

The  Peveiil  of  the  Peak  Plate,  a  Han- 
dicap of  925  sovs. ;  the  Straight 
Mile. 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  br.  f.  St. 
la,  by  St.  Serf — Berengaria,  4 
yrs.,  7st.  81b J.  H.  Martin     1 

Mr.  Theobald's  b.  h.  Phoebus 
Apollo,  6  yrs.,  7st.  61b.  (car.  7st. 
7lb.) F.  Finlay    2 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  br.  f.  Chinook, 
4  yrs.,  8st.  51b.  (lolb.  ex.)  Sloan    3 
4  to  I  agst.  St.  la. 

The  Champion  Breeders'  Biennial 
Foal  Stakes  of  885  sovs. ;  for  three- 
year-olds  ;  the  Straight  Mile. 

Mr.  P.  Lorillard's  b.  f.  Sibola,  by 
The  Sailor  Prince — Saluda,  9st. 
3lb Sloan     I 

Lord  Rosebery's  b.  c.  Flambard, 
8st.  I2lb C.  Wood    2 

Mr.   F.  Alexander's  br.  c.  Wolfs 

Hope,  8st.  1  olb. M.  Cannon    3 

11  to  10  agst.  Sibola. 

SANDOWNPARK  CLUB.— September 

Meeting. 

September  2nd. — The  Michaelmas  Stakes 
of  444  sovs.  ;  for  two-year-olds ; 
five  furlongs. 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  bl.  g.  Black- 
smith, by  Wolfs  Crag — Maxima, 
9st.  1  olb Sloan     1 

Mr.  Russel's  b.  f.  Tiresome,  9st. 
lib O.  Madden    2 

Mr.  J.  Musker's  b.  f.  Edith  Crag, 

9st.  lib T.  Loates    3 

5  to  2  on  Blacksmith. 

The  September  Stakes  of  459  sovs. ; 
for  three-year-olds  ;  one  mile. 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  br.  f. 
Landrail,  by  St.  Serf— Thistle- 
field,  9st.  41b J.  H.  Martin     I 

Lord  Falmouth's  b.  c.  King's  Evi- 
dence, 9st Rickaby    2 

Lord  Radnor's  ch.  c.  Friar's  Cowl, 

9$t.  7lb Bushell    3 

8  to  1  on  Landrail. 

DONCASTER — September  Meeting. 

September  5th. — The  Champagne   Stakes 

of  1,310  sovs. ;  for  two-year-olds ; 

Red  House  in  (five   furlongs    152 

yards). 
Lord  W.  Beresford's  ch.  g.  Demo* 

crat,    by  Sensation — Equality, 

9st Sloan     I 

Duke  of  Portland's  b.   or    br.  c. 

Simon  Dale,  9$t M.  Cannon    2 

Sir    R.   Waldie    Griffith's    ch.    f. 

Betty  field,  8st.  1  lib.  J.  H.  Martin    3 
2  to  I  on  Democrat. 

22 


1 


304 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[October.  1899. 


The  Great  Yorkshire  Handicap  Plate 
of  975  sovs.  ;  Old  St  Leger  Course 
(one  mile  six  furlongs  132  yards). 

Duke  of  Westminsters  b.  c.  Cal- 
veley, by  St  Serf— Sandiway,  4 
yrs.,  8st.  7lb M.Cannon     1 

Mr.  J.  E.  M'Donald's  ch.  h. 
Rensselaer,  5  yrs.,  8st.  S.  Loates    2 

Mr.  Teddy's  ch.  g.  Uncle  Mac,  5 
yrs.,  8st T.  Loates    3 

6  to  I  agst.  Calveley. 
September  6th.— The  St.  Leger  Stakes  of 

of  4,050  sovs.  ;  for  three-year-olds ; 

the  Old  St.  Leger    Course  (about 

one  mile  six  furlongs  132  yards).' 
Duke  of  Westminsters  b.  c.  Flying 

Fox,  by  Orme — Vampire,  9st 

M.  Cannon     1 
Lord  William  Beresford's  ch.    c. 

Caiman,  9st Sloan     2 

Mr.  R.  A.  Oswald's  b.  c  Scintil- 

lant,  9st F.  Wood    3 

7  to  2  on  Flying  Fox. 
September    7th. — The  Portland  Plate  of 

715  sovs. ;  Red  House  in  (five  fur- 
longs 152  yards). 
Mr.  C.  A.  Mills'  b.  f.  Mazeppa,  by 
Wolfs  Crag — Maxima,   3    yrs., 

7st.  61b S.  Loates     1 

Mr.  Fairie's  b.   h.  Eager,  5  yrs., 

gst.  I2lb M.Cannon     2 

Lord    Wolverton's     b.    h.    Ugly, 

aged,  9st J.  Watts    3 

9  to  4  agst.  Mazeppa. 
September  8th.— The  Park  Hill  Stakes  of 
855  sovs.  ;  for  three-year-old  fillies  ; 
Old  St.  Leger  Course. 
Captain  Peers  b.  f.  Irish  Ivy,  by 
Marmiton-  Wild  Ivy,  8st  lolb. 

J.  Doyle     1 
Sir   R.    Waldie    Griffith's    ch.    f. 
Sweet  Marjorie,  8st  131b. 

J.  H.  Martin    2 
Lord  Crewe's  b.  f.    Saint   Lundi, 

8st.  131b M.  Cannon    3 

9  to  4  agst  Irish  Ivy. 

The  Prince  of  Wales'  Nursery  Plate 
of  880  sovs.  ;  for  two-year-olds ; 
the  Sandal  I  Mile. 

Duke  of  Portland's  b.  f.  La  Roche, 
by  St  Simon — Miss  Mildred, 
7st.  I2lb S.  Loates     1 

Mr.  Fairie's  b.  g.  Cutaway,  8st 
5lb.  (car.  8si.  61b.) Rickaby    2 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  br.   g.   Per- 
dicus,  8st.  lib.  (7lb.  ex.)..  Sloan     3 
5  to  1  agst.  La  Roche. 

The  Doncaster  Cup  of  590  sovs. ; 
about  two  miles,  over  the  Old 
Course. 

Duke  of  Westminster's  b.  c.  Cal- 
veley, by  St.  Serf— Sandiway, 
4  yrs.,  Qst.  41b M.  Cannon     1 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  br.  f. 
St.  la,  4  yrs.,  9st.  lib. 

J.  H.  Martin     2 


Mr.  J.  A.  Miller's  br.  c.  Innocence, 

3  yrs.,  8st  41b.  Halsey    3 

9  to  4  on  Calveley. 

The  Doncaster  Stakes  of  470  sovs. ; 
for  foals  of  1896,  to  run  at  three 
years  old  ;  one  mile  and  a  half,  over 
the  Old  Course. 

Sir  R.  Waldie  <  Griffith's  br.  f. 
Landrail,  by  St.  Serf— Thistle- 
field,  8<t.  9lb J.  H.  Martin     1 

Mr.  L.  Brassey's  b.  f.  Umbrosa, 
8st  91b.  F.  Finlay     2 

Mr.    Fairie's    br.   c   Galliot,  8st 

I2lb. M.  Cannon     3 

5  to  2  on  Landrail. 

ROYAL  CALEDONIAN  HUNT  AND 
WESTERN  MEETING. 

September  14th. — The  Ayrshire  Handicap 
Plate  of  930  sovs. ;  about  one  mile 
and  three  furlongs. 
Mr.  J.  G.  Baird  Hay's  br.  f.  Gyp, 
by  Grafton — Phantasie,   4  yrs., 

8st  4IK    Fagan     I 

Mr.  G.  Maclachlan's  br.  g.  Mar- 
thus,  4yrs.,6st  121b. Purkis     2 

Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  b.  c  Brio,  4 
yrs.,  Sst  3lb.  (car.  8st.  51b.) 

Rickaby     3 
3  to  I  agst.  Gyp. 

POLO. 

August  22nd.— At  Phoenix  Park,  Dublin, 
Sligo  beat  Dublin  by  8  goals  to  I,  and 
won  the  {Ireland)  County  Cup. 

August  26th. — At  Phoenix  Park,  Dublin, 
Inniskilling  Dragoons  beat  co.  Sligo 
by  4  goals  to  1,  and  won  the  (Ireland) 
Open  Cup. 

August  29ih. — At  Phoenix  Park,  Dublin, 
17th  Lancers  beat   Rifle  Brigade  by 

15  goals  to  3,  and  won    the    Regi- 
mental (Ireland)  Cup. 

September  1st — At  Phoenix  Park,  Dublin, 
Inniskilling  Dragoons  beat  17th  Lan- 
cers by  7  goals  to  1,  and  won  the 
(Ireland)  Subalterns'  Cup. 

CRICKET. 
August  22nd. — At  Lord's,   Middlesex    v. 

Australians,  latter  won  by  an  innings 

and  23c  runs. 
August    23rd. — At    Tonbridge,    Kent    v. 

Yorkshire,  former  won  by  8  wickets. 
August  23rd. — At  Cheltenham,  Gloucester- 
shire v.    Surrey,   latter  won   by    140 

runs.  • 

August  26th. — At  Nottingham,   Notts  v. 

Middlesex,  Utter  won  by  10  wickets. 
August  30th. — At   Portsmouth,   Hants  v. 

Sussex,  latter  won  by  an  innings  and 

16  runs. 

September    1st. — At    Kennington    Oval, 

Surrey  v.    Hants,  former  won  by  an 

innings  and  230  runs. 
September  6th. — At   Hastings,    South  of 

England  v.  Australians, latter  won  by 

no  runs. 


"position  nnrirolleft  In  Xonoan." 

LANGHAM 
HOTEL, 

PORTLAND  PLACE  AND  REGENT  STREET, 
LONDON,    W. 


Quiet,  open,  and  healthy  situation  in  Fashionable  and 
Convenient  locality.  Built  on  a  gravel  soil  95  feet  above 
the  Thames  high-water  mark. 


Apartments  for  Regimental  and  Private  Dinners, 
Wedding  Receptions,  &c. 

MODERN    IMPROVEMENTS.  MODERATE    TARIFF. 


"  Particularly     suitable 

fop  medicinal  purposes." 

— Tk*  Lama,  July,  'go. 


MARTELL'S 
THREE   STAR 

BRANDY. 


"A  genuine  old  Brandy  made 
from  Wine." — Medical  Frets,  Aug.,  '99. 


DAYS'  ^m 


BLACK  ss^is 
DRIMir 


ip,  price  11/-  per  a„ 
Curlaf*  Paid. 

ifter°  ""S*.05"  thIs  B™at  Remedy  , 
h«  described il  M"eqiuJ  to  ■n  ina 


For  evory  Btal 


B  A I  LY'S     M  AG  AZI N  K 


OF 


SPORTS  and  PASTIMES 


-\  <  X 


NOVrMIiKR,   i Sou.      '      Vou   I.XXII 


CONTENTS 


\  «_\ « 'MCk"'i.  -,,  m.k 1 1  ... 

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342 

344 
349 
S53 


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♦.;ny*»  1:    ..t.r»^  Din-clory ''" 

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ni->"'»r*  l.uk    V-1' 


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P  'I'      S     .hlj'Nllf    ?  

The  Lc!i'»M>   iI'iti:  .i.»d  Wir* 

T.i«    i'i'.  /..i.'^e 

*I  he  \Yh:vl<ii"   Chn^c     

Tu<j  IJ;f..*sitr  ;  The*  '  jiaiton  ;   1  he 
O.A  j 

It  •.  .r,  1      

1  '•  •:  « ".istlccm;  m   11    u.rl.s 

i  ''••  CuloW  .l!id    Kl.Ti'l        

P-  lo 

I'  '<>  in  the  '::ii*.->u  S  u...*s 

(_\)ur~''v 

^..•■jinii--  I>../sal  tlr    k-  uiif!  Ciiili 

Sn  »»v     

S  v.r  ,.i_»  l';r*'!r  .s 


.'•:!-!  .i-i.v;  Season  3,*    |       T!  •.- "  !•  -v'r-.:-.^  l»:.t>  " 


'<  i '_"    3^9 

.  ;.  A.ii'.ry's  Str^h.-un-l-  ....  }:-> 

ioo 

3'*> 


*'  A  K!f^  .>.  F  ••  \<  "  . 

S'vini'.iii)^ 

i»').i 

^jcrtir.g  Intel i :.;• -:i  :e,  S  jpt.  —  i  '■•». 


r  v.f 
;rx> 
r>i 

3'*- 
3'm 

r»  s 

3<\* 
3*'1 

3-,o 

37 
... 

3'7 
367 


37o 
J7I 
37? 

3;  3 

j/  j 

■  •»  »• 


wiru 

S'.-cil  I\it..  avfd  ISriiait  of  Mr.   N.  C^.   C«a"Mj;jrn,  M.K1I. 

V  »rtr.iit  i»f  l»i!:  L-\n:  Kf\.  Cizas.   II  ji.com i>k  I.vvROi-r. 

I •:;<    ivino  -ji  The  .^ifv.  i:;.n-.   Kor^e.  and  v>pan4m   and  Piieasynt. 


Mr,   N.  C-  Cockburn,   M.F.I  I. 


C.  Ov'kiuikn,  Al.ister  of 

■•  5   if  y  Hounls,  v\huse  por- 

•     .ue    enabled    to  ^i\e    in 

n  •  :r  ol  Ivmly's,  has  hern 

*  1*:    an  J    sportsman    since 

.i  'lays. 

;i  K\v  year  i8'>>,  ho  was 
;  at  [-.ton  aihi  at  Christ 
.  Oxford;  add  during  his 
"v  l  nivej-iiv  ma  le  opnoi- 

•  acquire  that  knowledge 

and  hunting  which  he 

•  '.'ini'.'d  to  such  excellent 
.  Lincolnshire.   He  was  a 

"  'it  Eton,  and  of  course 


dhl  n  )t  renounce  ear.  i,iat:^hip  at 
1  )xf(Jid,  wh''ie  \v  ,irhirvi  d  distiru.- 
tion  hy  rowing  tlv;  only  rr-coniod 
dead  iieat  for  tlie  JuiU'>i  r  culls 
at  the  "Iloi'ift.'*  He  aKo  won 
several  pii/eson  the  runnin;;  pa'h, 
and  in  107  w.is  caj.-lain  vi  the 
University  i'olo  team.  I  -ik^  nv.ny 
another  man,  he  iiunted  \vhfne\er 
lie  Could  put  in  a  day  with  tlni 
1-iicester  and  Vwirden  Hill,  rhe^i 
under  the  ni^jtr?rtf.hip  of  Lord 
Chesham ;  and  witn  the  South 
Oxfordshire  during  {he  rv'u -is  of 
Air.  Chailes   Morrtll  and    Air.  E. 

2  J 


,f.^^A-,  , 


BAILY'S    MAGAZINE 


OP 


SPORTS  and  PASTIMES 


No.  477. 


NOVEMBER,  1 


CONTENTS  t'r^'    14- 


I    •   •   •   •   B    I 


»l 


Sporting  Diary  for  the  Month  , 
Mr.  N.  C.  Cockbum,  M.F.H.. 
"  What  shall  I  Subscribe  ?"..., 

Some  Spanish  Mules , 

"The  Bishop  of  Brackenfield 

Hands  (verses)   

What  is  a  Sportsman  ? 

The  Village  Forge 

Snipe  

Land  on  the  Starboard  Bow  ! 

Hind  Shooting  

Spaniel  and  Pheasant   

Anecdotal  Sport 

The  Hunting  Season 

"  Baily's  Hunting  Directory  " 

"Our  Van":— 

Manchester — September    Meeting 

Newmarket  First  October    

Kempton  Park  

Newmarket  Second  October    

The  Cub-hunting  Season 

Stag-hunting  

Sir  John  Amory's  Staghounds 

Duke  of  Beaufort's 

Leicestershire 


PAGE 

ix. 

3°S 
307 
312 
317 
320 

321 

325 
326 

334 

338 
342 

344 
349 
353 

354 
354 
356 
357 
358 
359 

359 

360 

360 


The 
Mr. 

The  Belvoir ;  Melton 

The  Pytchley  ;  The  Meynell 

The  Shropshire 

The  Ledbury  Hunt  and  Wire 

The  Puckeridge 

The  Whaddon  Chase    

The  Bicester  ;  The  Grafton  ;  The 

Oakley 

Ireland    

The  Castlecomer  Hounds 

The  Kildare   ....: 

The  Carlow  and  Island     

Polo 

Polo  in  the  United  States 

Coursing 

Sporting  Days  at  the  Kennel  Club 

Show   

Sporting  Pictures  

The  "  Foxhunters*  Diary"  

"  A  King  of  Fools  " 

Swimming  

Golf 

Sporting  Intelligence,  Sept. — Oct. ... 


365 
366 

367 
367 
367 
367 
367 
368 

370 
371 
372 
372 
373 
373 
375 


WITH 

Steel  Engraved  Portrait  of  Mr.  N.  C.  Cockburn,  M.F.H. 

Portrait  of  The  Late  Rev.  Chas.  Holcombe  Leacroft. 

Engravings  of  The  Shoeing  Forge  and  Spaniel  and  Pheasant. 


Mr.  N.  C.  Cockburn,  M.F.H. 


Mr.  N.  C.  Cockburn,  Master  of 
the  Blankney  Hounds,  whose  por- 
trait we  are  enabled  to  give  in 
this  number  of  Baily's,  has  been 
an  athlete  and  sportsman  since 
his  school  days. 

Born  in  the  year  1866,  he  was 
educated  at  Eton  and  at  Christ 
Church,  Oxford;  and  during  his 
stay  at  the  University  made  oppor- 
tunity to  acquire  that  knowledge 
of  hounds  and  hunting  which  he 
has  since  turned  to  such  excellent 
account  in  Lincolnshire.  He  was  a 
**  wet  bob  "  at  Eton,  and  of  course 
vol.  lxxii. — no.  477. 


did  not  renounce  oarsmanship  at 
Oxford,  where  he  achieved  distinc- 
tion by  rowing  the  only  recorded 
dead  heat  for  the  Junior  Sculls 
at  the  "  House."  He  also  won 
several  prizes  on  the  running  path, 
and  in  1887  was  captain  of  the 
University  Polo  team.  Like  many 
another  man,  he  hunted  whenever 
he  could  put  in  a  day  with  the 
Bicester  and  Warden  Hill,  then 
under  the  mastership  of  Lord 
Chesham;  and  with  the  South 
Oxfordshire  during  the  reigns  of 
Mr.  Charles  Morrell  and  Mr.  E. 

23 


306 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[November 


B.  Fielden.  Foxhunting  did  not 
satisfy  to  the  full  his  love  of  the 
chase,  for  during  the  season 
1886-7  ne  combined  athletics  with 
sport  by  officiating  as  whipper-in 
to  the  Christ  Church  Beagles,  of 
which  Mr.  H.  B.  Craven  was  then 
master.  Although  he  devoted  so 
much  time  to  field  sports  and 
games  he  did  not  leave  Oxford 
without  taking  his  degree. 

In  1895,  when  Major  Tempest 
resigned   the    mastership  of   the 
Blankney,  Mr.  Cockburn  was  in- 
vited to  take  the  reins  of  the  hunt. 
Until  Mr.  Cockburn's  accession, 
from  the  date  of  the  division  of 
the  Old   Burton  country    (1871) 
into  the   Burton  and   Blankney, 
the  pack  had  hunted  three  days  a 
week.     The  new  master  took  over 
a  tract  of  country  which  had  in 
former  times  been  hunted  by  Mr. 
Jarvis  and  afterwards  by  the  Bur- 
ton Hounds  :  and  by  thus  enlarg- 
ing his  territory  was  able  to  show 
his  supporters  four  days1  hunting  a 
week  instead  of  three.  In  the  year 
following   his  assumption  of  the 
mastership,  Mr.  Cockburn  bought 
the  hounds  from  the  country,  and 
his  present  pack  of  fifty- six  couples 
is  as  good  a  one  as  there  is  in  Eng- 
land.    Ben   Capell  was   his  first 
huntsman :  and  when  Capell  left 
to  succeed  Frank  Gillard  with  the 
Bel  voir,    Mr.   Cockburn  engaged 
George  Shepherd,  who  came   to 
him  from  his  eastern  neighbours, 
the  Southwold. 

Every  master  has  his  difficulties 
to  contend  against,  and  in  Mr. 
Cockburn's  case  trouble  took  the 
serious  form  of  scarcity  of  foxes ; 
also,  numerous  coverts  were  regu- 
larly closed  to  hounds  during  the 
early  part  of  the  season  in  the 
interests  of  the  pheasant.  So 
grave  did  the  difficulty  become 
that  the  master  felt  unable  to  con- 
tinue in  office,  and  in  1897  ten- 
dered his  resignation  to  the  Hunt 
Committee.     Even  had  they  been 


willing  to  accept  it,  Mr.  Cockburn 
would  have  found  it  hard  to  resist 
the  pressure  put  upon  him  to  re- 
main, when  nearly  one  thousand 
tenant  farmers  in  the  Blankney 
country  petitioned  him  to  remain, 
assuring  him  that  he  might  count 
upon  their  support  in  every  pos- 
sible way.  Such  a  petition  could 
not  be  resisted,  and  Mr.  Cockburn 
continued  at  the  head  of  affairs. 
This  episode  is  probably  one  that 
the  subject  of  our  sketch  holds  as 
the  pleasantest  in  his  sporting 
career,  for  such  a  spontaneous 
mark  of  esteem  and  regard  on  the 
part  of  the  farmers  in  a  country  is 
the  strongest  evidence  of  goodwill 
on  the  part  of  those  to  whom 
every  master  looks  first  for  sup- 
port. It  may  be  added  that  the 
Blankney  farmers  were  as  good  as 
their  word,  for  from  that  time  for- 
ward foxes  increased,  and  the 
country  to-day  is  better  stocked 
than  it  has  been "  for  the  last 
twenty  years. 

Mr.  Cockburn  is  always  up 
with  his  hounds,  and  his  popu- 
larity is  in  no  way  diminished  by 
the  fact  that  he  keeps  his  field  in 
order;  any  over-zealous  sports- 
man who  presses  the  pack  or 
comes  near  over-riding  hounds 
when  they  are  brought  to  their 
noses  is  sure  to  hear  of  it,  and 
the  master  of  the  Blankney  can 
be  politely  cutting  in  his  reproof 
when  occasion  requires. 

Perhaps  one  reason  for  Mr. 
Cockburn's  popularity  is  that  he 
makes  a  point  of  buying  his  horses 
as  far  as  possible  from  the  farmers 
in  his  country  ;  any  man  who  has 
one  that  shapes  like  a  hunter  has 
a  good  market  awaiting  him  at 
Hartsholme  Hall,  where  the  mas- 
ter resides.  He  will  not  be  there 
much  longer,  however,  for  he  has 
recently  purchased  an  estate  in 
the  middle  of  the  Blankney  coun- 
try, and  is  building  a  house, 
whence  his  hunting  friends,  high 


'899-] 


(C 


WHAT   SHALL   I    SUBSCRIBE  ? 


ii 


307 


and  low,  may  hope  that  his  stay 
among  them  will  be  prolonged. 

Foxhunting  does  not  exhaust 
Mr.  Cockburn's  taste  for  sport : 
he  races  a  little ;  Car  dona  Id,  by 
Carronald — Ingonda,  has  won  him 
some  races  at  Northern  and  Mid- 
land meetings,  while  The  Toy,  a 
chestnut  gelding  by  Rattle,  dam 
by  Priestcraft,  has  caught  the 
judge's  eye  in  several  steeple- 
chases. He  is  fond  of  cricket, 
and     his     eleven     play    annual 


matches  with  Zingari,  Free 
Foresters  and  other  clubs.  He 
generally  finds  time  to  put  in  a 
month  or  two  salmon  fishing  in 
Norway. 

He  serves  his  country  as  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace  for  his  native 
county  of  Lincolnshire,  and  he 
can  write  the  letters  D.L.  after 
his  name;  though  he  probably 
thinks  more  of  the  M.F.H.,  to 
which  his  friends  hope  he  may  be 
long  entitled. 


"What  Shall  I  Subscribe?" 


The  obvious  answer  to  the 
question  which  so  many  are 
now  asking  themselves  is  the 
cautious  phrase  which,  time- 
honoured  legend  asserts,  carried 
the  budding  solicitor  triumphantly 
through  his  final  examination — 
"  It  all  depends."  For  the  hunt- 
ing man  the  amount  he  should 
subscribe  depends  upon  so  many 
different  factors  that  the  answer 
to  the  enquiry  which  heads  this 
page  cannot  by  any  possibility  be 
the  same  for  all. 

For  argument's  sake  it  will  be 
better,  we  think,  for  us  to  consider 
the  simplest  case  first :  that  of  the 
man  who  takes  up  his  quarters  in 
the  middle  of  the  country  in  which 
he  intends  to  hunt,  and  who 
means  to  content  himself  with 
the  three  or  four  days'  sport  a 
week  with  the  pack  of  his 
selection.  In  very  many  cases 
his  duty  to  the  hunt  treasury 
is  perfectly  clear:  the  annual 
subscription,  whether  a  lump  sum, 
or  at  the  rate  of  so  much  per 
horse  kept,  is  common  local  know- 
ledge and  should  be  laid  down  in 
"Daily's  Hunting  Directory"  ; 
and  if  the  new  comer  have  any 


doubt  on  the  point  he  writes  to  the 
Honorary  Secretary,  gives  that 
official  information  concerning  his 
stud  and  the  hunting  members  of 
his  household,  and  enquires  for 
what  sum  he  shall  draw  his 
cheque.  In  a  country  where 
fields  are  numbered  by  hundreds 
and  the  hunt  expenses  are  there- 
fore heavy,  he  must  be  prepared 
to  disburse  liberally,  not  forget- 
ting that  the  subscription  which 
makes  a  single  man  welcomed 
in  a  country  should  be  in- 
creased if  the  subscriber  is  the 
happy  owner  of  a  hunting  wife, 
or  of  hunting  sons  or  daughters. 

The  gallantry  which  welcomes 
ladies  for  their  own  sakes  is  too 
often  a  luxury  which  funds  will 
not  sanction  in  these  days,  and 
the  ^"20,  ^30,  or  ^"40  which  the 
husband  and  father  pays  for  him- 
self should  be  enhanced  in  ratio 
with  the  number  of  days  per  week 
he  anticipates  that  his  wife  and 
daughters  will  come  out.  Sons 
should  subscribe  independently, 
the  commercial  rule  "  reduction 
on  taking  a  quantity  "  being,  we 
think,  inapplicable  to  the  hunting 
field.    And,  it  may  be  added,  the 


308 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[NOVRMBER 


single  man  does  wisely  when  he 
supplements  the  minimum  sub- 
scription asked  by  "  a  bit  extra," 
in  view  of  occasional  visits  from 
hunting  friends.  This  latter  pre- 
caution may  perhaps  be  omitted 
in  countries  where  the  capping 
system  prevails;  but  as  most  of 
us  prefer  that  those  who  accept 
our  hospitality  should  not  be 
taxed,  however  modestly,  for  the 
sport  they  have  come  to  enjoy, 
the  plan  of  a  supplementary  guest 
subscription  commends  itself.  Of 
course  the  objection  arises  that 
a  man  may  not  know  at  the 
beginning  of  a  season  how  often 
he  may  bring  a  friend  to  the 
meet.  Furthermore,  his  friend 
may  be  the  staunch  supporter  of 
a  neighbouring  pack,  tor  whom 
the  master  will  have  a  ready- 
made  welcome  as  a  guest  of  the 
hunt.  It  is  impossible  to  lay 
down  any  hard  and  fast  rule ;  and 
if  the  subscriber  does  not  wish  to 
frank  hunting  visitors  who  may 
never  appear,  he  will,  if  his  own 
personal  subscription  be  forth- 
coming punctually  at  the  opening 
of  the  season,  find  no  difficulty  in 
settling  with  the  Secretary  the 
amount  of  his  supplementary 
cheque  at  the  end.  There  is  one 
rule  we  would  lay  down  for  the 
guidance  of  all  in  every  country, 
whether  visitor  or  resident — let 
your  cheque  be  in  the  Secretary's 
hands  not  later  than  November 
ist,  and  preferably  before  that 
date. 

The  stranger  who  chooses  his 
quarters  to  command  the  meets  of 
two  or  more  packs  of  hounds,  has 
a  rather  less  easy  task  to  satisfy 
himself — and  the  Secretaries — in 
the  matter  of  subscription.  Let 
us  take  the  case  of  the  fortunate 
man  who  can  establish  him- 
self at  Rugby  with  a  stud  for 
six  days  a  week.  On  the 
north  lies  the  Atherstone,  meet- 
ing four  days  a  week,  minimum 


subscription,  ^"10.  On  the  east 
the  Pytchley,  four  days  a  week, 
minimum  subscription,  £25.  On 
the  south,  the  Warwickshire,  four 
days  a  week,  subscription  not  for 
publication  ;  and  on  the  west  tbe 
North  Warwickshire,  three  days 
a  week  before  and  four  days  a 
week  after  Christmas,  no  mini- 
mum subscription.  Our  sports- 
man, happily  conscious  that  the 
best  country  hunted  by  each  pack 
is  within  easy  reach  of  Rugby, 
will  naturally  wish  to  distribute 
his  patronage  among  the  four; 
but  it  would  be  obviously  un- 
reasonable to  expect  that  he 
should  send  the  full  subscription 
to  each.  It  is  a  question  whether 
his  proper  course  is  to  identify 
himself  with  the  hunt  whose 
meets  he  most  frequently  attends, 
and  by  paying  the  full  subscrip- 
tion to  its  funds  qualify  for  indul- 
gent treatment  from  the  Secre- 
taries of  the  remaining  three. 
This  is  a  point  for  the  settlement 
of  which  local  usage  is  the  best 
guide. 

The  man,  however,  whose 
means  allow  him  to  make  Rugby 
his  hunting  centre,  and  keep  a 
stud  of  horses  that  will  enable* 
him  to  do  justice  to  his  oppor- 
tunities, is  not  one  who  need  look 
twice  at  a  ten-pound  note,  and  he 
is  more  likely  to  err  on  the  side  of 
liberality  than  the  reverse.  For 
the  less  wealthy  man  who,  with 
three  or  four  hunters,  takes  up 
his  quarters  on  the  borderland  of 
two  countries,  the  general  rule 
holds  good:  he  should  subscribe 
the  full  amount  to  the  hunt  whose 
meets  he  most  frequently  attends, 
and  ask  the  Secretary  of  the  other 
if  he  will  accept  a  subscription  in 
ratio  with  the  number  of  days  he 
may  hunt  with  that  pack. 

A  Hunt  is  not  a  business  con- 
cern carried  on  for  the  purpose  of 
money -making;  and  in  cases 
where  the  rules  of  the  hunt  pre- 


1899] 


"  WHAT   SHALL   I    SUBSCRIBE  ?  " 


309 


I 


scribe  a  fixed  minimum,  the 
visitor  may  be  sure  that  it  has 
been  decided  after  careful  con- 
sideration of  the  expenses,  and 
he  should  pay  the  specified  sum 
without  subjecting  the  Secretary 
to  the  unpleasantness  of  *'  dun- 
ning "  him.  If  he  settles  for  the 
winter  without  first  ascertaining 
how  much  he  will  be  expected  to 
contribute  to  the  hunt  funds,  and 
the  secretarial  demand  prove 
more  than  he  anticipated,  he  has 
no  ground  for  complaint.  He  did 
not  take  his  house  or  hotel 
quarters  without  enquiring  about 
rent,  and  he  should  at  the  same 
time  have  been  at  the  trouble  of 
sending  a  postcard  to  the  Secre- 
tary requesting  information  on  the 
point. 

In  countries  whose  financial 
position  is  assured,  and  where 
necessity  does  not  exist  to  restrain 
the  growth  of  fields  by  the  im- 
position of  a  pecuniary  check, 
there  is  usually  no  fixed  minimum ; 
and  where  this  is  the  case  the 
visitor  should  contribute  accord- 
ing to  his  means,  and  the  number 
of  days  per  week  he  may  hunt 
with  the  pack.  For  instance,  if 
one  day  per  week  only,  say 
10  guineas,  two  days  per  week 
20  guineas,  and  so  on. 

It  is  often  urged  that  the  ease 
with  which  subscription  rules  can 
be  made  is  discounted  by  the 
difficulties  attending  their  enforce- 
ment So  far  as  the  resident  for 
the  season  is  concerned,  we  have 
reason  to  think  these  difficulties 
are  much  over -rated.  There 
seems  to  prevail  in  some  quarters 
an  idea  that  every  master  and 
every  secretary  regards  the 
stranger  as  a  natural  enemy  ;  as  a 
species  of  human  wolf  whose 
appearance  at  the  meet  demands 
instant  and  drastic  measures  in 
defence  of  the  farmer  whose  land 
and  interests  the  said  wolf  is 
about  to  trample  under  foot — if 


mixed  metaphor  may  be  excused. 
Those  who  entertain  this  idea 
appear  to  think  that  there  is  but 
one  course  open  to  the  master, 
who  consequently  says  to  his 
secretary,  "  There's  a  fellow 
whose  face  I  never  saw  before, 
some  d — d  stranger.  Go  and  tell 
him  that  I  shan't  throw  hounds 
into  covert  till  he  pays  his  thirty 
guineas,  and  if  he  don't  pay  up 
in  three  minutes  or  take  himself 
off,  I'll  take  the  hounds  home !  '* 
Masters  do  not  exercise  their 
authority  in  that  fashion ;  they 
are  men  of  the  world,  and  en- 
dowed in  most  cases  with  more 
than  average  tact  and  forbear- 
ance. It  is  assumed  that  every 
new  comer  is  an  intending  sup- 
porter of  the  hunt  until  the 
stranger  proves  the  assumption 
incorrect. 

As  a  rule  the  honorary  sec- 
retary will,  after  the  first  few 
days  of  hunting,  make  oppor- 
tunity to  introduce  himself  to 
the  newcomers  in  turn,  and  will 
mention  the  amount  expected, 
and  make  it  courteously  plain 
that  he  takes  for  granted  the 
stranger's  intention  to  send  a 
cheque  when  he  returns  home. 

It  is,  we  assert  with  confidence, 
extremely  rare  that  necessity 
arises  for  recourse  to  a  threat  to 
take  hounds  home.  He  would 
be  a  courageous  man  who,  after 
firm  but  courteous  warning  to 
withdraw,  attempted  to  ride  to 
hounds.  However  strongly  the 
misguided  stranger  may  uphold 
the  principle  of  sport  at  others' 
expense,  he  knows  his  own  species 
better  than  to  uphold  it  in  his 
own  person,  thereby  courting  some 
of  the  pains  of  martyrdom  without 
its  compensating  crown.  Ex- 
treme measures  are  to  be  avoided 
if  possible,  but  if  a  master  find  it 
necessary  in  the  interests  of  sport 
to  deprive  his  field  of  their  day's 
pleasure,  the  obnoxious  stranger 


3io 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[November 


will  find,  probably  to  his  cost,  that 
the  step  has  the  unanimous  sup- 
port of  the  field. 

It  must  be  observed  that  a  code 
of  subscription  rules  which  suits 
the  requirements  of  one  country 
may  be  wholly  inapplicable  to 
another,  and  each  frames  its  rules 
with  an  eye  to  the  exigencies  of 
its  own  case.  The  capping  system 
is  a  kind  of  financial  straw  to 
which  those  responsible  for  the 
treasury  are  every  season  admon- 
ished to  cling.  The  cap  serves 
its  purpose  admirably  in  some 
countries,  but  not  necessarily  in 
all.  A  master  whose  country  is 
within  easy  reach  of  favourite 
winter  resorts  whose  population 
is  almost  kaleidoscopic  in  the  fre- 
quency of  its  changes,  or  within 
too  easy  reach  of  London  or  other 
large  cities,  may  cap  the  casual 
stranger  with  advantage.  Thus 
the  Southdown  Hunt,  which  at- 
tracts visitors  from  Brighton  and 
Worthing,  has  decided  to  levy  a 
half-sovereign  cap  as  the  best 
means  of  obtaining  from  tem- 
porary residents  the  necessary 
modicum  of  support.  To  ask  a 
man  who  happened  to  be  spending 
a  fortnight  at  Brighton  and  hoped 
to  treat  himself  to  three  or  four 
days  with  hounds  on  a  hired 
hunter,  to  subscribe  ten  guineas, 
would  verge  upon  the  unreason- 
able ;  to  request  his  withdrawal  at 
sight  would  be  unsportsmanlike  ; 
and  the  cap  suggests  itself  as  the 
appropriate  medium.  The  Bur- 
stow  Hunt  protects  itself  against 
unwelcome  invasion  from  London 
by  taking  a  cap  of  a  sovereign 
from  each  stranger  who  appears 
at  the  meet — which,  by  the  way, 
is  never  advertised  in  the  sporting 
press. 

We  have  cited  these  two  hunts 
as  representative  examples  in 
which  the  cap  serves  its  purpose 
as  an  equitable  means  of  making 
the  chance  visitor  pay  for  his  sport ; 


but  because  they  find  the  system 
efficacious  it  does  not  follow  that 
all  other  hunts  must  do  the  same. 
Take  the  case  of  a  country  which 
is  somewhat  thickly  populated 
with  fairly  well-to-do  residents, 
or  is  within  easy  reach  of  large 
numbers  of  such  residents  who  do 
not  consider  themselves  obliged  to 
send  an  annual  subscription  be- 
cause they  hunt  irregularly,  or, 
say,  once  a  week.  The  capping 
system  in  this  case  is  inapplicable, 
troublesome  and  uncertain  in  its 
operation,  inasmuch  as  men  who 
wish  to  escape  contributing  can 
easily  do  so.  Do  we  not  know 
of  cases  in  which  Brown,  Jones 
or  Robinson  comes  to  the  meet 
without  the  necessary  change 
and  on  the  strength  of  the  nod- 
ding acquaintance  between  the 
Secretary  and  himself  won't  for- 
get to  send  a  postal -order  by  that 
night's  post — and  does  forget? 
The  very  fact  that  these  one- 
day-a-week  men  are  residents  in 
the  country  is  in  their  favour,  if 
they  don't  mean  to  pay  cap 
money  more  often  than  they  can 
help.  A  "  sliding  scale ' '  of  annual 
subscriptions  is  surely  better,  and 
if  hounds  hunt  four  days  a  week 
the  one-day  sportsman  may  be 
properly  asked  to  contribute  one 
fourth  of  the  sum  expected  from 
regular  followers  of  the  pack. 
If  he  thinks  his  weekly  day  with 
hounds  is  not  worth  it,  let  him 
stay  at  home. 

We  have  sometimes  heard  a 
hunt  secretary  made  the  subject 
of  hostile  criticism  because  he  has 
accepted  from  Jones  a  smaller 
subscription  than  has  been  exacted 
from  Brown,  who  keeps  the  same 
number  of  hunters  and  comes  out 
neither  more  nor  less  frequently. 
It  seems  to  escape  the  notice  of 
some  good  sportsmen  that  sub- 
scription may  be  partly  paid  in 
kind.  If  Jones  does  his  duty  by 
the  hunt  in  walking  a  couple  of 


1899-3 


"  WHAT   SHALL   I    SUBSCRIBE  ?  " 


311 


puppies,  while  Brown — or  perhaps 
Mrs.  B.  — "  really  cannot  put  up 
with  the  mischievous  beasts  about 
the  house,"  surely  Jones,  who  is 
not   too   well  endowed  with  this 
world's  goods,  is  entitled  to  some 
indulgence  if  he  asks  for  it.     And 
in   the  same    way,    if    Robinson 
rents  a  covert  at  his  own  expense 
for  the  benefit  of  the  hunt,  he  is, 
if  he  pleases,  quite  entitled  to  ex- 
pect that  his  contribution  shall  be 
less  than  the  full  subscription  de- 
manded of  Brown,  who  does  no- 
thing for  the  hunt.     The  puppy 
walker  is    one    of   the    master's 
mainstays;  the  very  fact  that  he 
does  walk  puppies  proves  him  a 
sportsman  of  the  right  sort,  and 
what  is  perhaps  more  to  the  point 
in    the    present    connection,  the 
healthy  appetite  of  a    foxhound 
puppy  is  not  to  be  satisfied  for 
nothing  in  way  of  expense. 

It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  add 
that  tenant  farmers  of  land  in  the 
district  or  bounds  of  the  hunt 
should  not  be  expected  to  sub- 
scribe, as  the  farmer's  subscription 
takes  the  shape  of  permission  to 
ride  over  his  fields,  and  more  is 
not  to  be  asked  of  him. 

We  have  already  said  that  a 
hunt  is  not  a  money  -  making 
business,  but  it  must  not  be  for- 
gotten that  many  a  man  whilst 
following  hounds  is  also  following 
his  profession,  and  is  reaping 
a  direct  and  indirect  benefit 
from  his  association  with  the 
hunt. 

How  familiar  at  the  meets  are 
smiling  faces  of  local  professional 
men  anxious  to  foster  friendships 
and  to  cultivate  fresh  acquaint- 
ances ;  the  solicitor,  the  doctor, 
the  vet.  and  horse-dealer,  the  land- 
agent  and  auctioneer,  the  wine, 
corn  and  other  merchants,  all  of 
whom  are  in  the  fortunate  posi- 
tion of  combining  with  a  day's 
sport  the  likelihood  of  extending 
their  clientele  through  the  fascinat- 


ing medium  of  the  good  fellow- 
ship of  sport ! 

Almost  proverbial  is  the  time- 
honoured  advice  so  often  tendered 
to  a  young  man  about  to  follow 
his  calling  in  a  fresh  country 
district,  "  Be  sure  and  go  out 
hunting,  you  may  make  some 
friends  and  do  your  business  a 
lot  of  good." 

A  benefit  of  this  nature  we 
would  grudge  to  no  good  sports- 
man, but  we  would  beg  these 
subscribers,  when  they  are  draw- 
ing their  October  cheque,  to  give 
a  thought  to  the  guineas  which 
may  have  come  their  way  through 
their  association  with  foxhunting, 
and  to  reflect  that  for  what  they 
have  received  and  for  what  they 
are  about  to  receive  they  should 
be  truly  thankful. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  goes 
without  saying  that  the  sporting 
parson  should  not  be  pressed,  as 
he  would  naturally  contribute  his 
small  mite. 

There  is  one  branch  of  our  sub- 
ject which  we  approach  with  diffi- 
dence as  being  pregnant  with 
possibilities  of  trouble  and  mis- 
understanding. We  refer  to  the 
position  of  the  game  preserver  in 
a  hunting  country  who  only 
tolerates  foxes  and  who,  until  his 
coverts  have  been  shot,  closes 
them  to  hounds.  This  often  does 
not  occur  until  Christmas,  when 
the  cream  of  the  hunting  season  is 
over,  or  nearly  so.  Though  no- 
thing will  entirely  compensate  for 
the  exclusion  of  hounds  from  a 
covert  which  is  known,  or  has  been 
known,  as  a  sure  find,  we  venture 
to  hope  that  the  shooting  tenant, 
whether  a  hunting  man  or  not, 
will  bear  in  mind  the  well-known 
words : — 

"  One  fox  on  foot  more  pleasure  will  bring 
Than  twice  twenty  thousand  cock  pheas- 
ants on  wing." 

He  has  the  law  on  his  side  ?    Yes, 
he  has  the  law,  but  if  you  come 


312 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[November 


to  that  so  has  the  farmer,  and  we 
all  know  that  foxhunting  only 
exists  on  sufferance — happily  a 
stronger  and  wider  basis  than 
that  word  of  ominous  purport 
usually  conveys.  Liberality  of 
subscription  on  the  part  of  the 
zealous  game  preserver  will  go  far 
to  secure  that  kindly  feeling  be- 
tween shooting  and  hunting  men 
which  makes  for,  nay,  is  in- 
dispensable to,  the  continuance  of 
sport.  Live  and  let  live.  Fox- 
hunters  may  deplore  the  closing 
of  a  covert  and  shooting  men  the 
iniquities  of  foxes.  It  is  a  matter 
of  give  and  take,  a  question  of 


compromise,  and  with  a  little  in- 
dulgence on  either  side  hunting 
and  shooting  men  can  pull  together 
like  sportsmen.  Antagonism  be- 
tween gun  and  hound,  if  carried 
far  enough,  would  in  time  result 
in  the  extinction  of  hunting  in 
shooting  counties,  and  an  exodus 
therefrom  of  hunting  men  into 
more  favourable  pastures.  For 
every  reason  such  migration 
would  be  regrettable ;  not  the 
least  harmful  result  would  be  a 
large  accession  of  numbers 
to  fields  already  of  unwieldy 
size  and  the  spoiling  of  their 
sport. 


Some  Spanish   Mules. 

By   Major   Arthur    Griffiths. 


History  repeats  itself  even  in 
small  things.  Thirty  and  odd 
years  ago,  on  the  eve  of  the  Abys- 
sinian war,  a  campaign  waged 
against  great  physical  difficulties, 
entailing  a  long  mountain  march 
hampered  by  a  vast  train  of 
baggage  animals,  I  was  employed, 
with  others,  in  buying  Spanish 
mules.  To-day  a  British  officer 
is  in  Spain  engaged  on  much  the 
same  business,  and  although  my 
experience  may  not  greatly  serve 
him,  I  propose  to  set  it  down  in  the 
hope  that  it  may  amuse  and,  per- 
chance, instruct  the  public.  Some 
blunders  were  committed,  some 
mistakes  made  in  our  time,  and 
they  are  worth  recalling,  for  they 
might  be  repeated  even  in  these 
more  enlightened  days.  There 
was,  however,  some  excuse  for  us 
and  those  who  directed  us.  The 
Remount  Department,  an  excel- 
lent modern  institution,  did  not 
exist  then ;  the  Intelligence  De- 
partment was  in  its  infancy,  with 


little  information  as  yet  stored  in 
its  now  well-stocked  pigeon  holes. 
We  had  nothing  to  guide  us  in  our 
operations  but  vague  traditions 
of  what  had  been  done  in  the 
Crimean  war,  and  our  own  anxiety 
to  make  the  best  of  things.  If  the 
results  achieved  were  not  entirely 
satisfactory,  at  least  we  shipped 
some  fifteen  hundred  mules  from 
Alicante,  on  the  east  coast  of 
Spain,  within  a  couple  of  months. 
The  Secretary  of  State  for  War 
at  that  time  (1867)  was  General 
Pa  ken  ham,  and  he  took  up  the 
question  of  transport  with  great 
energy.  Time  pressed ;  animals 
must  be  got  without  delay,  coute 
que  coutey  and  officers  were  at  once 
despatched  to  purchase  them  at 
all  the  great  European  centres  of 
supply.  Spain  was  one,  and  in  the 
first  instance  the  mule  purchase  in 
this  country,  generally  prolific  in 
mules,  was  entrusted  to  the  Gover- 
nor of  Gibraltar,  Sir  Richard 
Airey,   who   was    empowered   to 


i«99l 


SOME   SPANISH    MULES. 


313 


buy  all  that  were  to  be  got  in  the 
South  of  Spain.  I  was  at  that 
time  Brigade-Major  in  the  garri- 
son of  Gibraltar,  and  the  business 
was  put  into  my  hands.  I  had  a  fair 
knowledge  of  Spanish,  and  some 
experience  in  the  country.  With- 
in four  and  twenty  hours  I  started 
via  Malaga,  Cordova,  and  Jaen  to 
the  east  coast  of  Spain,  meaning 
to  establish  my  head-quarters  at 
Alicante,  where,  according  to  all 
I  could  hear,  large  quantities  of 
mules  might  be  secured.  It  had, 
moreover,  a  commodious  harbour 
with  deep  water  alongside  its 
'mole,  and  the  embarkation  could 
be  carried  out  with  ease  when  the 
necessary  shipping  arrived. 

Almost  simultaneously  three 
other  officers  reached  Alicante 
from  England,  and  I  was  desired 
to  co-operate  with  them.  One 
was  W.,  a  smart  Captain  of  Horse 
Artillery ;  the  second  an  Assist- 
ant Commissary-General,  C. ;  the 
third  P.,  a  well-known  veterinary 
surgeon  attached  to  the  Royal 
Artillery.  At  the  same  time  two 
other  parties  or  "  commissions,'* 
as  they  were  styled  locally,  were 
ordered  to  Spain,  one  for  Valencia, 
and  the  other  Barcelona,  while  in 
his  eagerness  to  be  abreast  with 
the  demands,  General  Pakenham 
had  entered  into  a  contract  with  a 
private  firm,  to  supply  mules  from 
the  north  of  Spain.  These,  to  the 
number  of  a  thousand,  were  to  be 
directed  on  Alicante,  and  placed 
under  our  charge  until  they  could 
be  shipped  off  to  the  Red  Sea. 

Our  orders  were  to  open  up 
relations  at  once  with  the  British 
Consul  at  Alicante,  and  we  found 
an  aged,  very  courtly  old  gentle- 
man, who  had  borne  the  rank 
of  Colonel  in  De  Lacy  Evans' 
Spanish  Legion,  and  who  was  by 
this  time  half  a  Spaniard.  He 
was  hospitable  to  the  extent  of  ask- 
ing us  to  a  tertulia  or  "  at  home," 
and  useful  in  obtaining  for  us  our 


first  employe,  Miguel,  an  arrant 
rogue,  but  yet  an  invaluable 
assistant. 

One  feature  in  the  business  we 
were  engaged  upon  was  highly 
satisfactory  to  us  personally,  and 
it  is  worth  mentioning  as  one  of 
the  few  occasions  (within  my 
experience)  in  which  the  British' 
Government  behaved  with  great 
liberality  to  its  officers.  The  rate 
of  pay  fixed  for  the  remuneration 
of  all  employed  in  the  mule  pur- 
chase was  three  guineas  per  diem. 
It  was  an  Eldorado  to  us ;  better 
than  the  pay  of  a  Major-General  on 
the  staff.  How  or  why  the  pay  was 
so  high  I  have  never  been  able  to 
gather,  but  it  had  the  effect  of 
stimulating  us  to  our  very  best 
efforts,  and  I  had  the  good  luck  to 
draw  it  for  nearly  five  months. 

The  first  point  to  settle  was  the 
method  of  purchase.  Should  we 
work  wholesale  or  retail  ?  Buy 
one  by  one,  over  the  counter  as  it 
were,  or  contract  for  a  number  to 
be  delivered  on  a  certain  day? 
Our  colleagues  at  Valencia  and 
Barcelona  adopted  the  latter 
course,  and  the  first  were  in  due 
course  rewarded  with  a  fine  level 
lot  of  animals,  five  hundred  of 
them,  at  a  high  average  price, 
some  £25  a  head ;  the  second 
waited  hopefully,  but  got  no 
replies  to  their  advertisement. 
We  decided  to  try  our  luck  with 
what  were  brought  in,  and  in  the 
end  our  average  rate  was  a  little 
under  ^"20  for  a  good,  sound, 
medium-sized  beast.  There  were 
drawbacks  at  the  very  outset  to 
our  system.  Grave  doubt  for 
some  time  whether  owners  would 
come  in  to  our  market ;  then  we 
had  to  make  all  the  arrangements 
for  stabling,  feeding,  and  caring 
for  our  animals.  This  included 
the  rent  of  buildings  and  their  fit- 
ment, the  purchase  of  forage,  the 
provision  of  head-stalls  and  nose 
bags,  on  all  of  which  our  over- 


3*4 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[November 


seer,  Miguel,  had  fine  pickings. 
The  question  of  stables  was 
solved  by  our  securing  the  local 
bull-ring,  not  just  then  in  request 
for  performances,  and  the  central 
arena  became  our  market-place, 
while  in  the  circular-covered  cor- 
ridor was  ample  space  for  housing 
some  five  hundred  animals,  separ- 
ated by  parting  bars,  and  tied  up 
to  iron  rings.  When  the  numbers 
on  our  hands  greatly  increased, 
and  at  one  time  we  had  upwards 
of  1,200  in  charge,  we  made  use 
of  a  wide  space  outside  the  bull- 
ring, which,  for  a  small  rental,  the 
local  authority  eventually  allowed 
us  to  enclose. 

On  the  first  day  of  purchase  we 
drove  up  in  the  hotel  omnibus, 
the  four  of  us,  to  find  a  long  table 
laid  out  across  one  end  of  the 
bull-ring,  and  at  a  given  signal 
the  great  gates  were  opened  to 
admit  the  considerable  crowd  of 
men  and  animals  that  were  col- 
lected outside.  One  of  the  first  to 
appear  was  an  imposing  person- 
age —  a  mulatto-faced  gipsy  in 
the  picturesque  garb  of  his 
district,  a  white  vest,  short  white 
skirt,  black  gaiters,  black  faja 
(sash),  and  black  circular  bull- 
fighters' hat.  This  gentleman 
came  to  me  as  spokesman  of  our 
party,  and  announced  himself  as 
the  "  Key  of  La  Mancha  " ;  when 
he  "  unlocked  the  door  we  should 
be  over-run  with  mules."  I 
thanked  him,  and  begged  him  to 
put  the  key  in  the  lock.  But 
now  he  took  me  aside  with  much 
mysterious  solemnity,  and  pro- 
posed a  preliminary  bargain.  Our 
advertised  price  for  a  perfect 
animal  fulfilling  all  conditions  of 
height,  age,  temper  and  sound- 
ness, was  150  dollars,  £$o  ? 
Btuno.  Every  mule  he  produced 
should  be  charged  at  that  price, 
nominally,  but  the  sum  paid  to 
him  should  be  one  arranged 
between   him    and    me,   and   the 


difference  between  that  and  /30 
he  and  I  should  divide.  "Est* 
usted?"  Did  I  understand?  I 
did,  perfectly,  and  my  answer 
was  to  have  the  Key  of  La 
Mancha  ejected  from  the  bull- 
ring, telling  him  that  British 
officers  did  not  do  such  things, 
and  ignoring  his  indignant  protest 
that  Spanish  officers  were  not  so 
squeamish  about  a  bit  of  commis- 
sion. 

We  got  on  excellently  without 
the  "key."  Indeed,  his  failure 
encouraged  the  smaller  dealers  to 
come  forward  counting  on  fair 
play,  which  they  got,  but  no 
extravagant  prices,  for  we  soon 
commanded  the  market,  and 
practically  fixed  our  own  terms. 
The  process  was  very  simple.  A 
mule  was  led  past  our  tribunal 
once  or  twice,  and  the  point 
settled  whether  it  should  be 
further  examined  or  at  once  re- 
jected. In  the  latter  case  it  was 
dismissed  with  its  owner,  not 
seldom  to  reappear  by  and  by  in 
the  hope  of  slipping  through  un- 
observed. If  the  beast  looked 
likely,  our  vet.,  P.,  took  it  in 
hand,  and  ended  a  close  exam- 
ination by  seizing  it  by  the  head 
and  belabouring  it  with  a  rib- 
roasting  staff  to  test  its  temper. 
Sometimes  he  was  dragged  half 
over  the  ring,  and  seemed  in  peril 
of  his  life,  but  as  P.  stood  six  feet 
two,  and  weighed  thirteen  stone, 
the  mule  had  always  the  worst 
of  it.  Last  of  all,  the  price  was 
fixed  amongst  us,  the  amount 
recorded  on  a  slip  of  paper,  and 
handed  to  the  owner,  to  take  it 
or  leave  it.  We  seldom,  if  ever, 
increased  our  offer  by  a  single 
dollar,  and  as  has  been  said,  our 
average  purchasing  price  was 
about  a  hundred  dollars,  or  £20. 

We  were  faced  very  early  with 
a  serious  difficulty;  a  great  scar- 
city of  specie.  Cash  had  to  be 
paid  for  our  mules,  and  was  not 


1899] 


SOME   SPANISH    MULES. 


315 


to  be  had  in  any  large  amount  in 
exchange  for  Treasury  bills,  and 
our  commissary  was  in  despair. 
He  was  one  of  the  old  school, 
brought  up  to  work  "on  paper," 
and  after  the  first  failure  to 
obtain  specie  he  retired  to  his 
bedroom,  and  fired  off  several 
long  official  letters  at  us,  his 
colleagues,  whom  he  could  have 
found  in  the  next  room.  His 
chief  desire  was  that,  in  this 
dearth  of  specie,  we  should  aban- 
don retail  purchase  and  go  in  for 
contract,  so  that  he  might  pay  by 
cheque  or  bill  in  one  or  two  lump 
sums  and  be  spared  the  incon- 
venience of  providing  cash  daily. 
W.  and  I  stuck  to  our  own  system 
as  the  cheapest  and  best,  and 
forced  the  commissary  to  go 
further  afield  for  his  money. 

One  telegram  to  our  Minister  at 
Madrid  and  another  to  the  officer 
in  charge  of  the  commissariat  chest 
at  Gibraltar,  soon  obtained  for  us 
sufficient   supplies  of  specie,  but 
C.  took  it  in  very  bad  part.     After 
this  he  did  very  little  work,  but 
would  retire  for  hours  to  his  bed- 
room, carrying  off  the  day's  Times 
to  enjoy  himself  in  his  own  way. 
C.  did  not  remain  long  at  Alicante. 
He  was  replaced  by  another  com- 
missariat officer  of  quite  a  different 
mettle — a  keen,  active,  smart  man- 
of-the  -world  who  brought  his  wife 
with    him,   a    charming    English 
lady,  who  joined  our  hotel  party 
and  greatly  helped  to  lighten  our 
incessant  labours  by  her  gracious 
presence.     I  remember  one  good 
story  she  told  herself  with  delight- 
ful frankness.     I    had   taken    up 
with  me  from  Gibraltar  a  lively 
youth  who  was    my  own   body- 
servant,  but  who  was  more  or  less 
annexed  by  everybody,  and  who 
was  Mrs.  G.'s  most  devoted  slave. 
One  morning  she  came  down  to 
breakfast  and  told  us  how  Paco 
had  taken  up  the  morning's  letters 
to  her  room.     "  You  can't  come 


in,"  cried  Mrs.  G.  "  Why  not  ?" 
asked  the  impudent  young  rascal. 
"  Because  I'm  in  my  bath."  "  I 
won't  look,"  replied  Paco. 

The  organisation  of  the  whole 
body  of  men  and  mules  had  been 
my  particular  duty.  It  had  some- 
thing of  a  military  character,  of 
course.  One  muleteer  was  en- 
gaged for  every  eight  animals;  for 
six  batches  of  eight,  or  forty-eight 
in  all,  there  was  a  cabo,  or  corporal, 
and  a  capataz,  or  overseer,  took 
charge  of  six  corporals  with  their 
two  hundred  and  eighty-eight 
mules.  Precise  regulations  were 
framed  for  conduct  and  daily 
routine ;  the  hours  for  "  watering 
order,"  feeding,  exercising  and 
cleaning  down,  not  a  very  elabo- 
rate process.  There  was  a  stable 
picquet  and  a  corporal  of  the  day, 
also  a  night  guard  ;  but,  as  a  rule, 
the  bulk  of  our  employes  slept  in 
their  blankets,  in  any  snug  corner 
they  could  find  in  the  ring.  They 
were  a  queer  lot,  the  riff-raff  and 
sweepings  of  the  district,  glad 
to  earn  a  few  pesetas  (shillings) 
but  not  too  willing  for  work, 
often  cross-grained  with  nasty 
tempers  easily  aroused.  Quarrels 
were  frequent  and  the  knife,  the 
cruel,  long-bladed  navajo,  curved 
and  double-edged,  soon  settled 
the  dispute.  One  fight  I  can 
especially  remember  from  its 
tragical  end.  Two  of  our  men  had 
engaged  in  a  combat  a  Voutrance, 
and  they  were  found  in  the  street 
locked  in  each  other's  arms,  both 
dead.  One  had  stabbed  the  other 
in  the  breast ;  his  opponent,  al- 
though in  the  death-throes,  had 
flung  his  arm  round  and  buried  his 
knife  in  the  other's  back  under 
the  shoulder-blade.  They  were 
so  truculent  a  lot  that  it  was  not 
considered  safe  for  us  to  visit  the 
ring  at  night.  But  we  went 
regularly,  making  surprise  inspec- 
tions, and  only  learnt  long  after- 
wards that   the  local  authorities 


316 


BAILYS   MAGAZINE. 


[November 


had  detailed  a  couple  of  policemen 
to  watch  over  us  from  a  distance. 

Our  purchase  proceeded  smoothly 
enough,  but  we  had  an  occasional 
contretemps.  One  was  a  terrific 
storm,  following  a  drought  of 
nearly  fifteen  months ;  the  thunder 
pealed  and  the  lightning  played 
incessantly  the  whole  night 
through,  and  rain  fell  in  torrents. 
We  happened  to  have  an  unusu- 
ally large  stock  of  mules  on  hand, 
for  the  first  consignment  had  ar- 
rived from  Madrid ;  some  were 
still  in  the  railway-station  when 
the  storm  broke,  and  there  was  a 
general  stampede  of  the  terrified 
beasts.  Many  of  our  own,  picketed 
outside  the  bull-ring,  also  got 
away  and  wandered  far  into  the 
country  round.  We  recovered 
those  we  had  ourselves  purchased, 
for  they  bore  our  brand  V.R.  on 
the  right  hoof,  burnt  in  Al.  i.  the 
moment  they  were  passed.  But  the 
contractor  was  not  so  fortunate. 
This  escapade  may  have  started 
the  wandering  habit  so  many 
Spanish  mules  developed  when 
disembarked  at  Zillah  on  the  Red 
Sea  littoral.  Half,  it  was  said, 
bolted  and  were  lost.  But  there 
was  another  reason.  In  discussing 
equipment  with  the  War  Office 
at  home  we  had  earnestly  recom- 
mended the  use  of  chain  halters 
for  all  headstalls.  The  economical 
Office  "  shied "  at  the  expense, 
and  we  were  ordered  to  purchase 
rope  halters  locally.  The  best  we 
could  obtain  were  made  of  esparto 
grass,  a  common  product  around 
Alicante.  But  the  poor  beasts  on 
landing,  having  been  kept  short  of 
forage,  greedily  devoured  their 
halters  and  bolted.  So  the  Go- 
vernment saved  a  shilling  or  two 
on  equipment  and  lost  a  mule 
worth  £20. 

Another  difficulty  cropped  up 
and  for  a  time  threatened  to 
check  progress.  We  had  been 
desired    to    secure   muleteers,   or 


men   willing  to   engage    for   the 
voyage  to  the  Red  Sea,  in  charge 
of    animals,   and    the    story   got 
about    that    we    were    raising   a 
Spanish   Legion.     It  got   to   the 
ears  of  the  local  authorities,  civil 
and  military,  and  produced  a  very 
formal  call  from  the  civil  Gover- 
nor of  Alicante  and  the  Colonel 
commanding    the    garrison,  who 
invited  us   to  show  our  creden- 
tials.    It  was  an  infringement  of 
international    law    they  thought, 
and  they  begged  us  to  pause  until 
their  Government  could  be  con- 
sulted.    Naturally  we  gave  them 
every  assurance  of  our  desire  to 
meet  them,  at  the  same  time  ex- 
plaining the    exact    state  of  the 
case.     We  never  heard  any  more 
of  the  foreign  legion.    These  were 
times  of  great  political  efferves- 
cence, Narvaez  was  in  power  at 
Madrid,   conspiracy   was    in    the 
air,  and  Queen  Isabella's  ministers 
had  not  time  to  give  to  us. 

Nevertheless,  they  might  have 
fallen   foul  of  us  very  seriously, 
for  assisting  a  political  fugitive  to 
escape  from  Spain.  *  It  was  done 
in  ail   innocence,  I  was  about  to 
say,  but  I  had  some  suspicion  of 
the  circumstances    at    the   time, 
although    I    did    not    feel   called 
upon    to    say    anything.      There 
was  a  steamer  alongside  the  mole 
taking  a  freight  of  mules  on  board, 
her  complement  had  been  shipped, 
and    she    was    on    the    point   of 
hauling  out  for  sea  when,  one  of 
the  people  came  to  me  saying  he 
had  'a    friend    very    anxious    to 
engage  for  the  trip.     That   was  a 
very   simple   matter,  and    I    said 
so  ;  the  man  had  only  to  enter  his 
name  and  he  would  be  despatched 
in    due    course.     But    this    man 
wanted  to  go  now,  at  once,   and 
such  stress  was  made  of  the  point 
that  I  said    the  applicant   might 
appear  before  me.     There  was  a 
difficulty  about  this,  but  I   agreed 
to  see  him  at  the  posada  or    inn 


THE   LATE    REV.    C.    H.    LEACROFT. 


1899.] 


«< 


THE    BISHOP   OF   BRACKENFIELD. 


»» 


3*7 


where  he  lodged,  and  I  found  a 
tall  military-looking  person,  most 
unmistakably  a  gentleman,  al- 
though dressed  in  the  local  cos- 
tume, as  a  Valencian  peasant. 
There  was  a  hunted  look  on  his 
face,  and  he  eyed  me  very  anxious- 
ly while  he  awaited  my  decision. 
No  doubt  he  was  "  wanted  " ;  had 
been  concerned  in  some  of  the 
recent  pronunciamento  and  there 
was  probably  a  price  upon  his 
head.  I  could  not  believe  it  to  be 
any  business  of  mine.  We  took 
any  suitable  man  who  offered, 
and  here  was  one  of  quite  the 
best  stamp  as  regards  physique. 
His  "papers"  were  in  order,  not 
his  own  probably,  but  they  satis- 
fied our  consul,  and  so  he  went 
with  the  steamer.  I  heard  it 
whispered  afterwards  that  he  had 
been  a  colonel  in  the  army,  but  I 
never  knew  for  certain  nor  what 
became  of  him. 


The  shipment  of  the  mules  did 
not  end  my  connection  with  the 
Spanish  purchase.  Grave  com- 
plaints were  made  of  the  execu- 
tion of  the  contract  in  North 
Spain,  the  proceeds  of  which 
passed  through  us  at  Alicante. 
We  could  see  at  once  that  they 
were  far  inferior  in  quality  to 
those  we  purchased  on  the  spot, 
and  yet  they  cost  more.  The 
matter  became  so  serious  that  in 
the  end  I  was  sent  to  Madrid  to 
enquire  into  the  method  by  which 
the  animals  had  been  obtained, 
and  I  found  out  enough,  to  say 
the  least  of  it,  to  condemn  the 
contract  system  as  then  tried. 
But  that  is  altogether  another 
story ;  so  is  my  mission  to  Barce- 
lona, which  intervened  between 
my  stay  at  Alicante  and  my 
visit  to  Madrid.  They  are  per- 
haps worth  telling  on  some  other 
occasion. 


"The  Bishop  of  Brackenfield." 


There  passed  to  his  rest  on 
September  23rd  one  of  the  most 
familiar  figures  in  Derbyshire — 
the  Rev.  Charles  Holcombe  Lea- 
croft,  widely  known  for  many 
years  as  "  Bishop  of  Bracken- 
field,"  the  "  Parson  Jack  Russell " 
of  his  native  county — parson, 
sportsman,  volunteer,  old  English 
gentleman. 

For  centuries  Mr.  Leacroft's 
family  has  been  connected  with 
Derby  and  Wirksworth;  at  one 
time  they  owned  the  greater  part 
of  the  county  town,  and  only  a 
few  years  ago  where  are  now  busy 
streets  and  terraces  of  houses 
were  farms  belonging  to  them ; 
they  are  still  large  property 
owners  there,  and  are  lay  rectors 
of  the  old  church  of  St.  Peter. 
Some  of  the  early  records  connect 


them  with  the  Catesby  family, 
and  "  in  good  King  Charles's 
golden  days"  Thomas  Leacroft, 
of  Wirksworth,  was  owner  of 
Breadsall  Priory.  A  monument 
to  the  memory  of  his  daughter, 
who  came  into  the  world  in  1685, 
may  be  seen  in  Kirk  Ireton 
Church ;  "  She  hVd  belov'd  of  all, 
yet  dy'd  a  maid." 

Born  in  the  year  1824,  the 
future  "  Bishop  "  was  educated  at 
Rugby,  after  which  he  went  to 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  in  the 
days  of  the  famous  Dr.  Whewell. 
He  was  the  last  choice  of  the 
"  Cambridge  Eight ;"  a  cherished 
old  water-colour  sketch  of  his  boat 
shows  it  the  last  before  outriggers 
were  introduced.  He  graduated 
in  1847,  taking  his  M.A.  in  1851  ; 
his  curacies  were  at  Hugglescote 


3i8 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[November 


and  Kirk  Smeeton.  The  Church, 
however,  did  not  occupy  all  his 
thoughts,  for  he  was  soon  a  fami- 
liar figure  in  Leicestershire  and 
Yorkshire  hunting  -  fields.  Just 
before  the  Crimean  War,  Mr. 
Leacroft  travelled  in  the  East, 
visiting  Constantinople  in  1854; 
he  found  10,000  English  troops 
landed  there*  and,  as  there  were 
no  chaplains,  he  conducted  service 
for  several  Sundays  in  the  bar- 
racks at  Scutari,  at  the  wish  of 
Colonel  Blake,  of  the  33rd  Regi- 
ment. Declining  an  appointment 
as  chaplain,  he  continued  his 
travels  through  Palestine  and  the 
Lebanon,  where  he  met  Holman 
Hunt.  A  relic  of  these  days  was 
the  old  silver  goblet  from  which, 
in  later  years,  he  enjoyed  his 
home-brewed  ale.  He  visited 
Damascus,  Nineveh,  and  Bag- 
dad, where  he  spent  the  winter  of 
1854,  and  at  the  latter  place 
officiated  as  chaplain  to  the 
English  cruiser  Comet. 

Returning  to  his  native  county 
in  1857,  he  accepted  the  living  of 
Bracken  field,  a  tiny  hamlet  not 
far  from  Matlock,  and  in  a  dis- 
trict in  which  his  family  had  long 
held  property.  The  cure  of  souls 
involved  the  care  only  of  three 
hundred  scattered  villagers,  for 
which  he  had  the  modest  stipend 
of  ^"80  per  year.  To  this  was 
added  the  vicarage  of  Dethick  in 
i860.  It  was  at  Dethick  Hall 
that  Anthony  Babington  once 
lived ;  and  Florence  Nightingale, 
at  Lea  Hurst,  was  Mr.  Lea- 
croft's  parishioner.  Dethick  and 
Brackenfield  are  some  four  or  five 
miles  apart,  and  are  both  pictur- 
esque specimens  of  Derbyshire 
villages,  with  gabled  farms  and 
quaint  cottages.  For  nearly  forty 
years  the  old  vicar  faced  the  drive 
every  Sunday  across  Tansley 
Common,  and  it  was  his  proud 
boast  that,  during  the  whole  of 
that    time,    he    was    never    five 


minutes  late  for  the  services  at 
either  of  his  churches,  which  were 
held  alternately. 

In  the  hunting-field  he  won 
many  a  laurel  by  his  good,  hard 
riding,  and  it  was  in  his  early 
days  at  Brackenfield,  when  hunt- 
ing with  the  High  Peak  Harriers, 
that  he  had  first  bestowed  on 
him  the  title  of  "  Bishop  of  the 
High  Peak,"  amended  subse- 
quently to  "  Bishop  of  Bracken- 
field." He  was  also  a  familiar 
figure  at  meets  of  the  Rufford, 
and  also  the  South  Notts  Hunt, 
under  Lord  Harrington.  He 
owned  a  marvellous  little  mare, 
"  Fanny,"  14.3  only,  for  four- 
teen years,  and  hunted  her 
eleven  seasons,  a  wonderful  per- 
formance, considering  that  "the 
bishop  "  stood  six  feet  one  and  a 
half  inches  and  rode  fourteen  stone 
seven  pounds.  Another  of  the 
best  hunters  he  had  was  out  of 
this  mare  by  "  Strathcona."  One 
of  his  achievements  was  to  hunt 
for  a  season  with  a  famous 
steeplechaser,  "  Comet,"  the  pro- 
perty of  his  son,  Mr.  Ranulph 
Leacroft,  who  won  at  the  Heath 
Steeplechases  three  times  out  of 
four. 

"  The  bishop "  had  almost 
equal  fame  as  a  fisherman,  and 
was  considered  one  of  the  best 
amateurs  of  his  day ;  he  thought 
nothing  of  turning  out  by  three  on 
a  summer  morning,  driving  ten 
or  twelve  miles  across  the  hills  to 
Rowsley  or  Bakewell,  and  throw- 
ing a  fly  over  trout  in  Derwent  or 
Wye  long  before  ordinary  mortals 
were  out  of  bed.  He  was  fortu- 
nate in  having  a  good  little  trout 
stream,  the  Amber  (described  by 
Walton  as  "  small  but  trouty  "), 
close  at  home,  it  forming  the 
eastern  boundary  of  his  parish ; 
but  his  favourite  haunts  were  near 
Rowsley  and  Chatsworth,  on  the 
banks  of  Derwent,  Wye,  or  Lath- 
kil.     The  rod  most  to  bis  liking 


1899-3 


"  THE    BISHOP   OF   BRACKENFIELD. 


it 


3*9 


was  made  in  one  piece,  securing, 
he  considered,  a  more  delicate 
touch  and  true.  In  his  younger 
days  he  was  a  good  shot,  and  for 
many  years  he  had  a  few  days  in 
Leicestershire  with  Sir  Henry 
Halford.  Another  sport  in  which 
he  excelled  was  archery. 

Not  content  with  these  many 
fields  of  sport,  he  was  to  be  found 
on  the  tented  field,  where  he  won 
renown  and  popularity  by  the 
warm  interest  he  evinced  in  the 
volunteer  movement.  For  over 
twenty  years  he  acted  as  captain 
to  the  Matlock  F  Company,  and 
regularly  went  into  camp  with  the 
battalion  at  Strensall,  Blackpool, 
and  elsewhere.  He  remained 
chaplain  to  this  battalion  of  the 
Sherwood  Foresters  until  this 
year,  when  he  retired  under  the 
age  clause.  Some  two  or  three 
years  ago  he  was  presented  with 
the  long  service  medal,  and  only 
a  few  months  ago  the  Chesterfield 
and  Ashover  companies  attended 
his  church  and  were  entertained 
by  him. 

Soon  after  settling  at  Bracken- 
field  Mr.  Leacroft  married  his 
cousin,  Miss  Leacroft,  of  South- 
well, but  lost  his  wife  shortly  after 
the  birth  of  their  only  son.  Mrs. 
Leacroft  was  connected  with  a 
well-known  Somersetshire  family, 
the  Swymmers,  and  her  son  in- 
herits Rowberrow  Manor,  in 
Somersetshire,  where  his  family 
of  two  sons  and  two  daughters 
promise  to  keep  alive  the  good 
name  of  Leacroft. 

Like  the  portrait  of  his  grand- 
father, by  Wright,  of  Derby,  the 
bishop  was  the  model  of  an  old 
English  gentleman ;  it  was  hard 
to    say   whether    he    showed    to 
better  advantage  as  host  or  guest. 
He  could  always  be  relied  on  for 
a    good    after-dinner   speech  or 
>,  story,  could  tell  many  a  thrilling 
[-adventure  after  fox  or  fish,  and 
Lwas  the  soul  of  many  a  jovial 


gathering.  In  his  parochial  work 
he  believed  in  making  the  services 
at  his  churches  bright  and  cheer- 
ful ;  he  said  he  had  quite  enough 
of  dull  ones  in  his  young  days. 

Spite  of  his  stalwart  form,  "  the 
bishop"  had  a  voice  clear  and 
bright  as  a  cathedral  choir-boy's. 
He  was  not  a  prolific  sermon- 
writer,  always  giving  his  Hock  the 
same  at  their  harvest  festival — 
"  My  people  are  very  fond  of  it," 
he  used  to  say. 

A  neighbour  writes  : — "  Walk 
with  me  across  the  meadows  this 
early  April  morning  to  Bracken- 
field  Church.  Spring  is  just  in 
the  air  ;  you  have  found  the  first 
daffodil,  and  the  pear-trees  are  in 
leaf.  The  mist  has  been  resting 
on  the  hills  like  a  bride's  veil,  and 
the  trees  have  just  shown  as 
flowers  beneath.  You  find  the 
church  door  at  Brackenfield  wide 
open,  the  sunlight  streaming  in; 
the  squire  and  his  family  are  at  the 
back  of  the  church,  the  farmers 
and  villagers  are  scattered  round. 
The  old  vicar  comes  swinging  in, 
in  cassock  and  surplice  ;  his  voice 
and  movements  are  like  a  breath 
of  the  west  wind.  Everything 
seems  in  harmony  to-day,  from 
the  lesson  there  comes  to  you  an 
appropriate  message — '  I  go  a- 
fishing.'  The  sermon  matches  the 
day.  *  Break  up  your  fallow 
ground.'  The  birds  outside  hail 
the  words  with  delight,  as  '  the 
bishop*  draws  the  picture  of  the 
ploughed  field  and  its  counter- 
part in  the  heart  of  man.  Brave 
old  heart !  '  it  lies  at  rest  and  still,, 
under  the  wind-swept  grass. ' " 

True  to  his  nature,  he  died  in 
harness.  On  September  17th, 
were  held  the  harvest  festival 
services  at  Dethick ;  the  old 
"  bishop  "  went  through  his  work 
in  the  morning,  but  during  his 
sermon  in  the  afternoon  had  an 
apoplectic  stroke.  It  was  sorrow- 
ful news  at  Brackenfield  when  no 


L 


320  baily's  magazine.  [November 

service  was  held,  and  the  parish-  fore  another  Sunday  came  round, 

ioners    met    to    find    their  well-  and      now     sleeps      under     the 

loved  vicar    lay    dying.     Linger-  chancel   window  of  his  favourite 

ing     a     week,      he      died      be-  church. 


Hands. 

I  saw  them,  the  feeble  old  sportsman,  and  by  him 
A  fair  boy,  his  grandson,  who  stood  by  his  chair  ; 

I  looked  at  the  relics  of  riding,  that  nigh  him 
Told  tales  of  adventure,  both  racy  and  rare. 

I  saw  them,  and  heard  the  man  speaking.     "  Be  gentle, 
Be  gentle,  my  grandson,  in  using  your  hands, 

Touch  lightly  and  let  the  main  effort  be  mental, 
For  will  is  a  force  that  dictates  and  commands. 

11  Touch  lightly,  and  talk  to  your  horse  as  you're  riding 
In  language  unheard  for  you  each  have  a  brain ; 
Touch  lightly  and  humour  him  often,  deciding 
To  think  with  the  bridle  and  speak  with  the  rein. 

"  Touch  lightly,  and  know  by  the  feel  you  are  fusing 
Two  natures  together,  two  senses  in  one ; 
Touch  lightly,  the  horse  comprehends  you  are  musing 
On  him  and  can  read  his  quick  thoughts  as  they  run. 

14  Touch  lightly — yes,  yes,  there  is  dash  in  your  riding, 
The  spirit  that  stirs  you  is  stirring  the  steed 
On,  on  o'er  the  silvery  mead  he  is  striding, 
The  heart  of  the  horseman  has  roused  him  at  need. 

"  Well  done,  you  are  over,  and  sweetly  conversing 
You  sail  in  the  wake  of  the  hounds  as  they  fly ; 
He  loves  you  !  you  guide  him,  he  needs  no  coercing, 
The  words  that  he  utters  are  '  never  say  die.' 

"  No  wonder.     This  same  conversation  has  ended 
In  making  him  feel  he  is  valued  to-day, 
His  generous  nature  is  now  comprehended, 
The  heart  of  his  rider  is  with  him — Hurray ! 

"  At  night  when  the  moon  has  cast  beams  on  the  stable 
He  thinks  it  all  over  again  on  the  straw, 
He  hears  what  you  said  through  the  reins  and  is  able 
To  follow  your  argument  now  as  before. 

"  He  sees  what  you  meant  by  each  movement  and  pressure, 
The  flash  of  perception,  the  dash  and  resolve, 
He  feels  as  he  felt  when  his  hoofs  beat  the  measure. 
And  knows  that  the  bond  is  too  strong  to  dissolve. 

11  But  stay.     You,  my  grandson,  forgive  me  for  prosing, 
Yet  take  it  to  heart,  for  I  mean  what  I  say ; 
The  horse  and  his  rider  are  one,  and  in  closing 

Remember  that  hands  link  the  minds,  by  the  way." 

W.  Phillpotts  Williams. 


1899-1 


321 


What  is  a  Sportsman  ? 


"  Is  he  a  sportsman  ?"  That  was 
a  long-debated  question.  Maybe 
it  was  only  a  smoking-room 
wrangle  that  started  it ;  anyhow, 
it  failed  to  be  settled  there  and 
then — in  fact  it  is  not  settled  now. 
Even  the  opinions  of  the  ladies 
were  in  request  the  next  morn- 
ing, but  they,  with  their  natural 
modesty,  declined  to  pronounce 
judgment.  So  it  came  about  that 
your  humble  scribe  should  be 
asked  to  define  the  knotty  point. 
On  one  condition  only  does  he 
accept  the  retainer,  and  that  is 
that  his  opinion  shall  be  given 
only  as  a  generality,  referring  to 
nobody  in  particular;  he  having 
no  wish  to  be  entangled  in  such 
an  embroglio  as  "  The  Judgment 
of  Paris/; 

What  is  a  sportsman  seems  at 

first  sight  a  pure  matter  of  ethics, 

not  easy  to  describe,  yet  easy  to 

understand.     The  dictionary  does 

not  help  us  much.      It  tells  us 

that  sport  is  derived  from  boert,  a 

jest,    and    boertig   means    merry, 

facetious,  jocular,  and  thence  it 

comes  to  mean  he  who  produces 

mirth  or  merriment.     Sport  is  the 

cause  of  amusement.    The  Bible 

tells  us  that  the  Philistines  brought 

poor  Samson  out  of  prison,  and 

" made  sport  of  him"     Now  that 

is  not  the  sort  of  sport  that  my 

readers  will  appreciate.     Solomon 

in  his  Proverbs  thus  defines  this 

idea  of  sport  when  he  says,  "  So 

is  the    man    that    deceiveth    his 

neighbours,  and  saith  am  /  not  in 

sport  ?"     Perhaps  Sydney  is  more 

to  our  taste  in  his  lines :   "  Her 

sports  were  such  as  carried  riches 

of  knowledge  upon  the  stream  of 

delight." 

After  all,  dear  old  Shakespeare 
comes  nearer  our  idea  of  sport — 
he  ever  hits  the  mark — when  he 
puts  it  into  the  mouth  of  the  Duke 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  477. 


of  Suffolk,  addressing  Queen  Mar- 
garet, in  the  play  of  Henry  VI., 
to  say : — 

"  Now  by  the  ground  I  am  banished  from, 
Well  could  I  curse  away  a  winter's  night. 
Though  standing  naked  on  the  mountain 

top 
Where  biting  wind  would  never  let  grass 

grow, 
And  think  it  but  a  minute  spent  in  sport." 

Was  this  Duke  of  Suffolk  a 
sportsman  or  was  he  not  ?  In 
these  days  a  man  would  fancy 
himself  a  sportsman  who  did  less 
than  this. 

Perhaps  we  shall  get  nearer  the 
mark  if  we  come  back  to  our  own 
degenerate,  or  perhaps  I  ought  to 
say  regenerate,  days  and  declare 
those  that  we  do  not  consider 
sportsmen,  although  such  may 
enjoy,  aye  even  revel  in  the  name, 
and  curse  me  roundly  for  daring 
to  deprive  them  of  it. 

What  about  the  dandy,  or 
modern  milksop  sportsman,  who 
fancies  ^  himself  a  sportsman. 
Would  he  trust  his  precious 
limbs  on  the  mountain-top,  as  the 
Duke  of  Suffolk  is  made  to  de- 
scribe it  ?  Or  if  he  did,  would 
he  not  be  muffled  in  the  finest 
Scotch  tweed  that  his  London 
tailor  could  procure  for  him  ?  and 
would  he  not  have  one  gillie  to 
carry  his  gun  or  rifle,  and  an- 
other his  flasks  and  his  luncheon- 
basket  ?  Ah,  would  he  not  in  his 
heart  of  hearts  wish  himself  back 
in  the  cosy  lodge  in  yonder  glen, 
and  mentally  declare  that  this  was 
a  long  "  minute  spent  in  sport  "  ? 
A  mere  romantic  idea  that  of 
Shakespeare's !  not  suited  to  his 
tastes.  To  him  to  stand  behind  a 
rock  in  yonder  pass  and  have 
those  noble  stags  driven  to  him, 
just  within  sixty  yards  or  so,  that 
he  might  pick  out  the  grandest  of 
them  and  take  a  comfortable  pot- 

24 


322 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[November 


shot  at  him — or,  failing  that,  to 
stand  behind  a  turf  butt,  and  pot 
away  with  two  or  three  guns  at 
driven  grouse,  taking  a  compos- 
ing swig  at  his  flask  between 
whiles,  and  not  forgetful  of  his 
hot  luncheon  when  the  inviting 
whistle  sounds  from  that  ever  de- 
voted butler. 

Or  happier  still,  in  a  serener 
climate,  slaughtering  those  home- 
reared  pheasants,  where  no  moun- 
tain climbing  has  to  be  done,  and 
where  a  camp-stool  is  carried 
ready  to  ease  the  tedium  of  a 
long  stand,  and  the  encomiums 
of  the  ladies  add,  in  his  eyes, 
charm  to  the  day's  sport. 

If  such  a  one,  not  content  with 
this  indulgence  in  sport,  professes 
to  hunt,  he  carries  out  his  pleasure 
in  an  equally  resplendent  and 
stylish  fashion.  Faultless  in  his 
get-up,  he  never  trusts  himself 
except  on  the  highest  -  priced 
hunters  that  a  dealer's  stable  can 
produce.  He  never  shows  him- 
self except  in  the  best  countries 
and  at  the  most  fashionable  meets. 
He  never  sees  hounds  after  the 
first  five  minutes  from  the  find, 
unless  they  happen  to  cross  the 
road  where  he  has  cleverly  located 
himself,  and  he  makes  a  point  of 
being  at  home  to  five  o'clock  tea 
—on  his  second  horse,  of  course. 
His  inherent  wit  and  sang  froid 
enables  him  glibly  to  describe  the 
day's  sport,  whether  hunting  or 
shooting,  with  his  legs  under  the 
mahogany.  He  votes  salmon- 
fishing  too  hard  work.  His  con- 
stitution will  not  stand  being  up 
to  his  middle  in  cold  water  all 
day.  He  usually  prefers  the 
water  in  his  morning  bath  to  be 
warm.  Cricket  is  only  fit  for 
professionals,  golf  and  lawn-tennis 
are  absolute  rot ;  croquet,  when 
he  has  the  most  charming  girl  as 
his  partner,  is,  in  his  estimation, 
a  very  passable  afternoon's  amuse- 
ment,  especially  when    whiskeys 


and-sodas  and  other  nice  drinks 
are  an  accompaniment  to  the  pro- 
ceedings. 

As  to  racing,  he  considers  it  a 
decidedly  expensive  amusement. 
Besides,  you  see,  it  is  such  a 
bother  having  to  attend  all  the 
Newmarket  meetings,  and  if  you 
have  a  horse  or  two  of  your  own 
you  have  to  go  to  third-class 
meetings  in  order  to  win  a  race. 
You  have  to  grind  up  all  the 
racing  calendars,  and  "form  at 
a  glance,"  and  even  then  you  are 
always  being  lumbered  on  to 
wretched  losers  by  your  friends, 
or  the  touts,  or  even  your  trainer. 
And  when  you  think  you  have  a 
good  horse,  and  you  are  going  to 
bring  him  out  for  the  admiration 
of  your  friends,  he  goes  dead 
amiss,  and  his  purchase  money 
and  training  bill  never  return— in 
fact,  he  has  to  go  into  the  waste- 
paper  basket. 

Then  again,  although  racing 
society  is  sometimes  very  nice, 
and  he  likes  being  asked  to  join 
Lord  Tomkyns'  party  at  Ascot, 
and  Lady  Symkyns*  at  Bognor 
for  Goodwood,  racing  society, 
as  a  whole,  bores  him.  It  is 
easier  to  read  and  talk  about  it 
at  the  Club,  or  bet  a  little  on  the 
tape.  t "  Sweating  about  racing  is 
such  confounded  rot."  By  the 
by,  perhaps,  if  he  gives  Lord 
Rushdown  a  call,  he  will  invite 
him  on  his  yacht  at  Cowes.  Very 
easy  fun  that.  The  best  liquor, 
and  plenty  of  it ;  besides,  it  kills 
the  time  until  Scotland  comes 
round.  Thus  the  eventful  tenor 
of  such  a  life  is  passed,  and  that 
man  will  tell  you  that  he  lives  for 
sport !     Is  he  really  a  sportsman  ? 

Perhaps  my  picture  is  over- 
drawn, yet  how  many  of  our 
young  men,  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  affect  sport,  not  for  its 
own  sake,  not  for  the  love  of  it, 
not  for  the  rapture  it  brings, 
or  the  health   and   happiness  it 


1899O 


WHAT   IS   A   SPORTSMAN  ? 


323 


entails,  not  for  its  fine  attributes, 
not  for  a  keenness  to  excel  in  it, 
not  to  enhance  sport  itself,  but 
because  they  think  it  the  right 
thing  to  do.  They  take  it  as  if  it 
were  a  black  dose,  good  for  their 
constitutions,  provided  always 
that  it  is  washed  down  with  the 
sweetest  of  antidotes.  Such  men 
seldom  carry  through  even  the 
semblance  of  sporting  feeling  into 
their  every-day  actions.  They 
would  not  think  of  discouraging 
the  use  of  barbed  wire  on  their 
estates,  unless,  indeed,  it  happens 
to  be  in  a  very  fashionable  hunt- 
ing country,  and  there  the  fear  of 
being  ostracised  will  turn  the 
scale.  They  would,  however, 
never  think  of  fox-preservation  as 
a  leading  rule  in  a  sportsman's 
life — a  matter  of  conscience — 
although  there  might  be  sufficient 
touch  of  it  to  make  them  shell 
out  a  hunt  subscription  pretty 
regularly.  That,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, goes  a  long  way 
towards  gaining  a  sporting  name 
in  a  district  nowadays. 

Our  list  of  doubtful  sportsmen 
is  not  yet  complete.  There  is  the 
man  with  youth  and  health  on  his 
side,  who,  as  it  were,  is  satisfied  to 
play  the  sportsman  as  a  means 
of  displaying  his  real  tastes.  Let 
us  say  that  he  fancies  himself  on 
horseback,  therefore  he  comes 
out  hunting  to  ride.  He  cares 
not  so  much  about  the  hounds  as 
he  does  about  his  fox-terrier  at 
home,  and  beyond  a  dread  of 
falling  foul  of  the  master,  hunting 
has  no  cares  for  him.  He  can 
describe  with  interest  the  number 
of  fences  he  has  jumped,  and 
whom  he  has  pounded,  and  if  you 
told  him  he  had  never  learnt,  or 
was  likely  to  learn,  the  rudiments 
of  hunting,  he  would  be  thorough- 
ly at  enmity  with  you.  It  never 
strikes  him  that  he  is  riding  over 
the  farmers'  fields,  and  using,  as 
it  were,  the  services  of  the  hunt 


on  false  pretences  altogether,  and 
that  he  is  the  strongest  instance 
of  what  all  true  sportsmen  com- 
plain of,  the  non-sporting  gent. 
Some  of  my  friends  would,  I  fear, 
dub  him  the  sporting  cad.  His 
patronage  of  it  certainly  damages 
sport. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  simi- 
lar characters  in  other  walks  of 
sport.  There  is  the  man  who  is 
non-resident,  and  hires  shooting. 
It  is  nothing  to  him  whether  his 
keeper  picks  up  his  neighbour's 
eggs,  or  drives  his  fields  at  day- 
break. All  he  cares  is  to  be  able 
to  brag,  when  he  returns  to  his 
town,  that  he  has  slain  the  largest 
amount  of  game  and  beaten  all 
records.  It  is  not  in  the  nature 
of  such  a  man  to  consider  the 
sports  of  others,  so  of  course  foxey 
are  either  openly  or  surreptitiousls 
destroyed  where  he  holds  sway. 
There  is  also  the  loafer  in  sport, 
who  comes  out  hunting  to  make 
himself  pleasant  to  the  ladies,  or 
coffee-house  at  the  covert  side. 
He  smokes  big  cigars,  heads 
foxes,  and  has  an  ample  lunch 
in  his  second  horseman's  posses- 
sion. His  absence  from  the 
hunting  field  would  cause  no 
mourning. 

But  there,  my  pen  has  run 
away  with  me  in  giving  vent  to 
this  diatribe,  and  perhaps  it  has 
been  wrong  not  to  spare  the  feel- 
ings of  those  who  are  not  really 
built  for  sport,  although  they 
indulge  in  it,  and  are  proud  of 
calling  themselves  sportsmen. 
Let  us  turn  to  what  is  a  real 
sportsman. 

Shall  I  not  be  right  in  saying 
that  a  man  is  born  a  sportsman  ? 
It  is  an  inheritance.  He  loves  it, 
and  delights  to  learn  it  every 
day  he  lives.  It  grows  with  his 
growth,  it  enlarges  and  fructifies 
with  the  mellowness  of  years ;  it 
expands  his  mind,  as  well  as 
body;   it  becomes  a  part  of  his 


324 


BA1LY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[November 


existence  here  below.  It  makes 
him  the  man  he  is,  it  tones  his 
vices,  it  amplifies  his  virtues.  A 
thing  to  be  cherished;  the  attri- 
bute of  a  true-born  Briton.  Beck- 
ford  aptly  quotes  Cervantes, 
speaking  of  hunting,  "  It  is  the 
most  proper  exercise  for  knights 
or  princes,  for  in  the  chase  of  a 
stout  noble  animal  may  be  repre- 
sented the  whole  art  of  war, 
stratagems,  policy,  and  ambus- 
cades, with  all  other  devices 
usually  practised  to  overcome  an 
enemy  with  safety.  Here  we  are 
exposed  to  the  extremities  of  heat 
or  cold;  ease  and  laziness  can 
have  no  room  in  this  diversion. 
By  this  we  are.  inured  to  toil 
and  hardship;  our  limbs  are 
strengthened,  our  joints  made 
supple,  and  our  whole  body  hale 
and  active.  In  short,  it  is  an 
exercise  that  may  be  beneficial 
to  many,  and  can  be  prejudicial 
to  none." 

Virgil  could  not  have  borne 
more  eloquent  testimony  to  the 
character  of  a  true  sportsman 
than  when  he  wrote : — 

'  O  fortunatus  nimium  sua  si  bena  norint 
agricola." 

Nor  Horace  in  his  ode  : — 

"  Beatus  ille  qui  procul  negotiis." 

To  go  through  all  phases  of  a 
true  sportsman's  life  would  be 
beyond  the  scope  of  this  article. 
You  can,  I  believe,  instinctively 
know  a  true  sportsman  when- 
ever and  wherever  you  meet 
him.  It  is  a  greater  bond  of  union 
between  us  than  Freemasonry,  or 
any  other  tie  of  human  brother- 
hood. Whether  a  man  is  a  duke 
or  a  tailor,  a  cabinet  minister  or 
farmer,  a  bishop  or  a  parish  clerk, 
you  will  not  be  long  in  his 
company  before  you  can  assuredly 
discover  the  sporting  instinct 
which  permeates  his  mind.  It 
may  have  lain  dormant  for  years 
from  want  of  means  to  exercise 


it,  or  a  multitude  of  other  causes, 
yet  when  the  occasion  arises  it 
will  show  itself,  and  exercise  an 
influence  on  his  actions ;  a  tower 
of  strength  and  straightforward- 
ness, which  will  guide  his  actions 
aright. 

Am  I  going  beyond  the  truth 
when  I  say  that  ladies  love  a  true 
sportsman  ?     With  a  shrewdness 
that  is  inherent  in  the  sex,  they 
detect  the  attributes   of  such  a 
man,  and  appreciate  them.     Let 
me  go  one  step  further,  and  say 
that  we  owe  them  much  in  their 
aid   to    the  development  of  our 
characters  as  sportsmen,  for  do 
not  they  soften  the  one  possible 
weak  point  in  a  sportsman,  and 
that  is,  an  asperity  of  character  ? 
"Gently,    my   dear,"   sometimes 
whispered  at   the  right  moment, 
is  worth  a  cohort  of  anathemas; 
and   a  true  sportsman   can  bear 
this  better  than  any  man  living, 
or  I  am,  and  have  been  all  my 
life,  mistaking  the  inward  working 
of  his  character. 

It  would  ill  befit  me  to  touch 
on  the   character  of  women  as 
sportswomen,  but  the  deduction 
is  easy  from  what  has  gone  before. 
If  sporting  instincts  are  bred  in 
man  they  cannot  be  foreign  to  a 
woman.     Nor  are  they.     In  these 
days  when  more  liberty  is  vouch- 
safed to  womankind,  this  instinct 
becomes  more  and  more  developed, 
as  witness  their  prowess  in  almost 
every  field  of   sport,   and    their 
success    in    it.     Long   may  this 
continue,   provided    always    that 
lovely  woman  will  hold  discretion 
the  best  part  of  valour,  and  while 
maintaining  her  own,  not  ape  the 
man.      Here    I    trust    the    true 
sportswoman    will    show    herself 
as     distinctly    superior     to    the 
counterfeit,  as  true  metal  is  to 
brass.     Man  will  ever  welcome 
woman  as  an  aid  in  sport,  as  in 
other  things,  and  she,  on  her  part, 
will  be  proud  of  such  a  position. 


i 


326 


BAILY  S  MAGAZINE. 


[November 


where  in  Britain  was  efficient 
shoeing  more  essential  than  on  the 
rugged  hill  paths  of  the  Princi- 
pality. 

William  the  Conqueror,  as  a 
horseman  and  a  soldier,  attached 
importance  to  the  farriers'  art; 
history  tells  us  that  he  gave  to 
Simon  St.  Liz,  a  Norman  noble, 
the  town  of  Northampton  and  the 
Hundred  of  Falkely,  yielding  the 
then  handsome  revenue  of  £40  a 
year,  on  condition  that  the  said 
Simon  should  provide  shoes  for  the 
royal  horses ;  no  sinecure  when  the 
Conqueror  kept  up  an  establish- 
ment of  hundreds. 

Farriery  was  in  a  very  backward 
state  in  the  middle  ages.  James 
III.  in  1478  passed  a  law  which 
set  upon  any  Scottish  smith,  who 
through  ignorance  or  drunkenness 
lamed  the  horse  entrusted  to  his 
hands,  the  obligation  of  keeping 
the  animal  at  his  own  expense  and 
providing  the  owner  with  a  sound 
horse  until  the  cripple  grew  sound 
again ;  and  if  the  horse  did  not  re- 
cover, the  smith  was  liable  for  its 
value. 

The  village  smith's  work  is  com- 
paratively simple  by  comparison 
with  that  of  his  brother  workman 
who  shoes  horses  employed  in  large 
towns.  More  ingenuity  has  been 
squandered  upon  horse-shoes  than 
on  anything  in  stable  and  harness 


room,   safety  stirrups  and  saddle 
bars  not  excepted.   A  few  years  ago 
a  perfect  horse-shoe  fever  raged, 
and    the   Patent    Office    granted 
protection  for  new  designs  at  the 
rate  of  about  three  a  fortnight. 
Some  of  these  shoes  sought  in  their 
construction  or  method  of  fastening 
to  place  "  pricking  "  without  the 
scope  of  practical  farriery ;  and  in 
a  few  instances  this  desirable  end 
was  achieved  by  making  the  shoe 
with  tips,  clips  and  metal  band  at- 
tachments which  enabled  nails  to 
be  dispensed  with  altogether.  Had 
these  nailless  shoes  achieved  all 
their  inventors  claimed  for  them, 
the  forge,  whether  in  town  or  vil- 
lage, would  soon  be  a  thing  of  the 
past,  but  it  does  not  appear  that 
horse  owners  have  taken  up  the 
novelty  with  a  degree  of  enthu- 
siasm   that    would   endanger  the 
farriers'  means  of  livelihood.    The 
nailed  shoe  has  served  civilisation 
for  fifteen  hundred  years,  and  in- 
genious devices  notwithstanding! 
will  probably  hold  its  own  as  long 
as  man  has  need  of  the  horse. 
Safety    in    shoeing    lies,    not  in 
dispensing  with  nails,  for  that  is 
practically  impossible,  but  in  the 
education  of  the  farrier,  who  should 
make     himself     thoroughly     ac- 
quainted with  the  internal  structure 
of  the  hoof  before  he  ventures tolay 
knife  or  rasp  to  the  external  crust. 


Snipe. 


There  are  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  of  marshy  water 
meadows  near  the  river  which 
borders  my  small  shooting,  and, 
upon  my  honour,  I  believe  I  get 
more  real  sport  out  of  them  than 
from  all  the  rest  of  the  estate  put 
together.  Somehow,  except  in 
very  wet  seasons,  partridges  seem 


to  find  the  rough  grass  and  sedge 
to  be  a  comfortable  haunt ;  there 
is  an  osier  bed  where  one  or  two 
broods  of  wild  pheasants  live  in 
amity  with  the  old  fox  whose 
stronghold  it  is  ;  there  are  sundry 
rabbit  burrows  in  the  dry  spots 
above  the  level  of  the  floods;  now 
and  then  a  duck  or  teal  may  be 


1 

j 


i«99) 


SNIPE. 


327 


flushed  out  of  the  ditches,  and 
above  all,  I  never  walk  over  the 
ground  without  seeing  a  few  dear, 
delightful  snipe.  I  am  bound  to 
say  that  these  last  are  always 
most  painfully  alive  to  the  neces- 
sity for  self-preservation,  for  they 
are  the  wildest  of  their  race  that 
I  have  ever  seen.  I  never  have 
more  than  half  a  dozen  shots,  and 
if  I  can  bag  two  or  three  birds,  I 
feel  a  glow  of  self-complacency  at 
my  straight  shooting,  or  at  least 
a  feeling  of  satisfaction  that  luck 
has  befriended  me.  In  December 
and  January,  when  the  serious 
days  of  the  season's  shooting  are 
past,  my  water  meadows  furnish 
a  very  sufficient  morning's  walk 
for  an  elderly  gentleman  who 
wishes  to  secure  a  necessary 
amount  of  exercise,  without  fa- 
tiguing himself,  as  he  must  do,  if 
he  trudged  for  long  hours  after 
the  debris  of  the  year's  partridges 
and  pheasants,  waiting  at  inter- 
vals behind  coverts  or  hedgerows 
trying  to  keep  warm  while  the 
said  debris  are  being  driven.  In 
the  water  meadows  I  don't  know 
what  I  am  going  to  shoot  at.  Fur 
and  feather  come  with  delightful 
uncertainty,  and  I  often  return 
with  four,  five,  or  even  six  differ- 
ent kinds  of  game  in  the  bag. 
Perhaps  not  more  than  seven  or 
eight  head  altogether,  but  that  is 
enough  for  two  or  three  hours' 
amusement,  and  if  a  couple  of 
snipe  are  in  the  number,  the 
pleasure  is  complete. 

I  must  say,  and  I  think  many 
sportsmen  will  agree  with  me, 
that  the  snipe  is  the  worthiest 
bird  that  flies.  Lovely  and  plea- 
sant in  his  life,  in  his  death  he 
loses  none  of  his  attractions,  and 
nobody  can  fail  to  attend  his 
obsequies  with  tender  apprecia- 
tion. He  is  to  be  found  in  all 
four  quarters  of  the  globe. 
Wherever  we  may  go,  we  are 
sure  to  hear  his  cheery  little  pipe, 


and  we  feel  that  we  are  meeting 
an  old  friend.  Alas !  the  British 
Isles  do  not  now,  as  in  times  past, 
welcome  his  countless  flocks,  and 
there  are  very  few  places  now  left 
where  an  old-fashioned  bag  may 
be  made.  We  are  gradually 
making  the  country  inhospitable 
to  him  and  unattractive.  He  still 
visits  us,  but  in  ever-decreasing 
numbers.  He  is  familiar  even  to 
the  present  generation,  but  the 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  he 
will  be  a  rare  guest,  and  the  rea- 
sons of  his  gradual  disappearance 
and  probable  extinction  in  the  not 
remote  future  are  not  far  to  seek. 
We  have  drained  the  great 
marshes  which  he  loved  annually 
to  visit,  we  have  curbed  and  con- 
fined our  rivers,  making  them 
into  slow  canals,  or  using  their 
water  power  for  base  mechanical 
operations,  and  we  have  provided 
guns  at  such  a  cheap  rate  for  ail 
our  population  that  he  is  nowhere 
safe  from  assault  except  on  land 
that  is  carefully  watched  and 
guarded. 

I  go  back  in  memory  over  many 
years,  and  how  many  cheery 
sporting  days  does  the  word 
"  snipe  "  bring  before  me.  Shall 
I  ever  forget  the  years  of  soldier- 
ing passed  in  Ireland  and  the 
constant  succession  of  wholesome 
amusement  that  they  brought  ? 
Not  that  time  even  then  could  be 
devoted  to  amusement  alone,  but 
it  took  its  place,  and  we  did  not 
lose  much  for  want  of  energy  in 
looking  for  it.  Hunting,  shoot- 
ing, fishing — I  don't  know  which 
was  the  best,  but  we  considered 
no  time  or  trouble  thrown  away 
that  procured  for  us  either  one  or 
the  other.  But  I  am  talking 
about  shooting  just  now,  and  let 
me  recall  the  time  when  two  or 
three  brother  officers  used  to 
charter  a  car  for  the  day  and 
make  the  round  of  the  bogs  within 
a  few  miles  of  barracks,  taking 


328 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[November 


what  we  could  get  on  one  and 
then  driving  on  to  another.  There 
was  a  peculiarly  sagacious  ruffian, 
who  knew  every  spot  in  the 
county  where  a  shot  could  be 
fired.  I  don't  remember  his 
name,  but  he  was  known  as 
14  Fiery,"  probably  because  he 
carried  a  thatch  of  very  red  hair. 
In  Ireland  he  was  classed  as  a 
"  sportsman,"  and  he  was  an  in- 
dispensable attendant  on  such  a 
day  as  I  speak  of.  What  he 
didn't  know  about  snipe  was  not 
worth  knowing,  and  his  value 
was  unquestionable.  There  were 
dark  stories  about  him,  however, 
though  we  never  knew  how  much 
truth  they  contained.  He  had 
gone  out  once  with  a  solitary  man 
who  was  either  drowned  in  a  bog 
or  came  to  some  apparently  acci- 
dental end,  and  it  was  supposed 
that  "  Fiery,"  though  he  proved 
his  innocence  most  satisfactorily 
to  a  coroner's  jury,  was  implicated 
somehow  in  the  fatality.  No 
man  ever  went  out  with  him 
again  alone,  though  of  course  two 
or  three  together  did  not  mind 
making  use  of  his  undoubted 
talents. 

Three  or  four  (Irish)  miles  on 
the  main  road,  which  is  still  a 
broad  and  excellent  highway — 
was  it  not  made  in  the  days  when 
the  north  mail  used  to  do  its  ten 
miles  in  the  hour  between  Dublin 
and  Belfast  ?  There  has  been  a 
sharp  frost  over  night,  and  the 
wiry  little  screw  in  the  shafts, 
skates  and  slithers  now  and  then 
as  it  passes  over  a  congealed 
puddle,  but  Paddy  Tiernay,  the 
favourite  carman  of  the  barracks, 
has  a  theory,  justified  certainly 
in  his  case  by  results,  that  pace 
will  always  keep  a  horse  on  its 
legs,  and  up  or  down  hill  he  never 
takes  a  pull.  At  last  we  make  a 
sharp  turn,  and  enter  what  would 
be  in  England  a  field  road,  and 
is,  in  Ireland,  called  a  "  boreen," 


half  watercourse,  half  cart-track. 
The  banks  are  high  on  each  side, 
and  we  think  what  an  uncom- 
monly nasty  place  this  would  be 
if  we  came  across  it  in  a  fast 
thing  with  the  hounds.  Even 
Paddy  Tiernay  cannot  make  much 
play  here,  and  indeed  it  is  all  we 
can  do  to  hold  on  as  the  car 
bumps  and  sways  over  stones  and 
ruts.  Another  half  mile,  and  we 
come  to  a  group  of  wretched 
white-washed  cabins,  from  the 
open  doors  of  which  a  mixed 
crowd  of  hens,  pigs  and  half-clad 
children  stare  in  wonder  at  the 
arrivals.  We  leave  our  car  and 
walk  across  a  couple  of  fields. 
Here  is  our  first  bog,  a  rough, 
wet,  unkempt  three  acres  lying  in 
a  little  cup,  part  tussocky  grass, 
part  water,  part  a  sort  of  cross 
between  the  two,  which  means  a 
quaking  and  treacherous  foothold 
for  anyone  trying  to  cross  it. 
"  Fiery,"  as  being  unencumbered 
with  a  gun  and  being  an  accom- 
plished bog-trotter  who  knows 
the  ground  and  may  be  trusted  to 
look  after  himself,  goes  in  the 
middle  with  the  two  sportsmen, 
one  at  each  side  of  him,  nearer 
the  edge.  For  a  pace  or  two  we 
are  on  fairly  dry  ground,  but  the 
inevitable  must  come,  and  we  are 
both  soon  ankle  deep  in  water. 
How  icy  cold  it  is,  and  how  one 
resents  the  chill  fluid  trickling 
between  one's  toes  !  But  there  is 
the  crackling  of  the  thin  sheet  of 
ice,  and  disturbed  by  the  sound, 
up  get  half  a  dozen  snipe.  Bang, 
bang — Bang,  bang  !  Let  us  hope 
that  two  at  least  are  down,  and 
that  we  can  retrieve  them  without 
going  in  too  deep.  "  Fiery  "  has 
prudently  taken  off  his  boots  and 
stockings  and  rolled  up  his  very 
patched  breeches,  so  he  does 
most  of  the  picking  up.  It  does 
not  take  long  to  work  out  the 
little  spot,  but  once  or  twice 
before  it   is  finished,    confession 


i89*] 


SNIPE. 


329 


must  be  made  of  a  nervous  feel- 
ing which  comes  when  the  thin, 
water  -  covered,  heaving  crust 
under  foot  seems  very  fragile,  and 
there  is  a  sensation  that  one  must 
go  through  into  unknown  depths 
of  sucking  and  all  absorbent 
matter.  The  touch  of  the  horrid 
sea  monster  in  "  Les  Travailleurs 
de  la  Mer"  is  nothing  to  it. 
Shooting,  under  the  circum- 
stances, is  apt  to  be  erratic,  and 
if  we  carry  away  two  couple  of 
snipe,  we  have  done  as  much  as 
we  think  can.  be  reasonably  ex- 
pected. The  last  wisp  that  got 
up  with  a  scuffle  when  we  were  in 
our  greatest  difficulties  have  cer- 
tainly escaped  scot-free,  and  we 
hear  their  mocking  cry  as  they 
soar  aloft  and  make  their  way  to 
another  juicy  resort. 

We  wrap  ourselves  in  our  frieze 
coats  and  mount  our  car  again. 
On  to  the  Red  Bog,  so  called 
from  the  heather  that  grows 
thickly  upon  it.  This  is  more  or 
less  preserved — at  least,  there  is 
a  herd  who  is  supposed  to  warn 
off  trespassers — but  we  have  leave 
to  try  our  luck,  and  the  herd  him- 
self joins  us  and  becomes  head 
attendant  vice  "  Fiery,"  deposed  for 
the  time.  This  is  a  good  big  bog, 
and  being  comparatively  little 
disturbed,  holds  a  sprinkling  of 
other  animals  besides  snipe.  It  is 
very  wet  in  places,  but  upon  the 
whole  is  sound,  and  we  can  walk 
every  inch  of  it  without  fear  of 
being  engulfed.  Backwards  and 
forwards  we  march,  and  our  labour 
is  not  fruitless.  Here  and  there 
we  pick  up  a  snipe,  we  flush  a 
woodcock  and  lay  him  low,  and 
we  are  lucky  enough  to  find  a 
couple  of  duck.  A  hare  squatters 
through  the  water  unharmed,  for 
the  harriers  may  be  out  in  this 
direction,  and  their  chance  of  a 
gallop  must  not  be  spoiled.  We 
have  done  the  bog  at  last,  and  it 
is  time  for  our  modest  luncheon. 


Grateful  indeed  to  all  of  us  is  the 
tot  of  whisky,  and  as  we  sit  on 
the  bank  resting  our  wearied 
limbs  and  having  three  whiffs,  the 
herd  remarks,  "  Sure,  you're 
wrong  now,  and  you  that  wet,  to 
be  sitting  there  continted."  Per- 
haps he  is  right,  so  we  rouse,  and 
again  trust  ourselves  to  Paddy 
Tiernay.  The  day  is  getting  on, 
there  are  one  or  two  threatening 
flakes  of  snow,  and  two  more 
small  places  must  be  visited  on 
our  homeward  way.  We  have  a 
few  more  shots,  and  some  of  them 
are  not  wasted.  When  we  return 
to  barracks,  the  silent  snow  is 
really  coming  down  heavily  and 
covering  the  earth  with  a  white 
mantle.  We  may  have  eight  or 
nine  couple  of  snipe,  some  duck 
and  a  woodcock.  Not  a  great 
bag,  but  there  was  much  fun  in 
the  getting  of  it,  and  what  an 
appetite  we  have  at  mess !  I 
much  doubt  whether  the  subal- 
tern of  to-day  would  have  as  good 
sport  in  the  same  district.  Five- 
and-twenty  years  before  my  time 
one  gun  could  have  there  killed 
thirty  couple  without  any  diffi- 
culty, and  if  snipe  have  decreased 
in  number  proportionately  since 
the  sixties,  they  must  now  be  few 
and  far  between  in  their  old 
haunts  which  I  knew  so  well. 

For  real  varied  sport  with  gun 
or  rifle,  commend  me  to  India, 
and  very  especially  for  snipe- 
shooting.  It  is  not  given  to 
everybody  who  has  to  serve  Eng- 
land in  Hindostan  to  be  able  to 
taste  the  joys  of  big  game  shikar, 
to  do  battle  with  the  tiger,  or  to 
spend  long  days  in  stalking  the 
mighty  gaur  through  the  bamboo 
jungle  of  the  Western  Ghauts, 
but  there  are  few  cantonments  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  which  a  few 
couple  of  snipe  cannot  be  found 
between  sunrise  and  sunset,  and 
two  or  three  days'  holiday  will 
certainly  give   an  opportunity  of 


33<> 


baily's  magazine. 


[November 


visiting  some  more  distant  j heels 
or  undisturbed  paddy  cultivation 
where  many  cartridges  may  be 
expended.  In  India,  too,  snipe 
may  be  found  in  all  their  different 
families,  the  solitary,  the  wood, 
the  painted,  the  pintail,  the  jack 
as  well  as  the  fantail,  the  com- 
mon European  bird.  The  solitary 
snipe  and  the  wood  snipe  are  com- 
paratively rare,  and  a  man  may 
do  a  deal  of  shooting  without 
meeting  either.  The  painted 
snipe,  though  a  beautiful  bird  and 
welcome  as  a  variety  in  the  bag, 
is  slow  and  owl-like  on  the  wing, 
and  can  be  hit  by  any  duffer. 
For  some  reason,  too,  though 
examination  shows  that  the  con- 
tents of  his  stomach  are  like  those 
of  other  snipe  (insects,  tiny 
crustaceae,  &c),  his  flesh  often 
has  a  muddy  sort  of  taste,  and  he 
is  therefore  no  favourite  for  the 
table.  The  hosts  of  pintail,  fan- 
tail  and  jack  remain,  however, 
and  are  quite  sufficient  in  them- 
selves to  provide  limitless  sport 
for  the  keenest  gunner. 

In  India,  as  elsewhere,  the  snipe 
is  a  migratory  bird.  Of  course  a 
few  couples  remain  here  and  there 
throughout  the  year  and  bring  up 
their  little  families,  but  the  great 
armies  generally  arrive  and  spread 
over  the  land  about  the  end  of 
August  or  beginning  of  September, 
remaining  till  the  following  March 
or  April.  And  it  is  curious,  too, 
that  they  move  in  large  bodies 
during  their  travelling  season. 
"  You  might  visit  a  haunt,  well- 
known  as  a  favourite  one  at  that 
season,  morning  after  morning, 
without  seeing  a  bird.  Suddenly 
one  morning  the  place  is  alive 
with  them  ;  next  day  and  perhaps 
for  two  or  three  days  more,  again 
not  a  single  snipe  —  then  again 
numbers  for  a  day  or  two,  and  so 
on  until  the  country  is  thoroughly 
filled  with  them." 

There  are  always  hanging  about 


every  cantonment  (in  the  south  of 
India,  at  any  rate)  several  native 
snipe  shikarris  who  are  anxious 
to  earn  a  few  rupees  by  guiding 
sportsmen  to  places  where  snipe 
may  be  found.      Some  of  these 
men  are  reliable  enough,  but  many 
are  the  rankest  impostors.    If  it 
is  known  that  you  want  a  day's 
shooting,   some  morning,  as  the 
monsoon  draws  to  a  close  and  the 
weather  begins  to  get  colder,  your 
butler  will  tell  you  "one  shikar 
man  wanting  to  see  master,"  and 
you  give  an  interview  to  an  indi- 
vidual in  a  ragged  brown  suit  and 
leather  belt,  who  will  say  volubly 
that  he  knows  of  a  place  where 
there  are  two,  four,  or  ten  dozen 
"  ishnap."     This  does  not  convey 
that  he  has  counted  the  birds,  but 
the  word  dozen  is  with  him  a  form 
of  speech  signifying  a  vague  num- 
ber and,  whether  he  puts  one  or 
twenty  before  it,  his  meaning  is 
very  much  the  same.     If  you  have 
any  reason    to    believe  that  the 
man  may  be  trusted,  it  may  be 
worth  your  while  to  arrange  that 
you  will  meet  him  at  some  easily- 
found  point  and  be  guided  to  the 
flight  of  birds  that  he  has  marked 
down.     You  will  have  an  object 
for  a  ride  or  drive  of  a  few  miles 
at  any  rate,  and,  if  you  have  not 
been   anticipated  by  some  other 
sportsman,    led   by  a    rival    shi- 
karri,     you     may     find    enough 
shooting  to  reward  you  for  your 
trouble. 

But  of  course,  if  you  want  to 
have  really  good  sport  and  to  see 
what  snipe  shooting  maybe,  you 
must  make  your  way  to  some  un- 
disturbed ground  where  promis- 
cuous gunning  is  not  always  going 
on,  far  beyond  the  ordinary  daily 
circle  of  European  life  and  move- 
ment. If  you  can  only  spare  a 
day  and  are  young  and  active,  you 
can  lay  a  pony  dawk  and  gallop 
out  your  fifteen  or  twenty  miles 
in  the  morning,  coming  back  in 


1999-1 


SNIPE. 


331 


like  manner  by  moonlight  when 
your  fun  is  over. 

But  this  makes  a  fatiguing  day, 
and  you  will  probably  make  better 
practice  with  your  gun  if  you  are 
not  working  against  time. 

India  is  a  land,  however,  where 
camp  life  is  very  thoroughly  under- 
stood, and  it  is  always  easy  to 
send  your  tents  and  servants  to 
any  neighbourhood  in  which  you 
have  reason  to  think  that  sport 
may  be  had.  You  can  canter  out 
to  this  headquarters  in  the  cool  of 
the  evening  and  commence  your 
shikar  comfortably  the  next  morn- 
ing. It  may  be  taken  for  granted 
that  your  game  will  be  principally 
found  in  wet  or  marshy  spots 
where  the  long  bills  can  easily 
penetrate  below  the  surface  in  the 
toils  of  feeding;  but  it  does  not 
follow  that  you  will  not  sometimes 
find  numbers  of  snipe,  and  espe- 
cially pintail,  in  dry  grass  lands, 
stubbles  and  scrub  jungle.  Some- 
times they  may  even  be  found  in 
tolerably  thick  cover  and  have  to 
be  beaten  out  like  pheasants.  At 
one  place  where  I  used  to  shoot 
there  were  densely-growing  clumps 
of  sugar-cane,  at  the  end  of  one 
of  which  the  two  guns  posted 
themselves,  while  the  beaters  en- 
tered at  the  other  end  and  rattled 
their  sticks.  The  snipe  used  to 
dart  out  by  twos  and  threes  in 
most  sporting  fashion,  sometimes 
even  rocketing  overhead,  and  al- 
ways giving  chances  most  delight- 
ful in  their  variety.  I  have  often 
seen  five  or  six  couple  thus  bagged 
out  of  one  cane  patch  not  a  quarter 
of  an  acre  in  extent. 

To  any  man  who  has  the  small- 
est taste  for  natural  history  there 
can  be  nothing  more  interesting 
than  a  visit  to  an  Indian  jheel, 
which  lies  sufficiently  far  from  the 
ordinary  ways  of  men  to  be  prac- 
|  tically  undisturbed  for  long  periods 
|  of  time.  I  may  explain  that  a  jheel 
'    is  a  natural  lake,  and  is  in  many 


L 


cases  a  very  extensive  sheet  of 
water.  Towards  the  banks  it  is 
generally  very  shallow,  and  from 
the  soft  mud  spring  groves  of 
reeds  and  water  plants,  which  are 
the  home  of  innumerable  birds. 
It  is  a  marvellous  scene  of  busy 
life — the  duck  are  jostling  one 
another  for  room,  some  swimming 
peacefully  in  the  clear  water,  but 
most  of  them  in  the  shallower 
parts,  reaching  their  beaks  to  the 
muddy  bottom  and  elevating  rows 
of  pointed  sterns ;  spoonbills,  green- 
shanks,  godwits,  sandpipers  and 
stilts  near  the  margin,  ibises, 
herons,  pelican  ibises  and  storks, 
all  are  searching  greedily  for  food, 
and  all  joining  in  a  continued 
chorus  of  quackings,  croakings, 
screamings  and  pipings. 

If  you  have  come  here,  as  we 
may  suppose,  for  shooting,  one  or 
two  natives  wade  into  the  belt  of 
reeds,  and  snipe  after  snipe  darts 
into  the  air.  At  the  first  shot, 
the  whole  army  of  birds  rises  in 
alarm,  with  a  mighty  clangour  of 
wings  and  such  a  Babel  of  cries, 
pitched  in  every  note,  sweet  and 
harsh,  high  and  low,  as  almost 
drowns  the  echoes  of  the  fusillade 
which  has  been  begun  by  yourself 
and  your  comrades.  The  guns 
have  scattered  themselves  round 
the  jheel,  hiding  as  much  as  pos- 
sible in  the  friendly  vegetation, 
and  as  duck  and  snipe  wheel  over- 
head or  flit  from  one  resting-place 
to  another,  many  cartridges  may 
be  expended  and  such  a  various 
bag  may  soon  be  made  as  will 
ever  be  cherished  in  memory. 

There  was  a  contingency  that 
at  one  time  might  happen  to 
sportsmen  in  shooting  a  jheel, 
and  for  all  I  know,  may  still  be 
possible  in  some  of  the  wilder 
Indian  districts.  A  wild  buffalo 
may  be  lying  hid  in  the  bull- 
rushes,  and  may  suddenly  charge 
out  with  most  savage  intentions. 
Now  the   "Arna,"   or  even   the 


332 


BA1LY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[November 


domestic  buffalo  when  its  herds- 
man is  not  by  to  keep  it  in  order, 
is  a  most  formidable  and  danger- 
ous animal,  and  Jerdon  says  that 
the  bull  is  more  than  a  match  for 
a  good-sized  elephant.  It  is  well 
to  be  prepared  for  defence,  there- 
fore, if  buffaloes  are  likely  to  be 
met  with,  and  a  rifle  should  be 
kept  handy  for  prompt  use.  And 
let  me  here  say  that,  to  make  an 
impression  on  the  tough  skin  and 
solid  bones  of  the  ••  Arna,"  a  two- 
ounce  hardened  bullet,  driven  by 
a  heavy  charge  of  powder,  is  very 
necessary.  He  may  be  frightened 
and  driven  away  by  lighter  ammu- 
nition, but  if  he  pushes  his  attack 
a  outrance,  nothing  but  heavy 
artillery  will  stop  him.  I  have 
never  been  bothered  by  buffaloes 
myself,  probably  because  I  never 
was  in  any  district  that  they  fre- 
quented, but  I  have  often  heard 
experienced  sportsmen  say  that 
they  had  found  them  serious 
marsports  in  wild  fowl  shooting. 

But  of  all  my  Indian  experi- 
ences, perhaps  the  pleasantest 
snipe- shooting  that  I  can  recall 
was  enjoyed  when  staying  with  a 
friend  at  the  delightful  bungalow 
that  he  occupied  by  virtue  of  his 
office  in  the  Mysore  State.  We 
had  plenty  of  business  to  occupy 
us  in  the  early  morning,  and  it 
was  not  till  eleven  or  twelve  that 
we  took  the  field.  (By  the  way, 
the  best  authorities  are  agreed 
that  it  is  a  mistake  ever  to  begin 
your  snipe- shooting  till  the  sun  is 
well  up  and  the  air  warm.  Early 
in  the  morning  the  birds  will 
seldom  lie  well,  and  by  disturbing 
.them  you  may  drive  them  away 
altogether.  If  you  are  sensible 
enough  not  to  begin  before  ten 
o'clock  at  earliest,  you  will  have 
excellent  sport.)  Our  ground  was 
very  varied.  Sometimes  we  had 
to  wade  boldly  through  the  wet 
paddy  fields,  toilsome  work  where 
there  is  a  struggle  at  each  step  to 


wrench  one's  foot  out  of  the  ad- 
hesive mud  and  carry  it  forward 
through    the    paddy    itself.    We 
always  had  some  beaters  with  us, 
and  managed  to  flush  our  birds 
pretty  well,  though    they   often 
waited  till  we  had  passed  them, 
rising  just  when  one  was  jumping 
or  struggling  from  one  piece  of 
firm  ground  to  another,  and  when 
raising  a  gun  was  next  to  impos- 
sible.      There    is    a    good   plan 
sometimes  employed  when  several 
beaters  are  not  available.    Two 
men  stretch  between  them  twenty 
or  thirty  yards  of  rope,  to  which 
are  attached  at  every  three  feet 
tags    of   white    cloth.     This    is 
dragged  over  the  ground,  and  oc- 
casionally flapped  up  and  down. 
The  guns  walk  just   behind  the 
rope,  and  get  excellent  shots  at 
the  rising  snipe.     Would  that  the 
English    birds    were    sufficiently 
sleepy  to  require  such  a  device 
to  stir  them !     But  it  was  only 
occasionally  that  we  had  to  take 
to  the  paddy  fields.     There  were 
the  cane  patches  that  I  have  men- 
tioned   above,    there  was   scrub 
jungle  with  little  damp  spots  in  it, 
there  were  scraps  of  cultivation, 
there  were   stretches  of  rumnah 
grass    mixed    with     rushes,   and 
wherever  we  went  we  were  almost 
certain   to  have   a   shot  or  two. 
Some  English  authorities  say  that 
they  have  seldom  or  never  de- 
tected a  snipe  on  the  ground.     I 
can  only  say   that    I*  have  thus 
seen  snipe,  both  fan  tail  and  pin- 
tail, on  many  occasions.    Painted 
snipe  may,   of   course,  often    be 
seen   running  just  like  landrails, 
but  their   manners  are    peculiar 
and    their    remarkable    plumage 
betrays  them  very  quickly. 

My  friend  and  I  never  made 
long  days,  but,  on  looking  at  my 
diary,  I  see  that  we  often  bagged 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  couple 
between  us,  though  we  were  not 
always  so  fortunate.    Of  course, 


i«99.] 


SNIPE. 


333 


compared  to  the  record  bags  of 
thirty  to  fifty  couple  to  a  single 
gun,  ours  was  very  moderate,  but 
it  was  good  enough  for  us,  and 
indeed  ought,  I  think,  to  have 
satisfied  any  reasonable  men. 

It   must,   I   am  sure,   be  con- 
fessed by  every  man  who  has  shot 
both  in  the  British  islands  and  in 
India,  that  snipe  are  much  easier 
to  hit  in  the  East  than  they  are 
at  home.     I  will  not  say  with  any 
certainty  of  conviction  that  the 
Indian  snipe  flies  slower  or  is  less 
erratic  in  his  movements  than  the 
one  that  you  may  flush  in  a  Nor- 
folk  marsh  or  an  Irish  bog,  but 
on  the  other  hand,  I  will  not  say 
that  he  is  not  slower  and  not  less 
erratic.     This  I  will  assert  with 
perfect  confidence,  however,  the 
Indian  bird  lies,  as  a  rule,  very 
close,    and    generally    gives  you 
plenty   of  time  to  lay  your  gun 
between  his  rising  near  your  feet 
and  his  getting  beyond  the  range 
of  shot.    Then  it  is  a  very  differ- 
ent thing  to  shoot,  as  in  India,  in 
the  noontide  glare  of  a  still  cold 
season  day,  when  every  object  is 
absolutely  distinct  even    to    the 
poorest    eyesight,   and    the    life- 
blood  courses  so  freely  in  your 
veins  that  there  is  no  numbness 
or  uncertainty  about  the  trigger 
finger,   from  the  difficulties  that 
are  experienced  in  a  cold  climate, 
where  the  atmosphere  is  dull  and 
misty  and  objects  are  easily  con- 
fused in  the  surrounding  envelop- 
ment of  murky  neutral  tint,  where 
there  is  a  bitter  cold  wind  blow- 
ing,  and,  in  spite  of  gloves  and 
mittens,  your  hands  are  deprived 
of  half  the  capacities   given   by 
Nature.     I  used,  I  confess,  some- 
times  in   India  secretly    to    hug 
myself  in   self-congratulation  on 
what   I  considered  the  great  im- 
provement   in    my    performance 
with  a  gun,  and  looked  forward 
to  showing  off  on  my  return  home 
and    being  an  exponent  of  how 


snipe  should  be  shot.  Alas  !  when 
I  found  myself  on  an  English 
wintry  day  trying  vainly  to  shoot 
one  or  two  birds  out  of  a  dozen 
cartridges  expended,  I  found  out 
how  sadly  I  had  been  mistaken. 
No.  It  is  unquestionably  easier 
to  shoot  snipe,  or  indeed  anything 
else,  in  India  than  it  is  at  home. 
Climate,  atmosphere,  temperature, 
are  then  all  in  your  favour,  and, 
if  the  animals  are  not  less  wily, 
they  are  certainly  not  more  so. 

It  is  unfortunately  not  likely 
that  anybody  shooting  snipe  in 
the  British  islands  will  ever 
suffer  any  inconvenience  or  special 
fatigue  from  the  number  of  shots 
that  he  will  fire  and  the  gun  head- 
ache that  may  follow  from  the 
discharge  of  many  cartridges.  The 
only  alteration  in  ammunition  that 
need  be  considered  is  the  substitu- 
tion of  No.  9  or  No.  10  shot  for 
the  No.  5  or  No.  6  which  we  use 
for  general  purposes.  From  my 
own  experience  I  do  not  think 
that  even  this  substitution  is 
necessary.  I  have,  I  believe, 
made  as  good  practice  (perhaps 
the  best  is  bad)  at  snipe  with  No. 
5  as  with  No.  9.  Of  course  the 
latter  .must  cover  the  area  of  dis- 
charge more  closely  than  the 
former  within  a  certain  distance, 
but  when  birds  are  wild  and  must 
be  fired  at  at  40,  50  or  even  60 
yards,  the  larger  shot,  as  travelling 
farther,  will  give  the  better  chance. 
When  one  is  shooting  snipe  at 
home  also,  there  is  always  an  off 
chance  of  meeting  duck  or  some 
other  game  and  it  is  then  very  in- 
convenient to  have  in  one's  cart- 
ridges only  small  shot  which  will 
not  make  much  impression  on 
thick  fur  or  plumage.  In  India, 
however,  in  Egypt  and  other 
countries  where  snipe  are  very 
numerous  and  lie  fairly  well,  it  is 
an  incontestable  advantage  to 
shoot  with  a  comparatively  small 
bore  gun  loaded  with   cartridges 


334 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[November 


containing  perhaps  only  a  drachm 
to  a  drachm  and  a  half  of  powder 
and  about  three-quarters  of  an 
ounce  of  shot.  When  a  man  is 
doing  hard  physical  work  under  a 
very  hot  sun,  the  difference  of 
weight  in  the  gun  and  the  am- 
munition to  be  carried  will  be 
found  to  be  a  great  relief,  and 
gun  headache  will  be  unknown. 
The  less  fatigued  a  man  is  the 
better  he  will  shoot,  and  he  will 
be  able  to  go  over  more  ground 
than  another  whose  limbs  are  tired 
and  whose  brows  are  throbbing. 

By  the  way,  there  is  a  very 
general  impression  that,  if  a  snipe 
is  touched  by  a  shot,  however 
slightly,  he  is  so  delicate  that  he 
must  fall.  I  am  diffident  in  offer- 
ing my  opinion  on  the  subject,  but 
I  have,  I  am  convinced,  often 
seen  snipe  wounded  and  yet 
manage  to  keep  on  flying  until 
they  get  beyond  the  ken  of  anyone 
trying  to  mark  them.  One  day 
last  season  too,  I  shot  a  snipe 
with  only  one  leg.  The  stump 
was  perfectly  healed  and  the  bird 
was  plump  and  in  the  best  of  con- 
dition. This  bird  I  believe  was  a 
permanent  resident  which  had 
been  shot  at  last  year  and  had 
recovered  from  what  must  have 
been  a  very  severe  wound. 

Snipe  shooting  takes  many 
forms  in  different   countries,  but 


I  think  the  most  curious,  as 
described  by  a  friend,  who  has 
practised  it,  is  to  be  found  in 
Uruguay.  There  snipe  are  shot 
on  horseback.  It  is  impossible 
with  any  safety  to  walk  the 
pampas  marshes,  but  the  little 
horses  of  the  country,  if  left 
entirely  to  themselves,  can  always 
make  their  way  and  never  allow 
themselves  to  be  bogged.  In  this 
I  suppose  they  have  the  same 
instinct  as  Exmoor  ponies.  The 
sportsman  therefore  rides  after 
his  game  and  shoots  from  the 
saddle.  The  first  attempt  or  two 
to  do  this  by  a  tyro  from  Europe 
generally  involves  much  danger 
to  the  horse's  ears,  but  the  knack 
of  shooting  thus  is  easily  acquired. 
It  may  be  asked  how  are  the  killed 
birds  picked  up.  Sometimes,  cer- 
tainly, they  fall  on  some  spot 
which  the  horse's  good  sense  for- 
bids him  to  approach,  but  as  a 
rule  they  can  be  gathered  without 
the  smallest  difficulty,  as  the 
horses  being  small  and  at  least  up 
to  their  knees  in  the  quagmire, 
their  riders  can  easily  reach  down 
to  the  surface. 

Do  we  handle  other  game  birds 
that  fall  to  our  guns  as  tenderly 
as  we  do  a  snipe  ?  Do  we  regard 
any  with  as  deep  and  loving  an 
interest  ?     I  think  not. 

C.  Stein. 


Land  on  the  Starboard  Bow! 


The  full-blown  Cockney  is  never 
better  developed  than  when  put 
in  an  entirely  novel  situation. 
When  first  on  a  racecourse — 
before  the  evening  arrives — he 
poses  as  an  authority  on  jockey- 
ship  and  tells  how  "Tack"  came 
on  "with  his  usual  rush"  or 
"  Tom  sat  down  on  his  mare  and 


let  her  walk  in,"  &c,  &c.  Just  so 
on  board  an  Atlantic  steamer* 
when  we  knew  by  the  captain's 
reckoning  almost  to  an  hour 
we  should  see  the  coast  of  Labra^j 
dor,  our  most  nautical 
rushed  into  the  smoking- 
where  many  were  playing  at 
and  shouted  "  Land  on  the 


Z    -* 


*9J 


board  bow!  land 

bow!"    "Take    the    zz.i    rrr 

again."  remarked  a  Y*-" 


was  playing  * 

want  land  now.    I    iiT»   a 

house" — which  I  h 

"good  hand" 

and  seductive  e^ 


In  the  cricket 

the  scenes  of  many  zc  zvzz  re:  r  -  t  -^~  3-  -n~    :    -  _ 

sports   which    war:    r*d;r-n-    trj*  ti^:   :_=:    z ±    z  _r 

self-appointed     ar*::trLrir*.     vr.:  "^r-  —-m       zlszz    -r*   : 

have  never  learnt  tbe  rn-rr:.tr  zz.  -  ..:  •-"•::  ~  ^    -r~- 

the  sport  on  whici  ~-sy  ?isc  i*  L  — -..— :    —     -^      .— 

experts,  rush  in,  a=.f  recirrrri—.r  »  r  _  zz  —  z~z   _     - — : 

all  sorts  of  changes  t-    szz  zz&  ~*~~  zzzn     -r  -r_  jz_     z  .. 

convenience  of  n>sn  wrist  sr-ir  r  ^  ▼".-  _    _■_  -   t 

has  been  to  occupy  an  ~ri:r-2~r  r^r~  ---»_._-     .-    : 

position  by  avciirx  rceijSD:*  r:  1:  ^irr^r    •    £    t  __     r*  . 

the  simple  laws  cf  tre  r-fr^rsn  tier  x.    -    i---r. — *■■ 

sports,    instead     of    n~Lr:zL7  "zr~---:"-  -.-.z  1. 

obeying  and  sappsrdrz  zz^n.  17  — ~  l   :    _r.    l 

good  example.     It  sex**  ix  izr  r^r^r--^:--  n.-   -*:- 

sportsman  to  earn  the  na=e  :£  &  az----  ~s  .      .-  -rz  ~ 

" good  loser."  sr  ti:    r    :_  ._   .:     .     .- 

There  is  a  strong  band  t£  •*- ±e  r^sr  c:  r  ::     _   1 . 

Old    School "    stLl    in    t~csz~az*:  zza  -  .    r    :  -   rr r    .  ^  - 

who  still  believe  in  the  sstTz^r  ti^r  **z.    z?zl.  ..    v.      .   -     : 

"  Everything  comes  zz  zzc&t  vn;  r»- *«.»*    z-    &r-    :i~    .~- 

wait,"  and  the  numbers  z£  zzzz  i~sz  v-^1  ~d  -  -    1  _--   - 

band    are      gradually     gr*"  -r  pi-x. 
especially    in   the   cr. 


where  many  are  gen—?  rr*d  :nr     wm*  >  -z*t  i—.e  1-  _- 
by  constant  draws  and  leer  sur>     -mss  -  !.._:_-    v_v-. 
mer    days   passed   in  m-rr#^g-r     1 1  -w    i  *   ^     _.i     ^ 
monotonous  play,  which  irscsz-i  11     ^i^r  izr  ;*;   -.-  t    - 
being  a  good  fight  for  -r/zzzrj.  3     lsajt  ::..-   :>-  - 
too  often  a  gate-money  exLTi-riur 
for   the   self -glory  of  ar-.vra' 
players.    The  absurd  b-sro-w-x- 
ship     of  to-day    is    kil 


.«■  -x. 


a-  v..-_:   ;.   f     ^ 


grandest  game  in  the  wtr.il 
The  remedies  suggested  by  scce  sl-ji^:  ? :  -^ 
of  the  modern  writers  are  aii9> 
lately  ridiculous— such  as  break- 
ing tip  the  time  into  secticcs  ri 
such  like.  As  regards  tinae,  tie 
only  remedy  is  to  play  kzc 
eleven  to  six-thirty  in  May  and 
August,  and  till  seven  in  June  and 
July  ;  to  keep  strict  time;  to 
abolish  all  waste  of  time  by  at 
once    disallowing    trial   balls   at 


r  . 


L 


33$ 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[November 


as  regards  the  modern  game,  and 
committed  himself  so  far  as  to 
say  that  he  thought  some  of  the 
present  batting  and  bowling  was 
mechanical — of  course,  as  Secre- 
tary of  the  M.C.C.,  he  could  not 
give  any  opinions  which  could  be 
construed  into  an  authoritative 
answer — his  evident  wish  to  see 
cricket  again  becoming  a  chival- 
rous contest,  denuded  of  anything 
like  unfair  practice  for  the  sake  of 
a  draw  or  a  win,  was  hailed  with 
acclamation  by  lovers  of  the  sport, 
as  it  must  be  remembered  that 
Mr.  Lacey  was  unquestionably 
one  of  the  very  finest  batsmen  in 
England. 

And  lastly,  when  the  Hon. 
Alfred  Lyttelton  has  come  boldly 
forth,  and  has  "  hit  out  straight 
from  the  shoulder  "  in  a  masterly 
article  in  the  National  Review 
against  modern  abuses,  and  mal- 
feasances of  gallery  players,  who, 
utterly  regardless  of  the  honour  of 
victory  for  their  side,  will  stand 
and  stop  ball  after  ball  without  an 
attempt  to  score  off  balls  well 
within  their  reach,  for  fear  of 
giving  a  chance  ;  thinking  only  of 
keeping  up  their  own  wickets. 
Mr.  Lyttelton  says  truly  that  men 
of  this  class  make  cricket  dull 
and  lifeless,  and  that  constant 
draws  are  a  bore,  and  he  intimates 
that  he  should  like  to  see  the 
stonewallers  breaking  stones. 

Mr.  Lyttelton  speaks  up  for  a 
low  netting,  vice  open  boundaries 
for  four  runs,  but  he  expresses  a 
fear  that  the  expenses  of  netting 
would  be  in  some  cases  a  barrier. 

I  will  venture  to  rush  in  where 
angels  fear  to  tread,  and  would 
suggest  that  low  wire  netting — 
say  six  or  eight  inches  deep,  with 
a  somewhat  large  mesh — narrow 
enough  to  stop  a  cricket  ball, 
could  be  got  from  a  north-country 
factory  for  a  shilling  a  yard,  or 
less.  I  say  this,  judging  from 
the    low    prices    of    fire  -  guards, 


which  stand  outside  brokers' 
shops.  If  this  is  so,  six  hundred 
yards  could  be  got  for  ^30.  It 
is  a  matter  of  detail  as  regards 
what  lengths  would  be  required, 
but  it  seems  an  easy  matter  to 
have  a  long  skewer  at  different 
lengths  to  stick  it  in  the  ground; 
and  if  carefully  kept  the  netting 
would  last  for  years. 

I  wish  Mr.  Lyttelton  had  gone 
on  with  Mr.  Bligh's  proposition  as 
regards  l.b.w.,  but  there  is  plenty 
of  time  for  that.  Anyhow,  very 
many  earnest  cricketers  will 
rejoice  at  seeing  "  land  in  view," 
when  Mr.  Lyttelton  has  put  in  an 
appearance  as  one  of  the  cham- 
pions. 

Now  for  a  little  evidence  about 
l.b.w.     On  Michaelmas  Day  last 
I  was  in  Hampshire,  and  wrote  to 
my  old  boy  tutor,  the  Rev.  A.  J. 
Lowth — who  was    Rector  of  St. 
Swithun's,   Winchester — now  re- 
tired   from    the    Church,   having 
scored  82,  not  out — and  told  him 
that  I  should  come  to  luncheon 
with  him ;  and  to  make  the  visit 
pleasant,  he  invited  my  old  friend, 
George  Yonge,  who  played  three 
years    for    Eton,    five    years  for 
Oxford,  and  numberless  times  at 
Lord's  in  Gentlemen  and  Players, 
England  v.  Kent,  &c,  &c.    I  have 
not    the    slightest    hesitation    in 
saying  that  my  host  and  his  guest 
were  the  very  best  boy  bowlers  I 
ever  saw.     As  I  have  said  often 
before  in  cricket  articles,  Lowth 
bowled    for    the    Gentlemen    v. 
Players  when  in  the  Winchester 
XI.     in     1836,     and     took     nine 
wickets.      Felix  says  in  his  book 
on  the  "  Bat,"  that  in  the  Gentle- 
men and  Players,  1836,  Beagley, 
one  of   the    players,  asked  him, 
"  Muster  Felix,  how  be  I  to  play 
that  young  gemman's  bowling?** 
Lowth    bowled    again     for    the 
Gentlemen    in    1842,    but    going 
into  the  Church  gave  up   public 
cricket     in     London,     and 


I899-] 


LAND    ON    THE    STARBOARD    BOW. 


337 


fined  himself  to  the  Hants  XI. 
at  home,  in  conjunction  with  Sir 
Frederick  Bathurst  and  the  present 
Warden  of  Winchester,  the  Rev. 
G.  B.  Lee ;  and  those  three  gave 
to  their  county  three  of  the  best 
amateur  bowlers  in  England. 

Mr.  Lowth  in  his  old  age  re- 
tains his  memory  perfectly,  and  is 
as  bright  and  lively  as  when  he 
was  a  boy. 

All  the  bowlers  whom  I  have 
mentioned  told  me  that  they 
worked  for  a  "  break,"  and  if  the 
ball  pitched  on  a  space  which 
was  within  and  bounded  by  an 
imaginary  straight  line  drawn 
from  bowler's  hand  to  the  wicket 
and  the  eight-inch  area  between 
wicket  and  wicket,  the  batsman 
stopped  the  ball  with  his  foot  or 
person  at  his  peril. 

Now  these  are  facts :  Contro- 
versy on  paper  is  as  bad  as  a 
Chancery  suit.  I  fancy  that  a  funk 
will  arise  amongst  Young  Eng- 
land of  to-day  who  want  "to  go 
as  they  please "  as  to  "  who  will 
bell  the  cat  "—in  other  words, 
who  will  be  bold  enough  to  con- 
tradict Mr.  Lyttelton  to  his  face 
— or  behind  his  back  in  public. 

As  I  mentioned  once  before,  I 

do    not    see    any   reason    why — 

supposing  a  ground  can  be  found 

within   reasonable   distance  from 

London,  a  private  Cricket  Club 

should    not    be    formed    on    the 

same      principles      as      Prince's 

Racket    Club    was,    where    none 

were    admitted  but   members,  or 

friends   introduced   by  members. 

The    great   requisite   for   such  a 

club  would  be  to  have  a  thorough 

cricketer    for    manager,    and    it 

should    be    imperative   to   adopt 

the    old   rules  as  regards  l.b.w.; 

to     secure    absolute    fairness    in 

bowling ;     constant     practice    in 

<  bowling,  batting,   and  especially 

i  fielding ;    to    have    umpires   who 

teally     know    their    business — in 

1  fact,  to  put  the  club  on  the  same 


vol.  lxxii. — no.  477, 


footing  as  was  the  custom  in  days 
past  at  suburban  cricket  clubs 
such  as  Blackheath,  West  Kent, 
Clapton,  Mitcham,  Town  Mat- 
ting, and  numberless  other  places, 
where  men  got  a  place  in  the 
eleven  by  regular  attendance  at 
practice  once  or  twice  a  week, 
and  showed  how  they  could  run, 
field,  and  catch,  plus  the  batting 
and  bowling  tests. 

Possibly  such  a  club  would 
produce  a  man  who  would  dare 
to  stand  "point"  at  seven  or  eight 
yards  from  the  batsman,  and,  so 
to  say,  "  shut  him  in "  on  the 
off  side.  That  used  to  be  done 
years  ago,  even  by  men  in  tall 
hats. 

When  umpires  say  that  they 
will  not  "no  ballM  bowlers,  for 
fear  of  taking  the  bread  out  of 
their  mouths ;  when  batsmen  say 
it  puts  too  much  on  the  umpires 
to  judge  the  bowler's  foot  quh 
bowling  crease,  and  the  delivery 
of  the  ball ;  plus  the  l.b.w.,  they 
are  talking  absolute  nonsense  in 
their  own  interest;  Caldecourt — 
"honest  Will  Caldecourt,"  as 
he  was  called ;  John  Bayley, 
whose  portrait,  taken  in  oils  at 
Lord's,  by  order  of  the  M.C.C., 
now  hangs  in  the  pavilion ;  Tom 
Sewell,  "  busy  Tom  "  ;  and  later 
on  Tom  Barker  and  Bartholomew 
Good  Notts,  were  the  standard 
M.C.C.  umpires,  and  were  sent  to 
any  part  of  England  whenever  a 
county  club  asked  for  two  im- 
partial umpires.  They  never 
found  any  difficulty  in  administer- 
ing the  law,  and  Robert  Thorns, 
the  king  of  English  umpires  for 
many  years,  says  that  even  now, 
aged  seventy-two,  that  he  could 
easily  do  so,  as  he  always  did 
years  ago.  Surely  the  question 
must  fall  to  the  ground. 

Now  we  look  forward  to  a 
grand  movement  being  made  by 
the  real  cricketers,  who  wish 
cricket  to  be  kept  as  a  game,  and 

25 


L 


338 


BAILYS   MAGAZINE. 


[November 


not  as  a  gate-money,  fussy  busi- 
ness, and  will  wait  in  patience  for 
the  result. 

After  a  lifetime  almost  in  the 
cricket  field,  and  after  seeing  al) 
the    stars    that    ever    shone,    to 


my  mind  many  of  the  two-day 
matches  at  Lord's  in  August 
have  been  better  fought  out  and 
showed  more  sport  and  pluck 
than  very  many  of  the  sensation 
matches.  F.  G. 


Hind  Shooting. 


As  communication  with  the  North 
of  Scotland  becomes  yearly  easier, 
it  is  probable  that  the  shooting  of 
the  superfluous  hinds,  which  are 
so  numerous  in  most  forests,  will 
become  a  more  popular  sport  than 
it  is  at  present.  It  will,  however, 
always  remain  a  sport  reserved 
for  those  to  whom  the  study  of 
wild  animals,  and  the  enjoyment 
of  beautiful  surroundings,  even 
when  accompanied  by  some  de- 
gree of  discomfort,  afford  a  satis- 
faction keen  enough  to  compen- 
sate for  their  inability  to  point  to 
some  "  antlered  trophy "  as  the 
visible  result  of  their  prowess  on 
the  hill. 

Hind  -  shooting  affords  lessons 
both  in  the  art  of  stalking  and  in 
the  handling  of  the  rifle,  which  can 
only,  with  difficulty,  be  learned 
when  the  stag  is  the  object  in 
view. 

It  is  one  thing  to  risk  a  long, 
galloping  shot  at  a  hind,  when  one 
knows  that  one  will,  in  all  proba- 
bility, have  half-a-dozen  easier 
chances  during  the  day,  and  it  is 
quite  another  to  stake  the  result 
of  a  long  and  arduous  stalk  after 
a  coveted  head  on  the  possibility 
of  bringing  off  a  similar  coup. 
Yet  it  is  only  by  practising  this 
very  class  of  shot  that  anyone  can 
become  a  really  first-class  man  on 
the  hill. 

Liberties,  too,  are  taken  in 
"  getting  in  "  in  December,  which 
would  never  be  dreamed    of   in 


September  or  October ;  and  much 
may  be  learned  as  to  what  is 
possible  at  a  pinch,  "  you  never 
know  till  you  try  "  being  an  adage 
which  holds  equally  good  in  stalk- 
ing as  in  less  important  affairs  of 
life. 

Perhaps  the  pleasures  and  at- 
tendant discomforts  of  the  sport 
may  best  be  illustrated  by  the 
description  of  a  typical  day — a 
good  day,  which,  like  all  good  days, 
ought  to  have  been  a  better,  and 
which  well  illustrates  that  uncer- 
tainty of  result  which  is  held  to 
be  of  the  essence  of  all  true  sport. 

We  started  from  the  lodge  at 
8.30,  a  party  of  four  rifles  with 
half-a-dozen  stalkers  and  gillies; 
and  the  plan  of  campaign  was  to 
start  with  a  drive,  which  the  year 
before  had  yielded  twenty  hinds, 
and  then  to  separate  into  three 
parties  for  stalking. 

The  wind,  which  the  day  before 
had  been  blowing  a  gale  from  the 
S.W.,  had  completely  died  down, 
and  at  last  the  hill  was  covered 
with  a  couple  of  inches  of  the 
long-wished-for  snow.  The  full 
moon  still  hung  like  a  bright, 
golden  plate  above  the  hills  on 
the  north  side  of  the  loch,  grow- 
ing paler  as  the  approaching  sun 
gradually  changed  the  east  from 
tenderest  green  to  yellow,  but  yet 
seemed  unwilling  to  finally  banish 
the  long  night. 

As  the  ponies  struggled  up  the 
frozen  path  a  lovely  panorama  of 


I**] 


HIND   SHOOTING. 


339 


half  the  highest  peaks  in  Inverness 
and  Rosshire  unfolded  itself,  their 
tops  tinged  with  pink,  while  a 
great  band  of  feathery  mist  lay 
like  a  nightmare  in  the  belly  of 
Loch  Ness. 

Abandoning  the  ponies,  we  had 
a  stiff  climb  to  the  top,  and  then 
a  long  tramp  over  a  snow-clad 
and  desolate  region,  deserted  even 
by  the  snow  buntings,  of  which 
we  had  seen  several  flocks  on  our 
way  up,  and  where  the  only  sign 
of  life  was  an  occasional  white 
hare  and  the  rare  track  of  a  fox. 
The  wind,  meanwhile,  began  to 
cause  us  a  good  deal  of  anxiety ; 
it  had  veered  to  the  east,  which 
was  the  worst  quarter  for  the 
forthcoming  drive,  and  it  was  too 
late  to  change  our  plans,  the 
drivers  having  already  started 
round. 

At  last  we  reached  our  passes 
and  donned  Shetland  jerseys  and 
capes,  for  an  east  wind  in  Decem- 
ber, three  thousand  feet  above  the 
sea,  is  of  a  most  curious  and 
searching  nature. 

For  an  hour  and  a  half  there 
was  no  sign  of  anything,  and   I 
became  seriously   anxious  as    to 
the   fate  of  my  wet  feet,  which 
were  the  cause  of  the  most  acute 
suffering  ;   I   recollected  tales  of 
frost-bite,  and  beat  them  against 
the  ground  till  I  feared  the  other 
rifles    might    hear,    having    long 
since   ceased    to    have   any  con- 
sideration for  the  feelings  of  the 
possible  approaching  hinds. 

At  last  a  head  and  neck  ap- 
peared below,  and  then  another 
and  another,  till  a  big  party  of 
hinds  came  leisurely  into  view; 
they  were  evidently  suspicious 
and  shirked  the  passes,  crossing 
the  centre  rifle  at  about  two 
hundred  yards.  At  a  hind-drive 
it  is  always  a  nice  question  what 
is  the  right  moment  to  open  fire,  in 
order  to  help  the  other  rifles  and 
account  for  as  many  as  possible 


oneself.  There  was,  therefore,  a 
slight  hesitation  on  the  part  of  the 
centre  rifle  before  he  began  the 
attack,  which  he  did  when  it 
became  clear  that  the  deer  would 
come  no  closer  to  any  of  the 
passes.  Crack  goes  the  rifle  and 
a  hind  is  down,  while  the  rest 
gallop  wide  past  the  west  pass, 
leaving  another  behind.  The  oc- 
cupant of  that  pass  accounts  for 
two  more,  and  then  quiet  reigns 
once  again. 

To  our  disgust  the  next  thing 
that  appeared  was  Sandy,  the 
second  stalker,  and  our  host,  who 
had  been  doing  outpost  duty  on 
the  ridge  above  the  beat.  They 
brought  a  tale  of  hundreds  of  deer 
breaking  back,  having  got  our 
wind.  Our  host  had  secured  two 
by  dint  of  efforts  worthy  of  Lilley 
Bridge  in  its  palmiest  days.  It 
was  half- past  one,  and  the  drive 
had  produced  six  deer — a  failure. 

We  now  held  a  council  of  war, 
at  which  it  was  decided  that  Roy 
and  the  Doctor  were  to  pursue 
the  lot  of  deer  which  had  gone 
forward,  and  which  Roy  declared 
had,  in  all  probability,  settled 
down  in  a  certain  corrie  hidden 
far  below  us,  while  the  three 
remaining  rifles  kept  the  ridge 
and  regulated  their  movements 
by  those  of  the  deer  whioh  should 
come  into  sight  as  soon  as  the 
first  shot  was  fired.  The  doctor 
was  to  have  half-an-hour's  start, 
and  if  no  shot  were  then  fired,  we 
were  to  conclude  that  Rory  was 
wrong  in  his  supposition  as  to 
the  whereabouts  of  the  deer,  an 
event  which  was  in  the  highest 
degree  improbable,  and  were  to 
move  east  in  two  parties. 

It  was  immensely  cold  work 
waiting  on  the  top,  and  perhaps 
the  half -hour  was  hardly  up 
before  we  began  to  move  east, 
keeping  just  below  the  sky-line 
on  the  far  side  of  the  ridge  from 
the  stalking  party. 


34° 


BAILY  S  MAGAZINE. 


[November 


We  had  not  gone  balf  a  mile 
before  Sandy  thought  he  heard  a 
shot,  and  we  all  rushed  hurriedly 
to  look  over  the  ridge.  Sure 
enough  there  were  the  deer,  a 
dark  mass  against  the  snow 
below  us,  moving  slowly  east. 
Boom  went  another  shot  from  the 
doctor  (he  will  use  black  powder), 
followed  by  another,  and  the  herd 
mended  their  pace  and  were  now 
immediately  below  us. 

Suddenly  they  stopped,  and 
some  turned  back  west  up  the 
hill  while  the  others  looked  about, 
uncertain  which  way  to  go.  It 
was  a  critical  moment.  If  they 
were  allowed  to  break  back  be- 
tween us  and  the  doctor  they 
were  lost  for  ever,  as  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  in  that  direction  would 
give  them  our  wind.  As  they 
seemed  to  be  suffering  from  in- 
ability to  make  up  their  minds,  a 
malady  which  is  considered  by 
some  to  be  of  an  epidemic  nature 
in  their  sex,  it  was  decided  to 
make  it  up  for  them,  and  a  trusty 
gillie  was  despatched  to  occupy  a 
knobbie  about  four  hundred  yards 
off,  where  he  would  be  seen  by 
the  deer. 

Off  rushed  Robbie  down  the 
hill,  while  we  anxiously  watched 
his  progress  and  the  movements 
of  the  hinds.  He  reached  his 
post  of  vantage  just  as  the  latter 
had  settled.  It  would  be  wiser  to 
turn  back  after  all,  but  his  timely 
appearance  caused  them  to  think 
better  of  it,  and  after  a  short  stare 
they  turned  and  trotted  in  a  com- 
pact body  east. 

It  was  now  our  turn  to  be 
moving,  as  the  herd  was  slanting 
up  the  hill,  and  we  had  not  a 
moment  to  lose  to  reach  the  bal- 
loch  where  they  would,  in  ail 
probability,  cross  the  ridge. 
Hastily  loosening  our  rifles  in 
their  covers,  we  dashed  along 
close  under  the  sky-line,  slipping 
and   stumbling,  over    the    snow- 


covered  rocks,  and  flung  ourselves 
down  on  a  lump  of  heather  com- 
manding the  pass. 

An  advance  guard  had  already 
got  by  before  we  reached  our 
places ;  we  were,  in  fact,  half  a 
minute  late,  and  the  knowledge  of 
this  fact,  coupled  with  our  heav- 
ing sides,  did  not  tend  towards 
accurate  shooting. 

Crack  goes  the  first  shot,  and 
the  deer  begin  galloping  wildly 
about ;  half  a  dozen  shots  follow 
as  quick  as  three  rifles  can  fire, 
and  the  main  herd  are  out  of  the 
dangerous  zone,  leaving  only  a 
couple  behind  in  the  snow.  A 
small  belated  party,  however, 
gallop  past  at  about  150  yards, 
led  by  a  splendid  yeld  hind ;  the 
first  shot  slips  over  her  back  and 
sends  a  puff  of  snow  out  of  the 
opposite  slope,  but  before  the 
smoke  has  cleared  away  there  is  a 
second  report,  she  hesitates  in  her 
stride,  stumbles,  half  recovers,  and 
then  falls  in  the  snow.  The  rest 
stop  for  a  second,  and  one  gives  a 
good  standing  chance,  which  is 
at  once  taken  advantage  of;  they 
then  gallop  out  of  shot  after  the 
others. 

No  one  quite  knew  how  many 
were  down,  but  each  had  an  un- 
pleasant feeling  that  he  had  not 
accounted  for  as  many  as  he 
might  have.  No  amount  of 
searching  could  bring  to  light 
more  than  four,  and  luckily  no 
traces  of  wounding  could  be 
found.  One  of  the  great  advan- 
tages of  a  slight  covering  of  snow 
is  the  ease  with  which  it  enables 
one  to  see  at  once  if  anything  has 
been  hit ;  the  slightest  drop  of 
blood  being  noticeable,  and  any 
wounded  beast  so  easily  tracked 
that  it  is  almost  sure  to  be 
recovered  if  the  wound  is  any- 
thing more  than  a  mere  graze. 

A  warm  debate  followed  on  the 
causes  of  our  erratic  shooting,  and 
the    most    plausible    theory  pat 


i 


1 


1899.] 


HIND   SHOOTING. 


341 


.  forward  was  that  the  Toory  fore- 
sight, with  which  all  our  rifles 
were  fitted,  was  lost  against  the 
snow  at  the  moment  of  firing,  it 
being  impossible,  in  the  case  of  a 
crossing  shot,  to  aim  actually  at 
the  object.  Whether  this  really 
was  the  cause  in  this  instance  it 
is  impossible  to  say ;  but  the 
theory  is  perhaps  worth  the  con- 
sideration of  sportsmen  who  in- 
tend shooting  in  a  snow-covered 
country,  as  for  example  chamois 
driving  in  the  High  Alps,  where 
galloping  shots  are  likely  to  be 
the  order  of  the  day. 

Leaving  the  doctor  and  Rory  to 
their  own  devices,  we  moved  east 
about  a  mile,  and  then  separated 
into   two    parties,   Sandy  and    I 
stopping  to  stalk  a  biggish  lot  of 
hinds  which  were  feeding  on  the 
flat  below,  while  our  host  and  the 
gent  from  town  were  to  keep  the 
higher  ground  and  trust  to  the 
disturbed    deer   coming   in    their 
direction.      This     they     steadily 
refused  to  do,  partly  owing  to  the 
fact  that  evening  was  coming  on, 
and  partly  to  their  weather   in- 
stinct, which  told  them  that  more 
snow    was    likely    to   fall,  which 
would  render  the  lower  ground  the 
most  comfortable  night's  quarters. 
Several  times  in  the  course  of 
the  afternoon  I  longed  to  exchange 
my     orthodox     suit     of     Lovat 
mixture     for     the     old-fashioned 
night    shirt  which   is  an   almost 
necessary    article   of   clothing   in 
the  snow ;    but    in    spite    of   my 
conspicuous    appearance,    Sandy 
succeeded  in  getting  in  to  the  deer 
twice  before  dark,  and  I  in  bag- 
ging four  more  hinds.     The  pro- 
ceedings were  somewhat  marred 


by  the  slaughter  of  an  innocent 
knobber  at  the  last  shot,  which 
we  vainly  endeavoured  to  gralloch 
with  the  sharp  edge  of  the  instru- 
ment intended  to  protect  the 
foresight  of  a  rifle,  Sandy  having 
dropped  his  knife. 

The  knife  found,  and  the  gral- 
loch duly  performed,  a  five-mile 
walk  brought  us  to  the  Lodge 
and  tea,  and  the  inevitable  dis- 
cussion of  the  day's  sport. 

The  doctor  had  secured  six 
hinds  since  he  left  the  rest  of  the 
party  after  the  first  drive.  He 
declared  that  he  and  Rory  had 
counted  no  less  than  fifteen  shots 
at  our  fusillade  in  the  pass  above 
him.  This  we  absolutely  denied, 
citing  numerous  well-known  cases 
of  people  at  a  distance  becoming 
confused  by  the  echoes,  and 
estimating  the  number  of  shots 
fired  at  exactly  double  the  correct 
amount.  To  this  the  man  of 
medicine  replied  somewhat  dryly 
that  fifteen  was  a  difficult  number 
to  halve  exactly,  and  that  it  was 
a  curious  coincidence  that  the 
number  corresponded  with  the 
total  holding  capacity  of  our  three 
magazine  rifles ;  the  subject  was 
then  allowed  to  languish. 

I  considered  it  judicious  to  keep 
the  knobber  incident  dark  until 
after  dinner,  when  I  knew  it 
would  be  looked  upon  with  a 
more  lenient  eye  than  would  have 
regarded  it  in  the  hungry  hour 
preceding  that  meal. 

On  counting  up  the  result  of  a 
most  enjoyable  day's  sport,  we 
found  that  the  total  bag  was 
twenty-one  hinds,  one  of  which 
had  a  curious  malformation  about 
the  head. 


342 


[November 


Spaniel   and    Pheasant 


There  is  no  more  merry  little 
dog  to  take  out  with  the  gun, 
more  particularly  when  rough 
work  has  to  be  done,  than  the 
spaniel,  for  he  will  crash  into 
briars  and  thick  underwood  with- 
out the  slightest  hesitation,  beat 
hedgerows  or  sides  of  streams, 
and,  in  fact,  do  all  that  is  wanted 
to  find  game;  and,  moreover,  if 
properly  broken,  will  retrieve 
either  from  land  or  water.  He 
must,  however,  be  well  trained 
to  keep  within  fifteen  or  twenty 
yards  of  the  gun,  and  drop  to 
wing  or  fur. 

In  an  article  which  appeared 
in  the  July  number  of  Baily's 
Magazine,  under  the  title  of 
"  Working  Spaniels,"  the  history 
of  the  spaniel,  as  far  as  it  is 
known,  is  thoroughly  dealt  with  ; 
but,  as  great  interest  is  centred 
in  the  spaniel  at  the  present 
moment  in  connection  with  its 
usefulness  in  the  field,  an  oppor- 
tunity is  offered  to  say  a  few  more 
words  upon  a  subject  which  is 
engrossing  the  attention  of  those 
who  prefer  to  shoot  game  over 
dogs  to  indulging  in  the  more 
exciting  sport  (to  them)  of  a  drive, 
with  one  or  two  loaders  to  assist. 

The  advance  of  science  in 
agriculture,  together  with  the 
altered  mode  of  shooting  par- 
tridges and  grouse,  has,  to  a 
great  extent,  led  to  the  downfall 
of  the  pointer  and  setter,  which, 
as  decade  follows  decade,  have 
become  of  less  importance  as 
factors  to  the  finding  and  killing 
of  game.  The  chief  use  of  a  dog 
for  the  sportsman  of  the  present 
day  lies  in  his  retrieving  capa- 
bilities :  and  this  brings  the 
working  spaniel  to  the  front,  as 
he  has  quite  as  good  a  nose  as 
either  the  pointer  or  setter,  and 


will  bring  his  birds  to  hand  when 
they  are  shot. 

An  indifferently-broken  spaniel 
is,  however,  a  more  dangerous 
animal  to  shoot  over  than  either 
of  his  larger  confreres ,  from  the  fact 
that  he  does  not  stand  to  his  game ; 
and,  if  he  gets  out  of  hand,  wild- 
ness  being  a  very  general  fault 
with  the  breed,  he  will  soon  drive 
all  the  game  into  the  next  parish, 
which  is  undesirable  when  his 
owner  only  commands  the  shoot- 
ing over  a  limited  district.  It  is, 
therefore,  essential  that  he  be 
well  under  command,  and,  whilst 
on  the  subject  of  breaking,  it  will 
not  be  out  of  place  to  quote  a 
rule  in  connection  with  the  neces- 
sary qualities  of  the  spaniel  which 
has  been  recently  formulated  by 
the  Sporting  Spaniel  Club,  and 
which  is  to  be  adopted  at  that 
club's  field  trials,  which  are  to 
take  place  on  December  12th  and 
following  days,  on  the  shooting  of 
Mr.  B.  J.  Warwick,  near  Havant 
in  Hampshire.  It  is  as  follows : 
"  In  all  stakes  the  principal  points 
to  be  considered  by  the  judges 
are  scenting  power,  keenness, 
perseverance,  obedience,  freedom 
from  chase,  style,  method  of 
beating,  and  hunting  to  the  guns, 
whether  in  covert,  hedgerow,  or 
the  open.  In  single  stakes,  be- 
sides, the  spaniels  are  expected 
to  retrieve  at  command  from  land 
or  water,  as  required ;  tenderly, 
quickly,  and  right  up  to  the  hand, 
and  any  additional  excellence, 
such  as  dropping  to  hand  and 
shot,  standing  to  their  game  and 
flushing  it  at  command,  &c,  will 
be  taken  in  account;  while  in 
brace  or  team  stakes  they  ought 
to  drop  to  shot  and  beat  their 
ground  harmoniously  together. 
In  stakes  exclusively  for  puppies 


i»990 


SPANIEL  AND   PHEASANT. 


343 


retrieving    of   fur    shall    be    op- 
tional. " 

The  drawing  which  accom- 
panies this  paper  gives  an  excel- 
lent idea  of  a  working  spaniel, 
which,  it  will  be  observed,  is 
distinctly  different  to  the  type  of 
spaniel  that  wins  prizes  in  the 
show-ring.  Here  is  to  be  found 
one  of  the  old-fashioned  liver  and 
white  spaniels,  which  date  back 
to  long  before  the  modern  pro- 
duction was  thought  of  and  before 
dog -shows  were  instituted,  and 
when  the  spaniel's  reputation  was 
made  by  his  efficiency  in  the  field, 
rather  than  by  his  list  of  honours 
on  the  show-bench.  With  this  pic- 
ture" before  us,  we  are  reminded 
of  the  stirring  lines  written  by 
the  poet  Somerville  : — 

"  But  if  tbe  shady  woods  my  cares  employ 
In  quest  of  feathered  game,  my  spaniels 

beat, 
Puzzling  the  entangled  copse,  and  from 

the  brake 
Push  forth  the  whirring  pheasant ;  high 

in  air 
He  waves  his  varied  plumes,  stretching 

away 
With  hasty  wing.      Soon  the  uplifted 

tube 
The  mimic  thunder  bursts,  the  leaden 

death 
O'ertakes  him,  and,  with  many  a  giddy 

whirl 
To    earth    he    falls,    and    at    my   feet 

expires." 

When  working  spaniels  are 
under  consideration,  history  takes 
us  back  to  the  time  when  the  dog 
was  untrammelled  by  the  rules 
and  regulations  of  shows  and  the 
standards  of  points  by  which  he 
was  to  be  judged.  At  that  time 
the  land  spaniel  was  described 
under  two  heads,  the  springer 
and  the  cocker,  and  from  a  sport- 
ing point  of  view  it  is  gratifying 
that  such  spaniels  as  that  which 
is  depicted  starting  the  pheasant, 
has  not  been  classified  as  a  dis- 
tinct variety  by  the  Kennel  Club, 
although  the  parti-coloured  speci- 
mens of  which  he  is  an  example 


make  up  considerably  the  greater 
part  of  the  whole.  As  a  Norfolk 
spaniel  he  would  belong  to  the 
springer  family.  Now,  with  re- 
gard to  these  two  names,  the 
springer  and  the  cocker,  it  is 
supposed  that  the  former  was  ac- 
quired from  the  fact  that  the  dog 
was  in  the  habit  of  flushing  or 
springing  his  game,  just  as  the 
spaniel  is  depicted  as  doing  in 
the  picture  before  us,  whilst  the 
cocker,  which  is  a  smaller  spaniel 
and  not  over  25lbs.  in  weight — 
generally  less — was  more  suitable 
for  work  where  the  woodcock 
abounds. 

Speaking  of  these  dogs,  the 
late  Hugh  Dalziel,  in  "  British 
Dogs,"  says  :  "The  spaniel  is 
not  only  the  oldest  breed  we  have 
that  has  been  kept  to  the  hunting 
of  fur  and  feather,  as  a  help  to 
hawking,  netting  and  the  gun, 
but  be  is  still  the  most  generally 
useful  of  our  game  dogs,  as  he  is 
the  most  universal  favourite.  In 
field  or  covert  no  dog  works  so 
close  as  a  well-bred  and  a  well- 
broken  spaniel ;  neither  fur  nor 
feather  can  escape  him  ;  no 
hedgerow  is  too  thick ;  no  brake 
too  dense  for  him  to  penetrate 
and  force  out  to  view  of  the 
sportsmen  the  reluctant  game ; 
he  is  a  most  active,  ardent  and 
merry  worker,  his  "  wanton  tail," 
ever  in  motion  whilst  he  quests, 
increases  in  rapidity  of  action 
with  that  tremulous  whimper 
that  tells  so  truly  that  he  is  near 
his  game,  and  says  to  his  master, 
in  tones  that  never  deceive,  "  Be 
ready  ;  it  is  here." 

The  advantage  that  the  spaniel 
has  over  all  other  dogs  that  are 
used  with  the  gun  is,  that  when 
well  trained  he  can  be  made  to 
perform  the  duties  of  the  pointer 
the  setter,  retriever  and  spaniel, 
and  is  in  reality  the  only  one 
that  embraces  all  the  acquire- 
ments of  the  four  put  together 


344 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[XOVEMBUL 


he  is  also  a  handy  size,  not  too 
large  to  be  allowed  to  roam  about 
the  house,  excellent  as  a  guard 
and  very  companionable  in  his 
nature.  It  is  probably  the  fact 
of  his  being  allowed  his  freedom 
that  makes  him  more  amenable 
to  his  master's  will  than  any  other 
sporting  dog,  for  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  remind  sportsmen  that 
the  dog  which  is  the  constant 
companion  of  his  master,  almost 
without  exception,  shows  much 
more  intelligence  than  one  that  is 


shut  up  in  his  kennel  and  only 
taken  out  when  he  is  wanted  for 
work.  A  dog  so  situated  seems 
to  know  either  by  the  actions  of 
his  master  or  by  his  dress  when  a 
day's  shooting  is  on  the  tapis  and 
that  he  will  be  wanted,  so  the 
instinct  of  the  animal— closely 
bordering  on  reason — increases  as 
time  goes  on,  and  by  degrees  the 
knowledge  comes  to  him  that  his 
object  when  at  work  should  be  to 
hunt  in  such  a  manner  as  to  drive 
the  game  to  the  gun. 

Fred.  Gresham. 


Anecdotal    Sport. 

By  "  Thormanby." 

Author  of  "  Kings  of  the  Hunting- Field,"  "  Kings  of  the  Turf,"  &c 


All  young  dogs  run  wild  at 
first.  Their  natural  exuberance 
of  spirits  causes  them  to  dash 
about  in  all  directions ;  but  they 
must  be  made  sensible  of  their 
faults.  When  they  do  right, 
caress  them.  We  perhaps,  how- 
ever, had  better  speak  in  the 
singular,  so  when  a  young  dog  is 
told  to  "  '  Ware  chase !  "  he  should 
be  made  to  understand  speedily ; 
it  is  a  warning  he  should  not  soon 
forget.  The  following  on  the 
subject  of  punishing  dogs  is  worth 
repeating  : — Whenever  a  dog,  not 
being  in  sight  of  his  master  at  the 
time,  has  flushed  birds,  broken 
fence,  or  in  any  way  broken  one 
of  those  laws  which  well-trained 
dogs  do  not  break,  he  will  be  seen 
to  follow  his  master  at  a  respect- 
able distance  and  at  a  sneak- 
ing pace,  with  his  delinquency 
marked  palpably  upon  his  coun- 
tenance ;  but  in  such  cases  the 
cry  of  "  '  Ware !  "  should  be 
enough.  When  in  fault  the 
dog's    eye    cannot,     as     a    rule, 


meet  his  master's  frown.  A  look 
tells  the  animal  he  has  been  in 
the  wrong,  and  that  his  owner 
is  aware  of  the  whole  thing 
thoroughly,  although  in  reality  he 
may  not  be  so.  It  is  sometimes 
amusing  to  see  a  young  dog  who 
has  just  been  scampering  after  a 
hare  like  a  mad  thing,  or  a  herd 
of  deer,  or  a  flock  of  sheep,  con- 
science stricken  come  to  you  with 
a  look  that  his  sin  rests  upon 
himself,  and  that  he  is  thoroughly 
repentant. 

* 

Often  gamekeepers  inflict  pun- 
ishment upon  dogs  without  rhyme 
or  reason.  While  allowing  that 
dogs  are  intelligent,  and  that  their 
power  of  scent  is  marvellous,  and 
that  their  ability  to  go  from  one 
part  of  the  country  to  another 
without  the  aid  of  a  compass  is 
equally  so,  they  make  no  allow- 
ance for  mistakes  the  dog  may 
make,  and  punish  them  severely 
for  the  most  trivial  errors.  At 
the   same  time    a   sporting   dog 


I899-] 


ANECDOTAL   SPORT. 


345 


should  be  taught  to  obey  the  eye 
and  hand  more  than  the  voice,  as 
he  can  be  taught  to  "back,"  or 
"  back-set "  by  the  simple  holding 
up  of  the  hand,  and  the  word 
"  To-ho !  "  To  "  back-set "  is  the 
distinctive  characteristic  of  a 
promising  young  dog,  and  all  set- 
ters should  be  broken  in  to  the 
command  "  down-charge  "  ;  that 
is  not  to  stir  from  their  point  after 
the  discharge  of  a  gun  until  told 
to  do  so. 

Many  years  ago  there  was  in 
England  a  French  Count  named 
Peltier,  who  was  one  of  the  most 
amusing  of  companions,  and  natur- 
ally was  well  received  everywhere 
among  sportsmen.  The  French 
break  in  their  dogs  very  well  to 
fetch  and  carry,  but  in  other 
respects,  such  as  "  breaking  fence," 
they  are  negligent ;  so  it  will  not 
be  surprising  to  hear  that  when 
the  late  Lord  Seagrave  met  the 
Count  in  the  High  Street,  Chelten- 
ham, just  by  the  Plough  Hotel, 
with  a  splendid  setter  at  his  heels, 
his  lordship,  with  a  view,  perhaps, 
to  purchase,  inquired  if  he  was 
well  broken  to  game.  "  Ah  !  " 
was  the  Qfcnt's  reply,  "  superb  ! 
When  he  linear  the  rap-port  of 
de  gun  he  fairly  runs  quite  mad  !  " 
The  Earl  expressed  no  wish  to 
buy  that  dog. 

A  setter  should  never  be  allowed 
to  break  ground,  or  in  other 
words  he  should  never  be, in  front 
of  his  master.  Neither  should  he 
ever  blink  his  game,  which  means 
that  he  should  never  move  from 
his  point  until  the  game  rises, 
whatever  may  be  his  inducement 
to  do  so.  "  Nimrod,"  the  famous 
writer  on  sport,  speaks  of  a 
favourite  setter  he  had,  over  whom 
six  shots  were  fired  in  a  field  of 
potatoes,  and  he  never  stirred 
from  his  point,  which  proved  to 
be  a  single  bird.     Mr.  Apperley 


was  offered  there  and  then  twenty- 
five  guineas  for  the  dog  by  Mr. 
Britton  of  Oldbury  Hall,  Ather- 
stone,  which  was  refused,  as  dogs 
like  him  were  not  easy  to  be  met 
with  ;  and  "  Nimrod  "  shot  over 
him  for  seven  more  years.  This 
setter,  however,  had  his  failing, 
which  was  a  partiality  for  butter, 
and  in  travelling  through  a  town 
or  village  about  breakfast  time,  he 
would  enter  a  house,  snatch  the 
butter  from  off  the  table,  and  dis- 
appear at  a  pace  which  baffled  all 
pursuit. 

The  late  Baron  Ferdinand  de 
Rothschild  was  not  exactly  what 
one  would  term  a  sportsman, 
though  he  could  hold  his  own 
with  the  gun  against  most  average 
shooters,  and  in  his  younger  days 
rode  to  hounds.  But  he  had  that 
profound  respect  for  British  sports 
as  an  important  feature  in  the 
national  character  which  has 
characterised  the  last  two  genera- 
tions of  his  family  settled  in 
England.  The  Rothschilds  have 
always  made  a  rule  of  adapting 
themselves  to  the  fashions  and 
customs  of  the  land  in  which  they 
have  located  themselves.  The 
English  branch  of  the  famous 
house  has  cultivated  the  social 
arts  which  in  England  carry 
almost  as  much  weight  as  business 
capacity.  Whilst  the  head  of 
the  house  attends  to  finance, 
other  members  extend  its  influence 
in  the  world  of  society  and  sport. 
In  the  last  generation  Baron 
Meyer  looked  after  the  latter,  Sir 
Anthony  after  the  former,  whilst 
in  the  present  generation  Mr. 
Leopold  is  the  sportsman  and  Mr. 
Alfred  the  man  of  fashion.  But 
the  greatest  sportsman  the  Roths- 
childs have  yet  produced  was 
without  doubt  Baron  Meyer. 

Passionately  fond  of  horses,  the 
Baron    is    remembered    best    by 


346 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[November 


his  having  won  the  Derby  with 
Favonius,  and  having  run  second 
for  it  with  King  Tom  and  King 
Alfred.  Ever  since  the  time 
when,  as  an  undergraduate,  he 
bunted  with  Lord  Fitzwilliam, 
or  rode  over  in  company  with  Mr. 
Baillie  Cochrane,  Mr.  Neville- 
Graham,  and  others  of  his  friends 
from  Cambridge  to  Newmarket, 
he  was  conspicuously  attached  to 
horse-racing  and  field  sports.  The 
Vale  of  Aylesbury  was  long  the 
champ  de  bataille  which  he  chose 
for  his  fine  pack  of  staghounds, 
in  order  to  hunt  with  which  the 
Prince  of  Wales  paid  a  visit  in 

ianuary,  1873,  to  the  Baron's 
rot  her,  Sir  Anthony,  and  there 
received  the  melancholy  intelli- 
gence of  the  death  of  the  Emperor 
Napoleon  III. 

It  is  more  than  fifty  years 
since  the  Rothschilds  came  down 
upon  "  the  Vale,"  in  a  shower 
of  gold,  and  Aylesbury,  which 
was  drooping  away  into  dreary 
inactivity,  began  to  wake  up  again 
under  the  countenance  of  these 
illustrious  strangers.  They  began 
quietly  enough  with  the  stag- 
hounds,  for  a  gallop  with  which 
they  would  in  turns  run  down 
once  a  week.  Then  they  began 
to  outbid  the  poor  duke  for  the 
broad  acres  of  Buckinghamshire, 
and  upon  these  they  soon  built  a 
seat.  Some  of  the  country-folk  did 
not  take  kindly  to  the  staghounds 
in  their  early  days,  and  there  was 
some  talk  about  "  Squire  Drake's 
rights,"  and  "  people  trespassing." 
But  no  one  could  come  to  know 
Baron  Meyer  Rothschild  and  not 
like  him.  The  threats  of  trespass 
soon  died  away,  and  with  no  class 
did  he  become  more  popular  than 
with  the  farmers. 

Early  impressions,  like  first 
loves,  are  the  strongest,  so  I 
may  be  pardoned  for  reviving  my 


own  experiences  of  a  day,  say 
from  Dinton  Castle.  First  there 
is  the  old  castle  itself,  rather  a 
point  in  the  landscape,  backed  by 
the  village  church  and  manor 
house.  The  large,  strong-fenced 
meadows  stretching  down  to 
the  Thames,  which,  when  once 
crossed,  may,  with  "  good  speed," 
send  you  on  to  the  Brill  country; 
or,  bending  the  other  way,  furnish 
fearful  work  for  man  and  horse 
as  you  race  towards  Heythrop. 
And  look  at  all  the  provision 
made  to  meet  this.  Look  at  Tom 
Ball,  so  perfect  a  specimen  of 
what  a  whipper-in  should  be,  a 
whipper-in  mounted  on  a  two 
hundred  guinea  nag,  and  with 
nerve  and  seat  and  head  well 
able  to  land  his  clever  horse  over 
so  trying  a  country.  Give  another 
glance  to  the  fit  and  cut  of  his 
equipment.  No  gloss  or  finery; 
but  stamping  him  in  every  item 
as  a  servant  done  justice  to  by 
his  master,  and  ready  and  able 
to  do  justice  to  his  place. 

Observe  again  the  number  of 
high  -  conditioned  and  powerful 
horses  waiting  about  for  the  two 
or  three  barons,  whose  letters  of 
advice  have  registered  them  as 
down  to-day.  And  the  barons 
are  here  to  the  minute,  as  all 
good  men  of  business  should  be; 
one  dealer  and  two  moustached 
dandies  accompany  them,  and 
"  time  is  up."  The  sure  find  is 
verified,  and  even  if  this  one  too 
soon  should  take  the  "soil,"  or 
sulk,  there  is  another  in  the  cart 
who  succeeds  him.  But  he  trots 
off  for  the  Thames  at  once,  and 
every  one  knows  the  run  will  be 
a  teaser.  A  rather  wild  man, 
Roffey,  was  then  huntsman,  but 
after  a  few  seasons  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Ball,  who  lost  a  good 
situation  through  some  awkward 
"  mistakes  "  in  his  kennel  manage- 
ment. 


I899-] 


ANECDOTAL   SPORT. 


347 


The  first  horse  the  Baron  ever 
ran  was  a  purchase  from  Tilbury, 
called  Consul,  who  won  a  hunter's 
stake  or  two  on  the  flat,  and  in 
Oldaker's  hands  tried  conclusions 
with  such  cattle  as  Lottery,  Luck- 
sail,  and  Croxby  between  the 
flags.  Then  Tom  Ball  won  a 
chase  or  two  on  Grouse,  and 
Oldaker  on  Oliver  Twist  ;  and 
the  Baron  gave  a  tea  service  for 
the  farmers  to  scramble  for  at 
the  end  of  the  season.  When 
these  chases  dropped  through, 
the  Baron  offered  instead,  at  the 
Agricultural  Show,  a  handsome 
prize  for  likely  yearlings,  over 
which  Fitz  Oldaker  was  wont  to 
arbitrate  till  one  of  the  duly 
appointed  judges  put  his  back 
up,  and  said  if  he  understood  one 
class  of  "  nags  "  he  would  do 
all,  and  so  the  dictatorship  was 
abandoned. 

From  the  first  Mr.  Oldaker 
had  been  chief  adviser  in  the 
stable,  and  it  was  through  his 
agency  Baron  Meyer  had  his 
first  taste  on  the  legitimate  Turf 
with  a  mare  called  Emerald,  a 
bad  runner,  but  good  at  the  stud, 
and  from  that  time  the  Baron 
always  had  something  worth  look- 
ing at  in  training,  though  for  a 
long  time  fortune  was  not  his 
friend.  He  ought  to  have  won 
the  Derby  twenty  years  or  more 
before  his  death,  with  King  Tom, 
while  he  did  win  the  Oaks  in 
1867  with  the  King's  daughter, 
Hippia,  the  success  of  the 
stable  culminating  in  1871,  when 
Favonius  won  the  Derby,  and 
Hannah  the  Oaks  and  St.  Leger, 
the  filly  being  another  daughter 
of  King  Tom.  The  names  of 
Orestes,  King  Alfred,  Mentmore 
Lass,  Corisande,  Laburnum, 
Leopold,  Hungerford  and  Win- 
grave  will  long  be  remembered. 
Baron  Rothschild  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Jockey   Club  in 


1864,   and  was  a  consistent   re- 
former of  the  abuses  of  the  Turf. 

But  although  the  greatest 
achievements  of  Baron  Roths- 
child's horses  on  the  Turf  were 
due  to  the  presence  of  Favonius, 
Hannah,  Corisande,  and  other 
thoroughbreds  prepared  for  their 
engagements  by  Hayhoe,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  the  Baron's 
well-remembered  blue  jacket  was 
ever  carried  by  so  good  an  animal 
as  the  famous  son  of  Pocahontas, 
King  Tom.  It  was  in  allusion  to 
this  horse  and  his  progeny  that 
General  Peel  declared  from  his 
place  in  the  House  of  Commons 
that  he  had  lately  seen  in  Baron 
Rothschild's  stable  at  Newmarket 
from  ten  to  a  dozen  horses,  each 
of  which  was  able  to  carry  sixteen 
stone  across  any  hunting  country 
in  the  world. 

In  the  latter  years  of  his  life 
the  winter  addresses  delivered  by 
him  to  his  constituents  were  more 
eagerly  scrutinised  by  racing  men 
than  by  politicians.  Many  of  the 
former  will  still  remember  how, 
early  in  1871,  he  advised  his 
sporting  hearers  to  "follow  the 
Baron M  in  their  racing  invest- 
ments for  the  coming  season,  and 
what  significance  those  words 
derived  from  subsequent  events. 
Those  who  took  the  tip  had  good 
cause  to  be  grateful  to  the  Baron 
when  Favonius,  at  10  to  1,  pulled 
off  the  Derby,  and  two  days  later 
Hannah  placed  the  Oaks  to  the 
credit  of  the  Rothschild  colours. 
I  remember  well  the  deafening 
cheers  of  a  myriad  delighted 
Yorkshiremen  that  went  up  to  the 
sky  when  Hannah  added  the  St. 
Leger  to  her  triumphs.  And 
when  in  the  following  year  Favo- 
nius won  the  Goodwood  Cup  under 
the  crushing  weight  of  9  st.  3  lb., 
I  recall  with  what  emphasis 
Joseph  Hayhoe,  his  trainer,  de- 


34« 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[November 


clared  that  "  he  wouldn't  take  a 
thousand  pounds  for  a  hair  of  the 
horse's  tail."  Nor  is  my  recollec- 
tion less  vivid  of  the  grief  and 
dismay  which  filled  the  breast  of 
every  sportsman  in  England  when, 
less  than  two  years  later,  the  news 
of  the  Baron's  untimely  death 
fell  like  a  thunderclap  upon  the 
sporting  world.  He  was  but  55, 
two  years  younger  than  Baron 
Ferdinand,  when  death  claimed 
him.  Indeed,  the  Rothschilds  are 
not  a  long-lived  race.  But  this 
much  can  be  said  of  them,  that 
they  live  every  moment  of  their 
lives,  and  find  time,  however  brief 
their  span,  for  so  much  benevo- 
lence and  hospitality  that  high 
and  low,  rich  and  poor  alike  feel 
and  deplore  their  loss  sincerely. 

Sir  Henry's  Hawkins*  suc- 
cessor on  the  Bench,  Sir  Thomas 
Townsend  Bucknill,  has  at  least 
one  point  in  common  with  his 
predecessor,  and  that  is  love  of 
sport.  "Tommy"  Bucknill,  as 
his  friends  affectionately  call  him, 
and  the  abbreviation  is  significant 
of  his  popularity,  is,  or  at  any  rate 
was,  a  keen  sportsman.  In  his 
younger  days  he  was  one  of  the 
cleverest  light-weight  boxers  I 
have  ever  met  among  amateurs, 
the  cleverest,  I  think,  being  the 
late  Thomas  Brett,  of  the  Chan- 
cery Bar,  whose  learned  "  Com- 
mentaries "  will  long  keep  his 
memory  green  in .  both  branches 
of  the  profession.  "  Tom  "  Brett 
was  as  eccentric  as  he  was  bril- 
liant, and  his  eccentricity  un- 
fortunately was  a  fatal  bar  to  his 
success.  He  was  a  good,  all-round 
athlete,  but  boxing  was  his  forte, 
and  I  have  often  accompanied 
him  in  his  and  my  "  salad  days  " 
to  the  "  Blue  Anchor,"  in  Shore- 
ditch,  where  he  would  put  on  the 
gloves  against  all  comers — pro- 
fessional and  amateur,  and  so  well 
did  he  often  acquit  himself  against 


the  pro.'s  that  I  have  often  heard 
derisive  cries  of  "  which  is  the 
hamatoor  ? "  from  the  critical 
spectators.  Brett  was  a  sort  of 
standing  counsel  to  the  "  Fancy," 
and  I  have  known  such  eminent 
ornaments  of  the  prize  ring  as 
Jem  Mace  and  Joe  Goss  frequently 
consult  him,  and  express  the  pro- 
foundest  reverence  for  his  legal 
acumen. 

Another  mighty  athlete  of  those 
days  was  Richard  Ouseley  Blake 
Lane,  Q.C.,  now  one  of  the  West 
London  Police  Magistrates.  But 
he  was  a  heavy-weight — standing 
considerably  over  six  feet — a 
remarkably  powerful  man,  and 
singularly  active  for  his  size. 
Like  Tom  Brett,  he  was  a  dis- 
tinguished member  of  Trinity 
College,  Dublin,  and  both  of  them 
afforded  signal  proof  that  men 
of  muscle  may  also  be  men  of 
brains. 

"  Tommy  "  Bucknill  was  what 
neither  of  these  fine  boxers  and 
athletes  could  ever  claim  to  be — 
he  was  a  fine  horseman,  and  at 
one  time  promised  to  take  high 
rank  among  the  gentleman  riders 
of  England,  both  on  the  flat  and 
across  country.  But  for  a  serious 
affection  of  the  eyes,  which  for 
many  anxious  months  threatened 
to  deprive  him  altogether  of  sight, 
he  would  probably  have  made  a 
considerable  name  for  himself  as 
a  jockey.  There  is  a  story  of  him, 
possibly  apocryphal,  which  tells 
that  he  rode  and  won  a  steeple- 
chase when  he  was  only  a  boy  of 
ten.  I  don't  vouch  for  this,  but 
I  do  vouch  for  the  following 
anecdote  of  precocity  in  the 
saddle,  the  hero  of  which  was  a 
friend  of  Mr.  Justice  BucknuTs 
father. 

It  is  told  of  the  late  Mr.  George 
Thompson,  the  noted  "  gentleman 


I899-] 


THE    HUNTING    SEASON. 


349 


rider,"  that  from  a  boy  he  had  an 
almost  intuitive  knowledge  of 
riding.  At  eight  years  old  he 
would  accompany  his  father  across 
country  on  a  spirited  little  pony, 
and  was  always  in  the  first  flight. 
While  he  was  still  a  mere  child 
his  father  made  a  match  to  run  a 
pony  called  Maid  of  Skelgate, 
against  a  certain  gentleman's 
hack,  catch  weight,  half  a  mile, 
each  to  ride  his  own.  On  going 
down  to  the  start  Mr.  Thompson, 
sen.,  discovered  that  a  jockey  boy 
who  was  in  Scott's  stables,  and 
who  had  ridden  several  winners, 
was  about  to  ride  his  opponent's 
horse.  Against  this  he  remon- 
strated, as  the  conditions  under- 
stood were  for  "  gentlemen  riders" 
only.  When,  however,  the  arti- 
cles were  looked  through,  it  was 
discovered  that  this  important 
stipulation  had  been  omitted, 
and  Thompson's  opponent  openly 
boasted  that  he  had  got  the  best 
of     the     match,     as     Thompson 


weighed  over  1 1  st.,  and  the  jockey 
under  7  st.  Thompson  rode  off 
to  his  carriage,  where  his  wife  and 
family  were  seated,  and  said  to 
her,  "  Hand  me  out  George,  I 
am  too  heavy."  And  the  next 
moment  a  little  dark-eyed  fellow, 
in  a  blue  cloth  frock,  ornamented 
with  gilt  buttons,  was  put  out  and 
mounted  on  Maid  of  Skelgate ;  as 
he  cantered  with  his  father  down 
to  the  post,  without  boots  or 
breeches,  showing  his  little  red 
legs  and  trousers,  he  was  loudly 
cheered.  "  What  am  I  to  do, 
papa  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Why,  hold 
your  reins  tight,  and  directly 
they  say  *  Go ! '  come  home  as 
fast  as  you  can."  He  obeyed  these 
simple  instructions  to  the  letter, 
and  won  in  a  canter,  after  which 
he  was  put  back  in  the  carriage. 
At  this  time  his  weight  was 
within  a  pound  of  3  st.,  so 
that  he  was  probably  the  light- 
est jockey  that  ever  rode  in 
public. 


The    Hunting    Season. 


"  Sans  changer,"  a  motto  of  one 
of  our  noble  houses,  is  only  partly 
applicable  to  our  chief  winter 
sport  as  season  succeeds  season. 
True,  as  one  master  or  huntsman 
retires  into  private  life,  or  joins 
the  majority,  another  is  found  to 
take  his  place;  but  there  are 
changes  nevertheless,  and  some 
of  them  are  changes  with  which 
we  could  well  dispense,  for  we 
do  not  like  to  see  old  names 
drop  out  of  the  list.  Yet  since 
our  annual  article  appeared  last 
year  some  gaps  have  been  made 
in  the  hunting  world.  *  Mr.  C.  P. 
Shrubb,  of.  the  •  Tedworth,  Mr. 
Wilson,  of  the  Ledbury,  and 
Major    Browne^  ■  have    departed 


from  among  us,  and  all  will  be 
sincerely  regretted  by  their  respec: 
tive  followers. 

In  the  ranks  of  professionals 
the  whole  of  the  hunting  -  world 
will  lament  the  retirement,  as 
the  result  of  an  accident,  of  Tom 
Firr,  for  so  many  years  huntsman 
of  the  famous  Quorn  pack ;-  though 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that '  he .  may 
eventually  recover  and  be  able 
to  enjoy  many  apother  day  with 
the  pack  which  he  has.  hunted 
with  such  conspicuous  success 
for  so  many  ; years.  For  a. long 
time  his  name  has  been  a  houser 
hold  word  in  hunting  circles,. and 
the  omission  of  his  name  marks 
an  epoch  in  hunting  history.     In 


35<> 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[November 


the  course  of  last  season,  too, 
James  Collings,  the  worthy  hunts- 
man of  the  South  Devon,  lost 
his  life  in  a  peculiar  way.  A  fox 
had  been  run  to  ground  on  the 
moor,  and  digging  operations 
were  adopted.  While  these  were 
in  progress  a  piece  of  rock  was 
displaced,  and  came  down  on 
Collings,  who  was  killed  by  its 
fall.  Nor  does  this  complete  the 
tale  of  losses,  for  since  his  retire- 
ment, Charles  Leedham,  the  last 
of  the  family,  the  members  of 
which  have  hunted  and  whipped 
in  to  the  Meynell  ever  since  the 
hunt  was  established  by  Mr. 
Meynell  Ingram  early  in  the 
century,  has  died.  Since  the 
Meynell  first  became  a  separate 
hunt,  a  member  of  the  Leedham 
family  has  always  been  connected 
with  it,  and  either  one  or  both 
of  the  whippers-in  have  been 
sons  or  nephews  of  the  huntsman. 
Charles  Leedham's  death,  there- 
fore, marks  a  period  in  the 
hunt's  history.  His  place  was,  on 
his  retirement,  taken  by  Harry 
Bonner,  who,  after  being  in  service 
in  Ireland,  hunted  the  Tynedale 
for  Mr.  Straker;  but  now  that 
he  has  left,  Stephen  Burten- 
shaw,  formerly  first  wbipper-in, 
has  been  promoted,  and  a  new 
departure  has  been  taken. 

Dealing  first  with  staghounds, 
Lord  Coventry  is  still  found  in 
command  of  the  Royal  pack,  but 
Mr.  Allen-Tefferys  has  given  up 
his  and  sold  his  hounds  to  Cap- 
tain Ormrod,  of  Wyresdale,  in 
Lancashire,  so  that  county  which, 
not  so  long  ago,  had  no  stag- 
hounds  at  all,  has  now  two  packs, 
Mr.  Gerard's  being  the  other. 
For  a  good  many  years  Colonel 
Alfred  Somerset,  whose  chesnuts, 
piebalds  and  skewbalds,  are  so 
well  known  at  the  meets  of  the 
Driving  Club,  has  ruled  over  the 
fortunes  of  the  Enfield  Chase 
staghounds,  but  he  has  now  given 


up  the  cares  of  office,  and  Mr. 
Hills  Hartridge  reigns  in  his  stead; 
but  Colonel  Somerset's  name  will 
long  be  remembered  with  respect 
by  those  to  whose  amusement  he 
has  for  so  long  contributed.  On 
looking  over  the  year's  list  another 
well  known  name  will  be  found 
missing  from  the  number  of 
masters  of  staghounds — that  of 
Mr.  Sheffield  Neave,  who  has 
ruled  since  Mr.  Petre's  retirement, 
having  decided  to  give  up.  Mr. 
Neave's  family  have  been  con- 
nected with  hunting  in  Essex  for 
something  like  a  hundred  years, 
and  perhaps  longer,  but  a  Mr. 
Sheffield  Neave  kept  staghounds 
in  Essex  towards  the  close  of  the 
last  century.  His  place  has  been 
taken  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Pemberton 
Barnes,  the  gentleman,  who  is  at 
the  head  of  the  Newmarket  and 
Thurlow  Hunt,  and  it  is  a  curious 
coincidence  that  the  latter  country 
was  once  hunted  by  Mr.  Osbaldes- 
ton,  who  at  the  same  time  hunted 
the  Pytchley  hounds,  and  hacked 
on  alternate  days  from  one  country 
to  the  other.  Barbed  wire  has 
formed  a  difficulty  in  Essex,  and 
has,  to  a  great  extent,  it  is  under- 
stood, influenced  Mr.  Sheffield 
Neave's  retirement.  The  West 
Surrey,  formerly  the  Surrey  Far- 
mers' pack,  have  now  passed  into 
the  hands  of  Mr.  A.  J.  Curnick, 
and  this  completes  the  list  of 
changes  in  stag  hunting  establish- 
ments in  England,  while  in  Ire- 
land the  only  thing  to  be  noted 
is  that  the  South  Westmeath  have 
been  given  up.  The  four  other 
packs  go  on  as  before,  and  a 
good  season  is  anticipated,  as 
hounds,  horses  and  deer  are  quite 
up  to  the  mark. 

Foxhounds. 

The  changes  in  the  foxhunting 
countries  do  not  appear  to  be 
either  more  or  less  than  we  have 


18990 


THB   HUNTING   SEASON. 


351 


had   to  record    in  former  years. 
Mr.  James  Foster,  who  took  the 
Albnghtonin  conjunction  with  the 
Hon.  C.  H.  Legge  in  1887,  and 
who  became  sole  master  in  1890, 
has  now  resigned  in  favour  of  Mr. 
J.  C.  Munro,  who  has  been  since 
1894  the  popular   master  of  the 
East   Sussex.      The   Avon    Vale 
disappear  from  the  list,  the  Duke 
of  Beaufort  having  claimed  back 
the  country  his  father  originally 
lent  to  Captain  Spicer,  so  Mr.  G. 
H.  Palmer  is  now  out  of  harness. 
Mr.  Heywood  Lonsdale,  brother 
of  the  late  and  son  of  the  former 
master    of    the    Shropshire,    has 
taken  the  Bicester  country  in  suc- 
cession to  Lord  Cottenham,  and 
he  keeps  on  the  old  staff.     There 
is  no  further  change  to  mention 
until  we  come  to   Mr.   Browne's 
Hounds,   and   that   is    only  ren- 
dered necessary  by  the  lamented 
death  of  Major  Browne,  who  as 
a  good  all-round  sportsman  won 
great  popularity  in   the  country, 
where,  with   his  family  pack  he 
showed  a  great  amount  of  sport. 
Mr.  Philipps  is  now  the  master  of 
the  Carmarthenshire,  in  place  of 
Mr.   Buckley,   and   although   the 
mastership  of  the  South  Cheshire 
is  unchanged,  Mr.  Reginald  Cor- 
bet, who  has  been  master  since  the 
division  of  the  country,  has  handed 
over  the  horn  to  his  son,  who  has 
for  some  time  been  his  fidus  achates. 
The  North-east   Cornwall   has 
now  become  two  packs,  Mr.  W. 
C.   Connock  Marshall,   who  for- 
merly hunted   the    country,   and 
who  has  also  been  a   master  of 
harriers,   having  taken   the    east 
portion,  while  Mr.  Horndon,  who 
hunted  the  north-east   pack   last 
year,  having    resigned,    a    Com- 
mittee now  rules  over  the  north 
of  the  country  ;  Major  de  Freville 
having    given    up    the    Cotswold 
his  place  has  been  taken  by  Mr. 
Algernon  Rushout,  who   formerly 
hunted  the  North  Cotswold.     In 


the  Croome  country  there  is  more 
or  less  of  a  return  to  the  old  order 
of  things,  for  Mr.  A.  B.  Wrang- 
ham,     formerly     master    of    the 
Eastbourne,  having  resigned,  his 
place  is  now  filled  by  the  Hon. 
H.   Coventry,   the  son    of    Lord 
Coventry,     who     originated     the 
country:  and  then  taking  a  jump 
into  Devonshire,  we  find  that  in 
consequence  of  the  death  through 
being  crushed  by  a  failing  rock, 
of  James  Colli  rigs,  the  late  hunts- 
man, R.  E.  Bovey  has  joined  the 
staff  in   that    capacity,   and    the 
Dulverton,    formerly    hunted    by 
Mr.  Dawkins,  has  now  passed  to 
Mr.  H.  J.  Selwyn,  who,  like  his 
predecessor,  is  his  own  huntsman. 
In    Essex    we    find    that    Mr. 
Loftus  Arkwright,   whose    father 
and     grandfather     were    masters 
before  him,  has  resigned  his  share 
of     the    government,     and     Mr. 
Bowlby  is  now  sole  master,  Mr. 
C.  E.  Green,  the  old  Cambridge 
cricketer,   and    former   master  of 
the  pack,  acting  as  field-master. 
In  the  East    Essex  country  Mr. 
W.  Deacon  succeeds  Mr.  Ruggles 
Brise  and  Captain   Cruickshank, 
and  the  Essex  Union  also  shows 
a  change  of  mastership,  but  it  is 
only  nominal.    Mr.  Helme  who  has 
now  changed  his  name  to  Mashi- 
ter,     retains    the     mastership   of 
the  hounds,  to  the  great  advan- 
tage of  his  followers.     The  Hay- 
don   hounds  are  now  ruled  over 
by   Mr.   Harvey   Scott,   and  the 
H.H.   have  Mr.  Coryton  in  con- 
junction with  Mr.  T.  E.  Jervoise 
as     joint     masters,      Lieutenant 
Colonel    Knox    having    resigned. 
Last    season  Ledbury  sportsmen 
had     to    lament     the    death     of 
their  master,  Mr.  F.  T.  Wilson, 
and  his  place  has  been  taken  by 
his  brother,  Mr.  H.  M.  Wilson, 
who  has  already  won  great  popu- 
larity in  the  country,  and  will  do 
his  best  to  show  sport.     En  passant 
we    may    mention    the    Meynell 


352 


BAILYS    MAGAZINE. 


[November 


country,  as  although  the  master- 
ship is  unchanged  there  is  another 
huntsman.  It  often  happens  that 
when  once  the  old  connection 
dies  out  changes  come  thick  and 
fast,  and  it  is  so  in  this  case. 
Charles  Leedham  having  resigned 
and  subsequently  died,  Harry 
Bonner  came  in  his  place  from 
the  Tynedale,  but  he  has  now 
left,  and  Stephen  Burtenshaw, 
the  first  whipper  in,  has  been 
promoted  to  the  huntsman's 
berth. 

In  Hants  Mr.  Martin  Powell 
has  given  up  the  New  Forest  in 
favour  of  Mr.  C.  Heseltine,  who, 
like  many  other  masters  of  hounds, 
learned  his  business  as  a  master 
of  beagles,  he  having  been  at  the 
head  of  the  Walhampton  pack. 
Mr.  Stokes,  who  has  for  some 
years  hunted  the  Pembrokeshire 
country,  has  now  given  way 
to  Mr.  L.  F.  Craven,  the  new 
master  hunting  the  hounds  him- 
self. W.  Barnard,  who  carried 
the  horn  last  year,  is  now  first 
whipper  -  in.  .  The  Woodland 
Pytchley,  though  part  of  the  pos- 
session of  Mr.  Wroughton  of  the 
Pytchley,  are  now  taken  in  hand 
by  Lord  Southampton,  who,  like 
Mr.  Austin  Mackenzie  (who  in 
his  country .  reared  up  a  splendid 
pack  of  hounds)  carries  the  horn 
himself.  .Mr.  Austin  Mackenzie's 
retirement  has  certainly  been  a 
loss  to  the  country,  no  matter  how 
good  his  successor  may  be,  but 
Mr.  Wroughton  secured  the  bitch 
pack  at  a.  high  price.  The  Com- 
mittee which,  since  the  last  re- 
tirement :  of  the  Hon.  C.  Brand, 
ruled  .over  the  fortunes  of  the 
Southdown,  have  now  retired,  and 
the  former  master,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  .  Mr.  Courage,  returns 
to  power,,  while  in  the  Stainton 
Dale  country  Mr.  Tindall  is  suc- 
ceeded by  .Mr..  J.  P.  Knaggs. 

Coming  -  nearer  to    London  we 
find  that  Mr.  Arthur  Labouchere, 


a  former  master  of  staghounds, 
has  made  way  in  the  Surrey  Union 
country  for  Major  Goulburn,  who 
has    W.  Kennett   for   his  hunts- 
man.    There  is  also  a  change  to 
be  noticed  with  the  East  Sussex, 
for   Mr.    Munro    having  left   for 
the  Albrighton,  the   Hon.  T.  A. 
Brassey  and  Mr.  C.  A.  Egerton, 
a  former  master  of  the  pack,  are 
now  in  command.     In  the  Ted- 
worth  country  the  death  of  Mr. 
C.  P.  Shrubb  has  left  a  vacancy 
which  has  been  filled  by  Mr.  W. 
J.  Yorke-Scarlett.     In   the  north 
of  England  Mr.   W.  Nixon  and 
Mr.  N.  Stordy  now  rule  the  Thur- 
stonfield,   Mr.    J.   Stordy  having 
died,  while  Mr.  Lewis  F.  Craven 
having    departed    to    the    Pem- 
brokeshire country,  the   Tivyside 
is  now   under  the   mastership  of 
Captain  W.  Pryse,  whose  family 
has    supplied    many    masters  of 
hounds.     Here     the    number   of 
changes  in  England  and  Wales, 
so  far  as  we  are  aware,  ends ;  but 
in  connection  with  the  Warwick- 
shire we  may  note  that  the  sad 
state    of     Lord    Willoughby    de 
Broke's  health  will  preclude  him 
from  taking  the  field  this  season. 
His  lordship  certainly  took  rank 
as  one  of  the  best  amateur  hunts- 
men  in   England,   and  his  place 
will  now  be  filled  by  J.  Brown,- 
who  comes  with  a  strong  recom- 
mendation from  Lord  Harrington* 
One  must  not  omit  to  say  that,  in 
the  Quorn  country  hunting  men 
will    miss    both    the    name   and 
presence  of  Tom   Firr,  who  felt 
called  upon  to  resign  last  season, 
owing  to  an  accident  he  received 
during  cub-hunting,   and  tin .  his 
place,  Captain  Burns  Hart opp  has 
appointed  Walter  Keyte,  who. was 
second    whipper-in    under    Firr. 
He  shaped  very  well  last  season, 
and  if  anything  like  decent  scent 
prevails  during  the  coming  months 
he  will  probably  be  successful  in 
showing  sport. 


I«99J 


"  baily's  hunting  directory.1' 


353 


In  Scotland  no  changes  of 
mastership  have  to  be  recorded. 
Turning  to  Ireland,  there  is  a 
new  pack  on  the  list,  the  Castle- 
comer,  which  is  ruled  by  Mr. 
Price  Wandesforde.  The  Galway 
(the  famed  Blazers)  have  passed 
from  the  committee  which  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Williams  to  Mr.  F. 
Poyser,  and  the    East    Galway, 


which  were  once  ruled  by  Mr. 
Harrison,  are  now  in  the  hands 
of  Mr.  J.  B.  Charters,  who  was 
last  year  in  command  of  the 
Limerick,  his  place  with  that 
pack  being  taken  by  Mr.  Wise. 
The  Muskerry  are  under  the 
hands  of  Mr.  H.  Leader,  who 
took  the  mastership  of  them  last 
year. 


4<  Baily's  Hunting  Directory."* 


The  edition  of  this  work  for 
season  1899- 1900  is  published  on 
November  1st,  and  we  trust 
that  its  contents  will  be  found 
worthy  of  the  welcome  which  has 
been  accorded  its  predecessors, 
and  which  has  been  a  source  of 
the  greatest  gratification  to  the 
Editors.  A  few  changes  in  the 
new  issue  may  be  noticed.  It 
has  been  found  necessary  to 
check  the  inundation  of  par- 
ticulars relating  to  "  Sires  likely 
to  get  hunters,"  which  threatened 
to  overload  the  pages.  For  the 
future  a  small  fee  will  be  charged 
for  inserting  such  particulars.  A 
list,  very  brief,  of  the  Drag  Hunts 
in  England  and  Ireland  has  been 
added  at  the  suggestion  of  friends  ; 
an  index  of  honorary  secretaries' 
names,  with  their  hunts,  will  be 


*  "  Baily's  Hunting  Directory,"  1899-1900.  Vin- 
ton &  Co.,  Ltd.,  9,  New  Bridge  Street,  London, 
E.C     Price  5*.     By  post  5s.  4d. 


found  following  that  of  the 
masters,  and  a  new  appendix, 
entitled  "  Huntsmen  and  their 
Records,"  will,  it  is  hoped,  be 
found  of  utility  to  masters  and 
others.  Thanks  to  the  courtesy 
of  honorary  secretaries,  we  have 
been  able  to  add  to  the  descrip- 
tions of  many  hunts  details  con- 
cerning subscriptions,  which  in 
the  previous  editions  were  want- 
ing. The  several  appendices  have 
been  brought  up  to  date.  The 
articles  in  the  new  edition  are : — 
"  Hound  Shows,  their  Use  and 
Abuse,"  by  Sir  Richard  Green 
Price;  "The  Future  of  Point  to 
Point  Racing,"  by  Mr.  Roland 
Y.  Bevan,  Hon.  Secretary  to  the 
Essex  Hunt ;  "  Distemper  among 
Hounds  and  its  Treatment,"  by 
Professor  Hobday,  of  the  Royal 
Veterinary  College  ;  and  "  Drag 
Hunting,"  by  Captain  J.  Hanwell, 
master  of  the  Royal  Artillery 
Drag  Hunt. 


vol.  lxxii. — no.  477, 


26 


354 


[November 


a 


Our  Van. 


tt 


Manchester  —September 

Meeting. — Although  Manchester 
always  succeeds  in  pleasing  its 
particular  patrons,  as  is  evi- 
denced by  the  splendid  returns 
annually  made  to  shareholders, 
and  no  one  can  complain  of  want 
of  liberality  in  the  matter  of 
stakes,  yet  no  horse  ever  makes 
a  name  there  as  is  done  on  that 
other  well  -  known  Lancashire 
course  at  Aintree,  to  say  nothing 
of  Newmarket,  Epsom,  Ascot  and 
Doncaster.  The  executive  is  so 
able  to  command  success  in  pther 
directions  that  it  can  afford  to  do 
without  glory ;  still,  it  would  be 
fitter  were  a  meeting  of  so  stu- 
pendous a  character  to  be  the 
means  of  creating  a  thoroughbred 
hero  or  heroine  now  and  then. 
But  this  will  be  impossible  so 
long  as  racing  takes  place  on  the 
course  in  use,  and  the  company 
are  to  be  condoled  with  on  hav- 
ing nothing  better  at  their  dis- 
posal. A  more  ticklish  course  in 
the  effect  the  weather  has  upon 
it  I  do  not  know,  and  at  the 
September  meeting  we  saw  the 
going  that  had  been  good  on  the 
first  two  days  reduced  to  a  quag- 
mire on  the  third,  through  a  fall 
of  rain.  It  was  a  heavy  fall,  un- 
questionably, but  only  very  poor 
turf  would  succumb  in  so  short  a 
space  of  time. 

The  race  of  the  first  day,  with- 
out doubt,  was  that  for  the  Au- 
tumn Breeders'  Foal  Plate.  M. 
Cannon,  T.  Loates,  and  O. 
Madden,  the  three  best  English 
jockeys  over  a  five  furlongs' 
course,  were  engaged  in  it,  Can- 
non riding  for  Lord  William 
Beresford,  whose  regular  jockey 
was  indisposed.  As  Mr.  L.  de 
Rothschild's  Griffon  was  running, 
Tom  Loates  was  of  course  on  his 
back,     Madden     riding     Semper 


Vigilans,  whose  first  appearance 
on  a  racecourse  was  not  the  less 
interesting  because  he  is  by  Car- 
bine. Jouvence  had  beaten 
Elopement  at  Lingfield,  and  this 
was  deemed  good  enough  to  win, 
and  although  Griffon  had  won  the 
Astley  Stakes  at  Lewes,  he 
started  third  favourite.  A  fourth 
starter  was  Rapine,  who  had 
created  a  great  upset  in  the  Rail- 
way Stakes  at  the  Curragh ;  but 
the  Irish  form,  unsupported  by 
any  English,  is  a  thing  of  very 
dubious  quantity.  Griffon  was 
giving  away  weight  to  everything 
in  the  race,  Semper  Vigilans 
being  in  receipt  of  a  stone,  and 
this  enabled  him  to  make  a  splen- 
did fight  of  it  with  Griffon,  the 
skill  of  Loates  and  Madden  being 
tested  to  the  utmost  in  a  finish  in 
which  Griffon  got  up  in  the  last 
stride  to  beat  Semper  Vigilans  by 
a  very  short  head. 

On  the  third  day  we  had  the 
Prince  Edward  Handicap,  for 
which,  as  is  quite  the  common 
thing  nowadays  with  races  of  this 
character,  the  field  was  inter- 
national in  composition,  three  con- 
tinents being  represented.  To  Aus- 
tralasia went  the  spoils,  through 
the  medium  of  Maluma,  one  of 
the  best  known  of  Mr.  Jersey's 
importations,  who  won  easily. 
Some  scrimmaging  occurred  in 
the  race,  and  is  supposed  to  have 
prevented  Light  Comedy  from 
winning.  Had  this  Irish  filly 
won,  the  expectations  of  a  fairly 
large  contingent  would  have  been 
realised.  She  is  a  nice  filly,  and 
is  one  of  those  that  should  be 
followed. 

Newmarket  First  October.— 
Wind  was  a  very  prominent  fea- 
ture at  this  meeting,  and  a  very 
disagreeable  thing  is  even  a  mode- 
rate   gale    at   Newmarket,  espe- 


i899] 


"OUR  van. 


»l 


355 


daily  when,  as  was  the  case  this 
time,  it  comes  from  a  westerly 
direction,  for  then  we  in  the 
stands  are  at  its  mercy  almost  as 
much  as  are  those  outside.  But 
it  was  not  a  wind  to  favour  the 
crouching  seat  of  the  Americans, 
which,  at  Newmarket,  must  blow 
from  the  east.  As  nothing  op- 
posed Simon  Dale  in  the  Bucken- 
ham  Stakes,  the  interest  of  the 
first  day  was  centred  in  the 
Twenty-First  Great  Foal  Stakes, 
in  which  Sweet  Marjorie  was 
so  much  preferred  to  Scintillant 
that  slight  odds  were  laid  on 
her. 

Taking  the  St.  Leger  to  be  a 
true  run  race,  the  fact  that  Scin- 
tillant was  not  a  strong  favourite 
for  this  could  only  be  set  down  to 
a  fear  that  he  would  not  again 
give  his  best  running.  Very  few 
pounds  would  have  put  Caiman 
and  Scintillant  together  at  Don- 
caster,  and  Caiman  in  this  race 
at  gst.,  instead  of  Scintillant  at 
8st.  71b.,  would  have  been  a  pretty 
strong  order.  Scintillant  some- 
how reminds  one  of  Jeddah,  each 
of  them  being  strongly  fancied  for 
the  Two  Thousand  Guineas  by 
those  best  able  to  form  a  correct 
judgment,  and  running  about  as 
badly  as  could  be.  Scintillant 
did  not  win  the  Derby,  as  did 
Jeddah,  nor,  for  a  long  time, 
did  he  appear  likely  to  win  any- 
thing. 

Change  of  jockey  made  no  dif- 
ference. The  antics  he  had  before 
indulged  in  in  the  paddock  and 
whilst  waiting  for  the  start  had 
no  suspicion  of  vice  in  them,  but 
were  due  to  high  spirits  ;  still,  it 
was  a  wise  precaution  to  saddle 
him  away  from  the  other  horses. 
Jarvis  had  never  wavered  in  his 
good  opinion  of  the  colt,  and  at 
last  he  was  to  be  able  to  justify 
it,  for  Scintillant  simply  cantered 
away  from  the  others,  Sweet 
Marjorie  and  Hougoumont,  some 


time  after  he  had  passed  the  post, 
making  a  great  right  for  second 
place.  That  some  inquiries  as  to 
Scintillant's  price  for  the  Cesare- 
witch  should  be  immediately 
made  was  inevitable,  for  what 
was  likely  to  beat  such  form  as 
this  with  Scintillant's  light 
weight  ? 

Scintillant's  was  not  the  only 
public  trial  for  Cesarewitch  or 
Cambridgeshire  that  was  being 
run.  Mitcham  and  Grodno, 
amongst  others,  ran  one  for  the 
Cesarewitch  in  the  Newmarket 
October  Handicap  of  a  mile  and 
a  half,  and  the  result  was  to  en- 
hance the  usefulness  of  Mitcham, 
who  wore  down  Grodno  and 
Lexicon  in  a  way  that  seemed  to 
put  Grodno  quite  out  of  court  for 
the  longer  race  to  come.  In  the 
Boscawen  Post  Stakes  Diamond 
Jubilee  won  his  first  race,  giving 
Paigle  61bs.  and  a  head  beating. 
Eager  came  out  for  a  canter,  uti- 
lising the  Snailwell  Stakes  for 
the  occasion.  He  looked  remark- 
ably well. 

The  provision  of  1,500  sovs. 
for  the  second  horse  and  1,000 
sovs.  for  the  third  in  the  Jockey 
Club  Stakes  ensures  a  field,  how- 
ever certain  the  first  place  may 
be  for  any  horse,  as,  for  instance, 
it  was  for  Flying  Fox  this  year. 
After  the  Great  Foal  Stakes 
Scintillant's  merits  were  at  last 
realised,  and  he  was  backed  to 
beat  everything  but  Flying  Fox. 
So  far  as  that  worthy  is  concerned 
it  was  the  Two  Thousand  Guineas 
over  again,  plus  some  weight, 
which,  however,  did  not  trouble 
him  in  the  least,  and  he  took 
command  after  going  a  quarter  of 
a  mile,  to  win  in  a  canter.  It  was 
enlightening  as  to  the  winner's 
merits  to  see  Scintillant,  who  had 
won  quite  as  easily  two  days 
before,  fighting  hard  several 
lengths  behind  him  for  the  second 
money.     The  way  he  wore  down 


35^ 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[November 


Gerolstein  and  Choson  should 
have  inspired  people  to  still  more 
favour  his  Cesarewitch  chance, 
but  there  were  some  who  saw 
him  finish  leg  weary,  and  as 
though  he  had  had  quite  enough 
of  it.  They  had  already  forgotten 
that  he  had  run  half  a  mile  farther 
at  Doncaster. 

The  cry  is  still  being  kept  up 
by  what  may  be  termed  the 
small  fry,  that  the  ten  thousand 
pounders  are  killing  sport.  But 
all  reference  to  instances  is  care- 
fully excluded,  and  we  are  left 
wondering  what  particular  form 
of  racing  is  injured  by  the  insti- 
tution of  these  three  mammoth 
races.  At  Sandown  one  of  them 
provides  the  biggest  day  of  the 
year,  and  all  three  take  a  great 
deal  of  winning. 

Kempton  Park.  —  The  most 
interesting  meeting  of  the  season 
between  two-year-olds  was  that 
of  Forfarshire  and  Democrat  in 
the  Imperial  Stakes  at  Kempton. 
Forfarshire  had  yet  to  make 
amends  for  his  defeat  at  Sandown, 
where  Democrat  gave  him  gibs, 
and  a  neck  beating..  There  were 
excuses  for  that  defeat,  Forfar- 
shire being  in  a  very  bad  position 
and  hampered  until  it  was  too 
late  to  get  up,  but  had  he  won 
there  was  the  gibs,  difference. 
Anyone  who  has  ever  looked  at 
Forfarshire  knows  that  he  is  one 
of  those  that  require  time  for 
development,  and  Jime  had  cer- 
tainly done  wonders  with  him. 
When  he  was  stripped  at  Kemp- 
ton he  was  quite  a  two  -  stone 
heavier  colt  than  he  was  in  mid- 
July,  and  all  the  growth  has  taken 
place  just  where  it  is  most  desir- 
able. But  instead  of  receiving 
gibs,  he  was  this  time  giving  3lbs. 
— a  difference  of  i2lbs.,  which 
could  not  be  ignored.  To  win, 
Forfarshire  would  have  to  run 
a  stone  better  horse  than  he  was 
at  Sandown.    The  thing  did  not 


strike    most    people    as  feasible, 
though   it   was  possible,   and  as 
such  was  guarded   against.    Al- 
though Merry  Gal,  who  ran  so 
good  a  second  to  Forfarshire  at 
Derby  was  in  receipt   of  nearly 
a  stone  and  Atbara  of  81bs.  from 
Forfarshire,    the    race    was  still 
regarded  as  lying  solely  between 
the  two  cracks,  so  with  Democrat 
at  even  money  or  slight  odds  on 
and  Forfarshire  at  4  to  1  and  9 
to  2,  it  was  simplicity  itself  to 
back  the  two.     This  is  what  wise 
people,  not  being  gamblers,  did. 
Although  Democrat  did  not  win 
no  one  could  complain  that  Sloan 
did  not  do  his  best,  for  he  came 
away  as  hard  as  he  could  and 
at  five  furlongs   was  quite  two 
lengths  in  front    of    Forfarshire. 
Sam    Loates    was  riding  in  his 
usual    style,    leaving    everything 
to  the  final  rush,  and  though  he 
was  not  able  to  come  at  the  pre- 
cise moment  he  wanted,  through 
Democrat  altering  his  course  and 
going  over  to  Merry  Gal,  he  was 
duly  impressed  with  the  gst.  iolb. 
Forfarshire  was  carrying.    This 
might   seem   like   extra  caution, 
for  Democrat  was  carrying  within 
3lbs.  as  much.  It  is  all  right  when 
it  comes  off,  but  it  may  be  asserted 
that    more    races    over   a   short 
distance  have  been  lost  than  won 
by    the    waiting    policy.     Every 
season  we  see  races  unexpectedly 
won  by  horses   through  getting 
well  off  and  making  the  best  of 
their  way    home,   but  never  by 
waiting  behind.     Weight  on  five 
and  six  furlong  courses  is  a  very 
different  matter  to  weight  carried 
over    a    distance,   and   in  either 
case  3lbs.  is  not  a  matter  of  so 
much  consequence  that  the  issue 
should    be    left    to    a    desperate 
finish:     The  way  the  race  was 
run,  however,  caused  the  finish  to 
be  one  of  the  most  exciting  of 
the  year.     So  far  was  Forfarshire 
behind  at  the   distance  that  he 


i8»] 


"  OUR  VAN. 


1* 


357 


seemed  beaten,  but  the  pace  he 
came  up  at  was  tremendous,  and 
although  Democrat  quickened  he 
could  not  stave  off  the  electric 
rush  of  his  opponent,  who  headed 
him  three  or  four  strides  from 
the  chair.  Once  with  the  best 
of  it,  Forfarshire  could  not  gain 
another  inch,  but  at  the  winning 
post  his  head  was  still  in  front, 
the  pair  finishing  at  great  speed. 
The  improvement  of  Forfarshire 
is  very  welcome,  for,  as  things 
stand  at  present,  he  seems  to  be 
all  there  is  to  prevent  the  Derby 
of  1900  being  won  by  a  gelding. 
Much  water  will  run  under  the 
bridges  before  the  next  Epsom 
Summer  Meeting,  and  it  has  to 
be  seen  how  Democrat  comes  out 
of  all  the  hard  work  he  has 
undergone  as  a  two-year- old. 
There  is  also  the  dark  horse  to  be 
accounted  for. 

The  Duke  of  York  Stakes  was 
not  remarkable  for  the  form  of 
the  competitors.  Sam  Darling 
was  on  the  spot  with  one  of 
those  surprises  for  which  he  has 
become  celebrated,  this  being 
Ercildoune,  a  three-year  old  by 
Kendal,  who  had  been  improved 
out  of  all  knowledge  since  his 
only  previous  appearance  in  the 
Jubilee  Stakes.  Reports  of  what 
he  had  done  on  the  trial  ground 
had  got  about  and  he  was  backed. 
The  day  before  the  race  the 
owner  had  not  secured  a  jockey, 
and  young  Lynham  was  engaged 
as  the  best  of  those  at  the  weight 
that  were  still  available,  and  very 
well  he  availed  himself  of  the 
opportunity.  Mount  Prospect 
dashed  away  in  such  style  when 
they  were  well  in  the  straight 
that  he  looked  like  winning  by 
many  lengths,  but  he  is  not  a 
thorough  stayer  and  died  away 
rapidly,  Ercildoune  coming  up  in 
the  last  few  strides  to  win  by  a 
neck.  The  policy  of  forcing  the 
pace  with  Mount  Prospect  in  the 


straight  is  one  that  may  be 
seriously  questioned.  The  meet- 
ing was  remarkable  for  the  size 
of  some  of  the  fields,  twenty  or 
more  starting  on  three  occasions. 
As  many  as  twenty-seven  ran 
for  the  Kempton  Park  Nursery 
Handicap,  and  this  was  won  by 
the  first  favourite,  starting  at  5 
to  2! 

Newmarket  Second   October. 

— A  few  weeks  before  the  day 
the  Champion  Stakes  of  1899 
promised  to  be  one  of  the  most 
interesting  contests  of  the  racing 
in  modern  times,  for  the  owners 
of  Cyllene  and  Flying  Fox  had 
announced  their  intention  of  put- 
ting their  horses  in  the  field. 
The  Champion  Stakes  would 
then  have  been  a  race  between 
champions  indeed.  But  such  a 
meeting  was  too  good  to  come 
off;  Cyllene  broke  down  in  train- 
ing and  was  then  and  there 
removed  from  further  active  con- 
nection with  the  Turf.  With  his 
scratching  there  was  no  reason 
for  asking  Flying  Fox  to  do  any 
more  this  year,  and  the  pen 
was  also  put  through  his  name. 
Through  these  important  defec- 
tions the  race  became  third-rate 
at  once,  and  it  was  very  unex- 
pectedly won  by  Dieudonne,  who 
started  the  outsider  of  a  party  of 
four,  which  included  St.  Gris  and 
Victoria  May.  Elopement,  whose 
defeat  at  Lingfield  by  Jouvence 
no  one  could  understand,  gave  a 
taste  of  his  real  quality  in  the 
Clearwell  Stakes,  in  which  he 
gave  61bs.  to  Atbara.  He  seemed 
to  have  the  race  always  in  hand, 
and  the  length  he  won  by  could 
have  been  materially  increased. 
Elopement  is  one  of  those  of 
whom  considerable  improvement 
is  expected  as  a  three-year-old. 

Previous  to  the  decision  of 
the  Cesarewitch  on  the  second 
day,  Eager  took  another  exercise 
canter  in  the  Select  Stakes,  whilst 


358 


BAILY  S  MAGAZINE. 


[November 


Fosco  had  no  trouble  in  taking 
5lbs.  from  Ugly,  who  is  a  sadly 
deteriorated  animal  from  what 
he  was,  and  no  longer  capable 
of  holding  his  own  in  first-class 
company.  We  no  longer  see  the 
Ugly  that,  in  1898,  beat  Kilcock 
for  the  July  Cup  at  six  furlongs 
(with  weight,  but  out  of  his  dis- 
tance), and  won  eight  races  in 
twelve  starts. 

The  Cesarewitch  horses  must 
be  voted  a  mediocre  lot,  and  never 
before  were  more  trainers  so  abso- 
lutely certain  of  winning  the  race. 
The  confidence  of  Ireland  in  Irish 
Ivy  was  extraordinary,  and  New- 
market was  full  of  visitors  from 
the  other  side  of  the  St.  George's 
Channel,  who  put  down  their 
money  like  the  men  they  are. 
Irish  Ivy  had  always  been  steady 
in  the  market,  but  not  more  so 
than  Scintillant,  who,  on  public 
form,  was  an  even  money  chance. 
It  had  been  originally  decided  that 
F.  Wood,  for  whom  the  colt  ran 
so  well,  should  have  the  mount, 
though  it  meant  carrying  many 
pounds  over- weight.  Under  these 
circumstances  the  earning  of  a 
5lbs.  penalty  did  not  signify, 
for  Wood  was  not  asked  to 
ride  under  7st.  Ercildoune  was 
putting  up  a  iolbs.  penalty, 
and  even  then  his  party  by  no 
means  thought  him  out  of  it, 
though  this  opinion  was  not 
shared  by  the  public.  The  craze 
there  was  for  Asterie  we  could 
not  understand,  looking  at  her 
running  at  Manchester  and  the 
fact  that  she  could  not  win  last 
year  with  11  lbs.  less  weight.  Of 
each  of  quite  half  the  starters  we 
heard  something  that  entitled  it 
to  win,  but  when  the  race  was 
over  nothing  was  so  much  vindi- 
cated as  public  form,  for  Scin- 
tillant beat  Ercildoune  by  a 
head,  whilst  Mitcham,  the  most 
consistent  of  performers  over  a 
distance,  was  third.     That  Ercil- 


doune should  make  so  close  a 
thing  of  it  with  his  penalty  up 
shows  what  a  certainty  he  would 
have  been  without  it,  but  the 
Duke  of  York  Stakes  was  of 
more  than  double  the  value  of 
the  Cesarewitch.  Had  the  head 
been  the  other  way  it  would  have 
been  a  disappointing  thing  for 
F.  Wood,  who  had  put  off 
his  wedding  to  ride.  It  should 
be  noted  that  Scintillant  was 
carrying  gibs,  and  Ercildoune 
iolbs.  more  than  in  the  original 
handicap. 

The  Bretby  Stakes  was  won 
by  Vane,  own  sister  to  Flying 
Fox,  but  she  beat  nothing  much. 
She  was  a  long  way  behind 
Forfarshire  and  Democrat  at 
Kempt  on. 

As  Forfarshire  was  not  entered 
for  the  Middle  Park  Plate,  it  was 
apparently  left  to  Simon  Dale  to 
dispute  matters  with  Democrat. 
But  Simon  Dale  by  no  means 
ran  as  well  as  at  Doncaster,  and 
many  lengths  behind  his  private 
form,  which  places  him  a  long 
way  in  front  of  Goblet,  who 
here  beat  him.  Diamond  Jubilee 
showed  further  approach  to  what 
is  expected  of  him,  although  it 
was  owing  to  a  good  start  that 
he  was  able  to  finish  within  half 
a  length  of  Democrat.  As  it 
turned  out,  the  presence  of  Simon 
Dale  was  a  very  good  thing  for 
the  Democrat  people,  who  in  his 
absence  would  never  have  been 
able  to  get  even  money. 

The  Cub- hunting  Season  — 
The  new  hunting  season  which 
will  have  begun  by  the  time 
Baily  is  in  the  hands  of  its 
readers,  opens  with  very  bright 
prospects  of  sport.  The  heavy 
rain  of  late  September  and  early 
October  has  softened  the  ground, 
and  the  fall  of  the  leaf  will  be 
early  this  year  to  all  appear- 
ance. Foxes  as  a  rule  are  plenti- 
ful and   stout,  though  here  and 


1899-1 


"OUR   VAN. 


M 


359 


there  is  mange,  a  disease  which 
will  torment  us  as  long  as  foxes 
are  bought  and  turned  down. 
The  Field  has  raised  a  timely 
protest  against  the  trade  in 
foxes,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
some  endeavour  will  be  made  by 
our  leaders  in  matters  of  sport  to 
put  an  end  to  a  traffic  which  is 
a  continued  menace  to  hunting. 
The  worst  of  all  dangers,  wire, 
exists  in  some  countries  to  an 
alarming  extent,  and  will  always 
be  a  source  of  trouble  unless  the 
difficulty  be  boldly  faced.  In 
most  cases  the  majority  of  farmers 
are  willing  to  meet  hunting  men 
on  this  matter.  It  is  a  class 
above  the  farmers  in  wealth  and 
position  who  are  at  once  the 
worst  offenders  and  the  most 
difficult  to  deal  with.  It  is  not 
the  men  with  a  grievance,  some- 
times a  real  one,  but  the  secret 
enemies  of  hunting  from  whom 
the  real  danger  to  sport  comes. 
Some  offenders  are  open  to 
friendly  expostulation,  some  to 
social  pressure,  but  the  rest  are 
very  difficult  to  influence.  Un- 
fortunately there  are  countries 
which  are  already  well  nigh  im- 
possible to  ride  over,  and  though 
hounds  can  run,  the  followers  see 
but  little  of  them.  Still,  on  the 
whole,  the  prospects  are  very 
bright,  perhaps  .  unusually  so. 
Hounds  never  were  better,  and 
with  good  foxes,  fast  and  mu- 
sical packs,  and  scent,  without 
which  nothing  can  be  done,  a 
good  season  may  be  looked  for- 
ward to.  One  great  point  to  the 
good  is  that  hounds  this  year 
have  had  plenty  of  schooling,  and 
— as  will  be  seen  by  those  who 
look  at  the  following  notes — 
plenty  of  blood. 

Stag-hunting. — Mr.  Sanders  is 
carrying  the  horn  himself  one  day 
in  the  week  with  the  Devon  and 
Somerset,  the  number  of  wild  deer 
on  Exmoor  making  it  necessary 


to  hunt  four  days  a  week.  Even 
so,  and  with  Sir  John  Amory's 
staghounds  to  help,  it  is  difficult 
to  keep  the  deer  in  check.  Mr. 
Sanders  had  a  very  successful 
hunt  from  Hollacombe  Head, 
though  the  stag  escaped  hounds 
at  the  close  by  one  of  the  clever 
devices  cunning  old  deer  adopt. 
The  stag  had  been  almost  run  up 
when  he  joined  a  herd  of  hinds 
which  raced  away  in  front  of 
hounds,  and  keen  eyes  noted  at 
length  that  the  stag  was  no 
longer  with  the  herd.  Hounds 
were  at  once  stopped  and  every 
effort  made  to  recover  his  line. 
All  was  in  vain.  Whether  the 
stag  turned  off  or  whether  he 
laid  down  and  let  hounds  over- 
run him  no  one  can  say,  but  at 
all  events  he  disappeared  and  was 
not  to  be  found.  On  another  oc- 
casion a  fighting  stag  was  lassoed 
in  the  Exe,  but  not  till  he  had 
struck  at  and  wounded  two 
horses.  This  stag  had  but  one 
eye  and  was  a  very  tough  and 
dangerous  customer.  Stag-hunt- 
ing is  very  nearly  at  an  end  now, 
and  a  very  excellent  season  it  has 
been,  the  only  blot  on  it  being  the 
loss  of  some  good  hounds,  but 
that  is  an  incident  of  stag- 
hunting  that  cannot  be  helped. 
The  best  and  boldest  hounds  are 
always  in  most  danger  of  injury. 

Sir  John  Amorys  Staghounds. 
— Every  year  Mr.  Basset t  (for- 
merly master  of  the  Devon  and 
Somerset)  entertains  hounds, 
horses  and  men  when  the  Barn- 
staple district  is  to  be  hunted. 
Like  most  Devonshire  men  the 
Barnstaple  folk  are  keen  sports- 
men, and  the  writer  has  seldom 
seen  a  bigger  crowd.  One 
thought  occurred  to  him  as  he 
looked  over  the  crowd — that  the 
cycle,  as  a  sporting  conveyance, 
has  come  to  stay.  It  has  several 
advantages;  a  man  on  a  wheel 
can  see  more  sport  than  a  man 


360 


baily's  magazine. 


[November 


on  foot,  and  he  does  less  mischief 
to  the  farmer — none  at  all,  in 
fact,  while  the  ever  -  increasing 
numbers  of  cyclists  at  hunting 
fixtures  must  tend  to  increase  the 
popularity  of  hunting,  and  to 
strengthen  its  position  in  the 
land.  Moreover,  it  might  be  a 
source  of  revenue  to  the  hunts. 
Many  persons  who  enjoy  hunting 
on  a  cycle  would  be  quite  willing 
to  pay  a  small  subscription,  if 
they  were  asked.  But  to  return 
to  the  stag  -  hunting.  With  so 
many  persons  present  who  only 
get  an  occasional  day's  hunting, 
the  stag  was  considerate  of  their 
interests.  For  while  the  pace 
was  fast,  the  course  taken  by  the 
stag  was  such  as  to  let  in  most  of 
the  followers  from  time  to  time. 
A  fast  run,  with  some  curves  in 
it,  probably  tends  to  the  greatest 
happiness  of  the  greatest  number 
in  the  hunting-field. 

Dukeof  Beaufort's.-This  coun- 
try, now  restored  to  its  old  limits, 
is  to  be  thoroughly  hunted.     The 
hounds  are  to  be  divided  into  four 
packs,  the  duke  himself  carrying 
the  horn  with  the  dog  pack,  and 
Will  Dale  with  the  bitches.     The 
purchase  of  the  Woodland  Pytch- 
ley  dogs  was  a  useful  one,  bring- 
ing into  the  kennel  the  Belvoir 
and  Blankney  blood.     Mr.  Austin 
Mackenzie's    success    in    hound 
breeding  was  based  on  the  blend- 
ing of  those  two  famous  strains. 
Of  course,  Lord  Henry  Bentinck's 
sort  were  only  modified  Belvoir, 
as    the    Blankney   master    leant 
much  on  the  judgment  of  the  elder 
Will  Goodall.     The  whole  of  the 
duke's  pack  look  like  work,  and 
his    country    tests    the    working 
power  of  hounds.     There  is   no 
country    which    has    a    greater 
variety  of  soil,  tillage  and  fencing 
than  the   Badminton.     The    dis- 
trict,   which    has    recently   been 
reclaimed,  and  will  now  be  hunted 
by  the  duke,  is  the  grass  vale  on 


the  south,  where  are  the  coverts 
of  the  Right  Hon.  Walter  Long, 
of  Rood  Ashton,  and  Captain 
Spicer.  It  is  a  good  scenting 
country,  and  comparatively  easy 
to  ride  over.  Like  many  other 
parts  of  the  duke's  country,  it  is 
very  deep.  The  Duchess  of  Beau- 
fort is  a  keen  sportswoman,  and 
the  duke  is  a  master  of  the 
science  of  hunting.  The  Bad- 
minton huntsman,  Will  Dale,  is 
perhaps  the  greatest  professor  of 
hound  lore  among  huntsmen  now 
on  active  service.  The  writer, 
visiting  Badminton  lately,  was 
struck  with  his  deep  and  extensive 
knowledge  of  pedigrees  and  strains 
of  blood,  and  that  not  only  of 
those  in  his  own  kennel,  but  in 
many  other  famous  packs.  The 
hounds  seemed  in  first-rate  con- 
dition, full  of  muscle,  and  with 
that  fire  and  activity  which  one 
likes  to  see  in  a  pack  of  hounds  at 
the  beginning  of  the  season. 

Leicestershire.— The  Quorn  is 
supplying    many    members    and 
two  correspondents   to  the  war. 
Lady  Sarah  Gordon  Wilson  is  to 
write    to    the    Daily    Mail  from 
Mafeking,   where  she    has  gone 
with   characteristic  pluck.     Mr. 
Winston  Churchill,  her  nephew, 
is  one  of  the    correspondents  of 
the  Morning  Post.     Most  of  the 
Churchill  family  are  clever,  and 
the     expectant     Melton    readers 
will  not   be  disappointed  in  the 
letters  the  aunt  and  nephew  will 
send  home.     I  should  have  noted, 
too,  that  Captain  Gordon  Wilson 
is    with   Colonel    Baden  -  Powell, 
who,  by  the  way,  was  one  of  the 
keenest  of  the  keen  after  a  wild 
boar  when  in  India. 

The  Quorn.  —  Hounds  and 
horses  are  fit  and  well,  and  we 
all  think  that  in  Walter  Keyte 
we  have  a  worthy  successor  of 
Tom  Firr.  Old  Dalby  Wood, 
which  is  in  the  Monday  country, 
is  a    comfortable  early   morning 


I899-] 


"  OUR  VAN.' 


361 


ride  from  Melton,  and  if  there 
be  foxes  there,  they  can  hardly 
take  a  wrong  line.  In  the  neigh- 
bouring gorse  hounds  spoke  in 
a  way  that  told  of  a  scent.  A 
few  moments  later  they  tasted 
blood.  A  capital  cub  was  then 
found  in  Dalby  Wood,  and  after 
being  rattled  about  in  covert, 
made  his  escape,  and  was  left  for 
another  day.  Number  three  gave 
a  short  scurry  in  the  open,  and 
was  killed  in  Grimston  Gorse,  the 
puppies  joining  eagerly  in  the 
chase.  In  Lord  Aylesford's 
covert  hounds  found  and  killed  a 
badger — this  was  always  a  great 
place  for  badgers.  Then  another 
fox  was  found  in  a  plantation  and 
killed,  after  a  smart  little  run  to 
Old  Dalby  Wood.  The  follow- 
ing day  hounds  found  themselves 
in  a  very  different  country,  the 
fixture  being  at  Swithland  Wood. 
This  is  in  that  Charnwood  Forest 
country  of  which  Tom  Firr  used 
to  say  that  it  was  invaluable  for 
educating  hounds.  This  section 
of  the  Quorn  is  rough  and  wild, 
and  there  are  many  stone  walls,  but 
it  generally  carries  a  good  scent. 
The  Forest  is  a  first-rate  place 
for  cub-hunting,  and  in  the  season 
it  serves  to  steady  hounds  and  to 
give  them  self-reliance.  This  was 
a  splendid  morning's  work  from 
the  huntsman's  point  of  view. 
There  was  a  good  show  of  foxes, 
and  two  were  brought  to  hand 
after  real  hard  work. 

It  may  be  hoped  that  Fortune 
is  weary  of  flouting  Captain  Burns- 
Hartopp,  and  that  the  famous 
hunt  may  have  good  luck  as  well 
as  good  sport  this  year.  Every- 
thing promises  well.  Plenty  of 
rain  has  fallen,  and  the  mange,  if 
not  entirely  eradicated,  is  very 
much  less  than  it  was. 

Mr.  Fernie'fl. — With  no  mange 
to  speak  of,  with  wire  decreasing, 
and  a  practically  unlimited  sup- 
ply of  foxes,  this  fortunate  hunt 


begins  another  season.  There 
are  no  large  coverts  in  this  coun- 
try, and  cub-hunting  generally 
begins  late,  and  is  mostly  carried 
on  in  the  open.  A  very  pleasant 
time  it  is,  and  the  blindness  of 
the  fences  is  an  ample  excuse  for 
availing  oneself  of  the  numerous 
and  well -hung  gates.  Rollestone 
was  the  first  fixture,  and  Lord 
Churchill  was  sure  to  have  some 
good  litters.  The  Rollestone 
coverts  are  large  for  this  part  of 
the  world,  and  some  capital  work 
soon  ended  with  the  death  of  two 
cubs.  This  was  business,  and 
took  some  little  time,  as  scent 
was  none  too  good  in  covert. 
Then  came  pleasure,  which  con- 
sisted of  two  very  merry  little 
scurries,  one  to  Keythorpe  and 
the  other  round  by  the  Ske'ffing- 
ton  Vale  and  Briary  Lees, 
and  back  at  a  good  pace  into 
Rolleston  Wood,  where  they 
killed  him,  fairly  beaten  by  the 
pace  over  the  grass.  With  plenty 
of  room,  an  easy  conscience  about 
fences,  and  no  crowd  at  the  gates, 
it  was  very  pleasant. 

The  Cottesmore. — This  hunt 
has  had  good  scent,  but  bad  luck, 
for  Gillson,  their  huntsman,  and 
one  of  the  soundest  and  best  in 
kennel  or  field,  has  met  with  an 
accident.  Wardley  Wood  is  big 
as  coverts  go  in  this  part  of  the 
world,  and  does  not  always  carry  a 
good  scent.  However,  hounds  dis- 
posed of  a  cub  and  then  slipped 
away  into  the  open  with  a  very 
stout  "cub"  indeed.  Sterns 
down  and  heads  up,  they  raced 
right  up  to  Ridlington.  By  this 
time  hounds  had  the  fun  pretty 
much  to  themselves,  but  they 
turned  at  or  near  Quakers  Spin- 
ney, and  then  ran  back  over  the 
road  into  Wardley.  As  the  fol- 
lowers reached  the  wood,  we 
could  hear  hounds  running  fiercely 
in  covert.  Then  silence,  and 
everyone  scurried  through,  know- 


362 


BA1LY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[November 


ing  they  must  be  out.  We  heard 
of  them  in  Beaumont  Chase,  and 
saw  them  again  near  Uppingham. 
Right  through  Glaston  Gorse  up 
to  Murcott  the  pack  ran,  but  the 
fox  was  beginning  to  have  enough 
of  it,  and  a  sharp  turn  enabled 
hounds  to  be  stopped  ere  they  got 
back  to  Glaston.  This  fox  should 
give  the  run  of  the  season  later,  if 
his  work  on  this  occasion  was  not 
too  much  for  him. 

The  Belvoir. — There  is  no  plea- 
santer  time  in  the  season's  hunting 
than  cub-hunting  with  this  pack. 
Sir  Gilbert  Greenall  and  Capell 
have  been  taking  toll  of  the  foxes 
rather  heavily.  Thirteen  cubs  in 
two  mornings  is  a  heavy  tax,  yet 
who  can  doubt  that  the  resources 
of  the  country  can  meet  even  so 
heavy  a  strain,  when  we  hear  of 
seven  cubs  jumping  up  out  of  one 
turnip  field.  There  is  nothing 
more  delightful  in  the  world 
than  a  woodland  hunt  after  heavy 
rain,  nor  can  the  pleasures  of 
woodland  hunting  be  anywhere 
better  enjoyed  than  in  the  mag- 
nificent Belvoir  Woods.  Capell 
had  sixty-five  couples  of  the  best 
foxhounds  in  the  world  at  his 
horses'  heels  when  he  trotted  of! 
to  draw  the  woods  above  the 
head  keeper's  house.  Almost  at 
once  a  cub  was  found,  and  the 
volume  of  music  that  rose  and  fell 
in  the  woods  showed  that  silence 
is  not  a  failing  of  this  famous 
pack.  The  ringing  music  was 
soon  exchanged  for  smothered 
growls,  for  with  such  a  pack  the 
cub  was  soon  disposed  of. 
Hounds  soon  found  another. 
The  great  pack  drove  him  up  and 
down  the  woods,  the  music 
echoing  and  re-echoing  through 
the  deep  glade  for  half-an-hour. 
The  fox  took  refuge  in  a  drain 
under  one  of  the  roads,  but  wait- 
ing for  a  moment  to  catch  his 
wind,  or  alarmed  at  the  clamour 
of   the  hounds,  he  bolted  imme- 


diately and  went  straight  for  the 
open.  The  scent  was  good  and 
hounds  never  faltered  nor  wavered 
on  the  line,  but  swung  with  the 
fox  just  short  of  Harby  Station 
and  back  into  the  Wood.  Here 
the  pack  divided,  and  both  foxes 
were  lost.  This  was  the  best  of 
the  morning,  though  three  brace 
more  were  found  and  another  cub 
killed.  On  the  Leicestershire 
side  at  Croxton  foxes  were  not 
quite  so  plentiful  and  sport  not 
quite  so  good. 

Helton. — Whether  the  sport  to 
come  be  good  or  bad,  the  little 
town  seems  likely  to  have  a  good 
time,  and  most  of  the  houses  are 
taken  by  those  whose  names  are 
household  words  in  the  world  of 
sport.    The  most  important  new- 
comers are  Lord  and  Lady  Down- 
shire,  who  have  rented  Leesthorpe 
from  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sloane-Stanley. 
Lady  Down  shire  has  been  more 
often    with    the    Queen's  Buck- 
hounds  than  in  the  shires,  though 
not    quite    a    stranger  here.    In 
Mrs.Sloane-Stanley  Leicestershire 
loses  for  a  time  a  first-rate  horse- 
woman and  keen  follower.     Lord 
and  Lady  Henry  Bentinck  are  at 
Somerby,  but  they  are  old  friends 
who    return.        Mr.     and    Mrs. 
McCreery,    the    former   of   polo 
fame,   have    got    that    charming 
place,  the  Coplow,  which  might 
perhaps    be    said     to     be,   with 
Thorpe-Satchville    Hall,    one  of 
the  best  centres  for  hunting  in  the 
world.       The    war    preparations 
have    taken    away  many  of   the 
keenest  soldier  pursuers,  Colonel 
Brocklehurst,  Captain  McKenna, 
and  all  the  10th  Hussars  and  the 
Royals  and  many  others.  Captain 
"  Tony  "    Markham  has  gone  to 
Africa.     Lord  Cowley  has  Bag- 
grave  Hall,  it  is  said,  for  a  term 
of  years.     The  Duke  of  Rutland 
will  be  at  Belvoir,  and  the  family 
pack   will  have  that  hard  riding 
heavy-weight,  Lord    Cecil  Man- 


I899-] 


"OUR   VAN. 


»t 


363 


ners,  as  one  of  its  followers. 
Lord  Robert  Manners  will  very 
likely  go  to  the  Transvaal  with 
his  regiment.  Lord  and  Lady 
Manners  will  be  at  Cold  Overton 
as  usual,  and  Sir  Ernest  Cassel 
will  occupy  Little  Dalby  Hall. 

The  Pytchley.— The  Woodland 
Pack  have  begun  work  under  their 
new  master  and  huntsman,  Lord 
Southampton,  who,  however,  has 
had  an  apprenticeship  both  as 
master  and  huntsman,  for  he  has 
acted  for  Lord  Willoughby  de 
Broke  as  deputy  with  the  War- 
wickshire, and  he  hunted  the  10th 
Hussar  Hounds  in  Ireland  when 
he  was  in  that  regiment.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  repeat  that  he 
has  a  capital  pack  of  bitches,  for 
the  fame  of  Mr.  Austin  Macken- 
zie's kennel  is  widespread.  Lord 
Southampton,  as  a  huntsman,  is 
quiet,  patient,  and  yet  quick,  too, 
when  his  help  is  wanted,  and 
everyone  knows  that  the  beautiful 
but  stiff  open  country  of  the 
North  Pytchley  will  not  stop  him. 
Lord  Southampton  adds  one 
more  to  the  long  list  of  famous 
polo  players  who  are  now  hunting 
hounds.  The  best  day  Lord 
Southampton  has  had  was  from 
Cranford :  plenty  of  cubs  were 
found,  and  two  brace  accounted 
for  ;  one  brace  being  killed,  and 
one  brace  run  to  ground. 

The  Heynell. — Burtenshaw  has 
begun  his  season  with  this  pack, 
having  succeeded  to  Harry  Bon- 
ner, who  resigned  last  season. 
The  new  huntsman  knows  the 
pack  and  the  country,  having 
previously  been  first  whipper-in. 
The  Meynell  is  a  comparatively 
simple  country  to  ride  over,  which 
makes  the  huntsman's  place  no 
easy  one.  Hounds  are,  with  any- 
thing of  a  crowd  behind  them, 
very  liable  to  be  ridden  off  the 
line.  Cubs  are  plentiful,  but- 
scent  has  hitherto  been  wanting. 
Doubtless  the  welcome  rain  will 


have  made  things  better  since 
news  was  last  received  from 
Derbyshire. 

The  Shropshire. — This  hunt  is 
lucky  in  having  as  joint  master  so 
keen  and  thorough  a  sportsman  as 
Mr.  Rowland  Hunt,  and  the  pack 
have  found  cubs  each  time  they 
have  been  out.  A  little  variation 
to  the  ordinary  run  of  sport  was 
enjoyed  the  other  day,  when 
hounds  got  on  the  line  of  an  old 
badger,  and  after  hunting  about 
the  covert  some  time,  the  pack 
got  up  to  him.  The  gallant  old 
fellow  actually  beat  off  hounds 
three  times,  and  only  at  last  suc- 
cumbed to  superior*  numbers, 
fighting  up  to  the  very  end.  This 
interlude  over,  hounds  had  a  long 
and  useful  hunt  after  a  stout  cub, 
killing  him  at  last  in  a  turnip 
field. 

The  Ledbury  Hunt  and  Wire. 
— All  masters  of  hounds  and 
farmers  would  do  well  to  read 
the  report  of  the  meeting  called 
by  Mr.  Wilson,  the  new  master 
of  the  Ledbury  (reported  in 
the  Hereford  Press  of  September 
30th),  to  consider  the  question  of 
wire  fencing  and  its  removal. 
The  plan  of  calling  a  meeting  and 
discussing  the  question  with  the 
farmers  seems  to  have  worked 
well.  Everyone  appeared  willing 
to  meet  the  master's  wishes,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Ledbury 
Hunt  will  be  practically  free  of 
wire  in  the  course  of  a  season  or 
two.  Flagging  wire  fences,  while 
it  is  better  than  nothing,  is  in  it- 
self a  very  unsatisfactory  solution 
of  the  difficulty.  Wire  does  not 
the  less  spoil  sport  because  it  is 
flagged  ;  indeed,  nothing  takes 
the  ride  out  of  a  field  so  certainly 
as  the  sight  of  the  red  boards. 
Very  satisfactory  was  a  letter  from 
the  Ecclesiastical  Commissioners, 
saying  that  they  discouraged  the 
use  of  wire  on  estates  under  their 
management,    and    were    always 


364 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[NOVEMBER 


ready  to  supply  timber  or  other 
fencing  to  their  tenants.  So  well 
disposed  are  the  majority  of 
farmers  that  it  is  only  necessary 
for  the  landlord  to  supply  timber. 
One  landowner  who  does  this  told 
the  writer  he  had  supplied  over 
twelve  hundred  posts  on  his 
estate.  All  the  farmers  at  the 
meeting  disapproved  of  barbed 
wire  or  the  more  dangerous  strand 
of  plain  wire  in  the  fences,  but 
observed  reasonably  enough  that 
a  plain  wire  fence  is  not  danger- 
ous, and  of  course  it  is  not,  and 
if  where  such  fences  are  neces- 
sary the  top  strand  is  run  through 
a  stout  rail  painted  white,  no  one 
can  object,  for  such  a  fence  is  a 
fair  jump.  The  writer  remem- 
bers a  farmer  who  would  never 
let  anyone  go  through  a  gate, 
but  all  were  at  liberty  to  jump 
anywhere  fairly.  The  moral  of 
the  Ledbury  meeting  is,  that 
where  difficulties  arise,  it  is  far 
better  to  meet  and  talk  them  over. 
The  interests  of  those  who  hunt 
and  of  the  land  are  the  same,  and 
as  each  has  always  helped  the 
other  in  .the  past,  so  they  must  do 
in  the  future.  Formerly  the 
farmers  needed  little,  and  in  their 
prosperity  they  were  generous. 
It  is  for  hunting  men  to  requite 
this  by  something  more  than 
liberality  whenever  it  is  possible 
to  help  farmers.  Hunting  men 
are  doing  a  good  deal  now,  but  it 
is  for  them  to  consider  whether 
more  is  not  due  to  the  farmers. 
One  point  further:  that  is,  that 
agricultural  distress  is  not  less, 
but  more  acute,  where  there  is  no 
hunting,  and  that  on  the  Con- 
tinent, the  farmers  are  worse  off 
than  in  England. 

The  Puokeridge.  —  The  cub- 
hunting  season  has  been  one  of 
the  best  in  the  annals  of  the  hunt. 
The  mange,  which  to  some  extent 
spoilt  sport  during  the  last  two 
years,  is,  it  is  satisfactory  to  note, 


now  practically  extinct,  and  the 
prospects  for  the  coming  season 
look  exceedingly  bright.  The 
master  had  very  bad  luck  with 
the  puppies  which  were  put  out  to 
walk,  many  of  the  most  promising 
died  before  being  sent  in,  and 
others  succumbed  just  after  their 
return  to  kennels.  Those  that 
have  survived  to  be  entered  have 
much  pleased  the  master  and  hunt 
servants  in  the  way  they  have 
taken  to  their  work.  As  an  experi- 
mental precaution  against  distem- 
per, Mr.  Barclay  has  decided  in 
future  to  have  puppies  returning 
from  walk  sent  to  kennels  which 
will  be  specially  built,  a  little 
distance  from  the  present  ones. 
A  few  good  gallops  have  taken 
place,  notably  from  Clothall  Bury, 
Madams  Wood,  and  Albury  Park. 
The    Whaddon    Chase.— The 

most  successful  cub-hunting  that 
has  been  known  for  many  years 
has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  Mr.  Selby 
Lowndes1  smart  little  pack  of 
bitches,  and  each  morning  hounds 
have  been  out  they  have  not  only 
shown  excellent  sport,  but  have 
been  able  to  mark  their  successes 
with  blood.  It  is  gratifying  also 
to  find  that  the  country  is  remark- 
ably well  stocked  with  foxes 
throughout.  One  of  the  principal 
mornings  during  the  past  month 
originated  at  Willen,  where  a 
strong  litter  of  cubs  was  found, 
and  after  a  capital  dusting  was 
dispersed  to  all  the  quarters  of 
the  compass.  Sturman  handled 
one  and  worked  out  a  pretty  hunt 
along  the  meadows  which  sur- 
round the  village.  After  marking 
one  to  ground  at  Lin  ford  Wood 
they  went  on  to  a  small  spinney 
near  Brad  well  Common,  where 
another  good  litter  was  en- 
countered, and  driving  one  into 
the  open  they  ended  their  morn- 
ing's work  with  blood.  The 
rainfall  which  marked  the  com- 
mencement of  October  did  good 


i*99- J 


«• 


OUR   VAN. 


»! 


365 


service  to  the  Whaddon  country, 
and  on  the  third  morning  they 
scored  again  at  Salden  Wood,  two 
brace  of  masks  being  strapped  to 
the  whipper-in's  saddle  before  the 
order  was  given  for  home. 

The  other  morning  was  at 
Winslow  Spinneys,  over  which 
the  late  Mr.  George  Greaves 
exercised  such  fostering  care, 
and  where  it  goes  without  say- 
ing the  present  tenant,  Capt.  W. 
Lambton,  has  a  rare  show  of 
foxes. 

The  Bicester. — From  Aynho 
these  hounds  had  a  very  hard 
morning's  work,  while  from  Wes- 
ton-on-the-Green  they  not  only 
did  good  educational  work 
amongst  the  tenants  of  Weston 
Wood  and  Park  Coppice,  of  which 
they  were  able  to  handle  a  brace, 
but  they  finished  their  morning's 
work  by  running  one  to  Wendle- 
bury,  where  he  just  managed  to 
save  his  brush  at  an  open  drain. 

October  3rd  found  them  at 
Croughton  Bottoms,  a  fair  scent 
and  a  strong  lot  of  cubs  to  deal 
with.  After  a  short  delay  they 
faced  the  open  and  followed  a  cub 
which  set  his  head  for  Tusmore 
Wood,  a  covert  on  the  Earl  of 
Effingham's  estate  which  appeared 
alive  with  foxes.  From  Bucknell 
Common  on  October  4th,  a  very 
cheery  morning  was  participated 
in,  for  finding  at  Bucknell  Spinney 
hounds  literally  raced  for  five-and- 
twenty  minutes,  pulling  their 
cub  down  in  Stoke  Little  Wood. 

The  Grafton. — Fortune  has 
smiled  on  Bishopp  and  the  beauti- 
ful Grafton  pack  during  the 
present  autumn,  and  their  cub- 
hunting  has  been  marked  by  some 
very  sporting  mornings  in  the 
dense  woodlands  which  form  such 
a  pleasing  feature  of  their  country. 
Of  these  may  be  noted  their  visit 
to  Halse  Coppice  on  October  6th, 
where  a  brace  of  cubs  occupied 
their  attention  for  some  time  be- 


fore they  succeeded  in  gaining 
the  shelter  of  the  ground.  At 
Brackley  Gorse  they  found  again, 
and  chopped  one  in  covert. 

Whitfield  as  a  fixture,  also 
proved  a  very  interesting  morn- 
ing, for  although  in  the  spinneys 
the  scent  was  decidedly  indif- 
ferent, there  was  a  rare  show  of 
cubs,  and  getting  into  the  open 
hounds  ran  well  through  Tur- 
weston  Spinney  and  on  over  the 
Brackley  Road  to  the  Great 
Central  Railway,  as  if  Evenly  in 
the  Bicester  country  was  the  fox's 
point,  but  Bishopp  could  not 
carry  his  line  thus  far.  Return- 
ing to  Whitfield  it  was  not  long 
before  they  were  in  the  open 
again,  and  having  revisited  Tur- 
weston  went  on  this  time  to 
Westbury  Wilds  to  ground.  At 
Owens'  Spinney  there  were  at 
least  three  brace  and  a  half  cubs 
on  foot  and  after  killing  one 
hounds  ran  another  to  within  a 
field  of  Westbury  village  to 
ground,  but  he  was  had  out  and 
killed. 

The  Oakley. — A  capital  run  of 
sport  has  continued  to  mark  the 
Oakley  doings  throughout  the 
month,  one  morning  especially 
being  worthy  of  notice  in  these 
pages,  for  meeting  at  Moulsoe 
Village,  Mr.  Whitaker  trotted  on 
to  Salford  Wood,  found  Mr. 
Sturgess'  staunch  little  covert 
teeming  with  foxes,  and  for  some 
time  gave  them  a  rare  drilling ; 
then  as  so  often  happens  at  this 
time  of  year,  having  allured  their 
followers  into  the  profound  depths 
of  coffee-housing,  slipped  into  the 
open,  raced  a  cub  up  to  Salford 
village,  crossed  the  brook,  and 
reached  Sir  Harry  Hoares'  park 
at  Wavendon  without  a  check. 
At  the  Woburn  Sands  road  be- 
yond they  wavered  a  moment, 
then  drove  forward  again  to  the 
Rattlepits,  crossed  the  L.N.W. 
Railway     and      having      almost 


366 


BAILYS   MAGAZINE. 


[November 


threaded  Aspley  Guise,  penetrated 
the  depths  of  the  dense  woodlands 
which  clothe  the  hills  beyond. 
Mr.  Whitaker,  however,  was  not 
to  be  shaken  off  thus  easily,  and 
soon  afterwards  handled  his  cub 
in  Aspley  Wood,  close  to  the 
deep  cutting  on  the  Woburn 
Road.  The  few  who  got  away 
with  hounds  were  the  master  and 
his  men,  Mr.  Walter  Bull,  Mr. 
Francis  Coales,  Rev.  —  Scott  and 
the  Messrs.  Sturgess.  Hounds 
then  went  back  to  Moulsoe  Wood, 
where  the  morning  was  finished 
by  the  death  of  another  cub. 

The  Oakley  country  has  sus- 
tained a  great  loss  through  the 
death  of  that  good  sportsman,  the 
Rev.  Charles  Selby  Lowndes, 
rector  of  North  Crawley,  for 
although  his  advanced  age — 
eighty- six — prevented  him  from 
following  the  chase  as  he  would, 
until  the  last  he  was  to  be  seen 
at  the  fixtures  on  wheels.  An 
excellent  shot,  an  ardent  lover  of 
the  foxhound,  and  a  genial  kindly 
gentleman,  "  The  Bishop,"  as  he 
was  affectionately  called  by  those 
who  knew  him,  had  won  a  place 
in  the  hearts  of  all  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact,  and  rich  and 
poor  alike  will  feel  the  loss  of  a 
kindly  friend  —  the  severing  of 
another  link  which  binds  us  with 
the  past.  He  was  the  only  sur- 
viving brother  of  the  late  "  Squire 
of  Whaddon,"  to  whom  was  due 
the  origin  of  the  pack  of  fox- 
hounds which  now  occupy  the 
Whaddon  Chase  kennels. 

Ireland. — The  war  cloud,  which 
has  at  last  burst,  after  many 
months  of  threatening,  had  for  a 
long  time  cast  a  heavy  shadow 
over  Irish  hunting  fields.  Not 
only  was  the  absence  of  many 
most  popular  pursuers  regretfully 
anticipated,  but  one  of  the  very 
leaders  of  the  chase,  the  new 
M.F.H.  of  Limerick,  has  had  to 
vacate  that  peaceful  post  for  the 


sterner  duties  of  his  profession. 
It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  for 
every  reason,  that  Capt.  Frank 
Wise  of  the  13th  Hussars,  may 
soon  return  to  take  the  horn  in 
Limerick,  where  great  things  were 
expected  of  him  this  season ;  for 
his  fine  riding,  keenness  for  the 
chase,  and  genial  manners  had 
commended  him  to  all  as  the 
right  man  for  the  post.  He  is  no 
doubt  extremely  lucky  in  finding 
such  a  substitute  to  work  the 
country  when  he  is  away  as  Mr. 
Harrison,  late  keen  and  popular 
master  of  the  East  Galway 
hounds. 

In  the  matter  of  country  to  ride 
over,  he  will  find  a  vast  difference 
in  Limerick,  part  of  which  is  most 
undoubtedly  about  the  very  best 
in  Ireland,  for  in  East  Galway 
there  are  large  tracts  of  moor  and 
bog  land.  And  yet  it  was  from 
these  bogs  that  Mr.  Harrison  was 
able  to  show  some  of  the  best  of  his 
sport,  and  we  have  been  told  how 
he  used  to  get  his  hounds  to  spread 
out  and  draw  them,  often  cheer- 
ing them  on  foot,  till  from  some  dry 
heathery  tussock  Reynard  would 
spring  up  and  the  fun  begin.  Now 
a  man  must  be  very  keen  to  play 
this  sort  of  game,  and  when  he 
has  good  runs,  and  a  cheery  word 
and  kindly  action  ever  ready,  no 
wonder  he  becomes  popular  with 
the  warm-hearted  and  sport-loving 
natives.  Perhaps  this  war  news 
will  be  most  felt  in  Kildare,  where 
the  Curragh  has  ever  provided  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the 
"  field ; M  and  some  of  the  most 
consistent  followers  of  the  county 
hounds  for  the  past  three  seasons 
are  now  in  S.  Africa.  Notably 
will  Col.  George  Knox,  R.H.A., 
be  missed,  for  not  only  was  he 
a  very  conspicuous  figure  in 
the  hunting  field  —  particularly 
when  hounds  ran  hard — but  he 
did  much  to  foster  all  kinds  of 
sport. 


I899-] 


"OUR   VAN. 


»» 


367 


The  Castlecomer  Hounds. — In 

cc  Baily's  Hunting  Directory  "  will 
be  found  full  particulars  of  the 
Castlecomer  hounds ;  the  new 
pack  established  last  season  by 
Mr.  R.  Prior  Wandesforde,  in 
North  Kilkenny.  Mr.  Wandes- 
forde first  got  together  a  pack  of 
harriers  of  a  somewhat  nonde- 
script character,  but  last  season 
increased  his  numbers,  and  hunted 
the  foxes  on  his  own  large  estates 
and  in  the  portion  of  the  Queen's 
County  where  they  were  still 
preserved,  and  which  used  to 
be  drawn  occasionally  with 
much  success  by  Mr.  Assheton 
Biddulph.  Since  the  close  of  the 
season  he  has  obtained  the 
services  of  George  Brown,  who 
once  hunted  Kilkenny. 

The  Kildare.  —  The  Kildare 
hounds  have  also  been  very  busy, 
and  Col.  de  Robeck  took  his 
hounds  down  to  the  Queen's 
County  end  of  the  country  to  Sir 
Hunt  Walsh's  place,  to  give  the 
big  woodlands  a  good  rattling  for 
three  days  in  September,  and  he 
has  been  there  since.  His  new 
huntsman,  Champion,  who  came 
to  him  from  Galway,  has  much 
pleased  some  good  judges  who 
have  seen  him  at  work  and  foxes 
abound.  These  hounds  had  good 
sport  in  the  Naas  country  on  one 
of  the  last  days  of  September,  and 
did  no  end  of  hunting  about 
Mr.  T.  de  Burgh's  place  at 
Oldtown. 

The  Carlow  and  Island.— In 
Carlow  Mr.  Robert  Watson 
seldom  does  much  cub-hunting, 
but  found  plenty  of  cubs  when 
he  visited  Newtownbarry,  Borris 
and  Ballintemple,  though  he  had 
no  sort  of  scent ;  however,  these 
hounds  could  run  very  hard  in 
Brownes  Hill  on  October  12th, 
and  later  in  the  day  took  a  fox 
(an  old  one)  very  fast  from  Sir 
Charles  Burton's  Gorse,  and  were 
stopped  at  Johnstown.    The  same 


story,  "  lots  of  foxes  but  no  scent," 
comes  from  Mr.  Langrishe  in 
Kilkenny,  and  Mr.  Burke  in 
Tipper  ary. 

Polo. — All  our  four  great  polo 
regiments,  the  13th  Hussars,  the 
10th  Hussars,  the  Inniskillings, 
and  the  9th  Lancers,  have 
gone  to  South  Africa,  and  our 
best  wishes  go  with  them.  In 
England  the  London  Polo  Club  has 
finished  a  prolonged  and  success- 
ful season,  and  we  think  Majors 
Herbert  and  Peters  have  started 
well  in  their  effort  to  popularise 
polo.  County  Carlow  finished 
their  season  with  a  good  tourna- 
menti  and  Portsmouth  wound  up 
with  a  successful  and  popular 
gymkhana.  Polo,  which  hardly 
flourishes  as  it  used  in  the 
Bombay  presidency,  seems  to 
have  taken  a  new  lease  of  life  at 
Poonah,  under  the  care  of  Majors 
Kirk  and  Apthorp.  The  Poona 
Horse  and  the  A.D.C.'s,  who,  by 
the  way,  had  two  of  the  famous 
Durham  Light  Infantry  team  in 
their  ranks,  were  the  only  teams 
left  in  for  the  Open  Tournament. 
After  a  close-fought  game  the 
umpires  stopped  play,  as  a  shower 
of  rain  had  made  the  ground 
slippery  and  dangerous.  The 
A.D.C.'s  were  one  goal  and  four 
subsidiaries  to  the  good  when 
play  ceased.  The  teams  were  as 
follows : — 


Poonah  Horse. 

Capt.  Fraser 
„     Cooper 
Duffardar  Iintaz  AH 
Jemadur  Mahomed  Kadir 


A.D.C. 

Capt.  Luard 

Wilkinson 

Greig 

Young 


»» 
m 
•  1 


Umpires :  Major  Kirk  and  Major  Apthorp. 

Polo  in  the  United  States.— A 

New  York  correspondent  writes 
that  the  season  practically  closed 
during  the  last  week  of  August 
with  the  tournament  of  the  Myopia 
Club  at  Boston,  Mass.  The  end 
of  August  is  quite  as  late  in  the 
year  as  American  poloists  care  to 
play,  for  by  then  ponies  have  had 


368 


baily's  magazine. 


[November 


four  months  hard  work  and  re- 
quire rest ;  moreover,  other  sports 
are  beginning  to  demand  atten- 
tion. This  may  to  some  extent 
explain  why  the  Championship 
Games,  which  the  National  Com- 
mittee had  arranged,  as  formerly, 
for  September,  fell  through  this 
year.  The  Meadow  Brook,  West- 
chester (Newport),  Myopia  and 
Devon  Clubs,  the  four  best  teams 
in  the  country,  had  entered,  but 
one  after  another  withdrew  ow- 
ing to  the  defection  of  players, 
until  the  Westchesters  alone  re- 
mained, and  thus  won  the  cham- 
pionship of  1899  by  default.  The 
collapse  is  much  to  be  regretted, 
for  the  strength  of  the  teams,  as 
regulated  by  their  respective 
handicaps,  promised  interesting 
polo.  The  past  season  in  the 
States  has  been  very  successful ; 
if  the  number  of  players  has 
shown  no  great  increase,  there 
has  been  marked  improvement  in 
the  quality  of  the  play,  men  work- 
ing more  together  and  displaying 
heightened  sense  of  the  value  of 
combined  play.  This  has  been 
conspicuous  in  the  case  of  Dedham 
and  Devon  teams,  which  have 
won  most  of  their  games,  and 
whose  improvement  has  required 
the  imposition  of  increased  handi- 
caps. The  Newports  and  Meadow 
Brooks  also  deserve  notice  for 
their  more  scientific  play.  A  novel 
and  interesting  feature  of  the  past 
season  was  a  tournament  held  at 
Rockaway,  N.Y.,  at  which  four 
teams  of  players  under  eighteen 
years  of  age  competed. 

Coursing. — What  bids  *  fair  to 
be  another  very  successful  season 
may  fairly  be  said  to  have  com- 
menced, though  hardly  to  be  in 
full  swing  as  yet,  and  as  concerns 
coursing,  September  must  be  re- 
garded as  a  dead  letter.  But  in 
looking  over  the  list  of  fixtures, 
while  the  appearance  of  numer- 
ous small  meetings  for  the  first 


time,  or  for  their  reappearance, 
we  cannot  but  miss  and  bewail 
the  continued  disappearance  of  at 
least  two  well-known  names  from 
inclusion.  We  allude  to  Ash- 
down  Park  and  Amesbury,  two 
time-honoured  fixtures  for  the  loss 
of  which  it  will  take  any  number 
of  smaller  fry  worthily  to  compen- 
sate. We  are  glad  to  observe 
that  Cirencester  is  once  again 
coming  into  notice,  and  especially 
are  we  pleased  to  see  that  the  old 
fixture  of  Swaffham  is  likely  to  be 
resuscitated.  But  while  such 
places  as  Blandford,  Basingstoke, 
Pawlett,  Kingscote,  Tudhoe,  and 
Borris-in-Ossory  are  rearing  their 
infant  heads,  who  shall  confi- 
dently assert  that  coursing  is  on 
the  down  line  ?  But  what's  in  a 
name?  Nothing  much;  but  we 
are  accustomed  to  look  for  and  to 
find  the  better  and  higher  class 
greyhounds  among  the  bigger 
battalions  and  the  greater  names. 
In  the  South  Essex  Club,  conse- 
quent on  the  resignation,  through 
ill-health,  of  the  secretary,  Mr. 
J.  Dobson,  Mr.  Horace  Ledger 
has  been  elected  to  the  post,  and 
the  headquarters  of  the  club  will 
henceforth  be  at  the  White  Hart 
Hotel,  Romford ;  and  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Scottish  National  Club 
on  November  7th  and  8th,  the 
programme  has  been  augmented, 
at  Mr.  Brooks's  request,  by  the 
addition  of  a  stake  for  the  tenant 
farmers  on  the  Hodden  and  Kin- 
mount  estates,  to  which  the  club 
adds  a  silver  teapot,  whilst  Mr. 
Brooks  will  give  2  sovs.  to  each 
nominator  winning  the  first  course. 
The  most  important  meeting  in 
the  month  of  October  was  that  of 
the  Ridgway  Club  at  Lytham,  at 
which  some  of  the  best  grey- 
hounds of  the  day  competed, 
Messrs.  Fawcett,  Gladstone,  Jar- 
dine,  Dr.  Harris,  Pilkington,  Hon. 
O.  C.  Molyneux,  A.  H.  Jones, 
Quihampton,  Humphreys,  £.  M. 


*9*] 


11  OUR  VAN.  ' 


369 


Jrosse,  Dennis,  Hardy,  Watson, 
and  others  being  represented.  It 
was  a  most  successful  meeting  in 
svery  way,  exceptionally  fine 
weather  causing  a  very  large  at- 
tendance of  spectators,  a  fair 
number  of  members  also  attending 
the  dinner  at  the  Clifton  Arms 
Hotel,  Lytham,  under  the  chair- 
manship of  Mr.  C.  J.  F.  Fawcett, 
who  was  faced  by  Mr.  F.  Watson, 
in  the  absence  of  the  vice-presi- 
dent, Mr.  W.  Paterson.  Indeed, 
a  guarantee  was  given  that  the 
management  of  the  crowd  and 
everything  else  would  be  admir- 
able when  it  was  known  that  Mr. 
Mugliston,  the  secretary  of  the 
club,  was  at  the  head  of  affairs. 
Of  the  new  members  joining  the 
club  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that 
th^y  all  came  from  the  southern 
counties,  while  from  the  returns 
it  will  be  seen  that  never  have  the 
southern  counties  done  so  well. 
Naturally  the  bitch  puppies  run 
better  than  those  of  the  stronger 
sex  at  this  time  of  the  season, 
and  from  those  in  the  South 
Lancashire  Stakes  a  choice  should 
be  made.  The  stakes  were 
divided  between  Mr.  R.  F.  Glad- 
stone's Green  Guava,  by  Green 
Nut  out  of  Green  Lemon ;  Sir 
R.  Jardine's  Mrs.  Grundy,  by 
Falconer  out  of  Mrs.  O'Shea; 
and  Mr.  R.  F.  Gladstone's  Gyr 
Falcon,  by  Falconer  out  of  Mrs. 
O'Shea. 

The  North  Lancashire  Stakes 
for  dog  puppies,  which  included 
167  entries,  51  acceptances,  was 
divided  between  Messrs.  Faw- 
cett's  Fiery  Fable,  Mr.  F. 
Watson's  Wild  Irish  Lad,  Mr. 
G.  W.  White's  White  Waves, 
and  his  White  Ivory,  without  the 
latter  running  his  bye.  The 
Tenant  Farmers'  Cup  for  all  ages 
was  divided  between  Messrs. 
Fawcett's  Fiery  Flame  and  (Mr. 
C.  Salthouse  names)  Mr.  H. 
Hardy's    Homer,  and    the    Pee 

vol.  Lxxii. — no.  477. 


Stakes  were  also  divided  between 
Mr.  Humphrey's  Hillcote  and 
Messrs.  Fawcett's  Forgotten 
Fashion.  A  most  objectionable 
fashion  is  this  of  dividing  stakes, 
according  to  our  notion,  and  one 
which  should  never  be  resorted  to 
except  under  very  rare  and  pecu- 
liar circumstances.  Heavens 
what  would  be  the  result  if  suck 
a  system  were  allowed  to  become 
the  prevailing  order  of  the  day  at 
such  a  meeting  as  that  for  the 
Waterloo  Cup  ?  It  must  have 
struck  everybody  how  prominent 
was  the  "F"  division  at  the 
Ridgway  Meeting,  and  how  Fabu- 
lous Fortune,  Fortune  Favent6 
tt  hoc  genus  omne,  representing  the 
fashionable  blood  of  Herschel  and 
the  popular  kennel  of  Mr.  Fawcett, 
were  in  the  ascendant.  The 
Duke  of  Leeds,  we  are  sorry  to 
say,  was  persistently  unfortunate 
again,  as  well  in  his  luck  as  his 
nomenclature.  By  the  way,  we 
are  reminded  that  the  North  of 
England  Club  held  the  usual 
meeting  of  the  season  over  the 
estate  of  the  Duke  of  Leeds  at 
Hornby  Castle  in  the  week  fol- 
lowing the  Mid-Annandale  Meet- 
ing, so  that  visitors  to  the  Scottish 
Meeting  could  conveniently  jour- 
ney into  Yorkshire. 

Northumberland  held  its  meet- 
ing at  Widdrington,  at  which  the 
competing  greyhounds  do  not 
appear  to  have  been  of  very  high 
class,  and  all  the  stakes  were 
insignificant,  both  as  regards 
number  of  competitions  and 
quality  of  competitors.  To  ren- 
der the  stakes  additionally  unim- 
portant, it  only  remains  to  be 
said  that  the  whole — three  in 
number  —  were  divided.  Still, 
many  a  grand  day's  coursing  has 
been  witnessed  over  the  spacious 
Widdrington  pastures  since  the 
first  recorded  meeting  was  held 
there  five-and-twenty  years  ago. 
The  supply  of  hares  has  always 

27 


37° 


baily's  magazine. 


[November 


been  more  than  sufficient  to  meet 
the  increased  demand,  a  fact 
which  affords  proof  of  the  loyalty 
of  all  concerned  in  their  preserva- 
tion. On  the  Saturday  of  the 
meeting  a  blizzard  broke  over  the 
North  of  England  during  the 
early  hours,  and  it  was  surprising 
that  such  a  large  number  of  spec- 
tators put  in  an  appearance. 
Their  indifference  to  the  weather 
was,  however,  not  rewarded,  and 
having  waited  for  an  hour  in 
hopes  of  an  improvement,  the 
stewards  decided  on  a  postpone- 
ment until  Monday.  With  a 
fresh  draw  rendered  necessary, 
and  with  cards  to  be  reprinted, 
Mr.  Snowdon  had  to  exercise  all 
his  well-known  energy  to  reorgan- 
ise matters  in  the  short  time  at 
his  disposal.  Fortunately  there 
were  only  two  changes  to  take 
into  consideration,  so  all  was  in 
order  when  rain  fell  in  torrents, 
but  not  with  the  additional  dis- 
comfort of  Saturday's  gale.  Later 
on  the  weather  cleared,  and  the 
occasional  glimpses  of  sunshine  in 
a  measure  rewarded  spectators  for 
a  weary  amount  of  tramping ;  but 
the  hospitality  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  L. 
Allgood  must  have  entirely  recon- 
ciled them  to  their  lot. 

The  stakes  were  not  deficient  of 
blood,  for  we  find  Young  Fuller- 
ton  and  Fabulous  Fortune  present 
by  representative  in  either  stake  ; 
while  the  divider  of  the  Widdring- 
ton  Stakes  was  Get  Hold,  a  black 
bitch  by  Not  so  Green  (dead)  (by 
Greentick  out  of  Miss  Glendyne) 
out  of  Gladiole  (by  Mullingar  out 
of  Sea  Serpent),  who  won  twenty 
out  of  twenty -two  courses  in 
public.  Get  Hold  is  nearly  full 
sister  to  Gimcrack,  who  was  re- 
cently sold  for  350  guineas.  She 
is  a  second  season  bitch,  and  is 
the  property  of  Mr.  T.  Graham. 
She  was  momentarily  unsighted 
from  slips,  but  raced  past  for  first 
turn,  and  then  "  made  rings  round 


Maid  Marian"  in  another  well- 
run  course,  having  previously  de- 
feated Mr.  G.  Brown's  brindled 
bitch  Selkirk  Sally,  by  Bellarmin 
out  of  Bohemian  Girl  III.  After 
a  wet  and  boisterous  night  a  fine 
morning  greeted  the  Basingstoke 
gathering,  which  was  even  less 
distinguished  than  that  at  Wid- 
drington,  though  here  too  a  For- 
tuna  Favente  was  to  the  fore  in 
the  person  of  Heronsgate  Belle, 
who  defeated  the  Gay  Lord  Quex 
as  regards  winning  a  stake,  she  hav- 
ing been  defeated  by  Lady  Swan- 
sea II.  The  Basingstoke  Stakes 
provided  some  fine  trials,  which 
was  finally  won  by  Nimble  VII., 
who  well  deserved  his  distinction, 
but  the  ex -Waterlooer,  Wild 
Rover,  performed  anything  but 
brilliantly,  and  appears  to  have 
seen  his  best  day.  The  hares  came 
to  hand  slowly,  but  sufficient  were 
found  to  complete  the  card  in 
good  time. 

Sporting  Dogs  at  the  Kennel 

Club  Show.  —  A  very  pleasing 
feature  of  the  Kennel  Club  Show, 
held  at  the  Crystal  Palace  this 
month,  was  the  really  excellent 
collection  of  sporting  dogs.  The 
annual  autumn  fixture  of  the 
leading  canine  club  is  never  so 
well  patronised  by  owners  of  dogs 
used  in  field  sports  as  is  the  one 
held  under  the  management  of 
the  National  Dog  Show  Society 
in  Birmingham  later  in  the  year. 
One  reason  is,  that  owners  are 
then  better  able  to  spare  their 
dogs  after  a  hard  season  on  the 
moors,  whilst  another  and  perhaps 
quite  as  cogent  an  explanation  is 
found  in  the  fact  that  the  Bir- 
mingham committee  caters  more 
liberally  for  purely  sporting  breeds. 
After  the  recent  fine  show,  par- 
ticularly of  pointers,  setters  and 
beagles,  it  is,  however,  quite  pos- 
sible that  in  time  the  Kennel 
Club  fixture  will  attain  the  promi- 
nence of  the  older  fixture,  and 


1899] 


"OUR  VAN. 


» 


371 


command  an  entry  worthy  of  the 
premier  all-round  dog  show  in  the 
world.  Otterhounds  were  all  but 
a  blank,  only  the  Dumfriesshire 
pack  being  represented,  but  in 
pointers  Mr.  W.  Arkwright 
benched  Sandbank,  a  fine  lemon 
and  white  dog  of  very  high 
quality,  the  fact  that  he  beat 
Major  Thomas's  True  BiU,  a 
well-tried  pointer  both  in  the  field 
and  on  the  bench,  proving  his 
quality.  The  winner  of  the  bitch 
championship,  Mr.  A.  £.  Butter's 
Faskally  Nellie,  is  also  a  worker, 
whilst  among  the  setter  winners 
were  Dr.  O'Callaghan's  Punches- 
town  and  Mr.  G.  Bullough's 
Redruth  Colonel,  both  thoroughly 
workmanlike  exhibits.  In  re- 
trievers Mr.  H.  R.  Cooke  won 
most  of  the  prizes  with  a  wonder- 
fully level  team  ;  but  spaniels 
were  rather  disappointing,  espe- 
cially after  all  that  has  been  heard 
of  late  as  to  the  improvement  of 
the  various  breeds  as  regards 
combination  of  bench  and  field 
properties.  But  few  of  the  win- 
ners would  be  of  use  in  the  hedge- 
row, if  appearances  are  anything 
to  go  by.  Greyhounds  never 
were,  and,  maybe,  never  will  be 
strong  at  a  Kennel  Club  Show, 
but  beagles  were  a  capital  collec- 
tion, Lord  Hopetoun,  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Beagle  Club,  having 
whipped  up  a  very  fine  entry. 
His  lordship,  everyone  was  pleased 
to  see,  had  a  very  choice  "  under 
ten  inches"  brace  forward.  They 
are  perfect  miniature  hounds, 
being  as  straight  in  legs  and  as 
knuckled-up  in  feet  as  any  fox- 
hound, without  the  least  inclina- 
tion to  apple-headedness.  The 
variety  is,  indeed,  making  very 
fine  progress,  the  entry  at  the 
Crystal  Palace  being  one  of  the 
best  in  the  show. 

Sporting  Pictures.  —  Messrs. 
Frost  and  Reed,  the  art  publishers 
of   Bristol,  send  a  set   of  three 


engravings  illustrative  of  deer- 
stalking,* from  pictures  by  those 
able  sportsmen  -  artists,  Messrs. 
Douglas  Adams  and  Charles 
Whymper.  Mr.  Douglas  Adams 
has  made  his  name  widely  known 
through  the  brush  which  has 
given  us  so  many  Highland  land- 
scapes and  scenes  of  sport ;  while 
Mr.  Charles  Whymper  is  equally 
well  known  as  one  of  our  most 
able  and  truthful  exponents  of 
animal  life  whether  at  home  or 
abroad.  The  joint  work  of  the 
two,  as  might  be  expected,  attains 
to  a  high  level  of  merit,  and  the 
method  of  reproduction  employed 
renders  their  clever  pictures  full 
justice.  Each  one — "  Searching 
for  a  Royal,"  "  The  Stalk,"  and 
"  Bringing  Home  the  Stag," — 
conveys  admirably  the  atmo- 
sphere of  the  hills,  while  the 
attitudes  and  positions  of  the 
deerstalkers  in  relation  to  their 
game  display  practical  acquaint- 
ance with  the  business.  The  set 
— each  print  being  10  inches  by  7 
inches— borne  on  one  mount,  may 
be  most  recommended  to  the 
notice  of  sportsmen  who  can 
appreciate  accuracy  of  detail  and 
artistic  merit. 

Mr.  F.  Mansell,  of  1,  Orleston 
Road,  Holloway,  N.,  has  pub- 
lished an  excellent  photogravure 
of  Mr.  Francis  Redmond's  team 
of  fox  terriers,  entitled  "  The  Tot- 
teridge  XL,  1897."  The  work  is 
probably  known  to  many  of  our 
dog-loving  readers.  The  fox  ter- 
riers are  admirably  grouped  and 
posed  to  show  their  points ;  and 
their  modelling,  save  in  one 
respect,  proves  Mr.  Arthur  War- 
die's  knowledge  of  the  breed. 
The  exception  we  take  is  to  the 
length  of  head  with  which  every 
dog  is  endowed :  one  might 
almost  imagine  that  the  artist 
had   finished   his  studies  from  a 

*  Artist*'   signed  (icofs,  /a  2*.;   India  print* 
£i  is. 


372 


BAILY  S  MAGAZINE. 


[November 


greyhound  model.  The  defect  is 
regrettable,  as  it  qualifies  the 
merit  of  a  piece  of  work  otherwise 
excellent. 

From  the  same  publisher  comes 
a  photogravure  ot  the  "Tug  of 
War,"  by  Mr.  Harding  Cox. 
This  picture  displays  artistic 
merit,  knowledge  of  canine  ana- 
tomy and  no  little  humour.  A 
resolute-looking  bulldog  is  steadily 
hauling  over  the  line  two  nicely- 
clipped  poodles,  whose  ally,  a 
nondescript,  has  lost  hold  of  the 
rope  and  is  falling  over  on  his 
back  with  a  ludicrous  expression 
of  astonishment.  The  judicial 
air  of  the  pug  umpire  who  stands 
with  his  back  to  the  spectator  is 
capitally  suggested.  The  time- 
honoured  legend  touching  the 
ability  of  one  jolly  Englishman 
to  beat  "  two  skinny  Frenchmen 
and  one  Portugee,"  adorns  the 
wall  in  the  background  in  ex- 
planation. 

The  "  Foxhuntero'  Diary,"— 

issued  by  the  Scottish  Accident, 
Life,  and  Fidelity  Co.,  Ltd.,  of 
Edinburgh,  makes  its  appearance 
in  good  time  for  the  hunting 
season.  A  glance  at  the  contents 
shows  that  a  new  selection  of 
hunting  maxims,  scraps  of  hunt 
history,  and  interesting  facts  con- 
nected with  foxhunting,  replaces 
those  in  last  season's  "  Diary." 
These  brief  extracts  display  a 
knowledge  of  hunting  literature 
and  practical  acquaintance  with 
sport  that  make  the  booklet  very 
acceptable. 

"  A  King  of  Fools.  "—At  the 
Grand  Theatre,  Islington,  there 
has  been  many  a  successful  First 
Night,  and  of  recent  years  it 
has  become  quite  fashionable  for 
managers  to  submit  a  new  play, 
in  the  first  place,  to  suburban 
criticism.  Such,  at  any  rate,  was 
the  plan  adopted  by  Mr.  Charles 
Cartwright,  when  he  played,  dur- 
ing the  last  week  of  September, 


at  the  Grand,  his  adaptation  of 
Dumas'  romance,  which  he  has 
entitled  "  A  King  of  Fools."  No 
less  than  four  individuals  are 
partly  responsible  for  the  book, 
for,  although  Dumas  alone  could 
write  the  romance,  Mr.  Cartwright 
enlisted  the  aid  of  two  collabo- 
rateurs  to  produce  the  book  of 
the  play. 

If  the  number  of  authors  be 
large,  the  multitude  of  players  is 
still  more  noticeable,  and  the 
caste  is  quite  one  of  the  largest 
which  we  have  ever  seen.  And 
yet,  as  almost  invariably  is  the 
case  with  a  long  caste,  this  is  a 
one-part  play,  and  the  figure  of 
Chicot,  the  jester,  played  by  Mr. 
Cartwright,  predominates  the 
drama.  Mr.  Cartwright  has  for 
a  long  while  held  a  leading  posi- 
tion amongst  English  actors,  and 
we  must  congratulate  him  upon 
the  success  with  which  he  has 
signalised  his  return  from  the 
antipodes.  The  part  of  Chicot 
is  a  strong  one,  and  is  strongly 
played. 

So  far  as  opportunity  permits, 
many  of  the  other  players  show 
to  great  advantage.  Mr.  James 
Erskine  plays  the  king  as  to  the 
manner  born,  and  gives  clear  evi- 
dence of  the  ability  which  he  un- 
doubtedly possesses.  Mr.  Cosmo 
Lennox  gives  a  masterly  rendering 
of  the  scheming  duke,  and  Mr. 
George  Bealby  is  to  be  congratu- 
lated upon  having,  so  early  in  his 
professional  career,  created  such 
a  clever  study  as  is  his  Captain 
Bron.  The  part  of  the  heroine 
was  admirably  played  by  Miss 
Hoffmann,  who  gave  a  most  fin- 
ished rendering  of  a  long  and 
difficult  study,  and  the  play  was 
staged  and  put  on  in  a  most 
sumptuous  manner.  We  do  not 
think  that  "A  King  of  Fools" 
will  take  London  by  storm,  or 
look  like  rivalling  "  The  Three 
Musketeers  "  in  popularity,  but  it 


1899.] 


"our  van. 


II 


373 


was  cordially  received  at  Isling- 
ton, and  is  likely  to  be  heard  of 
again. 

Swimming.  —  The  swimming 
season  of  1899,  which  has  just 
concluded,  has  been  remarkable 
for  the  brilliant  performances  of 
F.  C.  V.  Lane,  the  amateur 
champion  of  Australia  and  J.  A. 

iarvis  of  Leicester,  who  is  the 
older  of  most  of  the  English 
amateur  championships.  At  dis- 
tances from  220  yards  to  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  Lane  has 
proved  himself  capable  of  beat- 
ing the  speediest  amateurs  in 
this  country,  and  has  succeeded 
in  winning  the  220  yards  and 
quarter  mile  championships.  Over 
a  hundred  yards,  however,  J.  H. 
Derbyshire,  of  Manchester,  proved 
more  than  his  equal,  for  he  de- 
feated Lane  in  the  championship 
by  four  or  five  yards  in  a  fraction 
over  a  minute.  Jarvis  was,  how- 
ever, upset  by  Lane  in  the  quarter 
mile  salt-water  championship  at 
Blackpool,  and  again  in  a  team 
race  between  England  and  Aus- 
tralia at  the  Ravensbourne  Gala 
at  Westminster  last  month.  The 
Australian  was,  however,  terri- 
bly exhausted  at  the  finish,  and 
for  some  time  after  the  race 
was  almost  unconscious.  Beyond 
these  defeats  Jarvis  has  proved 
invincible  and  has  put  up  a 
world's  record  for  a  mile.  He 
is  undoubtedly  the  best  long  dis- 
tance amateur  we  have  ever  seen, 
and  from  half  a  mile  upwards 
holds  records  which  it  will  be 
hard  to  backmark.  His  style 
somewhat  resembles  that  of  the 
great  professional  Joseph  Nuttall, 
but  his  arm  has  a  longer  reach. 
Lane  swims  with  the  Trudgen 
stroke  and  his  form  is  greatly 
admired  by  experts.  The  head 
is  kept  well  out  of  the  water,  not 
sunk  low  down,  and  the  arms 
make  long  raking  sweeps  which 
aid  the  swimmer  considerably. 


Another  feature  of  the  season 
has  been  the  marked  increase  in 
water  polo  competitions  and 
leagues,  clubs  now  recognising 
how  valuable  the  game  is  for 
improving  staying  power.  When 
International  games  were  started 
in  1889  Scotland  could  turn  out 
by  far  the  best  players,  but  since 
then  Englishmen  have  vastly  im- 
proved in  skill  and  tactics,  and 
this  year  they  again  carried  every- 
thing before  them,  they  beating 
Wales,  Ireland  and  Scotland  in 
turn.  The  last  mentioned  country 
was  encountered  at  Aberdeen  on 
October  7th,  and  there  the  Eng- 
lishmen proved  victorious  by  five 
goals  to  one.  Out  of  ten  matches 
played  between  England  and  Scot- 
land the  first  mentioned  country 
have  won  seven,  their  last  defeat 
being  in  the  Diamond  Jubilee  year 
at  Edinburgh. 

Golf. — The  revised  rules  of  golf 
issued  by  the  Royal  and  Ancient 
club  of  St.  Andrews,  come  into 
force  this  month  (November),  and 
consequently  the  duty  falls  upon 
golfers  the  world  over  to  study 
them  carefully,  and  for  the  future 
to  regulate  their  play  in  accord- 
ance with  them.  The  revision  of 
the  old  rules  was  undertaken  by 
a  strong  committee  of  the  club, 
who  may  be  said  to  have  per- 
formed their  work  with  a  due 
regard  for  the  best  traditions  of 
the  game,  as  well  as  for  its  pre- 
sent day  needs.  They  invited 
suggestions  from  all  quarters  and 
in  the  new  code  one  can  see  that 
a  serious  effort  has  been  made  to 
meet  points  of  difficulty  which 
have  arisen  in  circumstances  far 
dissimilar  from  those  of  St. 
Andrews ;  that  in  fact,  the  com- 
mittee took  a  broad  view  of  the 
club's  responsibilities  and  have 
sought  to  legislate,  not  only  for 
the  camp  but  also  for  the  world. 
Special  local  rules  or  bye  laws 
will  be  necessary  in  the  future  as 


374 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[NOV  KM  BEE 


in  the  past,  but  most  clubs  ought 
by  the  aid  of  the  new  code,  to  be 
able  to  cut  them  down  very  much 
and  so  contribute  to  the  happiness 
and  well-being  of  individual  mem- 
bers.    The  changes  made  are  both 
numerous  and  important,  so  much 
so,  that  it  is  quite  impossible  to 
explain    many  of    them  in   this 
column.     To  begin  with,  there  are 
seventeen  definitions,  which  says 
something  for  the  courage  of  the 
revising  committee,  the  work  of 
defining  being  proverbially  dan- 
gerous.   Casual  water  is  defined 
as  "  any  temporary  accumulation 
of  water  (whether  caused  by  rain- 
fall or  otherwise)  which  is  not  one 
of  the  ordinary  and    recognised 
hazards  of  the  course,"  this  defini- 
tion seems  eminently  simple  and 
useful,    and    ought   to  be  given 
general  application!     One  beside 
it,  is  not  however,  so  satisfactory. 
It  defines  a  hazard,   and  it  con- 
cludes   by    saying,   "  Permanent 
grass  within  a  hazard  shall  not 
be  considered  part  of  the  hazard." 
There   is   nothing  commoner    in 
the  case  of  inland  links  than  to 
have  permanent  grass  in  artificial 
hazards,  and  if  this  grass  is  to  be 
regarded  as  a  sort  of  sanctuary, 
a  new  form  of   construction  will 
have  to  be  adopted,  or  else  clubs 
will  require  to  set  up  a  bye  law 
in    defiance    of     this    definition. 
Another  rule  of  special  import- 
ance on  inland  greens  says  that 
worm  casts  may  be  removed,  but 
not  pressed  down  without  penalty. 
This    will   involve  a   change  of 
practice  at  very  many  places.     In 
a  rule  of  considerable  length,  the 
proper  method  of  dropping  a  ball 
behind  a  hazard  or  casual  water 
is  clearly  explained   and  in   the 
longest  rule  of  all,  questions  aris- 


ing from  one  ball  striking  another 
while  on  the  putting  green  are 
dealt  with.  On  this  latter  point 
it  is  made  clear  beyond  dispute, 
that  if  the  opponent  desires  to 
have  his  ball  replaced,  he  must 
exercise  his  option  before  another 
stroke  is  played.  When  the  balls 
lie  within  a  club  length  of  each 
other  through  the  green  or  in  a 
hazard,  the  ball  nearer  the  hole 
may  at  the  option  of  either  the 
player  or  the  opponent,  be  lifted 
until  the  other  ball  is  played.  If 
a  ball  be  driven  out  of  bounds,  a 
ball  shall  be  dropped  at  the  spot 
from  which  the  stroke  was  played, 
under  penalty  of  loss  of  the  dis- 
tance. Mud  adhering  to  a  ball 
shall  not  be  considered  as  making 
it  unfit  for  play ;  and  a  player 
striking  the  ball  twice  does  not 
lose  the  hole  but  is  penalised  to 
the  extent  of  one  stroke. 

These  are  some  of  the  more 
notable  provisions  in  the  new 
general  rules.  With  regard  to  the 
special  rules  for  stroke  competi- 
tions, they  provide  inter  alia  that 
new  holes  shall  be  made,  and  there- 
after no  competitor  before  start- 
ing "  shall  play  any  stroke  on  a 
putting  green  under  penalty  of  dis- 
qualification ; "  and  that  when  a 
competitor's  ball  is  within  twenty 
yards  of  the  hole,  the  competitor 
shall  not  play  until  the  flag  has 
been  removed,  under  penalty  of 
one  stroke. 

Under  the  heading  of  "Eti- 
quette of  Golf,"  the  most  notable 
thing  one  finds  is  a  paragraph 
saying  that,  if  a  match  fail  to 
keep  its  place  on  the  green  and 
lose  in  distance  more  than  one 
clear  hole  on  those  in  front,  it 
may  be  passed,  on  request  being 
made. 


i«99.] 


375 


Sporting  Intelligence. 

[During  September— October,  1899.1 


A  famous  American  sire,  Sensation,  died 
on  September  ioth  from  paralysis,  at  Mr. 
Lorillard's  Rancocas  Stud.  Sensation  was 
-by  Leamington  out  of  Susan  Beane,  and 
was  bred  by  Mr.  A.  Walsh,  Endenheim 
Stud,  Pennsylvania,  in  1877.  He  won 
eight  races  as  a  two-year-old,  but  early  in 
1880  burst  a  foot,  and  was  unable  to  run  , 
again.  He  sired  Democrat,  Elfin,  Berzak, 
Centaur,  Myakka,  and  many  other  winners. 

Iroquois,  another  famous  American 
horse,  died  in  September.  He  was  by 
Leamington,  dam  Maggie  B.B.,  by  Aus- 
tralian, and  bred  by  Mr.  A.  Walsh  at  the 
Endenheim  Stud  near  Philadelphia  in 
1878.  Sold  to  Mr.  Lorillard  when  a 
youngster,  he  was  sent  to  this  counlry  as  a 
yearling,  and  first  appeared  in  the  New- 
market Spring  Two- Year-Old  Stakes  in 
1880,  which  he  won  ;  the  following  year 
he  won  the  Derby  and  St.  Leger,  also  the 
Prince  of  Wales's  Stakes  at  Ascot,  besides 
running  second  in  the  Two  Thousand 
Guineas.  The  horse  was  out  of  form  as 
a  four-year-old,  but  the  following  year  he 
won  the  Stockbridge  Cup,  and  ran  second 
to  Tristan  for  the  Hardwicke  Stakes, 
finishing  his  racing  career,  when  he  was 
sent  back  to  the  States,  and  has  been  a 
fairly  good  sire. 

Mr.  Edwin  Paget  had  a  bad  fall  while 
out  cubbing  with  the  Quorn  near  Six  Hills, 
Loughborough,  on  September  19th,  and 
sustained  a  broken  thigh-bone. 

The  Newmarket  First  October  sale,  on 
September  27th,  did  not  result  in  any  big 
prices.  Mr.  G.  Blackwell  gave  560  gs. 
for  Major  J.  A.  Orr-Ewing^  bay  mare 
Metallic,  by  Sweetbread,  with  a  filly  by 
Ayrshire  at  foot ;  Mr.  C.  D.  Rose  pur- 
chased a  bay  colt  by  St.  Hilare,  dam  Little 
Widow,  for  300  (*s. 

The  Shropshire  Hounds  had  an  exciting 
and  unusual  adventure  on  September  29th. 
The  meet  was  at  Albrighton  Hall,  and 
after  hunting  cubs  for  a  time,  hounds  got 
on  to  the  line  of  an  old  badger,  who  kept 
them  going  for  some  two  hours.  Three 
times  hounds  got  on  terms,  but  the  badger 
succeeded  in  fighting  them  off,  but  at 
length  numbers  told,  and  the  end  came. 
The  badger  weighed  261bs. 

A  correspondent  writes  to  The  Field  of 
September  30th :  "  Under  the  Hunting 
Notes  in  your  issue  of  the  16th  inst., 
reading  of  the  mare  Baccarat's  jump  out  of 
her  box  reminds  me  of  a  somewhat  similar, 
but  more  singular,  escape  of  a  horse.     On 


the  occasion  of  the  arrival  in  Colchester 
barracks  in  1875  OI"  a  batch  of  remounts 
for  the  regiment  I  belonged  to,  they  were 
found  to  be  one  horse  short  of  the  number 
ordered,  causing  a  most  amusing  scene 
between  old  Murphy  (the  agent)  and  our 
chief,  both  counting  them  over  and  over 
again.  Eventually  the  missing  animal  was 
found  grazing  and  unhurt  in  a  field  half- 
way between  London  and  Colchester  by 
the  side  of  the  line.  He  must,  in  jumping 
out  of  the  cattle-truck,  have  performed  the 
very  singular  feat  of  jumping  between  the 
door  top  and  bar  above,  with  a  tremendous 
drop  on  to  the  line,  and  all  without  a 
scratch." 

Mr.  F.  W.  Charsley,  the  popular  hon. 
field  secretary  of  the  Berks  and  Bucks 
Farmers'  Harriers,  and  who  was  also  a 
well-known  follower  of  Her  Majesty's 
Staghounds,  died  at  his  residence,  Pine- 
wood,  Stoke  Poges,  on  October  1st,  from 
injuries  sustained  by  a  fall  from  his  horse  in 
Stoke  Park,  Slough. 

Mr.  John  Gretton,  who  died  at  Grant- 
ham Lodge,  Cowes,  October  2nd,  has  had 
horses  in  training  for  many  years,  but  did 
not  attain  prominent  success  on  the  Turf. 
He  was  a  very  keen  yachtsman,  and  a 
good  all-round  sportsman  of  the  best 
school. 

Swimming  at  Paisley  on  October  2nd, 
J.  A.  Jarvis  created  a  record  of  13  min. 
43  sees,  for  the  thousand  yards,  beating 
the  previous  best — Tyers,  15  min.  2  sees.,  in 
1894 — by  I  min.  19  sees.  He  also  beat  all 
previous  records,  from  500  yards  upwards, 
on  the  following  evening  at  Edinburgh, 
Jarvis  succeeding  in  setting  up  new  figures 
for  the  quarter-mile,  covering  the  distance 
in  5  mm.  53!  sees.,  which  is  i-|  sees, 
better  than  the  previous  amateur  record 
held  by  Tyers. 

An  old-time  Cambridge  cricketer  passed 
away  on  October  3rd,  at  Longford  Rectory, 
Derbyshire,  in  the  person  of  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Anchitel  Anson,  in  his  eighty- 
first  year.  Mr.  Anson  played  in  the  four 
winning  Cambridge  elevens  of  1839,  1840, 
184 1,  and  1842.  His  share  of  the  runs 
scored  was  7,  6,  and  29  not  out,  15  and 
30,  and  41  and  24,  while  he  stumped  one 
and  caught  five  batsmen  in  the  four  inter- 
'  Varsity  matches.  He  was  captain  of  the 
team  during  the  last  three  years. 

Mr.  John  Crozier,  Master  of  the  Blen- 
cathra  Hounds,  attained  his  Diamond  Jubi- 
lee as    M.F.H.,  on    October    4th.      Mr. 


376 


baily's  magazine. 


[NOYBliBKft 


Crosier  was  in  his  seventeenth  year  when 
he  first  took  over  the  hounds  in  1839,  and 
is  consequently  seventy- seven  years  of  age. 

The  polo  ponies  and  hunters,  the  pro- 
perty of  the  late  Mr.  W.  J.  (Jack)  Dry- 
orough,  were  sold  by  auction  at  Eastlands, 
Rugby,  on  October  5th.  The  best  prices 
obtained  for  polo  ponies  were  Made- 
moiselle, grey,  540  gs.,  Twitter,  bay, 
400  gs.,  Regulus,  bay,  320  gs.f  the  average 
for  nine  ponies  being  about  225$  gs.  The 
hunters  made  up  to  290  gs.  for  Paleface, 
Skipping  Rope  made  280  gs.,  Hillmorton 
240  gs,  and  Second  Thoughts  200  gs. ;  the 
average  for  17  lots  was  nearly  192  gs. 

Mr.  J.  B.  Littledale,  captain  of  the 
Gentlemen  of  Cheshire  Cricket  Eleven 
and  a  well-known  sportsman  of  the 
county,  was  on  October  10th  presented 
with  testimonials  to  commemorate  his 
forthcoming  marriage. 

The  usual  sales  were  held  during  the 
Second  October  Meeting  at  Newmarket. 
On  Wednesday,  Octol>er  nth,  the  top 
price,  800  gs.,  was  paid  by  Mr.  S.  Darling 
for  St.  Loup,  a  colt  by  Wolfs  Crag— St. 
Editha,  and  half-brother  to  St.  Gatien. 
Mr.  J.  Robinson  bought  Doremi,  foaled 
1894,  hy  Bend  Or — Lady  Emily,  from 
Mr.  Leonard  Brassey ;  Vapour,  by  Bar- 
caldine,  went  to  Mr.  Brodrick  Cloete  at 
$00  gs ,  the  same  buyer  securing  the  nice 
mare  Bend  Sinister,  by  Bend  Or,  for 
530  gs.  The  bidding  for  Kilcock  went  up 
to  2,900  gs.,  but  did  not  touch  the 
reserve. 

On  Thursday,  Mr.  T.  Leader  secured  a 
bay  colt  by  Royal  Hampton — Queen  of 
the  Adriatic,  at  600  gs. ;  a  bay  filly  by 
Queen's  Birthday,  dam  Verdigris,  the  pro- 
perty of  the  Marquis  of  Zetland,  went  to 
Mr/Darling  for  320  gs. 

Speaking  at  the  Church  Congress  on 
October  14th,  Lord  Harris,  who  was  in- 
troduced by  the  President  as  one  well 
known  to  all  the  boys  present  who  were 
cricketers,  spoke  on  recreation.  The  ob- 
ject of  every  game,  he  said,  should  be  to 
make  them  healthier,  stronger,  and  better 


TURF. 

MANCHESTER.  -September 
Meeting. 

September  2 1st. — The  Autumn  Breeders' 
Foal  Plate  of  1,000  sovs.,  for  two- 
year-olds  ;  five  furlongs. 

Mr.  L.  de  Rothschild's  b.  c.  Grif- 
fon, by  Galopin — St.  Bride,  9st. 
lib T.  Loatcs     I 

Mr.  Russet's  b.  f.  Semper  Vigi- 
lans,  8st.  lib O.  Madden    2 

Mr.    H.    Tunstall   Moore's  ch.   f. 


fitted  for  the  work  that  was  before  them  in 
life.  Games  encouraged  many  good  quali- 
ties. First  there  was  patience,  and  then 
self-denial.  That  was  one  of  the  reasons 
he  preferred  such  games  as  cricket  and 
football  to  such  a  pastime  as  golf.  Golf 
was  rather  a  selfish  game.  Those  who 
engaged  in  it  only  thought  of  their  own 
prowess,  and  there  was  no  reason  why 
they  should  take  any  pride  in  any  one  of 
ten  or  eleven  other  persons,  such  as  in  the 
games  of  football  and  cricket.  In  football, 
for  instance,  they  thought  not  of  their  own 
success,  but  of  the  success  of  the  side. 

Mr.  G.  Rowland  Hill  delivered  an 
address  on  •*  The  Love  of  Games,"  in 
which  he  strenuously  warned  young  Eng- 
land against  allowing  themselves  to  be 
influenced  by  those  who  looked  upon 
their  sports  as  purely  commercial  opera- 
tions 

Mr.  W.  H.  Fowler  presided  over  a 
meeting  of  members  of  the  Ted  worth  Hunt 
held  at  the  Star  and  Garter  Hotel, 
Andover,  when  Mr.  F.  R.  Sutton,  master 
of  the  Penton  Harriers,  made  a  presenta- 
tion to  the  son  and  daughter  of  Mr.  C  P. 
Shrubb,  the  late  master,  in  remembrance 
of  their  father's  services  to  the  hunt.  Mr. 
C.  Shrubb  received  a  silver  model  of  the 
racehorse  Insurance,  which  belonged  to  the 
late  master,  and  Miss  Shrubb  was  pre- 
sented with  a  diamond  bracelet. 

The  Duke  of  Leeds,  Master  of  the 
Bedale,  met  with  a  serious  accident  while 
out  cubbing ;  his  horse  fell  in  crossing  a 
fence  and  came  down  heavily  upon  its 
rider.  Whilst  lying  insensible  the  Duke 
was  severely  kicked. 

While  out  cubbing  with  the  Ormond 
Hounds  at  Rathmore  late  in  September, 
Mrs.  F.  E.  Saunders,  of  Corolanty,  met 
with  a  serious  accident  through  her  horse 
falling  and  rolling  over  her. 

A  famous  French  sire,  Saxifrage,  by 
Vertugadin,  dam  Slapdash,  died  at  M. 
Aumont's  Haras  de  Vicot,  aged  twenty- 
seven  years.  His  stock  first  ran  in  1881, 
and  their  winnings  amounted  to  about 
j£i  15,000. 


Rapine,  8st.  91b AUmack    3 

5  to  1  agst.  Griffon. 
September    23rd. — The     Prince    Edward 
Handicap  of  1,820  sovs.  ;  one  mile 
and  a  quarter. 
Mr.   Jersey's  b.   m.    Maluma,   by 
Malua — Madcap,  aged,  8st.  31b. 

N.  Robinson    I 
Mr.   H.   Hardy's  ch.  g.  Biddo,  3 

yrs.,6st.  7lb G.  M'Call    2 

Mr.  J.  Daly's  b.  or  br.  c.  Bal  mory, 

3  yrs. ,  6st.  81b We  therell    3 

4  to  I  agst.  Maluma . 


1899] 


SPORTING    INTELLIGENCE. 


377 


NEWMARKET.— First  October 
Meeting. 

September      26th.— The      Twenty  -  First 
Great  Foal  Slakes  of  850  so  vs.,  for 
three-year-olds  ;  A.F.  (one  mile  and 
two  furlongs,  straight). 
Mr.  R.  A.  Oswald's  b.  c.  Scintil- 
lant,  by  Sheen— Saltire,  8st.  7lb. 

F.Wood     1 
Mr.  H.  McCalmont's  ch.  c.  Hou- 

goumont,  8st.  I2lb.    M.  Cannon    2 
Sir    R.    Waldie  Griffith's   ch.    f. 
Sweet  Marjorie,  8st.  91b. 

J.  H.  Martin    3 
6  to  5  on  Scintillant. 
The  Buckenham  Stakes  of  900  sovs. ; 

T.Y.C.  (5  furlongs,  140  yards). 
Duke  of  Portland's  b.   or  br.  c. 
Simon  Dale,  by  St.  Simon — Is- 
may,  gst M.  Cannon  w.o. 

September    27th.— The    Newmarket    Oc- 
tober Handicap  of  435  sovs. ;  last 
mile   and    a    half   of    Cesarewitch 
Course. 
Mr.  A.  Wagg's  b.  c  Mitcham,  by 
Blue-green  —  Catherine    II.,    3 
yrs.,  7st.  2lb.  (car.  7st.  51b.) 

T.  Loates     1 
Lord  William  Beresford's  ch.  c. 

Grodno,  4  yrs.,  9St Sloan    2 

Mr.    B.  Gottschalk's  ch.  g.  Lexi- 
con, 5  yrs.,  Sst.  31b.  (7lb.  ex.) 

S.  Loates    3 
5  to  I  agst.  Mitcham. 
The  Great  Eastern  Railway  Handicap 
of  615  sovs. ;  Bretby  Stakes  Course 
(six  furlongs.) 

Prince  Soltykoffs  b.    c    Leisure 

Hour,  by  St.   Simon— Love  in 

Idleness,  4  yrs.,  6st.  I2lb. 

J.  ReifF    1 
Mr.  C  D.  Rose's  b.  f.  Zanetto,  3 

yrs.,  6st.  71b Wetherell    2 

Mr.  W.  Cooper's  ch.  f.   Edmee,  3 

yrs.,  6st.  131b Dalton     3 

100  to  6  agst.  Leisure  Hour. 
The  Boscawen  (Post)  Stakes  of  1,300 

sovs.,  for  two-year-olds:  T.Y.C.  (5 

furlongs  140  yards.) 
H.R.H.  the  Pnnce  of  Wales'  b.  c. 

Diamond  Jubilee,  by  St.  Simon 

— Perdita  II.,  9$t....M.  Cannon     1 
Mr.  Wallace  Johnstone's  b.  f.  Pai- 

gle,  8st.  81b T.  Loates    2 

Lord    Falmouth's    b.     c.     Crown 

Equerry,  8st.  1 1  lb S.  Loates    3 

Evens  Diamond  Jubilee. 
The  Second  Year  of  the  Fifty-First 

Triennial   Produce  Stakes    of   481 

sovs.  (3  yrs. ) ;  A.  F. 
Mr,  L.  de  Rothschild's  b.  g.  San 

Carlo,   by  St.    Simon — Biserta, 

8st.  7lb T.  Loates     1 

Lord  Ellesmere's  b.  g.  Middleton, 

8st.  iolb S.  Loates    2 

VOL.  LXXII. — NO.  477. 


Sir  J.  Blundell  Maple's  b.  g.  Roy- 

aume,  8st.  4I0.    O.  Madden    3 

7  to  1  agst.  San  Carlo. 
September  28th. —The  Jockey  Club  Stakes 
of  7,190  sovs.,  for  three-  and  four- 
year-olds;    A.F.    (one     mile    two 
furlongs. ) 

Duke  of  Westminster's  b.  c. 
Flying  Fox,  by  Orme — Vampire, 
3  yrs.,  9st.  91b. M.  Cannon     I 

Mr.  R.  A.  Oswald's  b.  c.  Scintil- 
lant, 3  yrs.,  8st.  I2lb.    F.  Wood     2 

Mr.  Leopold  de  Rothschild's  ch.  c. 
Choson,  3yrs.,Sst.4lb.T.  Loates    3 
8  to  I  on  Flying  Fox. 

The  First  Year  of  the  Fifty-Second 
Triennial  Produce  Stakes  of  347 
sovs.,  for  two-year-olds;  T.Y.C. 
(5  furlongs  140  yards). 

Mr.  Russet's  b.  f.  Tiresome,  by 
Tyrant— Chat  Moss,  8s t.  91b. 

O.  Madden     1 

Mr.  A.  Henderson's  ch.  f.  Guid- 
wife,  8st.  nib S.  Loates    2 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  br.  f.  Siloah, 

9st.  2lb Sloan    3 

4  to  1  agst.  Tiresome. 
September    29th. — The    Rous     Memorial 
Stakes  of  15  sovs.  each,  with  400 
sovs.    added :     for    two-year-olds ; 
(five  furlongs.) 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  ch.  g.  Demo- 
crat, by  Sensation — Equality, 
9st Sloan     1 

Mr.  Fairie's  ch.  c.  Mahdi,  8st. 
iolb M.  Cannon    2 

Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  br.  f.  Sainte 

Nitouche,  8st.  7lb Rickaby    3 

10  to  I  on  Democrat. 

The  Newmarket  St.  Leger  Stakes  of 
475  sovs. ;  for  three-year-olds ;  last 
mile  and  three-quarters  of  the 
Cesarewitch  Course. 

Prince  Soltykoffs  b.  c.  Airolo,  by 
Ayrshire — Radiancy,  8st  iolb. 

C.  Wood     1 

Lord  Ellesmere's  b.  g.  Middleton, 
8st.  7lb S.  Loates    2 

Lord  Durham's  b.   c.   Polycrates, 

8st.  iolb. Rickaby    3 

5  to  2  agst.  Airolo. 

KEMPTON  PARK.— October 
Meeting. 

October    6th. — The    Imperial    Stakes    of 
2,569  sovs.  ;  for  two-year-olds;  six 
furlongs,  on  the  Straight  Course. 

Mr.  T.  K.  Dewar's  ch.  c.  Forfar- 
shire, by  Royal  Hampton— St. 
Elizabeth,  9st.  iolb.  ...S.  Loates     I 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  Democrat, 
ost.  7lb Sloan    2 

Mr.  H.  Chaplin's  b.  f.  Merry  Gal, 

8st.  nib. Robinson    3 

9  to  2  agst  Forfarshire. 

28 


378 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[November, 


October  7th— The  Duke  of  York  Stokes 
(Handicap)   of   2,165    sovs*  *    onc 
mile  and  three  furlongs. 
Mr.  W.  Wilson's  b.  or  br.  c.  Ercil- 
doune,  by  Kendal — Maid  Marian, 

3yr&,7stilb B.  Lynham    1 

Mr.   A.    Bailey's   ch.    h.    Mount 
Prospect,  5  yrs.,  8st  lib. 

N.  Robinson    2 
Mr.  W.  M.  Low's  ch.  f.  Winsome 
Charteris,  4  yrs.,  7st.  61b. 

C  Purkiss    3 
10  to  1  agst.  Ercildoune. 

The  Kempton  Park  Nursery  Handi- 
cap Plate  of  880  sovs.  ;  five  fur* 
longs,  on  the  Straight  Course. 
Mr.  J.  Musker's  ch.  c.  Chevening, 
by  Orion — Simena,  7st.  61b. 

Madden     1 
M.  Alvarez's  bl.  or  br.   Filly  by 
Rusticus — La  Carolina,  8st.  lib. 

Nunez    2 
Lord  Ellesmere's  br.  f.  Leila,  6st. 
2lb.  (car.  6st.  31b.)   ...Wet herd  1     3 
5  to  2  agst.  Chevening. 


NEWMARKET.— Second  October 
Meeting. 

October  10th.— The  Champion  Stakes  of 

50  sovs.  each  for  starters  only,  with 

1,000  added  ;  A.F.  (one  mile  and 

two  furlongs). 
Duke  of  Devonshire's  ch.  c.  Dieu- 

donnl,  by  Amphion — Mon  Droit, 

4yrs.,9st  M.Cannon     1 

Mr.  L.  de  Rothschild's  b.  c.  St. 

Oris,  3  yrs.,  8st.  51b.    T.  Loates    2 
Mr.  J.  W.  Larnach's  br.  f.  Victoria 

May,  3  yrs.,  SsL  2lb.  O.  Madden    3 
7  to  1  agst.  Dieudonnl. 
The  Clearwell  Stakes  of  817  sovs. ; 

for  two-year-olds  ;  T.Y.C.  (five  fur- 
longs 140  yards). 
Mr.  W.  Low's  br.  c  Elopement, 

by  Right-away — Maid  of  Lorn, 

9st.  5lb. M.  Cannon     1 

Mr.    Fairie's  ch.   c.    Mahdi,   8st. 

iolb Rickaby    2 

Mr.    L.    de    Rothschild's    b.    f. 

Atbara,  8st.  131b T.  Loates    3 

11  to  8  on  Elopement. 
The  Newmarket  Oaks  of  440  sovs.; 

for  three-year-old  fillies;   T.M.M. 

(one  mile  seven  furlongs  and  203 

yards.) 
Sir  E.   Cassel's  b.   f.  Gadfly,  by 

Hampton — Merry  Duchess,  8st. 

S.  Loates     1 
Mr.  J.  H.  Houldsworth's  b.  or  br.  f. 

Multrue,  8st T.  Loates    2 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  br.  f.  Land 

Rail,  8st.  iolb. J.  H.  Martin    3 

10  1  agst.  Gadfly. 


October  nth.— The  Cesarewitch  St 
1,030   sovs. ;    Cesarewitch 
(two  miles  two  furlongs  35 

Mr.  R.  A.  Oswald's  b.   c. 
tillant,  by  Sheen— Sal  tire,  3yi 
6st.    iolb.   (inc.    5I0.    ex., 
7st.) F.  W< 

Mr.  W.  Wilson's  b.  c  Ercildoui 
3  yes.,  7st.  91b.  (inc.  iolb.  ex.) 

T.  Loan 

Mr.  A.  Wagg's  b.  c.  Mitcham, 
yrs.,  ost.  oib. S.  A.  H< 

6  to  I  agst.  Scintillant. 

October    12th. — Renewal   of  the 
Stakes  of  500  sovs. ;  for  ti 
old  fillies,  ost.  each  ;  Brelby  Si 
Course  (six  furlongs). 
Duke  of  Westminster's  b.  f.  Van< 
by  Orme — Vampire   M.  Cann< 
Mr.  R.  If.  Combe's  b.  Filly  by  C 

vieto — Pyramid    Rickal 

Mr.  Arthur  James'  b.  f.  Dum  Dui 

J.  Wall 
6  to  5  on  Vane. 

The  Lowther  Stakes  of  510  sovs. 
mile  and  three-quarters  of 
witch  Course. 

Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  b.  a 
by     Martagon — Maize,    3 
8st  71b. Rickal 

Mr.  H.  C.  White's  b.  c  Skopos, 
yrs.,  7st.  9lb T.  Loau 

Mr.  C.  D.  Rose's  b.  f.  Santa 

3  yrs.,  8st  91b.    O.  Madd< 

7  to  1  agst.  Marzagan. 

October   13th.— The   Whip;    lost. 
220  sovs.  each  ;  B.C. 

Mr.  Archie  Gold's  br.  h.  Villi* 
by  Thurio  —  Lady  Clarend< 
aged,  iost E.  Dru 

Prince  SoltykofTs  br.  c.  Canopuj 

4  yrs.,  iost C.  Wool 

Evens. 

The  Middle  Park  Plate  of  2,305 
for   two-year-olds;    Bretby    SI 
Course  (six  furlongs.) 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  ch.  g.  Demc 
crat,  by  Sensation  —  Equalit] 
9st Sl< 

H.R.H.  the  Prince  of  Wales's  b. 
Diamond  Jubilee,  9st.  31b. 

J.  Wat< 

Duke    of    Westminster's    br. 

Goblet,  9st.  31b. M.  Canm 

Evens  Democrat. 

TENNIS. 

September  16th.  —  At  Hampton 
Dealtry  v.  J.  White,  former 
3  games  to  2. 


S.  &  H.  HARRIS. 


MANUFACTORY:  LONDON,  E. 


P  turticalarl;  niiUble  tor 
inedlcLnai  purpotu." 

Tkt  Lanctt,  Julj,  '99. 


MARTELL'S 
THREE  STAR 
BRANDY. 


"  A  genuine  old  Brandy  mnda 
in  Wine." — Medical  Press,  Aug. ,  '99. 


DAYS' 

BLACK 

DRINK 

For  eyery  Stable  and  Farm. 


■Exility  In   ffwL,  HSST 
tattle  and   Uu»,  priM  t»l-  pu^. 
Carriage  Paid. 

out  it  after,  and  it,  sure  aciion  umchlhu.i 
ioum»1  has  described  ii  m  "  equal  ,p  „  iomruK 
1W-  per  daa,  bottle*,  tarrlafa  Paid, 
OHLY  OKHU1KB  HOB 

DJLY  JSo   SONa,CFen» 


\ 


^Ze<^4-7 


BAILY'S    MAGAZINE 


CP 


SPORTS  and  J>  ASTI M  ES 


\t*  i   w  >^. 


*    *  *■     **     * 


Ao.  47 '^# 


L) ECK  M  YtfftL.  1 89Q.  V< n„ .  LX  S !  I 

\  #   »  I  « 


CONTENTS 

PA«.K     .       ^ 


/ 


•     *        V 


I\.iry  f<T  the  Month i ;. 


PvicMr*  « 


i  w  •  'v-  »i.«*  Years  ol  a  Chaik-Slrjini 

n.  i'v   381 

Aiir.  *;'jr  H^iiiMiu'ri  $$7 

\.  -:>r  i-ii  to  tie  Fi  »nt-  -Surnc  Pomona! 


379    ,       !;•  ivnir    Hour  ' 


P   u  int;  i.    Fr  "ice. 
*!   :«*  a  »■  ut  Males. 

'»»    -it  Next  ?    

'•   -    i-i!"  Rid'-i^ 


C  .tte>more  a'    I  .li-.n 

Lord  HarnM  ;     n*  i  i--  .uu 
P.tf.rl      

^l.r.n  <f.'re  .... 

Pu^  kvf..'  - 

\\»rt!.  (  ■•  •*•   n 

SovJh  St-.,ii.-vis,.«ic 

Su<f  ,ik     

Lirt'-*LT 

\Yh;i  1  ion  Cj.i   *    .  , 

I/in':    r   )!  lOli1     's    ^!  l.'iuui..ti.>   ..      . 

\\-rk*Mire      

lio.iivl 

The  l>  ri-s'f  K"U  v 

Mr.  <  i  J'.r. •.•:  T-i-.n.  .*  >n 

S>n-n  al  ,»i.:  I  :»iv«*i>u.*:s     

«i  >'.f 

llji'i.iris    

*4  'I  t»t-  I  )>-ji  ''!•-  «;.--> ''  at  Ifn:  <  larrirk     447 
I-Vi  v     Dj...      Kills     at     Covtni 

•     .- 1>"\      ;4S 

434    I  S"Hi'«<^  ii  ,«'ilit;c.i.c,  i'  '.    -Nov....     4}> 

\vn  K 
•  r-.i  Lr  graved  Portrait  of  Thi   DrKK  OK  Lki:i^  •   P-i-rait  of  Mh.  K  «ni.\J  LlMJFp  ; 


.595 

431 

405 

mm 411 

V*  •    F  »x  hunter's  Widow 415 

M   •!•  rn  Marksmanship 414 

i!  ».if:.L,  Ann-Tit  and  Modern       —  420 

A:-'  i'.il  Si.i.rt 42^ 

!'<•'  >'t.''t>m,tn's  Li  bran 427 

W  '!  D.il-    42$ 

"•  Mr  V.rT:  —  , 

vm.;    vn  Pnrk  October  Meeting  ..  42Q    ! 

^  ewiri  rket  li'Hi^.non  4U     , 

lav  ■  #«.» -I   N-A'^nher  ^IeL-et:ng  ...  432 

P-    *:.  ,,f  Jarnes  Je\\iU  43J 

M  ''jP'.i;       The    Opening    rf    the 

\\ci\  il  ir  Sei-son 4$l 


4" 
*  7 

i  *? 
-t  )  * 

1  >5s 

4^ 

4  ;»> 
440 

4*3 

4;? 

4H 
444 
4^0 

447 


•rn 


The  Duke  of  Leeds. 


'■•'U5CK       GODOLI  HIS         OsHORNE, 

.;h  Duke   of  Leo<!s,  born  Scp- 

:i>er  .mIj,  iS^3,  was  the  socond 

•    (;f  tbc  ninth  duke,  whom  he 

x^ded  in  the  ve'ir  180 S-     His 

i-  c  is   well  known   as    an    all- 

\1    sportsman — best    known, 

i;»s,  as  mastgr  of  the  Bedalc 

.-.O'mds    and    the    own^r    of 

•  ;i  >  inds.        In      i$(j(>,      when 

r    F.    Dent    laid    down    the 

'  <  of  oilice,  the  duke  was  per- 

t--d  to  accept  the  mastership 

■•.t    hunt  whose  country  on:e 

:i.-J    part   of  the   great    Raby 

VOL.  LXX1I. — NO.  478. 


tcnV'-.ry  htinted  by  the  Earls  of 
].)ar!i:j::ton.  A  better  choi»:e 
could  not  Jiave  been  made,  (or 
l-u  lamily  estates  form  an  a?*pre- 
r.iable  proportion  of  tlie  country 
h'rited  by  the  pack.  Hornby 
Castle,  the  family  s<iJt,  stands 
near  the  centre  of  ths-ir  lar^e 
territory,  and  a  ft>rmer  Duke  of 
Leeds  took  a  prominent  part  in 
founding  the  Raby  Hunt  Juxlale 
Club  in  tiie  year  ibib. 

The  liedale  country,  as  it  now 
exists,  was  created  in  ibyi,  when 
the  lirst  Duke  ol  Cleveland  ceased 

29 


BAILY'S    MAGAZINE 


OF 


SPORTS  AND 


TIMES 


No.  478. 


DECEMB 


LXXII. 


CON 


PAGE 

Sporting  Diary  for  the  Month ix. 

The  Duke  of  Leeds  379 

Twenty-one  Years  of  a  Chalk-Stream 

Diary  381 

Amateur  Huntsmen  387 

Sportsmen  to  the  Front — Some  Personal 

Recollections 392 

Hunting  in  France 395 

More  about  Mules 401 

What  Next?  405 

Side-saddle  Riding    411 

The  Fox-hunter's  Widow 413 

Modern  Marksmanship 414 

Hunting,  Ancient  and  Modern    420 

Anecdotal  Sport 425 

The  Sportsman's  Library 427 

Will  Dale   428 

"Our  Van":— 

Sandown  Park  October  Meeting...  429 

Newmarket  Houghton 431 

Liverpool  November  Meeeting  ...  432 

Death  of  James  Jewitt 433 

Hunting  —  The    Opening    of   the 

Regular  Season 434 

Quorn 434 


Pyt 

Belvoir  Hounds 

Cottesmore  at  Tilton 

Lord  Harrington's  Hounds 

Rufford    

Shropshire  

Packe  ridge 

North  Cheshire  

North  Staffordshire   

South  Staffordshire    

Suffolk    

Bicester  

Whaddon  Chase 

Lord  Rothschild's  Staghounds 

Yorkshire    

Ireland 

The  Bicester  Rules 

Mr.  George  Thompson... 

Sport  at  the  Universities  

Golf 

Billiards  

"  The  Degenerates"  at  the  Garrick 
Fancy    Dress     Balls    at    Covent 

Garden    

Sporting  Intelligence,  Oct. — Nov.... 


PAGE 

435 
435 
435 
436 
436 
436 
437 
437 
437 
438 
438 
438 

439 
440 

440 

443 
443 
444 


446 
447 
447 

448 
449 


WITH 


Steel  Engraved  Portrait  of  The  Duke  of  Leeds  ;  Portrait  of  Mr.  Robert  Luther  ; 

Engraving,  "  Duncombe." 


The  Duke  of  Leeds. 


George  Godolphin  Osborne, 
tenth  Duke  of  Leeds,  born  Sep- 
tember 8th,  1862,  was  the  second 
son  of  the  ninth  duke,  whom  he 
succeeded  in  the  year  1895.  His 
Grace  is  well  known  as  an  all- 
round  sportsman  —  best  known, 
perhaps,  as  master  of  the  Bedale 
Foxhounds  and  the  owner  of 
greyhounds.  In  1896,  when 
Major  F.  Dent  laid  down  the 
reins  of  office,  the  duke  was  per- 
suaded to  accept  the  mastership 
of  the  hunt  whose  country  once 
formed   part  of  the  great   Raby 

vol.  Lxxii. — no.  478. 


territory  hunted  by  the  Earls  of 
Darlington.  A  better  choice 
could  not  have  been  made,  for 
the  family  estates  form  an  appre- 
ciable proportion  of  the  country 
hunted  by  the  pack.  Hornby 
Castle,  the  family  seat,  stands 
near  the  centre  of  their  large 
territory,  and  a  former  Duke  of 
Leeds  took  a  prominent  part  in 
founding  the  Raby  Hunt  Bedale 
Club  in  the  year  18 16. 

The  Bedale  country,  as  it  now 
exists,  was  created  in  1832,  when 
the  first  Duke  of  Cleveland  ceased 

29 


38o 


BAILYS    MAGAZINE. 


[DECEMBtt 


to  hunt  that  portion  of  the  Raby 
territory  seven  years  before  he 
gave  up  hunting  altogether. 
When  he  sold  his  hounds  in  1837, 
he  took  the  curious  step  of  burn- 
ing all  the  gorse  coverts  so  that 
his  successor,  "  Duke  Henry,"  as 
he  was  always  called,  was  obliged 
to  hunt  stag  till  the  coverts  grew 
up  again.  For  many  years  the 
effect  of  the  destruction  of  coverts 
was  felt,  and  probably  other 
influences  contributed  to  the  same 
end ;  so  much  so  that,  when  Mr. 
Duncombe  resigned  the  master- 
ship in  1867,  much  difficulty  was 
experienced  in  finding  a  new 
master,  foxes  being  extremely 
scarce.  Mr.  J.  B.  Booth,  of 
Killerby,  who  was  prevailed  upon 
to  take  office  in  October  of  that 
year,  killed  only  five  and  a-half 
brace  in  his  first  season.  His 
next  season  opened  badly,  and  in 
December,  1868,  a  meeting  was 
held  to  consider  the  situation.  A 
large  number  of  landowners 
pledged  themselves  to  use  their 
best  exertions  for  the  better  pre- 
servation of  foxes,  if  Mr.  Booth 
would  continue  in  office.  He  did 
so,  and  so  well  was  the  promise 
to  promote  the  preservation  of 
foxes  kept  that  a  visible  improve- 
ment soon  took  place.  A  great 
deal  was  done  during  Mr.  Booth's 
mastership  of  eleven  seasons  to 
improve  the  country,  no  fewer 
than  twenty  -  three  new  gorse 
coverts  being  laid  down.  In  his  last 
season,  1877-8,  he  killed  twenty- 
six  and  a-half  brace,  and  when  he 
retired,  receiving  a  very  handsome 
and  valuable  testimonial,  a  worthy 
successor  was  soon  found  in  Major 
H.  F.  Dent,  who  had  a  short 
time  previously  retired  from  the 
7th  Dragoon  Guards.  Major 
Dent  held  office  for  six  seasons 
and  gave  way  to  Mr.  G.  W.  Elliot, 
M.P.,  who  in  turn  was  succeeded ' 
by  Captain  W.  P.  Wilson  Todd, 
who    resigned    in    1896    to    give 


Major  Dent  a  second  brief  period 
of  office. 

When  Major  Dent  retired  in 
1898  he  was  followed  by  the  duke, 
who  about  two  years  previously 
had  succeeded  to  the  title.  His 
Grace  retained  the  hunt  staff- 
Fred  Holland  as  huntsman,  and 
Frank  Parker  and  William  Hank- 
inson  as  whippers  -  in  ;  he  found 
a  good  stock  of  foxes,  a  fine  pack 
awaiting  him  to  hunt  one  of  the 
best  countries  in  England,  and 
farmers  who  willingly  remove 
wire  during  the  season  ;  and  has 
done  full  justice  to  his  oppor- 
tunities. Few  men  go  better  than 
the  master  of  the  Bedale ;  he 
always  goes  straight  and  is  gene- 
rally to  be  found  near  hounds, 
however  fast  and  hard  the  run. 
This  season  there  is  a  grand 
show  of  foxes  in  the  country,  and 
the  bright  prospects  of  a  month 
ago  have  been  justified  by  the 
sport  enjoyed. 

Three  years  ago  his  Grace 
became  a  supporter  of  the  leash, 
and  has  owned  some  good  grey- 
hounds. In  his  brief  coursing 
career  he  has  twice  come  near 
winning  the  Waterloo  Cup, "  Lang 
Syne  "  having  been  runner-up  to 
Mr.  Hardy's  "  Wild  Night "  for 
the  coveted  trophy  in  1898,  while 
"  Lapal "  was  runner-up  to  Mr. 
Rogers'  "  Black  Fury "  in  Feb- 
ruary last.  The  duke  has  built 
a  commodious  range  of  grey- 
hound kennels  at  Hornby  Castle, 
and  has  now,  we  understand, 
some  very  promising  puppies. 
Hunting,  coursing  and  shooting 
afford  his  Grace  abundant  occu- 
pation during  the  winter,  and  as 
soon  as  the  hunting  season  is 
over  his  yacht,  the  Corisandt,  is 
put  in  commission.  The  Cori- 
sande  goes  far  afield  during  the 
summer,  as  the  duke  prefers  a 
cruise  in  the  Mediterranean  to 
the  more  familiar  and  more 
crowded    waters   of   the    Solent. 


I899-] 


TWENTY-ONE   YEARS  OP  A  CHALK-STREAM    DIARY. 


38l 


He  is  also  a  fisherman,  and  can 
throw  a  fly  and  play  a  fish  against 
any  man. 

For  eight  years,  1887-95,  as 
Marquis  of  Carmarthen,  he  re- 
presented the  Brixton  division 
of  Lambeth  in  the  Conservative 


interest,  and  in  1898  he  took 
his  seat  in  the  London  County 
Council  as  representative  of  the 
City  of  London.  His  Grace 
married,  in  1884,  Katherine,  the 
daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Durham, 
by  whom  he  has  four  daughters. 


Twenty-one  Years  of  a  Chalk-Stream 

Diary. 


In  the  early  spring  of  1879  I 
commenced  keeping  an  angling 
diary  for  the  purpose  of  accumu- 
lating accurate  data  in  reference 
to  the  sport.  Since  that  date  the 
number  of  fish  caught,  their  indi- 
vidual weights,  the  successful 
pattern  of  artificial  fly,  the  direc- 
tion and  force  of  the  wind,  some 
general  idea  of  the  weather  and 
any  circumstance  calling  for 
special  remark  have  been  duly 
recorded  on  each  day.  The  old 
diary  is  now  full,  and  perhaps 
under  these  conditions  a  retro- 
spect of  its  contents  is  excusable. 
The  aggregate  number  and 
weight  of  the  fish  killed  during 
these  twenty- one  years  will  pro- 
bably disappoint  the  reader.  It 
must,  however,  be  remembered 
that  for  the  first  decade  the  author 
was  actively  engaged  in  business, 
and  could  only  spare  occasional 
days  for  the  pursuit  of  his  fa- 
vourite sport.  A  considerable  por- 
tion of  his  time  at  the  riverside 
has  always  been  devoted  to  the 
collection  of  insects  serving  as 
food  for  the  Salmonidae.  Much 
of  the  study  of  the  life-history 
and  metamorphoses  of  these  in- 
sects, from  the  egg  to  the  imago, 
has  been  pursued  on  the  banks  of 
the  stream,  and  continual  obser- 
vations have  been  made  of  the 
habits  of  the  fish  and  general 
conditions  governing    their    idio- 


syncrasies   and    influencing    the 
angler's  chance  of  success. 

The  total  bag  of  the  twenty-one 
seasons  amounted  to  1,151  trout, 
weighing  1,746  lbs.  13  ozs.,  and 
598  grayling  of  821  lbs.,  or  alto- 
gether 1,749  fish,  2,567  lbs.  13  ozs. 
The  average  weight  of  the  trout 
works  out  at  a  trifle  over  ij  lb., 
and  of  the  grayling  very  nearly 
1  lb.  6  ozs.,  and  the  general  aver- 
age is  about  1  lb.  7^  ozs.  The 
best  trout  year  was  1893,  when 
115,  weighing  172  lbs.  14  ozs., 
were  taken.  The  best  grayling 
year  was  1885,  when  the  bag  com- 
prised 123  of  168  lbs.  8  ozs.,  but 
since  1888  good  grayling  fishing 
was  not  available,  although  I 
generally  had  a  few  days  each 
autumn  by  kind  invitation  of 
friends.  Of  abnormally  large 
specimens  there  were  compara- 
tively few — 4  lbs.  9  ozs.,  4!  lbs., 
4  lbs.  3  ozs.,  and  two  of  4  lbs.  2  ozs. 
each,  were  the  largest  trout,  and 
of  grayling  3  lbs.  5  ozs.,  3  lbs.  3  ozs., 
3  lbs.  2  ozs.,  and  two  of  3  lbs. 
each,  being  the  most  noteworthy. 
The  fish  were  with  few  excep- 
tions killed  on  the  Test,  Itchen 
and  Kennet,  but  I  paid  occasional 
visits  to  waters  on  the  Anton, 
Wiley,  Driffield  Beck  and  other 
chalk  streams. 

The  pages  of  a  sportsman's 
diary  cannot  fail  to  recall  to  his 
memory  the  number  of  congenial 


382 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[December 


spirits  whose  acquaintance  he 
had  first  made  on  sporting  expe- 
ditions. They  will  also  serve  to 
remind  him  of  the  numerous  in- 
stances in  which  such  acquaint- 
ance has  ripened  into  warm  and 
staunch  friendship.  Unfortu- 
nately, however,  there  is  generally 
a  reverse  to  the  medal,  as  looking 
over  a  long  vista  of  past  years 
must  bring  back  the  memory  of  a 
number  of  good  friends  whose 
loss  we  have  to  deplore.  These 
sad  reminiscences  are  accentu- 
ated in  my  case  by  a  note  from 
which  I  see  that  the  late  George 
Selwyn  Marryat  and  I  first  met 
in  1879,  and  that  I  was  introduced 
by  him  to  the  late  Francis  Francis 
in  the  same  year. 

It  had  been  my  ambition  for 
many  years  before  to  try  and 
write  a  full  handbook  of  the  dry 
fly,  and  I  was  gratified  to  find 
that  poor  Marryat  was  quite  in 
accord  with  me  as  to  the  need  of 
such  a  work.  He  at  once  volun- 
teered tq  render  any  assistance  in 
his  power,  and  this  kindly  offer 
was  promptly  and  gratefully  ac- 
cepted. From  that  day  to  the 
end  of  his  life  we  were  continually 
in  consultation  either  verbally  or 
by  correspondence. 

After  making  notes  and  com- 
paring our  impressions  for  some 
years,  he  suggested  that  a  full 
treatise  on  the  subject  would  be 
a  monumental  work,  and  that  it 
might  be  advisable  to  bring  out 
as  a  ballon  d'essai  the  fly-dressing 
portion  in  a  separate  volume.  It 
was  in  furtherance  of  this  idea 
that  "  Floating  Flies,  and  How  to 
Dress  Them,"  was  published  in 
1886,  followed  by  "Dry -Fly 
Fishing  in  Theory  and  Practice," 
in  1889.  The  publication  of 
"  Making  a  Fishery ,"  in  1895  an^ 
"  Dry-Fly  Entomology,"  in  1897, 
completed  the  series  of  handbooks 
covering  the  ground  of  our  original 
scheme. 


Some  apology  is  due  for  de- 
voting so  much  space  to  matters 
of  a  somewhat  personal  nature. 
If  these  books  have  been  of  any 
use  or  interest  to  my  brother  dry- 
fly  fishermen,  they  must  remem- 
ber that   the  compilation  of  the 
mass  of  detail  on  which  they  are 
founded  would  have  been  almost 
impossible  without  the  methodical 
arrangement  of  various  informa- 
tion in  the  pages  of  the  old  diary. 
•  Of  the  value  of  the  co-operation 
of  Mr.  Marryat  it  is  needless  to 
say  anything — his  knowledge,  his 
experience,  and  his  unselfish  en- 
deavour to  assist  are  thoroughly 
appreciated  by  all  of  us.     If  these 
extenuating  circumstances  do  not, 
in  the  reader's  opinion,  constitute 
a    good    and    sufficient    plea  for 
leniency,  perhaps  a  solemn  pledge 
not  to  offend  again — at  least,  not 
for  the  next  twenty-one  years — 
may  serve  to  ward  off  the  conse- 
quences of  his  wrath. 

The  development  of  any  sport 
can  generally  be  traced  by  the 
development  of  the  weapons  or 
gear  by  means  of  which  it  is 
carried  out.  Hence  it  must  be  of 
interest  to  the  fly-fisherman  to 
consider  the  improvements  in  his 
rod,  line,  hooks,  flies  and  the 
hundred  and  one  other  accessories 
to  his  tackle.  In  1879  the  fly  rod 
was  of  greenheart  or  hickory, 
generally  with  an  ash  butt.  It 
was  whippy  and  weak  in  the 
back,  and  as  a  necessary  sequence 
the  extreme  tip  was  very  thin. 

The  line  was  light  with  long 
tapered  point.  The  best  lines 
were  of  silk,  and  the  inferior  ones 
either  entirely  of  jute  or  a  mix- 
ture of  silk  and  jute.  Dressing 
consisted  in  soaking  them  in  a 
compound  of  shellac  or  other  var- 
nish, which  when  dry  formed  a 
thin  coat  on  the  surface.  After 
very  little  use  this  surface  cracked 
and  the  line  was  soon  rotten  and 
useless.     Flies  were  dressed   on 


1*990 


TWENTY-ONE   YEARS   OF   A  CHALK-STREAM    DIARY. 


383 


hooks  to  which  the  strands  of 
jute  were  whipped.  Wings  of 
flies  were  single,  and  both  gene- 
rally taken  from  the  same  feather. 
The  bodies  were  of  silk  or  dub- 
bing, and  in  some  patterns  the 
undyed  peacock  quill  was  used 
for  this  purpose. 

With  this  gear  it  was  possible 
to  cast  with  some  degree  of  ac- 
curacy against  or  across  a  very 
light  wind.  With  anything  like  a 
fresh  breeze,  however,  even  the 
most  expert  hands  were  utterly 
beaten.  The  exertion  of  fishing 
under  conditions  in  any  way 
adverse  was  something  terrible, 
and  to  dry  a  fly  so  as  to  float  it 
hard  work  on  a  fine  day  and 
impossible  on  a  wet  one. 

Mr.  Marryat  insisted  that  a 
dry-fly  fisherman  must  be  equipped 
with  rod  and  line  with  which  he 
could  with  ease  cast  against  any- 
thing short  of  a  hurricane.  His 
experiments  indicated  the  neces- 
sity of  the  rod  being  distinctly 
stiffer  and  the  line  heavier  than 
those  then  in  use;  he  also  advo- 
cated a  short  taper  to  the  line. 

The  split  cane  rod  was  spoken 
of  and  occasionally  seen  in  this 
country,  but  the  majority  of  our 
English  fly-fishermen  dubbed  it  a 
transient  American  fad.  The  late 
Mr.  Deller  was  making  the  first 
of  his  glued-up  rods,  and  even 
these  showed  the  same  excellent 
qualities  of  action  and  balance  so 
marked  in  all  the  rods  manufac- 
tured by  his  firm  up  to  the  day  of 
his  death.  In  1880  he  made  me  my 
first  split  cane  rod  ;  it  was  eleven 
feet  nine  inches  long,  slightly 
stiffer  all  over  and  heavier  in  the 
point  than  the  rods  then  in  vogue. 
Subsequently  it  was  gradually 
cut  down  to  stiffen  it,  and  event- 
ually made  a  serviceable  eleven 
feet  rod.  It  was  too  heavy  for 
me,  but  my  good  friend  Marryat 
accepted  it  and  used  it  for  many 
years.     In  1882  Eaton  and  Deller 


built  two  interchangeable  eleven* 
feet  rods,  and  these,  after  being 
reduced  to  ten  and  a-half  feet, 
were  most  effective,  and  are  even 
now  in  use  and  fit  to  kill  any 
trout  or  grayling  in  the  Test.  The 
original  "Priceless"  was  made 
in  1887. 

At  this  time  Eaton  and  Deller's 
rods  were  all  the  rage,  but  with  the 
great  care  and  personal  attention 
devoted  to  their  manufacture  the 
number  turned  out  each  year 
were  totally  inadequate  to  cope 
with  the  demand.  When  Messrs. 
Hardy,  Brothers,  of  Alnwick,  took 
up  this  branch  of  the  trade  seri- 
ously, they  soon  effected  a  revolu- 
tion. The  mechanical  knowledge 
devoted  to  systematical  labour- 
saving,  the  accurate  manner  in 
which  the  triangular  sections  of 
the  joints  were  shaped,  and  con- 
tinual improvements  in  varnish- 
ing, glueing-up  and  other  matters 
of  detail,  all  tended  to  enable  them 
to  turn  out  great  numbers  of  rods 
of  uniform  and  good  quality. 
Candidly,  they  deserve  the  success 
they  have  achieved. 

As  the  result  of  a  number  of 
experiments,  the  modern  line  made 
of  pure  silk,  plaited  solid  and 
dressed  under  the  air  pump  with 
boiled  oil  has  been  evolved.  The 
method  of  dressing  by  a  consid- 
erable number  of  immersions  in 
the  boiled  oil  under  the  exhausted 
receiver  of  an  air  pump,  the 
drying  of  each  coat  in  an  oven  and 
rubbing  down  the  surface  after 
each  coat,  is  largely  due  to  Mr. 
Hawksley's  skill  and  persever- 
ance. The  line  should  have  a 
short  taper  of  five  to  six  yards, 
and  the  stout  portion  is  far  thicker 
than  the  old-fashioned  one. 

At  first  the  manufacturers  of 
these  lines  exaggerated  the  thick- 
ness, and  this  operated  seriously 
against  their  general  adoption. 
Anglers  found  that  this  great 
weight    rendered    it    difficult    to 


3«4 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[December 


cast  lightly,  and  in  some  cases 
crippled  or  broke  the  rods.  Even 
now  it  is  not  altogether  easy  to 
find  a  rod-maker  who  can  send 
out  a  line  to  fit  his  rod.  In  the 
early  days  of  the  oil-dressed  lines 
it  was  the  fashion  for  tackle- 
makers  to  dissuade  their  customers 
from  buying  them.  They  would 
darkly  hint  that  the  particular 
form  of  dressing  or  method  of 
application  would  certainly  rot 
the  silk.  Now  this  fallacy  has 
exploded.  Such  lines  in  continual 
use  have  lasted  twelve  to  fifteen 
years  with  ordinary  care,  and  are 
still  serviceable. 

The  introduction'  of  the  eyed 
hook  and  its  rapid  progress  until 
practically  no  other  is  used  by  the 
modern  dry  -  fly  fisherman,  have 
been  so  often  described  as  not  to 
need  reiteration  here.  The  mani- 
fest advantages  accruing  from  its 
use  are  now  fully  appreciated. 

There  have  been  many  addi- 
tions to  the  long  list  of  materials 
of  which  artificial  flies  are  com- 
pounded. Quills  for  bodies  have 
almost  superseded  silks  and  dub- 
bings, and  the  recipes  for  bleach- 
ing and  dyeing  them  are  well 
known.  The  rule  of  taking  the 
fibres  forming  wings  from  right 
and  left  feathers,  and  the  use  of 
double  instead  of  single  wings, 
or  four  thicknesses  in  place 
of  two  is  universal.  These  im- 
proved wings  and  the  use  of  two 
shoulder  hackles  instead  of  one, 
have  tended  to  make  the  floating 
of  the  flies  more  easy.  In  this 
direction  it  must,  however,  be 
admitted  that  the  paraffin  bottle 
has  been  the  most  efficacious 
means  yet  tried. 

In  connection  with  this  there  is 
a  point  worthy  of  note.  It  is  the 
fashion  nowadays  to  vaunt  the 
so-called  odourless  paraffin.  What 
this  sticky  compound  is  I  do  not 
know.*  It  is  certainly  very  thick, 
makes   the   feathers   messy,  does 


not  dry  well,  and  is  in  no  way 
comparable  to  the  common  lamp 
paraffin  (with  its  odour)  for  the 
fly -fisherman's  use. 

Thus  it  is  clearly  proved  that 
rods,  lines,  flies  and  all  the  rest  of 
the  angler's  paraphernalia  have 
been  greatly  improved  during  the 
last  twenty-one  years.  As  a  result, 
any  moderately  proficient  manipu- 
lator can  now  place  his  fly  accu- 
rately, delicately,  floating  and 
cocked  over  a  rising  fish  at  the 
first  attempt.  The  direction  or 
force  of  the  wind  will  scarcely 
affect  him,  pouring  rain  or  blind- 
ing sleet  will  not  drown  his  fly. 
Can  anyone,  however,  honestly 
say  that  sport  generally  has  in- 
creased in  the  chalk-streams  ? 

Some  of  this  deficiency  in  sport 
can  undoubtedly  be  imputed  to 
the  extraordinary  augmentation 
in  the  number  of  the  exponents  of 
the  dry-fly.  Even  allowing  for 
this,  it  must  be  admitted  that, 
with  a  few  notable  exceptions, 
fishing  in  the  Hampshire  streams 
has  steaTdily  deteriorated  from 
year  to  year.  This  falling  off  may 
well  be  due  to  a  variety  of  causes, 
chiefly,  I  would  venture  to  sug- 
gest, to  deficiency  of  stock,  pollu- 
tion, decrease  in  the  volume  of 
the  streams,  and  in  some  instances 
to  bad  management  on  the  part  of 
lessees  or  proprietors. 

Dry-fly  fishing  is  so  popular 
a  form  of  sport,  and  the  qualities 
of  such  rivers  as  the  Test  are  so 
thoroughly  appreciated  that  the 
moment  a  length  of  water  is  to  be 
let  the  proprietor  is  deluged  with 
applications.  The  result  is  as 
might  be  expected — a  continual 
rise  "by  leaps  and  bounds"  of 
the  letting  value.  There  is,  as  a 
rule,  no  inquiry  made  as  to  the 
records  of  recent  years,  no  ques- 
tion is  asked  as  to  the  stock  of 
trout  in  the  water,  and  it  is  quite 
impossible  for  anyone  to  judge  of 
this  by  personal  inspection,  unless 


*«99.] 


TWENTY-ONE   YEARS   OP   A  CHALK-STREAM    DIARY. 


385 


he  happens  to  be  on  the  spot  on 
the  rare  occasions  when  the  fish 
are  rising  well.  The  owner  is 
quite  unconcerned ;  he  lets  the 
fishing  for  a  season  at  a  heavy 
rent ;  sport  is  bad  and  the  tenant 
will  not  continue.  Meanwhile, 
the  landlord  does  nothing  to  the 
water,  because  he  feels  sure  that, 
failing  the  present  tenant,  one  of 
tbe  numerous  applicants  will  take 
it  for  next  season,  and  quite 
possibly  at  an  enhanced  figure. 

The  result  is  easy  to  foretell. 
The  stock  of  Salmonidae  is  being 
gradually  killed  off,  and  no  steps 
taken  to  replenish  it.  The  natural 
increase  of  the  river  is  totally 
inadequate  to  make  up  the 
deficiency.  Then,  too,  probably 
the  pike  and  other  coarse 
fish  are  increasing.  Birds  that 
prey  on  the  ova  and  helpless 
alevins  are  plentiful.  Spawning 
shallows  get  choked  up  with  mud. 
Kverything  necessary  to  keep  the 
stream  and  fish  in  order  is 
neglected  because  attention  to 
these  matters  means  expense. 
What  does  it  matter  ?  Another 
fool  will  come  along  next  season 
and  pay  the  same  or  perhaps 
more  rent. 

There  are  a  few  fisheries  where 
the  proprietors  or  tenants  have 
been  roused  to  action.  They 
have  taken  in  hand  seriously  the 
work  of  stocking.  Some  have 
purchased  yearlings  or  two-year- 
olds  and  fed  them  up  in  stews 
until  they  are  sizable.  They 
have  netted,  trimmered,  and  even 
spun  for  the  pike.  They  have 
raked  over  the  shallows,  and  even 
carted  loads  of  gravel  from  a  dis- 
tance to  make  new  spawning- 
ground.  They  cut  their  weeds 
with  judgment,  and  in  some  in- 
stances they  have  been  successful 
in  hatching  the  eggs  of  Ephe- 
meridae  and  other  insects  on  which 
the  trout  feed.  They  drag  out  by 
the  roots  undesirable  vegetation 


in  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  en- 
courage the  growth  of  those 
species  which  are  the  homes  of 
the  shrimps,  snails,  caddis  and 
dun  larvae.  What  is  the  result  ? 
These  lengths  of  water  and  pos- 
sibly those  adjoining  them  are  the 
only  ones  in  which  there  has  been 
an  increase  of  sport  during  the 
last  few  years. 

Pollution  is  a  more  serious 
question  than  we  generally  ima- 
gine. When  the  river  looks  like 
an  open  sewer  and  smells  like  an 
open  sewer,  there  is  no  doubt 
about  it.  After  a  course  of  years 
of  agitation  the  local  authorities 
may  languidly  take  some  steps. 
Complaints  to  a  Government  de- 
partment will  end  in  time  being 
given  to  propound  a  scheme  for 
dealing  with  the  sewage.  Exten- 
sions of  this  time  will  be  granted 
while  the  local  boards  will  discuss, 
amend,  reject,  or  adopt  some 
scheme.  At  last  perhaps  they 
will  apply  for  permission  to  raise 
the  cash  required.  Then  perhaps 
some  powerful  local  magnate  will 
develop  a  strenuous  opposition, 
and  very  likely  succeed  in  getting 
the  decision  postponed,  while  year 
after  year  the  fish  in  the  river  are 
being  poisoned. 

When  the  water  in  a  stream 
looks  fairly  clear,  and  there  is  no 
very  pronounced  stench,  we  are 
contented,  and  hug  ourselves  with 
the  delusion  that  there  is  no  great 
quantity  of  sewage  turned  into  our 
rivers.  Probably  careful  investi- 
gation would  show  that  mansions, 
farms,  mills  and  other  buildings 
are  drained  into  the  stream.  The 
harm  done  to  the  mature  fish  is 
perhaps  not  serious,  but  a  small 
volume  of  pollution  will  effectu- 
ally choke  the  ova  deposited  on 
the  shallows,  and  thus  entirely 
destroy  the  natural  reproduction 
of  the  river.  Sewage,  even  in 
small  quantities,  tends  to  kill  the 
larvae    of    the    Ephemeridae  and 


386 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[December 


Trichoptera,  thus  decreasing  the 
quantity  of  fly  food.  Another 
bad  effect  of  it  is  that  the  growth 
of  rank  vegetation  is  stimulated, 
while  such  weeds  as  the  water 
celery  and  crowfoot  do  not  flourish 
in  water  even  slightly  polluted  by 
faecal  matter.  The  celery  and 
crowfoot  are  the  homes  of  the  ma- 
jority of  mollusks,  crustaceans  and 
insect  larvae,  which  are  the  most 
nutritious  forms  of  food  of  the 
Salmonidae. 

The  steady  decrease  in  the 
volume  of  water  in  the  streams  is 
due  generally  to  improved  land 
drainage.  The  result  of  this  is 
that  a  flood  soon  runs  off,  and  the 
level  of  the  rivers  is  permanently 
lowered.  In  some  cases,  too,  the 
water  supply  for  large  towns  is 
pumped  from  the  streams  or  from 
the  springs  supplying  them.  There 
is  no  possibility  of  improvement 
in  either  of  these  cases,  and  in 
fact  the  evil  is  likely  to  increase. 

The  management  of  a  fishery 
is  a  difficult  matter.  Millers  and 
farmers  have,  or  affect  to  have, 
extensive  water  rights.  A  fishing 
tenant  cannot  afford  to  be  on  un- 
friendly terms  with  them,  and  as 
a  rule  his  interest  is  not  suffi- 
ciently permanent  to  permit  his 
contesting  their  assumed  rights. 
Weeds  must  be  cut'  so  as  to  suit 
the  farmers  and  millers,  but  it  is 
often  possible  to  make  amicable 
arrangements  with  them,  so  as 
not  to  sacrifice  the  prospects  of 
sport  altogether.  Sometimes  the 
fishermen  themselves  are  much  to  , 
blame.  They  have  a  rooted  ob- 
jection   to    losing    trout    in    the 


weeds.  Hence  each  of  them  will 
worry  the  keeper  to  cut  weeds  in 
some  favourite  spot.  This  may 
well  result  in  the  bed  of  the  river 
being  quite  bare,  and  not  only 
making  the  fish  shy  and  difficult 
of  approach,  but  also  decreasing 
the  quantity  of  weed,  and  with  it 
the  food  of  the  fish,  until  they 
get  half  starved  and  stunted  in 
growth. 

Twenty-one  years  ago  I  had  not 
outgrown  the  illusions  of  youth, 
and  had  a  strong  inclination  to 
paint  all  sport  content  de  rose.  As 
one  grows  older,  so  one  tends 
more  and  more  to  look  at  the 
gloomy  side  of  life;  yet  I  hope 
that  in  declining  years  I  am  not 
overdoing  this  propensity  and  be- 
coming a  pessimist.  The  main 
question  is  a  serious  one.  The 
present  school  of  dry-fly  fishermen 
are  provided  with  the  best  of  rods 
and  lines  and  flies;  they  have 
great  skill,  and  are  patient  and 
persevering;  they  are  keen  for 
sport,  and  spare  neither  time, 
trouble  nor  expense  in  their  en- 
deavours to  obtain  it.  On  the 
other  hand,  neglect  of  stocking, 
pollution,  decrease  in  the  volume 
of  the  rivers  and  other  causes  are 
all  tending  to  deplete  these  beau- 
tiful chalk  streams.  The  reme- 
dies, which  are  not  far  to  seek, 
must  be  applied  by  the  rising 
generation. 

May  1900  be  a  season  of  health 
and  prosperity,  and  may  all  of  us 
enjoy  the  best  of  sport,  so  that 
many  pages  of  our  new  diaries 
may  be  filled  with  the  records  of 
our  success ! 

Frederic  M.  Halford. 


1899-3 


387 


Amateur  Huntsmen. 


Yocr  readers  may  be  somewhat 
surprised  to  know  that,  on  look- 
ing through  the  list  of  hounds 
and  their  appointments  for  the 
present  season,  we  find  that  there 
are  no  less  than  seventy  -  nine 
gentlemen  huntsmen  of  packs  of 
foxhounds  in  the  United  King- 
dom, and  nine  of  staghounds, 
thus  making  a  total  of  something 
near  a  hundred  gentlemen  that 
carry  the  horn,  exclusive  of  course 
of  masters  of  harriers. 

I  shall  crave  your  indulgence, 
therefore,  Mr.  Editor,  in  penning 
a  few  thoughts,  which  learning 
and  experience  have  taught,  as 
to  the  attributes  that  go  towards 
constituting  a  first-rate  huntsman, 
and  in  this  it  is  not  altogether 
necessary  to  put  forward  my  own 
authority,  for  I  have  the  advan- 
tage of  being  able  to  quote  ad 
libitum,  if  necessary,  from  our  old 
and  well-established  authorities 
on  hunting. 

Thomas  Smith,  of  Craven  fame, 
says,  that  "to  be  perfect  a  hunts- 
man should  possess  the  following 
qualifications :  health,  memory, 
decision,  temper  and  patience, 
voice  and  sight,  courage  and 
spirits,  perseverance,  activity ; 
and  with  these  he  will  soon  make 
a  bad  pack  a  good  one  ;  if  quick, 
he  will  make  a  slow  pack  quick ; 
if  slow,  he  will  make  a  quick 
pack  slow." 

It  has  been  very  rightly  said 
that  a  first-rate  huntsman  is  fit 
to  be  a  Prime  Minister,  and  the 
natural  query  arises  on  this,  How 
many  of  the  eighty  odd  amateur 
huntsmen  were  fit  to  be  Prime 
Ministers  ?  and  yet  the  qualifi- 
cations which  Mr.  Thomas  Smith 
lays  down  are  of  a  rarely  attain- 
able character.  When  we  come 
to  think  of  the  years  of  probation 
that  have  to  be  gone  through  by 


professional  huntsmen  in  the  lower 
walks  of  hunt  service,  it  is  not 
a  little  surprising  that  so  many 
young  gentlemen  huntsmen  should 
aspire  towards  carrying  the  horn, 
whose  practical  knowledge  of 
hunting  is  very  meagre,  and 
whose  natural  qualifications  are 
hardly  those  laid  down  in  the 
words  I  have  quoted  above.  The 
majority  of  these  young  sports- 
men are  practising  on  the  country 
of  their  adoption,  not  so  much 
for  its  advantage  as  for  their 
own  advancement  in  the  ranks 
of  sport.  Probably  they  have 
the  command  of  money  which 
enables  them  to  buy  or  control 
a  country,  and  they  imagine  that 
there  are  none  to  gainsay  them. 
The  inherent  kindness  and  con- 
sideration of  hunting  men  to  one 
another  is  extended  to  them,  and 
their  shortcomings  are  smoothed 
over  by  the  elders  of  the  hunt, 
who  wish  to  give  them  every 
chance;  but  how  often  does  the 
truth  burst  forth  when  you  hear 
it  whispered,  that  "  So-and-So  is 
not  a  born  huntsman."  The 
number  of  noses  on  the  kennel 
door  speak  plainly  the  want  of 
keenness  in  his  pack  of  hounds, 
and  in  his  field  tell  the  same  tale. 
The  subscriptions,  if  he  requires 
any,  begin  to  diminish,  and,  at 
last,  the  experimenter  discovers 
that  his  dreams  of  becoming  a 
huntsman  are  fantastic,  and  that 
his  has  been  a  mistaken  vocation ; 
not  that  we  wish  it  to  be  under- 
stood that  amateur  huntsmen  are 
necessarily  failures,  because  we 
have  before  us  striking  instances 
of  the  reverse. 

There  are  sportsmen  of  the  true 
type,  who  have  set  themselves  the 
task  of  learning  their  profession 
by  every  possible  means  at  their 
command,  and  have  happily  en- 


388 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[December 


joyed  some  if  not  all  the  at- 
tributes which  contribute  towards 
success.  To  them  be  all  praise, 
for  they  have  emulated  the 
glorious  positions  which  our  lead- 
ing professional  huntsmen  have 
won  for  themselves.  They  have 
not,  in  my  humble  opinion,  eclipsed 
it,  and  their  number  represents 
at  the  present  day  a  sadly  poor 
proportion  to  the  total  of  the 
gentlemen  huntsmen  now  in  the 
field.  I  allude  to  such  men  as 
the  Duke  of  Beaufort,  Lord  Wil- 
loughby  de  Broke,  Mr.  Reginald 
Corbet,  Mr.  Lycett  Green,  Mr. 
Rawnsley,  Mr.  Rowland  Hunt, 
Mr.  Wharton,  Mr.  Hamilton 
Russell,  Mr.  Charles  Wright, 
Captain  Whitaker,  Mr.  Clayton 
Swan,  Mr.  Sherbrooke  and  few 
more  of  a  like  calibre,  with  whom 
I  have  not  sufficient  personal 
knowledge  of  to  speak  with  cer- 
tainty. I  do  not  include  Ireland 
in  the  scope  of  my  remarks.  To 
this  small  coterie  belongs  the 
honour  of  maintaining  the  repu- 
tation of  gentlemen  huntsmen, 
and  of  these  I  fear  Lord  Wil- 
loughby  de  Broke,  owing  to  ill- 
health,  will  never  again  awake  the 
echoes  of  the  Warwickshire  vales 
with  his  horn,  and  Mr.  Reginald 
Corbet  has  resigned  the  horn 
in  South  Cheshire  to  his  son, 
Mr.  Reginald,  junior,  who,  if  he 
emulates  the  deeds  of  his  father, 
will  indeed  live  in  the  annals 
of  Cheshire.  To  Mr.  Reginald 
Corbet,  I  consider,  worthily  be- 
longs the  premier  position  among 
gentlemen  huntsmen  of  England. 
He  has  presided  over  the  des- 
tinies of  Cheshire  sport  ever 
since  the  'sixties,  and  has,  for  at 
least  twenty-five  years,  carried 
the  horn  in  South  Cheshire. 
During  that  time  he  has  uni- 
formly won  the  record  for  his 
number  of  foxes  killed  in  this, 
the  smallest  and,  at  the  same 
time,  the  fastest  in  a  riding  sense, 


two-day-a-week  country  in  Eng- 
land ;  he  also  has  held  his  own 
against  all  comers,  and  been  the 
proud  possessor  of  the  choicest 
lady  pack  that  any  master  of 
hounds  can  bring  into  the  field, 
all  home  bred.  That  Mr.  Reginald 
Corbet  possesses  all  the  qualifi- 
cations that  Mr.  Thomas  Smith 
has  laid  down  I  will  not  avow. 
Let  it  suffice  that  he  has  courage, 
perseverance,  activity,  decision, 
and  a  fair  amount  of  patience; 
and  as  to  temper,  well,  his  true 
friends  know  how  to  bear  with 
this,  when  weighed  with  those 
fine  qualities  which  master  the 
situation.  In  the  history  of 
Cheshire  hunting  the  name  of 
Mr.  Corbet  will  ever  hold  a  fore- 
most place,  and  most  worthily  so. 
The  Duke  of  Beaufort  will 
always  be  better  known  in  the 
hunting  arena  as  the  Marquis  of 
Worcester — a  huntsman  to  the 
manner  born.  To  him  it  has  been 
a  gift  to  hunt  a  fox  from  a  know- 
ledge of  the  animal  and  his  ways. 
To  him  the  idea  of  being  a  dashing 
horseman  has  never  been  upper- 
most, and  yet  his  love  of  his 
hounds,  and  their  love  of  him,  has 
prevailed  to  bring  many  a  stout 
fox  to  his  death,  when  many 
a  more  courageous  huntsman 
would  have  failed.  The  Duke 
has  studied  hunting — his  advan- 
tages have  been  unrivalled,  and 
there  is  not  a  British  sportsman 
who  grudges  him  his  great  success. 
As  regards  the  other  gentlemen 
huntsmen,  whom  I  have  dared 
to  mention  by  name,  they  are  all 
more  or  less  in  their  zenith,  and 
hunting  to  them  has  been  a  study 
of  the  deepest  delight ;  they  enjoy 
a  well  earned  popularity,  and  it 
would  ill  become  me,  or  any  one 
writing  in  your  Magazine,  and 
having  the  success  of  hunting  at 
heart,  to  criticise  their  prowess  in 
the  field.  All  we  would  say  is, 
would    that    many  more  of   the 


1899.] 


AMATEUR    HUNTSMEN. 


389 


army  of  amateur  huntsmen  in  the 
United  Kingdom  would  emulate 
their  example,  aye,  even  claim  to 
approach  them  in  success. 

Old  Beckford  was  not  far  wrong 
when  he  advocated  such  tutelage 
as  a  mastership  of  harriers  to- 
wards the  attainment  of  success 
in  a  mastership  of  foxhounds. 
Nothing  tends  towards  the  attain- 
ment of  perseverance  and  patience, 
as  well  as  discretion,  in  hunting  a 
pack  of  hounds,  as  the  entering  of 
harriers,  or  even  beagles,  can  ac- 
complish. I  have  noted  several 
instances  of  this,  and  would 
strongly  advise  it  in  young  men, 
to  whom  a  study  of  hunting  is  an 
earnest  desire. 

Thus  you  become  accustomed 
to  the  use  of  the  horn,  and  of  your 
voice.  You  learn  the  attributes  of 
your  hounds,  the  peculiarities  of 
scent,  and  the  nature  of  the  animal 
you  hunt ;  you  get  hardened  to 
your  work,  you  learn  quickness, 
horsemanship,  and  above  all, 
patience.  Well,  as  to  temper  I 
confess  to  approaching  this  sub- 
ject with  much  hesitation  and 
reserve,  because  in  reality  it  is  in 
temper  that  the  greatest  pitfall  to 
the  amateur  huntsman  exists ;  he 
has  not  the  same  inducements  to 
hold  his  temper  in  check  that  a 
professional  huntsman  has,  and 
consequently  there  is  greater  fear 
of  it  running  riot  with  him.  It 
too  frequently  does,  not  because 
he  is  naturally  bad  tempered — 
probably  the  reverse— but  because 
his  very  keenness  and  anxiety  to 
excel  make  him  forget  the  position 
in  which  he  stands  towards  others 
who  desire  to  enjoy  the  sport  as 
much  as  he  does,  or  think  that 
they  do  so.  Here  a  professional 
huntsman  stands  out  superior  to 
the  gentleman,  and  necessarily  so, 
because  the  professional's  first 
idea  is  to  please  his  master,  and 
his  field,  to  show  sport,  and  keep 
his  temper.     His  very  livelihood 


depends  upon  it;  he  bears  the 
pressure  of  an  eager  throng  of 
sportsmen  in  his  wake  with  com- 
parative equanimity.  He  knows 
he  is  paid  for  being  where  he  is, 
and  that  if  the  too  eager  ones 
spoil  his  sport,  it  is  not  his  fault. 
Hardly  so  with  the  amateur,  he 
hates  the  idea  of  people  riding  too 
near  him,  and  if  they  go  in  front  of 
him  the  matter  is  still  worse,  his 
best  friend  then  is  his  worst  enemy, 
he  gets  between  him  and  his  pack, 
and  no  anathema  that  he  can 
think  of  suffices  to  be  hurled  at 
him. 

Yes,  it  is  sad  but  true,  temper 
such  as  this  in  the  moment  of 
supreme  trial,  spoils  the  happiness 
and  crushes  the  discretion  of  many 
a  gentleman  huntsman.  In  the 
silence  of  after  reflection  he  bites 
his  lips  in  remorse,  but  pride  for- 
bids a  recantation,  and  a  renewal  of 
the  circumstances  brings  another 
and  another  edition  of  the  same 
scenes  —  and  yet,  dear  readers, 
what  would  not,  what  do  not,  good 
sportsmen  bear  in  the  way  of  abuse 
from  their  huntsman  M.F.H.  with 
equanimity,  knowing  the  difficulty 
of  his  position,  and  the  trials  he 
undergoes  ?  There  are,  however, 
our  weaker  brethren,  who  are 
offended,  and  will  not  bear  it,  and 
who  have  to  be  considered  in 
these  days  of  tender- footed,  and 
tenderer  hearted  sportsmen,  who 
affect  the  hunting  field  ;  and  they 
would  rather  give  a  tip  of  a  fiver 
to  the  professional  huntsman, 
receiving  in  return  a  civil  touch  of 
the  hat,  and  a  word  of  encourage- 
ment now  and  again,  than  have 
the  hard  words  thrown  at  them 
remorselessly  by  the  M.F.H.  and 
huntsman  in  one. 

Then,  again,  voice  is  such 
an  essential  gift  in  a  huntsman, 
and  this  is  often  lacking  in  the 
amateur.  To  cheer  hounds  at 
the  right  moment  adds  dash  and 
decision  to  their  work,  and  makes 


39° 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[Decemree 


them  drive  ahead.  The  silent 
system  of  hunting,  now  I  regret 
to  say,  somewhat  in  vogue,  des- 
troys, to  my  mind,  one  of  the 
chief  charms  of  the  hunting  field. 
How  we  love  to  hear  a  fox  well 
holloaed  away,  and  the  pack 
cheered  to  the  echo  on  his  line, 
and  how  finely  many  of  our  best 
professional  huntsmen  do  that 
work  !  It  wins  the  lasting  love  of 
their  hounds,  it  inspirits  the  field, 
it  even  touches  the  hearts  of 
our  horses.  Oh,  how  I  hate  the 
whistling  coon  I  More  fit  is  the 
whistle  for  terriers  than  hounds. 
Does  not  their  own  merry  music 
tell  us  that  they  enjoy  these 
cheers  as  an  accompaniment  to 
their  chorus  ?  The  gentleman 
huntsman  thinks  he  can  please 
himself  as  to  this,  and  probably 
he  does.  Does  he  also  please  his 
hounds  or  his  field  ?  I  trow  not. 
He  kills  no  more  foxes  by  it, 
and  too  often  leaves  his  field  in 
the  lurch.  I  know  that  this  will 
be  considered  treasonable  talk  in 
many  quarters,  and  yet  I  would 
ask,  where  is  the  silent  huntsman 
who  can  boast  of  a  first-rate 
record,  unless  under  peculiarly 
favourable  surroundings  ?  '-*  Oh," 
says  the  advocate  of  silence, 
"  the  man  who  makes  a  noise 
only  gets  his  hounds'  heads  up, 
and  makes  a  mess  of  it."  Momen- 
tarily, perhaps,  he  does,  but 
hounds  are  not  fools,  they  know 
the  true  meaning  of  that  holloa, 
and  put  down  their  heads  at  the 
right  moment,  and  dash  away  for 
all  they  are  worth,  with  the 
answering  chorus,  which  we  all 
enjoy.  I  have,  on  the  other 
hand,  seen  the  same  thing  enacted 
under  the  silent  system,  where 
hounds  seemed  unable  to  recognise 
the  position,  and  feebly  feeling 
for  the  line,  hardly  dared  to  own 
it  at  first,  thus  losing  the  dash 
which  the  human  voice  brings  to 
their  aid. 


Then,  again,  there  is  the  slow 
huntsman,  who  declines  to  ride 
up  to  his  leading  hounds,  or 
encourage  the  tail  hounds  to  join 
them.  Beckford  thus  sums  him 
up  when  he  says,  "It  is  not  often 
that  a  slow  huntsman  kills  many 
foxes ;  he  is  a  check  upon  liis 
hounds,  which  seldom  kill  a  fox 
but  with  a  high  scent,  when  it  is 
out  of  his  power  to  prevent  it. 
What  avails  it  to  be  told  which 
way  the  fox  is  gone  when  he  is 
so  far  ahead  that  you  cannot 
hunt  him  ?  A  Newmarket  boy, 
with  a  good  understanding  and  a 
good  voice,  might  be  preferable 
perhaps  to  an  indifferent  and  slack 
huntsman.  He  would  press  on 
his  fox  whilst  the  scent  was  good, 
and  the  foxes  that  he  killed  he 
would  kill  handsomely." 

One  more  quotation  from  Beck- 
ford,  for  I  know  no  better  authority, 
although  he  lived  just  a  century 
ago.  After  speaking  of  a  hunts- 
man being  a  good  kennel  man. 
he  goes  on,  "If  besides  this  he 
makes  his  hounds  both  love  and 
fear  him,  if  he  be  active,  and 
press  them  on  while  the  scent  is 
good,  always  aiming  to  keep  them- 
as  near  the  fox  as  he  can ;  if, 
when  they  are  at  fault  he  make 
his  cast  with  judgment,  not  cast- 
ing the  wrong  way  first,  and  only 
blundering  upon  the  right  at  last, 
as  many  do ;  if,  added  to  this, 
he  be  patient  and  persevering, 
never  giving  up  a  fox  while  there 
remains  a  chance  of  killing  him, 
he  then  is  a  perfect  huntsman" 
Alas !  it  is  given  to  few  in  this 
lower  world  to  attain  anything 
approaching  perfection,  and  I 
am  not  wishing  here  to  unduly 
deny  the  merits  of  our  gentlemen 
huntsmen,  who  really  give  their 
minds  to  the  lofty  ambition  of 
becoming  celebrities  in  their  call- 
ing. All  I  feel  compelled  to  say 
is  that  of  the  large  number  who 
practice    the    art,   only    a   small 


j 


*«99] 


AMATEUR   HUNTSMEN. 


391 


proportion  succeed.  Why  this 
is  so  I  leave  to  wiser  heads  to 
decide.  In  this  article  it  has  been 
my  endeavour  to  touch  upon  some 
of  the  points  in  which  failure  is 
too  often  found,  and  in  many  of 
which  a  remedy  might  easily  be 
forthcoming.  I  fancy  that  were 
a  ballot  taken  pretty  widely  of 
hunting  men  on  the  question  of 
amateur  versus  professional  hunts- 
men, that  the  weight  of  the  vote 
would  go  very  much  in  favour  of 
the  professional,  and  that  rightly 
so. 

Since  entering  upon  this  article 
I  have  been  able  to  obtain  the 
engraving  of  a  picture  of  the  late 
Mr.  Robert  Luther,  for  many 
years  master  and  huntsman  of 
the  United  Pack  in  Shropshire, 
for  reproduction  as  a  frontispiece 
to  this  article,  and,  indeed,  no 
worthier  example  could  be  found 
of  the  fine  old  type  of  yeoman 
sportsman,  a  race  of  men  now, 
alas  !  all  too  few  in  our  ranks. 

Mr.  Robert  Luther  farmed 
largely  at  Acton,  near  Bishops- 
castle  in  Shropshire,  under  the 
Earl  of  Powis,  and  this  picture, 
painted  in  1849,  represents  him 
on  his  favourite  mare  by  Hes- 
perus, surrounded  by  some  of  his 
hounds,  which  show  their  Welsh 
descent.  He  was  one  of  the 
finest  men  it  was  ever  my  lot 
to  meet,  and  rode  over  16  st. 
He  nearly  always  bred  his  own 
horses,  and  grand  animals  they 
were,  such,  indeed,  as  cannot  be 
met  with  as  home-bred  in  Shrop- 
shire now.  He  hunted  quite  a 
territory,  extending  from  the 
Stiperstones  on  the  north,  within 


ten  miles  of  Shrewsbury,  to  Rad- 
nor Forest  on  the  south,  a 
distance  of  fully  thirty  miles,  and 
broad  in  proportion.  He  liked 
small  hounds,  which  he  always 
declared  immeasurably  superior 
to  big  ones  over  a  hilly  country. 
I  recollect  a  favourite  of  his, 
"  Lofty,"  which  is  in  the  picture, 
and  her  descendants  were  the 
mainstay  of  his  pack,  especially 
a  nearly  white  bitch,  called 
"  Lily."  He  also  had  rather  a 
big  hound,  called  "  Wellington," 
given  him  by  Sir  Watkin,  that 
was  a  bad  drawer,  but  used  to 
help  him  out  on  a  foggy  day  by 
hitting  off  the  line  when  his  lead- 
ing hounds  had  gone,  and  he 
always  had  a  good  word  for  old 
"  Wellington."  I  could  enumerate 
some  grand  runs  of  tremendous 
length,  which  he  enjoyed  in  those 
days,  especially  one  from  the 
Riddings  Plantation  near  Kerry 
to  the  foot  of  Plinlimmon,  of 
which  no  horseman  saw  the  end, 
and  some  of  the  hounds  were 
several  days  returning  to  kennel. 
Another  from  Pilleth  Gorse  in 
Radnorshire  to  the  Mynde  Scrubs 
near  Bedstone  in  Shropshire,  and 
from  Stanner  to  Aberedw  Rocks  on 
the  Wye.  And  he  thought  it  no 
uncommon  thing  to  run  from  the 
Wenlock  Edge  Wood  to  the  Clee 
Hill,  east  of  Ludlow.  It  was  with 
dear  old  Robert  Luther  that  I 
imbibed  my  first  lessons  in  hunt- 
ing, and  gained  the  love  of  it. 
To  him  the  silent  system  was  an 
abomination,  and  to  hear  his 
splendid  voice  cheering  on  his 
pack  was  a  thing  that  all  who 
heard  it  will  never  forget. 

Borderer. 


392 


[Decrmbe* 


Sportsmen  to  the  Front. 


SOME  PERSONAL  RECOLLECTIONS. 


We  often  encourage  ourselves  in 
active  pastimes  and  sports,  such 
as    polo    or    hunting,    with    the 
thought    that    they  are  a    good 
preparation  for  the  stern  realities 
of  war.     It  cannot,  therefore,  but 
be  interesting  to  recall  traits  and 
characteristics    of    those    whose 
actions  in  South   Africa  we  are 
following  with  an   interest    that 
may  be  called  breathless,  since 
no  thoughtful  man  doubts  that  on 
the  course  of    the    present  war 
hangs  the  fate  of  the  Empire.    So 
many  names  that  are  now  famous 
belong    to    men    whom    I    have 
known   in  the   polo    or    hunting 
Meld  that   I   think  it  will  be  of 
interest  to  put  down  some  of  my 
recollections,    even  though    they 
may     be    of   a    trifling    nature. 
Naturally    the    first    name    that 
occurs  to  my   mind    is    that    of 
Baden-Powell,  not  only  because 
he    occupies    a    very    prominent 
position  in  the  thoughts  of  all  his 
fellow-countrymen,  but   also   be- 
cause wherever  he  may  be  and  in 
whatever  he    may    be    engaged, 
whether  in    play  or  work,  he  is 
always  a  remarkable  and  interest- 
ing figure.  Stephen  Baden-Powell 
comes  of  a  family  of   rare  and 
versatile  gifts   and  endowments, 
and  most  Anglo-Indians  well  re- 
collect  his  brother  the  judge  at 
Simla.     I  call  him  the  judge  be- 
cause on  the  whole  that  was  his 
most  important  appointment,  but 
he  had  held  most  leading  appoint- 
ments open  to  a  civilian,  and  had 
been  Conservator  of  Forests  in 
Burma,  and  Postmaster-General 
somewhere    else.      He    was    an 
interesting    talker,    a     charming 
musician,  and  an  amateur  painter 
in   water-colours   of    much   skill. 
The  elder    brother,   Sir    George 


Baden  -  Powell,    was    known    to 
everyone,  and  other  members  of 
the   family   have    the    same   gift 
of  doing  many  things  and  doing 
them  well.     Baden- Powell,  of  the 
13th  Hussars,  had  all  the  family 
characteristics  when  I  first  knew 
him  as  a  subaltern  twenty  years 
or  so  ago.     He  was  then  one  of 
that     group    of   officers    trained 
under  Sir  Baker    Russell    in  the 
13th  who  have  distinguished  them- 
selves since  in  sport  and  war,  and 
of  whom  the  names  of  John  Wat- 
son and  Maclaren  will  be  familiar 
to  my  readers.     It  fell  to  my  lot 
to  share  with  the  13th   Hussars 
that  dreary  period  after  a  campaign 
when  the  army  is  still  on  service, 
but  the  interest  and   excitement 
are   all   over.     Those  who  have 
seen  Quetta  of   later  years  can 
have  but  little  idea  of  the  dreary 
discomfort  of  those  early  days  and 
of  the  depression  produced  by  the 
climate,  bad  food  and  much  sick- 
ness. But  these  bad  times  opened 
a  chance  for  Baden- Powell,  and 
he    availed    himself   of    it.     He 
wrote  songs,  set   them  to  music 
and   sang  them,  he  got   up  the- 
atricals, .he  painted  the  scenery,  he 
took  part  in    the  plays  to  their 
great  advantage,  and,  above  all, 
he    delivered     lectures,    two     of 
which,  on  Railways  Trains  and 
Natural      History,      monologues 
helped   out    with   a    black-board 
and  a  ready  chalk,  I  have  never 
forgotten.  The  soldiers,  of  course, 
delighted  in  him,  for  while  there 
was  often  real  wit,  Baden- Powell 
had  too  much  tact  to  get  over  the 
heads    of    his    audience.       His 
topical    allusions     were,    at     all 
events,  apt,  and  one  I   recollect 
brought  down  the  house.     It  was 
in    the   lecture  on  Natural   His- 


1899] 


SPORTSMEN    TO   THE    FRONT. 


393 


tory  when  he  announced  with 
a  little  dry  cough  that  he  was 
about  to  sketch  for  us  the  Afghan 
Nightingale,  and  drew  upon  the 
board — the  head  of  a  camel.  In 
camp  our  ears  were  always  full 
of  the  bubbling,  gurgling  com- 
plaints which  the  camel  is  never 
tired  of  addressing  to  his  driver 
for  expecting  him  to  work.  I 
think  those  of  us  who  thought 
at  all  recognised  that  Baden- 
Powell  would  go  far,  if  he  had 
the  chance.  Whatever  troubles 
and  hardships  they  have  in  Mafe- 
king,  I  am  sure  they  will  not  be 
dull  there. 

Curiously  enough,  though  I 
played  polo  regularly  in  Quetta, 
and  was  indeed  for  a  time 
secretary  of  the  polo  club,  I 
cannot  recollect  Baden  -  Powell 
playing.  Perhaps  John  Watson, 
who  was  far  superior  to  any 
player  we  had  then  seen,  rather 
over-shadowed  the  other  Hussar 
players.  I  only  recollect  of  the 
others  "  Ding"  Mc-Dougall,  who 
was  then  and  always  a  better 
horseman  than  a  polo  player,  and 
Maclaren,  who  is  with  Baden- 
Powell  in  Mafeking,  and  whose 
name  is  known  wherever  polo 
is  played. 

Later/when  the  regiment  moved 
to  Muttra,  and  devoted  themselves 
to  pig-sticking,  Baden  -  Powell 
came  to  the  front,  and  wrote  a 
book,  which  after  Newall's,  is  the 
best  treatise  on  a  sport  which  per- 
haps more  than  any  other  makes 
calls  on  the  personal  pluck  and 
resources  of  those  who  pursue  it. 
The  very  best  of  sports  for  a 
soldier,  it  was  just  the  pastime  for 
Baden-Powell,  who  was,  as  we  all 
recognised  even  then,  devoted  to 
his  profession  above  all  other 
interests  in  life. 

But  in  that  same  camp  at 
Quetta  were  other  men  who  are 
now  fighting  or  suffering  for  their 
country  in  South  Africa.     There 


was  Major  Humphries  of  the 
Gloucestershire  Regiment, a  capital 
polo  player,  who  did  wonders  on 
ponies  not  too  good.  I  played  in 
the  same  team  with  him  in  the 
first  handicap  polo  tournament  at 
Quetta,  and  we  had  some  hopes  of 
winning,  for  Humphries,  our  back, 
was  a  fine  player,  as  the  game 
went  in  those  days.  However,  we 
did  not  win,  and  I  have  forgotten 
who  did.  The  Gloucestershires 
were  always  a  good  polo  regiment, 
and  it  was  about  that  time  that 
Major  Capel  Cure  joined  them. 
He  was,  I  think,  the  most 
promising  beginner  I  have  ever 
seen.  From  the  first  he  hit  hard 
and  straight,  and  he  rode  with 
tremendous  dash  and  pluck.  After- 
wards Capel  Cure  and  the  Glouces- 
tershires were  for  a  time,  though  to 
a  less  degree,  what  De  Lisle  and 
the  Durhams  became  in  later  years. 
But  polo  was  not  then,  as  we 
are  often  reminded,  the  scientific 
game  it  has  since  become. 

Another  regiment  which  is  now 
at  the  front,  and  which  has  been 
remarkable  for  its  sportsmen  and 
its  talent  at  theatricals  or  sing- 
songs, is  the  Manchester  Regi- 
ment (63rd).  All  played  polo,  from 
the  colonel  downwards.  Later, 
the  other  battalion,  the  96th,  went 
to  Agra,  and  devoting  themselves 
to  pig-sticking,  had  splendid  sport. 
Colonel  Ridley,  who,  like  so  many 
other  good  sportsmen,  has  been 
taken  from  the  old  regiment  for 
staff  employ,  was  a  very  notable 
pig-sticker,  and  the  best  manager 
of  a  hog-hunting  country  I  have 
ever  known.  He  used  to  have  a 
horse  which  had  met  with  a 
curious  accident,  a  spear  having 
passed  right  through  him  from 
the  shoulder  to  the  quarters.  How- 
ever, when  I  saw  him  he  was 
little  the  worse,  save  for  the 
scars,  and  was  as  bold  after  a  pig 
as  ever. 

The    men    of    whom    I    have 


394 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[December 


written  so  far  belong  to  an  older 
generation  of  sport,  or  have  had 
their  training  in  India  almost 
entirely.  But  of  well  known  polo 
players  of  to-day,  to  take  only 
those  who  are  on  the  staff  or  on 
special  service,  how  many  first- 
rate  polo  players  there  are ! 
Major  Rimington,  Captain  Mac- 
kenzie, Captain  Brand,  Lord 
Charles  Bentinck,  Captain  Han- 
well,  and  very  many  others,  for 
are  not  all  our  great  polo  regi- 
ments at  the  front  ?  Not  one  has 
been  deaf  to  the  call,  even  those 
who  were  preparing  to  leave  the 
service  and  settle  down  to  other 
occupations,  have  gone  at  the 
first  call.  Mr.  Frank  Wise  and 
Lord  Wicklow  have  left  their 
hounds,  and  Captain  Egerton 
Green  a  comfortable  berth  at 
Hurlingham.  It  was  only  their 
duty,  it  may  be  said,  and  they 
themselves  would  say  it,  but  a 
nation  whose  sons  love  duty  and 
delight  in  sport  is  not  likely  yet 
to  be  left  behind  in  the  struggle 
for  existence. 

But  from  the  polo  field,  which 
has  indeed  sent  nearly  all  its  best 
men  to  the  front  to  take  part  in 
that  reality  of  which  the  game  in 
its  tactics,  its  combination,  its 
dash  and  its  grasp  of  suddenly 
occurring  opportunities  is  the 
image  and  for  which  it  is  an  ex- 
cellent training,  let  us  turn  to  the 
hunting  field,  which  has  for  the 
last  century  at  least  been  a 
favourite  play-ground  for  soldiers. 
I  have  tried  to  show,  in  my 
"  History  of  the  Belvoir  Hunt," 
how  great  a  stimulus  to  the  sport 
of  foxhunting  was  the  great  war 
at  the  end  of  the  last  and  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  century. 
Nor  do  I  think  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  show  the  value  of  the 
growth  of  that  sport  in  keeping 
alive  a  spirit  of  dash  and  adventure 
among  horse-keeping  Englishmen 
during  the  long    years  of  peace 


which  preceded  the  Crimean  cam- 
paign. 

But  to  return,  I  will  speak  only 
of  those  whom  I  have  myself 
known,  for  this  is  but  a  chapter 
of  personal  recollections.  The 
first  who  occurs  to  my  mind  now, 
alas,  with  affectionate  regret,  is 
the  late  Captain  C.  K.  Pechell, 
K.R.R.,  with  whom  I  drove  last 
year  to  the  opening  meet  of  the 
Belvoir  at  Croxton  Park,  and 
who,  though  only  riding  a  hireling, 
held  a  good  place  in  a  scurry 
from  Sproxton  Thorns.  This,  his 
last  year,  has  been  full  of  adven- 
ture for  him,  but  his  name,  with 
that  of  the  other  heroic  defenders, 
will  not  soon  be  forgotten. 
Then  there  is  Lord  Robert  Man- 
ners, a  keen  soldier,  with  all  the 
inborn  instincts  of  service  to 
England  of  a  race  which  has 
given  statesmen  and  soldiers  to 
the  country  in  every  generation. 
A  hard  riding  heavy  weight,  his 
tall  figure  is  well  known  with  the 
Belvoir.  It  is  interesting  to  re- 
call that  Robert  is  a  name  which 
has  been  borne  by  many  fighting 
members  of  the  race.  One  of 
that  name  died  fighting  his  ships, 
and  another  well  known  in  Leices- 
tershire hunting  fields  was  a  dandy 
and  a  soldier,  and  one  of  the 
hardest  riders  of  his  day  in  the 
period  when  the  fifth  duke  ruled 
over  Belvoir. 

It  is  not  foreign  to  this  paper 
to  remind  readers  of  Baily  that 
Sir  Redvers  Buller  is  a  hard  man 
to  hounds,  and  that  hunting  was 
his    favourite    recreation    in   his 
Devonshire  home.     Indeed,  as  the 
recollection     of     those     one   has 
known   or  those   whom  one   has 
only  seen  when  riding  in  front  at 
the  top  of  the  hunt,  or  making  a 
run   at   polo,    what   a    crowd  of 
names  comes  back.     Major  Little 
of  the  9th,  a  follower  of  the  Duke 
of  Beaufort's   hunt,   and  so  well 
known   at    Hurlingham.     Cheery 


I 


1899-] 


HUNTING    IN    FRANCE. 


395 


Neil  Haig,  whom  neither  heavy 
weight,  nor  a  bad  horse,  nor  the 
stiff  fences  of  Mr.  Fernie's  country 
could  stop  when  hounds  were  run- 
ning. Then  to  leave  the  hunting 
field  for  a  moment,  there  is  at 
least  one  university  oarsman  at 
Ladysmith,  and  how  many  more 
whose  names  do  not  now  recur, 
as  bold,  as  keen,  as  enthusi- 
astic as  those  whom  I  have  men- 
tioned. 

But  one  name  there  is  which 
demands  something  more  than  a 
passing  mention,  if  only  because 
he  has  made  the  last  great  sacrifice 
for  his  country  and  the  service  he 
loved.  Of  whom  could  one  speak 
if  Scott-Chisholme  were  forgotten. 
A  true  scion  he  was  of  a  famous 
border  and  cavalier  family.  A 
good  rider  between  the  flags,  a 
dashing  polo  player  throughout 
his  service.  Trained  in  that 
school  of  soldiers,  sportsmen  and 


polo  players,  the  9th  Lancers,  he 
was  a  brother  officer  of  Lord 
William  Beresford,  of  Colonel 
Bushman,  of  Major  Little  (now  at 
the  front),  and  many  others. 
Then  he  commanded  the  5th 
Lancers,  and  their  exploits  are  a 
testimony  to  his  training,  and  lastly 
he  formed  that  splendid  corps,  the 
Imperial  Light  Horse.  What 
better  memorial  of  his  soldier-like 
qualities  and  gifts  is  needed  ? 
Yet  those  who  remember  the 
charming  companion,  the  genial 
messmate,  the  true  sportsman, 
may  be  permitted  to  regret  him 
even  though  so  splendid  a  death 
was  his  lot,  for  did  he  not  give 
his  life  to  save  one  of  his  own 
troopers  ?  Others  we  shall  have 
to  mourn  for  also,  but  none  will 
be  more  missed  or  leave  more 
friends  to  preserve  his  .gallant  and 
splendid  memory. 

T.  F.  D. 


Hunting  in   France. 


The  appearance  of  the  sixth 
"  Annuaire  de  la  Venerie  Fran- 
caise  "  tempts  examination  of  the 
conditions  under  which  our  neigh- 
bours pursue  their  sport  with 
horse  and  hound.  Needless  to  say 
no  modern  French  hunting  estab- 
lishment can  compare  in  point 
of  antiquity  with  many  British 
packs ;  the  Revolution  made  an 
end  of  the  Capitaineries  with  other 
institutions  and  the  oldest  pack 
of  hounds  in  France  appears  to 
be  that  of  the  Marquis  de  l'Aigle 
in  the  Dept.  Oise,  which 
dates  from  1790  and  hunts  the 
wild  boar.  Prior  to  the  Revolu- 
tion the  Kings  of  France  enjoyed 
the  prerogative  of  granting  to 
princes  of  the  blood  the  exclusive 
right  to  all  game  in  certain  dis- 

vol.  lxxii. — no.  478. 


tricts,  even  upon  manors  granted 
at  a  previous  date  to  other  indivi- 
duals; so  that  the  erection  of  a 
district  into  a  Capitaineric  amounted 
to  cancellation  of  all  manorial 
rights  to  game  in  favour  of  the 
prince  to  whom  the  sporting 
rights  were  granted  by  the  throne. 
The  condition  of  the  peasantry 
under  this  old  regime  was  pitiful ; 
the  slaughter  of  a  deer  or  wild  pijg 
in  defence  of  crops  was  an  offence 
punishable  by  a  long  term  in  the 
galleys;  so  jealously  did  the  law 
protect  the  game  that  the  farmer 
might  not  cleanse  his  field  of 
weeds,  mow  hay,  nor  remove 
stubble,  until  a  stated  date,  lest 
he  disturbed  the  young  partridges; 
the  practice  of  steeping  seed  was 
forbidden  lest  the  birds  should  be 

30 


396 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[DECKMBM 


injured  by  eating  it,  and  manuring 
with  night  soil  was  not  allowed 
lest  the  flavour  of  the  partridges 
should  be  impaired.  With  the 
Revolution  the  Capitainerits  and 
their  accompanying  restrictions 
were  swept  away ;  and  the  ten- 
dency of  French  legislation  since 
has  been  to  grant  facilities  for 
sport  through  a  system  of  loop- 
holes in  laws  framed  to  protect 
the  agriculturist. 

Prior  to  1789  custom  allowed 
the  sportsman  hunting  with 
hounds  the  right  of  following  his 
pack  over  the  land  of  another 
when  in  pursuit  of  game  started 
on  ground  over  which  he  possessed 
hunting  rights.  This  right  is 
irreconcilable  with  modern  French 
law,  which  absolutely  forbids  hunt- 
ing over  the  fields  of  another 
person  without  his  consent ;  at  the 
same  time  the  difficulties  of  con- 
trolling hounds  in  pursuit  are 
recognised,  and  Article  11  of  the 
Law  of  1844  provides  that  if 
hounds,  on  the  line  of  a  quarry 
unharboured  or  unkennelled  on 
their  owner's  land,  follow  their 
game  on  to  the  land  of  another,  it 
rests  with  the  latter  to  obtain 
redress  by  proving  damage  in  a 
civil  court.  Should  he  bring  such 
action  for  delit  dt  chasse,  which  we 
may  render  "hunting  trespass," 
the  master  of  the  pack,  to  make 
good  his  defence,  must  prove  (1) 
that  the  game  was  found  on  land 
where  hounds  had  right  to  be; 
(2)  that  his  huntsman  or  whipper- 
in  was  not  able  to  stop  the  pack ; 
and  (3),  which  is  hardly  distin- 
guishable from  (2),  that  the  pack 
trespassed  against  the  will  of  the 
master.  Hunt  servants  commit 
trespass  if  they  follow  hounds  to 
help  them  ;  they  may  follow  only 
to  whip  them  off.  Inasmuch, 
however,  as  there  is  nothing  what- 
ever to  prevent  proprietor  or  occu- 
pier from  granting  the  right  of 
chase  over  his  ground  to  another 


person,  the  French  master  of 
hounds  is  really  in  much  the  same 
position  towards  the  farmers  in  his 
country  as  his  British  or  Irish 
brother  in  sport. 

The    French    laws    governing 
sport     contain     one     prohibition 
which  is  of  interest,  though  not 
from  the  hunting  point  of  view,  it 
must  be  admitted  ;  the  more  far- 
reaching  applicability  of  the  word 
chasse,  however,  requires  mention 
of    it    in    the    Notions    Juridiques 
which  preface  the  Annuaire.  Under 
Article  9  of  the  Law  of  1844,  ^e 
use  for  the  pursuit  of  game  of  grey- 
hounds or  any  dog  of  similar  build, 
as    the    borzoi    (tevricr   russe)   or 
Algerian    greyhound    (sloughi),  is 
absolutely  prohibited.     A  French 
hunting  friend  to  whom  the  writer 
appealed   for  explanation  of  this 
ordinance,    is   not   able   to  state 
positively  why  the  employment  of 
such  dogs  should   be  forbidden; 
but     he     conjectures     that    the 
"  destructive  character  "  attributed 
to  them  applied  less  to  the  dogs 
than    to  the    persons   who  most 
commonly     owned     them;     and 
herein  we  find  a  curious  and  in- 
structive point  of  contact  between 
our  own  mediaeval  game  laws  and 
the  modern  game  laws  of  France. 
"  It    seems,"    writes    the    friend 
referred  to,  "  that  in  the  South  of 
France  where  they  were  princi- 
pally   kept,    their    owners   were 
individuals  unworthy  of  the  name 
of   sportsmen,  small    tradesmen, 
peasants,  &c,  who  had  not  their 
dogs  under  proper  control ;  poach- 
ing   for    their    masters    and   for 
themselves  the  livriers  did  a  good 
deal  of  damage." 

There  is  the  ring  of  true  sports- 
manship about  the  minor  motive 
for  prohibition  of  greyhounds; 
that  their  great  speed  gives  them 
an  unfair  advantage  over  the  hare 
in  open  ground  when  handled  by 
men  who  hunt  for  the  pot  In 
Baily's  for  May  "  Game  Presero- 


i«99] 


HUNTING    IN    FRANCE. 


397 


tion  in  the  Middle  Ages,"  mention 
was  made  of  13  Rich.  II.  c.  1, 
which  laid  down  the  principle,  for 
centuries  upheld  by  our  game 
legislation,  that  persons  not  pos- 
sessed of  certain  property  quali- 
fications, should  not  be  allowed  to 
keep  greyhounds  and  other  ani- 
mals or  engines  for  taking  game. 
The  old  English  law-givers  cared 
nothing  for  the  susceptibilities  of 
persons  of  low  degree ;  they  had 
no  franchise  considerations  to 
weigh ;  the  French  legislators  of 
half  a  century  ago  could  not  draw 
class  distinctions,  so  they  sought 
accomplishment  of  their  end  by 
the  simple  process  of  making  pur- 
suit of  hares  with  greyhounds 
illegal.  That  such  dogs  were 
chiefly  kept  by  men  of  the  lower 
orders  may  or  may  not  have  been 
in  the  mind  of  the  Chamber  of 
1844  when  it  passed  the  law. 

It  must  be  added  that  this  law 
allows  the  Prefet  of  a  Department 
to  sanction  the  use  of  greyhounds 
and  similar  breeds  under  excep- 
tional circumstances  ;  but  only  for 
the  chase  of  noxious  or  trouble- 
some animals. 

Like  shooting,  hunting  in 
France  begins  and  closes  on  dates 
prescribed  by  the  local  authority 
in  each  Department;  ten  days' 
notice  of  the  dates  fixed  being 
publicly  given.  This  is  necessary 
from  the  legal  standpoint,  as  shoot- 
ing and  hunting  are  forms  of  sport 
between  which  the  law  has  to  dis- 
criminate in  view  of  the  employ- 
ment of  firearms.  Our  authority 
(The  Annuaire)  informs  us  that 
hunting  (La  Chasse  a  courre)  does 
not  in  its  principle  require  the  car- 
riage or  use  of  a  gun,  but  that  it 
is  necessary  to  make  one  excep- 
tion ;  when  the  lives  of  sportsmen 
or  of  hounds  are  endangered  by 
a  wild  boar  it  is  legal  to  use 
firearms  for  their  defence  ;  in  the 
absence  of  such  necessity  of  de- 
fence, the  employment  of  a  gun 


would  constitute  an  act  of  shoot- 
ing (tin  fait  de  chasse  a  tit)  and 
as  such  amount  to  a  misdemean- 
our if  committed  out  of  the  shoot- 
ing season. 

The  responsibilities  of  a  French 
owner  or  lessee  of  woodlands 
which  hold  game,  more  especially 
red  deer,  fallow  deer  and  roe  deer, 
do  not  differ  widely  from  the 
responsibilities  of  an  English  land- 
owner who  rears  a  large  head  of 
pheasants  or  rabbits.  It  is  recog- 
nised that  a  certain  amount  of 
injury  to  neighbouring  crops  is 
inseparable  from  the  existence  of 
game,  and  before  the  farmer  who 
has  suffered  in  property  can  obtain 
redress  at  law  he  must  prove  fault 
or  negligence  on  the  part  of  the 
owner  of  the  game  covert.  Fault 
consists  in  the  encouragement  or 
maintenance  of  game  in  excess ; 
and  negligence  is  the  omission  to 
take  necessary  measures  to  check 
excessive  increase.  It  is  held 
comparatively  easy  to  prove  fault 
or  negligence  in  the  case  of  tres- 
pass and  damage  by  the  ccrvida, 
because  deer  "  may  be  considered 
sedentary  and  do  not  leave  the 
woods  in  which  they  have  estab- 
lished themselves."  This  within 
limits  is  true  enough ;  but  a  field 
of  grain  in  the  vicinity  of  wood  or 
park  containing  deer  will  generally 
afford  evidence  that  the  animals 
are  not  too  sedentary  in  their 
habits  to  work  havoc  among  the 
standing  corn.  Responsibility  on 
the  part  of  covert  owners  for 
damage  caused  by  wild  swine  is 
more  difficult  to  prove  "  because 
these  animals  are  wanderers 
(nomades)  and  often  travel  great  dis- 
tances from  one  forest  to  another." 
Such  responsibilty  can  be  im- 
posed, however,  if  the  sufferers 
can  show  that  the  covert  owner 
has  enticed  wild  swine  to  take  up 
their  quarters  in  his  domain,  has 
endeavoured  to  keep  them  there 
and  has  encouraged  their  increase ; 


398 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[December 


or  that  he  has  opposed  their 
destruction  by  his  farming  neigh- 
bours while  himself  taking  in- 
sufficient or  tardy  measures  to 
keep  their  numbers  down.  If  he 
take  proper  measures  in  the  shape 
of  frequent  hunts  and  battues  to 
which  he  invites  the  neighbours, 
he  escapes  all  responsibility.  In 
a  word,  the  covert  owner  renders 
himself  answerable  for  damage  by 
any  game  including  hares,  rabbits, 
wolves,  foxes  and  badgers  if,  in 
the  interests  of  the  chase,  he  en- 
courages undue  increase  and  op- 
poses their  destruction.  The  law 
recognises  the  right  of  farmers 
and  cultivators  to  expel  or  destroy 
all  animals  which  inflict  damage 
upon  their  property,  and  all  means 
of  destruction  are  lawful;  pro- 
vided only  in  the  case  of  deer  that 
they  are  actually  doing  his  property 
a  mischief,  or  that  his  property  is 
in  imminent  danger  of  harm.  In 
practice,  no  doubt,  it  amounts  to 
this,  that  the  farmer  only  kills  deer 
when  he  catches  them  in  the  act  of 
trespass. 

That  noble  animal,  the  fox,  is  not 
appreciated  by  our  neighbours ; 
we  find  him  coupled  with  wolves, 
badgers  and  other  noxious  ani- 
mals, and,  as  such,  liable  to  be 
made  the  object  of  public  hunts 
or  battues  at  the  discretion  of  the 
local  authority.  French  law  pre- 
scribes that  every  three  months, 
or  oftener  if  necessary,  wolves, 
foxes,  badgers  and  autres  animaux 
nuisibles  shall  be  hunted  under  the 
direction  of  forest  officers  in  the 
public  woods  and  fields.  As  cam- 
paigns against  vermin  these  bat- 
tues may  be  organised  at  any 
season  and  over  any  extent  of 
country.  The  person  appointed 
by  the  prefet  to  organise  une  chasse 
collective,  can  require  the  mayor  of 
town  or  village  to  call  out  volun- 
teers for  the  business  and  any  man 
so  summoned  is  liable  to  a  fine  not 
exceeding  fifteen  francs  if  he  fail 


to  appear  at  the  place  and  time 
appointed. 

Mayors  are  invested  with  special 
powers  in  regard  to  wolves  and 
wild  boars.  A  mayor  may  arrange 
with  the  owner  of  thickets,  woods 
and  forests  to  take  necessary 
measures  for  the  destruction  of 
these  as  "  noxious  animals."  If 
the  covert  owner  objects  the 
official  cannot  enter  his  preserves ; 
but  the  mayor  has  another  card  up 
his  sleeve  which  he  can  play  in  the 
winter  when  the  snow  lies.  At 
that  season  he  may  require  the 
owner  of  coverts  wherein  wolves 
and  wild  boar  lie,  to  destroy  them 
within  a  given  time ;  and  if  he  fail 
to  do  so,  the  mayor  can  call  the 
inhabitants  with  arms  and  dogs 
to  drive  and  exterminate  the  game. 

La  louveterie  is  a  code  or  series 
of  administrative  measures  whose 
object  is  the  destruction  of  dan- 
gerous beasts,  more  especially,  as 
the  name  suggests,  wolves.  The 
execution  of  these  measures  is 
entrusted  in  each  department  to 
lieutenants  de  louvcttric  who  hold 
their  appointment  for  a  year ;  prior 
to  1814  these  officers  had  extensive 
powers,  but  since  that  date  their 
functions  have  been  curtailed ;  the 
lieutenant  de  louveterie  nowadays 
works  hand  in  hand  with  the  forest 
officers  and  his  chief  business,  out 
of  the  hunting  season,  is  trapping. 

The  rights  of  hunting  and  shoot- 
ing in  woods  and  forests  belonging 
to  the  State  are  let  by  public  sale. 
Hunting  rights  give  power  to  pur- 
sue stag,  fallow  deer,  wild  boar 
and  wolf,  and  the  lessee  can  hunt 
twice  a  week  during  the  season, 
hunting  days  being  settled  in  ad- 
vance by  the  lessee  and  local 
authorities,  Sundays  and  fete  days 
being  excluded.  The  hunting 
lessee  of  a  State  forest  is  not 
allowed  an  entirely  free  hand ;  the 
authorities  reserve  certain  powers 
in  respect  of  noxious  animals  and 
under  these    the  Conservator  of 


1899.] 


HUNTING    IN    FRANCE. 


399 


Forests  may  require  the  lessee  to 
destroy  within  a  stated  time  a 
specified  number  of  specified 
beasts ;  a  sound  and  economical 
method  of  exterminating  vermin, 
but  one  which  might  not  invariably 
commend  itself  to  the  sporting 
lessee. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  cata- 
logue the  three  hundred  packs  of 
hounds  owned  in  France  accord- 
ing to  English  ideas  as  represented 
in  the  annual  Kennel  Lists.  Packs 
that  stoop  to  only  one  species  of 
game  are  in  the  minority,  and  packs 
over  which  the  owner  shoots  hare 
or  roe  deer  are  included  among 
those  which  "  hunt  "  in  the  British 
sense  of  the  word  :  equally,  packs 
of  foot-beagles  occur  among  packs 
followed  on  horseback.  Further- 
more, many  gentlemen  maintain 
small  packs  of  hounds,  and  pos- 
sessing no  country  themselves, 
join  forces  with  neighbours  who 
have  hunting  rights. 

It  crosses  the  insular  mind,  in 
glancing  through  these  pages  that 
unless  hounds  are  exceptionally 
steady  the  temptation  to  riot  must 
often  be  too  strong  for  canine 
nature  to  resist.  For  example, 
Mons.  Bailly  du  Ponts'  pack  of 
ten  couples  of  griffons,  chasse 
tons  les  animaux  qu'il  rencontre 
in  the  Vendean  woods,  stag,  wild 
boar,  fox  and  hare :  "and  with  a 
success  that  denotes  in  the  pack  a 
great  love  of  the  chase."  Again, 
the  Comte  d'Elva  shoots  over  his 
pack  of  bassets-griffons  vendeens 
•'every  running  animal,"  and  when 
the  snooting  season  closes  they 
run  hare.  Mons.  Mazeaud-Ger- 
meuil,  again,  has  a  pack  of  half- 
breds  with  which  he  hunts  in  the 
Limousin  district ;  his  season's 
bag  is  given  as  averaging  four  wild 
boar,  four  roe  deer,  ten  foxes  and 
eighteen  hares.  Numerous  are 
the  French  hunts  which  hunt  the 
hare  and  the  hare  only  ;  but  in  the 
whole  long  list  we  find  but  a  single 


pack  which  "  habitually  hunts  only 
the  fox."  This  is  the  Equipage  de 
Beauch&ne  in  Mayenne,  of  which 
the  Comte  du  Boberil  is  master 
and  owner ;  the  Comte  du 
Boberil's  father  founded  the  pack 
in  1840  and  for  many  years  hunted 
the  wolf;  wolves  having  now  dis- 
appeared from  the  country,  they 
hunt  fox  by  themselves  and  join 
with  Comte  Francois  de  la  Roche- 
foucald's  pack  to  tackle  wild  boar. 

The  badger,  as  a  beast  of  chase, 
is  specifically  mentioned  once ;  it 
shares  with  hare  and  fox  the  atten- 
tions of  Mons.  Justin  Dupaya's 
pack  of  briquets,  which  hunt  in  the 
Landes  Dept.  It  does  not  neces- 
sarily follow  from  this  that  the 
"  brock  "  is  elsewhere  neglected. 
A  few  hunts  return  the  average 
season's  bag  at  so  many  "ani- 
mals" and  its  identity  may  be 
hidden  under  this  generality. 
Also  those  packs  to  whom  every- 
thing is  lawful  game  doubtless 
stoop  to  badger  occasionally  of  a 
night,  more  especially  such  as 
hunt  State  preserves  and  may  be 
required  to  devote  themselves  to 
killing  specified  animal  nuisances. 

The  only  pack  of  otter  hounds 
mentioned  in  the  Annuaire  is  that 
of  Mons.  Ravul  le  Ber  of  the 
Chateau  d'Hongerville,  in  the 
Dept.  Seine  Inferieure. 

As  might  be  expected,  many 
masters  of  hounds  are  Lieutenants 
de  Louveterie,  their  sporting  pro- 
clivities singling  them  out  for 
these  appointments.  The  doyen 
among  French  masters  is  un- 
doubtedly the  Vicomte  Emil  de  la 
Besge,  who,  at  the  age  of  86  years 
is  capable  of  spending  ten  or  twelve 
hours  in  the  saddle  hunting  roe 
deer  in  the  Poitou  forests. 
Formerly  this  venerable  sportsman 
confined  his  attentions  to  wolf,  but 
although  his  pack  accounted  for 
five  last  season,  the  increasing 
scarcity  of  wolves  now  compels 
him  to  turn  to  roe. 


400 


BA1LYS   MAGAZINE. 


[December 


France  is  rich  to  embarrassment 
in  breed  and  variety  of  hound.  A 
substantial  majority  of  packs  con- 
sist of  half-breds  (bdtards)  con- 
cerning whose  antecedents  no 
particulars  are  given.  In  his 
work  on  the  "  French  Hounds," 
the  Comte  E.  de  Couteulx 
de  Canteleu,  himself  a  master 
and  owner,  tells  us  that  there  are 
certain  varieties  of  these  hounds 
which  have  sprung  from  breeds 
closely  allied  and  which  possessed 
high  qualities.  The  modern  cross- 
bred hound  has  acquired  a  reputa- 
tion at  least  equal  to  that  of  his 
ancestors,  for  much  and  frequent 
crossing  has  produced  a  tendency 
to  revert  to  the  original  type. 
It  is  undeniably  a  useful  hound, 
for  our  neighbours  enter  it  suc- 
cessfully to  every  kind  of  game 
from  boar  to  hare. 

The  briquet,  for  which  the  dic- 
tionaries at  hand  provide  no  equi- 
valent, is  a  much  less  determinate 
breed ;  there  is  no  certainty  in 
breeding  the  briquet;  not  only  may 
puppies  differ  in  form  and  foot  from 
their  parents,  the  individuals  of 
the  same  litter  differ  among  them- 
selves. Various  parts  of  France 
possess  different  varieties  of  these 
hounds ;  which  being  from  22  to  23 
inches  high  are  accounted  small 
by  the  authority  just  quoted. 
Bassets  also  figure  largely  in  the 
Annuaire ;  and  here  again  is  in- 
finite variety,  all  the  numerous 
strains,  however,  being  vigorous 
and  blessed  with  staying  power. 


The  briquets  and  bassets  in  their 
varieties  appear  to  be  most 
usually  entered  to  hare. 

Among  the  pure  breeds  there 
are  St.  Huberts  (bloodhounds)  the 
Vendean  hound  (La  Vendue  was 
always  a  great  sporting  district, 
rich  in  stag,  boar  and  wolf  in  the 
old    days) ;    the    Gascogne    and 
Saintonge  hounds,  ranging  from  23 
to  25  inches,  strong  and  plucky 
breeds  which  hunt  the  wolf  by 
preference ;  and  the  Poitou  hound, 
remarkable   for  its  splendid  nose 
and  wonderful  stoutness.     Mans, 
de  Large,  a  sportsman  of  the  last 
century,  who  was  guillotined  in 
1 793,  had  a  famous  strain  of  Poitou 
hounds.      It    is    said    that    after 
having  hunted  a  wolf  all  day  he 
would  whip  off  and  returning  next 
day  put  his  pack  on  the  line  again. 
The  frequency  with  which  batard 
du  Poitou  occurs  in  these  pages 
indicates  the  esteem  in  which  the 
blood  is  held. 

One  dare  not  attempt  even  to 
catalogue  the  varieties  of  French 
hounds,  and  save  to  an  expert  in 
hound  breeding  across  the  channel 
a  list  would  convey  but  little 
meaning. 

We  may  admire  without  envy- 
ing the  wealth  of  variety  indicated 
by  such  distinctive  breeds  as  the 
Gascons-ariSgeois,  Griffons  Cosse, 
Vend6an  harriers,  Gascons,  Sain- 
tonge, Beagles-harriers,  Briquets 
d'Artois,  Porcelaines,  C6ris,  Grif- 
fons Nevernais,  &c,  &c. 

C. 


■899] 


4-OI 


More  about  Mules. 


By   Major   Arthur   Griffiths. 


I  told  in  last  Baily  the  story 
of  our  mule  purchase  in  Alicante, 
and  of  how  we  embarked  our 
animals  for  the  war  in  Abys- 
sinia. But  while  all  this  was 
in  progress  I  received  instruc- 
tions from  the  War  Office  to 
break  ground  in  another  locality. 
I  was  to  proceed  forthwith  to 
Barcelona,  accompanied  by  a 
commissariat  and  a  veterinary 
officer  in  order  to  deal  with  a 
large  number  of  mules  collected 
there  on  the  faith  of  advertise- 
ments issued  by  the  British  com- 
missioners who  had  been  sent  to 
work  that  city.  These  officers  had 
publicly  announced  their  readiness 
to  accept  all  mules  answering  cer- 
tain conditions,  and  to  pay  for  them 
at  a  fixed  price.  They  waited 
patiently  a  month  or  more,  and 
waited  in  vain,  no  mules  were 
brought  in  for  sale,  and  it  was 
plausibly  explained  that  the  Cata- 
lonian  mule  is  such  a  fine  tall 
beast,  so  much  in  local  request, 
that  the  price  offered  tempted  no 
one.  In  the  end  our  officers, 
who  were  doing  nothing  for  their 
money  (£5  per  man  per  diem), 
were  recalled  to  England. 

Shortly  after  their  departure  it 
was  reported  that  they  had  left 
too  soon.  The  news  of  the  pro- 
posed purchase  had  spread  very 
slowly  through  the  district  and 
the  answer  came  in  as  tardily. 
But  it  came  in  the  person  of  con- 
tractors and  others  who  had 
busied  themselves  to  meet  the 
advertised  demand,  who  had  en- 
tered into  engagements  with  mule 
owners  and  who  were  now  pre- 
pared to  produce  a  considerable 
supply.  To  their  disgust  they 
found  no  buyers.  Our  British 
officers   had  gone,  and  the  poor 


misguided  people  who  had  trusted 
to  the  honour  of  England  were 
left  with  a  number  of  animals 
on  their  hands  and  the  near  cer- 
tainty of  having  to  face  a  serious 
loss.  This  was  a  just  complaint 
on  the  face  of  it,  and  it  was 
backed  up  by  the  only  British  re- 
presentative left  —  the  consul  at 
Barcelona. 

My  instructions  were,  directly  I 
arrived  in  Barcelona  to  announce 
that  the  British  Government  was 
prepared  to  buy  all  mules  col- 
lected on  the  faith  of  our  ad- 
vertisement, provided  always  they 
fulfilled  the  published  conditions. 

The  first  consideration  was  to 
keep  faith  with  the  Spanish  public. 
At  the  same  time  I  did  not  need 
to  be  told  to  exercise  judgment 
and  avoid  all  but  the  most  un- 
deniably good  beasts,  those  which 
would  pass  the  vet.  and  were  worth 
their  money.  We  were  in  every 
other  respect  to  follow  the  plan 
pursued  at  Alicante,  arrange  for 
the  housing  and  care  of  the  mules 
until  the  arrival  of  transports  to 
convey  them  to  the  Red  Sea. 

As  the  consul  had,  so  to  speak, 
fathered  the  complaints  of  the 
supposed  sufferers,  our  first  step 
on  reaching  Barcelona  was  to  call 
on  him  and  state  the  object  of 
our  mission.  We  never  got  much 
good  out  of  that  consul,  who,  1 
fear,  did  not  in  the  least  wish  to 
see  us,  and  we  certainly  did  not 
find  it  easy  to  see  him.  We 
called  fruitlessly  several,  times; 
we  wrote  him  pretty  sharply,  but 
we  were  long  in  getting  a  reply. 
At  last  I  had  a  brief  letter  from 
him  headed  "  2?*-muIes"  (I  have 
it  still)  in  which  he  vaguely  said 
he  would  attend  to  us  as  soon  as 
the  pressure  of  his  consular  duties 


402 


BA1LYS   MAGAZINE. 


[December 


would  permit  him.  We  were  not 
to  be  put  off  like  this.  A  party 
of  British  officers  representing  the 
British  Government  could  not 
tolerate  such  treatment  from  a 
colleague,  and  I  have  a  pleasing 
recollection  of  a  very  lively  scene 
with  our  friend  the  consul,  into 
whose  presence  we  somewhat  un- 
ceremoniously forced  ourselves. 

One  of  the  results  of  this  stormy 
interview  was  rather  comical. 
That  same  evening  a  Neapolitan 
general,  an  exiled  adherent  of 
King  Bomba,  whom  I  had  known 
at  Gibraltar  not  long  before, 
called  on  us  at  the  Hotel  of  the 
Four  Nations.  He  was  a  man 
of  fine  presence  with  a  very 
dignified  manner  and  a  magnifi- 
cent voice,  very  much  the  gentle- 
man, who  bore  his  reverse  of 
fortune  bravely.  But  when  he 
told  me  with  a  grave  face  that 
he  was  the  bearer  of  a  cartel  from 
the  consul,  who  wished  to  call  us 
out,  all  three  of  us,  collectively 
and  singly,  I  am  afraid  I  laughed 
in  his  face.  Yet  I  doubt  whether 
I  succeeded  in  explaining  the  joke 
to  him.  That  an  irate  British 
official  should  desire  to  fight '  a 
duel  with  three  brethren  in  arms 
or,  more  exactly,  three  fellow- 
servants  of  the  Crown,  because 
they  insisted  on  doing  their  duty, 
was  humour  too  refined  for  the 
Neapolitan. 

Consul  or  no  consul,  we  went 
on  with  our  business ;  published 
notices,  secured  ground  for  the 
mule  market,  settled  all  prelimin- 
aries and  prepared  to  purchase 
mules.  The  complaints  formulated 
had  been  very  specific ;  the  injury 
done  to  contractors  was  set  at  a 
high  figure,  and  we  naturally  ex- 
pected to  be  inundated  with  mules. 
Nevertheless,  the  whole  thing  was 
a  ludicrous  fiasco.  On  the  day 
we  opened  our  purchase  not  half 
a  dozen  mules  were  brought  before 
us,   and  one  and  all  were  sorry 


broken  down  brutes  that  were 
hardly  worth  their  hoofs  and 
hides.  The  next  day  none  were 
produced  at  all ;  the  third,  a  letter 
was  received  from  a  contractor, 
with  an  English  name,  who  called 
upon  us  peremptorily  to  take  over 
seven  mules  he  had  bought  on 
our  account.  I  forget  whether  he 
showed  them  ;  if  he  did  they  must 
have  been  rubbish,  for  we  cer- 
tainly did  not  buy  them.  No 
others  were  tendered  or  appeared. 

The  affair  did  not,  however, 
end  here.  The  contractor  I  have 
just  mentioned  appealed  to  the 
law,  and  we  were  summoned  to 
appear  before  the  "  Judge  of  the 
First  Instance,"  to  answer  for  our 
failure  to  fulfil  our  engagements. 
There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to 
defend  the  action,  but  the  War 
Office  decided  that  I  could'  do 
that  alone,  and  my  colleagues 
accordingly  left  for  England.  I 
engaged  counsel,  a  very  learned  and 
rather  long-winded  Don,  who  gave 
his  opinion  with  great  force  and 
effect,  that  the  plaintiff  had  not  a 
shadow  of  a  case.  That  was  never 
put  to  the  test,  for  the  judge  non- 
suited him  on  the  ground  that 
only  one  of  the  three  defendants, 
myself,  was  present.  As  the 
others  had  been  permitted  to 
leave  Spain  he  must  quash  the 
proceedings. 

From  Barcelona  I  was  sent  on 
to  Madrid  on  another  War  Office 
mission.  The  mules  bought  under 
contract  which  were  forwarded 
to  us  at  Alicante  had  been  very 
disappointing,  and  an  opinion  that 
they  were  below  the  standard  of 
value  was  now  endorsed  by  the 
reports  that  came  back  from 
Abyssinia.  As  I  was  now  at  a 
loose  end  I  was  desired  to  pro- 
ceed to  Madrid  and  investigate. 
My  attention  was  to  be  especially 
directed  to  the  question  of  price. 
The  terms  of  the  contract  were 
somewhat     peculiar.      The    con- 


1899] 


MORE    ABOUT    MULES. 


403 


tractor  was  really  an  agent  buy- 
ing on  behalf  of  the  Government, 
whom  he  was  to  charge  the  exact 
sums  he  paid,  and  his  one  re- 
muneration was  in  a  fixed  per- 
centage or  commission  per  mule. 
It  was  my  business  to  find  out,  if 
I  could,  whether  the  prices  charged 
had  been  really  paid ;  for,  as  I 
have  said,  the  mules  bought  did 
not  in  the  opinion  of  experts  come 
up  to  their  ostensible  value. 

I  was  accredited  to  the  British 
Legation,  and  met  with  a  very 
different  welcome  to  that  accorded 
me  at  Barcelona.  Mr.  Sackville 
West  (afterwards  Lord  Sackville) 
was  charge  d'affaires  in  the  absence 
of  Sir  John  Crampton,  and  his 
assistance  was  invaluable.  By 
his  advice  I  associated  myself 
with  an  English  barrister  who 
knew  Madrid  well,  and  together 
we  hunted  up  a  valet  de  place  who 
had  an  intimate  acquaintance  with 
all  the  chalanes  or  gipsy  and  other 
dealers  who  dealt  in  horse  and  mule 
flesh  in  the  "  Corte  "  or  capital  of 
Spain.  This  man,  whose  name 
was  Adolfo,  at  once  declared  that 
there  was  one  person  of  all  others 
to  help  us,  a  certain  Pedro,  "  El 
Salado,"  who  had,  he  knew,  been 
much  mixed  up  with  mule  buying 
in  the  previous  autumn.  This 
useful  personage  was,  however, 
absent  from  Madrid  for  the  mo- 
ment, and  I  had  perforce  to  wait 
for  his  return. 

I  found  life  in  Madrid  very 
pleasant,  especially  in  watching 
what  went  on  around.  It  was 
at  that  time  a  general  centre  for 
rascality.  People  said  that  it 
was  full  of  three  classes,  rogues, 
fools  and  policemen.  I  presume 
I  belonged  to  the  latter  class, 
although  I  had  not  yet  got  on  the 
fringe,  even,  of  what  I  was  after. 
They  were  times  when  the  law  of 
extradition  had  not  been  extended 
to  Spain.  My  barrister  fritsnd 
pointed  out   to   me  at    the    table 


d'hote  more  than  one  interest- 
ing person  who  was  very  much 
wanted  at  home.  There  was  the 
absconding  member  of  a  great 
firm  of  bankers  that  had  recently 
smashed ;  opposite  him  sat  a  de- 
tective whose  business  it  was  to 
decoy  him  back,  if  possible,  to 
England.  Not  far  off  was  a 
fraudulent  bankrupt  who  had  fled 
to  avoid  criminal  proceedings. 
One  or  two  were  no  doubt  even 
greater  offenders.  Then  there 
were  numbers  of  hungry  folk  seek- 
ing concessions  from  the  Spanish 
Government  and  altogether  un- 
scrupulous as  to  their  means  of 
obtaining  them.  I  heard  one  man 
sadly  complaining  to  another  that 
he  could  do  nothing  with  Narvaez, 
at  that  time  Prime  Minister  to 
Queen  Isabella,  and  practically 
the  despotic  master  of  the  land. 
"  I  went  straight  to  him  and 
offered  him  5,000  dollars  for  his 
good  word.  Would  you  believe 
it  ?  He  sent  an  aide-de-camp  to 
me  next  day  to  call  me  out." 
He  did  not  add  whether  he  had 
fought  or  not,  but  his  friend 
rebuked  him  for  his  methods. 
"  Serve  you  right  for  being  so 
silly.  That  is  not  the  way  to 
work  it.  Now  I  happen  to  know 
that  Narvaez  is  very  sweet  on  a 
pair  of  pure  bred  barbs  standing 
at  a  certain  dealer's  in  this  city. 
Take  my  advice,  buy  them  and 
send  them  into  Narvaez's  stables. 
I'll  manage  that  he  shall  know 
where  they  came  from."  I  heard 
not  long  afterwards  that  the  con- 
cession had  been  granted. 

So  much  for  the  foreign  element 
in  Madrid,  the  visitors  and  so- 
journers at  the  hotels,  of  whom  I 
may  confess  I  soon  wearied.  But 
having  some  command  of  Spanish 
I  was  fortunate  enough  to  be  wel* 
corned  into  good  Spanish  society, 
was  invited  to  many  balls  and 
tertulias  (receptions)  where  I  en- 
joyed myself  hugely.     One  of  the 


4°4 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[December 


pleasantest  bouses  was  that  of  the 
Countess  of  Montijo,  the  mother 
of  the  Empress  Eug6nie,  a  lady  of 
English  extraction,  the  daughter 
of  a  Mr.  Fitz  Patrick,  who  had 
been  English  Consul  at  Malaga 
in  the  early  decades  of  the  cen- 
tury. Madame  Montijo  had  not 
forgotten  her  English,  and  I 
remember  her  kindly  welcome, 
"  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to 
receive  an  English  officer  in  my 
house."  There  was  a  good  deal 
of  English  talked  in  Madrid  then 
as  now,  not  always  the  best  or 
most  fluent.  I  can  remember 
being  introduced  to  a  young 
American  lady,  the  daughter  of 
the  American  minister,  whom  I 
asked  for  a  dance.  "  Why,"  she 
said,  "  you  speak  English  quite 
nicely,  not  at  all  like  these  polios 
(chickens),"  that  being  the  cur- 
rent name  given  in  Madrid  to  the 
young  men  we  call  "mashers1' 
and  "  chappies"  and  so  forth.  We 
had  a  great  laugh  together  when 
I  assured  her  that  I  had  a  very 
good  excuse  for  speaking  English, 
although  she  would  not  allow  my 
claim  to  speak  it  better  than  she  did. 
Some  weeks  passed  before  I 
heard  of  Pedro  El  Salado's  re- 
turn. I  struck  oil  directly  I  met 
him.  He  had  been  actively  en- 
gaged for  the  agent  or  contractor 
whose  proceedings  I  was  in- 
vestigating, and  he  remembered, 
perfectly  well,  the  execution  of 
several  contracts.  I  pressed  him 
to  tell  me  exactly  where  the  con- 
tracts had  been  made  and  by 
whom.  After  some  delay  I  ob- 
tained the  address  of  the  notary 
public  before  whom,  according  to 
Spanish  law,  they  had  been  rati- 
fied. It  did  not  take  me  long  to 
call  upon  the  notary,  who  remem- 
bered the  circumstance  perfectly, 
and  made  no  difficulty  about  show- 
ing me  the  contracts.  I  saw  at  the 
very  first  glance  that  they  stipu- 
lated for  the  supply  of  a  certain 


number  of  mules  at  a  price  con- 
siderably less  than  the  agent  had 
charged  the  Government.  This 
was  exactly  what  I  wanted,  but 
as  it  would  be  necessary  to  pro- 
duce the  contracts  in  proof  of  the 
fraud  I  asked  for  copies.  "  Are 
you  a  party  to  the  contracts  in 
any  way  ?  "  asked  the  notary. 
"  If  not,  I  cannot  give  you  copies." 
I  could  only  tell  him  the  truth, 
that  I  was  representing  the  British 
Government  which  had  really  been 
the  principals  in  the  transaction, 
but  there  was  nothing  to  show 
this  on  the  face  of  the  contracts, 
and  the  notary  positively  refused 
me  the  copies. 

I  took  counsel  with  my  legal 
friend  and  we  went  on  together 
to  the  British  Legation.  As  a 
last  chance  I  asked  the  charge 
d'affaires  whether  it  would  be  pos- 
sible to  get  these  copies  through 
official  channels,  and  this  in  the 
end  I  did.  A  formal  application 
was  made  to  the  Minister  of 
Grace  and  Justice,  who  is  equiva- 
lent to  the  Home  Secretary  in 
Spain,  and  he,  by  the  exercise  of 
some  special  authority,  I  fear  not 
very  legal,  put  pressure  upon  the 
notary  to  hand  over  what  I  asked. 
I  can  well  remember  the  delight 
with  which  I  carried  off  the  huge 
bundles  to  my  rooms,  feeling  that 
my  case  was  complete.  My  first 
step  was  to  translate  them  into 
English  from  end  to  end,  from  the 
preamble  to  the  signatures,  one 
of  which  was  illegible  and  unin- 
telligible for  a  time.  Then  I  pro- 
ceeded to  write  my  despatch  to 
the  War  Office  stating  the  suc- 
cessful result  of  my  enquiry,  and 
once  more  I  tackled  the  illegible 
signature. 

Now  to  my  horror  I  found  it 
could  only  be  the  name  of  another 
English  officer,  a  veterinary  sur- 
geon of  high  rank,  who  had  ac- 
companied the  agent  to  Spain 
and  who  had  practically  approved 


i899] 


PROPOSED   CRICKET    REFORM. 


405 


of  his  proceedings  by  counter- 
signing the  contracts,  although  as 
I  knew,  in  utter  ignorance  of  the 
purport.  All  the  reply  I  received 
in   due  course  was  that  the  law 


officers  of  the  Crown  did  not 
advise  the  War  Office  to  proceed 
with  the  case,  and  I  was  directed 
to  return  to  my  staff  duties  to 
Gibraltar. 


What  Next? 


The  glorious  weather  of  the  sum- 
mer of  1899  afforded  us  an  ideal 
cricket  season,  so  far  as  Nature 
herself  was  concerned,  "  and  only 
man  was  vile,"  that  is  to  say, 
whilst  every  opportunity  for  play- 
ing the  best  cricket  was  afforded 
by  ground-men  and  grounds — we 
purposely  place  the  ground-men 
before  the  grounds — batsmen,  by 
their  own  greedy  faint-hearted- 
ness  and  miserly  methods,  suc- 
ceeded on  the  one  hand  in  se- 
curing high  batting  averages  at 
the  cost  of  much  precious  time, 
and  on  the  other  hand  in  stirring 
such  a  storm  of  talk  amongst 
critics  who  are  cricketers  and 
critics  who  pose  as  cricketers, 
that  the  national  game  stands  in 
danger  of  being  discredited. 

It  is  now  matter  of  ancient 
history  that  of  five  international 
test  matches  played  between  Eng- 
land and  Australia  during  the 
past  season,  four  were  unfinished, 
and  of  these  two  at  least  were 
in  no  way  interrupted  by  bad 
weather.  Moreover,  no  less  than 
53  batsmen  were  successful  in 
compiling  an  aggregate  of  over 
1,000  runs  apiece  in  first-class 
cricket.  The  percentage  of  first- 
class  matches  which  ended  in 
drawn  games  was  an  exceedingly 
high  one ;  and  so  at  the  end  of 
the  season  of  1899 — a  season  in- 
tended by  Nature  to  be  the  most 
triumphant  vindication  of  the 
national  game — because  cricket 
could  throughout  be  played  under 
the  most  suitable  and  congenial 


conditions — we  found  the  critics 
and  the  authorities  wagging  their 
heads  and  saying,  "  This  will 
never  do,  cricket  played  under 
proper  and  favourable  conditions 
is  absurd,  because  the  batsmen 
never  get  out  and  the  matches 
never  finish." 

The  great  Arthur  Shrewsbury 
is  reported  to  have  given  us  his 
reason  for  not  accepting  an  in- 
vitation to  play  for  England 
against  Australia,  that  he  was 
"  Aweary,  aweary,"  and  herein  he 
has  our  complete  sympathy. 

During  the  past  few  months  all 
who  are  wrapped  up  in  cricket 
must  indeed  be  "  Aweary,  aweary" 
of  the  sagacious  plans  which  have 
been  suggested  by  the  critics  and 
the  chatterboxes  as  a  remedy  for 
the  drawn  game ;  and  the  senile 
schemes  of  the  "  have  beens  "  to 
check  the  growth  of  their  grand- 
son's batting  averages  would  ap- 
pear ridiculous  were  it  not  that 
cricketers  are  the  most  conser- 
vative and  dutiful  race  of  sports- 
men. 

One  of  the  most  frequently 
urged  schemes  owes  its  genesis  to 
'this  oft  -  heard  remark,  "The 
grounds  are  too  good  nowadays, 
they  don't  give  a  bowler  a 
chance." 

When  the  critic  has  gained 
assent  to  this  proposition  he 
proceeds,  "  In  my  day  there 
were  no  cursed  heavy  roller 
and  mowing  machine  to  squeeze 
all  the  life  out  of  the  ground 
and  then    shave  it    as    bare    as 


406 


BA1LY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[December 


the  face  of  your  bat — our  best 
wickets  at  Lord's  were  scythe- 
mown  and  sheep-fed,  and  one 
ball  would  break  your  head  and 
the  next  three  shoot  dead.  The 
village  greens  were  the  best 
wickets  in  those  days  because 
they  were  fed  down  by  geese  and 
the  grass  on  the  pitch  was  closer, 
and  we  could  pull  up  our  averages 
on  the  goose-led  grounds,  so  we 
went  there." 

This  is  all  very  well  and  ex- 
tremely interesting,  but  when 
your  critic  goes  on  to  say  that  the 
only  chance  for  the  national  game 
is  that  there  shall  be  no  more 
heavy  roller  and  no  more  mowing 
machine,  and  that  the  state  of 
civilisation  of  cricket  shall  be 
put  back  thirty  years,  because  so 
many  batsmen  are  unsportsman- 
like misers,  and  so  few  bowlers 
in  this  country  have  any  idea  of 
getting  a  batsman  out  on  a  good 
wicket,  why  then  it  makes  you 
tired  to  listen  to  such  stuff. 

We  have  all  patiently  lent  our 
ears  to  the  critic  who  says,  "  This 
tall  scoring  will  never  do,  it  was 
never  so  in  my  young  days,  and 
must  be  stopped ;  we  must  widen 
the  wicket."  "  Nay,"  says  his 
friend ;  "we  must  add  another 
storey  to  the  existing  stumps  and 
make  the  wicket  some  inches 
higher.  That's  where  my  best 
balls  used  to  go,  over  the  bails." 

" Oh,  but,"  says  another,  "it's 
this  cursed  playing  balls  with  the 
body  that  ruins  the  game  ;  if  the 
law  had  been  altered  when  I  was 
a  young  man,  and  it  counted  out  if 
the  bowler  hit  the  batsman  on  or 
above  the  pad,  I  should  have  got  a 
great  many  more  wickets  than  I 
did,  and  I  have  always  regarded 
the  law  as  it  stands  as  a  most 
unfair  one.  If  you  want  to  im- 
prove cricket  you  must  keep  on 
altering  the  laws." 

We  do  not  propose  to  weary 
our  readers  with  further  samples 


of  senile  sagacity  on  this  subject, 
beyond  the  proposition  which  we 
had  hoped  and  believed  had  died 
a  decent  death  some  ten  years 
ago,  but  which  would  appear  ac- 
tually to  have  arisen  from  the 
dead  and  once  more  to  have 
clothed  its  dry  bones  with  a 
fleshy  semblance.  Speaking  with- 
out the  book,  we  believe  it  was 
in  the  later  'eighties,  in  the  days 
of  the  ill-starred  County  Cricket 
Council  and  just  before  that  body 
became  moribund,  that  it  was 
proposed  by  the  captain  of  a 
minor  county,  that  the  ground  for 
all  county  matches  should  be  en- 
closed by  a  wire  netting  two,  or 
four,  feet  high,  we  gladly  forget 
which,  and  that  all  hits  which 
did  not  clear  the  netting  should 
be  run  out.  This  practically  was 
the  proposition  which  at  that  time 
was  apparently  not  regarded  as 
reasonable,  but  which  has  quite 
recently  been  regarded  as  worthy 
of  consideration  by  authorities  on 
the  game. 

The  argument  would  appear  to 
begin  this  way :  "  The  batsman 
strikes  the  ball  to  the  boundary 
and  stands  in  his  crease  leisurely 
waiting  until  the  ball  is  thrown 
back  by  a  spectator,  when  the 
batsman  receives  the  next  ball 
from  the  bowler  with  the  utmost 
coolness  and  sang  froid,  and  hits 
that  also  to  the  boundary  and 
again  lounges  leisurely  in  his 
crease  waiting  for  the   next  bad 

ball The     batsman 

ought  to  have  to  run  out  his  hits, 
so  that  when  the  bowler  bowls 
two  bad  balls  running,  or  when 
the  batsman  makes  two  fine  hits 
running,  the  batsman  must  make 
himself  out  of  breath  by  running 
up  and  down  between  the  wickets 
whilst  a  fieldsman  is  making  him- 
self out  of  breath  fetching  the  ball, 
and  the  grand  consummation  of  it 
all,  according  to  the  advocates  of 
this  absurdity,  is  that  a  punishing' 


1899.] 


WHAT    NEXT  ? 


407 


batsman,  if  he  run  like  a  stag  for 
every  hit  he  makes,  will  presently 
be  so  pumped  and  out  of  breath 
that  he  will,  from  sheer  exhaus- 
tion, fall  a  prey  to  a  bowler  whose 
very  rottenness  has  proved  his 
own  gain. 

This  is  the  view  which  the  ad- 
vocates of  this  folly  would  have 
you  adopt.  They  would  have 
you  believe  that  if  there  be  a  net- 
ting for  a  boundary,  so  that 
the  boundary  hits  have  to  be 
run  out,  the  batsman,  who  at 
present  is  master  of  the  situation, 
will  be  outwitted  by  this  scheme. 

Let  us  pause  for  a  moment  and 
ask  ourselves  the  question.  Is 
this  same  batsman,  whose  self- 
control,  whose  judgment  and 
whose  savoir  faire  enables  him  to 
resist  the  bowler's  wiles  all  day,  is 
he  the  sort  of  short  -  sighted 
simpleton  who  is  going  to  rush  up 
and  down  the  pitch  in  a  frenzy  of 
excitement  because  he  has  sent 
the  ball  up  against  the  wire 
netting,  and  by  so  rushing  about 
reduce  himself  to  such  a  beaten 
condition  that  he  is  to  succumb  to 
a  bowler  who  has  to  trace  his 
ultimate  success  to  his  own  pre- 
vious incompetence  ? 

The  aged  advocates  of  this  so- 
called  reform  tell  us  that  in  their 
own  day  so  few  spectators  as- 
sembled to  witness  their  play  that 
most  of  their  hits  were  run  out, 
since  no  crowd  was  there  to  form 
a  boundary,  and  they  tell  us  that 
which  history  confirms,  that  they 
compiled  comparatively  moderate 
scores.  All  this  may  well  be 
true.  We  need  express  no  sur- 
prise that  they  made  few  runs  or 
that  they  attracted  few  spectators, 
but  we  cannot  agree  that  the  fact 
of  their  having  to  run  out  their 
hits  should  have  rendered  them 
victims  of  their  own  ferocious 
punishing  powers  which  were  so 
grievously  in  excess  of  their  stay- 
ing powers. 


In  1883  there  was  played  at 
Rickling  Green  a  match  in  which 
the  Orleans  Club  compiled  the 
highest  aggregate  up  to  that  time 
known,  namely,  920  runs.  Mr. 
G.  F.  Vernon  made  over  300  runs 
and  Mr.  A.  H.  Trevor  well  over 
200  runs,  and  except  for  a  small 
enclosure  on  one  side  of  the 
ground,  there  was  no  boundary,  and 
all  hits  had  to  be  run  out.  Neither 
of  these  gentlemen  was  at  that  time 
in  his  boyhood  and  they  had  the 
sense  and  judgment  to  accept  the 
goods  the  gods  offered  them,  and 
comfortably  to  help  themselves  to 
runs,  whilst  the  opposing  team, 
bowlers,  wicket-keeper,  and  all  in 
turn,  were  racing  about  Rickling 
Green  and  its  vicinity  retrieving 
the  ball  which  the  batsmen  kept 
beating  away,  as  fast  as  it  was 
returned  and  rolled  up  to  them 
again. 

Herein,  in  the  story  of  Rickling 
Green,  is,  we  confidently  assert,  to 
be  found  the  full  answer  to  the 
fallacious  folly  of  the  wire  netting. 

The  thoughtless  people  who  ad- 
vocate its  institution,  do  so 
avowedly  in  the  interest  of  the 
fielding  side,  because  in  their 
minds  they  have  focussed  the 
picture  of  the  brilliant  batsman 
hitting  so  beautifully  that  he 
presently  falls  into  a  swoon  from 
the  effects  of  the  severe  running 
entailed  upon  him  by  his  mag- 
nificent hitting  powers.  A  sorry 
triumph  surely  would  this  be  for 
any  bowler  who  deserves  the 
name  of  bowler,  but  yet  it  would 
appear  that  if  such  an  end  were 
possible  such  would  be  the  end 
and  object  of  our  cricket  reform- 
ers, that  batting  should  die  of  its 
own  brilliancy. 

In  cricket  councils  and  commit- 
tees time  is  of  no  object;  in 
Baily's  Magazine  space  (which 
walks  hand  in  hand  with  time)  is 
all  important ;  briefly,  then,  to 
refute  this  fallacy  of  the  netting, 


408 


BAILYS    MAGAZINE. 


DECEMBER 


we  would  remind  our  would-be 
reformers  of  these  few  matters. 

(i)  The  batsman,  if  he  strike 
the  ball,  has  an  option  (a)  whether 
he  run  at  all  or  (b)  how  many  runs 
he  shall  attempt. 

(2)  The  fieldsmen,  so  far  as  we 
know,  have  no  option  but  to  fetch 
the  ball  with  all  speed  and  return 
it  to  the  wicket  in  the  hope  (a) 
of  saving  another  run  or  (b)  in 
the  more  remote  hope  of  running  a 
batsman  out. 

A  batsman,  so-called,  is  often  a 
poor  thing  as  such,  but  so  long  as 
he  be  at  the  wicket  he  is  master, 
ostensibly,  of  the  situation ;  to  him 
the  bowler  serves  the  ball,  which 
he  may  at  his  own  risk  take  or 
no  as  suits  his  purpose ;  for  him 
the  fieldsmen  stand  around  pre- 

!>ared  to  stop  or  fetch  (or,  most 
atal  of  all  things,  catch)  the 
ball  he  strikes,  and  when  the  ball 
be  struck  beyond  the  field,  with 
all  speed  must  it  be  retrieved  and 
returned  by  the  fieldsmen,  whilst 
it  is  entirely  a  matter  for  the  con- 
venience and  judgment  of  the  bats- 
man and  his  partner  how  many 
runs  they  elect  to  run,  or  whether 
they  run  at  all.  So  this  beautiful 
scheme  of  the  wire  netting  which 
is  advocated  as  a  certain  check 
to  drawn  games,  and  a  certain 
antidote  to  long  scoring  is  likely, 
were  it  ever  adopted,  to  operate 
in  exactly  the  opposite  manner  to 
that  desired  by  its  advocates,  and 
actually  to  favour  the  chances  of 
a  drawn  game,  whilst  it  would 
materially  assist  the  batsman  in 
his  deadly  work  of  staying  all 
day  at  the  wickets. 

Any  person  of  intelligence  who 
will  take  the  trouble  to  look  into 
such  a  scheme  must  readily  per- 
ceive that  the  abolition  of  bound- 
ary hits  must  certainly  be  felt 
more  severely  by  the  eleven  fields- 
men who  have  to  fetch  the  ball  and 
keep  on  returning  it  throughout  the 
day  than  by  the  two  batsmen  who 


can  run  just  as  fast  or  slow  as 
they  feel  inclined.  It  requires  no 
greater  exertion  on  the  batsman's 
part  to  hit  a  boundary  than  to 
hit  a  single,  and  the  exercise  of 
trotting  with  judgment  between 
the  wickets  will  in  no  way  de- 
moralise or  discomfit  the  prudent 
man  ;  but  the  repeated  fetching 
of  the  ball  from  the  boundary,  by 
short  slip,  mid-on,  cover  point  and 
third  man — for  unless  an  entirely 
new  placing  of  the  field  were  to 
come  in  along  with  the  netting 
this  would  have  to  happen — would 
certainly  give  the  batsman  a 
greater  advantage  than  he  at 
present  possesses.  In  addition  to 
this  there  would  with  the  netting 
be  a  further  and  greater  chance 
of  drawn  matches  than  even  now, 
for  an  appreciable  amount  of 
time  would  certainly  be  consumed 
when  a  fieldsman  had  to  fetch 
the  ball  from  the  boundary  and 
return  to  his  place,  time  which  is 
now  saved  by  the  spectator  who 
throws  back  the  ball  with  but  little 
delay.  We  are  prepared  to  ad- 
mit that  many  hits  which  now 
count  four  runs  each,  would,  under 
the  netting  system,  only  realise 
two  or  three  runs  and  often  only 
a  single ;  but  this  reduction  in 
value  means  absolutely  no  re- 
duction in  time,  and  time  alone 
must  be  saved  if  drawn  games 
are  to  be  avoided ;  anybody  can 
see  that  if  each  side  in  a  match 
average  the  same  number  of 
boundary  hits  it  makes  little  dif- 
ference whether  each  boundary  hit 
counts  four  runs  or  two  runs, 
or,  for  the  matter  of  that,  twenty 
runs. 

We  trust  that  to  any  reader 
who  has  had  the  patience  to  fol- 
low us,  we  have  made  it  clear  that 
this  proposed  scheme  would,  if 
adopted,  actually  defeat  its  own 
object  by  giving  the  batsman  a 
greater  advantage  than  ever  over 
the  fielding  side,  and  by  consuming 


I899-] 


WHAT    NEXT  ? 


409 


more  time  over  the  game  than  is 
now  the  case. 

There  are  other  and  serious  ob- 
jections to  the  scheme,  one  or  two 
of  which  we  may  mention.  At  pre- 
sent the  field  is  placed  by  the  cap- 
tain and  bowler  in  presumably  the 
best  positions  for  getting  the  bats- 
man out,  and  even  now  with  all 
the  extra  slips  and  cover  points 
and  short-legs  of  civilisation  it 
takes  a  bowler  all  his  time  to 
get  some  batsmen  out.  With  a 
netting  boundary  and  all  hits  to 
be  run  out  it  is  obvious  that  a 
redistribution  of  the  field  must 
be  made  in  order  to  guard  the 
boundary.  With  the  field  in  its 
usual  position  a  snick  behind  the 
wicket  would  be  the  most  valuable 
stroke  in  the  game,  and  it  would 
not  be  a  long  while  before  pru- 
dence and  the  breathless  slips 
would  dictate  to  the  bowler  the 
necessity  of  placing  a  man  on  the 
boundary  behind  the  wicket  where 
he  could  never  get  a  catch,  but 
where  he  could  busy  himself  fetch- 
ing the  snicks.  We  presume,  too, 
that  cover  point  and  mid-on  (who 
are  as  often  as  not  bowlers  sup- 
posed for  the  nonce  to  be  resting), 
would  soon  tire  of  racing  to  the 
boundary  and  hurling  in  the  ball, 
and  so  an  out-field  square  with  the 
wicket  and  on  either  side  cf  it 
would  be  required.  It  would  seem 
that  at  least  four  out-fields  would 
be  required  at  all  times  to  guard 
the  netting,  and  of  these  one  at 
least  would  be  in  a  place  where 
a  catch  could  never  come,  and 
two  others  in  places  where  a 
catch  rarely  comes. 

Now  with  these  four  men  taken 
away,  and  a  wicket  keeper  and 
bowler  deducted  from  the  original 
eleven  fielders,  we  find  ourselves 
with  only  five  fieldsmen  to  stand 
near   the   wicket    and  catch   the 


batsman,  point,  mid-on,  mid-off, 
cover  point,  third-man,  and  at 
least  one  slip  all  seem  essential, 
and  yet  already  we  have  counted 
six  places  for  but  five  men  ! 
Here,  then,  is  the  dilemma  of  a 
team  set  to  field  with  all  hits  to 
be  run  out  ;  either  you  must 
field  near  the  wicket  and  re- 
peatedly turn  round  and  race  to 
the  boundary  after  the  hits  that 
go  past  the  field  (which  at  present 
are  thrown  back  by  an  obliging 
spectator),  or  you  must  line  the 
boundary  and  pick  the  ball  out 
of  the  net,  making  a  single  or 
two  of  a  hit,  which  at  present 
counts  four;  in  which  case  it  is 
obvious  that  there  can  be  so  few 
fieldsmen  near  the  wicket  that 
there  is  a  poorer  chance  than  ever 
of  getting  the  batsman  out. 

At  present  there  is  no  finer 
sight  than  to  see  the  outfield, 
running  at  full  speed,  cut  off  a 
ball  just  as  it  is  reaching  the 
boundary,  and  hurling  it  in,  con- 
vert what  looked  like  a  certain 
fourer  into  one  or  two  runs.  This 
fine  feature  of  the  game  will  be 
destroyed  by  the  netting,  for  it 
will  pay  the  fieldsmen  just  as  well 
to  let  the  netting  stop  the  ball  and 
then  toss  it  back,  as  to  make  the 
great  effort  of  cutting  off  the  ball. 

There  are  many  other  vital 
objections  to  the  introduction  of 
this  netting  scheme  which  would 
speedily  reveal  themselves  should 
the  plan  ever  be  adopted.  We 
have  already  trespassed  far  too 
long  upon  the  patience  of  our 
reader,  but  indignation  makes 
one's  pen  sputter  at  the  idea  that 
such  a  preposterous  plan  should 
ever  be  seriously  considered,  let 
alone  advocated,  by  those  who 
are  supposed  to  be  as  much 
cricketers  as  men  of  reason  and 
sense. 


i   I 


I 


December,  1899.] 


411 


Side-Saddle  Riding. 


This  little  book*  may  be  recom- 
mended to  the  notice  of  ladies 
who  think  of  learning  to  ride, 
who  are  learning  to  ride,  and — if 
it  might  be  whispered  rather  than 
written  —  some  who  have  dis- 
missed their  teachers  under  the 
misapprehension  that  they  can 
ride  and  have  no  further  need  of 
tuition.  Miss  Christy  displays 
thorough  understanding  of  her 
subject,  and,  what  is  more,  knows 
how  to  teach  it  ;  she  writes  so 
clearly  and  straightforwardly  that 
there  is  no  possibility  of  mistaking 
her  directions,  even  though  she 
had  not  enlisted  the  aid  of  the 
camera  to  demonstrate  her  mean- 
ing. 

She  has  wisely  confined  herself 
to  the  actual  business  of  riding, 
on  which  a  lady  is  the  proper 
instructor  for  ladies.  Stable  man- 
agement and  grooming  do  not 
usually  come  within  the  scope  of 
woman,  and,  if  circumstances 
oblige  her  to  superintend  her  own 
stable,  there  are  numerous  reliable 
works,  written  for  men,  from 
which  she  may  learn  all  that 
books  can  teach.  The  author,  in 
her  introductory  remarks,  puts 
lucidly  a  truth  every  woman 
should  lay  to  heart  at  the  begin- 
ning of  her  riding  education.  "  A 
girl  may  be  a  good  horsewoman 
without  being  a  graceful  rider,  but 
she  cannot  be  a  good  horsewoman 
in  the  true  sense  of  the  words 
unless  she  be  also  a  good  rider." 

She  might  have  gone  a  step 
farther  and  have  added  that  a 
good  rider  is  also  a  graceful 
one.  We  are  entirely  at  one  with 
Miss  Christy  in  holding  that  a 
lady  is  the  only  competent  teacher 


*  "  Side-Saddle  Riding."  A  Practical  Hand- 
book for  Horsewomen.  By  Eva  Christy.  Illus- 
trated.   6s.    Vinton  &  Co.,  Ltd. 

VOL.  LXXII. — NO.  478. 


for  ladies;  it  is  no  doubt  an  ad- 
vantage to  have  a  tutor  who  can 
jump  down  at  any  moment  and 
tighten  up  the  girths  or  put  the 
gear  to  rights,  but  this  advantage 
is  a  small  one,  whereas  those 
accruing  to  tuition  by  a  lady  who 
has  mastered  the  art  she  has  to 
teach  are  many  and  patent.  A 
man's  seat  differs  so  widely  from 
a  woman's  that  the  man  cannot 
detect  at  a  glance  the  shortcom- 
ings of  a  lady  pupil  as  can  a 
teacher  of  her  own  sex. 

We  have  nothing  but  praise  for 
Miss  Christy's  chapter  on  "  The 
saddle,  saddle-cloth  and  girths ;" 
when  she  deals  with  safety  stir- 
rups, she  says  much  that  is  true 
and   eminently  sensible,   but   we 
are  not   quite  sure  that   natural 
belief  in  the  merits  of  the  excel- 
lent cage  stirrup  which   she    in- 
vented, and  which  is   known  by 
her  name,  does  not  blind  her  in 
some  degree  to  the  merits  of  such 
deservedly  popular  devices  as  the 
Latch  ford,  Cope  and  Scott   stir- 
rups.    The  advantages  and  draw- 
backs  of  various  safety   stirrups 
and  bars  were  discussed  in  Baily's 
a  few  months  ago  (March,  1899), 
and,   as    then    pointed    out,    the 
ingenuity  of  horsemen  and  horse- 
women in  devising  new  methods 
of  coming  to  grief  will  probably 
never  be  completely  overtaken  by 
the  ingenuity  of  inventors. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  few 
ladies  hold  their  reins  properly, 
the  majority,  and  among  them 
some  first-rate  performers  across 
country,  preferring  methods  of 
their  own.  One  lady,  we  remem- 
ber, explained  that  she  knew  the 
right  way  to  hold  her  double  reins, 
but  did  not  adopt  it  "  because  of 
my  rings."  That  rings  should  be 
left  in  the  jewel-case  when  the 
habit   is  donned  is  the    obvious 

3i 


3  t 

I  "I 

|  B 

i  i. 


December,  1899.] 


THE    FOXHUNTER  S   WIDOW. 


4*3 


answer.  Miss  Christy  very  pro- 
perly insists  upon  the  necessity 
of  holding  the  reins  in  the  right 
way,  and  of  exercising  the  fingers 
in  their  management  until  the 
rider  can  guide  her  horse  without 
assistance  from  the  right  hand,. 
The  figures  with  which  the  au- 
thoress illustrates  her  instructions 
as  to  the  correct  manner  of  hold- 
ing the  reins  are  here  reproduced  ; 
they  serve  perfectly  their  direct 
purpose,  and  also  serve  to  show 
the  exceedingly  practical  tone  of 
the  book. 

Miss  Christy  has  the  gift  of 
summarising  truths  in  a  few  words. 
"  Never  think  you  can  ride  till 
you  have  been  on  several  different 
horses   and   given    each  a    good 


trial,  for,  although  you  may  have 
managed  one  well  and  mastered 
all  his  paces,  you  are  by  no  means 
proficient  till  you  can  ride  any 
well- trained  horse."  This  is  a 
good  example  of  the  matter  to  be 
found  in  a  book,  short  but  full  of 
useful  suggestion  and  valuable 
hint.  As  already  said,  it  is  simply 
and  straightforwardly  written ;  in 
fact,  we  do  not  remember  to  have 
read  a  book  of  the  kind  so  free 
from  verbiage  and  "  padding." 
The  manner  not  less  than  the 
matter  of  Miss  Christy's  little 
work  are  alike  excellent ;  marginal 
notes  in  heavy  type  denote  the 
subject  or  subjects  discussed  on 
each  page,  and  there  is  a  full 
index. 


The  Foxhunter's  Widow, 


I  never  hear  the  chase  go  by, 

The  fleeting  chase  upon  the  lea, 
But  there  is  something  in  the  cry 

That  brings  a  pang  of  grief  to  me  ; 
I  never  hear  the  horn  and  hound 

But  one  fair  face  is  by  me  still, 
And  one  sweet  voice  in  every  sound 

Comes  back  across  the  distant  hill. 

• 

I  see  it  now — the  sylvan  scene, 

The  broken  fence  and  where  he  fell, 

The  black  mare's  face,  so  dazed  and  keen, 

#      The  white  hounds  racing  through  the  dell ; 

And  then  I  knelt,  his  own  true  wife, 
Beside  him  in  the  grass  and  weeds, 

And  watched  the  slowly-dying  life 
Go  out  across  the  smiling  meads. 

And  ah  !  my  God,  I  see  him  yet, 

My  own  true  love,  for  he  was  mine ! 
And  through  my  tears  of  wild  regret 

His  face  stands  out  as  half  divine. 
And  so  it  comqs — the  merry  chase, 

The  merry  chase  across  the  lea, 
And  one  dear  life  in  all  I  trace, 

For  he  was  all  the  world  to  me. 

W.  Phillpotts  Williams. 


4H 


[December 


Modern  Marksmanship. 

By  Hon.  T.  F.  Fremantle. 


To  compare  the  old  with  the 
new,  to  judge  of  the  skill  or 
prowess  of  modern  days  by  the 
standard  of  old  times,  to  find 
grounds  on  which  to  justify  or 
condemn  the  laudator  temporis  acti, 
is  often  a  very  difficult  task.  And 
where  the  skill  of  man  shows 
itself  in  the  use  of  mechanical 
appliances,  the  constant  progress 
of  invention  is  apt  to  obscure 
altogether  the  issue  whether  the 
man  of  to-day  is  more  capable  or 
less,  than  his  forefathers  were. 

Such  is  certainly  the  case  with 
marksmanship.  A  hundred  years 
ago  one  R.  M.  Mason,  wrote  a 
book  to  prove  that  the  volunteers 
of  that  day  should  be  armed 
with  pikes  and  long  bows,  the 
latter  being  more  effective  in 
range,  accuracy,  or  rapidity,  than 
musket  or  rifle.  The  records 
of  the  first  years  of  this  century 
show  that  the  very  best  rifle 
under  the  best  conditions  at- 
tained only  a  degree  of  accuracy 
that  would  now  be  considered 
very  inadequate.  General  George 
Hanger,  in  1814,  speaks  of  a 
much  improved  rifle  of  his  own 
design,  which  would  hit  the 
figure  of  a  man  without  altera- 
tion of  aim  at  any  distance  up 
to  300  yards.  He  says  that  with 
it  he  can  make  fair  shooting  at 
300  yards,  and  adds — evidently 
expecting  utter  incredulity — that 
he  can  hit  with  it  constantly  a 
mark  6  ft.  high  by  13  ft.  broad, 
at  the  enormous  distance  of  600 
yards.  This  unheard-of  improve- 
ment stands  out  in  sharp  contrast 
to  the  shooting  now  to  be  seen 
at  Bisley,  where  a  3-ft.  bull's-eye 
is  more  often  hit  than  missed  at 
from  800  to  1,000  yards,  or  the 
shooting  at  Omdurman,  where  the 
white  heaps  of  slain  Dervishes 
were  more  than  600  yards  from 
the  position  of  our  troops. 


We  will  not  do  more  than 
allude  to  the  various  steps  in  the 
adoption  and  improvement  of  the 
elongated  bullet,  which  at  once 
gave  accuracy  at  ranges  much 
greater  than  had  previously  been 
the  case.  One  result  of  this  was, 
that  rifles  were  thought  capable 
of  performances  really  quite 
beyond  their  powers.  The  shoot- 
ing for  the  Queen's  Prize  and 
Elcho  Shield  in  the  early  Wim- 
bledon days,  shows  how  much  too 
small  the  bull's-eyes  and  targets 
were  for  the  capabilities  of  the 
weapons  used. 

Let  us  take,  for  instance,  the 
short  range  shooting  of  the  year 
1864,  when  Wimbledon  was  well 
established,  and  compare  it  with 
that  of  1898.     Direct  comparison 
of  the  shooting  at  200  yards  cannot 
well  be  made.     But  at  500  yards, 
at  which   distance   the    shooting 
was    from    the    knee,    only    one 
highest  possible  score  of  five  shots 
was    made    at    500    yards    at    a 
bull's-eye  2   ft.   square,  while  in 
1898,    in    one    competition    (The 
Daily  Graphic),  at  Bisley,  eighteen 
highest   possible   scores  of  seven 
shots  were  made  from  the  knee 
at   200  yards  at  a  round  bull's- 
eye  8  inches  in  diameter.    The 
apparent      area      of     the     latter 
bull's-eye  as  compared  with  the 
former  is  about   as  five  to  nine, 
and  with   the  increased   number 
of    shots    the    performance   (we 
must  suppose  equal  weather  con- 
ditions) of  making  the  full  score 
in  1898  is  more  difficult  by  at  least 
100  per  cent.,  after  allowing  for 
the  absolute  increase  in  the  range. 
The  men  of  1864  could  shoot 
well  enough,  but  we  know  that  the 
accuracy  of  the  service  rifle  of  to- 
day is  double  that  of  the  old  Long 
Enfield.     In  the  late  'seventies, 
when  the  Snider   (the  converted 
Enfield)  was  the  volunteer  arm,  it 


i899] 


MODERN    MARKSMANSHIP. 


415 


was  a  very  uncommon  thing  to 
hear  of  a  string  of  seven  or  ten 
bull's-eyes  being  made  at  200 
yards,  though  at  that  time  the 
lying  down  position  was  general 
at  that  distance.  With  the  Mar- 
tini Henry  rifle  "  full  scores " 
were  much  more  frequent.  But 
it  was  the  advent  of  the  Lee 
Metford  that  showed  how  often 
it  had  been  the  weapon  and  not 
the  man  that  had  been  in  fault. 
Marksmen  astonished  themselves 
with  their  own  scores.  Strings 
of  bull's-eyes  were  made  at  200 
and  at  600  yards  :  lying  down.  At 
500  yards  in  ordinary  weather  so 
many  men  made  the  full  score 
of  thirty-five,  or  only  missed  it 
by  one  or  two  points,  that  endless 
ties  were  produced  in  competi- 
tions at  that  range  only,  and  it 
lost  almost  all  value  in  sifting 
out  competitors  for  an  aggregate 
at  several  ranges,  such  as  the 
Queen's  Prize.  The  scoring  at 
600  yards  with  the  Lee  Metford 
is  as  high  as  it  used  to  be  at  500 
with  the  Martini  Henry.  In  fact, 
it  may  be  said  that  the  new  rifle 
might  not  unfairly  be  handicapped 
against  its  predecessor  by  setting 
it  to  fire  at  100  yards'  greater 
distance  all  down  the  range,  from 
200  to  1,000  yards  ! 

One  thing,  then,  is  quite  clear, 
that  in  spite  of  the  mockery 
incurred  by  the  workman  who 
finds  fault  with  his  tools,  the 
marksmen  of  this  country  had  for 
years  shot  with  an  accuracy  far 
beyond  the  capacity  of  their  rifles. 
Scores  of  100  points  and  upwards 
out  of  a  possible  105  (in  seven 
shots  at  200,  500  and  600  yards), 
have  now  become  no  uncommon 
thing,  whereas  with  the  Martini 
Henry  not  more  than  two  or  three 
were  recorded  in  a  season.  Even 
the  full  score  of  105  at  the  three 
ranges  is  sometimes  reached.  It 
was  made  by  Col.-Sergt.  Mat- 
thews, of  the  Civil  Service  Rifles 


in  1898,  and  in  the  present  year 
by  Sergt.  Woods  at  Bisley.  We 
can  hardly  deny  to  men  who  can 
make  such  shooting  as  this,  some 
greater  capacity  for  straight  hold- 
ing, than  was  possessed  by  the 
former  generation. 

An  interesting  comparison  of 
continental  methods  of  shooting 
with  our  own  was  given  by  the 
International  Rifle  Match  of  the 
present  year,  held  at  the  Hague, 
in  June  last.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  argue  the  drawbacks  of  always 
firing  from  under  shelter,  and  at 
no  range  exceeding  330  yards. 
The  Match  showed  how  great 
an  advantage  as  regards  mere 
bull's-eye  making  is  given  by 
conditions  quite  incompatible  with 
military  requirements.  The  hair 
triggers,  artificial  supports  in  the 
kneeling  position,  delicate  sights, 
and  other  refinements,  which  are 
general  at  continental  rifle  meet- 
ings, go  far  beyond  the  small 
amount  of  help  from  appliances 
sanctioned  by  the  National  Rifle 
Association  for  the  great  bulk  of 
its  competitions  at  Bisley.  We 
are  a  practical  nation,  and  the 
question  is  often  raised  whether 
the  National  Rifle  Association 
does  not  even  now  err  a  little  on 
the  unpractical  side  in  its  desire 
to  satisfy  competitors,  and  to 
enable  them  to  shoot  under  equal 
conditions  with  the  Service  Rifle. 
Where  such  appliances  as  match 
sights  are  allowed,  obviously  too 
delicate  for  service  in  the  field, 
it  is  with  the  express  object  of 
testing  military  arms  and  eliminat- 
ing the  tendencies  to  error  caused 
by  the  use  of  open  sights. 

From  the  point  of  view  of 
military  marksmanship,  however, 
the  International  Match  distinctly  . 
showed  that  not  enough  attention  ' 
is  given  in  this  country  to  the 
standing  position.  It  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  when  it  was 
given   up    at    Wimbledon    many 


December,  1899.] 


MODERN    MARKSMANSHIP. 


417 


competent  military  men  thought 
it  obsolete  for  warfare.  That  this 
idea  is  quite  erroneous  is  now 
generally  recognised,  but  neither 
our  military  practice  nor  our  prize 
shooting  customs  do  much  to  en- 
courage the  standing  position. 

In  regard  to  actual  performance 
at  long  ranges,  the  scoring  with 
rifles  of  the  modern  small  calibre, 
though  far  superior  to  that  of 
former  military  rifles,  will  never 
surpass,  and  not  usually  attain, 
that  made  with  the  old  match  rifle 
and  M.B.L.  of  about  -45  bore. 
But  as  sporting  rifles  they  can 
more  than  hold  their  own.  The 
scoring  at  Bisley  in  the  competi- 
tion for  this  class  of  rifle  has  been 
higher  in  recent  years  than  ever 
before.  Many  times  of  late  has  a 
group  of  seven  shots  all  in  the 
black  (i.e.,  in  or  touching  the  3-in. 
bull's-eye)  been  made  at  100  yards, 
in  the  Martin  Smith  competition. 
This  was  once  a  very  unusual  per- 
formance. Several  times  six  shots 
out  of  the  seven  have  struck  the 
2-in.  central  carton  of  the  bull's- 
eye,  and  on  one  occasion  this  year 
a  "  full  score  "  of  all  cartons  was 
made  for  the  first  time.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  increas- 
ing use  of  the  '303  Mannlicher 
and  other  rifles  of  the  same 
class  in  deerstalking,  aided  by  the 
Lyman  aperture  sight,  has  much 
improved  the  performance  of  the 
average  man  in  shooting  deer  or 
antelope.  Their  handiness  and 
small  recoil,  and,  above  all,  their 
flat  trajectory,  are  the  chief  factors 
in  this  advance.  The  very  high 
scores  now  made  in  the  competi- 
tions at  the  Running  Deer  and 
Running  Man,  are  also  due  to 
these  qualities. 

It  would  be  hard  to  distinguish 
how  much  of  the  advance  of  the 
highest  scores  at  long  ranges  in 
this  country  is  due  to  the  skill  of 
the  men,  and  how  much  to  the 
capacity  of  the  rifles.     Certain  it 


is,  that  while  most  excellent  shoot- 
ing was  made  in  the  old  days  of 
the  Metford  muzzleloader,  rifles 
of  this  type  were  over-matched 
by  the  American  breechloaders — 
wiped  out  carefully  after  each 
shot.  Wonderful  results  were  at- 
tained in  this  way,  but  the  labour 
of  so  unpractical  a  method  made 
it  a  weariness  to  the  flesh.  And 
when  the  American  matches  of 
1 881 -2  showed  that  very  fine  work 
could  be  done  at  long  ranges  by 
the  military  breechloader  without 
cleaning  out,  the  rule  for  match 
rifles  was  altered,  and  they  had 
to  be  used  similarly.  For  a  time 
the  scoring  seemed  to  suffer,  yet 
not  for  long.  The  highest  score 
ever  made  ,by  a  team  in  the  Elcho 
match — 1,696  out  of  a  possible 
1,800  at  800,  goo  and  1,000  yards 
by  the  Scotch  team  in  1892 — and 
the  six  next  highest  winning  scores 
in  the  record  were  made  under 
non-cleaning  conditions.  So  have 
been  the  highest  individual  scores 
in  the  match,  viz.,  219  out  of 
235  by  Major  T.  Lamb  in  1893, 
and  218  by  the  late  A.  G.  Foulkes 
in  1892.  The  highest  individual 
score  ever  made  in  public  com- 
petition in  this  country  under  the 
same  conditions,  was  that  of  Major 
Lamb  in  1892,  shooting  for  the 
Army  against  the  Volunteers  in 
the  officers'  long  range  match.  On 
this  occasion  he  scored  220  out 
of  225.  Scores  of  222  have  been 
made  in  America,  where  the 
weather  conditions  are  usually 
better  than  prevail  with  us,  and 
scores  of  223  and  224  have  once 
or  twice  been  heard  of  from  across 
the  Atlantic.  Major  G.  C.  Gibbs's 
well-known  score  of  48  hits  on  the 
3-ft.  bull's-eye  out  of  50  shots  at 
1,000  yards,  or  248  points  out  of 
250,  is  likely  to  remain  unbeaten 
for  a  very  long  time. 

The  long  range  scores  at  Bisley, 
now  that  the  old  match  rifle  has 
been   replaced  by  the  smokeless 


418 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[December 


powder  rifle  of  calibre  smaller 
than  '315  in.,  have  fallen  off.  The 
bullet  is  so  light  as  to  be  more 
susceptible  to  the  changes  of  wind 
which  so  constantly  prevail  there 
than  the  old  heavier  bullets  of 
lower  velocity.  A  still  more  serious 
trouble  is  the  difficulty  of  secur- 
ing even  results  with  the  smoke- 
less powder  cartridges  used.  Our 
own  -303  seems  now  to  lag  behind 
the  foreign  '256  Mannlicher,  which 
makes  excellent  shooting,  if  rather 
variable ;  yet  there  is  no  doubt 
that  with  really  perfect  ammuni- 
tion the  British  rifle  can  well  hold 
its  own.  Good  as  are  Cordite 
cartridges — and  they  are  better 
than  factory  made  ammunition 
could  a  few  years  ago  have  been 
imagined  to  be  —  they  do  not 
really  do  justice  to  the  rifle. 

To  give  a  typical  example  of 
the  improvement  in  rifles  rather 
than  in  men,  it  may  be  mentioned 
that  the  famous  Capt.  Horatio 
Ross,  when  sixty- six  years  old, 
made  the  then  very  good  score  of 
7  bull's-eyes,  3  centres  and  5  outers, 
in  15  shots,  at  the  great  distance  of 
1,100  yards.  This  was  recently 
mentioned  by  a  writer  in  Baily 
as  being  equivalent,  in  modern 
scoring,  to  60  points  out  of  75. 
It  is  really  not  so  large  a  score  as 
this.  The  bull's-eye  at  that  time 
was  a  square  one  and  larger  than 
the  present  in  the  proportion  of  14 
to  11.  The  "centre"  was  6  ft. 
square,  and  covered  the  whole 
area  of  the  present  inner  and 
magpie.  Almost  certainly  one 
or  more  of  the  bull's-eyes  made 
by  Capt.  Ross  would  now  have 
counted  as  inners,  and  one  or 
more  of  his  centres  would  have 
been  magpies*  But  if  this  is 
waived,  the  score  would  not  be 
more  than  57  —  7  bull's-eyes,  35 
points ;  3 inners,  12 points;  5  outers, 
10  points — a  score  which  would 
not  in  these  days  be  thought 
worthy  of  any  record.     The  one 


i,  100  yards'  competition  at  Bisley 
— the  Wimbledon  Cup — has  only 
twice  in  nine  years  been  won  by  a 
score  of  less  than  65  points  and 
each  time  in  exceptionally  bad 
weather.  Mr.  J.  Rigley's  score 
of  71  out  of  75  for  it,  with  a  -256 
Mannlicher  rifle,  in  1897,  was  a 
remarkable  performance. 

We  must  draw  the  sharpest  dis- 
tinction between  marksmanship  of 
this  kind  —  competition  in  what- 
ever conditions  exist  at  the  time — 
and  the  fancy  rest-shooting  which 
used  to  be  a  fashion  in  America. 
Mr.  A.  G.  Gould,  in  his  excellent 
work  on  "  Modern  American 
Rifles,"  gives  diagrams  of  some 
extraordinary  targets  made  at  200 
yards.  One  of  them  shows  10 
shots,  all  but  two  touching  the 
central  ring  counting  12 — a  ring 
only  141  inches  in  diameter — the 
other  two  only  £  inch  away  from  it, 
and  scoring  118  out  of  a  possible 
120.  Another  diagram  shows  a 
group  of  which  eight  shots  are  on 
the  12  ring  while  two  (scoring  11) 
are  near  it,  and  one  shot  is  just 
outside  the  1 1  ring  (2*33  inches  in 
diameter).  These  represent  the 
occasional  very  lucky  groups  9 
which  can  be  made  with  a  rest 
and  every  other  refinement  imagin- 
able, each  shot  being  fired  under 
picked  conditions  of  weather.  But 
they  give  no  clue  to  the  normal 
accuracy  of  a  rifle.  Mr.  Gould 
says,  "  I  have  seen  targets  of  10 
shots  which  could  be  touched  or 
covered  with  a  silver  dollar  which 
were  shot  at  a  distance  of  200 
yards,  and  later  the  same  rifle, 
ammunition  and  man,  shooting  at 
the  same  distance  and  place,  would 
not  be  able  to  shoot  into  an  8-inch 
bull's-eye,  and  I  have  seen  this  done 
with  breech  and  muzzle  loading 
rifles,  rifles  weighing  20  pounds, 
fitted  with  telescopic  sights,  and 
shot  from  a  machine  rest,  as  well 
as  the  10-pound  breechloading 
rifle  fitted  with  the  usual  target 


1899.] 


MODERN    MARKSMANSHIP. 


419 


sights.' '  These  American  experi- . 
ences  go  to  illustrate  the  well- 
recognised  fact  that  however 
skilful  a  shot  a  man  may  be,  he 
requires  good  fortune  as  well,  if  he 
is  to  do  better  than  others  of 
nearly  equal  skill.  Mr.  Gould  is 
very  properly  contemptuous  of  all 
trick-shooting  at  very  close  dis- 
tances, such  as  was  done  by 
Dr.  Carver,  as  being  not  at  all 
necessarily  compatible  with  even 
moderate  skill  with  the  rifle  at 
ordinary  distances. 
%  To  illustrate  in  bulk  the  differ- 
ence between  the  shooting  of  those 
who  use  the  Bisley  ranges  in  the 
ordinary  musketry  course,  and 
that  of  those  engaged  in  match 
shooting,  we  give  here  the  copy 
of  a  photograph.  It  shows  three 
canvas  targets  four  feet  square  (or 
their  remains)  through  which  a 
large  number  of  shots  have  been 
fired  at  200  yards.  The  papered 
surface  of  the  target  has  of  course 
been  renewed  again  and  again, 
and  the  back  view  here  given 
shows  the  destruction  of  the  can- 
vas foundation  and  the  wooden 
frame.  The  target  numbered  1 
has  its  centre  shot  clean  away 
close  to  the  bull's-eye,  while  the 
outer  part  of  the  canvas  and  the 
frame  are  hardly  touched.  This  is 
the  effect  of  the  match  shooting. 
On  No.  2  target,  used  for  class 
firing,  the  damage  is  much  more 
widespread,  and  the  frame  has 
been  greatly  injured.  Of  No.  3 
nothing  remains  but  splintered 
fragments  of  the  frame,  too  much 
shot  away  to  hold  together.  These 
targets  give  some  idea  of  the  ex- 
treme closeness  of  the  shooting  on 
the  ranges. 

Practice  at  moving  targets  at 
unknown  distances  is  of  course  far 
less  accurate.  But  in  these  days 
the  flatness  of  trajectory  makes  the 
precise  distance  almost  immaterial 
uq  to  100  or  600  yards,  when  the 
mark  is  of  any  size.   Perhaps,  too, 


at  our  target  practice  sufficient 
stress  is  not  laid  on  rapidity  of  fire. 
Rapid  fire,  if  not  over-hurried,  is 
compatible  with  very  good  shoot- 
ing; and  in  this  respect  the  extreme 
deliberation  of  much  of  our  marks- 
manship is  faulty.  The  effect  of 
accurate  fire,  now  that  there  is  no 
smoke  to  obstruct  it,  must  be  in 
proportion  to  its  promptitude  and 
rapidity. 

The  Alpha  and  Omega  of 
marksmanship  is  constant  prac- 
tice. England  can  never  offer  the 
opportunities  for  this  which  are 
given  by  the  plains  and  rocky 
hills  of  wilder  parts  of  the  world. 
But  if  we  are  not  to  be  out-classed 
in  skill  by  other  nations  more 
systematically  trained,  the  men  of 
our  population  in  general  should 
have  some  training  at  least,  and 
the  professional  or  amateur  soldier 
should  be  quite  familiar  with  the 
use  of  his  weapon.  The  man  who 
normally  fires  a  rifle  two  or  three 
times  a  week  will  shoot  better  and 
fight  with  far  more  confidence 
than  he  who  does  not  fire  ball  for 
forty-eight  or  fifty-one  weeks  in 
the  year.  First-rate  as  are  many 
of  the  shots  in  this  country,  the 
average  level  of  shooting  among 
men  drilled  with  the  rifle  is  but 
poor.  Turning,  as  the  mind 
naturally  does  at  this  time,  to 
South  Africa,  we  find  most  effec- 
tive fighting  being  done  by  the 
Boers,  a  nation  of  marksmen. 
Their  half-disciplined  commandos 
can  surely  teach  a  useful  lesson 
to  all  our  offensive  and  defensive 
forces.  Our  volunteers  can  be 
made  at  least  as  efficient  fighting 
men  as  are  now  opposed  to  us  in 
South  Africa.  It  is  mainly  a 
matter  of  finding  money  for  more 
rifle  ranges  and  ammunition.  Effi- 
ciency is  the  only  true  economy, 
and  the  man  whose  carefulness 
takes  the  form  of  neglect  to  insure 
his  house,  regrets  it  in  vain  when 
he  sees  the  flames  spreading. 


420 


[December 


Hunting,  Ancient  and  Modern. 


As  each  hunting  season  comes 
round,  and  whenever  some  diffi- 
culty arises  in  a  hunting  country, 
we  are  reminded  by  sundry  writers 
that  hunting  is  not  exactly  the 
sport  it  was — an  obvious  truism, 
for  no  sport  or  pastime  has  stood 
still  since  it  was  first  introduced. 
Is  cricket  the  game  it  was  when 
Lord's  Ground  .was  situated  in 
Dorset  Square  ?  is  polo  the  same 
game  as  we  knew  it  on  its  first 
introduction  some  quarter  of  a 
century  ago  ?  or  is  billiards  the 
same  sort  of  pastime  that  it  was 
in  the  days  of  list  cushions  ? 
Between  the  steeplechasing  of 
seventy  years  ago  and  that  of 
to-day  there  is  as  wide  a  differ- 
ence as  between  the  colours  of 
black  and  white,  while  in  many 
respects  the  Turf  itself  has  under- 
gone great  changes.  Is  it  there- 
fore to  be  supposed  that  hunting 
has  stood  still  while  all  other 
sports  and  pastimes  have  for 
various  reasons  developed  ?  I 
use  the  word  develop  in  connec- 
tion with  hunting,  because  it  is 
more  development  than  change 
which  has  overtaken  our  great 
national  sport. 

In  connection  with  this  paper 
an  illustration  is  given  from  a 
painting  by  Ben  Marshall,  one  of 
the  foremost  animal  painters  of 
his  time,  and  if  we  go  no  further 
than  the  illustration  itself,  we 
shall  fail  to  find  any  great  differ- 
ence between  the  hunting  of  that 
time  and  the  sport  of  to-day. 
The  hats,  it  is  true,  are  of  a 
somewhat  different  type  to  those 
now  seen  in  the  hunting  field ; 
the  collars  of  the  coats,  too, 
are  more  of  the  roll  order  than 
we  are  accustomed  to  see  now- 
adays, and  the  rider  of  the  grey 
horse  has  those  deep  tops  to 
his  boots  which   were  in   vogue 


early  in  the  century,  or,  indeed, 
up  to  the  late  'fifties.  The  second 
figure  in  the  illustration  is  doing 
what  many  a  man  does  now, 
namely,  putting  the  thong  of  his 
whip  over  the  post  of  a  gate  in 
order  to  hold  it  back  while  the 
hounds  go  through.  The  men  are 
seated  very  much  as  men  sit  now- 
adays, while  the  types  of  hunters 
represented  in  Marshall's  picture 
would  not  disgrace  the  most 
fashionable  field  of  to-day. 

Will  it  be  deemed  heterodoxy 
if  we  venture  to  suggest  that 
there  is  possibly  less  difference 
between  ancient  and  modern  hunt- 
ing than  between  the  old  and  the 
new  forms  of  any  other  sport, 
shooting  not  excepted.  Enough 
has  been  written  on  gunning  to 
show  how,  in  many  particulars, 
the  new  form  varies  from  the 
old.  Driving  has  caused  a  great 
change  in  the  methods  of  shoot- 
ing, but  I  do  not  propose  to 
follow  this  in  any  further  detail, 
but  I  do  suggest  that  if  we  look 
at  hunting  history  we  shall  find 
that  absolute  changes  are  neither 
very  many  nor  very  great ;  at  any 
rate,  neither  so  enormous  nor  so 
important  as  is  commonly  sup- 
posed. It  is  development  only,  I 
venture  to  suggest,  which  chiefly 
differentiates  between  ancient  and 
modern  hunting. 

We  hear  nowadays  a  good  deal 
of  the  stranger,  but  when  did  he 
not  exist?  No  sooner  was  the 
Quorn  started  under  Mr.  Meyndl 
than  nearly  everybody  who  could 
afford  to  hunt  away  from  home 
flocked  down  to  that  eligible 
country.  Mr.  Meyneli's  house 
was  generally  fairly  full  of  guests. 
Mr.  Lambton  (who  afterwards 
hunted  his  own  hounds)  went  to 
Melton  Mowbray  for  the  sake  of 
quietude,  and    following  his  ex- 


1*9*] 


HUNTING,    ANCIENT   AND    MODERN. 


421 


ample,  many  people  went  to  that 
excellent  hunting  centre  until  at 
last  Melton  became  what  we  know 
it  at  the  present  day,  that  town 
and  its  district  being  the  head- 
quarters of  a  huge  number  of 
hunting  men  and  women.  We 
must,  of  course,  remember  that 
when  means  of  transport  were 
comparatively  limited  there  were 
fewer  migratory  hunting  men  than 
at  present,  but  so  far  as  post- 
chaises  and  coaches  served,  men 
then,  as  now,  went  down  to  the 
best  countries  they  could  find, 
and  those  who  galloped  in  ecstatic 
pleasure  after  the  Quorn,  the 
Pytchley,  the  Belvoir,  and  Lord 
Talbot's  Hounds  (now  the  Ather- 
stone),  were  largely  recruited  from 
the  ranks  of  those  who  dwelt 
many  miles  away. 

We  may  even  go  back  further, 
to  the  days  of  the  Charlton  Hunt 
in  Sussex.  Hard  riding  had  not 
perhaps  been  invented  in  those 
days,  and  therefore  a  compara- 
tively easy  country,  with  its  share 
of  down  land,  was  possibly  more 
in  favour  then  (for  one  is  now 
speaking  of  the  time  of  William 
III.)  than  would  be  a  country  in 
which  stake  and  bound,  and  ox 
fences  figure  largely.  "  Who's 
for  Charlton  ?  "  was  only  re- 
echoed later  by  "  Who's  for  Mel- 
ton ?  "  and  what  we  should  now 
consider  this  unpretentious  Sussex 
country,  which,  by  the  way,  is  now 
without  a  pack  of  foxhounds  of 
its  own,  was  largely  peopled  by 
strangers.  The  quality  from  other 
parts  of  England  did  not  disdain 
the  modest  accommodation  of  a 
labourer's  cottage,  and  houses 
which  have  long  since  been  razed 
to  the  ground  were  run  up  for 
the  accommodation  of  hunting 
visitors.  "  Foxhunters'  Hall  " 
was  a  well-known  resort,  and  long 
before  Mr.  Boothby  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  famous  Quorn 
Hunt  the  Charlton  Hounds,  under 


Mr.  Roper,  and  the  rival  pack 
owned  for  a  short  time  by  the  Duke 
of  Somerset,  enjoyed  a  prestige  as 
great  as  that  which  now  attaches 
to  any  famous  Midland  pack.  If 
we  turn  to  the  West  of  England 
we  can  at  least  carry  the  hunting 
of  the  wild  stag  as  far  back  as  the 
reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  in 
the  same  era  the  Earls  of  Lincoln, 
and  the  Somersets  in  Wilts,  were 
no  doubt  pursuing  the  deer  with 
the  greatest  enthusiasm,  while 
the  Belvoir  kennels  no  doubt  at 
that  time  contained  staghounds. 
All  the  evidence,  indeed,  of  hunt- 
ing history  tends  to  show  that 
wherever  there  was  a  good  pack 
of  hounds  and  eligible  country, 
men  who  lived  in  less  favoured 
districts  resorted  thither  to  enjoy 
what  at  that  time  they  considered 
to  be  the  best  of  sport. 

Reverting  for  one  moment  to 
staghunting,  the  first  change  of 
any  importance  appears  to  have 
happened  when  the  old  lemon- 
pyes,  which  occupied  the  Ascot 
kennels,  were  sold  to  Colonel 
Thornton  to  go  abroad.  Then, 
so  far  as  is  known,  the  foxhound 
was  substituted  for  the  staghound 
for  the  pursuit  of  deer,  the  Duke 
of  Richmond  giving  his  pack  to 
the  Prince  Regent  early  in  the 
century,  and  when  that  change 
came  about  a  huntsman  and  three 
whippers-in  were  substituted  for 
the  huntsman  and  the  band  of 
Yeomen  prickers  which  had  for- 
merly done  duty  with  the  Royal 
pack.  The  deer  cart  was  cer- 
tainly invented  in  the  last  cen- 
tury, and  if  it  was  not  in  use  in 
the  days  of  Queen  Anne,  deer  were 
certainly  liberated  from  paddocks 
or  from  outhouses  on  certain  occa- 
sions to  obviate  the  trouble  of 
finding  them,  and  from  that  time 
to  the  present  the  changes  in 
staghunting  have  been  compara- 
tively few  and  unimportant. 

In  connection  with  foxhunting 


422 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[December. 


it  is  development,  as'  before  men- 
tioned, rather  than  change,  that 
one  must  look  for.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  in  the  early  days 
of  foxhunting — and  the  sport,  as 
may  be  seen  from  Bishop  Gibson's 
edition  of  Camden's  "  Britannia," 
was  known  in  the  time  of  the 
Confessor,  though  of  course  it  was 
not  a  regularly  organised  amuse- 
ment at  that  period — there  was  a 
great  deal  more  woodland  in  Eng- 
land than  exists  at  the  present 
time,  and  when  hounds  hunted 
principally  in  covert  the  sport 
was  necessarily  of  a  less  flippant 
nature  than  we  see  it  in  the  grass 
countries  of  to-day.  Still,  so  far 
as  their  lights  went,  ancient 
hunting  men  rode  hard,  and  in 
Charles  II.'s  time  we  have  records 
of  a  run  from  the  Windsor  district 
down  to  Lord  Petre's  place  at 
Thorndon  Hall,  in  Essex,  and 
whatever  the  pace  of  hounds  may 
have  been  no  man  could  have  gone 
to  the  end  except  he  had  done  a 
certain  amount  of  galloping  and 
jumping. 

Is  the  complaint  of  non-sub- 
scription a  grievance  of  new 
standing  ?  One  would  imagine 
not,  seeing  that  Mr.  Meynell  at 
one  time  had  but  three  sub- 
scribers, though  his  field  num- 
bered between  two  and  three 
hundred.  Is  over  -  riding  the 
hounds  an  innovation  ?  scarcely,  it 
would  appear,  for  Mr.  Meynell  is 
always  understood  to  have  said 
that  his  friend  Cecil  Forester, 
generally  preceded  his  hounds  out 
of  covert  when  a  fox  was  holloaed. 
Mr.  Child,  of  Kinlet,  is  said  to 
have  introduced  hard  riding  and 
when  mounted  on  his  Arab,  or  half 
bred  Arab,  is  reported  to  have  held 
his  own  with  all  comers.  One  is 
justified  in  coming  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  ever  since  hunting  was  a 
sport  a  goodly  proportion  of  men 
have  hunted  to  ride,  just  as  they 
do  at  present. 


In  early  days,  however,  as  has 
often  been  stated,  horses  were  not 
clipped,  a  sufficient  proof  that  they 
could  not  have  galloped  at  anything 
like  the  pace  at  which  the  modern 
hunter  travels,  while  as  the  art  of 
conditioning  was  at  best  but  im- 
perfectly understood,  the  hunters 
of  the  last  century  were  not  equal 
to  the  work  now  accomplished 
by  hunters  even  in  provincial 
countries. 

The  times  and  distances  of  old 
runs  are  often  manifestly  inaccu- 
rate, for  no  person  having  any 
knowledge  of  hounds  and  horses 
could  for  a  moment  believe  that 
ten  and  twelve  miles  were  covered 
for  two  or  three  hours  at  a  time  in 
each  sixty  minutes,  as  some  of  the 
old  accounts  would  have  us  think. 
I  take  a  few  old  accounts  at  ran- 
dom, and  find  that  in  1764,  accord- 
ing to  the  St.  James's  Chronicle ,  a 
stag  given  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford 
to  the  members  of  the  Brentford 
Hounds,  was  turned  out  on  Guild- 
ford Downs  and  was  killed  after  a 
run  of  four  hours,  a  journey  which 
caused  the  deaths  of  four  horses. 
Then  in  the  same  year  it  was 
recorded  that  on  January  16th, 
the  members  of  the  Confederate 
Hunt,  which  then  hunted  a  part  of 
Shropshire,  turned  out  a  bag  fox, 
which  began  the  day's  sport  by 
running  three  tremendous  rings, 
after  which  he  was  headed  for 
Llangedwyn,  the  seat  of  Sir 
Watkin  Wynn,  of  the  period,  near 
which  place  the  leading  hounds 
seized  the  fox  by  the  brush  and 
the  rest  of  the  pack  demolished 
him.  This  run  is  said  to  have 
been  more  than  fifty  miles,  the 
time  being  four  hours,  namely, 
from  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning 
till  one  in  the  afternoon.  That 
hunters  or  hounds  ever  covered 
fifty  miles  in  four  hours,  which 
means  a  pace  of  rather  over  twelve 
miles  an  hour,  no  one  would  will- 
ingly believe  nowadays. 


I899-] 


HUNTING,   ANCIENT   AND    MODERN. 


423 


Twenty  years  before  this,  that 
is  to  say,  about  1744,  a  pack  of 
hounds  in  Staffordshire  are  said 
to  have  run  a  fox  for  rather  more 
than  fifty  miles  into  Derbyshire, 
the  time  being  just  over  four  hours, 
a  run  which  was  commemorated  in 
verse,  of  which  the  refrain  is  : — 

"  Fifty  miles  in  four  hours,  it  has  been  a 
hard  ride 
And  in  Wotton  Park,  old  Reynard  he 
d/d." 

The  St.  James's  Chronicle ,  which 
appears  to  have  paid  particular 
attention  to  hunting  records,  after 
having  mentioned  the  previous 
runs,  stated  that  the  Shropshire 
run  had  been  excelled  by  one  in 
Cheshire,  for  in  this  case,  sixty 
miles  were  covered  in  four  hours, 
and  an  apology  is  made  for  the 
Shropshire  Hounds,  on  the  plea 
that  they  were  harriers  and  conse- 
quently could  not  do  more  than 
twelve  miles  an  hour  for  four 
hours  at  a  stretch  ! 

It  has  always  been  a  moot  point 
to  what  extent  the  pace  of  hounds 
has  increased,  though  it  is  un- 
doubtedly the  fact  that  hounds  do 
go  faster  than  they  once  did,  and 
if  for  no  other  reason  because, 
owing  to  the  superior  condition  of 
horses  and  to  their  being  clipped, 
they  are  more  pressed  upon,  and 
this  will  certainly  accelerate  the 
pace  of  the  pack.  I  once  knew  a 
pack  of  foot  harriers  with  which 
after  a  time  first  one  person  and 
then  another  used  to  go  out  on 
horseback.  So  long  as  everybody 
ran  with  them  they  could,  except 
"  on  very  grand  scenting  days  " 
keep  within  reasonable  distance 
of  them,  but  when  several  of 
the  followers  were  mounted  the 
hounds  were  pressed,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  single  season  their 
pace  very  materially  increased. 
It  has  been  a  common  complaint 
against  masters  of  hounds  that 
they  have  bred  for  pace ;  but  this 
is  probably  a  mistake,  because  in 


many  cases  as  we  know  hounds 
have  been  drafted  because  they 
went  too  fast,  and  no  master 
would  care  to  have  a  pack  in 
which  a  couple  or  two  of  hounds 
could  materially  out  -  pace  the 
remainder. 

The  hours  of  hunting  have  of 
course  undergone  a  change,  at 
least,  in  fashionable  countries, 
for  at  the  beginning  of  the  cen- 
tury eight,  nine  and  ten  o'clock, 
were  the  ordinary  times  of  meet- 
ing, just  as  in  some  countries,  the 
Border  for  example,  hounds  are 
found  at  the  covert  side  by  eight 
or  nine  o'clock. 

It  is  difficult  to  speak  with 
extreme  accuracy,  but  perhaps 
one  of  the  greatest  changes  which 
has  come  over  hunting  is  in  the 
huntsman's  art.  In  olden  days 
when  a  fox  was  first  of  all  traced 
by  the  drag  to  his  kennel,  and 
then  found,  the  huntsman's  aim 
was  to  keep  his  hounds  on  the 
line,  if  possible,  and  eventually 
run  him  down,  and  this  was  no 
doubt  the  reason  of  the  numer- 
ous long  runs  which  took  place. 
There  was  not  then,  as  now,  a 
man  in  every  field,  nor  were 
pedestrian  hunters  all  over  the 
place;  consequently,  a  huntsman 
in  the  days  of  Ives  did  not  receive 
so  much  extraneous  assistance  as 
at  present.  But  as  long  as  we 
can  trace  hunting  history  hunts- 
men have  differed  in  their  styles.  ' 
Luke  Freeman,  who  hunted  Lord 
Egremont's  hounds,  welter  weight 
though  he  was  was  given,  when 
he  had  a  chance  of  lifting  his 
hounds,  to  galloping  them  on  in 
the  hope  of  cutting  off  the  fox. 
Philip  Payne  did  the  same  thing, 
and  so  to  a  lesser  extent  did  John 
Raven,  Mr.  Meynell's  huntsman  ; 
and  when  he  and  old  Stephen 
Goodall  hunted  for  Lord  Sefton 
on  alternate  days  the  difference 
between  their  two  styles  was 
very  marked,  for  as  Goodall  rode 


4H 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[December 


something  like  22  stone,  and 
Raven  something  less  than  half 
that  weight,  it  will  easily  be 
understood  that  the  two  could  not 
have  hunted  on  the  same  lines. 
There  appear  always  to  have 
been  huntsmen  who  were  rather 
given  to  a  dashing  style  of  hunt- 
ing; and  we  have  it  on  old 
George  Carter's  authority,  that 
whereas  he  liked  to  hunt  slowly 
and  wear  his  fox  to  death,  Asshe- 
ton  Smith  used  to  like  to  bustle 
on  and  pull  him  over  in  as  short 
a  time  as  possible. 

Provincial  countries,  even  at  the 
present  day,  are  possibly  very 
much  what  provincial  countries 
were  a  hundred  years  ago  or 
more.  No  one  going  out,  say 
with  the  Ullswater  or  the  Conis- 
ton  Hounds,  will  find  the  field  com- 
posed of  strangers  who  have  gone 
to  the  Lake  district  for  the  sake 
of  the  hunting.  In  Devonshire, 
in  the  Messrs.  Leamon's  time, 
the  writer  has  seen  a  Lamerton 
field  composed  of  seven  persons, 
including  the  twin  brothers  who 
were  huntsman  and  whipper-in. 
In  Cornwall,  fields  are  by  no 
means  overgrown,  and  except 
for  a  casual  visitor  or  two  the 
followers  are  drawn  exclusively 
from  residents,  while  with  some 
of  the  Welsh  packs  the  same  re- 
mark holds  good.  To  sum  up, 
therefore,  it  would  appear  always 
to  have  been  the  case  that 
fashionable  countries  in  which 
there  was  much  grass,  plenty  of 
foxes,  and  much  good  fellow- 
ship, were  always  extensively 
patronised  by  people  who  had 
leisure,  the  opportunity  of  leaving 
their  homes,  and  who  could  go 
far  afield  for  their  sport,  just  as 
nowadays  Londoners  go  north  to 
Scotland  to  shoot  grouse,  or  to 
Norway  to  fish  for  salmon. 

In  connection  with  the  changed 
state  of  the  country,  it  will  of 
course  be  readily  understood  that 


railways  have,  to  a  certain  extent, 
changed  hunting,  not  merely  be* 
cause  they  enable  people  from  a 
distance  to  hunt  with  any  given 
pack  of  hounds,  but  because  th,ey 
have,  in  many  cases,  completely 
changed  the  run  of  the  foxes, 
though  not  perhaps  to  the  extent 
that  might  have  been  expected. 
Still,  those  who  are  acquainted 
with  countries  in  which  branch 
lines  have  recently  made  their 
appearance,  cannot  be  unaware 
that  lines  which  used  to  be  in 
favour  with  foxes  between  two 
distant  coverts  are  now  but 
seldom  run,  though,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  it  is  true  that  foxes 
have  become  accustomed  to  rail- 
ways, and  take  less  notice  of  them 
than  might  be  supposed. 

Wire  fencing,  too,  has  of  course 
been  productive  of  much  difficulty, 
especially  from  a  riding  point  of 
view,  but,  as  has  often  been 
pointed  out,  the  removal  of  this 
is  simply  a  question  of  money, 
and  so  much  has  been  written 
about  wire  that  it  is  unnecessary 
to  go  further  into  the  question. 

That  there  is  less  touch  be- 
tween farmers  and  hunting  men 
one  is  afraid  must  be  admitted. 
Old  newspapers  and  magazines 
tell  us  of  many  a  pleasant  evening 
spent  at  a  dinner  or  supper  which 
was  attended  by  hunting  men, 
generally  farmers  as  well  as 
squires;  and  these  evenings  in- 
deed went  far  to  keep  alive  a 
sporting  spirit.  In  the  Quorn 
countries  organised  dinners  were 
frequent,  while  in  provincial 
places,  as  in  Devonshire,  Corn- 
wall, the  Eastern  Counties  and 
in  Wales,  nothing  was  more 
common  than  to  celebrate  the 
happening  of  a  good  run  with  a 
dinner,  sometimes  on  the  same 
evening,  but  more  frequently  on 
the  following  day.  The  ease 
with  which  people  can  now  run 
about  by  train,  and  the  increase 


1899-] 


ANECDOTAL    SPORT. 


425 


in  the  number  of  hunting  men, 
not  to  mention  the  fact  that  com- 
paratively few  farmers  hunt  now- 
adays, has  unquestionably  served 
to  break  that  touch  which,  at 
one  time,  was  attended  with  so 
much  good  to  hunting.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  perhaps  fewer 
foxes  are  killed  now  by  game- 
keepers or  by  those  who  are 
hostile  to  hunting  than  at  any 
other  time.  Countries  have  been 
cut  up  and  subdivided,  and  an 
area  which,  once  upon  a  time, 
served  a  single  master  for  three 
days  a  week  is  now  divided  into 
three  or  four  portions,  in  which 
an  aggregate  of  fifteen  or  sixteen 
hunts  a  week   take  place.     This 


of  course  means  an  enormous  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  foxes. 
The  time  was  when  the  Dukes 
of  Beaufort  hunted  over  what  is 
now  not  only  their  own  country, 
but  that  of  the  South  and  West 
Wilts,  and  the  Heythrop  as  well  ; 
and  it  is  only  necessary  to  take 
a  map  and  see  what  an  enormous 
tract  of  country  was  included. 
Then  again  the  Berkeley  was 
formerly  hunted  from  Berkeley 
Castle  to  London,  and  is  now 
divided  at  least  between  the 
parent  pack,  the  Croome,  the 
two  Cotswold  packs  and  the 
two  Old  Berkeley  packs. 

W.  C.  A.  B. 


Anecdotal    Sport. 

By   "  Thormanby." 

Author  of  "  Kings  of  the  Hunting- Field,"  "  Kings  of  the  Turf,"  &c. 


"  Little  "  Kitchener,  Lord 
George  Bentinck's  famous  feather- 
weight jockey,  was,  of  course, 
the  lightest  professional  that  ever 
figured  in  pig-skin,  and,  if  I  re- 
member rightly,  he  could  ride  3st. 
7lb.  George  Fordham  in  his 
early  days  rode,  however,  nearly 
as  light.  He  made  his  first  mark 
by  winning  the  Cambridgeshire 
of  1852  on  Little  Daniel  for  Mr. 
Smith,  against  a  field  of  thirty- 
nine,  riding  at  the  extraordinarily 
light  weight  of  3st.  i2lb.  George's 
mount  stood  at  33  to  1  on  starting, 
but  there  were  certain  keen -eyed 
sporting  men  present  who  were  so 
taken  with  the  boy's  form  and  the 
way  he  sat  his  horse,  that  they 
backed  him  to  win.  And  he  not 
only  won,  but  Little  David  ran 
right  away  with  him  into  the  town 
before  he  could  be  stopped.     It 


was  a  great  triumph  for  the 
youngster,  but  his  master  thought 
it  was  sufficiently  rewarded  by  a 
present  of  a  Bible  and  a  gold- 
headed  whip.  On  the  whip  was 
engraved  the  words  "  Honesty  is 
the  best  policy,1 '  and  to  that 
motto  George  kept  sternly  true 
all  through  his  long  and  splendid 
career  as  a  jockey. 

Two  years  later,  in  1854,  Ford- 
ham  won  the  Chester  Cup  on 
Captain  Douglas  Lane's  Epami- 
nondas  against  twenty-five  starters 
at  4st.  iolb.,  and  it  was  his  riding 
on  that  occasion  that  drew  from 
the  great  book-maker,  "  Levia- 
than "  Da  vies,  the  remark,  "  That 
lad  is  the  best  light-weight  I  have 
ever  seen."  Frank  Buckie  is  said 
to  have  ridden  under  4St.  when 
he  commenced  his  career  in  the 


426 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


r  December 


Hon.  Richard  Vernon's  stables, 
and  the  clever  Sam  Chiffney,  who 
could  ride  7st.  I2lb.  to  the  last 
days  of  his  life,  is  said  to  have 
ridden  under  4St.  when  a  lad. 
Fred  Archer,  on  the  other  hand, 
never  rode  lighter  than  5St.  61b., 
at  which  figure  he  won  the 
Cesarewitch  of  1872  on  Mr.  J. 
Radclift's  Salvanos. 

For  precocity  in  horsemanship 
the  present  Lord  Lonsdale  would 
be  hard  to  beat,  for  he  hunted 
"  on  his  own  hook  "  when  he  was 
but  five  years  old.  And  the 
famous  Captain  John  White,  one 
of  the  finest  horsemen  of  his  day, 
either  with  hounds  or  on  the  flat, 
commenced  his  career  in  the 
saddle  about  the  same  age,  on  a 
pony  so  small  that,  to  quote  his 
own  words,  "  with  the  saddle  on 
him  he  used  to  walk  under  a 
leaping-bar  at  home,  and  be  after- 
wards galloped  over  it."  Charles 
James  Apperley,  famous  as  a 
sporting  writer  under  his  pseu- 
donym "  Nimrod,"  tells  us  that 
he  rode  to  hounds  in  "  full  hunt- 
ing fig." — velvet  cap  and  scarlet 
coat — before  he  was  twelve,  and 
drove  a  coach  and  four  when  he 
was  but  a  year  older. 

Scarcely  less  precocious  in 
equitation  was  the  great  Thomas 
Assheton  Smith,  whom  Napoleon 
addressed  as  le  premier  chasseur 
cTAngleterrc.  Whilst  he  was  yet 
a  schoolboy,  the  fame  of  his  skill 
and  daring  in  the  saddle  had 
spread  pretty  far,  as  the  following 
anecdote  will  show.  One  day  his 
father  was  at  his  club  in  London 
among  a  party  of  sportsmen,  who 
were  speaking  of  the  splendid 
horsemanship  of  Sir  Henry  Peyton 
and  his  son.  "  There  are  no 
father  and  son  in  the  kingdom 
that  could  beat  them  !"  ex- 
claimed one  enthusiast.  Where- 
upon  Thomas    Assheton    Smith, 


the  elder,  quietly  remarked,  "I 
will  back  a  father  and  son  against 
them  for  ^500."  "  Name,  name ! " 
cried  half-a-dozen  voices.  "  I  am 
one,  and  my  son  Tom  the  other," 
was  the  reply.  No  one  took  the  bet. 

On  the  other  hand,  some  great 
horsemen  have  given  no  promise 
of  future  prowess  in  the  saddle  in 
their  boyhood.  The  present  Earl 
Spencer,  who  has  been  justly 
described  "as  one  of  England's 
hardest  riders,"  was  a  timid  and 
nervous  child  who  dreaded  mount- 
ing his  pony,  even  with  the  hand 
of  his  governess  to  cling  to,  and 
developed  no  taste  for  hunting  or 
penchant  for  horses  till  he  was  a 
young  man  at  Cambridge. 

I  mentioned  above  the  name  of 
Captain  White,  and  it  occurs  to 
me  that  he,  at  any  rate,  would 
not  have  endorsed  the  disparaging 
remarks  recently  made  by  a  dis- 
tinguished aristocratic  sportsman 
on  the  Scottish  bagpipes  as  an 
instrument  of  music.  The  jovial 
captain  was  particularly  consci- 
entious in  his  efforts  to  keep  down 
his  weight,  and  on  one  occasion, 
having  to  get  off  iolbs.  in  order 
to  ride  a  horse  at  Heaton  Park 
Races,  he  went  off  on  a  tremen- 
dous sweating  walk,  and  put  on  the 
pace  so  fiercely  that  he  found 
himself  dead-beat  whilst  he  was 
yet  some  miles  from  Lord  Wilton's 
house,  where  he  was  staying  as  a 
guest.  How  to  drag  his  weary 
limbs  all  that  way  he  knew  not, 
till,  by  good  luck,  he  fell  in  with  a 
Scottish  piper,  whom  he  promptly 
engaged  to  cheer  him  up.  So 
invigorating  were  the  strains  of 
the  bagpipes  that  the  captain 
"bucked  up,"  and  marched  gaily 
up  the  avenue,  with  the  piper  in 
front,  as  fresh  as  a  daisy,  to  the 
great  amusement  of  the  house- 
party,  who  were  watching  his 
march  from  the  drawing-room. 


189* 


THE    SPORTSMAN  S    LIBRARY. 


427 


A  similar  experience  of  the  in- 
spiriting qualities  of  the  bagpipes 
befell  the  famous  jockey,  William 
Arnuli,  who  won  three  Derbys, 
besides    being    the    rider  of    Sir 

Joshua  in  the  great  match  won 
y  him  in  181 6  against  Filho-da- 
Puta,  or,  as  Simmy  Templeman 
called  it,  "  Fill  the  Pewter." 
Arnuli,  who  always  found  it  diffi- 
cult to  get  his  extra  flesh  off 
before  a  race,  on  one  occasion 
took  no  food  whatever  for  eight 
days,  except  now  and  then  an 
apple ;  and  he  used  to  declare  he 
felt,  when  riding  that  time,  as 
strong  as  ever  he  did  in  his  life. 
Another  time,  when  wasting  by 
taking  long  walks  clothed  in  many 


coats,  he  met  an  itinerant  bag- 
piper towards  the  end  of  a  weary 
and  painful  journey.  "  Well,  old 
boy,"  said  he,  *'  I  have  heard  that 
music  cheers  the  weary  soldier ; 
why  should  it  not  enliven  the 
weary  and  wasting  jockey  ?  Come, 
play  up  a  tune  and  march  before 
me  into  Newmarket."  And  to 
the  tune  of  "  Bannocks  o'  Barley 
Meal"  Arnuli  entered  the  town, 
stepping  out  as  if  he  had  only 
just  begun  his  tramp.  Who,  after 
that,  will  deny  to  the  bagpipes 
the  power  of  inspiring  courage 
and  determination  even  in  a 
Southron,  or  wonder  that  the 
pibroch  fires  the  valour  of  the 
gallant  Scot  in  battle  ? 


The  Sportsman's  Library. 


The  author  of  this  little  book  of 
verses*  dedicates  it  to  the  War- 
wickshire Field  in  grateful  recog- 
nition of  five  -  and  -  twenty  happy 
seasons  in  their  company.  Most 
of  the  pieces  take  horse  and  hound 
for  tbeir  theme,  and  the  lines 
breathe  that  ardour  for  sport 
which  will  appeal  to  all  hunting 
men.  "  Harry  L.  "  does  not  neg- 
lect dog  and  gun,  but  shooting 
hardly  lends  itself  to  versification 
as  successfully  as  hunting.  One 
of  the  best  pieces  is  "  The  Dur- 
ham Ranger,"  the  tale  of  an  Usk 

salmon. 

.     .     .     The  cute  old  stager 
Four  Major  Generals  cast  their  flies 
Then  three  Colonels —he  wouldn't  rise 
And  he  gazed  with  an  air  of  calm  surprise 
At  the  fly  of  a  common  Major. 

In  a  very  different  vein  is 
"  Life's  Run,"  inspired  by  Whyte 
Melville's  phrase,  "  the  whirl  and 
tumult  of  the  day  are  over  and  it 
is  time  to  go  home."  We  are  not 
sure  but  that  we  prefer  the  author 
in  this,  his  graver  mood,  to   the 

*  "  Lays  of  the  Chase  and  Odds  and  Ends." 
By  Harry  L.  2s.  6d.  Published  for  the  author  by 
Vinton  &  Co.,  Limited 

VOL.  LXXII. — NO.  478. 


verses  written  in  a  light-hearted 
spirit. 

This  unpretentious  little  book* 
contains  the  articles  contributed 
to  the  Fishing  Gazette  by  the  late 
Mr.  H.  G.  McClelland  over  the 
signature  "  Athenian,"  which 
readers  of  that  journal  had  learned 
to  associate  with  writings  distin- 
guished by  soundness,  originality 
and  knowledge.  The  book  will 
be  of  real  value  to  those  anglers 
who  tie  their  own  flies,  for  the 
instructions  given  are  clearly  and 
simply  conveyed  by  one  who 
brought  ingenuity  and  observa- 
tion to  bear  on  his  work.  Mr. 
McClelland's  early  death  has  de- 
prived the  angling  fraternity  of 
one  who,  had  he  lived,  must  ere 
long  have  taken  his  place  among 
the  leaders  of  the  craft.  As  it  is, 
anglers  must  be  grateful  to  Mr. 
Marston  for  having  thus  collected 
Mr.  McClelland's  instructive 
articles  for  republication  in  this 
handy  and  convenient  form. 

*  "  The  Trout-fly  Dressers  Cabinet  of  Devices." 
By  the  late  H.  G.  McClelland  ("  Athenian.") 
Sampson,  Low,  Marston  and  Co.,  Ltd. 

32 


428 


[December 


Will   Dale. 


William  Dale,  popularly  known 
as  Will  Dale,  was  entered  to 
hounds  very  early  in  life.  Born 
in  1837,  at  the  Oakley  Kennels,  he 
made  his  debut  in  the  field  when 
ten  years  old,  at  which  mature 
age  he  helped  to  turn  hounds  to 
his  father,  who  hunted  the  Surrey 
Union.  When  thirteen  years  old 
he  left  home,  beginning  life  on  his 
own  account  as  whipper-in  to  Mr. 
Johnson's  harriers,  which  at  that 
time  hunted  the  Wytham  district 
of  Lincolnshire.  He  remained 
with  Mr.  Johnson  for  a  couple  of 
seasons,  and  left  the  harriers  to 
become  second  whipper-in  to  the 
Duke  of  Buccleuch's  foxhounds, 
where  he  remained  one  season. 
He  then  came  south  again  as 
second  whipper-in  to  the  Vale  of 
White  Horse,  which  at  that 
period  (1862)  as  for  twenty-four 
years  after,  hunted  the  whole  terri- 
tory now  shared  by  Earl  Bathurst 
and  Mr.  Butt  Miller.  In  1863 
Dale  went  to  the  Rufford,  then 
under  Major  Welfitt's  mastership; 
and  after  three  seasons  as  second 
whipper-in  went  in  the  same  capa- 
city to  its  northern  neighbour, 
Lord  Gal  way's.  In  1871,  after 
four  seasons  with  Lord  Galway, 
Dale  went  as  first  whipper  to  the 
Burton,  under  Mr.  F.  J.  S.  Fol- 
jambe,  and  being  in  1873  pro- 
moted to  carry  the  horn,  continued 
to  do  so  until  1881. 

He  had  a  most  successful  career 
both  in  kennel  and  field  while 
with  the  Burton.  One  of  the  best 
runs  he  ever  saw  was  with  this 
pack  on  January  16th,  1877. 
Hounds  went  away  from  Stainton 
Wood  with  a  fox  which  stood  up 
before  them  for  two  hours  and 
fifty  minutes.  His  first  point  was 
eleven  miles,  his  second  eleven, 
and  his  third  six  miles ;  hounds 
scarcely    stopped    running    from 


start  to  finish,  and  killed  in  the 
open.  Dale  in  this  run  was 
splendidly  carried  by  two  five- 
year-olds,  the  first  a  very  hard- 
pulling  mare,  his  second  being 
Arrow,  a  horse  got  by  Mr.  Slater's 
Dart.  Dart  had  the  legs  of  every 
horse  in  the  field  ;  he  carried  Mr. 
G.  Foljambe  in  Leicestershire  and 
Northamptonshire  for  several 
seasons.  Dale  was  always  well 
mounted  by  Mr.  Foljambe,  and 
often  on  horses  of  his  own  breed- 
ing. Among  the  best  of  the  home- 
bred ones  were  Vaulter  by  Vohi- 
geur,  Redskin  by  Sydmonton,and 
Vauban  by  Engineer,  all  of  them 
from  the  same  mare,  Cayenne. 
Another  marvellously  good  horse 
was  Rector,  which  carried  Dale 
seven  seasons  and  only  once  came 
down.  Duchess,  a  mare  quite  on 
the  small  side,  was  another 
wonder ;  it  was  Duchess  that 
carried  him  through  the  great  run 
from  Halton  Beckering  to  Red- 
bourne,  a  fourteen-mile  point. 

In  1878  Dale  took  an  ugly  fall 
which  broke  his  thigh,  an  accident 
which  laid  him  up  for  a  long  time. 
In  his  absence  Mr.  Foljambe 
carried  the  horn,  and  snowed 
capital  sport,  scoring  some  memor- 
able runs.  The  last  season  of 
Dale's  service  with  the  Burton 
was  a  very  good  one ;  the  best 
run  was  on  January  9th,  when, 
quite  late  in  tne  day,  hounds  went 
away  with  a  fox  from  H  uckerly ,  and 
ran  him  for  an  hour  and  twenty- 
five  minutes  over  a  fine  wild 
country,  killing  him  handsomely ; 
a  nine  -  mile  point  and  fifteen  as 
hounds  ran.  The  master  and 
Dale  had  quite  the  best  of  it  on 
this  occasion.  On  the  Monday 
following  the  same  pack  ran  into 
their  fox  after  a  ten-mile  run. 

The  one  season  Dale  hunted 
the  Burton  under   Mr.    Weroyss, 


1899.J 


"  OUR   VAN. 


if 


1 880- 1,  was  memorable  for  good 
sport,  and  also  for  the  perform- 
ances of  a  mare  named  Swift  lass  ; 
she  was  a  hard  puller  but  a  tre- 
mendous jumper.  On  one  occa- 
sion she  carried  Dale  over  a  drain 

25  feet  wide  and  15  feet  deep  near 
Drinsey  Nook  ;  and  another  time 
she  cleared    the  Old  Eau  River, 

26  feet  wide ;  both  these  jumps 
were  measured. 

After  three  seasons  with  Lord 
Fitzwilliam,  Dale  went  in  i88|  to 
the  Brocklesby,  where  he  re- 
mained for  twelve  years.  Space 
forbids  detailed  mention  of  the 
numerous-  good  things  he  saw 
while  with  Lord  Yarborough. 
One  noteworthy  run  occurred  in 
November,  1895 — an  eight -mile 
point  in  forty  minutes  over  wild 
country  from  Kirton  Covert  to  the 
Trent  bank,  where  hounds  killed. 


Only  four  of  the  field,  with  Dale 
and  his  first  whipper-in,  got  to  the 
end  of  this  run.  During  his  term 
of  service  at  Brocklesby  Dale  did 
good  work  in  the  kennel,  and  left 
his  mark  in  a  much  improved 
pack.  Among  the  horses  he  rode 
was  a  wonderful  performer  named 
Cadney,  which  carried  him  for 
seven  seasons.  In  the  season  of 
1893-4  ne  had  a  second  bad  fall, 
this  time  over  ,a  wire  sheep  net 
in  a  fence,  which  resulted  in  a 
fracture  of  the  other  leg.  Dur- 
ing his  absence  from  the  saddle 
Mr.  J.  M.  Richardson  carried  the 
horn. 

His  accidents  have  done  nothing 
to  impair  Dale's  nerve  or  staying 
power.  In  1896  he  left  Lord 
Yarborough  to  go  to  the  Duke 
of  Beaufort's,  which  this  season 
hunts  six  days  a  week. 


"Our   Van." 


Sandown  Park  October  Meet- 
ing. —  The  foggy  season  set  in 
early  in  the  district  of  the  Thames 
Valley,  where  it  most  effectively 
flourishes;  or  perhaps  it  should 
be  termed  a  short  preparatory 
season.  Prevalence  of  fog  gene- 
rally goes  hand  in  hand  with  soft 
going,  but  such  was  the  effect 
of  a  dry  summer  following  on 
several  others  of  the  same  charac- 
ter, that  the  turf  at  Sandown 
was  distinctly  on  the  hard  side, 
the  rains  that  had  fallen  having 
percolated  through  in  quick  time. 
The  Sandown  October  Meeting 
extends  over  three  days,  the  third 
day  being  devoted  to  racing  under 
National  Hunt  rules.  Whether 
the  Liverpool  Mixture,  on  the 
"  ha'porth  of  all  sorts  "  principle, 
would  not  be  more  attractive 
could  be  determined  by  experi- 


ment only,  but  I  am  of  opinion 
that  the  regular  frequenters  of 
Sandown  would  rather  have  a 
steeplechase  as  a  relief  to  the 
five-furlong  races  than  not.  A 
two-year-old  plate  in  the  third 
week  in  October  cannot  fail  to 
have  had  some  of  its  once  possible 
features  eliminated,  the  form 
having  settled  down  by  that  time, 
and  the  Great  Sapling  Plate 
seemed  to  bear  chiefly  on  the 
merit  of  one  that  was  not  running, 
Diamond  Jubilee,  to  wit.  People 
who  had  seen  this  full  brother 
to  Florizel  II.  and  Persimmon  run 
Democrat  to  half  a  length  in  the 
Middle  Park  Plate,  were  anxious 
to  determine  how  much  the  close- 
ness of  the  finish  was  due  to 
merit  on  the  part  of  the  son  of 
St.  Simon,  and  how  much  to  the 
favourable  start  he  got  as  com- 


43Q 


fiAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[Deckmbex 


pared  with  Democrat,  and  to  the 
lack  of  necessity  on  the  part  of 
Democrat's  jockey  to  do  more 
than  make  the  race  safe.  To  my 
thinking  he  had  a  good  deal  to 
spare.  At  Sandown  the  guide  to 
Diamond  Jubilee  was  to  be  the 
way  Paigle  ran,  for  Paigle  had 
finished  second  to  Diamond  Ju- 
bilee, beaten  a  head  only,  but  in 
receipt  of  61bs.,  for  the  Boscawen 
Stakes  at  the  Newmarket  First 
October  meeting  three  weeks 
before.  An  impression  seemed 
to  be  abroad  that  Paigle  would 
prove  third  best  only  to  Victor 
Wolf  and  Longy,  which  was  tan- 
tamount to  discounting  the  merit 
of  Diamond  Jubilee  by  proxy. 
What  there  was  about  Victor 
Wolf  to  make  him  a  warm 
favourite  I  have  not  yet  dis- 
covered, whilst  Longy's  conti- 
nental failure  might  have  been 
considered  to  have  relegated  him 
to  the  season's  list  of  disappoint- 
ments. In  the  sequel  Paigle 
fairly  raced  down  his  field  by  the 
time  half  a  mile  had  been  covered. 
The  Sandown  Foal  Stakes  of 
a  mile  and  a  quarter  fell  to  Merry 
Methodist,  whose  respectable  run 
of  previous  successes  justified  the 
*  expectation  that  he  would  win, 
although  St.  Gris  was  once  more 
trusted — surely  for  the  last  time. 
Here,  if  you  please,  was  the  colt 
which,  twelve  months  previously, 
had  beaten  Flying  Fox  at  5lbs., 
and  now  unable  to  give  a  stone 
(or  any  part  of  a  stone,  it  seemed) 
to  Merry  Methodist.  And  I  cheer- 
fully admit  that  I  was  one  of 
those  who,  in  1898,  saw  in  St. 
Gris  the  possibilities  of  a  Derby 
horse,  even  on  his  first  appear- 
ance, when  he  was  beaten  out  of 
a  place. 

The  proceedings  of  the  third 
day  cannot  be  fitly  described 
otherwise  than  lamentable.  The 
executive  and  the  stewards  could 
not  help  it   that  the  fog  was  so 


thick  that  one  could  not  see 
across  Tattersall's  ring,  the  num- 
ber-board being  absolutely  invisi- 
ble from  the  stand,  but  they  could 
help  it  that  any  racing — save  the 
mark  !  —  was  allowed  to  take 
place.  Things  would  have  been 
bad  enough  had  flat-racing  been 
in  progress,  but  to  allow  steeple- 
chasing  and  hurdle-racing  to  pro- 
ceed under  such  conditions  was 
positively  wicked.  Looking  at 
what  has  recently  been  happening 
in  South  Africa,  one  cannot  con- 
scientiously regret  that  jockeys 
are  to  be  found  in  any  number 
so  careless  of  life  and  limb  as  to 
race  over  obstacles  which  could 
not  be  seen  at  a  distance  of  50 
yards.  But  in  matters  of  deed 
and  daring  Englishmen  require 
looking  after,  and  the  guardians 
of  the  jockeys  in  this  case  were 
the  stewards.  The  fields  were 
probably  as  large  as  they  would 
have  been  under  the  most  favour- 
able conditions.  Besides  the 
element  of  danger  other  considera- 
tions should  have  been  taken  into 
account.  One  was  the  absolute 
unfairness  of  the  proceedings, 
proof  of  which  was  provided  in 
the  going  astray  of  more  than 
one  runner  through  getting  into 
the  wrong  course  and  having  to 
come  back.  Another  considera- 
tion that  is  suggested  by  this 
mishap  is  the  entire  lack  of 
necessity  for  a  horse  to  go  the 
right  course  at  all.  He  might 
miss  half-a-dozen  jumps  and  no 
one  be  the  wiser.  After  five  races 
had  been  thus  unsatisfactorily 
decided,  the  stewards  realised 
the  enormity  of  the  farce— which 
might  easily  have  become  a 
tragedy — and  stopped  the  regret- 
table proceedings.  In  the  mean- 
time the  judge  had  necessarily 
mistaken  the  colours  of  finishing 
horses,  and  had  to  correct  deci- 
sions in  the  weighing  room.  The 
wonder,  of  course,  was  that  mis- 


I**.] 


"  OUR   VAN/' 


431 


takes  were  so  few,  seeing  that 
reporters  posted  on  the  rails  to 
note  the  "  runners- up  "  after  the 
first  three  gave  up  the  job  after 
the  first  race. 

Newmarket  Houghton. — What 
was  the  matter  with  the  public  in 
connection  with  the  Cesarewitch 
and  Cambridgeshire  is  a  puzzle. 
Except  in  the  paddock,  where 
there  was  a  very  large  attendance, 
the  Cesarewitch  crowd  was  a  great 
deal  below  the  average,  whilst  on 
the  Cambridgeshire  day  there  was 
a  marked  falling  off  everywhere. 
Why  people  come  on  some  occa- 
sions and  stay  away  on  others  I 
never  expect  to  see  explained. 
Perhaps,  in  the  case  of  the  Cam- 
bridgeshire, the  public  took  to 
heart  all  it  had  read  concerning 
the  way  Oban  was  pitchforked 
into  the  race  and  concluded  not 
to  spend  time  and  money  to  wit- 
ness what  was  to  be  practically  a 
walk-over.  Oban  is  an  aged  (very 
much  aged,  I  am  given  to  under- 
stand) horse  from  the  antipodes, 
where  he  had  won  with  iost.  in 
the  saddle.  There  was  a  terrific, 
and  continuous,  outcry  at  his 
being  allotted  as  little  as  7  st. 
5  lb.,  the  pandemonium  of  dis- 
praise of  the  handicap  increasing 
as  it  came  to  leak  out  that  Robin- 
son, Oban's  trainer,  had  tried  the 
horse  to  be  invincible.  There  was 
scarcely  an  individual  amongst  the 
many  well-informed  people  who 
go  racing  who  was  not  impressed 
with  the  apparent  certainty  of 
Oban's  chance,  though  experience 
taught  the  folly  of  relying  upon  a 
single  reed.  But  for  the  Foxhill 
trials  it  would  have  been  pertinent 
enough  to  point  out  that  the  fact 
of  carrying  10  st.  first  past  the  post 
does  not,  in  itself,  constitute  a 
good  horse;  everything  depends 
upon  what  the  opposition  was  like. 
What  is  the  average  form  where 
Oban  achieved  his  principal  racing 
feats  ?  That  is  the  question  which 


people  should  have  put  to  them- 
selves. But  the  satisfaction  of 
Robinson  of  course  removed  the 
necessity  for  any  such  inquiries. 
After  all  I  had  heard  and  read  of 
Oban  my  first  view  of  him  in  the 
paddock  (for  I  had  not  noticed  him 
at  either  York  or  Epsom,  where 
he  had  previously  run)  was  a  stag- 
gerer. Whatever  ability  Oban  pos- 
sesses as  a  racer,  it  is  not  reflected 
in  his  shape,  and  for  the  size  of 
his  feet  he  may  safely  be  matched 
against  any  other  racehorse  in 
the  country.  *To  use  a  common 
expression  of  the  betting  ring,  I 
would  not  have  backed  him  if  the 
money  to  do  it  with  were  given 
me.  However,  •  there  were  the 
Foxhill  trials,  and  Oban  started 
at  the  extraordinarily  short  price 
of  7  to  2. 

Since  the  Jockey  Club  abolished 
the  old  Ditch  Mile  stand,  the 
"  heads"  that  collect  at  the 
Bushes  to  see  the  Cesarewitch  run 
are  few  compared  with  what  they 
used  to  be.  Without  professing  to 
the  racing  knowledge  that  qualifies 
one  for  the  position  of  "  head,"  I 
made  one  of  the  little  group  this 
year,  as  often  before,  and  the 
opinion  of  one  and  all  was  that 
Irish  Ivy  was  a  Cambridgeshire 
horse.  The  night  before  the  race 
the  Irish  division,  which  had  come 
over  in  great  strength,  was  divided 
solely  on  the  question  whether 
Irish  Ivy  would  win  by  one  hun- 
dred or  two  hundred  yards  ;  some- 
one who  suggested  fifty  yards  came 
near  being  ejected  from  the  hotel. 
Irish  Ivy  was  a  Cambridgeshire 
horse  and  it  may  be  safely  assumed 
that  the  Irish  money  lost  on  the 
Cesarewitch  was  got  back  on  the 
Cambridgeshire.  Provided  that 
Ercildoune  and  Scintillant  had  the 
necessary  speed  the  race  seemed 
to  lie  between  them,  Ercildoune 
for  preference,  favoured  as  he  was 
in  the  weight.  The  Mazeppa 
party    were    quietly   happy   with 


432 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[Df  CUMBER 


their  filly,  but  she  went  a  little 
wrong.  Airs  and  Graces  was  a 
great  tip  and  for  good  reason,  as 
she  showed  in  the  race,  for  she 
beat  everything  but  Irish  Ivy  who, 
with  Kempton  Cannon  up,  on  the 
saddle  that  seated  him  when  he 
won  the  same  race  on  Comfrey, 
galloped  away  with  the  race  in  a 
style  that  surprised  no  one  who 
knew  her. 

Again  did  the  absence  of  For- 
farshire leave  the  way  clear  for 
Democrat  in  the  Dewhurst  Plate, 
and  as  he  was  giwng  Diamond 
Jubilee  and  Goblet  but  i  lb.  each, 
it  was  hard  to  see  what  book- 
makers were  taking  5  to  2  about. 
Of  course  Democrat  beat  Diamond 
Jubilee  again,  and  three-quarters 
of  a  length  was  thought  sufficient 
to  win  by.  This  was  Democrat's 
eleventh  race,  and  seventh  win  of 
the  year.  His  winnings  amount  to 
over  ^13,000. 

A  favourable  second  appearance 
was  that  of  St.  Nydia  in  the 
Criterion  Stakes,  in  which  Simon 
Dale  showed  what  looked  like 
further  deterioration.  If  deteriora- 
tion it  be,  let  me  hope  that  it  is  but 
temporary.  Lutetia  had  beaten  St. 
Nydia  at  the  Newmarket  Second 
October,  and  here  she  beat  Blue 
Diamond  in  the  Cheveley  Stakes. 
Placed  horses  in  the  Cambridge- 
shire are  expected  to  do  -well  in 
the  Old  Cambridgeshire,  and  Airs 
and  Graces  was  the  tip,  but 
Lexicon  most  unexpectedly  won 
the  race,  from  which  the  only 
thing  to  be  inferred  is  that  he  likes 
v  uphill  work  and  has  improved. 
Liverpool  November  Meeting. 
—  The  war  was  a  factor  in  connec- 
tion with  this  meeting,  Liverpool 
being  the  centre  of  the  transport 
arrangements  and  many  were  far 
too  busy  to  go  racing.  Then 
whole  families  are  affected  by  the 
casualties,  and  this  was  seen  in 
the  county  stand.  I  do  not  remem- 
ber seeing  so  few  people  at  any 


previous  anniversary  of  this  meet- 
ing.     The   sport    was    enjoyable 
from  its  usual  variety,  every  class 
of  racing  being  represented,  and  a 
welcome  relief   indeed  was  it  to 
witness  the  Great  Sefton  Steeple- 
chase in  the  midst  of  five  and  six 
furlong  races  which,  at  Liverpool, 
depend  so  much  on  the  start.    I 
venture  to  place  this  steeplechase 
first   in  point  of  interest,  Liver- 
pool's eminence  in  the  Turf  world 
being     due    to    its     steeplechase 
course,  which  is  as  satisfactory  as 
the  flat-race  course  is  the  reverse. 
If  we  do  not  see  good  chasers  at 
Liverpool    we    do  not  see  them 
anywhere.    Some  very  useful  ones 
were  seen  out,  Drogheda  at  the 
head    of     them,     and    a    capital 
demonstration  of  power  he  was. 
One  cannot  rely  upon  horses  that 
are  likely  to  have  a  chance  for  the 
Grand  National  being  fully  wound 
up  in   November,   and  sufficient 
reason  was  supplied  by  the  way 
Drogheda  ran  to  assume  that  he 
can  be  made  much  fitter.    He  had 
as  good  a   chance  as    anything, 
three  furlongs  from  the  finish,  but 
he     tired    and    Julia,    who  had 
always     been     prominent,     went 
away  with  a  long  lead.     Waiting 
behind    all    the    time    had   been 
Hidden    Mystery,   however,  and 
he    came  with  a  rush  such  as  is 
very  rarely   indeed   witnessed  at 
the  end  of  a  three-miles1  steeple- 
chase.    Hidden  Mystery,  a  five- 
year-old,  by  Ascetic  out  of  Secret, 
is  trained  by  Sir  Charles  Nugent, 
and  was  ridden  by  Mr.  Nugent. 
His    previous    exploits    for    the 
most  part  have  been  confined  to 
Ireland. 

"  A  Grand  National  thrown 
away,"  was  the  general  remark; 
but  for  my  part  I  think  Colonel 
Gallwey  a  wise  man  to  win  when 
he  cin  and  chance  the  extra 
weight.  The  bottling  up  game 
when  played  with  horses  very 
frequently  comes  to  grief;  and  if 


1899-] 


"  OUR    VAN. 


*t 


433 


a  man  be  not  satisfied  with  win- 
ning the  Grand  Sefton,  he  does 
not  deserve  to  have  a  good  chaser. 
Hidden  Mystery  will  probably 
never  again  have  31  lbs.  of  Drog- 
heda,  but,  at  his  age,  he  has  plenty 
of  time  before  him  in  which  to 
win  a  Grand  National.  He  is 
certain  to  improve,  and  a  few 
pounds  do  not  stop  a  good  one,  of 
which  let  Manifesto  bear  witness. 

One  very  decided  feature  of  the 
meeting  was  the  superior  sport 
provided  by  the  distance  races, 
which,  with  few  exceptions,  pro- 
duced close  finishes  —  some  of 
them  very  close  indeed.  Nothing 
finer  in  the  way  of  sport  has  been 
seen  than  the  dead  heat  for  the 
Wavertree  Welter  Plate,  nine 
furlongs,  between  Hear  wood  (L. 
Reiff  up)  and  Victor  Don  (Mr.  J. 
Thursby  up),  and  the  decider. 
L.  Reiff  showed  on  several  occa- 
sions that  he  did  not  understand 
the  course,  and  on  a  straight 
course  would  probably  have  won 
three  or  four  more  races  than  he 
did.  In  the  deciding  heat  Mr. 
Thursby,  by  a  sudden  spurt, 
poached  a  lead  of  some  eight 
lengths  with  only  half-a-mile  to 
go.  Reiff  got  his  mount  up  close 
home  and  three  strides  from  the 
chair  a  second  dead  heat  appeared 
imminent,  but  Victor  Don  got  the 
race  by  a  short  head. 

The  finish  for  the  Autumn  Cup 
was  a  close  one,  and  though 
Kempton  Cannon  did  as  well  as  he 
has  ever  done  before  in  winning 
with  Chubb,  this  time  weighted 
with,  it  was  impossible  not  to 
concede  that  could  Charina,  who 
finished  at  a  great  pace,  have 
been  got  through  earlier,  she  must 
have  won.  This  was  another 
of  L.  Reiff s  unlucky  mounts. 
Charina  is  one  of  the  difficult  ones 
to  get  to  start,  but  she  must  win 
a  good  race  or  two  in  time. 

The  Liverpool  Stewards  in- 
augurated some  severe  measures 


in  the  case  of  jockeys  who  were 
slow  in  mounting  and  going  out  ot 
the  paddock.  On  Friday  five  were 
fined  £5  each  and  on  Saturday 
L.  Reiff,  one  of  the  five,  was  fined 
^"25  more,  for  the  same  reason. 
That  time  is  cut  to  waste  at  race 
meetings  all  who  attend  them  are 
made  aware,  to  their  great  incon- 
venience, but  the  public,  I  fancy, 
did  not  suspect  that  the  dila- 
toriness  of  jockeys  in  mounting 
was  the  cause  of  it.  The  Liver- 
pool stewards,  however,  knew  a 
little  more  than  most  people. 
Naturally,  I  am  all  for  punctu- 
ality and  for  keeping  jockeys  in 
their  places,  but  I  think  that,  if 
matters  are  to  be  conducted  with 
the  strictness  suggested  by  the 
action  of  the  Liverpool  stewards, 
there  should  be  a  recognised 
signal  for  jockeys  to  mount.  That 
old  institution,  the  saddling  bell, 
seems  to  be  about  as  efficient  a 
medium  as  can  be  employed. 

Death  of  James  Jewitt. — On 
November  nth,  a  man  who  had 
been  one  of  the  most  successful 
trainers  of  the  day,  passed  away 
at  the  early  age  of  44,  in  James 
Jewitt.  The  mental  affliction 
which  attacked  him  not  long 
since  filled  the  racing  world  with 
wonder,  and  it  was  subsequently 
known  that  his  case  was  hope- 
less. Jewitt  began  life  in  Charles 
Blanton's  stable  at  Newmarket 
in  1856,  when  n  years  of  age, 
riding  his  first  race  two  years 
later.  The  next  year  he  won  the 
Great  Eastern  Handicap  on  True 
Blue  and  in  the  same  year  the 
Newcastle  Stakes  at  Newmarket, 
which  successes  were  followed  up 
in  1870  with  the  Newmarket 
Handicap  and  the  Lewes  Handi- 
cap. But  in  August  that  year  he 
had  his  left  leg  broken  at  Windsor 
by  a  kick  at  the  post  and  he  was 
necessarily  long  on  the  shelf.  In 
1873,  however,  he  won  the  Great 
Cheshire  Stakes  on  Bertram,  and 


434 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[December 


in  1874  the  Chesterfield  Stakes 
on  Balfe.  Getting  too  heavy  for 
flat  racing  Jewitt  took  charge  of 
Captain  Machell's  steeplechasers 
in  1875  at  Kentford.  He  soon 
scored  by  winning  the  Grand 
National  Hurdle  Race  at  Croydon 
on  Chandos;  but  in  the  Grand 
National  the  next  year  Chandos 
fell.  The  winner,  Regal,  was, 
however,  trained  by  Jewitt.  He 
also  trained  Seaman,  who  won  in 
1882.  He  also  had  the  celebrated 
Seabreeze  and  Kilwarlin ;  likewise 
Harvester,  who  dead  heated  St. 
Gatien  in  the  Derby,  Crafton, 
Sweetbread,  Elzevir,  Shillelagh 
and  Trayles.  Bedford  Cottage 
he  became  connected  with  in 
1880,  and  as  is  well  known,  when 
his  illness  overtook  him  he  had 
the  horses  of  Captain  Machell  and 
Mr.  McCalmont  in  his  charge. 
His  duties  for  Mr.  McCalmont 
placed  the  incomparable  Isinglass 
in  his  hands,  and  had  he  trained 
nothing  else  this  horse  would 
have  handed  his  name  down  to 
posterity.  A  man  of  his  un- 
doubted ability  cannot  be  but 
sadly  missed  and,  like  the  majority 
of  Newmarket  trainers,  he  was 
both  amiable  and  hospitable. 

Hunting— The  Opening  of  the 
Regular  Season. — After  a  cub- 
hunting  season  which  has  not  been 
without  its  difficulties,  and  which 
will  be  remembered  in  many 
stables  by  the  presence  of  lame 
horses,  the  season  has  begun  well. 
The  ground  has  been  softened 
by  abundant  and  timely  rain,  and 
heavy  gales  have  swept  the  leaves 
off  the  trees  and  made  the  fences 
fairly  open.  Many  countries,  not- 
ably three,  the  Quorn,  the  Pytch- 
ley,  and  the  South  Cheshire, 
have  opened  the  season  with 
runs  of  more  than  average  excel- 
lence and  from  all  sides  there  is 
a  fair  amount  of  sport.  It  looks 
very  much  as  if  this  was  to  be 
a   good    scenting   season.     Some 


countries  have  more  foxes  than 
ever,  and  it  is  well  to  recollect 
that,  in  this  matter,  we  are  better 
off  than  our  forefathers.  When 
we  remember  that,  previous  to 
1835,  the  Badminton  and  Hey- 
throp  countries  between  them 
could  only  afford  sport  for  one 
pack  of  hounds,  and  that  now  the 
same  extent  of  ground  gives  nine 
days'  hunting  every  week  of  the 
season,  we  shall  be  able  to  gather 
how  much  better  foxes  are  pre- 
served than  they  used  to  be.  In 
most  places,  this  season,  there  are 
more  foxes  and  less  mange  than 
for  some  years  past  has  been  the 
case. 

The  Quorn. — The  Kirby  Gate 
assemblage  on  the  first  Monday 
in  November  was  a  very  large 
one.  To  say  that  there  were  more 
or  fewer  people  present  than  on 
past  occasions  is  beyond  my 
power.  At  all  events,  there  were 
enough,  from  a  hunting  point  of 
view,  to  make  the  annual  pageant 
to  which  Leicestershire  looks  for- 
ward. There  is  no  doubt  that 
Kirby,  with  its  magnificent  show 
of  horses  and  its  crowd  of  rank, 
beauty  and  fashion  assembled 
there,  is  an  element  in  the  popu- 
larity of  hunting  in  the  Midlands. 
The  gathering  at  the  meet  is  one 
part  of  the  show,  another  is  to  see 
a  fox  found  in  Gartree  Hill 
coverts.  There  is  here  a  conve- 
nient ridge,  on  which  foot  people 
can  stand  and  see  all  there  is  to 
see  of  finding  a  fox.  Yet,  if  hounds 
can  drive  their  fox  out  on  the 
Burton  side  they  can  get  away, 
for  the  crowd  is  far  enough  off  on 
the  hill-top  not  to  interfere,  and 
there  is  a  gate  at  which  the 
master  can  stem  the  rush  of  the 
mounted  portion  of  the  field.  The 
fox  chose  the  right  end,  being,  as 
the  result  showed,  a  Belvoir  fox 
on  a  visit  to  friends  in  the  Quorn. 
I  say  the  fox,  but  there  were 
three,  and  Keyte  had  not  all  his 


1899] 


"OUR    VAN. 


M 


435 


hounds  when  he  started.  But  a 
Quorn  huntsman  on  a  Kirby  Gate 
day  must  do  not  what  he  will  but 
what  he  can,  and  while  the  master 
held  the  field  at  the  gate  afore- 
said, Keyte  got  the  pack  settled. 
There  was  a  rush,  and  then  the 
field  began  to  tail  from  Gartree 
Hill  to  Burton  Hall.  The  pace 
was  good,  but  when  hounds  swung 
round  towards  Melton  the  fox 
knew  what  he  was  about,  for  in 
the  suburbs  he  roused  a  dust-bin 
haunter  and  tried  to  shift  the 
bnrden  on  his  back,  but  the  hounds 
were  too  many  for  him.  Some, 
indeed,  wavered,  and  went  off  on 
the  new  scent,  and  were  for  a 
time  lost  to  us ;  but  others  stuck 
to  their  hunted  fox,  and  when  the 
hunt  got  clear  of  Melton  by 
Craven  Lodge  (Mr.  E.  H.  Bal- 
dock's),  they  had  the  fox  before 
them  with  which  they  started. 
After  this  the  pace  was  not  so 
fast,  and  the  whipper-in  was  able 
to  bring  up  the  rest  of  the  pack 
near  Melton  Spinney.  The  fox 
probably  meant  Croxton  Park,  but 
the  pace  at  first  had  burst  him, 
and  his  strength  failed  at  Freeby 
Wood.  It  was  a  beaten  fox  that 
crawled  along  the  edge  of  the 
wood  and  turned  away  from  the 
covert  to  die  gallantly  in  the  open. 
A  very  good  run,  no  change,  a 
six- mile  point,  and  done  in  fifty- 
five  minutes. 

The  Pytohley. —  Exactly  the 
same  length  was  the  run  on  the 
Pytchley  Wednesday  from  North 
Kil worth.  In  this  case,  too,  the 
fox  was  a  stranger  to  the  country 
he  was  found  in,  being,  one  would 
suppose  from  the  line  he  took,  a 
native  of  Gilmorton  or  Peatling. 
He  was  found  in  the  sticks,  and 
the  holloa  brought  hounds  out 
quickly.  So  sharp  was  the  start 
that  the  fox  was  driven  some  dis- 
tance towards  Misterton,  before  he 
could  turn  and  cross  the  border 
into    Mr.     Fernie's     country    by 


Walton.  He  was  then  so  little 
ahead  that  he  was  viewed  by  Mr. 
Beatty  going  apparently  for  Jane 
Ball.  The  turns  favoured  some 
people,  but  Lord  Annaly  and  Mr. 
Beatty  had  had  the  best  of  it  so 
far;  when,  a  few  minutes  later, 
hounds  turned  away  from  Jane 
Ball  and  began  to  run  over  the 
familiar  Monday  country,  every- 
one was  able  to  spread  out  and 
gallop  and  jump,  for  though  stiff, 
the  country  here  is  everywhere 
open  to  a  fairly  bold  horse.  But 
hounds  had  now  been  going  for 
some  forty  minutes,  and  the  heavy 
weights  began  to  drop  back  and 
the  light  weights  to  go  to  the  front, 
including  Mrs.  Walter  Buckmas- 
ter,  Miss  Dawkins  and  Mrs.  Ken- 
nard,  the  latter  knowing  every 
yard  of  this  country.  It  was  a 
little  disappointing  to  lose  the  fox 
among  some  farm  buildings  at 
Peatling  after  all. 

The  Belvoir  Hounds.— So  far 
these  hounds  have  not  had  the 
best  of  the  luck.  Scent  has  been 
poor,  as  a  rule,  and  the  Leicester- 
shire foxes  have  been  compara- 
tively little  disturbed  so  far.  The 
Croxton  Park  day  was  too  windy 
for  sport — with  the  exception  of 
one  headlong  swing  for  about  a 
mile  or  so  after  an  outlying  fox 
into  Freeby  Wood. 

The  Cottesmore  at  Tilton. — 

Second  only  in  importance  to 
Kirby  Gate,  the  first  Leicester- 
shire meet  of  the  Cottesmore  is 
eagerly  looked  forward  to  and 
largely  attended.  Those  who 
journey  thither  are,  however, 
nearly  all  bent  on  sport,  the 
situation  of  Tilton  not  being  very 
suitable  for  sightseers.  If  a  fox 
leaves  Tilton  Wood  on  the  Skef- 
fington  side,  and  they  generally  do 
so,  no  one  but  those  who  are 
mounted  well  will  see  much  of  the 
fun,  and  carriage  or  bicycle  folk 
are  quite  out  of  it.  The  writer 
can   testify,  from  personal  expe- 


43$ 


BA1LY  S    MAGAZINE. 


IDRCF.MBKR 


rience,  that  Tilton  is  a  very  easy 
place  to  be  left  behind  in,  and 
accordingly  on  the  first  Tuesday 
in  November,  when  the  pack 
came  out  of  Tilton,  or  rather  the 
upper  part  of  Skeffington  Wood, 
with  their  fox,  there  were  but  five 
horsemen  with  the  hounds,  and  of 
these  five  Gillson  and  his  whipper- 
in  were  two.  The  fox  was  a  good 
one,  or  was  so  driven  by  the 
hounds  as  to  have  no  chance  to 
turn,  running  first  over  a  rough 
bit  of  country  to  the  Skeffington 
Road.  Hounds  swung  over  the 
road  with  little  hesitation,  and  ran 
on  towards  Rolleston.  As  soon, 
however,  as  the  fox  had  a  chance 
he  swung  back,  and  running 
homewards,  was  viewed  and  killed 
in  Tilton  Wood.  The  map  will 
show  the  distance  as  short,  but 
what  the  map  does  not  show  is 
that  the  grass  was  perfect,  the 
fences  possible,  though  stiff,  and 
the  going  as  good  as  could  be. 

Lord  Harrington's  Hounds  — 
So  good  a  servant  as  J.  Brown 
could  not  be  allowed  to  leave 
without  some  parting  gift  to  ex- 
press the  feeling  of  the  hunt. 
Brown  has  gone  as  huntsman  to 
the  Warwickshire,  a  difficult  and 
honourable  post.  Lord  Harring- 
ton, on  behalf  of  the  subscribers, 
presented  Brown  with  a  silver 
horn  and  a  cheque  for  ^300,  and 
gave  some  capital  advice.  To 
keep  his  temper  is  sometimes  a 
difficult  task  for  a  huntsman,  but 
it  is  always  a  necessary  one,  and 
the  example  of  that  master  of 
hounds  is  to  be  avoided  who  was 
said  to  spend  the  week  in  swear- 
ing at  his  field,  and  Sunday  in 
writing  letters  of  apology.  Lord 
Harrington  afterwards  drew  the 
coverts  round  Mr.  Millington 
Knowles'  place,  at  Colston  Bassett, 
and  found  plenty  of  foxes.  One 
good  one  gave  a  smart  gallop  to 
Outhorpe  and  back.  By  the  way, 
Mr.  Knowles  is  a  covert  owner  in 


three  hunts,  the  Quorn,  the  Bel- 
voir,  and  South  Notts. 

The  Rufford  had  but  mode- 
rate scent  on  their  opening  day, 
but  a  lawn  meet  at  Rufford  Abbey 
is  always  worth  seeing,  and  Mr. 
Lancelot  Rolleston  is  a  master 
of  many  years'  standing.  He  was, 
I  believe,  master  of  the  drag  at 
Oxford,  and  has  been  hunting 
hounds  ever  since,  some  twenty 
years  or  more.  He  has  had  a 
good  cubhunting  season,  and  as 
there  is  not  much  wire  and  many 
foxes,  should  do  well  in  the  coming 
season. 

The  Shropshire. — One  of  the 
very  best  runs  of  the  past  month 
has  been  that  of  the  Shropshire 
Hounds,  hunted  by  Mr.  Rowland 
Hunt.  Ran  hard  for  an  hour  and 
thirty-five  minutes.  The  pace  was 
tremendous,  and  a  dead-beaten 
fox  just  saved  his  brush.  Of  the 
large  field,  but  seven,  including 
the  master,  saw  the  run.  Shrop- 
shire is  always  a  better  country  for 
hounds  than  horses,  and  the  dis- 
trict over  which  this  run  took 
place  is  stiff  and  trappy,  and  there 
is  still  a  certain  amount  of  wire. 
Only  the  stoutest  horses  and  those 
in  good  condition  can  see  hounds 
when  they  really  run.  Sir  Waller 
S  my  the  has  a  covert  in  this  hunt, 
and  it  goes  without  saying  that 
there  are  always  foxes  in  his 
coverts  and  no  wire  on  his  es- 
tate. 

The  Puckeridge. —  It  is  not 
country  that  brings  them,  it's  the 
hounds  and  the  men!  This, 
which  was  said  of  the  Belvoir  in 
Goodall's  days,  might  well  be 
said  of  the  Puckeridge  of  to-day. 
It  is  a  curious  fortune  that  makes 
one  pack  famous  with  a  country 
not,  perhaps,  remarkable  for 
scenting  qualities,  or  for  giving 
opportunities  for  riding.  The 
secret  of  the  attractive  power  of 
the  Puckeridge  is  soon  seen,  when 
one    looks    over    the    pack   and 


J 


w 


1899.1 


f< 


OUR   VAN. 


>t 


437 


realises  the  pains  that  have  been 
spent    in    breeding ;     still    more 
when  one  watches  tnem  go  away, 
and  sees  that  legs  and  feet,  necks 
and    shoulders,    have    not    been 
gained  at  the  expense  of  nose  and 
tongue.     Some  of  the  Puckeridge 
woods  are  notorious  for  bad  scent- 
ing places,  and  all  have  plenty  of 
covert,  so  that  it  is  necessary  for 
hounds  to   let   one  know  where 
they  are.     Good  all-round  sport 
has    fallen    to    the  lot  of   these 
hounds,    and    the    master,    Mr. 
Barclay,  may  well    congratulate 
himself  on  the  nice    gallops    his 
pack  have  had.     We  understand 
he  has  taken    a  very  wise  step, 
though  perhaps  strong  in  the  eyes 
of  some  people,  in  sending  out  a 
circular  letter  to  all   the  covert 
owners  and  keepers  in  the  limits 
of  his  hunt  asking  them  to  oblige 
him  by  keeping  their  earths  per- 
manently blocked  throughout  the 
season,   at    the    same   time  inti- 
mating that  the  usual  fees  would 
be    paid    to    the     earth-stoppers 
just  the  same.     This  was  done  to 
make  sure  of  stamping  out   any 
mange  there  might  be  left  in  the 
country  by  keeping  all  the  foxes 
above  ground,  and  with  this  we 
entirely  agree. 

The  North  Cheshire.— There  is 
no  county  in  England  where  fox- 
hunting is  dearer  to  the  residents 
than  Cheshire,  nowhere  perhaps 
where  it  is  more  enjoyable,  save 
in  very  wet  weather,  when  the 
ground  rides  very  deep. 

Lord  Enniskillen  was  rather  for- 
tunate in  his  choice  of  Church  Min- 
shull — a  rather  rough  district  (for 
Cheshire) — but  carrying  a  good 
scent,  as  a  rule,  to  finish  the  cub- 
bing at.  This  is  an  ideal  country  for 
cubhunting,  not  quite  so  popular  in 
the  season.  At  any  moment  you 
may  be  stopped  by  the  Weaver, 
a  stream  which  can  only  be 
forded,  and  which  is  never  very 
easy  to  cross,  running  as  it  does  be- 


tween deep  and  rugged  banks,  and 
comes  too  often  in  the  path  of  the 
stranger.     On  October   21st,  the 
day  being  Saturday,  and  Church 
Minshull   being   fairly   accessible 
for  Manchester  and  Liverpool  men, 
there  were  a  good  many  people  at 
the  fixture.     The  first  part  of  the 
day    was    cubhunting    pure    and 
simple,   but   when    hounds  came 
to  the  covert  below   the  Davey 
Institute,  I  imagine  the  word  had 
been  given  to  Gosden  to  slip  the 
pack,  for  those  in  the  know  began 
to  throw  away  cigars  and  settle 
themselves    for     business.      The 
covert  carried   a   good   scent,   to 
judge  by  the  eager  chorus  which 
came    almost    as    an    answer    to 
Fred  Gosden* s  cheer,  and  but  a 
few      moments     elapsed      before 
a     beautiful     cub     went     away. 
Gosden   does  not  need  what    an 
old    Lancashire    friend    of    mine 
used    to    call    Dr.    Speediman's 
pills    when    getting    away    from 
covert,  and  consequently  hounds 
were    near   enough   to   their   fox 
to  drive   him    into    and    through 
Aston    coverts.      Down    by    the 
Weaver,  but   not  across  it,  they 
ran  in  a  way  that  made  us  forget 
that  it   was  not   December,  and 
that  leaf  was  still  on  the  hedges. 
What  matter,  a  horse  is  less  likely 
to  chance  his  fences  if  he  cannot 
see  through  them.     By  a  railway 
station   he   turned,   and  went   to 
ground  in  a  culvert.     Just  twenty 
minutes,  but  quite   far    and  fast 
enough  for  October  horses,  and  so 
home  while  the  merry  chorus  of 
the     hounds    echoed    round    the 
pretty  Minshull  coverts. 

The  North  Staffordshire  — 
All  the  conditions  of  hunting  in 
Cheshire  are  reproduced  in  the 
country  which  the  Duke  of  Suther- 
land has  ruled  successfully  for 
twenty-four  seasons.  Dairy  farm- 
ing is  the  prevailing  form  of  agri- 
culture, and  the  grass  has  steadily 
invaded  the  plough  for   the   last 


438 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[December 


twenty  years.  Having  plenty  of 
woodland,  the  foxes  are  stout. 
The  Duke  often  carries  the  horn 
himself,  and  so  far  has  been  very 
successful  in  showing  sport,  per- 
haps his  best  day  being  a  run  of 
an  hour  and  fifty  minutes  from 
Winnington  Withy  beds.  The 
hounds  have  much  of  the  old 
Blankney  blood  in  them,  as  well 
as  a  strong  infusion  of  Brocklesby 
strains,  and  they  have  all  the 
substance  which  is  needed.  Wil- 
liam Boxall,  the  Duke's  hunts- 
man, is  deservedly  esteemed,  both 
for  skill  in  the  field  and  the 
scarcely  less  important  matter  of 
condition  as  the  result  of  sound 
kennel  management. 

South  Staffordshire  Hunt- 
November  4th  saw  a  large  as- 
semblage at  Elmhurst  Hall,  the 
residence  of  the  hon.  secretary, 
Colonel  Wilkinson,  to  present  a 
wedding  gift  from  the  members 
of  the  hunt  to  Sir  Charles 
Forster,  on  his  approaching  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Palmer.  The 
present  took  the  form  of  a  gold 
cup  weighing  23  ozs.  on  a  silver- 
gilt  pedestal,  a  silver  cigar  case 
and  an  illuminated  address  ;  while 
the  farmers  of  the  hunt,  through 
Mr.  Keen,  presented  a  silver- 
mounted  whip.  The  members' 
gift  was  presented  by  Mr.  Manley, 
of  Manley  Hall,  who  has  hunted 
in  the  country  for  sixty  -  four 
years,  and  was  acknowledged  by 
Sir  Charles  in  a  graceful  and 
feeling  speech,  in  course  of  which 
he  gratefully  referred  to  the  kindly 
assistance  that  has  been  accorded 
by  landowners,  farmers  and  field 
alike  during  the  fourteen  years 
of  his  mastership.  He  also  ac- 
knowledged the  great  assistance 
his  brother,  Mr.  F.  V.  Forster, 
who  shares  with  him  the  duties 
of  office,  had  rendered  in  the 
management  of  the  hunt  affairs. 
A  very  pleasant  and  successful 
function      being      over,      hounds 


were  thrown  into  covert  and 
found  a  fox  which  gave  a  clinking 
run  to  within  a  mile  of  the  spot 
where  the  Meynell  met  that 
morning. 

The  Suffolk. — This  is  a  coun- 
try which  has  a  double  interest  for 
all  hunting  men,  first  as  a  country 
where  foxhunting  still  survives 
in  spite  of  many  difficulties,  and 
then  as  the  pack  with  which  the  son 
of  a  famous  huntsman  is  to  carry 
the  horn  for  the  first  time.  Every 
hunting  man  will  follow  with  in- 
terest the  fortunes  of  young  Frank 
Gillard,  and  wish  him  well,  if 
only  for  the  sake  of  the  name  he 
bears.  Suffolk,  which  was  said 
to  be  the  best  plough  country  in 
England  by  no  less  an  authority 
than  Mr.  Osbaldeston  himself,  is 
a  first-rate  one  to  learn  to  hunt 
hounds.  Foxes  are  not  too  plen- 
tiful, and  the  huntsman  must 
hunt  the  fox  he  finds,  for  there  is 
no  casting  at  a  gallop  three  or 
four  miles  on  to  pick  up  another. 
Scent  is  not  too  good,  and  a 
huntsman  must  learn  to  trust 
hounds  and  teach  them  to  trust 
him.  It  is  probable  that  early 
schooling  in  such  a  country  is 
invaluable  to'  a  huntsman,  and 
we  may  refer  to  the  large  number 
of  first-rate  huntsmen  who  have 
been  trained  in  Essex  and 
Suffolk. 

The  Bicester. — Mr.  Heywood 
Lonsdale  prolonged  his  cubhunt- 
ing  until  the  second  week  in  No- 
vember, having  so  many  strong- 
holds in  his  vast  territories  which 
had  not  been  disturbed  at  that 
time.  The  Bicester  country,  how- 
ever, can  boast  of  good  spoit, 
whether  it  be  during  the  educa- 
tion of  the  cubs  or  when  attention 
is  turned  to  the  older  members, 
and  so  the  closing  days  of  the 
autumn  session  were  marked  by 
many  a  cheery  gallop  which  would 
have  been  no  discredit  to  mid- 
winter.    October  hunting  was  ter- 


1899.J 


"OUR   VAN. 


»» 


439 


minated  by  a  hard  morning 
for  hounds  and  horses  at  Hog- 
shaw,  after  which  Mr.  Lonsdale 
decided  that  hounds  should  not  go 
out  again  until  rain  came,  and 
it  was  not  until  November  2nd 
that  they  made  their  first  appear- 
ance on  the  Aylesbury  side  of  the 
country,  tested  the  resources  of 
the  far-famed  Mason's  Gorse  from 
the  time-honoured  fixture,  Wad- 
desdon  Cross  Roads,  and  despite 
the  fact  that  that  district  still 
required  a  great  deal  more  rain  to 
make  the  going  perfect,  the  men 
who  were  out  thoroughly  enjoyed 
the  sport  they  saw.  Getting  away 
from  the  covert  on  good  terms 
with  a  fox,  they  raced  him  over 
the  well-known  Black  grove  Double 
to  Lionel  Gorse  in  the  Whaddon 
country,  and  after  one  short  circle 
in  the  valley  below  Hoi  born  Hill, 
hounds  ran  into  him  close  to 
Mr.  H.  Brashier's  Farm.  Finding 
again  in  Mr.  J.  W.  King's  Double, 
the  hunt  went  fast  back  to 
Mason's  Gorse  to  kill  within  a 
field  beyond  the  covert ;  but  then 
there  is  an  old  saying  in  fox- 
hunting that  it  is  the  first  ten 
minutes  which  kills,  and  the  first 
few  minutes  were  made  so  warm 
for  this  customer,  through  the  in- 
tervention of  a  horseman  who 
galloped  him  the  moment  he  left 
his  kennel,  that  there  is  no  doubt 
he  took  all  the  heart  out  of  him. 
The  third  fox  was  found  in  Mr. 
Terry's  Double,  but  he  succeeded 
in  beating  hounds  after  a  brief 
interval,  during  which  he  had 
nevertheless  piloted  their  followers 
by  Berryfield  to  Quarendon  and 
Clarke's  Brake  to  the  Lillies  at 
Weadon. 

On  Monday,  November  6th, 
from  Charndon  Common  a  really 
first-class  hunt  was  worked  out, 
and  more  than  once  from  here 
have  we  been  furnished  with 
pleasing  detail  for  these  notes, 
yet   never  have  we  seen  hounds 


perform  their  part  of  the  contract 
in  better  form  than  on  this  occa- 
sion, as  they  showed  this  fox  by 
their  determination  that  he  must 
leave  the  fastnesses  of  these  wood- 
lands, and  then  having  forced 
him  into  the  open,  literally  raced 
him  down  ;  leaving  their  followers 
coming  in  one  long  line  over  the 
difficult  strip  of  country,  they 
crossed  by  Grendon  Wood  to 
Ham  Wood  and  Collick,  and  just 
as  it  had  been  determined  that 
the  Lodge  Hill  coverts  were  their 
goal,  they  swung  round  left- 
handed  to  Lee  and  Doxershall 
and  pulled  their  fox  down  on  the 
very  outskirts  of  the  big  wood- 
lands. November  9th,  from  Chil- 
ton, was  another  day  which  will 
be  marked  in  red  in  the  hunt 
annals,  for  a  Notley  fox  set  the 
ball  rolling  and  a  beautiful  country 
was  crossed  to  Tettishall  Wood, 
it  being  late  in  the  afternoon 
when  the  hunt  were  reported  as 
touching  Lee  and  Quainton. 

The  Whaddon  Chase.— The 
month  of  October  finished  in  the 
Whaddon  country  with  a  meet 
at  Mr.  L.  de  Rothschild's  house 
at  Ascot t,  where  the  day  was 
inaugurated  •  by  the  usual  hospit- 
able entertainment  before  a  move 
was  made  to  the  famous  covert 
named  after  that  fine  sportsman, 
the  late  Hon.  Robert  Grimston. 
There,  to  the  delight  of  everyone, 
and  to  none  more  than  to  Mr. 
L.  de  Rothschild,  a  fox  was  found 
at  once,  and  a  brilliant  charge 
followed  to  Southcourt  and  Lis- 
combe  Park,  thence  to  the  left  by 
Burcott  and  Wing  to  Mentmore, 
the  farthest  easterly  point  of  the 
gallop,  for  bearing  back  to  the 
left,  parallel  to  the  L.N.W.  Rail- 
way, the  hunt  had  nearly  reached 
Linslade  when  an  open  drain 
saved  their  fox's  brush.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  it  was  a  fresh 
one  which  left  this  stronghold  in 
response  to  the  persuasions  of  the 


44© 


BAILY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[December 


fox  terrier  inserted  into  his  retreat, 
and,  barely  escaping  with  his  life, 
he  led  the  hunt  at  a  good  pace 
back  to  A  scot  t,  thence  over  Mr. 
Prentice's  Farm  to  Liscombe, 
before  he  shook  off  his  pursuers. 

The  opening  meet  on  November 
7th  was  Hoggeston  Guide  Post, 
the  Creslow  foxes  the  authors  of 
the  sport  a  large  field  enjoyed; 
for  after  chopping  one  there, 
hounds  ran  another  briskly  across 
the  Great  Grounds  over  the  brook 
to  Cublington,  before  they  suc- 
ceeded in  pulling  him  down  in  the 
valley  under  Littlecot.  Returning 
to  Creslow  a  badger  was  accounted 
for,  and  then  from  Mr.  Guy's 
Thorns  hounds  ran  up  the  valley 
to  Christmas  Gorse,  and  after 
some  time  forced  a  fox  away  again 
to  Mains  Hill  and  Hoggeston, 
finally  marking  him  to  ground  at 
Creslow.  The  best  day  so  far,  how- 
ever, came  with  November  14th, 
when  Cublington  was  the  fixture, 
for  going  on  to  Aston  Abbotts 
they  found  at  once,  raced  across 
to  Norduck,  and  checking  there 
lost  some  time,  so  that  the  middle 
portion  of  the  run  was  not  so  fast, 
as  they  hunted  on  over  the  Cubling- 
ton Road  to  West  Park  Farm,  and 
having  touched  Wingbury  and 
Mentmore  Cross  Roads  turned 
back  into  Ascott.  At  that  point 
they  got  on  better  terms  with  their 
fox  and  the  pace  improved  to 
Liscombe  and  Soulbury,  but  be- 
yond Hollingdon  they  came  to 
slower  hunting  across  Dorcas  to 
Villiers  Gorse,  losing  their  fox 
between  that  covert  and  Newton- 
Long  ville.  Found  again  in  High- 
havens,  and  with  seven  and  a-half 
couples  of  hounds  the  hunt  raced 
over  the  Swanborne  valley,  turned 
back  to  Hoggeston  and  Dunton, 
and  romped  gaily  across  the  next 
bottom  to  Cublington  and  Stewk- 
ley  Warren,  from  which  a  slight 
detour  to  Tinkershole  and  Burcott 
led  on  to  Ascott,  where,  although 


dead  beaten   in    front  of   them, 
their  fox  succeeded  in  escaping. 
Lord  Rothschild's  Staghonnds. 

— This  pack  commenced  their  sea- 
son in  the  Vale  of  Aylesbury  in  a 
very  auspicious  manner  on  Mon- 
day, November  13th,  when  Ment- 
more Cross  Roads  was  the  fixture. 
There  was  only  a  small  muster  of 
thrusters  to  accompany  hounds  on 
to  Wingrave,  where  Mr.  Leopold 
de  Rothschild  had  already  super- 
intended the  uncarting  of  his  deer, 
and  hounds  being  laid  on  raced 
away  to  Hulcot  Trunk  Bridge, 
left  four  or  five  horses  in  the 
brook  as  they  swept  on  to  Bierton, 
and  crossing  the  L.N.W.  Railway 
assailed  a  stiffly  fenced  district 
between  the  Canal  and  Aston 
Clinton.  Up  to  that  point  the 
pace  had  been  good  and  the  line  of 
horsemen  extended  some  distance, 
as  bearing  to  the  right  hounds 
reached  Aylesbury,  coasted  round 
the  town  and  set  their  heads  over 
some  of  the  choicest  pastures  of 
the  Vale  as  they  drove  forward  to 
Weedon  Lodge  and  Hardwicke. 
Whitchurch  on  the  hill  beyond, 
was  just  touched  ere  the  hunt  bore 
away  to  the  right  again  and  cross- 
ing the  Hurtwell  Hill  and  Dunton 
grassland  retook  their  deer  at 
Littlecot.  The  season  in  the  hill 
country  during  the  past  month  has 
been  particularly  good,  each  day 
hounds  have  been  out  has  been 
marked  by  an  excellent  gallop, 
while  on  November  9th,  from  Ash- 
ridge  Monument  it  was  brought 
to  a  close  by  one  of  exceptional 
calibre,  very  few  men  staying  to 
witness  the  recapture  of  the 
quarry  at  Redbourne,  hounds  not 
reaching  kennel  until  after  eight 
o'clock  at  night. 

The  Beginning  of  the  Season  in 
Yorkshire. — The  hunting  season 
of  1899- 1900  has  commenced  more 
auspiciously  in  Yorkshire  than 
has  any  of  the  last  two  or  three 
seasons.     Not  that  everything  is 


i89*] 


cc 


OUR   VAN. 


»» 


44I 


coulmr  de  rose,  but  there  is  a  marked 
improvement.  In  the  first  place, 
there  is  a  better  show  of  foxes, 
and  though  mange  is  undoubtedly 
still  to  be  found  it  is  by  no  means 
so  virulent  in  character  as  it  was 
a  few  years  ago.  In  some  places, 
it  is  true,  there  has  been  experi- 
enced a  scarcity  of  foxes,  which 
is  far  from  satisfactory,  but  on 
the  whole  there  seems  cause  for 
congratulation.  The  cubhunting, 
too,  has  been  favourable.  Hounds 
have  not  had  to  draw  for  hours 
before  they  found,  neither  have 
they  been  harassed  by  adamantine 
ground  and  tropical  heat.  The 
consequence  is  that  they  have 
killed  a  fair  number  of  cubs,  and 
as  the  cubhunting  is  the  making 
or  marring  of  the  season,  so  the 
present  season  may  be  said  to 
have  opened  with  fairly  brilliant 
prospects. 

The  Bramham  Moor. — The 
Bramham  Moor  had  on  the  whole 
a  very  favourable  cubbing  season, 
one  day  in  the  latter  end  of  which 
stands  out  as  a  good  one.  This 
was  on  October  25th,  when  they 
met  at  North  Deign  ton.  They 
found  their  first  fox  in  Deighton 
Spring,  and  after  running  hard  in 
covert  for  a  few  minutes,  they 
forced  him  out  into  the  open  and 
ran  fast  through  Deighton  Village 
and  on  to  Kirk  Deighton,  where 
they  checked.  Hitting  off  the 
line  again,  they  ran  nicely  down 
to  Stokeld  Park,  where  they  were 
stopped  as  some  shooting  was 
toward.  It  was  a  smart  twenty- 
five  minutes.  They  had  some 
covert  work  with  a  leash  of  cubs 
in  Cocked  Hat  Whin,  and  then 
came  the  run  of  the  day,  from 
that  well-known  covert,  the  Punch 
BowL  They  got  a  famous  start 
with  their  fox,  and  ran  him  at  top 
pace,  leaving  Kirkby  Overblow  on 
the  right,  over  Spofforth  Haggs, 
pointing  for  Parkinson's  Wood, 
which  they  skirted.    Here  a  brace 


of  foxes  were  in  front  of  them, 
and  they  probably  changed,  as 
hounds  divided.  Smith  soon  had 
them  together  again,  and  they 
ran  through  the  edge  of  the  Black 
Plantation  over  the  Haggs  Road 
and  on  to  the  Harrogate  and 
Wetherby  railway  close  to  the 
Follifoot  Tunnel,  where  they 
checked  at  the  end  of  a  brilliant 
twenty  minutes'  burst  over  grass. 
They  ran  on  past  Rudding  Park 
and  Follifoot  Village,  and  turned 
right  handed  again  over  the  rail- 
way at  a  nasty  cutting  where 
the  second  check  took  place.  A 
halloa  put  them  right  again,  and 
they  ran  over  the  Haggs  Road, 
but  time  had  been  lost  and  they 
were  brought  to  their  noses.  They 
hunted  on  steadily  nearly  to 
Cocked  Hat  Whin,  where  they 
turned  right  handed  by  Parkin- 
son's Wood  and  crossed  the  rail- 
way again  where  they  had  crossed 
at  first,  finally  losing  their  fox  at 
Rudding  Park. 

They  had  their  opening  day  at 
Stockeld  Park  on  Monday,  No- 
vember 6th,  but  save  that  they 
found  a  fine  show  of  foxes  and 
killed  a  brace  without  much 
running,  there  is  nothing  to  re- 
cord. 

The  York  and  Ainsty. — Like 
their  neighbours,  the  York  and 
Ainsty  had  a  fair  cubhunting 
season,  with  a  brilliant  gallop  quite 
at  the  end  of  it.  The  fixture 
was  Red  House,  the  date  October 
31st.  A  fox  in  Red  House  Wood 
found  refuge  in  a  rabbit  burrow 
at  once,  but  they  soon  found 
again  in  Rufforth  Whin,  and 
hunted  nicely  down  to  Poppleton, 
where  the  fox  turned  down  wind 
and  after  some  slow  hunting  was 
lost.  They  had  the  run  with  their 
afternoon  fox,  which  they  found 
in  Grange  Wood.  After  hunting 
slowly  down  to  Hagg  House,  the 
pace  improved  as  they  pointed 
for    the  kennels,   leaving  Acomb 


442 


baily's  magazine. 


[December 


Grange  on  the  left.  They  made 
a  sharp  turn  to  the  left  and  ran 
very  hard  to  Rufforth  Whin.  Here 
they  took  a  turn  or  two  round 
the  covert,  and  then  went  away, 
pointing  first  to  Knapton,  but  turn- 
ing to  the  left  they  ran  a  wide 
ring  by  Poppleton  round  to  Ruf- 
forth Whin  again.  The  fox  did 
not  dwell  long  in  covert,  and  the 
pace  was  faster  than  ever  as  they 
ran  over  the  Rufforth  Road  and 
skirted  Grange  Wood,  pointing 
for  Askham  Bryan.  Leaving 
the  village  on  the  left  they  turned 
left  handed,  leaving  Askham  Bogs 
on  the  right,  and  ran  down  to 
Dringhouses  Brickyard,  whence 
they  turned  away  to  the  kennels, 
close  to  which  they  killed,  after  a 
good  run  of  an  hour  and  a-half. 
It  was  a  ringing  run,  certainly, 
but  it  was  a  severe  one,  and  one 
good  hunter  broke  his  back  in  it. 

As  had  been  the  case  with  the 
Bramham  Moor,  the  York  and 
Ainsty  had  an  uneventful  opening 
day.  They  met  at  Wiggenton  Bar, 
and  had  one  short  hunting  run 
from  Rawcliffe  Whin  to  Hall 
Moor,  and  this  was  all  they  did, 
foxes  evidently  being  laid  out.  On 
the  following  day  they  met  at 
Nun  Appleton,  and  had  a  capital 
day's  sport.  They  did  not  do 
much  with  their  first  fox,  and 
found  a  second  in  Bolton  Percy 
Willow  Garth.  They  ran  hard 
in  the  direction  of  Nun  Appleton, 
and  then  turning  to  the  left 
they  ran  by  Appleton  Mill  and 
marked  their  fox  to  ground  at  the 
Grange  at  Appleton  Roebuck. 
Time :  eighteen  minutes.  Palle- 
thorpe  Whin  provided  another 
good  bold  fox,  who  went  away 
as  soon  as  hounds  entered  the 
covert.  Him  they  ran  hard  by 
Oxton,  the  Tadcaster  Road,  Bow 
Bridge  and  Pickering  Wood, 
marking  him  to  ground  near 
Steeton,  after  a  fast  twenty 
minutes.     Colton  Hagg  provided 


the  next  fox,  and  it  was  some 
time  before  he  could  be  got  out 
into  the  open.  Then  they  rattled 
away  gaily,  pointing  first  for 
Copmanthorpe  and  turning  to 
the  left,  they  left  Askham  Bogs 
on  the  right  and  crossed  the 
Askham  Road  to  the  Kennel 
Wood,  where  an  open  earth  saved 
the  fox  for  another  day.  It  was 
a  sharp  twenty-three  minutes,  and 
made  up  an  enjoyable  day. 

The  Sinnington.— Two  Thurs- 
days with  the  Sinnington  are 
worth  recording,  though  the  first 
was  a  moderate  one  till  the  even- 
ing run  redeemed  it.  On  Novem- 
ber i  st  they  met  at  Sinnington 
Village  to  open  the  season.  The 
early  part  of  the  day's  proceedings 
may  be  passed  over,  but  late  in 
the  afternoon  they  bolted  a  fox 
from  the  Normanby  drain  and 
ran  him  hard  over  Normanby  Hill 
and  through  Double  Dykes  and 
Colonel  Scoby's  plantation.  Then 
they  faced  as  fine  a  vale  country 
as  can  be  found  anywhere,  and 
ran  hard  by  Rook  bar  ugh  and 
up  to  Edstone.  Here  they  turned 
to  the  right  and  ran  down  to  the 
Kirby  Moorside  Road,  where  scent 
failed  them.  It  was  a  very  pretty 
twenty  minutes. 

On  the  following  Thursday  they 
met  at  Welburn  Hall,  and  had  a 
good  gallop  from  Muscoates 
Whin.  They  were  some  time 
before  a  fox  went  away,  but  when 
he  clid  go  he  faced  as  fine  a  line  of 
country  as  any  man  need  wish  to 
ride  over.  Over  the  Carrs  and 
across  the  river  Dove  hounds 
rattled  along  merrily  and  then  on 
to  Salton.  The  stiff  enclosures  of 
Brawby  Moor  brought  more  than 
one  good  horse  to  grief,  and  then 
they  had  the  river  Seven  to  cross. 
Soon  after  crossing  the  river  they 
checked  at  Hob  Ground  and 
never  recovered  the  line,  and  the 
probability  is  that  the  fox  had 
slipped  into  some  drain. 


1899.] 


"OUR  VAN. 


it 


44a 


Ireland. — The  Blazers,  under 
their  new  master,  Mr.  Poyser, 
have  had  an  excellent  cubbing 
season.  They  have  hunted  32 
days,  have  killed  19  brace,  and 
run  io£  brace  to  ground.  This 
account  came  to  me  before  the 
regular  season  opened,  so  doubt- 
less a  few  more  cubs  have  paid 
the  penalty  ere  this.  Although  a 
sufficient  number  of  cubs  were 
killed,  the  master  has  avoided 
useless  slaughter.  On  his  second 
day's  hunting  Mr.  Poyser,  hand- 
ling the  horn  with  the  bitch  pack, 
had  a  splendid  fifty  minutes  until 
darkness  robbed  the  pack  of  their 
fox. 

Mr.  Assheton  Biddulph  and 
Lord  Huntingdon  have  arranged 
their  dispute,  and  the  King's 
County  met  at  Birr,  and  Lord 
Huntingdon  and  some  of  his  lead- 
ing followers  came  to  the  meet, 
testifying  to  the  good  feeling  that 
prevails  between  The  Ormond 
and  the  King's  County. — On 
such  an  occasion  good  sport  was 
to  be  hoped  for,  and  a  run  of 
fifty  minutes  to  ground  pleased 
everyone.  The  Kildare  had  a 
great  day  assembly  at  their  tra- 
ditional fixture,  Johnstown  Inn. 
Irish  packs,  even  more  than 
others,  suffer  from  the  absence  of 
so  many  soldier  members.  Every- 
one regretted  them,  and  when  the 
famous  pack  ran  for  some  fifty 
minutes  at  a  good  pace  from 
Keinstown  Gorse,  everyone  wished 
that  absent  friends  had  been  able 
to  enjoy  the  sport. 

The  Bicester  Rules  for  Sub 
soribers.  —  The  Bicester  and 
Warden  Hill  Hunt  are  now 
adopting  tHe  following  Rules  for 
subscriptions,  which  were  framed 
at  a  general  meeting  last  April. 

Rule  1 . — Non-residents  taking 
houses  for  the  season,  living  in 
hotels  or  lodgings,  or  keeping 
their  horses  within  the  limits  of 
the    Bicester    and   Warden    Hill 

VOL.  LXXII. — NO.  478. 


Hunt,  are  expected  to  pay  at 
least  ^"io  per  horse.  This  rule 
also  applies  to  ladies  and  gentle* 
men  hunting  with  the  Bicester 
and  Warden  Hill  Hounds  from 
Brackley,  Buckingham,  Winslow, 
or  from  any  town,  house,  or  place 
on  the  borders  of  the  country 
south  of  Thorpe  Mandeville. 

Rule  2. — All  strangers,  to  whom 
Rule  1  does  not  apply,  will  be  ex- 
pected to  pay  at  least  £35  each. 

Rule  3. — Strangers  hunting  with 
the  Bicester  and  Warden  Hill 
Hounds  on  Saturdays  only  in  the 
Northamptonshire  part  of  the 
country  north  of  Thorpe  Mande- 
ville inclusive,  will  be  expected 
to  pay  £^5  each,  unless  they  are 
also  subscribers  of  at  least  ^"25  to 
an  adjoining  pack  of  hounds ;  in 
such  cases  only  ^"10  will  be 
required. 

Rule  4. — These  subscriptions  are 
personal,  and  cannot  be  considered 
as  including  the  friends  of  sub- 
scribers. 

Rule  5. — These  conditions  apply 
to  those  hunting  for  a  part  as  well 
as  for  the  whole  season. 

These  rules  do  not  apply  to- 
landowners  or  covert  owners  in 
the  adjoining  hunts,  or  to  mem- 
bers of  the  University  of  Oxford 
in  residence,  or  to  officers  quar- 
tered in  the  Bicester  and  Warden 
Hill  country.  Mr.  Henry  Tubb, 
of  Chesterton,  Bicester,  is  the 
Honorary  Secretary. 

On  the  whole  the  Bicester  seem 
to  have  gone  far  to  reduce  hunt 
subscriptions  to  a  system.  It  was 
natural  that  they  should  take  the 
lead  because,  owing  to  the  length 
and  narrowness  of  their  territory, 
they  are  peculiarly  liable  to  incur- 
sions from  over  their  neighbours' 
borders,  and  it  was,  therefore,  ne- 
cessary to  establish  a  system  which 
should  arrange  for  members  of  other 
hunts  to  pay  reasonably  for  their 
share  of  the  Bicester  sport.  Of 
course  these  rules,  like  all  taxes, 

33 


444 


baily's  magazine. 


[December 


press  most  heavily  on  those  least 
able  to  pay,  but  that  is  unavoid- 
able, and  the  Bicester  have  been 
both  wise  and  generous  in  the 
exemptions  they  allow.  The 
ladies  indeed  lose  their  time- 
honoured  privilege  of  hunting  free, 
but  no  one  in  our  day  will  grudge 
them  the  acknowledgment  of 
their  equality  with  man  which  is 
included  in  the  demand  for  hunt 
subscriptions. 

Two  points  only  seem  to  sug- 
gest themselves  to  the  V.D. — is 
not  /"ioa  horse  too  high  a  rate 
for  the  small  men,  and  should 
there  not  be  some  provision  for 
officers  on  leave  ?  The  last  rule 
seems  to  exclude  them  unless  they 
pay  £55.  It  is  impossible,  how- 
ever, not  to  regret  that  such  rules 
are  necessary,  and  not  too  credit- 
able to  hunting  men  that  they 
should  want  so  much  pressure  to 
pay  for  their  sport.  Such  rules  will 
not  reduce  fields  appreciably — it 
matters  little  whether  two  hundred 
and  fifty  or  three  hundred  men 
are  out  —  but  the  rules  would 
never  have  been  necessary  if  every 
man  who  hunted  did  his  duty. 
Hunting,  in  a  sense,  is  purely  a 
question  of  money.  In  the  old 
days  the  farmers  enjoyed  the 
sport  and  subscribed  indirectly, 
indeed,  but  largely.  What  they 
can  no  longer  give  in  kind  we 
have  to  find  in  money. 

Mr.    George   Thompson.  —  In 

Anecdotal  Sport  last  month  "Thor- 
manby  "  referred  to  the  late  Mr. 
George  Thompson.  Mr.  E.  C. 
Clayton  writes  from  Cottesmore 
Grange,  Oakham  :  "  The  distin- 
guished gentleman  rider  is  not 
only  alive,  but  seems  to  have 
been  completely  forgotten  by 
Time.  ...  It  was  only  last 
month  that  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  paying  him  a  delightful  visit 
at  his  beautiful  seat  under  the 
Hambleton  Hills,  and  I  can  as- 
sure '  Thormanby  '  that  he  is  as 


active  and  young  as  when,  in 
years  now  long  past,  he  used  to 
witch  the  world  by  his  horse- 
manship on  that  good  horse 
'Thunder,'  the  property  of  that 
prince  of  sportsmen,  the  late  Mr. 
Clare  Vyner.  Mr.  Thompson  can 
still  go  to  scale  under  8  stone, 
and  it  would  puzzle  men  half  his 
age  either  to  ride  with  him 
across  country  or  walk  with 
him  shooting." 

Mr.  Thompson's  name  is  surely 
not  forgotten  ;  and  the  many  who 
hold  it  in  respect  will  welcome 
Mr.  Clayton's  correction  of  the 
error  into  which  "  Thormanby " 
unwittingly  fell. 

Sport  at  the  Universities.— 
October  Term — which  ushers  in 
a  new  academical  year — fittingly 
illustrates  Hyson's  "flux"  and 
41  reflux  "  theory.  Once,  again, 
for  instance,  hundreds  of  notable 
sportsmen  have  finished  their 
college  careers,  and  a  mighty 
host  of  newcomers  fill  their  places. 
Many  of  these  have  already  won 
their  spurs  in  the  field  of  sport, 
and  others  are  showing  great 
promise.  The  universal  instinct 
of  sport,  the  Spieltrieb — inherent 
in  every  man  who  is  more  than 
dolt  and  less  than  supremely 
wise — evidently  constrains  them. 
Happily,  it  doesn't  take  Light 
and  Dark  Blues  long  to  settle 
down.  Thus  early  most  of  the 
representative  teams,  &c,  have 
got  into  working  order.  So  far 
racing  on  Isis  and  Cam  has  been 
prolific  in  surprises,  the  defeat 
of  Balliol  (Oxford),  and  Third 
Trinity  (Cambridge),  in  the  Cox- 
swain less  Fours  being  a  great 
"  facer  "  to  public  form.  In  the  re- 
sults Magdalen  (Oxford)  and  First 
Trinity  (Cambridge)  achieved 
richly -deserved  victories,  whilst 
it  has  again  been  demonstrated 
that  "  Old  Blues  "  are  not  neces- 
sarily the  best  exponents.  A 
capital  entry  was  received  for  the 


1899] 


c« 


OUR   VAN. 


19 


445 


coveted  Colquhoun  Sculls  contest 
at  Cambridge,  the  winner  turning 
up   in   the   "  Old   Blue,"    R.    H. 
Sanderson     (First     Trinity)  —  a 
much-improved    sculler.      Simul- 
taneously with  the  current  issue 
of  Baily  the  annual  Triune  Eights 
will  take  place  at  Moulsford  and 
Ely   respectively,   and  four  very 
powerful  crews  will  be  in  opposi- 
tion.    Critical  comment  shall  be 
vouchsafed  in  due  course,  but  we 
may   add    that    individual    merit 
rather  than  actual  victory  is  the 
prime    object    of    these    annual 
tussles.     The    whole    process    of 
this   first   stage   of   practice   and 
preparation  for  the  great  "  Water 
Derby  of  the  Year  "  is  educational. 
Football      under      both     sides 
flourishes  exceedingly.     The  Rug- 
by  teams  are  now  fairly   before 
the  public,  and  (on  current  form) 
the  Light  Blues  bid  fair  to  repeat 
their    1898     victory    at    Queen's 
Club  on  the  13th  inst.     "  Behind 
the    scrum "    any    superiority    is 
more  apparent   than   real,   albeit 
the    Cantabs    seem    to    combine 
better    at    three-quarters.       For- 
ward,  however,  J.   A.   Campbell 
and  confreres    certainly    hold    the 
whip  hand,  and  it  is  mainly  owing 
to  their  irresistible  "  devil  "  and 
dash   that   the  team   boast  their 
present   marvellous  record.      Up 
to  date,    they    have    put   on    139 
points    nil !    Just   the   reverse   is 
the   position    of    the   Association 
teams.      Oxford  have  shown   al- 
together superior  form  so  far,  and 
E.    M.    Jameson  and   colleagues 
promise  to  revive  old-time  glories 
in   this   direction.      It   would   be 
both  idle  and  ungracious  to  say 
too  much  at  this  stage,  however, 
as    the    Inter-'Varsity    match    is 
fixed  for  February  17th  next  Term. 
As  usual,  the  Cambridge  League 
and   the    Oxford    Inter-Collegiate 
competitions  are  creating  immense 
interest  this  year.    Hyson's  theory 
clearly   applies   in    this  case,   as 


Pembroke  (Cambridge)  heroes  of 
the  League  last  year  are  severely 
out  of  it  this.  We  fancy  the  last 
of  the  Trinity  combinations  will 
gain  premier  honours,  but  anon 
at  Oxford  the  final  tie  should  rest 
between  Magdalen  and  Oriel 
(Holders)  once  again,  with  the 
first-named  for  choice. 

By  common  consent,  1898-99 
marked  an  epoch  in  University 
athletic  history,  and  the  current 
year  is  likely  to  prove  equally 
exciting  and  important.  All  being 
well  a  return  Anglo  -  American 
tussle  will  take  place  in  New  York 
at  Easter  between  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  1/.  Harvard  and  Yale. 
Negotiations  to  that  end  are 
already  going  on,  and  next  month 
we  shall  be  enabled  to  give  an 
authoritative  epitome  of  these. 
Failing  the  Easter  date  the  meet- 
ing will  certainly  take  place  in 
the  summer.  This  authoritatively. 
Some  promising  youngsters  were 
unearthed  at  the  respective  Fresh- 
men's Sports  this  year.  Perhaps 
the  best  of  these  was  G.  R. 
Gamier  (Sherborne  and  Oxford), 
who  promises  to  rival,  if  not 
excel,  the  doughty  deeds  of  his 
father  and  brother — both  "  Old 
Blues  ' ' — over  the  hurdles.  Other 
likely  athletes  are  J.  W.  Home 
(Blackheath  and  Cambridge),  F. 
G.  Cockshott  (Uppingham  and 
Cambridge),  H.  W.  Lee  -Wilson 
(Repton  and  Cambridge),  J.  G. 
Milbourne  (Pennsylvania  and 
Oxford),  D.  C.  Cowan  (Leather- 
head  and  Oxford),  &c.  Unluckily 
G.  E.  Barry  (Public  Schools 
Champion,  1897-8-9)  was  unable 
to  appear  at  the  Oxford  meeting, 
but  he  should  certainly  be  heard 
of  later  on.  Altogether,  with  an 
appreciable  number  of  old  par- 
liamentary hands  en  evidence,  also 
Presidents  Hollins  (Oxford)  and 
Paget  -  Tomlinson  (Cambridge), 
we  can  view  the  outlook  with 
equanimity. 


A 


446 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[December 


••  Variety's  the  very  spice  of 
life  that  gives  it  it's  flavour,"  and 
this  applies  from  a  titular  point  of 
view.  Cross-country  work,  golf, 
hockey,  boxing  and  fencing,  bil- 
liards, &c,  are  all  pastimes  pur- 
sued with  the  utmost  keenness  by 
Light  and  Dark  Blues  just  now. 
Most  representative  tussles  in 
these  directions  will  be  fought  out 
next  Term,  hence  we  shall  be 
able  to  criticise  finally  upon  fur- 
ther personal  observation.  As 
usual,  however,  the  cross-country 
teams  will  do  battle  at  Roehamp- 
ton  almost  directly,  and  it  is  re- 
grettable that  ex -President  Hun- 
ter (C.U.A.C.)  is  too  seedy  to 
don  toga  for  his  Alma  Mater. 
Despite  this,  we  fancy  Cambridge 
will  avenge  their  unexpected  de- 
feat of  1898  by  an  appreciable 
margin.  Save  Hunter,  all  their 
last  year's  team  are  available, 
plus  some  very  promising  Seniors 
and  Freshmen.  At  golf,  some 
very  fine  performances  have  been 
put  on  record  either  way.  The 
Oxonians,  in  particular,  are  won- 
derfully strong  this  year,  and  (up 
to  date)  they  boast  an  undefeated 
record.  The  Cantab  trophies 
were  very  equitably  distributed 
this  season.  R.  F.  Hunter  won 
the  Linskill  Cup,  G.  N.  Watney 
the  St.  Andrews  Medal,  H.  C. 
Barnes  -  Lawrence  the  Barrow 
Medal,  while  Messrs.  J.  P.  Sim- 
son  and  C.  J.  Maitland-Crichton 
tied  for  the  Pirie  Medal. 

General  news  may  be  briefly 
vouchsafed.  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge will  accept  the  Universities 
of  America  challenge  for  a  return 
cable  chess  match.  The  Inter- 
'  Varsity  cricket  match  is  definitely 
fixed  for  July  5th — 7th  of  next 
year,  and  R.  E.  Foster  (Oxford) 
and  T.  L.  Taylor  (Cambridge) 
have  been  elected  captains  of 
cricket.  A  general  desire  to  place 
the  arrangements  for  the  lnter- 
' Varsity  billiard  matches  upon  a 


proper  footing  has  been  evinced — 
and  quite  right,  too.  As  one  of 
the  oldest  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge competitions,  the  present 
crude  arrangements  are  anoma- 
lous. The  Oxford  Boxing  Club 
has  been  duly  affiliated  to  the 
governing  body,  and  we  under- 
stand the  Cambridge  Club  will 
shortly  follow  suit.  Both  the 
Christ  church  (Oxford)  and  Trinity 
(Cambridge)  Beagles  continue  to 
have  grand  sport,  whilst  very 
many  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
men  take  opportunity  by  the 
hand  to  have  many  a  fine  day 
with  the  Bicester,  &c.  This  is 
quite  as  it  should  be. 

Golf. — The  match  season  very 
appropriately  concluded  with  a 
meeting  between  Harry  Vardon, 
the  Open  Champion,  and  his  great 
rival,  J.  H.  Taylor.  Early  in  the 
season,  and  particularly  about  the 
time  of  the  Championship  Meet- 
ing at  Sandwich,  Taylor  showed 
a  considerable  falling  away  from 
form,  but  autumn  saw  him  again 
at  his  best,  and  in  two  matches 
he  actually  defeated  Vardon,  the 
consequence  being  that  very 
special  interest  was  taken  by 
the  golfing  world  in  the  final 
match  at  Brancaster  in  Norfolk. 
The  play  consisted  of  two  rounds 
of  the  course  which  for  the  occa- 
sion was  stretched  to  its  longest, 
and  while  on  the  first  round 
Vardon  seemed  to  be  slightly  off 
his  game,  he  played  magnificently 
in  the  second  round.  Taylor,  on 
the  other  hand,  played  well  from 
start  to  finish,  never  making  a 
mistake  and  rarely  failing  to  take 
advantage  of  opportunity  as  it 
occurred.  On  the  first  round  he 
gained  a  lead  of  three  holes,  and 
this  he  kept  until  there  were  only 
seven  holes  to  play.  The  first 
three  of  these  fell  to  Vardon,  and 
then  followed  probably  the  most 
exciting  match  play  seen  during 
the  season.     After  a  half  at  the 


1899] 


"OUR   VAN. 


»t 


447 


fifteenth  hole,  the  sixteenth  went 
to  Taylor,  who  brought  off  a  putt 
of  about  10  yards.  Vardon,  how- 
ever, won  the  seventeenth,  and 
as  he  reached  the  home  green 
with  his  second  stroke  and  Taylor 
lay  short  with  the  bunker  to 
cross,  it  looked  long  odds  that 
the  Champion  would  add  another 
victory  to  his  long  record.  Taylor 
took  his  mashie,  measured  well 
the  distance  he  had  to  go,  and 
playing  with  preat  care,  laid  his 
ball  within  easy  holing  distance. 
This  brilliant  stroke  resulted  in 
the  match  being  halved. 

Billiards — Record   Break   by 

Dawson. — A  noteworthy  event  in 
the  world  of  sport  is  the  setting 
up  of  a  new  billiard  record,  the 
more  so  when,  for  once  in  a  way, 
the  feat  has  not  to  be  placed  to 
the  credit  of  that  phenomenal 
cueist,  John  Roberts,  who  has  for 
so  many  years  past  at  the  "  spot- 
barred  "  game  himself  created, 
broken  again  each  great  record  in 
its  turn.  The  hero  of  the  present 
occasion  is  Charles  Dawson,  the 
holder  of  the  title  of  Champion  of 
English  billiards,  as  played  at  the 
present  time  under  the  revised 
Rules  of  the  Billiard  Association 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  On 
Monday,  October  16th,  Dawson 
and  J.  Mack,  of  Manchester  (who 
received  7,000  points  start),  had 
commenced  a  game  of  18,000  up, 
at  the  Argyll  Hall,  and  on  the 
night  of  Friday,  the  20th  ult., 
proceedings  were  brought  to  a 
close  by  Dawson  with  an  unfin- 
ished break  of  382.  In  the  after- 
noon of  the  following  day  the 
champion,  playing  in  superb 
form,  added  another  340  points  to 
his  incomplete  run,  thus  making 
his  total  break  722,  which  beats 
by  125  points  the  previous  record, 
597,  made  by  John  Roberts  at 
Manchester  on  the  4th  of  last 
March.  The  break  was  in  every 
respect    perfect,    and,    the    table 


having  been  previously  passed  as 
a  "  standard  "  one,  will  doubtless 
be  officially  certificated  by  the  Bil- 
liard Association  as  "  the  record." 

In  the  matter  of  breaks  made 
under  dissimilar  conditions,  com- 
parisons are,  if  not  odious,  apt  to 
lack  accuracy;  still,  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  Charles  Dawson's  break 
of  722  (compiled  under  rules 
which,  whilst  they  most  properly 
prohibit  the  foul  "  push,"  at  once 
make  the  game  far  more  open 
and,  consequently,  more  difficult 
than  heretofore)  must  rank  as  one  of 
the  greatest  feats  ever  yet  achieved 
at  English  billiards — a  performance 
of  which  the  little  Yorkshireman 
may  justly  feel  proud. 

44 The  Degenerates"  at  the 
Garrick.  —  There  is  a  popular 
superstition  in  the  profession 
against  the  removal  of  a  suc- 
cessful play  from  one  house  to 
another.  Mrs.  Langtry,  though, 
may  congratulate  herself  and  her 
colleagues  upon  the  continued  suc- 
cess which  attends  the  represen- 
tations of  Mr.  Sydney  Grundy's 
comedy  since  its  transplantation 
from  the  Haymarket  to  the  Garrick. 

It  is  true  that  Mr.  Charles 
Hawtrey  is  missed  from  the 
caste,  but,  with  all  deference  to 
that  most  polished  actor,  we  must 
say  that  the  Duke  of  Orme  as 
now  played  by  Mr.  Fred  Kerr 
cannot  be  improved  upon.  To 
Mr.  Kerr  we  are  grateful  for 
many  a  finished  study,  notably 
and  recently  his  Gunning  in 
"The  Tyranny  of  Tears,"  and 
our  only  regret  about  the  part 
of  Orme  is  that  Mr.  Kerr  has 
not  more  to  do.  The  same  re- 
gret may  be  expressed  in  the 
case  of  Miss  Lottie  Venne,  who 
is,  to  our  mind,  wasted  in  the 
part  of  Mrs.  Bennett  -  Baldero, 
the  lady  paragraphist. 

However,  the  personality  of 
Mrs.  Langtry  successfully  per- 
vades   the    play,   and    we    have 


448 


BA1LY  S    MAGAZINE. 


[December 


nothing  to  give  but  unreserved 
praise  for  her  rendering  of  Mrs. 
Trevelyan.  Critics  have  been 
known  to  say  that  she  is  a 
beautiful  woman,  but  no  actress ; 
we  gladly  admit  that  we  are 
impressed  equally  by  her  beauty 
and  her  talent. 

Fancy  Dress  Balls  at  Covent 
Garden.  —  In  bygone  years  we 
have  danced  a  barn  dance  at 
miniature  Spithead,  surrounded 
by  bearded  M.C.'s  in  the  naval 
uniform,  and  we  have  walked 
through  a  set  of  Lancers  under 
the  stern  gaze  of  khaki-clad 
officials,  within  the  walls  of  Khar- 
toum and  all  under  the  roof  of 
the  National  Opera  House.  This 
season  the  fortnightly  revels  take 
place  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Eiffel  Tower,  and  the  forth- 
coming Paris  Exhibition  is  the 
venue  of  the  merry  throng  who 
rally  roqnd  Messrs.  Niel  Forsyth 
and  Rendle  at  the  fancy  dress  balls. 


The  large  number  of  prizes, 
and  the  value  of  the  chief  prizes 
for  fancy  costumes  provoke  a 
spirited  competition,  but  the 
money  expended  upon  some  of 
the  dresses  must  leave  but  little 
margin  for  profit  except  one  of 
the  biggest  prizes  be  taken.  Just 
now  South  African  and  warlike 
notions  seem  to  be  the  rage, 
whilst,  upon  a  recent  occasion, 
a  lady  representing  a  morning 
newspaper's  "  War  Express "  se- 
cured the  highest  honours.  At 
the  second  ball  some  philan- 
thropic ladies  devoted  their  time, 
stolen  from  frivolity,  to  the  laud- 
able cause  of  the  "  Wives'  and 
Orphans'  Fund,"  and  heavy  in- 
deed were  some  of  the  collecting 
boxes  at  an  early  stage  of  the 
proceedings. 

Fewer  people  seem  to  go  to 
Covent  Garden  balls  than  for- 
merly, but  many  who  go  evidently 
enjoy  themselves. 


Sporting   I  ntelligence. 

[Daring  October— November,  1899.1 


At  Iwerne  Minster,  on  October  18th, 
Lord  Wolverton,  with  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
the  Grand  Duke  Michael,  Lords  Dudley 
and  Elcho,  and  Commander  S.  Fortescue, 
had  some  splendid  sport,  bagging  994 
pheasants  and  868  rabbits,  besides  some 
partridges  and  duck. 

On  Monday,  October  23rd,  at  Six  Mile 
Bottom,  the  Duke  of  Cambridge's  party 
of  nine  guns,  which  included  the  Duke  of 
York,  killed  385  partridges,  55  pheasants, 
109  hares,  and  2  rabbits. 

The  total  result  of  the  three  days'  shoot- 
ing at  Six  Mile  Bottom  was  the  killing  of 
822  partridges,  214  hares,  126  pheasants, 
6  rabbits,  and  a  pigeon. 

The  bloodstock  sale  held  at  Newmarket 
on  October  25th  included  several  horses  in 
training  from  Kingsclere.  Of  these,  Mr. 
W.  Allison  purchased  St.  Bris  for  1,000 
guineas,  Mr.  Garrett  gave  700  guineas  for 
Hermiston,  and  Mr.  John  Barker  paid  300 
guineas  for  Mark  For'ard. 


A  well-known  figure  in  athletic  circles 
passed  away  on  October  29th,  when  Mr.  A. 
J.  Puttick  died  from  pneumonia,  aged  forty- 
eight  years.  The  deceased  gentleman  was 
an  all-round  athlete,  but  was  best  known 
in  Rugby  football  and  also  as  a  runner. 
He  had  been  for  many  years  on  the  com- 
mittee of  the  London  Athletic  Club. 

At  the  opening  meet  of  the  Heythrop 
Hounds,  at  Heythrop,  on  October  30th, 
the  master,  Mr.  Albert  Brassey,  made 
some  interesting  remarks  in  responding  to 
the  toast  of  his  health  at  the  Hunt  break- 
fast. He  said  there  could  be  no  finer 
training  for  our  soldiers  than  a  season  or 
two  of  foxhunting.  If  it  had  not  been 
for  their  training  in  this  respect,  our 
cavalry  in  the  Transvaal  would  never  have 
been  able  to  render  the  good  account  of 
themselves  which  they  had  done.  He  also 
spoke  of  the  use  and  dangers  of  barbed 
.wire,  which  he  exhorted  all  farmers  to 
remove  from  their  land  during  the  hunting 
season.     He  was  happy  to  say  everything 


I899-] 


SPORTING    INTELLIGENCE. 


449 


pointed  to  a  successful  season.  They  had 
an  abundance  of  good,  healthy  foxes,  and 
a  mangy  fox  was  not  now  heard  of. 

The  Cheshire  Beagles  were  hunting  a 
hare  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Tattenhall 
on  October  31st ;  she  took  to  the  railway 
lines  when  hard  pressed,  and  an  express 
train  dashed  through  the  pack  about  a  mile 
from  Tattenhall  Road  station,  killing  three 
valuable  hounds  on  the  spot.  Two  more 
were  so  badly  injured  that  they  had  to  be 
destroyed. 

While  the  County  of  Limerick  Fox- 
hounds were  out  at  Knockaderry  on 
November  4th,  three  hounds  died  from 
poisoning. 

An  unfortunate  accident  occurred  with 
the  Belvoir  on  November  4th.  Mr.  Harold 
Brassey,  of  the  Royal  Horse  Guards  (Blue), 
was  in  the  act  of  opening  a  gate,  when  his 
horse,  attempting  to  jump,  crashed  through 
and  fell  on  its  rider,  severely  injuring 
him. 

The  followers  of  the  Earl  of  Harrington's 
Hounds  met  on  November  4  th  at  Toller  ton 
Hall,  the  residence  of  Colonel  Cantrell- 
Hubbersty,  when  a  presentation  was  made 
to  Jack  Brown,  who  had  resigned  his  posi- 
tion as  first  whip  to  hunt  the  Warwickshire. 
Lady  Harrington,  owing  to  indisposition, 
was  unable  to  be  present,  so  the  presenta- 
tion, which  took  the  form  of  a  silver 
hunting-horn  and  a  cheque  for  over  ^300, 
was  made  on  behalf  of  the  subscribers  by 
the  Earl  of  Harrington,  who  spoke  in  very 
eulogistic  terms  of  the  recipient.  Prior  to 
his  retirement,  Jack  Brown  had  been  with 
Lord  Harrington  for  many  seasons,  and 
had  made  himself  generally  popular  with 
the  members  of  the  Hunt. 

While  riding  at  Frendenau,  Austria,  on 
November  6th,  George  Rumbold,  a  jockey 
who  at  one  time  rode  for  Sherwood's 
stable,  sustained  a  fatal  accident. 

The  Melbourne  Cup,  run  November  7th, 
was  won  by  Merriwee,  a  three-year-old 
bay  colt  by  Bill  of  Portland,  dam  Etra 
Weenie,  by  Treston.  On  the  previous 
Saturday  (November  4th)  Merriwee  won 
the  Victoria  Racing  Club  Derby,  and  has 
therefore  secured  two  of  the  greatest  races 
in  Australia,  a  feat  accomplished  also  by 
Grand  Flaneur,  Martini  Henry,  and  New- 
haven  II. 

Lord  Hawke  presided  over  a  meeting  of 
the  committee  of  the  Yorkshire  County 
Cricket  Club  at  Leeds  on  November  7th, 
when  it  was  reported  that  the  available  funds 
of  the  county  verged  on  /"i 0,000.  It  was 
decided  that  in  future  the  clubs  on  whose 
grounds  county  matches  are  played  shall 
receive  25  per  cent,  of  the  gate  receipts. 
A  hundred  guineas  was  voted  to  the  Trans- 


vaal Fund,  and  ,£2,500  was  invested  in 
trust,  making  a  total  of  ,£7,500,  which  now 
represents  the  funds  of  the  club. 

James  Jewitt,  the  trainer,  died,  on  No- 
vember nth,  at  Bedford  Cottage,  New- 
market, after  a  long  illness,  at  the  age  of 
forty-four  years. 

While  hunting  with  the  Whaddon  Chase 
Hounds  on  November  nth,  the  Earl  of 
Orkney  had  a  bad  fall,  and  sustained  a 
severe  dislocation  of  the  right  shoulder,  the 
muscles  of  the  arm  being  also  much  torn 
and  strained. 

The  death  is  announced  of  Mr.  W.  M. 
Tharp,  which  took  place  at  his  residence, 
Chippenham  Park,  Newmarket,  on  No- 
vember 1 2th.  The  deceased  gentleman 
was  a  constant  attendant  at  the  Newmarket 
Meetings,  and  took  a  keen  interest  in 
racing.  He  never  registered  his  colours, 
but  was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the 
Jockey  Club  in  1880. 

While  hunting  with  the  Quorn  Hounds 
on  November  13th,  from  Seagrave,  the 
Hon.  Mrs.  Lancelot  Lowther  met  with  an 
unfortunate  accident.  During  the  afternoon 
run  she  had  a  bad  fall,  and  broke  her 
arm. 

Will  Rawle,  huntsman  to  Lord  Fitz- 
hardinge's  Foxhounds,  met  with  a  nasty 
accident  when  hunting,  on  November  14th, 
near  Gloucester,  sustaining  a  fractured 
collar-bone. 

While  out  hunting  with  the  South  Union 
Foxhounds  near  Cork,  on  November  14th, 
Captain  Sellar,  of  the  King's  Dragoon 
Guards,  was 'thrown  from  his  horse,  and 
suffered  a  bad  fracture  of  the  ankle. 

A  big  gathering  assembled  at  the  meet 
of  the  Galway  Foxhounds  on  November 
1 6th  at  Sandbeck,  when  a  presentation  was 
made  to  the  Earl  of  Scarborough  on  the 
occasion  of  his  marriage.  The  present  con- 
sisted of  a  massive  silver  inkstand,  together 
with  an  album  containing  the  names  of  the 
subscribers. 

A  great  bag  of  partridges  was  got  by 
Mr.  James  Russel  and  six  other  guns  in 
three  days'  shooting  over  Dalham  and 
Denham  in  the  Newmarket  district.  The 
total  was  1,400  partridges,  besides  sundries. 

The  Rev.  Cecil  Legard  will  be  greatly 
obliged  to  Masters  of  Hounds  if  they  will 
send  him  their  lists  to  November,  1899, 
for  the  next  volume  of  "The  Foxhound 
Kennel  Stud  Book,"  addressed  to  Cottes- 
brooke  Rectory,  Northampton. 

In  three  days'  partridge  driving  at 
St  rat  ton,  Lord  Baring's  bag  totalled  1,440 
birds.  On  the  best  day  380  brace  were 
bagged. 


45<> 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[December 


At  Warter  Priory,  eight  guns  got  in 
three  days  1,244  partridges,  366  hares,  183 
pheasants,  and  4  rabbits.  On  the  biggest 
day  440  partridges  were  bagged. 

During  the  third  week  of  October,  at 
Dalham,  Mr.  Percy  Wormald,  Mr.  Russel, 
Mr.  Bibby,  and  three  other  puns  had 
capital  sport,  bagging  600  brace  of  part- 
ridges in  three  days,  besides  other  game. 

Mr.  Blyth's  party  of  seven  guns  had  two 
remarkably  good  days'  partridge  driving 
at  Elmdon,  Essex,  in  the  third  week  of 
October,  getting  on  the  Tuesday  1,015 
birds,  and  the  following  day  838  part- 
ridges. 

Shooting  at  Dupplin  Castle  the  first  week 
of  November,  Lord  Kinnoull  and  seven 
guns,  Count  A.  Munster,  Sir  K.  MoncriefTe, 
General  Stracey,  Captain  Stephenson,  Mr. 
W.  Fen  wick,  Mr.  VV.  Schuster,  and  Mr. 
Wood,  killed  over  3,000  head  of  game  in 
four  days. 

The  opening  meet  of  the  Clare  Harriers 
at  Fenloe  afforded  an  opportunity  to  the 
followers  of  the  pack  and  farmers  in  the 
district  to  present  the  master  (Major  S.  C. 
Hickman)  with  an  illuminated  address,  a 
handsome  silver  bowl,  and  an  antique  Irish 
"  potato  ring,"  on  the  occasion  of  his  recent 
marriage,  and  to  mark  their  appreciation 
of  his  endeavours  in  the  interest  of  sport. 

An  unfortunate  accident  occurred  to 
Mrs.  John  Watson,  wife  of  the  Master  of 


the  Meath  Foxhounds,  through  her  horse 
falling  and  rolling  over  her,  causing  a 
broken  arm. 

The  death  of  the  Rev.  S.  Dendy,  an 
old  and  influential  member  of  the  Black - 
more  Vale  Hunt,  who  had  long  been 
identified  with  them  in  Mr.  Digby's,  Sir 
R.  Glyn's,  and  the  present  masters  days, 
took  place  in  the  third  week  of  November. 
As  a  mark  of  respect,  bounds  did  not  go 
out  until  after  the  funeral. 

Mr.  Charles  Dalley,  who  was  hunting 
with  the  Enfield  Chase  Staghounds,  put 
his  horse  at  a  fence  into  a  road.  The 
horse  fell  on  landing,  and  Mr.  Dalley  came 
to  the  ground  with  such  violence  thai  he 
died  in  a  few  hours. 

One  of  the  heaviest  stags  of  the  season 
was  killed  by  Colonel  F.  C.  Ricardo  (late 
Grenadier  Guards)  in  Dundonell  Forest, 
tenanted  by  Sir  John  Edwards  Moss,  Bart. 
The  stag  was  an  eight-pointer,  and  weighed 
lost.  41b.  clean. 

During  the  past  season  Mr.  H.  Tate 
secured  over  sixty  stags  in  Caenlochan 
Forest,  Forfarshire,  including  two  royals. 
The  heaviest  scaled  i8st.  7lb.,and  many 
were  I7st.  and  upwards. 

A  substantial  presentation  has  been 
made  to  Jack  Fitzgerald,  first  whip  to  the 
Ormond  Foxhounds,  who  has  been  in  the 
service  of  the  Huntingdon  family  for  thirty 
years. 


TURF. 

GATWICK.— October  Meeting. 

October  17th. — The  Surrey  Nursery  Han- 
dicap of  435  so  vs.  ;  five  furlongs. 
Mr,  Colley's  ch.   f.  Gold  Jug,  by 
Juggler — Gold  Crest,  8st.  1  lib. 

M.  Cannon     1 
Lord  W.  Beresford's  br.  f.  Siloah, 

8st.  nib Sloan    2 

Mr.  A.  Bailey's  ch.  c.  North  Craw- 
ley, 8st.  41b L.  Rieff    3 

.   10  to  I  agst.  Gold  Jug. 
October  18th.— TheGatwick  (Mid- Weight) 
Handicap  of  825  sovs.  ;   one  mile 
and  a  half. 
Mr.  Russel's  b.  c.  Stage  Villain,  by 
Buccaneer — Mary    Anderson,    3 

yrs.,  8st J.  H.  Martin     I 

Mr.  W.  Low's  ch.  f.  Winsome  Char- 

teris,  4  yrs.,  8st.  31b.    F.  Finlay    2 
Mr.  C.  S.  Newton's  b.  c.  Ameer, 

4  yrs.,  8st.  lib Segrott    3 

10  to  1  agst.  Stage  Villain. 


SANDOWN    PARK  CLUB.- Autumn 

Meeting. 

October  19th.— The  Twenty-first  Year  of 
the  Great  Sapling  Plate  of  839  sovs., 
by  subscription  of  1  sov.  each  if 
declared,  or  10  sovs.  in  addition  if 
left  in  ;  second  receives  100  sovs., 
and  the  third  50  sovs. ;  five  fur- 
longs. 

Mr.  Wallace  Johnstone's  b.  f. 
Paigle,  by  Orme— Lady  Prim- 
rose, 9st.  41b J.  Watts    I 

Mr.  J.  Musker's  b.  f.  Minerette, 
8st.  61b. Sloan    2 

Mr.  Russel's  br.  f.  Lady  Min,  8st. 

61b T.  Loates    3 

7  to  1  agst.  Paigle. 

The  Sandown  Foal  Stakes  of  1.724 
sovs.  ;  for  three-year-olds ;  Eclipse 
Stakes  Course  (about  one  mile  and 
a  quarter.) 

Mr.  J.  H.  Peard's  ch.  c.  Merry 
Methodist,  by  Hampton— Her- 
esy, 9st M.Cannon    1 


I899-] 


SPORTING   INTELLIGENCE. 


451 


Sir  Tatton  Sykes's  b.  c.  Solitaire, 
8st.  71b S.  Loates    2 

Sir  J.  Blundell  Maple's  b.  c.  Royal 
Whistle,  ojst.  51b Rickaby    3 

2  to  1  agst.  Merry  Methodist. 

The  Orleans    Nursery    Handicap    of 
463  sovs. ;  five  furlongs. 
•  Mr.   J.    Musker's  b.   f.   Oria,   by 
Orion — Hortensia,  8st.  41b.  (car. 

8st.  51b.)    L.  Rieff    1 

Mr.  L.  Cohen's  ch.  f.  Carbinia,  7st. 

Purkiss    2 
Captain  J.  G.  R.  Homfra/s  ch.  g. 
Solid  Gold,  7st.  I2lb.  J.H.  Martin    3 
4  to  1  agst.  Oria. 

NEWMARKET.— Houghton  Meeting. 

October  24th. — The  Limekiln  Stakes  of 
25  sovs.  each  for  starters,  with  500 
sovs.  added  ;  last  mile  and  a  half 
-of  Cesarewitch  Course. 

Mr.  H.  C.  White's  b.  c.  Skopos, 
by  St.  Serf — Stethoscope,  3  yrs., 
7st.  lolb J.  Rieff    1 

Sir  E.  Cassel's  b.  c.  Solitaire,  3 
yrs.,  7st.  lolb S.  Loates    2 

Sir  R.  Waldie  Griffith's  ch.  f.  Sweet 
Marjorie,  3  yrs.,  8s t.  51b. 

J.  H.  Martin     3 
1 1  to  4  agst.  Skopos. 

The  Criterion  Staffs  0/30  sovs.  each, 
with  200  added,  for  two-year-olds ; 
Criterion  Course  (6  furlongs.) 

Sir  J.  Blundell  Maple's  b.  or  br.  f. 
St.  Nydia,  by  St.  Simon — Nun 
Nydia,  8st.  6lb T.  Loates     1 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  ch.  c.  Old 
Buck  II.,  8st.  61b Sloan     2 

Mr.    Fame's  b.   g.  Cutaway,  8st. 

iolb Rickaby    3 

1 1  to  4  agst.  St.  Nydia. 

The  Cambridgeshire  Stakes,  a  handi- 
cap of  25  sovs.  each,  with  500  sovs. 
added ;  New  Cambridgeshire  Course 
(last  mile  and  a  distance  of  A.F.) 

Captain  E.  Peel's  b.  f.  Irish  Ivy, 
by  Marmiton — Wild  Ivy,  3  yrs., 
7st  nib K.  Cannon     I 

Mr.  W.  T.  Jones's  br.  f.  Airs  and 
Graces,  4 yrs.,  8st L.  Rieff    2 

Mr.   C.  A.  Mills'  b.  f.  Mazeppa, 

3  yrs.,  7st.  iolb S.  Loates    3 

20  to  1  agst.  Irish  Ivy. 
October  26th. — The  Jockey  Club  Cup  of 
500    sovs.  ;      Cesarewitch     Course 
(two  miles  two  furlongs  thirty-five 
yards. ) 
Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  b.  c.  Mazagan, 
by  Martagon — Maize,  3  yrs. ,  7st. 

I2lb O.  Madden     I 

Mr.  Jersey's  ch.  h.  Merman,  aged, 

9st.  2lb M.  Cannon    2 

Lord  Rosebery's  ch.  c.  Tom  Crin- 
gle, 4  yrs.,  8st.  I2lb.     C.  Wood    3 
6  to  4  agst.  Mazagan. 

VOL.  LXXII. — NO.  478. 


The  Dewhurst  Plate  of  1,432  sovs. ; 
second  to  receive  100  sovs. ;  last 
seven  furlongs  of  the  R.M. 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  ch.  g.  Demo- 
crat, by  Sensation — Equality,  9s t. 
3lb Sloan     1 

The  Prince  of  Wales'  b.  c.  Dia- 
mond Jubilee,  $st.  2lb.  T.  Watts    2 

Duke  of  Westminster's  Goblet,  9s t. 

2lb M.  Cannon    3 

5  to  2  on  Democrat. 
October  27th.— The  Houghton  Stakes  of 
450  sovs. ;  for  two-year-olds  ;  R.M. 
(one  mile  11  yards.) 

Sir  J.  Blundell  Maple's  bl.  or  br. 
c.  Aquascutum,  by  Child  wick — 
Cullercoats,  8st.  iolb.  M.Cannon     1 

Lord  Ellesmere's  br.  g.  Headpiece, 
8st.  7lb L.  Rieff    2 

Mr.  Russell  Monro's  b.  c.  Victor 

Wolf,  8st.  41b S.  Loates    3 

9  to  4  agst.  Aquascutum. 

The  Old  Cambridgeshire  Handicap  of 
500  sovs.,  added  to  a  sweepstakes 
of  25  sovs.  each ;  Old  Cambridge- 
shire Course. 

Mr.  B.  Gottschalk's  ch.c.  Lexicon, 
by  Theologian — Loch  Linnie,  5 
yrs.,  8st S.  Loates     1 

Lord  Rosebery's  b.  c.  Flambard,  3 
yrs.,  8st.  7lb C.  Wood    2 

Mr.  W.  T.  Jones'  br.  f.  Airs  and 
Graces,  4  yrs.,  8st.  nib.  L.  Reiff    3 
20  to  1  agst.  Lexicon. 

LINCOLN. — Autumn  Meeting. 

November    6th.— The    Great  Tom   Plate 
(Handicap)    of     460    sovs.  ;     the 
Straight  Mile. 
Mr.    E.    Bonner's    ch.    f.    Light 
Comedy,    by    Rose    Window — 
Gaiety,  3yrs.,7st.  I2lb.  S.  Loates     I 
Mr.   Beade's  b.  f.  Misunderstood, 

3  yrs.,  7st.4lb J.  Reiff    2 

Lord  W.   Beresford's  b.   g.  Jolly 

Tar,  3  yrs.,  8st Sloan    3 

8  to  1  agst.  Light  Comedy. 
November    7th. — The     Lincoln     Autumn 

Handicap  of  220  sovs. ;  one   mile 

and  a  half. 
Mr.  J.  Scott's  b.  g.  Monte  Carlo, 

by  Bread  Knife — Purseproud,  6 

yrs.,  7st.  61b S.  Chandley     1 

Mr.  C.  F.  Dwyer's  b.  f.  Mv  Ladyrs 

Maid,  3  yrs.,  7st.  2lb.  (car.  7st. 

4ib.)    Sloan     2 

Mr.  C.  Penhurst's  br.  g.  Pan  II., 

4  yrs.,  7st.  31b J.  Reiff    3 

8  to  I  agst.  Monte  Carlo. 

LIVERPOOL.— Autumn  Meeting. 

November  8th. — The  Knowsley  Nursery 
Stakes  of  466  sovs.  ;  a  handicap  for 
two-year-olds ;  five  furlongs. 

34 


452 


BAILY  S   MAGAZINE. 


[Deckmi 


Mr.  W.  M.  G.  Singer's  ch.  g. 
Admiral  Dewey,  by  Kilwarlin — 
Field  Azure,  7at    J.  Reiff    i 

Mr.  Coliey's  ch.  f.  Gold  Jug,  8st. 
7lb.    M.Cannon    2 

Lord  Ellesmere's  br.  f.  Leila,  6st. 

12IU    Purkiss    3 

100  to  7  agst.  Admiral  Dewey. 

The  Great  Lancashire  Handicap   of 

460  sovs. ;  one  mile. 
Duke  of  Westminster's  ch.  c.  Good 

Luck,    by     Royal    Hampton — 

Farewell,  3  yrs.,  8st.   51b.  (car. 

8s  t.  61b.)  M.Cannon    1 

Mr.  G.  Cottrill's  ch.  c  Lackford, 

4  yrs.,  7st  iolb.    Allsopp    2 

Mr.  Douglas  Baird's  b.  c  Brio,  4 

yrs.,  8st.  51b O.  Madden    3 

10  to  I  agst.  Good  Luck. 

The  Liverpool  St.  Leger  of  510  sovs. ; 

for  three-year-olds ;  one  mile  and  a 

quarter. 
Mr.  Vyner's  ch.  f.  Veroscope,  by 

Hagioscope — Queen  of  Hearts, 

8st.  9lb Black    1 

Mr.  W.  M.  G.  Singer's  b.  c.  Hear- 

wood,  8st.  7lb.  L.  Reiff    2 

Mr.  Fairie's  br.  c.  Galliot,  ost. 

K.  Cannon    3 
2  to  I  agst.  Veroscope. 

The  Grand  Sefton  Steeplechase  of  412 
sovs.  ;  a  handicap  for  four-year-olds 
and  upwards ;  from  the  Canal 
Point ;  about  three  miles. 

Colonel  Gallwey's  br.  g.  Hidden 
Mystery,  by  Ascetic — Secret,  by 
Cameliard,  5  yrs..  lost.  2 lb. 

Mr.  H.  Nugent     I 

Mr.  John  Widger's  b.  m.  Julia,  5 
yrs.,  lost.  3lb.   ...Mr.  J.  Widger    2 

Lord  W.  Beresford's  ch.  g.  Easter 
Ogue,  5yrs.t  iost.  ...W.  Taylor    3 
100  to  6  agst.  Hidden  Mystery. 

The  Liverpool  Plate  of  460  sovs. :  one 

mile  and  three  quarters. 
Mr.  A.    Cock  burn's  b.    c.    Little 

Champion,  by  Hampton — Norah, 

4  yrs.,  7st.  iclb S.  Loates     1 

M.    M.  Ephrussi's  b.  h.  Yanlhis, 

5  yrs.,  8st.  iolb Rickaby    2 

Mr.  A.  Wagg's  b.  c.  Mitcham,  3 

yrs.,  8st.  81b T.  Loates    3 

3  to  1  agst.  Little  Champion. 

November  loth. — The  Liverpool  Autumn 
Cup  of  1,075  sovs.  ;  Cup  Course, 
one  mile  and  three  furlongs. 

Mr.  Fairie's  b.  c.  Chubb,  by  Chil- 
lington — Stocklock,  4  yrs.,  7st. 
I2lb K.  Cannon     1 

Lord  Ellesmere's  b.  c.  Proclama- 
tion, 3  yrs. ,  7st.  2lb.  A.  Wetherell     2 

Mr.  Covington's  b.  m.  Charina,  5 

yrs.,8st.  61b L.  Reiff    3 

■t  100  to  6  agst.  Chubb. 


DERBY.— November  MebtinI 

November  16th.—  The  Chesterfield 
sery  Plate  (Handicap)  of  900 
for    two-year-olds  ;     five    furl< 

Mr.  Russell  Monro's  br.  t  Go 
der ,  by  Gallinule — Rosed'  Amour , 
6st.  iolb Heapy 

Sir  E.  Cassel's  ch.  c  Bonarosa,  Sst. 
lib. S.  Loates 

Lord    William    Beresford's    b.  g. 

Yumboe,  7SL  iolb.  Sloan 

20  to  I  agst.  Goosander. 
November  17th. — The  Derby  Cup  of  it( 
sovs. :  one  mile  and  a  half. 

Lord  Ellesmere's  b,  c.  Proclama- 
tion, by  Hampton — Protocol,  3 
yrs.,  6st.  41b A.  Wetherell 

Sir  J.  Miller's  b.  c  Invincible  IL, 

4  yrs.,  7sL  61b O.  Madden 

Mr.  fe.  Gottschalk's  ch.  g.  Lexicon, 

5  yrs.,  8st.  51b M.  Cannon 

100  to  14  agst.  Proclamation. 

TENNIS. 

October  28th.— At  Prince's  Club,  C  Fi 
("  Punch  ")  v.  E.   Dealtry  (receh 
odds  of  15),  former  won  by  3  sets 
love. 

November  5th.—  At  Brighton,  C.  Fairs 
E.    Dealtry  (receiving  odds   of   i< 
former  won  by  3  sets  to  I. 

HOCKEY. 

November  1st. — At  Busbey  Park,  Middlj 

sex  v.  Kent,  former  won  by  5 

to  4. 
November      10th.  —  Nottinghamshire 

Leicestershire,  former  won  by  3 

to  1. 
November  4th. — At  Leckhampton,  Oxl 

University    v.    East    Gloucest< 

former  won  by  2  goals  to  I. 
November  16th. — At  Bushey  Park,  Mtddl 

sex  v.  Surrey,  latter  won  by  4 

to  2. 

FOOTBALL. 

November  4th. — At  Crystal  Palace, 
tbians  v.  Aston  Villa  (Sheriff  of 
don  Charity  Cup),  former  won  by| 
goals  to  i.f 

November   13th.— At    Oxford,    the  Ui 
versity    v.     Edinburgh      Wand< 
former  won  by  16  points  to  3.* 

November  15th. — At  Cambridge,  the  Ui 
versity  v.  Old  Etonians,  former 
by  3  goals  to  1.+ 

November  nth. — At  Blackheath, 
heath  v.  Oxford  University, 
won  by  I  goal  3  tries  to  o.* 

November  nth. — At  Richmond,  Richi 
v.  Edinburgh  Wanderers,  former 
by  8  points  to  o.  * 

*  Under  Rugby  Rales. 

t  Under  Association  Roles. 


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THB    J,ATE     LORD     HENRY    BENTINOK 

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RRH.THEPRmcEOF'ftUS 


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