The Life of a Great Sportsman 



in hand two days before the race, and wrote some verses 

 descriptive of Reviriscat's victory in the Grand National and 

 how it was won, intending to post it off the same night to one 

 of the sporting papers for insertion the following morning. No 

 words can adequately describe the disappointment felt by his 

 sporting owner at his favourite's defeat, and a great friend of 

 his told me that he shall never forget how, at the end of the 

 day, with tears in his eyes, the other pulled the verses out of 

 his pocket to show him, previously to consigning them to the 

 flames. 



After this Mr. Richardson suggested to Mr. Ned Maxwell 

 that he should make a present of Reviriscat to his son Johnnie, 

 then a lieutenant in the 14th Hussars, so as to qualify the horse 

 for the Grand Military, for which, in his opinion, he had a 

 decided chance. This piece of advice was promptly acted upon 

 with the best results, Reviriscat, with the popular " Wenty " in 

 the saddle, winning the much-coveted Gold Cup in the easiest 

 possible manner. I may mention that Reviriscat's poor display 

 in the Grand National of 1873 is accounted for by the fact that 

 he was suffering from a very severe cold at the time and had 

 no business really to have run. That it was unfortunate that 

 he did so there was only too good proof, as he never recovered, 

 and died not a great while after, to the great grief of his owner 

 and all his family, who were devoted to the good old horse. 



Before he took to steeplechasing he was hunted regularly 

 with the Buccleuch hounds, being frequently ridden on these 

 occasions by Miss Heron-Maxwell (the only lady who was 

 ever on his back), then quite a young girl in the schoolroom. 

 On one of these occasions the two negotiated a big gate in 

 such good style as to cause an old follower of the Duke's 

 hounds, George Dove by name, to remark, " Ah, Miss Heron- 

 Maxwell, you have the golden key which unlocks all the gates ! ' 



108 



