Reminiscent 



Very quick on his legs, he watched the ball very closely and 

 was a deadly catch, covering an enormous amount of ground. 

 He had very strong, capable hands, which were useful to him 

 both in riding and in fielding, and they were so shaped that if 

 a ball got into them it was difficult for it to get out. In speak- 

 ing of his fielding, I may say that the only time he missed 

 catches was at a match in 1863, at Beaudesert Park, of which 

 place my father was in temporary occupation. We had a 

 match there of Harrow Eleven versus the County of Stafford- 

 shire, and like boys we played the fool and sat up all night 

 amusing ourselves by pulling out of bed every boy who tried to 

 go to sleep. The result was that Richardson, who was as a 

 rule in bed by ten o'clock, did not get any sleep till nearly six 

 in the morning, and next day out in the field he missed the 

 ball three times running, the last ball going through his hands 

 and just touching his chin and hurting him very much. 



There was a charming simplicity of character and right- 

 mindedness about Richardson that endeared him to everybody 

 who knew him. At the University he was even more popular 

 than he was at public school, and his extraordinary horseman- 

 ship and riding prowess brought him very prominently before 

 the Undergraduate public. 



I got early into Parliament and lost sight of him for a good 

 many years, as our paths did not converge, but I always heard 

 of him as an extraordinary gentleman-jockey, and a man whose 

 opinion was highly valued and who carried with him the good- 

 will of all who knew him. His remarkable fairness and clarity 

 of judgment made him the invaluable adjudicator upon any 

 sports' dispute. He loved sport for its sake alone, and as far 

 as I know he never gambled and never bet, and he was, 

 moreover, extremely kind in his treatment of all horses. 



He was in the House for a short time, and he enjoyed 



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