The Life of a Great Sportsman 



His great skill in the saddle was all the more extraordinary, 

 as I always understood that, so far from being cradled to sport 

 from his early childhood, as is more frequently than not the 

 case, he had hardly been on a horse's back until, arrived at 

 man's estate, he settled down in the country in the capacity of 

 what is elegantly termed a " Mud Prop," in other words, to 

 study farming ; and it was whilst thus occupied that he rode his 

 first steeplechase, a match between horses belonging to two 

 local sportsmen, his opponent, strangely enough, being none 

 other than the still living Mr. William Bevill, who was pursuing 

 the same kind of occupation as himself at another farm in the 

 neighbourhood. It was a great race, and George Ede would 

 certainly have won but for going out of his way to jump a weak 

 place in the last fence of all, in so doing losing a lot of ground 

 that he could never make up, with the result that his rival, who 

 had gone straight ahead and taken his chance of a fall, just got 

 the best of the finish. 



Continental Reminiscences. 



Though I managed to learn a good many things of one sort 

 and another during the time I was at Harrow, there was one 

 part of my education, considered very essential nowadays, 

 which had certainly been neglected, and that was the study of 

 modern languages. Never did this omission on the part of the 

 directorate at the ancient seat of learning referred to strike 

 home with greater force than when, on a certain memorable 

 occasion in the summer of 1872, I travelled in company with 

 poor George Ede to Germany, in order to take part in the 

 Baden Grand Prix (Steeplechase), in which he was engaged to 

 ride Benazet — (a charming little horse belonging to Lord 

 Poulett), and myself Juryman, for Captain Machell. 



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