CHAPTER IV 



THE STORY OF A GREAT DUEL 



IT happened the other day that I had an op- 

 portunity of seeing a shield which held, 

 amongst other relics of old times, the rapier 

 alleged to have been used by the then Duke of 

 Hamilton in the famous duel with Lord Mohun. 

 The former and his predecessors up to about 

 the year 1850 had been possessors of Ashton 

 Hall, in Cheshire, and it is interesting to note 

 that the park in which the house stood must 

 have been a fairly good training ground, although 

 not of the velvety nature of the Wiltshire and 

 Berkshire Downs as in the years 1 786-1 787-1 788. 

 The Duke respectively then won the St Leger 

 with the following^ — viz. Paragon, a bay colt (by 

 Paymaster out of Calash) ; Spadille, a bay colt (by 

 Highflyer out of Plora), and Young Flora, an 

 own sister to the last-named, all bred by his lord- 

 ship, who also won the race in 1792 with Tartar 

 by Florizel out of Ruth by Eclipse. All these 

 four winners, it may also be noted, were ridden 

 by John Mangle, and only once since has the 

 St Leger been won three years in succession — 

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