SIR JOSEPH'S FAILING 197 



resulting from liberal indulgence, would abuse him in 

 language more forcible than refined. But this was a 

 failing of Sir Joseph's. He was haughty and intolerant 

 of opposition. , From pure love of contradiction he 

 would, if you said one thing was right, unhesitatingly 

 declare it wrong, and try to prove it so to your face even 

 in his more sedate moments, regardless of the mischief 

 he might make. Sir Joseph bought Beacon out of the 

 Danebury stable, and very soon discovered that in his 

 new trainer's hands he was, in his opinion, improved 

 two stone, and that the Northamptonshire Stakes was a 

 gift to him. Fred Swindell, therefore, put 2,000 on the 

 horse for Sir Joseph, and stood a monkey on him 

 himself, regarding the race as one of Sir Joseph's real 

 good things. On this occasion he lent me Minotaur to 

 try Bevis with, saying : 



' If you can beat him, lad, at a stone, you will 

 " copp " ' another expressive term of his, meaning ' you 

 will win.' 



I tried first at a stone, and afterwards with even 

 weights, when the young one won again, and cleverly, 

 too. He did our commission, as well for Mr. Parker as 

 the stable, and stood in 100 himself, remarking that if 

 he had the monkey ' off ' Beacon he would have stood 

 one on ours. In the result, Bevis won in a trot, and the 

 wonderfully improved Beacon was nowhere. I may say 

 here that little Bevis, quite a pony, was the worst goer I 

 ever saw. When he cantered up the course before the 

 race, a well-known horse-dealer laughed at the exhibition 

 he made, and said it was a pity such a horse should be 

 brought to the meeting, much less allowed to run ; an 

 opinion of which I reminded him afterwards, when he 

 still said he could not understand how a horse with such 

 action could win. 



