278 FIELD AND FERN. 



own horse The Corsair, and Mr. Gilmour a " 12 st. 

 each" match on his Minstrel against Sir James Bos- 

 welFs Boreas. Lord Kelburne's Actseon and Harry- 

 Edwards were all the talk at Musselburgh in 1828, 

 when they had won the Gold Cup, and also beaten 

 Queen Elizabeth, Malek, and Springkell. Sir Wil- 

 liam Maxwell's three-year-old grey Spadassin won 

 the Caledonian Cup for Scotch horses this year, as 

 well as at Perth the next, where the stylish, shovvy^ 

 Gondolier was in as great force for Lord Elcho as 

 Leda and Conjuror had been at Musselburgh, and 

 as Brunswick was in '30 at Ayr. This meeting was 

 peculiarly memorable for the five two-mile heats for 

 the Western Meeting Plate. Five out of the eight 

 did'nt go for the first heat, which was won by Leda. 

 Three did'nt go, two were drawn, and Agitator won 

 the next ; then three more were drawn, and Charley, 

 Leda, and Agitator ran a dead heat, and finished in 

 that order for the fourth heat. By this time Agitator 

 had had enough of it, and Charley won the decider. 

 The three were in a four-mile race next day, when 

 Leda and " Sim" reversed matters with Charley, and 

 Agitator was only fifth. 



Next year Charley and Leda tried their strength 

 once more at Kelso in two two-mile heats, in which 

 the mare was worsted. The horse was never in 

 greater form, and so Ballochmyle found in the 

 Caledonian Plate, and The Earl in The Guineas. 

 Lord Elcho won a match on Brunswick against Sir 

 David Baird's Queen Elizabeth, while Nicholson won. 



