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fieck ; he could even (we believe, but we do not know) tell 

 us what ladies say in their best '' velvet " voices when they 

 cross one another at a fence, or do a bit of riding-off in a 

 greasy lane ! We do not say that we are not in possession 

 •of a orood deal of this information o^leaned at various times 

 from the viali and his aforesaid mother : all that we say is 

 that we doubt the wisdom of using it. The most merciful 

 ithing is we think, on more sober consideration, to draw a 

 veil over the many ''tragedies," and let them wait until 

 the Paperchase mali publishes his book, or reprints his 

 speeches made at the annual Gurriah Hat Paperchase 

 Dinner given to the " peasant farmers," or otherwise those 

 •over Avhose land we pay to ride as each season comes 

 round. We intend to suggest it to the viali that he brings 

 out a book something on the lines of The Dolly Dialogues ^ 

 as a sequel and a supplement to this bare record which 

 ive now present. 



The Average Cup proper came into existence in 1888, 

 although, as recorded elsewhere, the idea originated some 

 years before this but did not fructify. It has, therefore, 

 now almost reached its twenty-first birthday and seems 

 to be as lusty an institution as it was at the time of its 

 birth and to be the incentive to as much hard-riding- as 

 of old. The first winner of this Cup was a gentleman who 

 is still in Calcutta, Mr. A. L. Butler, the pilot of Rabbit, 

 Avinner of the Paperchase Cup of 1886, and who, in those 

 •days, was as hard a man as ever got on a horse. Bad 

 accidents, bad luck, and often bad horses never stopped 

 •our friend, and, as mentioned in a previous chapter, it was 

 not so very long ago that he was going very close to 

 winning the Heavy Weight Cup, when his horse came 

 •down, broke its neck and smashed Mr. Butler's collar- 

 bone. Few of us who are nearing that ccBsura in middle 

 age which Mr. Jorrocks has aptly termed " an easy 'arf 

 'underd " will find ourselves with nerve as undiminished 



