■ 8; 



bein^ much concerned about his rij^'htful owner, and addressing to- 

 all and sundry the, to many, I have no doubt, not very intelligible 

 inquiry. "Did ye see the maun wha aucht him?" There must have 

 been some good reason for the falling about, or that fine horseman 

 '* The Capting,"' whom I Wjis glad to see again among the field, 

 would not have been "playing boss" as I'm told he was, nor the 

 straight going "Mr. Cochin China" reduced to riding Shank's mare. 



It would be difficult to say, who took the lead throughout yester- 

 days chase at its different stages, as almost all the best mounted had 

 a cut in at one time or other. The " Bounding Jockey " went away with 

 his usual rush, but his proverbial good fortune on this occasion appa- 

 rently deserted him, and he was thrown out early in the hunt, with a 

 knot of good men who are usually bandy about the finish in his wake. 

 His rival on last occasion, Lord William, was as usual lying by ready 

 to take up — when others overran — the paper — with our crack lady rider 

 on "Claret" v.hom nobody else can get to fence kindly — Mr. Nilloc, 

 on Black Prince, " The Capting " on the Poona Prize Winner and Archer 

 on Gipsy in attendance. The lie of the paper appearing to indicate a 

 finish in the same direction as on ist December, the leaders flashed 

 over the scent and left Lord William to win as he liked : Mr. Nilloc 

 second, Mr. Jasper Polly — famous on his jumping mare — third, the 

 rest practically nowhere. 



Among the ruck I noticed some remarkably fine fencers, notably a 

 bay cob of Mr. Vanrennan's who, unfit as he was, flew over the last 

 hurdle as if he'd not gone half a mile. Some. of our paperchasers 

 might do worse than go in for him. 



Yesterday's chase will, I have no doubt, long be remembered as 

 the "Lady's Day" of Paperchasing in Calcutta, why? Pll tell you 

 later on. Our cold weather this year has been peculiarly fitful, blowing 

 hot and cold without any sort of system, and laying the clerk of the 

 weather open to rather more than a suspicion of temporary insanity. 

 Yesterday the morning was, however, singularly propitious, which 

 inclines me to the belief that the clerk although prone, in his moments 

 of mental obliquity, to play pranks on racing, has still a soft side left 

 to Diana. Be that as it may, the morning was all that one could wish 

 —cold, clear, and crisp— and the chase, the most successful of the 

 season. The course was much more open than usual, and consequently 

 more pleasant to cross. The field was exceptionally large, the gallery 

 enormous, and when I add that our " Leading Lady" (Mrs. Jim Cook— 

 Ed.) was first past the winning flag, I have gone a long way towards 

 accounting for the success of Thursday's Paperchase. 



The meet was at the ruins of the Juggernauth Car on the Gurnah 

 Hat Road, and I do not recollect ever having seen the road so crowded 



