4 The Fourth Duke of Grafton. 



"Oh dear! I am very sorry, Parish! How 

 did it happen ? " 



'' In a very extraordinary way ; he was going 

 down the road, he caught his toe and fell, and 

 it was a 'fair fall' !" 



The Duke, greatly amused, said it would not 

 suit him ; but he had never heard of a '* fair fall '^ 

 before. 



The Duke took great pains with young horses, and 

 was in the habit of taking out two at a time with 

 some of his good riding grooms ; if they showed, 

 good temper and fine horsemanship with a way- 

 ward horse the Duke always rewarded them on 

 the spot. I must add that the succeeding dukes- 

 have done their best to provide sires of the best 

 blood. The results are only satisfactory when 

 the mares are good ; but there is a great dearth 

 of strong, well-bred mares in the country, and 

 not much disposition on the part of the farmers 

 to breed at the present time. 



In hunting circles the Duke was known as- 

 the *' Green Duke." Three dukes kept hounds, 

 and they were called after the colour of their 

 liveries, green, blue, and red. When I first saw 

 the noble Duke in the hunting field — to know 

 who he was — he was riding the beautiful Bolero, 

 by Partisan out of Minuet, by Waxy. It was 



