8o ifcinas of tbe 1Rofc, IRffle, ant> Gun 



Having once tasted notoriety, Alicia could not live 

 without it. She astonished the Londoners by driving 

 through their streets in an extraordinary vehicle shaped 

 like a Thames wherry, drawn by four horses, and so 

 high that she could only reach the box by a step- 

 ladder. 



But her crowning feat of sportsmanship was at the 

 York August meeting of 1805, when she was engaged 

 in two matches. In the first, for which the stakes 

 were 2,000 guineas and four hogsheads of claret, her 

 opponent did not appear, and she had a walk over. 

 In the second, for a cup valued at 700 guineas, she 

 rode the Colonel's brown mare Louisa against Mr. 

 Blomfield's chestnut mare Allegra, ridden by the 

 veteran Frank Buckle, the finest jockey of his day. 

 Buckle carried 13 st. 6 Ibs., " Mrs." Thornton 9 st. 6 Ibs. 

 Alicia, in purple jacket and cap, nankeen skirts, purple 

 sleeves, and embroidered stockings, held the lead for 

 the first mile, when Buckle passed her. Then ensued 

 a splendid race. The two were never more than half 

 a length apart till, within a hundred yards of home, 

 Alicia challenged Buckle in good earnest. The prince 

 of jockeys tried all he knew, but in vain ; and after 

 a magnificent struggle Alicia landed Louisa a winner 

 by half a length. The excitement over this race was 

 extraordinary, and when " Mrs." Thornton and Louisa 

 were led back to scale by the jubilant Colonel, they 

 received a tremendous ovation. Unfortunately Alicia's 

 triumph, the greatest of her life, was marred by a 

 fracas between Colonel Thornton and Captain Flint, 

 who had not been on speaking terms since the match 



