Sir IRfcbarfc Button 397 



among the Wranglers in the Mathematical Tripos. But 

 in those days there was a royal road open to fellow- 

 commoners by which they could attain the honour of a 

 degree without the bore of examination. Sir Richard 

 Sutton went up to Trinity on October 22nd, 1816, and, 

 as a matter of course, took his degree as Master of Arts 

 in 1818! 



On December I7th, 1819, the day after he came of 

 age, Sir Richard married Mary Elizabeth, daughter of 

 Benjamin Burton, Esquire, of Burton Hall, Co. Carlow. 

 The bride was beautiful and accomplished, the bride- 

 groom a fine specimen of a manly young Englishman. 

 Those who were present at the wedding, and they were 

 many, declared that they had never seen a handsomer 

 couple kneel before the altar. 



Miss Burton, by the way, had, not long before her 

 marriage, inspired Squire Osbaldeston to perform one 

 of his notable feats of horsemanship. He met her at a 

 dinner party, and learning that she was engaged to his 

 quondam protege and pupil Sir Richard Sutton, took a 

 warm interest in her. Now, it happened that Miss 

 Cracroft, a rival beauty, had a bouquet in which was a 

 hot-house flower of great rarity. It attracted general 

 attention, and amongst those who admired it was Miss 

 Burton. " Ah ! my dear," said Miss Cracroft, with that 

 peculiar smile which usually accompanies such feline 

 amenities, " there are some things which even the wealth 

 of Sir Richard cannot procure." Osbaldeston overheard 

 the remark and did not forget it. Pleading an excuse 

 after dinner for leaving the wine party, he slipped out 

 to the stables, mounted a favourite horse, rode to the 



