282 THE POST AND THE PADDOCK. 



when he put four of his retired Blue Ruin stamp of 

 hunters into his High Sheriffs coach. The two law- 

 chiefs found themselves describing a sort of zig-zag 

 movement behind the javelin men and trumpeters, 

 who had no doubt revived some old hunting-horn as- 

 sociations ; and on appealing to the Sheriff, he simply 

 put his head out of the window, saying, " They're 

 my hunters, my lord, and they're all jibbers Hang 

 it ! but Fll get out and walk/' 



Mr. George Payne's sale, about thirty years since, 

 was the greatest ever known, and twenty- six hunters 

 and hacks realized 7,500 guineas. An odd incident 

 occurred at it, in consequence of a noted horse, called 

 Cottager, having had his name changed, when he 

 entered Mr. Payne's stud, to distinguish him from 

 another Cottager, which was there already. Hence 

 a gentleman at the sale, who knew of the greatest of 

 the two Cottagers by report, and had never seen 

 either, bought the one in the list for 400 guineas, 

 and found that he had got the wrong horse after all. 

 It is also not so very long since a commissioner was 

 sent to TattersalPs to buy "The Bank of England," 

 and bid for " The Banker" by mistake. The latter 

 was knocked down to him for 38 guineas, while 

 " The Bank of England" went for 180 guineas, and 

 turned out to be far the worst lot of the two. The 

 sales of Discount might form a chapter of them- 

 selves. He was a short-topped fifteen-three chesnut, 

 up to a very high weight, but so slow on the flat that 

 the racing world doubt whether he has really come 

 in yet for the Goodwood Cup (1844), and fancy he 

 must still be working his way home round the Clump. 

 He was by Sir Hercules, out of Minnikin, by Man- 

 fred, and foaled in 1838 in the paddocks of his 

 breeder, the late Mr. John Fowler, of Erdington, 

 near Birmingham. After being beaten at Warwick, 

 in 1842, for the Members' Plate, he was sold that 

 afternoon to Mr. Denhain for 70, His new owner 



