Mr. Kir by and the Foreigners. 69 



congratulation with him that the Imperial visit did 

 not take place two years sooner, when his favourite 

 Lanercost staggered in last for the Cup, which he 

 had won so cleverly the year before. No light has 

 ever been thrown on this sad transaction, except 

 that when the horse stopped in his van for a few mo- 

 ments at the door of an inn between Leatherhead 

 and Sunning Hill, a man in a sailor's dress jumped 

 in an apparently off-hand way on to the side of the 

 van, remarking to another tar, " Jump up, here's 

 Lanercost; I never saw him before!" and took a 

 long survey of him. One of the pair is supposed to 

 have administered some very powerful narcotic powder 

 in his handkerchief, while his comrade took off the 

 attention of the groom. The result was, that Tem- 

 pleman found him "as dead as a tar-barrel" in his 

 hands, long before he had reached the Swinley Post ; 

 and in the course of the next month he completely 

 changed colour. 



But we have not told all Mr. Kirby's Russian ad- 

 ventures. After the bombardment of Copenhagen, 

 and before Alexander separated himself from the 

 Northern League, he found popular feeling beginning 

 to run so high against Nelson's countrymen, that he 

 deemed it best to come home. As there was not a 

 chance of getting an ordinary pass under three weeks, 

 he prevailed on Count Waroff (who vowed that he 

 dared not ask such a favour for himself) to station 

 him at the private door of the palace when the 

 Emperor came out to parade his soldiers. He ac- 

 cordingly made his obeisance, and after a passing 

 remark about his last lot of horses, he was graciously 

 asked by the Emperor if he wanted anything, and 

 informed that he might come to him on the parade 

 ground when all was over. This was no easy matter, 

 as the guards told him he was an " impudent English- 

 man/ and ought to be "ashamed to show his face ;" 

 and one more delicately ironical than the rest per- 



