84 The Post and the Paddock. 



repeated the feat on him shortly after at Winchester. 

 He was as great on idle horses as he was on pullers of 

 the Knowsley stamp ; but perhaps one of his greatest 

 triumphs in mouth-touching was when he rode Eagle. 

 He had advised the Duke of Dorset to buy the horse 

 from Sir Frank Standish, and run him for the King's 

 Plate at Newmarket. When the two emerged from 

 the rubbing-house, Sir Frank rode up to the Duke, 

 and advised him not to back the horse for a halfpenny, 

 as no jockey yet had been able to make him do his 

 best. Chifney had never been on him before ; but he 

 simply replied, when the Duke reported this speech to 

 him "/'// let Sir Frank Standish see whether I can 

 get him out or not ; and what 's more, I 'II neither use 

 whip nor spur to him" The other jockeys were so 

 fully aware of Eagle's sluggishness, that they posi- 

 tively walked the first three miles and a quarter of the 

 Round Course, and then came along as hard as they 

 could split for the last three furlongs. However, these 

 tactics did not answer, as Eagle could not withstand 

 the masterly bit pressure which was at once brought 

 to bear on him, and won a very fine race by a neck, 

 without being touched by whip or spur. 



If our old friends the beetle-hunters had chanced 

 to turn their steps towards the Bury Hill, on that 

 pleasant July evening, instead of taking a clerical 

 reconnaissance of the Devil's Dyke, they might have 

 passed a merry cricketing group, in which Will and 

 Sam Chifney were bearing a hand. Frank Buckle 

 was then in the very prime of manhood ; Robinson 

 and Harry Edwards were only teething, and Sam 

 Chifney still wanted some months of eleven. Will 

 Chifney, who was two years senior to his brother, was 

 thrice as active in all his ways and movements ; and 

 even at cricket, while the former might be seen inde- 

 fatigable and hot-faced in batting, bowling, and field- 

 ing, the latter stretched himself lazily on the grass till 

 his innings came round, and then made the pace so 



