George IV. 119 



wonderful talents stood him in good stead in the 

 Peninsular War, where he was on the Duke of Wel- 

 lington's staff, and at times entrusted with the draw- 

 ing up of despatches. He had gained some little ex- 

 perience of bloodshed at home, as in 1807 he fought 

 a duel with Martin Hawke, in a field by the roadside, 

 as they were returning in their drags from the York- 

 shire election. On this occasion he was wounded near 

 the elbow joint, and on perceiving it he immediately 

 ran up to his opponent, and said, " Hang it, Hawke, 

 you've winged me ; but give me your hand" They 

 were great rival whips, and some ill blood on the 

 point, as well as election matters, brought about this 

 extempore determination to resort to thirty paces and 

 the saw-handles. About this time he also got up a 

 prize-fight at Blyth Whitewater, Mr. Gully doing duty 

 as bottle-holder. His fighting dog "Jack" won no 

 less than 104 battles ; and when Lord Camelford was 

 very pressing to buy him, it was agreed between them 

 to pay for him by weight. He was accordingly put 

 into the scales after a hearty meal of tripe, and was 

 found to weigh 42lbs. ; but it was thought derogatory 

 to barter such a piece of gallant stuff for coin, and 

 hence a gun and a case of pistols, which were valued 

 at eighty-four guineas, formed the medium of ex- 

 change. The way in which he trained his pig to run 

 a match, by feeding it at a certain trough, which he 

 chose for the goal, was especially characteristic ; and 

 anything connected with a race, if it were but two 

 rival drops of rain on a window-pane, he loved beyond 

 compare. As a gentleman rider he also excelled, but 

 his great delight was to " put up" Buckle as often as 

 he could, though he chose the wrong horse for him 

 (Sir Launcelot) in Staveley's St. Leger. He called 

 one of his fillies Miss Buckle, but Luck's-all was the 

 best animal he ever had in his stud, which could also 

 boast of winners in Quid, Stockton, Little Joey, Peter, 

 and Off-she-goes. At the close of 1807 he left the 



