REMINISCENCES OF SONEPORE. 



contracted a bigamous marriage with an up-country parson. 

 The news of this did not seem to affect Master Jack much, he 

 merely remarked that she always was fond of the Church, and 

 that he wished the parson joy of her. Jack's education was 

 not of the highest order, and some of his epistles were fully 

 as delicious as any of Teddy Weekes' graphic productions. 

 Over each horse's stall he had a board covered with foolscap, 

 on which he used to note the amount of grain allowed the 

 occupant. Here is one of his masterpieces of orthography : 

 ' Gra fille wun ser hots for gram', which being interpreted 

 meant, 'grey filly, one seer oats, four gram.' Another equally 

 amusing effort read as follows : ( Ba kolt, three ser hots three 

 gras' which meant 'bay colt, three seers oats, three grass. 



One of the last races the old man rode was at Hajeepore, 

 when he won the Meturjee Cup on Mr. Hill's Smoker after 

 three severe heats. A straight and honest servant, with but 

 the one failing, a too well defined love of the "craythur." It 

 was in 1839 that the races had to be run at Sonepore, the 

 programme for the first meeting was headed " The Sonepore 

 Park Meeting" and the first event run for, was a Silver Break- 

 fast Set presented by the Stud officers, it was won by Mr. 

 Eraser. Mr. Burgess acted as Honorary Secretary and Messrs. 

 Lushington, Napier and Captain Arthur were Stewards. This 

 was the first year of Kenneth McLeod's racing career. 



CHAPTER II. 

 YEARS 1840-46. 



As far back as 1840 we find the Maharajahs of Hutwa, 

 Dumraon, Bettiah, and Durbungah, presenting cups, so that for 

 close on sixty years they have been generous patrons of the 

 local turf. Chutterdharee Sahee Bahadoor was then on the 

 throne of Hutwa, while the proud house of Bettiah was re- 

 presented by Rajah Newul Kishore Singh Bahadoor. In 1844 



