40 REMINISCENCES OF SONEPORE. 



In this race Nell Gwynne, in spite of Lord Ulick's persuasions 

 refused to start till the rest had gone a quarter of a mile ; but 

 she did better in the Consolation Stakes, for going kindly she 

 beat Hero and Hotspur. Although only five days had been 

 advertised, and half the visitors had cleared out on the Satur- 

 day, yet the festive planters, elated at local victories, would 

 have another day, and while the dulcet notes of Kenneth 

 McLeod's voice, to the accompaniment of his violin, made the 

 rafters ' ring to the strains of " Ho Maggie Lauder," 

 or " the Diel take the hindmost says Duncan Macalagan 

 Laird of Tally-ben Jo," they got up a card, and 

 Monday opened with a Bachelors' Purse, a mile and 

 three-quarters handicap, Legerdemain 9-8, Mercury 

 9-4, and Roebuck 8-12. They got home in the order given, 

 but Mercury was pulling so hard that Folkes' stirrup leather 

 and curb chain broke, and the horse bolted, and ran himself 

 out ; another lesson to professional and owner alike, of the 

 necessity of using sound gear. A Ladies' Purse was won by 

 Cossack, Fraser McDonell up, Mr. Stocks, for the first time at 

 Sonepore, occupying a back seat. The meeting finished by 

 Simmy's scoring on Juliet, in a half mile hack race. At this 

 meeting the plunging was abnormal, men who looked on bet- 

 ting as sinful had at least fifty rupees on Diana every time 

 she went cut ; old Latour, the Collector, won a pot of money on 

 her, Vincent dropped a bit. But Behar had now to face troublous 

 times, and although she escaped comparatively scatheless, it 

 was chiefly because Patna was lucky enough to have, at the 

 moment, a man like William Tayler, bold enough to nip rebel- 

 lion in the bud ; by drastic measures he saved Behar, but for 

 him the massacres would have spread to the indigo districts, 

 yet his reward was contumely and disgrace, because he had 

 a vindictive enemy at head-quarters. In addition to Tayler's 

 prompt action, Fraser McDonell worthily upheld the good 

 name of the grand old school he was educated at, Haileybury, 



