96 REMINISCENCES OF SONEPORE. 



once at the start. Rowland was the only one who could sit 

 her, but she shifted even him occasionally. Deerfoot walked 

 over for a pony race, and Rowland won a hack sweepstakes on 

 Black Eagle, Driver having bolted with Jimmy. Walks over 

 again began the fourth day ; nothing would face Satellite for 

 the Sonepore Cup, Moosa for the Desert Stakes, or Baronet 

 for the Doomraon Cup. Delaware beat Moosa and Crossbee 

 in the Visitors' Purse, and Scalpel again proved best among the 

 second classers, by beating Black Eagle, Gabbler, Nelly and 

 Revenge. Red Gauntlet winning the Selling Race ended a 

 poor day. Again the pulling bay brought grist to Gilbert's 

 mill on Saturday, winning the Hack Handicap with Rowland 

 up, Gilbert riding Parody third, and Jimmy dividing them on 

 Nelly, late Moonlight. Chieftain won the Chupra Stakes, Black 

 Eagle the Free Handicap, and Mr. Hill's Crown Prince the 

 Behar Handicap. This ended the meeting for 1873. Mrs. Fraser 

 McDonell decorated the ball-room and looked after the sup- 

 pers, which were served in inimitable style, the meeting was 

 socially a capital one, and the racing all round not bad. Mrs. 

 H. B. Simpson, nee Vincent, whose husband was then Judge of 

 Bankipore, was a veritable Lady Bountiful to the unfortunate 

 jockeys and trainers who had no place to put up in save the tatti 

 horsesheds at Sonepore. Both as they came and went through 

 Bankipore, she would feed them sumptuously, and, moreover, 

 send them over to Sonepore tea, sugar, bread, tinned provisions 

 and other little luxuries. Small wonder they all worshipped her. 

 Gilbert Nicolay was very full of himself this meeting, and had 

 come without his wife, who was pleasingly employed looking 

 after her bairns at the Factory ; he was in the zenith of his good 

 looks, and at one of the balls was flirting desperately with a 

 very pretty girl, who took him for an eligible bachelor, and had 

 completely lost her heart to his speaking blue eyes and long 

 blonde moustache. They were sitting in the verandah (for there 

 were no " Kala juggahs" in those decorous days), between 



