REMINISCENCES OF SONEPOKE. 107 



and suppers splendidly. Mr. Eraser McDonell, though no 

 longer Secretary, was there with his wife and pretty daughter, 

 Mrs. Cecil Wilkins ; and as the local scribe Specked Tater, 

 wrote at the time, " There he stood with his honors, ever thick 

 upon him, Chief too of his Clan, his family around him, to 

 see one of whom in the saddle was alone worth going to 

 Sonepore and yet he was as full of the thing, as when five 

 and twenty years ago, he in black, and all black, used year 

 after year to steer beautiful Beppo to victory. Euge well 

 loved Little Mac." I need scarcely say Specked Tater alluded 

 to Mrs. McDonell than whom no more accomplished lady 

 rider ever graced the saddle, and She kept her nerve to the 

 day she left India, which was long after she was a grand- 

 mother. Bob Crowdy was winning chases all over the country 

 about this time ; at Allahabad on Hermit he beat Captain 

 Hemphreys on R. Y. in the Maiden chase. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



YEAR 1876. 



In 1876, Mr. Harry Alexander, the popular Civilian, who 

 had married pretty Miss Sandes of Bhagalpore, and Colo- 

 nel Auchinleck were, with Messrs. Butler, Geo. Llewhellin, 

 F. Collingridge and Colonel Browne, the Stewards; Mr. 

 Ralph Abercrombie, Honorary Secretary. A five days' pro- 

 gramme was published, but the. last only a sky affair. The 

 change was much discussed, and drew from Fred Collingridge 

 an agonised appeal to all concerned, to keep up the old ten 

 days' fixture. The best bit of the letter was this, : "Rent acu 

 tetigi Sonepore' s ten days were only too few, and we used 

 always to extend them, but I fearlessly argue that if Sonepore 

 is worth going to at all, it is worth going to for ten days ; and 

 that eight days are too short, either for the pleasure attained, 

 or the trouble necessary to attain that pleasure. And if 

 Sonepore is what it was, it was worth going five hundred 



