114 REMINISCENCES OF SONEPORE. 



good looking country-breds. Deception was served up very 

 warm at the lotteries, but was the first beaten in the race. 

 Harry's three ran a ding dong finish, Kathleen getting home 

 first, followed by Spider and Slowcoach. Mr. Crowdy was 

 recompensed for Deception's failure by Dolly Varden's beat- 

 ing three others in the Champagne Stakes. Gazelle easily won 

 the Galloway Handicap, though to everyone's astonishment 

 the despised Rocket ran second. Gameboy finished the 

 meeting by winning the Doomraon Cup, Jimmy watching the 

 race from under the kanauts of his tent. 



The year 1877 was the hottest Sonepore on record ; the 

 heat under canvas was too awful for words. The fair was a 

 poor one. AH Abdoola bought a lot of country-breds for Bom- 

 bay remounts. Sir Ashley Eden, then Lieutenant-Governor, 

 was present and made himself very agreeable, doing all that 

 was nice, giving a ball, and altogether the meet was successful. 

 Horace Cockerell, who could speak well, proposed Mr. Aber- 

 crombie's health at the Lieutenant-Governor's ball ; and then 

 everyone rose to drink with Highland honors the toast pro- 

 posed by Mr. Abercrombie, that of Mr. Fraser McDonell ; 

 how the glasses did rattle in his honor ! The chief winners 

 over the meeting were Mr. Covey and Harry Abbott, for the 

 latter's representative backed bonny Kathleen in every 

 lottery. 



When Jimmy smashed his knee cap, he did not own 

 Bowrar Bill, as he had sold him half an hour previously to 

 Elphick, the Veterinary-Surgeon. The horse had been en- 

 tered for two races that day, the last being a selling race, and 

 Jimmy remarked at the lotteries he would not start in the 

 second if he went lame after the first one, which was very pro- 

 bable, as he had a heavy weight to carry and always played 

 the fool and knocked himself about. Elphick thought this was 

 only " kid, " so that Jimmy might buy the brute cheap in the 

 lottery ; so he bid for and bought him himself at a biggish 



