REMINISCENCES OF SONEPOKE. 189 



accorded to racing men, a considerable accession of comfort 

 to European visitors, for the fair would be cleared of a very 

 considerable proportion of the once-a-year-washed but still 

 unsavoury native devotee. Moreover, dealers in that sort of 

 pony and screw, which none but an Aryan would purchase, 

 would have taken their ewe-necked, cow-hocked, donkey- 

 hoofed, sore backed abominations away. So that far less time 

 would be lost by those needing serviceable hacks in searching 

 out their requirements. Mr. Robertson Pughe agreed to take 

 up the duties of clerk of the course, Mr. Gordon volunteered 

 to judge, while the starter's flag was voted to Captain Adam- 

 son. Mr. George Llewhellin was asked to take charge of the 

 scales, a task which he had for so many years successfully 

 carried through at Sonepore. The Civilians' and Planters' 

 Cup was changed into the Merchants' Cup with an increase of 

 Rs. 500 to its value and somewhat modified terms. The 

 bonnes bouches for horses and ponies were shown to be excep- 

 tionally handsome for a Mofussil meeting. Over Rs. 7,000 

 was guaranteed for the three days' racing. The entries pro- 

 mised well, and a jubilee race, value Rs. 500, for all assistants' 

 ponies, induced a crowd of aspirants to enter. 



The Jaintpore stable had received two heavy blows during 

 the year, first, game little Sting's dropping dead in the Viceroy's 

 Cup, and taking away much of the pleasure of the stable's win 

 with Mr. Gasper's Mercury. It was, of course, a great feather 

 that three of the Jaintpore horses finished, one of them, Mercury, 

 first with Sting and Sir Greville dead heat for third place in 

 the race of the year, but there is no doubt Clarke sacrificed 

 Sting to Mercury. Time after time ere Harry Abbott reached 

 Calcutta, Sting and Aimee were pulled out to ask Mercury the 

 question, and the undue exertion naturally told heavily on the 

 old champion. When passing the old stand, half a mile from 

 home, Sting faltered and stumbled, and then he must have had 

 the first seizure ; perhaps had he been pulled up then by his 



