REMINISCENCES OF SONEPORE. 1 



pore stable. The shifty chestnut ran badly the first day, but 

 he gave us a taste of the way he could travel when he liked, 

 and simply squandered his field in the Jaintpore Plate. 

 There was standing of drinks galore that night at the ex- 

 cellent Esplanade Hotel, when the wire of the win was received 

 there, and on arrival at Calcutta after his triumph, Ghost was 

 treated to a whole magnum of Monk's own peculiar and particu- 

 larly fine liqueur whisky, ten years in bottle. Mr. Carr-Stephen 

 brought all the way from Mymensingh a couple of ponies, and 

 all Behar men regretted his pluck was not better rewarded. 



A very memorable fight, without gloves, came off at the 

 lotteries one night, between Tim the Chupra Toff, and Baby 

 the Bruiser of Chumparun. One round was enough to satisfy 

 honor and then both were put to bed. The comical element 

 that year was supplied by that mealey-mouthed soldier, Cap- 

 tain Willie Scales, who brought up Kangaroo. He came up 

 quite promiscuously, hired a small dirty red and blue striped 

 tent, stuck it up in a most conspicuous place, and kept us 

 alive with his vagaries. Colonel Simpson had sent his two 

 English ponies, Mike and Marquise, to Jaintpore to train, and 

 they kept up the reputation of Tirhoot as a summering place, 

 winning heaps of big races up-country, little Mike pulling off 

 the Civil Service Cup. Jimmy's horses in Calcutta did not do as 

 well as we all hoped, in fact from start to finish Knightsbridge 

 proved a most disappointing and expensive purchase. During 

 1889 Mr. Minden Mackenzie, Manager of Dooriah, always 

 a welcome addition to Sonepore gatherings, wooed and won 

 the belle of Behar, pretty Miss Alice Williams, daughter of 

 that straightest of sportsmen, Mr. E. Gwatkin Williams. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 



YEAR 1890. 



On the 28th April 1890 a meeting of Sonepore patrons 

 was held at Mr. Bourdillon's house in Chupra, when all the 



