1882] MATCH WITH THE MARQUIS OF QUEENSBERRY. 97 



circumstances, jumped off his horse, knocked the man 

 down, rubbed his face in the muck, and gave him half a 

 crown to salve his injured feelings. The man swore the 

 Squire was a trump, and might ride wherever he had a 

 mind to. 



Another of Mr. Cotton's feats was to jump every 

 fence in the Grand National course on foot, but he left 

 out the water-jump, as he had not got a change of clothes 

 and did not want to get wet. People used to be fond of 

 telling you of how he thrashed the noted bully of Bakewell 

 at an agricultural show, l)ut space does not admit of the 

 fight being described here. 



There is rather an amusing story, too, of how he 

 was walking over the Ayr steeplechase course, just 

 before the meeting, with Lord Eglinton and Captain 

 Neil. As they got to the brook, which was a natural 

 watercourse, with banks four or five feet above the 

 water, they saw some one go at it with nothing on 

 but his underclothes. In he went, splash 1 up to his 

 neck. 



" Who's that ? " Mr. Cotton asked naturally. 



"No one but Queensberry would be mad enough to 

 jump that," was the answer. 



"Is it so very big ? " the first speaker asked ; " because, 

 if it isn't, I can jump it." 



By this time Lord Queensberry had had another try 

 and got another ducking. In the end Mr. Cotton proved 

 as good as his word, clearing it with a foot to spare. This 

 led to a match on foot over the four and a half miles of 

 the Bogside steeplechase course. A great deal of money 

 — over a thousand pounds — depended on the result. Lord 

 <5ueensberry's backers let ofi" the water where the brook 

 was dammed up, and he just bobbed in and out. His 

 antagonist got over somehow, and they came into the 

 straight neck and neck. It looked as if it must end in a 

 dead heat, and some one held out a carriage-whip to act 

 as a tape. Six yards from it Lord Queensberry fell, 

 absolutely dead beat. Mr. Cotton did the same a yard or 



