4 CHASING AND RACING 



adventurous spirit had constrained him to enlist. An 

 experience by the way which, later on, served him in 

 good stead, when he and I were sporting the gorgeous 

 " outfit " of the Duke of Cambridge's Hussars 

 (M.Y.C.). I now installed him Secretary of State, 

 Agent General, Chief of the Staff, Q.M.G., Fidus 

 Achates, and boon companion a sort of personal Pooh 

 Bah, in fact. Like myself, there was nothing in his 

 pedigree which suggested horsemanship as a likely 

 recrudescence ; but assuredly he was obsessed with the 

 desire to disport himself in this direction ; though his 

 too solid flesh forbade dreams of glory on the race- 

 course. 



I must go back a bit to describe our first equine 

 adventure. 



In our stables at my beloved home, Moat Mount, 

 situated on the summit of Highwood Hill the 

 highest point of the county of Middlesex there were, 

 besides Tommy and Pet, the bay and grey cobs, 

 driven by " The Dads," a pair of " camels," whose 

 duty it was to drag the family barouche, containing 

 my mother, when she paid formal calls on the neigh- 

 bouring " quality " (she was mostly of Irish blood, 

 with a dash of French) or when she devoted two and 

 a half weary hours to divine worship on the Sabbath. 

 These ponderous " coach horses " were named respec- 

 tively Castor and Pollux, and it was difficult to tell 

 " t'other from which," either in appearance, pace and 

 action (alike inconspicuous) or temperament. 



