^10 ashgill; or, the life 



Tom Dawson gave his place up, and Lord 

 Glasgow asked me to take charge of the horses 

 until he might fall in with another trainer. 

 There would be about a dozen or fifteen — all of 

 them old horses ; the yearhngs had not yet come 

 up. I had them under my charge for five or six 

 weeks, and then I took them to Newmarket to 

 Mr. Godding's. Lord Glasgow had a stud and 

 paddocks at Doncaster then, but kept one or two 

 stallions here at Middleham, Brother to Strafford 

 being here for two j^ears after his horses left. Mr. 

 Lilly was training for his lordship in '47, and 

 would have his horses about two years. He did 

 not keep his trainers long; he was very 

 passionate, but a very kind-hearted man." 

 Speaking of old John Osborne's visit to Northampton 

 in 1862, a writer of the period said — 



" Northampton, as usual, opened the week in the 

 Shires, every county house having its party, so that the 

 road was as well patronised as the rail. The ' Adelphi' 

 on Boxing Night was not more crowded than the stand, 

 and in the enclosure there was a national exhibition of 

 *rain traps and overcoats.' Of the latter class, 

 decidedly the greatest curiosity was the mantle of old 

 John Osborne, which was as short as that we see the 

 Iron Duke attired in, and which, with its brass lion 

 clasp, looked like the relic of some great warrior, 

 borrowed from a museum. Still, he would have cared 

 naught for the date of its birth if he could have seen 

 Chaloner put Rapparee before Stampedo. But the 

 fates decreed otherwise, and the veteran, who was 

 attended by a few select friends from the North, whose 

 coming South is alw^ays indicative of a ' good thing ' in 

 the wind, was compelled to see the Middleham 



