234 KINGSCLERE 



was so great in my younger days that I naturally 

 took a great interest in his horses when they came 

 South. Indeed, the Derby in those days had 

 resolved itself into a battle between North and 

 South, and everybody was especially curious to see 

 the rod in pickle for us which had been prepared on 

 Langton Wold. The impression which I retain of 

 John Scott's horses is that they always looked big 

 and well and full of muscle. In my pleasant 

 occasional chats with the veteran I invariably found 

 him genial and communicative, and I sincerely regret 

 that I was never at liberty to accept his repeated 

 invitations to pay a visit to Whitewall. The only 

 other North-country trainer of that period whom I 

 became acquainted with was Thomas Dawson, a 

 hearty companion and a master of his business. 

 My friendship with Matthew Dawson, a great 

 trainer of whom it is impossible to speak too highly, 

 extends over very many years. We have frequently 

 been opponents, as the chronicle in these pages 

 shows, but always, I am sure, in a sportsmanlike 

 and congenial spirit. I may remark that we have 

 always met, through our champions, on high ground ; 

 that is to say in the " classic" races, a handicap 

 never being the bone of contention. I hold Joseph 

 Dawson in my most grateful remembrance. From 

 the period of my earliest experience as a trainer down 

 to the day of his death I received the greatest 

 kindness at his hands. It was my regular custom 

 in attending the Newmarket meetings to dine with 

 him at least once a week. When death, all too 



