H.R.H. AT KINGSCLERE 267 



ness was invariably enabled to see the horses at 

 work, to witness a trial, or to canter about the Downs 

 in company with his trainer, free from any kind of 

 interference or interruption on the part of a curious 

 public. Luncheon at Park House followed, with a 

 leisurely inspection of the horses in the stables, and 

 then came the comfortable homeward journey. 

 One is left to conjecture whether, even with all the 

 conveniences of Newmarket at his disposal, the 

 Prince does not sometimes wish those pleasant days 

 at Kingsclere back again, especially as, as we have 

 said before, John Porter has the assurance of his 

 Royal Highness that the change which was made in 

 the custody of his horses was not effected without 

 sincere regret on his part. Sometimes, when the 

 composition of the royal party was more elaborate 

 than customary, the reporter got scent of it, and then 

 a paragraph like the following made its appearance in 

 the newspapers : ' The Prince of Wales, accompanied 

 by Lord Arthur Somerset, Mr. Mackenzie, and 

 other gentlemen, arrived at Kingsclere yesterday 

 morning, and saw the horses go through their 

 gallops. The Prince and other visitors afterwards 

 lunched at Park House, the residence of Mr. Porter.' 

 There is a well-nigh uninterrupted stream of 

 visitors to Park House all the year round. It 

 rarely happens that the trainer's hospitable roof 

 shelters none but the members of his own family and 

 dependents. Whether they be merely there for the 

 day or for a more prolonged sojourn, an inspection 

 of the work done by the horses on the Downs, as 



