258 HEROES AND HEROINES OE 



directly they entered the straight. From this point 

 the race was reduced to a match between Voluptuary 

 and Frigate, who came away by themselves, and 

 though the Irish mare momentarily flattered her 

 backers, she hit the last hurdle very hard, and 

 Voluptuary flying it in splendid fashion, galloped in 

 a clever winner by four lengths. Six lengths away 

 Roquefort was third. 



Time : lo minutes 5 seconds. 



Sundry circumstances conspired to prevent the 

 Grand National of 1884 being the social success 

 predicted for it with more than usual confidence. 



Xo begin with, the day was dull and overcast, 

 and the course itself enveloped in such a thick 

 mist that hardly anything of what the horses were 

 doing could be seen from the stand. 



Then The Scot, who not only carried the 

 confidence of his Royal owner, but that of a large 

 proportion of the sporting public as well, must 

 needs jump into a fence instead of over it, when 

 looking as dangerous as anything. 



Finally, hardly had the winner passed the post, 

 when a telegram was handed to the Prince 

 conveying the sad news of his brother the Duke 

 of Albany's sudden death. 



