246 IRiMna IRecoIlections an^ XTurf Stories 



Station. He would jump at the bait at once, and 

 reply, " Yes ; and don't I remember Captain Trotter 

 riding my horse, and trying to kill him !" This was 

 an annual affair, and Captain " Doggy" Smith never 

 enjoyed anything more than to hear Mr. Julius tell 

 the story over again. The two brothers were very 

 fond of winning the local steeplechases — of the Quorn 

 Hunt, held at Loughborough, and of the Melton 

 Hunt, which were run at that time over the old course 

 at Burrough Hills — and they did so on several occa- 

 sions with 'Walloon,' 'The Duke,' ' Blue Ruin,' and 

 'Solitaire,' whom I sold to them. 'Solitaire' won 

 six races straight off, including the Billesdon Coplow 

 Stakes. It was very amusing to see the two brothers 

 on the morning of the trials, with their faithful old 

 groom, Hughes, weighing us out. It took him three 

 times longer than it would to weigh out for a Grand 

 National, and I am sure he thought it quite as impor- 

 tant. Many a time has Captain Smith, after we 

 had cantered up — as we used to go through all the 

 formalities for a lark — said, " I wonder what that 

 chap is doing there ?" It generally turned out to be 

 a shepherd, and sometimes it was a myth, no one 

 being there at all. Off would go one of the Behrens, 

 only to come back and say that it was all right, as 

 he had found out it was not a tout. As every one 



