292 IRiMitG IRecoUections an^ Xlurf Stones 



One day after this run I was talking about it to 

 Sir Frederick, and he was blaming his hunter for 

 stopping at the time he did, remarking : 



"Your old horse had gone farther than mine, and 

 he seemed fresh enough." 



I answered : " Yes, sir ; but you forget you were 

 trying to give me at least 3 st. ; and if they were 

 matched I should back mine to give yours three ; so, 

 if 6 St. does not make all the difference, what is the 

 use of handicapping ?" 



Naturally, he fell in with my views, saying he 

 never looked at the matter in that light before. 



One of the greatest admirers of ' The Doctor ' was 

 Mr. E. C. Clayton, of Cottesmore. On one occasion 

 a gentleman went up to him with a very long face, 

 saying : 



" What a pity Custance's old horse makes a 

 noise !" 



Directly he turned round, and said : 



" Yes ; and if you only could follow him for 

 twenty minutes, yours would make a noise of some 

 sort — if he lived." 



When ' The Doctor ' was seventeen years of age 

 he won the jumping prize at Oakham. There was 

 a large entry, as the first prize was ;^20, which was 

 considered a great amount in those days, and all the 



