IX 



LORD FALMOUTH 



This chapter, which deals with some of the most 

 notable triumphs of the famous " magpie " colours, 

 was one to the writing of which I had looked 

 forward with very great pleasure. It seemed to 

 promise so wonderfully well. No man, before or 

 since, ever raced in a more honourable and high- 

 minded fashion than did Lord Falmouth, and no 

 one has ever enjoyed such an unbroken run of good 

 luck. No matter how he mated the mares in his 

 select breeding stud — and it must be admitted that 

 he by no means worked upon " scientific " principles, 

 which were little studied in those days — they almost 

 invariably threw something capable of winning 

 weight-for-age races, and I feared that it would be 

 quite impossible, in the space at my command, to 

 do anything like justice to the notable triumphs 

 achieved by the united efforts of Lord Falmouth, 

 Matthew Dawson, and Fred Archer. However, 

 we have been told that " Oft expectation fails where 

 most it promiseth," and I had good cause to 

 realise the wisdom of Shakespeare's words before I 

 had finished collecting materials for this chapter. 

 The impossibility of arranging an interview with 

 Matthew Dawson was my main difficulty. Even 

 when I first took the work in hand the veteran was 



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