Prince Charles Kinsky 



it was with a strong presentiment of misfortune that he mounted 

 the mare to canter down the course. These misgivings un- 

 fortunately proved too well founded, for not only did Zoedone 

 move quite unlike her usual self, but on being put at the pre- 

 liminary hurdle, she went straight up in the air, with all four 

 legs under her, as if in great pain, and finally fell all of a heap 

 the other side. 



Her jockey, notwithstanding that he was badly bruised and 

 shaken, pluckily remounted and joined the others at the post, 

 being greeted with loud cheers as he passed the stands. 



On the flag being dropped, it was soon made plain that 

 something was radically wrong with Zoedone, for not only did 

 she stagger like a drunken man, but it was with the greatest 

 difficulty that her rider could keep the mare on her legs at the 

 first fence ; in short, the latter told us afterwards that, but for 

 the large amount of money she had been backed by both the 

 public and his own personal friends, he would have pulled her 

 up there and then. As it was, that he managed to get the mare 

 round the first half in the journey in the state she must have been 

 in, was nothing short of marvellous. But he did, and it was 

 not until going into the country the second time that Zoedone 

 — now completely done up — reared up at the fence, just as 

 she had done at the preliminary hurdle, and fell heavily the 

 other side, where she lay prostrate for a quarter of an hour 

 before she could be moved. 



No Arab was ever more devoted to his steed than Count 

 Kinsky to Zoedone, and that the dastardly outrage to which 

 his favourite had fallen a victim excited widespread indigna- 

 tion goes without saying, it being a matter of general regret 

 that its perpetrator could not be found and brought to 

 justice. 



As for Zoedone, she never really shook off the effect of 



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