SOME OF THE FIELD. 199 



skirmislies ; a duellist to uphold the honour of his regi- 

 ment ; for upwards of sixty years a first-flight man with 

 the Brocklesby and other packs ; a breeder and a good 

 judge of horses and dogs ; an excellent shot, and an expert 

 in woodcraft. That reads more like the hero of a novel 

 than a figure in real life. He was born at Cabourne, near 

 Caistor, on June 25th, 1811, coming from a good old 

 North Lincolnshire family, who were originally descended 

 from the Skipwdths of Skipwith, in Yorkshire. Sir 

 William Ingleby had promised to secure young Skipworth 

 a commission in a cavalry regiment ; but Europe was 

 settling down after the wars with the great Napoleon, and 

 there was little to tempt the young soldier into the British 

 regular Army. Fortunately for Mr. Skipworth, the Por- 

 tuguese War of Succession broke out, and he at once 

 determined on active service. Among the many letters 

 of introduction that he took out with him in the Royal Tar 

 — he was then only just turned twenty-one years of age — 

 was one from Lord Yarborough (the Commodore of the 

 Royal Yacht Squadron, aud great-grandfather of the 

 present earl) to Colonel, afterwards General Baker, who 

 was then commandino- the first Portu^'uese Lancers. 



Mr. Skipworth's first experience of war happened before 

 he landed, as the followers of Don ^liguel w^ere closely 

 beleaguering Oporto and Villanova, at the mouth of the 

 Douro, and their guns commanded the river from the sur- 

 rounding heights. Small vessels at night had sometimes 

 been able to eftect a passage, but never so large a vessel 

 as the Royal Tar. Mr. Skipworth asked if there was no 

 way of entering, and was told that the only possible way 

 was by hoisting a man-of-war's pennant. But that meant 

 a penalty of £500, and no officer would run the risk. Mr. 

 Skipworth soon had the flag flying, and a civilian took 

 command of the vessel, and took her in under the very 

 guns of the insurgents, who stood awaiting the word to 

 fire that never came. The captain of the vessel was ill 

 at the time, and the other officers thought it was well to 

 keep below. An officer of a British man-of-war lying in 



