THE ACCIDENT AT NEWBY FERRY. uy 



' and for twenty miles round, sorrow, if not distraction, was 

 ' visible on the face of every inhabitant. 



' As to the Messrs. Vyner, all praise is due to their 

 ' fortitude and tact shown under these direful circumstances. 



'Thomas Clayton. 

 ' Stainley House, Ripley, Yorkshire, Feb. 8.' 



The following, from the pen of a gentleman well known 

 in Yorkshire, and a friend of the deceased men, will also be 

 found interesting : — 



' .Sir, — As there will probably be an account in The Field next 

 ' week of the sad event, I should like to give you a few 

 'particulars which have not appeared in the papers at 

 ' present. ]\Iy information is chiefly obtained from Capt. 

 ' Key, who was in the boat. The general particulars, as 

 'regards the number in the boat and their names, are 

 'quite correct. The first thing that happened was this : 

 ' Capt. Key had no sooner got into the boat than he began 

 ' to feel sure that something was going wrong, so without 

 ' further thought he jumped out of the boat and swam to 

 'shore. He had nearly got to land, being a good swimmer, 

 'before anything occurred ; and when he reached the land, 

 'and was able to look about him, one or two had gone 

 'down. The first man to climb out of the boat was 

 'Mr. Clare Vyner, who assisted to pull in Sir G. Wombwell, 

 'Capt. C. Molyneux, Mr. White, of the 15th Hussars, and 

 'Major Mussenden, 8th Hussars. The latter had one of 

 'the most extraordinary escapes ever man had. Twice he 

 ' sank right among the horses, and twice rose. His head 

 ' was kicked, and his coat nearly torn off his back ; but he 

 'was the second time pulled into the boat. No one can 

 ' quite tell whether Sir Charles Slingsby's horse pulled 

 'him in, or whether he jumped in after him. That, how- 

 ' ever, was the origin, if you may call it so, of the accident, 

 ' for a lot of fellows rushed to that side of the boat, hoping 

 'to pull him in again, and, naturally enough, it turned over. 

 'They said it was a touching sight to see poor Slingsby's 

 'old horse, Saltfish, following him about in the water. He 

 'was the only man who tried to reach the opposite side, 

 'and if he could have got hold of a stirrup- iron would 



