HORSEMANSHIP 105 



On a former occasion I was once inspired to 

 remark that " those whom the dogs love lie 

 young," and I might justifiably have added 

 that in like manner a fondness for horses would 

 appear to blind human beings to the value of 

 those humbler virtues upon which the whole 

 structure of our social edifice is based. Take, 

 for example, the case of my cousin, Leopold 

 Biscay Bifiin. Here, if you like, was a boy 

 who started life full of promise, with every 

 prospect of a bright future in store for him. 

 He was born, if I remember rightly, in the Bay 

 of Biscay, on board the s.s. Leopold, while his 

 mother was travelling in a leisurely fashion 

 round the world for the sake of her health. 

 At an early age his infantile precocity served 

 to endear him to all his fellow-passengers, and 

 he won the hearts of the entire crew by the 

 smiles (partly, no doubt, attributable to in- 

 digestion) with which he rewarded their hum- 

 blest efforts to amuse him. When I tell you 

 that before he was six months old he had 

 already called the deck-steward " Daddy " on 

 two notable occasions, you will readily under- 

 stand his popularity. When the Captain kindly 

 gave him his gold watch to play with, and he 

 promptly dropped it overboard. Baby Leopold 

 is said to have exclaimed, " Gumble bumble 

 boo !" so distinctly that his proud mother 



