Sir John Astley. 73 



in^s, prevail against such a flyer as Sir John, who just 

 managed to defeat him after a desperate race. I need 

 hardly say that when Cork had her revenge over the 

 sporting Sassenach with Jack Tobin, no Sheffield 

 " gaffer " could have tended his " tryer " more carefully 

 than I did my Lismore bo}-. 



By the beginning of the cold weather of 1870 I had 

 the horses fairly fit. As we had determined to try our 

 luck at Sealkote, where the 5th Lancers were stationed, 

 and as Captain Maxwell could not get leave of absence 

 at the time, I started with Ranelagh, Caliph, the pony 

 Quaker, and a chestnut Arab, belonging to the Hon. 

 Ralph Hare, of the Horse Gunners. This son of the 

 ■desert showed fair speed, but could not stay. Added to 

 his inability to travel a distance, he had an unfortunate 

 knack of kicking, which he practised the moment he 

 started to gallop, and did not leave off until he had gone 

 a couple of hundred yards. Needless to say, he did not 

 pay his hay and corn bill. The only horse worth men- 

 tion that Ranelagh had to meet, was Toprail, and that 

 Caliph had to oppose, was the grey Arab Salar, both 

 belonging to Charlie Bailey of the 20th Hussars. This 

 fine horseman had also that brute Prince Rupert, late 

 Pill Garlic. Our trio won ten or eleven races — in fact, 



