Mr. William Thacker. 131 



-sportsman, the late Mr. Gore Ouseley, for what we had 

 .given for her. She recovered her form in his hands, and 

 won several good races. 



Mr. Thacker, whose name I have just mentioned, was 



the best gentleman rider on the flat I have ever beheld 



•cither at home or abroad. He was a " rare plucked 'un." 



On one occasion at Warwick, if I remember right, he 



got a desperate fall, and smashed his nose almost into a 



pulp. By way of breaking the news gently to his wife, 



he telegraphed to her : " Nose knocked into a jelly, 



what shape would you like it .'' " When he came out to 



India he was over fifty years of age, and yet he was 



always ready to ride any brute in a steeplechase out of 



sheer love of the sport, till he was made by his friends 



•to promise that he would give up cross-country work. 



When he donned silk, he looked a jockey all over ; 



while, without wasting, he was always able to ride 



8 St. 10 lbs. I remember seeing him ride a horse at 



Lucknow against some others which were steered by 



gentlemen amateurs. At the distance post, riding began 



to tell, when that good horseman iNIr. Macleod, who was 



looking on from the stand, shouted in the excitement of 



the moment, " The professional wins." " You mistake," 



said a bystander, correcting him, " there are no profes- 



