Lord William Beresford. 197 



known on French racecourses, and several other ' layers ' 

 come to Calcutta for the racing season which begins about 

 the 1st December and finishes about the end of February. 

 The legitimate part of the programmes is varied with pony 

 events, which are probably the most important feature of 

 Indian racing. There are some hurdle races, and two or 

 three days are devoted to chasing. As I have discussed 

 in The Points of the Horse the respective racing merits of 

 English and Colonial animals ; I need here only briefly 

 remark that English ponies have shown a marked supe- 

 riority over Colonial ones on the Indian turf. As to the 

 horses, the question is somewhat more difficult to decide. 

 I may state, however, with confidence, that for equal sums, 

 say, up to ^1500, which would be about the usual Indian 

 limit, better horses can be bought in Australia than in Eng- 

 land. Besides this, it is easier and cheaper to bring horses 

 to India from the former country than from the latter. 

 Furthermore, Colonial horses have, as a rule, better legs 

 and feet than English animals. Considering the care that 

 is taken of valuable horses, I do not think that there is 

 any appreciable difference between the way these two classes 

 stand the Indian climate. Lord William Beresford, who has 

 been a prominent figure on the Indian turf for several years, 

 has generally relied on English horses; because, I presume, 

 his brother Lord Marcus, was in a good position to supply 

 him with the required sort of cattle. His great rivals, the 

 Armenian house of Apcar, ' go in ' almost exclusively for 

 Australians ; because, I venture to think, their trainers are 

 generally Colonials. Lord William is an admirable busi- 

 ness man and on account of his capacity for arranging 

 functions of various kinds, was retained as Military Sec- 

 retary many years beyond the usual allowance. He has 

 always had a dusky Baron Hirsch or two in training, and has 

 supplied more horses to the native princes, than all the other 

 dealers put together. He is a strange anomaly. Generous, 

 brave and with a ' heart as big as a house,' he sometimes 



