62 MR. JOHN GULLY. 



the lot of any auctioneer to have the honour of sub- 

 mitting for public competition ' ? Was there ever a 

 hack so old and infirm but has been said to be ' well- 

 seasoned and quiet ' ? And when ever was a thorough- 

 bred one sold, that was not pronounced by the astute 

 auctioneer, before the fall of the hammer, to be ' worth 

 double what he was going for, as many of the great 

 races were entirely at his mercy, and at the stud alone 

 he would be worth considerably more than the trifle 

 he was offered at ' 1 ' 



Gully's character was certainly blackened by one of 

 the gravest faults — ingratitude to those who assisted 

 him when he could not assist himself. This blemish 

 was especially glaring in the case of his friend Mr. 

 Ridsdale, whom he insulted and horsewhipped in the 

 hunting-field. The incident is thus recorded by a 

 contemporary : 



' The success with which Gully and Mr. Ridsdale 

 met did not cement their friendship, and their quarrel 

 came at last to a climax in a personal encounter in 

 the hunting-field, when Gully mercilessly thrashed 

 his former partner, after which Mr. Ridsdale brought 

 an action for assault that terminated in a verdict with 

 £500 damages for the plaintiff — a decision which met 

 with so much approval from the bulk of the spectators 

 in the crowded court, most of them hunting-men with 

 whom " Bobby " was very popular, that they gave a 

 rattling; view holloa, in which the learned brethren 

 of the Bar and the eminent Judge himself were 



