258 MR. SWINDELL. 



many of Sir Joseph Hawley's commissions. The 

 baronet would often pay him a visit at his house 

 after dinner, and in the temper resulting from liberal 

 indulgence, would abuse him in language more 

 forcible than refined. But this was a failing of Sir 

 Joseph's. He was haughty and intolerant of opposi- 

 tion. From pure love of contradiction he would, if 

 you said one thing was right, unhesitatingly declare 

 it wrong, and try to prove it so to your face even in 

 his more sedate moments, regardless of the mischief 

 he might make. Sir Joseph bought Beacon out of 

 the Danebury stable, and very soon discovered that 

 in his new trainer's hands he was, in his opinion, 

 improved two stone, and that the Northamptonshire 

 Stakes was a gift to him. Fred Swindell, therefore, 

 put £2,000 on the horse for Sir Joseph, and stood 

 a monkey on him himself, regarding the race as one 

 of Sir Joseph's real good things. On this occasion 

 he lent me Minotaur to try Bevis with, saying : 



' If you can beat him, lad, at a stone, you will 

 "copp"' — another expressive term of his, meaning 

 ' you will win.' 



I tried first at a stone, and afterwards with even 

 weights, when the young one won again, and 

 cleverly, too. He did our commission, as well for 

 Mr. Parker as the stable, and stood in £100 himself, 

 remarking that if he had the monkey ' off ' Beacon he 

 would have stood one on ours. In the result, Bevis 

 won in a trot, and the wonderfully improved Beacon 



