1871—72.] A CLINKER WITH MR. TAILBY. 37 



every nerve and sinew strained to carr}' a blown horse alonj^, 

 and pull liini together for each effort — what faculties remain for 

 observing what is going on on either side ? ]\Ir. Tailby, 

 jumping more fences and bigger ones than any other man, 

 and the white horse fresh when others were done to a turn, was 

 looking to the hounds Avhile the fast work was going on, with 

 Goodall lying as handy as his late accident would allow him ; 

 Mr. Powell and Capt. Coventry searching out post-and-rails 

 that would stop an}^ ordinary field like a wire fence ; Capt. 

 Smith to-day on something that could do him justice : Mr. 

 llobertson and Custance to show how little horses can go 

 under light weights ; Mr. Pennington, Mr. Tryon, Capt. 

 Boyce, Messrs. Fludyer, Lord Hopetoun, Mr. Beynardson, 

 Mr. Cochrane, Messrs. Murietta, Mr. St. John, Mr. Finch, 

 Capt. Molyneux, Mr. Blackwood, tic. These occur to me as 

 I write, and I have put them down as they come to mind at 

 the moment ; but they seem to represent but a tithe of the 

 number who were going so straight and well. Some half- 

 dozen, tliough, whose coat-tails one is accustomed to see . 

 flapping in front on such occasions, and who for their own 

 pleasure and the sake of the rival cities that boast them 

 should have been there, were now taking no part in the 

 melee. Lord Grey de Wilton was unfortunately laid up with 

 a sprained thigh. Sir Frederick Johnstone has not yet arrived, 

 while Capt. Iliddell and Mr. AVilliam Chaplin happened to be 

 away; so Melton lost four of her doughtiest champions. 

 Harborough, again, sent forth neither of the Messrs. Gosling 

 nor Mr. Corbett Holland ; the elder Mr. Gosling being a 

 sufferer from a thorn in the eye. 



To return to the run itself. After passing round Knossing- 

 ton they crossed the Oakham road, then over the high ridge 

 leading from Cold Overton to Knossington with undiminished 

 pace. Dipping into the low ground, they came to yet another 

 road (leading from Cold Overton to Somerby) ; the drop into 

 the lane was over the blindest of doubles, and noisy scrambles 

 and loud ejaculations smote the ear. A mile further, they 



