CHAP. I.] Rev.JoJiJi Whalley — Lord Waterford. 25 



Familiar in many a Northamptonshire ear will be the 

 names of the connty-gentlemen who were on the small 

 Stand on that occasion, well-nigh half a century ago. 

 Lords Southampton, Bateman, Compton, Lilford; the 

 Hon. P. Pierrepont, F. Villiers, H. AVatson, C. Forester, 

 R. Needham ; Sir F. H. Goodricke, C. Knightley, Nether- 

 cote, Loraine Smith, Peyton, Wellesley, Curzon, Cope- 

 land, Lambs. Of these one only survives, the Rev. John 

 Whalley, then Rector of Ecton,to call to mind the Pytchley 

 Hunt Meeting of nearly fifty years ago. On the day 

 following, a steeple-chase, in which many of the most 

 celebrated horses of the day were engaged, came off at 

 Little Honghton, over a course of such severity that the 

 complaints of its impracticability were numerous, and 

 Captain Phillipson — known as '^handsome Jack ^' — with- 

 drew his mare '^ Mirth ^^ on account of the size of the 

 fences. None of the jockeys, not even the famous Captain 

 Beecher, quite relished the formidable aspect of either the 

 timber or the water that had to be negotiated, except 

 Lord Waterford, who liked everything as big as possible. 

 His horse "Yellow Dwarf ^' started second favoui-ite to 

 Mr. Anderson^s (the horsedealer) ^' Jerry," who carried 

 twelve pounds extra, the prices respectively being live to 

 two, and seven to two. Captain Childe's " Conrad " and 

 ^' Yellow Dwarf" made the running, and jumped the first 

 brook splendidly; afterwards taking the gate on the 

 towing-path to avoid the heavy ground. Lord Water- 

 ford now forged ahead, and at the second brook was 

 200 yards in advance of the nearest horse. At the 

 place where it was to be jumped an immense crowd of 

 Northampton snobs w^ere collected, who so closed in upon 

 the "Yellow Dwarf " that his rider had to take it almost 



