MR. GEORGE OSBALDESTON 109 



than twenty horses, and he would pay, it is said, as much 

 as ,£1000 — he certainly bought several at ^500 and ,£600 

 each — and then when he had bought these costly steeds 

 he discovered that he could not ride some of them ; he 

 would, therefore, put up Dick Christian, so that he might 

 have the satisfaction of seeing them go. Sir James 

 Musgrave, of course, was a standing dish, and " Paddy " 

 Maher was one of the shining lights of Melton, he pos- 

 sessing a thorough knowledge of everything pertaining 

 to hounds, horses, and hunting. No coffee-houser was 

 he. As soon as hounds were in covert he was all atten- 

 tion ; on a good start he placed his whole hope, and if 

 he only slipped well away, no hounds could shake him 

 off. If he were left behind, as the best of men are some- 

 times, he would just dodge along the roads and lanes at 

 a trot ; but never could he be induced to ride a stern 

 chase. He is said to have ridden horses which were 

 somewhat deficient in blood, and though they could all 

 jump like cats, could not catch up hounds. There is a 

 story that on one occasion Mr. Valentine Maher, while 

 riding one of his "countrymen" — he had several Irish 

 horses — crept behind a haystack so that people should 

 not see that his horse was beaten. One of the best of 

 his stud, however, was a grey Irish horse named Erin, 

 which stood barely fifteen hands one inch. Mr. Assheton 

 Smith, who had ridden him a few times, pronounced 

 him to be "the stoutest horse then in Leicestershire." 

 Of Erin's jumping powers "Paddy" Maher once had 

 ample proof. Maher, who was very strong in the arms, 

 rode all his horses in snaffle bridles, which, as an autho- 

 rity has reminded us, is not the same thing as riding a 

 snaffle-bridle horse. One fine day Erin "took charge" 

 of his owner, and with his head in the air started off at 

 full gallop, jumping in his career the dry lock of a canal 

 in the Vale of Belvoir. Of Leicestershire White men- 

 tion is made elsewhere, while Mr. Maxse, whose name is 



