363 



This match created a great deal of interest, and thousands flocked on 

 foot, horseback, and in carriages to see it, among them being a great 

 number of ladies. Mr. Elmore, who lived near the start, entertained a 

 large party to luncheon, after which the race was started a little after 

 five o'clock, list. 71 bs. was the weight which Osbaldeston had little 

 trouble to make up, but Seffert had to carry sixteen pounds of lead, 

 which he did in a belt strapped round his waist. Moonraker was 

 favourite, notwithstanding that The Squire had given Elmore £50 to 

 make the match, so confident was he of winning. The race was run at 

 a good pace and without a fall, but a collision took place which caused 

 a terrible wrangle afterwards. Seffert made a couple of detours which 

 lost him ground, but Osbaldeston rode straight as a line from start to 

 finish and won easily, Moonraker being dead beat. After the race 

 Sefi'ert lodged a complaint against The Squire for foul riding, and there 

 was no end of a row ; nor could it be decided who was entitled to the 

 stakes till finally, after a week's finding and proving, the case was left 

 to Colonel Anson to decide, and he awarded the race to Grimaldi, 

 exonerating The Squire from all blame. 



Like most foxhunters, he was not insensible to the charms of 

 beautiful women. One night, at a dinner party previous to a ball in 

 Lincolnshire, were two rival beauties, one of whom had in her bouquet a 

 hot-house flower of exceeding rarity, and in the hearing of The Squire 

 she twitted the other with not having in hers one of equal elegance. 

 Pleading excuse for leaving the wine party after dinner, he got on his 

 horse and rode twenty-five miles distant to the house of the gentleman 

 from whose conservatory the flower had been obtained, and returned 

 with a still more brilliant specimen. This he presented to the other 

 lady and she wore it in triumph at the ball supper. He did the fifty 

 miles in about four hours on the one horse and a dark night. 



Running a fox near Bracebridge, in Lincolnshire, the hounds crossed 

 a river, and while looking at them from a barge a boy fell into deep 

 water and was drowning. Without a moment's hesitation The Squire 

 galloped to the bank, jumped off" his horse and plunged in and after 

 diving for him brought the lad safely to land. He then remounted 

 and followed his hounds as if nothing had happened. 



Like too many of his good sort Mr. Osbaldeston was quick-tempered 

 and irritable — proud of his abilities and jealous of rivalry — conse- 

 quently, at time?, he got into trouble with his friends ; nevertheless he 

 was in his day one of the most popular men in England. 



To instance the large quantities of wine which were laid down by 

 gentlemen long ago and as an example of the improvidence of the age, 

 I may state about The Squire that in his wine cellars at Hutton Bushell 

 were discovered by Mr. Budd six pipes of Madeira which had been 

 entirely lost sight of ! 



The manly deeds of George Osbaldeston would fill a volume of con- 

 siderable magnitude. I am, however, unable to devote more space to 

 the subject, so will conclude my reference with opinions expressed 



