Yorkshire Celebrities 13 



at Brighton, then to turn round and ascend again, which 

 he successfully accomplished. Another time he rode up 

 and down the steps leading from Waterloo Place into St. 

 James's Park in London, which are very narrow. A horse 

 accustomed to the rugged sierras in the Peninsula, and 

 sure-footed, as all the native horses are, did not perhaps 

 find so much difficulty in accomplishing these deeds as at 

 first sight appeared. 



A very interesting relic exists at Ked House, on the 

 banks of the Eiver Ouse, in Yorkshire, where the statue 

 of a headless horse is a conspicuous object in the park. 

 It is the only statue of a horse lying down that I ever 

 remember to have seen. The inscription at the base tells 

 that this horse was the property of Sir Henry Slingsby, 

 and won the Hunters' Race on Acomb Moor at York in 

 1633, on the occasion of King Charles the First's visit to 

 Eed House. 



Poor Sir Henry Slingsby lost his head in the Eoyal cause, 

 and it is supposed that some zealous Puritan knocked off 

 the head of the statue to accord with the fate of its master. 



The capture of Sir Henry was scarcely a friendly act. 

 His near neighbour at Beningborough Park, on the other 

 side of the Ouse, was Sir John Bourchier, one of the 

 Ptegicides, and a most bigoted Puritan. He had reason to 

 suspect that Sir Henry had left his mansion at Scriven 

 and was hiding at Eed House, and for six weeks he kept a 

 close watch. At length, on a hot day, he saw Sir Henry 

 through a telescope. He had come out on to the roof to 

 get a little fresh air, and Sir John at once armed himself 

 with a search warrant and captured the unfortunate 

 baronet, who was shortly afterwards convicted of treason, 

 after a mock trial by a pretended court, and beheaded. 



