Some Racing Experiences 231 



with the disease for some time, it at length left her, but 

 she was so extremely weak that it seemed quite a toss-up 

 whether she would recover or not. 



There was a very hard frost at the time, and one 

 evening I called at the stables on my return from skating, 

 as I was anxious about the mare, and it was fortunate I 

 did so. The pulse on the left side had entirely stopped, 

 and was barely perceptible on the right side, and so feeble, 

 that I called to the groom to prepare some gruel at once, and 

 to fetch also half a tumbler of whisky. He had to go to a 

 public-house to fetch the latter, and before he returned, in 

 about twenty minutes' time, the mare had lain down, and 

 was almost motionless. If a well-bred horse lies down 

 when he is really ill, it is nearly always to die, for he will 

 remain on his legs and fight to the very last ; while an 

 under-bred one gives in, and collapses very easily. Mixing 

 the whisky and gruel together, we poured it down her throat 

 as she lay, and then with my fingers on the pulse, the 

 latter suddenly began to be perceptible again, and in a few 

 minutes was beating quite regularly. That stimulant was 

 administered just in time. In half an hour she got 

 up, at once commenced to eat some mash, and we never 

 had any further cause for anxiety about her recovery. 



There are two institutions in Ireland with which she 

 can challenge the world. The Dublin Horse Show and 

 Punchestown. In these she is facile princeps. Punches- 

 town was a fortunate meeting for me, and at my last visit 

 I carried off the Grand Military Hunters' Eace and the 

 Conyngham Cup on the same afternoon, and each horse I 

 had purchased for exactly the same sum, £40. " Belmont," 

 who won the latter race, was, I think, the finest stayer I 

 ever knew, and his race for the Conyngham Cup was a 



