24 REMINISCENCES, ETC. 



less celebrated sportsman than Mr. Thomas Edge, of Strel- 

 ley Hall, Nottinghamshire, as his messmate for some time. 

 It was said of Edge, although he weighed twenty stone in 

 the saddle, that no man could beat him for twenty minutes. 

 His brother John was no less fast after hounds. Tom 

 Edge had three splenciid horses, Banker, Gayman, and 

 Remus. For the first and third of these conjointly, Lord 

 Middleton offered him two thousand two hundred guineas, 

 which offer was refused, as was that of Mr. Compton, who 

 not only offered Mr. Edge 1^000 guineas for Gayman, but 

 fifty pounds for one day's mount on him from a particular 

 covert. Gayman carried his owner every Monday for nine 

 seasons in succession. 



" Mr. Edge and Mr. Smith were an uncommon silent 

 pair. Mr. Edge (who was always styled Mr. Smith's ' better 

 half,') seldom spoke unless Mr. Smith said something to 

 him. Mr. Smith would never let him have more than 

 a pint of port a day ; he said he would get too fat. 

 Mr. Edge used to pound away on that great big horse of 

 his, Gayman : queer-looking creature it was, thin neck, 

 large head, raw hips, and a rat-tail, for all the world like 

 a great seventeen-hand dog-horse. " — {Silk and Scarlet, 

 p. 61.) 



Gayman was bred by Mr. Moore, of Appleby, whose son 

 Tom sold him, when six years old, to his brother-in-law, 

 Mr. Edge, for 250 guineas. This horse used to be styled 

 in the Quorn Hunt, " the skeleton cart-horse ; " and his 

 masters, " the Ajax " of the heavy weights. Tom Edge's 

 weight, however, did not cause him to do like the heavy 

 farmer in the story, who used to remain a quiet spectator 

 on high ground while the hounds were running hard below. 

 His ideas ran chiefly on the inconvenience of a heavy weight, 

 especially as he was losing the sport in consequence of it ; 

 and he used to exclaim, rubbing his hands, '' Bless me, how 

 the}' are a physicking on him !" 



After giving up Leicestershire, where he was succeeded by 



