Race To Death

There is never any lack of beauty in Dublin ballrooms, and that year i cannot help thinking that there wap more thau 1 he usual proportion of attraction. Eut of all the girls who compelled devotion there was nobody quite EO charming as Mary Macartney. "When she was presented at the castlo, the lord lieutenant admiuistered his official kisa with peculiar unction and was afterward heard to say that if his duties were always as pleasant he could bear a very frequent repetition of thim, The vice regal opinión was very cordially re-echoed by everybody, and wherever Mary went her progress was a scène" of tritunph. The Two Hundredth wasdcvoted to her to a man. One dance in an evening was a thing tb be proud of, and if she deigned to give any fortúnate man two ho was at once placed upon a pinnacle of social superiority. Finch and Seymouv were her most devoted admirers and had it all their own way in her preference. I won't say affections, for I believe she could only have looked upon them as two editions of the saine man, and they were so loyal to each other that they appeared to have the one special tendresse in common with their other properties. The Two Hundredth was about to have its great function of the year - its regimentai steeplechases. All the best of the animáis that had gone through the hunting campaign were enteredfor the various events, and the mess table talk, which for months had run upon scent, flnd, finish and the casnalties of the chase, turned to handicapping, weights and raciug conditions. Finch and Seymour now, as on other occasions, took a foremost place. Each of them owned horses rather above the average in quality, and each had one entered for the regimentai cup. As I said before, both of them were good performers in the pigskin, and it was more than probable that if they started Captain Seymour's Mousetrap (did I teil you that Seymour had jusfc got his troop while Finch was senior subaltern?) and Mr. Finch's Sorcerer would start as equal favorites. The two friends did all their training and galloping together, and I believe that, though each intended to rido his horse out and do his best, they did not much care how they would be placed at the finish, so long as one was iirst and the other second. Of course we expccted all our friends to come to our race meeting and made plentiful provisión for their entertainment. Üiven the officers of a cavalry regiment bent on making holiday; add tents, luncheon, band and a fine spring day, and you form a series of attractions which will collect people from far and near, especially in Ireland. When the day of the meeting came, it was all that could be wishecl. There was a bright sun and a soft wind, and there had been just a sufficient sprinkling of rain overnight to lay the dust and make the drive to the course delightfnl, while the few light olouds in the horizon were not discouraging enongh to prevent onr fair friends from putting on their freshest and prettiest toilets. Coach after coach rattled over C'arlisle bridge, each with a full load and each with a bit of muslin on the box; brakes, carriages and cars innumerable, the jarveys doing honor to the occasions by volleys of chaff, and many adornments on their light hearted selves and their apparently equally gay and light hearted, well bred nags. The race course was about eight miles from the city in the Howth direction, and if the day were to have no other pleasure the drive down, with occasional glimpses of the beautiful bay of Dublin, celebrated in song, was enough of enjoyment for any one. We arrived at the scène of action, and the business of the day commenced. The subalterns' cup was the first event, and, I must say, the boys did credit to the old Two Hundredth The senior snbalterns were lying by for the j mental cup, and thejuniorshad the race Í to themselves. It was won by young ' Molesworth, whose round shoulders and ! unconquerably ugly seat had caused ■ much conflict of opinión between him ! and the old riding master, but who now I showed that if he were not destined to shine in the ménage he had at any rate ! indisputable nerve and enough seat and j hands to take him over a difficult j try He afterward became one of our ; best men on a horse and wouequestrian ! houors in many ticklish places. Then came an hour's interval for lunch, but of course those who were going to ride had to put the muzzle on I just looked into the tent before going to weigh and saw Mary Macartney, looking as sweet as ever Seymour and Finch were both with her, and she was wishing them good lnck in their gallop As they left I her safely in the colonel's charge I heard her say: "Now, miud, Iexpectyou ] two to beat everybody else, and I shail be particularly nice to the oue who wins. I may even give him two dances at tho oastle ball tomorrow uight. ' ' The Two Hundredth wetv pretty businessliko in matters of sport, and there was none of the fuss and delay in the weighing room that too often marks j the doings of amateur jockeys. Punctual to time, the starters filed out of the paddoek. I think there were eight of us. Seymour's colors were rose and black cap and Finch's blue and red sash. Monsetrap and Sorcerer were a long way the best of the runnners to look at. Mousetrap was a big. bony bay horse, with rather a slack ni ck, but the best of shoulders, tremendons jumping power and a great turn of spe d. He required a workman to ride him, as his temper I was -asily reffied, but in Seymour'i hanen he generally went like a lamb. Soroerer was cue of those exception?.l horses that can take a turn at anythiug. He had gone through training in the ruling school, and on occasions was the best of chargers. He was 60 good looking that when he had a military kit on there was no horse in the regiment that looked more showy (.han he (lid, bnt the white hairs on his chestnur coat and the silvery locks in his tail showed the blood of old Warlock, and he had a large share of the pace, clevernesB and staying power that marked his great ancestor. As we rodo down the course I could hear the few Lookies who were present in the ring reckoning up the ohances of the field in stentorian cries of "ö to 1, bar two. " I was riding a confidential old hunter which was warianted to stand up over the conntry, but I had only entered him to muke up the race, and uuless most of the others came to grief I had not the smallest chance to be heard of at the finish. There is not niuch difflculty in starting a steeplechase, aud we all got away very well. We negotiated the first ! thrce or four fences without any casual - ties. but thcii we legan to thin out a little. Portescue's hard mouthed old Jade went outside the flag at the first turn, and he did not manage to stop her till she had gone half amiletoward Dublin. Wilson and Mackworth feil at the water jnmp, to the unconcealed satisfaction of the crowd which had collected there, and there were only five of us left. Jacky Thompson was leading. Seymour and Finch were riding side by side, evidently intending to wait till we were nearer home and theu come to the front and finish together. About a length behind them was Percy, and I 1 brought up the rear. There was a long stretch of grass rather down hill on the farther side of the course f rom the stand, and here we begau to pit on the pace. Percy evidently thought it was now or never, aud that if he allowed i himself to get too far behind he would not be able to push forward again, so he made a determined effort and shot past Seymour and Finch. I think old Mousetrap's temper must have been upset by seeing a horse passing so close. I saw him shake his head and try to get away from Seymour. The next fence was a bank, with a ditch on the taking off side. It was nothing of a place really, but only required a little care. Thompson got over cleverly, and Ferey's horse took the i whole in his stiicle. Then came Seymour, who had hardly steadied Mousetrap, but even bo the horse ought not to ! have made a mistake. Perhaps he was j flurrried, or there may have been a i stump sticking up where a bush had been cut away. I don't know how it happened, but the horse hit something, lost his feet and feil on the bank. Seymour was all right aud got clear at once, j slipping back into the ditch. I told you I Finch had been alongside of Seymour, I and he was close behind him at the fence. j Sorcerer jumped it beautifully; but, to my horror, as he was kicking back at tho ! bank I saw the hoof on his off hind foot strike the head of Seymour, who feil down. Even aruid the rattle of the horses it seemed to me that I could hear the dull crash of broken bone, and I was sure that a terrible accident had happened. So sure was I that, though one does not often pull up in a race, I stopped my horse, which indeed had not now the smallest chance, dismounted and ran to piek up Seymour. Poor fellow ! I had not been mistaken and could almost trace the print cf the cruel horsesboe on the back of his head. He was nearly senseless and just muttered "Cold, cold!" A small crowd had begun to collect, and I borrowed a couple of frieze coats from two sympathizing countrymen, trying with them to cover my poor friend, and laid him in as easy a position as possible. The race glasses at the stand had seen that something serious had happened, and our good old surgeon, Macphersou, came up on a trooper which he had taken from one of our men who was keeping the ground. When he had examined the injury, his kind face feil as he said: ' 'I fear the base of the skull is fracturad. If so, it is only a question of hours. ' ' Fortunately the accident had happened iiear the road, and a carriago was quicldy procured, in which Seymour v.-as placed and taken away by Macpherson. When I came back to the Btand, I found that Finch had won tho race easily and was still quito unoouscious that j his friend was hurk I did not teil him the particular, but only said that it had boen thought better to tiike Seymour back to Dublin. He pulled a 1 wrapper over his racing jacket, jumped ! on a hack aud started ai a. gallop in ! pursuit. Immediately r.fterward I met ; Mary Macartuey. She had a very white ' face and tears in her decp violet eyes as she besotight me to teil her if the. accident had been dangerous. I made the best of thiugs, but she, I think, divined the sad truth and made her mother take her home. There was a heavy cloud over everybody for the rest of the day, and though we got through all the races on tho card there was little spirit in anything, and we were glad when we were able to break up. There was little. chaff or fun on the drive home. We had a miserable time of nate hopes and fears about our comrade, but in three days all was over. Finch was inconsolable, though fortunately neither he nor any one else at the time knew that he had been the cause of Seymour's death. It was always supposed that Mousetrap had kicked his master in his struggles torecover himself when he feil. I have never told the real story till tonight, and you will not let it go f arther. Sir Thomas Finch is a great swell now, but I don't think he would learn without deep pain that, however innoceutly, he was the cause of the death vacancy by which he got the troop that gave him the fir6t start in his successful career. What became of Mary Macartney? Oh, she is Lady Finch, and, 'pon my soul, I think she is still as beautiful and