The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-09-07
THE KING AS A JOCKEY.


 King Edwards intense love for all forms of sport has by no means rem dered him anything approaching cap- able performer in any branch of it him self. He never could learn to play cricket, which, strangely enough, was a peeuliarity also of both his brothers. the Duke of Connaught and the late Duke of Edinburgh. His majesty has done more than any man in Europe to promote and encourage horse racing, yet he is notoriously a poor horseman, and during his military career he had many a nasty tumble. In his subal- tern days in the crack regiment, the 10th Huzzars, he was continually fall ing out of the saddle, and if 1t had not been for his rank and position the rid- ing master of his company would have pronounced him a hopeless failure. No one ever doubted his courage, and by the advice of the late Queen Victoria, who was made acquainted with his in- capacity in the saddle, he was forbidden to mount anything but the quietest horse that could be procured. The queen also insisted that he must take no part in hunting or in any form of sport in which there was an element of danger.
 The army, especially in the crack reg iments, was not altogether free from raging in the early sos, and the young prince, as he was then, was sub jected to much banter on account of his bad horsemanship. What is called point-to-point races among officers in the army f1ourished then as they do now 4I, la4o f-,. Ia one of these meetings on the Curragh- the chief military depot in Ireland speculation was rife as to whether the Prince of Wales, whose official position was what would now be called second lieutenant. would be one of the competi- tors. In spite of the instructions given by his mother, the young princess cour- age revolted against the prevailing opinion that he should not cross his legs on anythingt that could travel faster than donkey. The qaeen sean. ned the papers carefully for an item of news where the princes name was. likely to appear, more particularly in matters relating to hunting or horse. racing. The prince knew this, and so that he might escape observation he adopted the ruse of riding the horse un- der the name of Captain Melville. Whether through luck or by arrange ment with his brother officers, he won the race, but those who saw him in the saddle swore it was not through good jockeyship.
 It was some time afterward before the fact leaked out that Captain Melville'' was no other than the Prince of Wales 5 xI, Iyy,,1 af Z bers of her majesty's household, and finally to her majesty herself. What ever may have been the nature of the ensuing reprinand, King Edward never after that disobeyed his mothers in structions with regard to his saddle ef-s forts. The late Captain sMatchell, who was one of the finest judges of horses and horsemanship in Europe. was fond of relating the experience of the prince as a jockey. He saw him before the start in the famous race, looking as pale as sheet, probably not so much through hs knowledge of his own in-4 capacity as jockey as the dread of his disobedience to his mother reaching her. He was determined, however, not fo's6S any longer to the gibes of his brother subalterns, and 1t was uniyer- sally believed when the secret leaked out that Captain Melville" was the Prince of Wales, that he was allowed to win the race out of admiration for his pluck. ss
 He cut a sorry figure in the saddle said Captain Matchell. His lovely white Jacket showed the precipitation long before he emerged from the pad-8 dock. and when he passed the winning post he was too excited to know wheth- CT he had won or lost. When he was hailed the victor he still doubted wheth- CT he was not being made the victim of barrack room fun. 7 In spite of his sue cess on that occasion, he was such a failure on horseback that it'was decided to give him a commission in the Grena- dier guards. which is foot regiment and it was in this that King Edward served the remainder of his active mill itary career. The cup which he won holds the premier place among his val uable collection, and even to this day he Is fond of relating to his friends the circumstances under which he won it. The horse Rupee, which he rode, was his favorite pet until it died, and tender hands administered to it's wants in it's declining years. The jacket, cap and the brooches he won are carefully pre- served among a number of his sporting nementoes, and their size and appear ance show the quantity of adipose tis- sue which King Edward had accumu- lated since he won the race on the Car ragh of Kildare.-London Letter to the Washington Post.
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