off his box, and put the harness straight himself. To the last he stuck to the amply folded white tie, for arranging which, we believe, like Mr. Stubbs, he had obtained a patent. In every part of London his one-horse phaeton was known. And it was an extraordinary circumstance that his old favourite horse who followed him to the grave, should have gone home and died on the following day, as if unable to bear the loss of his master. In snuffs, he was as curious as his brother, who wrote to him once to send him over some to France, for that which he got in Calais was not good enough to fumigate the fleas out of his dog's back. As a ballad singer, Incledon could scarcely have given him any weight; and a kinder heart never beat in any frame; nor was ever an ill-natured expression heard to escape from his lips. This was the secret of his popularity, and long will his memory be endeared to his friends. Mr. Magennis was the brother of Sir Arthur Magennis, our Envoy to Portugal, and was originally in the army. Of the Turf, the Chase, and the Road he was a great patron; and he was likewise very partial to Yachting, On the Turf he did not do a great deal with his own horses, but he won the Great Ebor Handicap with Pantomime, and a few other stakes, which prevented him leaving off a loser. With the laws of betting few men were better acquainted; and his advice in all disputed points was invariably well received and followed. As a coachman he was also second to none in the Four-inHand Club; and in the hopes of being able to resume his favourite amusement, he had purchased Peter's Exhibition Coach, and meant to have a seat specially made for him, so that he might waggon his friends to Greenwich and Richmond, as well as to the Races on the Home Circuit. No neater equipages or finer steppers were ever driven in Hyde Park, than by Mr. Magennis. Possessed of ample means, his purse, like his house, was open to his friends; and the amount of kindness he showed them, when in need, will never now be disclosed, and is hardly estimated, for he was one of those who did good by stealth, and would have blushed to find it fame. Nothing as a proof of this feature in his character irritated him so much as the persistent advertisement of the Life-Boat Society of his donation to their funds. Mr. Villebois, his most intimate friend, was with him to the last, and it is hard for his friends to reflect, that but for imprudently dining out one evening, he would still have been spared to them. His funeral was attended by a large number of friends, who will long cease to regret the worthy occupant of the corner house of Grosvenor Place, where they had spent so many happy hours, and received so many marks of kindness. BAILY'S MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF SPORTS AND PASTIMES. MR. FRANCIS POPHAM. MR. FRANCIS POPHAM, whose career on the Turf, though brief was brilliant-having won the Derby with Wild Dayrell-belongs to one of the oldest families in England, and is descended from the celebrated Lord Chief Justice Popham, whose abilities as a Judge have been handed down to us by the most celebrated legal his torians. For Mr. Francis Popham was born in October, 1809, and is the second son of Lieutenant-General Edward Popham, of Littlecote. many years Mr. Popham pursued the life of a country gentleman of fortune, passing his time in the pursuit of field sports, and those occupations peculiar to his position in life. Although fond of racing, he never kept a stud, but had one or two brood mares at Littlecote to experimentalize with. In 1850 Mr. Popham purchased Ellen Middleton of Lord Zetland, and sent her to Ion. The produce was Wild Dayrell, who was sold when a yearling to Lord Henry Lennox for 100 guineas, with the condition that if he won the Derby he was to receive 500 more. The Duke of Richmond's stud being broken up, and Lord Henry Lennox retiring at the same time, Wild Dayrell went up with the Goodwood horses to Tattersall's, and as no bidder could be found for him, the secret treasure was taken back by Mr. Popham, and put into training at Ashdown Park, where, under the care of Rickaby, the stud groom of Mr. Popham, he took his breathings. Rumours that he was a nice colt were occasionally floating about in the South of England, by those who knew the district, but he was never seen until the First October Meeting, at Newmarket, in 1854, when, ridden by Marlow, he won a Two-Year Old Sweepstakes in a canter, Para and Hasel running a dead heat for second. The impression he then created was so favourable, that inquiries as to his being in the Derby were made, and these being answered in the affirmative, the gentlemen who back horses from a knowledge of their make and shape, and are judges of action, at once determined to throw away a VOL. VIII. NO. 52. M pony or fifty on him. And from that time until after the Derby, the name of Wild Dayrell was rarely absent from the Derby quotations. In the Spring, the fame of his prowess began to extend itself, and Lord Craven's friends at Ashdown returned to London with the most flattering accounts of his progress. To find a horse to lead him in his work was a matter of great difficulty. Lord Zetland was to have lent Hospodar; but as he was required for Fandango, there was nothing to be done but to give sixteen hundred guineas for Jack Sheppard; and in his trial with him he gave him eight pounds, and Gamelad twenty-one. This spin, it will be admitted, gave him a great chance; and Hampshire, Wiltshire, and Berkshire literally piled its money on him. Still, he never improved his position in the market; and certain operators never ceased laying against him under any circumstances. This naturally alarmed the suspicions of his friends, who considered there could not be smoke without fire; and Mr. Popham was entreated to remove him from the care of Rickaby, and change his jockey, Robert Sherwood, who had been specially engaged to ride him in his exercise, and also in the Derby. But he most firmly refused the request, and stated he had entire confidence in the integrity and ability of his servants; and his estimate of them was not overrated or abused. Every design that villany could suggest was had recourse to in the hopes of nobbling Wild Dayrell; but never being left for an hour by either his trainer or jockey, he escaped the intended coopering,' even when the lynchpins of the wheels of his van had been tampered with. To get out now of the large sums that had been laid against him was impossible; and as Rifleman and De Clare had both broken down on the Sunday previous to the race, his prospect of winning became so great he was almost backed against the field. Since West Australian and The Flying Dutchman no horse created so great a sensation in the paddock, particularly when it transpired Mr. Popham had been offered 5,000 guineas not to run him. Old John Day followed him about with delight and wonderment, and said he would be beggared if he would not have a monkey on at any price, for he could not lose. How he won in a canter is notorious; but it was only just in time, for the hard ground told on his legs with such a carcass to carry, and the following morning he was lame. By his victory the nobblers were routed, and a good service done to the racing community by Mr. Popham, who felt so keenly the anxiety he had to endure during the last few months of Wild Dayrell's preparation that he said nothing on earth would ever induce him to have another Derby horse. Wild Dayrell's next appearance was at York August Meeting, where he beat the 6,000 guinea Oulston in the commonest of canters. His third and last effort as a racehorse was at Doncaster, where he came out for The Cup with horse-cloth bandages on his front legs to face Rataplan. But all was of no avail; for although he had the assistance of two aide-de-camps in Indian Warrior and Little Harry, as they came |