CLUB GOSSIP

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 3 June 1930, Page 6

CLUB GOSSIP

BY A LONDON CLUBMAN THE EARL OF COVENTRY The Karl of Coventry, who has passed away at the great age of 1)1, was a steward of Ihe Jockey Club for 70 years. lie witnessed li.") Derbies, 00 Ascots, mid 50 Grand Nationals! The veteran peer was not perturbed by fears for the future of horse racing. It was his opinion that it would appeal to men as long as anything masculine remains in them. The Turf, he felt, has nothing to fear from greyhound racing—contests in which "highly bred and intelligent dogs are fooled by a. mechanical contrivance." One of Lord Coventry's earliest race-horses was Elcho. it ran in his name, but it was owned by Mr Charles Greville, then clerk of the Privy Council, and the Hon. Gerald Stmt, afterwards Lord Alington. "Sturt," said Lord Coventry, "owned one end of the horse and Greville tin; other." Which could claim the winnings when the horse won by a head he never heard. Unknown to his lordship, the Hon. Gerald Sturt backed Elcho in his name for £2OOO. Never having bet to any extent —he considered betting a fool's game—Lord Coventry was staggered. Elcho won, and so pleased was he that Lord Coventry bought the horse; for 1300 guineas. In ISO2 Lord Coventry won the Great Metropolitan witli Elcho, and in 1804 Thalostris won the Cesarcwitch for him." Lord Coventry also won two Grand Nationals—in ISG.'i with Emblem and in 1804 with Emblematic. He had hoped to win the Grand National also in LSO7 or 1808, hut Chimney Sweep, which was to have been his horse, had the ill luck to break a fetlock when galloping over a road which in those days crossed the Aintree course at Liverpool. Chimney Sweep had won his laurels by beating L'African, which was considered to be the best horse which had ever left France. The race was in Surrey—at Croydon. So easily did Chimney Sweep vanquish the French flier that after the race Lord Coventry asked Jimmy Adams, his jockey, "Tell me, by how much could you really have won?" "I don't like to say, my lord," replied the jockey, with a grin, "but by at least a quarter of a mile!" The finest racehorse Lord Coventry ever saw was Captain Cuttle, winner of the Derby in 1922. When he saw Captain Cuttle led into the paddock at Newmarket he exclaimed "There goes the horse of a century!"

LEEKS BUT NOT LEAKS, LOOK YOU! In his recently-issued book, "An International Drama," Mr Henry Morgenthau, who was the American Ambassador in Constantinople when there arose war between Turkey and Greece, tells the story of his interview with Mr Lloyd George at 10 Downing street: I arrived at No. 10 a few minutes after nine, and we sat down at once to breakfast. But what a repast, to bear such a humble name! For me it was thccquivalent of a five-course luncheon! 1 remarked to Lloyd George on the fact that he spoke to the servant at the table in a foreign language: "There's a method in that madness," he rejoined, with a chuckle. "Every servant in the place is Welsh, and not one of ; them speaks a word of English. There'll be no leaks of news about important political conversations in this place while I am here, on account of some servant's indiscretion!"

AFLOAT AND ASHORE

Earl Beatty has two particular loves —for hunting and for the theatre. "If," remarked a friend, "you saw David Beatty hunting with the Quorn or the Cottesmore, you would think he had never seen a ship in his life. If you saw him on the quarter-deck you would think he did not know one end of. a horse from the other." Lord Beatty is evidently a, believer in putting his heart and soul into whatever he is doing, at the time. In the Battle of Jutlaud, despite his inferiority in ships compared with the Germans, he strove not for -safety but for victory. On the seas he is a sailor and nothing but a sailor; ashore he is' as other's in his station of life are, with, as I have remarked a penchant for the chase and for the theatre. Not long ago there was exhibited in a cinema a film illustrating life in the Navy. Lord Beatty tells a story thereof. "My boy's in the Navy," said one woman to another. "I'm so glad I've seen this picture." "I'm glad I've seen it, too," remarked the second woman, "especially that part of it where we seed men a-sciHibbing the decks." "How's that?" asked woman No. 1. "Well, you see," said No. 2, "my husband's in the Navy. Now I know what they've got to do in the ships, scrubbing and the like, I'll see that he does a bit of it at 'ome when he comes on leave. No more scrubbing for me then, until he goes to sea again.''

WHERE IGNORANCE WAS BLISS

There are superstitiously-minded folk who will' tell you that there is luck in odd numbers and, too, in certain numbers. I am not superstitious, and I will tell' you how my lack of superstition enriched me. I had the opportunity of taking a ticket in a club lottery, with a first prize valued at £75. The next number in the ticket-book bore an odd number. I refused to accept that and took the next, with an even number. The even-numbered ticket won the first prize! I relate this lucky circumstance apropos of the declaration of Major Wheeler, late chief automobile engineer to the Post Office thai he knew of only cue case in which "ignorance was bliss." It was when a girl was anxious to have the number 27 allotted to her in a sweepstake. The "27" ticket Avon. Asked by friends why she thought 27 would win the first prize, the girl explained

that she had dreamed of the number seven three nights running, and that three times seven being 27 she thought the number was sure to win! A BREAD AND BUTTER STORY I am old enough to recall the Hooding of the country with portraits of Miss Marie. Sfudholine. as a reigning beauty; Her beautiful teeth, revealed by a bewitching smile, would have been a fortune to n dentifrice manufacturing firm to-day. The death, recently, of the beauty recalls a story which she used to relate of a. little girl guest, who was surprised to liud that Miss Studholnie left her home every night. "Where do you go?" the girl asked Miss Studiiolme. "To tlu! theatre,' 'was the reply. "Why '!" "To get bread and butter." The next day the. girl was taken to have tea with the landlady of the house where Miss Studholme and a friend were staying. "Oh," the child exclaimed, entering the room, and seeing broad and butter on the table, "so you have to go to the theatre, too?" "No, no," said the landlady. "Then where," exclaimed the child, "did you get all that bread and butter?" "LOOK UPWARD TO THE SKIES" Admiral Sir Reginald Tyrwhitt—"Tyrwhitt of the AretTiusa"—figured prominently in the war at sea in the years ISU4-18, and he greatly dis-1 tinguished himself. There was a Sunday ' morning when Sir Reginald and the vessels he commanded were off the German coast. During divine service a Zeppelin was seen approaching from the Continent. Airplanes from the fleet routed it. A little later Sir Reginald signalled "Sing hymn No. 224." The last verse runs: O happy band of pilgrims Look upward to the skies, Where such a light affliction Shall win so great a prize.