A Notable War-Horse.

Manawatu Herald, 22 May 1894, Page 3

A Notable War-Horse.

Arohibald Forbes in the Argm contributes an interesting paper on Copenhagen ,the Duke of Wellington's war-horse from which we take the following extracts : — ln the early years of the century there was a certain Lord Grosvenor, better known in the array and on the turf as " Tom " Grosven.or, a good soldier, brilliant crosscountry rider, and staunch supporter of the turf. He commanded a brigade in the Copenhagen expedition, when he rode as his first charger a •• blood mare " named Lady Caroline. She was the darn of Copenhagen ; his sire was Meteor, a son of the. famous Eclipse. Copenhagen" to -day would havejanbfid as an "H. 8.," in spite of f K!awßtiuiguished paternal ancestor for Lady Caroline's grand-dam is described in the stud-book as "a mare whose pedigree was unknown." But there was less of punctilio eighty years ago than now, and Copenhagen ranked as a thoroughbred during his not very distinguished racing career. He carried Lord Grosvenor's colours in the nine events in which he took part as a two-year-old, a three-year-old, and a four-year-old, of which he won two— one a match on Northampton Heath, the other a petty sweepstakes at Huntingdon. Then his noble owner Beeras to have realised that Copenhagen as a racehorse did not earn his hay and corn. He ran no more, and presently became the property of General Lord Charles Stewart, the adjutant* general of the Peninsular army (afterwards the third Marquis of Londonderry) as a charger, at the pi ice of £300. In the beginning of 1813 Stewart left the Peninsula, and Copenhagen passed into the possession of the Duke of Wellington, who paid 400 guineas for him, and never made a better bargain. He was then rising five years, and is described as a " dark chestnut with two white ! heels, fifteen hand 3 high, a hollowbacked, powerful horse." The Duke said of him in 1852, " I rode him throughout the rest of the war, and mounted no other horse at Waterloo." On the morning of the memorable 18th June, the Duke mounted the gallant chestnut soon after daylight, and rode him continuously for more than sixteen hours, not dismounting until well on to midnight. CopeU' hagen must have been an exceptionally game horse, for when his rider slapped his flank after dismounting he proved that ho was neither sick nor sorry by lashing out viciously, so suddenly that his master had a narrow escape from j having his brains kicked out. During the occupation of France for the three years alter Waterloo Wellington mostly rode Copenhagen. In her " Reminiscences,*' his relative, the late Lady de Eos, then Lady Georgiana Lennox, tells that she often rode Copenhagen while a guest of the Duke at Cambrai, and during a sham fight she and he once found themselves inside a square, when, to the Duke's great amusement, they heard a soldier say to his comrade, " Take care of that 'ere hoss : he kicks out ; we knew the beggar well in Spain " - pointing at the same time at Copenhagen. Lady de Ros adds that she found him a very unpleasant horse to ride, but that he invariably snorted and neighed with delight at the sight of troops. Copenhagen spent the evening of his days in a pleasant paddock close to the mansionhouse of Strathfieldsaye. He was a great pet of the Duchess, and used to come daily to a window to receive bread from her hands ; after his death she wore a bracelet of the hair of his tail and mane. He died after an " old age ot dignified leisure," and was interred with military honours under the shadow of a spreading Turkish oalc. His grave is marked by a marble tombstone, on which is carved the i following inscription ; — " Here lies

Copenhagen, the charger ridden by the Duke of Wellington the entire day o the Battle of Waterloo. Born 1808 ; died 183 G.

Mr Chamberlain criticises Lord Rosebery, the Premier. -•• Mr Chamberlain, in his speech at Edinburgh in reply to the Prime Minister's utterances in the very same hall, not a week before, asserted that " we have a Prime Minister who is willing to support Home Eule, though he does not believe in its early success. He is willing to disestablish one Church, or to establish three, as may be most convenient. He is willing to abolish the House of Lords, even at the cost of a revolution, though he is himself in favour of a Second Chamber. There is no change then in policy, but there is a change in the attitude of the Prime Minister. In Mr Gladstone, at any rate, we had a man who succeeded in convincing himself, before he tried to convince others. Lord Rosebery is not convinced, and he does not seem to think that any one needs conviction. Mr Gladstone was one of whom it was sometimes said that his earnestness ran away with his judgment. Of Lord Rose* bery, I think I may say that he allows his judgment to be run away with by the earnestness of other people, This situation is not likely to last long."