Alice Maria Hayes

Note about the second name. Mary is the name in the birth registration; Maria is the name in the baptism record, the second marriage registration index record and her death registration index record; Marie is the name in the 1893 patent granted to Alice, the 1911 census and the probate registration index record for husband Horace in 1904 and her own probate registration index record of 1913. As Maria was her grandmother's name (mother Ann's mother) I have decided to use Maria.

England & Wales Birth registration index record for Alice Mary Pyett, Mother's Maiden Surname: Sexton, October-December quarter 1861, Kingston registration district, Surrey, Vol. 2A, page 211.

England & Wales birth certificate No. 254 for Alice Mary Pyett, father William Pyett, tailor, mother Ann Pyett, formally Sexton, born 20 September 1861 at Esher, Surrey. The birth was registered by Alice's mother Ann.

Parish Baptism record for Alice Maria Pyett, father William Pyett, tailor, mother Ann, baptised 13 October 1861, at Esher, Surrey, England.

1871 England Census - Alice M Pyett, 9 (born about 1862), born Esher, Surrey . Also in the house: father William Pyett, 37 (born about 1834), born St Ives, Huntingdonshire, tailor; mother Ann Pyett, 40 (born about 1831), born St Martins, Middlesex; brother William H Pyett, 11 (born about 1860), born Esher, Surrey ; brother John Pyett, 8 (born about 1863), born Esher, Surrey; brother Joseph Pyett, 5 (born about 1866), born Esher, Surrey; brother Francis G Pyett, 4 (born about 1867), born Esher, Surrey; sister Rosa A Pyett, 2 (born about 1869), born Esher, Surrey; and tailors apprentice William Gambles, 17.

Address 9 High Street, Esher, Surrey.

Sometime between early 1880 and before the census night, 3 April 1881, 18-19 year old Alice met the dashing but older (38-39 year old) Matthew Horace Hayes and moved in with him. At the time Horace was already married, having married in 1866 in India, though his wife did not apply for a divorce until 1886, however a marriage registration record for Alice and Horace has not been located in England & Wales, Ireland or Scotland, so they may have married in India or one of the other countries they visited, or they may not have formally married. In the divorce application, Horace's first wife claimed Horace and Alice were passing themselves off as Captain and Mrs Hayes from 1880.

Horace had been in India, an officer in the Royal Artillery, then with the Bengal Staff Corps and finally a Captain with "The Buffs", the 3rd regiment of the British Army, until 1879, when he resigned his commission and returned to England.

Horace was heavily involved with horses and horse racing, so it is speculated he may have met Alice at the Sandown Park racecourse at Esher in Surrey. Sandown Park opened in 1875 and was the first purpose built racecourse with enclosures, designed to be a leisure destination. The course is an 8 minute walk from the High Street, where the Pyetts were living.

"How pleasant once more," wrote a satisfied customer in 1879, "to find ourselves within the Sandown Club Enclosure, under a genial sky and with all the well-known surroundings of pretty women, good luncheon and good sport."

In the words of a contemporary diarist it was 'a place where a man could take his ladies without any fear of their hearing coarse language or witnessing uncouth behavior.'

Another speculation is that as Alice's father William was a tailor, Horace had gone to him for riding clothes and met Alice. An 1871 Esher Parish magazine advertisment records he was making Suits, Servants Liveries and Clothing of every description. The exiled King and Queen of France had been given Claremont House, near Esher, to live in by Queen Victoria, so there would have been court uniforms needed as well as many visitors to the exiled King and Queen who they or their servants may have needed new or repaired clothes. Queen Marie Amelie gave money to the parents of each child born in Esher and it is believed Alice's brother Joseph may have been the last in the village to receive Queen Marie Amelie’s bounty.

1881 England census - Alice M. Hayes, 19 (born about 1862), born Esher, Surrey, England. Also in the house: husband Horace Hayes, 36 (born about 1845), born Tipperary, Ireland, sporting writer.

Address - 168 Marylebone road, London, England. (In 1881, Horace, actually aged 39, was already married and in his wife Caroline's 1886 divorce application, she thought husband Matthew Horace Hayes was living with a woman unknown at 178 Marylebone road in 1881)

It is speculated that Alice then traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland with Horace, as he had previously studied veterinary science there and had set up a school to train pupils for the army officer corps.

The Scotsman 29 September 1881, p 2.

block advertisement:

Militia Competency

In Edinburgh Capt. M. Horace Hayes, R.A., receives three boarders into his house and gives special and individual instruction to a few non resident pupils. Terms and a list of successes with pupils sent on application to Orellana & Co., 32A George Street, Hanover Square, London, W.

In the United Kingdom Design Registration record 6517, 9 March 1882, for a horseman’s knife to be called Captain Hayes’ Horseman’s Knife, the address is 19 London Street, Edinburgh, Scotland.

In the 1901 census, James Hayes, 18 (born about 1883), born Edinburgh, is enumerated as Alice’s son, though no birth registration record has been found.

In the 1893 edition of Alice’s book “The Horsewoman”, she records (p. 190) how she travelled to India in 1885, a few months after husband Horace had arrived in India, to join him on his first horse breaking tour. After seeing a horse breaking exhibition on Derby Day 1885 (June 3), Horace decided to go off to India to teach horse breaking, arriving at Bombay less than a month later, touring through India and Burma before returning to England. Alice recorded that although she had previously ridden for some years in the ordinary way, her first introduction to difficult horses was in 1885 when she went out to India to join her husband, who had gone there a couple of months before her on a horsebreaking tour.

Homeward Mail from India, China and the East - Tuesday 17 November 1885, p. 18

Per Werneth Hall, s.s. (Hall Line), sailed from Liverpool Nov. 12. For Bombay.—..., Mrs. M. H. Hayes, ...

In the 1903 edition of Alice's book The Horsewoman - A Practical Guide To Side-Saddle Riding, first edition published 1892, she says in the introduction: "The first edition of this book was the result of seven years' experience of riding hundreds of horses in India, Ceylon, Egypt, China and South Africa; the most trying animals being those of which I was the rough-rider at my husband's horse-breaking classes. Since that edition came out, I have hunted a good deal, chiefly, in Leicestershire and Cheshire, and have taught many pupils, both of which experiences were of special advantage to me in preparing this new edition; because English ladies regard riding, principally, from a hunting point of view, and the best way to supplement one's education, is to try to teach.

From about 1885 to 1888, Horace and Alice travelled to Gibralter, Malta, India, Egypt, Ceylon, Singapore, the Straits Settlements, China and Japan, teaching and giving performances of Horace's horse breaking methods.

From My leper friends (pub 1891): In the early summer of 1888 my husband and I found ourselves enjoying a well-earned holiday in Japan. He, I may explain, writes books about horses, which have rendered his name widely known among English readers ; and having a special talent for making these animals conform to his wishes, he conceived the idea of going on a tour, with the object of teaching all he knew about "breaking" to those interested in the subject. ... Knowing what a charm novelty had for my husband, and wishing to get back to India, I suggested the advisability of his going to Calcutta and starting there a sporting paper, which, with his name as editor, would be sure to draw! My counsel proved so acceptable that I had only barely time to pack up my boxes and get them on board the French mail, for which my husband had taken tickets. We arrived at Calcutta, started our paper, and, in a short time, settled down to our work as journalists.

Alice's writing and musical talents were soon on show as the third issue of the newspaper was apparently largely written and produced by Alice as Horace was away attending a horse racing event.

Madras Weekly Mail - Wednesday 10 October 1888, p. 26.

THE EURASIAN PRIMA DONNA. Mrs Horace Hayes may be congratulated on the appearance and contents of No. 3 of Hayes' Sporting News, which she has edited and published during the absence of the editor-in-chief, Captain Hayes, at the Poona Race Meeting. Among other things she contributes a signed article from her practised pen, anent Miss Gomes Farewell Concert at Calcutta, on the 20th ultimo. Miss Gomes is an Eurasian, and this is what her lady critic says of her : "Miss Gomes sang to us of the Green Hill far away, in a charming sympathetic manner, every word being clearly and distinctly articulated. The fact of her having a perfect English pronunciation, speaks volumes for the assiduity with which she must have cultivated it. She attacks her notes in the masterly manner of a carefully trained artist, and focuses them with fine precision. Amateur singers might take a hint from the position is which she stands when singing, keeping her head well up and bringing every note from her chest steadly and quietly, without the slightest seeming effort. She manages her respiratory organs so well, that she never gasps or labours at all over her singing. Wherever she is heard, at home or abroad, she will certainly give pleasure to her audience . . Of coarse she was recalled, responded with our dear old friend 'Home, sweet Home,' to the delight of her audience. Ths last person I heard sing this was Madame Adelina Patti, and though Miss Gomes' voice cannot, of course, be compared to hers, I can truely say that the resaults arrived at in each case were precisely the same, as far as giving pleasure to the audience was concerned. Miss Gomes' phrases the second verse differently from Patti, and I can't say I like it, as the word 'cottage' sounded jerky, though the former, I think, sung Bishop's music exactly us it is written, while the Diva touched up the music of any words that were difficult to articulate and made them go smoothly. Miss Gomes is going to England, so I wish her every success, and hopes she will soon return to let us hear more of her lovely voice.' "

The writer of the article continued:

Mrs. Hayes then alluded to the excellence of Mr. Guy's accompaniment. The ordinary amompanist she says, "plays over a song, taking his own time, and making as much noise as he likes, often ignoring the singer altogether! I remember singing 'Jock o'Hazeldean' at a concert in Gibraltar a couple of years ago. Mine is only a every small ordinary voice, but the Italian who played for me did his work so well, and rippled out the accompaniment so softly and prettily, that I received an enthusiastic encore for it. Some months later I sang the same song in Colombo; but the man at the piano interfered so much with my singing that the result was quite different. Since then I have preferred to do without the accompaniment rather than have it badly played." She gives it as her opinion that she has seldom listened to accompaniments "played with better, or with more careful attention to the singer than those of Mr. Guy's." All this is very charming, and proves once again how fortunate the gallant Captain is in his co-editor. But there are some people who seem capable of doing everything well, and it is not therefore matter for much surprise that a lady who is an accomplished rider, actress, singer, musician, and reciter, and who has written a book or two, should take, "as to the manner born," to sporting journalism.

Englishman's Overland Mail (Calcutta) 5 February 1889, p. 13

An article about a performance of the play "Sweet Lavender" at the Corinthian, reports that the professional cast had been assisted by two amateurs, one being Mrs Horace Hayes. The Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) 8 February 1889, p. 4, also reporting on "Sweet Lavender" in their Culcutta Gossip section, reported "Mrs Horace Hayes is a talented actress who has scored similar succeses in other parts of India and and in Ceylon".

Englishman's Overland Mail 17 April 1889, p. 12.

An article reporting on a benefit concert at Kidderpore House reported that : To Mrs Horrace Hayes is due much favourable critcism for her recitation of the story of two hapless lovers from "The Minature" by Harriet Pemberton, a simple tale well told by Mrs Hayes; nor should we omit to mention her natural rendering of "Santa claus" in the latter part of the evening's program,

The Englishman’s Overseas Mail (Calcutta) 18 January 1891, p 16.

Fillis’s Maidan Circus

On Saturday night the Circus was again crowded in every part by an immense audience, a large number of persons being unable to gain admission. The program was new to a large extent, the feats of both riders and gymnasts being even more astonishing than before, while the clowns also gave a fresh proof of their versatility. Public interest was stimulated by the amateur hurdle competition, for which three riders appeared. After a fine display of horsemanship, Mrs Horace Hayes was awarded the cup, the verdict being received with loud applause.

Overland China Mail - Thursday 05 March 1891, p.7.

Mrs Alice Hayes, the talented amateur equestrienne who visited Hongkong with her husband Captain Horace Hayes in 1887, has carried off a challenge cup for hurdle riding at Fillis' Circus in Calcutta.

After three years in India, a circus show came to Calcutta from South Africa, and Horace and Alice were allowed to perform a zebra-breaking act in the show, using one of the circus's zebras. Horace writes about the experiment in breaking and riding the zebra, which Alice rode, in a letter to the Field magazine, Saturday 30 May 1891, p57.

The owner of the circus told them stories of South Africa, and advised them to go there as the 'Africanders' had a love of horses and there were a large number of wild horses on the veldt. Horace writes in Among horses in South Africa that they were getting tired of India so they decided to do a tour of South Africa.

They sold their newspaper, horses, furniture, said good bye to their friends and returned to London for a few months stay so Horace could bring out new editions of some of his books.

Madras Weekly Mail - Thursday 12 February 1891, p. 2

Archdeacon Michell of Calcutta has consented to take charge of Mrs. Hayes' Leper Fund, and to carry on the work of the mission. In noticing this change of management it would be ungracious not to recognise the brave and good work that has been done for the Asylum by Mrs. Hayes,at the cost of much trouble and personal inconvienoe. Mrs. Hayes, with her husband, Captain Hayes, is about to leave Calcutta.

Alice and Horace are not identified in the 1891 census, held 5 April 1891, so I assume they returned to London after that date.

They left Southampton on Saturday 21 November 1891 for South Africa on the Dunnottar Castle.

Colonies and India - Saturday 28 November 1891, p29

DEPARTURES. - - Per Messrs. Donald Currie & Co.'. "Dunottar Castle" (Capt. J. C. Robinson), from London November 20 :- ... FOR CAPE TOWN.... Capt Hayes, Mrs Hayes, Master Hayes ...

They would spend about 7 months travelling through the Cape Colony, the Transvaal, the Orange Free State and Natal, giving lectures and conducting their horse breaking show. A full description of this tour is given in Horace's book Among horses in South Africa.

Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Wednesday 20 April, p. 7.

THE HAYES AT THE CAPE

A Cape correspondent has written to The Statesman:—" Among those who are infusing some stir into our sleepy Cape Town and the colony generally, are Captain Hayes and his wife, who have made themselves much talked of by what they intend doing to revolutionise the art of riding here, and social manners. Tney say that the Cape Colonists do not know how to ride, any thing about sport or theatricals, and the Captain declares that as he taught Anglo-Indians how to manage a horse he intends breaking in the Africanders. Mrs. Hayes wished to run in opposition to Olive Schreiner in forcing herself on the public, but Cape Town people do not care for too many sensations, and are not at all inclined to take up with new corners, especially when the strangers shew an undisguised contempt for the so-called ignorance of the colonial Africanders, or to pay dearly for instruction. Mrs. Hayes is well-meaning, and some of her hints as to leper treatment, kindness to animals, and hospital nursing are worth acceptance. She wished to join Mrs. Potter, but the latter was jealous (that is one version) ; and so Mrs. Hayes, who has (so she says) taught the amateurs of Calcutta how to act, threatens to start a private theatrical company on her own account. It will be an amateur affair, and will have the support of Government House, where Mrs. Hayes has made an impression by her Indian experiences. Captain Hayes is billed for Kimberley and the Transvaal, where he is to break in all and sundry horses which are brought to him. He will find some tough ones to deal with. As to manege taught in all its branches, it will not pay in this colony, except among a few; as our horsemen know more about practice riding than the gallant captain, whose skilled performances are yet to be seen." Mrs. Alice Hayes writes to the Indian Planters Gazette I see you are recommending the Cape horses that are expected in India to planters. I should strongly advise you to wait and see them for yourself as if they are anything like the miserable flat sided weeds we see about here, they won't do at all for men who want a bit of bone and stamina in their cattle. You feel as if you've got nothing under you when mounted on an ordinary Cape horse. The are just like the " common or garden " country.bred bazar tattoo without the least style about them. No Cape horse has been properly mouthed, so all carry their heads poked out in front of them. Their mouths have been spoilt by the employment of a barbarous curb bit used without a snaffle, called here a "polo bit I" Few men would care I think to use them for polo. Then, again, Cape horses are taught, like native ones, to amble and canter, but seldom to trot, so very few of them can accomplish this pace. If you put a batch of these rats by the side of a number of Walers of the same price, I venture to think that very few of the former would find purchasers. The majority of Cape animals are unsound on account of the cantering and knocking about they get on the hard road here. I was asked to go out for a "quiet ride" by a friend who lent me a mount the other day. We started at 3 and returned at 7, having ridden nearly 30 miles. That is a Colonist's idea of an evening ride. They profess to be very fond of horses, but they treat them shamefully. After going that 30 miles these two horses were kept without either food or water till 10o'clock that night. An Englishman would, before eating his own dinner, see after the welfare of his horse; but such a thought never enters the head of a Colonial unto when a horse is simply a machine.

Englishman's Overland Mail 4 May 1892, p. 10

Visitors to South Africa. From an occasional correspondant.

Some Calcutta "celebrities" have lately been visiting our colony. The first to arrive were Captain and Mrs Horace Hayes, who endeavoured to work up the people of Cape Town to their want of knowledge concerning horses and the way to train and ride them. But apparently our friends out here have their own ideas concerning these matters, as the lectures, &c., which they advertised were so poorly attended that Captain and Mrs Hayes moved on to Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown, &c., where, I believe, they met with greater success and intend going on to Kimberley and Johannesburg. ...

Among the stories Horace tells, is of the occasion when Alice rode a buck-jumping pony that had disposed of all the young men rash enough to try and ride him. Although the pony did his best, he could not dislodge Alice from her saddle. The Governor of the Cape Colony and the other members of Government House in attendance warmly applauded her. Horace notes that Alice's fine riding had made such a good impression that even after they returned to England, the 1 February 1893 issue of the Cape Times noted that it was a revelation to even the boldest rough-riders that Mrs Hayes was able to ride round even the most diabolical animal with a light hand. Horace's standard charge was 2 guineas (1 guinea = one pound and one shilling (21 shillings)) per person to attend the horse breaking instruction show.

As well as the horse riding, Alice also sang. At a concert in Pretoria, the Pretoria Observer reported 'Mrs Hayes was most enthusiastically received, and her two songs formed the feature of the evening'. They returned to Britain on the Union steam ship Tartar.

UK, Incoming Passenger List record for Captain Hayes, 49 (born about 1843), horse trainer, and Mrs Hayes, 34 (born about 1858), leaving Natal on the Tartar, arriving Southampton 10 July 1892. There is a Master Hayes, 11 (born about 1881), boarding at Cape Town towards the bottom of the passenger list page, so it is speculated that James stayed in Cape Town, and boarded at a school, while his parents were on tour in South Africa.

In 1892 the first edition of Alice's book on side-saddle riding, The Horsewoman, was published. As well as newspaper advertisments there were practical demonstrations:

The Queen - Saturday 10 December 1892, p54,

A LECTURE ON RIDING FOR LADIES. The first of a course of lectures on side-saddle riding was given on Monday, Nov. 28, at Messrs Ward's Riding School, Lloyd's-place, Brompton-road, by Capt. Hayes, with practical demonstrations by Mrs Hayes. Capt. and Mrs Hayes propose to give similar performances every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, at the same place, and we cannot but recommend all ladies interested in equestrian matters, as well as those who are in special need of really useful hints on riding, to take the earliest opportunity of attending these lectures. It is a real pleasure to see a lady ride as Mrs Hayes does ; she combines in an unusual degree an absolutely firm, strong seat with a pretty and graceful one; as may be learnt by watching her carefully as from Capt. Hayes' very practical and useful instructions. Mrs Hayes's wide experience qualifies her to speak with authority as to the best methods of training horses ; of the newest and most satisfactory kinds of saddles, stirrups, bridles ; of ladies' riding costumes ; and last, but by no means least, of the novel method adopted by herself and Capt. Hayes for teaching a lady to ride well, and especially to gain a firm seat in jumping—that is, by learning to ride without reins. Of this Mrs Hayes gave a practical demonstration. Capt. Hayes first explained the proper way of mounting a lady and arranging the habit ; also dwelt at length on the proper length of stirrup, the various kinds of safety stirrup, and other preliminary matters, and then mounted Mrs Hayes on her horse, which had on an ordinary snaffle bridle and a standing martingale. The short reins were taken off, and long ones of about 20 feet put in their place. Capt. Hayes, on foot, proceeded to drive the horse round, turning it quickly, walking, trotting, or cantering, and finally driving it over some big jumps, which were taken in excellent style. One can readily believe that this method is well adapted to give the pupil a really firm seat, as well as to give her confidence; and it makes it impossible for the beginner to acquire the very common, butmost insecure and ungraceful trick of holding on by the reins. Much might be said of the large amount of valuable and practical instruction given by Capt. Hayes in his lecture, well as of some of Mrs Hayes's brilliant performances, such as riding a horse without any bridle or reins whatever over some big jumps ; but we advise our readers to go and see for themselves. Mrs Hayes has just brought out a most useful and practical took on side-saddle riding, The Horsewoman," published by Thacker and Co., which may be read with real interest by all lady riders.

In the 17 December 1892 issue of The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News (p. 478) these is a report of the riding for ladies event put on by Horace and Alice at the riding school on the Brompton Road, where it was reported Alice wore a Norfolk jacket, boots and breeches so the ladies could see exactly where the legs should be placed when riding side-saddle.

In 1893 Alice and Horace were charged with libel over some articles Alice had written, which had been published in an Indian newspaper.

The Era, 1 July 1893, p. 15

Libelling "Leon"

In the Queens Bench Division on Thursday, Mr Justice Wright and a common jury heard the case of Sexton v Hayes and wife. It was an action to recover damages for libel, and the defendants pleaded that what was complained of as being libelous were extracts from articles which were fair comment upon a matter of public interest, that the publication was without malice and for the public benefit, and that it was privileged. ...

The newspaper article goes into detail but essentially Alice had visited a horse breaking show in London in 1892, given by George Sexton, a horse tamer, who went by the stage name of "Leon". Alice then wrote articles criticizing the show and Sexton's techniques. The libel action was due to Alice writing that she didn't think Leon had ridden a horse in his life and that he had told her he sometimes had to stick pins in the horses to make them kick and buck. These articles were published in the "Indian Planters Gazette and sporting news", published in Calcutta. Sexton claimed he had planned to visit India. Although Alice had written the articles, it was Horace and Alice who were charged with libel as Alice was Horace’s wife and he was responsible for her actions. Horace had also visited the show, but when he went to give evidence on his opinion of the genuineness or not of the show, Justice Wright said such evidence was not admissible. The witnesses that were called were connected to the show and gave evidence that the performances of Sexton were genuine.

The jury gave the verdict to Sexton, who was awarded damages of £250.

The Social Review (Dublin, Ireland : 1893) 20 January 1894, p. 14

In a section called: "Social notes from London", C O'Connor Eccles writes:

Another new volume of interest to our folk is "The points of the horse" by Captain M. Horace Hayes, late of "The Buffs". I had the pleasure of meeting Captain and Mrs Hayes about a year ago, and at their invitation witnessed some extremely clever feats of horsemanship by the lady. Mrs Hayes can ride anything big enough to bear her very light weight. She has ridden the Zebra, pronounced to be untameable, and in barbarous and semi barbarous countries, visited with her husband, has literally "astonished the natives" by her dominion over animals. Captain Hayes hales from the Emerald Isles, and so does his wife, if I'm not mistaken. At any rate she has all the Irishwoman's pluck and Irishwoman's charm. She gave me some useful tips, one of which had reference to safety habits. The ordinary safety habit she finds unduly expensive, and the idea of attaching it to the pommel, if "spilt," and having in most undignified fashion to run after it, does not meet with her approval. For her own wear she adopts a simple riding skirt, without a fitted knee-piece, and to her riding-trousers she has a strong button sewn on, just above the knee. To this there is a corresponding button hole in the habit. When mounted, Mrs Hayes simply buttons one to the other, and if thrown her habit comes clear off the pommel without catching anything. Her book about riding is considered the most practical and useful in existence. This latest volume of her husband is full of valuable information, the result of observations in four quarters of the globe. ...

In June 1894, Alice and Horace were living at Woodbine Cottage, Melton Mowbray. (from the introduction to Horace's book Among men and horses)

The Grantham Journal - Saturday 10 August 1895, p. 2, recorded a grand fete, held in the grounds of the residence of Lady Sybil Tollemache at Manton, to support the St Mary's Diocesan Home at Ketton. Among the events were performances in the theatre, in which Mrs. M. H. Hayes (Melton Mowbray), and others took part.

In order to pay for the costs of the libel action, Horace and Alice visited Germany and Russia at different times during the mid to late 1890's conducting horse breaking shows. In the visits to Russia, Horace helped to train and instruct the Russian military in horse management. Alice continued to write and the Daily News (Perth, WA), Saturday 12 August 1899, page 5, contains an article written by Alice, from a magazine called The Church Gazette, where Alice describes Russian superstitions.

The Hampshire Telegraph - Saturday 04 February 1899, p. 7 has a Southsea Visitors List. Included at Western Parade, No. 14, Lauderdale: Capt. Hayes, Mrs and Master Hayes.

Horace would died at Southsea in 1904.

1901 England census - Alice M Hayes, 36 (born about 1865), born Norwood, Surrey, England, Authoress. Also in the house: son James Hayes, 18 (born about 1883), born Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland; servant Arthur H Fretter, 15 (born about 1886), born Crick, Northamptonshire, England, House Boy; and servant Joseph Fretter, 18 (born about 1883), born Crick, Northamptonshire, England, Garden Boy Domestic. Note Alice would have been 39 and she was born in Esher, Surrey. It is assumed Horace was away in South Africa as he was working for the British Army during the Boer War (1899-1902) using his horse skills to advise on the best ways of transporting and managing horses and mules, due to the high level of losses during transport, and subsequently wrote the book Horses on Board Ship: A Guide to Their Management.

Address - (Yew Tree House), Yelvertoft Road, Crick, Northampton, England.

There are newspaper advertisments for the sale of Yew Tree House, Crick by Horace in October 1903, and again in May 1906 for the auction of the property on Thursday 31 May 1906 by Alice (Mrs Hayes), with advertisments in August and September 1906 for the auction of the contents of the house by Alice (Mrs Rucker) on Wednesday 10 October 1906.

Husband Horace died 31 August 1904 at 43 Outram Road, Southsea, Portsmouth and Alice was the informant, present at the death. Horace had died of Bulbar Paralysis, 5 months and Septic Pneumonia. Bulbar paralysis, today Bulbar palsy, is a set of conditions that can occur due to damage to the lower cranial nerves. Clinical features of bulbar palsy range from difficulty swallowing and a lack of a gag reflex to inability to articulate words and excessive drooling. Bulbar palsy is most commonly caused by a brainstem stroke or tumor.

In Horace's will he named Alice as his executrix, and she inherited all his possessions including the copyrights to his books and illustrations and the English translation of Friedberger & Frochmen's Textbook of the special pathology and therapeutics of the domestic animals, as well as Yew Tree House. There were no children named in the will.

After Horace died, Alice found she was short of money. The Field magazine issue of 10 Septeber 1904 announced a fund had been opened on her behalf and the manager of the National Provincial Bank, Rugby, had kindly consented to receive subscriptions, which should be marked the " Hayes Fund." In the 12 November 1904 issue of The Field, Alice advertised the sale of a horse for 70 guineas to an immediate purchaser, sold only on account of the death of Capt. Hayes.

Alice remarried in 1906.

England & Wales Marriage registration index record for Alice Maria Hayes marrying Enrique Alejandro Rucker, July-September quarter 1906, Rugby registration district, Warwickshire, Vol. 6D, P. 1101.

England & Wales marriage certificate for Alice Maria Hayes, widow, 35, of The Bungalow, Crick, father William Pyett (deceased), Surveyor, marring Enrique Alejandro Rucker, 26, bachelor, of The Bungalow, Crick, Stock & share broker, father Enrique Carlos Rucker (deceased), Stock & share broker, on 12 September 1906 at the Register Office in the district of Rugby.

Well actually naughty Alice was almost 45, and of course father William was a tailor not a surveyor, and it is believed Enrique was 25.

Prior to the marriage in September 1906, Alice sold Yew Tree House and moved into The Bungalow, Crick. Alice sold The Bungalow in 1908. Alice was presumabely living at Studland House, Avon road, West Dorsetshire, when she died in January 1913, the address in the probate record, though the address for Enrique is 15 West Borough, Wimborne, in Alice's death certificate.

This is the advertisment for the auction of Yew Tree House by Alice in 1906:

Rugby Advertiser - Saturday 26 May 1906, p.1

[block advertisment]

TO HUNTING GENTLEMEN & OTHERS. CRICK, Six Miles from Rugby. MR. JAMES STYLES WILL SELL BY AUCTION, At the Wheat Sheaf Inn, Crick, On THURSDAY NEXT, MAY 31st, 1906, At Two for Three o'clock prompt in the Afternoon, subject to Conditions of Sale, ALL that Excellent FREEHOLD PROPERTY, known as YEW TREE HOUSE, CRICK, late in the occupation of Captain Hayes, deceased. This Property consists of Detached Country Residence, which is substantially built of Northamptonshire Stone and Tiled, has been thoroughly modernised throughout, is in good tenantable condition, contains Porch, Hall, Drawing Room. Dining Room. Kitchen. Larder, China Pantry, well fitted Bath Room and Lavatory, w.c., 6 Bedrooms, Housemaid's Closet, Out Offices, Wine Cellar, Porch, and Side Entrance. Block of excellent STABLING, which is Stonebuilt and Slated, consisting of 3 lofty well-fitted Loose Boxes, Double Carriage House., Large Forage Stores, and Yard. The Stabling can, at small expense, be added to. Ornamental and Kitchen GARDENS, Tennis Court. The Property has a frontage of 82 feet, and comprises an area of about 2,685 Square Yards ; has an excellent supply of good water, and is well drained on modern principles. This Property stands on high ground with south aspect, on gravel sub-soil, is most pleasantly situated in the village of Crick, in the Pytchley hunt, close to church, Post and Telegraph Offices, and within 11/2 miles of Kilshy Station on the L and N-W Railway main line. To view apply to Mrs Hayes, The Bungalow, Crick ; and for particulars to the Auctioneer, The Mart, Rugby; or to Mr. W. G. B. PULMAN, Solicitor. Rugby and Lutterworth.

This is the advertisment for the auction of the contents of the house after Alice had sold it in 1906:

Rugby Advertiser - Tuesday 09 October 1906, p. 1

[block advertisment]

Re the Estate of the Late Capt. M. H. HAYES, Deceased. YEW TREE HOUSE. CRICK. JAMES STYLES Has received instructions TO SELL BY AUCTION, TO-MORROW {WEDNESDAY). Oct 10th. At The Mart, Bank Street, RUGBY, THE Under-mentioned EFFECTS, from Yew Tree House, Crick, late in the occupation of Captain M. H. Hayes. deceased, which will be removed to The Mart. Rugby, for convenience of Sale, consisting of excellent Burr Walnut Cheffioneer„ Four-feet Antique Oak Writing Table, Gent's Easy Chairs, Dining Room Chairs, Telescopic Dining Table, Needlework Fire Screen, Walnut Overmantel, Mahogany Inlaid Drawing Room Chairs, Bric-a-Brac Cabinet, Ottoman, Antique Adams Design Gilt Mirror, Clock, Walnut and other Tables, Whatnot, Oriental Rugs, Fenders, Kerbs, Axminster and other Carpets, also Antique Oak-cased Clock (by Clarke), Umbrella stand, Capital Singer Cabinet Sewing Machine, Lady's excellent Singer Bicycle, Lamps, Guitar, Music Stool, Afghan, Indian, and Burmese Swords, Fine Old Bronze Russian Troika, Russian Brass Three-panel Icons, several fine old Russian Icons (hand-painted on panels), Ornamental China, Pewter Plates and Tankard, Wedgewood Dessert Service, Patch Box, Rare & Valuable Set of 5 Typical English Horses (painted by the late John Oswald Brown), Oil Paintings. finelyworked Needlework Pictures, Old Coloured Sporting and other Engravings, Sheffield-plated Liqueur Stand, Table Glass, Tea and Dinner Services ; Books include " Life of Napoleon." by Giffard, illustrated by Cruikshank ; Porter's ",Travels in Russia," " Kotzebue's Travels " well-made 6ft. Satin Walnut Bedroom SUITE, consisting of Wardrobe, Pair of Duchesse Stands, Chairs, and Towel Rail also 4-ft Carved Walnut Bedroom Suite. consisting of Wardrobe, Pair of Duchesse Stands, Chest of Drawers, Pedestal, and Chairs; well-made 4-ft Mahogany Circular. front Chest of Drawers, Mahogany and other Washstands, Chamberware. Chests of Drawers, Mahogany and other Dressing Tables, Toilet Glases, Wicker and Lounge Chairs, Writing Tables, Chairs, Curtains, Blankets, Carpets, Brass-mounted and other Bedsteads, Mattresses, Bedding, Kitchen Tables, Culinary Utensils. HARNESS, including Gent's Riding Saddle (complete), Horse Clothing, Rugs, Bridles, Bits, Galvanised Corn Bin, excellent 20-in. Doublebarrel Garden Roller, " The Crown " 12-in. Ransome Automatic Lawn Mower, Tennis Net, Marker and Bats, Garden Tools, Wheelbarrow, Copper Furnace. Ladder, &c. On view at The Mart, Bank Street, Rugby, on TUESDAY, OCT. 9th, from 10.30 till 8 p.m., and Morning of Sale. Sale to Commence at 1.30 prompt. Catalogues now ready, and can be obtained at Auctioneer's Offices, The Mart, Bank Street, Rugby. THE MART, BANK STREET, RUGBY.

There is an outgoing passenger list record for Mr Rucker, merchant and Mrs Rucker, lady, both English, sailing first class, leaving on the "Kronprinzessin Cecilie" on 16 December 1906 for Vera Cruz [ie Veracruz}, Mexico. I speculate that was Alice and Enrique on a honeymoon cruise to South America. In the 1910 edition of the Horsewoman, Alice recounts horse riding in South America.

Rugby Advertiser 10 November 1908, p. 1

[Block advertisement]

Crick, Bungalow residence. Mr W, Wiggins has received instructions from Mrs Rucker who has left the neighborhood, to sell by auction, on Friday next, November 13th 1908, at 5 for 6 o'clock prompt in the evening, at the Royal Oak Inn, Crick, subject to conditions of sale then to produced, which will incorporate the Common Law Conditions of the Leicester Law Society, all the convenient and comfortable Freehold Messuage or dwelling house (formally two), known as "The Bungalow", late in the occupation of Mrs Rucker, but now vacant, pleasantly situate, and containing 3 sitting rooms, kitchen, 2 pantry's, cellar, coalhouse, w.c., bathroom, 5 bedrooms, large glass veranda, with garden, hard and soft water, and force pump. To view, and for further particulars, apply to the auctioneer, 25A, High Street, Rugby; or to Mr W.G.B. Pullman, Solicitor, Rugby and Lutterworth, where conditions of sale can be seen seven days prior to the day of sale.

1911 England census - Alice Marie Rucker, 42 (born about 1869), born Esher, Surrey, private means, married, visitor to the house of Walter and Elizabeth Webb and their two sons. Also in the house: Walter Webb, 73 (born about 1838) born Earls Colne, Essex, Retired; wife Elizabeth Webb, 66 (born about 1845), born Maids Morton, Buckinghamshire; son Alfred J L Webb, 37 (born about 1874), born Esher, Surrey, Railway Clerk; and son Arthur Webb, 28 (born about 1883), born Esher, Surrey, Shop Assistant Ironmonger. Walter and Elizabeth are recorded as having been married for 41 years and Elizabeth had given birth to 7 children, 6 still alive, while Alice is recorded as having been married for 4 years and had no children from the marriage.

Address - Ravelagh Cottage, Pemberton Road, East Molesey, Surrey

Note Alice would have been aged 49 not 42 and the reason she may have been visiting a friend and husband Enrique is not listed in the census, was because an E.A. Rucker, presumed to be Enrique, had left the UK for South America before the census date of 2 April - UK Passenger list record for E.A. Rucker, citizen of Chile, travelling 1st class, departing Avonmouth, 15 March 1911, on the Chirripo, for Santa Marta, Colombia. Alfred Webb was a witness to Alice’s will.

England & Wales Death registration index record for Alice Maria Hayes Rucker, died aged 42, January-March quarter 1913, Wimborne registration district, Dorset, Vol. 5A, P. 329. Note Alice was actually 51 when she died.

England & Wales death certificate No. 339 for Alice Maria Hayes Rucker, wife of Enrique Alejandro Rucker, foreign correspondent & clerk, of Wimborne U.D., died 9 January 1913 at the Cottage Hospital, Wimborne U.D., aged 42 [ie 51, though 40 had been originally entered and crossed out]. Cause of death was 1) carcinoma of the uterus 6 months; 2) operation & hysterectomy 11 days; paralysis of bowels 8 days; heart failure. The informant of the death was Enrique Alejandro Rucker, widower of the deceased, No. 15 West Borough, Wimborne.

England & Wales Probate registration index record for Alice Marie Rucker, of Studland House, Avon road, West Dorsetshire, (wife of Enrique Alejandro Rucker), died 9 January 1913, at the Cottage Hospital, Wimborne, Dorsetshire. Probate London, 18 February 1913, to the said Enrique Alejandro Rucker, gentleman. Effects £2366 3s 1d.

Alice was buried 13 January 1913 at the Highlands cemetery, Highland Rd, Southsea, Portsmouth, Southsea PO4, United Kingdom, grave E 16- 14. Alice is buried with Horace, who had died in 1904, and the burial index has her recorded as Alice Mary Hayes.

Information from Annie Ravenhill-Johnson, 28 November 2016.

Alice Pyett got away at 19 by marrying a much older man, Captain Horace Hayes of The Buffs. He is a very famous vet and wrote countless books on the subject. The Points of the Horse is still the definitive book on equine anatomy even today. It appears that Alice travelled with the regiment to India and visited China and the Arab countries. She wrote a book The Horsewoman by Mrs. Hayes in which she describes a divided riding skirt she has designed because ladies still rode sidesaddle. There's a photo of her riding a mountain zebra sidesaddle! She relates how she rode in the desert every day breaking in horses for Arab sheiks. In the UK she is a hero in the eyes of the Sidesaddle Riding Association.

In Calcutta she visited the leper colony and was appalled by the conditions and campaigned for clean linen, showers and fresh fresh fruit. The British rajh press called her an hysterical woman but she won in the end. When they left India she handed her work to the St Vincent de Paul Association and wrote a book My Leper Friends with all proceeds to the leper colony. She and her husband wrote a sporting newspaper in India too. What a woman! I am so proud of her!

from http://www.venacavadesign.co.uk/shop/home/510-1910s-1940s-ladies-ri...

In the 1870s, “safety skirts” appeared. These were skirts that were fastened at the back and engineered to release the rider if caught on the pommels of the saddle in a fall. Getting caught in one’s riding skirt was a serious danger and tailors were constantly designing their own skirt systems and hoping to patent them. The first safety skirt was patented in 1894 by Alice M. Hayes and tailor Frederick Tautz of Oxford Street London. Breeches were, of course, an essential part of riding habits by this time. The safety skirt would eventually evolve into the apron skirt, a shaped apron that gives the appearance of a skirt while mounted side saddle, but requires breeches to be worn underneath.

Note no patent has been found. The only patent granted to Alice is: UK Patent No. 12,122 of 1893. Title : Sanitary Pad for Ladies' Riding Breeches and Riding Trousers; Inventor : Alice Marie Hayes, of 34 Montpelier Street, Brompton Road, in the county of London, Professional Lady Rider, and wife of M. H. Hayes, Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Date of application : 20 June 1893; Complete specification : 17 March 1894; Accepted : 20 June 1894.

Similarly the only patent found for Frederick Tautz is for improvements to breeches, also granted in 1894.

From the 1901 census and from her writings it would appear that Alice had a son, recorded as James Hayes, born about 1883 in Edinburgh, however no birth registration record in Scotland or England has been found. From the preface to the 1903 edition of The Horsewoman : a practical guide to side-saddle riding : "Knowing the immense value of photographs in explaining technical subjects, I have gladly availed myself of the expert help of my husband and son in that form of illustration." From that we could assume son James was still alive in 1903. Other mentions of her son in The Horsewoman include talking about a cup she had won in a jumping competition, at Fillis' Circus in Calcutta: "By-the-bye, my acquisition of this cup caused me to be branded as a “circus rider” by the ladies in a Little Pedlington village in this country; for when the local society leader called on me, I was out, and my son, by way of entertaining her, showed her “the cup that mother won in a circus!”" And in the chapter on riding difficult horses, while in India: "She [the horse] would carry my son to his school, a distance of about five miles, and bring him home without making any attempt to shy with the child, but if an adult person rode her on the same route, she would play up as usual. I can only infer from this experience that, as I have already said, many horses possess a certain sense of honour."

In her book "My leper friends" (London : Thacker, 1891), she writes about her first visit to the leper asylum, probably in 1890 (p24) : When I arrived home from the asylum, I went at once to find my husband, to tell him all that I had seen, and ask him to help me in doing something for the lepers. He was out, unfortunately, and, no one else being in the house, I tried to interest my little boy in the fate of the poor leper child whom I had just seen. His baby brain could not grasp the full extent of my meaning ; but he understood enough to offer his scrap-book and promise me his musical-box and other things, all of which were duly handed over to the poor little leper next day. And writing about the Nuns of the Loretto Convent (p.89) : I first became acquainted with them through sending my little boy to school at their convent in the hills. During the hot weather, it is found necessary to send as many children as their parents can afford to pay for, away out of the heat of Calcutta, to the cooler climate of Darjeeling or any adjacent hill station, where the little ones remain till the temperature becomes sufficiently cool for them to return to their studies in the plains. I sent my boy one season to Darjeeling with the nuns, and it was when arranging for his trip that I first met my kind friends.

Caring for the lepers in Calcutta became a major project for Alice.

The Queen, 22 November 1890, p. 68

A LADY’S WORK AMONGST THE LEPERS.

A Calcutta correspondent writes : Perhaps your readers may be interested to hear what a woman has done for the lepers in the Calcutta Leper Asylum. Mrs Alice Hayes, lady correspondent of a local weekly, entitled “Hayes’ Sporting News”, edited by her husband, Capt. Horace Hayes, lately commenced writing in her husband’s paper a series of articles on Calcutta charities, visiting each one for this purpose, amongst them the Calcutta Leper Asylum. She found entombed there about seventy lepers – men and women and one or two children. Amongst the inmates are some Eurasian and European men and women. The latter seem, from Mrs Hayes’ accounts, to be badly furnished with the comforts of life. Two of the women had been students in some of our large public schools before the disease showed itself, and were hidden away here by parents and friends anxious to put any such a visitation from the world’s gaze. Mrs Hayes was much touched at the sad loneliness of these poor creatures, and describes their condition most vividly in the paper before mentioned, inviting the help of the public to form a small fund to provided them with small creature comforts which the asylum had omitted to supply, such as sufficient clothes, sheets, washstands, fruit, jam, illustrated papers, &c., and proposing personally to visit the asylum weekly and to distribute amongst the afflicted people the small offerings. Her appeal has been very generously responded to, and money, clothing, &c., have been sent her. Nobly, to, does she, week after week, fulfil her self-imposed mission, going amongst the poor and outcasts, and cheering their loneliness with sprightly talk and news of the outside world, and leaving each time some memento of her kindly presence. Leprosy in our tropical climate assumes its most loathsome aspect, and many of the inhabitants of our Leper Asylum are in a very advanced stage of the disease. The sight as described by others whom curiosity or pity perhaps has tempted there is enough to appal any man. I hardly think a second visit is paid, however good the intention of doing so. Mrs Hayes, on the contrary, as I have said before, has never failed a single Tuesday to visit her poor suffering fellow-creatures. We read with admiration of the deeds of Florence Nightingale, Sister Dora, Sister Gertrude, and I think we should add to this list the name of our brave young citizen, Mrs Alice Hayes, whose kindness and courage are certainly unequalled in India.

The Hayes left Calcutta in 1891, leaving via Bombay for England.

Alice's books were:

My leper friends : an account of personal work among lepers and of their daily life in India / by Mrs M. H. Hayes. London : W. Thacker & Co., 1891.

The horsewoman : a practical guide to side-saddle riding / by Alice M Hayes, edited by M. Horace Hayes, F.R.C.V.S. late captain "The Buffs". London : W. Thacker & Co. 1892. ; 2nd ed. London : Hurst and Blackett ; New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1903 ; 3rd ed. London : Hurst and Blackett, 1910.

Veterinary Notes for Horse Owners / by M Horace Hayes, Seventh edition, revised and enlarged [by Alice M. Hayes], London : Hurst & Blackett, 1906.

The story of the Tzars / by Alice M. Hayes. This was advertised as "In the press" in 1900 in Horace's book Among horses in Russia, and also in a newspaper article but does not appear to have been published.

Daily News (London) - Wednesday 14 February 1900, p. 8.

After Horace’s death, Alice edited some of Horace’s books for publication.

Veterinary Notes for Horse Owners ... Seventh edition, revised and enlarged [by Alice M. Hayes]. London : Hurst & Blackett, 1906.

Friedberger & Fröhner's Veterinary Pathology ... Authorised translation ... by M. H. Hayes [revised by Alice Hayes]. With notes on bacteriology by Professor R. Tanner Hewlett ... 6th edition, revised and enlarged. London : Hurst & Blackett, 1908.

Mrs. Alice M. Hayes is well known to lady equestrians as the authoress of "The Horsewoman" (a book as pleasantly written as it is abundant in good advice) and to sporting people generally for her teats in the hunting field. Her next book will soon be published, under the title of " The Story of the Tzars," and will contain a record of the lives of the Russian Sovereigns from the foundation of the Empire to the present day. Within the last two or three years Mrs. Hayes has lived imuch in Russia, where her husband, the well-known sporting author, Captain Hayes, late of the Buffs, has been officially employed at cavalry depots of the Russian Army.

Equine Intelligence by Alice Hayes, The Badminton Magazine of sparts and pastimes, February 1904, article IX.

Caroline Cardew, widow (born Caroline Hake), had married Matthew Horace Hayes at Cannanore, Madras, India, on 13 January 1866. In her 1886 Divorce application, Caroline claimed Matthew had not lived with her since June or July 1866 and had been cohabiting with women unknown at various dates and in various places in India and England, and since November 1885 in India. Horace had returned to Ireland from India in 1866 so perhaps Caroline had stayed in India?

Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.), Saturday 28 January 1893, page 45

LITERARY NOTES. ... Mrs. Alice M. Hayes, in the Horsewoman, a practical guide to side-saddle riding (London: Thacker and Co.) says emphatically that the side-saddle is the only possible saddle for women—and in saying so shows that she has heard, about Australia :- "Journalists short of 'copy' and women anxious for notoriety, periodically start the notion that ladies should adopt a man's saddle in preference to their own one. Anyone who takes up this idea seriously must be either mad or wholly ignorant. In the first place, a woman's appearance in a 'cross saddle' would be most ungraceful. On this point I need not go into particulars; but may draw attention to the, fact that even men who have broad hips never look well in a saddle. Secondly, riding a califourchon would be injurious to the health of any ordinary woman who aspired to going out of a walk. I am here alluding to ladies of every-day life, and not to feminine desperadoes like the famous Kate Kelly, who, mounted astride on her black mare, used to defy the efforts of the Australian police to prevent her from communicating with her brother Ned, 'the iron clad bushranger.' Thirdly the shape of a woman's limbs are unsuited to cross saddle riding, which requires length from hip to knee, flat muscles, and a slight inclination to ' bow legs.' And, finally, the seat in a man's ordinary saddle is much less secure, even for a man, than a woman's seat in a side saddle. The fact that by the adoption of the cross saddle about seven pounds in weight would be saved, and that the work for the horse would be a little easier to do, should surely not outweigh the enormous disadvantages (under ordinary conditions) on the other side! Having travelled a good deal in the East, I am aware that Oriental women ride astride; but they very rarely (I have never seen any of them voluntarily do so) go out of a walk. Their saddles are made something after the pattern of an easy chair, and their stirrups are very short; so that their seat is altogether different to what it would be in an English hunting saddle. Knowing the trouble there is in using the same saddle for different animals, I am quite ready to admit that if a lady had to travel on horseback through an uncivilised country, she might reasonably ride in a cross saddle, supposing that her side saddle did not fit her mount) or that she had not got one, or that she wanted to disguise her sex. In such a case, if she did not wish to adopt the Eastern saddle, she would be best suited by an Australian buck-jumping saddle, the ' rolls' of which curve round the leg, a little above the knee, something like what the leaping head does to the left leg, and gives great security of seat." The author of the Horsewoman (Mrs. Hayes) seems to have been in Egypt, India, South Africa, and Australia with her husband, who has written many books on the horse, and taught horse-breaking to thousands of pupils, including Prince George of Wales, who got his lessons at Malta. Mrs. Hayes had this adventure near Suez "One evening, after it was dark, when riding alone in the desert, I lost my way, so I allowed my pony to find it for me, which he did by taking me a short cut through the middle of an encampment of wandering Bedouins, who had been stealing everything they could lay hands on in and around Suez. I may mention that their halting-place was three or four miles away from any habitation. The moment they saw me they stopped my horse and care fully examined me by the light of a dirty lantern, with the object of seeing if I had anything worth appropriating. All that they thought worth taking was a gold bangle I was wearing. After consulting among themselves in what I suppose was Arabic, they released the pony and gave him a pasty blow across his quarters, as much as to say, ' Off you go!' He did not require a second hint for he plunged forward and bolted home as hard as he could, no doubt quite as glad as I was to get safely away from these wild thieves,"

Information from Annie Ravenhill-Johnson, 9 January 2017.

I am looking at Alice's second book "My Leper Friends" published in 1891. There was only one copy on the country, in Cambridge University's medical library, and my university got it on loan, and I photocopied it. Sadly it is too long to scan and send you. She says that in 1888 she and Horace enjoyed a "well-earned" holiday in Japan, having just come from China. They were doing a tour demonstrating the breaking in of horses. She says that when a horse or pony, which previously wouldn't allow anyone to mount him, was reduced to obedience in an hour or two, a side saddle was usually put on him then she mounted him, and put him through his paces and jumped over some improvised fences. She says she longed for a settled home after this continual round of hotel and steamer life. She wanted to go back to India where she says she had previously spent a pleasant time in her hobby, theatricals. She says she had received praise in the "Field" and "Graphic" for her riding when her husband gave a performance in London in aid of funds for retired horses. So they went to Calcutta and started a sporting newspaper. She had already had pieces published in "various papers" and she was the drama and music critic and also she wrote about events "of passing interest" from a lady's point of view.

She says that the brothers from the St. Vincent de Paul Society asked her to sing at one of their weekly concerts for sailors, after which she often went and sang. She started writing articles on Calcutta charities, and visited the almshouse, and then the building on the opposite side of the road which was the Leper Asylum. The superintendent said that they had never taken a lady over the place before. She says the lepers only had beds, that the sheets were dirty, their bandages filthy, and there were flies on their open sores. She was a woman of her age, and was horrified that a European woman had only a dirty sheet hanging up to separate her from the "natives". Leprosy was incurable at that time of course, and she says she wasn't afraid of contracting it herself. She asked them if she would bring them books but they said their sight was going fast and reading hurt their eyes too much. They had no bath tubs or washstands and had to wash at a tap in a brick enclosure with no doors. In the male ward men were even lying dying on mats on the floor.

She says when she got home she told her little boy about a leper child and he handed over his scrap book and musical box to give to him. So it appears that she and Horace definitely had a son.

She says they went next day with fresh fruit, flowers, fans, scent, biscuits, jam, clean linen for bandages, sheets, underclothing, etc. The superintendent was not pleased. Furthermore she wrote it all up in an article in their paper. She then went to the Police Commissioner and asked for help He and the President of the Society went down with her but of course by then, having read her article, the place had undergone a thorough cleaning! And when they were severely asked what complaints they had, the lepers just cringed and said nothing. So a reply to Alice's piece was published in another paper saying that her accusations were "absolutely without foundation, and are merely the careless and inaccurate reports of a hysterical, irresponsible woman seeking notoriety". But "The Queen" magazine in November 22nd wrote about her good work, how she visited every week taking her own offerings, and how money, clothing, books, linen, soap, tea, and so on had been sent to her following her appeal, and enough money to employ a female attendant for them. The food had also improved greatly. "We read with admiration of the deeds of Florence Nightingale, Sister Dora, Sister Gertrude, and I think we should add to this list the name of our brave young citizen, Mrs. Alice Hayes, whose kindness and courage are certainly unequaled in India".

When funds got low she and her friends hired the Town Hall and put on a concert. The Great Eastern Hotel sent their workmen with flags and drapery to decorate the Town Hall, the programmes were designed and printed for them at no charge, There were 6 soloists, she did two recitations, there was a short play, school children sang, a band played during the interval and after the concert, and she decorated the stage with flowers, evergreens and fairy lamps.

In the introduction to the 18th edition (published 2002) of Veterinary notes for horse owners by Captain M. Horace Hayes, Roy Knightbridge writes that he first become involved with the literary estate of Horace Hayes in 1975 when his step-father Frank Pyett (Alice's nephew, son of her brother John Pyett), by then sole trustee, asked him to help find a literary agent to replace the previous literary agent who had died. Frank then asked Roy if he would take on the role, which he did. When Frank died in 1982, Roy and his sister Pamela Sitch became joint trustees of the literary estate. It is not known how Frank became the Literary Trustee of Horace’s estate, as in Horace’s will he bequeathed everything to wife Alice, and in Alice’s will she had bequeathed everything to second husband Enrique Rucker.