INGENIOUS WAY OF GETTING CUSTOMERS 205 



to hire a lot of men, both in town and country, to call at 

 public-houses and hotels which the brewery did not 

 serve, to ask for its special brew, whether in beer, ale, or 

 stout. On being told it was not kept, they would express 

 their surprise, and declare they ' could get it just above, 

 or just below, or round the corner,' and would leave for 

 the apparent purpose of obtaining it. This ingenious 

 way of getting customers may not have been novel, but it 

 was a legitimate method of increasing trade ; and more, it 

 was effective, and with the further help of good manage- 

 ment, so raised the value of the shares in the company 

 that Mr. Swindell's investment in it of 70,000 became a 

 valuable property. I have this statement, like most 

 others relating to himself, from his own lips. 



He once bought a large wholesale ironmongery business 

 in the City, doing a large trade, for one of his relations 

 a nephew, I believe. But this young gentleman wanted 

 to run before he could walk, and kept his brougham and 

 pair of dashing horses, visited nightly theatres, casinos, 

 and other places of amusement not of the most moral 

 character, and so ruined his health and fortune, and 

 brought on a premature death. A miser was once told 

 by one of his old cronies that ' his son was dissipating 

 his fortune,' and calmly replied that ' if he had only half 

 the pleasure in spending as I have had in getting it, his 

 happiness must be complete.' But Mr. Swindell thought 

 differently, and took possession of the business and dis- 

 posed of it to a stranger. 



Mr. Swindell left me when I became private trainer to 

 Sir Frederick Johnstone and Mr. Sturt, now Lord 

 Alington. I had the privilege of training for Lord 

 Durham and other noblemen and gentlemen ; but those 

 of whom they did not approve had to leave, and one of 

 them was Mr. Swindell, or probably he would have 



