A KNIGHT OF THE GOLDEN DAYS 211 



were ready enough to receive suggestions as to 

 investments in that line, but possessed little prac- 

 tical knowledge of the business. Mr. CAMPBELL, a 

 "canny" Scot, suggested Ayrshires, and a herd of that 

 time-honored Scottish dairy sort was duly founded. 

 With these, however, GIBSON was not satisfied. From 

 his early youth he had been a lover of the Shorthorn, 

 and he still had visions of the "red, white and roan" 

 in all the glory of their furry coats, broad ribs, deep 

 chests and capacious udders, as seen in the show- 

 yards and pastures of his native land. As a mere boy 

 he had listened with rapt attention to the stories of 

 Lancaster and Comet as told in the quaint language 

 and with all the enthusiasm of illiterate but observ- 

 ant herdsmen. The Shorthorn was at this time the 

 pampered favorite of the British nobility, as well as 

 the mainstay of the English tenantry. Prominent 

 New Yorkers like Col. MORRIS, SAMUEL THORNE and 

 J. O. SHELDON had already made importations of the 

 popular Duchess and Oxford blood. TOM BOOTH was 

 setting the English showyards wild with the mar- 

 velous creations of Warlaby. The way was being 

 paved for the most stupendous speculation in blooded 

 cattle the world had ever known. 



Mr. CAMPBELL'S objections were finally overcome 

 and a few Shorthorns, which he always referred to 



