HOTEL INCIDENTS 



corner of New Street and Corporation Street, came in 

 one evening with three others. He left me to enter- 

 tain them. " Jolly " Ross was one, a good chap, a 

 restaurateur and caterer, and brother of Mackenzie 

 Ross. Johnnny Scales, a man well known about 

 Edinburgh, was another, and Harry Wright, the book- 

 maker. We had some wine and Wright could sing out 

 nothing but : " I want to lay six fifties La Fleche." 

 She was favourite for the Cambridgeshire. Jolly 

 Ross was talking about all sorts of things with his 

 hoarse voice, and I was wanting to hear how many 

 tons of pork pies, etc., he sold one day at the Man- 

 chester Exhibition, where he had the refreshments. 

 Conversation was difficult, however, with Wright 

 droning out what he wanted to lay against La Fleche. 

 It got on my nerves, so I snapped him up, " I'll take 

 it," and he shut up. She had eight ten and I 

 fancied her, but in the morning I thought I had been 

 too hasty. Nevertheless, the investment was added to. 

 On the day of the race I wired somewhere to back 

 Pensioner, as I thought, to win ; and a score on 

 La Fleche for a place, but made a mistake in the code 

 and La Fleche was written to win and Pensioner, 

 who was second, for a shop. Luck runs in streaks. 

 I didn't miss it. 



There was always very good food at the George, 

 and so there w^as at Mrs Cuthbert's in Glasgow. An 

 enormous amount of business was done there and Mrs 

 Cuthbert is known to all who visit Glasgow on business. 

 Her strong personality attracted a number of people 

 to the house. A keen business woman, her hospitality 

 could be lavish when she w^as entertaining, and she 

 played cards better than any woman I ever saw, and 

 would win or lose in the most sporting way. Glasgow 

 was the finest place I went to for my business. It 



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