MINORU'S YEAR 



" Never mind the horses," the Duke would say to him, 

 " let them run when we come back. Come away to 

 the Arctic in the yacht." And they would go, and 

 the horses would only be kept in steady work until the 

 return. Some beautiful polar-bear rugs are souvenirs 

 of adventures on these northern trips. It is not in 

 bad taste to express the appreciation for detail in Mr 

 Marsh's house. The tumblers are of a special model 

 which were much liked by the late Duke ; the ApolHn- 

 aris comes out of a stone-cold cellar, and the " cellar " 

 is of special " marks " exactly as consumed by more 

 than one distinguished personage. King Edward and 

 Queen Alexandria have frequently lunched and taken 

 tea at Egerton House. 



Mr Marsh's second wife is a daughter of Sam 

 Darling. One does not wish to give a dry-as-dust 

 record of all the successes achieved by the King's 

 trainer; the horseshoes in the stable are testimony 

 to the number and importance of the victories, and 

 the oil paintings in the house of Persimmon, Diamond 

 Jubilee and Florizel II. mark various stages of suc- 

 cesses. Richard Marsh himself cannot be too highly 

 esteemed. I have met him at his home, on a race- 

 course and off it, and if ever a man deserved the 

 position he is in, and was worthy of being decorated 

 with the Victorian Order by King Edward, Richard 

 Marsh was. This was bestowed one afternoon when 

 the King drove out to Egerton House. He called him 

 aside and pinned the order on his breast. I can 

 well imagine the trainer's feelings that afternoon at 

 being marked out for such distinction. It was a 

 recognition such as neither money nor words could 

 ever have expressed. 



Looking out across the beautiful grounds of Egerton 

 House, the immense upkeep of the place can be 



216 



