128 



The Driving Clubs of Greater Boston 



of a breeder. He possesses that intuition 

 which prompts him to choose the best ma- 

 terial at an undeveloped age and without 

 which no great horseman is ever found. His 

 extraordinary success in selecting really 

 wonderful horses has had nothing to do with 

 luck, for so unerring is his judgment, so pro- 

 found his information, so keen his eye for the 

 good qualities of a horse, that he has been 

 able to select prizes in the way of horse flesh, 

 which others would have overlooked. He 

 understands the breeding problem thorough- 

 ly, recognizes blood lines which nick well to- 

 gether, is a rare judge of individuality, is 

 quick to see unsoundness and has no su- 

 perior, if indeed he has an equal, as a judge 

 of gait. It can truthfully be said of George 

 Leavitt that he is a practical all around horse- 

 man, with few equals and no superiors, and 

 these qualities are extremely rare. His repu- 

 tation for integrity can best be realized from 

 the fact that he has the largest clientele of 

 any man in Xew England and, probably in 

 the United States, and the men that have 

 dealt with him continue to do so, trusting 

 implicitly in his judgment and his loyalty to 

 their interests. 



"Personally he is the best of companions, 

 with a fund of information regarding the 

 horse, a ready wit, which has made him 

 many friends and has never wounded. He 

 numbers among his acquaintances many of 

 the most influential men of affairs in this 

 country, his advice is constantly sought, and 

 his judgment deferred to. He has seen the 

 great trotters and pacers of the past and the 

 present, and his breeding operations, now 

 conducted more extensively than ever in his 

 life, are bound to have an influence on pos- 

 terity." 



Up to twenty-four years ago Mr. Leavitt 

 was a moderate drinker, a habit he began 

 when a boy in Maine and followed up to the 

 time named, since when not a drop of liquor, 

 wine or malt has passed his lips. This swear- 

 ing off came through a particular friend of 

 his, John H. Kimball, of Hillsboro, N. H., 

 betting one day in the Quincy House in Bos- 

 ton with Mr. Leavitt that he could not go a 

 year without drinking. 



Well, the $1,000 — $500 each — was placed in 

 the safe at the hotel. When the year was out 

 Mr. Leavitt mailed a check to Mr. Kimball 

 for the amount he had wagered, as the win- 

 ning of it was so soft that he did not feel like 

 accepting his friend's money. It was, too, be- 

 cause it was so easy for him to get along 

 without it that from that time he has never 

 indulged. 



Mr. Leavitt frequently mentions happenings 



a couple of which may not prove uninterest- 

 ing, as follows : 



"It was at Mystic Park when Jere O'Neil 

 had the three-year-old Lycurgus. Arriving at 

 the track with'a party in a barouche, Jere in- 

 formed me that he wasn't going to start the 

 colt, as there were thirteen in the race, and he 

 had no chance of winning even a piece of the 

 purse. I told him to start. It had cost me $50 

 to parade with that bunch, and I intended to 

 get a race- for my money. When it came to 

 drawing positions, Lycurgus was given last 

 place to score from. 



"A nephew of mine was at the track. I 

 was particularly anxious to keep him away 

 from the barouche, so we could enjoy our- 

 selves. Thus it was when he came over and 

 said that Lycurgus was only selling for a dol- 

 lar in pools of over a hundred, I told him to 

 go over and buy some in order to get rid of 

 him. Lycurgus won the race, however, and 

 my nephew had bought nine of those tickets. 

 Perhaps the welkin didn't ring that night." 



For a great number of years the police of 

 Boston had been bothered by citizens being 

 held up and robbed when crossing the South 

 Boston bridge of evenings. One of the first 

 to make the plan successful, and one of the 

 few holdups in wdflch the police were not noti- 

 fied, was carried through by Mr. Leavitt. It 

 happened in this way : 



Through hard work he had sold a horse for 

 a resident of the State of Vermont, the mu- 

 tual agreement having been that were a sale 

 made Mr. Leavitt was to receive $50 for his 

 commission. This Vermonter was well known 

 for his "snug" habits, never a dollar being 

 known to escape him without just cause and 

 extreme necessity. The afternoon of the sale 

 Mr. Leavitt asked his man to devote the time 

 before he left for home in seeing Prof. Glea- 

 son in his taming act with unmanageable 

 horses, who was then giving two shows daily 

 up near Dover Street. 



During the performance the Vermonter 

 dug into his pocket and brought out a shining 

 five-dollar gold piece and handed it to Mr. 

 Leavitt, saying that it was all he could pay 

 for the horse sale, as matters had gone dif- 

 ferent from what he expected. During the 

 show .Mr. Leavitt was quietly chewing on the 

 measly way that he had been used. Finally, 

 when the performance had concluded, Mr. 

 Leavitt, in place of taking the Vermonter 

 back into the center of the city, started out 

 over the South Boston bridge. Being a stran- 

 ger, the Vermonter confidently trudged along 

 the way he was being led. 



Reaching the middle of the bridge, and the 

 darkest spot, Mr. Leavitt suddenly stopped, 

 pushed the Vermonter up against the rail, and 



