LELAND STANFORD AND PALO ALTO 



I have before me a notebook in which the fact 

 is recorded, that Mr. W. R. Allen and myself were 

 at Palo Alto with Senator Stanford November i 

 and 6, 1889. The weather was charming, and I won- 

 dered if in all the world there could be found greater 

 wealth of sunshine. We sat in the shade of a tree 

 and watched the colts at work on the miniature track, 

 and Senator Stanford unfolded at length his theories 

 to us. When summoned to luncheon we had good 

 appetites, and we found native and imported wines 

 on the table. The Senator explained that he pre- 

 ferred his own vintage, and that the imported wines 

 were for his guests. We followed the example of our 

 host and were delighted with the claret from the 

 Vina slopes. Although Mr. Allen had selected four 

 youngsters from the band for which he paid $5000 

 each, Senator Stanford declined to price five others 

 that I had marked in the catalogue. The explana- 

 tion offered was that I was familiar with his views 

 and had selected what he could not afford to sell. 

 Senator Wm. S. Stewart of Nevada, who was pres- 

 ent, expressed amazement, and Senator Stanford 

 turned upon him somewhat sharply: 



" Senator, I will price anything you may select, but 

 I will not allow my friend from New York to pick." 



" The implication is," said Senator Stewart good- 

 naturedly, " that you do not consider me much of a 

 judge." 



One of the yearlings purchased by Mr. Allen was 

 the bay colt by Electioneer out of Sprite by Belmont, 



87 



