RECOLLECTIONS OF MEN AND HORSES 



" I have thought a good deal of Arion," said Mr. 

 Allen, " but I fear that price will not tempt Gov- 

 ernor Stanford. If I should make an offer for the 

 colt, what do you think should be my limit? " 



Quick and sharp was the answer: " If I had to 

 pay $150,000 for him, I should transfer him to 

 Allen Farm. This is the reported price paid for 

 Ormonde, when Mr. McDonough placed him at the 

 head of his modest breeding establishment in Cali- 

 fornia. Arion should prove as valuable to you as 

 Ormonde to McDonough. You can spend, as I have 

 found out by experience, more than $150,000 in 

 purchasing prospects which never rise to the top. 

 This is why I say that the very best, regardless of 

 cost, is the cheapest in the end." 



It was evident that the earnest words of Mr. 

 Bonner had impressed Mr. Allen, but, while the pro- 

 prietor of Allen Farm hesitated, another Massa- 

 chusetts breeder promptly acted. Mr. J. Malcolm 

 Forbes wrote to Leland Stanford, who then repre- 

 sented California in the United States Senate, asking 

 him to put a price on Arion. The curt reply from 

 Washington was that it would be useless to price the 

 colt, because there was no desire to sell, and that no 

 one would pay the price, if one should be made. Mr. 

 Forbes was not silenced. He closed his second letter 

 with the words : 



" I asked you what price you would put on Arion. 

 Please reply." 



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