TATTERSALLS. 39 



absolute sale, for no owner would have the hardihood to 

 attempt a bid, directly or indirectly, as such an attempt 

 would only invite certain and public humiliation. It has 

 followed from the enforcement of these rules that this 

 house is known distinctly not to be horse-dealers in any 

 sense, but simply as a great commission agency for those 

 who buy and sell. It is thus entirely removed from the re- 

 motest suspicion as to its transactions. Every consignor 

 knows that aside from the honorable traditions of the 

 house, the amoant of its commission is always depend- 

 ent upon the price realized, and that its interest is 

 blended with that of its patron. The confidence thus in- 

 spired has, of course, been one of the material agents in 

 obtaining and holding its great popularity, and in its 

 long history it has mtnessed the rise of many a new firm, 

 that started on the same prhicipl but that, yielding to 

 the strong temptation to deal covertly, fell by the Avay- 

 side. 



It may be said that the commission house has a per- 

 fect right to pick up a bargain when it offers, where it 

 does so openly, and without neglect to the interest of its 

 client, but even then it should be remembered that, in 

 view of his usual commission, the auctioneer has an ad- 

 vantage of ten per cent, over all other purchasers — a fact 

 hardly to be reconciled with business equity. 



Briefly stated, the Tattersall principle is that, for its 



