140 MEMORIES OF MEN AND HORSES 



Government for 6000 guineas. Poor Mr Winteringham, 

 who was not a rich man, may have profited in some 

 small degree after the manner of a trustee of a company 

 in process of formation, but it is clear enough that my 

 plain offer of the horse at bed-rock price was refused, 

 and then by some artful scheme the same horse was 

 bought at double the price, though he had been rejected 

 at half the money as of not sufficiently good class. 



I can give a much more startling instance than that, 

 however, of Austria- Hungarian methods, for when the 

 late Sir C. D. Rose wished to sell good horses he put 

 me in the way of doing it for him, and thus Ravensbury 

 was sold to Captain Machell for 5000 guineas, and St 

 Damien at the incredibly low price of 2500 guineas to 

 M. Gaston Dreyfus. Next I had to sell Bona Vista 

 by no means so good as St Damien for 6000 guineas, 

 and it seemed in those days full value. 



I obtained an offer of 5000 guineas through M. 

 Halbronn of the Etablissement Cheri, and it was just 

 a question whether that offer would not be accepted, 

 when suddenly the negotiations were closed down, and 

 it was announced a week or so later that Bona Vista 

 had been sold to the Austria- Hungarian Government 

 for 15,000 guineas ! 



I could multiply similar instances of outrageous sales 

 in Russia, save always where that good sportsman, Mr 

 Vladimir Zveguintzoff was concerned. He is a man 

 entirely after my own heart, knowing well that honesty 

 is the best policy, even from a utilitarian point of view. 

 You may not get rich quick on it, but, on the other 

 hand, Character commands success in moderation, and 

 so it came about that when Russia was Russia Mr 

 Zveguintzoff enjoyed the implicit confidence of his 



