144 MEMORIES OF MEN AND HORSES 



come year by year to see me at Cobham in the later 

 days, a queer, dried-up old gentleman whom one would 

 have liked to take to a dentist, for he had but one 

 front tooth, and might have been made so much more 

 comfortable with a new set. 



He was an undeniably good judge and acted for his 

 Government throughout many years. On one memor- 

 able occasion memorable to me at any rate he came 

 over with one of the Baltazzis and another commissioner 

 to try and buy Aurum, Trenton's best son, for whom 

 Mrs Langtry had given, on my advice, 5000 guineas. 

 The colt had completed his three-year-old season in 

 Australia under an arrangement that she should have 

 half the stakes won, and this, I think, amounted to about 

 ;i2OO ; but he was a gross animal with somewhat fleshy 

 joints, and poor Fred Webb, who was training Merman 

 for a second Cesarewitch, thought, I suppose, that all 

 Australian horses could stand similar treatment, though 

 Merman was a wholly exceptional animal. Aurum was 

 galloping with Merman a fortnight or so after arrival in 

 England, and he soon developed a joint. Mrs Langtry 

 sent her horses to Foxhill, and Robinson could never 

 get Aurum ready for a race, though he several times 

 told me this was the best horse he had ever had in his 

 stable. His brother, Nat Robinson, who often rode 

 Aurum at exercise, said the same thing. 



The point of all this is that when it was finally 

 decided that Aurum could not be wound up without 

 the risk of his breaking down, I advised Mrs Langtry 

 to send him to Cobham and let me see what I could 

 do to dispose of him. He was sent accordingly. 



The first thing I did was to advertise him at a fee of 

 100 guineas for 10 mares and close the list the follow- 



