PURCHASE OF ILIONA. 213 



of the pace. In those days the race was considered 

 valuable and interesting, being just before Goodwood. 

 In that particular year it was specially so, as Retriever, 

 who ran second, the week after won the Goodwood 

 Stakes, beating eighteen others, amongst them being 

 Arcanus, the winner of the Cesarewitch the same 

 autumn. In these days, Lord Palmerston was in the 

 habit, when in town, of going every Sunday afternoon 

 to ' the Corner ' to see the horses that were up for sale 

 the next day. Here it was he caught sight of a filly 

 by Priam out of Gallopade 's dam, and bought her for 

 ' a song.' He sent her to my father, saying, ' I 

 hope you will like the little filly when you have seen 

 her ' — not knowing that she was one of Lord George 

 Bentinck's cast-offs, to which Crucifix as a yearling 

 could give over two stone, and no doubt could have 

 done so afterwards — a filly, in fact, that was not 

 thought to be 2*ood enough to win a lar^e stake. 

 And this was Iliona, who proved herself able to 

 win for his lordship the Cesarewitch, besides other 

 good races. Truly a proof that ' ignorance is ' some- 

 times ' bliss ;' for had the facts been known, it is 

 certain she would not have been bought. 



His lordship never interfered at all with the manage- 

 ment of his horses. He used to say to my father, 

 ' Run them where you like and when you think best. 

 Only let me know when they are worth backing, or that 

 you have backed them for me.' He seldom saw one 

 tried or run. If he did, it would be at Tiverton when 



