AM ACCUSED OF COLLUSION. 339 



I assured him over and over a^ain that he was the 

 soundest horse in the world, but he would not be 

 convinced. Then, in answer to my inquiries as to 

 my new purchase, he said: 



1 She is a nice little mare, and will win you a handi- 

 cap if you do not aim at too much with her;' and he 

 named the Leamington Stakes at Warwick as likely 

 to suit her; and he added that if she were well he 

 would like to stand in with me £10 on the race, or in 

 any other little handicap I thought she might win. 



So ended the incident of my purchase of Dulcibella. 

 I give it in detail, because shortly afterwards it was 

 said, with such confident impudence as to obtain 

 implicit belief in some quarters, that Sam Rogers and 

 myself had devised a plan of cheating Lord William 

 out of his valuable mare for our own gain ! There is 

 really no occasion to refute this audacious statement, 

 because, as I have shown, the purchase was completed 

 between Lord William and myself before Sam knew a 

 word that such a thing was even in contemplation. 

 And to show how unlikely the assumption was I may 

 say that Sam Rogers was never a friend of mine, nor 

 was he a man with whom I associated, or ever met 

 anywhere but on the course, when business occasion- 

 ally compelled us to meet. Indeed, I doubt if after 

 the Cesarewitch, and the mare's victory in it, he ever 

 condescended to speak to me, as he was greatly 

 enraged because I would not let him stand £50 

 on her at Ion g odds. He had overnight sent me 



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