EVERY MAN HIS OWN TRAINER. 39 



trotting ground. I set Arthur Boy going as well as he could, 

 but Vanderbilt passed me as though I was hitched to a post. 

 When he got right in front of Judge Smith's and the crowd, 

 he set them going for all they were worth, and they just flew 

 for a few strides, and Small Hopes broke, greatly to the sur- 

 prise of Mr, Vanderbilt, for he had never been hitched with a 

 horse before that had carried him to a break ; in fact, he 

 had never seen him break before to a pole. He pulled 

 them up and when I caught up to him Mr. Van- 

 derbilt said to me: "What do you think of them?" 

 I replied, "They make a good pair." He said, "I 

 never saw Small Hopes break before." I replied, " He must 

 have stepped in a hole or hit himself, as they did not seem to 

 be going very fast." He said, "What ! Not going fast ! I 

 thought they were flying ! '' And they were, but I thought I 

 would let him say it instead of myself. I suggested for him 

 to go back up the grade and try them again, perhaps they 

 would do better. He done so. They came down there like 

 runaway horses. When they got in front of Judge Smith's 

 Small Hopes broke again, and apparently Mr. Vanderbilt 

 could not understand it ; but I guess he did, for he was not 

 long in writing his check and handing it to me for $10,000. 

 That was proof to me that he thought Lysandcr Boy the bet- 

 ter horse, as he often told me afterwards that he was the best 

 all-round horse, single and double, he ever owned up to that 

 time. 



I will give you another circumstance which occurred in 

 this sale which illustrates the point that it is impossible to tell 

 for certain the age of a horse by his mouth, even when young, 

 and the smartest and best posted men may err in this direc- 

 tion. When Mr. Vanderbilt handed me his check he said : 

 "Are you not mistaken, Mr. Feek, on the age of Lysander 

 Boy in stating he is eight years old ? " I told him no, for that 

 was his correct age. " Well," he says, " you are the first man 

 I ever knew in selling an aged horse to give his years more 

 than they are. I have had Mr. Liautard, the veterinary who 



