288 JOHN PORTER OF KINGSCLERE 



asked me whether I thought she would do for 

 his stud, and I said "Yes." "Then/' said the 

 Prince, " you can buy her if you can get her for 

 nine hundred.*' 



I at once approached Mr. Falconer, and he 

 agreed to sell for ;^900. When Sir Dighton 

 Probyn was handing over the money to me 

 he said : " You will ruin the Prince if you 

 go on buying these thoroughbreds." What a 

 bargain Perdita II. turned out ! Many people 

 have taken credit to themselves for having had 

 something to do with the purchase of Perdita II. 

 I have related the plain facts of the case. Nobody 

 except Mr. Falconer and myself had anything to 

 do with the deal. 



Perdita II. became a perfect gold-mine. The 

 Prince, some years after he had become King, 

 said to me; ** When you bought her you as good 

 as made me a present of a quarter of a million 

 of money." What it amounted to was that 

 King Edward had all his racing for nothing. No 

 doubt it was fortunate that the produce of Perdita 

 II. fell into the skilful hands of Dick Marsh, who 

 did full justice to them ; and I fervently hope 

 that the day is not far distant when other horses 

 as good as Florizel II., Persimmon, and Diamond 

 Jubilee will be located at Egerton House. I 

 continued to buy brood mares for the Sandring- 

 ham Stud so long as the Prince's horses were 

 trained at Kingsclerc. 



