1 52 Silk and Scarlet 



were among the Chevalier's other purchases, and Stin,^ 

 was nearly his last and his cheapest. He started of^ 

 to Newmarket to see him ; but as the horse refused to 

 travel by rail, the two crossed on the road, and he 

 finally followed him back to Tattersall's, and pur- 

 chased him privately for 600/. 



Mons. Perrot de Thannberg, the Inspector-General 

 of the Haras, picked up The Baron, the next summer, 

 for ten guineas beyond the one thousand guineas re- 

 serve at Mr. Theobald's sale, after some very intricate 

 and curious biddings, which made old Mr. Tattersall 

 think that for once in his life he could not see what 

 was going on. Like Van Tromp, however, the chest- 

 nut prize proved rather uncertain at the stud, where 

 he was forthwith priced at 300 francs. Napier, Ion at 

 450/., and The Emperor, who died very soon after of 

 coup de soleil, owing to the reflection on the bricks and 

 sand of the walled yards in which they are so fond of 

 riding their stallions, were further purchases of Mons. 

 de Thannberg's ; but he would have Peep-o'-day Boy 

 at no price, and Nunnykirk's drooping back did not 

 please when he had bought him ; while Elthiron, 

 Womersley, Hernandez, and Lanercost (fallen some 

 ninety per cent, from his high estate), were the pur- 

 chases of Mons. Ernest le Roi. 



Specimens for Caravan had been purchased years 

 the Agricultural before, by the Minister of War, to go to 

 School. ^j^g Military School at Saumur in the 



South, where he was destined to become a perfect 

 Abraham among troop-horses ; and in 1848 the 

 Minister of Agriculture sent over Mons. St. Marie 

 to buy of every kind for the Agricultural School near 

 Versailles. As 120/. was his limit for blood mares, he 

 only came within some 40/. of the price which Mr. 

 Theobald put on Pocahontas, who was in foal with 

 Stockwell at the time. Having thus narrowly escaped 

 depriving Lord Exeter of his trump card, he bid lOOO 

 guineas for The Baron, but Mr. Theobald would set 



