view raw text
HOW GALTEE MORE WAS SOLD Wild Russian General Made the Purchase and Enjoyed Himself. "I have i fteu wondered what lias become of the wild Russian Jciicral Arapoff, who was MM of I be three who came to settle finally on the I parchaae of Galtee More for 8119.990, He "as « large- distiller of vodka, and had Merer been in England negate. 1 remember he Insisted on stnp- 1 ping at the Aylesbury Arms. Marlborough, as are grave out t Beekhaaaptoa, for he must have a draught of neat whiskey, srhieh .is of rery dif ferent strength from the present sort. Then, al Reekhamptoii. after lunch, he besought Sam liar , ling to let them see Jaltce More do a lectle gal- | lop. for they would never be able to do so in ; Russia. It was a very lectle gallop jiulecd that j he did. with Shaddock, who also had a leg. TbCJ went uphill about three furlongs, and the General was so delighted that when we were about driving j off to Swindon he rushed in to the house, tore flown a picture ,.f Galtee More from one of the I walls carried ii olf in triumph. I must add that he returned it a day Of two later. "It was a weird sort of day. for Mr. Jnbbins Cave a dinner to the three RassfaHM, m.self and . pane sM Tom Vigors ,n the Princes Restaaraat, | and it was difficult to restrain General Arapoff wilhin civili7.ed bounds. Thus, he said to me. pointing to a table not far away whore a well-known man was dinning with a lady: There is a beautiful lady. May I a 1 go and speak to her. j Fcrttmatoly . all RassUUM are eood llagalsts, and I had no difficulty in explaining to him that he must on no account go so, and ultimately diverted aba to the Empire, where, i thought lie might j -peak to ladies without geting into tumble at least not immediately. The sabaeqaeat proreed- laga of that night are unknown to me. so far as the Russians were concerned, but Mr. Jubbilis. having got what is called the nasty drop. turned round anil said to Vigors that may be he would not sell Jaltce More at all. "1 did not stop to argue anv sack aboard i|ues-tinn. but told Vigors io go back to his ronsai with him and not to leave him until he had signed a receipt for the money for Ike gouty old man was gi/nig to Ireland fbrrt thing next morning. Vigors knocked me up about midnight t " say that he could not get tie- receipt signed, but had left it on Mr. Gnbbins mantelpiece with an adinoni- I tioii that it musi lie signed and he would all lor ii in the morning. The mornings reflection had. brought the old gentleman to a better frame of mind, and when Vigors called in the morning he found the receipt sig I all right, and that is how the Galtee More sale just scraped through. The horse was to remain in training with a view-to the Ascot Cup. but iencral Arapoff left it to me to decide Whether he should run or not. His instruet ions were verj smlple Keineinbcr. no win. no run: Of course I knew from the time they bought him that Galtee Morea racing career was ended, but I suppose they liked to preserve the possibility of his running for the Ascot or what used to he The F.mperors— Cup." Allison in Loa-di u Sportsman. •
