74 THE HORSE. 
second-class racehorse can give five stone to the best Arabian or Barb 
and beat him, from one to twenty miles. I presume, therefore, that the 
superiority of the English horse has improved in that ratio above the 
original stock.” 
Granting, as demanded by the Admiral, the premises he assumes, 
namely, that the Arab of the present day and that of 1750 are identical 
in speed and stoutness, the argument is closed, because it is proved that 
with the exception of Markham’s Arabian, who was a failure, the imported 
Arabs, Turks, &c. of the former period, and more especially their imme- 
diate stock, were able to beat the native horses of that day, whereas now 
an imported Arab is wholly unable to cope with ours. But what right 
have we to assume that the Arab of 1700 or 1750 is identical with his 
descendant of 1850% Certainly there is no proof to the contrary, but we 
must remember that during the intervening period Great Britain, France, 
Germany, Russia, Hungary, America, India, the Cape of Good Hope, and 
Australia, have all been draining the East, and vieing with one another 
in their endeavours to procure specimens of her best breeds. 
It is asserted that the Arab cannot be induced to part with his best 
mares, and can seldom be tempted to sell his most highly prized 
horses ; but when money and the pressure of political influence are both 
brought to bear, we much question his powers of resistance. Besides, 
even supposing that he retained his best mares, if he sold his most valuable 
stallions the breed would still be more likely to degenerate than if he 
kept both, as he had always previously done. No one can contend that 
we are quite as well off in this country without Glencoe, Jon, the Baron, 
Priam, The Emperor, and other valuable stallions which have been ex- 
ported to other countries ; and if this is admitted, then by a parity of 
reasoning, the Arab has suffered in the same way. I cannot, therefore, 
quite see the force of the argument adduced by Admiral Rous, which 
depends upon the admission of the identity of the Arab of 1700-1750 
with his descendant in the present day. Nor do I think much of that 
which is grounded upon the unracing-like appearance of “the portraits of 
Flying Childers, Lath, Regulus, and other celebrated horses” (of that date), 
“including the Godolphin Arabian.” Most of those now extant are mere 
daubs, and of the better executed productions of Stubbs I confess that 
I have no great opinion as correct portraits. They are all deficient in 
that kind of minute fidelity which alone gives unmistakeable evidence of 
a truthful imitation of nature ; and if we were left to this evidence alone, 
I should certainly be unable to make up my mind on the subject. But 
there is one point in corroboration of Admiral Rous’s opinion, though not, 
I think, warranting him in setting down Highflyer and Eclipse as common 
platers. I have already alluded to the time in which Childers is said to 
have run the B. C. at Newmarket, and Matchem four miles at York ; but 
it may be as well to recapitulate here the best recorded times of four miles 
run near the middle of the last century, and contrast them with those of 
the English and American horses of our own day. I must, however, first 
show that the latter should be included in the same boat with our own, 
and I confess that I should be reluctant to do so but that it is impossible 
to find on our turf any recent examples of four-mile races run from end 
to end. Moreover, we have no reason to suppose that they are stouter 
than their English relations, though, as is admitted by Admiral Rous, 
Prioress was, in 1859, “the best four-mile mare in England.” To avoid 
any chance of misrepresentation, I will extract the passage entire. 
“Qur American friends have improved their racehorses in an equal 
