18 BREEDING. 



to xohich the colt should be ascribed ; how- 

 ever, the time of the mare's bringing forth 

 (during the great Eclipse) coming nearest 

 to the day she was booked to have been 

 covered by Marsh, to him was attributed 

 the distinguished honour of getting one of 

 the first horses in the known world ; whose 

 strength, power, and speed were so great, that 

 he with ease double distanced the most capital 

 horses when running with twelve stone for 

 the king's plate, and afterwards walked over 

 most of the king's plate courses in the king- 

 dom. The doubt respecting his sire hav- 

 ing been thus removed, with at least an 

 apparent degree of precision, it may natu- 

 rally be supposed to have been decided 

 with the strictest justice T but had such 

 doubt still existed upon his own pedigree, 

 the superiority of hi,s qualifications would 

 have appeared in his produce, he having 

 proved the sire of a most wonderful progeny 

 in Mercury^ Meteor, Soldier, Gunpowder^ 

 King Fergus, Dungannon, BoxvdroxVy Ju- 

 piter, Vertumnus, and many others too nu- 

 merous to recite, whose blood (in so great 

 a varietv of branches) will no doubt l^^ 



