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this superiority proved at first from their performances, and perpetuated 

 in their descendants, by breeding m and in, or at least admitting no 

 ahen cross, on the principle that like produces like ? This is to assign to 

 the ancient Arabian breeders, a high proficiency in the science, which 

 ourselves have but lately attained. It is, however, very natural for 

 th£ proprietors of an excellent race of animals, or of excellent indivi- 

 duals, to suppose that such excellence may be continued by propaga- 

 tion ; and success, or even mere affection and habit, would tend to per- 

 petuate the practice, more especially in countries where established cus- 

 toms have a sort of religious force. 



To act honestly by the inquisitive reader, it is necessary to tell the 

 whole truth. It has been the fashion, for some three or four score 

 years, or more, for ought I can tell, for our sporting people who have 

 supposed themselves in the secret, to talk of the Horse of the desert, 

 or the mountain Horse, whether Arab or Barb, as the only original 

 source of racing blood, all other southern Horses being of a secondary 

 or spurious, at least suspicious breed. I willingly join issue with them, 

 but whether from early imbibed prejudice, or from the weight of suffi- 

 cient evidence, I am scarcely able to determine. We have, perhaps, 

 no certain criterion of form, by which to distinguish the mountain 

 Horse ; in fact, some which have been supposed such, have had little 

 to boast in that respect, according to our received ideas. Nor can we 

 very well trace the descent of these favourites, from those mountains 

 or deserts, in which it is taken for granted they ought to originate. 

 It has always been a question, whether the celebrated stallion called 

 the Godolphin Arabian, were really an Arabian or a Barb, but as far 

 as I can judge from his portrait by Stubbs, he has far more the appear- 

 ance of a Barb ; and that he was really so, there is a degree of proba- 

 bility, from his having been procured in Barbary. We may connect 

 with these ideas, that in our early periods of racing, and even until 

 of late, almost all the varieties of the southern Horse have been intro- 

 duced into this country; Egyptian, Syrian, Persian, Turkish, Grecian; 

 and from such a medlev of Races, has our famous Enulish thoroueh- 

 breed arisen. It is probable, that amongst our first Courser;;, even the 

 Tartar, Hungarian and Spanish breeds were made use of, but our 



K 2 oldest 



