XXXVI. 



Flora Temple and Ethan Allen. Flora and Princess. Description of 

 Princess. Her Driver, James Eoff. His Artful Strategy, and inveterate 

 Humbug. Princess beats Flora Two-Mile Heats. Flora wins, Mile- 

 Heats, Three in Five. The best previous Time beaten in all the Heats. 



IT was in 1859 that the fame of Flora Temple reached its 

 highest point. Her first race that season was witb 

 Ethan Allen, at the Fashion Course. It was on the 31st of 

 May, for a purse of $2,000, mile heats, three in five, to 

 wagons. The race between Ethan and mate, and Lantern 

 and mate, in double harness, had greatly increased the repu- 

 tation of the little bay stallion ; but, in considering the dead 

 heat of 2m. 24-* s., there was not enough allowed for the part 

 in it which belonged to the running-horse. This way of 

 going had not then become familiar ; and nearly all the merit 

 of the performance was attributed to the trotter, when it 

 ought to have been given to the runner, who pulled all the 

 weight, and carried the trotter along with him. Ethan 

 Allen has since trotted with a runner faster than 2m. 20s. ; 

 and, from what has been confided to me respecting his trials 

 in that rig, he can do a great deal better than that. 



For this race on the Fashion Course, the odds was on 

 Flora. I drove the stallion, and felt satisfied that he would 

 make Flora trot a great race ; but, as it was plain that her 

 condition was good, I had no great confidence of winning it. 

 In the first heat we got away together, and the pace was 

 strong. Ethan Allen was always very rapid to begin with. 

 On the turn, the mare got up, but was caught by the time 

 I was a length ahead. Tallman now steadied her with a 



295 



