THE HORSE OF TROY AND ECLIPSE. 61 



but it is better (though but little better) than 

 following the Frenchman : so to hit off the hunted 

 fox, I make a cast back. " Whenever you do so, 

 Huntsman, do it quickly:" so do I. 



I consider the materials of which a thorough-bred or 

 even a highly-bred horse is made to differ as much in 

 quality from those of which a regular cob is made, as 

 good tough lancewood from elm, or whipcord from 

 common rope ; and in one way this accounts for the 

 lancewood and whipcord animal being absolutely, inde- 

 pendently of other attributes, physically stronger than 

 the one of elm and rope, if the proportions of each are 

 at all the same. I do not remember, I ever heard, of 

 what materials the famous horse of Troy was made. 

 Certes, he was as renowned in one way as Eclipse was 

 in another; still the materials of which the former 

 was made it seemed answered the purpose, however 

 coarse they may have been ; for very coarse stuff 

 would do for a nag to carry a hundred men in his 

 belly : but to carry (in our days) one on his back as 

 he ought to be carried requires material of the first 

 order, and of such is the high-bred horse made. In 

 using the term physical strength, I do not of course 

 mean to infer, that, to pull a dead weight, Economist 

 could equal a good strong cart-horse : but even here 

 practice goes a long way ; and get Economist ac- 

 customed to the duty of the cart-horse, he would be 

 found much stronger than his appearance would lead 

 us to suppose. The cart-horse on a level road will 

 walk along with two tons after him : Economist I 

 dare say could not, and certainly would not ; but use 

 him to the thing, I doubt not his being able to draw 

 thirty hundred. This is only sheer strength, like 

 that of the elephant ; but it is where strength is 



