202 FLORIDA. 



whether Hambletonian in himself or any of his produce, beyond a 

 very small number, show out with the true lustre of the Bellfounder 

 type; and in those cases where the dams were mares of strong Bell- 

 founder blood I do not believe the case was one particle improved. It 

 is a fact in breeding, often encountered, that the union of two animals, 

 somewhat unlike in their composition, results in a compound that lacks 

 the lustre of both the originals, and a near reinforcement of the blood 

 of the given animal does not call out the desii*ed quality. But it is 

 there, though deeply concealed, and in some remote or subsequent 

 crosses, when the neutralizing force is also impaired and weakened, the 

 original elements, long buried and lost to view, shine out in the rich- 

 ness and beauty of the original. I have studied the Bellfounder char- 

 acter much and closely, and have had some opportunities of seeing 

 some of the bright phases of its radiance which, for so many years gone 

 by, has seemed to charm the memory of those who intimately knew 

 the old original. ' 



Meet one of these people — and there are many very intelligent 

 liorsemen among them — and you can not persuade them that so grand 

 a star has shone in the galaxy since the days of Bellfounder. But to 

 my friends who have failed to find such excellence in the Bellfounder 

 form and type, as it came before them, I must say, when I speak of 

 the true Bellfounder character, I mean something more than a bay or 

 brown in color, a good, kind, clever temper, and the roundabout form 

 of that family — I mean the temperament, nerve force, mental organ- 

 ism, and all that enters into the character of the animal, beyond the 

 phvsical, outward form in which he is clothed. I refer to the internal 

 or nervous impulses that were only reflected in the outward actions 

 and traits exhibited by the living and moving being. 



We often see a man who, in stature and all that make up outward 

 form, shows little resemblance to his own father. His form is differ- 

 ent; his hair and eyes another color; his complexion is not the same. 

 But when we enter into conversation with him, or observe him in the 

 transaction of business, and behold the hourly mien and deportment 

 of the man, we see the traces of the father at every turn. The voice, 

 the accents, the nervous flashes and gestures — all that speak of the 

 spirit and temperament within — tell of the image of the parent that 

 dwells there. I can speak of a family of boys, two of whom pos- 

 ■sessed characteristics quite unlike the father or mother. One of the 

 Other sons, and the one who most of all resembled the father, had two 

 flons, one of them possessing all the marked characteristics of the two 



