204 THE HORSE IN HISTORY 



That several thoroughbred Eastern sires were 

 bought by James is well known, among the last 

 to which reference is made by the historians being 

 the famous Villiers Arabs, which the king does 

 not appear to have acquired until towards the 

 end of his reign. 



Yet in spite of all that has been said and 

 written about John Markham's stallion, the horse 

 was not, according to that excellent judge of 

 horses, the Duke of Newcastle, the class of animal 

 that any man would have chosen to breed from 

 for looks, for, in the duke's own words, "He 

 [the Markham Arabian] was a bay, but a little 

 horse, and no rarity for shape ; for I have seen 

 many English horses far finer. . . . Mr Markham 

 sold him to the King for five hundred pounds 

 (szc), and being trained up for a course, when he 

 came to run, every horse beat him." 



I believe I am right in saying that the identity 

 of John Markham has never been positively traced, 

 also that the consensus of opinion inclines to the 

 belief that he was the father of the famous author, 

 Gervase Markham, who for many years held 

 the post of keeper of Clipston Shraggs Walk, in 

 Sherwood Forest. 



Among the works of Gervase Markham is 

 a volume entitled " Cavalarice, or the English 

 Horseman," in which many grotesque and un- 

 intentionally humorous passages are to be found. 



Each of the eight books which together go to 



