"SPEED GIVES BOTTOM." 141 



to study " the well-proportioned steed " he has so faith- 

 fully "limned." I have always a great fancy to see the 

 horses walking, and my business must be very pressing if 

 I do not watch them through the whole course. Look 

 how majestically the Falcon leads the string, and is con- 

 tented nowhere only at its head ! " Never Mind " stumbles 

 along with that queer gait, placing each foot exactly in 

 line, and playing with May every step he takes. I hardly 

 ever knew a horse that was so much attached to his com- 

 panions. If you put May in another stall, where she is out 

 of his sight, he will mourn until she is returned, refusing 

 to feed and drink till her presence gladdens his heart. 

 He is one of the horses that will require, in my opinion, 

 very little walk when once put to fast work. His won- 

 derful speed will enable him to overcome faulty conform- 

 ation, and if brought to the post in the bloom of con- 

 dition, shall look for him to live the race through, if not 

 more than two mile heats. 



PEEGEPTOR. The adage that "speed gives bottom" is 

 only true in a relative sense. The possession of speed is 

 of course the first great consideration to be looked for, 

 and it gives an animal possessing it in a degree over an 

 antagonist a superiority that is hard to counterbalance by 

 mere endurance, when the race is of the kind now most 

 in fashion, mile heats, best 3 in 5. Shakespeare's de- 

 scription would have suited me better if he had not put 

 in the short ear and straight leg ; still, it is remarkable 

 that he should have given so true a description at a time 

 when it was thought there were so few first-class speci- 

 mens in Great Britain. There are very strong arguments 

 adduced that our present horses are more indebted for 

 their preeminence to the Arabian and Barb than any other 

 crosses ; but I must say my belief is to the contrary, and 

 that the native breed were superior to the animals crossed 

 on them. I have read that a brother to the reigning King 



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