178 THE HORSE IN HISTORY 



Mark Antony valued at ^16; another horse, 

 Grey Clyfford, at £11: Whyte Dacre, at ^10; 

 Sorrell Tempest, £4 ; White Tempest and Baye 

 Tempest, each at ^5 ; Baye Myddleton, £1, and 

 so on. Some mares and their followers are also 

 mentioned, and lastly ten cart horses. 



Many fictitious stories have been woven around 

 Suleiman, the favourite charger of the Earl of 

 Essex, but they are not of sufficient interest to 

 place on record. In Elizabeth's reign a number 

 of barbs, also many Spanish horses descended 

 from barbs, were obtained from captured foreign 

 vessels, and these the queen looked upon for the 

 most part as her personal perquisites. 



Consequently about the middle of her reign an 

 order was issued that all captured horses must 

 without exception be sent direct to the queen, 

 the infliction of a severe penalty being threatened 

 if the order should be disregarded. A number 

 of these animals were subsequently sent as gifts 

 to the more faithful of her nobles, and all the 

 recipients sent in return "expressions of ex- 

 tremest gratitude." 



There is a diversity of opinion as to what 

 constituted "the staple article of food" of horses 

 in the sixteenth century, though of course hay 

 was used largely. Bishop Hall throws some 

 light upon the subject when he mentions that 

 thoroughbred stallions when largely in demand 

 were given eggs and oysters. 



