THE SPORTING WORLD. 81 



seemed not to have ever been contemplated in 

 his "philosophy." I think, if my memory 

 serves me, that Hambletonian in his race with 

 Diamond is reported to have very nearly cleared 

 a hundred feet in the last three strokes at the 

 finish. One would be inclined to say, as Jem 

 Hills the huntsman did, on seeing a stag take 

 a tremendous bound at a fence, "What a mag- 

 nificent jumper, how I should like to ride him." 

 So, if Hambletonian cleared thirty odd feet in 

 his gallop, we may infer what a leaper he 

 would have been if practised at it. 



Race horses in former days being by far 

 fewer in number than are now bred, and those 

 kept exclusively for racing purposes may account 

 for our ancestors knowing little of the other latent 

 qualities, they no doubt had at that time as 

 well as now; thus comes the question, in fact 

 enigma, that I am not prepared to solve, namely 

 what became in those days of horses that were 

 found not to have racing qualities sufficiently 



