THE SPORTING WORLD. 101 



probably would, for be it from what cause it 

 might, '* he had won the Derby, " but the 

 gratification would be greatly diminished by the 

 circumstance. It would be like winning a game 

 at chess by some palpable mistake of our 

 adversary ; we could say we had won the game 

 and could say we had beaten so and so a game, 

 but the feeling would be very different if we, 

 in racing phrase, had won on our merits. 



The advantages derived from noblemen and 

 others keeping race horses does not stop in our 

 having a superior class of horse for our use. 

 That horse must of course be bred somewhere, 

 and by someone. In former days the farmer 

 confined himself to agriculture ; he bred perhaps 

 for his own use from the mare who worked in his 

 plough so long as it was safe for her to do 

 so, she then produced her colt, and again in a 

 short time was seen in the same situation, 

 with her colt travelling by her side ; a pretty 

 school this for producing anything like an active 



