70 MERKIN'S TRIAL SPEED OF ECLIPSE. 



The performance of Merkin, which, by her portrait in Mr. Daniel's Rural Sports, 

 appears to be highly crossed with Greyhound blood, if accurately stated, is greatly 

 superior to the above, as she ran her trial of four miles, in seven minutes and half 

 a second, thereby eclipsing the speed of all other hounds. She was afterwards sold 

 in 1795, for four Hogsheads of Claret, the seller to be entitled to two couple of 

 the whelps she might breed. In order to a comparison between the speed of the 

 horse and hound, the horse like the dog 1 , at his natural liberty and entirely unen- 

 cmnJ>ered with weight, we quote the computation of Mons. Saintbel, the first 

 Professor to the English Veterinary College, who dissected Eclipse" Eclipse, 

 free from all weight and galloping at liberty, with his greatest degree of swiftness, 

 would cover an extent of ground of twenty -five-feet at every complete action of the 

 g-allop, and would run nearly four miles, in the space of six minutes and two 

 seconds." We apprehend the Professor is rather below than above the mark, with 

 respect to the distance Eclipse would have been able to run in the stated time, 

 under the supposition of having- no weight to carry. 



