"FORBID IT, HEAVEN, THE HERMIT CRIED." 59 



little animals of his day was driven to death by his 

 inhuman master." It would be a lasting testimony 

 of the good feelings of the inhabitants of the differ- 

 ent towns, and prevent at least their road from ever 

 being disgraced in future by such exhibitions; for 

 twist it as you will, palliate it as you will, a most 

 disgraceful and brutish exhibition it was, so, as Fal- 

 staff says, " there's an end of it." 



That the degree of distress horses undergo in 

 Matches against time is not always commensurate 

 with the greatness of the undertaking is quite clear. 

 What would be merely a good long breathing gallop 

 to one horse, would be great distress to another. 

 Speed, stamina, and condition, or, vice versa, the want 

 of them, must always cause this. That such horses 

 as Vivian, Lottery, The Nun, and many others of this 

 class could, when in proper form, do a gallop Match 

 of twenty miles within the hour with really very 

 little distress, I ain quite willing to admit ; but such 

 horses are not put to such things. First, they are 

 too valuable to be risked at it for only perhaps a 

 hundred ; and secondly, no money could be got on 

 in such a Match, for who would bet against them ? 

 If the owner of The Nun sold so game and good an 

 animal, and she changed and changed hands till 

 infirmity brought her value to fifty pounds, then she 

 would be caught up in a moment by some of these 

 Match-making gangs : then a bet would be made to 

 do some feat that only extraordinary lasting qualities 

 and game could accomplish ; and then even on three 

 legs no one knows what an animal like her, who will 

 go under the whip, as she has often done, might not 

 be made to accomplish : but would not any one 

 worthy the name of man shudder at such an ex- 



