BLACK MARIA. 225 



tercession, was finally induced to remit a portion of tlie punish- 

 ment he had intended, by concealing his face. 



Black Maria's name indicates her color ; her coat is a glossy 

 jet, without a white mark, and her measurement, under the 

 standard, is fifteen hands three inches. She " favors " Lady 

 Lightfoot in the shape of her head, which is lighter than most 

 of the get of Eclipse, tapering considerably towards the mouth ; 

 she has very fine expressive eyes, and her ears are remarkably 

 pretty ; her neck is delicate, well-shaped, and rather long, but 

 not out of proportion to the length of her head, which is very 

 well set on ; her neck comes out exceedingly well from her 

 shoulders, which are broad and beautifully clean, though not 

 quite oblique enough to our taste ; on this point, however, 

 " doctors difier." She rises very high in her withers ; her arms 

 are long, and immensely powei'ful, with short and very flat 

 cannon bones ; she has good knees, neat pasterns, and per- 

 fectly shaped feet ; the great depth of her chest allows free res- 

 piration, her bi'isket falling down much in the style of old 

 Eclipse ; taken altogether, forehanded, she is almost faultless, 

 combining the best points of both her dam and sire. When we 

 saw her last — now a year since — she was greatly filled out, 

 with well rounded fore and back ribs, and a better proportioned 

 barrel than she generally exhibited in training ; she was wont 

 to be rather light, and considerably tucked up in the flank, 

 though now and then she was in this respect a perfect model ; 

 the principal objection to her was ever her great length of car- 

 cass. Her conj)ling does not indicate that ability to take up 

 her weight and go a distance, which her performances have so 

 signally demonstrated — another proof that horses run in all 

 forms. She has arched loins, with good but rather drooping 

 quarters — very muscular thighs, and gaskins of prodigious 

 strength, and clean hocks, coming well down to the ground. 

 Tlie only two points about her that might justly be found fault 

 with, consist of the unsightly " Bedford hump " between her 

 hips, and her barrel, which is too long and too light. It has 

 been urged that the peculiar conformation of most of the Eclipse 

 and Lady Lightfoot stock induces curbs ; however it may have 

 been with the others, the two Marias exhibit as beautifully 

 formed limbs as ever supported a high-mettled racer. Black 

 Vol. L— 15 



