330 THE HORSE, 



contemplated her decline, feared they would never look npon her 

 like again. But there is a term for all worldly glory, and it was 

 destined that last Spring the wondrous Lexington and tlie phe- 

 nomenon Lecomte should both shoot forth together to outdazzle 

 all previous lustre, and to turn the possibility of racing speed 

 into a bewildering maze of doubt. These rivals, not knowing 

 each other, and themselves unknown, first came together on the 

 Metairie Course, New Orleans, for the State Post-Stake of the last 

 Spring meeting, and there, as all the world already knows, Lex- 

 ington was the winner, although not, as yet, inside of Fashion's 

 time. In the following week, however, the ambitious rivals 

 met again ; and it was on that occasion the superb Lecomte 

 reversed his late defeat, and at one astounding stroke reduced 

 Fashion's time to 7.26 ! Five seconds and a half of glory at a 

 single bound ! 



It might have been supposed that a defeat like this would 

 have quite satisfied the owner of Lexington that he had con- 

 tended against impossibility, or lightning ; but what was the 

 surprise of the whole racing world to hear, in the midst of the 

 roar of this exploit, Mr. Ten Broeck ofi'er to wager $10,000 that 

 his horse Lexington, whicli had just been beaten, could beat 

 Lecomte's late time ; and $2,500 more that he could afterwards 

 beat Lecomte himself. Both offers were, of course, accepted, 

 and the 2d of April w^as selected for the first trial, and the 14th 

 of the same month for the other. Your readers know already, 

 by the previous mail, the result of the effort of the second ; 

 and that Lexington, on that occasion, beat all the annals and 

 exceeded every expectation, by performing his four miles in the 

 unheard-of, I may add undreamt-of^ time of 7.1 9| — thus strik- 

 ing Lecomte a heavier blow than Lecomte had administered 

 to Fashion, and going inside of his time six seconds and a quar- 

 ter ! This was the state of things I found at New Orleans at 

 half-past 9 p. m., on the 13th of April, by the glass clock ; and 

 now that I have explained myself so fully, I think you will 

 have no more surprise left than I had, when I took my light to 

 go up stairs, that the Crescent City was, on that occasion, in 

 something of a buzz. 



In the morning I found the excitement in no way decreased ; 

 every body was inquiring about the starting of the trains, or 



