314 THE HISTORY OF NEWMARKET. [Book V. 



to Dover, and thence rode to St. George's church the same 

 day, setting off at three in the morning, and returning at eight 

 in the evening." — Ibid. 



In Stow's " Annales " by Edmond Howes, gentleman, 

 London, 1615 (v. v.), it is written, " I will giue the Palme to his 

 Majesties Ryders, and his gallant Caiiallerizos, & to the 

 gentlemen of the Escuyryc, or stable royall, who are com- 

 monly called Quiries, who since the burning of the R. Esaiycry 

 at Blondesbury, neere high Holborne, haue practised this art 

 at Charing crosse in the Mewes & thereabout and have 

 beene and are as expert as any Nepolitans whatsoever. This 

 art is taught also upon Clarkenwell greene, and was not long 

 since at Mile-end, by Singor Prospero. The arms of this 

 profession be vert, a horse arme, and caparassonne Or." — 

 p. 895^. 



Bishop Hall and Shakespeare allude to a Newmarket horse 

 exhibited by one Bankes (a brother of the first keeper of the 

 New Warren) that was taught to perform a variety of tricks, 

 since commonly seen in the modern circus. Both Bankes 

 and his performing horse were, at length, to the disgrace of 

 the age, burnt at Rome, as magicians, by order of the Pope. 

 See Reed's Shakespeare, vol. vii., p. 26. 



Pedestrianism occasionally occupied the attention of the 

 king and the court gallants ; a remarkable event, upon which 

 there was some heavy betting, about Easter 161 8, and is 

 described by an eye-witness as follows : " On Wednesday 

 there was a race of two footmen from St. Albans to Clerken- 

 well, the one an Englishman, belonging lately to the Countess 

 of Bedford, but now to the king ; the other an Irish youth, 

 that lost the day, and I know not how much money laid on 

 his head. The sums no doubt were very great, when my 

 Lord of Buckingham, for his part, went away with ;^30OO, and 

 it is said for certain, ihere was more than twice as much won 

 and lost that day. The Irish youth serves Sir — Howard, 

 a younger son of the lord treasurer, and the general opinion 

 is, that if the race had been shorter, and the weather and 

 ways not so extreme[ly] foul, our man had been put to the 

 worse, though he had made good proof of himself heretofore ; 



