54 THE HISTORY OF NEWMARKET. [Book VIL 



tilter ; how he gave up the pleasurable associations incident 

 to a Newmarket Spring Meeting in order to properly train 

 for the occasion ; what renown he achieved on his first appear- 

 ance among the most celebrated horsemen of the time, in an 

 arena where royal blood was entitled to no allowance, for, 

 sooth to say, here all comers met upon a fair field without fear, 

 favour, and no hope or reward, save those bays, the attribute 

 of Mars, and the applause of the girl we love best — truly a 

 sufficient inducement to make every chevalier do his devoir. 

 We have seen how the prince passed the trying ordeal with 

 flying colours, and how the honours he bore away, on the 

 occasion were recorded by Camden in " the cradle of an- 

 tiquity," to live for evermore. Later on, ^ve have also seen the 

 young prince setting forth from Newmarket on that pilgrim- 

 age of love, where duty called and beauty led the way, and 

 witnessed the sequel, which proved that the course of true 

 love (in those days), with princes aswith plebs, did not always 

 run smooth. In these days, however, some princes, under 

 the special protection of absurd marriage laws, are im- 

 pervious to Cupid's bow and all the arrows in his quiver ; 

 nay, they can shatter the precept of the divine William, and 

 prove that in order to do this, among other purposes, they 

 were created. 



The outcome of the abortive Spanish match nevertheless 

 resulted in the importation to England of some of the 

 best strains of equine Eastern blood which it was possible 

 to obtain through the all-powerful interest of the court of 

 Madrid. About this period the number of horses of Eastern 

 descent brought into England was considerable ; indeed, they 

 were imported by the shipload. Such acquisition doubtless 

 led to salutary results, as the improvement in the equine 

 race was a notable circumstance immediately subsequent to 

 this epoch ; and to the prince we are indebted for that result. 

 Charles, soon after these incidents, ascended the throne, and 

 we shall presently have to describe the dispersal of the mag- 

 nificent stud he had found at Tutbury. Unhappily, we now lose 

 sight of nearly all the fine qualities he evinced in his youth : 

 Buckingham fooled the son as he fooled the father, and Charles 



