59G THE HOUSE. 



nature of the pursuit. But however this be, a relaxation of 

 the speed of the chase would certainly tend to preserve the 

 distinctive character of that unrivalled race of horses, which 

 is rendered subservient to this fine and animating exercise. 

 The generous sportsman may look to something beyond the 

 triumph of his own skill in excelling a field of numerous com- 

 rades. He may look to the Hunting-field as an arena in 

 which all may find delight, and which collects together indi- 

 viduals of every degree in a common pursuit. The sport is 

 truly British, and has as yet taken root in no foreign land. 

 It is a pursuit which is in accordance with the gay hilarity 

 of early life, which binds the youth of the country to the 

 halls of their country homes, and which provides a substitute 

 for those less manly amusements which, in other countries, 

 become necessary to fill up the intervals of more serious 

 occupation. 



III. HORSES FOR LIGHTER CARRIAGES AND THE 



SADDLE. 



The RACE-HORSE may either be regarded as a Breed, 

 constituted by a common set of characters, or as a Class, 

 composed of individuals reared and educated for a particular 

 purpose. This variety, it has been seen, is wholly of mixed 

 lineage, and deviates more from the type proper to the coun- 

 try than any other. The basis was the ancient Horses of 

 England, which were modified, after the Norman Conquest, 

 by progressive changes, and at length by a large infusion of 

 the blood of the Horses of Africa and Western Asia. The 

 mixed progeny thus formed, being made to breed only with 

 one another, or with the races of the East, to which they 

 were already allied in blood, have assumed the common cha- 

 racters of a family or race. Their form is that which an 

 almost exclusive attention to the property of speed has 

 tended to produce. They have the broad forehead, the bril- 



