The Last Race of Lexington 297 



this state of expectation shows. What would 

 have been thought, two years ago, of the decla- 

 ration that in a little while we should see a four- 

 mile race, in which the highest mark on time 

 would be 7.26? 



" There is something in this matter of increase 

 of speed that is worthy of reflection and philoso- 

 phy. We find continual advancement, and what 

 is most remarkable, exploit begets exploit, as if 

 knowledge and emulation touched new powers 

 which had never been electrified before. 



" Whence does the spark proceed that awakes 

 these energies, but from the mind of man, im- 

 parting itself by some strange process to the 

 mind and body of his horse as he does to the 

 corporeal faculties in possession of himself .? 

 Trotting time stood for years at 2.32, then 2.30, 

 and then 2.28. At length Beppo and Lady 

 Suffolk made a dead heat under saddle on the 

 Beacon Course in 2.26. Straightway 2.26 was 

 repeated by several other horses. By and by it 

 was reduced still lower, and at length 2.28 was 

 banished to mile heats in wagons. 



" So with the racers I have named, and so with 

 Lecompte and Lexington. One-half of a horse's 

 speed is found in the brain of his rider or driver, 



