■J.06 HISTORY Of , 



parts like those of a woman ; the breast must be broad, the hip- 

 round, and the mane long : it must in three things resemble 3 

 lion ; its countenance must be fierce, its courage must be great, 

 and its fury irresistible : it must have three things belonging to 

 the sheep j the nose, gentleness, and patience : it must have 

 three of a deer ; head, leg, and skin : it must have three of a 

 wolf; throat, neck, and heai'ing : it must have three of a fox : 

 ear, tail, and trot : three of a serpent ; memory, sight, and 

 flexibility : and, lastly, three of a hare ; running, walking, aiwl 

 perseverance."* 



by the inclination of the court to patronize gaiety and dissipation. The races 

 at Newmarket were restored, and as an additional spur to emulation, royal 

 plates were now given at each of the principal courses. Charles II. sent his 

 master of the horse to the Levant, t4> purchase brood mares and stallions. 

 Those were principally Barbs and Turks. 



From that period to the middle of the last century the system of improve- 

 ment was zealously pursued : every variety of Eastern blood was occasion- 

 ally cngralted on ours, and the superiority of the engrafted, above the very 

 best of the original stock, began to be evident 



Man is rarely satisfied with any degree of perfection in the object on which he 

 has set his heart. The sportsman had now beauty of form, and speed and 

 stoutness, scarcely an approach to which had been observed in the original 

 breed. Still some imagined that this speed and stoutness might possibly be 

 increased ; and Mr Darley, in the latter part of the reign of Queen Anne, 

 had recourse to the discarded and despised Arabian. He had much prejudice 

 to contend with, and it was some time before the Darley Arabian attracted 

 notice. At length the value of his produce began to be recognised, and to 

 him we are greatly indebted for a breed of horses of unequalled beauty, speed, 

 and strength. 



This last improvement now furnishes all that can be desired : nor is this 

 true only of the thorough-bred or turfhorse ; it is, to a very material degree, 

 the case with every description of horse. By a judicious admixture and pro- 

 portion of blood we have rendered our hunters, our hackneys, our coach, 

 nay even our cart horses, much stronger, more active, and more enduring 

 than they were before the introduction of the race-horse. 



* It is a curious natural fact, that the horse has the singular property of 

 breathing through the nostril only, and not through the mouth ; for in the 

 severest exercise, the mouth is never seen open, unless the lower jaw be 

 brought down violently by the force of the bit. This may account for the 

 great dilatation of the nostrils after hard running. 



Though endowed with v.ast strength, and great powers of body, such is 

 the disposition of the horse, that it rarely exerts either to its master's pre- 

 iudice : on the contrary, it will endure fatigues, even to death, for our bene- 

 fit. Providence seems to have implanted in him a benevolent disposition, 

 and a fear of the human race, with, at the same time, a certain conscioutiness 

 of the services we can render him. We have, however, one instance of re 

 collection of injury, and an attempt to reveng'e it. This is inserted in a work 



