FOREIGN HORSES 21 



the fore-le^s, is complete, the same feature being also 

 observed in a skeleton of Grevy's zebra. The cannon bones 

 are elongated and slender, and the pasterns are long and 

 sloping, while the bones are denser than in ordinary 

 horses. 



It was not until the seventeenth century, especially after 

 the Kestoration, that Eastern horses were imported in 

 such numbers as greatly to influence our home stock. 

 From some one or more of such sires all our best race- 

 horses of those and modern times have been descended ; 

 and all the winners of the great three-year-old races may 

 be invariably traced to one of the three celebrated 

 sires of the eighteenth century, the Darley Arabian, the 

 Godolphin Arabian, and the Byerley Turk, as chronicled 

 in Weatherby's Stud-book. 



The leading position must be assigned to the first 

 named, and by the kindness of Miss Darley I am enabled 

 to give the exact account of the purchase of this horse, 

 the most famous in the world, from a letter forwarded 

 by Mr. Darley from Aleppo to his brother at Aldby Park. 

 This letter Miss Darley discovered when looking through 

 old family documents, and has most kindly furnished an 



exact copy. 



Aleppo, 

 y« 21" December, 1703. 

 Dear Brother, 



Your obliging favour of the 7 Aprill came to my hands the 101^^ 

 October, by our convoy, and by whom I assygne these, w"^ hope 

 will have better success in arriving safe than the many letters wrote 

 you, besydes I have never been favoured with any letters from you 

 but that I immediately answered y* first conveyance that succeeded 

 after receipt thereof, being very desirous of maintaining a punctuall 

 correspondence, for nothing is more gratefull to me than to hear the 

 welfare of my Relations & friends, and more particularly your good 

 Self. I take notice what discourse you have had with my Father 

 & its very true he has ordered my returning, w'^'* I should gladly 

 obey would my affaires permit, therefore hope he will be pleased to 

 excuse my delay untill a more propper season, for I assure I am not 

 in Love with this place to stay an hour longer than is absolutely 

 necessary. Since my Father expects I sh'** send him a stallion I 

 esteem myself happy in a colt I bought about a year and a half agoe, 

 with a desygne indeed to send him y'= first good opportunity. He 

 comes four the latter end of March or the beginning of Aprill next ; 



