On came the ichirluind — like the last 

 But fiercest sweep of tempest blast. 



— Sir Walter Scott. 



WILLIAM 



Champion Four- Year-Old Pacer (2-00) 

 Record liSSl/o 



ILLIAM 1 :58l/o, was the king of racing pacers in 

 1915, and W. W. Marvin, of Lafayette, Ind., who 

 trained him and drove him in all his races, says in 

 a letter written for this volume under date of February 1st, 

 1922: "I do not know the limit of his speed on August 16, 

 1915, the day he took his record at North Randall in the 

 race against Directum I., but I do know that no horse in the 

 world had a chance to beat William that year." There is 

 no room for even the slightest doubt that in the event spoken 

 of, Mr. Marvin could have driven his great pacer at least 

 one second faster in each mile and there was almost universal 

 regret that he did not at least beat two minutes in the second 

 heat, for after he had Directum I soundly beaten he was 

 allowed to take it easy the rest of the way. The miles were 

 paced in 1:58^/2, 2:00. It is possible that it was understood 

 that no matter which horse was the best in any of their races 

 the winner was not to make the loser look cheap. It is some- 

 what odd, to be sure, that any one should say, after a horse 

 had gone two race miles in two minutes or better, that he 

 could have done better in both. But that is precisely what 

 everybody thought who saw the race. Mr. Marvin was not 

 known to express his opinion about it. 



The letter Mr. Marvin sends for use in this publication, 

 an extract from which is given above, is a most interesting 

 and entertaining document and is as follows: 



''William came to my stable in September of the year 

 1912, when he was two years old and did not leave it until 

 he was sold to Mr. C. K. G. Billings in late August, 1915. 



