376 



distance in 2hr. 8min., over a hilly road, his opponent being five miles 

 to the bad at the goal. 



N.B. — Of course, in some of the distances, better time has been 

 made of late years than that made by Captain Allardice, but if so it 

 was over cinder paths as smooth and level as tables, while his was 

 made over fields or on the common high roads of ninety years ago, 

 when even macadamising was unknown. 



I no\v come to describe the greatest feat of this the greatest pedes- 

 trian that ever lived. Of course it is the " one thousand miles in one 

 thousand hours." 



In October, 1808, Mr. Wedderburn Webster,* a gentleman well 

 known on the turf, laid Captain Barclay-Allardice a level 1,000 guineas 

 that (to quote precisely the wording) " he would not vjalh one thousand 

 miles in one thousand consecutive hours, neither more nor less than one 

 exact mile to be walked in each hour." 



Inured as he then was to hard exercise and long journeys, Allardice 

 thought it unnecessary to go into any special training for this extra- 

 ordinary undertaking, so he merely continued his usual out-of-door life ; 

 but went to Brighton to obtain sea-bathing in the early part of the 

 following summer. 



The match was set to commence at midnight. May 31- June 1, 1809, 

 over a measured mile on Newmarket Heath, and that a journal 

 of the exact time he started for and completed each mile should be 

 kept and certified by the umpires — two of whom should be in constant 

 attendance to see that he faithfully performed the task without assis- 

 tance in any way. 



The course chosen was on the high road passing Mr. Buckle's house, 

 where he lodged, but this is not likely to have been Frank Buckle the 

 jockey, for he lived at Peterborough. 



BelVs Life gives a " log " of each day's work, with particulars of the 

 weather and the state of the walker ; but I need refer only to the most 

 important incidents. 



He started at 0.2 a.m. on June 1, 1809, with 2 to 1 on him. He did 

 not sleep well the first night owing to the novelty of his position and 

 an uncomfortable bed ; nor did he for the first couple of days lie down 

 in the daytime, but walked about the streets of Newmarket. All went 

 well until the tenth day, when he became much fatigued from rain and 

 high wind ; but continued to sleep and eat well, and was in the best 

 spirits. 



On the twelfth day he complained of pains in the nape of the neck 

 and shoulders, caused by insufficient clothing at night and sitting in a 

 draught. On the thirteenth the back tendons of his legs became 

 painful and he found difficulty in starting. Up to the sixteenth he 

 had been very uncomfortable at Buckle's house, and annoyed with the 



* It has been erroneously stated that the match was made with Mr. 

 Fletcher Reed. 



