DEPOT OF STALLIONS. 81 



Durand had assured me that it was not worth my atten- 

 tion, I had given up thoughts of visiting this establish- 

 ment previously, but on now applying to my landlord for 

 a horse, he told me that before arriving at the Bergerie, 

 I would come to the Royal Haras, or depot of stallions 

 for the south. At less than a league from Perpignan, I 

 accordingly came to the house and offices which had been 

 described to me as this depot, and on riding into the yard, 

 I was conducted by a groom to the stable. There are 

 here 31 horses, kept by the government for the purpose of 

 improving the breed in this part of France. They are 

 chiefly cross-bred, and I remarked several very beautiful 

 animals which were a cross between the Arab and the 

 Limousin. There was a small dark brown Arab from St. 

 John dAcre, and next to him a thorough-bred Arab, 

 produced in France. The latter was incomparably the 

 finer animal, in many points resembling old Models of 

 New South Wales, but I think inferior to him. There 

 was also the Jennet of Andalusia, and a number of Fle- 

 mish horses, both pure and crossed with various other 

 breeds. The Russian and Polish breeds had also their 

 representatives on this side of the stable. On the other 

 side were the breeds of Normandy, and an immense 

 animal from Mecklenburgh, for improving, as they said, 

 the working breeds. Of this kind there were three huge 

 horses, which appeared to me ill proportioned to such a 

 degree as to be almost monstrous. Further on was a 

 splendid English racer, though with more bone and 

 muscle than the horses bred for the turf usually possess. 

 This horse stood higher than any other horse in the col- 

 lection ; he is named Rembrandt, and was purchased by 

 the French government from lord Seymour, at Paris, 

 where he had distinguished himself upon the turf, and 



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