586 . brown’s sketches and 
horse, whose origin he traces from the plains of Asia, and “ the 
indigenous breed of all the European varieties of the horse” he 
derives from Scythia at a very remote period. These were im¬ 
proved by the conquest of Spain by the Carthaginians, when 
much African blood was introduced, and by the wars between 
the Greeks and Persians, during which many Asiatic horses found 
their way to Greece; and thence, gradually, first to the south¬ 
eastern parts, and afterwards to nearly the whole of Europe. 
The “ sketch of the progress of horses in Great Britain, from 
the time of Julius Ceesar until there was instituted a Veteri¬ 
nary College for the reformation and improvement of farriery, 
ana the treatment of cattle in general, with a school of which 
M. Vial de St. Bel w as professor,” has much ability and interest. 
Next come “ superstitious and fabulous net ions of the 
ancients and moderns regarding* the horse,” in which we have 
ag'ain presented to us some of the wild and beautiful fictions 
wdiich delighted us in our boyish days. But the picture is not 
complete; several of the sublimest mythologies are scarcely 
glanced at; others are quite forgotten; and for many a fascinating 
tale of classic lore we search in vain. Our author writes, “ It 
is said that Neptune, by striking the ground with his trident, pro¬ 
duced a horse.” We can scarcely forgive him for not adding the 
ingenious and satisfactory elucidation given of this fable by 
some learned men, and lately by our excellent classical brother 
Mr. Bracy Clarke, w r ho has proved that the horse was a ship, by 
the production of which “ he advised the Greeks to the practice 
of navigation ; while Minerva, by the production of the olive tree, 
counselled them to pursue agriculture ” 
To this follows an “ historical account of hunting,” from the 
time of Nimrod the third in descent from Noah to the present 
day. Here again he wanders a little wuy, but not so far as we 
could have w ished, into the regions of fabulous history. He 
tells us indeed of Castor and Pollux, and Hercules, and Adonis, 
and Orion, but he feels not the magic spell by w hich we have 
been enthralled in days long gone by. His account of Grecian, 
Roman, Welsh, English and foreign hunting is somewhat 
maigre. 
He now comes to w'hat he calls his “ specific account of the 
horse,” or the natural history of that noble animal. His account of 
the external conformation of the horse is brief, reserving himself 
for a detailed description of his different varieties. In speaking 
of the age of the horse, he says that Albertus mentions an instance 
of a charger proving serviceable at the advanced age of 60; and 
that Augustus Nephus describes a horse in the stable of Ferdi¬ 
nand the First that had attained the extraordinary age of 70 
years. 
t j 
