592 
THE HISTORY OF THE HORSE, 
“ That horse sped like a meteor through the sky, and bore the 
guilty Mazeppa to the country of the free upon the pinions of the 
wind.” 
There yet remains one breed that, by judicious mixture of fo¬ 
reign stocks, and superior skill in management, combines the best 
qualifications of them all,—the size and swiftness of the Arab, the 
spirit and grace of the Barb, and the endurance of the Tartar. I 
allude to our own English race-horse ; and if any man doubt this 
assertion, let him visit Epsom Downs on the days of the Derby 
and the Oaks, and he must be prejudiced, indeed, if he continues 
to deny the pre-eminence of our national breed. 
We must all have heard with regret of the dispersion and ex¬ 
portation of the Royal Stud a few years ago. Such an establish¬ 
ment had been considered by our sovereigns, since its first found¬ 
ation, as a necessary accompaniment to the government: even the 
puritan Cromwell thought it an indispensable appendage to his 
dignity. 
The government of Austria has several large establishments for 
the breeding of horses, each forming a kind of military colony, 
from which, in due time, the cavalry will be furnished. The 
largest of these is Mezo Hegyes, in the plain of Hungary, esta¬ 
blished by Joseph II. In war time, the stallions, mares, and foals, 
in the establishment amount to 16,000, and it has supplied 8,000 
horses yearly to the cavalry. At present the number in the esta¬ 
blishment is only 3500. 
The next in importance is Babolna, near Komorn, which is par¬ 
ticularly interesting, from the recent importation of Arabian stock. 
Babolna is a military colony—a perfect community within itself— 
established upon a farm of about 7000 acres, enclosing within its 
boundary all the requisites of a small distinct kingdom. In the 
centre stands enormous ranges of stables, with lodging for the 
major-commandant and his four subalterns; contiguous to them are 
the dwellings, within which reside, with their wives and children, 
30 non-commissioned officers, and about 300 privates. There is 
a chapel and chaplain, a hospital, and due supply of medical at¬ 
tendants ; veterinary surgeons and compounders of medicine for 
both man and beast; a hotel, a billiard-room, and a library. The 
establishment was created solely for the breeding of horses, upon 
which the men are merely attendants. You have here the noble 
animal in all its stages, from the foal just dropped to the grandsire of 
the flock; and the order in which they are arranged is beautiful: 
one stable, for example, is given up exclusively for the stallions, and 
a nobler collection of horses one need not wish to behold. Other 
stables hold the mares, one being set apart for such as have just 
produced their foals; a second for those whose time is drawing 
