men of greater height even in length of stride in both walking and running.

It is also frequently stated that no Arab can possibly race with the modern thoroughbred horse, and which is considered a proof that our horse has progressively improved. A due consideration of the following facts will show, I think, that an incorrect opinion has been formed.

In 1828, Recruit, by Whalebone (a horse of some celebrity), was matched against Pyramus, considered the best Arabian in Bengal. The distance was 2 miles. Recruit won easily by several lengths. Time, 3 min. 57 sec.

Another trial subsequently took place between Champion (described as a first-rate Arabian) and the English horse Constance. The Arabian won in a canter.

Of late years thoroughbred horses from Australia have been tried on the Indian Turf, as well as English-bred racers, and in the opinion of many Oriental sportsmen the former are very little inferior, if at all, to the latter. Yet the Arab still can and does put in an appearance with them both, and not only with honour to himself, but successfully too. The following accounts, taken chiefly from the 'Oriental Sporting Magazine,' of some of the performances of two Arabs even in the last few years, will, I think, confirm what I say.

The Arab Grey-leg is a flea-bitten grey; he stands about 14 hands inch, has a fine neck and shoulders, grand back and loins, and carries a most intelligent head. most intelligent head. During his career on the Turf he ran 80 times, won 51 races, and was never out of training for a period of seven years, from 1861 to 1868. He was a lazy horse to ride in a race, but had rare staying powers and undeniable pluck. He ran at all distances and under all weights. At Bombay, in 1864, he won the Forbes Stakes, 2 miles, beating the English mare Shah Rook and the Australian gelding Van Dieman; he also won a Handicap, 1 mile, carrying 9 st., beating the English mare Mary Glen, who also carried 9 st." Hermit, during his career of eight years, seems to have been equally distinguished for his speed, for his weight-carrying power, and ability to go a distance. He also ran under all weights and at all distances, and won 32 races, besides two disputed ones which he had won with ease.

He ran for the Trades Cup at Calcutta, 1862, against the English mare Voltige, who had distinguished herself in India, and three others, amongst them the Waler Sampson and Ellerton, both horses of note.

I give the account of the race in the words of a well-known writer :

They came by the Stand, Voltige leading, Sampson second, and Hermit third, having done the first quarter in 26 sec. Almost 'immediately after Hermit ran up to the mare, and remained with her, doing the mile in 1 min. 52 sec. Soon after this the others were out of the race, for the two were keeping up the pace and

gradually dropping them, passing the mile and a half in 2 min. ( 49 sec. Sampson was quite told out half a mile from home. As they turned the Calcutta corner, Hermit went up and collared the mare, but under persuasion she drew away slightly and finished a 'couple of lengths in advance of the Arab. The time was the 'best of which we have any record. mile, 1 min. 52 sec.; 1 mile, 2 min. 49 sec. ; 2 miles, 3 min. 46 sec.'

But the next day Hermit had his triumph: he ran for the Calcutta Stakes, 2 miles. Voltige and Sampson ought to have met him, but did not put in an appearance. Ellerton, a good Waler, and to whom Hermit gave 8 lb., came to the post. 'Hermit was full of running, and won, hands down, doing the two miles in 3 min. 51 sec.' On a subsequent occasion, Hermit met the Waler Sampson in a three-mile race, when he struggled, stride for stride, 'with his gigantic competitor with a gameness that would have 'been rewarded with success, but he got jammed against the 'rails; however, he only lost by a head.' It is recorded, the pace was so severe that Sampson never again showed on the Calcutta

course.

Hermit's height is, I believe, 14 hands 3 inches: he is a grey, slightly flea-bitten, and is described as being of immense bone and substance, fine head and neck, with a perfect shoulder; he has a fine fore arm, short cannon bone, large knees and feet, good barrel round in the ribs, whilst his loins, length of quarter, and superb back leave a judge nothing to say but that he must be a goer.' His temper and constitution are alike perfect.

In all his work he never had a puff even, in any of his legs, and one purgative ball at the commencement of the training season was all the medicine he required or had.

It was deemed a pity that this grand horse was not sent to England for stud purposes. He is now the property of an Indian prince, who holds him in such high esteem as a riding horse that he is not often used for breeding.

Although the foregoing examples speak for themselves, the following inferences may be drawn with advantage.

That the English horse has not progressed since the time of Recruit, 1828.

And that the modern racer being of a taller growth does not necessarily prove that he is a superior horse, even in speed, to the racers of an earlier date.

inch, being

The fact of the little horse, Grey Leg, 14 hands able to run so continuously at all distances, and weights, and not only able to race with, but to beat English and Colonial horses, shows that power, ability to carry weight, and stride, are compatible with lowness of stature, and a compact frame, and, without doubt, his proportions were truer and more symmetrical than those of his taller competitors.

Although Hermit was beaten for the Trades Cup by Voltige, the triumph was more Hermit's than the English mare's: had the course been a quarter of a mile, or perhaps even a furlong longer,

there is every probability she must have come back to the Arab beaten. The event of the next day goes to support the belief. The English mare could not put in an appearance against the Arab, whose race, as before described, showed that he, at all events, was none the worse, and stamped him as a better and more lasting horse, although he might not have had quite the flash of speed for a few yards.

In Hermit we have also an example shown of very good speed, but, above all, that bottom which enables a horse to last and come out again as he did on the following day, which excellence was more frequently met with among the racers of former days than among those of the present time.

Hermit's three-mile race with the Waler Sampson cannot but be regarded as another triumph, when the big horse, hopelessly beaten, both in speed and bottom, by the Arab, quite exhausted, rolls helplessly upon him, jamming him upon the rails. It must have been a bitter thing for the judge to have had to place the Waler first; and who can blame the rider of Hermit when he shed tears of vexation at the disappointment of his gallant horse?

Now I can well believe a high degree of speed can be gained, as other things are achieved, by education, and in breeding also by continual selection. With Arabians, we have not had the same opportunities. The sportsman in India is dependent upon Arab dealers resident in Calcutta and Bombay for their Arabs; these again upon other dealers or agents in the North-East of Arabia or Eastern Syria and Mesopotamia, and, until lately, they were hampered by an embargo upon all Arabs exported.

It is known that the horses of the tribes located in these districts are not of such great excellence as those of Central Arabia; and even from those northern tribes, it would not be consistent to believe, that the best are drafted for the Indian market; the inference to be drawn, is, that there are better Arabians to be found than even the famous Hermit, and a very little more would make the speed equal to the modern racer--the only advantage he can possibly claim over the Arabian. By the same train of reasoning, we may arrive at the supposition, that the more celebrated horses of Central Arabia might possibly possess, besides their greater endurance, a speed equal to, or even beyond, that exhibited by the average English racer.

By considering the many and combined excellences of the Arabian, should the purest and best blood be introduced into this country, carefully cultivated (but kept pure and free from any admixture), no other conclusion can, I think, be arrived at, but that the pure breed would surpass our present racehorses, not only in endurance and continuance but also in speed.

I will even venture to go further, as I believe there to be horses in Arabia, were they only sought after, which, if carefully and properly trained, would show their heels to our best horses.

A few more words upon size.

Professor Gamgee has stated, in an essay published a few years

ago in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society,' When little horses like Little Wonder and Daniel O'Rourke, that were sensibly under 15 hands high, are seen to outrun horses of 16 hands for the Derby, it is generally thought that the little horse has gained ' over the larger, through his quicker movements, that more strides 'must be taken in the one case than the other, or else that the lower horse keeps up the pace the longest, as is really the case, 'the larger horse being the weaker. But as regards the length of stride, the notion of the little horse having the shorter is very probably wrong, and when he has beaten the larger animal it generally is by his length of stride; and the same construction which gives that faculty confers the power to keep it up.' Further on he says: 'Moreover, the distance at which each foot is implanted from where it was taken up is no way dependent on mere length of limb, but represents the product of all the motive powers exerted; the velocity at which the body is moving through the air determines the dis'tance of stride.' Again, it will be recognised from the tenor of this essay that height and long legs do not necessarily give long stride.

It was the opinion of the late Charles Davis, the royal huntsmana superb horseman and a very tall man-that during his long career, he had been equally well carried by horses of all sizes. Another horseman of great experience, a nobleman and hard rider, has said, whenever anything particularly brilliant has been done in a severe run across country, the performer has been a small thoroughbred horse. Darvill wrote, 'For racing we want a horse with the greatest amount ' of power, muscle, and speed, in the smallest possible compass.'

Let me ask, in what horse are these attributes so fully exhibited as in the Arabian? The shoulders of the Arabian are stronger and of a more perfect slope than those of the English-bred horse (I should say, were the scapula from skeletons of each breed compared, that of the Arabian would be found longer from its base to the junction with the humerus, and the base of greater width, giving more strength and affording more room for the attachment of the muscles), the hocks and knees are as large, the bone beneath as large or larger, the fetlock joints bolder and more developed, the pasterns stronger, and the feet also, as a rule, larger than those usually seen in the English-bred horse.

Should the pure Arabian breed be established in this country, I do not anticipate the stature would be increased to that of the modern racer; a height of 15 to 15 hands might be attained.

Great size is not an attribute of pure blood; the increased height of the modern racer, often accompanied with a want of symmetry, is, I think, consequent upon its being of mixed blood, and not so much the result of care in cultivating the breed.

Emilius, generally considered as having been the very model of a powerful thoroughbred horse, measured, I find, below the knee, 8 inches. I believe Emilius was nearly 16 hands, say 15 hands 3 inches. I know of an Arabian horse of the highest blood 4 years old, 14 hands 2 inches in height, who also measures 8 inches below

the knee

A MAY FOX; OR, THE FOREST VIXEN.

BY THE AUTHOR OF CHARLIE THORNHILL,'

HEIR,' &c.

LORD FALCONBERG'S

'Do you recollect finding a May fox two years ago, De Vere, on 'the edge of the forest, late in the afternoon, and running him into another country-fine run for the last day of the season?"

'Of course I do; I've reason to recollect it. It proved to be a 'vixen.' Upon which one of the loveliest women in London, struggling to conceal her laughter, and blushing more deeply every minute, rose from her chair as the first speaker rejoined- and what 'makes you think that?'

'Old Tom says so to this day, and he knows more about it than either of us.' Saying which, with apparent gravity Philip de Vere held the door for his beautiful young wife to go out with her guests, adding, sotto voce, 'What's the matter, my dear?' which did not, however, appear to mend it.

There's a charming story attached to this little episode, which no man knows so well as Philip de Vere, but which, to save his modesty, I am obliged to tell.

The De Veres and the Deringhames were and are great names in one of those grand midland counties remarkable for rich grass, hedgerow timber, hard-riding farmers, and out-and-out politics, Whig or Tory. One lived at one end of the county and the other at the other, but that only presented a grander opportunity for fighting whenever an occasion occurred. The matter is all set straight enough now, as in these milk-and-water times it was likely to be, without even the intervention of matrimony. When no man goes to bed knowing what he may get up, in a political point of view, it would be absurd for good people to quarrel about the representation of heaven knows how many more freeholders than are necessary for the dispersion of public promises or private capital. But it was not so when the great Deringhame and De Vere election took place. Then everybody knew what he was, and gloried in asserting his party and his opinions.

Without at all desiring to fetter my readers, or to tie down their notions to my own antiquated views, I must say that I much admired the grand simplicity of principle which marked that era. You were not bothered to find an excuse for voting for church rates, or the ballot, or anything else. It was quite sufficient to know that you were a Tory or a Whig, as the case might be. The petty details of conscientious intelligence were left to the public flunkeys whom you had elected because they were one thing or the other. They knew their business and did it without mixing up shades of opinion which, as opposed to the light of the prism, end by producing total darkness. If strong of arm or lungs, you might fight or shout for an indefinite period, which you can now only do in a very modified degree. If wealthy or thirsty you might open public-houses to