when, in 1048, he went to meet his bride, Beatrice, had all the horses in his train shod with silver. The shoes were fastened with silver nails, and, if any dropped by the way, it was left, in the true spirit of feudal magnificence, the property of the fortunate finder. Into England, the horse-shoe seems to have been introduced by William the Conqueror. He is said to have assigned the city of Southampton to one of his followers, to be held in fief, on condition of providing for the shoeing of his stud. Having said so much of the horse-furniture of the Romans, I may be permitted to add a few observations on their habits of breeding, training, and managing the stud. To the first they attached very great importance, as also to the country in which the horse was bred. The earliest and most extensive depôt of horses was the Assyrian empire. Herodotus tells that the province of Babylon alone maintained, for the use of the sovereign, no less than 16,000 mares, and 800 sires. I do not find, however, that the Persian horse was ever a favourite at Rome. Of the Grecian horses, those of Thessaly were particularly prized; and, among the provinces of Italy, Apulia stood highest. But, for spirit, it would appear that the horses of Gaul were especially famous, as those of Scythia for strength and endurance, though deficient in size and beauty. The famous horse of the Emperor Probus was of this hardy breed. His performances have seldom been equalled, even among the extraordinary feats of equestrianism in which the last century abounded. Vopiscus, in his beautiful Life of Probus, states that this horse could travel 100 miles per diem for eight, and even ten, successive days! And yet his appearance was anything rather than promising. In fact, he was a mere pony-horse-nec decorus nec ingens. The German horses, on the contrary, though strong, possessed neither swiftness nor beauty. Cæsar tells that the young men were able, by running, to keep pace with them in their swiftest gallop. But, although they attached considerable importance to the country, they were even more attentive to the breeding; and the names of one or two famous sires have been accidentally preserved, chiefly by some casual allusion in the poets. I said, accidentally, although it would appear that the pedigree of their horses was kept with great care, especially of those who had figured in the Circus. Martial places it among the accomplishments of the finished dandy to be able to trace the genealogy of every racer of note, and even the mob of the Circus were guided in their judgment, and in their bets, by the horse's pedigree, and the character of his ancestors. "Qualis per jugera circi Cum pulcher visu, titulis generosus onustis, Juvenal speaks of one celebrated sire, Hirpinus, whose progeny had been very successful; and an ancient inscription, which Lipsius saw at Rome, records that this Hirpinus, who had won 114 first prizes, besides fifty-six second, and thirty-six third, was a lineal descendant of Aquilo, who, in his day, had been a still more successful courser, having obtained no less than 130 first, eighty-eight second, and thirtyseven third prizes! We find, too, that, like the modern Arabs, they attached even more importance to the qualities of the dam. Thus, Corytha is cited by Juvenal, in the same passage, as a mare who had produced a great number of winners. They had a custom, too, which is still retained, and which I have myself seen in the royal stock of Andalusia—intended, probably, to prevent the confusion of blood-of stamping on the hip the mark of the animal's pedigree. This, however, was not peculiar to the Romans. Anacreon mentions it of the Greeks, also: · Εν ισχίοις μεν ίπποι Πυρος χαραγμ' εχουσι. With regard to the age at which the horse may be considered fit to bear the fatigues of training, their notions seem to have coincided perfectly with our own. The work may begin, Columella thinks, after the second year; in the third, occasional trials of speed may be permitted; and, in the fourth, the animal may be introduced to the full work of the Circus. As to the method of breaking in the young colt, I have not found, in any Latin writer, instructions near so minute as those given by Xenophon in his treatise on horsemanship. However, it is quite certain that they began by training in a circle as we do; and that the animal received lessons in all his paces-the walk, the trot, and the gallop-before he was regularly mounted. With them, too, as with the Greeks, the point principally attended to, in training, was the temper of the horse he was taught to make a pleasure of his work; and this, rather than terror, was made the leading principle in his education. Hence we find, among the Romans, instances of affection, I might say, friendship, between master and horse, not surpassed even among the Greeks. Every one knows the extravagant lengths to which this was carried by some of the emperors. Nero raised his favourite horse to the consulship; he was outdone by Caligula, who appointed his horse, Incitatus, to the office of high priest! He usually had him to sup at his own table; his oats being served in a golden manger, and his wine in a bucket of solid gold! Extravagant as this may appear, it was surpassed by Heliogabalus, who actually had the oats gilt before they were given to his charger! Nor was this confined to monsters of absurdity as well as crime, such as those whom I have mentioned. The learned and austere Adrian deemed it not unworthy of his wisdom to raise a splendid monument to his favourite hunter, Borysthenes, for years his trusted and tried companion in the field. Their manner of "training into condition," so as to procure that firmness of flesh, solidity of muscle, and capacity of wind, which are indispensable for the violent and protracted exertions of the horserace, was, in principle, the same as that still observed. But, in its details, it was much more simple. Instead of the courses of medicine which we employ, a simple alterative regimen (farrago) was used for a certain number of days; after which the exercise gradually proceeded. The horse was severely sweated; after the sweat, being rubbed with oil, and occasionally with wine. They attached a great deal of importance, too, to the cold bath. The horse was brought to the river to swim as regularly as ours are led to the exercise-ground; and, for their hot climate, the practice, at all events, had nature upon its side. They have left us specifics for almost all the common diseasesfor cold, for inflammation, for a disease of the skin resembling farcy, and a thousand others. I was amused to observe that, for inflammation of the eye, Columella adopts the treatment still followed-bleeding in the angular vein. Many of the phrases, too, remind us of expressions which we still hear every day. They had their "high-blowers," "roarers," and "whistlers," as well as ourselves; and when I read of a horse "perditus cruribus," I cannot but recognise the phrase, in its now popular form, "done in the legs." It is an ordinary opinion, that the practice of docking and squaring the tail is of modern invention. This is a mistake; it was practised among the Romans. This is, probably, the meaning of the "curto equo," in Propertius. In the splendid antique Mosaic pavements, discovered at Seville and at Lyons, representing the chariot-races of the Circus, the tails are all cut in the modern fashion. Nor was this confined to the coursers of the Circus; Horace's hack mule was, to recall the schoolboy translation, "bobtailed." The colour of a horse is generally regarded as indicative of his qualities. This impression existed among the Romans; though they differed from us in some notions with regard to colour. The various shades are detailed by Varro under their several names, which it will puzzle the most accomplished fancier to distinguish; I myself have never been able to get beyond the myrtle and rose-colours; though the purple is even more inconceivable. The same prejudice existed against black, which is still entertained; but they differed from us in considering white as the surest indication of swiftness and spirit—an opinion in which the Tartars are said still to agree. Herodotus mentions a nation (the Argippai) who took their name from the valuable breed of white horses which they possessed. "Qui candore nives anteirent, cursibus auras." Introducing their superstitions, too, into all the departments of life, they fancied that some horses were lucky; while others, on the contrary, never failed to bring ill-fortune on their possessor. Some remarkable instances of this have been preserved. A noble Roman, named Caius Sejus, we are told by Aulus Gellius,* had a horse of extraordinary beauty. He was bred at Argos, and was believed to be descended of the famous stock introduced by Hercules. Few of our noblest coursers could boast a genealogical tree, stretching, like that of Sejus's horse, over a period of more than 1200 years. He was no less remarkable for size than for beauty-a high, arching rein, with a deep and flowing mane. His colour is called, by Gellius, Phoeniceus; it may, probably, have been a bright chestnut. His master, with his entire family, having been proscribed by Antony, the public crier offered the horse for sale. He was purchased by Dolabella, before setting out to Syria, for the enormous sum of 300,000 sesterces. Dolabella did not long survive the fatal possession. Upon his death, Crassus became the master of this ill-starred animal, just in time to meet the wretched fate which awaited him in the Parthian war; and, as if to render the doom still more signal, the last owner was Antony himself, of whose well-known fulfilment of the destiny it is unnecessary to remind the reader ! With regard to the prices usually paid, at Rome, for horses, I regret that I am unable to offer much detailed information. The few scattered conjectures on this subject which we occasionally meet among the commentators, are marked by the same, and, perhaps, greater want of precision than all else which relates to the prices of merchandise. Writing for contemporaries, to whom these things were familiar, there was little inducement, and little occasion, to particularize what they all knew; and the only information which they have left us, regards those extraordinary prices, which were so beyond the common standard, as to be deemed worthy of record even for a contemporary. In the last chapter, I cited a passage from Pliny, adducing, in proof of the wealth of certain islanders on the Mediterranean coast of Africa, the fact that "they would not hesitate to give a talent (£193: 3s. 4d.) for a horse. It would appear to follow, that, at Rome, this was deemed a very exorbitant price. But we have many instances in which it was far exceeded. The doomed horse of Sejus, just mentioned, was purchased by Dolabella for what will still be considered an enormous sum. The 300,000 sesterces amount to £2,421 : 17s. 6d. The truth is, that then, as now and always, there when they set their fancy upon anything, would Varro, for example, tells us that Quintus Axius, for an ass, gave 400,000 sesterces (£3,228: 3s. 4d.)! The fact is confirmed by Pliny. were persons who, stay at no price. It is difficult to find anything definite as to the speed of the Roman coursers. However, as far as we can judge from the data which we possess, it would appear far from commensurate with the care which was bestowed on them, and the assiduity with which the exercise of horsemanship was cultivated. The modern reader, accustomed to the rapidity, almost of thought, to which travelling has been brought in our day, will be tempted to smile at the greatest efforts of expedition recorded in the Roman classics, which, however, in their time, excited the wonder and admiration of all. It may not be uninteresting to collect a few of them before I close. Even as late as the days of Livy, it was considered a great effort, in Cato the Elder, to have, on one occasion, reached Rome, from Hydruntum, on the fifth day. The distance was little more than 400 miles, yet Livy speaks of him as having travelled ingenti cursu. Julius Cæsar, a paragon of activity and decision, and an equestrian of the highest order, was considered to have done wonders in travelling at the rate of 100 miles a-day. On his celebrated journey to the Rhone, when expedition was of the last importance, he did not accomplish more than this. Mithridates, however, surpassed him. Appian tells us, that he ordinarily travelled 125 miles a day on occasions of importance. The same Appian relates of Hannibal, that, in two days and two nights, he accomplished a journey of no less than 375 miles. Later, however, in the history of the empire, when the posting arrangements were more regular and more complete, these things ceased to be extraordinary. The news of Nero's death was carried, in seven days, from Rome to the very heart of Spain, by one of Galba's freedmen, named Icelus; and, when Drusus was sick in Germany, Tiberius travelled 200 miles in a day, for the purvose of visiting him. It is still more extraordinary, that, upon the defeat of Maximin, the messenger who brought the news from Aquileia arrived at Rome on the fourth day, having ridden the prodigious journey of 798 miles. Socrates, the historian, too, mentions, that, in the time of Theodosius, Palladius rode from Constantinople to the confines of Persia (about 700 miles) in three days, and returned in the same time. I need not say that, in all these cases, they used relays of horses. Of the endurance of some steeds of antiquity, anecdotes are preserved, which, to us, with all our advantages, may appear almost incredible. The small, but hardy horse of the Emperor Probus, already mentioned, has seldom been surpassed either for speed or lasting; and of the Sarmatian horses, Pliny relates facts which are equally extraordinary. Their manner of preparing for a journey was very peculiar, and would be likely to make our modern trainers stare. The horse was kept, for a day previous to setting out, without food or drink; and yet they would not hesitate to ride him 150 miles upon a stretch, almost without dismounting. But it is time to have done. From the circumstance of these facts—at least some of them-being recorded as remarkable examples of expedition, and, indeed, from the tone of wonder in which all are related, we may fairly infer that the speed of the Roman horses was very far removed from perfection; and it is easy to conceive the astonishment with which some of the modern performances would have been regarded among them. In what terms would Livy have spoken of the popular accounts of Dick Turpin's ride to York! How would he have been amazed to find Cato's ingens cursus accomplished by Mr. Osbaldeston, in less than one-eighth of the time which he considered almost preternatural! "Multa renascentur quæ jam cecidere, cadentque SECOND GREAT TRIAL BETWEEN BRITISH AND BEING PART OF A LETTER FROM A RUSSIAN TO AN ENGLISH NOBLE- I BELIEVE I told you that I had to give you an account of a curious race that was run, a few months ago, in Russia. You will recollect that, some years since, with a view to prove the superiority of English thorough-bred horses over any others, Count Matuchewitz started Sharper and Mina against an Arabian and a Cossack, for a race of no less than forty-eight English miles, on a turnpike road, and won easy, by which he became the richer by several thousands; and yet every possible misfortune had befallen both him and his horses. By way of being cunning, he had made the race catch-weights, and was caught in his own trap, his horses being difficult to hold, and requiring regular jockeys, who rode 9 st. 7 lb.; whereas his adversaries had put upon their steeds mere lads, who were at least three stone lighter. Then, in the first quarter of a mile, one of Sharper's jockey's stirrupirons breaking in the eye, Sharper ran away, passing Mina, whose jockey had been ordered to take the lead, and cut out the work at a |