■■ at^^f^ij^C!. 
 
 New York, "D Appl 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 FRANCIS BRINLEY. 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 APPLETON AND COMPANY, 
 
 443 & 445 BKOADWAY. 
 
 LONDON: 16 LITTLE BRITAIN. 
 
 M.DCCC.LX. 
 
Enteked, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, 
 
 By D. APPLETON &. CO., 
 
 In the Clerk's OfiSce of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
 
 District of New York. 
 

 THE FUIENDS OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE 
 
 HIS BKOTHERS, 
 
 (injb iolume 
 
 IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANCIS BRINLEY. 
 Boston, March 1.3, 1S60. 
 
 ivii6922 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Ancestry of William T. Porter. — Samuel Porter of England. — Colonel 
 Asa Porter, graduate of Harvard College. — Merchant in Newbury- 
 port. — Marries Mehitable Crocker. — Removes to Haverhill, N. H. — 
 His estate on Connecticut River. — The Crocker Family. — Gov. Went- 
 vrorth. — Colonel Porter's fondness for fine horses. — ^Arthur Liver- 
 more.— Children of Colonel Porter.— Judge Farrand. — Thomas W. 
 Thompson. — Miles Olcott.^ — Benjamin Porter. — Governor Peter Olcott. 
 Newbury, Vt. — David Johnson. — William C. Thompson. — William 
 Trotter. — Letters of Benjamin Porter, father of William T. — Daniel 
 Webster. — Jasper Murdock.— George Blake. — Death of Benjamin 
 Porter. — Rev. Dr. Shurtleth. — Dr. Muzzey. — Death of Col. Porter 
 and his wife.— Description of Hanover, N. H. — Moore's Indian 
 Charity School, and its preceptor A. F. Putnam. — William T. Porter 
 a pupil. — His youthful habits. — School days. — William reads a life 
 of Franklin, and resolves to be a printer. — Enters an office at An- 
 dover, Mass. — His first visit to Boston.^ — Death of his mother. — Dr. T. 
 0. Porter. — Judge Perley. — Rufus Choate. — Obituary of Hon. Miles 
 Olcott, 1 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 William T. Porter commences life as editor of " The Farmer's Herald," 
 St. Johnsbury, Vt.— Removes to Norwich, Conn., and edits " The 
 Enquirer."— Goes to New York.— Horace Greeley. — Mr. Porter estab- 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 lishes " The Spirit of the Times " in 1831. — Paper so named by his 
 brother Benjamin.— State of feeling as to Sports of the Turf.— Intro- 
 duction of racing in this country.— John Neal.— Maryland and South 
 Carolina. — Prices of prime horses. — Friends of the Turf.— New York 
 Jockey Club.— Mr. Porter's visit to the South and West. — George 
 Porter. — Origin of Mr. Porter's sobriquet, " York's Tall Son." 32 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 New York Jockey Club. — Turf Convention proposed. — Argument of George 
 Porter on a betting question. — Letter of Miles Olcott. — " The Spirit 
 of the Times," a coveted name. — Subscription raised from five to ten 
 dollars. — " The Turf Register." — Race of Boston and Charles Carter. — 
 Letter from J. S. Skinner. — Description of the early members of the 
 Turf Register, as edited by Mr. Porter.— Frank Forester, a name 
 suggested by George Porter. — Cypress, Jr., N. of Arkansas. — Eng- 
 lish Sporting periodicals. — Mr. Porter goes South, . . 54 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 
 " The Corsair" published by Dr. T. 0. Porter aud N. P. Willis.- General 
 Lamar. — He ofi'ers office to Dr. Porter in Texas. — Letter from Daniel 
 Webster. — Barclay Street. — The five Brothers Porter established in 
 New York. — "The Doctor" a good talker. — William Porter's idea of 
 editorial qualifications. — His clear judgment. — His generositj'. — Per- 
 sonal appearance of the Porters. — Frank Monteverde's in Barclay 
 Street.— The house, and its patrons by " the Juvenile," . . 73 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Report of the Race between Wagner and Grey Eagle by Mr. Porter, lol 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 Raids into his sanctum. — Death of Benjamin Porter.— Numerous accounts 
 of the commissions with which the editor was loaded. — "Big Bear" 
 of Arkansas. — Colonel T. B. Thorpe.— Race Between Sarah Bladen 
 and Luda, and between Grey Medoc, Altorf, and Denizen. — Thorough- 
 bred Colts in Kentucky.— Return of Robert L. Stevens from Europe.— 
 Change in the proprietorsliip of the " Spirit of (lie Times."— John 
 Richards, " The Governor." — Profit aud Loss account, . . 137 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII, 
 
 Race of Boston and Fashion.— George Porter removes to New Orleans, 
 and becomes assistant editor of the Picayune. — Francis T. Porter. — 
 He joins George in New Orleans, and is associated with the Picayune's 
 reports of races.— Letter from Hon. Alexander Porter. — Foot races of 
 Gilderslceve and Greenholgh. — Remarks on them by N. P. Willis. — 
 In 1845, the subscription price of the Spirit reduced from ten to five 
 dollars, its original price. — Article by Mr. Porter in support of the 
 Turf.— Original American sketches substituted for articles from British 
 periodicals. — His " Curiosity Shop."—" Presentation of Plate " to the 
 editor. — Mr. Porter publishes a volume of sketches taken from his 
 paper, and edits " Hawker on Guns and Shooting." — New York 
 Yacht Club. — Mr. Blunt's eloquence. — " Theatrical Fund Associa- 
 tion," recommended by Mr. Porter.— Death of Judge Duval.— Of 
 John Boardman — Of Alexander Porter — And of Henry Inman.— 
 Inman Gallery.— Letters of Captain W. Seton Henry, during the 
 Mexican War, ....... 150 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 Angling, ......... 211 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Foreign circulation of the Spirit. — Mr. Porter visits Boston.— Dinner 
 given him at the Norfolk House.^First symptoms of gout. — Death of 
 George Porter in New Orleans. — Letter from Professor Brown, of 
 Dartmouth College, in regard to George. — Notices of his death. — 
 Death of Dr. Porter. — Obituary by Herbert. — Death of Frank Porter 
 in New Orleans.— His letters.— Character.— His visit to Europe. — 
 The effect of Frank's death on William Porter. — His salutatory in 
 1856. — Leaves the " Old Spirit," and starts " Porter's Spirit of the 
 Times," with George Wilkes, Esq. — Its great success. — Mr. Porter's 
 impaired health.— His death, July (^ 1858.— General expression of 
 sorrow.- Obituaries by " Acorn."- James Oakes, Esq., of Boston. — 
 By George Wilkes, Esq.— Stanzas to his memory by R. S. Chilton, 
 Esq., of Washington.— Motive of the author in preparing this 
 volume, ........ 245 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEE. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 William Trottek Pok- 
 TEE,"^' third son of Benjamin 
 Porter and Martha Olcott, 
 born in l!^ewbury, Yer- 
 mont, December 24, 1809, 
 was of the eighth genera- 
 tion from Samuel Porter, 
 who emigrated with his wife 
 from the west of England 
 to Plymouth in 1622. Asa 
 Porter, grandfather of William, was born May 26, 
 1T42, and graduated at Harvard College in 1762. 
 He established himself as a merchant at Kewbury- 
 port, where he married Mehitable, daughter of John 
 
 * Arms of Porter. — Per Chevron sa. and ar. Three church-bells 
 countcrchanged, each charged with an ermine-spot, also counter- 
 changed. Crest, an antelope's head, erased ar., attired or., collared 
 gu., therefrom on the centre of the neck, a bell pendant, sa. charged 
 with an ermine-spot ar. 
 1 
 
2 LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER, 
 
 Crocker, Esq.* Tlie love of adventure, and the restless 
 activity of the men of those days in plans for better- 
 ing their condition, induced many of the inhabitants 
 in the immediate neighborhood of Newburyport to 
 seek new homes and larger possessions in the Coos 
 Country, wdiicli was even then celebrated for the fer- 
 tility of its vast meadows and the richness of its grand 
 intervals. Col. Porter yielded to the impulse, and 
 some time prior to 1780, removed to Haverhill, IST. H., 
 having purchased a valuable tract of land near the 
 Little Oxbow, on the Eastern bank of the Connecti- 
 cut River, where, upon one of its fairest and most 
 graceful sweeps, which his trained eye selected as a 
 spot susceptible of attractive ornament and profitable 
 culture, he built a durable and ample mansion, that 
 
 * He was a direct descendaut from William Crocker, who came 
 from England to this country about 1630. John Crocker was remark- 
 able for his fine form and manly beauty, as well as for great moral purity 
 of life and character. He was " nimble and blithe as a child, and up 
 to the time of his death, without the stoop of age ; everybody loved 
 him." Mary, his wife, was a daughter of Thomas Savage, whose 
 father (H. C. 1659) married Hannah, daughter of the Hon. Edward 
 Tyng, May 8, 1661. Of the other daughters of Mr. Tyng, Mary mar- 
 ried Gov. Searl, of Barbadoes ; Rebecca married Gov. Joseph Dudley, 
 of Massachusetts ; and Eunice married the Rev. Samuel Willard, Presi- 
 dent of Harvard College. 
 
 The Crockers are descended from Sir John Crocker, Knight, cup- 
 bearer to Edward IV., who was from a branch of the house of Crocker, 
 of Lyncham, in the County of Devon ; a name so eminent that there is 
 an old proverbial distich, or as Prince calls, an old saw, recording its 
 antiquity : 
 
 " Crocker, Cruwys, and Coplestone, 
 When the Conqueror came, were at home." 
 
 Worthies of Devon, p. 274 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 6 
 
 to this day commands the admiration of the traveller. 
 His removal to a comparatively remote and unsettled 
 part of the country, which, no later than 1754, the 
 Legislature of Xew Hampshire designated as a region 
 " hitherto unknown," would of itself establish his 
 character for vigorous enterprise. 
 
 Here amidst magnihcent scenery, grew up a well- 
 trained and intellectual family, whose home was the 
 favorite resort of the cultivated and refined. Col. 
 Porter was a model of affability and dignity ; never 
 laying aside the garb or the deportment of a gentle- 
 man of the old school, but always preserving his 
 courtly air and address without sacrificing a particle 
 of his self-reliant energy and fearlessness. He is 
 described by one, who remembers him, as " slow to 
 anger, of a forgiving disposition and kind to the poor. 
 In civility and politeness excelled by none." In reli- 
 gion he was an Episcopalian, in politics a Royalist, 
 and as he wrote to Lord Dorchester, " severely felt 
 the resentment of that part of his countrymen which 
 then prevailed, and suffered greatly in his person and 
 property ; " in consideration of which he received 
 from the Crown a grant of the township of Broome, 
 in Canada. Indeed, his landed estate was immense, 
 and has been estimated as high as one hundred thou- 
 sand acres. At one time he owned a large part of 
 Topsham, Yermont, and extensive tracts in neighbor- 
 ing towns. He claimed, also, the town of Woodstock, 
 Yermont, and was offered a crown ($1.10) per acre, 
 to compromise his claim ; but with characteristic 
 tenacity of purpose, he refused the offer, and held to 
 
4 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 his title until it was ultimately decided against liim. 
 Most of the lands of New Hampshire and Yermont, 
 about the middle of the last century, and somewhat 
 later, were held by the Crown, and grants were made 
 to individuals ; though nominally made by the Crown, 
 in many cases, the names of the grantees were inserted 
 by the Governor. Col. Porter frequently had a direct 
 interest in such grants ; but more commonly, he pur- 
 chased the rights of the grantees for a small consid- 
 eration. One of the provisions of these grants was, 
 that five hundred acres in each township were re- 
 served to the Governor. Col. Porter became the 
 owner of many of these tracts, called the " Governor's 
 Rights," and sometimes, " Governor's Corners." As 
 an illustration of his persevering enterprise it may be 
 stated that to fulfil a contract with the British Govern- 
 ment for building a bridge at Quebec, he accompanied 
 liis men on foot from Haverhill to that city. He did 
 not look like one capable of the efi'ort, but he had 
 hardened himself by keeping up the habits of gentle- 
 men of that time, who accustomed themselves to 
 robust exercise, and he was therefore able to accom- 
 plish an undertaking apparently much beyond Ihs 
 strength, without serious inconvenience. Pride and 
 policy may have stimulated him to encounter the 
 fatigue of this journey on foot, since, according to a 
 French proverb, " II est aise d'aller a pied quand on 
 tient son cheval par la bride ;" and though he had a 
 select stable, he preferred to walk on the occasion as 
 an encouragement to his men. 
 
 In truth his passion for fine liorses was not inferior 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAJSI T. POKTER, O 
 
 to his ambition for ample fields. He spared no pains 
 in purchasing blood of pure strain. Some of his best 
 stock was obtained of his friend Gov. Wentworth, 
 that rare sportsman and accomplished gentleman, who 
 did much to improve the breed of horses in New 
 Hampshire, at his princely establishment at Wolfs- 
 borough, on the shores of Lake Winnipiseogee. 
 
 Though Col. Porter was a devoted Eoyalist, he 
 did not inherit that faith, his father being a zealous 
 Whig. There is an amusing testimony to the fact in 
 the records of the Committee of Safety of New Hamp- 
 shire, as it seems that the son was apprehended on 
 suspicion of Toryism about the year 1777, and dis- 
 charged from arrest on giving bond in the sum of 
 £500 that he would repair forthwith to his father in 
 Boxford, and not depart from his farm for the term 
 of one year, except to attend divine service on the 
 Lord's day. The Committee may have been over- 
 zealous ; at any rate he was ever faithful and loyal to 
 the new government, under whose protection he lived 
 and prospered for so many years. 
 
 It is a family tradition that during the revolution 
 business obliged him to visit Boston. He set off in 
 his own sleigh, which had the arms of England em- 
 blazoned upon the back. As he drove into town, he 
 was surprised to find his sleigh an obnoxious mark 
 of attraction ; while vociferous threats soon warned 
 him of the cause of the unexpected hostility. At first 
 he was inclined to pay no other heed to it than start- 
 ing up his horses a little ; but multiplied volleys of 
 missiles and of words admonished him to take counsel 
 
6 LIFE OF WILLIAjyi T. PORTEK. 
 
 of his discretion, and he stopped at a painter's shop 
 and had the obnoxious blazonry effaced. On his re- 
 turn home, his wife was at the door to welcome him. 
 She soon perceived the discoloration of the back of 
 the sleigh, and with ready intuition divined the 
 cause. She was of remarkable spirit, and entered 
 into the political faith of her husband with all the 
 animation of her character. She ordered her women 
 to bring soap and brushes, and without a thought of 
 the cold air, or too tender regard for her own fair 
 hands, she picked her way on her little high-heels to 
 the sleigh, and never stopped scrubbing until the old 
 Lion and the Unicorn reappeared " fighting for the 
 crown," as fresh as on the day they parted from her 
 loyal eyes. 
 
 Arthur Livermore, Esq.,* now of Missouri, in 
 writing of Col. Porter to Mrs. Brinley, says : " He 
 was beyond dispute a man of a good deal of charac- 
 ter. I hardly know whether I can with propriety say 
 to you, his descendant, wdiat I have very often said 
 to those who have known you all as I have known 
 you ; that Col. Porter has given this proof of having 
 been thoroughbred^ as we say of a horse, that he im- 
 pressed upon all his posterity, through several gen- 
 erations, verv remarkable common characteristics ; 
 
 * Son of Judge Arthur Livermore, and grandson of the eminent 
 Judge Samuel Livermore. The latter went to New Hampshire simul- 
 taneously with Col. Porter, and purchased an estate at Ilolderness, 
 where, amidst the most romantic lake scenery, he built a mansion- 
 house, which would be conspicuous for stateliness even in these days 
 of ambitious architecture. 
 
LIFE OF \VILLIA]\I T. POETEK. 7 
 
 marks that distinguish them from all others. This is 
 said neither in the way of flattery nor disparagement, 
 nor with any purpose to be personal. He was from 
 all accounts a gentleman. His associations were with 
 such. His daughters married gentlemen, and his 
 sons, gentlewomen. In person he has been described 
 to me as a spare man, and to have been in the habit 
 of wearing a good overcoat of sable skins on one side 
 and scarlet cloth on the other. He was accustomed 
 to say that it was a foolish thing to try to brave the 
 cold. The right way was to guard well against it by 
 abundant clothing." 
 
 By his marriage Col. Porter had six children, 
 John, Benjamin, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Moses. 
 The daughters were brilliant and accomplished 
 women, receiving their education at Kewburyport 
 and Boston. 
 
 The Judicial Courts for the northern part of New 
 Hampshire were held at Haverhill Corner, about 
 seven miles south of Col. Porter's, and the attrac- 
 tions of his daughters, his generous hospitality and 
 reputed wealth, brought the members of the bar 
 lo his house in goodly numbers ; some of them 
 prosecuted their suits with success, for the three 
 daughters married gentlemen of the legal profes- 
 sion ; Mary, the Hon. Judge Farrand ; Elizabeth, 
 the Hon. Thomas W. Thompson ; and Sarah, the Hon. 
 Mills Olcott. 
 
 Col. Porter's son Benjamin, so named for his an- 
 cestor, Benjamin Crocker, Esq., was born at New- 
 buryport, July 13, 1771, and on the 11th of October, 
 
8 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 
 
 1800, Avas married to Martha, daughter of Gov. Peter 
 Olcott,* of Korwich, Vt., and established himself in 
 the law at ISTewbnrj^, in that State. 
 
 The town of Newbiny occnj^ies a natural terrace 
 above the broad, rich sweej) of the meadows, flanked 
 on the westerly side bj a high, wooded, almost per- 
 pendicular ridge called Mt. Pulaski, which, in that 
 direction, serves to the village as a kind of dbat-vent 
 to keep off the keen blasts of the early spring. Tow- 
 ards the other points of compass, the horizon 
 widens into great beauty and grandeur, embracing 
 a chain of hills forming the lower elevations of the 
 White Mountains, which can be traced from the top 
 of Mt. Pulaski, in all their diversity of shape and 
 coloring, until they unite with Mts. Washington and 
 Lafayette ; the pale, spectral pinnacles of those thaw- 
 less snow-peaks being clearly discerned from ISTew- 
 bury as sharply cut against the sky as on the day 
 I^oah removed the covering from the ark. Towards 
 the south the prospect lies open • to a length of the 
 Connecticut Yalley, " the asylum of love and philoso- 
 phy," as well as of labor and comfort ; its velvet car- 
 pets of greensward dotted over with groups of majes- 
 tic trees and grazing cattle, hemmed in by the naked 
 crests of New Hampshire and the undulating ranges 
 of the Green Mountains, and apparently terminating 
 
 * Gov. Olcott was of the sixth generation in descent from Thomas 
 Olcott, a merchant in London, who emigrated with his wife, a daughter 
 of David Porter, Esq., of that city, to Connecticut. He brought with 
 him the experience and fruits of successful enterprise, and was one of 
 •lie founders of the commerce of that Colony. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETER. \) 
 
 at the foot of Ascutney, which stands out against the 
 southern sky like the fragmentary w^alls of some colos- 
 sal barrier, to guard it from the outer world ; its 
 loftiest points kindling into spires of gold, while the 
 soft gray shadows of night are yet lying upon the 
 valley. 
 
 Here, among these meadows, blue hills, and wide 
 sky, the lives of William T. Porter and his brothers 
 took their shape and coloring. Their home included 
 the firesides of father and grandfather, so closely were 
 they united by the tenderest of ties, both marked by 
 the same unaffected tone of polite life, enlarged hospi- 
 tality, love of out-of-door existence, and study of the 
 best authors. Benjamin Porter, their father, was a 
 man of vigorous stamp. A keen observer, a sound 
 lawyer, active and energetic in his practice, with con- 
 tinual opportunities, even in that retired portion of 
 the country, for the display of acumen and learning 
 in disentangling the legal perplexities, and conduct- 
 ing the controversies in which his father had neces- 
 sarily become involved during a long and busy life in 
 a community where land titles were undetermined, 
 and the conflicting claims of settlers, tenants, and 
 proprietors were the subjects of frequent and pro- 
 tracted litigation. Indeed, his large-heartedness, popu- 
 lar manners, and strict integrity secured the friendship 
 of numerous clients at home and abroad, and the con* 
 fidence of all who were brought within the range of 
 his manly influence. " He was about the same height 
 as his father," writes one of his neighbors, David 
 Johnson, Esq., still living at the advanced age of 
 1* 
 
10 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 
 
 eighty-two, " but more fleshy and of a larger frame, 
 and was what may be called a handsome, well-built 
 man, more familiar in his habits and intercourse with 
 his neighbors than his father. A very active busi- 
 ness man, benevolent, free, and oj^en hearted. He 
 had a very charming, lovely, and amiable wife." 
 
 Wm. C. Thompson, Esq., a nephew of Mr. Porter, 
 thus writes of his uncle's appearance when in the 
 prime of life : " Both Mr. and Mrs. Porter were very 
 handsome persons ; more so than either of their chil- 
 dren, and this is saying much. Mr. Porter's form was 
 like his son Ben's, but taller, more active, and muscu- 
 lar. He had a round, frank voice, and, as I remember 
 him when I was a boy, was particularly pleasant and 
 kind to children. He lived in a liberal and hospitable 
 style, inheriting his father's tastes for owning lands, 
 and farms, and capital horses." Mrs. Porter was 
 a beautiful and attractive woman, remarkable for 
 her dignity of character and ease of manners. She 
 had irrepressible buoyancy of temper, united to the 
 kindest sympathies, and a goodness that lives in 
 the hearts of many to this late day, who never 
 speak of her but with tears of reverence and grateful 
 love. 
 
 To fit his children for the ends and aims of life, 
 Mr. Porter employed judicious teachers of both sexes 
 under his own roof, until they were old enough to be 
 sent from home to school, and at every opportunity 
 of leisure from the exactions of professional labor, 
 gave them his personal instruction. About this time, 
 1812, William was taking his first lessons in spelling, 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 11 
 
 under the paternal roof, from one of the most amiable 
 of teachers, who afterwards married William Trotter, 
 Esq., an especial friend of Mr. Porter, and for whom 
 he named his son.* 
 
 Mr. Porter was a capital horseman, and was every 
 day more or less in the saddle as his engagements 
 would permit. 
 
 In early life he was in the habit of making long 
 journeys on horseback, as was the fashion of the day, 
 starting off for Quebec, Boston, or New York, with 
 less bustle of preparation than in these days of rapid 
 locomotion, although the time occupied in one of those 
 old-fashioned horseback expeditions seems now almost 
 incredible. In one of his letters dated Newbury, Dec. 
 3, 1798, addressed to his sister Sarah, then at school 
 in Boston, he writes : " To have spent the evening of 
 my return home, after a seventeen days' journey, in 
 the society of my dear sister, would, to say the least, 
 have been happier than some hours of the way. My 
 route mostly by water to Quebec, was as rapid as I 
 could have desired, but my journey home was as in- 
 clement as the season. Not an inch without pain, 
 not a step without a groan. Thus for two successive 
 winters I have made this journey (expeditions of little 
 moment at a moderate season), when hardly a human 
 
 * She is still living to recall with melancholy interest those days of 
 childhood at Newbury, She assures us that William's desire to make 
 a figure in life was in him from the start, for when playfully asked, be- 
 fore he could speak plain, what profession he intended to adorn when 
 he became a man, he invariably replied, drawing himself up with dig- 
 nity, " I intend to preach to make the peoples dood." 
 
12 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 
 
 beino- could stir from the fireside from the severity 
 of the weather." 
 
 In the following allusion to one of his female 
 friends at Quebec, in the same letter, we get at the 
 whole heart of the man : " The specimen of your 
 painting, dear S., so long promised to my friend Mrs. 
 W., could hardly be dispensed with, considering the 
 long friendship and thousand civilities to Papa and 
 myself. I could only renew the promise that my next 
 visit should bear it to her. Pardon me, ye belles of 
 Quebec, if I felt more regret at leaving this good, 
 old, sensible, thoroughbred, Christian, New England 
 woman than all the tine faces your town can boast ; 
 and were I for the example of some darling fiivor- 
 ite of your sex to describe the good wife and 
 agreeable friend, my pen would point involuntarily to 
 Mrs. W." 
 
 He closes his letter with some wholesome advice, 
 which is quite as pertinent in these days of ultra re- 
 finement in the education of the daughters of the 
 land as at the time he wrote : " Col. W. tells me that 
 his daughter already speaks very good French. This 
 is all. very well for Miss W., as she is to reside in 
 town. But I declare, dear S., I do not believe it will 
 be ever asked of a girl who lives one hundred and 
 fifty miles from salt water, and who reads with pro- 
 priety, spells correctly, writes handsomely, and com- 
 poses easily and elegantly in good old English, whether 
 she pronounces French a la mode. There are in 
 my humble opinion many other both mental and 
 personal accomplishments, together with a long list 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 13 
 
 of domestic attainments, much more necessary in a 
 fine woman's education, although in that of a gentle- 
 man it is quite indispensable. I abhor French senti- 
 ments and the hideous tone of French novels ; but I 
 love the language, and am far from wishing with ^Y. 
 that every French fop in this country should starve 
 because he can do nothing better than lisp his mother 
 tongue." 
 
 In connection with Mr. Porter's journeys to Cana 
 da in the saddle, we are reminded of several in which 
 he was accompanied by Daniel Webster, while the 
 latter was a law student with Mr. Thompson, (brother- 
 in-law of Mr. Porter,) at Salisbury, In 1801-2, Mr. 
 Thompson was accompanied by Mr. Webster to 
 Newbury upon the occasion of one of the former's 
 visits at Mr. Porter's house. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Porter became very fond of him, and perhaps among 
 the many pleasant recollections of Mr. Webster's 
 early manhood which served as an animating relief 
 from his first struggles, and afterwards from the toil 
 of a crowded professional life, none were recalled with 
 keener pleasure than his visits to old Cods during the 
 ten years following his first introduction. In anti- 
 cipation of their recurrence, Mr. Porter arranged 
 several horseback journeys to Canada, in which Mr. 
 Webster was to participate, and sometimes as his sole 
 companion. The pleasure they derived from the 
 social qualities of each other, can be readily imagined 
 by those who knew and loved them both. The ripe 
 and instructed mind of the elder friend kept charmed 
 and amused by the originality and buoyant vivacity 
 
14 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 of that great mind which was destined to give light 
 to a nation long after the other had sunk to his rest. 
 In the later years of the life of Mr. Webster he stated 
 to us with marked emphasis and feeling, that Mr. 
 Porter was the most attractive social companion he 
 had ever known. It was during his visits at Mr. 
 Porter's house that the foundation of a friendship was 
 laid which became a source of life-long enjoyment to 
 Mr. Webster. The youthful object of his regard was 
 the orphan niece of Mrs. Porter, the only child of her 
 sister, Sarah Olcott, and the Hon. Jasper Murdock. 
 Upon the death of her parents she was consigned to 
 the care of her grandfather, Gov. Olcott. At the 
 time of Mrs. Porter's marriage she transplanted the 
 beautiful exotic of her family to her own fireside, and 
 scrupulously provided that she should acquire at 
 home and abroad those accomplishments which, 
 united to her eminent personal charms, qualified her 
 to grace and adorn her own distinguished home upon 
 the event of her marriage, June 25, 1810, to Hon. 
 George Blake, of Boston. Many of Mr. Webster's 
 most interesting letters during his early public career, 
 w^ere addressed to her, and are contained in the vol- 
 umes of his correspondence. She died in the prime 
 of her days, a few months following the death of her 
 adopted mother. 
 
 During the summer of 1817, Mr. Porter first be- 
 came aware of an incipient afiTection of the heart, 
 though only a few weeks previous to the approach 
 of any symptoms of the kind he said to a friend: 
 "I am certain I shall live to a great age. Look 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 15 
 
 at my breadth of cliest. I feel long life in every 
 muscle." 
 
 Pliysicians were consulted at the first apprehen- 
 sion, and by their advice he gave up all business, and 
 retired with his family to one of his farms, where he 
 kept up his almost daily exercise in the saddle, until 
 his increasing infirmities obliged him to discontinue it 
 altogether. He was finally induced in the following 
 summer to try the efi'ect of a journey to Saratoga, 
 where a consultation of eminent physicians was held 
 upon his case. Previous to the consultation his letters 
 evince a sanguine hope of ultimate restoration. 
 
 Alas ! it was not to be. The decision of the 
 physicians was unfavorable to his hopes, and by 
 slow and painful progress, accompanied by his 
 wife and son Benjamin, he reached Mr. Olcott's at 
 Hanover. It was impossible to go any further. Day 
 by day he became weaker, until all expectation of 
 recovery was abandoned, and his parents and intimate 
 friends were summoned to see him die. The event 
 took place at five o'clock in the afternoon of Sunday, 
 August 2d, 1818. His clergyman, the venerable Dr. 
 Shurtleft', of Hanover, and Dr. Muzzey, his physician, 
 both still living in honorable age, testify to the forti- 
 tude of the dying man. Dr. Shurtleff has within a 
 short time described to us the closing scene, which in 
 solemnity, calm resignation, and tender solicitude for 
 the family of his love, he had never, in his lengthened 
 experience, seen surpassed. 
 
 He sleeps in the quiet church-yard at Hanover, in 
 compliance with his expressed wish, as he foresaw, 
 
16 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 
 
 that to give his eldest son, then in college, the benefit 
 of a home, to secure to his other children the advan- 
 tage of academic training, and at the same time place 
 Mrs. Porter where she could have the immediate 
 counsel and protection of her brother, Mr. Olcott, she 
 would almost of necessity select Hanover for her resi- 
 dence after the death of his parents. Three months 
 after his death, his father died. In a worldly 
 view the death of father and son, so near to each 
 other, was most deeply to be deplored. The former 
 died in the belief that he had great wealth ; but 
 much of his really extensive estate consisted in 
 unproductive tracts of land not readily convertible 
 into money or easily managed. The son had stepped 
 aside from his profession to embark in various 
 enterprises of pith and high promise, which his 
 sudden and long-continued bodily prostration obliged 
 him to surrender or neglect. His large expecta- 
 tions seemed to warrant his extended operations, and 
 if five years more of active life had been vouch- 
 safed to him, and the estate of his father been kept 
 together, his sons, who derived little or no benefit 
 from the vast landed property of their grandfather, 
 would have been rich and independent, and spared 
 the crushing weight of narrow circumstances and dis- 
 appointed hopes. 
 
 " During the summer of 1821," writes Mrs. Brinley, 
 the youngest daughter of Mr. Porter, " my mother 
 removed to Hanover, having jjurchased a pic- 
 turesque old residence Mdiich occupied the highest 
 site in the village, a few steps from where the 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. lY 
 
 present observatory stands. It was a large, faded, 
 tranquil-looking, one story house, covering a good 
 deal of ground, of no special color, but mellow with 
 the lapse of time and changing seasons, and had been 
 originally built for one of the presidents of the col- 
 lege. The prospect which it commanded on every 
 side was of wide-spread character, full of variety and 
 heavenly beauty. Even as children we were never 
 tired of looking at the distant blue line of sky, the 
 far-off mountains in the north, the long, low ridge of 
 jagged rocky hills in the rear, and the great purple 
 and gold summits of Ascutney, now almost within 
 arm's length, which we believed to be a celestial 
 highway to the battlements of God's home. Directly 
 opposite to ns, across the rivei*, were our own beloved 
 hills of Vermont, the hills of our birthright, the hills 
 of the setting sun, piled up into the vast heavens, with 
 all their pastures, forests, brooks, clouds, and busy 
 human life. 
 
 "The village of Hanover was just below us, fresh, 
 compact, and shining as a mosaic, with its venerable 
 college, solemn old church, and clusters of white dwell- 
 ings in a square setting of young elm trees, which lent 
 a grateful shade to the romantic footpaths round the 
 common. A little removed from the village on the 
 westerly side, a narrow, beautifully shaded avenue led 
 gently to the common burying-ground. It was of the 
 genuine New England pilgrim stamp ; its monumen- 
 tal tombs and graves abandoned to weeds and nettles 
 and relentless gloom, inclosed by a plain board fence 
 stained with the damps and moulds of time, hemmed 
 
18 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 
 
 in and choked up by the high grass, rank shrubs, and 
 matted ivy which trailed over it. A few stunted 
 trees were scattered here and there, bnt shrivelled 
 into lifeless skeletons, as if unable to resist the inex- 
 orable destiny written all about them. The situa- 
 tion of the old burial place, however, was beautiful, 
 upon the verge of a deep gorge between two hills 
 lined with a thick growth of young forest trees ; over- 
 looking the gently swelling valley, the winding river, 
 and the purple masses of surrounding hill. At this 
 day the spot has participated in the general spirit of 
 improvement of burial places throughout New Eng- 
 land, and is not only ' embosomed soft in trees,' but 
 includes within its limits the wooded gorge which 
 already enshrines within its shaded depths the sleep- 
 ing dust of inestimable worth and virtue. 
 
 " On my mother's arrival at Hanover, no time was 
 lost in placing her four youngest children, William, 
 George, Frank, and myself, at the prominent school 
 of the town, which was then connected with Dart- 
 mouth College, the President of the College being ex 
 officio President of the Academy. This school was 
 originally established for the education of Indian 
 youths, and the corporate name was ' Moore's Indian 
 Charity School,' but for many years it had been open 
 to pupils of both sexes on payment of a small tuition 
 fee. The Dominie, Archelaus F. Putnam, (Scholse 
 Moorensis Preceptor, as appears in the Dartmouth 
 College Catalogue,) presided over the destinies of 
 that institution, only known to me and to the rest of 
 his pupils by the familiar name of ' Old Put^ I 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 19 
 
 never knew from wliat part of the zodiac lie radiated, 
 who gave him birth, who taught him Greek and 
 Latin, whether he was or was not the namesake of 
 the lineal descendant of the second son of the Judean 
 Governor who was driven out of his dominions for his 
 cruelty ; whether he was Orthodox or Heterodox ; 
 whether he believed in Simon Magus, who prescribed 
 lively bodily mortification from a notion that it had a 
 happy influence in enlarging the mind, or sided with 
 Hierax, who regarded children, " till the age of 
 reason," as outcasts from heaven, and to be treated 
 as young rebels or sinners ; or sympathized with that 
 sect which sprung up in Italy in 1260, taking their 
 name from the Latin Jlagello, and maintaining stoutly 
 that a brisk application of the whip on the shoulders 
 was of equal virtue with the sacraments ; but of the 
 personal appearance of the Dominie, I have a distinct 
 impression. He was an emaciated, narrow-chested 
 man, above the medium height, with a pale, rigid 
 face — eyes inexorable and full of danger, though 
 chafed into a sick and pale dimness, with a mouth 
 that vibrated betwixt a snappish irritability and 
 an evident attempt to appear undisturbed, and at 
 times even jocular. With the utmost diligence in 
 our studies, and the closest observance of the rules 
 of the school, it was impossible to escape the humili- 
 ating blows of a mahogany ruler, which carried 
 out the bent of his humor from day to day, by 
 capricious hammerings of our sacred persons, that in 
 time threatened to break down the stoutest heart 
 amongst us. 
 
20 LIFE OF -WILLI A.M T. PORTER. 
 
 " Instinct and intellect, however, were quickened 
 by its liglitning strokes down to their secret springs 
 of inspiration, and vigorous progress was the result 
 in every department. The very atmosphere of old 
 Darmouth at that period communicated a sturdy emu- 
 lation in both parents and children. Scholarship 
 was the all-in-all creed of the day. Infants were 
 expected to lisp Greek before the appearance of their 
 first tooth — the very air was said to be freighted with 
 Lysbian lyrics, and precedents of rare excellence 
 among the graduates of the college were forever kept 
 before the eyes of old and young. Tlie whole coun- 
 try ringing with the fame of Mr. Webster, and 
 the e very-day presence of Mr. Choate, then a tutor 
 in college, in the rich bloom of his personal beauty, 
 with a reputation more circumscribed but not less 
 commanding within its sphere of display than the 
 fame which surrounded him at the day of his 
 death, gave impulse and courage to every young 
 ambitious spirit within sound of the college or acade- 
 my bell. 
 
 " During these years of unflagging industry, "Wil- 
 liam made great progress in his studies; and though 
 often detected with a volume of Dr. Fox, or the 
 Complete Angler, within the leaves of his Virgil, he 
 was considered ' up to his work ' in Greek and 
 Latin, and ranked high as a scholar. Out of 
 school at that time he was always reading. He re- 
 membered well and accurately what he read, and in 
 the selection of books from the college library, to 
 w 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 21 
 
 preference for works of stirring action and the biog- 
 raphies of enterprising men. 
 
 " In appearance he was very striking, remarkably 
 handsome and tall for his years, promising, if time 
 kept on, to reach the ' supreme pitch ' of old Fried- 
 rich Wilhelm's Life-guard Regiment of Foot. 
 
 " Roughness and coarseness, such as are common 
 even to most well-trained boys, were entirely out of 
 his line. We do not recollect to have ever seen 
 him angry, thougli he could plant his foot down 
 occasionally in the shape of an opinion equal to 
 the Dominie. His character at this age was the 
 same as when he came to manhood, generous, un- 
 selfish, modest, truthful, cheerful, always retaining 
 the credulity and simplicity of a child. An utter 
 inability to j)i"onounce the monosyllable no was 
 the only loose screw in his organization. To utter 
 it in good standfast fashion, and thereby cause 
 disappointment and perplexity to another, was as 
 impossible as to add another cubit to his stature. 
 It lay at the foundation of his few mistakes in life, 
 and Avas the only source of regret that threw a 
 shade over his beaming spirit from his cradle to 
 the grave. 
 
 " In 1823 the discipline of the Dominie began to 
 tell unfavorably upon all of us, particularly upon 
 George, whose temperament being sanguine and ex- 
 citable, rendered him more sensitive and restless 
 under the forcing system than William. George was 
 a manly type of a boy, with blonde complexion, 
 broad forehead, and eyes of rare significance ; tall 
 
22 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TORTPIR. 
 
 for his age, with an unmistakable look of deter- 
 mination written all over him. Of more robust 
 intellect than William, high spirited, not easily man- 
 aged, thoroughly sweet-tempered, clear-headed, his 
 character from first to last bore the same impress — 
 a transparent simplicity, overlying a foundation 
 of strength and decision. He had an instinctive 
 abhorrence of chastisement, and rather than run the 
 risk of being struck, would strain forward like a 
 thorough-bred, at the risk of life and limb. Those 
 who were most sensitive to the blows of the Domi- 
 nie, and could be forced forward fastest, stood al- 
 ways most in danger from them. George had often 
 won the first fruits of ambition and perseverance, and 
 was one of the leading advertisements of the school. 
 The ruler must not relax. Exasperated and worn 
 down at last, his sleep became disturbed by a kind 
 of nightmare, which threatened his health so seri- 
 ously, as to open my mother's eyes, as well as 
 those of the whole village, to the severities of the 
 school, and ended in his being sent to an academy at 
 Haverhill, N. H., where he remained for years, until 
 transferred to Meriden, previous to his entering 
 college. His emancipation had the effect to unsettle 
 the rest of us, and gave rise to a very general idea 
 that the long-talked-of royal road to learning was to 
 be sought out for our especial solace. William 
 shared in the hallucination, and permitted his mind 
 to run riot with an idea suggested by the life of 
 Dr. Franklin, which he was then reading for the 
 fiftieth time, that if he could persuade my mother to 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 23 
 
 give up the prestige of Alma Maters for him, he 
 could start off upon the great venture of life in a 
 printing office without the necessity of going to 
 school another day. She, however, refused to give 
 the proposition a single thought, sympathizing very 
 clearly with the venerable Yicar when Moses pro- 
 posed to set out in gosling-green waistcoat to face the 
 snares of a crafty world. 
 
 " Soon after this she had the opportunity, during 
 one of Mr. Thompson's visits at Hanover, to con- 
 sult him, together with Mr. Olcott, about William's 
 change of school, and, in connection with the sub- 
 ject, she mentioned his recent proposition. To her 
 astonishment they both advised her to let the boy 
 have his way; at all events to let him make the 
 trial. Time went on. Conversations were held 
 upon the subject. The uncles argued, and William 
 urged and promised, until she finally surrendered her 
 prejudices, and yielded a reluctant assent. Every 
 efibrt was made to find the most unexceptionable 
 office in New England for his novitiate, and it was 
 finally determined that Messrs. Elagg and Gould's 
 printing establishment at Andover, Mass., ofi'ered the 
 fewest objections, and held out more advantages than 
 any other, especially when viewed through the pious 
 medium of her mind. It was at that time the foun- 
 tain-head of Bibles, tracts, and religious works. The 
 conductors were men of well-known exemplary lives, 
 residing in a theology-imbibing atmosphere, and 
 where, from the general idea I derived as a child of 
 the religious character of the place, I supposed that 
 
24 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 the Commandments and Catecliism could be seen 
 with the naked eye upon the ' pages of the air.' 
 
 " He soon after left in the mail stage for Andover ; 
 his letters came in due time, informing us of his 
 safe arrival, good health, and agreeable surroundings. 
 The first Tlianksgiving festival which came round, he 
 passed in Boston at Mr. Blake's. This was his lirst 
 and happy experience of city life, under circumstances 
 which he recalled with fresh delight as long as he 
 lived. Twenty-two years afterwards he alludes to that 
 joyous time, and almost with a sigh as he closes an 
 article styled ' An Hour at Old Drury.' ' We plead 
 guilty to a weakness for the sports of the circus which 
 has grown with our growth, and we can laugh at the 
 jokes of Mr, Merry man with as hearty a gusto as 
 when our coats were minus the tails ; like the re- 
 perusal of Arabian Nights and Kobinson Crusoe, with- 
 out an effort they carry us back to the days when, if 
 we knew less, perhaps we were more happy.' He 
 repeated his visit to Boston the following summer, 
 and had the pleasure of accompanying Mr. Blake, 
 who was an expert angler, to the cape, where he 
 fished in the celebrated Marshpee Brook, ' the best 
 trout stream,' he wrote in 18-iO, ' in which it was 
 ever our good fortune to wet a line.' 
 
 " His first return to Hanover was in April, 1825, in 
 consequence of my mother's illness. She died on the 
 morning of the 4th of the following month, of rapid 
 consumption, in the presence of all her children, ex- 
 cepting my brother, the Doctor, who was in Georgia. 
 The day previous to her deatli, with a clear and cheer- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 25 
 
 ful mind, as if about to take leave of us for a tempo- 
 rary absence, she distributed tokens of her love, and 
 gave such parting words of direction and encourage- 
 ment as our age and circumstances required, setting 
 forth to her sons the necessity of every manly virtue 
 to carry them safely and honorably through life. She 
 tenderly reminded us that she was only going away 
 from us for a little time — a little before — going liome^ 
 where there would be no more death, nor sorrow, nor 
 crying ; and then drawing us all closely about her, in 
 words that cannot be remembered, except as they left 
 an impression upon our hearts ' deeper than all love,' 
 she breathed her last prayer for us on earth. 
 
 " Eeligion in her household had been conscientious- 
 ly taught, but it was her firm, consistent, courageous, 
 silent example, which made an undying impression 
 upon her children. 
 
 " However full and diversified the after life of her 
 sons, through all their trials and temptations, pleas- 
 ures and triumphs of one kind and another, amidst 
 the congenialities of genial and oftentimes hazardous 
 companionship ' bullying in upon them in masses,' 
 they never outgrew the influences stamped upon their 
 souls when under her care. 
 
 " We saw her carried upon a bier, and laid by the 
 side of our father, and in a few weeks afterwards we 
 were all cut adrift from the home anchorage for- 
 ever. 
 
 " Benjamin returned to Boston, William to An- 
 dover, while George and Frank pursued their prepara- 
 tory studies for college at Haverhill and Meriden." 
 2 
 
26 LIFE OF WILLIAISI T. PORTER. 
 
 Dr.. Poi-ter, the eldest brother of William T. Por- 
 ter, graduated at Dartmouth College in 1822. His 
 friend and classmate Mr. Chief Justice Perley, of 
 Concord, N. H., thus writes of him in a letter to Mrs. 
 Brinley, Sept. 28, 1859 : 
 
 " I was very intimately acquainted with your brother, Dr. 
 Porter. "When I entered college as a freshman in Sept. 1818, I 
 found him then a member of the class. He was then, I think, 
 sixteen years old, and had already reached nearly, if not quite, 
 his full stature of six feet. He was then of a slender figure, very 
 erect, and very brisk and alert in all his movements, full of viva- 
 city and spirit ; a general favorite in college on account of his 
 amiable disposition, his winning manners, and agreeable conver- 
 sation. He was not a severe student of the regular college 
 studies ; but a keen observer of all that was passing around him, 
 very well informed on general subjects, and wholly free from all 
 inclination to vice or low dissipation. He left college with the 
 reputation of a young man likely to achieve a brilliant success in 
 any department of practical life that he might select. Soon after 
 he left college he went to Virginia, and afterwards to Georgia, 
 and was absent from New England about five years. In Nov., 
 1827, 1 went to Hanover to try my chances in the law, and found 
 your brother there, just returned from Georgia, and attending the 
 medical lectures in the college. I saw much of hira while he 
 remained there, which I think was about two years, and found 
 him little changed in character or manners from the man from 
 whom I had parted five years before. He had, however, made 
 great advances in general knowledge, and adopted more settled 
 views in life. 
 
 " Your father had died before I knew any of the family. Your 
 mother did not remove from Newbury until some time after the 
 Doctor entered college, and I did not become acquainted with 
 her until near the end of my college course. I was, however, 
 well acquainted with her afterwards, and am under obligations to 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 27 
 
 her kindness, which I trust I shall never forget. She had many- 
 points of resemblance to her brother, your uncle Olcott,* his wit, 
 
 * At the time of Mr. Olcott's death, an obituary appeared in the 
 " New York Observer," written by the late Rev. George Bush, of that 
 city, formerly a private tutor in tlie family of Mr. Olcott, so masterly 
 in delineation, that the Hon. Rufus Choate (a son-in-law of Mr. Olcott) 
 considered" it a more faithful portrait than the skilful pencil of any 
 Umner could produce. The influence of such a man standing in the 
 relationship which he did to the five brothers Porter, from their boy- 
 hood to the hour of his death, was beyond calculation. He was their 
 beau ideal of all that constituted a gentleman in the highest sense of 
 that term. They loved and honored him through life with the devo- 
 tion of children, regarding a word of commendation from his lips with 
 more delight than from any other human source, while a hint intended 
 to convey a shade of merited rebuke filled them with unspeakable re- 
 gret. It is impossible to observe the outlines of Mr. Olcott's rare 
 nature without recognizing much of the breadth and vigor which were 
 conspicuous in his nephews, and which at this date are eminently em- 
 braced in the character of his immediate descendants. 
 
 HON. MILLS OLCOTT. 
 
 Died, at Hanover, N. II., on the 11th inst., Hon. Mills Olcott, aged 71. In the 
 death of this estimable man Society, learning, religion, share with a bereaved do- 
 mestic circle in the consciousness of a loss well-nigh irreparable. Few men have 
 been more widely known, few more profoundly loved and respected in life, or 
 more sincerely lamented in death. The pen which would fain pay a becoming 
 tribute to his various worth, finds itself at a loss to present a portrait, which, while 
 it shall .appear true to his friends, shall not seem overwrought and extravagant to 
 those who had not the pleasure of his personal acquaintance. Viewed as to native 
 endowments his character was a rare assemblage of high qualities. Every thing 
 about him was cast in moulds which gave forth only elevated and imposing forms. 
 He was emphatically a man of large soul. A certain inbred generosity of nature 
 — a lofty magnanimity — an expansive liberality of sentiment— a signal superiority 
 to any thing low or little— shone conspicuous in his habitual bearing, and was 
 abundantly realized in its appropriate actings in the various conduct of life. His 
 intellect was remarkable for clearness and acuteness, and though receiving an 
 early direction to the sphere of the practical rather than of the speculative, yet 
 it was evident that, had circumstances varied the bent of his genius, he would not 
 have failed of eminence in any department of letters or science to which he might 
 have devoted himself. As it was, though distinguished by a refined and elegant 
 
28 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 his slirewd observation of character, with more vivacity, and a 
 more easy and flowing style of conversation. Her liealth, after I 
 
 taste, yet his converse was rather with men than with hooks, and his keen Insight 
 Into character— his exact judgment— his fer-secing sagacity— his proverbial pru- 
 dence—while they secured distinguished success to his own secular plans, gave a 
 peculiar value to his coumel—yiMch was always readily accorded— in regard to 
 the conduct and affairs of life. In what is technically termed the knowledge of 
 human nature it would have been difficult to find his superior. Yet with all the 
 conscious impression and tacit acknowledgment of pre-eminent powers inspired 
 upon those who knew him, no one was ever oppressed by it. He wore his virtues 
 so meekly— he was so " courteously carriaged "—he had such a delicate respect to 
 the feelings of others, even in the minutest points— and was so instinctively stu- 
 dious of preserving their proper self esteem un wounded by the least word or look 
 which could give pain, that thn ideal of the perfect gentleman could scarcely find 
 itself more adequately embodied than in him. 
 
 His love of the domestic circle made him averse to public life, while it availed 
 not to quench his public spirit. Every useful enterprise, institution, and object 
 drew largely upon his sympathies .and freely upon his support ; and yet his private 
 charities, no less numerous or ample for his public benefactions, left their record 
 in the grateful memory of relieved affliction and in the tears that were shed on ac- 
 count of the tears that were spared. 
 
 The Literary Institution with whoso fortunes he was more than half a century 
 lionnected, whose interests he was ever active in the various capacities of Trustee, 
 Secretary, and Treasurer, in promoting, and whose successive generations of 
 alumni have borne his revered image engraved on their hearts, will feel itself 
 shorn of a pillar of strength in his removal, and the festivities of its coming anni- 
 versary will be gloomily damped by the view of his vacant place on the accustomed 
 stage. 
 
 In social life he was the model of every thing at once commanding and attrac- 
 tive. His extensive acquaintance with men— his intuition of character— his un- 
 failing store of anecdote— his delicate irony— his power of graphic portraiture— his 
 brilliant but innocuous wit, made his society a rich treat to all ages ; and the ex- 
 quisite manner in which ho managed to introduce some hint of practical wisdom 
 that raiaht especially serve for the guidance of the young and inexperienced, was 
 always felt but never can be duly described. "With the keenest perception of the 
 eccentric, the grotesque, or the ludicrous in character, no man ever discovered 
 more leniency to human infirmity, or was more tenderly alive to the sensibilities 
 which guarded the weaknesses he would fain correct. 
 
 The qualities which we have thus fully depicted as characterizing the deceased 
 must needs command admiration, as they universally did in the subject of them, 
 independent of the oper.ition of any higher element in the midst of those striking 
 gifts of nature. But we have still to advert to the crowning excellence of the man 
 in the spirit of unfeigned piety which adorned the greater portion of his earthly 
 career. Ills native endowments constituted a beautiful ground for the display of 
 tlic inwrought graces of the Spirit of God. Having attained to mature life before 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEE. 29 
 
 knew her, was seldom perfect, but she was uniformly cheerful. 
 She was a very religious person, but her piety had nothing in it 
 morose or severe. Her manners had been formed in the best 
 society of her time, and had the ease and simplicity which I take 
 to be the highest proof of pei'fect good-breeding." 
 
 " I have but one positive memoiy connected with 
 mj eldest brother," writes Mrs. Brinley, " in these 
 early Hanover years, and as it gives significance to 
 his after life, I rejoice to be able to recall it, 
 
 " A few weeks after he left college, he was in read- 
 iness to carry out a plan quite common among gradu- 
 ates at that time, of starting for the South, to engage 
 as a public or private teacher, in order to gain the 
 means of obtaining a professional education easier, 
 earlier, and more ample than could be done at the 
 North. 
 
 formally connecting himself with a church, he lived ever after as if intent upon 
 bringing up the religious arrears of his earlier years. Exemplary and faithful in 
 the discharge of every duty, he yet evinced the air of one who, oppressed with the 
 consciousness of perpetual defects, rejoiced mainly in the hope built upon the 
 gratuitous mercy of the gospel through the finished righteousness of the Lord tho 
 Saviour. His child-like trust in the merits of Christ was conspicuously coupled 
 with a delightful softening influence upon the stronger traits of his natural char- 
 acter, causing all the more salient qualities of the man to be kept in wholesome 
 check by the restraining graces of tho Christian. Ilumility, simplicity, meekness, 
 continually mantled over his deportment; and if it were possible to detect a fault 
 in his religious character, it would perhaps be in that extreme self-depreciation 
 which seemed to forbid the thought that he could venture to assume that position 
 of prominence in good works which every one else was so ready to accord to him. 
 For this reason he was perhaps unduly prone to keep himself in the back ground, 
 when the grace of God would have been more highly magnified by a believing 
 disregard of his own conscious infirmities. But with all abatements on this or any 
 other score, he has left to a mourning family and church the legacy of a remem- 
 bered example of Christian virtues but seldom evinced, and the peaceful and hal- 
 lowed calm of his death-bed, in the midst of excruciating sufferings, put the seal 
 of heaven's encomium upon his life, and gave to himself and his friends the assured 
 anticipation of the future "Well done, good and faithful servant." 
 
 \ 
 
30 LIFE OF WILLTAil T. TOKTEK. 
 
 "TLe morning of liis departure from home, long 
 before the dawn, while sleeping by the side of mj 
 mother, I was awaked hj his entering the room to 
 take leave of her. He was sobbing alond. and fell on 
 his knees before her, and for some time both were too 
 much overcome to speak a word. My mother recov- 
 ered first, and in broken voice gave him much solemn 
 and earnest advice, which seemed to me very much 
 in the form of j)rayer. As he was about to leave her, 
 she said to him with prophetic earnestness in her 
 voice and manner, ' My son, if I should die before 
 you come back, promise me to take care of my little 
 ones.' He made the desired promise with firm voice 
 and with all the manly warmth and sincerity of his 
 nature. Another farewell embrace, the door opened, 
 and they were separated, never to meet again mitil 
 the integrity of that pledge had been tested by a life- 
 time of labor and love in behalf of those committed 
 to his charge. From the day that he heard the tidings 
 of her death, his oversight of us four youngest chil- 
 dren, William, George, Frank, and myself, commenc- 
 ed, and though separated from us for nearly two years 
 after that event, his letters were constant and regular, 
 addressed not only to ourselves, but to those who had 
 the control of our training and education. IS'othing 
 was too trivial or insignificant to escape his loving 
 interest and scrutiny ; and though there were many 
 times during those two long years of absence, when 
 we felt ourselves alone in the world, scattered and 
 separated from each other, yet his fatherly and re- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK, 31 
 
 sponsible care kept us all comparatively liopeful and 
 happy until his return. 
 
 " We religiously preserved his letters. Their valu c 
 to my younger brothers was of incalculable advantage, 
 and were read and re-read so often that at this date 
 their fragile leaves hardly hold together, and are never 
 touched without an apprehension that they will exhale 
 in our hands." 
 
 In one of his letters to William, while the latter 
 was still at Andover, he writes, " It has gratified me 
 very much to know that you are so well situated in 
 Andover, and that you are contented and happy. I 
 think your profession, if well understood, is one of the 
 very best in the whole circle of those employments 
 which are usually filled by industrious and enterpris- 
 ing men, and one which will insure every honest man 
 a competent livelihood; and to one who improves 
 every opportunity to become acquainted with books, 
 it can scarcely fail of procuring both honor and 
 profit. You seem to have employed your leisure 
 hours to some purpose. It did my heart good to 
 mark the freedom and justness of your remarks on 
 the works you have read. You have only to continue 
 your diligence a year or two longer, and you will 
 have every thing to hope. I am not at all opposed 
 to the course of reading you have pursued ; for you 
 have now arrived at that age when the acquirement 
 of a good style is equally important with the acquisi- 
 tion of facts." 
 
CHAPTEK II. 
 
 In tlie year 1829, William commenced his editorial 
 life at St. Johnsbury, Yt, in connection with " The 
 Farmer's Herald," and in about a year removed to 
 Korwich, as an associate in the publication of " The 
 Enquirer," where he remained but a short time, and 
 then with a light heart and a lighter purse, he gave a 
 lingering look at the hills of his native State, and 
 started for Xew York, as the most promising field 
 for the support of such a journal as he hoped to estab- 
 lish. 
 
 The Hon. Horace Greeley wrote us a few months 
 ago from New York : 
 
 " I came to this city about the 16th of August, 1831, and very 
 soon found work as a compositor at Mr. John T. "West's printing 
 office, No. 85 Chatham Street. I here found Mr. "WiUiam T. 
 Porter at work as a compositor, and I think he officiated as fore- 
 man. My recollections of him at that period are, tbat he was a tall, 
 comely youth, of about twenty-five, very urbane and kind toward 
 those younger and less favored than himself, and a capital work- 
 man. He left West, I think, before I did, the work here being 
 very poorly paid, while he was able to command more lucrative 
 
LIFE OK WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 33 
 
 emi^loyment. At the last end of this year, he and James How, 
 another young printer, devised 'The Spirit of the Times,' a 
 weekly sporting paper, which they bi-ought out on the 1st of 
 January, 1882. I worked for them from the outset, and remem- 
 ber getting the first number to press a little after midnight of 
 Dec. 31, 1831, Jan. 1, 1832. I continued to work on this paper, 
 first at No. 64 Fulton Street, afterwards at No. 45 Wall Street, 
 till September, 1832, when I left on a visit to my relatives in 
 New Hampshire, and my place was supplied, so that I did not 
 work on the ' Spirit ' thereafter." * 
 
 As the Jirst number of the " Spirit " was issued on 
 Saturday, December lOtli, 1831, according to Mr. 
 Porter, it must have been the fourth number on 
 which Mr. Greeley was engaged as indicated in his 
 letter ; the precise date the author has not been able 
 to verify, as the early numbers cannot be found. The 
 circulation was about six thousand copies ; a large 
 number for the new paper, under all circumstances. 
 In a few months it was united with " The Traveller," 
 with Mr. Porter in charge of the sporting department. 
 This arrangement did not last long, and Mr. Porter 
 took charge of " The Xew Yorker " for a short time 
 — and then of " The Constellation." But as those 
 
 * As illustrative of Mr. Porter's appreciation of a genuine strong 
 character, he thus alludes to Mr. Greeley as long ago as when the 
 latter was editor of the " New Yorker " : 
 
 "Mr. Greeley is the friend of our early days, and a right manly, honest 
 editor is he. So eminent are liis abilities and so remarkable his industry, that 
 we boldly predict for him a brilliant future ; and his career as an editor— thus 
 far since his recent outset, propitious — is destined to be yet more commanding; 
 ho will be yet heard in the councils of his country. Into whatever situation he 
 may be thrown, however ho may be elevated or depressed in life, he will carry 
 with him right staunch and sturdy honesty, the noblest gift of God." 
 
 2* 
 
34 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 
 
 journals gave a subordinate place to sporting matters, 
 it was natural that his thoughts should revert with 
 affectionate regard to " The Spirit of the Times," 
 which he originated, and which was baptized by his 
 brother Benjamin, who suggested its name ; and he 
 soon after purchased the copyright of " The Traveller, 
 and Spirit of the Times " from C. J. B. Fisher, by 
 whom they had been united, and on Saturday, Janu- 
 ary 3, 1835, Mr. Porter issued the paper with the 
 name it now bears. 
 
 He was now in the position which he coveted, 
 and the opening words of a genial address to the 
 " Fraternity," which is full of kindness, attest his 
 satisfaction. " We joy to meet you thus alone. It 
 has been our good or bad fortune more than once to 
 be connected with prmts over which our control was 
 shackled by the will of others, and where it was inex- 
 pedient to give free vent to our feelings to our edi- 
 torial compeers. To be sure we had our own M'ay, 
 but then, as Col. Hardy says in the play, we hadn't 
 our own way of having it. Tliank Heaven, such is 
 not now the case, and we seize the opportunity of 
 making our grateful devoirs to each and all in that 
 sj)irit of courtesy and good fellowship which har- 
 monizes with our sincerest sentiments." 
 
 "When he had thus consummated his cherished 
 purpose of establishing and solely conducting a sport- 
 ing newspaper in the Commercial Metropolis of the 
 country, he was perfectly aware that there existed, in 
 some sections, a marked antipathy to the very name 
 of race-course, and a morbid apprehension of the 
 
LIFE OF AVILLIAM T. I'ORTEK. 35 
 
 ruinous and indefinite inischiefs which were errone- 
 ously believed to be its inseparable attendants. 
 
 In the Middle States, a tolerant and kindly feeling 
 for the turf was quite prevalent ; while at the South 
 and South-west, out-of-door life with its various sources 
 of amusement and excitement, and its promptings to 
 a zealous, yet rational regard for the horse, the gun, 
 and the angling-rod, was an ardent passion with agri- 
 cultural gentlemen of wealth and spirit. 
 
 The conflicting opinions of different sections of the 
 country, were obstacles to the smooth, rapid, and 
 profitable progress of the novel enterprise. To face 
 and to correct deep-rooted prejudices, demanded the 
 aid of a " man of hope and forward-looking mind," 
 and in whom should be united a rare variety of 
 qualities ; enthusiasm in the subject-matter, talent, 
 practical knowledge of printing, and a clear sense 
 of editorial duty, good temper, sound judgment, 
 perseverance, honor, and pluck. Fortunately, all 
 these elements of success were mingled with different 
 degrees of intensity, in the trustful and generous na- 
 ture of the gifted projector of the new journal. 
 
 It was a novel undertaking, no other American 
 newspaper having the same specialty, or claiming to 
 be regarded as reliable authority as to the value and 
 ownership of animals asserted to be thorough-bred. 
 These points were becoming more and more important 
 as the investment in stock was regularly and rapidly 
 augmenting in most parts of the United States. 
 
 Horses were introduced into England at a very 
 early date; the crown and the people both encourag- 
 
36 LITE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 ing tlie growth of breeds of different, but superior 
 qualities. 
 
 In the reign of Queen Anne, (Herbert informs us,) 
 the English thorough-bred horse may be regarded as 
 fully established ; the Darley Arabian, son of Flying 
 Childers, Curwen's Barb, and Lord Carlisle's Turk, son 
 of the Bald Galloway, being imported in her reign. 
 Sixteen years after her death, and three years before the 
 foundation of Georgia, the youngest of the royal colo- 
 nies, twenty-one foreign, and fifty native stallions, some 
 of them the most celebrated horses the world has ever 
 seen, such as Childers, Bartlett's Childers, the Grey 
 Childers, the Bald Galloway, Bay Bolton, Coneyskins, 
 Crab, Fox, Hartley's Blind Horse, Jigg, Soreheels, 
 and Trueblue, were covering in the United Kingdoms ; 
 and from some of those are descended almost all our 
 racers of the present day. Six years before this, the 
 first racing calendar was published in England, with 
 nearly seven hundred subscribers. During this 
 period it was, precisely, that the American colonies 
 were planted ; and, as might be anticipated, English 
 horses of pure blood were at a ver}- early date intro- 
 duced. And in those regions where the settlement was 
 principally efiected by men of birth, attached to the 
 cavalier party, race-horses were kept and trained ; 
 race-courses were established, and a well-authenticated 
 stock of thorough-bred animals, tracing to the most 
 celebrated English sires, many of which were im- 
 ported in the early part of the eighteenth century, 
 was in existence considerably before the outbreak of 
 the old French war. In the Eastern States, the set- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 37 
 
 tiers of which were, for the most part, attached to the 
 Puritan party, and therefore opposed to all amuse- 
 ments and pastimes, as frivolous, at the least, and 
 unprofitable, and to horse-racing more especially as 
 profane and positively wicked, very few horses of 
 thorough blood were imported. 
 
 Virginia and Maryland as the head-quarters of 
 the cavaliers — the former State having for a long time 
 refused submission to the Commonwealth and to 
 stout old Oliver — as the seat of the aristocracy, fashion, 
 and wealth of the Colonies, prior to the Kevolution — 
 took an early and decided lead in this noble pursuit ; 
 and while the love of the sport continues to distinguish 
 their descendants, who are by far the most equestrian 
 in their habits of any other citizens of the Republic, 
 the result of the liberality of the first settlers is yet 
 visible in the blood of their noble steeds. 
 
 The emigrants from those States to Tennessee took 
 some of their best stock with them, and thus it became 
 more or less diffused, as population was attracted to 
 fresh territory, and as the boundaries of the Union 
 were enlarged. 
 
 It is believed that the amusements of the Turf 
 were introduced into America by Gov. Samuel Ogle, 
 during his term of office as Governor of the Province 
 of Maryland, from 1732 to 1745. David Ridgely, in 
 his " Annals of Annapolis," states that 
 
 " The first public horse-racing at, or near Annapolis, is adver- 
 tised in the Maryland Gazette, to take place on the 30th and 31st 
 days of May, 1745. The purses to he run for by any horse, mare, 
 or gelding, (' Old Kanter ' and ' Limber Sides ' excepted,) to 
 
38 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 
 
 carry 115 pounds, three heats, the course two miles." * * * 
 " How this race came off, we are not informed. From the ex- 
 clusion of ' Old Ranter ' and ' Limber Sides,' we may infer they 
 Avere somewhat celebrated in their day." * * * 
 
 " 1747. On the 29th of September, in this year, a race was 
 run on this Course (at Annapolis) between Gov. Ogle's bay 
 gelding and Col. Plater's grey stallion, and won by the former." 
 
 " A Jockey club was instituted here about this period, con- 
 sisting of many principal gentlemen in this and the adjacent prov- 
 inces, many of whom, in order to encourage the breed of this 
 noble animal, imported fi'om England, at a very great expense, 
 horses of high reputation. This club existed for many yeai's. 
 The races at Annapolis were generally attended by a great con- 
 course of spectators, many coming from the adjoining Colonies. 
 Considerable sums were bet on these occasions. Subscription 
 purses of one hundred guineas were, for a length of time, the 
 highest amounts run for, but subsequently were greatly increased. 
 The day of the races usually closed with balls or theatrical 
 amusements." 
 
 " On the same ground, some years after, (1767-8,) Dr. Ham- 
 ilton's horse Figaro, won a purse of fifty pistoles. * * * Figaro 
 was a horse of great reputation ; it is stated of him that he had 
 won many fifties, and in the year 1763 to have received premi- 
 ums at Preston and Carlisle, in Old England, where no horse 
 could enter against him ; he never lost a race." 
 
 Between the years of 1Y52 and 1766, Jolly Eogers, 
 James, Feaniouglit, and Partner, were imported into 
 Virginia. 
 
 Dr. Jolin B. Irving in his interesting history of 
 the South Carolina Turf, written in 1843, says : 
 
 " It is upwards of a century since racing commenced in Carolina 
 as a popular pastime. The earliest record that exists of any pub- 
 lic running, appears in the South Carolina Gazette, February 1, 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 39 
 
 1734. The prize was a saddle and bridle valued at £20. The 
 race was on the first Tuesday in February, 1734 — mile heats — 
 four entries. The horses carried ten stone — white riders. This 
 was one of the stipulations of the race. There was also another 
 condition, that the horses should be entered on the Saturday 
 preceding the race. This race took place on a Green on Charles- 
 ton Neck, immediately opposite a public house known in those 
 days as the Bowling Green House." 
 
 Dr. Irving describes the season of 1Y88 as " a 
 golden age of racing in Soutli Carolina," and says 
 in reference to it, 
 
 " Whether we consider the elevated character of the gentle- 
 men of the Turf, the attractions that the races possessed at that 
 time, and for many subsequent years ' for all sorts and conditions 
 of men ; ' youth anticipating its delights for weeks beforehand — ■ 
 the sternness of age relaxing by their appi'oach— lovers becoming 
 more ardent, and young damsels setting their caps with greater 
 dexterity — the quality of the company in attendance— the splendid 
 equipages— the liveried outriders that were to be seen daily on 
 the course — the gentlemen attending the races in fashionable Lon- 
 don made clothes, luchsTcin ireeches and top-boots — the universal 
 interest pervading all classes, from the Judge upon the Bench, to 
 the little school-boy with his satchel on his back— the kind 
 greetings of the Town and Country— the happy meeting of old 
 friends whose residences were at a distance, affording occasions 
 of happy intercourse and festivity — the marked absence of all 
 care^ except care of the horses— the total disregard of the value 
 of time^ except by the competition in the races, who did their 
 best to save and economize it— every thing combined to render 
 race-week in Charleston, emphatically the Carnival of the State, 
 when it was unpopular, if not impossible to be out of spirits, and 
 not to mingle with the gay throng. 
 
 " The best idea we can give of the moral influence of race- 
 week, (as exerted formerly,) is to state that the Courts of Justice 
 
40 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEE. 
 
 used daily to adjouru, aad all the schools were regularly let out, as 
 the hour for starting the horses drew near ; with one consent the 
 stores in Broad and King streets were closed — all business being 
 suspended on the joyous occasion, the feelings of the good people 
 partaking of the rapidity of the races themselves — in fact, it was 
 no uncommon sight to see the most venerable and distinguished 
 dignitaries of the land, Clergymen and Judges, side by side on 
 the course taking a deep interest in the animated and animating 
 scene around them ! 
 
 " With such a stimulus to prosperity and the preservation of 
 good morals, no wonder that order and sobriety and good fellow- 
 ship prevailed as abundantly as they did in those days. We 
 must not omit to notice that in the early days of Eacing in South 
 Carolina, the gentlemen of the Turf, like the ancient nobles, Hiero 
 and others, never ran their horses for the pecuniary value of the 
 prize to be won, but solely for the honor, that a horse of their 
 own breeding and training should distinguish himself, Mr. 
 Daniel Eaveuel, and many others, of the high-minded turfmen of 
 those days, expressed great disapprobation at any departure from 
 the good old custom of their fathers, and did all in their power 
 to prevent a change when it Avas proposed. The prize used 
 to be, not a purse of gold or silver, but a piece of plate. Several 
 of these tokens of success are in the possession of the descendants 
 of those who formerly owned race horses in the State. 
 
 " Such were the races in South Carolina ! Let us hope then 
 that we of the present generation will never feel less attach- 
 ment than our fathers did to the Sports of the Turf ; and that 
 whatever other changes may occur in our State, no change will 
 ever take place in the celebrity of our horses ; that the animating 
 spirit of the Chase will in all time to come, continue to call our 
 youth to the woods, and the rational amusement of the course, 
 our Sportsmen to the Turf! " 
 
 It is not proposed to ascertain the number and 
 names of the numerous race-courses -whicli have since 
 been established all over the country, or to give even 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAISI T. PORTER. 41 
 
 an approximate estimate of the value of the thorough- 
 bred stock, imported or native, as this vohime is not 
 intended for an Index to a Racing Calendar, or a 
 mere repertory of names. But some reference to the 
 value of choice animals, and to the pecuniary interests 
 allied to the Turf, is indispensable to an appreciation 
 of the motive, independent of personal taste, which 
 stimulated Mr, Porter to embark his limited resources, 
 but large intelligence, in this untried field of periodical 
 literature. A few prices are, therefore, jotted down 
 from memory, and without regard to date, not as the 
 most remarkable, but because they happen to occur, 
 and will give a general idea of the great cost of the 
 best order of animals. Thus, $10,000 were paid for 
 Henry ', Zenith and Magnate could not be purchased 
 for $5,000 at 3 years old. Medoc, one of the very best 
 of our native stallions, was said to be worth not less 
 than $35,000 at the day of his death. Black Maria 
 was sold at public auction, at ^Nashville, Tenn., for 
 $4,000 when thirteen years old. Mary Blunt sold for 
 $6,000. Altmf for $10,000 at nine years of age. 
 Eodolph for $22,000. For Fashion, $12,000 was 
 asked, and so on. 
 
 Taking into account all the associated interests of 
 the Eace-course, its numberless auxiliaries and sur- 
 roundings, one cannot fail to perceive the importance 
 and even necessity of a Journal which should repre- 
 sent the condition and demands of an interest of such 
 pecuniary magnitude and so widely extended, and 
 which received the encouragement and support of men 
 of ih.Q stamp of Col. John Tayloe, John Randolph, 
 
42 LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 Hoomes, Selden, and Col. William E. Johnson of 
 Virginia ; Govs. Ogle, Ridgely, Wright, Lloyd, and 
 Sprigg of Maryland ; Messrs. Hampton, Washington, 
 McPherson, Alston, and Singleton of South Carolina ; 
 Gov. Williams and Gen. Carney of North Carolina ; 
 Gen. Jackson and Gen. Harding of Tennessee ; Eich- 
 ard Smith, Major William Jones, and the Messrs. Hall 
 of 'New York ; the Messrs. Stevens of New Jersey, 
 and hosts of other honorable men in all parts of the 
 country beyond our ability to specify in a work of 
 this description. They gave an impulse to the meet- 
 ings of Turfmen, and laid the fovmdation of that 
 zeal and success, in the improvement of the breed of 
 horses, wiiich have been so triumphantly displayed. 
 
 To advocate the claims of such a cause and the 
 interests of such men, Mr. Porter at once devoted his 
 time and strength. 
 
 The increased interest which began to be mani- 
 fested in regard to the Turf and a variety of out-of- 
 door athletic sports was most grateful to him, and we 
 can easily imagine the satisfaction with which he 
 announced the spirited action of the New York 
 Jockey Club, in the very paper which contained his 
 salutatory address. 
 
 Some of its members agreed to run a sweepstakes 
 over the Union Course in the spring of 1838 with 
 fillies and colts then three years old. Tlie entrance to 
 be $1,000, and the forfeit $250. Distance, mile 
 heats. Among the subscribers were Messrs. W. 
 Livingston, R. ToUotson, J. C. Stevens, W. R. John- 
 son, Jno. C. Craig, S. Ringold, S. Gouverneur, 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 43 
 
 Wm. Wynn, A. L. Botts, E. F. Stockton, Wm. H. 
 Minge, J. II. Wilkes, K. L. Stevens, John Heth, 
 R. Eandolpli, Wm. Coleman, John M. Botts, A. B. 
 Meade, Samuel Laird, J. H. Oliver and D. W. Jones, 
 all gentlemen of the highest respectability and public 
 spirit. 
 
 The transactions in blooded stock during the year 
 1836, amounted to over half a million of dollars, and 
 the high prices obtained for that of superior quality, 
 indicated the fresh impetus which had been given 
 to the turf in this country by men of wealth and in- 
 fluence. 
 
 In the autumn of this year Mr. Porter made a 
 visit to the pine-clad hills, rich prairies, and verdant 
 valleys of the south and west, from which he re- 
 turned with enlarged and enlightened views of 
 the character and condition of the agricultural dis- 
 tricts, and a confirmed appreciation of the care and 
 attention given to the raising of fine stock, whether 
 of horses, cattle, hogs, or sheep. The number, value, 
 and improvement of blood horses for the ordinary 
 purposes of life, or destined for the chase or the turf; 
 the management of race-courses in the vicinity of the 
 prominent cities, and their large and liberal clubs, as 
 well as the whole system of racing, with all its ramifi- 
 cations, enlisted his acute powers of observation. 
 Of the many courses, jockey clubs, and associa- 
 tions of the South, he was especially delighted with 
 the "Hampton Course," at Augusta, Ga,, and the 
 " Hampton Court Stud ;" the latter, he says, " rivalling 
 that of his late majesty, and containing more stock 
 
44 LIFE OF WILLIAISI T. POKTEE. 
 
 bred at the Eoyal Stud, than any other in the Union," 
 and the former receiving its name " in honor of a 
 gentleman whose ennobling talents and public spirit, 
 more than his princely fortune, have placed him at 
 the head of the Turf in Carolina and Georgia." Of 
 Emily ^ owned by Col. Hampton, and out of Elizabeth, 
 by Rainbow, bred by his late Majesty William lY., 
 at the Eoyal Stud at Hampton Court, and imported 
 into South Carolina by his present owner, he writes 
 with characteristic enthusiasm : " She is a beautiful 
 bay with a star and a stripe, about fifteen hands and 
 one inch, and presents a most striking resemblance to 
 Ackerman's superb colored engraving of the Queen 
 of Trumps. Her head is faultless, a jDerfect non- 
 pareil, and her eye and face beam Avith intelligence. 
 Her limbs are as finely modelled as those of the fair 
 representative of '/on,' and her beautiful pastern 
 joints remind one of the delicate and well-turned 
 ankle of la petite Augusta! Her proportions are 
 almost perfect; her shoulder is broad and oblique, 
 running well back, and she is also very fine across 
 the loins. Her hocks, knees, and feet are also good, 
 especially the first, which come well down to the 
 ground. Altogether she is as game a looking filly as 
 can be seen in a year's travel." 
 
 Of Missouri, he writes : " She is a chestnut, under 
 fifteen hands high, and very well put up ; a small 
 star is her only white natural mark. Her dam was a 
 tip-top Director mare. She was bred by Gen. Broad- 
 nax of Virginia, and has been thrice a winner since 
 she made her debut last spring. While we were ex- 
 
LIFE OF WILLLAJSI T. PORTER. 45 
 
 amining her in her stable, at Augusta, her owner re- 
 marked, ' Give her a name, Mr. Porter.' ' Well,' 
 said we, ' call her after a fine State and a charming 
 woman who bears the same name, and call her Mis- 
 souri."^ ' I don't know much about the State,'' replied 
 McCargo, ' but if you know a pretty woman of that 
 name, why Missouri it shall be.' " 
 
 On his return from the South he wrote : 
 
 " After a surrender of the editorial seat for some weeks, we 
 mount the box, and gather up the ribbons of our darling turn-out. 
 "Were we not quite up to the mark in condition, we should fear 
 being distanced upon again entering upon our duties. For a 
 period of nearly seven years, we have held the reins and guided 
 the fleet coursers that have drawn this sheet from the realms of 
 darkness into regions of light, from an inauspicious and gloomy 
 beginning to the enjoyment of a wide-spread patronage. Seven 
 years since, a mere boy, unknown and unaided, we started the 
 project of a Sporting paper. Trammelled by circumstances, 
 retarded by inexperience, we groped our way slowly into those 
 Southern and Western regions of our country, where the sports 
 we advocate were more generally appreciated and more liberally 
 encouraged. To gratify our most earnest desire to visit these 
 portions of the Union, and to make ourselves perfectly acquainted 
 with the gentlemen, the country, and the various interests in- 
 volved in the Sports of the Turf, we took our leave in Novem- 
 ber, and most advantageously employed three months in the 
 pleasing survey. What shall we say of the receptions which 
 everywhere awaited us? What shall we write that is not 
 already known of the unbounded hospitality that everywhere 
 pervades that section of the Union, and which was absolutely 
 bestowed upon us in a manner at once so elegant and so bounti- 
 ful, that the mere acknowledgment of the grateful compliment 
 fills our throat and eyes with the emotion its remembrance must 
 ever excite ? From Baltimore to Wheeling, thence to Cincinnati, 
 thence to Louisville, and thence to Vicksburg, Katchcz, St. 
 
46 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 
 
 Francisville, and New Orleans, our journey was chequered by 
 the most flattering attentions. At New Orleans, we had the 
 happiness to renew old intimacies and create new ones in a wide 
 circle of gentlemen who are unsurpassed for their elegant and 
 refined hospitality. Our visit among that gallant throng of 
 friends to the Turf, occurred during their great annual Jockey 
 Club meeting," (of which Judge Alexander Porter was President,) 
 " and long shall we retain the impression of their courteous 
 bearing amid the excitements of the race; their bland and 
 gracious freedom at the Club, and their mirthful reminiscences 
 of the fortunes of the day. On our return, we traversed the 
 entire range of the Southern States, pausing here and there amid 
 hospitalities that often well-nigh allured us to outstay the boun- 
 teous welcome we universally received." 
 
 In reference to the "magnificent stud" of Col. 
 Hampton, be writes : 
 
 " The excess of his choice blood stock, native or imported, 
 whether consisting of horses, cattle, or sheep, is seldom or never 
 sold, but from motives the most patriotic distributed among those 
 of his friends not engaged in breeding, who will rear them with 
 attention. If, as some writer has forcibly remarked, he is en- 
 titled to the esteem of mankind who causes two blades of grass 
 to grow where one blade grew before, what amount of commen- 
 dation does he not merit who thus dispenses a princely fortune 
 in perfecting the breed and ameliorating the condition of the 
 most useful and invaluable of animals, and so materially contrib- 
 utes to the interests and general enjoyment of the community." 
 
 During the editor's absence at the South, his 
 brother George, who was bis junior by four years, 
 undertook to supply his place ; as be had not before 
 wandered far from his chosen path of the law, and 
 bad but a very limited knowledge of the specialty of 
 bis brother, it was to him a task of great labor and 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 47 
 
 anxiety. In one of liis letters now before me, dated 
 February 17, 1838, be writes : "Eejoice with me for 
 my labors are at last over. William is at home again 
 and has now nominally and actually relieved me from 
 care and trouble. The first number of the new volume 
 is at last out, and henceforth William will sail his 
 own ship." 
 
 George Porter graduated at Dartmouth College in 
 1831, with distinguished honor, and had, besides his 
 admitted intellectual eminence, quite a reputation for 
 oratorical ability ; one of several prizes which he re- 
 ceived for superior declamation, while yet an under- 
 graduate, is in my possession. On the completion 
 of his collegiate course, he commenced the study of 
 the law with George Brinkerhoff, Esq., of New York, 
 and remained with him until he was admitted to the 
 bar, when he opened an office in that city, with ardent 
 aspirations for distinction in his profession. In the 
 autumn of 1836, he was so fortunate as to become a 
 partner of the Hon. Edward Curtis and his brother, 
 Geo. Curtis, Esq., who were engaged in a varied and 
 extensive practice. Preserving his literary tastes and 
 resorting to them as a relaxation from the engrossing 
 cares of his office, he occasionally wrote for his 
 brother's paper ; and as already stated, at one time 
 undertook its entire management ; not only its liter- 
 ary department, but its fiscal afiairs fell under his 
 temporary, but exclusive control. With the latter he 
 became so complicated that, in the end, he felt obliged 
 to withdraw from his legal engagements that he might 
 devote himself exclusively to the task of sustaining 
 
48 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 the fortunes of the " Spirit, 
 bankruptcy and discouragement : a fancied, not a 
 real necessity, as we believe ; and the more to be 
 regretted on that account. Had he continued in his 
 profession, with one-half the persevering industry 
 which he exhibited while connected with the press, 
 he must have risen to eminence, for he had the ele- 
 ments of success in him to an uncommon degree. 
 His mind was clear, comprehensive, and quick ; his 
 power of abstraction and application very great ; his 
 manner of speech strong and emotional ; while the 
 responsive play of his fine and expressive face, im- 
 parted an indescribable charm to what fell from his 
 lips. 
 
 The origin of the playful sobriquet, " York's tall 
 son," which first became in 1837 a favorite and fa- 
 miliar title applied to William, adding another to the 
 many memorable cases in which a pointed verbal 
 phrase sometimes becomes incorporated into the pop- 
 ular vocabulary, was the result of a private incident 
 of no interest whatever disconnected from the hero 
 liimself; But from its still living hold npon the 
 hearts of those who loved him, as expressive of his 
 lofty stature as well as of his popularity in the city 
 of his adoption, its history is worth preserving, inas- 
 much as one of his few characteristic letters is bound 
 up with its origin. Some time during the year 1836, 
 Miss Clifton ofiered, through the columns of "The 
 Spirit," the sum of $1,000 for a Tragedy, " adapted to 
 lier histrionic acquirements." This met the eye of 
 the younger sister of Mr. Porter, and prompted her 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 49 
 
 to address a letter to him, dated January 13, 1837, 
 and found among his papers after his decease. She 
 goes on to say : 
 
 " You may perhaps be aware that I have long been a wor- 
 shipper at the shrine of the Muses. They sometimes smile upon 
 me with a friendly spirit of encouragement, and now have 
 deigned to inspire me with the ambitious scheme of winning 
 the prize for the best American tragedy suited to the peculiar 
 genius of Miss Clifton. As you are one of the number selected to 
 examine the efibrts of the aspirants, I do not hesitate to commit 
 to your hand the following extracts fi-om my unfinished tragedy 
 of Hophir : 
 
 Act 1st, Scene 1st, Copenhagen. — An Apartment in GynetKs Bower. 
 
 Gyneth. Fold up the curtain, Ina, 
 And let the crimson morn burst on my aching vision. 
 Sleep has kiss'd his last farewell to me. 
 And time drags weary oflf. 
 
 Ina. Holy Mother save thee ! mistress Gyneth, 
 And teach thee patience to endure the frowns 
 Of fortune. Ne'er repine — 
 Three more suns must set, 
 And Gyneth's bosom will thrill 
 With deeper joy than 
 
 Gyneth. How ! what ! Say you that he, 
 The Lord of Porter — will be here ? 
 
 Ina. Yes, sweet lady, — 
 He of six feet lineage, and gilded crow-quill, 
 Was, by the artifice of a " Oirl Up Town^'' 
 JReleas'd from prison. A carrier-bird 
 Dropp'd at my feet this morn 
 These perfumed stanzas, which unsuspecting, 
 Eagerly I traced : 
 
 *' Dear Gyneth, to thy arms I fly, 
 Tho' wardour's tower be steep and high. 
 And maelstroms fill the air ; 
 
 3 
 
60 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 Not unicorn, or tusked boar, 
 Shall keep me from my true love more, 
 The brightest of the fair. 
 
 For thee I'll curl my twisted crest — 
 For thee I'll wear my " yarllerest''^ vest, 
 
 My stiffest collar, too ; 
 My standard with Propontic fury, 
 I'll wave on top of Alpine Jura, 
 ~ Then fleet, my love, to you. 
 
 Then haste my pye-bald, gallant steed. 
 Thro' rushing stream and verdant mead, 
 
 And make thy nostrils snort ; 
 While I for love and my ador'd 
 Poise the tall lance, grasp high the sword, 
 
 And peal aloud Le Mort ! " 
 
 Gtneth. Hand o'er the Hues, 
 And let my burning eye-balls trace the hand 
 Of him I love. Yes, 'tis true, bis own lov'd signet. 
 Haste thee, Ina, and bid old Gaffer 
 Set in preparation all things fit, of mirth, 
 And song, and joyous cheer, to greet 
 The near approach of York's tall son. [Exit Ina. 
 
 Scene II. — Moonlight. 
 [Jlophir appears on the top of a dilapidated tower.} 
 HoPHiR. Moon, — cold, loco-foco moon, I loathe thy light ; 
 Thou who dost shine upon the sea and sand 
 Alike indifferent — who round the rugged world rolls 
 Rapid on in rotatory revolution, 
 Like a green cheese upon the deep above, — 
 Thou marrest all my schemes, betraying moon ! 
 Thy silvery beams disclose my wisest plans. 
 Shut out thy light — stars hide your rays — 
 I hate ye — aye, as fervent as I hate 
 The blue-eyed lord of her whom my heart loves. 
 
LITE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 51 
 
 Yes ! shake ye fountains ! freeze ye gelid skies, 
 I am for Patagonian revels, and the throne — 
 Beauty and wealth wave o'er me. Speed my aim 
 Ye powers of air, who live in the blue flame ! 
 On Hophir's brow let fall the crown of gold ! 
 My name is Haynes — I'm off, or I shall catch a cold 
 Upon this turret — or, perhaps, the jaunders. 
 Because I've left mv wig for curling at that Saunders. 
 
 [Uxit HoPHiR. 
 
 "New Toek, April S, 1S37. 
 "Dear Sister Sarah 
 
 "Will hardly credit me when I assure her, that ia my card- 
 rack over my desk is a letter addressed to herself, that was 
 ■written weeks upon weeks since ; but pity 'tis, 'tis true. The fact 
 was, after I had taken a deal of pains to write a famous letter as 
 long as your arm, or my boot, I very promiscuously misdirected 
 it as Paul Pry would say, whereat George laughed so much, that 
 I, in a huff, expunged it, by drawing black lines across the face, 
 and every day since have been thinking of re-writing it. Iltitre 
 nous, I have now and then something to do, or your dear letter 
 and charming communication would, despite my carelessness, 
 have been acknowledged long since. As it is, after frankly- 
 pleading guilty ctf unpardonable inattention, I throw myself upon 
 the mercy of the court, after first engaging your husband as my 
 counsellor, who, I trust, will bribe the judge (with a kiss) to let 
 the defendant off with a reprimand on promise of future good 
 behavior. 
 
 " You cannot conceive, my darling Sis, of the pleasure your 
 letter excited in us. I say ' us,' for I speak not only for myself, 
 but for my ten thousand readers. You, of course, have seen it 
 immortalized and preserved in ' Spirit,' and pi'obably have won^ 
 dered at my gazetting you among the Staels, the Landons, and 
 though last, not least in our dear love, the Trollopes of the 19th 
 century. Such a laugh as the Clifton and Dr. Pangloss of all the 
 Porters had over it ! She really screamed over ' York's tall son,' 
 and vows to embody it in some love-lorn soliloquy. She 
 
52 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 
 
 declares that not one of the veritable tragedies oflFered for her 
 $1,000 prize are comparable with it, and, i' faith, she speaks truth, 
 for I have read them— a paragraph each— and had I not been 
 predestined a dunce, I should have caught the infection of their 
 stupidity. The Doctor— the hearty old cock— strutted about 
 like a hen with one chick, as if he knew more of the authorship 
 of ' Hophir * than he really did. He carried the original manu- 
 script in his pocket until worn to shreds, and then supplied him- 
 self with about a dozen and one over of copies, the Avhich were 
 crammed one in each pocket, another in his hat, and for what I 
 know, one in each boot. These he read to everybody, making 
 a holiday for his scholars, while he himself, like Leigh Hunt's 
 pig, went up all manner of streets, radiant with the quips and 
 quirks of the sentimental ' Gyneth,' winning raptures of applause 
 by the emphasis and discretion, the grace and dignity, the pathos 
 and feeling, the taste and humor with which he invested the 
 life-drawn pictures of the amiable princess and chivalrous ' Lord 
 of Porter ! ' Miss Clifton and myself were about rehearsing it one 
 night, and should, but that instead of catching her, I was like to 
 catch a cold, so that throwing aside the maiden delicacy of ' Gy- 
 neth,' she opened the portals, let fall the drawbridge, and invited 
 the ' Tall Son ' above mentioned ' to come in to supper,' when, 
 what with her oysters and beauty, champagne and wit, pretty 
 eyes and olives, Erench rolls, ardent sympathies, and capital cook, 
 ' the original tragedy of Hophir ' was shelved. When the warm 
 weather comes— some fervid night in the dog-days— she has 
 promised and agreed to order a tremendous bowl of lemonade, 
 when we are to rehearse the same with becoming gravity and 
 spirit. 
 
 » E.'s new-born girl is a cherub !— I haven't let her fall but 
 tjvice ;— the image of her uncle William, and strange to tell, born 
 without teeth. I've named her already, just to put her aunts out 
 of all pain on that accoimt, Frances, Bentimia, Sarah-phina, 
 Wilhelmina, Georgiana, Seton, Startin, Brinley Torter. 
 
 " Now, my darling S., do write me often. The Doctor and 
 George are so occupied as to give me no assistance whatever, and 
 with the sole charge of my paper and its thousand cares upon 
 
LIFE OF WILLLA3I T. P0RTP:R. 53 
 
 my hands, cares of which you have no idea — obliged to write on 
 subjects, and hiowingly, of which I have little practical knowl- 
 edge, my time is incessantly occupied. My correspondents are 
 immensely numerous, and compel my prompt response, but they 
 are necessary to the success of my paper, which, by the by, is 
 doing gloriously, 
 
 " With best love to F., believe me your devoted 
 
 "Beothee William." 
 
51 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Lsr the spring of 1839, a meeting of gentlemen took 
 place at the Astor House, for the purpose of infusing 
 fresh life and spirit into ^Northern Racing, by the for- 
 mation of a new club for the Union Course ; under 
 whose auspices the year commenced with every ap- 
 pearance of a successful season in all sections of the 
 country. A post match, for $20,000, was concluded to 
 come off over the E'ewmarket Course, in Yirginia. 
 Great preparations were made for races over the Course 
 at Trenton, N J., and elsewhere, and a produce Stake 
 with a subscription of $2,000 each, $400 forfeit, two 
 miles heat, to be called " The Hampton Stake," was 
 projected. 
 
 Commodore Ridgley was re-elected President ; 
 Messrs. John A. King, John C. Stevens, H. "Wilkes, 
 and James Foster, Yice Presidents ; Messrs. Henry 
 K. Toler, Gouverneur Kortwright, Wm. K. Gaston, 
 and Gerard L. Coster, Stewards of the ISTew York 
 Jockey Club, and its organization was celebrated by a 
 dinner at the Astor House. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 55 
 
 Mr. King presided, and eloquently addressed the 
 company upon the object of the meeting. A Club 
 was formed for three years. " The song, the toast, 
 and the enlivening story succeeded each other ; and 
 as the circling glass went round, flowing bumpers 
 were pledged to the good men and true of the South 
 and West, and heel-taps discolored no goblets quaffed 
 to the Sports of the Turf." 
 
 Mr. Porter was of opinion that there should be a 
 tribunal of some sort, to which the various Jockey 
 Clubs, as well as individuals, could resort for the ad- 
 justment of controverted questions, and in a strong 
 appeal in favor of a Turf Convention, he says : 
 
 " So desirable do we deem a convention of the friends of the 
 Turf with a view to the adoption of a uniform code of rides, and 
 the establishment of a Court of Appeal for doubtful points, that 
 we should gladly advocate it with such ability as we could com- 
 mand, had the project not found an able supporter in the gentle- 
 man who first suggested it. The proposition is worthy of the 
 most serious consideration of turfmen. The permanent well- 
 being of the turf depends not alone upon one, or two Jockey Clubs 
 or States. The character of all sportsmen suffers by every act 
 of injustice, or by any suspicion of unfair management that may 
 be attached to the rQost insignificant club or association. The 
 direct method of avoiding the hazard of foul play, and any pur- 
 pose of it, is the creation of a tribunal, the power of which may 
 be brought to bear directly upon all clubs foi-med, as auxiliary to 
 it, or with an acknowledgment of its jurisdiction ; and indirectly^ 
 as by exclusion, upon all other clubs. There would be no hazard 
 of conflicting jurisdictions, for in associations for the promotion 
 of sport, and the improvement of the breed of horses, there are 
 no diverse interests to be concerned, no sectional jealousies to 
 allay ; it is our pride, that in the pleasures of the turf, common 
 
56 LIFE OF WILLIAJSI T. POETER. 
 
 sense and manly amusement are the only ends of association, 
 and perfect honor the principle of constitution. 
 
 " A board of umpires, or a central Jockey Club, which should 
 give law in general questions to the local clubs, could by no 
 possibility be actuated by motives of interest ; composed as it 
 would be of gentlemen of the highest moral worth, from different 
 sections of the coimtry, the local influence of an individual, which 
 sometimes tyrannizes in a small association, is neutralized, or 
 stripped of all power save that which integrity of purpose, and 
 intelligence as to means, should ever command. 
 
 " To pm-sue in the details the advantages which would accrue 
 from the formation of an ' American Jockey Club,' would take 
 us beyond the limits we had marked out for this discussion, or 
 trench upon the ground covered by our correspondent in the 
 following, and in a preceding letter. A uniformity of decision 
 as to Betting, general rules governing the Entrances to Stakes, 
 and the Payment of Forfeits, a more uniform Adjustment of 
 Weights, a strict Eegulation of Eunuing Heats, — these are obvious 
 and palpable results of a Turf Convention, which should provide 
 us with a constitution for ' The American Jockey Club.' But 
 by far the most commanding consideration upon our own minds, 
 is the respectability and dignity which it would confer upon the 
 Sports of the Turf, in the United States. To the 'Jockey Club ' 
 in England, and the consideration commanded by its members in 
 general society, by their wealth, by their intelligence, and by 
 their moral worth, is to be attributed the high and palmy state 
 of the Turf in Great Britain. Racing is the National Sport of 
 that country, and so will it continue to be, as long as its manly 
 pleasures, so natural to man, and especially to the Anglo-Saxon 
 race, shall be hedged in from abuse, or the suspicion of abuse, by 
 an Association of Gentlemen, sans peur et sans reproche. 
 
 " Will not turfmen be persuaded to give tlie subject their atten- 
 tion, and commune together upon the practicability and the 
 propriety of the preliminary step — a Turf Convention, to be held 
 next winter at Washington ? That city is named by us, because 
 it has been suggested by the originator of the whole plan in his 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 57 
 
 letter from ISTatcliez, becfiuse Congress will then be in session, 
 and because general political conventions are to be held tliere, 
 or at a city still further North, during the approaching session. 
 And may we not further call upon gentlemen, for the expression 
 of their views upon the whole proposition, — persuaded that 
 whatever may be the decision as to the precise plan marked out 
 by our correspondent, a general discussion of the subject will 
 inevitably promote the interests and the respectability of the 
 Turf? " 
 
 Contemporaneous with tliis suggestion, sprung up 
 a controversy upon tlie question : " Is a bet naming 
 two horses against the field, void, if one of the horses 
 named fail to start ? " Here was a case where a 
 common, recognized, appellate tribunal could be 
 profitably appealed to. A correspondent of the 
 " Spirit," J. K. D., assuming as a maxim that a bet 
 must stand in all cases, unless made void by its terms, 
 or one party has no chance to win, his communi- 
 cation elicited this response from the pen of George 
 Porter : 
 
 " In reading the communications of ' J. K. D.,' we are 
 reminded of our college days, when we had to battle it with the 
 Moral Philosophy Prof, about 'Edwards on the Will.' The 
 logic of the old divine was too subtle for young minds, and ad- 
 mitting his reasonable premises, he would straightway hurry you 
 into conclusions, accurately deduced therefrom, which revolted 
 your moral sense, though you could discover no way of escape 
 from them. So it is with our con-espondent, he maintains his 
 position with such dexterity and cogency, that it appears im- 
 possible to dislodge him, though we are satisfied that the position 
 is a false one. We will make one efibrt more to set ourselves 
 right, both with ' J. K. D.' and our readers. 
 
 " The whole argument of ' J. K. D.' is built upon this as- 
 sumption, that a bet must stand in all cases, unless it is made 
 
58 LIFE OF WILLTAJVI T. POKTEE. 
 
 void by its express terms, or unless one farty has no chance to 
 win. On this latter clause bangs all tbe controversy. We give 
 to it this interpretation, tbat a bet shall stand when the party has 
 the chance to win named in the let, or which was in the reason- 
 able contemplation of both parties. That is, if I bet on a horse, 
 I am entitled to the chance of his starting ; if I name two horses, 
 I am entitled to the chance of their both starting, and not one 
 of them ; by the expresss terms of the bet, I name two horses, 
 and not one of two. 'J. K. D.' says no; if but one of the 
 horses start, you have a chance to win, and therefoi'e the bet 
 must stand. Here is the sole point at issue. 
 
 " The burden of proof lies not upon us, but upon ' J. K. D.' 
 I name two horses, and I am certainly entitled to the two, unless 
 ' J. K. D.' can cite a rule which shall say that one of the two is 
 enough to satisfy the requisitions of the bet. But there is no 
 such rule in express terms. 
 
 " But ' J. K. D.' says that the maxim governs all betting, that 
 a bet must stand when there is a chance to win. And yet there 
 is an express rule, that where one horse is betted on, and fails to 
 start, the bet is off. Now, what is the use of such a rule if the 
 maxim of ' J. K. D.' actually governs all betting, as he inteiyrets 
 that maxim ? It would be plainly useless — mere surplusage. 
 
 " We do not insist upon a vague and uncertain rule, but a 
 rule fixed and reasonable, a rule like that which governs all con- 
 tracts, all transactions between man and man. The bettor should 
 have that chance to win which he reserved by the express terms 
 3f his bet, or which is fairly to be inferred from its terms. If I 
 dame Mingo in a race, Mingo must start, or it is no bet ; if I 
 /lame Mingo and Post Boy, Mingo and Post Boy, not Mingo or 
 Post Boy, must start, or it is no bet. This is reasonable, this is 
 common sense, and this is law, unless 'J. K. D.' can cite an ex- 
 press rule to the contrary. 
 
 " There is no need of ' J. K. D.'s ' maxim, if he will give it the 
 interpretation for which we contend, and that is the reason why 
 it cannot be found in the betting codes. A bet must stand, of 
 course, when there is a chance to win, — that is, the chance named, 
 the chance which each party knows the other betted on,— or, in 
 
LITE OF WILLIAIVI T. TOKTEK. 59 
 
 case of dispute, the chance which a Court or Jockey Chib would 
 infer from the express words of the bet, to be the chance bet- 
 ted on. 
 
 " Now in what way can I more surely signify my intention 
 of betting on two horses (not P. P.) than by naming ttco, — not 
 one, nor one of two, but two ? Now the chance on which I bet is 
 the chance of having two horses start ; there is no uncertainty 
 about it, no vagueness, such as ' would annul all bets.' Nothing 
 is said in the bet about the condition of the horses, or of the 
 track, nor of the ownership of the horse, and, therefore, nothing 
 is to be inferred on those points as being ' the chance on which 
 I betted ; ' but it is certainly a fair inference, and a clear, un- 
 doubted one, that two horses must start. Again we say, the 
 burden of proof lies upon the other side. 
 
 " There does not appear to us to be room for much argument 
 here. It is a simple proposition : ' Does betting on two horses 
 entitle me to two, or one of the two ? ' "We hold the two, and 
 ' J. K. D.' ' one of the two.' But in the course of this newspaper 
 writing, many cases have been put to illustrate the hardship of 
 the rule, construe it which way you will. These are, of course, 
 but illustrations. ' J. K. D.' has the benefit of the last case, 
 which certainly seems hard, but so confident are we of the 
 security of our position, that we shall rest here, without an 
 effort to suppose a harder case, a more flagrant instance. 
 
 " But it is proper, before quitting the subject, to deprive ' J. 
 K. D.' of the appearance of an advantage, which he derives from 
 his illustration of a bettor on ' the field.' He says that in the 
 Louisville sweepstakes of ten nominations, the man who names 
 five of them against ' the field ' should be in no better situation 
 than he who takes the field. He might just as reasonably con- 
 tend that a bet was unfair should a man name one P. P. in that 
 stake against the field. There would be no unfairness in such a 
 bet ; it would surely show that one of the bettors was a fool. 
 Mark the want of candor in ' J. K. D.'s ' argument here. There 
 is a positive, written rule, defining ' the field.' Every bettor is 
 supposed to know that rule, and that by the terms of it, if he 
 back ' the field,' he may be reduced to one horse. Now, because 
 
60 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 a man is silly enough to take ' the field ' against half the entries 
 in a sweepstakes named expressly^ 'J. K. D.' cries out unfairness. 
 He should rather cry out upon the folly of his field bettor, 
 "What, in Heaven's name, was the need of a rule defining a ' field,' 
 if naming two or more horses amounted to the same thing? It 
 is a term purely technical, like 'Play or Pay,' and as he who 
 names the field is by rule entitled to one horse at all events, be- 
 cause he stipulates for one horse by the terms of his bet, so he 
 who stipulates for two horses, or for forty horses, is entitled to 
 them, if there be any meaning in language, and any man rash 
 enough to bet against forty named horses. 
 
 " Since the above was written, we have received another 
 long communication on this subject, maintaining our side of the 
 question. We give place to a portion of it ; several heads of it, 
 however, we omit, as they seem calculated to provoke further 
 discussion, though really very good. "We thank ' D. E.' for his 
 assistance, and beg him to excuse us for so abbreviating his article. 
 'J. K. D.' will likewise observe that we have suppressed the 
 concluding paragraph of his paper. It might wound the feelings 
 of others, and would certainly call out a reply, although it does 
 not pretend to bear upon the argument. 
 
 Mr. Porter, as an act of civility to liis uncle, Mr. 
 Olcott, always sent him " The Spirit." The following 
 letter from the latter is so creditable to both gentle- 
 men, that it ought not to be hoarded in private : — 
 
 " IIanovek, Uih March, 1839. 
 
 "Deae CorsiN William, — 
 
 " I was absent when your letter of December arrived, and 
 Prof. Adams * (after he had ciphered it over and cast out the 
 9s) deeming it necessary for him to hold it as a voucher against 
 you, it has not since come under my eye, which is my poor 
 apology for not having replied to it; this I ought the more 
 
 * Of Dartmouth College ; a man of high honor and great excellence 
 of character ; guardian of William and the younger children. F. B. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 61 
 
 especially to have done — for though this little affair might not 
 figure much in amount in Wall Street, it has toed right up to the 
 mark when the time came, as honorahly as if it had been done 
 by the Primes or the Kothschilds. In these ' costermonger 
 times,' when not only Burke's age of chivalry towards the sex 
 Avas gone, but all chivalry in money matters is trampled in the 
 mire, to see old claims that had been dead and bnried, ordered 
 to be raised and brought to life again — to direct principal and in- 
 terest to be paid in full, and see ^ 2xdd ' on the letter announcing 
 it — this cannot be a transaction of late years, I think, but must 
 belong to another century- — must be a dream of bygone and 
 better days, when at least one's self-respect was worth something 
 to him, if nothing else, 
 
 " I am very glad to learn that much success is expected from 
 your paper, and I hope you may realize from it all the fame and 
 money that would be good for you. Your Andover masters little 
 dreamed what they were raising up, when they thought they 
 were preparing you for the Recorder. 
 
 " It could hardly be expected that one of my age woidd be 
 much attracted with a heading of Till high the bowl with 
 Samian wine.' I therefore skim over your paper and light upon 
 parts for reading, as the clergyman who divided his sermon into 
 three heads: the world, the flesh, and the devil — and said he 
 should just glance at the world, touch lightly upon the flesh, and 
 hasten to the devil ! 
 
 " "We shall be glad to see you or any of the blood at Hanover, 
 and with hearty good wishes to all of you, 
 
 " I remain most truly yours, &c., 
 
 "Mills Oloott." 
 
 The " Spirit of tlie Times " was a coveted and 
 favorite name, judging from the frequency of its ap- 
 propriation by those who had no right to use it, and 
 the editor thus adverts to this poaching on his do- 
 main. The " Boston Morning Post " announced that 
 a new democratic paper had been established in Phila- 
 
62 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 
 
 delphia, under the cognomen of " The Spirit of the 
 Times," and very gravely added, " Its name is appro- 
 priate." " Can't say," writes Mr. Porter, " we see 
 any thing very ' appropriate ' about it, save the ap- 
 propriation of a good name. This makes the fourth 
 time the immediate jewel of our soul has been pilfered 
 from us by some Hateful Parkins in this kind of 
 way. We were first frightened out of our propriety 
 by a great, bloody, anti-Masonic ' Spirit,' in the 
 western part of this State ; a Kepublican Sj^irit then 
 started in Maryland ; then all sorts of Spirits in 
 Arkansas and Missouri ; and now the ' deep damnation 
 of our taking off,' is chargeable to a democratic Spirit 
 in Philadelphia. Since the first number of our paper 
 was issued on the 10th of December, 1831, no less than 
 seven newspapers have sj)rung into existence, bearing 
 the same euphonious and elegant appellation. These 
 young ' Spirits ' are generally pretty clever fellows ; 
 their very name is a tower of strength, and if they 
 follow in the steps of their illustrious predecessor, 
 there's no telling but they may become as popidar 
 and respected as their great old grandfather." 
 
 Tlie oldest magazine then published in the United 
 States was " The American Turf Kegister and Sport- 
 ing Magazine," commenced in 1820, by Hon. John S, 
 Skinner, of Baltimore, for the express purpose of re- 
 covering as much as possible of the lost early pedi- 
 grees of the magnates of the American Turf, and for 
 the preservation of authentic records for the future. 
 In February, 1839, it was purchased by Mr. Porter, 
 and came under his editorial control. Mr. Herbert, 
 
LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 63 
 
 ill alluding to it, said, " it passed into the hands of the 
 most able and admirable Turf-writer, than whom the 
 Turf of America has had no more consistent advocate, 
 or more strenuous defender." 
 
 Tlie first number of the " Register " issued by Mr. 
 Porter, contains a characteristic letter to him from 
 its former editor, Mr. Skinner : — 
 
 " Baltimore Post Office, \Bt March, 1839. 
 "To Wm. T. Porter, Esq. 
 
 " My Dear Sir, — Right glad am I to have my favorite hobby 
 — the old ' Turf Eegister,'' fall under your care. It was the first 
 of its I'ace ever bred in the United States. Its natural history is 
 remarkable, as it had but one sire and no dam ; when it was 
 foaled it was not certain where or whether it would find food or 
 pasture. It was thrown upon the wild world, without any 
 guarantee of corn or long fodder — but being watched with care, 
 and sent out once a month on short excursions, for air, exercise, 
 and exhibition, the friends of its founder, far and near, who had 
 been previously taught by him to make good crops, most kindly 
 and generously petted and pampered the young hobby, — sending 
 it an ample supply of provisions, until it grew, in four or five 
 years, to be a nag of good size and full of spirit. But, like all 
 things excellent, in this enterprising Yankee nation, in the progress 
 and ' Spirit of the Times^ it met its rival ! Passing from one 
 hand to another, it has happily ceased to run the race ' antago- 
 nistical ' by being led, where old ' Napoleon ' sends all that he 
 can't beat, into the same stable ■with its competitor ; here I sin- 
 cerely hope, both will long live in the best condition. ' The 
 Spirit of the Times ' may do the light skirmishing to amuse the 
 crowd, while the more ponderous ' Register ' is reserved for more 
 serious work ; as Monarch is held back, for the four-mile day, by 
 a nobler man than any monarch that lives. 
 
 " As I have some right to know what will suit the old horse's 
 constitution and temper, should he ever show signs of getting 
 amiss, and you may imagine that his old groom can suggest any 
 
64 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 
 
 thing to bring bim right, you must not fail to call on bis and your 
 friend and bumble servant." 
 
 This first number contained one hundred and 
 twenty-eight pages of valuable matter, to which the 
 new editor contributed an " Introduction," an article 
 on trout-fishing, which was illustrated by an exqui- 
 sitely finished picture, the pedigree and performances 
 of Ilar'kaioay, and a capital essay on English Eclipse ; 
 it was further embellished by accurate portraits of 
 those horses, and more than realized the highest ex- 
 pectations of the friends of Mr. Porter. 
 
 The number for March and April contained a por- 
 trait of Plenipotentiary^ with a memoir by the editor, 
 and an admirable steel engraving of the Traineau of 
 D'Orsay, full of rich life and movement. The May 
 and June number was exquisitely embellished by an 
 engraving called a Forest Joust, and Trout Fishing, and 
 contained an illustrated article on Fly Fishing by the 
 editor, with the usual amount of literary and sporting 
 matter. In this number that distinguished scholar 
 and sportsman, the late "William Henry Herbert, com- 
 menced a series of admirable sketches, entitled "A 
 week in the Woodlands, or Scenes on the Koad and 
 round the Fire," which he published over the signa- 
 ture of " Frank Forrester,-'' a celebrated nom dejylume 
 originating with George Porter, and readily adopted 
 by the gifted author. 
 
 In the July number there was a jjortrait of Don 
 John, with a memoir by Mr. Porter ; and in that for 
 the next month appeared a portrait of Mr. Stevens' 
 Janette, with an editorial memoir, together with a spir- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 65 
 
 ited engraving of Landseer's amusing sketch, " Eun- 
 ning the thing into the ground," which is archly de- 
 scribed by the editor, but closes in this practical vein : 
 " Badinage apart, our engraving is a sly, but well- 
 conceived and pertinent caricature, that will be well 
 understood by those proprietors of race-courses who 
 are in the habit of resorting to 'Mule-races, and 
 Foot-races, and Gander-pullings, and Cock-fights,' to 
 swell the receipts of enclosures devoted to the legiti- 
 mate Sports of the Turf. "Wherever the sports of the 
 Turf have been brought into discredit, it will be 
 found, nine cases in ten, that the mismanagement of 
 the proprietors of the course has been the primary 
 cause ; the real friends of the Turf have more to fear 
 from them than from open and declared enemies. 
 Whoever heard of racing being unpopular in a section 
 of country where the courses were managed by men 
 of character and respectability — on the ground of any 
 objection against racing itsehf ? The Charleston races 
 are the most popular, the most fashionable, and the 
 best attended of any in the United States. Kace- 
 week, in that city, has been aptly termed ' the Car- 
 nival ' of South Carolina — the annual jubilee of the 
 State. The reason is perfectly obvious ; the course 
 and its appointments are under the control of gentle- 
 men of the highest character, and nothing is permitted 
 to interfere with the legitimate sports of the Turf, 
 which are managed with a degree of spirit, liberality, 
 and scrupulous propriety unknown elsewhere on this 
 side of the Atlantic. In Charleston a gentleman feels 
 no more hesitation in enjoying with his family the 
 
^Q LIFE OF WILLIAM T. FORTER. 
 
 festivities and enlivening sports of tlie race-field, than 
 he would tlic attractions of the theatre, or any other 
 rational source of amusement. The consequence is, 
 that the ladies' pavilion during the meeting, and the 
 Jockey Club Ball at its close, are crowded with the 
 elite of the beauty, the fashion, and the chivalry of 
 the State. 
 
 "Tlie number of gentlemen interested in the suc- 
 cess of the Turf in this country, has more than doubled 
 within the last ten years, and it is daily becoming 
 more and more popular. The great practical advan- 
 tage to be derived from its extension and successful 
 prosecution, are deemed so important in a national 
 point of view, that many of the Governments of 
 Europe are lending it their aid, and keenly watching 
 over its interests. We have nothing here to do but 
 to go on and prosper, keeping in view this single fact, 
 that if the legitimate ends of the Turf are stanchly 
 maintained, it must become at length universally and 
 eminently popular with all classes of society, while its 
 friends will best subserve its true interests and their 
 own, by frowning down those individuals whose mal- 
 practices have so long been '• JRiinning the thing into 
 the GroimdP'' 
 
 " ]Sr, of Arkansas," " Frank Forrester," and other 
 distinguished writers appear in this number, wliich 
 contained but five selected articles. Among the new 
 correspondents is " Cypress^ Jr.^'' the accomplished 
 author of the delightful sketches which were published 
 in the " American Monthly Magazine," under tlie des- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 67 
 
 ignation of " Fire-Islandana," and attracted great 
 attention both in tliis country and in Europe. 
 
 The embellishments for the September number 
 were portraits of " Bloomsbuiy " and of " Deception," 
 with memoirs by the editor ; and in that for the next 
 month, he announces that he was making arrange- 
 ments to give a series of portraits of distinguished 
 Turfmen. The JSTovember number contained an illus- 
 trated article on " Duck Shooting," by " Cypress, Jr.," 
 the sixth day of " A week in the "Woodlands," and 
 other excellent matter ; that for December closed the 
 tenth volume of the Magazine, being the first of the 
 new series under the conduct of Mr. Porter ; it con- 
 tained an engraved Title Page — " The Turn-out of the 
 Season " on steel, and an outline of Charles XII. on 
 wood. The editor in his " Address on the close of 
 the volume," said that the Magazine was commenced 
 with little promise on his part, and not with any hope 
 of large pecuniary profit ; and in this last particular it 
 seems he was not disappointed ; still he boldly purposed 
 to conduct the next volume on the same plan of liberal 
 outlay. A careful Index appropriately closes the 
 volume, to which are added as Appendices, " the 
 American Racing, and the English Pacing Calendars 
 for 1839," most elaborately prepared. 
 
 The January number for that year gives a highly 
 spirited portrait of Charles XII., winner of the Great 
 St. Leger Stakes, 1839, and a woodcut of a " splint 
 used for fractured limbs of horses." 
 
 Among the contents of the February number, are 
 
68 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 
 
 a memoir of Wacousta, by the editor, with a portrait ; 
 and a brilliant sketch of " Wild horses fighting," on 
 copper, by Bannerman after Herring. 
 
 The number for March, an admirable one, is em- 
 bellished by a stylish portrait of Col. Singleton's Phe- 
 nomena, with an editorial memoir, and notices of that 
 gentleman's stock. But its chief and attractive feat- 
 ure is Mr. Porter's masterly report of the great race 
 between ^Yagner and Grey Eagle. A memoir and 
 an engraving of Col. Hampton's imported mare 
 DelpMne, with Herald at her foot, is in the April 
 number, with notices of his stock. And so we might 
 go on with all the numbers of this brilliant periodical, 
 which was unrivalled for the high finish of its en- 
 gravings, the exquisite beauty of its type, and its sport- 
 ing excellence, until it ceased to exist, Dec. 1844. 
 
 The price of a complete set of the Turf Register, 
 ten volumes, was at that time seventy-five dollars. It 
 cannot be purchased at this date for even that large 
 price. 
 
 In the April number of the Magazine, 1841, Mr. 
 Porter records the death of one of his especial friends, 
 as well as one of the most admirable contributors to the 
 Register, William P. Hawes, Esq., known as J. Cy- 
 press, Jr. His productions were remarkable for their 
 wit and pathos, and classic elegance. He died at the 
 early age of thirty-eight. Had his life been pro- 
 longed, his brow would have been encircled with the 
 triple crown of legal, political, and literary merit. It 
 was to the fresh creations of his mind, and to " Frank 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 69 
 
 Forrester," Pete Whetstone, the author of the " Quar- 
 ters' Race " and " Jones's Fight," that the Spirit and 
 Register were indebted for much of that fascinating 
 and original literature to which Mr, Porter lent his 
 special patronage and fostering care. 
 
 In comparing the communications in the English 
 Sporting Magazines with those which were contrib- 
 uted to American publications, Mr. Porter took oc- 
 casion at that date to say : "In the purely literary 
 magazines the English beat us a long way. In Eng- 
 land, which for more than a century has boasted the 
 most respectable Sporting Magazines, the appropriate 
 themes are somewhat exhausted. The Great Race 
 meetings are necessarily monotonous. To give spirit 
 and the interest of adventure to their sketches, the 
 greater number of sporting writers lay the scenes of 
 their articles in foreign lands. British India and our 
 own country are most often selected ; and it is rare that 
 you open either of the Sporting Magazines without find- 
 ing a bear, a buffalo, or a panther hunt in the United 
 States. It is to the exhaustless supply of material 
 of this nature, the adventurous life of a frontier settler, 
 incidents of travel over prairies and among mountains 
 hitherto unknown to the white man, the singular variety 
 of manners in different States, springing from their 
 difference of origin, of climate and product, peculiar- 
 ities of scenery unhackneyed by a thousand tourists, 
 to this is to be attributed the greater freshness and 
 raciness of American sketches. In pure turf-writing, 
 England never boasted of an author equal to ' An 
 
70 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 Old Turfman.' In plain elegant English, logical 
 deductions and perfect familiarity with his subject, 
 he was superior even to ' Nimrod.' Nor have our 
 Turf-writers all passed away with the ' Old Turfman.' 
 Many still remain, who ever and anon delight and 
 instruct our readers." 
 
 In December, 1839, Mr. Porter made another 
 delightful circuit through the South and West, renew- 
 ing old intimacies and forming new ones at Louisville, 
 Lexington, &c., and everywhere receiving the most 
 g]-atifying hospitalities. The interests and prosperity 
 of the publications under his care were the chief 
 objects of his journey. Returning fresh from the 
 " Eace-Horse Eegion," he was in fine condition to 
 minister to the tastes of his readers. 
 
 Notwithstanding the heavy addition of the Regis- 
 ter to his labors and disbursements, Mr. Porter carried 
 out several proposed arrangements for the improve- 
 ment of the " Spirit," and the first number of the ninth 
 volume came out March, 1839, in an enlarged and 
 attractive form, with a beautiful engraving of Augusta, 
 the celebrated danseuse, in the character of " La Syl- 
 phide," and a portrait of Black Maria, by Dick, from 
 a painting by Troye. As the old mare entertained 
 some vulgar prejudice against " sitting for her por- 
 trait," Troye directed Bill Patrick, her faithful groom, 
 to ride her out into a paddock in front of his window. 
 This proceeding might be all very well for the painter 
 and the mare. Bill thought, but as for him, he was in- 
 clined to sulk after two hours' promenading ; so whip- 
 ping off his saddle, he incautiously determined to hitch 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. Tl 
 
 the mare and " bolt," for wliicli disregard of orders 
 and lukewarmness in facilitating the progress of the 
 line arts, Troye clapped him into his pictm-e in the 
 very act of committing so grave an offence in the eye 
 of a turfman, or an artist, as hitching a race-horse to 
 a tree ! Of course he will now go down throngh all 
 time as the boy who was guilty of so unpardonable a 
 sin ; but for fear his punishment would be greater 
 than he could bear, Troye, through urgent interces- 
 sion, was finally induced to remit a portion of the 
 punishment he had intended, by concealing his face ! 
 This fine engraving was the first of a series of costly 
 embellishments which the liberal editor continued 
 for several years. 
 
 The price of the paper was raised from five to ten 
 dollars. Ko expense or labor was spared to furnish a 
 journal to be identified with the sporting interest in 
 America, that should be creditable alike to the editor, 
 and worthy of the cause he advocated. In answer to 
 his solicitations for advice upon increasing the price 
 of the paper, he was assured by the most distinguished 
 Breeders and Turfmen throughout the Union, of their 
 hearty support; "make the 'Spirit of the Times' 
 to the American sporting world," said they, " what 
 ' Bell's Life in London ' is to the English— flinch at 
 no expense in procuring early information, or in im- 
 proving its appearance and the extent and variety of 
 its contents, and you will find Brother Jonathan will 
 not be behind John Bull in backing his friends." 
 
 For the " Spirit " of June 2, 1838, Mr. Porter 
 wrote a full account of the gallant race between Bos- 
 
72 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 ton and Charles Carter — tlie best four-mile heat, with 
 the exception of Henry's, that had been made in the 
 United States. 
 
 The five great match races which have taken place, 
 and which will immortalize the names of the contest- 
 ing horses in the annals of the American Turf, are 
 those of American Eclipse and Sir Henry, of Ariel 
 and Flirtilla, of Black Maria and the three mares, 
 known as the twenty-mile race, of "Wagner and Grey 
 Eagle, and of Boston and Fashion. The two last 
 were reported by Mr. Porter in a style of undisputed 
 excellence. As a turf-writer, he was without a rival 
 in this country, or even in England, where sporting 
 literature had been cultivated for years by men of 
 taste and education. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 73 
 
 CIIAPTEK lY. 
 
 DuKiNG tlie month of March, a new weekly journal 
 was projected and started by Dr. Porter and N. P. 
 Willis, Esq., called " Tlie Corsair," the first number 
 of which was issued March 16, 1839. 
 
 The " Doctor " from the first intended to make the 
 practice of medicine the great business of his life ; 
 but a removal from Vermont to New York turned 
 the current of his days into unlooked-for channels. 
 As his brothers, one by one, followed in the family 
 procession to that great city, " thistle-down," as he 
 wrote, " never flying faster from the parent stock," an 
 increasing sense of loneliness, and the ever-present 
 obligation not to intermit a parental supervision of 
 the younger brothers, compelled him, as he thought, 
 to phant himself by their side, to guide, encourage and 
 sustain them. While waiting and struggling for pro- 
 fessional advancement, he was invited to a Professor's 
 Chair in the French Academy of Mr. Coudert, which 
 he accepted ; its duties allowed him sufficient leisure 
 for the indulgence of his passion for general litera- 
 4 
 
74: LIFE OF WILLI A.M T, POKTEE. 
 
 ture, and he soon acquired the reputation of a ready 
 and spirited writer. 
 
 When lie was at the South, he contracted a per- 
 manent friendship with Mirabeau B. Lamar, late 
 President of Texas. They were in constant corre- 
 spondence, and Gen. Lamar's letters breathe a tone 
 of rare affection and confidence. Li July, 1837, he 
 writes, " some say that Houston is about to resign, 
 and that I, of course, will have to act as Chief Exec- 
 utive until the next election. If this be so, I do 
 beseech you, my dear friend, to be certain to come on 
 to Texas in October, or earlier, and any thing in my 
 power to promote your welfare may be commanded. 
 It is a beautiful country, good population, and you 
 not only can acquire with -little exertion a good for- 
 tune, but can greatly promote the cause of free 
 government and the general happiness of man. Your 
 brother William too — one-half of the talent displayed 
 in his paper, would bring him in Texas four-fold fame 
 and fortune, and be productive of an hundred more 
 of public good." In 1839 he writes, when President 
 of that Republic, " I should be proud to j)lace you 
 where you could serve the cause of our young and 
 high-spirited Republic. Would you be willing to 
 come to this country, and identify yourself with my 
 fortunes ? " Specific and honorable appointments were 
 tendered to him when General Lamar became Presi- 
 dent ; but he was not to be moved, though he well 
 knew the immediate and prospective value of all that 
 he relinquished in deference to his somewhat exagger- 
 ated and over-refined sense of youthful obligation. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETER. 75 
 
 His intercourse with editors, publisliers and antliors, 
 drew him into an acquaintance with IST. P. Willis, Esq., 
 which soon ripened into a lively friendship ; Mr. Wil- 
 lis giving him the highest proof of his regard, by dedi- 
 cating to him his " Letters from under a Bridget 
 During the summer of 1839, the "Doctor" proposed 
 they should establish a weekly newspaper in New 
 York, which should be an attractive family journal, 
 devoted to literature, dramatic criticism, fashion, and 
 novelty ; and at the same time advocate some satis- 
 factory system of legislation on the subject of inter- 
 national copyright. Mr. Willis gave a willing ear 
 to the suggestion, and wrote to the " Doctor," 
 " you are the best man in the country to do it — 
 with or without me." Among the preliminaries to 
 be settled was that of the name of the proposed 
 serial, which was of difficult determination. After 
 sundry perplexing consultations, that of " The Cor- 
 sair " was proposed by the " Doctor," and adopted. 
 Mr. Willis wrote, " if I had not heard you split hairs 
 and talk like a Professor in a hailstorm, I should 
 never have started on a cruise like ours with you. 
 Your talent is to be the main-stay of the paper, and 
 you arc the best off-hand writer I know. You are 
 world-wise, which no other literary man I know is 
 except Halleck." 
 
 The first number of an enterprise which started 
 under the most flattering auspices, was looked for with 
 great curiosity, and was esteemed fully up to the 
 highest expectations of its friends. In its external 
 appearance it resembled the London Spectator, and 
 
76 LIFE OF WILLIAai T. POETEK. 
 
 contained twice tlic uuniber of pages of the Albion. 
 In tyi^ographieal arrangement it was very beautiful. 
 It ranked liigh for its selections from the most approved 
 literary sources of the day, its original contributions, 
 its sound and liberal criticism, and its spirited range of 
 observation and scholarship. It was under the " Doc- 
 tor's " exclusive editorial charge ; Mr. AVillis being 
 abroad, and contributing very irregularly to its pages. 
 It would be difficult to find a single volume of any 
 American literary periodical with more to commend 
 it to the scholar and critic, or to the general reader 
 desirous of occasional entertainment in the realms of 
 literature. It was discontinued after a year's cruise. 
 The following letter from Mr. Webster of this date 
 evinces his interest in the children of the friend of 
 his early days : 
 
 "New York, March 16, 1S39. 
 
 " Gentlemen : — I experieuced so much kindness and hospi- 
 tality in your father's house, and had so much pleasure in his and 
 your mother's acquaintance, and remember you so well as boys, 
 that I have felt regret at not having found an opportunity of 
 seeing and knowing more of you since you came to manhood. 
 My interest in the family has led me often to inquire after its 
 members, and I have had true pleasure in learning your success- 
 ful progress in life. If your leisure should allow you to call on 
 me when I may be in the city, or if yon should be in Boston, or 
 Washington, when I am in either of those places, I should bo 
 very glad to see you. In the mean time, I will thank you to send 
 me your paper, ' The Spirit of the Times,' addressed to me in 
 Boston, when I am not in "Washington, and at the latter place 
 during the sitting of Congress. I hear, too, that your brother is 
 concerned in the ' Corsair.' Will you ask him to send it to me ? 
 With many friendly recollections, and much regard, I am yours, 
 
 " Daniel Webster. 
 
 "Messrs. William T. h Geokcie Bortek." 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. I'ORTER. 77 
 
 Two months after the date of tliis letter, Mr. Web- 
 ster with his family sailed for England, and Mr. Por- 
 ter in chronicling the fact, added the following para- 
 graphs : 
 
 " Like all Americans, of whatever political sect, we admire the 
 lofty genius of the man, his giant powers of mind, his simplicity, 
 his downright honesty. Could he he raised above the reach of 
 party divisions, every man in the nation would reverence him as 
 the legitimate offspring of our free institutions. Humble in his 
 origin, and born in a Democratic State, he caught the inspiration 
 of freedom in his infancy. He has been the architect of his 
 own fortune ; his elevation in life has been the direct result of 
 his own moral and intellectual excellence fostered by our peculiar 
 form of government. In his personal and political character, he 
 represents the dignity of republicanism. But he possesses other 
 characteristics which have especially won our regard and attach- 
 ment, and impelled us to this paragraph. Mr. Webster is a 
 sportsman, and as such we honor him ; he is one of the best 
 shots in the States ; he is as destructive to woodcock, as to his 
 adversaries in debate ; at English snipe-shooting, he has hardly 
 a compeer. * * * But more than all, Mr. "Webster is an 
 angler, an humble disciple of Izaak Walton. Show me the man 
 who loves trout-fishing, and I will tell you who is generous, and 
 brave, and tender-hearted. Such a man is Mr. Webster, and as 
 Buch do we love him more than we respect him for his greatness 
 and integrity." 
 
 The advent of the " Corsair " was announced in 
 the " Spirit of the Times " in this characteristic para- 
 graph : 
 
 " Barclay Street. — ' The Corsair ' will be published about a 
 week hence— say on the 16th inst. The proprietors have taken 
 an office which is nearly opposite those of the ' Albion ' and 
 ' Mirror.' We shall hear no more of Paternoster Row, we fancy, 
 now that four such journals as the Mirror, Albion, Corsair, and 
 
Y8 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 Spirit of the Times have established themselves in Barclay street. 
 A month or two ago, we had another distinguished contemporary 
 with us, — we allude to ' La Verite,^ a French journal, under the 
 conduct of that distinguished peruquier, Geaxd Jea^-^, who like- 
 wise grows hair to any length and of any color, if we may credit 
 the announcements which stare at us from over the Avay. 
 Whether the literary enthusiasm of the Frenchman has at last 
 gone out ' spontaneously,' or whether, which we shrewdly suspect, 
 he finds wig-making more profitable, we know not ; but the 
 truth is, we believe that ' La Verite ' has left this world." 
 
 There are few wiio knew William T. Porter and 
 liis brothers at the time this playful announcement 
 was written, who will not love to linger with us for a 
 few moments over the recollection of them at that 
 time. With firm health, elastic nerve, and a caj)acity 
 for great and protracted mental labor, William had 
 succeeded in placing the " Spirit " among the foremost 
 weekly journals of the day, and in a fair way to com- 
 mand a world-wide celebrity. A mere cursory exam- 
 ination of its pages and of those of the " Register," will 
 prove how great was the demand upon his mental and 
 physical resources, and how gallantly he came up to 
 the work ; his intellectual efforts for the year 1839, 
 and for the years that he conducted the two publica- 
 tions, not always exhibited in the form of elaborate 
 essays, but in the laborious preparation of memoirs, 
 pedigrees, calendars, tabular statements, and all the 
 other matter of these crowded journals, were not sur- 
 passed by those of any other editor in this country. 
 His list of subscribers comprehended .a body of talent, 
 character, spirit and wealth, from Hudson's Bay to 
 the Caribbean Sea, from the shores of the Atlantic to 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 79 
 
 the Pacilic. "Witli seventy-five out of a hundred of 
 them, he had the pleasure of a i:)ersonal acquaintance ; 
 some, to be sure, as he said, old enough to be his 
 father ; a fact to which he took delight in ascribing 
 his success, having relied upon their paternal over- 
 sight, sagacious counsel and assistance from the start. 
 The five brothers at that time were all living in 
 
 o 
 
 N^ew York, united together by the tenderest aflfection, 
 and by almost hourly intercourse. As a group of 
 contemporary kinsmen, if they were not all conspicu- 
 ous enough to make an impression upon their day 
 and generation, they were at least fortunate enough 
 to draw round them an electric chain of close and 
 admiring fellowship of men of worth and distinction, 
 as spontaneous and wide-spread while they lived as it 
 proved sincere when the grave closed over them. 
 "That band of brothers," writes. one of their south- 
 ern correspondents, " united as we never remember to 
 have seen or heard of any other brothers ; those five, 
 brave, gallant, good, glorious Porters." 
 
 There were certain peculiar traits which were 
 common to them all. An abhorrence of any thing 
 sordid or contracted, an inbred simplicity and frank- 
 ness, an acute sense of humor, a passionate love of 
 rural sports, an ability to look the inevitable straight 
 in the face, however disagreeable, and make the best 
 of it. In the " Doctor " and William an irrepressible 
 gayety of temperament and a fondness for the society 
 of those they loved, admirably fitted them for the 
 delights of social and convivial intercourse. The 
 " Doctor " was by common consent allowed to have no 
 
80 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 inconsiderable share of what Christopher North calls 
 "the mvincible si^irit of genius" which inspires a 
 good talker. When surrounded by the circle of his 
 most familiar friends, of which he was regarded the 
 life and ornament, it was delightful to look into his 
 fine face, when a topic was started that stirred his 
 genial nature. All subjects coming up at such 
 moments reflected the prismatic hues of his mind, 
 whether they pertained to the qualities of a favorite 
 statesman, a criticism upon the book of Job, a race on 
 Long Island, or the uncorking of a bottle of Chateaux 
 Margaux. " Mony a strange story fell down stane- 
 dead when his tongue grew mute. Thoosands o' curi- 
 ous, na, unaccountable anecdotes, ceased to be, the 
 day his een were closed." 
 
 By taking the bits in his teeth at the time he went 
 to Andover, William lost the advantage of the re- 
 sources of academic training, and was of course com-' 
 polled to severer labor than the " Doctor " or George. 
 Faculty, quick observation, diligence, a retentive 
 memory, courage and hard work, however, enabled 
 him to acquire a manly, graceful, unaflfected style, 
 marked often by a vein of downright humor as fresh 
 and free from all guile as it was characteristic of the 
 man. He often recommended to his correspondents 
 and to editors of papers, desirous of writing eft'cctive- 
 ly, the following advice of Lord Jeffrey, and judging 
 from his clear and sensible style we have no hesitation 
 in believing that he adopted it as a guide to his own 
 pen : " A man fully possessed of his subject and con- 
 fident of his cause, may always write with vigor and 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 81 
 
 eft'ect, if lie can get over the temptation of writing 
 finely, and really confine himself to the strong and 
 clear exposition of the matter he has to bring forward. 
 Half of the affectation and ofl'ensive pretensions we 
 meet with in authors, arises from a want of matter — 
 and the other half of a paltry ambition of being elo- 
 quent and ingenious out of place." 
 
 No better idea can be had of William's fitness to fill 
 the place he occupied among his fellow-men, than is 
 to be found in the general admission that he possessed 
 to an eminent degree the qualities which he enume- 
 rates in the subjoined paragraph, as essential to the 
 position : 
 
 " Every editor of a newspaper should have extensive famili- 
 arity with literature ; cultivated tastes, thorough knowledge of 
 men and the world, habits of observation and great facility in 
 giving expression to his opinions. The qualities of his heart 
 should correspond to those of his head — he should be honest, 
 generous and brave. Alas ! how few of the craft can pretend 
 to a tithe of the few requisites we have enumerated. But into 
 the composition of a Sporting editor should be infused, not only 
 other ingredients but a double portion of industry, of patience, 
 of command of temper, and of charity ; verily he has need of 
 all ! Then too he must be learned in a new walk of science — of 
 small dignity in the eyes of the multitude, yet entitled to all 
 respect for its mysteries, its usefulness, the difficulties of its acqui- 
 sition and the ' exceeding ' small number of its adepts ! The 
 Stud Book should be as familiar to him as his alphabet ; families 
 of horses and their pedigrees should be as well known to him 
 as his own. He should be intimate with every Turfman and 
 Breeder in the country. He should number among his acquaint- 
 ances every Trainer that ever girthed a saddle, and every Jockey 
 that throws his leg over a thorough-bred. He should be familiar 
 with race courses and their proprietors, with the constitutions, 
 ■4* 
 
82 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. I'OKTEK. 
 
 rules and decisions of every Jockey Club, and with tlie standing 
 of every man connected with the Turf. He should have the 
 keenest eye for the points of a horse, know the comparative 
 merits of rival champions, and no one should be able to teach 
 Mm as to the capacity of different trainers. He must know the 
 odds on every horse in advance^ foresee the result of every race, 
 and withal, act with consummate prudence in giving expres- 
 sion to the conclusions at which he arrives by the exercise of 
 his rare capacity and foresight! With all these gifts, super- 
 natural, acquired or otherwise, grant him good health, good 
 nature, indomitable perseverance and assiduity, and one would 
 think he might hope to become reasonably popular as a 
 Sporting editor." 
 
 He was habitually considerate of the feelings and 
 even the prejudices of others, and with marvellous 
 tact brought them to his own conclusions as if they 
 were in fact the spontaneous results of their unassisted 
 reason. His faculties were clear, acute and honest, 
 enabling him to see rapidly through a vexed point or 
 obscure question, and to sift and adjust them not only 
 to his entire satisfaction, but in his quiet, unpretending 
 way, as far from self-conceit as his pleasant smile was 
 from dissimulation, to the cheerful acquiescence of the 
 parties interested in his decision. Tlie expansive gen- 
 erosity of his mind, his patience, his truthfulness and 
 entire freedom from the petty motives which often in- 
 fluence men much his superiors in masculine preten- 
 sion, united to the absolute and sweet frame of his 
 temper, gave to his judgments the weight of irreversi- 
 ble decrees. 
 
 To give an idea of the literary Exchange in which 
 he contrived to write during the high noon of his 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. I'OKTEK. 83 
 
 work-day reputation, and of " tlic good fellowship 
 which rallied round him there as the centre of mag- 
 netic attraction," we again cite the correspondent to 
 whom we have just referred. 
 
 " 111 the palmy days of tlie Turf, when the North had stables 
 as well as the South, and when such gentlemen sportsmen as 
 "Walter Livingston, and Eobeet Tillotson, and Major Jones, 
 and the Stevenses, and Commodore Stockton made ' The 
 Spirit ' office their head-quarters, and when one never could enter 
 its time-honored door without meeting the best company, and 
 having the best conversation that was to be found going in 
 America ; in those days, what talent, as well as what good fellow- 
 ship, nsed to assemble within those walls, and rally around old 
 Bill, as the centre of magnetic attraction. 
 
 " No class of men but had, there, its representative ; no 
 branch of talent but had its proficient, from the storming a 
 fortress or throwing up an earthwork, to calculating a lunar, or 
 club-hauling a ship ; from construing a Greek Chorus to cropping 
 a pup's ears ; from check-mating a first-rate player to cutting 
 down a woodcock under full headway in a brake, or stopping a 
 coot skating at ninety miles an hour down a northeaster ; from 
 running a hundred off the spot, to writing a review for the North 
 American, or a poem for Blackwood ; from riding a steeple- 
 chase to painting a portrait of Fashion ; from rolling a dozen 
 tenstrikes in succession to amputating a thigh in the socket — if 
 you wanted anything done, however strange or difficult, or out 
 of the common way, in the office of ' The Spirit ' you w^ere sure 
 to find the man that could do it, and do it the lest, too, and no 
 mistake ! " 
 
 It is perfectly safe to say that neither of the broth- 
 ers had a world-wise value for money. "William's 
 purse, however, had a pecuharity which did not belong 
 to that of the others, it being understood that it was 
 
84 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 devoted to the use and entertainment of everybody 
 but himself. The stanch, but unfortunate gentleman, 
 the broken-down scholar, the poor artist, the despised, 
 even the very offscouring of humanity, had equal 
 right to it as long as it held out the attraction of a six- 
 pence, although the spectre of his bootmaker's head 
 with an unpaid bill between his teeth, vanishing 
 through the door of his sanctum at stated times every 
 day in the week, threatened to deprive him of all nat- 
 ural sleep. 
 
 This general suicidal disbursement of what would 
 have contributed so much to his own comfort, always 
 reminded us of that eccentric branch of the finny fam- 
 ily which, according to Old Izaak, " cast their spawn 
 on flags or stones to become a prey and to be de- 
 voured by vermin and other fishes." Indeed, such 
 was his comical carelessness about money, that if the 
 wealth of the Cnesars had been compressed into a 
 bank bill and placed in his hands to meet his " current 
 expenses," he would probably, in a sudden rapture 
 and enthusiasm over a " hob fly," or the points of a 
 favorite horse, have mistaken it for a pinch of " Mrs. 
 Miller's best," and incontinently demolished it, and 
 upon discovering his misfortune would have re- 
 garded it as a capital joke, and dismissed it from 
 his mind with the mild philosophy of Uncle Toby. 
 It is consoling in this connection to take refuge in 
 Paley's idea, that " a man avIio is not sometimes a 
 fool is always one." '' Where in all the world," 
 writes Col. Albert Pike, who knew William as thor- 
 oughly and loved him perhaps more devotedly than 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 85 
 
 any other acknowledged friend, " was there so pure, 
 so manly, so generous, so unselfish, so loving a soul 'i 
 Where one so tender, so guileless, so noble, so wholly 
 free of all stain or taint of envy, malice, ill-will, 
 revenge, uncharitableness ? Let every one who knew 
 him answer, if he ever saw the peer of Porter in all 
 that constitutes the true, generous, unselfish gentle- 
 man, made by God. incajyable of a base action or a 
 sordid, impulse." 
 
 In personal appearance the brothers were very 
 attractive, which added much to the interest of their 
 social intercourse. All of them of commanding 
 stature, compact and well put together with the ex- 
 ception of the youngest brother, who was of medium 
 height, and built of frailer materials than the others. 
 Their heads manly, spirited, and gracefully set upon 
 their shoulders, the regions of wit and mirth con- 
 spicuous in the heads of all of them, their features 
 clear, fine and expressive, and when lighted up witli 
 expansive feeling or flashing a response to some gene- 
 rous emotion, it would be difiicult to find five brothers 
 of equal power to charm and enchain the aflections. 
 
 In connection with their environment in Barclay 
 street at this time, we insert the following article 
 upon " Frank's," a favorite club-house in the vicinity 
 of the offices of the " Spirit " and the " Corsair," which 
 will be read with interest by those now living who 
 can recall the friends and wits who met there nearly 
 a score of years ago, the eyes of most of them sealed 
 in dust, and the music of their laughter subsided into 
 the silence of eternity. 
 
86 LIFE OP^ WILLIAM T. TOKTEE. 
 
 FRANK MONTEVERDE'S IN BARCLAY STREET. 
 
 THE HOUSE AND ITS PATRONS. 
 
 " During the palmy days of the old Olympic, when Mitchel's 
 ' little box ' was the nightly rendezvous of a knot of men about 
 town — fast men of an almost by-gone generation, these ' bloods ' 
 were wont to congregate before, or after the play, at a quaint 
 public house on the corner of Howard Street, bearing a mysterious 
 sign-board, representing something like a counterfeit of those 
 engravings we were wont to see pasted on the inside of an im- 
 ported segar box. This place, designated the Havannah Houee, 
 at that period was beneath the supervision of a hearty Italian, 
 Francis Monteverde, afterwards more familiarly known as 'Frank.' 
 and nightly were assembled beneath his roof, and particularly 
 within a cosy ante-chamber, motley crowds of actors and pa- 
 trons, of sportsmen and of fast gentlemen, discussing the merits 
 of the drama, of the turf, and the chase, interrupted only by the 
 monotonous clang of domino pieces, employed in deciding wine 
 wagers, by means of the then novel game of ' rounce.' 
 
 "Noted as was the Ilavannah House, fortune, however, des- 
 tined Mr. Monteverde to preside over the destinies of another 
 establishment still more famous, and whose memory wUl be ever 
 treasured, in connection with the celebrated sporting slieet, the 
 ' Spirit of the Times,' as the favorite resort of the coterie of 
 talented gentlemen who delighted to contribute to the columns 
 of that popular journal. Unlike his neighbors, who considered 
 it necessary to migrate to the outskirts of the metropolis to an- 
 ticipate the emergencies of trade, Frank made a crab-like retro- 
 gration and located his hostelry at No. 5 Barclay Street, which 
 he forthwith christened by the title of ' Frank's.' "Within a few 
 doors of his resting-spot was located the office of the ' Spirit ' — 
 that museum of literary, -artistic, and sporting marvels, the Mecca 
 of every Western pilgrim visiting the Atlantic metropolis. 
 
 "For over fifteen years, 'Frank's' and the 'Spirit' jogged 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAil T. POKTER. 87 
 
 Ijarmoniously along tlie road to wealth and fame, until the irre- 
 sistible march of improvement dissolved their local connection, 
 and, soon after this inimical divorce, the hostelry of Frank be- 
 came, as it were, desert in the midst of busy scenes, and survives, 
 in the vicinage of its departed glory, but the shadow of a name. 
 The bond of association had been broken, and the charm of 
 familiarity, which gave so earnest a zest to ' Frank's ' liquid com- 
 binations, was wasted upon the generation of merchants' clerks 
 and store porters, who succeeded the crowd of ' smilers ' follow- 
 ing in the wake of the ' Tall Son of York.' Even the original 
 building has disappeared to make way for some palace of mer- 
 chandise, whose tenants are probably ignorant that they daily 
 tread upon ground hallowed by reminiscences of probably as 
 great a body of wit, humor and talent, as has ever been congre- 
 gated within any four walls of this progressive metropolis ; for 
 ' Frank's ' in the zenith of its glory may have been justly regarded 
 as the Boar's Head of a cis- Atlantic Eastcheap. 
 
 " There were peculiarities distinguishing ' Frank's ' which 
 could be encountered in no other public house in the city ; it 
 was a specialty in its very nature, being to the literary man and 
 the higher class of sportsman, a species of intellectual exchange 
 comparable to the mercantile relation that ' Delmonico's ' bears 
 to its trading patrons. It was the distinction of ' Frank's ' that 
 its habitues were considered almost wholly as gentlemen, as the 
 term was interpreted by the conservatives of twenty years since, 
 meaning thereby men of independent resources, or members of 
 the learned professions. In truth, the frequenters at 'Frank's' 
 despised any thing like mercantile pursuits, for, being gentlemen 
 of education, they treasured a traditional prejudice against that 
 which we are nowadays tutored to designate the dignity of com- 
 merce. 
 
 " ' Frank's ' may have been regarded as a natural offspring 
 from Washington Hall, many of its elder frequenters having been 
 former patrons of that tavern, and a spirit of similarity pervaded 
 the conversational atmosphere of both celebrated localities. The 
 patrons of each were decidedly fast men, leaders in sports and 
 pastimes, whose generation is being rapidly extinguislied. Tliey 
 
88 LIFE OF WILLIASI T. POKTEK. 
 
 were as unlike Young New York as we are to Hercules, our 
 juveniles having imitated the townsmen of former clays in naught 
 save their exceptionable vices. 
 
 " Let us turn our memory to the contemplation of ' Frank's ' 
 eighteen years ago — not a long period, to be sure, but long 
 enough to have bestowed upon New York an entirely fresh 
 population, radically distinct fi-om those who flourished at the 
 epoch of which we treat. Let us seat ourselves in one of the 
 rough arm chairs hospitably placed by the table, covered with 
 newspapers from every part of the world — ' The Spirit's ' ex- 
 changes, and make the acquaintance of the liaMtues at ' Frank's ' 
 as they casually visit ' the sanctum,' as the place was familiarly 
 entitled. ' Frank's ' was not only a refreshment saloon, but a 
 well-appointed club-house, possessing private retreats, an ample 
 billiard room, and a couple of bowling alleys, which, however, 
 disappeared as that game, to which Masonic Hall was once 
 sacrificed, grew in popular disuse, 
 
 " Prominent among the visitors, as a matter of course, stood 
 "William T. Porter, the well-known editor of The ' Spirit of the 
 Times,' which paper he is erroneously supposed to have originated, 
 but which was commenced by the late Chas, J. B. Fisher, who, 
 in the imprint of its first issues, announced the fact of its being 
 edited by a brother to the celebrated Clara Fisher. ' The Tall 
 Sou of York,' for William counted six feet four inches, perpen- 
 dicular from his stockings, Avas remarkable for his general suavity 
 and disinterested philanthropy, his evident mission on earth 
 being, as he contended, to oblige everybody. As an editor he 
 was ever ready to confer favors ; as a man, his heart and purse 
 were within the reacli of every applicant, for selfishness as well 
 as egotism were unknown qualities to a man of so generous a 
 nature. Mr. Porter was probably the only editor on record who 
 died without enemies. 
 
 " Dr. Porter, a fine, portly man, whose cast of countenance 
 reminded one of Martin Van Buren, was a more thoroughly edu- 
 cated man than his brother, and possessed every one of William's 
 good qualities, besides a decidedly superior business capacity. In 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 89 
 
 by-gone days he had been connected witli ' Tlic Corsair,' a liter- 
 ary journal, published by him as co-editor with N". P. Willis, but 
 at the period of his demise, the Doctor Avas English professor in 
 Coudert's French Academy, where, from the amiability of his 
 disposition, he was regarded by his pupils with a feeling of ten- 
 derness rarely bestowed upon knights of the birch and ferule. 
 In the earlier portion of his life, ' the Doctor,' as he was familiar- 
 ly, and distinctively entitled, after having graduated with honor 
 at a medical institution, essayed practice of his profession, but 
 found, although theoretically an enthusiast in tlie science of 
 medicine, his nerves unable to withstand the contemplation of 
 physical suffering. In consequence of his repudiation of surgery, 
 he was compelled to devote his attention to belles leth-es, and 
 proved himself in all his productions, to be a superior critic, 
 finished writer, and clever essayist. 
 
 "George Porter, brother of Wm. T. and 'the Doctor,' pos- 
 sessed fine literary acquirements, and by nature was more im- 
 pulsive, or, if you please, more enterprising than any of the 
 brothers. He never avoided, while attached to the ' Spirit,' any 
 kind of severe labor, so that he could get ahead of his contempo- 
 raries. In 1842 he left New York, and accepted a leading posi- 
 tion on the ' Picayune.' For many long years he labored with 
 most commendable industry, his peculiar abilities finding a 
 natural field in the excitement of the Mexican war. His knowl- 
 edge of Spanish was perfect, and his reports of the progress of 
 the campaign gave the 'Picayune' a deserved pre-eminence. 
 George was educated for the law, and in the few years he prac- 
 tised in this city, he secured the reputation of being one of the 
 most promising young men at the bar. 
 
 "Another member of the Porter family — Frank — was for 
 many years a visitor at the ' lower ofiice,' as "William good- 
 naturedly designated Monteverde's Sanctum. His exterior diflered 
 from the robust forms of his more celebrated brothers, being a 
 man of comparatively small stature, but in warmth of disposition, 
 and ingenuousness of character, was well worthy o^. their rela- 
 tionship. He, too, was a man of letters, and the circle at 
 
90 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 
 
 ' Frank's ' missed an esteemed companion, when lie was called 
 to assume a situation on the New Orleans ' Picayune,' on which 
 his brother George had been engaged. 
 
 " A distinguished personage among the habitues of ' Frank's ' 
 was a dapper gentleman, whose face bore a bushy pair of au- 
 burn whiskers, and was garnished with a perpetual smile. Lord 
 George Gordon, for we liad ennobled him from admiration of his 
 patrician qualities, was quite a Chesterfield among us, and his 
 opinions on all matters, especially such as appeilained to dress 
 and manners, were to be regarded as pure gospel. George was 
 the very pink of neatness ; not a speck of dust was allowed to 
 contaminate his olive-cut-away, not a wrinkle to be observable 
 upon his dainty waistcoat, while his blue neck-scarf, spotted with 
 white dots, after the manner of a Belcher tie, encircled his neck 
 with most faultless gracefulness. But particularly did the jaun- 
 tiness of Lord George display itself in the style and manner of 
 poising his hat on his head, as well as in the condescending 
 patronizing elegance with which he removed it for purposes of 
 salutation. Still the merits of Gordon were in nowise confined 
 to the exterior man ; he had that within which passeth show, 
 and was the Yorick of a thousand dinner parties, which he en- 
 livened by a constant flow of wit, humor and anecdote, for 
 Gordon was a walking encyclopedia of amusing information. 
 The peculiarity of Gordon's wit, its appropriateness, was enhanced 
 by the novel manner of his speech, and the earnestness of his 
 gesture. Once called to the witness stand, the lawyer propounded 
 the usual question as to his profession. 
 
 " ' Profession — eh ? ' musingly responded Lord George ; ' how 
 we live? Olden time, king's fool — nowadays, dine out.' And 
 he gave a majestic wave of the hand. 'Then,' continued the 
 lawyer derisively, as if annoyed at the retort, 'you live by your 
 wits ? ' 
 
 " ' Oh, dear, no ! ' coolly returned Gordon, ' not at all— not by 
 my wits — want of 'em in others? ' 
 
 " Another worthy of the same school was Tom Oldfield, 
 whilom Consul of the United States at Lyons, a position he rc- 
 ^■igned, as he boasted, from the inability of the inhabitants to 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 91 
 
 comprehend or appreciate liis jokes. Tom was emphatically a 
 fellow of infinite jest, and although he in nowise aspired to the 
 Beau Brummell qualities of Gordon, he possessed a striking ready 
 fund of anecdotal humor, rendering him on convivial occasions a 
 most agreeable companion. Poor Tom! he had experienced his 
 shares of the ups and downs of a mundane existence, which he 
 bore with stoical composure. While in London, with leisure 
 time on his hands, he observed near his lodgings a broker's office, 
 whose proprietor seemed to be of a nervously suspicious temper- 
 ament. To worry the individual, Oldfield was wont to plant 
 himself before the heap of gold in the money changer's window, 
 and contemplate it, with mysterious earnestness, for hours to- 
 gether. The movement he repeated diurnally, until the patience 
 of the suspicious proprietor was wholly exhausted from inability 
 to comprehend a motive for Tom's eccentric conduct; conse- 
 quently, one day he rushed from his shop door, seized upon his 
 outside visitor, and threatened that if he caught him again 
 lounging around his window, he would give him into the custody 
 of the Police. 
 
 " ' My dear fellow, don't,' pathetically responded Oldfield, 
 ' don't destroy my last consolation ; for, if I wern't to stop here 
 every morning, I should lose all knowledge of the current coin 
 of the realm.' 
 
 " Still another proficient in conversational knowledge was 
 Mr. Gwilt Mapelsden, Knight of the Order of St. Louis, and 
 formerly a member of the Court of some Italian Grand Duke. 
 He was induced to visit the country by the representations of a 
 gentleman who died on his passage; and by this misfortune, 
 Mapelsden was forced to resort to his pen for a livelihood. His 
 knowledge of heraldry, and an affection for mediaeval drawing, 
 distinguished his publications, which were of a unique order in 
 our literature. The ' Lays of the 'Western World,' his ' Shakspeare 
 Ballads,' and his pedigree of Washington, remain beautiful speci- 
 mens of a revived taste for ancient illumination, which we could 
 scarce expect from our Democratic community, to please whose 
 vanity, as well as to earn an honest penny, Mr. Mapelsden manu- 
 factured armorial bearings in unlimited abundance. 
 
92 LIFE OF WILLLOI T. POKTER. 
 
 " Speaking of literature reminds us that ' Frank's ' Avas hon- 
 ored by visits from two distinguished living i)oets, whenever they 
 chanced to sojourn in our metropolis. Col. Albert Pike, of 
 Arkansas, a noble-looking man, over six feet in height, a re- 
 markable embodiment of our romantic ideal of a frontiersman — 
 has not only composed some of the finest poems in our language, 
 but has wielded his sword in the service of his country during 
 the Mexican campaign. Did we not dislike the bad taste of 
 bestowing comparative titles, we would say that Col. Pike could 
 be designated as the ' Korner of America,' notwithstanding that 
 the veteran author of ' Woodman, Spare that Tree,' lays claim 
 to a similar honor. 
 
 " The other disciple of the Muses is a fine-looking, elderly 
 gentleman, reminding one strongly of that which an Englishman, 
 rather than an American, is expected to be, as much from the 
 style of his peculiar habiliments as the polite heartiness of his 
 manner. Mr. Fitz Greene Ilalleck, the contemporary of John 
 Targee, and the other worthies of Tammany Hall his pen has 
 locally immortalized, still survives the ravages of time, and con- 
 verses as agreeably as in those days when Dickey Riker judged 
 and Croaker sung, above the turmoil of mercantile life. 
 
 " Another relict of a past age was "Walter Livingston, ' the 
 last of the white cravats,' who adhered with pertinacity to his 
 cambric neckcloth, ruffled shirt, buff waistcoat, and blue dress- 
 coat, until such a fashion of costume grew to be an eccentricity 
 even with his companions. An enthusiastic admirer of field 
 sports, Mr. Livingston was among the last to desert the Jockey 
 Club, and the appearance of this venerable gentleman on the 
 Turf, until racing gave place to trotting, was ever hailed as a 
 guarantee of the respectability of the ancient pastime. 
 
 " As a striking contrast to this vestige of the ancient regime, 
 could be observed the bustling apparition of Col. John Haggerty, 
 who, in his time, might have been regarded as the Beau Nash 
 of the day, so neat and trim his attire, so neatly fitting his velvet 
 faced Chesterfield, so accurately turned over his wristbands a la 
 cVOrsay. And how heartily the Colonel laughed at one of Gor- 
 don's jokes, and tlion ventured upon a relation of his experience, 
 
LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 93 
 
 when lie fished up a rehitive in tlie neighborhood of Holyrood in 
 the Count O'llaggerty, mdet de chamhre to Charles X. King of 
 France. 
 
 " Still another beau appeared to us in the person of Captain 
 Marx, vulgarly and contemptuously nicknamed ' the Dandy,' 
 although he labored strenuously, in advance of his time, to elevate 
 the taste of the younger citizens, and to impart that appreciation 
 of appropriateness in costume and appointments which distin- 
 guishes a gentleman of refinement. Poor Marx ! despite many 
 foibles, he was a man of cultivation and of merit, and was 
 lamented by a large circle of admiring friends. The group is 
 augmented by still another man of ton — Henry Allen "Wright, 
 who has a tendency towards the adoption of Canadian peculiari- 
 ties in the -waj of manners, conceiving possibly that British 
 provincialisms may be applicable to revolted colonies, in which 
 particular he differs from another patron of ' Frank's,' the dash- 
 ing Frank Waddell, who, in lieu of being ' King of Bath,' aspired 
 to the sovereignty of Newport, and to the principality of Sara- 
 toga. Poetic Frank believed in the criticism of good manners, 
 and conceived that no public demonstration of festivity can be 
 regarded as comme il faut^ unless the programme has been sub- 
 mitted to his judicial inspection. 
 
 " A representative of Knickerbocker gentility has dropped in 
 to inquire for a friend. Mr. Harry Hone, a sturdy specimen of 
 good-humored yeomanry, probably in search of one of his equally 
 stalwart nephews, the Anthons, that the two may exercise with 
 dog and gun on the plains beyond Babylon on the Island. 
 
 " The gentleman in fustian shooting jacket, corduroy panta- 
 loons, and preposterously thick brogans, is the sporting writer, 
 ' Frank Forrester,' on his way to his favorite shooting-ground 
 near the Highlands of Neversink, who has stopped in to leave a 
 series of messages with ' Garry,' the bar-tender, who, by the 
 way, was a feature at ' Frank's,' as much from his personal affa- 
 bility, as from the possession of a twin brother Peter, whose 
 resemblance was as puzzling to the ' Barclay Guard ' as the two 
 Dromios to the ancient Syracusans. Accompanying Herbert 
 was pretty generally his co-editor, Thomas Picton, who, frciin 
 
94 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 having been originally his pupil, maintained ever afterwards a 
 close friendship with his preceptor. 
 
 " A gentleman of the same profession frequently made a flying 
 visit about the hour of uoou— a fine middle-aged Scotchman, Mr. 
 A. D. Paterson, who, after having been long connected w^th the 
 ' Albion,' attempted to establish the ' Anglo-American,' as a rival 
 sheet, which experiment alone failed by reason of his sudden 
 demise. Mr. Paterson was an excellent scholar in belles-let- 
 tres, and unfortunately left but a few fugitive writings behind 
 him. 
 
 " So likewise on an afternoon would drop in Lewis Gaylord 
 Clark, the editor of ' Old Nick,' partially with the view to take 
 a hand in a roll, at ' Graves ' over the way, and partially to pick 
 up a few stray jokes for the next number of his magazine. These 
 contributions were never withheld from him, as the ' Spirit ' and 
 ' Old Nick ' were regarded by all as the only genuine oracles of 
 literature. 
 
 "Accompanying Mr. Gaylord Clark, would probably be a 
 slight-made gentleman, excessively amiable in personal appear- 
 ance, and polished in his manners. Mr, Henry Inman, the por- 
 trait painter, was a kind, generous-hearted man, emphatically 
 one of nature's noblemen, as famed for his hospitable urbanity as 
 for the invariable gentleness of his disposition. Although sorely 
 oppressed with a pulmonic disease, Avhich seriously interrupted 
 his professional labors, Mr. Inman was ever a leader in our cheer- 
 ful assemblies ; in truth, it appeared that the relaxation of an 
 evening, passed in the companionship of men of talent, wit and 
 humor, revived a spirit which otherwise would have morbidly 
 succumbed beneath disease and the pressure of the toil over 
 attending his works of art. As a man, the loss of Mr. Inman 
 was severely felt by sympathizing friends; as an artist, our 
 country mourns a painter, leaving no successor and few imitators 
 behind him, for his natural geniality, and affectionate admiration 
 for children, rendered portraits of youth and innocence master- 
 pieces of his skill. 
 
 " Still another artist, in formidable beard and a slouch hat 
 of gigantic dimensions, stands before us. It is not the person of 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 95 
 
 Fra Diavolo, but of Charley Elliot, whose pencil has consigned 
 more than one of ' Frank's ' celebrated patrons to immortality, 
 as far as a very high standard of painting can confer immortality 
 on the memories of human features. Elliot, in a mercantile 
 method of speech, can be quoted as A No. 1, among his contem- 
 poraries of the pallet, and among all ' good fellows ' he is surely 
 to be honored as worthy of a ' bold stand ; ' therefore, say we, 
 may his beard and shadow never be less. 
 
 " An elderly gentleman, who occasionally penetrated into the 
 sanctum, was for many years the inseparable companion of Mr. 
 Inman on his piscatorial excursions among the trout streams of 
 Long Island ; for the artist, like the immortal ' light of other 
 days,' Phillips the vocalist, was a profound angler. This gentle- 
 man, who, strange to say, has resided for half a century in one 
 and the same ward in this city, is Mr. Fosdick, more familiarly 
 styled ' Uncle Richard,' who, after surviving most of his contem- 
 poraries, has experienced the ingratitude of Republics in being 
 defeated as Alderman in that very Ward in which he has passed 
 of his life threescore years, less ten. In latter years, too, even 
 the fishes appear determined to imitate the conduct of the poli- 
 ticians, for although the venerable angler annually continues his 
 expedition, the recusant finny tribe absolutely refuse to be taken 
 by other stratagem than the vulgar expedient of silver hooks. 
 Probably, however, the ' old inhabitant ' has outlived the race 
 which peopled the streams he frequented in his youth. 
 
 " An artist of a difterent school entered on the scene in the 
 person of Bob Clark, the animal painter, who had finer natural 
 genius for this particular line than Landseer or Cooper, and was 
 for several years about the only delineator of horse flesh possessed 
 by our metropolis. Bob was a generous, impulsive, yet good- 
 natured child of Erin, being the son of Sir Jas. Clark, of Dublin, 
 and the nephew of the celebrated Lady Morgan. Poor Bob ! 
 he had but one vanity, and a harmless one at that— he imagined 
 himself the best gentleman rider in America ; indeed, so pas- 
 sionately fond was he of equestrian pastimes when at home, that 
 almost the only clothing he brought hither was jockey or lumtiug 
 dresses. 
 
96 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEE. 
 
 " Prominently among those visitors addicted to the pastime 
 of bowling, was a mysterious gentleman, Jas. Banks, a particular 
 friend of Porter, who facetiously styled him 'Jim Baggs.' A 
 very powerful and handsomely framed man, he excelled in the 
 exercise ; and on one occasion, it is said, rolled a string with Caleb 
 McNulty, of Washington, for $10,000. On another occasion he 
 flourished before the public as the presumed robber of ' Pomeroy's 
 trunk,' having been arrested on suspicion, as his trunk at the 
 hotel was opened by accident, and found to contain $25,000 in 
 gold, with regard to the possession of which he positively de- 
 clined giving any explanation. The apprehension and suicide of 
 the real robber relieved him from every imputation of criminality ; 
 but to his dying day tliis eccentric personage declined gratifying 
 public curiosity as to the source whence he derived the contents 
 of his trunk, but which were in reality the proceeds of a heavy 
 government contract for the transportation of the Soutberu 
 Mail ; Uncle Sam then, as now, being in the habit of liquidating 
 his liabilities in hard cash. 
 
 " Conversing with his friend Gordon, would probably be seen 
 the medical adviser of the crowd — Doctor "Warrington, a skilful 
 surgeon and polished gentleman, whose eccentricity evinces itself 
 in the wearing of a -white hat of a peculiar construction, Avhich 
 had doubtless been patented by the original inventor somewliere 
 about the year one. The Doctor is at the present moment the 
 popular surgeon on one of the California Steamers. 
 
 " Then would come a short, dapper individual, who jumps 
 about, somewhat after the manner one would be expected to 
 assume if treading upon hot coals. This is C. H. Stanley, Avell 
 known as a chess champion, and as an attache of Her Majesty's 
 Consulate. Stanley is a capital companion, with only one fault 
 — a passion for concocting the most villauous puns that could 
 ever emanate from the human brain. 
 
 "As a contrast to Stanley we have Isaiah ITowe, the advocate 
 inordinary to every patron of ' Frank's ' who has the misfortune 
 to tumble into legal disputations, a matter-of-fact personage of 
 more than ordinary talent, and a decided proi)ensity to argue 
 with somebody. At this moment he is laying down tlie law to a 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 97 
 
 small contented looking gentleman, who glides about tlio apart- 
 ment with that mysterious profundity of manner Avhich has been 
 chronicled as the attribute of the learned Linkum Fidelias— the 
 ' Little Man in Black,' of Manhattanese creation. In fact ' Mac' 
 — nobody gives him any other cognomen — is quite as whimsical, 
 and slightly more unfathomable a character than that antique 
 celebrity has been represented to us in the traditions of the 
 Knickerbocker. Two local personages have entered the saloon 
 — Harry Mabbett — a perfect epidemic on police mismanagement, 
 who regulates conventions and committees, and, Joshua-like, 
 commands the political Sun shining over at least two down-town 
 wards to stand still, until he chooses to set the affairs of state in 
 proper motion. The other is Mr. Peter Ohanfrau, brother to the 
 theatrical representative of Mose, who, after having reaped a 
 neat fortune by ornamenting the exterior of the human face, con- 
 templates the measure of their internal living, and has performed 
 the mathematical feat of converting the almost decimal fraction 
 of a man into a full blown Boniface. ' Measure for Measure ' has 
 been, and now is, his motto ; whether the one measure be by 
 the yard, or by the sections of a gallon, the other is inevitably 
 by the standard of cash, 
 
 " An Indian curiosity we have in the person of Adams, the 
 Rocky Mountain trapper, who glories in an Indian chieftaincy, 
 with an unpronounceable name to match, but is withal an excel- 
 lent specimen of civilization, having deserted his rifle and taken 
 to the ' long bow,' in the drawing of which he excels his red- 
 skinned brethren. 
 
 " Next we make the acquaintance of two enthusiastic cricket- 
 ers—John Richards, whose hearty laugh and boisterous jocularity 
 ring through the hall, while his younger companion, a tall, wiry, 
 athletic gentleman, seems inclined to a pensive consideration of 
 the important subject-matter under discussion. This latter is 
 Delancy Barclay, son of the British Consul, who, after having 
 attained the dignity of an engineer in our fire department, has 
 turned his attention to the game of cricket, of which both ' the 
 Governor ' and he are most enthusiastic supporters. In their 
 conversation they are joined by a melancholy-looking personage, 
 5 
 
98 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 
 
 who delivers his opinions Avith the profundity of a Delphic oracle ; 
 for as Hercules was known by his tread, so is ' Cuyp,' the famous 
 bowler, recognized by the excessive gravity of his demeanor. 
 Indeed, a casual observer would be induced, from his personal 
 appearance, to believe him to be a Methodist parson in disguise, 
 for he is seldom known to laugh even at Eichard's jokes. 
 
 " A knot of worthies in the corner embrace some distinguished 
 men in their own particular sphere. Col. Costar, who has wit- 
 nessed the changes of half a century, and remains himself as 
 unchanged as the day he first perambulated Broadway ; Col. 
 Pride, gay, handsome, robust, just as if he had discovered the 
 philosopher's stone, or at least swallowed a good dose of the 
 elixir of life ; Lovell Purdy, as intent upon the encouragement 
 of a racing stud as if he had grown legitimate heir to the ' Napo- 
 leon of the Turf,' and Tom BattoUe, wild, harum-scarum traveller 
 in many lands, who has determined upon trying his luck at the 
 first new enterprise which fortune, or common rumor, suggests 
 to his notice. 
 
 " Then again, ' Frank's ' is invaded by the apparition of a 
 bevy of theatrical magnates — not men of extraordinary calibre, 
 but artists of established merit, particularly those who are afflicted 
 with a propensity for scribbling, and find the ' Spirit ' an oppor- 
 tune vent for their surcharged emotions. First, we have the 
 poet laureate of the Mammoth Cod Association, author of that 
 spiritual ditty, ' Don't think I'm going to Pvail, or ' &c. ; ever- 
 joyous John Brougham, inventor of the Greeley Hat and other 
 divine institutions. After him may come Harry Plunkett, another 
 disciple of Momus, who executes tragedy on the stage, and does 
 up farce upon paper. At another period can be seen the ' mer- 
 chant vocalist,' deep-toned Brough, who claims admission to the 
 sporting circles by dint of agency for diamond-grained gunpow- 
 der, and who has been induced to relinquish ' those scenes I 
 view so charming,' to dispense in wholesale Parr's Life Pills and 
 the 'Illustrated London News.' Between merchandise and 
 minstrelsy he leads a life unequalled by the ' Monks of Old,' and 
 he would be the happiest of mortals were not his nerves shattered 
 by afflictions of gout, slang, and ' nothin' else.' But before him 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 99 
 
 stands another of his tormentors—' Gemotice,' whilom literary 
 editor of an extinguished 'Planet,' but, at that moment, musical 
 savaii of the ' Express,' who is intensely reading, from proof, a 
 forthcoming critique upon the latest opera, each sentence of 
 which gives the vocalist a twinge incomparably more severe than 
 that produced by his hereditary gout. Among theatrical celebri- 
 ties we moreover notice Harry Placide — a better ' Sir Harcourt ' 
 off than on the stage — who has condescended to relinquish his 
 parental government over ducks, chickens, and hens, and has 
 suffered them to roam in wildness over his homestead on the 
 ' island,' that he may shine as a star for a week or two upon the 
 boards of old Drury. Near him can be observed his brother 
 Tom, undeniably the best low comedian on our stage, saving the 
 incomparable Mitchell — whose years alone prevent his identifi- 
 cation with his better-known relative. 
 
 " Sometimes we are favored, in the summer season, with the 
 presence of New Orleans manager, Mr. Place, likewise a man of 
 portly dimensions, who visits our city to replenish his troupe, 
 and to add to his store of equestrian utensils, for Place, breath- 
 ing this atmosphere of ' Frank's ' and the ' Spirit,' is afflicted with 
 a propensity towards eqnine worship. 
 
 " Speaking of Southern notabilities, here we have Col. Thorpe, 
 a stout, solid gentleman, better known as Tom Owen the Bee 
 Hunter, whose personal appearance gives little token of the pos- 
 session of that heartiness of humor which characterizes his 
 South-western sketches, particularly ' The Big Bear of Arkansas,' 
 and who is assuredly entitled to a front seat among the American 
 humorists. On the contrary the Colonel, has the look of a solid 
 planter, from whom we should as confidently expect the execu- 
 tion of a joke, as to contemplate his brother. Colonel John S. 
 Da Solle, performing on the corde volante. 
 
 " Another literary celebrity of the South is George "Wilkins 
 Kendall, of the New Orleans ' Picayune,' who has ' seen the ele- 
 phant ' and, during the hunt after whom, acquired some unpleas- 
 ant reminiscences of the road to Santa Fe. He has ventured 
 hitherward to astonish the nerves of a special party, bound to 
 the "Wilderness of the Empire State, where he expects to take 
 
100 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 
 
 down the deer, still tracking the sylvan groves of Hamilton 
 County ; after this feat he will hie to Paris, to appreciate that 
 improvement of the fandango, known to the senoritas of Mabille 
 and the Parisian Prado, as the can can. 
 
 " Moreover at times there could he encountered at ' Frank's ' 
 pure specimens of the professional sporting race, doctors, train- 
 ers, jockies and turfmen proper, especially during the week pre- 
 ceding meetings over the Union Course. Then was a carnival 
 with those who 'talked horse,' and many were the entries 
 booked, and wagers laid for and against horse, time and field. 
 But as these people were but of an ephemeral character, mere 
 birds of passage, who visited the North for the instant, their 
 acquaintance would in nowise amuse the general reader at our 
 day. 
 
 " Conspicuous, however, among turfmen, came Alfred Cono- 
 ver, the Nestor of Long Island trainers, who was once charged 
 with the studs of Commodore Stockton, Capt. Sutton, and the 
 Stevenses, when these worthy gentlemen encouraged, in princely 
 style, the most attractive of all field sports. But the memory of 
 those halcyon days has been obliterated, and Alfred and his 
 stables have probably shared the fate of oblivion, according to 
 the destiny of racing. 
 
 " We have attempted to carry our readers back with us to 
 the palmy days at ' Frank's ' — many of the habitues of whom 
 we have spoken, are already gathered to their fathers, many 
 more are progressing thither rapidly with the stream of time. 
 We have endeavored to preserve a faint reminiscence of the 
 frequenters of a once famous locality, conceiving it a pleasant 
 duty to treasure the memory of familiar faces, before all vanish 
 before the irresistible toucli of the future," 
 
LITE OF WILLIAai T. POKTEK. 101 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 WAGNER AND GKEY EAGLE. 
 
 At no time had the Turf stood higher than in 
 1839, and the races of that year were of unsurpassed 
 interest; all the horses of note had their sanguine 
 friends, and more than one was believed by his own 
 especial partisans to be invincible. Of none was this 
 more true than of those two gallant animals, ("Wagner 
 and Grey Eagle,) whose grandest exploit was incom- 
 parably reported for the Turf Register in 1840, by 
 "Wm. T. Porter. Herbert states that 
 
 " Wagner in his five-year-old form, was already a tried horse, 
 of proved speed, courage, and bottom, a distinguished winner, 
 and even, in the high-flown aspirations of his owner, capable to 
 compete with Boston. He was at least the equal of any other 
 horse in America of his day ; and not long afterwards a distin- 
 guished writer was found in the columns of the ' Spirit of the 
 Times ' to maintain, that up to this period, the great son of 
 Timoleus had displayed no manifest superiority over him. 
 
 " He had been in training continually since his third year ; 
 
102 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 
 
 in 1838 he had won three races of four-mile heats, and two of 
 two-mile heats, beating Extio at 'Saw Orleans in 7.44 — 7.57— 
 considered in those days all but the very best time. 
 
 " He was a beautiful chestnut horse of fifteen and a half hands, 
 with a white blaze on his face, and two white hind feet. lie 
 was got by Sir Charles — he by Sir Archy, dam by imp. Citizen, 
 gd. by Commutation, g. gd. by imp. Daredevil— g. g. gd. by imp. 
 Shark— g. g. g. gd. by imp. Fearnought— out of Maria West by 
 Marion, her dam Ella Cramp, by imp. Citizen — gd. by Huntsman, 
 g. gd. by Wildair, g. g. gd. by Fearnought, g. g. g. gd. by Janus, &c. 
 
 " Marion was by Sir Archy, dam by Citizen, gd. by Alder- 
 man, g. gd. by Eobuck out of a Herod Mare. 
 
 " Grey Eagle was in his fourth year, a magnificent horse 
 nearly sixteen hands in height, said to be of almost perfect sym- 
 metry, although scarcely equal in his quarters to his forehand, 
 which is described as sumptuous. His color, as his name indi- 
 cates, was a fine silvery gray. 
 
 In his three-year-old form he had won two races of two-mile 
 heats, in 3.41 — 3.43—8.48 — and 3.44, respectively, and was 
 honestly believed by his owner, and by Kentuckian Sportsmen in 
 general, to be equal to any thing in America, both for speed 
 and bottom ; although, in truth, this opinion must be regarded 
 rather as surmise than as judgment, since his powers had not yet 
 been sufficiently tested to justify such boundless confidence. It is 
 but fair to add, in the wonderful races Avhich are to be described, 
 his performance was such as to prove that this confidence was not 
 misplaced — was such, indeed, as to render it probable that, had 
 he been ridden by a jockey competent to make the most of his 
 powers, he might have been the winner in the first match — in 
 which case he probably would not have been lost to the Turf, by 
 the rash, and as I must consider it, cruel trial, of running a 
 second four-mile race of scarcely paralleled severity within five 
 days. 
 
 " Grey Eagle Avas got by Woodpecker, he by imp. Dragon 
 — dam, Irby's Daredevil mare, grandam by Old Wildair, g. gr. 
 dam by Fearnought, etc., out of Ophelia by Wild Medley, gd. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAil T. PORTER. 103 
 
 Ophelia by Grey Diomed, g. gd. Primrose by Apollo, g. g. gd. by 
 imp. Grandby, g. g. g. gd. by imp. Figure, &c. 
 
 " Wild Medley was got by Old Medley, dam by Wildair, g. d. 
 by Tristram Shandy, g. gd. Sportley by imp. Janus, g. g. gd. Gen. 
 Nelson's imp. Spanish Mare. There are no less than four Grey 
 Diomeds and seven ApoUos in Edgar's Stud Book, and it is not 
 stated which of these horses are intended. They are all, how- 
 ever, of good blood. 
 
 " The description which here ensues," continues Mr. Herbert, 
 " has been considered by competent judges, to be the finest speci- 
 men of turf-writing in the English language, and if the laudari 
 a laudato be fame in literary matters, we know no one who has 
 derived more from a single essay than the wiMter of the narrative 
 annexed," 
 
 WAGNER AND GREY EAGLE'S RACES. 
 
 The editor of this Magazine had the pleasure of 
 attending the last meeting of the Louisville Jockey 
 Club, and witnessing the two splendid races between 
 Wagner and Grej Eagle, Those who have noticed 
 the spirit with which every thing connected with 
 breeding and racing is carried on at present in Ken- 
 tucky, will hardly be surprised to hear that the late 
 meeting has never been equalled in the excellence of 
 the sport, or in the number and character of the visit- 
 ors. Turfmen and other distinguished strangers from 
 the neighboring States mustered in great force ; while 
 the Kentuckians themselves turned out in such num- 
 bers that the hotels and lodging-houses literally over- 
 flowed, A w^eek of more delightful weather we have 
 rarely known. The fields were large every day ; the 
 horses ran well, " all the world and his wife " were 
 on the course; the pressure was forgotten, and all 
 
104 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 ajipeared to enjoy themselves without stint or meas- 
 ure. 
 
 In addition to the brilliant report of " iV^. of Ar- 
 Icansas," in the Spirit of the Times, the editor, since 
 his return, has given his impressions of the meeting 
 in the columns of that paper. Many readers of this 
 magazine have expressed a desire that we should also 
 give them a report of the two great races. * * * 
 
 In compliance with the general desire of these, 
 we proceed to give our own impressions of the two 
 races, which have contributed in an eminent degree 
 to give Wagner and Grey Eagle the high and endur- 
 ing reputation they now enjoy. The races during the 
 week were characterized by good fields, strong run- 
 ning, fine weather, and an attendance unparalleled in 
 numbers and respectability. The Oakland Course 
 was in the finest possible order, the Stewards were in 
 uniform and well mounted, and the arrangements of 
 the proprietor, Col. Oliver, and of the Club, for the 
 gratification and convenience of their guests, were not 
 only in good taste but complete in all respects. 
 
 We have not room to speak in this place of a 
 variety of interesting circumstances connected with 
 the meeting, but shall be pardoned for alluding to the 
 imusual number of distinguished individuals present, 
 and the blaze of beauty reflected from the Ladies' 
 " Pavilion," on the occasion of the first race between 
 the champions of Louisiana and Kentucky. Tlie 
 number of ladies in attendance was estimated at eight 
 hundred, while nearly two thousand horsemen were 
 ■issembled on the field. The stands, the fences, the 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 105 
 
 trees, the tops of carriages, and every eminence over- 
 looking the course, were crowded ; probably not less 
 than ten thousand persons composed the assemblage, 
 comprising not only several distinguished Senators, 
 and nearly the entire Kentucky delegation in Con- 
 gress, with their families, but all the elite of the 
 beauty and fashion of the State. 
 
 Among the earliest on the ground were the Hon. 
 Judge Porter, of Louisiana, the distinguished Ex-Sen- 
 ator, and Mr. Clay. His colleague in the Senate, Mr. 
 Crittenden, soon followed, with Gen. Atkinson, Major 
 Stewart, and Capt. Alexander, of the army ; Judge 
 Woolley, Gov. Poindexter, Judge Kowan, the Hon. 
 Messrs. Menifee, Allan, Letcher, Hardin, Graves, 
 Hawes, etc. Among the guests of the Club, well 
 known to the sporting world, we noticed J. S. Skin- 
 ner, Esq., of Baltimore ; W. M. Anderson, Esq., of 
 Ohio ; C. F. M. Noland, of Arkansas ; the Messrs. 
 Kenner, Mr. Slidell, Mr. Parker, and Mr. Beasley, of 
 Louisiana; Mr. McCargo, Mr. Beasley, and Capt. 
 Bacon, of Virginia ; Mr. Geo. Cheatham, of Tenn. ; 
 Maj. Fleming, of Alabama, and a great number more 
 whose names have escaped us. 
 
 Good breeding forbids an enumeration of the dis- 
 tinguished throng of belles. The young Miss just 
 from the trammels of school, flush with joy and fears, 
 the budding, blooming girl of sweet sixteen, the more 
 stately and elegant full-blown woman, the dark-eyed 
 Southerner, with her brown complexion and match- 
 less form, the blue-eyed ]!Tortherner, with her dimpled 
 cheek and fair and spotless beauty, were gathered 
 5* 
 
106 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 here in one lustrous galaxy. The gentlemen were 
 unmatched for variety ; the Bar, the Bench, the Sen- 
 ate, and the Press, the Army and the Navy, and all 
 the et ceteras that pleasure or curiosity attracted, were 
 here represented. 
 
 We are very much tempted to essay to describe a 
 few of these radiant belles — had kind heaven made 
 us a poet, like Prentice, we would immortalize them ; 
 as we are only a proser, we can merely detail them. 
 If any demand by what right we allude so pointedly 
 to them, surely we may ask what right they have to 
 be so beautiful ? There was one with a form of per- 
 fect symmetry, and a countenance not only beautiful 
 but entirely intellectual; like Halleck's Fanny, she 
 may have been " younger once than she is now," but 
 she is, and will ever be, " a thing to bless — all full of 
 life and loveliness." With a purely Grecian bust and 
 classic liead, and with an eye as dark as the absence 
 of all light, beaming with a lustre that eclipses all, 
 her figure varied itself into every grace that can 
 belong either to rest or motion. And there was a 
 reigning belle, in the spring-time of her youth and 
 beauty, with a face beaming with perfect happiness ; 
 it was like a " star-lit lake curling its lips into ripjDles 
 in some stream of delight, as the west-wind salutes 
 them with its balmy breath, and disturbs their placid 
 slumber." It was the realization of Byron's idea of 
 "music breathing o'er the face." There comes a 
 bride — and from the East, too. A peep at her face, 
 almost hid by clustering braids of raven hair, dis- 
 plays a belle of an Atlantic city, and ere Ave have 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. rORTEK, 107 
 
 time to ask her name, a lovely blonde sweeps by in a 
 gay mantilla, changeable as the hues of evening, with 
 a hat whiter than the wing of a dove, and as faultless 
 as Nesera. It would puzzle a spliinx to divine the 
 cause of her radiant smile. Walks she fancy free? 
 Has Cupid's bolt passed her innocuous ? In the centre 
 of the pavilion stand two rival belles, of a style of 
 beauty so varied as to attract marked attention. The 
 face and figure of one is rounded to the complete ful- 
 ness of the mould of a Juno ; while the otlier, with 
 the form of a sylph, and the eyes of an angel, is the 
 impersonation of delicacy and loveliness. And there is 
 a lady from the northernmost extremity of the Re- 
 public, nearly allied to the Patrick Henry of the 
 south-west, with eyes of the sweetest and most tran- 
 quil blue " that ever reflected the serene heaven of a 
 happy hearth — eyes to love, not wonder at — to adore 
 and rely upon, not admire and tremble for." And 
 then there was that beautiful belle from Scott County, 
 and that brilliant wit from Lexington ; here, the pearl 
 wreath strove to rival the fairer brow — the ruby, a 
 rubier lip — the diamondj a brighter eye ; there the 
 cornelian borrowed from the damask cheek a deeper 
 hue ; the gossamer floated round a lighter form — the 
 light plume nodded over a lighter heart. 
 
 But what grace can flowers or sweeping plumes 
 confer when the rich smile of beauty is parting her 
 vermilion lips, and the breath of the morning, added 
 to the excitement of the occasion, have given ripeness 
 to her cheeks, and a fire to her eye, which, to our 
 bachelor taste, would be worth a pilgrimage to Mecca 
 
108 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 to enjoy, as we did at that moment. AVho can fail 
 to detect the graceful being on our left, in a Parisian 
 hat, lined with violets, whose soft liquid eye and 
 raven braids render her the fairest gem in the bril- 
 liant cluster of Western beauties ? The flashing eyes 
 of a dark -browed matron from Missouri are roving 
 restlessly over the nodding sea of heads beneath ; and 
 the pensive smile of a fair lily, just home from school, 
 has become absolutely radiant as she shakes back, 
 from her open brow, a flood of glistering ringlets, and 
 gazes down upon the multitude with the innocent 
 gaze of a young-eyed seraph. But how shall our pen 
 do homage to the daughters of Old Kentuck, whose 
 striking Di Yernon beauty, with their dark, lustrous 
 eyes and sable tresses, is only rivalled by the high 
 culture bestowed upon their minds, and the attraction 
 of those feminine accomplishments which " gild re- 
 fined gold," and render them among the loveliest and 
 most fascinating women within the circuit of the sun ? 
 The waters of Lethe must flow deep over our souls to 
 banish the memory of the bouquets and gloves we 
 lost and won upon that day ! The evening festivities 
 that followed — the brilliant dance, the plaintive song 
 that "lapt us in elysium," and she, too, the fairy 
 masquerader, in the Suliote cap and bodice, lives she 
 not last, as well as first, in our remembrance ? 
 
 But our pages forbid a longer retrospection. The 
 hospitalities and courtesies of the West, joined to the 
 smile of her beauteous women, are indelibly impress- 
 ed upon our hearts, and shall be freshly remembered 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 109 
 
 ■when we pledge our warmest friends in tlie generous 
 wine- cup. 
 
 The occasion of this brilliant assembly was the 
 stake for all ages, four-mile heats, which closed on 
 the 1st of January, 1839, with ten subscribers at 
 $2,000 each, half forfeit, as follows : 
 
 1. Y. N. Oliver and Miles W. Dickey, of Kentucky, named gr. c, 
 Grey Eagle, by "Woodpecker, out of Ophelia, by "Wild Medley, 
 4 yrs. — Dress, Red, Blue and Orange. 
 
 2. "Wm. T. "Ward, of Kentucky, named b. m. Mary Vaughan, by 
 "Waxy, out of Betty Blusten, by imp. Blusten, 5 yrs.— Dress, 
 Blue and "White. 
 
 3. Willa Viley, of Kentucky, named ch. f. Qtceen Mary, by Ber- 
 trand, dam by Brimmer, 4 yrs. — Dress, "White and Green. 
 
 4. Geo. N". Sanders and Lewis Sanders, Jr., of Kentucky, named 
 b. c. Occident, by Bertrand, out of Diamond, by Turpin's 
 riorizel, 4 yrs. — Dress, "White. 
 
 5. Sidney Burbridge, of Kentucky, named b. c. Tarlton, by 
 "Woodpecker, dam by Robin Gray, 5 yrs. — Dress, not de- 
 clared. 
 
 6. Jas. C. Bradley and H. B. Steel, of Kentucky, named ch, c. 
 HawTc-Eye, by Sir Lovell, out of Pressure's dam, by Jenkins' 
 Sir "William, 4 yrs.— Dress, Orange and Black. 
 
 7. Archie Cheatham, of Virginia, named ch. h. Billy Townes, by 
 imp. Fylde, dam by Virginian, 5 yrs. — Dress, Purple and 
 Red. 
 
 8. James S. Garrison, of Louisiana, named ch. h. Wagner, by 
 Sir Charles, out of Maria "West, by Marion, 5 yrs. — Dress, Red 
 and Red, 
 
 9. "Wm. "Wynn, of Virginia, named b. c. Picton, by imp. Luz- 
 borough, out of Isabella, by Sir Archy, 5 yrs. — Dress, not 
 declared. 
 
 10. Wm. Buford, Jr., of Kentucky, named ch. f. Musidora, by 
 Medoc, dam by Kosciusko, 4 yrs.— Dress, not declared. 
 
110 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 The race came off on Monday, the 30th of Sep- 
 tember. Of the ten nominations, four onl}^ came to 
 the post — Wagner, Grey Eagle, Queen Mary, and 
 Hawk-Eye ; of the other six, Tarlton and Musidora 
 had given way in training ; Picton was in Tennessee, 
 and compLaining; Occident's trials would not justify 
 his starting ; Billy Townes and Mary Yaughan were 
 on the ground, but not up to the mark in condition. 
 From the day the stake closed, the betting had been 
 going on with spirit in different sections of the 
 country, increasing daily in amount as the race drew 
 nigh. From the first, Wagner was decidedly the 
 favorite ; and when it became reduced almost to a 
 certainty that not above six would start, the betting 
 was about 50 to T5 on him vs. the field. For many 
 months previous to the race, and before it was known 
 how many would start, odds were ofiered, from ISTew 
 York to New Orleans, on Wagner and Billy Townes 
 against the field. Immense sums were laid out at 
 odds, in Kentucky, on Grey Eagle's winning the first 
 heat, and in many instances he was backed against 
 Wagner for the race. In consequence of the un- 
 limited confidence felt by the Kentuckians in the 
 " foot " of Grey Eagle, it was resolved by the Wagner 
 party not to run for the first heat, unless circum- 
 stances should occur which might render it an easy 
 thing for their horse. But the day before the race a 
 commission from Kew Orleans was received, oft'ering 
 a large sum on Wagner's beating the gray the first 
 heat, which induced them to change this determina- 
 tion ; indeed, the inducement to run for it \\a& a 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. Ill 
 
 pretty substantial one, for they could lose nothing, 
 and might win several thousands — we do not feel at 
 liberty to say how many, or who were the parties ; it 
 is enough that they were keen, and also successful. 
 Two days before the race, Mr. McCargo gave Billy 
 Townes a trial with Missouri and Texana, and though 
 the result was entirely satisfactory, so far as his action 
 was concerned, he soon after cramped to such a de- 
 gree, that it was at once declared that he could not 
 be started. Mary Yaughan, we believe, was plated 
 for the race, but not being quite up to the mark, she 
 also paid forfeit. On the morning of the race, it 
 being understood pretty thoroughly that Wagner, 
 Grey Eagle, Queen Mary, and Hawk-Eye only would 
 start out of the ten nominations, " business " com- 
 menced in earnest, Wagner being freely offered 
 against the field, and as freely taken, while Grey 
 Eagle was backed at small odds for the first heat. 
 The " call " for the horses was sounded at a quarter 
 to one o'clock, and soon after all eyes were directed 
 toward a motley group approaching from Mr. Garri- 
 son's stable ; " with stately step and slow," the proud 
 champion of Louisiana made his appearance. He 
 was directly stripped, and a finer exhibition of the 
 perfection to which the trainer's art can be carried 
 we have rarely seen. His coat and eye were alike 
 brilliant— TF«^n^r is a light gold chestnut, with a 
 roan stripe on the right side of his face, and white 
 hind feet— about fifteen hands and a half high. His 
 head is singularly small, clean and bony, set on a 
 light but rather long neck ; forehanded, he resembles 
 
112 LIFE OF WILLIA3I T. PORTER. 
 
 the pictures of his sire, and in his carriage is said to 
 resemble him. His shoulder is immensely strong, 
 running very well back into a good middle-piece, 
 which is well ribbed home. One of the finest points 
 about him is his great depth of chest ; few horses can 
 measure with him from the point of his shoulder to 
 the brisket. His arms are heavily muscled, like 
 Mingo's, with the tendons standing out in bold re- 
 lief. He has uncommonly strong and wide hips, a 
 good loin, remarkably fine stifles and thighs, with as 
 fine hocks and legs as ever stood under a horse. 
 Wagner has been in training ever since his Three-year 
 old, and has travelled over three thousand miles, with- 
 out three weeks' rest this season ! Mr. Garrison com- 
 menced galloping him just four weeks previous to 
 this race; he had not even been turned loose in a 
 paddock. 
 
 A murmur, which was soon lost in a suppressed 
 cheer at the head of the quarter stretch, announced 
 to the multitude about the stand the approach of 
 Grey Eagle ; as he came up in front of the stand, his 
 lofty carriage and flashing eye elicited a burst of ap- 
 plause, which told better than words can express the 
 intense and ardent aspirations felt in his success, 
 by every son and daughter of Kentucky. Clinton, 
 his trainer, immediately stripped oflf his sheet and 
 hood, and a finer specimen of the high-mettled racer 
 was never exhibited. He was in condition to run for 
 a man's life — a magnificent gray, nearly sixteen 
 hands high, with the step of a gazelle and the strength 
 of a Bucephalus. Mr. Burbridge had told us that of 
 
LIFE OF WILLIA2VI T. PORTEK. 113 
 
 one thing lie was confident — his horse might want 
 foot, but of his game he was certain ; the correctness 
 of his judgment the sequel will show. In the hands 
 of Clinton, who, by the by, is a Kentuckian, not above 
 seven and twenty years of age, Grey Eagle had never 
 lost a heat ; the previous October, he won a two-mile 
 sweepstakes, over this course, in 3.4:1 — 3.4:3f ; and a 
 week afterwards repeated the race in 3.48 — 3.44. 
 His form indicates more power of endurance than 
 any horse we ever saw in Kentucky ; from the girth 
 forward, his shape and make could hardly be im- 
 proved, if he merely had the delicate, finely tapered 
 ears of a Sir Charles or a Wild Bill. Standing be- 
 hind him, his quarters display a fine development of 
 muscle, but many would call them light in proportion 
 to his size and forehead ; in this respect he closely 
 resembles Priam. His coupling, thigh and stifle are 
 unexceptionably good, and his hocks come well down 
 to the ground, giving him great length from this 
 point to that of the whirlbone. His legs are clean, 
 broad and flat, with the ham-strings and leaders 
 beautifully developed — no son of AVhip ever had a 
 finer set of limbs under him. 
 
 Two chestnuts next challenged the public's atten- 
 tion ; the first was Queen Mary, a very blood-like 
 looking filly, with white hind feet, that a single glance 
 would have shown to be a daughter of Bertrand. 
 She measures about 15^ hands, is well put up, and 
 when running in good form, must be a dangerous 
 lady to trifle with. Hawk-Eye, as we remember him, 
 is a heavy moulded colt, of nearly 15^ hands, with a 
 
114 LIFE OF "WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 
 
 star and white fore feet ; without the foot or the 
 endurance of his half-brother, Pressure, he presents 
 to the eye no such game aj)pearance. We trust he 
 was not himself on this occasion, or we should wish 
 " ne'er to look upon his like again," for he cut a 
 very sorry figure in this party. Both himself and 
 the Bertrand filly have been winners, and the latter 
 has ever been looked upon as a performer of great 
 promise. 
 
 At half-past one o'clock, the jockeys having re- 
 ceived their orders from the judges, the order was 
 given to " clear the course." Cato, called Kate, in a 
 richly-embroidered scarlet dress, was put upon Wag- 
 ner ; he is a capital jockey, and rode nearly up to his 
 weight, 110 pounds. The rider engaged for Grey 
 Eagle lost the confidence of his owners just before 
 the race, and at the eleventh hour they were obliged 
 to hunt up another. Stephen Welch, a three-year-old 
 rider, was selected, though obliged to carry thirteen 
 pounds dead weight in shot-pouches on his saddle ! 
 The friends of Grey Eagle, however, had entire confi- 
 dence in his honesty ; and it is clear that he did his 
 best, though, weighing, as he did, but eighty-two 
 pounds, he had neither the strength nor stamina to 
 hold and control a powerful, fiery horse like Grey 
 Eagle. He rode superbly for a lad of his years, 
 while Gate's exhibition of skill and judgment Avould 
 have done credit to Gil. Patrick. The horses took 
 their places in accordance with the precedence of their 
 nomination for the stake, Grey Eagle having the 
 inside track, Queen Mary second, Ilawk-Eye third, 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 115 
 
 and Wagner the outside. Just at tliis moment Mr, 
 Ward, the President of the Chib, dislodged the band 
 from their seats over the judges' stand, and Mr. Clay, 
 Judge Porter, Judge Eowan, our friend Col. Whet- 
 stone, of the Devil's Fork of the Little Ked, and the 
 writer of this article, with two or three other gentle- 
 men, were invited to occupy them, by which we all 
 obtained a fine view, not only of the race, but — of the 
 ladies in the stands opposite. 
 
 The Pace. 
 
 All being in motion and nearly in line, the Presi- 
 dent gave the word " Go ! " and tapped the drum. 
 Grey Eagle was the last off, while Wagner went away 
 like a quarter-horse, with Queen Mary well up second ; 
 they were taken in hand at once, which allowed 
 Hawk-Eye to take the place of the Queen on the back 
 stretch, and at the three-quarter mile-post, Wagner 
 allowed him to take the track. Hawk-Eye led home 
 to the stand at a moderate place, Wagner second, and 
 Queen Mary third ; both of them were pulling to 
 Grey Eagle, at whose head Stephen was tugging with 
 might and main. Hawk-Eye carried on the running 
 for about half a mile further, until Gooding bid Cato 
 "Go along." The pace mended at once; Wagner 
 went up to Hawk-Eye, and might have cut him down 
 in half a dozen strides, but the Queen was still lying 
 back, and Grey Eagle had not yet made a stroke. 
 Wagner came first to stand, and at the turn, Cato hav- 
 ing held up his whip as a signal to the crowd of rub- 
 
116 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TOETEK. 
 
 bers and boys on Garrison's stable, that " tlie old 
 sorrel stud " was going just right, they gave him a 
 slight cheer, at which Wagner broke loose, and made 
 a sj^read-eagle of the field in " no time." The other 
 jocks were not a little startled at this demonstration of 
 Wagner's speed, and each called upon his nag, so that, 
 opposite the Oakland House, near the three-quarter 
 mile post, the field closed. Stephen here let out the 
 phenomenon he so gracefully bestrode, and, like twin 
 bullets, the gallant gray and Wagner came out of the 
 melee. At the head of the quarter-stretch, Stephen 
 was told to " j^ull him steady," so that, before Wagner 
 leached the stand. Queen Mary had changed j^laces 
 with Grey Eagle, notwithstanding her saddle had 
 slipped on her withers. Hawk-Eye Avas already in 
 difficulty, and for him the j^ace was getting " no better 
 very fast." Grey Eagle set to work in earnest on 
 entering the back stretch, first out-footing the Queen 
 and then challenging Wagner. From the Oakland 
 House to the head of the quarter-stretch, the ground 
 is descending, and from thence up the straight run to 
 the stand, a distance of perhaps six hundred yards, 
 it is ascending. At the half-mile post Cato called 
 upon Wagner, and the critical moment having ar- 
 rived, Stephen collared him with the gray, on the 
 outside. For three hundred yards the pace was tre- 
 mendous ; Grey Eagle once got his head and neck in 
 front, and a tremendous shout was sent up ; but 
 Wagner threw him ofi" so far in going round the last 
 turn, that, half-way up the stretch, Mr. Burbridge 
 ordered him to be pulled up, and Wagner won clev- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 117 
 
 erly, Queen Maiy dropping just within her distance, 
 150 yards. Hawk-Eye was nowhere. Time, 7.48. 
 
 The disappointment and mortification were so 
 great, that for the first twenty minntes after the heat, 
 Queen Mary was freely backed against Grey Eagle, 
 while so far as "Wagner was concerned, it was con- 
 sidered " a dead open and shut." Before the forty- 
 five had elapsed, however, a re-action took place in 
 favor of Grey Eagle. Not a Kentuckian on the 
 ground laid out a dollar on Wagner I From the 
 first, the very few individuals who were disposed to 
 back hira on account of his blood, his form, his per- 
 formances, and his condition, had not staked a dollar ; 
 their judgment prompted them to back the Southern 
 Champion, but they woidd not bet against Kentucky ! 
 Talk of State pride in South Carolina ! Why, the 
 Kentuckians have more of it than the citizens of all 
 the States in the Confederacy added together. They 
 not only believe Kentucky to be the Eden of the 
 world and the garden of the Union, but their own 
 favorite county to be the asparagus-bed of the State ! 
 And they have good reason ; Kentucky is a glorious 
 State. The talent and chivalry of her sons are in 
 keeping with the intelligence and peerless beauty of 
 her daughters, and well may they be proud of her 
 and of each other. But to the horses. 
 
 All cooled off well, but more especially Grey 
 Eagle, who appeared not to mind the run a jot. They 
 got, as Clinton remarked, " a capital scraj)e out of 
 him," and he was " as fine as silk " — in good order 
 for a bruising heat. He extended himself with a 
 
118 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETER. 
 
 degree of ease in tlie second heat, and changed his 
 action in a manner that convinced us that the sweat 
 had relieved liim. "Wagner, Avho resembles Boston in 
 many other respects, showed all that placidity and 
 calmness of look and motion which characterizes " the 
 old White-nose." Great odds were offered on him 
 for the race, but small amounts only were staked. 
 Grey Eagle's noble bearing and game-cock look, as 
 he came up to the contest in a second heat for the 
 meed of honor and applause, was the theme of uni- 
 versal admiration ; so much so, indeed, that a cargo of 
 laces, gloves, bijouterie, etc., must have been required 
 to pay the wagers made in the Ladies' Pavilion. 
 
 Second Heat. — ^The tap of the drum sent them 
 away with a beautiful start, Wagner leading off with 
 a steady, business-like stride, while Grey Eagle, as 
 full of game as of beauty, waited upon him close up. 
 It was instantly evident that Mr. Burbridge had 
 changed his tactics ; the moment Stephen got Grey 
 Eagle into straight work on the back side, he made 
 play for the track, and after a terrific burst of speed 
 for one hundred and fifty yards, he came in front ; 
 keej)ing up his stroke, he soon after made a gap of four 
 lengths, and though Wagner drew upon him a little 
 in coming up the rising ground towards the stand, 
 yet he passed it far enough in advance to warrant the 
 warm and hearty plaudits of his friends. As if in- 
 spirited by the cheers of the crowd, and the tokens 
 of unalloyed gratification exhibited by the galaxy of 
 radiant beauty in the stands, Grey Eagle kept up 
 his murderous rate throughout the entire second mile ; 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 119 
 
 Wagner lay up close, and there was no faltering, no 
 flinching, no giving back, on the part of either. The 
 stride was over twenty-two feet, perfectly steady, 
 strong and regular, with no dwelling, no floundering, 
 no laboring. Grey Eagle made the running to be- 
 yond the half-mile post on the third mile, and the 
 pace seemed too good to last, but there were " links " 
 yet to be " let out." From this point the two cracks 
 made a match of it, in which Queen Mary had as 
 little apparent concern as if out of the race. Near 
 the Oakland House, Wagner set to work to do or die. 
 '•''Rowel him up ! " shouted his owner to Cato ; while 
 Garrison, at the head of the quarter-stretch, was wav- 
 ing his hat to him to come on ! The rally that ensued 
 down the descent to the turn was desperate, but 
 Wagner could not gain an inch ; as they swung round 
 into the quarter-stretch, they were lapped ; " spur 
 your proud coursers hard, and ride in blood ! " were 
 the orders on this, as they are described to have been 
 on Bosworth " field." Both horses got a taste of steel 
 and catgut as they came up the ascent, and on casting 
 our eye along the cord extending across the course 
 from the judges' to the Club stands. Grey Eagle was 
 the first under it by a head and shoulders ; at the turn 
 Stephen manoeuvred so as to press Wagner on the 
 outside, and soon after drew out clear in front, looking 
 so much like a winner, that the crowd, unable to re- 
 press an irresistible impulse, sent up a cheer that 
 made the welkin ring for miles around. Tlie group on 
 AVagner's stable again bid him " go on ! " but Cato, 
 " calm as a summer's morning," was quietly biding 
 
120 LIFE OF AVILLIAM T. POKTER. 
 
 his time ; lie seemed to feel that Patience has won 
 more dollars than Haste has coppers, and that there 
 was but a solitary chance of winning the race out of 
 the fire. Fully aware of the indomitable game of the 
 nonpareil under him, he thought if he could bottle 
 him up for a few hundred yards, there was still another 
 run to be got out of him. He accordingly took a 
 bracing pull on his horse, and though it was " go 
 along " every inch, "Wagner recovered his wind so as 
 to come again at the head of the quarter-stretch. 
 Stephen long ere this had become so exhausted as 
 to be unable to give Grey Eagle the support he 
 required ; he rode wide, swerving considerably from 
 a straight line, and was frequently all abroad in his 
 seat. From the Oakland House home, it was a terri- 
 ble race ! By the most extraordinary exertions "Wag- 
 ner got up neck and neck with " the gallant gray," 
 as they swung round the turn into the quarter-stretch. 
 The feelings of the assembled thousands were wrought 
 up to a pitch absolutely painful — silence the most 
 profound reigned over that vast assembly, as these 
 noble animals sped on as if life and death called forth 
 their utmost energies. Both jockeys had their whip- 
 hands at work, and at every stroke, each spur, with a 
 desperate stab, was buried to the rowel-head. Grey 
 Eagle, for the first hundred yards, was clearly gain- 
 ing ; but in another instant Wagner was even with 
 him. Both were out and doing their best. It was 
 anybody's race yet ! Now Wagner, now Grey 
 Eagle, luxs the advantage. It will be a dead heat ! 
 " See ! Grey Eagle's got him ! " " No, Wagner\« 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK, 121 
 
 ahead ! " A moment ensues — the peox^le shout — 
 hearts throb— ladies faint — a thrill of emotion, and 
 the race is over ! "Wagner wins by a neck, in 7.44, 
 the best race ever ran south of the Potomac ; while 
 Kentucky's gallant champion demonstrates his claim 
 to that proud title, by a performance which throws 
 into the shade the most brilliant ever made in his 
 native State. 
 
 Summary : 
 
 Monday, Sept. 30, 1839.— Sweepstakes for all ages, 3 yr. olds, 
 carrying 86 lbs.— 4, 100—5, 110—6, 118—7 and upwards,* 
 124 lbs. ; mares and geldings allowed 3 lbs. Ten subscribers 
 at $2,000 each, h. ft., to which the proprietors added tha 
 receipts of the stands. Four mile heats. 
 
 James S. Garrison's and John Campbell's ch. h. Wagner, by Sir 
 Charles, out of Maria West, by Marion, 5 yrs. Cato, 1 — 1 
 
 Oliver & Dickey's and A. L. Shotwell's gr. c. Grey Eagle, by 
 Woodpecker, out of Ophelia, by Wild Medley, 
 4 yrs Stephen Welch, 2—2 
 
 Capt. Willa Viley's ch. f. Queen Mary, by Bertrand, dam by 
 Brirnmer, 4 yrs 3 — 3 
 
 Bradley «& Steel's ch. c. HaioTc-Eye, by Sir Lovell, out of Press- 
 ure's dam, by Jenkin's Sir William, 4 yrs. . . dist. 
 Time, 7.48-7.44. 
 
 To say that "Wagner was better managed and bet- 
 ter jockeyed in this race than Grey Eagle, is to express 
 the opinion of every unprejudiced individual who 
 had the pleasure of witnessing it. What might have 
 been the result of the race, we cannot pretend to say, 
 but w^e assert with perfect confidence our belief, that 
 with Gil. Patrick on his back, Grey Eagle would have 
 6 
 
122 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. . 
 
 won tlie secon d heat. People differ in opinion, luckily, 
 and were it not so, we should be in a mass. Had the 
 managers of Grey Eagle been content to bide their 
 time, another tale might have been told. " Wait and 
 win " carries off more purses than " Take the track 
 and keep it." Grey Eagle could out-foot Wagner in 
 a brush of one hundred and fifty yards — he clearly 
 demonstrated that fact half a dozen times in the course 
 of the week ; but in a run of five or six hundred 
 yards, Wagner could beat him about the same distance. 
 The two horses were so nearly matched, that good 
 generalship and good riding did the business. Instead 
 of allowing him to go forward and cut out the work. 
 Grey Eagle should have been laid quietly behind, 
 with a steady, bracing pull, until within the distance 
 stand, and then pulled out, and made to win if he 
 could. That was his only chance ; tiring down Wag- 
 ner is like tiring down a locomotive. 
 
 We must here break off, but not without remark- 
 ing, that after being weighed, Cato was put again on 
 Wagner, and with the stakes in his hand — $14,000 ! — 
 he promenaded in front of the stand, preceded by a 
 band of music, playing " Old Yirginny never tire." 
 In bringing our report of this memorable race to a 
 conclusion, we must not neglect to record the gratify- 
 ing fact, that notwithstanding the immense throng 
 of spectators on the ground, and the peculiar excite- 
 ment of the occasion, not a solitary circumstance 
 occurred calculated for a moment to interrupt the 
 harmony and general good feeling wliicli prevailed 
 on all hands. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TORTER. 123 
 
 "We have not room to give the details of the run- 
 ning on the intermediate days of the meeting. Suffice 
 it to say, that the fine Medoc filly Cub won the Post 
 stake for 3 years olds, in 3.45| — 3.44 ; that the wood- 
 pecker colt Ealph won the three-mile purse cleverly, 
 in 5.50 each heat ; that the Eclipse mare Missouri 
 won the Oakland plate, two-mile heats, in 3.50 — 3.44 
 — 3.50 ; and that several other exhibitions of beauty, 
 game and speed were given during the week. The 
 first race between Wagner and Grey Eagle came off 
 on Monday ; on Saturday they again came out for 
 the Jockey Club purse of $1,500, four-mile heats. 
 Throughout the week the weather had been delightful, 
 and the attendance good enough to realize $15,000 to 
 the spirited proprietor ; but on this day there was an 
 immense gathering from far and near, and the sun 
 never shone out on a more lovely morning. The 
 attraction, it must be confessed, could not have been 
 surpassed — Wagner and Grey Eagle were again to 
 come together! After their race on Monday, both 
 parties immediately interested, were willing to draw 
 off their forces, and enjoy an honorable armistice until 
 next spring ; but the interference and misrepresentation 
 of sanguine friends ultimately broke off the truce exist- 
 ing between them, and the high contracting parties set 
 about prosecuting the war with greater zeal and energy 
 than ever. Some one wrote from Louisville, directly 
 after the race, to the eflect that Wagner had declined 
 to meet Grey Eagle in a match for $10,000, four-mile 
 heats ; which letter made its appearance in the columns 
 of a Lexington journal. This statement the friends 
 
124 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 
 
 of Grey Eagle did not deny, tliongli it was made 
 without their authority ; and in consequence AVagner 
 was forced to notice it. In an article " by authority," 
 from the pen of a distinguished correspondent of the 
 " Spirit of the Times," published in the " Louisville 
 Journal " on the 5th October, the writer remarked 
 to the following effect : 
 
 " Wagner and Grey Eagle. — The reputation of his horse is 
 dear to a turf-man, and it is his duty to shield and defend it as 
 he would his own honor. The contest between "Wagner and 
 Grey Eagle will long be remembered by those who witnessed it. 
 Wagner's honors were nobly won ; he earned them in a field where 
 every inch of ground was closely contested ; and any one who 
 would attempt to pluck a laurel from his brow, by falsehood or 
 misrepresentation, deserves the scorn of every honorable man. 
 
 " The writer of this has been induced to make these remarks, 
 from the fact that a letter has been published in a Lexington 
 paper, written from Louisville, containing a statement that Grey 
 Eagle had challenged "Wagner for $10,000, and the latter had 
 declined the contest. This statement is positively /a^^, and the 
 owners of Grey Eagle will cheerfully bear testimony to the truth 
 of the assertion. The facts of the case are these : "Wagner had 
 gained a victory over Grey Eagle — a victory in which even the 
 defeated party gained the brightest laurels, and won for himself 
 imperishable fame. Hence "Wagner's friends prized his victory 
 the more highly ; and, with that courtesy towards the friends of 
 Grey Eagle which is ever due from the victor to the vanquished, 
 they would have been willing to leave Kentucky, perfectly satis- 
 fied with his performance. He is willing to run him against 
 Grey Eagle, or any other horse in the United States, four-mile 
 heats, for $10,000, or any amount above that sum. This ofier is 
 made with no disposition to detract from the reputation of the 
 game and gallant Grey Eagle, but solely on account of justice to 
 "Wagner, who lias been placed in a situation by some of the friends 
 of Grey Eagle that leaves no aUernutivo." 
 
LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 125 
 
 The article just quoted made its appearance in tlie 
 " Journal " on the morning of the second race, which 
 we are about to describe ; but the friends of Grey Eagle 
 were prepared to see it. If we are not very much 
 mistaken, it was read to its owner, as it was to several 
 of his friends, two days before its publication, but 
 was delayed in the hope that Grey Eagle's friends 
 w^ould contradict the statement alluded to. In the 
 mean time both horses were got in order, to make 
 another race. AVe saw both immediately after their 
 first race, and on the following morning ; both recov- 
 ered well, and Grey Eagle especially so, exhibiting 
 very little stiffness or soreness. They improved from 
 that time up to Saturday morning, and we never saw 
 two high-mettled racers in finer condition than they 
 were when stripped to run their second race. 
 
 In anticipation of a race, which, for severity and in- 
 terest, would throw the first into the shade, both parties 
 were wide awake to secure every honorable advantage 
 within their reach. Wagner's rider, Cato, had become 
 free about the time of the first race ; if he rode the 
 second as well as he did the first, many are the odd 
 twenties and fifties he was promised. Stephen Welch, 
 Grey Eagle's jockey in his first race, weighing but 82 
 pounds, the managers of the horse endeavored to find 
 a rider nearer up to his proper weight, 100 pounds. 
 The only one on the ground preferable to their own, was 
 Mr. McCargo's Archer, a very capital rider, with a 
 good seat, a steady hand and a cool head. Mr. 
 McCargo having no interest whatever in the race, at 
 once placed Archer's services at the disposal of Grey 
 
126 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 Eagle's friends ; but as his doing so might possibly 
 place him in a position of great delicacy and embar- 
 rassment, at his own request they relieved him from 
 it, and concluded to put up Stephen Welch again, 
 whose only fault Avas that there was not enough of 
 him ! 
 
 After the race on Monday, the topic of conversa- 
 tion in every circle was the prospect of a second one 
 between the rival champions. The Wagner party 
 were not anxious for a race, but they would not avoid 
 one ; their horse had not only realized their expecta- 
 tions, but had exceeded their most sanguine hopes, and 
 they were prepared to back him to " the size of their 
 pile." And well did that noble son of a worthy sire 
 justify the high opinion of his friends — a small circle, 
 it is true, but they were staunch and firm ; and when 
 it came to " putting up the mopasses," there were 
 enough of them to " suit customers," and no mis- 
 take ! The friends of Grey Eagle had every reason 
 to be proud of the first performance of their horse, 
 and they were so. He was the first discoverer of 
 " the Forties " in a four-mile race, ever bred in Ken- 
 tucky, and he had explored the degrees of pace to 
 the latitude of 44 below the equator ! All this he 
 had done as an untried four-year old, and if his friends 
 backed him with less confidence now, it was on ac- 
 count of the severe race he had made five days pre- 
 vious. He was in fine health, and his look and action 
 indicated all the spirit and courage of a game-cock, 
 but it was thought physically impossible for him to 
 make such another race as his first in the same week. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POUTER. 127 
 
 The betting consequently settled down at two and three 
 to one on Wagner. 
 
 It will naturally be supposed that the rumor of a 
 second four-mile race betw^een these two cracks, 
 attracted an immense crowd of spectators. Many 
 persons came down from Cincinnati, while the citizens 
 of Lexington, Frankfort, Georgetown and the circle 
 of towns for fifty miles about Louisville, turned out 
 in great numbers. Again the city was crowded, and 
 on the morning of the race every carriage and horse in 
 town was in requisition. Many were glad to get out 
 to the course and call it " riding," when jolting along 
 in a bone-setter, compared with which riding on a 
 white-oak rail would be fun ! Again the ladies turned 
 out en masse, to grace the scene with their radiant 
 beauty, and " lend enchantment to the view " of the 
 race — and of themselves. 
 
 The jockeys having received their instructions 
 from the judges, " mounted in hot haste," Cato on 
 "Wagner, and Stephen Welch on Grey Eagle. The 
 third entry was Messrs. Viley & Ward's Emily John- 
 son — own sister to Singleton, and half-sister to Mistle- 
 toe — a four-year old bay filly by Bertrand, out of 
 Black-eyed Susan. She was not in prime fit, and 
 could not, therefore, live in such a crowd. 
 
 THE RACE. 
 
 At the word " Go," Wagner went off with the 
 lead at about three parts speed, Emily lying second, 
 and all three under a strong pull. Grey Eagle's long, 
 
128 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 steady stride, after getting into straight work going 
 down the back stretch, soon brought him up with 
 the field ; and opposite the Oakland House — about 
 300 yards beyond the half-mile post — the three were 
 lapped. The pace now improved ; Grey Eagle drew 
 out at the last turn, but Wagner having the inside, 
 and beginning to get warm, made sharp running up 
 the stretch to the stand, and on the next turn came 
 out clear in front. Down the back stretch they each 
 kept up a good racing stroke, but at the Oakland 
 House, Grey Eagle increased his stride and locked 
 "Wagner ; as neither was yet called upon, a very fair 
 view w^as had of their relative rate of going ; Grey 
 Eagle led down to the head of the stretch and up to 
 the stand by half a length, and immediatel}^ after 
 came in front. He carried on the running two lengths 
 in advance to near the termination of the mile, when 
 Wagner got a hint to extend himself; without lapping 
 him, Wagner waited upon him to close up, and oppo- 
 site the Oakland House made his run ; the rally that 
 ensued was a very brilliant affair, but Grey Eagle 
 out-footed him in one hundred yards, and drew out 
 clear amidst tremendous cheers from all parts of the 
 course. The instant Wagner declined, Emily took his 
 place, lapping the Grey as they swung round the turn. 
 But Wagner had yet another run left, and they had 
 no sooner got into the quarter-stretch than Cato set to 
 work with him. Grey Eagle had been able to pull 
 to Emily, and accordingly, when Wagner by an extra- 
 ordinary effort reached him half-way up the stretch, 
 lie was able to outfoot him a second time, and came 
 
LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 129 
 
 away home a gallant winner by .nearly a length, 
 Emily having the second place, amidst the waving 
 of hats and handkerchiefs, and tumultuous cheers, 
 that would well-nigh have drowned the roar of Nia- 
 gara ! The first mile was run in 2.05 — the second in 
 1.55 — the third in 1.56 — the fourth in 1.55 ; making 
 the time of the heat 7.51. 
 
 The heartfelt gratification and rapture exhibited 
 at the close of the heat by the assembled thousands, 
 knew no bounds. Kentucky's most distinguished 
 sons, and her loveliest daughters, felt alike interested, 
 and Grey Eagle's success was enjoyed as if each was 
 personally concerned. The odds, from being two and 
 three to one in favor of "Wagner, now changed, and 
 Grey Eagle had the call at four to three. Consider- 
 able sums were staked, as Garrison declared " the old 
 sorrel stud " had sulked, but would show his hand 
 the next heat. The fact was. Grey Eagle for the 
 first time had been properly managed ; instead of 
 running the whole last half-mile, he had taken advan- 
 tage of the ground, and made his first run down 
 the descent from the Oaldand House to the head of 
 the stretch, and then being braced up for three hun- 
 dred yards, which allowed him time to recover his 
 wind, he was able to come again and make a second 
 rally, as brilliant as the first. As we before re- 
 marked, we think Wagner could beat Grey Eagle by 
 a desperate rush for six hundred yards at the heel of 
 a very fast heat, but not over a head and shoulders at 
 that ; while Grey Eagle had so much more speed, 
 that in a brush of one hundred and fifty yards he 
 6* 
 
130 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 
 
 could let in the daylight between them. With so 
 light and feeble a rider as Stephen on his back, it was 
 imiDossible to place Grey Eagle exactly as his man- 
 agers would have liked, tliough he is a fine-tempered 
 horse, and runs kindly ; the result of the race, we 
 trust, will be a caution to them hereafter, how they 
 venture in a race of so much importance without j)i*o- 
 viding that most indispensable of requisites to success 
 — a suitable jockey. Both horses jierspired freely, and 
 in much less time than could have been expected they 
 cooled out finely ; neither hung out a signal of dis- 
 tress, but came up for the second heat with distended 
 nostrils and eyes of fire, betokening the most unflinch- 
 ing courage. At the tap of the drum the horses were 
 hardly in motion, and Cato drew his whip on Wagner 
 the very first jump. The pace was little better than 
 a hand-gallop for the first half-mile, but as Wagner 
 led past the entrance-gate, Gooding bid hijn " go 
 along," and he increased his rate. Stephen seeing 
 this, let the gray out a link, and in going down the 
 descending ground below the Oakland House, went 
 up on the inside so suddenly, that he had locked Wag- 
 ner before Cato was aware of his close proximity. 
 The run up the quarter-stretch was a pretty fast thing, 
 though neither was doing his best ; the time of the 
 mile was 2.08. The crowd cheered them as they ran 
 lapped past the stand, at which Grey Eagle pricked 
 up his ears and set to work in earnest, shaking off 
 Wagner at the next turn. The race had now com- 
 menced ; Stephen braced his horse as well as he 
 was able, and kept him up to his rate down the entire 
 
LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 131 
 
 length of the back stretch. At the Oakland House 
 Cato again called on Wagner, and steel and catgut 
 came into play. The gallant gray led clear to the 
 turn, and half-way up the stretch, Stephen beginning 
 to use his whip-hand, and to give the nonpareil under 
 him an occasional eye-opener with the spur. This 
 mile was run in 1.52. They passed the stand neck 
 and neck, Emily being already nearly out of her dis- 
 tance. From the stand to the first turn the ground is 
 descending, and here almost invariably Grey Eagle 
 gamed upon Wagner, who ke^^t up one steady stride 
 from end to end, without flinching or faltering, and 
 able always to do a little more when persuaded by the 
 cold steel with which Cato plied him ever and anon 
 throughout the heat. We said they passed the stand 
 on the second mile neck and neck ; when they reached 
 the turn Grey Eagle had got in front, but no sooner 
 had they come into straight work on the back side, 
 than Wagner made a most determined challenge and 
 locked him ; the contest was splendid, and was main- 
 tained with unflinching game and spirit ; at the end 
 of 700 yards, however, Grey Eagle had the best of 
 it, for in spite of Cato's most desperate efforts Wagner 
 could only reach Stephen's knee ; Grey Eagle seemed 
 able, after a brush of one hundred yards, to come again 
 with renewed vigor ; if well braced, for a dozen 
 strides. Down the descent, on the last half-mile, 
 Grey Eagle maintained his advantage, but on descend- 
 ing towards the stand Wagner's strength told, and 
 they came through under w^hip and spur, Wagner 
 having his head and neck in front, running this mile 
 
132 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 
 
 in 1.55. Steplien was here instructed to take a strong 
 pull on his horse, and to " hee^p Mm moving,''^ while 
 " ra77i the spurs into him,''^ were the orders to Cato. 
 The result was that Wagner came in front, and the 
 pace down the entire back stretch was tremendous, 
 both being kept up to their rate by the most terrible 
 punishment. Unfortunately, Stejihen was directed to 
 " take the trad " about opposite the Oakland House, 
 instead of putting the issue on a brush up the last 
 200 yards of the heat. Too soon the gallant Grey 
 was called upon, but true as steel the noble animal 
 responded to it. With the most dauntless courage he 
 made his run down the descending ground, and 
 though Wagner, like the bravest of the brave, as he 
 is, made the most desperate efforts. Grey Eagle came 
 round the last turn on the outside, with his head and 
 shoulders in front, at a flight of speed we never saw 
 equalled. Both jockeys were nearly faint with their 
 exertions, and Stephen, poor fellow, lost his presence 
 of mind. Up to the distance stand it was impossible 
 to say which was ahead ; whips and spurs had been 
 in constant requisition the entire mile, but at this 
 moment Stephen gave up his pull, and unconsciously 
 yawed the horse across the track, which broke him off 
 his stride, while Cato, holding Wagner well together, 
 and mercilessly dashing in his spurs, at length brought 
 him through, a gallant winner by a neck, having run 
 the last mile in 1.48, and the heat in Y.43 ! 
 
 This was, without exception, the most game and 
 spirited race we ever witnessed. Tlie heat was Wag- 
 ner's, and while we accord to him all the reputation 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 133 
 
 SO brilliantly won after a bloody struggle of nearly 
 three miles, we feel bound to express tlie belief, that 
 for an untried four-year-old, Grey Eagle's performance 
 is without a parallel in the annals of the American 
 Turf ! The last three miles of a second heat, in a 
 second four-mile race the same week, were run in 
 5.35, and the eighth mile in 1.48 ! 
 
 Tlie enthusiasm of the spectators was now excited 
 to the highest pitch. Tliere was not on the ground, 
 probably, an individual who would not have been 
 pleased to see the horses withdrawn, and the purses 
 divided between them, rather than farther task the 
 indomitable game and courage of these noble ani- 
 mals ; but no such proposition was made, and after 
 the usual respite they were brought to the post a 
 third time, and it would have been difficult to decide 
 which had recovered best. So much feeling was 
 manifested in reference to the horses, that the baser 
 impulses to bet on the result of the concluding heat 
 were almost entirely disregarded ; odds, however, were 
 in a few instances offered on Wagner. In detailing 
 the contest for the third heat, we are compelled to 
 record 
 
 "A few of tlie unpleasaatest words 
 That e'er man writ on paper ! " 
 
 At the word " ^70," they broke off with a racing 
 stride, Wagner taking the lead by about two lengths ; 
 the pace was moderate, for Stephen on Grey Eagle 
 was expressly charged to pull him steady, and wait 
 for orders. Wagner accordingly led with an easy 
 
134 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TORTEK. 
 
 stroke throiigli the first mile, and being cheered as 
 he passed the stand, he widened the gap soon after to 
 four or five lengths. At the half-mile post Grey 
 Eagle made play, and had nearly closed the gap as 
 they came opposite the Oakland House, when he sud- 
 denly faltered as if shot, and after limping a step or 
 two, abruptly stopped ! " Grey Eagle has let doion ! " 
 was the cry on all hands, and when the spectators 
 became aware of the truth of the painful announce- 
 ment, the tearful eyes of a radiant host of Kentucky's 
 daughters, and the heartfelt sorrow depicted in the 
 countenance of her sons, indicated the sincerity of 
 the sympathy with which they regarded the untimely 
 accident to their game and gallant champion ! It was 
 supposed, on a hasty examination, that Grey Eagle 
 had given way in the back sinews of his left fore 
 leg, but it has since been ascertained that the in- 
 jury was in the cofiin joint. Mr. Burbridge on the 
 instant tightly bandaged the leg with a stout strip of 
 dry canvas, which being kept wet, would have pre- 
 vented the horse from coming down on his pastern 
 joints, even had his leaders given way. A fortnight 
 after the race the horse promised to recover perfectly ; 
 Mr.. Shotwell informed us that the ankle and joint 
 were a little swollen, but neither the horse's pastern 
 nor cannon bones were affected, and his leaders were 
 as stout as ever. We need not add, that, while his 
 owners and managers have the cordial spnpathy 
 of their friends, and the Sporting World generally, 
 there is no one " with soul so dead " as to with- 
 hold the expression of their admiration of the gal- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 135 
 
 lant gray, and their heartiest wishes for his speedy 
 recovery. 
 
 Soon after Grey Eagle was stopped, Cato pulled 
 Wagner out of his stride, and galloped him slowly 
 round. The intelligence of the high-mettled racer 
 was clearly indicated by Wagner's subsequent action ; 
 from the head of the stretch home he invariably went 
 at a racing j)ace, and appeared as if he did not know 
 what was required of him, frequently bursting off in 
 spite of his rider. On the fourth mile, as he passed 
 his own stable, the rubbers and riders standing on its 
 roof gave him a hearty cheer, and the gallant horse 
 broke off, and in spite of Cato's utmost exertions, ran 
 at the very top of his speed for nearly 500 yards, as 
 if plied with steel and whalebone the whole way ! 
 We never saw a more magnificent exhibition of un- 
 flinching game ; even the friends of Grey Eagle forgot 
 their distress for a moment, in doing justice by a 
 cheer to the gallant and victorious champion of 
 Louisiana ! 
 
 Recapitulation : 
 
 Saturday, Oct. 5. — Jockey Club purse, $1,500, conditions as be- 
 fore, four-mile heats. James S. Garrison's and John Camp- 
 bell's ch. h. Wagner, by Sir Charles, out of Maria West, by 
 Marion, 5 yrs Cato, 3 — 1 — 1 
 
 A. L. Shotwell's gr. c. Grey Eagle, by Woodpecker, out of 
 Ophelia, by Wild Medley, 4 yrs. Stephen Welch, 1 — 2 * 
 
 Willa Viley's b. f. Emily Johnson, own sister to Singleton, by 
 Bertrand, out of Black-eyed Susan, by Tiger, 4 yrs. 2 dist. 
 Time, Y.51 — 7.43 — third heat, no time kept. 
 
 * Grey Eagle gave way in second mile. 
 
136 
 
 LIFE OF WILLIAai T. POKTEK, 
 
 For more convenient reference, we repeat the time 
 of eacli mile in tabular form : 
 
 1st mill 
 2d " 
 3d " 
 4th " 
 
 2.05 
 1.55 
 1.56 
 1.55 
 
 Second Heat. 
 1st mile 
 
 2.08 
 1.52 
 1.55 
 1.48 
 
 No time kept, as Grey 
 Eagle gave way in run- 
 ning the second mile. 
 
 American Turf Register, vol ii., p. 119. 
 
CHAPTEK YI. 
 
 In the month of October, 1840, the editor 
 writes : 
 
 " During the wliole of tlie last three years, the high rate of 
 exchange, and the deranged condition of commercial affairs 
 thi-oughout the country, have rendered a continual struggle 
 against the evils that followed in their train absolutely essential 
 to the maintenance of our position, and have forced us to the 
 most disagreeable and ruinous expedients. Like others, we flat- 
 tered ourselves, from month to month, and from year to year, 
 that a transition to better times could not be far distant, and we 
 determined to defer yet a little longer the earnest appeal which 
 we must now make to the sense of justice of every subscriber to 
 either of our publications. The prompt payment of whatever 
 sums which may be due to us, is the only means by which we 
 can hope to sustain ourselves as proprietors of periodicals not 
 entirely unworthy the countenance and support of the sporting 
 world, as the sole accredited organs and official records of what- 
 ever pertains to the American Turf." 
 
 Another, and a vexations annoyance, induced the 
 editor to appeal to the " felons " who had deprived 
 
138 LIFE OF WILLI Ail T. POKTEK. 
 
 him, at one fell swoop, of new and valuable music, 
 and an 023era-glass : 
 
 " We live," said lie, " in a musical age and in a musical coun- 
 try ; but that is not a good reason (though perhaps a rational 
 one as times go) that there should be a community in musical 
 property. Yet such a jihase of agrarianism has certainly pre- 
 sented itself within these few days before our lamenting eyes. 
 And now exjjerientia docet what we had been before taught 
 theoretically to believe — videlicet : Abstracting opera-glasses is 
 a custom, which, as ' Soft Recorders ' have said or sung, ' is 
 practised to a great extent in this country ! ' " 
 
 While Mr. Porter was at the South, the sad intel- 
 ligence reached him of the death of his brother Ben- 
 jamin, on the 11th of December, 1840, bj pulmonary 
 consumption. He was designed for college, but pre- 
 ferred the stirring activity of mercantile pursuits, and 
 while pre^jaring for his chosen walk in life, was a 
 member of the family of Hon. George Blake, of Bos- 
 ton, then United States Attorney for the District of 
 Massachusetts. Not long after commencing business, 
 in Mobile, Ala., he married Kebecca Setoii Maitland, 
 of New York, a ward of the Kt. Kev. Bislioi) Hobart. 
 He had clear perceptions, cool judgment, remarkable 
 shrewdness, and was stamped with more than ordi- 
 nary mental vigor. In the words of Horace Greeley 
 to the writer, " he was a strong character," but want- 
 ing that stimulus to exertion which the pursuit of a 
 competency keej^s alive and effective ; his really 
 remarkable capabilities were never fully developed. 
 Happy are they whose circumstances are the spur to 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 139 
 
 useful and generous toil, be it mental or bodily ; so 
 that " the Spring and Summer of life may be prepara- 
 tory to the harvest of Autumn, and the repose of 
 winter," 
 
 On his return to New York in 1841, from the 
 South and West, Mr. Porter thus playfully alludes to 
 the overwhelming load of commissions for Southern 
 and Western friends that required his first attention 
 upon getting home : 
 
 " Every nook and corner of tlie office we find filled with 
 letters and communications, and we have commissions enough to 
 employ seven men and a boy for a fortnight. All sorts of ' fixins ' 
 are wanted from blood horses to copper coal scuttles — from long- 
 tailed sows and short-legged pigs, to jockey spurs and patent 
 lightning-rods. One gentleman alone wants a 3-year-old Bare- 
 foot colt, a gardener, a trotting stallion, a 3-year-old jockey, a 
 Durham bull, a trainer and a mousetrap ! Nothing, however, 
 gives us more pleasure than to have it in our power to oblige our 
 friends ; and as we are in want of all sorts of truck, persons would 
 do well to make known at this office if they have ' on sale or to 
 let ' either setters or saddles, chestnut horses or horse chestnuts, 
 rifles or radish-seed, fighting cocks or patent axle-trees, frogs 
 for frying or tragedians for dying, wet nurses or salmon flies, 
 Muscovy hens or pointers, pidlets, Chifney bits, or Smith's Lay 
 Sermons, indelible ink or Ely's wire cartridges, camp meeting 
 hymn books or Conroy's best trout rods, three-year-old fillies or 
 presents for New Year's, Bowie knives or Nicholas Nickleby, the 
 last ladies' fashions or songs of Jim Crow, old files of the ' Spirit ' 
 or the latest new caricatures, tandem whips or country-house 
 almanacs, racing plates or French mustard, patent side-saddles or 
 ivory toddy-sticks, timing watches or Troy-built coaches. "We 
 cannot begin to think of half the things that are marked down in 
 our memorandum-book, under the general head of '^ca?^^' 
 though several leaves might be filled up with our own under the 
 head of ' New Subsciibcrs,' and ' Available funds." 
 
140 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 
 
 Ill the number for March 27, 1841, may be found 
 that most admirable sketch of backwoods life, the 
 "j5/(/ Bear of Arl'a7isas," which was expressly writ- 
 ten for the j)aper, by the author of " Tom Owen the 
 Bee Hunter," Col. T. B. Thorpe, who, now in the 
 mutation of all sublunary things, is no longer a resi- 
 dent of Louisiana, but of New York, and a successor 
 to his old friend and patron, as one of the editors and 
 proprietors of the very paper which, nearly a score of 
 years ago, was enriched by his graphic delineations 
 and quiet humor. 
 
 While in New Orleans, Mr. Porter witnessed the 
 race between Sarah Bladen and Luda, which was 
 won by the former in Y.45 — 7.40 ; and which he pro- 
 nounced at the time to be the best race ever run south 
 of the Potomac ; a few weeks afterwards he wrote to 
 the ' Spirit ' : 
 
 " I have now to write that on this, the 20th day of March, I 
 have seen a race which throws the one referred to, comparatively 
 in the shade. Kely upon it Grey Medoc's race to-day, is the best 
 race ever run in America ! I have witnessed nearly all the great 
 performances on the Turf for several years past, but I have never 
 seen a race more desperately contested, or more gallantly won. 
 Even the beaten horses have acquired a reputation which a suc- 
 cession of bloodless victories would not have won for them. I 
 doubt if it will ever be my good fortune to see such another per- 
 formance, and much do I regret that want of ability not less than 
 leisure, i)revents my doing justice to a race that will occupy the 
 most distinguished place in the racing calendar, and go down 
 through all time as one of the most magnificent exhibitions on 
 record of tiie surpassing speed and game of the High Mettled 
 Racer of America. It was a four-mile race over the Louisiana 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 141 
 
 Course, {over a mile in lengthy) won by Grey Medoc. Beating 
 Altorf and Denizen. Time : 7.35—8.19—7.42—8.17." 
 
 The paper of June 5 contains several columns of 
 interesting matter, written by the editor while in 
 Kentucky ; we can spare room but for a single para- 
 graph : 
 
 " Since my arrival in Kentucky, I think I must have seen 
 from one to two thousand thorough-bred colts ! I have tramped 
 miles upon miles through the magnificent woodland pastures, 
 admiring the diflerent varieties of the 'long' and ' short ' horned 
 cattle, and the cattle with no horns at all, and have come to 
 think no small beer of myself as a judge of long-tailed pigs and 
 flat-tailed sheep. I do not ' cotton ' to mules, though I saw four 
 driven up to the door of the Gait House this morning, (May 27tb,") 
 hitched to the mail stage between this city (Louisville) and Nash- 
 ville ; they run out and into town daily, making sixteen miles, 
 and trot eight miles an hour, the driver teUs me. But as for the 
 ' splendid Jacks ' you hear so much of, they can give odds to 
 any thing wearing hair for ugliness ; if Balaam's ass was such a 
 fright as some I've seen here, it is not so surprising that he 
 spoke ; each particular bone and hair in his skin must have 
 ached ! " 
 
 In the ' Spirit " of ]^ov. 13, the editor thus chron- 
 icles the return of his friend Eobert L. Stevens, from 
 Europe, after an absence of a few months ; 
 
 " ' Stephens' Travels in South America ' is the most popular 
 book of the season, but it would be so no longer if our neighbor 
 Mr. Stevens, of Barclay Street, would ' witch the world ' with an 
 account of the thousand and one rare things he has seen and 
 heard, men and women, too, inclusive, during his tour of some 
 ten thousand miles or more. He heard Kubini and Lablache, 
 
142 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 
 
 and saw Coronation win the Derby. He has seen Ghiucus and 
 Louis Philippe, the Royal Yacht Club, and the Alps. lie saw 
 mucli of Hamburg, but a good deal more of humbug. He visited 
 the most celebrated breeding studs in England, and the veritable 
 Maria Farina at Cologne. He saw Taglione in the Beyadere, 
 and the National Column at the Place Vendome. He visited 
 
 Tattersall's at , and the Emperor at Vienna ; raised his hat 
 
 to the Pope in Rome, and to the Queen of Beauty in Buckingham 
 Palace. He has ridden in the diligence at Calais, and the pony 
 phaston at Windsor. Has talked horse with Prince Albert, and 
 soft nonsense with Rachel. The doors of science, genius and 
 fashion were thrown open to him, and the Marquis of Waterford 
 wrenched off the knocker of his lodgings. He visited the ' Curios- 
 ity Shop ' with the Boss, (' Boz,') and thought of ' Old Nap ' and 
 Boston on the field of Waterloo. He achieved the dinners at 
 Milan while he abominated the chops of the Channel. He saw 
 Deaf Burke set-to in London, and set to Isabey himself in Paris. 
 Brougham he thought had a very queer handle, (who 7iose?) and he 
 saw all the world in Hyde Park. He found Compte d'Orsay's tiger 
 quite tame, and thought Mrs. Norton very like an ' undying one ; ' 
 He heard her new comedy, and Soult rehearse his old campaigns. 
 He saw Byron's Chateau near Genoa, and Harkaway's stables at 
 
 the . He walked through the Tunnel and the Louvre, over 
 
 the Vatican and Epsom Downs. He saw the sausage makers at 
 Boulogne, and the sausage eaters at Berlin. He ' took a private 
 drink ' with Metternich at Johannisberg, and ' pot luck ' with 
 the Duke at Apsley House. He saw Jem Ward and Mme. Laf- 
 farge ; the Due d'Orleans and Mrs. Trollope ; the Tower and the 
 guillotine ; Crockford's Club and the Palais Royal ; the house 
 that Jack built and Westminster Abbey. He — but we must 
 stop short." 
 
 In 1 842 a change took j)lace in the proprietorship 
 of the paper, whicli resulted from a variety of eircuni- 
 stances. The management of all its departments, 
 fiscal and literary, in the hard times then Aveighing 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. P0RTP:K. 143 
 
 down the community, was too great a tax on the 
 energies of any one person ; w^liile the rninons dis- 
 count upon AVestern and Southern bank notes, added 
 to the depressed state of the coimtry, and the back- 
 wardness of subscribers to liquidate their accounts, 
 (the amount then due to the oftice being more than 
 forty thousand dollars,) rendered it impossible longer 
 to carry on the war under such adverse circumstances. 
 To perfect some proposed improvements in the paper, 
 and to relieve the editor of a portion of the arduous 
 and responsible duties which had hitherto devolved 
 upon him, the husincss of the office was placed in the 
 hands of Mr. John Richards, a printer by profession, 
 and who, up to the last week of his life in February, 
 1859, gave strict attention to its various details. The 
 writer was acquainted with Mr. Eichards for years 
 before the sale of the paper to him, and met him at 
 the " Spirit " office only a few days before his unex- 
 pected death ; during all that time, he ever found 
 " The Governor " an honest, reliable and independent 
 ■ man. 
 
 In April, Mr. Porter published a very thorough 
 and well-considered article called " Profit and Loss 
 Account " of the " Spirit," a j)art of w^hich we insert. 
 After alluding to the perplexities of some of the pre- 
 vious years, he pertinently asks : 
 
 " "What has been effected by all this labor of years, followed 
 up under such discouragement and annoyances ; what has the 
 ' Spirit of the Times ' done for the Turf or the Sporting "World ? 
 To this we proceed to answer : 
 
 " It has added thirty per cext. to the value of rlood 
 
144 LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 STOCK throughout the United States ! In this we are borne out 
 not alone by our own observation, but by the testimony of the 
 most sagacious Turfmen in the country, and the most extensive 
 Breeders. Nor in the universal decline of prices consequent 
 upon the disordered currency of the last few years, has the price 
 of Blood Stock fallen so rapidly or so low as other descriptions 
 of property. This paper was the first that ever paid Travelling 
 Correspondents, by which the earliest and most important Sport- 
 ing Intelligence was procured and disseminated, and by which a 
 system of Correspondence was established through which events 
 of interest transpiring hundreds of miles distant have been com- 
 municated and published in its columns at a date as early in 
 many cases as in tlie local newspapers. The utmost efforts were 
 requisite and immense expense was involved for several years 
 before it was possible to effect this consummation. In its early 
 career, too, the ' Spirit ' had to contend with many formidable 
 rivals, which one by one either broke down or were withdrawn. 
 " The salutary effects of reporting every race in the Union and 
 in Canada, and the principal ones in Great Britain, are manifest 
 in the increased degree of good feeling and intimacy existing 
 between the Turfmen and Breeders of the different States — in the 
 promotion of the sales of horses, in the Importation of choice 
 Blood from abroad, and in the encouragement of the best of our 
 IsTative Bred Stock, And no sensible person can doubt that 
 hundreds of individuals have been induced, by reading of the 
 success of others, to invest large sums in Stock, and enter exten- 
 sively both upon Breeding and Racing— than which no iavest- 
 ment can be more honorable, or more advantageous to the 
 Agricultural Interests of the country. Thousands have borne 
 testimony, and will yet do so, with what zeal this department of 
 the paper has been conducted, and how beneficial an influence it 
 has exerted upon their individual revenues. IIow many young 
 Trainers have we brought into notice, and inspirited to become 
 useful and respectable members of society; and how many 
 jockeys have been convinced that ' honesty is the best policy,' 
 from seeing their names in print, accompanied by a gratifying 
 rennirk ! How many gentlemen about to decline the Turf have 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. I'ORTEE. 145 
 
 been induced to persevere from reading of brilliant stakes and 
 high prices paid for horses ; and how many sales of stock have 
 been effected by making breeders and turfmen better acquainted 
 with each other ! Of our friends and acquaintances, not a 'few 
 are indebted to us, possibly unknowingly, for interposing a 
 shield between them and detraction. Many have we served, and 
 in their time of need. And how many have we rendered prom- 
 inent and popular, whose modest, sterling worth, would otherwise 
 have been unknown beyond their own neighborhoods ? Others 
 there are whose interests are watched over with as keen an eye as 
 our own ; and there are many whom we have disenthralled from 
 deep-rooted prejudices and absurd misapprehensions ; and many 
 whom we have cheered on and supported in the good cmtse by a 
 timely suggestion, a favorable notice, and an appeal to their pride, 
 or by prudential advice. Nor may we altogether omit to mention 
 that we have been in the constant habit for years, of executing 
 commissions of all descriptions for our sporting subscribers, 
 whether acquaintances or not, without any charge whatever, 
 though frequently thereby subjected to serious inconvenience 
 and expense. The person obliged being a subsoeibee, we have 
 performed whatever labor of love was required with the most 
 cheerful readiness. 
 
 " Nor do our claims on the Sportsmen of the United States 
 stop here. We claim to have elevated the character of the pur- 
 suits of the Turf to a pitch they had never before reached in 
 public estimation on this side the Atlantic. When this journal 
 was commenced, the strongest prejudice existed, especially at the 
 North, towards Racing and Eacing men. This prejudice had 
 been lineally transmitted from the Puritans of New England, 
 who, carrying to an extreme their hatred of the civil and religious 
 principles of the Cavaliers, involved in a sweeping and indiscrimi- 
 nate censure the excessive loyalty, the haughty assumption, and 
 the religious intolerance which distinguished the aristocratic 
 party, with the gallantry, the courtesy, and love of manly amuse- 
 ments, which rendered the exercise of their power at least grace- 
 ful and elegant. We have cautiously eschewed sympathy with 
 such English amusements as are deemed brutal and gross in cither 
 7 
 
14G LITE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 
 
 countrj^, and as sedulously exhibited the fairer side of the picture, 
 recording the proceedings on the Turf and in the Field of the 
 legitimate ' Old English Sportsmen ' — a class of gentlemen com- 
 posed of the proudest, most enlightened, and most refined of the 
 nobility and gentry of Great Britain. Holding up so constantly 
 the example of the best blood of the old country, we have like- 
 wise made the public at large more intimately acquainted -with 
 the high character and social position of our Turfmen, till the 
 prejudice which once universally here prevailed towards a ' horse- 
 racer,' has become extinct, save in the breasts of those who 
 equally condemn the most tasteful and delightful recreations of 
 society. 
 
 " To effect our purpose, unwearied pains have been employed 
 to give the ' Spirit of the Times ' some portion of Literary repu- 
 tation, and we have great satisfaction in recording that we have 
 upon our list many subscribers utterly indifferent to the sporting 
 department of the paper, but who have taken it from first to last 
 because they have approved the spirit in which we have culled 
 for them from the Periodical Literature of England. And again, 
 we have aimed still further to advance our primary design, by 
 associating with Field Sports and Pastimes the pleasures of 
 the Stage. A due share of room has ever been devoted to 
 the subject, the most disinterested support has been given to 
 managers and actors worthy of support ; a complete record has 
 been kept of the current productions of tlie day, whether in 
 Music, the Drama, or the Ballet, and we have faithfully chronicled 
 the movements of the ' professionals ' in each art, their triumphs, 
 and their reverses. This we have done with no expectation or 
 hope of emolument from this class — their patronage, all told, 
 never has repaid a tithe of the expense and trouble it has cost — 
 but with the double intent of making the contents of the ' Spirit ' 
 more various, and upholding in an accredited organ the pleasures 
 of the Turf and the Stage, as these pleasures are in fact found 
 associated in the minds of all true American Sportsmen. 
 
 " To the Agriculturists of the West, too, we have endeavored 
 to make our journal acceptable by seasonable extracts from the 
 Agricultural writers of Great Bi'itain, Avhere the science ha- 
 
LITE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 147 
 
 reached nearest perfection. Considerable space has been given 
 to original and selected hints upon the improvement of the Do- 
 mestic Stock of the country ; and the enterprising, and in a 
 national point of view, most deserving, importer and breeder of 
 Cattle, and Sheep, and Swine, has been encouraged and assisted 
 in the profitable disposition of his stock, by editorial comment, 
 and private individual exertion. 
 
 "In fine, while we have made ours most emphatically a 
 SPORTING PAPER, and as such, a paper accredited for accuracy, for 
 fulness and impartiality, it has been our constant aim to elevate 
 its character by associating with this peculiar feature the charms 
 of Polite Letters, and the delights of Music and the Theatre ; to 
 elevate in popular estimation the true position of our Turfmen, 
 to commend their elegant hospitality and tastes, their devotion 
 not alone to the Manly Diversions of the Field, but their warm 
 sympathy with the Arts, by which Social Life is adorned. 
 
 " Measurably, we have succeeded in our purpose ; the charac- 
 ter of the Turf has been redeemed at the North, and the standing 
 of its devotees made familiar among gentlemen, not alone here, 
 but in England. 'Tis but a short time since that in England the 
 impression was universal that the only American sport was Trot- 
 ting—our best thorough-bred but a three-minute roadster, and 
 our proudest sportsman but a wily jockey of some ' fast crab.' 
 Those days are gone. Our Turfmen are now known at ' the 
 Corner,' to those best worth knowing ; our great races are re- 
 ported in English newspapers ; the merits of our ' cx'acks ' are 
 understood, and the pages of their elegant magazines are adorned 
 with portraits of Boston and Fashion, and costly illustrations of 
 many capital articles contributed originally to these columns. 
 Henceforth the United States will be regarded as the only nation 
 that can compete with them in bringing to perfection the Blood 
 Horse, and in carrying out a thorough and business-like system 
 of Racing, by which alone all improvements must be tested. 
 Throughout Great Britain, indeed wherever the Englisli language 
 is spoken, the ' Spirit of the Times ' is known as the ' Bell's Life ' 
 of the New World— the organ of the American Sporting World. 
 Through this medium the fame of our Horses and the spirit of 
 
148 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 our Turfmen are known nut only througliout Europe, but in the 
 Indies, West and East. The breeders of France and Germany, 
 the best continental customers of England, are already turning 
 their eyes to the United States, as likely to become at no distant 
 day, the ' Race Horse Region ' from whence their importations 
 are to be made. Our system of racing — ' long distances and heats 
 to boot ' — is eminently popular out of England, while even there 
 many of the most sensible writers and speakers [vide Sir Francis 
 Burdett's Speech upon the sale of His late Majesty's Stud] view with 
 concern and regret the present British system of racing, which 
 is calculated to deteriorate the old-fashioned, hard-bottomed stock 
 of the English Race Horse — to produce speed at the expense of 
 game and stoutness — to beget a breed of quarter horses instead 
 of four milers, — the King's Platers of a former era. The ' Spirit,' 
 too, has made the Turfmen of Europe familiar with the names of 
 the Corinthian columns of the American Turf. Our Hamptons, 
 our Stevenses, our Kennees, and our Stocktons, are known 
 throughout the world like the Portlands, the Clevelands, and 
 the Bentincks of England. The Livingstons and Johnsons of 
 the New World are as eminently conspicuous as the CnESTER- 
 FiELDs and Geosvenoes of the Old. 
 
 " We approach now the last and most miserable topic in this 
 long article. After having thus devoted ten of the best years 
 of our life, with all the means, the influence, the industry, and 
 the ability we could command, we have realized — what ? Why 
 on paper, quite a snug little property, but, in truth, not the first 
 red cent ! With nearly Fifty Thousand Dollars due it, this jour- 
 nal passed from ours into other hands, for an amount which 
 would not command a moderate race-horse ! What have we 
 gained, then, beyond the ephemeral reputation of a newspaper 
 writer ? This, to be sure, is flattering enough to our vanity, 
 but will it make the ' pot boil ' ? With the same reputation, 
 enterprise, means, and perseverance, ought we not to have in- 
 sured 
 
 ' that which should accompany old age, 
 
 As honor, lovo, obodience, troops of friends ? ' 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 149 
 
 We are not prepared to estimate the value of editorial popularity, 
 nor the worth of the good opinion of the Sporting World, but 
 we are almost tempted to say from present indications npon 
 icMch we shall sTiortly dwell, that had we the past ten years of 
 our life to live over again, and were offered the wages of a journey- 
 man wood-sawyer, we should certainly hesitate before giving up 
 the ' wages ' for the ' popularity ' — the saw horse for the race 
 horse. 
 
 " It is true that we have acquired a fund of knowledge and 
 great experience, hut that we can ever make them available is 
 yet to be seen. We have won in high places the consideration 
 of those whose mere passing acquaintance is a passport to general 
 favor. ' Praise from Sir Hubert Stanley is praise indeed ! ' and we 
 have received it spontaneously at the hands of thousands. Many, 
 very many stanch friends have we made, and thousands of most 
 desirable acquaintances. Of the former, several ' whose evil stars 
 have linked them with us,' have a claim upon our never-ceasing 
 gratitude and regard, which is inscribed in our heart of hearts. 
 The consideration which most embitters our regret for past mis- 
 fortunes, is, that we have involved some of them in our own 
 losses, and those friends the most disinterested and generous. 
 
 " But we do by no means yet ' give up the ship.' With our 
 habits of application, experience in the profession we have chosen, 
 and claims upon the good wishes of the racing community, joined 
 to good health, economy, and the energy of one determined to 
 succeed, and not too old to grapple with the great world, it will 
 be singular indeed if we are not able at no very distant day to 
 stand upon our legs again, free from obligations of every descrip- 
 tion." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 RACE OF BOSTON AND FASHION, MAY lO, 1842. 
 
 The great sectional match for $20,000 a side, four- 
 mile heats, between the N'orth and the South, came 
 off on Tuesday last, the 10th inst. Since the memor- 
 able contest between Eclipse and Hennj^ on the 27th 
 of May, 1823, no race has excited so much interest 
 and enthusiasm. It attracted hundreds of individuals 
 from the remotest sections of the Union, and for 
 months has been the theme of remark and speculation, 
 not only in the sporting circles of this country, but in 
 England, where the success of the northern champion 
 was predicted. It was a most thrilling and exciting 
 race — one which throws in the shade the most cele- 
 brated of those wonderful achievements which have 
 conferred so much distinction upon the high-mettled 
 racers of America ! 
 
 In the early part of the year 1842, the annus 
 mirdbilis of Turfmen, came off the great race be- 
 tween Boston and Fashion. It was a match between 
 the North and the South. Col. William R. John- 
 son, of Virginia, challenged in the newspapers the 
 
LIFE OF WILLI Ail T. POKTER. 151 
 
 whole world to run against his horse Boston, and 
 gave a special challenge to William Gibbons, Esq., of 
 New Jersey, to run for $20,000 a side. The latter 
 was not in the habit of betting, and gave the use of 
 his mare Fashion to some of his friends, who made 
 up the money and accepted the challenge. The sub- 
 joined article by Mr. Porter, in regard to the chal- 
 lenge and the pedigrees and performances of the two 
 horses, will be a fit and valuable introduction to his 
 subsequent and spirited report of the race itself : 
 
 The following letter containing the acceptance 
 of Boston's challenge to Fashion has been communi- 
 cated exclusively to the " Spirit of the Times," by the 
 gentleman who made the match on behalf of the 
 friends of Fashion : 
 
 New York, November 30, 1841. 
 
 William R. Johnsok, Esq. : Dear Sir, — The challenge from 
 yourself and Mr. James Long, to run Boston against Fashion^ 
 Four-mile heats, over the Union Course, L. I., agreeable to the 
 rules of the Course, in Spring 1842, or any day during the month 
 of May, for $20,000 a side, (New York money,) one-half, or one- 
 fourth forfeit, as may be agreeable to the friends of Fashion — is 
 accepted by me on their behalf. I name the second Tuesday in 
 May, (the 10th,) 1842, as the day of the race ; and $5,000 (or 
 one-fourth) as the amount of forfeit, which sum has been placed 
 in the hands of J. Peescott Hall, Esq., President of the New 
 York Jockey Club. The same amount being received by him 
 from you, the whole forfeit ($10,000) will be deposited by him 
 in one of the city banks. Yours most respectfully, T. 
 
 The acceptance above was mailed on Tuesday last, 
 the 30tli ult., being the last day of November, accord- 
 
152 LIFE OF WILLIAM T, PORTER. 
 
 ing to the terms of the challenge, and the forfeit on 
 each side has since been deposited in one of the city 
 banks. As the match will be a general topic of dis- 
 cussion during the winter throughout the countrj^, we 
 have thought the sporting world would be obliged to 
 us for an authentic statement of the several perform- 
 ances of the two horses, with a brief account of their 
 characteristics, etc. With this view we have compiled 
 with the utmost care the following brief memoirs : 
 
 BOSTON'S PEDIGREE, CHARACTERISTICS, AND PER- 
 FORMANCES. 
 
 Boston was bred bj the late John Wickham, Esq., 
 of Eichmond, Ya., the eminent jurisconsult, and was 
 foaled in Henrico Countj, in 1833. He was got by 
 the celebrated Timoleon out of Robin Brown's dam 
 (an own sister to Tuchahoe, also bred by Mr. W.) by 
 Ball's Florizel, her dam by Imp. Alderman, out of a 
 mare by Imp. Clochfast — her grandam by Sj^mmes' 
 Wildair, etc. [For a detailed memoir, and a portrait 
 of Boston, see the " Spirit of the Times," of March 
 7th, 1840.] Boston was sold by Mr. Wickham, in 
 his two-year-old form to Mr, JN'athaniel Eives, of 
 Eichmond, Ya., for $800, and was trained in 1836-7 
 by Capt. John Belcher, who had charge of one 
 " cavalry corj^s " from Col. Johnson's stable, while 
 Arthur Taylor had another. Cornelius, a colored lad, 
 was Bostori's jockey up to 27th April, 1839. Ever 
 since the spring campaign of 1838, Boston has been 
 trained by Arthur Taylor and ridden by Gil Patrick, 
 until this spring when Craig took Gil's place, the 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAil T. PORTER 153 
 
 latter having gone to Kentucky to ride several im- 
 portant races, all of which he won. In May, 1839, 
 after the first heat of his race against Decatur and 
 Vashti, Boston was sold to Mr. James Long, of 
 Washington City, for $12,000 and half of the purse, 
 and he is still owned by Mr. L. and Col. Wm, R. 
 Johnson, of Petersburg, Va. 
 
 Boston is a chestnut, with white stockings on both 
 hind feet, and a white stripe down the face. In other 
 respects than color and marks, Boston closely re- 
 sembles the British phenomenon, Ilarlzaioay . They 
 have alike prodigious depth of chest, and immensely 
 powerful loins, thighs, and hocks. Boston is a trifle 
 only above 15i hands high, under the standard, but 
 to the eye seems taller, owing to his immense sub- 
 stance; he is a short-limbed horse, with a barrel 
 rather flat, or "slab-sided" than round, and well- 
 ribbed home, while his back is a prodigy of strength ; 
 ten pounds extra weight would hardly " set him back 
 any." Though he has occasionally sulked, Boston 
 runs on his courage, and is never ridden with spurs. 
 He is no beauty, his neck and head being unsightly, 
 while his hips are ragged, rendering him " a rum 'un 
 to look at ;" that he is " a good 'un to go," however, 
 we imagine will be generally conceded after reading 
 the annexed recapitulation of 
 
 HIS PERFORMANCES. 
 
 1836. 
 
 April 20, Broad Rock, Va.. .Sweepstakes.. .Mile heats lost % 
 
 Boston S years old, bolted in the 1st heat, when running ahead. 
 
154 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 
 
 Oct. 12, Petersburg, Va Purse 2 mile heats, .won $300 
 
 Beating N. Biddle, Mary Archie, Juliana, John Floyd, and ch. f. 
 by Henry. 
 
 Nov. 8, Hanover C. H., Va. .Purse 3 mile beats, .won 400 
 
 Beating Betsey Mlnge, Upton Heath, Nick Biddle, Alp. Bayard, 
 and a Gohauna filly. 
 
 1837. 
 
 May 4, Washington City. . . .Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 
 
 Beating Norwood, Mary Selden, Meteor, Lydia, bro. to Virginia 
 Graves. 
 
 Oct. 5, Washington City Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 
 
 Beating Prince George, Stockton, Mary Selden, Virginia Graves, 
 Caroline Snowden, and Leesburg, in 5.50 — 5.52. 
 
 Oct. 19, Baltimore, Md Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 
 
 Beating Camsidel, Cippus, and Ked Kat, in 5.51— 6.0S. 
 Oct. 25, Camden, N. J Purse 3 mile heats, .wou 500 
 
 Beating Betsey Andrew and Tipton, in 5.51—6.02. 
 
 1838. 
 
 May 3, Union Course, L. I. .Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 
 
 Boston, now 5 years old, walked over. 
 May 18, Beacon Course, N. J. Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 
 
 Beating Dosoris, without extending himself. 
 May 25, Camden, N. J Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 
 
 Beating Decatur, who had just distanced Fanny Wyatt, in a 
 match for $10,000, in 7.46, at Washington. 
 June 1, Union Course, L. I. .Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 
 
 Beating Charles Carter, who broke down, in 7.40— the first three 
 miles run in 5:36i ! ! ! 
 June 8, Beacon Course, N. J. Purse. 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 
 
 Beating Duane, who won the 1st heat in 7.52—7.54—8.30. B. 
 Sulked. 
 Oct. 4, Petersburg, Va Purse 4 mile heats, .won VOO 
 
 Beating Polly Green in a canter. 
 Oct. 13, Baltimore, Md Purse 4 mile heats, .won VOO 
 
 Beating Balie Peyton, who had won a heat from Duane in 7.42. 
 Oct. 19, Baltimore, Md Purse 4 mile heats, .rcc. 600 
 
 Boston was paid $500 out of the purso not to start. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK, 155 
 
 Oct. 27, Camden, N. J Purse 4 mile heats, .rcc. $500 
 
 Boston was paid $500 out of the purse not to start. 
 Nov. 2, Uuion Course, L. I. .Purse 4 mile beats, .won 1,000 
 
 Beating Decatur with ease in 8.00— 7.57^. 
 Nov. 9, Beacon Course, N. J. Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 
 
 Beating; Decatur. This year B. won nine Jockey Club Purses, 
 and received $1,000 more for not starting. 
 
 1839. 
 
 April 16, Petersburg, Va Match 2 mile heats. .lost 
 
 Beaten by Portsmouth in 3.50—3.48, B. being oflf his foot. 
 April 27, Broad Rock, Va.. .Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 
 
 Beating Lady Clifden and Brocklesby in 5.46 with ease— the 
 best time ever made on this course. 
 
 May 9, Washington City. . . .Purse 4 mile heats, .won 800 
 
 Beating Tom "WaUcer, Black Knight, Keliance, and Sam Brown, 
 7.53-8.06. 
 
 May 24, Camden, N. J Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 
 
 Boston, now six years, walked over, though several " cracks " 
 were on the ground. 
 
 May 31, Trenton, N. J Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 
 
 Beating Decatur and Vashti with ease. V. had just won a 2d 
 heat in 7.46. 
 
 June 7, Union Course, L. I. .Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 
 
 Beating Decatur and Balie Peyton cleverly in 7.47—8.02. 
 Sept. 26, Petersburg, Va P. and Stake. .4 mile heats, .won 7,000 
 
 Beating the Queen and Omega in 8.02— 7.52— best time made on 
 the course, to this date. 
 Oct. 17, Camden, N. J P. and Stake. .4 mile heats, .won 7,000 
 
 Beating Omega in 7.49. 0. had won a heat at Washington in 7.40 1 
 Oct. 23, Trenton, N. J. Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 
 
 Beating Decatur and Master Henry in 7.57—7.56. 
 
 1840. 
 
 May 1, Petersburg, Va Purse 4 mile heats, .won 700 
 
 Beating Andrewetta, who won the 1st heat in 7.50— 8.04— the 
 best time ever made on the course. 
 
 May 8, Washington City. . . .Purse 4 mile heats, .won 1,000 
 
 Beating Keliance and Cippus without a struggle. 
 
156 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 
 
 Oct. 2, Petersburg, Va Purse 4 mile heats, .won $700 
 
 Beating Brandt, who was drawn after 1st heat in 7.57. 
 Oct. 8, Broad Rock, Va Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 
 
 Beating Texas, Balie Peyton, and Laneville in 5.56 — 5.49. 
 Dec. V, Augusta, Ga Match 4 mile beats, .won 10,000 
 
 Beating Gano in a gallop in 7.57, after which G. was drawn. 
 Dec. 17, Augusta, Ga Purse 4 mile heats, .won 800 
 
 Beating Santa Anna and Omega in 7:52 — 7:49. 
 
 1841. 
 
 In the Spring, Boston stood at Chesterfield, Va., and cover- 
 ed 42 mares at $100 each. 
 
 Sept. 30, Petersburg, Va Purse 4 mile heats, .won 700 
 
 Beating Texas without an effort. 
 Oct. 8, Alexandria, D. C. . . .Purse 4 mile heats, .won 800 
 
 Boston walked over, though several cracks were present. 
 Oct. 15, Washington City. . .Purse 4 mile heats, .won 800 
 
 Beating Accident, Ned Hazard, and Greenhill with ease. 
 Oct. 21, Baltimore, Md Purse 4 mile heats, .won COO 
 
 Beating Mariner, who won the 1st heat in S.OOi — 8.05—8.10— 
 course very heavy. 
 
 Oct. 28, Camden, N. J Purse 4 mile heats, .lost 
 
 Distanced by John Blount and Fashion in 7.42 — Blount broke 
 down in 2d heat, which was won by Fashion, in 7.48. Bos- 
 ton dead amiss, and unable to run a mile under 2:10. 
 
 Starting thirty-eight times, and winning thirty-five races — 
 twenty-six of them at four mile heats, and seven at 
 three mile heats — winning $49,500 
 
 Add for his earnings in the breeding stud. Spring of 1841, 4,200 
 
 Boston's winnings and earnings amount to the enormous 
 
 sum of S53,700 
 
 It is due to Boston to state that in liis four-year- 
 old form he was prevented from starting for the large 
 purses offered for four mile heats, by being in the 
 same stable with Atalanta^ Lady Cllfden^ Argyle^ 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETER. 157 
 
 and Manj Blunt. And it is no less due to him than 
 to his liberal and high-spirited owners to add that 
 from a regard to the best interests of the Turf, they 
 have frequently allowed him to remain in his stable, 
 when by starting him they could have taken the 
 pm'ses without an effort. Boston, after his match 
 with Gano, at Augusta, could have won a Jockey 
 Club purse there, and at Savannah and Charleston. 
 In the spring of 1840, he started but twice, though he 
 could have easily won every four-mile purse given 
 between Petersburg and Long Island. His owners, 
 in the latter instance, were personally appealed to 
 and consented to send him home from Washington, 
 while one of the Northern proprietors proposed to 
 exclude him from running. Several other occasions 
 might be named on which Boston has been withdrawn 
 from the contest, at the request of the proprietors of 
 courses, upon a representation that his entrance would 
 destroy the sport and disappoint the public. 
 
 Boston, now at the advanced age of eight years, 
 after a racing career of unparalleled severity, is still 
 as sound as a dollar, with legs as free from blemish as a 
 three-year old. The field of his brilliant, never-fad- 
 ing victories extends from New York to Georgia, and 
 he has not only beaten, one after another, every horse 
 within his reach, but he has challenged all others, 
 offering to meet them on their own ground. Na- 
 poleon found a "Waterloo and so has Boston, but the 
 latter is beaten, not defeated ; like the former it will 
 be found that " he is never more to be feared than in 
 his reverses." When dead amiss he was beaten, it 
 
158 LITE OF WILLIAM T. TORTER. 
 
 is true ; the race was a splendid one — one of tlie best 
 ever run in America — but Boston had no part in it ; 
 he could not have beaten a cocktail on that occasion, 
 and instead of being backed as usual at " 1,000 to 
 300, nineteen times over," his owners did not lay out 
 a dollar on him ! Since he was taken up this fall his 
 owners determined to give him a trial to see whether 
 his speed or game had been affected by his services 
 in the breeding stud. An eye-witness of this trial, 
 who went over two hundred miles to see it, has assur- 
 ed us that it was not only the best trial Boston ever 
 made, but it was the best trial ever made over a 
 course which has been trained on for half a century ! 
 Since that event Boston has offered to run four-mile 
 heats '■'■against any two horses in the wm^ld^'' for 
 $45,000, which was not accepted, and since his de- 
 feat at Camden, by Fashion^ he has challenged her 
 to run him next spring for $20,000. The winner of 
 this match will richly merit and most assuredly re- 
 ceive the proud title of Champion of the American 
 Turf ; let us hope, therefore, that each will come to 
 the post in tip-top condition, and we may confidently 
 anticipate witnessing the best race, without exception, 
 ever run in America. 
 
 FASHION'S PEDIGREE, CHARACTERISTICS, AND PER- 
 FORMANCES. 
 
 Fashion was bred by William Gibbons, Esq., of 
 Madison, Morris County, N. J., where she was foaled 
 on the 26th April, 1837. It would be difficult to sit 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 159 
 
 down over the stud book and compile a richer pedi- 
 gree than her's, and the same remark will apply to 
 Boston. Each is descended from the most eminently 
 distinguished racing families on the side of both sire 
 and dam, that have figured on the Turf for a hundred 
 years. FasJdon was got by Mr. Livingston's imp. 
 Trustee^ out of the celebrated Bonnets-o'-Blue by Sir 
 Charles, and she out of Reality — " the very best race 
 horse," says Col. Johnson, " I ever saw." Reality 
 was got by Sir Arcliy, and her pedigree extends 
 back through the imported horses Medley, Centinel, 
 Janus, Monkey, Silver- Eye, and Spanher, to an im- 
 ported Spanish mare. Trustee, the sire of Fashion, 
 was a distinguished race-horse in England, and sold 
 at three years old for 2,000 guineas, to the Duke of 
 Cleveland, after running 3d in the race for the Derby 
 of 101 subscribers. He was subsequently imported 
 by Messrs. Ogden, Corbin, and Stockton. Trustee 
 was foaled in 1829, and was got by Catton out of Em- 
 ma by Whisker, and combines the blood of Hermes, 
 Pipator, and Sir Peter, on his dam's side, with that 
 of Penelope by Trumpator, and Prunella by High- 
 flyer, on the side of his sire. Trustee is not a chance 
 horse ; in addition to other winners of his family, in 
 1835, his own brother, Mundig, won the Derby of 
 128 subscribers. 
 
 Fashion is a rich, satin-coated chestnut, with a 
 star, and a ring of white above the coronet of her left 
 hind foot ; on her right quarter she is marked 
 with three dark spots, like Plenipo, and other " ter- 
 ribly high-bred cattle." She is about 15^ hands high 
 
160 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 
 
 under the standard, rising high on the withers, with a 
 light head and neck, faultless legs, an oblique, well- 
 shaped shoulder, and a roomy, deep, and capacious 
 chest. She has good length of barrel, which is well 
 ribbed out, and her loins are well arched and sup- 
 ported by strong fillets. Though finely put up fore- 
 handed, her great excellence consists in the muscular 
 developments of her quarters, thighs, and gaskins. 
 As in the greyhound and the hare, the seat of the 
 propelling power in the horse, which enables him to 
 move with a great degree of velocity, is centred in his 
 hind-quarters ; necessarily in proportion to their 
 strength there, will be the impulse which impels the 
 whole mass forward. 
 
 Fashion has been trained for all her engagements 
 by Mr. Samuel Laird, of Colt's Neck, K J., and 
 ridden by his son Joseph, the best jockey at the north. 
 Mr. Gibbons, her owner, having been unfortunate 
 with his former trainer (who nearly ruined Mariner 
 in breaking him), and who is opposed to the general 
 plan of training colts at two years old, resolved that 
 Fashion should not be taken up until her form had 
 attained a greater degree of maturity ; consequently 
 she was not brought out until the fall of her three- 
 year-old year. Fashion goes with a long rating 
 stroke, gathers well, and moves with the utmost ease 
 to herself; what is rather singular, she runs with a 
 loose rein ; she is true as steel, has a remarkable turn 
 of speed, can be placed anywhere, and nothing can 
 be finer than her disposition ; a more bloodlike, 
 honest mare was never brought to the post. Being 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETER. 161 
 
 in a public training stable, with Clarion and Mariner^ 
 her half brother, both of them winners at three and 
 four-mile heats. Fashion has been compelled to " take 
 her turn " in running for " the big things," else the 
 amount of her winnings might have been increased 
 as well as the number of 
 
 HER PERFORMANCES. 
 
 1840. 
 
 Oct. 21, Camden, N. J Sweepstake.. .2 mile heats, .won $800 
 
 Beating Amelia Priestman in the mud ; two paid forfeit. 
 Oct. 2Y, Trenton, N. J Sweepstake. ..2 mile heats, .won 1,100 
 
 Beating Fleetwood and Nannie ; two paid forfeit. 
 
 1841. 
 
 May 5, Union Course, L. I. .Purse 3 mile heats, .won 500 
 
 Beating Sylphide, Prospect, Fleetfoot, and Meridian. 
 
 May 19, Camden, K J Purse 2 mile heats, .lost 
 
 Beaten by Tyler, after winning 2d heat. Trenton won the 1st, 
 and Tyler the 3d and 4th. Fashion second In 4th heat, Tele- 
 machus being ruled out— time, 4.06—3.52—3.51^—3.56. 
 
 Oct. 7, Union Course, L. L. .Purse 2 mile heats, .won 200 
 
 Beating Trenton in 3.51—3.461, on a heavy course. 
 
 Oct. 20, Baltimore, Md Purse 3 mile heats, .won 400 
 
 Beating John Blount, Lady Canton, and Stockton ; course slip- 
 pery. 
 
 Oct. 28, Camden, N. J Purse 4 mile heats, .won 800 
 
 Beating John Blount, who broke down in 2d heat, after winning 
 the 1st and distancing Boston in 1st heat ; time, 7.42—7.48. 
 
 Starting, in three trainings, seven times, and winning six 
 races, one at four, and two at three-mile heats, 
 winning ; $3,800 
 
 We have noticed the fact of her not having been 
 trained in the spring of her three-year-old year ; last 
 
162 LIFE OF willia:^! t. pokter. 
 
 spring, too, unfortunately, after her race at Camden 
 she went amiss and was prudently turned out until 
 the fall, when she came out again and won not only 
 at two and at three-mile heats, but at four. Her last 
 race is one of the best, at four-mile heats, ever run in 
 the United States. In the only race she ever lost it 
 will be seen that she was beaten by Tyler after win- 
 ning the 2d heat ; Tyler won the 3d and 4th heats, 
 in the last of which she was 2d, having beaten Tren- 
 ton (who won the 1st heat) and Telemachus. From 
 the fact of being turned out after this race and of her 
 having since twice beaten John Blount, who easily 
 defeated Tyler in a match for $5,000, it is fair to con- 
 clude that on the occasion alluded to she was out of 
 condition. The brilliant reputation she acquired by 
 her last great performance, added to the confident 
 impression everywhere entertained of her surpassing 
 speed and extraordinary powers of endurance, are 
 such, however, as to render quite gratuitous any ex- 
 planation as to the cause of her having once been 
 defeated. 
 
 As FasJiion''s friends have accepted the match 
 offered by Boston, it is to be hoped that each will 
 come to the post in condition to run for a man's life. 
 Fashion will be trained as usual by Mr. Laird, and 
 Boston by Arthur Taylor ; Joe, no doubt, will throw 
 his leg across the pig skin on the marc, Avhile Gil 
 Patrick, who has more strength, though not more 
 science or coolness than Craig, will probabl}'- be put 
 up again on Boston. The latter being an aged horse 
 (9 years old) will have to carry 120 lbs., while the 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 163 
 
 mare's appropriate weight being then 5 years old, 
 will be 111 lbs. No match, the South against the 
 North, has been made np at all comparable with this 
 in interest, since that between Eclipse and Henry^ 
 which came off over the Union Course on the 27th of 
 May, 1823. Each champion has, and is worthy of 
 troops of confident friends, and each is in good hands. 
 Let them come together in good condition — give them 
 a fair field and no favor, and — who can name the 
 winner ? 
 
 At an early hour on Tuesday morning our streets 
 were filled with carriages of all descriptions, wending 
 their way to the ferries, while thousands upon thou- 
 sands crossed over to the cars of the Long Island Rail- 
 road Company. But after eleven o'clock the Company 
 fomid it impossible to convey to the course the im- 
 mense crowd which filled and surrounded the cars. 
 * -jf * * ^ * 
 
 The race commenced about two o'clock. For 
 more than a quarter of a mile in front of the stands, 
 the spectators ranged on the side of the course and of 
 the field, presented one dense mass of thousands, 
 through which the horses run the gauntlet. The 
 course itself, owing to the rain of Sunday night, was 
 not deemed quite so well adapted for speed as upon 
 some other occasions ; still it was in fine order. Tlie 
 prospect of the weather, in the morning, was unfavor- 
 able, but though at ten o'clock there was a slight sprink- 
 ling of rain, it soon cleared off. The day was w\arm 
 and pleasant, but with scarce a glimpse of the sun. 
 
164 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 
 
 The betting was a shade in Boston's favor. Before 
 the race came off, however, his friends were obliged, 
 in order to get on their money, to lay 100 to GO, and 
 in some cases 2 to 1. We never saw so little money 
 bet on a race here of any importance ; of heavy bet- 
 ting we did not hear of a solitary transaction, though 
 tlie backers of each were sanguine. 
 
 Having previously given in the preceding pages 
 complete memou-s of the rival champions, with their 
 pedigrees, characteristics, and performances, in detail, 
 we have only to speak of their fine condition. Both 
 stripped well. Boston was drawn unusually to our 
 eye, but his coat looked and felt like satin. Fashion's 
 curb, though quite prominent, did not seem to affect 
 her a jot ; otherwise she was in condition to run for 
 a man's life. We need hardly say that she was admi- 
 rably trained by Mr. Laird, nor that she was splendidly 
 jockeyed by his son Joseph — a chip of the old block — 
 Mr. Laird having formerly been a conspicuous jockey. 
 Boston, of course, was managed by Col. Johnson, and 
 ridden by Gil Patrick, in his usual superb style ; 
 Arthur Taylor brought him to the post in unusually 
 fine order. Gil Patrick rode the first heat without 
 a spur. The jockeys having received their orders, 
 mounted, and had their girths taken up another hole, 
 brought their horses up in fine style without any 
 assistance whatever from their trainers, and were off 
 with a running start for the race. 
 
 First Heat. — Boston on the inside went aAvay with 
 the lead at a rattling pace, the mare laying up within 
 two lengths of him down the straight run on the back 
 
LITE OF WILLIAM T. TOKTEK. 165 
 
 stretcli ; the half mile was run in 55 seconds. The 
 same position was maintained to the end of the mile, 
 (run in 1.53,) but soon after Fashion made play and 
 the pace improved. Both made strong running down 
 the back-stretch over the hill (opposite the half-mile 
 post) and down the slight descent which succeeds, and 
 though this seemed favorable ground for Boston, the 
 mare gained on him, at this place, in this mile, and 
 placed herself well up. Boston threw her off on the 
 turn, and led through clear, running this mile in 1.50^. 
 The pace seemed too good to last, and Boston's friends, 
 as he led closely down the back-stretch, were " snatch- 
 ing and eager " to take any thing offered. Again 
 Boston led through, this mile— (the 3d) being run in 
 1.54, Fashion keeping him up to the top of his rate. 
 Tlie contest was beautiful and exciting beyond descrip- 
 tion ; there was no clambering, no faltering, no dwell- 
 ing on the part of either ; each ran with a long 
 rating stroke, and a pace that kills. Soon after com- 
 mencing the 4th mile Joe Laird shook his whip over 
 her head and gave Fashion an eye-opener or two, 
 with the spur, and not 100 yards from the ground 
 where Boston took the track from Charles Carter, she 
 collared and passed Mm in half a dozen strokes at a 
 flight of speed we never saw equalled, except in the 
 desperate brush at the stand between Grey Medoc and 
 Altorf, in their dead heat ! When Fashion responded 
 to the call upon her, and took the track in such 
 splendid styk, the cheers sent up from the " rude 
 throats " of thousands might have been heard f&r 
 miles ! Fashion made her challenge after getting 
 
1G6 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEE. 
 
 through the drawgate and took the lead opposite the 
 quarter mile post. Boston, however, like a trump, as 
 he is, did not give back an inch, and though it was 
 manifest the Northern Phenomenon had the foot of 
 him, he gave her no respite. He lapped her down 
 the back-stretch for 300 yards, when Gil Patrick very 
 sensibly took a strong bracing pull on him, and bottled 
 him up for a desperate brush up the hill, where Eclipse 
 passed Henry. Here Gil again let him out, but unfor- 
 tunately he pulled him inside so near the fence tliat 
 Boston struck his hip against a post, and hitting a 
 sharp knot or a nail cut through the skin on his quar- 
 ter for seven or eight inches ! He struck hard enough 
 to jar himself very much, and we observed him to 
 falter ; but he soon recovered, and though at this 
 moment Fashion led him nearly three lengths, he 
 gradually closed the gap round the turn to within a 
 few feet. At this moment the excited multitude 
 broke through all restraint in their anxiety to witness 
 the termination of the heat, and the course was nearly 
 blocked up ! On coming out through a narrow gaunt- 
 let of thousands of spectators excited to the highest 
 pitch, both horses very naturally faltered at the tre- 
 mendous shouts, which made the welkin ring. Up 
 the quarter stretch Gil made another desperate efibrt 
 to win the race out of the fire. He applied his thong 
 freely, while Joe Laird drew his whip on the mare 
 more than once, and tapped her claret at the same 
 time. Inside of the gate it was a " hollow thing " 
 though Boston nearly closed the gap at the distance 
 stand. Gil fairly caught Joe by surprise, but the 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 1G7 
 
 latter, sliaking his wliip over lier head, gave Fashion 
 the sj)ur, and she instantly recovered her stride, coming 
 through about a length ahead with apparently some- 
 thing in hand to spare, closing the heat in Y.32^ — the 
 fastest, by all odds, ever run in America. The time 
 was kept on the Jockey Club stand by Messrs, Kobert 
 L. and James Stevens, and in the Judges' stand by 
 Senator Barrow of Louisiana, Hon, Mr. Botts of Vir- 
 ginia, J. Hamilton Wilkes, Esq., and the official 
 Timers. We took the time of each mile from the 
 Messrs. S., between whom we stood. Mr. Neill, 
 Major Ringgold, and other gentlemen of acknowledged 
 accuracy as timers, stood in the same circle, and there 
 was but a fraction of difference in the time each de- 
 clared " by watches, too, not made in Kentucky ! " 
 Messrs. S. made the time 7.33, but as they kept the 
 time of the half, and in some cases of the quarter 
 miles, their difference of that half a second from the 
 Timers in the Judges' stand demonstrates the remark- 
 able accuracy of the parties. 
 
 The result of the heat was the more astonishing 
 to a few of Boston's friends as no one ever supposed 
 Fashion could make this time, though she might heat 
 him. AVe were prepared to expect the best time on 
 record, not only from the fact that we had been in- 
 formed of the res alt of Fashion's jor^'m^e tibial on the 
 25th ult., but from a circumstance which we shall be 
 excused, we trust, for alluding to here. After retiring 
 to our room at the Astor House on Monday night, at 
 a late hour, we had the pleasure of a " domiciliary 
 visit " from Mr. 
 
168 LIFE OF WILLIA3I T. POETER. 
 
 several mutual friends. The " party " were attired in 
 costumes that would be esteemed somewhat unique 
 out of the circle of the Marquis of Waterford's friends, 
 who ride steeple chases in their shirts and drawers ! 
 Nevertheless, there was no lack of fun or spirit : in 
 the course of an interesting " horse talk," Mr. Long 
 gave us several " items," one of which was, that Bos- 
 ton would run the first heat, " sure," in T.34 ! Said 
 Mr. Long, " He will run the first mile in about 1.53 ; 
 the second in 1.52 ; the third in 1.54 ; and the fourth 
 in 1.55." 
 
 After he retired we made a memorandum of the 
 time, as a curiosity after the race. And we refer to 
 it now, to show that though beaten by the Northern 
 Phenomenon, the gallant Boston amply sustained all 
 the expectations formed of him from his trials and 
 previous performances. He not only made vastly 
 better time than he ever did before, but better time 
 than ever had been made^time that quite eclipses 
 the most wonderful achievements on the American 
 Turf! The vaunted performances of the Southern 
 " cracks " at New Orleans are almost thrown in the 
 shade, wonderful as they are ! Had any one offered 
 to beat the time of Eclipse and Henry on the Union 
 Course, three to one would have been laid against it ; 
 or had the friends of Boston been assured that he could 
 run, as Mr. Long told us he could, in 7.34, his friends 
 would have staked a million of dollars upon his win- 
 ning the match ! For the first two miles, Boston, in 
 the opinion of many shrewd judges, had tlie foot of 
 the mare, and it is thought that luid he trailed her as 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 169 
 
 he did Charles Carter, the result of the iirst heat might 
 have been different. But what shall be said of the 
 incomparable daughter of Trustee and Bonnets 
 o' Blue. Too much cannot be said of her, or of her 
 jockey. She ran as true as steel, as game and hon- 
 est a race as was ever recorded of a high-mettled 
 racer ! 
 
 Both horses cooled out well. Boston always 
 blows tremendously, even after a gallop ; but he 
 seemed little distressed. Neither was Fashion ; her 
 action is superb, and as she came through on the 
 fourth mile, it was remarked that she was playing her 
 ears as if taking her exercise. She recovered sooner 
 than Boston, and though her friends now offered large 
 odds on her, Boston's were no less confident ; the 
 seventh mile they thought would " fetch her." We 
 should not have been surprised to have seen both 
 swell over the loins, nor to have found them greatly 
 distressed. We examined them carefully after the 
 heat, and state with great pleasure, that though they 
 " blowed strong," they recovered in a few minutes, 
 and came to the post again comparatively fresh. 
 After the heat was over, the crowd rushed into the 
 enclosed space en masse / an endeavor was made to 
 clear a portion of the track of the multitude who 
 had now taken possession of it, and after great exer- 
 tions a line was formed, through which the horses 
 came up for the 
 
 Second Heat. — Fashion led off with a moderate 
 stroke, and carried on the running down the back 
 stretch with a lead of about three lengths. After 
 
170 LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 
 
 making tlie ascent of the liill, Boston challenged, 
 closed the gap, and lapped her. A tremendous shout 
 arose on all hands at this rally, but as it subsided on 
 the part of Boston's friends, it was again more tumul- 
 tuously caught up by the friends of the mare, as she 
 outfooted him before reaching the head of the quarter 
 stretch. She came through — in 1.59 — three or four 
 lengths ahead, and kept up her rate down the entire 
 straight stretch on the rear of the course. After get- 
 ting over the hill, Boston, as before, made a rush, and 
 succeeded in collaring the mare, while she, as before, 
 again threw him off, and led through by two or three 
 lengths, in 1.57. Gil relieved his horse for the next 
 600 yards, but instead of waiting for Fashion to ascend 
 the hill at the half-mile post alone, he called on Bos- 
 ton just before reaching it, and the two went over it 
 nearly together ; no sooner had they commenced the 
 descending ground, than, gathering all his energies for 
 a final and desperate eflbrt, Boston made a dash, and 
 this time he succeeded in taking the track ! The scene 
 which ensued we have no words to describe. Such 
 cheering, such betting, and so many long fiices, were 
 never seen nor heard before. After being compelled 
 to give up the track, Joe Laird, with the utmost pru- 
 dence and good sense, took his mare in hand, and 
 gave her time to recover her wind. This run tooh the 
 shine out of Boston ! Instead of pulling him steadily, 
 and refreshing him with a slight respite, Gil Patrick 
 kept him at work after he took the track, and run this 
 mile — the third — in 1.51| ! Tlie pace was tremen- 
 dous ! Nothing short of limbs of steel and sinews of 
 
LITE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. lYl 
 
 catgut could stand up under such a press ! On the 
 first turn after passing the stand, Fashion, now fresh 
 again, made a dash, and as Boston had not another 
 run left in him, she cut him down in her stride, op- 
 posite the quarter-mile post, and the thing was out. 
 The race, so far as Boston was concerned, was past 
 praying for ! If any thing can parallel Fashion's turn 
 of speed, it is her invincible game. She now gradu- 
 ally dropped him, and without another effort on his 
 part to retrieve the fortunes of the day, she came 
 home a gallant and easy winner in 7.45 ! Boston 
 pulled up inside of the distance stand, and walked 
 over the score ! As she came under the judges' 
 cord extended across the course, Boston was exactly 
 sixty yards behind, though he could have placed him- 
 self in a better position had Gil called upon him. 
 
 As Joe Laird rode Fashion back to the stand, 
 the shouts were so deafening, that had not the Presi- 
 dent of the Club and another gentleman held on to 
 her bridle, she would not only have " enlarged the 
 circle of her acquaintance " very speedily, but " made 
 a mash " of some dozen of " the rank and file," then 
 and there assembled. She looked as if another heat 
 would not " set her back any." 
 
 And thus did the North settle its account with the 
 South, for the victory achieved by Bascombe over 
 Post Boy. It was a magnificent race — one which 
 will be remembered by every one who witnessed it 
 " while Memory holds her seat." Though beaten, it is 
 conceded on all hands that Boston has acquired a 
 more " vast renown " by this wonderful race than by 
 
172 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 his tliirty-live previous victories combined. He is 
 worth more since than he was before the match. 
 " All that can be said is, that Boston has beaten him- 
 self, and Fashion has beaten Boston ! " The spirit of 
 his owners on this, as npon a like memorable occasion, 
 in May, 1823, is worthy of them, and of the Old Do- 
 minion. Of one of them it has been well said, that, 
 " like another Kapoleon, he is never more to be feared 
 than in his reverses ! " 
 
 In congratulating each other upon the brilliant 
 triumph achieved by the Northern Champion — ^now 
 the Champion of the American Turf, let no one forget 
 to do honor to those to whose admirable skill and judg- 
 ment the North is mainly indebted for its victory. To 
 Mr. Samuel Laird, the trainer and jockey of Fashion, 
 and to his fine-spirited son, who jockeyed her in a 
 style that w^ould have conferred credit upon Jem 
 Kobinson, too much credit cannot be given. Nor let 
 us forget that to the gallant Boston we are indebted 
 for ascertaining the indomitable game and surpassing 
 speed of our Champion. What else could have dis- 
 played it in such bold and beautiful relief? Arthur 
 Taylor brought him to the post in the very finest pos- 
 sible condition, and Gil Patrick, his jockey, rarely 
 distinguished himself more than upon this occasion. 
 Most of our contemporaries state that he rode with 
 spurs. He wore one only, and that only in the second 
 heat. 
 
 It is peculiarly gratifying to ourselves, though we 
 have the pleasure of numbering all the parties among 
 our personal friends, tliat Mr. Gibbons, the owner of 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TOKTEK. 173 
 
 Pasliion, is among the oldest, most stanch, and most 
 generous of the number. Unfortunately he was pre- 
 vented from witnessing the race, in consequence of 
 an accident which for some time has confined him at 
 home. In his absence, another tried friend, Walter 
 Livingston, Esq., the owner of Trustee — the sire of 
 Fashion — was congratulated on all hands ; he has 
 never doubted Fashion's success from the first. Col. 
 W. Larkin White, of Virginia, who was also in at- 
 tendance, came in for a liberal portion of the good 
 feeling displayed. l!^or should it go unrecorded that 
 Col. Johnson was by no means forgotten in the gen- 
 eral outburst of congratulation. He " sold the stick 
 which broke his own head," and no mistake, for after 
 breeding Bonnets o' Blue from his own Sir Charles, 
 and running her with great success, he parted with 
 her to Mr. Gibbons, who bred from her a filly, which 
 has beaten the best horse Col. Johnson has ever had 
 in his stable, since the days of his favorite Keality, 
 the renowned grand-dam of Fashion herself. 
 
 Eecapitulation : 
 
 Tuesday, May 10, 1842.— Match, the North vs. the South, |20,000 
 aside, $5,000 ft., four-mile heats. Heury H. Toler's and 
 "William Gibbons' ch. m. Fashion, by Imp. Trustee, out of 
 Bonnets o' Blue, Mariner's dam, by Sir Charles, 5 years, 
 111 lbs Joseph Laird, 1 — 1 
 
 Col. "Wm. E. Johnson's and James Long's ch. h, Boston, by Timo- 
 leon, out of Kobin Brown's dam by Ball's Florizel, 9 years, 
 126 lbs Gil Patrick, 2—2 
 
174 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 First Heat. 
 
 
 Second Heat 
 
 
 Time of 1st mile . 
 
 . 1.53 
 
 Time of 1st mile . 
 
 . 1.59 
 
 " " 2d " . 
 
 . 1.50i 
 
 " " 2d " . 
 
 . 1.57 
 
 " " 3d " . . 
 
 . 1.54 
 
 " " 3d " . 
 
 . L51-i 
 
 " " 4th " . . 
 
 . 1.55 
 
 " " 4th « . 
 
 . 1.57i 
 
 Time of First Heat 
 
 . 1.Zi\ 
 
 Time of Second Heat 
 
 . 7.45 
 
 At the Jockey Club dinner, after the match, Mr. 
 Long offered to run Boston against Fashion, for $20,- 
 000, $5,000 forfeit, fonr-mile heats, at any time to be 
 agreed upon by the parties between the 25th of Sep- 
 tember and the 25th of October next. He also au- 
 thorized us to state in our Extra, that he would bet 
 $1,000 he wins the regular Jockey Club purse, four- 
 mile heats, on Friday, on the Union Course ; $1,000 
 that Boston wins the Jockey Club purse at Trenton, 
 and $1,000 that Boston wins the Jockey Club at 
 Camden, the week following. 
 
 Last Day. — The attraction of three races, in one 
 of which Boston was to contend with a son of Bonnets 
 o' Blue, drew a large assemblage to the Course, and 
 they were amply entertained by a race, if not so 
 brilliant as that of Fashion on Tuesday, at least as 
 critical, and apparently more doubtful. The sport 
 commenced with a trial of speed at mile heats be- 
 tween Tempest and Prima Donna, the colt winning 
 in two heats, the latter of which was particularly in- 
 teresting. Time : 1.55 — 1.55. Joe Laird jockeyed 
 the winner, who, Ave regret to say, was sold at auction 
 after the race, and was knocked down for the paltry 
 sum of $180, to Capt. Shirley of the Ttli Ilussars, B. 
 A., who has been in attendance upon our races. Other 
 stock was offered, but we learn was l)id in. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 175 
 
 Now came off tlie great race of tlic day — the strug- 
 gle between Boston and Mariner. The former was 
 backed in the morning at 100 to 30, and before the 
 start at 100 to 20, which were not taken with alacrity. 
 Boston had the pole, but retained it for a few yards 
 only, Mariner going to the front on the first turn, and 
 leading by several lengths. The pace for the first 
 mile was so slow as 2.13, Mariner cutting out the 
 work ; he increased his rate in the second mile, which 
 was run in about 2.05, oj^ening the gap on the back 
 side between Boston and himself, while Boston less- 
 ened it a little in the straight, running in front. In 
 the third mile, the pace was still further improved, 
 both horses tasting the persuaders freely ; the fourth 
 mile was yet more desperately contested, though 
 without much change in the position of the horses. 
 Boston, who was ridden by Gil, without spurs, was 
 most severely scored in coming home ; but as it was 
 all in vain, he pulled him up inside the distance stand. 
 Mariner came in amidst the most tremendous shouts, 
 in 8.13. 
 
 The friends of Old White}iose were undismayed 
 by the loss of the heat, and he still retained the call 
 in the betting at about 100 to 80, As in the former 
 heat, Joe Laird went away with the lead, and driving 
 his horse at a much better pace than before. At the 
 south turn in the commencement of the second mile, 
 the old horse showed a taste of his old style of going, 
 challenged for the lead, and gained it in a twinkling. 
 No respite, however, was given by Joe to Mariner, 
 who ran well up throughout that and the following 
 
176 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TOKTEK. 
 
 mile, though the running was strongly forced by 
 Gil Patrick. In the first quarter of the fourth mile, 
 in very nearly the place where Fashion made her run, 
 Joe went up with a rush, took the track with apparent 
 ease, continued to urge his horse with whip and spur, 
 widening the gap with every stride. Before they came 
 into straight running, he w^as leading by six or eight 
 lengths, and the race was apparently safe. But here 
 Gil Patrick brought up his nag in a style quite in- 
 comparable ; such a rush we do not remember ever 
 to have seen made ; the old horse appeared to sym- 
 pathize with his eager rider, and showed all of that 
 speed which has won for him his great renown. Joe 
 did not appear to be aware of his close proximity till 
 he came within the gates, when he too found his whip, 
 and plied it lustily. The thing was out, however, for 
 nothing but a locomotive could have held its way with 
 Boston, who in his turn came home, amid the enthu- 
 siastic cries of the populace, in 7.46. Many watches 
 made the time a half-second quicker. The heat, which 
 was won by a length, was the most interesting we 
 recollect ever to have seen. We have heard the rid- 
 ing of Joe in the last mile criticized ; it is said he took 
 too much out of his horse after he had passed Boston, 
 by forcing the run as he did. Our impression is that 
 he pursued the safer course, and that he lost the heat 
 only in consequence of the tremendous speed which 
 his antagonist exhibited in the quarter stretch. There 
 is no difference of opinion as to the masterly style in 
 which Gil took the heat ; it would compare fivorably 
 with any performance of Chifhoy or Robinson. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TOKTER. 177 
 
 The third heat was scarcely less interesting than 
 the previous one. Boston took up the running early, 
 but was followed by Mariner at the best pace steel 
 and catgut could get out of him. This severe chase 
 continued throughout three miles and a half, when 
 Mariner closed up a little. In coming into the quar- 
 ter stretch home, Gil gave the pole a wide berth, and 
 Joe immediately took advantage of it, and made a rush 
 to take the lead on the inside. The struggle was now 
 most exciting, as Mariner was evidently drawling rapid- 
 ly upon his antagonist. At about the distance stand 
 he lapped on to him, when Gil appeared to pull his horse 
 towards the pole again, and thus crossed the path of 
 Mariner and interrupted his stride. The pace was ter- 
 rific, however, till the finish, Boston taking the heat, 
 with his tail flirting directly in the face of his compet- 
 itor. Time, 7.58|. A complaint was then made of foul 
 riding against the winner, but it was not deemed by 
 the judges to be substantiated, and the race and purse 
 were accordingly awarded to Boston. All know how 
 critical and hazardous is the attempt to pass a leading 
 horse on the inside. Many believe that Joe Laird 
 was authorized by the position of Boston to make 
 the eftbrt he did, and that for being crossed and 
 crowded, he would have won the race by it. The 
 rightful authorities decided otherwise, however, and 
 we acquiesce in their decision without hesitation. 
 
 The race will be long remembered as one of the 
 most interesting that ever came off on Long Island. 
 The performance of Mariner surprised all his friends 
 by the unwonted speed which he displayed, while he 
 
178 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 
 
 ran as game a race as any horse that ever made a track. 
 After the wonderful performance of Boston on Tues- 
 day last, his race of yesterday will, we have no doubt, 
 be esteemed one of the most remarkable in the annals 
 of the Turf. 
 
 The profound disappointment which was experi- 
 enced by the Southern friends of Boston is plainly and 
 honestly acknowledged in the columns of the Eich- 
 mond " Whig " three days after the race. " Boston is 
 beaten ! We did not announce the defeat of the 
 Whigs with a profounder sorrow. We feel a melan- 
 choly on the occasion, akin to that inspired by the 
 death of some great public benefactor. A noble steed 
 — the boast and glory of his native State — the victor 
 of a hundred fields — has been arrested in his illustrious 
 career, and in one brief day been stripped of all his 
 glories ; and that too by 2^'parvenue — a thing of to-day 
 — unknown yesterday, and destined, but for this un- 
 fortunate occurrence, to be forgotten to-morrow. TT'e 
 wish we had lost money upon him ! That would have 
 been an earnest of our sympathy for the noble sorrows 
 which rend his generous bosom — and might, by the 
 compliment implied, have tended to assuage the bitter- 
 ness of his grief. But it is idle to indulge in lamenta- 
 tions. The times are sadly out of joint, and no longer 
 is the race to the swift or the battle to the strong. 
 Boston is outstripped, and the Whigs overthrown ! No 
 event has excited so much commotion in the city, 
 since the news of the Eevolution of the Palisades in 
 Paris." 
 
 It has already been stated that the bold and honor- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TORTER. 179 
 
 able course taken by tlie editor of the " Spirit " in 
 regard to matters connected with this exciting race, 
 liad drawn upon him unmerited and low abuse ; in his 
 paper of May 21st (which by the way is a proud speci- 
 men of Mr. Porter's industry, as nearly ten of its wide 
 columns consist of solid editorial matter) he notices the 
 ungenerous comments upon his course in a spirit ex- 
 ceedingly creditable to his courage and truthfulness, 
 and which was pronounced a triumphant vindication 
 of these qualities which with him were inborn and 
 ineffaceable. He closes with these words : 
 
 " We have little left us in this world besides an hiimble repu- 
 tation, and a charactei- hitherto untarnished. "We are in a posi- 
 tion, however undeserved, of great responsibility, and oftentimes 
 requiring the exercise of great judgment and the most delicate 
 and adroit modes of expression — occasions where silence would 
 be the worst possible course, and the obligation to say something 
 can neither be shunned nor fulfilled by a hollow counterfeit, 
 "When we are so circumstanced and are compelled by a sense of 
 duty to express our sentiments, Ave do not intend to look calmly 
 on and see our ' good name filched from us ' because they may 
 have conflicted with the interests of any man. And we now take 
 leave to say, once for all, that when any reader of our sheet finds 
 in its columns an editorial article that unfortunately clashes with 
 his interests, he may be sure, and we beg of him to believe, that 
 it was written under a sense of the highest obligations to waive 
 all personal predilections, and disregard individual interests, for 
 the general good. But if his charity cannot extend so far, let 
 him not go so far as to calumniate tis for telling the lare truth — 
 let him not preach homilies on honesty to us because we do not 
 suppress important facts that he may realize extravagant antici- 
 pations—and let him not hope to muzzle the expression of our 
 candid convictions or to forestall swift coming rumors by confid- 
 ing to us as a secret what he well knows we must learn in a 
 
180 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 
 
 few sliort hours from a hundred sources. But if charity and coa- 
 fidence cannot go so far, and if any one still chooses to pursue a 
 different course with us, he may rely upon it we shall ever be 
 found ready and prompt to vindicate our conduct to the world, 
 and by such means as lie in our power will we show our deter- 
 mination of not tamely submitting to abusive charges and vindic- 
 tive imputations, gross as they are groundless." 
 
 About tliis time George Porter concluded an ar- 
 rangement to become an associate editor of the New- 
 Orleans " Picayune." He still retained a lingering 
 affection for liis original profession, which he hoped 
 he should ultimately be able to resume in that city. 
 The first intelligence we had of all this was communi- 
 cated in a letter from George, dated at New York, 
 October 20th, 1842, in which he stated his purposes, 
 and that he was on the eve of sailing for New Or- 
 leans ; he added : " My desire is to return exclusively 
 to the law." In compliance with his request, we 
 furnished him with a letter of introduction to the Hon. 
 Balie Peyton, then IT. S. Attorney for the Southern 
 District of Louisiana, soliciting his aid and countenance 
 in furthering the cherished object of Mr. Porter. 
 
 On his arrival at New Orleans, he entered at 
 once on his duties in the office of the " Picayune." 
 In a letter of the 23d of March, 1813, he writes : 
 
 " No dray horse on the levee works more steadily than I. I 
 have the hang of the office at last, and have little difficulty ; 
 but I pull most decidedly the laboring oar, if I except Kendall, 
 who works like an engine of a hundred horse power, though 
 much of his labor is given to revisals of what others may Lave 
 written. =!= * * j gi^jjll hold fast, always being ready, how- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 181 
 
 ever, to embrace any thing like a living in the law. As it is, I 
 have not missed a day's work since I have been here. * * * 
 So you see I am likely to live here as long as Yelloio Jaclc will 
 allow." 
 
 " Here I am," said he in a letter of the previous November, 
 " perched up in the St. Charles, some ten feet nearer heaven than 
 any other spot of land, I believe, in the whole State of Louisi- 
 ana. * * * I am grinding out inanities for the ' Picayune^'' 
 which is a paper too neutral in its character— as well in religion, 
 literature and criticism as in politics— to allow a Northerner to 
 express therein such poor thoughts as may enter his dull 
 brain. * * * Mr. Peyton has not yet reached New Orleans, 
 nor is he expected much before the 1st proximo. Judge Porter 
 resides in the Attakapas, a goodly distance hence, where he is 
 now awaiting Mr. Clay's arrival, who will spend some days at 
 Oak Lawn, and then both the ex-Senators will come to New 
 Orleans. 
 
 " Nothing definite in regard to my legal pursuits will be deter- 
 mined till such time as I can sec both Mr. Peyton and the 
 Judge." 
 
 It SO chanced tliat a year or two before he started 
 for the South, Francis T. Porter the youngest of the 
 brothers, had returned to New York, after a pro- 
 tracted residence in Mississippi, to the great delight 
 and advantage of his brothers. Of more delicate or- 
 ganization than either of his family, Frank, as his 
 friends loved to call him, was of abundant spirit and 
 talents — of irresistible will, pjecise habits, and the 
 very soul of honor. In resolution and fixedness of 
 purpose, he was superior to either of his elder broth- 
 ers. A comparatively fragile frame seemed to require 
 the hardening process of an active life, and he was 
 accordingly educated in reference to becoming a mer- 
 
182 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER, 
 
 cliant. Ill 1835, when about seventeen years of age, 
 lie entered a coiiiiting-lionse in New York. Thus all 
 the brothers, one by one, had migrated from the quiet 
 scenes of childhood, and settled in the wilderness of 
 a vast city. 
 
 On reaching his majority, Frank became one of 
 the firm of Davidson, Porter & Co, ; the partners 
 being then well established at Amsterdam, Hind's 
 County, Mississippi, to which place he at once re- 
 moved. He writes on the Yth of February, 1837 : 
 " Although the youngest of the family, I have wan- 
 dered farther from the spot where our parents sleep 
 than any, * * - My health is passable ; as well, 
 perhaps, as I could expect after having the bilious 
 fever five times this year ! " 
 
 In subsequent letters he gives animating accounts 
 of his business prospects, and facetiously alludes to his 
 election as one of the " Selectmen^'' and to the offer 
 that he should be Postmaster. He devoted himself 
 to business, until his impaired health warned him to 
 leave the pestilential climate of Mississippi, and he 
 again became a resident of New York in 1839. It was 
 then that the natural taste for writing, so characteristic 
 of the family, became confirmed, and the " Spirit of 
 the Times " shared the benefit of his judicious the- 
 atrical criticisms, and other productions of his pen. 
 
 Ill the autumn of 1842 he received an apj)ointment 
 in the Custom House from Hon. Edward Curtis, the 
 Collector of New York. Tlie duties were agreeable, 
 and he performed them with fidelity, until he was re- 
 moved by the successor of Mr. Curtis, on account of 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. rORTER. 183 
 
 his Whig principles. In the month of December, 
 1846, he sailed for ISTew Orleans with the purpose of 
 again embarking in mercantile pursuits. His brother 
 George was delighted at his unexpected arrival, which 
 seemed almost providential ; for he had just written 
 to him, urging his acceptance of a ]30st in the office of 
 the " Picayune." Frank wrote to William in refer- 
 ence to this proposition : " If I do not get a mercantile 
 oifer this week, I shall accept it, until I can get one." 
 He adds : " George is well, but looks very thin and pale 
 — works very hard. He lives in good style, and has 
 every thing about his house comfortable and elegant." 
 
 Li 1843 the " Picayune " reported the Fall races 
 on the Louisiana course in 'New Orleans, and pro- 
 nounced the race between Miss Foote^ George Martin 
 and George W. Kendall^ which came off" on the fourtii 
 day, as " the best three four-mile heats ever made in 
 the world,"— time 7.36^—7.39— T.Sli— Miss Foote 
 being the winner. 
 
 On this statement the " Spirit " thus comments : 
 
 '"iVi'ne cheers for Miss Foote!'' were duly proposed and 
 responded to in the ' Spirit ' office, on Wednesday morning last. 
 Throngliout the day the ' front office ' was crammed, while in the 
 sanctum sanctorum of the editor there was not room for a man 
 as thin as Calvin Edson. Three several times the report above, 
 written by ' that other gentleman ' for the ' Picayune,' was 
 read aloud. The original report was surmounted by the caption 
 of ' The Best Eace ever run in the World ! ' which it is — 
 in a cornucopia! We have taken the liberty of altering that 
 same caption. We concede the point, however, that Miss Foote 
 and George Martin have run ' the best three heats ' of four miles 
 * ever run ' in this world or any other, though there are many 
 
184 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TOKTER. 
 
 sticklers for irroi^er tceightfor age who will not. The races of 
 Lady Clifden and Picton, of Grey Medoc and Altorf, and espe- 
 cially that of Henry against Eclipse, when, though not quite /owr 
 years old, he carried one hundred and eight ipoundii^ have been 
 discussed over and over again, in connection with this perform- 
 ance of Miss Foote and George Martin. Assuming the English 
 axiom that ' seven pounds is equal to a distance ' (or 240 yards 
 in four miles), the difference in weight in Miss Foote's favor gave 
 her an advantage over Henry of about Five Hundred and Sixty- 
 Jive yards! — nearly one-third of a mUe in each heat. Miss 
 Foote's three heats were run in 17| seconds less time than the 
 three heats of Lady Clifden. She, as a 4 yr. old, carried 101 lbs. ; 
 Miss Foote, two months later in the season, carried, as a 4 yr, 
 old, 97 lbs. "We do not, however, subscribe to the ojiinion that 
 ' seven pounds is equal to a distance,' as a general rule, though 
 it has obtained in England for more than half a century. In the 
 races between Muley Moloch and Glaucus, 3 lbs. given to the 
 latter enabled him to beat Muley Moloch, who had beaten him 
 two days previous, and this in a race of two miles, when both 
 were 5 yrs. old. Indeed, horses are now handicapped there with 
 such consummate judgment {vide case of Charles Xllth and Hyl- 
 lus] that Jem Eobinson, the famous jockey, wittily remarked not 
 long since, in accounting for losing a closely contested race, that 
 he lost it from having carried the key of the stable in his pocket ! 
 " ' The only horse,' remarks the ' Picayune,' ' which has any 
 title to assume an equality with Miss Foote \& Fashion,'' and then 
 it goes on to state that ' the aggregate time of Fashion's two heats 
 Avith Boston was two seconds slower than the two first heats ot 
 the race there,' The 'aggregate!' Stutf! — as if the 'aggre- 
 gate ' had any thing to do with the matter. "Why, they ciphered 
 the heats of a three-raWQ race in Kentucky not long since, in such 
 an extraordinary way as to beat Eclipse and Henry's time atfour- 
 mile heats into fits ! Inasmuch as Miss Foote did not happen to 
 win the first heat of ' her ' race, [won by George INfartin ' in 7.36}j, 
 by three or four open lengths,'] we are surprised the ' Picayimc ' 
 does not give George Martin, instead of Fashion, a ' title to as- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 185 
 
 sume an equality with Miss Foote.' "What a compliment to the 
 Northern Champion ! This grant to Fashion of a ' title to assume 
 an eqiiality ' with any horse on the American Turf is ' piling up 
 the agony ' a ' leetle too mountainous ! ' 
 
 " In another paragraph the ' Picayune ' states that ' the eight 
 miles in Fashion's race with Boston were run in 15 minutes 
 17^ seconds, while the two heats in this race [George Martin's 
 and Miss Foote's] were run in 15 minutes and 15| seconds.' Here 
 is the monstrous discrepancy of tioo seconds in a race, won by 
 Fashion in two heats in the one case, Avhile two Jioi'ses were re- 
 quired to make the time in the other. Moreover, Fashion as a 5 
 yr. old, carried on the 10th of May 111 lbs., (though foaled so 
 late as the 26th of April.) Miss Foote runs as a 4 yr. old on the 
 24th of Dec, carrying 97 lbs., when seven days later she would 
 have been rated aifive years old, and been obliged to take up ten 
 pounds more, or 107 lbs. Fashion, less than five months later 
 than Miss Foote, and at the same age, carried fourteen pounds 
 MORE WEIGHT, She won her two heats in 7.32|— 7.45, while 
 Miss Foote lost the 1st heat of ' her ' race in 7.36i, and won the 
 2d in 7.39, If she or George Martin could have run the 1st heat 
 in 7.321, does any one in his senses suppose either could have 
 repeated it ' low down in the forties ' ? Fashion won her 2d heat 
 with ease, ' by exactly sixty yards,' while Miss Foote, after ' a 
 desperate contest, under the spur, from end to end,' won by only 
 ' two lengths ' from George Martin, who having been passed 
 ' inside of the distance stand ' was ' taken in hand and galloped 
 past the stand,' And notwithstanding all this, the ' Picayune ' 
 gravely informs the friends of Fashion that she is 'the only 
 horse which has now any title to assume an equality with Miss 
 Foote ! ' This is really outrageous ; as Dogberry said, ' It is most 
 tolerable and not to be endured.' " 
 
 Tliis criticism drew from William's especial friend, 
 tlie Hon. Alexander Porter, of Louisiana, the follow- 
 ing admirable letter : 
 
186 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 
 
 " Oak Lawn, January 23, 1843. 
 
 " My Dear Sir: — I ought long siuce to have answered yours 
 of the 30th November. But I have had a busy whiter; Mr. 
 Clay's visit to me, the crowds which thronged Oak Lawn dur- 
 ing his stay, my trip with him to New Orleans, »&c., &c., have 
 interfered a good deal Avith my quiet and punctual habits. I 
 saw George in the city, and had a good long talk with him about 
 his prospects and intentions. lie is doing better in the ' Picayune ' 
 establishment at present, than he could if he had a license to 
 practise law in his pocket. But whether greater success in the 
 department which now exercises his talents (and they are very 
 good) is an equivalent to the greater rewards which would follow 
 distinction at the bar, is perhaps a question not unworthy of con- 
 sideration. 
 
 " He has written some very good accounts of the races here, 
 for the paper to which he is attached, and I don't think you 
 have done the exactly clear thing towards him. Your criticisms 
 on his remarks about the comparative excellence oi Miss Footers 
 and Fashiori's races are very ingenious, but, my dear sir, they are 
 the arguments of a counsel in a cause, and not the judge who 
 decides it. You call his taking the aggregate of the two heats 
 stuff. Why you so name it, unless you mean good stuff I cannot 
 see. If Miss Foote made eight miles in less time than Fashion, is not 
 that an evidence of her superiority, ceteris paribus ? And is that 
 in any way affected by another horse having beaten Miss Foote 
 in one of the heats ? The Little Lady could have won the first 
 heat, in the opinion of every one who saw it, had it not been for 
 the great gap she most unadvisedly suffered the horse to make 
 between them. As it was, she was only two lengths behind. 
 And then this idea, now for the first time (I think) put forward, 
 that her race is not of the value it appears at first blush to have, 
 because she will have to carry more weiglit next year — I do not 
 think there is any thing in that. Have yon ever met with that 
 as a reason given elsewhere why a race should be considered 
 better or worse ? If it is a good one, it ought to have been 
 mentioned this fall when Fashion won her two races. But to 
 leave controversy, will you permit an old man, and one who loves 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TOKTEK. 187 
 
 you well, to make a few remarks to you of quite another cbar- 
 acter? Your position at present in tliis country is in many 
 respects an enviable one — it embraces high duties and it involves 
 great responsibilities. You are in some respects the arbiter of 
 horse reputation. Men look up to your opinions with deference, 
 and they yield to them, because they believe them to be the 
 result of intelligence and calm reflection. Nothing could shake 
 you so soon in your high position, as an idea going abroad that 
 your feelings were enhsted on one side or other of any matter of 
 controversy. Hence language that would be perfectly appropriate 
 in one of your correspondents will not do for you. Your reason- 
 ing and your remarks must, if you expect to give satisfaction, talce 
 a judicial tone. That in a conflict of pride and opinion between 
 the North and the South you should, unconsciously to yourself, 
 feel enlisted in favor of the former, is inevitable. You live 
 there, you hear those ai'ound you contmually dwelhng on the 
 perfections of a noble animal ; you see her— you witness her 
 generous exertions, and you end iy being in love with her. All 
 this is as it should be. If you were otherwise, you would want 
 those ingredients in your composition without which no man rises 
 above the dull level of the ' sons of earth ! ' But then, my good 
 namesake, true toisdom consists in watching our strong qualities, 
 and preventing them running into excess. And there is this addi- 
 tional reason for your standing sentinel on your thoughts, that 
 your paper is national, that it is meant by you for the whole 
 country, and the topics of which it treats belong more to the 
 South than to the North. 
 
 " I think I see you smile at reading this sermon— perhaps ex- 
 claim, Well, this is quite droll, an Irishman preachmg prudence to 
 a Yankee. I plead guilty myself to all the errors I dare to find 
 in you. I know if I lived in Jersey, I should think Fashion the 
 best i-ace-horse in the world, and if you lived here, my life on it, 
 you would think Miss Foote a nonpareil. Just as if you had 
 been born and educated in Spain, you would have proved a good 
 Catholic, and I a good Mahometan if I had been reared in Tur- 
 key. But then, I am not now a judge — you are. I can indulge 
 my feelings— you must restrain yours. 
 
188 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 " I saw the great race ia New Orleans so well described by 
 your brother. It is very faithfully reported. The race since, 
 between Keel and Miss Foote, I did not witness. It terminated 
 as I expected. Under the circumstances, nothing else could be 
 looked for. I rather think Reel can beat her any time two four- 
 mile heats. But if they should be broken and a third one comes, 
 then I do not believe there is an animal in America can prove to 
 be a better nag. I crave your pardon for the heresy. But if 
 Fashion should be able to do so, she must repeat in a very different 
 style from what she has hitherto done. 
 
 " If I did not know the character of your mind, I would 
 apologize to you for venturing any counsel to one of your ex- 
 perience. But my heart tells me my motives are pure and kind, 
 and I know you have intelligence and feehng to appreciate them. 
 " With constant regard, yours, 
 
 "A. POETEK." 
 
 Tlie great foot-races, in which Gildersleeve and 
 Greenhalgh were the respective victors, came off in 
 1844 — the former making over ten and a half miles 
 within the hour, and the latter accomplishing twelve 
 miles in 68.48 — and were reported at great length by 
 the editor of the " Spirit." " The interest of these races 
 was not attracted to see the running. It arose from 
 the accidental contact of several of the circumstances 
 of the races with strong under-currents of national 
 interest. It was a trial of the Indian against the 
 white man on the point in which the red man most 
 boasts his superiority. It was the trial of the purely 
 American physique against the long-held supremacy 
 of English muscular endurance. * * * The white 
 man beat the Indian, the American beat the English." 
 These are the words of Willis, who in the same con- 
 nection, alluding to the editor of the " Spirit," calls 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 189 
 
 him " the admired turf-clironicler, secretary (of the 
 Jockey Club) and prophet, Porter the tall." 
 
 On the 1st of March, 1845, the paper entered upon 
 a new volume, with an unsurpassed number of cor- 
 respondents in addition to hundreds of old ones ; yet 
 in consideration " of the low price of stock and agri- 
 cultural products generally " the subscription was 
 reduced from ten to five dollars, its original price — ^a 
 change, it may be added, that very materially in- 
 creased its circulation among the farmers and stock 
 breeders of the country. Perhaps no more appro- 
 priate place than the present will occur for the intro- 
 duction of the Editor's matured opinions on the im- 
 portance of horses of pure blood to the farmer, and 
 on kindred topics. 
 
 In reply to a letter from Mr. Botts' " Southern 
 Planter," urging the necessity of sustaining that spir- 
 ited, talented and unrivalled sporting paper, " The 
 Spirit of the Times," as the means of regenerating the 
 Sports of the Turf, and achieving the reform and sus- 
 taining the character of the thorough-bred in America, 
 Mr. Porter prepared an admirable argument in sup- 
 port of those great interests, which to this day remains 
 unanswerable : 
 
 " There is no room for doubt that ' over and above the policy 
 of sustaining the popular sports of the country, every lover of 
 the horse — every individual who has occasion for the services of 
 this useful animal (as who has not?) is deeply interested in the 
 regeneration of the sports of the Turf.' We shall endeavor to 
 demonstrate that for daily service and common use, the most 
 enduring, active, vigorous and handsome horses are those who 
 have a generous strain of pure blood coursing through their 
 
190 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 
 
 veins. We shall prove that the surpassing speed and game of 
 the American Trotter^ whose fame extends throughout the world, 
 dates no farther hack than the introduction of thorough-bred 
 stock into the New England States and remote sections of New 
 York and Pennsylvania. This stock went from Long Island and 
 New Jersey ; it consisted mainly of young thorough-bred colts, 
 which being unsuited for the race-course, were disposed of at 
 low rates to country breeders ; occasionally, too, a thorough or 
 three-quarter bred mare found its way into the country, the 
 result of all which was that every year or two a Dutchman, a 
 Ripton or a Confidence made his appearance. 
 
 " Fifteen years since thousands of dollars would have been 
 wagered that no horse in the world could trot a mile within 
 three minutes ; now, in this city alone, there are dozens of road- 
 sters in daily use which can do it before a wagon, while there 
 are twenty in the Union which can trot a mile in 2.30 ! Twelve 
 years ago to drive a horse seventy miles between sun and sun 
 Avould have been deemed a remarkable performance, but since 
 strains of the blood of Messenger, Mambrino and Eclipse have 
 been introduced into our road stock at the North, hundreds of 
 horses can be found which can travel from eighty to ninety miles 
 without distress. There are several horses now in this city, 
 Philadelphia and Boston, which can travel one hundred miles 
 in a day without injury. The use of thorough and half-bred 
 horses for domestic purposes has already become so common in 
 England that few others are employed for the road. The half- 
 bred horse is not only much handsomer, but his speed and powers 
 of endurance are infinitely greater. His head and neck are light 
 and graceful, his limbs fine, his coat glossy and soft as satin, 
 while his action is spirited, and his courage and stamina sufficient 
 to carry him through a long journey without his falling off in 
 condition, or to undergo an extraordinary trial of speed and 
 game without distress. The ordinary cocktail is in most instances 
 a mere brute, that in travelling sinks daily in strength, losing his 
 appetite, and, of course, his flesh and action, so that at the termi- 
 nation of a ten days' journey he is nearly knocked up ; he can 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TORTER. 191 
 
 travel but about forty miles per day, and requires the whole day 
 to perform the distance. 
 
 " In the course of the year 1848, ]jrobably not less than six 
 thousand thorough-hred mares, and as many more of cold blood, 
 were bred to horses of pure pedigree in the United States. Out 
 of the vast produce of these mares, not above 1,500, if so many, 
 will ever come upon the Turf, probably, so that more than one- 
 half will eventually find their way into harness. The colts of 
 good form, that have plenty of bone and substance, w^ill, of course, 
 oust the common tackles that infest country taverns, while the 
 others will be used for the saddle and the road. The result will be 
 that in a few years the stock now in use will be supplanted by 
 horses of superior action, wind and courage, whose greater beauty 
 will not be more apparent than their better style of going and 
 their imequalled powers of endurance. 
 
 " The breeders of New England and "Western New York have 
 already became so sensible of the absolute necessity of an infu- 
 sion of ' blood ' for the improvement of their common stock, that 
 they will only send their mares to thorough-bred stallions, or 
 those which claim to be so. Abdallah, Andrew Jackson and 
 other popular trotting stallions, though not quite thorough-bred, 
 command as high a price in the market, and for their services in 
 the stud, as fashionably bred and distinguished performers on the 
 Turf. A fine-looking gelding, a son of Abdallah, readily com- 
 mands $500, while he has several sons and daughters in this 
 vicinity, which can be sold at auction for $2,500 each ! At 
 the New York State Fair held at Albany in '42, there were 
 not less than fifteen thorough-bred stallions exhibited, some 
 of which were remarkably large, active and handsome. It 
 is from such horses as these, crossed upon the common mares 
 of the country, that the superb '■Northern Carriage Horses^ 
 are derived. We know of nearly one hundred mares of most 
 fashionable lineage which are owned in this and the Eastern 
 States, which for several years have been breeding stock for the 
 road. To these and such as these is the Sporting World indebted 
 for its Lady Suffblks, its Forrests, its Rattlers and its Pizarros. 
 
 " As a national benefit, it may be asserted by some— and the 
 
192 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 
 
 ' Planter ' would seem to take this ground — tliat we do not 
 require that breed in use for the Turf technically termed the 
 ' blood horse.' To this a familiar intercourse with the most 
 eiuinent breeders and turf-men of the Union, combined with no 
 inconsiderable knowledge of horses and their relative powers, 
 authorize us to dissent. Our extent of country and climate re- 
 quire horses of great action and durability, not encumbered with 
 unnecessary masses of flesh or cumbrous bone, forming an over- 
 weight of carcass. Our farmers in many situations have a great 
 extent of road to pass over, in order to reach a ^narket, and that 
 too, upon ground often bound as hard as marble by the winter's 
 frost, or parched dry, and rendered equally obdurate by the sum- 
 mer's sun : upon roads of this description, or such as are macad- 
 amized, (now coming into general use,) no heavy -moulded animal 
 can for any length of time bear to be urged beyond a walk or 
 slow trot, without encountering much bodily distress, and per- 
 manent injury of both feet and limbs. Nor are any, except such 
 as possess a large share of ' blood,' equal in extreme warm 
 weatlier to the task of a mail stage, or other duty where expedi- 
 tion and continuance are required. The coarse, heavy horse will 
 not answer in a warm climate ; the varying face of our country and 
 the heat of our summer months are ill adapted to him, and his slow, 
 tedious movement equally repugnant to the genius of our people. 
 
 " In regard to selection, we cannot but recommend adhering 
 as closely as possible to such as come nearest in pedigree or 
 purity of blood, symmetry, form, apparent strength and action, 
 to those in use for the Turf, denominated ' blood horses,' as most 
 adequate to long and severe exertion, under which horses of 
 inferior description so frequently sink for want of that constitu- 
 tional stamina and inherent fortitude, that those of high pedi- 
 gree and pure ' blood ' so eminently possess. 
 
 " In opposition to what we have here set forth as an estab- 
 lished and incontrovertible fact, we shall no doubt be told by 
 some, that the ' blood horse ' has not sufficient lone and strengtli 
 for the generality of business purposes. Upon this point we ask 
 leave to introduce a few remarks. This tcant of hone, so fashion- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 193 
 
 ably and eternally echoed and transmitted from one affected con- 
 noisseur to another, without the least knowledge of the external 
 conformation of the animal, or the most distant idea that any 
 difference exists in the strength of bones of the same size, taken 
 from horses of different breeds, or knowing that two bones 
 exactly of the same dimensions, the one appertaining to the 
 ' blood horse,' and the other one of the common breed, bear no 
 comparison in point of either solidity, weight, fibre, or strength, 
 or that the muscular and ligamentous appendages of the former, 
 the very source of action and power, are much larger and 
 stronger than those of the latter— that the use of bones are prin- 
 cipally to extend the parts and support the frame— that, being 
 in themselves inactive, the excess beyond what is thus required 
 operates as dead weight to be carried along ; thus an undue pro- 
 portion, in place of being an acquisition, forms an encumbrance, 
 and hence arises the folly which we daily witness of selecting 
 for severe service horses over-loaded, like cart-horses, with this 
 same lony structure, whose undue weight and inactivity of parts 
 render them totally unfit for either rapidity of motion or con- 
 tinuance. 
 
 " There are some who in their selections affect a preference 
 for such as are not of pure ' blood,' but a cross of the breed, 
 between the thorough-bred and the common horse, in England 
 technically termed ' cocktails,' and an indifference for the posses- 
 sion of those high-bred qualifications which are indispensably 
 necessary to constitute a runner ; while they decline purchas- 
 ing, at any price, such as are incapable of great performance and 
 continuance ; nor will any other, at this day, bring a price in a city 
 market that will defray the expense of rearing. "We ask such 
 connoisseurs, if every good racer does not possess these innate 
 qualifications ? And while we admit that there are many valu- 
 able horses of the ' cross-lreecl,'' we assert that they derive the 
 very perfections which constitute their worth, not from the 
 parent stock of the common horse, but solely from the species 
 which we recommend ; hence it follows, that before we can 
 obtain even a ' cross-breed ' with the necessary acquirements, we 
 9 
 
194 LITE OF WILLIAM T. POETEE. 
 
 must be in possession of parent stock having these same requi- 
 sites, only to be obtained from tlie ' blood horse ' in his greatest 
 purity. 
 
 " We do not hesitate to assert, that ' blood horses ' of proper 
 size, formation, and symmetry, full fifteen hands (five feet) and 
 upwards in height, of full and just proportions and muscular 
 appearance, bred from such as are known to possess constitutional 
 stamina and fortitude sufficient to enable them, when carrying 
 the weight of 126 to 140 lbs., to continue their rate for four 
 miles, and to repeat the same distance after a short interval of 
 thirty or forty minutes, will exceed in speed, strength, or dura- 
 bility, whatever horses may be brought against them, on the 
 road, in the field, the chase, or any service whatever ; and 
 when offered in market, either at home or abroad, command 
 prices more than double that of any other class. How is this 
 superiority to be tested, to enable us, with unerring certainty, 
 to select the best for breed ? for among the good there is always 
 a preference. How has this test been made, for the last hundred 
 years and more, in England, whose horses at this day excel all 
 others on the globe ? "We answer with confidence, by course 
 racing, and that only. Premiums for the production of the best 
 and most elegant horses have of late years been given by our 
 agricultural societies, but without any test of excellence or guid- 
 ance, other than the whim and caprice of those from year to year 
 nominated to decide as to the perfections or imperfections of a 
 medley of horses, cattle, sheep, and swine, among which motley 
 group this noble animal has been doomed to pass in review, and 
 to be adjudged and criticized upon by those more conversant with 
 the bristly tribe, and who value things by the weight and 
 bulk only! We would ask if even this good intention on the 
 part of agricultural societies produces any material improve- 
 ment ? We think not. We would next call attention to the high 
 prices which have been paid to the State of New York by her 
 sister States, and institute an inquiry as to the cause of such 
 prices as $15,000 in one case, $10,000 each in two difterent in- 
 stances, $5,000 each for several, $4,000, $3,000, and $2,000 each 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAJI T. PORTEK. 195 
 
 for many, $1,500 and $1,000 for numbers— $500 is an evcry-day 
 oifer for roadsters — and, at this time, $2,000 each has been 
 offered and refused for two. Let candor say whether such prices 
 could have been had, and such sums realized, by a few spirited 
 breeders, in the State of New York and New Jersey, but for 
 the partial exemption from the prohibition of horse racing, which 
 the legislative body of the former were prevailed upon to grant, 
 about the year 1821, to the favored county of Queens, Long 
 Island. If, again, an inquiry is instituted as to what particular 
 section of the State produced those valuable animals, it will be 
 found to be the identical district or immediate vicinity of that 
 exempted from the penalties imposed by the otherwise general 
 law enacted to prevent horse racing ; and the adjacent State 
 of New Jersey, also benefited thereby, has, of late, totally re- 
 pealed her prohibitory statute. We would further ask, by what 
 test the superiority and extraordinary value of these particular 
 horses was discovered ? The answer is obvious — the fact notO" 
 rious — course racing ! 
 
 " That the excellence or superiority sought for can in no way 
 be tested except by actual trials, the most impartial and disiuv 
 terested experiments, during a lapse of many years, liave fully 
 demonstrated. For this purpose course racing was originally 
 instituted, and for more than a century and a half has been 
 adopted and pursued with unremitting zeal in Great Britain ; 
 where the government, aware of its importance in a national 
 sense, promote it by giving a bounty in numerous cases, under 
 the appellation of Queen's Plates, yearly or semi-annually run for 
 upon all the principal courses in the kingdom, and in almost all 
 of the British Colonies. Thus encouraged and countenanced, 
 their horses, whether taken into view for the field, the road, or 
 the army, haye, from judicious selections for breeding, afforded 
 by this same test, arrived at q, state of pre-excellence hitherto 
 nnlieard of, and far surpassing the fo.med Arabian or Barbf^ry 
 horse, from which they derive their origin. Witness the ever- 
 memorable battle of Waterloo, upon which hung the fate of 
 Europe, decided, in a great measure, by the vast superiority of 
 the British cavalry, which, while it roused tlie fears, drew forth 
 
196 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 
 
 the admiration of the greatest captain of the age ! ' Regardez 
 ces heaux cTievaux gris — quelles terrible chevavx ! ' he exclaimed, 
 as they swept through his ranlis. On the other hand, take a 
 retrospective view of the horses in the State of New York and 
 the adjoining State of New Jersey, as they were twenty-five 
 years hack ; view the scanty sample of improvement made, or 
 permitted to he made, save in a certain favored district of New 
 York, contemplate what the whole, or rather, those in distant 
 parts of the State, in all probabihty, Avonld have been at this 
 date but for legislative interference, and picture to yourself 
 what, in a comparative sense, they actually are. Compare the 
 superb steeds that carried dismay through Napoleon's ranks, 
 with the miserable louches our brave soldiers had to mount dur- 
 ing either the Eevolution or the late war, and what of necessity 
 our array would be equipped with, were they even at this late 
 day compelled to take the field ! What a contrast ! ' If I wished 
 to ruin a province,' said the Great Frederick of Prussia, ' I would 
 send a philosopher to govern it.' 
 
 " We may take occasion hereafter — though we should much 
 prefer to leave the matter with our numerous corps of intelligent 
 correspondents — to suggest some means for the general revival 
 of the Sport of the Turf in the North as well as in the Old 
 Dominion. Kacing cannot go down! The immense amount 
 of capital invested in Blood Stock in the United States— noi less 
 than Five Millions of Dollars ! — absolutely forh ids it ! Every 
 one acquainted with the Turf is aware that a three-year-old colt 
 like Eufiin, The Colonel, and others, will command $5,000 at any 
 moment— that a nonpareil like Fashion is worth $10,000 (though 
 she would not be parted with under $12,000) — that a young 
 brood mare like Delphine is worth $3,500 or more, and that a 
 stallion of the pretensions of Priam, Eclipse, or Medoc, in their 
 prime would readily fetch $15,000, notwithstanding ' the hard 
 times.' Break up your breeding and training establishments and 
 Blue Dick would not sell for $300 !— Grey Medoo and Trustee 
 would be worth each, about $600 !— Bonnets o' Blue would com- 
 mand at auction $100, possibly! 
 
 " It behooves the friends of the qood came to give this matter 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 197 
 
 their grave and earnest consideration. The sports of the Turf, 
 like every thing else, have been seriously affected by the monetary 
 reverses of the country. But we have now, we trust, seen the 
 worst, so that ' things must mend.' Already business and confi- 
 dence are reviving throughout the Union. "With the steady 
 advance in the price of real estate, and the great staples of the 
 country, that of Blood Stock should keep pace. ' A long pull, 
 a strong pull, and a pull altogether,' by the parties interested, 
 will effect so desirable an object. Will they unite with us, and 
 put their shoulders to the wheel ? " 
 
 The number of subscribers was never larger than 
 in 1847, and the correspondents of the paper had 
 increased fortj-fold. Instead of the usual array of 
 literary articles from the British magazines, which 
 had so long enriched its columns, the editor substi- 
 tuted original sketches and letters written expressly 
 for the " Spirit," giving a preference to those which 
 were thoroughly American, and presenting the pecu- 
 liar characteristics and illustrating scenes and inci- 
 dents of the " Universal Yankee nation," from the 
 St. Lawrence to the Rio Grande. 
 
 The officers of the army, and the same remark 
 will apply to those of the navy, not only liberally con- 
 tributed to the " Spirit," and gave it the material aid 
 of a very general subscription, but also from their 
 strong personal attachment to the Editor, forwarded to 
 him all manner of curiosities, both natural and arti- 
 ficial, which were obtained by them in their expedi- 
 tions, so that his " Curiosity Shop," as he called it, 
 had a " charm," which would well compare with that 
 in the Witches' Caldron, in Macbeth : 
 
198 LIFE OF AVILLIAM T. PORTEK. 
 
 " Eye of newt, and toe of frog, 
 Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, 
 Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, 
 Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing." 
 
 One of liis gallant friends presented to him a pair 
 of South American or Mexican stirrups ; the editor 
 writes of them : 
 
 " They were of wood, and weighed about five pounds each ! 
 elaborately carved on three sides ; the foot cannot project 
 through them, and no one could imagine for what possible pur- 
 pose they were intended, unless informed. They no more resem- 
 ble an American stirrup than does a chest of drawers a coal 
 scuttle, a bet on the Presidential election, or any thing else in 
 which a man has a chance ' to put his foot in it ! ' " 
 
 From the great variety of queer things ■vrhicli the 
 thoughtfulness of familiar friends heaped upon him, 
 he selects the names of a few, and thus acknowledges 
 tlie receijit of Sherred Lidia Eubber Pantaloons, that 
 were warranted to stretch to the crack of doom ; a 
 pair of Saxon Wool Socks, knit expressly for him by 
 the industrious wife of a Mississippi planter ; colored 
 maps of the battles in Mexico ; a superb collection 
 of artificial flies ; Limerick hooks ; a dozen " drop- 
 pers ; " an assortment of colored gut " leaders ; " a har- 
 poon and lance, used in the whale fishery ; the head 
 of a pike, which, when dressed, weighed twenty-two 
 pounds ; a dozen cane fishing-rods from South Caro- 
 lina ; the skin of an enormous bear ; half a dozen 
 skins of the White Fox and Hare of Newfoundland ; 
 the white partridge from Nova Scotia ; a tandem 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 199 
 
 whip ; tlie skin of an immense Pelican, from C. D. 
 Bunce, Esq., of 1^. O. ; colored engravings of the 
 Eevolutionary scenes of Paris, from G. W. Kendall, 
 Esq. ; a sash worn by the late Capt. S. H. Walker, 
 of the Texas Kangers, who was killed in Mexico, from 
 Lt. Stonehall of the U. S. E. Service ; and lastly, a 
 snake from Korth Carolina with " thirty-one rattles 
 besides the bntton;" "this pleasant musical box," 
 says the Editor, " being seven inches in length." 
 
 In this connection, though not in chronological 
 order, we insert his acknowledgment of a " service 
 of plate " and other articles of value, which is in his 
 own peculiar and quiet style of humor : 
 
 PRESENTATION OF PLATE TO THE EDITOR. 
 
 " The Editor of the ' Spirit of the Times ' begs leave to offer 
 his acknowledgments to his friends in Alabama, Louisiana, Mis- 
 sissippi, Kentucky, Virginia, and New Jersey, for their very 
 acceptable present of a ' Service of Plate '—or rather of ' Plates,' 
 which 'have done the State some service.' Connoisseurs in 
 antique gold or silver Plate may call our taste in question, as 
 may the admirers of fine Engravings, but we, notwithstanding, 
 take occasion to express the belief that no specimen of the 
 Fine Arts, nor of the Goldsmiths' art, will for an instant sustain 
 a comparison with the pieces of Plate presented us as a mark 
 of the distinguished consideration of the donors. Be it known, 
 then, that the ' Plates ' presented us are of neither gold nor silver 
 —neither draughts nor drawings, but the ' Plates,' or ' pumps ' 
 worn by High-Mettled Piacers in their exhibitions of game and 
 speed, in place of shoes ! 
 
 "We have received two of those w^orn by Mr. Gibbons' 
 Fashmi, the Champion of the American Turf, in her great match 
 with Long and Johnson's Boston^ and two also of those worn 
 
200 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 
 
 by him on the same memorable occasion. One of each is in- 
 tended for tlie editor of ' Bell's Life in London,' after they shall 
 have been properly set and lettered, with the number of races 
 run by the rival champions of the The North and The South. 
 The time of ' The best race ever run in America ' — 7.32^ — 7.45 — 
 will not be omitted. 
 
 " We have also received one of the plates worn by Mr. Bos- 
 well's Jim Bell of Kentucky, and one of those worn by Col. 
 Bingaman's Sarah Bladen of Mississippi, when they ran four- 
 mile heats at New Orleans, in 7.37 — 7.40 ! 
 
 " We also have one of those worn by Mr. Baird's Miss Foote 
 of Alabama, when she beat Earl of Margrave, Hannah Harris, 
 and Luda, in 8.02—7.35 ! 
 
 " Also one of those worn by Mr. Wells' Eeel of Louisiana, 
 when she beat Luda and John E. Grymes, in 7.40 — 7.43 ! 
 
 " The above, added to one worn by Messrs. Kennee's Grey 
 Medoc^ of Louisiana, in his race beating Altorf and Denizen, in 
 7.35—8.19—7.42—8.17, makes our 'Service of Plate ' sufficiently 
 complete for the accommodation of ' a pleasant party,' which in 
 immber should not be less than the Graces nor more than the 
 Muses ! This ' j^late ' of ours is of a description of ' ware ' that 
 will not readily loear out! Lideed, it has seen service already, 
 and has withstood a deal of ' loear and tear ! ' Those of Boston 
 and Fashion especially, have received some hard knocks, and in 
 size, as compared with those worn by Miss Foote and Reel, they 
 are as ' fish dishes ' to ' dessert plates.' In weight one of Fash- 
 ion's plates exceeds that of Jim Bell and Eeel added together. 
 Sarah Bladen has the largest foot, and Miss Foote the smallest ; 
 the Tatter's plate weighs exactly one ounce! The plates of 
 Fashion and Boston are of the same size ; for a fore and hind 
 foot they weigh five ounces." 
 
 Again, lie writes : 
 
 " We have to acknowledge this week the receipt of an addi- 
 tion to our collection of Sporting Curiosities of extraordinary 
 interest. We are indebted for it to Mr. Gilbeet W. Tateick 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 201 
 
 of this city, better known to the Sporting World as ' Oil Patrick^ 
 one of the most distinguished jockeys that has figured on the 
 American Turf. ' Gil ' has given us nothing less than one of his 
 steel-plated Spun^ which he wore constantly from the time he 
 rode Post Boy in his match with Bascombe in 1836, up to the 
 day when he rode Boston in his match with Fashion ! It will 
 be recollected that on the last occasion Gil rode the gallant 
 veteran with a single spur ; that identical Spur is before us as 
 we pen this paragraph ; it has not been worn since, its mate 
 having been lost. The rowel is still discolored with the blood 
 and sweat of old Boston, and there are half a dozen short chestnut 
 hairs attached to its point, each one as precious in our eyes as 
 those Benedick offered to bring ' from the Great Kham's beard.' 
 How much ' claret ' has Gil ' tapped ' with this little instrument, 
 and how many glossy sides has he ' tickled ' with it, between '36 
 and '42 ! What shouts have been raised, what enthusiasm ex- 
 cited, what fortunes won and lost, what ' vast renown ' achieved, 
 by ' the still small voice ' of this ' eloquent persuader ' ! Omega, 
 Blue Dick, Santa Anna, and Argyle, have made some of their 
 most brilliant races under the magic touch of Gil's heel when 
 armed with this ounce of steel. Though he may never have felt 
 its ticlding. Monarch for two seasons was on intimate terms with 
 it, while Atalanta and Emily, Rocker and Blacknose, Lord of 
 Lorn and Treasurei-, must have retained for some time a keen 
 sense of Gil's use of it. Wonder and Fordham, with Charlotte 
 Eusse, Zenobia, and many more, were no little indebted to it for 
 the character they maintained on the Turf. Armed with this 
 little spur, GU. ' won golden opinions from all sorts of people,' 
 and we regard it, as do many who have seen it, as one of the 
 most interesting articles in our collection." 
 
 Mr. Porter was solicited to make a compilation of 
 liumoroiis articles from the " Spirit," and having con- 
 sented, he published " The Big Bear in Arkansas " 
 and other sketches, illustrative of characters and inci- 
 dents in the South and West, illustrated by Darlej. 
 9* 
 
202 LITE OF WILLIAM T, POKTEK. 
 
 The volume contained twenty-one sketches or stories, 
 not unworthy of Hood or Dickens, and met with a 
 rapid sale, as a capital specimen of amusing narratives 
 and vivid descriptions. Besides this addition to his 
 ordinary labors, in 1846 he edited the English work, 
 " Guns and Shooting," by Col. Hawker ; how faith- 
 fully he accomplished it may be inferred from the 
 fact that out of four hundred and fifty -nine pages, two 
 hundred were American and original. It was the 
 first purely sporting work ever published in the United 
 States, and was in every respect a well-executed 
 manual for the sportsman ; by universal consent, it 
 was considered as conferring infinite credit on the 
 editor. 
 
 As Mr. Porter felt a deep symj)athy for the friends 
 of manly recreation, he watched with lively interest 
 the organization of a Yacht Club in New York, 
 chronicled its movements, and frequently acknowl- 
 edged the great pleasure he had received from the 
 civilities and consideration which it had extended to 
 him. We well know that he loved to " wet a line," 
 bufdoubt if he ever fancied a " wet jacket " on board 
 any kind of craft. In one of his papers, he gave an 
 animated picture of the Annual Kegatta of the Club, 
 which he closed with this playful remark : " It is all 
 very well, this talk about Demosthenes and Cicero, 
 but the ancients never heard Mr. Blunt when present- 
 ing a Cup to the "winner of a New York Yacht Club 
 Regatta, nor his response." At the next race, each 
 yacht was to be manned exclusively by members of 
 the Club 
 
LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 203 
 
 Mr. Porter, " will be nothing to this in excitement. If 
 we could not wade out or swim anywhere where it is 
 moist, we should immediately order a life-preserver ! " 
 Akin to this interest in sports connected with phys- 
 ical training was his prompt support of all rational 
 amusement ; and though not a constant or ardent play- 
 goer, he was from the start a discriminating friend 
 of the Drama ; the following article is proof of his 
 appreciation of the stage and solicitude for the comfort 
 of those who gave it attractiveness and character : 
 
 "J. Theatrical Fund Association. — Altliough for the last 
 few years the genius of invention, that characteristic of the 
 American nation, seems to have expended itself in the creation 
 of charitable associations — in a popular display of individual 
 sympathy, still it is remarkable that we have but few institutions 
 of a definite and beneficial nature. While we have zealously 
 organized philanthropic combinations of every imaginable species, 
 we appear to have forgotten to provide for those of our fellow- 
 beings, whose professions are of the more elevated order of life — 
 more especially the followers of Literature and the Drama. 
 With commendable exertions we act as guardians to the tem- 
 poral welfare of every aspirant to mendicity, and, with a like 
 zeal, we take charge of the spiintual concerns of every afilicted 
 member in our community, and, while all these things are pub- 
 licly applauded, we omit a consideration of the sufferings of 
 another class of fellow-men. The very life of the actor, subject 
 to the whims and oddities of the public taste, the foibles and 
 follies of vulgar prejudices, renders him in a great degree depend- 
 ent not only on his own exertions, but on the benevolence of the 
 community. The stage may be, with justice, termed the charnel- 
 house of intellect — the crypt wherein are annually buried 
 many bright and aspiring minds, enticed from the walks of 
 every-day life by the pomp and glitter of a scenic world. We 
 gaze with rapture on the actions of the actor — the minister 
 
204 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. rOKTEK. 
 
 of our happiest pleasures, and little do we dream of the vicissi- 
 tudes of the inward life of him, whose external aspect is so in- 
 viting. If we look at the biographies of any of those who have 
 from time to time swayed the sceptre of the theatrical monarchy 
 — Garrick, Kean, Moliere or Talma — we always find them 
 keenly alive to the afflictions and necessities of their comrades — 
 the flickering and uncertain careers of their associates. With- 
 out doubt these considerations, based on the hardship of their 
 early existence — their toil and labors to attain their subsequent 
 reputation, induced Garrick and Moliere to urge the establish- 
 ment of the Drury Lane fund, and that of the Comedie Fran- 
 caise. The self-same causes which led to the institution of these 
 associations in England and France, exist, in a greater degree, in 
 our country, and therefore we would deem the establishment of 
 similar funds not only as an act of justice, but of absolute neces- 
 sity. We have no doubt but that, in the furtherance of a 
 national dramatic fund, the many eminent tragedians, comedians, 
 and vocalists now in the Union would be happy to contribute 
 their aid, and for the consimimation of this wholesome charity, 
 the public will never be remiss in seconding the efforts of a few 
 leading men. The first movement must, as a matter of necessity, 
 come from the actors themselves ; to their listlessness can be 
 alone attributed the non-success of prior schemes ; it is for them 
 to digest and arrange the mode of operation of the society, as 
 being far better qualified to judge of the wants of a theatrical 
 community, than those who have never entered within the 
 precincts of the actor's world. When once firmly instituted on a 
 liberal basis, one neither too diffuse nor too exclusive, we can 
 assure them of a response on the part of the public. Of the 
 success of such a fund we are sanguine, as benefiting not only 
 the actor, but the di*ama in all its manifold branches." 
 
 Witliin something like a twelvemontli, death had 
 deprived Mr. Porter of some of his most distinguished 
 friends and safe counsellors. Among them was Judge 
 Duval, of Maryland, whose familiarity with the Turf 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAItl T. POKTEK. 205 
 
 for more than forty years was only eqnalled by his 
 accurate knowledge of Jurisprudence. His death 
 was followed by that of John Boardman, Esq., of 
 Alabama, whose valuable essays on breeding, train- 
 ing, and other kindred topics, contributed to the in- 
 terest and usefulness of the " Spirit" and " Eegister," 
 and were republished in England with signal com- 
 mendation. The Hon. Alexander Porter was the 
 
 next honored friend whose loss he deplored most 
 acutely ; then succeeded that of Henry Inman, one 
 of his best and choicest friends, on the 24th of Janu- 
 ary, 1846 ; they were very diflerently organized, yet 
 had many kindred tastes, and for years were united 
 by a strong brotherly attachment, which death only 
 could break asunder. Mr. Porter thus feelingly la- 
 ments the event : 
 
 " A great and good man lias sunk to rest — one wlio lias illus- 
 trated the genius of liis country by the most imperishable monu- 
 ments. Henry Inman is no more ! Rarely gifted as be was by 
 nature, bis acquirements were of such a character, that he would 
 have ennobled any station to which he might have been called, 
 or graced any circle into which his enthusiastic and lofty im- 
 pulses might have thrown him. This is not the time to write 
 his epitaph ; eminently appreciated as he was by his country- 
 men generally, not to speak of the almost idolatrous regard enter- 
 tained for him by all those who came within the range of his 
 personal acquaintance and intercourse, yet not until his memory 
 is hallowed by time, and we are made fully to realize the loss we 
 have sustained, can ample justice be done to his genius, his char- 
 acter, and undying fame. 
 
 " Eminent as was the position he enjoyed as an artist, and 
 proud as his friends were of the universal homage paid to his 
 surpassing merit on both sides of the Atlantic, by ' mouths of 
 
206 Lli^E OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 wisest censure,' yet as a friend, a poet, and as a scholar, was he 
 most endeared to those who enjoyed the unqualified pleasure 
 of his companionship. His scholastic attainments were of the 
 very highest order, and though he indulged in literary pursuits, 
 rather as a relief to his mind than for any settled purpose, yet 
 he has left behind him many fugitive sketches in prose and verse 
 that will endure through all time. His intellect was not only 
 highly cultivated, biit his knowledge was vast, and his brilliant 
 imagination so teemed with images of grandeur and beauty, 
 that his conversational powers surpassed those of any man we 
 ever met ; yet was he as guileless and simple as a child. If he 
 excelled supereminently in any thing beyond his art, we are not 
 sure but we should give the palm to his epistolary correspond- 
 ence ; and when the time arrives — as it inevitably will — when 
 '■I have a j^ainting <?/Inman's! ' will be no common boast, how 
 much more dearly cherished will be the mementos of his unalter- 
 able friendship and regard ! 
 
 " Next to his devotion to his friends and his art, was Inman's 
 fondness for Field Sports. In trout-tishing, especially, he ex- 
 celled ; as in the case of Prof. AVilson and other kindred spirits, 
 this was emphatically his hobby. And a more ardent, accom- 
 plished or delightful disciple, good old Izaak Walton never had. 
 In throwing a fly or spinning a minnow, he had few equals, 
 
 " But alas ! ' Where be your gibes now ? your gambols ? 
 your songs ? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set 
 the table in a roar ? ' On Tuesday last the grave closed over the 
 remains of the illustrious dead. He yielded up his spirit to the 
 God who gave it, on the previous Saturday at noon, in his forty- 
 fifth year, after taking a final leave of his bereaved family 
 and friends. He appeared to be perfectly aware for some time 
 previous of his approaching dissolution. On giving the last touch 
 to his ' October Afternoon ' — a painting finished during the 
 month of October past, and which was almost his last production 
 — he remarked that he had painted his last picture ! A mutual 
 friend, in paying a feeble tribute to his memory, truthfully re- 
 marks that 'Earely does there pass away from earth a man 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 207 
 
 whose life more endccared him to those who knew him, than 
 Inman. He had all the qualities which go to the making up of 
 a true man : and so genial was his chai-acter ; so full of every- 
 thing which could qualify a companion and foi'm a friend ; so 
 ahounding was his eloquent conversation with the riches of a 
 cultivated and well-stored mind, with suggestive philosophy, 
 sparkling wit, genuiue humor, and illustrative anecdote ; so 
 keenly did he enjoy life and life's hlessings, and the many friends 
 that enjoyed it too, and the more for his companionship — and all 
 this, too, while Disease was weighing him down with her heavy, 
 crushing hand, — that we could hardly realize the fact of his being 
 destined to an early grave. Yet now we feel it, keenly feel it, 
 true. ***** jje j^^s gone in and out among the wide 
 circle of his friends and acquaintances, for many years laying up 
 stores of future association with his memory, and rearing all the 
 while a beautiful and enduring monument of his excelling 
 genius. To few in our country, in their own lifetime, has Fame 
 sounded a clearer and more assuring pajan than that which she 
 has breathed over the easel of Inman. He was one of the elect 
 of Genius, to whom was vouchsafed the glorious vision of his 
 own immortality. 
 
 " Henry Inman was born at Utica, in this State, (of which 
 his father was one of the earliest settlers,) but had long made this 
 city his place of residence ; he died of disease of the heart, an 
 event which, for months, we have trembled with the assured 
 apprehension of being called upon to record, and yet so appalling 
 to us is it that we can hardly do more than write the sad and 
 simple fact. His taste for art began to develop itself in boy- 
 hood, and we are informed by a contemporary that ' notwith- 
 standing he received a commission to enter the Military Academy 
 at West Point, he evinced so unequivocal a bent for the pro- 
 fession in which he has since become so eminent, that his father 
 placed him in New York under the tuition of the elder Jaevis. 
 The young artist soon rose to that position due to his talents and 
 assiduity. Some of his first paintings were made in Albany, 
 and are in possession of her citizens.' About a year since, Mr. 
 Inman sailed for Europe, where he spent ten months. During 
 
208 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 this time he paiated portraits of Dr. Chalmers, Wordsworth, 
 Macaulay, and Lord Cotttnham — a sketch of Rydal Water, near 
 Wordsworth's residence — one equally beautiful of a salmon-fishing 
 scene in Scotland, and several others. His portraits, by which, 
 perhaps, like Sir Thomas Lawrence, he will be longest known, 
 comprise those of the highest dignitaries of the State and city 
 governments, the most distinguished ornaments of the bench, the 
 bar, the pulpit, etc. llis portraits of Bishops llobart, Moore, 
 and Doane, of Mrs. Gen. Hampton, and others, are perfect gems, 
 while those of several of the Mayors of this city, and the Gov- 
 ornors of the State, and of a great number of distinguished citi- 
 zens of this and other States, must now be regarded as almost 
 priceless. 
 
 " Mr. Inman has left a wife and five children. His eldest son, 
 JoHif Inman, Jr., — a youth of seventeen, — is rarely endowed. 
 For some years he has practised drawing under the eye of his 
 father, and has lately produced several pictures in oil that prove 
 him not unworthy to sit at his father's easel. As upon the occa- 
 sion of the demise of the late lamented Wasuington Alston, we 
 beg to suggest that the Academy of Design, supported by the 
 thousand friends of the deceased, his brother artists, and his 
 fellow-citizens generally, open an Inman Gallery for the exhibi- 
 tion of his pictures, and the sale of such drawings, sketches, etc., 
 as he has left behind him, for the benefit of his family. All are 
 ready to move in the good work, and only await the suggestion 
 of the most feasible and appropriate plan of accomplishing it." 
 
 Two years before Mr. Inmaii's death, just before 
 sailing for Europe in 1844, lie made a sketeli of Mr. 
 Porter, an engraved copy of wbicli accompanies tliis 
 volume. The likeness is admirably preserved, while 
 the head is idealized in the true spirit of genius. All 
 that gave individual mark to the outer man, or genial 
 warmth to the inner dwelling of his loving spirit, is 
 liere faithfully portrayed. The more it is dwelt upon, 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T, POKTER. 201) 
 
 the more it strengthens in living sweetness of expres- 
 sion, until we can scarcely believe that his " smile of 
 perpetual sunshine " is among the joys of the past ! 
 The next week Mr. Porter writes : 
 
 " It is with melancholy pleasxu-e that we are enabled to an- 
 nounce the adoption of a plan in aid of the family of the 
 departed Inman. The plan thought most feasible, and likely 
 in its results to be productive of most benefit, is that sug- 
 gested in our article of last week, and which was proposed 
 and adopted at a meeting of the Academy of Design, held for 
 the purpose of taking the matter into consideration. It em- 
 braces the formation of a gallery, to be composed of the dif- 
 ferent pictures painted by Inman, and collected from all attain- 
 able sources, and its exhibition at some appropriate place, the 
 proceeds to be devoted to the ulterior object in view. The 
 exhibition will be opened during the ensuing week." 
 
 A numerous committee took the matter in hand, 
 and the Inman Gallery was opened. It contained one 
 hundred and twenty-six paintings, sketches, and draw- 
 ings of the artist — many portraits tendered by the 
 owners being reluctantly declined for want of room 
 in the " Art Union," where the collection was 
 exhibited. It was a most successful enterprise, and 
 made glad the heart of the beloved friend who sug- 
 gested it. 
 
 During the year there was a large accession of 
 subscribers to the " Spirit " in various parts of the 
 country, including a valuable roll of the names of 
 officers in the Army of the United States, many of 
 whom were contributors to its columns ; indeed, there 
 was scarcely a military post which had not its bril- 
 
210 LIFE OF WILLIA3I T. PORTER. 
 
 liaiit writer for a paper wliicli was a universal and 
 favored guest wherever tlie flag of the Union floated. 
 G * * de L * *, whose letters to the " Spirit " were 
 considered the most graphic and animating from the 
 army during the war with Mexico, and which were 
 republished in half the papers of the day, was Capt. 
 "VV. Seton Henry, of the 3d U. S. Infantry. He was 
 in the battles of Palo Alto, Kesaca de la Palma, Mon- 
 terey and Yera Cruz, in all of which his regiment 
 was on the most perilous ridge of battle. It was said 
 of this gallant officer, not now living, " He fights as 
 well as any man, and writes as well as he fights." 
 
CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 ANGLING. 
 
 It is but justice to Mr. Porter as an angler, that 
 his hints and suggestions upon his favorite source of 
 recreation should be kept alive ; especially as they 
 contain more unconscious displays of the man than 
 can be found in any of his other wiitings. 
 
 He was esteemed master of the higher art of 
 trout-fishing, and to his unrivalled dexterity and grace 
 in throwing a line, he added a thorough theoretical 
 knowledge of his favorite department, as well as a prac- 
 tical familiarity with all its details. So long as this 
 exhilarating sport shall be enjoyed either as an occa- 
 sional pastime or as a " grand and expansive passion " 
 by the over-tasked statesman, the hard-worked scholar, 
 the naturalist, the inbred sportsman, or a single faith- 
 ful pupil of the Walton school, in the length and 
 breadth of the sporting-grounds of America, so long 
 will Mr. Porter's practical hints be read with advan- 
 tage, and his name be breathed softly and afi'ection- 
 
212 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 ately by those lovers of the angle, who in coming 
 time will only know him as he is connected with this 
 chapter. 
 
 IS^o book ever made him a practical angler. Old 
 Dame Mature, who is supposed by many to have been 
 bom several years previous to the birth of Mascall, or 
 Taverncr, or Markham, or old Izaak Walton, directed 
 him at a very tender age to the asylum of some of 
 her wriggling family in the vicinity of the kitchen 
 spout, and gave him a realizing sense of their value 
 in connection with a crooked pin, a tow string, and 
 willow rod. From the eventful moment which wit- 
 nessed his first breathless but successful experiment 
 with these unsophisticated forces to land a gigantic 
 chub from one of the crystal brooks of Newbury, it 
 was " all go " with him for the remainder of his 
 mortal time up to within a few weeks of his death. 
 Though his duties pressed almost exclusively upon 
 his time during his laborious manhood, he generally 
 contrived to find leisure to steal away in the ripest 
 glow of the hot months with a party of brother anglers, 
 to some distant fishing-ground, or to stray oif to Long 
 Island alone, for the enjoyment of his favorite sport. 
 In writing of Kendall's Santa Fe Exj)edition, he says : 
 " No man ever truly polished a book unless he were 
 something of an angler, or at least loved the occupation. 
 He who steals from the haunts of men into the green 
 solitudes of nature, by the banks of gliding, silvery 
 streams, under the checkering lights of sun, leaf and 
 cloud, may always hope to cast his lines, whether of 
 the rod or the ' record-book,' in pleasant places." 
 
LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 213 
 
 TROUT-FISHING ON LONG ISLAND. 
 
 " Of all sports ever sported, commend me to an- 
 gling. It is the wisest, virtuousest, discreetest, best ; 
 the safest, cheapest, and in all likelihood, the oldest 
 of pastimes. It is a one-handed game, that would 
 have suited Adam himself; it was the only one by 
 which ISToali could have amused liimelf in the ark. 
 Hunting and shooting come in second and third. 
 The common phrase, ' Fish, flesh, and fowl,' hints 
 clearly at this order of precedence. * * * To 
 refer to my own experience, I certainly became ac- 
 quainted with the angling-rod next after the birchen 
 one, and long before I had any practical knowledge 
 of ' Nimrod ' or ' Kamrod.' * * * The truth is. 
 Angling comes by nature. It is in the system^ as the 
 doctors say. Plenty of children are born with water 
 in the head ; but whoever heard of a boy coming 
 into the world with gunpowder on the brain, or tops 
 and leathers on his legs ? " 
 
 Thus discourses, in praise of Angling, that " klev- 
 ver dogge and phunne j)oette," Tom Hood. And 
 who shall gainsay him ? Does not every ardent disci- 
 ple of honest old Izaak Walton feel its truth tingling 
 to the tips of his fingers' ends ? 
 
 Fly-fishing has been designated the royal and 
 aristocratic branch of the angler's craft, and unques- 
 tionably it is the most difiicult, the most elegant, and 
 to men of taste, by myriads of degrees the most ex- 
 citing and pleasant mode of angling. To land a trout 
 of three, four, or five pounds weight, and sometimes 
 
214 LITE OF WILLIAM T. POKTES. 
 
 lieavier, with a hook ahnost invisible, with a gut line 
 as delicate and beautiful as a single hair from the 
 raven tresses of a mountain sylph, and with a rod not 
 heavier than a tandem whip, is an achievement re- 
 quiring no little presence of mind, united to consum- 
 mate skill. If it be not so, and if it do not give you 
 some very pretty palpitations of the heart in the per- 
 formance, may we never wot a line in Lake George, or 
 raise a trout in the Susquehanna. Fly-fishing requires 
 many natural attributes, among which must be 
 chiefly enumerated, a light and flexible hand and 
 arm, a quick eye, and one that can " squint straight," 
 caution, coolness, and an extreme delicacy of touch. 
 From the sources of the Delaware and the Susque- 
 hanna to those of the Kennebec, and in the'thousand 
 mountain streams flowing into the St. La^vrence, 
 trout-fishing may now be enjoyed (May and June) 
 in the utmost perfection. We have dreamed, or have 
 somewhere heard, that it is not until the coM'slip has 
 shed its golden smiles over the meadows, and your 
 ears are saluted with the vernal notes of the reed- 
 sparrow ; when the " ephemera " or May-fly is seen 
 (courting its destruction) giddily to wanton over the 
 surface of the stream which only a few hours before 
 brought it into existence, that trout are " initiated 
 into condition," and rise freely to the fly. You may 
 now see them lurking in every direction in the ponds 
 of New Ei^gland ; while on Long Island, he that 
 cannot kill twenty brace at the close of a summer 
 afternoon, or before the sun gets up, should not be 
 allowed to wet a line. The gray and green drake, 
 
LITE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 215 
 
 which tlie nearest resemble the May-fly, succeed it 
 in their season, and are equally welcomed by " Johnny 
 Trout." Hie palmer family follow in order, and may 
 be used throughout the season with success. But 
 there is, during the still evening of midsummer, a 
 minute black gnat, which riots in myriads over every 
 stream, and we have seen trout in a continued state 
 of excitement for above an hour in carping at these 
 gnats. We confess our entire disbelief in a doctrine 
 considered orthodox by many, that each season and 
 stream has its peculiar and appropriate flies ; and we 
 have arrived at this conclusion after as much practical 
 experience as many Waltonians who have attained the 
 age of fourscore. Since we were stout enough to 
 wield a rod, our " constant custom of an afternoon " 
 has been to put it to use, if, by hook or by crook, we 
 could ; for the which propensity many is the birchen 
 one we have had applied to our shoulders, and we 
 are free to say, that our experience goes to prove, that 
 with three flies well matched, there is very little neces- 
 sity of cumbering one's hook with an infinite variety. 
 Give us a red or brown hackle for the end of our 
 leader, with a black midge for the first dropper, and 
 a light salmon-colored butterfly not larger than your 
 thumb-nail for the second, and we can raise from his 
 cool retreat the craftiest trout that ever gorged a 
 grasshopper, or turned up his nose in scorn at the 
 bungling eflbrts of a greenhorn. 
 
 TROUT-FISHING, FISHING-TACKLE, &c. 
 In reply to one of William's correspondents, ask- 
 
21G LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 ing for minute information upon certain points con- 
 nected with trout-fisliing, the former rejoins : 
 
 " We have a shrewd suspicion that the identity of 
 our correspondent is not unknown to us ; that we have 
 had the pleasure of seeing him at home, while enjoying 
 the hospitalities which his honored father dispenses 
 with such infinite grace at Lexington. In answer to 
 his inquiries : the best practical treatises on fishing 
 are Sir Humphrey Davy's ' Sahnonia, or Days of 
 Fly Fishing,' and ' Tlie Eod and the Gun,' by Wilson 
 and the author of ' The Oakleigh Shooting Code.' Bid 
 experience is the hest teacher. To become a first-rate 
 angler, one must be born to it, as one must be born a 
 poet, a painter, or a musician, 
 
 " Izaak Walton eloquently sustains us on this point : 
 * * * " ' Doubt not but that Angling is an art ; 
 is it not an art to deceive a Trout with an artificial 
 fly ? a Trout ! that is more sharp-sighted than any 
 Hawk you have named, and more watchful and timor- 
 ous than your high-mettled Merlin is bold ? and yet, I 
 doubt not to catch a brace or two to-morrow for a 
 friend's breakfast. Doubt not, therefore, sir, but that 
 Angling is an art, and an art worth your learning : 
 the questicm is rather, whether you be capable of 
 learning it ? for Angling is something like Poetry, 
 men are to be born so ; I mean with inclinations to 
 it, though both may be heightened by discourse and 
 practice : but he that hopes to be a good Angler, must 
 not only bring an inquiring, searching, observant wit, 
 but he must bring a large measure of hope and pa- 
 tience, and a love and propensity to the art itself; but 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 217 
 
 having once got and practised it, then doubt not bnt 
 Angling will prove to be so pleasant, that it will prove 
 to be like virtue, a reward to itself.' 
 
 " To justly appreciate the truth, the poetry, the 
 honest purpose and the good feeling expressed in the 
 above quotation, one must be an enthusiastic disciple 
 of the good, the pious and the time-honored old 
 Izaak. In a vast country like ours, where the diflerent 
 modes of fishing are almost as numerous as the varie- 
 ties of the finny tribe themselves, it is manifestly im- 
 possible to lay down other than very general direc- 
 tions for the information of the neophyte. Wilson tells 
 us, with equal candor and truth, that ' expert angling 
 never was and never will be successfully taught by 
 rule, but is almost entirely the result of assiduous and 
 long-continued practice.' Of ordinary rod-fishing for 
 trout with worms or live bait, we presume our corre- 
 spondent understands the first principles, consequently 
 he has in fact already commenced his primary lessons 
 in Fly-fishing and Trolling. But in this section of 
 the country, whether fishing for the common speckled 
 trout or the salmon trout of the lakes, he cannot use 
 a fly with advantage until the middle of May, nor can 
 he troll successfully for salmon or salmon trout until 
 about the first of June. Before the appropriate season 
 commences, we will endeavor to enlighten our corre- 
 spondent on both matters, though we beg him dis- 
 tinctly to understand that no one can do much more 
 for him after informing him when he can find sport, 
 than to recommend suitable tackle, and show him 
 how it may be best adapted to his wants in his ' pursuit 
 10 
 
218 LIFE OF ^\^LLIAM T. POETEK. 
 
 of knowledge under difficulties.' The art of throwing 
 a fly is readily attained by one who handles his rod 
 well in bait-fishing, but nothing like perfection will 
 be achieved until after careful and persevering prac- 
 tice. 
 
 "Trolling and hand-line fishing is about as simple 
 as set lines through the ice or otherwise : an apt 
 scholar will learn to practise either in a few hours. 
 In trolling with flies or live bait (and it is well enough 
 to have both attached to your leader at the same time) 
 you can pay out your line better, and it will play 
 more freely, by having your largest fly or live bait at 
 the extreme end of your leader ; let your drop-flies or 
 bait be diminished in size in proportion as they are 
 looped on the leader from the end. In trolling (with 
 a rod is much the surest and pleasantest method) your 
 gut leader may be made within a few feet of its 
 length ; if longer, you will fray and soon ruin it in 
 reeling in your fish. Until you get accustomed to it 
 — until you begin to play, kill and land your fish like 
 an artist, you should use a short leader, not above six 
 feet long ; its length you can increase as you get on. 
 In rod-fishing, we would recommend, at first, the 
 trial of a single hook ; when you can use two, let the 
 bait on the lowest be heaviest. It is not a bad plan 
 in early spring fishing for trout, with worms or live 
 bait, before they begin to rise freely to the fly, to 
 attach a fly to your line several feet above your bait, 
 (in proportion to the depth of water.) Every one 
 using a float must have remarked an occasional ' rise ' 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. rORTEE. 219 
 
 to it by some very old trout, that would not be tempt- 
 ed with bait. Yery early in the summer it is advisa- 
 ble to bait your lower hook with worms, and the other 
 with live bait ; that is, if you can catch killies or 
 shiners with a scrap-net. We dislike using a float, 
 but in some streams that are overhung with lov/ trees, 
 or have a light current, one is absolutely necessary, in 
 order to get your bait carried clear of roots and out 
 of eddies, into the dark, deep holes under banlcs, 
 rocks, stumps, etc. Next to fly-fishing, there is noth- 
 ing so delightful nor so difficult as brook fishing ; in 
 nothing is patience, skill and indomitable persever- 
 ance more required, and in the successful angler these 
 qualities stand out in bold and beautiful relief. 
 
 " In 2:)07id fishing, or in streams too deep for wad- 
 ing, (which is greatly to be preferred whenever prac- 
 ticable,) the utmost care must be exercised to keep 
 your hoat out of the channel^ where, with their heads 
 to the current, trout always lie. If once disturbed, 
 they become shy, and will rarely bite or rise to the 
 fly for some time. Paddle your boat quietly, and in 
 anchoring make as little noise as possible ; go no 
 nearer a good ' hole ' than will enable you barely, by 
 a good cast, to throw into it ; by this means, instead 
 of frightening them all, you may take half a dozen of 
 the twenty fish in it. If you use a float and sinker, 
 let them be as slight as niay be, and be careful to drop 
 them lightly into the water, 
 
 " As iov places where to find sport, every reader of 
 the ' Spirit ' in this vicinity well knows. There is not 
 a babbling brook or tide stream, nor a pond, public 
 
220 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TORTEE. 
 
 or private, of any repute, within a hundred miles of 
 our sanctum, in which we have not at some time wet 
 a line. On the south side of Long Island one can 
 hardly go amiss, while at Smithtown there are three 
 tine ponds and two creeks, in all of which we have 
 had capital sport. Stump Pond was ever a favorite 
 resort for us. There are several in the immediate 
 vicinity of Babylon. Seven miles further on, at Islip, 
 will be found a good place, and one of the finest 
 creeks on the Island. It is worth ten times the drive 
 just to spend a day or two at Crandall's Hotel. An 
 hour's drive will take you to Snedicor's, and two 
 hours more will land you at Uncle Sam Carman's at 
 Fire-Plaec. To be sure, there is capital fishing to be 
 had within ten miles of to^vn, but unless you know 
 something about the proper time of tide, the holes, 
 etc., you might as well fish in a tea-kettle as in Spring 
 Creek. 
 
 " Of the trout-fishing in Hamilton and Sullivan 
 Counties in this State we have repeatedly spoken, as 
 also of that in the Sacondaga and the Hudson, near 
 their junction at Hadley Falls. Out of Maine, the 
 best trout streams in New England are situated in 
 that district of Massachusetts known as Cape Cod. 
 The Marshpee Brook at Marshfield is beyond all dis- 
 pute the best one over which we ever held a rod. 
 The nearest good salmon-fishing is the Kennebec 
 Biver, Maine, and the Jacques-Cartier in Canada ; 
 but in Piseco, Lake Pleasant, and other lakes in 
 Hamilton County, salmon trout weighing from three 
 to forty-five pounds, are taken in great abundance. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 221 
 
 Most of these lakes are within sixty miles of Saratoga 
 Springs. 
 
 " Our correspondent desires ns to mention what 
 an angler's complete outfit would cost at Conroy's? 
 Now, this is no easy matter ; the prices of rods vary 
 from one to twenty-eight dollars ; reels from one to 
 eight ; lines from sixpence to five dollars. A ' com- 
 plete outfit ' for a Northern man comprises three times 
 as many articles as is required for a gentleman resid- 
 ing in the South or West, with the exception perhaps 
 of South Carolina. We do not deem it necessary to 
 have a difi'erent rod for trout, bass and salmon fish- 
 ing ; we have had for years half a dozen excellent 
 rods, but very rarely use but one for any kind of rod- 
 fishing ; indeed, the two largest bass we ever caught 
 were taken at the same instant with an extremely 
 light and fragile London fly-rod, not heavier than a 
 tandem-whip. Conroy has recently got up a new 
 general rod, from a pattern we furnished him eighteen 
 months since, which answers every purpose, either 
 for fly, salmon, bass, black or pickerel fishing. lie 
 has immortalized the writer of this article by giving 
 it the name of ' Porter's General Eod.' The idea of 
 the rod in question was suggested by circumstances 
 occurring in the use of a very fine one, made expressly 
 for us some years since, by our venerable old friend 
 Leutner. It has four joints for bass or pickerel, and 
 five for trout or salmon fishing, with three extra tips. 
 It can be so put together as to make a rod either ten 
 or sixteen feet in length ; you may make out of it a 
 light hand-rod for fly-fishing, or a heavy, powerful 
 
222 LITE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 rod, sufficiently strong to play a thirty-pound salmon 
 or bass, at the end of a hundred yards of line ! In- 
 stead of rings on one side, ' Porter's General Kod ' 
 has fluted guides on both sides, through which the 
 line can play ; the sockets of the joints are double in- 
 stead of single, that end of the joint fitting into the 
 double sockets having double ferrules around it. 
 There is no difficulty in taking this rod apart from 
 the swelling of the wood from wet, while at the same 
 time you may use it all day without tightening the 
 joints ; it can never get out of order with fair usage. 
 Its weight is about three poimds only ; the smaller 
 joints are of lancewood, and the ferrules, guides, tips, 
 rockets, etc., are of German silver. Conroy informed 
 us a few days since that he had more orders for this 
 rod than for all others added together. Conroy has 
 lately got up a Patent Balance Reel — the most perfect 
 thing ever invented. It is of German silver, which, 
 by the way, is admirably adapted for all metal appa- 
 ratus, save hooks, embraced in the paraphernalia of 
 an angler, as it does not corrode. A reel that will 
 multiply twice is preferable to any other ; it is diffi- 
 cult to make a cast with one that multii^lies more — 
 or less, either, unless it be of very large size. On no 
 account buy a cheap one, whatever rod you may se- 
 lect. A poor reel is of all mean things the meanest. 
 
 " Hooks of the best quality are to be found for 
 two or three shillings per dozen, (always excci^ting 
 Limericks of 'the O'Shauglmessy bend,' which are 
 not to be had in this country for love or money, if 
 you except, perhaps, a single one which we may give 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 223 
 
 yon,) and tlieso you must tie on yourself. Wlietlier 
 the hooks of Kirhj <& Co. (vulgarly yclept ' curbed ') 
 or the Limerick are preferable, we shall not decide ; 
 for trout and salmon we prefer the latter, and the for- 
 mer for bass. For trout you require hooks ranging 
 from 'No. 1 to 3 — for salmon, from No. 1 to 5 — for 
 bass, from No. 1 to 3. 
 
 " Instead of purchasing hooks on snells, buy a 
 hank of choice Spanish gut, and make your own snells 
 and leaders. Quill floats are preferable for begin- 
 ners, as they are more quietly dropped into the water. 
 Duck-shot split make the best sinker^ and let this be 
 as light as the current will admit. 
 
 " In the matter of Lines you must consult your 
 taste and purse. 
 
 " For Flies., a dollar expended with judgment will 
 ' start you in business ;' before you use them up you 
 must learn to make your own. Select of the Brown, 
 Red and Black Hackle two each ; then get two of 
 Martin Kelly's, (Dublin,) two March Browns, and two 
 Green Drakes. If you fancy a Stone Fly, or any 
 other variety, get it, and Conroy will probably add a 
 Miller just for luck ! 
 
 " A complete outfit for Trout FlsMng may be ob- 
 tained for about $40 ; that is, assuming that every 
 article is the very best of its kind. Purchase nothing 
 that you do not actually require, and let every thing 
 be plain and substantial. Remember, however, that 
 with five dollars more you may provide yourself with 
 every additional article that may be required in fish- 
 ing for bass, bream, tautog, perch or pickerel. The 
 
224 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 $40 will provide jou witli a capital rod and reel, two 
 lines and floats, two dozen assorted liooks, one dozen 
 flies, one Lank of gnt, a liook for flies and snells, a 
 bait-box, scrap-net, gaff", and a patent-leatlier drinking 
 cup, (a capital Frencli invention, tliat may be folded 
 and carried in your vest-pocket.) K you do purchase 
 a ' landing ' or ' scrap-net,' select one tbat has a brass 
 frame which will fold up and also screw off; have 
 your gaff made so as to screw on in its place, to the 
 handle of the landing-net. If you propose visiting a 
 sparsely inhabited region, where you may be obliged 
 to camp out o' nights, buy an inch auger inserted as a 
 handle in a light hatchet, the whole being secured in 
 leather. "With it you can erect a comfortable shanty 
 in twenty minutes, or fasten together a raft strong 
 enough to support ' half a horse and half an alligator.' 
 " There, that will do for the nonce. If our corre- 
 spondent will do us the honor to pay us a visit during 
 his next vacation, it will give us great pleasure to af- 
 ford him the aid of our poor counsel in all matters per- 
 taining to the subject of these crude paragraphs, 
 penned in great haste, out of the afliuence of a heart 
 overflowing with charity and good will towards every 
 disciple of honest old Izaak." 
 
 TROUT-FISHING IN HAMILTON COUNTY, N. Y. 
 
 ( Wliich was accompanied with a7i illustration by Dick.) 
 
 How many scenes as romantic and wildly beauti- 
 ful as that presented by Mr. Dick's engi-aving, are 
 exhibited to the delighted gaze of the enthusiastic 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAJI T. TORTEE. 225 
 
 angler among the lakes of Hamilton connty, in this 
 State ! Tlie bold shores of these miniature seas, upon 
 which are piled, like " Pelion upon Ossa," ranges of 
 " everlasting hills," are covered with a luxuriant 
 growth of timber, presenting every brilliant hue and 
 variety of tint so characteristic of American forest 
 scenery ; the pigmy promontories stretching far out 
 into the broad expanse of gently rippling waters, ter- 
 minating in sand-bars glowing like molten silver in 
 the sun's rays ; groups of islands, whose picturesque 
 beauty Cal3^pso and her nymphs might envy, dotting 
 their placid surface like flocks of water-fowl, with here 
 and there a sail-boat moored in some quiet cove or 
 under a towering headland, from which the skilful 
 angler 
 
 "Lures from his cool retreat the crafty trout : ' 
 
 how many charming scenes of this peculiar character 
 will be found in this wild and moimtainous region ! 
 Look again at our illustration. How well is depicted 
 a bright clear morning, at the moment when 
 
 " Jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain-top." 
 
 Tlie cool land-breeze has excited such a capital ripple 
 for fly-fishing, that one can almost fancy he sees 
 the trout " breaking " in all directions. Take the 
 figures in the foreground. How many hearts will in- 
 stinctively yearn to enjoy " the royal and aristocratic 
 branch of the angler's craft," so felicitously indi- 
 cated in the engraving ! The fortunate individual 
 who is wielding his fly-rod with such palpable success, 
 10* 
 
226 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 
 
 is evidently no greenhorn, thoiigli we should recom- 
 mend him to allow Johnny Trout to keep his nose 
 under water for a while longer, if he would assure 
 himself of the j)leasure of his company at dinner. 
 How much like Alba Dunning or Tim Skidmore 
 looks that tough young boatman resting on his oars, 
 and watching with the keenest interest the fierce 
 struggles of that five-pound trout, while with gaff in 
 hand he is waiting his nearer approach to assist him 
 safely on board ! That rod fastened in the stern 
 looks as if it might be useful ; doubtless our friend 
 has been trolling a minnow or two and half a dozen 
 flies at the end of eighty feet of line, but astounded 
 at the boldness of a sockdollager, in making a " rise " 
 within twenty feet of the boat, he has evidently 
 snatched up his single-handed fly-rod, and with a 
 magnificent cast has dropped a most killing green- 
 drake on the precise spot. Of course, a morsel so 
 delicious and so temptingly displayed is not to be 
 resisted by a salmon-trout suffering under " the keen 
 demands of appetite," and results in a bold " break," 
 a whir of the reel, a dash up fifty yards, consummate 
 skill in making play on both sides, until the " tottle 
 of the whole" matter is presented as in the scene 
 illustrated by the engraving. 
 
 * * * •» -X- * 
 
 lie writes in June, 1840, that the finest trout-fishing 
 at this season of the year north of the Susquehanna, 
 is to be had at Cape Cod ; we are entreated not to be 
 too definite, for a fortnight at least, when we shall be 
 at liberty to flare uj) with the particular localities in 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 227 
 
 the towns of Sandwich, Barnstable, Wareham, &c. 
 A despatch from the head-quarters of the " Cape 
 Division," now at Marshpee, reached us last week. It 
 was accompanied with two champagne baskets of fat, 
 rosy trout, of from one to three pounds weight. The 
 run was splendid, nearly twenty weighing two pounds 
 each, while several came well up to three pounds. 
 One of his correspondents wrote from the Cape that 
 " we killed to-day eighty-eight trout — yesterday thir- 
 ty-one, seven of which weighed twelve and a half 
 pounds ; * * * to-day we killed thirty, four of which 
 weighed ten and a half pounds, the largest weighing 
 three pounds." " Tliese trout," writes "William, " were 
 caught in salt creeks ; were taken with minnows, 
 though after putting on a minnow, the Limerick was 
 tipped with a worm. It is impossible to use a fly in 
 the Marshpee, owing to the foliage which completely 
 embowers the brook ; the best trout stream in which 
 it was our good fortune to wet a line. In several 
 streams, however, the trout rise freely to the black 
 midge and brown hackle, and occasionally great exe- 
 cution may be done with a salmon-colored member 
 of the palmer family." 
 
 "Having returned last week (Sept. 1844) from 
 Hamilton Co., N. Y., we have no hesitation in express- 
 ing the opinion that more good fisliing and hunting 
 may be found there than in any section of the coun- 
 try on this side of the Alleghanies. It is now four 
 years since we first cast our line into these lakes, and 
 enthusiastic as our description of the trout-fishing 
 there was deemed at the time, we have been assured 
 
228 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 bj many gentlemen, wlio were induced to visit them 
 from our representations, that the reality far exceeded 
 their most sanguine expectations. Although this is 
 not the best season of the year for killing trout, yet 
 it is far better there even now than it ever is on 
 Long Island ; while the shooting and hunting are 
 ' immense.' The fishing, as well as the hunting, 
 will be much better for the ensuing four weeks, than 
 it was during the period of our recent visit. 
 
 " Hamilton County is very sj^arsely settled, and still 
 less cultivated. There are wood and water enough in 
 it for a pretty smart State, and the county is so 
 healthy, that ten men run away where one dies. At 
 a majority of the best places for sport, one is five' 
 miles from any house, and twenty from anywhere 
 else ; so you will be obliged to build a shanty and 
 camp out. Tlie salmon and lake trout are taken all 
 over the county, of prodigious size, occasionally weigh- 
 ing thirty-five pounds, while the speckled or brook- 
 trout run from one to four pounds, and are killed in 
 immense numbers. The shooting is splendid ; there 
 are more moose and deer killed annually in Hamilton 
 County, than in any other half-dozen in the State. 
 Partridges, woodcock, etc., and a great variety of 
 water-fowl also, are found in untold abundance. If 
 you would like a shy at a panther or bear, or a pack 
 of wolves, you can enjoy it ; but a moose, that is an 
 afi'air just a huckleberry over any American field 
 sport, short of bufi*alo-hunting. A full-grown bull 
 moose is seventeen hands high, and his antlers some- 
 times measure eight feet from tip to tip. A large 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 229 
 
 one weighs sixteen hundred pounds; the highest 
 fences would ofler no obstruction to them, as they 
 can clear in their stride an immense log higher 
 than a man's head. They are gifted with extra- 
 ordinary powers of speed and endurance, their gait 
 something between a trot and a rack ; barring a buffa- 
 lo chase, there is nothing so exciting or so dangerous 
 as moose-hunting on snow-shoes. 
 
 ^'■For ' things ' required for Fishing^ Shooting, 
 etc. — Take your rifle Math you, if you hope to knock 
 over a moose, but above all your double-barrelled 
 Westley Kichards, and if you have one of Colt's or 
 Rolen's revolving pistols, take that along also. Take 
 your trout and your bass-rod, for in trolling you can 
 make use of each, and moreover an extra rod is not 
 a bad idea in case of accidents. Lay in a complete 
 supply of ammunition, including some wire cartridges. 
 For your fishing apparatus you must have at least one 
 hraided silk line, not less than one hundred yards long 
 and on a good reel, for salmon-trout fishing. Let it be 
 stout. EecoUect that half the cheap lines, after a few 
 days' fishing are not strong enough to pull a sitting- 
 hen oft' her nest ! Killing a twenty-pounder at the end 
 of eighty yards of line is no child's play. Add two 
 or three nice elastic lines for ordinary trout-fishing. 
 If you are an artist, you will have a delicate fly -line, 
 to match your single-handed rod. Recollect that you 
 cannot splice a line so as to play a heavy fish well on a 
 jointed rod, and that one less than fifty yards long will 
 be of no account when you are about to use it. If 
 
230 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 you can find a braided hair-line eiglitj-five feet long, 
 nearly as large as a qnill, and stout as a bed-cord, buy 
 it, to use as a liand-line for lake trout. Take an extra 
 reel or two : and ' Porter's General Eod.' We have 
 used one for four years, and have not broken or strained 
 so much as a tip ; it is in as fine order as when first 
 turned out, and few rods have seen harder service. 
 Brough caught a shark with it at Stonington nearly 
 as long and heavy as himself, and we have killed with 
 it three sockdollagers at a time repeatedly ; both 
 trout, bass, and blue-fish. Get a hank of salmon-gut, 
 and make your own leaders ; if you can't yet tie your 
 flies, it is high time you set about acqniring the art. 
 You want half a dozen sets of snap-hooks for trolling, 
 sve prefer the Kirby to the Limerick ; they should be 
 quite small, not above half the size used for pike or 
 pickerel. Have a couple of dozen of trout-hooks of 
 assorted sizes, to provide for an emergency, and half 
 a dozen of the smallest possible size for bait. Instead 
 of a landing-net use a gafi" ; the hook of the latter 
 you can take in yonr pocket, while the former gives 
 you as much trouble as a lady's bandbox. With 
 regard to flies, use your own discretion as to colors, 
 but be sure they are large. You will require a 
 dozen salmon-flies tied on long Limerick hooks, 
 and not less than two dozen trout-flies, that is, if you 
 cannot make them. Fill your hook with the red and 
 brown hackles ; green drakes, gray palmers and blue 
 jays ; make their bodies gay and brilliant, and the 
 longer their wings and tails the better. The most suc- 
 cessful fly we ever used, we tied on during a furious 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 231 
 
 gale on Piseco Lake ; it was a large, gaudy, coarsely 
 made thing, but a regular killer ; body dark blue 
 hackle, with blue wings, and tail tipped with white 
 of the blue jay, head of golden red from a black- 
 bird's wing. A very little experience will enable 
 any person of moderate ingenuity to tie his own flies, 
 and a day's practice will teach him more about size 
 and color than he would acquire from books by a 
 month's study. ' Meadows ' recommends a tyro to 
 take a well-made artificial fly to pieces, examining it 
 carefully as he proceeds ; in a few trials he will succeed 
 in tying one to his mind. Do not embarrass yourself 
 with superfluous traps ; the apparatus of a true disci- 
 ple of the gentle art consists of a few plain, first- 
 rate articles. He looks upon the nicknacks of the 
 greenhorn, as if they were intended to catch trout 
 by dropping salt on their tails. 
 
 '■'•Extra matters and things worth a consideration. — 
 If, perchance, you happen to be a modern ' Temperance 
 Society man,' you had better lay in your stores, for 
 you will find little or nothing better than ' old bold- 
 face ' in Hamilton County, save at Van Derwarker's, at 
 Lake Pleasant. Having the fear of im-Providence 
 and bad dinners before us, we took the precaution to 
 lay in a few cold tongues, a delicious Virginia ham, 
 and some pressed corn-beef, an invention of mine 
 hosts of the Astor, on whom, and for which Danse, or 
 some other pretty woman, should descend in a shower 
 of gold, if we could have a few minutes' conversation 
 with ' her man ' Jupiter. You also had best take 
 
232 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER, 
 
 a small frying-pan and a griddle, both witliout 
 handles, and an apparatus for striking a light. Lay 
 in your cigars, if you smoke, and your tobacco, and 
 provide yourself with a good pack. A light hatchet, 
 with an inch auger for a handle, will be worth its 
 weight in gold. If you have a large stout pair of 
 Lidia-rubber boots, put them in your carpet-bag : if 
 otherwise, get a pair of thick seal-skin ; have the 
 heels made broad and flat, and be sure they are made 
 a size or two larger than your foot. Don't carry a 
 trunk large enough for a rhinoceros, and in packing 
 it, make up your mind that every thing you wear will 
 be torn into the size of bullet patches, before you 
 return, provided you ' go in ' for the whole strength 
 of the game ; such as walking for miles through a 
 pathless forest, and camping out, though you may 
 not be obliged to do any thing of the kind. 
 
 " J7ie Routes to Hamilton Co.' — ^If you start from 
 New York, take the night-boat to Troy, and proceed to 
 Saratoga Springs. Ask Maroni, of the United States 
 Hotel, to get you a good pair of horses and a strong 
 wagon, which you can always obtain, even in July 
 and August, at a very moderate price. If you do not 
 expect to be absent above a week, hire the horses for 
 that time. Maroni will supj)ly you with stores, and 
 you can take a fair start. From the Springs to the 
 handsome new hotel at Lake Pleasant, the distance is 
 about sixty miles ; the route lies up through the Sacan- 
 daga Yallcy, a picturesque country, and the road is so 
 good, that by an early start you can get through in a day. 
 
LIFK OF WILLIAM T. I'OKTER. 233 
 
 ''^Places for Sport about Lake Pleasant. — ^Tlie hotel 
 here will be your head-quarters. It is within thirty 
 rods of both Round Lake and Lake Pleasant, which 
 are connected by a creek. The Sacandaga Eiver is the 
 outlet of these two lakes, and unites with West River 
 (the outlet of Piseco Lake) at Wells. Prom your 
 hotel you are within six miles of Piseco Lake, fourteen 
 of Louis, eighteen of Lidian, forty of Packet, and 
 fifty of Long Lake. After fishing in the lakes in the 
 immediate vicinity of the hotel, you must visit 
 Louis Lake, taking ' Indian Clearing ' in your way. 
 You can go a few miles in a wagon, and the remain- 
 der on horseback ; if there are four in the party, take 
 two horses and ' ride and tie.' Tlie distance is four- 
 teen miles, but if you walk it you w^ill think it forty. 
 After Piseco, Louis Lake has afforded us the very best 
 trout-fishiug we ever enjoyed. And then the deer- 
 shooting, as at Lake Pleasant, is capital. On the day 
 of our last arrival there, they killed a fine bear, and 
 one morning, of seven deer run into the lake, five were 
 killed, including four bucks. Moose-hunting proper 
 does not commence until after a heavy fall of snow. 
 Some idea may be formed of the hunting to be had 
 when we state that it is estimated that not less than 
 one hundred moose and five hundred deer were killed 
 last season within a range of thirty miles of Lake 
 Pleasant. 
 
 " N. B. — On your way to Louis Lake, be sure to 
 try a large and deep hole at the Indian Clearing. We 
 once caught t'ere forty odd trout, with a fly, in aboiit 
 an hour. There is good fishing, too, at the falls of 
 
23J: LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 Jessiip's Hiver, wliicli are not far from wliere yon 
 cross that stream on your way to the lake. Tliere are 
 a dozen small lakes near Lake Pleasant we have not 
 mentioned. Indeed, there are not less than a hundred 
 laid down in Mr. Hoffman's sm-vey of Hamilton 
 County, but we are assm-ed the number falls little 
 short of five hundred. A very inconsiderable portion 
 of the county has been cleared, much less settled, so 
 that, except in Lakes Pleasant and Piseco, visitors 
 must expect hard fare at the best. A great num- 
 ber of the inhabitants secure a livelihood by hunting 
 and trapping ; otter, martin, etc., are caught in great 
 numbers during the winter, and the beaver is far 
 from extinct. Every week during the season a heavy 
 load of game is sent from Lake Pleasant to Saratoga, 
 so that you can communicate with the world, for you 
 are essentially out of it in this region. 
 
 " The First Thiny to Do upon your Arrival. — ^We 
 will suppose you snugly quartered at the Lake Pleas- 
 ant Hotel, where you will find every thing neat, 
 plain and quiet about the place ; and a man that can 
 almost hold fire in his hand, ' by thinking of the frosty 
 Caucasus' can get on quite comfortably. The first 
 important stej) now to be taken is to hunt up Nat 
 Morrill, Tim Skidmore, Kandall or Cole, and you 
 will find your hands full to match either, as woods- 
 men or sportsmen. Nat and Tim know every trout- 
 hole, deer-stand or moose-yard, within twenty miles. 
 Morrill is a trapper by profession, and Tim inherits 
 all the knowled£i;c of woodcraft which made his late 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 235 
 
 uncle so celebrated in this region. Dunning you will 
 find too a capital fellow in the woods ; lie can carry a 
 pack, build a shanty, catch bait, w^ork, and make 
 himself generally useful ; Cole, too, can do this, and 
 beside, has several fine hounds. Yan Derwarker will 
 lend you a pointer or a setter, and oblige yon in any 
 way. 
 
 " Something about Fishing. — ^The best time to visit 
 Hamilton County for tlie purpose oi fishing is the last 
 week of May or first of June, but trout in abundance 
 may be taken from one year's end to another. From 
 May until September they rise freely to the fly, but in 
 June the large lake trout are to be seen breaking like 
 speckled trout, and may be taken in the same manner. 
 After this time they gradually return into deeper 
 water, and in July, and subsequently, you fish for them 
 — usually with a hand-line — in from fifty to one hun- 
 dred feet of water. A Mr. Jewett, at Lake Pleasant, 
 makes capital hooks for this kind of fishing. They 
 resemble in shape the celebrated Limerick hooks, 
 which have what is termed the ' O'Shauglmessy 
 bend,' and are exceedingly well tempered. They 
 are as large as the hooks used for cod, haddock, etc., 
 and require to be. We have seen the largest of them 
 snapped ofi", and lines broken that appeared strong 
 enough to hold an alligator. Tlie point of these 
 hooks is not above half the ordinary height, and it 
 has a barb on each side of it. We think, however, we 
 have a better hook yet ; the pattern sent to us by 
 General Brooke of the U. S. army, one of the most 
 
236 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TOKTEK. 
 
 distinguished disciples of Izaak Walton, as he is one 
 of the most gallant and accomplished officers in the 
 service. We have had several made for distribution 
 among our friends, and have induced Conroy to order 
 several thousands of various sizes from England. Gen- 
 eral Brooke has used them with great success in Lake 
 Superior and Florida. 
 
 " Salmon or lake-trout fishing is practised here as at 
 Lake George. It is not to our taste, by the by, but you 
 shall have the benefit of our experience. Li the first 
 place, select what seems to your eye a good location 
 or two in a lake, and mark the spot by sinking a rock 
 attached to a strong cord, the upper end of which you 
 tie to a shingle as a buoy, which floats directly over 
 your ' anchor,' so that you can at any time hit upon 
 the precise spot ; the water where the anchor is sunk 
 should be over fifty feet dee]3. Cut up half a bushel of 
 small fish, shiners, suckers, etc., and throw them over 
 it, and upon the following day you may safely calculate 
 upon taking as many salmon trout as you care to lug 
 home. These same lakes you will also find to abound 
 with speckled trout, of large size and exquisite flavor. 
 The fly-fishing cannot be paralleled in our opinion, 
 and we have wet a line in nearly every stream or 
 pond of note beween the Susquehanna and the Kenne- 
 bec. You will find great sport in trolling. For this 
 you require a leader of your strongest gut, nearly as 
 long as your rod ; put on a set of snap-hooks at the 
 end, and another set three feet above it, on each of 
 which spin a live minnow. Above the snaps, at uni- 
 form distances, loop on three or four large salmon- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEK. 237 
 
 flies, and our word for it, in Piseco or Louis lakes 
 you will take two or three at a time. Let out from 
 forty to seventy feet of line, and use your heaviest 
 rod ; bend a lighter line on your second rod, and use 
 smaller flies ; an hour's fishing will dictate to you the 
 most successful sizes and colors of your flies. You 
 can troll and throw your fly at the same time. 
 
 " The river and brook fishing, except that it is in- 
 comparably finer, is very like that found in other sec- 
 tions of tlie State, with this diff"erence, that instead of 
 fishing down a stream for a mile or two, you strike 
 from one hole to another, and sometimes fish in the 
 same place two or three days. These deep ' holes ' 
 are more properly eddies, not usually over six rods 
 wide, but from a quarter to a half-mile in length ; they 
 are full of trout, and you can take a hundred brace in a 
 day sometimes, but this is sheer waste, and unless you 
 have a packhorse, you can't carry above half the num- 
 ber away, especially if you have to wallow for half 
 a dozen of miles through a thick growth of witch- 
 hopple and shin-hemlock, the very thought of which 
 makes our legs ache. 
 
 " To return to trolling. "We plead guilty to having 
 had recourse to an arrangement which we are con- 
 fident our friends < G.,' ' Piscator ' and ' Meadows ' 
 will think any thing but orthodox. In trolling 
 with flies, we found half the time that a ' rise ' 
 was but the weak invention of the enemy, and we 
 proceeded to ' circumvent ' him after the follow- 
 ing fashion : we tied two flies together, selecting a 
 large yellow salmon-fly, for instance, and an ordinaiy- 
 
238 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 sized red or brown hackle trout-fly. Yon should have 
 seen how it worked ; it was good for weak eves. In 
 casting in the ordinary way, with a single or double- 
 handed rod, of course it was unnecessary to resort to 
 any such heretical practice. 
 
 " Siyort at Lahe Piseco. — After spending a week in 
 the vicinity of Lake Pleasant, get Van Derwarker to 
 drive you behind his first man to Arietta, a little 
 village located close by the inlet of Lake Piseco. The 
 lake is very large, and the best one for trout we ever 
 threw a fly in. At Arietta is a nice house, kept by 
 Hiram Jones, a clever man in all respects. And here 
 we must introduce you to Alba Dunning, as fine- 
 spirited and gallant a young woodsman as ever 
 knocked over a moose or landed a salmon. He has 
 such appliances and means for fishing and shooting as 
 you can find nowhere else. His sail and row-boats 
 are tip-top ; he has plenty of live bait preserved in 
 nets, and what is equally pleasant, his father's house 
 is within twenty rods of the lake. By the way, let 
 us present you to the old gentleman ; he is a resident 
 of the county of fifty years' standing, and has killed 
 more of feather and fin than any man in the county. 
 He does not ' keep a public house,' but occasionally 
 ' entertains company,' which being interpreted, means 
 that if you look like a clever fellow, he will give you 
 the best at his command, and if you do not, he will 
 not have you at any price. 
 
 "Lake Piseco is about seven miles in length by 
 two in width ; a most beautiful sheet of water, sur- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TOKTER. 239 
 
 rounded on all sides by a majestic range of hills, 
 covered to tlie summit witli the most magnificent 
 forest trees. The picturesque scenes presented from 
 many points of this seat in miniature, exhibit a savage 
 grandeur of aspect, combined with a degree of wild 
 romantic beauty, that would have charmed Sir Walter 
 Scott amid his own Highlands, while Christopher North 
 would throw away his crutch and immortalize them, 
 after such fly-fishing as we enjoyed. 
 
 " A few more hints : do not allow your deer-hunting 
 to break in upon your time, but drive early in the 
 morning. If you like fin-hunting — and we hope you 
 do not, for it is a most unsportsman-like practice, — be 
 careful that you do not " shine the eyes " of 2i panther. 
 
 " While at Piseco do not neglect to make a trip to 
 a large deep pool in West River, six miles from Mr. 
 Dunning's house. The route has rarely been tracked 
 by any thing save a moose or a panther, and you will 
 be ' most cousarnedly ' tried before you reach it. 
 Ah ! but the bare sight of the place will repay a thou- 
 sand ills ! Our party of four took there with a fly, 
 within an hour of our arrival, thirty-eight brook-trout, 
 which would average two pounds each ! That's what 
 we call sport ! " 
 
 Mr. Porter made an agreeable excursion in Au- 
 gust, 1843, to Stonington, to enjoy, with two friends 
 passing the hot months there, bass and black-fishing. 
 He gives his hints upon the subject : 
 
 " For sea-bass, if you do not stand on a rock and 
 
240 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 the reef, wliicli is far preferable for sport, though it is 
 usually very rough. Fish for these sea-bass with a 
 small but first-rate salmon line of a hundred yards in 
 length ; the best bait is a sort of squid, made thus : 
 Take an eel about a foot long, and with your pen- 
 knife make an incision an inch in length beneath his 
 jaws ; then carefully cut off his head without ruptur- 
 ing the skin, turn it over his back, and peel him 
 entire. After turning the skin right side outwards, 
 take your lower hook (you must have two tied on a 
 piece of gimp) and pass it through the eel's mouth, 
 and down his body about four inches from the head, 
 then pull it through the skin of the belly. The 
 uj)per hook, which of course is to be tied on, on the 
 opposite side of the gimj), to the lower, you must 
 now insert well back in the eel's mouth, and turn the 
 point up thi-ough his head. Be careful that you place 
 your hooks in the eel's skin at the exact distance at 
 which they are tied on, otherwise your bait will have 
 an unnatural appearance, and will not work well. 
 Secure your upper hook tidily to the skin with a 
 thread, and carefully adjust your sinker ; with such a 
 squid, provided you manage it well, you ought to take 
 thirty bass in a single tide, that is, on the last of the 
 ebb, and the first of the flood. You must troll across 
 the reef selected for the sj^ort, and Frank Blake, in 
 twenty minutes, will put you to many ' artful dodges ' 
 to insure success. 
 
 "No thoroughbred sportsman will use any bor- 
 rowed article, either for fishiug or shooting, if he can 
 possibly avoid it. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEE. 241 
 
 " Go to Conroy's, 52 Fulton Street, and order the 
 following ' traps : ' 
 
 1 ' New London ' hemp line, on a creel. 
 
 1 striped bass or salmon line, 100 yards. 
 
 1 doz. Hemming's or Kirby's black-flsh hooks, on snells. 
 
 1 " assorted Hemming's black-fish hooks, straight and 
 
 curved. 
 1 doz. best hemp snoods. 
 
 1 " Kirby's and Limerick assorted bass-hooks, on snells or 
 gimp. 
 
 4 sinkers — from ^ lb. to 1 lb. 
 
 2 squids for blue fish— bone and metal. 
 1 doz. cod hooks. 
 
 " With this tackle one may be considered armed all 
 in proof for bass, blue, black or king-fish, flounders, 
 drum, cod, haddock, or pretty much any thing else 
 you can scare up." 
 
 ARTIFICIAL TROUT-FLIES, OCT, 12, 1844. 
 
 " We are indebted to the kindness of Eobert Em- 
 mett, Esq., of this city, for one of the most acceptable 
 presents which fortune ever ' buckled on our back ; ' a 
 present doubly gratifying as coming from one of the 
 most ardent and accomplished disciples of old Izaak 
 Walton in the United States. The acquaintances of 
 our time-honored old friend. General G,, of Washing- 
 ton City, a veteran of the regular army, will not fail 
 to remember his manifestations of delight upon re- 
 ceiving from his friend Sir Charles Yaughan, after 
 the latter's return to England from his diplomatic 
 mission here, a capacious book, filled with a superb 
 11 
 
242 Ln^E or william t. poetek. 
 
 collection of artificial flics. With no tithe of the 
 General's ability to express his grateful acknowl- 
 edgments, we still do not yield to him in the sincerity 
 of our appreciation of the generous impulses which 
 prompted this characteristic token of regard from a 
 brother angler. In the case before us we find first a 
 dozen rare flies, dressed by the veritable hands of the 
 renowned Paddy Kelly of Dublin, and tied on Limerick 
 hooks of O'Shaughnessy's or Sell's bend — hooks not to 
 be obtained for love or money in this country. Each 
 one is worthy of a distinct engraving and a separate 
 chaj)ter. Next comes a dozen ' droppers,' the ex- 
 quisite handiwork of the late lamented Father Levins, 
 of this city, one of onr most eloquent Catholic divines, 
 among which ' the Professor,' (so named for Old Kit 
 North, of Blackwood's Magazine,) the 'moth' and 
 other ' killers ' are conspicuous. In another division 
 we find an assortment of colored gut ' leaders,' one 
 of which, made by Kelly of Dublin, fairly ' bangs 
 Bannagher ! ' It tapers gradually — ' small by de- 
 grees, and beautifully less ' — from the loop which 
 attaches it to the ' casting-line,' to the extreme point 
 on which we should tie a ' gray palmer,' or a ' green 
 drake,' according to the state of the water. It is stained 
 with onion juice to the delicate hue of a blush on a 
 cheek of alabaster. Two others, colored in masterly 
 style by Mr. Emmett himself with tea, are perfect 
 loves in their way, and there is one more, made by 
 Eather Levins, which to our eye is as precious as the 
 'rich jewel in an Q^thiop's ear.' Last of all, in a 
 cover of parchment, we find an assortment of Lim- 
 
LITE OF WILLIAISI T. POKTEK. 243 
 
 erick hooks of O'Shauglinessey's bend, and Kirby 
 hooks of the ' Sneck ' bend, neither variety of which 
 can be purchased in the United States." 
 
 Li the October number of the " American Turf 
 Register " of 1840, is given an " American Hunter's 
 Camp " from the graphic pencil of the lamented 
 Rindisbacher ; it is spirited and faithful to a degree. 
 The attitudes of the hounds are full of meaning and 
 expression, as well as those of the two hunters ; all 
 the accessories of the sketch are in felicitous keeping. 
 
 " In the ' Backwoods ' of this country," Mr. Porter 
 writes, " a hunter's camp is usually covered with spruce 
 slabs or bark, while the bed is comprised of cedar 
 sprigs, shin-hemlock or brush, over which the hunter 
 spreads his blanket. Two years since, in a sporting 
 trip to a remote section of the country, we frequently 
 enjoyed the novelty of sleeping in a ' camp ' — the 
 work of half an hour — for nearly a week together, and 
 contrived to make them warm and comfortable. First, 
 we cut two crotched sticks, six feet long, and after 
 sharpening their points, drove them into the ground 
 as supporters of the fabric ; across these were laid the 
 three string-pieces comprising the frame, the ends of 
 two of them being securely fixed iu the ground. 
 Instead of splitting spruce planks for a roof — an opera- 
 tion of a few minutes only — we peeled the bark of 
 that tree, and turning the smooth side upwards, (lap- 
 ping the pieces,) made the covering water-tight. 
 When spruce will not peel, the balsam-fir and half a 
 dozen other trees ofler a substitute. For the sides we 
 
244 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTEE. 
 
 interlaced the bircli and witch-liopple, and afterwards 
 covered the whole with the tops of young trees of 
 luxuriant foliage. Sprigs of cedar or hemlock make 
 a soft, dry and fragrant bed, on which, after a good 
 day's sport, one can enjoy such a night's rest as Sancho 
 Panza never dreamed of, when he invoked blessings 
 on him who first invented sleep ! The choice of site, 
 which should be near a spring, and location of the fir, 
 etc., depend upon circumstances. With no other 
 instrument than a small axe, a backwoodsman can 
 knock up a camp large enough to accommodate half a 
 dozen most comfortably in half an hour." 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The nineteenth volume was begun witli every 
 prospect of unsurpassed prosperity. The number of 
 contributors had doubled within the eighteen months 
 previous, while daily accessions were made to the al- 
 ready long list of suljscribers in all parts of the globe. 
 The " Spirit " at this time had a foreign circulation 
 unequalled by any other paper in the United States ; 
 it had found its way into all the European capitals, 
 into the East and West Indies, and was read with as 
 much gout at Canton, Batavia, Sydney and the Sand- 
 wich Islands, as at home ; and what is far more re- 
 markable, among his subscribers were several of our 
 native Indians ! This volume, as was the twentieth, 
 was stocked with an unusual variety of amusing and 
 instructive matter, and Mr. Porter wrote : 
 
 " As for the Editor, who, being a bachelor, ac- 
 knowledges to the shady side of thirty, there or there- 
 abouts, it may not be uninteresting to some of his ju- 
 venile friends to state that he commenced this paper 
 so long ago as the 10th of December, 1831, and has 
 since gone on his way rejoicing," etc. 
 
'246 LIFE OF AVILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 "VVe may add that lie went out of his way in 
 1849, when the preceding paragraph was penned, 
 and varied the routine of editorial labor by a 
 visit to Boston, where he was welcomed by enthusi- 
 astic friends to the quiet attractions of their firesides, 
 and in due time complimented by a formal dinner at 
 the Ilorfolk House. Not long after his return to New 
 York he began to feel the first symj^toms of gout, soon 
 to become a fixed torment for the rest of his life. 
 
 All went well among the brothers, and the future 
 looked particularly encouraging, when the telegraph 
 announced the sad intelligence of the death of George 
 Porter. A letter from Frank addressed to his sisters 
 in relation to the event demands an insertion as an 
 act of respect to the memory of those two loving bro- 
 thers : 
 
 " New Oeleans, Mmj 26, 1849. 
 " To Maettia and Sarah : 
 
 " The wires of the telegraph have long ere this revealed to 
 you the dreadful news that this sad letter contains. 
 
 " Our dear George rests quiet from all his toils and troubles, 
 and his spirit is at peace. He died at the St. Charles Hotel on 
 the morning of the 24th inst., and was buried from there in the 
 Lafayette Cemetery the same afternoon. He complained of slight 
 illness on the 16th, but did not finally stop work until the 18th. 
 His disease was jaundice, caused by a morbid, bad state of the 
 liver, producing severe bilious fever, jaundice, brain fever and 
 death. His principal physician was Dr. McCormick, of the army, 
 a man of the highest standing and a personal friend. Dr. Wed- 
 derburn was also called in. He was not considered in the least 
 degree in a dangerous state by his friends until within twelve 
 hours of his death, when a sudden change took place. He at 
 once became highly delirious, but soon afterwards unconscious 
 and speechless. He lay in this manner until near four o'clock 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 247 
 
 in the morning, wlien he quietly breathed his last. Thus sud- 
 denly passed away all of poor George. Doctors, nurses, friends, 
 servants and every available' means were at hand, but all to no 
 purpose. Dr. McCormick informs me that he now thinks that 
 the disease from the first day of his sickness had pervaded his 
 system, and taken such strong and firm grasp that nothing could 
 have saved him. It no doubt had long before fastened upon him 
 its deadly grasp, and had worked its way insidiously when 
 he was in apparent health. His general health had been un- 
 usually good, and his friends had congratulated him upon look- 
 ing better than at any time during his residence in Louisiana. 
 His habits were very abstemious, and though very hard at work, 
 he was cheerful. He at no moment, in my opinion, had the least 
 idea that death was near him. 
 
 " The spot where we laid him is one that would have well 
 suited his own taste, even if the present high water had not cut 
 off the route to a different one. It is in the city of Lafayette, ad- 
 joining New Orleans, and is the highest land in the neighbor- 
 hood ; full of trees, quiet and free from all confusion of business, 
 and his particular vault is the highest of a high tier. There, be- 
 neath the luxurious growth of that vegetation of which he was 
 so fond, and upon the very banks of the mighty river whose 
 swift but silent grandeur so awed his spirit, let him lie. 
 
 " The funeral was very large, and of a peculiar character. I 
 never before had an idea of the esteem and love so many bore 
 him. The Eev. Mr. Clapp oflficiated. He was a personal friend 
 and admirer of George ; the publication of his sermons in the 
 Picayune had brought them into frequent intercourse. 
 
 " Thus all is over, and now I am alone. I am sitting at his 
 own table m the ' Picayune ' office, by the side of his favorite win- 
 dow, in his chair, my feet on his old stool, his favorite pen in 
 my hand. It is wonderful that I am alive after the events of the 
 last few days ; life to me has no aim or object. I came here to 
 be with him, and now he is gone. No one knew him besides 
 myself ; I knew his outgoings and incomings. There was a tie 
 between us most singular, although not always apparent. It is 
 useless for me to explain or to add any thing." 
 
2-iS LIFE OF WILLIAM T, PORTER. 
 
 Thus passed away anotlier of this band of broth- 
 ers, who liad achieved a reputation in a path of use- 
 fuhiess for which he had no sj^ecial attachment. 
 
 " What now, alas ! that life-diffusing charm 
 Of sprightly wit ? that rapture for the muse, 
 That heart of friendship, and that soul of joy, 
 Which bade with softest light thy virtues smile? 
 Ah I only show'd to check our fond pursuits, 
 And teach our humbled hopes that life is vain ! " 
 
 The elder sister of the family, Mrs, Paine, passed 
 a Manter in IsTew Orleans with her brothers, and we 
 insert a portion of one of her recent letters, which 
 contains an especial reference to George : 
 
 "He was the cleverest of the brothers, the most schol- 
 arly, and had the most common-sense. Added to his literary 
 tastes was an eminently practical talent, and he was capable of 
 long-continued and intense labor. During the seven years he 
 was editor of the ' Picayune,' he never had a week's relaxation 
 ut a time, and sometimes during the Mexican war was the only 
 man in the office for weeks together. Besides fulfilling his du- 
 ties as editor, he found time for extensive reading, and he was 
 far advanced in modern notions of philosophy, religion and re- 
 form." 
 
 Professor S. G. Brown of Dartmouth College, a 
 classmate of George Porter, thus writes of him to Mrs. 
 Brinley : 
 
 " From my early boyhood, as you know, until we graduated, 
 George was my companion and friend. Afterwards our paths 
 separated, and I saw comparatively little of him, but always fol- 
 lowed his course with great interest. I have indeed only this 
 very day returned from Haverhill, where I again ran over tho 
 orchards and pastures in which wo used to play together, and the 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 249 
 
 hills down Avhich we used to slide, and sat iipon the very benches 
 where more than thirty years ago we studied Virgil and Cicero 
 under the instruction of Mr. Mack. George had a very vigorous 
 and active mind. He was enterprising and somewhat ambitious, 
 and successful. At Meriden, before he was thirteen, he gave 
 an oration before a little society, of which we were members, on 
 Eloquence. I thought it was a very good one, and I am sure it 
 spread his fame as far as twelve miles, for I remember hearing it 
 talked about in Hanover. We always met in George's room, 
 where we had a little stage erected for the use of the orators ; 
 and I presume none of us have ever had more satisfactory tri- 
 umphs than in that little room, with an audience of a dozen 
 boys. George was very fond of speaking, and declaimed with 
 great beauty. This was true at Haverhill. I remember now his 
 speaking ' The Sailor Boy ' at Meriden, and in college, where 
 he carried away several prizes. He was a very good writer, and 
 often distinguished himself by the excellence of his compositions. 
 His mind was quick and tenacious ; he learned with great facili- 
 ty, and had his knowledge much at command. I should think he 
 was more fond of languages than of mathematics. He was in- 
 terested in the study of history, of which, while in college, he 
 had marked out for himself a pretty extensive course of reading, 
 I always prophesied eminence for him in his profession, and I have 
 no doubt that if he had devoted himself to it with half the per- 
 sistency with which many pursue it, he would not only have been 
 distinguished, but very much so. I never knew the reason of 
 his giving it up, but it always seemed to me that in doing so he 
 made a mistake. He must have become eminent as an advocate, 
 and his sagacity and practical good judgment and acuteness 
 would have found ample scope and abundant reward. His re- 
 moving from New England, and still more from New York, 
 seemed to me much like a personal loss." 
 
 There are few persons who saw and heard George 
 speak in public at the time he won his prizes for de- 
 clamation in his college days, who did not prophesy 
 11* 
 
250 LITE OF WILLIAJSI T. PORTER. 
 
 that the forum was destined to be the true sphere for 
 the exercise of his oratorical talent ; and no one with 
 more sanguine expectation than his keen-eyed old 
 uncle, who had watched him from the start, advising 
 and guiding him with the tenderness and devotion of 
 a father, selecting always the themes best suited for 
 his elocutionary displays, and at all times forcing into 
 vigor and breadth his youthful faculties, with a tact 
 which it is well known few possessed in a more re- 
 markable degree than Mr, Olcott. 
 
 The New Orleans Press was unanimous in ex- 
 pressions of regret at the loss of their favorite and re- 
 spected associate. 
 
 " Common eulogy," writes the " Picayune," " on his merits 
 fis a gentleman and a scholar would be a faint tribute on our part. 
 Innumerable testimonies of the exalted position he occupied in 
 both these distinctions exist beyond the limited circle of this of- 
 fice, in written characters, the production of his vigorous un- 
 derstanding, and in sorrowing hearts that bleed spontaneously 
 as memory recalls his polished manners, his undeviating urbanity, 
 his warm and generous nature. Mr. Porter was a fine specimen 
 of an American gentleman. His mind, which was richly endow- 
 ed by nature, had received a careful academical training, and 
 considerable intercourse with the world enabled him to seize 
 character at a glance. These circumstances gave him a grasp 
 of intellect that conspicuously displayed itself in every thing he 
 Avrote, evincing that manly vigor of thought and that accuracy 
 of judgment which are invaluable in the journalist, Avho has the 
 laudable ambition of acting up to the full dignity of his mission. 
 As for his private virtues, we make this simple record : We have 
 yet to know the created being that ever manifested hostility to 
 him in word or deed. Indeed, so unobtrusive were his manners, 
 so gentle was ho in character, that the contrast between liis ca- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAJM T. POKTEK. 251 
 
 pacity and his jn-etensions forced itself iavoluutarily on all wlio 
 came within the sphere of his action. lie was emphatically — to 
 borrow a line from the beautiful record of the poet Gay — 
 
 'In wit a man, simplicity a child.' 
 
 " It has been said that the best monument of a writer's fame 
 is the work of his brain. Were the labors of the journalist of a 
 character less ephemeral, less evanescent than they necessarily 
 are — the echo as it were of a sound borne to the ear in the pass- 
 ing breeze — we might, in pride of our deceased colleague's high 
 intelligence, pure philanthropy, refined taste and sparkling wit, 
 point to our files for the last seven years as the most lasting 
 mementos of his worth. Peace to his manes ! " 
 
 The " Crescent " thus feelingly chronicles his 
 death : 
 
 " "We were yesterday called on to consign to the grave the 
 mortal remains of one who but a few days ago was full of life 
 and vigor and activity. But a short time previous to his decease, 
 the fi'iends of Mr. Porter had no idea of his approaching death. 
 And now that he is gone — now that the face once beaming with 
 intelligence and fine feeling has disappeared — it is hard to realize 
 the thought that we shall see no more of him who was but yes- 
 terday the amiable companion and the attached friend. 
 
 " To the immediate friends and acquaintances of Mr. Porter, it 
 is useless to say how much they have lost in losing him whom 
 they yesterday buried. To know him was to respect — nay, 
 almost to love him. Even the casual acquaintance felt bound, 
 by no ordinary tie, to one who carried his heart in his hand, and 
 whose free, open, generous nature attracted the aifection of 
 whoever approached him. The friends of the deceased can 
 appreciate those virtues which are rarely known except to a 
 man's intimate acquaintances — the sensibility and delicacy of 
 feeling almost feminine, joined to an elevation of sentiment ana 
 
252 LIFE OF WILLIAISI T. rOETEK. 
 
 strength of will that were possessed by few men. But the New 
 Orleans piiblic are hardly aware of the loss they have sustained in 
 the death of Mr. Porter. His usefulness to the community was 
 known to but few, for his influence was of the sort which is felt, 
 and not seen. 
 
 " Mr. Porter was a native of Vermont, and had studied law in 
 New York ; but for the last seven or eight years he was a resi- 
 dent of New Orleans, and has been, during that time, the asso- 
 ciate editor of the Picayune newspaper. As his name never 
 appeared in that journal, its numerous readers were not cogni- 
 zant of how much they owed to ^r. Porter's industry, energy 
 and intelligence. With a zeal that seemed imbounded, and a 
 will that appeared unyielding, he devoted himself to his arduous 
 duties as if taking pleasure in labor, and seeking constant em- 
 ployment for the acute and active intellectual powers with 
 which he was endowed. He never relaxed his efforts to instruct 
 and please the public ; and, with a generosity careless of praise 
 and reward, he studied only how to make himself useful to the 
 community in which he had cast his lot. 
 
 " He has gone ! — the mind that has been so active for the good 
 of others, has departed from our midst ! But such a man cannot 
 soon be forgotten ; nor will his place be easily supplied. The 
 heart that has so often beat in sympathy with the feelings of 
 others is still ; the brain that was so constant in its efforts for 
 others' good, has ceased from its labors. But it will be long be- 
 fore the memory of George Porter will escape from the hearts 
 and minds of his friends, and of those who, without being per- 
 sonally acquainted with him, were cognizant of his many virtues 
 and extensive capacity." 
 
 The " Daily Bee," in allusion to his scholarship, 
 
 says : 
 
 " He possessed enormous industry, great readiness and tact, 
 and a capability of endurance in the ceaseless round of his labors 
 that few men exhibit. 
 
 " There was not a particle of acerbity in his character. His pen 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. I'ORTEK. 253 
 
 nevei' distilled gall, for bitterness was an element unknown in 
 his kindly and genial organization. He has left hosts of friends 
 to mourn his death, with a sorrow that will ever be associated 
 with the memory of as gentle a spirit as ever toiled in the 
 thankless travail of journalism. 
 
 " The funeral of Mr. Porter took place yesterday afternoon, 
 and his mortal remains were attended to their earthly resting- 
 place by a large concourse, mainly consisting of friends whose 
 attachment had been won by the endearing qualities of the de- 
 ceased. He was interred at Lafayette Cemetery, and in that 
 receptacle of the dead there sleeps not a nobler spirit than ani- 
 mated the soul of him whom, Avith imposing and affecting 
 ceremonies, we saw deposited in the silent habitation of the 
 departed." 
 
 " Among the many toucliing and most grateful let- 
 ters of condolence wliicli we have received this week," 
 writes the Editor of the " Spirit," " is the following 
 from the pen of William H. Herbert :" 
 
 " My Dear Poetek — It is with something of reluctance that 
 I intrude upon Avhat some persons might consider a private 
 matter and one unfitted for notice in your columns — I mean the 
 death of my esteemed friend and your beloved brother Geoege ; 
 but I have been determined not to allow any fastidious delicacy 
 to prevent my offering my tribute of affectionate homage to the 
 memory of one whom I truly and sincerely regarded both in a 
 private and public capacity. 
 
 " There is the more fitness in this, that but for Geoege Poeteb 
 there would never have been, so far as the world is concerned, 
 any Fkank Foeester to pen these brief lines as a testimony to 
 his amiable qualities and his high talents. 
 
 "It was, as you well remember, I doubt not, during one of 
 your protracted visits to the South, while George was ino tem- 
 pore in command of the ' Spirit,' that, as much at his sugges- 
 tion as in consequence of my own views on the subject, I adopted 
 
254 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 
 
 that signature as in some sort typical of the craft and charactei 
 of a sportsman, in connection with a series of papers intended to 
 popuhirize sportsmanship, and to divest it, in the eyes of the 
 many, from the prestige of brutality and rudeness with which it 
 seemed to be invested. 
 
 " How far those papers were successful this is not the time, 
 nor am I the person, to state, but the name has become so far 
 current with the readers of the ' Spirit,' that I do not fear 
 being considered intrusive or impertinent in addressing a few 
 lines to you on this painful subject, 
 
 " Few words have I to say beyond this, that in an acquaint- 
 ance which began years ago, prior, I think, to any intimacy 
 between you and myself, which has endured, imaltered by time, 
 and enhanced, perhaps, rather than diminished, by absence, I 
 have seen, heard or known no one incident of his life, no one 
 point of his career, which I would have desired to see changed 
 in my own brother ; that all has proved him the kind, consid- 
 erate, honorable gentleman, the man of energy and talent, whom 
 none knew but to love and praise. 
 
 " Honor and respect in life he had, and now is at peace — where 
 may we all have cause to rest as well — in the quiet repose of an 
 honorable grave. 
 
 " Your sincere friend, Fkank Foeestee. 
 
 " The Cedaes, 1st June." 
 
 At the commencement of the year 1852, both 
 William and the " Doctor " were hard at work in 
 their several spheres of dnty, with a fair prospect of 
 years of useful life. On New Year's Day the " Doc- 
 tor " made a round of visits, and was often compli- 
 mented on his fine health and exuberant spirits. It 
 was cold and damp, and the sudden transitions from 
 the heat of crowded drawing-rooms to the penetrating 
 chilliness of the external air, brought on an acute ill- 
 ness, which soon became irremediable ; and on the 
 
LITE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 255 
 
 sixth of the month he placidly fell asleep in the arms 
 of death, before his relatives were aware of his illness. 
 His funeral took place on the eighth of the month 
 from Grace Church, from whence he was borne to 
 Greenwood, and deposited in the lot which he had 
 selected the year previous for the last resting-place of 
 himself and brothers. On the Saturday following his 
 death, an obituary notice of him appeared in " The 
 Spirit of the Times," from the pen of his accomplished 
 friend William Henry Herbert, who, from long ac- 
 quaintance and a generous appreciation of Doctor Por- 
 ter, was admirably qualified to breathe a last tribute 
 to his memory : 
 
 ' Qnis desiderio sit pudor aut modus 
 Tarn cari capitis. 
 
 " On Tuesday, January 6tli, dierl, at his residence in this city^ 
 after a very few days' illness, Dr, T. Olcott Porter, in the 49th 
 year of his age ; in the fullness of his intellectual capacities and 
 the vigor of his mature manhood, taken away from the large 
 circle of friends, who truly loved him as a brother, by a disease 
 so sudden and insidious, that many of those who cherished his 
 intimacy the most closely learned only that he was indisposed at 
 all, by the lamentable tidings that he would be indisposed no 
 more forever. 
 
 " To descant largely upon the character and qualities of him 
 who has been so suddenly removed from us, to the readers of 
 this paper, would seem almost a work of supererogation, so well 
 and widely was he known ; still, there are doubtless many who 
 will be pleased to have a brief memorial of the circumstances of 
 his happy and blameless life, which they may preserve and lay 
 by as something tangible and real, of one concerning whom it 
 may be said, more truly than of almost any other mortal man — 
 
 " ' None knew him but to love, 
 None named him but to praise.' 
 
256 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETER. 
 
 "Again, it has been urged that to dwell long upon the praises 
 of the dead is, in the first place, in bad taste toward the living, 
 and, in the second, oftentimes injurious to the memory of the 
 departed, by stirring up an envious feeling in the breast of 
 others, like that which led the Athenian to ostracize Aristides, 
 merely because he was aweary of hearing him ever called the 
 Just. As to the former of these arguments, we have only to re- 
 ply, that this is intended as no proud or boastful enumeration of 
 high qualities and splendid deeds, but as an humble and sincere 
 tribute to the calm and unobtrusive virtues of a peaceful and 
 well-spent private life, endearing the deceased to all who came 
 within the sphere of his attraction. As to the latter, the writer 
 of this unpretending record has no fears, for of the late Dr. 
 PoETEE alone, of all the men he has ever seen or heard of, it may 
 be emphatically asserted, that he never had an enemy. In a 
 close and uninterrupted friendship of above eighteen years, he 
 who writes this, not as a labored eulogy, but as the simple out- 
 pouring of a wounded heart, never once heard one unkind or 
 uncharitable expression concerning any living being fall from 
 those lips, now so cold and silent, which, while life warmed 
 them, were ever literally overflowing with the milk of human 
 kindness. 
 
 " Dr. Porter was born in the town of Newbury, in Vermont ; 
 was educated at Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire, where 
 he graduated with distinction and high promise in the lluman- 
 ities. He afterward studied and practised medicine for some 
 short space of time, but subsequently retiring from his profes- 
 sion, devoted the last eighteen years of his life to literary pur- 
 suits in this city, during the whole of which period the writer 
 has known and loved him as a brother, and received from him 
 all a brother's kindness. Many readers will remember him as 
 connected with Mr. K P. "Willis in the conduct of the ' Cor- 
 sair ' — probably the best literary journal ever published in New 
 York — which was in fact wholly under his editorial control, 
 owing its excellence to his unassisted abilities ; since his co-edi- 
 tor was absent in Europe during nearly the whole term of its 
 existence. He was, moreover, for many yeai's an occasional con- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIA5I T. PORTER. 257 
 
 tributor to the columns of this paper, and as such was well 
 known generally to all its readers, and personally to nearly all 
 its correspondents and contributors. For many years he had 
 been connected with Mons. Coudert, in the management of a 
 large and excellent school in this city, patiently practising a 
 thankless and ill-rewarded profession, for which the clear sin- 
 cerity of his mind, his equable and foresighted intellect, his fine 
 taste and large reading, and, above all, his imperturbable good 
 temper and unvarying kindness of heart, singularly qualified him.* 
 " lie was a man who might have been great by the exertion and 
 display of his talents, which were of a high order, but that he 
 was one who preferred being loved to being admired ; who was 
 born to be the idol of a circle, rather than the wonder of a 
 sphere. His reading was varied and extensive ; and, particu- 
 larly in the ancient English authors, he was an elegant and 
 finished scholar ; an excellent classic, a thorough and judicious 
 historian, his criticism, for which his independence, clearness of 
 perception, and candor, rarely qualified him, was of the highest 
 order ; and we can say sincerely that there were few men living 
 to whose judgment we would more readily have resigned our 
 own, as to the merits or defects of a new book, a new actor or a 
 new drama — nor any by whom we should have been more proud 
 to be praised, than he whom we now deplore. 
 
 "The characteristics of his intellectual abilities were elegance, 
 ease and polish, clear judgment, fine taste, and high apprecia- 
 tion of all that is beautiful and true, in letters, art and science. 
 
 * Mr. Coudert had been ill for several weeks previous to the siclj> 
 ness of the Doctor, and the anxieties of the latter concerning the school 
 ■when he too became confined to his chamber, were very much in- 
 creased. The day before the death of Dr. Porter, Mr. Coudert sent 
 his eldest son with a kind message concerning his health ; to his sui'- 
 prise, he found the Doctor up, and partly dressed, feeble as he was. 
 He was greatly attached to the Doctor, and perceiving his extreme 
 prostration, urged him to return to his bed. " No," rejoined the Doc- 
 tor, " tell your father that I do not intend to shirk my duty." But he 
 was exhausted by the effort, and from sheer debility was reluctantly 
 obliged to follow the advice of his young friend. 
 
258 LIFE OF -WILLDVM T. POKTEK. 
 
 Of Lis moral qualities the most remarkable were, that regular 
 benignity, which was written on his fine face by the hand of 
 God, as if by the fingers of man in a book, that perfect truth- 
 fulness, candor, affection to his friends, and charity — in its most 
 extended sense — toward all mankind, which literally caused 
 every one who knew him to love him, and which will call tears 
 from many an eye unused to weep, and awaken regrets in many 
 a far-distant heart. "Woe ! woe I for thee, my brother and my 
 friend ! He died, as he had lived, so placidly and easily, that 
 the change from time to eternity was scarce perceptible to 
 those who watched beside him, probably scarce perceived by 
 himself, until he awoke from the sleep of life to know himself 
 immortal. 
 
 " He is one of the few, the very few, for whom there is no fear 
 — for whom Hope is all — Hope alone — certain as truth and 
 Heaven. 
 
 " To say that he never did evil to a living thing, is to say 
 nothing ! For we verily believe, if it may be believed of any 
 mortal man, that he never even thought evil of his neighbor. 
 Eest is for the dead, and peace and happiness immortal : for 
 those who remain behind, the weariness of memory, the loneli- 
 ness of regret, the yearning for the untimely lost, which wiU not 
 pass away until life itself shall have passed through the darkness 
 of the grave, into the light of immortality. 
 
 "Happy they who live as he lived — who shall die as he died 
 — for if many a greater and many a wiser man has blazed upon 
 the world, and died and been forgotten — none kinder, or better, 
 or more beloved, ever adorned or charmed a circle. None ever 
 left behind a fame more piu-e, a memory more fondly cherished, 
 or longer to be remembered. 
 
 " For hira we do not pray for peace, since wherefore should 
 we doubt that he, whose whole life was peacefuluess, hath, by 
 what we call death, been removed only from this mortal turmoil 
 into the exceeding peace of the Lord ? Yaleat in cBternum 
 xaleat ! " 
 
 111 a letter from William to Mrs. Brinley of this 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TORTER. 25\f 
 
 date lie says : " The dear old Doctor is gone from me. 
 I can do nothing to realize it. His kindness, his love, 
 his counsels, his very being, were so interwoven and 
 incorporated into all my life and thoughts, that I am 
 bewildered and crushed to find him gone. The main 
 defence that has stood by me from boyhood, which 
 seemed so stable and so necessary to my well-being, 
 is now laid level forever ! Frank and I are now left 
 alone to battle on as best we can for the rest of our 
 journey." 
 
 We come down to the year 1855, as the volumes 
 of the immediately preceding years, though sparkling 
 with items and amusing paragraphs from the old 
 mint, do not contain any very salient articles by the 
 Editor. His previous work had been never-ending, 
 and a time had now come when he felt relieved from 
 the duty of getting up elaborate leaders, by the 
 continual flow of admirable contributions from gifted 
 correspondents ; and never was mental repose so ne- 
 cessary and so grateful to him, for the bright advent 
 of the New Year was soon shrouded by the death of 
 Frank, the youngest and the pet of the brothers, and 
 who had been attached to the " ISTew Orleans Pica- 
 yune " for some seven years, during all which time his 
 course was marked by signal and ever-increasing ability. 
 His labors were exceedingly onerous, in view of his 
 impaired health, and though scrupulously performed, 
 his heart was not in them after the death of George. 
 A. voyage to Europe was recommended to him, and 
 through the aflfectionate interest of Mr. Holbrook, the 
 chief of the Picayune, it was accomplished, but witli- 
 
260 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEE. 
 
 out material advantage to the invalid. We extract a 
 few passages from his letter, dated New Orleans, the 
 1st of May, 1854 : 
 
 " I am off for Europe this evening, on board of the clipper 
 ship 'Bostonian,' Oapt. King. She is a most beautiful vessel, 
 of 1098 tons, entirely new, superb accommodations, and I am the 
 only passenger, with a large parlor state-room to myself, * * * 
 My present intention is to be absent five or six months, and to 
 visit Liverpool, London, Paris, Marseilles, perhaps ^N'aples, Ven- 
 ice, Vienna, Hamburg, &c., &c. ; but much will depend on 
 my health, time, expense, and other matters. I will more fully 
 write you of my intended movements when in London or Paris. 
 Should ray health be so bad in the autumn that I tliink I should 
 not be able to work if I returned home, I may, if I can make 
 suitable arrangements, spend the winter in the south of Europe, 
 and visit Constantinople, &c., which I much wish. Our paper 
 has now several European correspondents, and Mr. Kendall, wlio 
 lives with his family in Paris, thinks of going to Constantinople ; 
 still I shall probably write some, and over my old signature of 
 ' Gleaner.' 
 
 " My health and spirits are to-day good, for me ; my friends 
 have been most kind and generous to me in all fashions, and lots 
 of little ' fixins ' have been sent on board the ship for my com- 
 fort on the voyage. I have worked long and faithfully for the 
 ' Pic ' office, and my services have been appreciated and gener- 
 ously repaid. The attachment of Mr. Ilolbrook, the principal 
 manager of the paper, to George, was strong, and is so to my- 
 self, and I have no other such firm friend for life, who has the 
 means, as himself. * * * i visited dear George's grave a 
 few days ago, as is my frequent pleasure. My purest, dearest, 
 and holiest recollections of life are connected therewith, and I 
 trust it may be permitted me to lay my bones beside him. Re- 
 membrance of him and of our sainted mother is much oftener in 
 my thoughts latterly than ever before." 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAItl T, PORTEK. 261 
 
 After liis return from Europe, lie wrote from New 
 Orleans, January 1st, 1855 : 
 
 " I owe you many apologies foi* sin? of omission in not visit- 
 ing or writing you, but I so dislike to be the bearer of bad news, 
 that I have omitted even writing — putting it off from day to 
 day. 
 
 " My situation is now truly sad, as my health and strength 
 seem entirely to have forsaken me, and I am now constantly 
 confined to my room, with what I have too much reason to be- 
 lieve is a confirmed consumption. My trip abroad did me no 
 good, and as I was laid up in Paris for three weeks, I was weak- 
 ened very much. Before I went away, my physicians were 
 somewhat divided as to my disease, and my Paris physician 
 assured me that I only had a very bad chronic disorder of the 
 bronchial tubes. To this idea I clung until facts proved its in- 
 correctness, and I find myself totally prostrate. 
 
 " I hastened home to renew my labors, but I found on my 
 arrival here, that my strength was not equal to their perform- 
 ance, and I gave a portion of them up, retaining such as would 
 call for the least physical exertion. One month's work used 
 me up. * * * 
 
 "My physician is Dr. Wedderstrandt, as eminent a man, 
 particularly in diseases of the lungs, as any in the country. Por 
 fourteen years he was the principal physician in our great Charity 
 Hospital, and has of course had great experience. He is also a par- 
 ticular friend of mine, and has taken much interest in my case. 
 He has examined me critically, and has pronounced my lungs badly 
 affected, as indeed my constant and shocking cough now too clear- 
 ly attests. * * The Doctor says: 'Follow my advice strictly, and 
 you will be able to meet the warm spring weather, when I hope 
 you will improve, and obtain strength enough to move about in 
 the open air.' I am too much a man of the world not to know 
 what all this means. It is a mere question of time, ^cith me. 
 No cough like mine can ever le cured. To be thus confined in 
 the house, deprived of work, air, society and excitement, tasks 
 
262 LITE OF WILLIAM T. TOKTEK. 
 
 my fortitude, while the prospect for the future is gloomy. I am 
 now living in the family of my old friend, Madame Hall, where 
 I am well nursed and cared for ; which I could not be at the St. 
 Charles Hotel, my former home. I have a thousand minor ills 
 and troubles ; but I will not worry you by relating them. I feel, 
 however, that I ought to let you know of my feeble and sad con- 
 dition. * * * 
 
 " My trip, had my health and strength not failed me, would 
 have been delightful. As it was, I worked hard, and saw much 
 that interested me. Scarcely a place of ' high or low degree,' 
 in London or Paris, that was famous, that I did not visit. I 
 wrote nothing while I was absent, as I was too busily employed 
 in sight-seeing ; but I came home with my mind well stored with 
 that which would have interested my friends, and been a source 
 of pleasing remembrance to me during a long life. My power 
 of observation and comparison never had full scope before, and I 
 improved the opportunity. * * * I saw all of high life I 
 wished — I brought home many little trifles as souvenirs of some 
 of the places I visited, which I should have been pleased to show 
 you, had an opportunity offered. Many of my most pleasant 
 days were spent in the galleries of art ; but I thrust myself into 
 every species of amusement, gayety, sumptuous living, curiosity 
 shop, palace and stable that promised to repay me. In fact, what 
 I saw and learned, would be of more use to me could I live to 
 manage it, than all I ever learned before. I never weary in 
 talking over my adventures to my friends. * * * * 
 
 " You may think that I write despondingly, but it is always 
 better to look trouble full in the face. I know my own situation 
 better than I can tell you, and I feel assured that I can only 
 linger out a painful and troubled life, be the time long or short. 
 I could fill pages did I dare to trust myself to speak of my thoughts 
 and feelings, but it would be useless. 
 
 " The merciful God who has thus far watched over me in my 
 wanderings and vicissitudes, will not, I sincerely trust, forsake 
 me in my hour of need ; that he may cherish and protect you 
 both, is the fervent wish of your brother 
 
 " Frank." 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 263 
 
 In due course of mail, the following letter was re- 
 ceived, all but the last sentence and signature being 
 in the handwriting of a friend : 
 
 " New Orleans, February 8th, 1855. 
 
 " To MY Sisters — I am too feeble to write to-day, and have 
 availed myself of the kindness of a friend, to communicate to 
 you. It was a long and dreary suspense from tlie first of Jan- 
 uary till to-day, when I received Sarah's letter ; Martha's and 
 William's letters having reached me two days previously. But 
 my confidence in her love and sympathy never forsook me ; I 
 knew that some accident must have prevented an earlier reply. 
 
 " My health and strength have rapidly failed me since I last 
 wrote you, and I am now confined to my bed by the orders of 
 my physician. My cough of itself is not very troublesome, al- 
 though getting worse constantly ; but the many ills and diseases 
 brought on by sympathy with the lungs, are very annoying. 
 
 " I am surrounded by kind friends, who do all in their power 
 to make me comfortable. If I am not able to write myself, some 
 one else will write you very soon. Your letters have afforded 
 me great consolation, and your mention of domestic matters has 
 carried me back to the days of childhood. I still anticipate great 
 pleasure from letters which must now be on their way from 
 you." 
 
 (The closing lines arc in Frank's trembling hand, 
 and w^ere the very last ever written by him :) 
 
 " God bless you, my dear sisters ; this is probably the last 
 time I shall be able to say so to you. My last thoughts shall be 
 of our mother and of you. 
 
 " As ever, yours, 
 
 " Fbancis T. Poetek." 
 
 The next intelligence was of his death, on the 28th 
 of February. He was conscious to the last moment, 
 
264: LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POETEK. 
 
 the almost inaudible prayer, " May God receive my 
 soul," trembling on bis lips as bis spirit took fligbt. 
 He sleejDS, as he desired, by the side of bis brother 
 George. 
 
 When we consider that his academic education 
 tenninated by his own choice when be was quite 
 young, and that bis subsequent pursuits were not fa- 
 vorable to mental cultivation, we marvel at the extent 
 of his attainments, and recognize in bis manner and 
 style of composition the evidence of no ordinary de- 
 gree of natural ability. 
 
 From the numerous testimonials of resj)ect to his 
 memory in our possession, we make but a single ex- 
 tract, and that from an obituary in the " Picayune : " 
 
 " Francis Porter was a man of many fine traits of character, 
 one of which was eminently distinctive — his innate sense of 
 what constitutes true manly honor. "We never knew a man 
 whose instincts were more unerring in the detection of aught 
 that was mean, sordid or unworthy in the characters of those 
 with whom he was thrown in contact ; and he was never so 
 earnest and decided in the expression of his opinions, as he was 
 when denouncing or satirizing such traits. At the same time 
 he was one of the most affectionate and attachable of friends and 
 companions. His perceptions were quick, and his impulses gen- 
 erous and noble. His temperament was of a character that, added 
 to disappointments and private griefs, ' with which the stranger 
 intermeddleth not,' occasionally clouded his mind with fits of 
 morbid gloominess and abstraction. But the general course of 
 his life, like the predominant tone in his character, was manly, 
 consistent and innocent ; and now, 
 
 ' After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well.' " 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 265 
 
 By Frank's death William was thoroughly deso- 
 lated. Tlie attacks of gout for the rest of his life were 
 frequent and severe, with little Or no alleviation, from 
 Sydney Smith's idea that it must have taken five or 
 six generations of gentlemen to have given it such 
 frightful vigor. It sometimes took French leave of 
 him for months together, when he would resume his 
 old desk with something of revived interest. But the 
 main-spring was gone, and he soon returned to the 
 solitude of his home in Bleecker Street ; or taking his 
 trout-rod, solaced his weary spirits with an occasional 
 easy drive out of the city. His benignant smile con- 
 tinued unaltered, and those who casually met him 
 during the year succeeding his last bereavement could 
 not have suspected from his manner that he had to 
 all intents and purposes about done with life. It was 
 fame enough for him that the life-scheme which 
 swelled in his heart the morning he left in the mail- 
 stage for Andover, was already a fixed fact among the 
 things of Time. The seed had been good and honest, 
 and was planted by his own hand, when his tears and 
 some brave hopes were about all he had to help to 
 moisten and quicken it into life. He had waited long 
 and patiently for its first small, humble shoot to strike 
 through the hard, unyielding clod into the air and 
 light, and had had the full satisfaction of seeing it ex- 
 pand by his own bounteous and lavish culture, until 
 its spreading branches sparkled in the sunshine of a 
 generous and loving patronage, its roots all abroad to 
 resist the battling of a century's storms. 
 
 The " Salutatory" for the year 1856 has a flavor of 
 12 
 
266 LIFE or WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 
 
 the humor that for a quarter of a century had charmed 
 and cheered the readers of the " Spirit." But from 
 the day of the " Doctor's " death, he was unlike his 
 former self; even his interest in the " Old Spirit" was 
 much diminished. Up to this time no intimation had 
 fallen from him that he could be induced to sever his 
 connection with it ; yet most unexpectedly to his 
 friends, on the 26th of September he permitted his 
 name to be associated in the publication of another 
 weekly Sporting Journal, called " Porter's Spirit of 
 the Times." Old friencs and old corresj^ondents ral- 
 lied round him, and the enterprise started with flying 
 colors ; its success was unprecedented in the annals 
 of the newspaper press, for as early as the eighth 
 number it was " backed by a circulation of 40,000 
 copies " ! To what extent Mr. Porter contributed to 
 the literary portion of the paper, the writer will not 
 assume the province of determining ; the probability is, 
 that he did not compose any elaborate articles, except 
 those to which his initials or other sure signs of pa- 
 ternity are attached. Care, disapj) ointment, and that 
 sickness of heart which he concealed from the world, 
 began to tell on face and form and mental activity, 
 and he availed himself of a stipulated privilege to 
 spare himself much of the labor that even to a recent 
 day had been his delight and pride. The last articles 
 which he furnished of any great consequence were 
 obituary notices of his old and respected friends John 
 C. Stevens, Esq., of 'New Jersey, and Colonel Wade 
 Hampton, of South Carolina; and they bear the 
 stani]) of that keen analysis and generous appreciation 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTEK. 267 
 
 of cliaracter wliicli marked liis numerous essays in 
 tliat difficult form of composition. It has been stated, 
 and no doubt correctly, that just before his death he 
 was engaged in an elaborate biography of the late 
 William Henry Herbert, whose untimely end was a 
 source of universal and painful sorrow. 
 
 Mr. Porter passed most of the last winter of his 
 life at home, with books for companions when not re- 
 ceiving the kind attention of his friends. His thoughts 
 and conversation were often occupied with those di- 
 vine truths wdiich were stamped upon his soul in 
 childhood at the knee of his mother : 
 
 " Shadowy recollections, 
 Which, be they what they may. 
 Are yet a master-light of all our seeing ; 
 Uphold us, cherish, and have power to make 
 Our noisy years seem moments in the being 
 Of the Eternal Silence ; truths that wake 
 
 To perish never ; 
 Which neither bitterness nor mad endeavor, 
 
 Nor man nor boy. 
 Nor all that is at enmity with joy, 
 Can utterly abolish or destroy ! " 
 
 For two months before his death he had been un- 
 usually well and cheerful. On the night of Tuesday, 
 July 13th, by imprudently leaving open a window in 
 his sleeping-room, he took a severe cold, which result- 
 ed in congestion of the lungs, and terminated his 
 earthly career at half after nine on the morning of the 
 following Monday. He was from the first impressed 
 with the idea that it was his last illness, and with clear 
 mind and firm serenity expressed his satisfaction that 
 
268 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 the end was near at hand. The same urbanity, gentle 
 patience, and thoughtfulness for others which marked 
 his whole previous life, were equally conspicuous dur- 
 ing these last days of mortal suffering. Just before 
 the closing moment he requested to have the curtain 
 of a w^indow near his bed raised, that he might once 
 more see the light of day. " How beautiful ! " he fer- 
 vently murmured, as the sun broke into the room ; 
 and as if he at that moment caught sight of the blue 
 hills of Newbury, and the white paling of the cottage 
 where he was born, or heard the far away toll of the 
 village bell, which brought back to his fading memory 
 the objects which surrounded his boyhood, he breathed 
 the names of mother and father and brothers, adding 
 with a last effort, " I want to go home," just as the 
 veil which separates the things of Time from the In- 
 finite Unseen, parted to admit him, as we fondly be- 
 lieve, to their embrace. 
 
 The intelligence of his death spread with electric 
 rapidity throughout the land, and the melancholy re- 
 sponse of the universal newspaper press told how 
 sincere was the grief felt at the loss of one of its dis- 
 tinguished ornaments. Tlie funeral ceremonies took 
 place at St. Thomas' Church, in the presence of a large 
 audience of sympathizing friends. At their conclu- 
 sion, the lid of the coflin, which rested between the 
 reading-desk and the pulpit, was opened, and such of 
 the congregation as desired to take a last view of his 
 manly features, to which death had imparted a more 
 than earthly beauty, were informed that they might 
 do so. The whole congregation embraced the offer, 
 and passed round as indicated. 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 269 
 
 A generous tribute to liis memory appeared in the 
 " Old Spirit," from the pen and from the heart of 
 that sterling gentleman, James Oakes, Esq., of Bos- 
 ton, who over the signature of " Acorn " has for so 
 many years contributed to the value of its columns : 
 
 " For more than twenty-five years have William T. Porter and 
 myself battled our way on the banks of the river of life, as it 
 were hand in hand, but in diflfercnt professions. During that 
 time I have never known him to wilfully commit an unmanly, 
 ungenerous, unkind, dishonorable or even discourteous act, to 
 his fellow-man. He, it is true, had his weaknesses, but they 
 were those that did injustice to himself only — no wrong to 
 others. It was his nature to be as gentle and as kind as a child, 
 and so made up, and so harmoniously mingled in him were all 
 those rare and extraordinary characteristics which go to make 
 the higli-toned, high-bred gentleman, tliat he possessed the power 
 to fascinate every one with whom he came in contact, whether 
 it were the little girl whom he trotted on his knee, the boy with 
 whom he played, or the thoroughbred sporting gentleman. His 
 mind was comprehensive, his perception keen, his deductions 
 clear and concise ; whilst his judgment and decisions in all 
 sporting matters were more reliable and more respected than 
 any other man's in this country. He was the father of a school 
 of American sporting literature, which is no less a credit to his 
 name than it is an honor to the land that gave him birth. Many 
 of his decisions and sporting reports will be quoted as authority 
 for generations to come. He possessed a fund of sporting statis- 
 tics unequalled by any other man in America. While living, he 
 was respected and beloved by every one, no less for his child- 
 like simplicity of nature, than for those high and manly charac- 
 teristics which so strongly marked him as a journalist. His 
 death will be deeply and sincerely mourned by every person who 
 knew him. With much truth can it be said : 
 
 ' 'Thou art the ruin of the noblest man 
 That ever lived in the tide of times.' ' 
 
270 LIFE OF "WILLIAM T. PORTEE. 
 
 George "Wilkes, Esq., associate editor of " Porter's 
 Spirit of tlie Times," furnished for that paper a 
 tribute to his memory, from which we make the fol- 
 lowing extract : 
 
 " Loftiest among them all — with a gentleness and grace that 
 so mingled man and woman in his nature that his own sex might 
 love him even to tenderness, and not feel ashamed — William 
 PoRTEE moved among the Livingstons, Hamptons, Stevenses, 
 Stocktons, Joneses, Waddells, Longs, &c., making all happy by 
 his cheerful spirit, and distributing favor by his presence, rather 
 than receiving patronage. The merit of bis paper, and the bigh 
 character of these voluntary associations, not only drew around 
 him the most distinguished writers and correspondents of the 
 time, both at home and from foreign lands, but brought out a 
 new class of writers, and created a style which may be denomi- 
 nated an American literature — not the august, stale, didactic, 
 pompous, bloodless method of tlie magazine pages of that day ; 
 but a fresb, crisp, vigorous, elastic, grapliic literature, full of 
 force, readiness, actuality and point, which has walked up to 
 the telegraph, and hardly been invigorated or improved by even 
 the terse and emphatic lightning. This literature was not stewed 
 in the closet, or fretted out at some pale pensioned laborer's desk, 
 but sparkled from the cheerful leisure of the easy scholar — 
 poured in from the emulous officer in the barracks, or at sea — 
 emanated spontaneously from the jocund poet — and flowed from 
 every mead, or lake, or mountain — in the land where the rifle or 
 the rod was known. Of this literature, which is better known 
 as ' American Sporting Literature,' Mr. Poetee may be said to 
 be the founder and the head ; and for its creation and thousands 
 of happy hours the people of the United States owe him as great 
 a debt of gratitude as they do for that stimulation to the improve- 
 ment of the breed of horses, which has made us already fore- 
 most of all the world in the production of the most valuable 
 species of working and pleasure stock. 
 
 " The life of Mr. Poetek, for the thirty years which termi- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. POKTER. 271 
 
 nated with his management of this paper, was not marked by 
 any striking incidents. His life flowed equahly from day to day ; 
 and year by year parted company with him, without taking on 
 its record a single quarrel or scarcely a ruffled feeling against 
 any being in the world. 
 
 " He was peculiarly qualified to be endeared to every thing 
 that came within his presence ; and his kind nature was so justly 
 balanced and so free from all invidious inclination, that, by com- 
 mon consent, he was received throughout the coimtry as the 
 umpire of all controverted points, not only in matters growing 
 out of the specialities of his paper, but in all questions of friendly 
 argument, which would not take parties into court. During his 
 editorial career, he has probably decided more disputes, involving 
 the award of money, than any judge who ever sat upon a bench ; 
 and what is most remarkable in this connection is, that his de- 
 cisions were always clieerfuUy acquiesced in, and never were 
 made the subject of appeal. To use the language of a contem- 
 porary : ' He seemed to live without an enemy ; and at the time 
 of his death, he was probably the best known of any man in 
 New York who had never filled an official place ! ' " 
 
 In the same paper appeared these stanzas by R. 
 S. Chilton, Esq., of Washington, which were repub- 
 lished in the " Knickerbocker " of February last : 
 
 IN MEMORY OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 A heart where kindly words and deeds 
 
 The founts were still unsealing, 
 Whence flowed, unchecked through all their course, 
 
 The streams of generous feeling ; 
 A kind, true heart, that with the joys, 
 
 Could share the griefs of others ; 
 And ne'er forsook the grand old faith 
 
 That all mankind are brothers. 
 
272 LIFE OF WILLIAM T. PORTER. 
 
 A soul iu which the manlier traits, 
 
 And gentler, were so blended. 
 That none could say where these began, • 
 
 Or where the others ended : 
 Alas ! to fitly speak his worth 
 
 All words seem poor and common. 
 In whose large spirit Nature fused 
 
 The tenderness of Woman ! 
 
 Enough ! his heart has ceased to beat ; 
 
 His soul has passed the portal 
 That shuts the other world from this, 
 
 And what remains is mortal. 
 But long as brave and gentle hearts 
 
 Are held in memory's keeping, 
 Our fond and sorrowing thoughts will haunt 
 
 The grave M'liere he is sleeping. 
 
 R. S. C. 
 
 Similar testimonials from all parts of the Union 
 are before us. Tlie " London Times " appropriately 
 noticed his death, and referred to him as " a man 
 known world-wide." These we lay aside for our pri- 
 vate gratification, with the conviction that " this post- 
 humous esteem reached no higher attitude," to use the 
 words of a contemporary editor, " than that which 
 was felt and uttered for the living man." 
 
 In bringing this volume to a close, we take the 
 highest satisfaction in the reflection that the design 
 of compiling a Memoir of William T. Porter did not 
 originate in an exaggerated estimate of his genial and 
 beneficent nature, of his magical power to attract and 
 secure the warmest affection of all who were brought 
 within its influence, of that rare combination of child- 
 like confidence and sagacious self-reliance in his in- 
 
LIFE OF WILLIAM T. TOKTER. 273 
 
 terconrso with tlie world, or of that large-lieartedness 
 which made him, perhaps, too much given to hospi- 
 tality, a failing so near akin to a Christian virtue ; by 
 neither of these considerations were we stirred, but 
 ratlier by an admiration of that indomitable energy 
 which enabled him to carry out from its first and dis- 
 couraging inception to a successful issue, the fixed, 
 definite, precise, great idea of his youth, the introduc- 
 tion and advancement of a fresh, original and capti- 
 vating department of letters, and by the conviction 
 that his editorial progress illustrated a truth which 
 there is a tendency in youth to disregard, that vague 
 and loose application will be barren of fruitful results, 
 while courage and constancy are but equivalents to 
 success and fame. 
 
 " Who is the happy warrior ? who is he, 
 That every man in arms should wish to be ? 
 It is the generous spirit who, when brought 
 Among the tasks of real life, hath wrought 
 Upon the plan that pleased his boyish thought : 
 Whose high endeavors are an inward light 
 That makes the path before him always bright : 
 Who, with a natural instinct to discern 
 What knowledge can perform, is diligent to learn ! " 
 
 So long as a love of recreation is recognized as 
 " one of the features impressed on man's spirit by the 
 Divine Creator," so long we venture tg believe the 
 name of William T. Porter will live. 
 
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