In 1808, however, Skewball, the famous Lancashire shepherd, ran 140 yards in 12 seconds at Hackney! This is perhaps the best specimen of the incapacity of the writers of that day to distinguish between possible and impossible times.

Captain Barclay Allardice is, of course, best known by his feat of walking 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours at Newmarket. The performance, no doubt, startled everybody at the time, although it has frequently been since surpassed. He was, however, a fine all-round performer. He was born in 1779, and had such an unextinguishable love for athletic sports, that when he was only 15 he won a wager by walking six miles in an hour on the Croydon road. When twenty-one he made a match of 5,000 guineas to walk ninety miles in 21 1/2 hours, and won it with ease, amidst the plaudits of thousands of spectators. He soon afterwards beat a Mr. Ward over a quarter of a mile in 56 seconds. In 1806 he again was matched at that distance against Mr. Goulbourne, of the Royal Horse Guards, at Lord's Cricket Ground, and won easily in 1 min. 12 sec. He also won two mile races in matches with amateurs in 5 min. 7 sec. and 4 min. 50 sec, and was for the years 1796-1808, when he performed the 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours feat, the most prominent runner of the day.

Nay, more, in the words of Thorn, 'he ever evinced inflexible adherence to strict principles of honour and integrity, and whether as transacting with mankind individually, or as a public character responsible for his opinion and conduct at the shrine of his country, he always proved his sincere respect for the rights of others and his unfeigned attachment to the British constitution.

Dead beat.

Be that, however, as it may, he certainly deserves the thanks of modern athletes for his success in rendering athletic sports a popular pastime for gentlemen. There was, as is well known, no distinction in his time between professionals and amateurs, and gentlemen made matches with each other and with pedestrians as they pleased, and we find the great Barclay entering on a contest of endurance with Abraham Wood, and running him 'off his legs.' But throughout the first five-and-twenty years of the present century the ball which Barclay had started was kept rolling by plenty of successors; indeed, up to about 1825 so many amateurs made matches at Newmarket, or on the Uxbridge Road, or at Lord's Cricket Ground, and so much interest was displayed by spectators in these contests, that it seems wonderful that the system of athletic meetings for amateurs should not have arisen half a century earlier than was actually the case, though, as we have already stated, there is some evidence that there were regular meetings at Sandhurst early in the century. After about 1825, however, the popularity of foot races amongst amateurs appears to have waned, and we hear of few gentlemen engaging in matches.

We believe, neverthe less, that of the amateur generation of the early part of this century there is still a survivor. The present Lord Tollcmache,1 alter running several sprint races, was backed by a friend to run any man in England over 100 yards. The challenge was accepted on behalf of a Mr. MacNamara, and the match came off at the usual venue of Lord's Cricket Ground, Lord Tollemache again proving a winner. The late Mr. Horatio Ross, who only died recently, also distinguished himself in his early years as a walker of long-distance matches. However, though there were fewer amateurs in the field, professional pedestrianism continued steadily to increase throughout the century, and we find a regular succession of celebrated short-distance and long-distance runners who challenged and wrested championships from each other in the same manner as the champions of the ring.

1 This was written in 1837 when the late Lord Tollemache was living

As the period to which we are now referring is almost a modern one, and as our business in this work is with athletic sports as a pastime for amateur and not with the business of professional pedestrians, we can hardly give here a history of the pedestrianism of the nineteenth century, for which such ample materials exist in the pages of the 'Sporting Magazine' and 'Bell's Life.' Some few memorable performances, however, claim attention as showing the steady progress of athletic ability. In 1825 James Metcalf (champion) gave J. Halton (ex-champion) 20 yards in a mile, for a stake of 1,000 guineas, on the Knavesmire, and the champion won in the time of 4 min. 30 sec.; but it is not for another fifteen or twenty years that we hear of this time being approached, and not until 1849 that we know of its being beaten by W. Matthews of Birmingham, who did his mile in 4 min. 27 sec. Between 1825 and 1838 or 1839 or thereabouts, although pedestrian matches at all distances were common enough, pedestrianism was hardly the popular sport that it became later on.

We find that in the columns of 'Bell's Life' it was the custom for many years to mention the future pedestrian fixtures at the end of that part of the paper which came under the heading of 'The Ring.' About the latter date (1838) 'Bell's Life' began to give pedestrianism a heading to itself, and every week there is a list of some twenty or thirty events. Between 1840 and 1850 pedestrianism had another 'boom,' and as usual when the sport was popular, the amateurs began to turn out again and make matches with each other or with the pedestrians. A curious instance of the difference of fashion may be seen from the varying practice of amateurs as to giving their real names in these contests. In 1838 'Bell's Life' gives an account of a cross-country steeplechase match got up by six medical students of Birmingham, who 'for several reasons' concealed their real names, and the account describes them under the pseudonyms of 'Sprightly,' 'Rustic,' 'Chit-chat,' 'Neversweat,' 'Vulcan,' 'The Spouter.' The umpires selected a mile course, and, after an eventful race, 'The Spouter' won and 'Neversweat' was second. Five years afterwards the amateurs were running in their own names again, and the public were looking on at their matches with applause.