It appears to be a law of our civilization that each generation produces somebody who, out of pure love for the curious and forgotten, devotes the best years of his life to hunting up old things that have well-nigh slipped away from the memory of man. In this class Mr. John F. Watson stands conspicuous in what he has done for Philadelphia and New York. In 1830 he published a work entitled “Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania,” in two volumes, and among all the antiquated manners and habits that he again brings to our knowledge, he has something to say about the horse of an early day: “The late very aged T. Matlack, Esq., was passionately fond of races in his youth. He told me of his remembrances about Race Street. In his early days the woods were in commons, having several straggling forest trees still remaining there, and the circular course ranging through those trees. He said all genteel horses were pacers. A trotting-horse was deemed a base breed. These Race Street races were mostly pace-races. His father and others kept pacing stallions for propagating the breed.” Mr. Watson further remarks, on the same subject: “Thomas Bradford, Esq., in telling me of the recollections of the races, says he was told that the earliest races were scrub and pace-races on the ground now used as Race Street.” The Rev. Israel Acrelius, for many years pastor of the Swedish church of Philadelphia, wrote a book early in the last century, under the title, “History of New Sweden,” which has been translated into English. In describing the country and people, in their habits and amusements, he thus speaks of the horse: “The horses are real ponies, and are seldom found over thirteen hands high. He who has a good riding horse never employs him for draught, which is also the less necessary, as journeys, for the most part, are made on horseback. It must be the result of this, more than to any particular breed in the horses, that the country excels in fast horses, so that horse races are often made for very high stakes.” It will be noted that Mr. Acrelius does not say that these races were pacing-races; but when his remark is taken in connection with what Mr. Matlack said about the pacers, and when it is considered that he is speaking of the speed of the saddle horses as such, we can easily understand his true meaning. In our turf history I supposed I was getting well back when I reached the great race between Galloway’s Selim and Old England, in 1767, but here we find that race was comparatively modern, and that the pacers antedated the gallopers by many, many years. In 1832 Mr. Watson did the same service for New York that he had done for Philadelphia, and published his “Annals of New York,” in which we find the piece of horse history embodied in the extract printed on pages 126 and 127, to which the reader will please turn.