Several years ago I promised to write a volume on “Messenger and his Descendants,” and I have often been reminded of that unfulfilled promise, which I will here try to redeem. When that promise was made I had written many things about Messenger, but since then I have secured very many valuable facts that, I think, will far more than compensate for the delay. There is still much that is unknown and much that is only partially known of the origin and history of Messenger and his ancestors, and in considering the questions that will arise as the discussion progresses, I will not submit to a slavish acceptance of whatever has come down in the shape of stallion advertisements, or as unsupported traditions, and then recorded as facts by people who knew nothing about them, and made no effort to know. I shall look for the facts that are known to be facts, or such evidence as is reasonable and commends itself to an unbiased judgment, and then reach such conclusions as right reason shall dictate. The pedigree of Messenger, or rather the pedigree of Messenger’s reputed grandam, appears in the English Stud Book in the editions of 1803 and 1827, in the following form: REGULUS MARE (Sister to Figurante). Her dam by Starling, out of Snap’s dam. 1769, b. f. by Herod (dam of _Alert_). } 1770, bl. c. _Hyacinth_, by Turf. } Mr. Vernon. 1771, bl. c. _Leviathan_ (aft. Mungo), by Marske. Lord Abingdon. 1773, — f. by Turf. } 1774, — f. by Ditto (dam of _Messenger_). } 1777, bl. f. by Dux. } Lord Grosvenor. 1780, b. f. by Justice (dam of _Equity_). } 1782, b. c. Vulcan, by Justice. Mr. Panton. 1783, b. c. _Savage_, by Sweetbriar. } 1784, b. f. _Ariel_, by Highflyer (dam of Mr. } Mr. Bullock. Hamilton’s Swindler, by Bagot). } This is all we have of the pedigree of Messenger as recorded in the English Stud Book, and this record, on its face, has a very suspicious appearance. Messenger had run some races at Newmarket and a place must be provided for him in the Stud Book. He always ran as a son of Mambrino, and there is no doubt this is correct, as it so appeared in the Racing Calendar, long before the days of the Stud Book. But nobody, either then or later, seemed to know anything about his dam. Toward the close of this chapter I will give an exhaustive review of the many troubles in which these two fillies by Turf seem to be involved.