s;
The sixth o'ertops it; clattering go two more,
And two decline; now swells the general roar."

And every horse on the right side of the hurdle strives to get his head,
and every rider is wiser than to indulge this instinct. Soon another
leap presents itself; up they all go and down again,--four close
together! Hurrah! blue and yellow! Hurrah! green and red! A third leap,
not far from the last, and no refusals! Over and on again. Another! and
this time three favourites are abreast, the fourth is a second behind,
but may still be in, for he has cleared the fence and is coming up with
the others; the motion appears smoother as they recede; the riders,
diminished to the size of birds, are still seen gliding on--on:--

"No longer soon their colours can we trace,
Lost in the mazy distance of the race
Till at Salara's far-off bridge descried,
Like coursing butterflies, they seem to glide;
Then, dwindling farther, in the lengthening course,
Mere floating specks supplant both man and horse;
Till, having crossed the Columbarium gray,
They swerve, and back retrace their airy way."

At this point of the contest we cross the road--and there far away, two
dots, a yellow and a blue one, are seen with increasing distinctness
every second; which may be in advance of the other we cannot say,
notwithstanding the clearness of the air; they _seem_, from where we
stand, in the same line of distance; the coloured dots disappear
momentarily behind a slope, and on emerging the yellow is distinctly
first; the green not far behind. Where are the others? have they broken
their necks? No! there they come, in the rear. They were a little thrown
out at the last leap, but two are making ground upon the green usurper;
and now they are once more all in full sight and full speed, while the
Roman welkin rings to strange sounds! "_Guardi il Verde_;" "_Per me
guadagna il Giallo_." "I'll take you two to one on the Maid of the
Mill." "Done." "Who's riding the bay-mare?" "Mr A. for Lord G. and a
pretty mess he's making of it." "_Das ist wunderbar, nicht wahr?_" "_Ya,
gut!_" "_Les Anglais savent manier leurs chevaux, parbleu!_" "I'll be
blowed if Lord G. don't win after all!" "Well, Miss Smith, I shall call
for my gloves to-morrow." "_Bravi tutti quanti!_" "_Cazzo! che
cavalli!_" "_Forwartz! Forwartz._" "_Allons, Messieurs! avancez._"
"_Allez! Allez!_" "_Guardi! Guardi!_" And here a distant shout, fleeter
in its journey than the flee