We had the great White Horse pointed out to us on our
way, but we could not see the whole of it, although the hill on which it
stood was the highest on the downs, which there terminated abruptly,
forming a precipitous descent to the vale below. The gigantic figure of
the horse had been cut out of the green turf to the depth of two or
three feet, until the pure white chalk underneath the turf had been
reached. The head, neck, and body were cut out in one waving line, while
the legs were cut out separately, and detached, so that the distant view
showed the horse as if it were galloping wildly. It was 374 feet long,
and covered an acre of land, and was supposed to have been cut out
originally by the army of King Alfred to celebrate his great victory
over the Danes at the Battle of Ashdown, about three miles distant. It
was, however, held by some people that the origin of the horse was far
beyond the time of King Alfred, as the shape strongly resembled the
image of the horse found on early British coins. Certainly there was a
British camp quite near it, as well as a magnificent Roman camp, with
gates and ditch and mounds still as complete as when the Romans left it.
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