144 THE ARAB THE HORSE OF THE FUTURE 



Arabia,' vol. ii., says, of some horses then before 

 him, that never had he seen or imagined so lovely 

 a collection. Their stature was indeed somewhat 

 low — he did not think that any came up to 15 

 hands; 14 appeared to be about their average — but 

 they were so exquisitely well shaped that want of 

 greater size seemed hardly, if at all, a defect. He 

 says that they appeared a little, a very little, saddle- 

 backed — just the curve which indicates springiness 

 without weakness ; every other part, too, had a 

 perfection and a harmony unwitnessed, at least by 

 his eye, anywhere else — an air and step that seemed 

 to say, ' Look at me : am I not pretty ?' Their 

 appearance justified all reputation, all value, all 

 poetry. 



Captain Burnaby, in his ' Ride to Khiva,' says of 

 horses of the Kirghiz, that no horses that he has 

 ever seen are so hardy as these little animals. He 

 bought one with saddle and bridle, 14 hands, for ^5, 

 of excessive leanness, and by his description only fit 

 for the knackers, which in England would not have 

 been considered able to carry his boots, yet, in spite 

 of quite 20 stone on his back, he never showed the 

 least sign of fatigue. There is Arab blood in these 

 horses, or they are of a kindred breed. All over the 

 steppes Arabic words are used, showing the influence 

 of the Arabs in the past ; indeed, they overran much 

 of this country. 



In July, 1270, a French expedition (the seventh 

 Crusade), under Louis IX. attacked Tunis. Mr. 



