240 THE ARAB THE HORSE OF THE FUTURE 



a child, or else from such books as she loved to 

 read to me, most of which I had by me, some of 

 them her gifts, which I have often read wholly in- 

 dependently of, and uninfluenced by, any intention 

 of writing on the subject of the Arab horse — 

 or, indeed, of anything else. 



Mr. Day's books and others on the horse which I 

 have referred to I naturally purchased and read 

 when I embarked on my undertaking of endeavour- 

 ing to introduce the Arab into Australia. 



I became the more determined to publish the 

 views I have enunciated, without a thorough revision 

 and without further delay, because ' the night 

 cometh, when no man can work '; because the iron 

 almost of despair, and certainly of indignation, had 

 deeply entered into my soul at our disgraceful 

 repulses in South Africa ; and because I realized 

 that those repulses were brought about principally 

 by weedy horse-flesh, and I desired to let my fellow- 

 colonists know — few of them do know — the real 

 excellence of the Arab, whereby I hoped (again I 

 say it) to be able to do some good to my adopted 

 country. 



I began by saying that I had no sentiment. Nor 

 had I. But I have now. I think it impossible for 

 any man to call to mind the wonderful deeds that 

 the Arab horse has done, his marvellous faithfulness 

 and obedience to and his caressing affection for his 

 rider, and in return the intense affection for him 

 exhibited by many scores of hard-headed soldiers 



