THE HORSE. 163 



end soon suggested to man the propriety of mounting his 

 back, and from the throne he thus acquired man has since 

 conquered the whole world. Man's first appearance on horse- 

 back doubtless suggested the fable of the Centaur; those 

 unaccustomed to the sight imagining that they beheld a monster, 

 half man and half horse, as it is said the aborigines of 

 America did when they first saw Spanish equestrians. The 

 Egyptians are said to have been the first to cultivate the 

 horse, and the Persians the first to use him in battle. 



Arabian The beauty, strength and speed of the Arabian 

 Horses, horse are well known, and the affection which 

 subsists between him and his master is the basis of many 

 a pathetic story. These horses are generally of a brown colour; 

 the mane and tail being short, and the hair black and 

 tufted. The Arabs for the most part use the mares in their 

 ordinary excursions, as they are less vicious than the males, 

 and are more capable of sustaining abstinence and fatigue. 



The Arab often shares his tent with his mare, the husband, 

 the wife, the child, the mare, and the foal, lying together 

 indiscriminately; and the youngest branches of the family 

 embracing the neck, or reposing on the body, of the mare, 

 without any idea of fear or danger. 



St. Pierre in his " Studies of Nature " tells a pretty story of 

 the Arab's affection for his horse: "The whole stock of a 

 poor Arabian of the desert consisted of a beautiful mare; 

 this the French consul at Said offered to purchase, with an 

 intention to send her to Louis XIV. The Arab, pressed 

 by want, hesitated a long time, but at length consented, on 

 condition of receiving a very considerable sum of money, 

 which he named. The consul wrote to France for permission 

 to close the bargain; and, having obtained it, sent the 

 information to the Arab. The man, so indigent as to possess 

 only a miserable covering for his body, arrived with his 

 magnificent courser; he dismounted, and first looking at the 

 gold, then steadfastly at his mare, heaved a sigh. 'To 



