270 THE FOREST AND THE FIELD. 



the Turks to pick the walls down and clear away 

 the sand, which was soon done. It was an anxious 

 moment, but at last he was free, and with a bound 

 like an antelope cleared the debris of his stable, 

 and scoured across the plain, amid the shouts of 

 the French soldiers and the ejaculations of the 

 Turks. Once firmly seated on his back, I did not 

 care for the issue, and felt at home in the matter ; 

 he tried a few times to unseat me by rearing, 

 plunging and buck -jumping ; but finding that he 

 could not succeed, and only drew punishment 

 upon himself, for I gave him the spur pretty 

 liberally, besides applying the foil sharply to his 

 flanks when he did not obey, he gave up the 

 contest, and I felt that I had obtained the mastery 

 over him. 



I gave him a brisk canter a few minutes, just 

 to try his paces, and then pulled up and walked, 

 as I thought he went as if rather groggy from 

 his late violent exertions. I rode for a couple 

 of hours amongst the dark cypress groves that over- 

 shadow the Turkish cemeteries that extend for 

 some miles out of Stamboul, and he did not attempt 

 to show any temper ; so I rode him back to the 



