The Horse. 125 



residence than a tent, this also serves for a stable ; the 

 husband, the wife, the child, the mare, and the foal, lie 

 together indiscriminately, and the younger branches of 

 the family may be often seen embracing the neck, or 

 reposing on the body of the Mare, without any idea of 

 fear or danger. 



Of the remarkable attachment which the Arabs have 

 to these animals, St. Pierre has given an affecting in- 

 stance in his Studies of Nature. " The whole stock of 

 a poor Arabian of the desert consisted of a beautiful 

 Mare : this the French consul at Said offered to pur- 

 chase, 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 whom is it,' exclaimed he, ' that I am going to yield 

 thee up ? To Europeans ? who will tie thee close, who 

 will beat thee, who will render thee miserable I Keturn 

 with me, my beauty, my jewel ! and rejoice the hearts of 

 my children :' as he pronounced the last words, he sprung 

 upon her back, and was out of sight almost in a moment." 



The intelligence of the Horse is next to that of the 

 elephant, and he obeys his rider with so much punctuality 

 and understanding, that the Americans, who had never 

 seen a man on horseback, thought, at first, that the 

 Spaniards were a kind of centaurs, half men and half 

 horses. The Horse, in a domestic state seldom lives 

 longer than twenty years ; but it is supposed that in a 

 wild state he attains a much greater age. The Mare is 

 as elegant in her shape as the Horse ; and her young is 

 called a foal. The age of the Horse is known from 

 his teeth ; and his colour, which varies from black to 

 white, and from the darkest brown to a light hazel tint, 

 has been reckoned a criterion by which to judge of his 

 strength. 



