ii6 THE ARAB THE HORSE OF THE FUTURE 



you Christians go from Algeria to Blidah — thirteen 

 leagues — as far as from my nose to my ear, and 

 then you fancy you have done a good day's work.' 



With regard to this journey, General Daumas in 

 his comments points out that this Arab had done 

 eighty leagues in twenty-four hours ; his mare had 

 eaten nothing but the leaves of the dwarf palm, 

 and had only once been watered, about the middle 

 of the journey ; and yet he swore to the General 

 by the head of the Prophet that he could have 

 slept the following night at Gardaya, forty-five 

 leagues further on, had his life been in danger. 



Zy-ben-Zyan belonged to the great tribe of the 

 Arbaa, came frequently in to Algeria, would tell 

 this story to whoever would listen to him, con- 

 firming his narrative if required by authentic testi- 

 mony, and it was thoroughly believed in by the 

 General. No doubt the General was not as astute 

 and as learned as a boy from a racing-stable ; still, a 

 French General of Division is not quite such a fool 

 as to believe every tale which may be told him unless 

 there be reason in it. 



In weighing the merits of a thoroughbred of the 

 desert against the merits of a so-called thoroughbred 

 of the racecourse, the worshippers of the latter may 

 affect either to believe a story such as this, and say 

 that their ideal will 'go one better,' or they may 

 affect to disbelieve it altogether ; if the former, I say 

 that there is no evidence whatever to induce any- 

 body alive to believe that any racing thoroughbred 



