ENCOMIUMS ON THE ARAB TAKEN AT RANDOM 141 



Lieutenant-Colonel Maude in Macfnillan, May i, 

 1902, 'a perfect horsemen — one of the best in India 

 — a man of the widest experience as to what horses 

 can do in the field.' Colonel Maude states that 

 General Roberts rode his Arab all through the 

 Candahar forced march — ' a type of the highest 

 class of Arab.' By special permission of Queen 

 Victoria, this horse, Voronel, wears an Afghan 

 medal with four clasps, and the Cabul-Candahar star. 

 Abdur Rahman, late Amir of Afghanistan, writes 

 in his autobiography (one of the most remark- 

 able books of the day, 1900): 'At the end of 

 our march both men and horses were well-nigh 

 exhausted. I myself cooked some meat and distri- 

 buted it among the men, who were almost fainting ; 

 the horses meantime lay down, unable to rise again. 

 Only one horse, my own xA.rab, remained standing.' 



Abdur Rahman was fighting for his life, and, 

 like the Bedouin, had to rely on his horse for his 

 preservation. The odds on the Cup and the Stud- 

 Book were nothing to him. A racing sprinter 

 would have been destruction to him. He wanted 

 fact, not fancy ; solid work, not delicate prettiness ; 

 and it can be hardly suggested that the German 

 Emperor did not know a good horse. Why did 

 they ride Arabs when the pick of the whole world 

 was at their service ? 



In the autobiography of General Sir Harry 

 Smith, of Aliwal, a very great soldier of wonderful 

 energy, reference is frequently made to his cele- 



