ABD-EL-KADER. 313 



The brave, temperate, half-religious, half-fanatical 

 Man of the Desert, and his chief friend the horse, are 

 brought into sharp contrast with the equally brave, but 

 the much less self-denied, and the much less religious 

 Man of Europe, in the person of a distinguished French 

 general, familiar with the civilisation and learning of 

 his own intelligent nation, and patriotically seeking to 

 turn to its advantage the valuable knowledge acquired 

 during a long residence in Algeria. 



Our readers will readily understand the sort of con- 

 trast afforded by the respective views of persons so 

 differently trained as a French officer and an Arab 

 chief. Their mutual relations, moreover, have in them 

 something touching. The exiled Arab is politely re- 

 quested, by an agent of the power which had crushed 

 him, to furnish information regarding the most valued 

 animal of the desert; the object being to supplement 

 works in which General Daumas had served the inte- 

 rests of France by throwing light upon important ques- 

 tions of war, commerce, and government. The Emir, 

 complimenting him on his thirst for knowledge, replies 

 " You ask me for information as to the origin of the 

 Arab horse. You are like unto a fissure in a land dried 

 up by the sun, and which no amount of rain, however 

 abundant, will ever be able to satisfy. Nevertheless, 

 to quench, if possible, your thirst (for knowledge), I 

 will this time go back to the very head of the fountain. 

 The stream there is always purest and freshest. Know, 

 then, that among us it is admitted that Allah created 

 the horse out of the wind, as he created Adam out of 

 mud. Several prophets peace be with them! have 

 proclaimed what follows : When Allah willed to create 

 the horse, he said to the south wind, < I will that a 

 creature should proceed from thee condense thyself!' 

 and the wind condensed itself. Then came the angel 

 Gabriel, and he took a handful of this matter and pre- 

 sented it to Allah, who formed of it a dark bay, or a 

 dark-chestnut horse, saying, ' I have called thee horse 



