314 THE ARAB HORSE OF AFRICA. 



I have created thee Arab I have attached good for- 

 tune to the hair that falls between thy eyes ; thou shalt 

 be the lord of all other animals ; men shall follow thee 

 whithersoever thou goest. Good for pursuit as for flight, 

 thou shalt fly without wings.' " 



And then, by a most curious process of reasoning, 

 the Emir proceeds to demonstrate that Allah created 

 the horse before Adam, and the horse before the mare ! 

 His proof of the latter fact is accompanied by an asser- 

 tion of such practical importance that it deserves notice. 

 " My proof is that the male is more noble than the 

 female, and he is, besides, more vigorous and patient. 

 Though they are both of the very same species, the one 

 is more impassioned than the other, and the divine 

 power is wont to create the stronger of the two the first. 

 What the horse most yearns after is the combat and 

 the race. He is also preferable to the mare for the 

 purposes of war, because he is more fleet and patient of 

 fatigue, and because he shares his rider's emotions of 

 hatred or tenderness. It is not so with the mare. Let 

 a horse and a mare receive exactly the same sort of 

 wound, and one that is sure to be fatal, the horse will 

 bear up against it until he has succeeded in carrying 

 his master far from the field of battle ; while the mare, 

 on the contrary, will sink at once upon the spot, with- 

 out any force of resistance. There is not a doubt on the 

 subject ; it is a fact known by proof among the Arabs. 

 I have seen frequent instances of it in our combats, and 

 have experienced it myself." 



It is this singular mixture of fanciful reasoning with 

 practical knowledge that makes the Emir's commen- 

 taries so worthy of observation. Dismiss his " proof" 

 of the horse being created before the mare, cavalry 

 officers will yet do well to remember the positive as- 

 sertion of the gallant Emir as to the greater power of 

 endurance characteristic of the horse ; and it is equally 

 obvious that it ought not to be forgotten by the gentle- 

 man following the hounds, seeing that the integrity of 



