ARAB SUPERSTITIONS 357 



probably meant providing the horse was otherwise all 

 right, but I could not get him to say so. I stood beside 

 his horse, and laid my hand on his several points one by 

 one ; but the old man would not even nod an assent as if 

 he understood me ; he kept to his text. " Four white 

 feet," said he, " are good ; with a star, very good." What, 

 thought I, becomes of our old proverb anent the crows ? 

 " If he has the two fore-feet and the near hind-foot white, 

 it is good," he went on, rolling a fresh cigarette between 

 every two sentences; " but if it is the off hind-foot which 

 is white, he is a bad horse — never buy him. He will cost 

 you your life ; your enemy will overtake and slay you, your 

 son will be an orphan." Here came in a pause awful in 

 its length and intensity, as if I were to be myself visited 

 by this dire calamity. " Two hind -feet white and a star 

 are good; so is the near hind -foot white; but beware 

 of the off hind-foot alone white !" Again an awful pause. 

 " To have the two near feet white is excellent, because 

 then you must mount and dismount ' over the Avhite.' 

 And a dark horse with dark legs is good." I^ot a word 

 could I get out of this old sheik about points ; on marks 

 he was strong. I was told that he was highly respected 

 by the Arabs for his knowledge of horses. I could not see 

 Avhy, Xo judge on the woolsack was ever more reverend 

 or more positive ; but his dignity seemed to me to be in 

 inverse ratio to his horse wisdom. 



It is, by-the-way, curious that this white foot business 

 was well known in England, and, to a certain extent, was 

 an article of faith, some three hundred years ago. It most 

 probably came over with the early Turkish importations 

 — " Turkish " being a broad term, and covering a vast 

 territory. 



I asked the old sheik what his horse weighed. " A 

 horse weighs one hundred rot'l," said he, after a prolonged 



23* 



