222 THE IMPROVED ART OF FARRIERY. 



on one horse, made a wonderful march, and escaped. 

 The old chief swore that the fellow was either mounted 

 upon the devil or the favourite mare he had lost. 

 After his return, he found the latter was the case, that 

 the lover was the thief of his mare as well as of his 

 daughter ; and that he stole the one to carry off the 

 other. The chief was quite gratified to think he had 

 not been beaten by a mare of another breed ; and was 

 easily reconciled to the young man, in order that he 

 might recover the mare, which appeared an object 

 about which he was more solicitous than about his 

 daughter." 



Of all the numberless stories, (which in very sooth 

 might be termed legion), of the affection entertained by 

 man when in the desert, and dwelling under the warmer 

 sun of a tropical clime, for these valuable creatures, I 

 shall introduce but two ; one is very generally known, 

 but may not be found unworthy of record in a treatise 

 on the horse. " The whole stock of an Arab of the 

 desert consisted of a mare. The French consul offered 

 to purchase her in order to present her to his sovereign 

 Louis XIV. The Arab would have rejected the pro- 

 posal at once with indignation and scorn, but he was 

 miserably poor. He had no means of supplying his 

 most urgent wants, or procuring the barest necessaries 

 of life : still he hesitated. He had scarcely a rag to 

 cover him, and his wife and children were starving. 

 The sum offered was great ; would provide him and 

 his family with food for life. At length, and reluctantly, 

 he consented. He brought the mare to the dwelling 

 of the consul — he dismounted — he stood leaning upon 

 her — he looked now at the gold, and then at his 

 favourita — he sighed — lie wept! 'To whom is it,' 

 said he, * I am going to yield thee up ? To Europeans, 

 who will tie thee close — who will beat thee— who will 



