A BATCH OF CURIOUS MATCHES 



33 



ing days was of shorter duration than on the first 

 occasion. From my own personal observation of the 

 merits and demerits of each horse, I am of opinion 

 that for any given distance of ground the English 

 horse would always show his superiority ; but for 

 slow, continued, and indefinite work the Arab is far 

 superior. They seem to be able to go for ever at 

 their own pace, but if fairly extended they shut up 

 almost immediately. Thus in our race-meetings we 

 have always found that in the five-mile race the 

 English horses can beat the Arab by a mile. I think 

 there is no doubt but that the heat alone caused the 

 defeat of the mare, as, calculating it at the outside, 

 she could only have gone forty miles, and, at the 

 pace described, under ordinary circumstances it would 

 be next to nothing to a well- trained horse ; but it is 

 a difficult question to conceive the heat in the desert, 

 with no kind of vegetation or shade near, and with 

 the sand reflecting back upon you. On getting in 

 between two sand-hills, the temperature may be best 

 imagined by fancying yourself in a hot oven. On 

 this day we had not a breath of wind. What would 

 it have been if a " khamseen," or hot wind, had been 



blowing ? 



E. T. 



Cairo, May 28, 1865.' 



This was not considered conclusive either, and 

 Bell's Life for a few weeks was flooded with corre- 



D 



