THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 20 1 



been used to urge the mare to her utmost speed. 

 Every Bedouin trains the animal he rides, to obey 

 some sign of this kind, to which he has recourse only 

 on urgent occasions, and which he makes a close se- 

 cret, not to be divulged even to his son. Jabal's 

 comrades were amazed and indignant at his strange 

 conduct ; " O thou father of a jackass !" they cried, 

 thou hast helped the thief to rob thee of thy jewel !" 

 But he silenced their upbraidings, by saying, " I 

 would rather lose her than sully her reputation. 

 Would you have me suffer it to be said among the 

 tribes, that another mare had proved fleeter than 

 mine ? I have at least this comfort left me, that I 

 can say she never met with her match." 



The trick of jockeyship above-mentioned, is not 

 peculiar to the Desert ; we trace it even in the West- 

 ern world. The celebrated clockmaker Sam Slick, 

 talking over a racing project, in which he expects to 

 take in the knowing ones, by deceiving them as to 

 the fleetness of his favourite horse, Clay, expresses 

 himself thus : " Clay is as cunning as a 'coon (racoon) ; 

 if he don't get the word g'lang (go along) and the 

 Indgyan skelpin' yell with it, he knows I ain't in 

 airnest : he'll purtend to do his best, and sputter 

 away like a hen scratchin' gravel, but he won't go one 

 mossel faster." 



