132 THE HORSE IN HISTORY 



Referring again to Chaucer, we find in the 

 " Squire's Tale," which he did not finish, the 

 well-known story of Cambuscan's wooden horse, 

 and we find this also in "The Arabian Nights" 

 — that series of delightful narratives said to have 

 been first made known by Antoine Gallard, the 

 French Oriental scholar. The famous brazen 

 horse of romance is the same, for it was Cam- 

 buscan's, and Cambuscan was King of Sarra, in 

 Tartary. Cambuscan possessed, so it was said, 

 all the virtues that are popularly attributed to 

 a king, yet withal none of a king's vices ; also 

 he was said to be passionately devoted to his 

 queen, Elfeta, who bore him two sons, Algarsife 

 and Cambalo, and one daughter, Canace. 



We are further told that the King of Arabia 

 and India presented Cambuscan with "a steed of 

 brass, which between sunrise and sunset would 

 carry its rider to any spot on earth." To make 

 the horse do this all that was necessary was that 

 its rider should whisper into its ear the name of 

 the place to which he wished to travel, and that 

 he should then mount the horse and turn a pin 

 set in its ear. 



This done, the " animal " would go direct and 

 at great speed to the place required, whereupon 

 the rider turned another pin and descended. By 

 turning a third pin it was possible to make the 

 horse vanish and not reappear until its presence 

 was again needed. 



