20 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Attachment of the Arabs to their horses. 



the gentle animals even seem .afraid to move lest 

 they should hurt them. Cruelty and severity 

 are never practised ; for an Arab treats his horse 

 as if he were a friend, and never even strikes 

 him, on a journey, but in cases of absolute ne- 

 cessity. " The Arabian horses," says Goldsmith, 

 " are of a middle size, easy in the motion, and 

 rather inclined to be lean than fat. They are re- 

 gularly dressed morning and evening with the 

 greatest care, and their legs, mane, and tail are 

 frequently washed ; but the hair is seldom comb- 

 ed, under the apprehension of making it thin. 

 They are kept without food during the day, but 

 at sun-set a bag of clean barley is hung upon 

 their head, and they are allowed to eat all the 

 night. 



Of the great attachment which the Arabians 

 have for these animals, a tolerable idea may be 

 formed, from the following anecdote, extracted 

 from St. Pierre's Studies of Nature. 



" The whole stock of a poor Arabian of the 

 desert consisted of a beautiful mare; this the 

 French consul at Said offered to purchase, with 

 an intention of sending her to Louis the Four- 

 teenth. The Arab, pressed by want, hesitated a 

 long time, but at length consented, on condition 

 of receiving a very considerable sum of money, 

 which he named. The consul wrote to France, 

 for permission to close the bargain, and having 

 obtained it, sent the information immediately to 

 the Arab. The man, so indigent as to 



