180 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 



persons seated themselves ; and, while they were 

 taking coffee and pipes, others were making prepara- 

 tions for equestrian exercises. The forms and cere- 

 monies presented to my mind a lively picture of 

 preparing the lists of a tournament ; and the intense 

 heat and scorching sands reminded me of the great 

 passage of arms in Scott's Crusaders, near the Diamond 

 of the Desert, on the shores of the Dead Sea. 



" The parties were on horseback, holding in their 

 right hands long wooden spears, the lower ends rest- 

 ing on the sand, close together, and forming a pivot 

 around which their movements were made. They 

 rode round in a circle, with their spears in the sand, 

 and their eyes keenly fixed on each other, watching 

 an opportunity to strike ; chased, turned and doubled, 

 but never leaving the pivot ; occasionally the spears 

 were raised, crossed, and struck together, and a mur- 

 muring ran through the crowd like the cry in the 

 fencing-scene in Hamlet, ' a hit, a fair hit !' and the 

 parties separated, or again dropped their poles in the 

 centre for another round. The play for some time 

 seemed confined to slaves and dependents ; and 

 among them, and decidedly the most skilful, was a 

 young Nubian. His master, a Turk, who was sitting 

 on the mat, seemed particularly pleased with his suc- 

 cess. 



" The whole of this seemed merely a preliminary, 

 designed to stir up the dormant spirit of the masters. 



