24 THE HOESE. 



as tlie best and noblest servant of men, and in a state of inde- 

 pendent liberty. 



In Media and Persia, the horse increased rapidly ; and, from 

 a very early date, the monarchs of those countries and of As- 

 syria employed a countless cavalry, with scythed chariots, as 

 the most efficient, perhaps even the most numerous, arm of 

 their services. 



" Tliere is a curious record," says Mr. Youatt, in his admi- 

 rable work on the horse, to whom I take this occasion of ren- 

 dering my acknowledgments for the great assistance I have 

 received from his pages, " of the commerce of different coun- 

 tries at the close of the second century. Among the articles 

 exported from Egypt to Arabia, particularly as presents to 

 reigning monarchs, were horses." " In the fourth century," he 

 continues, " two hundred Cappadocian horses were sent by the 

 Roman emperor, as the most acceptable present he could offer 

 to a powerful prince of Arabia." 



" So late as the seventh century, the Arabs had few horses, 

 and those of little value. These circumstances sufficiently 

 prove, that however superior may be the present breed, it is 

 comparatively lately that the horse was natui-alized in Arabia." 



In proof of the last assertion, he proceeds to state that, " in 

 the seventh century after Christ, when Mahomet attacked the 

 Koreish near Mecca, he had but two horses in his whole army ; 

 and at the close of his murderous campaign, although he drove 

 off twenty-four thousand camels and forty thousand sliee]), and 

 carried away twenty-four thousand ounces of silver, not one 

 horse appears in the list of plunder." 



From all the above data, it is sufficiently evident that the 

 horse was gradually introduced into Arabia and the adjacent or 

 adjoining Asiatic countries, the latter the more rapidl}^, from 

 Egypt. And that from the same stock is derived the whole 

 race in all the south-eastern portion, of Europe. 



Egypt is not — as it has already been observed — a favorable 

 country, in any respect, for horse-breeding ; still less for the 

 original existence of the animal in a state of nature. Whence, 

 therefore, he was first introduced into that kingdom is still in 

 some sort a mystery ; though there is, I think, enough of indi- 

 rect testimony to satisfy any unprejudiced mind, that he was 



K C. Stat- ^n}1f>fyr^ 



