THE OLD ROAD HACKNEY 187 



and ]egs about as if they were semaphore arms, and 

 who is apparently quite unmoved by such trifles as sore 

 backs, fistulous withers and lameness, to all of which, 

 if stopped, he returns the whining reply, ' Ane meskin ' 

 (I am a poor man) ; or, in other words, ' I cannot 

 help it.' 



" The Bedouins' and Egyptians' cruelty to animals — 

 horses, donkeys, mules and camels alike — arises from 

 thoughtlessness and indifference, and if the R.S.P.C.A. 

 at Alexandria chooses to extend its sphere of activity to 

 the Delta and up country it has a limitless field before it. 



"Again, at Rosetta, one of the Nile mouths, I found 

 poor worn-out cab-horses treading at the thick Nile 

 clay for brick-making. In this they stood hock-high, 

 and from exhaustion and starvation I have seen them 

 fall helplessly in the mud, to be revived by a few strokes 

 with a stick." 



THE OLD ROAD HACKNEY 



There were plenty of fine stayers in the old days among 

 the Hackneys, just as there were among their relations, 

 the thoroughbreds. There are some fine records of long 

 distances covered in wonderful time, many of which 

 are chronicled in the Hackney Stud Book. 



Among the instances referred to is that of Mr. John 



