cii. XXVIII.] Favourite Coioiws. 



-Dv> 



grey, especially flea-bitten grey, is tlic commonest 

 Arabian colour. But this is not so anion o- the Anazch. 

 Bay is still more common, and white horses, though 

 fashionable in the desert, are rare. Our white Ham- 

 daniyeh mare, Sherifa, which came from Nejd, was 

 immensely admired among the Gomussa for the sake 

 of her colour almost as much as for her head, A\'hicli is 

 indeed of extraordinary beauty. The drawing at the- 

 beginning of this chapter is her very faithful portrait. 

 Perhaps out of a hundred mares among the Anazeh 

 one would see thirty-five bay, thirty grey, fifteen 

 chestnut, and the rest brown or black. Eoans, pie- 

 balds, duns, and yellows, are not found among the 

 pure bred Arabians, though the last two occasionally 

 are among Barlxs. The bays often have black points 

 and generally a white foot, or two or three white 

 feet, and a snip or blaze down the face. The chest- 

 nuts vary from the brightest to the dullest shades, 

 and I once saw a mottled brown. The tallest and 

 perhaps handsomest horse we saw Avas a Samhan- 

 el-Gomeaa, a three-year-old bay with black points, 

 standino' about fifteen hands one inch. He was a 

 little clumsy, however, in his action, though that 

 may have been the fault of his breaking. He had 

 bone enough to satisfy all recjuirements, even those 

 of a Yorkshire man, but showed no sign of lacking 

 cjuality. AVith very few exceptions, all the hand- 

 somest mares Ave saAv were bay, Avhich is without 

 doubt by far the best colour in Arabia as it is in 

 England. The chestnuts, as with us, are hot tem- 



