THE HORSE« 397 



ancient prejudice, which induces them to consider horses as 

 beincrs endowed with generous sentiments and an intelligence 

 superior to that of other animals. They suppose that these 

 spirited creatures, so serviceable in the cause of Islam, have 

 obtained, through Mohammed, the blessing of God, and an 

 occult capacity to read or repeat tacitly every day some verses 

 of the Koran. It was one of their old proverbs, that after 

 man, the most eminent creature is the horse ; the best em^ 

 ployment is that of rearing it ; the most dehghtful posture is 

 that of sitting on its back ; the most meritorious of domestic 

 actions is that of feeding it. They were taught by their pro- 

 phet to beheve that it was originally predestined for their 

 special service. " WHien God," said he, " wished to create 

 it^ he called the south wind, and said, ' I desire to draw from 

 out of thee a new being ; condense thyself by parting with 

 fluidity,' — and he was obeyed. He then took a handful of this 

 element, now become tangible, and blew upon it, and the 

 horse was produced. ' Thou shalt be for man,' said the 

 Lord, ' a source of happmess and wealth ; he will render 

 himself illustrious by ascending thee.' " The " brood mares" 

 were particularly recommended by Mohammed to his disci- 

 ples, " because their back is the seat of honour, and their 

 belly an inexhaustible treasure. As many grains of barley as 

 are contained in the food we give to a horse, so many indul-^- 

 gences do we daily gain by giving it." 



The care which the Arabs take in classifying and preserv- 

 ing the pedigrees of their horses, to a European must appear 

 almost incredible. The collective term whereby they desig- 

 nate them in general is Kohayl or Kochlani ; but they com- 

 monly distribute them into five great races, all originally from 

 Nejed. Some authors trace them back to the most remote 

 times of paganism, assigning as their sire the famous stal^ 

 lion Mashour, the property of Okrar, chief of the Beni Obeida. 

 Others assert that they are merely the issue of the five 

 favourite mares of the prophet, named Rhabda, Nooma, 

 Waja, Sabha, and Hezma. Whatever be the fact as to 

 these genealogies, history has certainly commemorated from 

 a very ancient period the names and noble qualities of some 

 of the Arabian horses. With the beautiful description of the 

 war-steed in Job (chap, xxxix. 19-26) every reader is fami-- 

 har : " His neck is clothed with thunder ; and the glory of 

 his nostrils is terrible : He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth 



Vol. n.— LI 



