48 MY horse; my love. 



father and mother they indicate the ancestors for 

 many generations back. Should any one buy a 

 horse so marked in America or elsewhere, he will 

 behold a thoroughbred" Arab, but without these 

 marks he is not one. " 



Why are they marked on both legs? 



" The signs on the left foreleg indicate the femi- 

 nine side of descent, the mother, grandmother, great- 

 grandmother, etc. On the right, the masculine side, 

 the father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc. An 

 Arab regards the father of a family of very little 

 account, compared to the mother, whether of man 

 or horse." 



Is not that contrary to most precedent? 



" As a plurality of wives is an essential element 

 in the domestic economy of the Arab tribes, the 

 question of a man's title to distinction, and indeed, 

 almost his identity, must be established by the fact 

 of who is his mother. She belongs to the man who 

 has bought her of her father, as do his other wives; 

 and when she is established in his household, he sets 

 his eunuch to watch her, that no doubt of her virtue 

 may distract his thoughts, or fill his mind with uneasy 

 jealousies." 



Then each of his numerous offspring is the pro- 

 verbial "wise child" in his day and generation? 



" Most emphatically so, but to offset the duties of 

 the watchful eunuch, to themother and wife is shown 

 the highest respect. A man or child may not sit 

 in the presence of his mother without her gracious 

 permission, and to her wisdom and judgment all 

 important questions are submitted. The Arabs 



