6o Among Men and Horses. 



a 



troopers of India, have been gradually more or less displaced 

 by Colonial importations. Up to the height of 1 3.1 an Arab 

 is not, speaking generally, inferior to any other pony as a 

 galloper. At 14 hands, he is about equal to a 13.3 English 

 pony ; but at no height is an Arab as good as a smart Eng- 

 lish racing pony of 14 hands. I am taking these heights from 

 a racing point of view, at which they would be, respectively, 

 about an inch less than measurements made of unshod horses 

 under ordinary conditions. From this we may see that Arabs 

 have no racing pretensions. With few exceptions, they are 

 poor jumpers and bad trotters. For their height, they are 

 good weight carriers, fine stayers, and easy canterers. They 

 are sound, have strong constitutions, and are capable of stand- 

 ing a great deal of work and privation. They are generally 

 quiet, have wonderfully good ' manners,' and are light hearted 

 plucky animals. They are the perfection of light, irregular 

 cavalry horses. The one useful point in which the Arab 

 excels all others is in the shape of his barrel, the roundness 

 of which, and the length of his back ribs, give him unrivalled 

 breathing power. I love them for their associations. Most 

 of the Arab dealers, like what Sheikh Esa bin Curtas and* 

 Abdool Rayman were, and Ali bin Abdoola is, are very fine 

 fellows. Esa always dressed in his national costume, was a 

 rigid Mussulman, and was one of the most dignified, honour- 

 able and courteous gentlemen I have ever met. In late years, 

 after he had left Calcutta and had settled in Bombay, I used 

 greatly to enjoy paying him a visit at his stables, and was 

 always received by the old chief with a smile of welcome and 

 a kindly greeting, principally I think because he looked upon 

 me as one of the few links between a happy past and an in- 

 significant present. After cigarettes and coffee had been 

 brought, he would always ask for news about our mutual and 

 dear friends, General and Mrs Monty Turnbull ; and then he 

 would talk of Lord Mayo, Lord Ulick Brown, and others of 

 the old Calcutta supporters of racing, whom we both knew. 

 The last time he returned to the scene of his former joys, 



