A PICTURE OF THE DESERT. 



165 



The superiority of the mahari consists in this, that to all his own 

 peculiar qualities he adds those of the djeniel. His inferiority arises 

 from the difficulty of his training, which consumes for more than a 

 year all his master's time without compensation, and from the fact 

 that animals of his race are few in number. 



If we turn to the poet or the artist for a picture of the Desert, 



we find it peopled with animals of a very unsatisfactory character: 

 the lion, the leopard, the panther, in quest of prey, seeking whom 

 they may devour, or troops of hysenas and jackals, tearing with keen 

 teeth the corpses of men and animals. 



" With these, lean clogs in herds obscene repair, 

 And every kind that snuffs the tainted air." (Lucan.) 



Others diversify the scene with the graceful form of the gazelle, with 



