362 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



"eating their heads off" in a camp situated certainly 

 on the same river-bank as we ourselves were then, 

 but separated from us by some hundreds of miles 

 of desert trackless wastes. On leaving the camp, at 

 a few hours' notice, about a fortnight previous, I had 

 tried hard to bring away a horse with me. I knew 

 that if I did not succeed, there was but very little 

 probability of my ever seeing either of my two 

 again. The forces under Sir James Outram were 

 about to leave the camp they held on the river- 

 bank, and I felt sure that two ownerless horses 

 would stand but a poor chance when the hurried 

 transfer of an army from term firma to the decks 

 of transport vessels was in question. Of the two 

 horses that stood at my tent door, one was an old 

 favourite ; so when the servants were engaged 

 thrusting all my worldly goods into as small a 

 space as was possible, I found time to run down 

 to the captain of the little war-steamer that was 

 about to start up the river for Baghdad, and beseech 

 him to take a horse on board. He consented, only 

 providing that the animal should be sent a mile or 

 so up the river, to a spot where he gave me to 

 understand the depth of the water would allow 

 of the steamer running in, and the nature of the 

 bank would permit of the horse walking on board. 

 Walking on board! These were his words, and 

 I pondered over them much in the secret corners 

 of my heart. However, so it was arranged. The 



