74 
THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURARIST 
Moreover, his long, feathery, tufted tail seems to ■ 
act as a rudder to him, when in full flight across 
those breezy plains — an advantage which marks 
the difference between the* Syrian and other grey- 
hounds, to whom, in other respects, he bears the 
closest affinity. In the eyes and faces of the choic- 
est specimens of these dogs there shines an expres- 
sion of winning and almost human intelligence: 
yet, once launched in pursuit of game, they are as 
bloodthirsty as the sleuth-hound. 
The dog in Egypt, as throughout the East, with 
this exception, is a homeless and I ouseless vaga- 
bond, and semi-savage, prowling in packs, acting 
as scavenger only, and never domesticated because 
considered “unclean,” by Mussulman law and 
custom. 
The Prince Halim had the courage to brave this 
prejudice, and kept his greyhounds for the chase. 
But he also kept another and more curious cl, s 
of creatures for the hunting of the Gazelle, pro- 
bably. the fastest in its movements of any wingless 
animal, viz, hunting-hawks, which seemed the 
genuine descendants of the “falcon gentle,” which , 
was wont to afford such rare sport to our ancestors 
in the Middle Ages. 
The hawk used for this purpose is not the ordi- 
nary large Egyptian one, which hovers over the 
city of Cairo, poised in air on its wide w ings, or 
circling around in search of quarry, but a smaller 
and fiercer bird, desert born and bred, with keen 
eyes and sharp talons, of which the larger brother 
stands in wholesome awe. These birds, trained 
much as were the medioeval falcons, seem to love 
the chase as much as their master, although their 
quarry be- not the Heron, but the Gazelle. 
Their services were only brought into requisition 
after the chase had continued some time, and as an 
adjunct to the pursuit of men, dogs, and horses, all 
concentrating their energies against the life and li- 
berty of the most lovely, graceful, and inoffensive 
of wild creatures, almost the sole tenants of these 
arid wilds. After advancing a few miles into 
the desert, which presents one flat, dead, unbroken 
level of hard gritty soil (not sand), unrelieved by 
any shrub, grass, flower, or tree, bounded only by 
the horizon, and producing almost the illusion of 
a sea view, suddenly half a dozen slender, shapely 
forms spring up, and stand in bold relief against 
the sky, with heads erect, like statuary, some half ' 
mile distant. The sight seems at once to infuse 
new fire and vigour into the horses, dogs, 
and men, all of whom are immediately launched 
like thunderbolts in the direction of the quarry, 
which, pausing, motionless for a moment, breaks 
into full flight the next, bounding marvellous 
distances at each spring, and soon leaving even the 
fleet greyhounds toiling hopelessly in the rear; 
the distance between them visibly increasing, as 
the tireles Gazelles almost fly forwards inspired 
by fear. The scene now becomes most animated, 
exciting, and picturesque, with the floating bur- 
nouses of the Bedouin or Egyptian riders, and 
the gay attire of horse and man, and the gallant 
Arab coursers stretching out to full speed with 
expanded nostrils and protruding eyes, and the 
feathery tails of the Syrian greyhounds wav ing 
like banners as they bound after the flying Ga- 
zelle. But vain are the efforts of all their ene- 
mies to gain upon, or even to keep pace with, 
the graceful children of the Desert. 
Horses, men, and dogs are falling rapidly be- 
hind; and even the forms of the Gazelles are 
becoming indistinct, and with difficulty discer- 
nible, except to the eagle eyes of the Prince and 
his Bedouins, when a new ally r is summoned to 
the assistance of the hunters, and a new foe 
launched at the heads of the triumphant fugi- 
tives. Bising in his shovel-stirrups, in full career, 
with the grace and dexterity of an Eastern rider, 
Prince Halim, slipping oft' the hood from the 
head of the hawk he carries on his right hand, 
with a peculiar shrill cry launched the bird into 
the air in the direction of the fast disappearing 
quarry. Thus released, the hawk circles rapidly 
upward until almost lost to sight, a mere speck 
suspended in blue ether, and seemingly motion- 
less in the cloudless sky, blazing under the 
fierce Eastern sun in a flood of light. A mo- 
ment later the hawk can be seen shooting 
downwards like a lighting flash on the Gazelle, 
buffeting its head and blinding its eyes with the 
rapid bknvs of its strong wings. Almost frantic 
with fear and fury the Gazelle soon frees itself 
from its feathered assailant by striking its head 
upon the ground, and then resumes its flight; 
but the relief is only momentary, for the per- 
tinacious assailant as soon as shaken off renews 
the attack, coming down on the antelope’s head 
