PRESIDENT-THE EARL OE CLARENDON. 
105 
tration, and I am inclined to think that in this particular instance 
it is a flowery, a poetic, hut a by no means incorrect imagery of 
the noble animal which is the subject of my address this evening. 
The implicit reliance on the guiding hand, the unquestioning 
obedience to the master will, the docility and fidelity of the beast 
to man, because he is man, the disregard of fatigue, and the powers 
of endurance ungrudgingly bestowed, indelibly stamp the horse 
with that generosity of character which no other of the brute 
creation can boast, and which both commands the gratitude and 
calls forth the admiration of those who have relations with the 
noblest and most generous of God’s creatures. It is not too much 
to say that a reciprocity of affection exists between the horse and 
its rider, and that the latter owes and in many cases discharges 
by care and attention a deep debt of gratitude to the animal which 
has served him well and faithfully it may be for many years. I 
remember the case of a man who sustained a severe loss by the 
(&ath of a favourite hunter, and inscribed on a memorial tablet the 
following epitaph : “To my trusty friend who never failed me in 
the hour of trial.” I think we can all enter into the spirit of the 
feelings which prompted these words, and sympathize with the 
lasting regret so touchingly expressed at the loss of a faithful 
servant. 
There is perhaps no nation on earth which enters into closer 
communion with the horse than the Arab of the desert. The con¬ 
veyance of his merchandise to and from far distant cities by day 
and night over the dreary and interminable waste of sand, the 
tribal disputes, and in these latter days the warfare which has been 
carried on with more than one European power, renders a close 
companionship between the man and the beast an absolute necessity; 
and there are not wanting legends which indeed are founded on 
fact, that the dusky denizen of the desert shares his affections 
equally between the woman on whom he has set his heart, and the 
animal which, it may be, is his more constant companion in peace 
and war. It is just possible that Zuleika may play him false, but 
Selim is ever true, and his master knows full well that his affections 
are not misplaced, and that his faithful servant is ever ready when 
called upon to offer his services. 
Discussions have often been instituted between the comparative 
intelligence of dogs and horses, rather derogatory to the latter; 
but it should be remembered that, at all events in this country, 
where climate and business do not admit of our passing the major 
