compared
with the horses of countries abounding in the grasses, their aspect is
lean, their form slender, and their chest narrow. But this slimness of
figure is not inconsistent with muscular force. Their movements are
agile, their natural paces swift, and their spirit is unmatched.

"Bishop Heber, while travelling through the upper part of India, gives a
more correct notion of the Arab than the more labored descriptions of
others.

"My morning rides are very pleasant. My horse is a nice, quiet,
good-tempered little Arab, who is so fearless that he goes, without
starting, close to an elephant, and is so gentle and docile, that he
eats bread out of my hand, and has almost as much attachment and coaxing
ways as a dog.

"The temper of these beautiful horses is no less happily moulded than
their bodily powers to their condition. They are gentle, patient, and
attached to their rude and simple protectors. This, indeed, is greatly
the effect of training; for the same animals, under the charge of
Europeans, frequently manifest a vicious and indomitable temper. But the
Arab treats his horse as a companion, never beats him, but cheers him
with his voice, and only uses him with seeming cruelty in necessary
demands on his physical powers.

"In the desert, the mare of the Bedouin, and her foal, inhabit the same
tent as himself and his children. She is the friend and playmate of the
little household. The neck of the mare is often the pillow of the rider,
and more frequently of the children, who are rolling about upon her and
the foal; yet no accident occurs, and she acquires a friendship and love
for man which occasional ill-treatment will not cause her for a moment
to forget.

"She is obedient to her master's voice, and will neigh when she hears
his footsteps. Without a bit, she will obey the slightest motion of the
rider, stand at a word, or put herself to speed in an instant.

"These horses subsist on the scantiest fare, on which the English horses
would perish, and are patient of hunger and thirst in a degree unknown
in any other races except the African. They feed on the scanty plants
which the borders of the desert supply, and when these are wanting, they
are fed on a little barley, with chopped straw, withered herbs, roots
dragged from the sand, dates, when they can be obtained, and, in cases
of need, the milk of the camel. They drink at long intervals, and in
moderate quantities. They bear continued exposure to the fie