m.

The horse, according to the best accounts we can gather, has been the
constant servant of man for nearly four thousand years, ever rewarding him
with his labor and adding to his comfort in proportion to his skill and
manner of using him; but being to those who govern him by brute force, and
know nothing of the beauty and delight to be gained from the cultivation
of his finer nature, a fretful, vicious, and often dangerous servant;
whilst to the Arabs, whose horse is the pride of his life, and who governs
him by the law of kindness, we find him to be quite a different animal.
The manner in which he is treated from a foal gives him an affection and
attachment for his master not known in any other country. The Arab and his
children, the mare and her foal, inhabit the tent together; and although
the foal and the mare's neck are often pillows for the children to roll
upon, no accident ever occurs, the mare being as careful of the children
as of the colt. Such is the mutual attachment between the horse and his
master, that he will leave his companions at his master's call, ever glad
to obey his voice. And when the Arab falls from his horse, and is unable
to rise again, he will stand by him and neigh for assistance; and if he
lays down to sleep, as fatigue sometimes compels him to do in the midst of
the desert, his faithful steed will watch over him, and neigh to arouse
him if man or beast approaches. The Arabs frequently teach their horses
secret signs or signals, which they make use of on urgent occasions to
call forth their utmost exertions. These are more efficient than the
barbarous mode of urging them on with the spur and whip, a forcible
illustration of which will be found in the following anecdote.

A Bedouin, named Jabal, possessed a mare of great celebrity. Hassad Pacha,
then Governor of Damascus, wished to buy the animal, and repeatedly made
the owner the most liberal offers, which Jabal steadily refused. The Pacha
then had recourse to threats, but with no better success. At length, one
Gafar, a Bedouin of another tribe, presented himself to the Pacha, and
asked what he would give the man who should make him master of Jabal's
mare? "I will fill his horse's nose-bag with gold," replied Hassad. The
result of this interview having gone abroad; Jabal became more watchful
than ever, and always secured his mare at night with an iron chain, one
end of which was fastened to her hind fetlock, whilst the other, after
pass