THE HORSE. 95

O’er his right shoulder, floating full and fair,

Sweeps his thick mane, and spreads his pomp of hair:
Swift works his double spine; and earth around
Rings to the solid hoof that wears the ground.”

Antar, the Arabian prince and poet, whose verses, em-
broidered with gold on silk, were hung up at the door of
the Caaba, has also celebrated the praises of this noble
animal; and indeed the Arabians have exhausted the stores
of their fine language, in describing its beauty, strength,
and spirit, For example: “Shedad’s mare was called Jirwet,
whose like was unknown. Kings negotiated with him for
her, but he would not part with her, and would accept no offer
or bribe for her; and thus he used to talk of her in his
verses : ‘Seek not to purchase my horse, for Jirwet is not to
be bought nor borrowed. I am a strong castle on her back ;
and in her bound are glory and greatness. I would not part
with her, were strings of camels to come to me, with their
drivers following them. She flies with the wind without
wings, and tears up the waste and the desert. I will keep
her for the day of calamities, and she will rescue me when
the battle-dust rises.’ And again, at a great feast, where the
conversation turned upon celebrated horses, one said of
Dahis, ‘He startles every one that looks at him ; he is the