350 POPULAR SCRIPTURE ZOOLOGY.

asses saddled,” might apply to any kind of preparation for
riding, and probably meant only the bridle and a cloth of
some description.

Skins were evidently used by the Assyrians for various
purposes ; as, for instance, warriors are sculptured in the act
of escaping from the enemy by supporting themselves on
inflated skins, in the same mode which is practised to this
day by the Arabs on the banks of the rivers in Assyria and
Mesopotamia. The soles of sandals, and straps of different
kinds also, are apparently of leather.

Leather was very early in use as a means of defence
for the person during war; Diodorus says, that the first
kings of Egypt clothed themselves during battle with the
skins of lions and bulls; but the defence soon took the form
of a shield; many are mentioned in Scripture, or at least
four names are used to distinguished them, and though
the frames were apparently composed of wood, the cover-
ing seems to have been hide thickly folded, and, if plated
with metal, were often formed interiorly of skins. In
1 Kings x. and 2 Chronicles ix. shields are mentioned made
of gold, but in all probability the metal was only employed
on the exterior, the chief material being the bull’s hide.
Homer, in speaking of Hector, says—