The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-01-25

Deheath the burnoose there beat human
hearts. Now one last favor / ask of thee,
| thou art now a man of influence; i com.
mend my Iabal to thy care, and the Lord
prosper thee"
May my best friend forget me If for
| get thy son." l replied, and he thanked me
with gushing eyes
Early in the afternoon, in accordance
with Abou kuram's orders, Said Achmet.
Tabnl and myself went to the castle.
which presented Scene of frantic commo-
| ton. An esplanade or parade ground in
| front was thronged with gaunt, fierce WIS.,
aged troops, some on foot, some mounted
on horses and some on dromedaries, wheel
ing and plunging and rushing to and fro
with maniacal yells and brandishing of
| weapons
| On first catching sight of them through
| vista OF palms and tamarisks i thought
that either they had suddenly gone stark
mad or that the enemy, following up his
| successes in the field, had pushed on and
captured the castle. 1t added to M y amnze-
| ment when Tabal, seeing what was going
| on, bolted forward, shouting frantically.
| as though he, too were magically bereft of
| his wits. Having no taste to advance
among the flying spears, was meditating
Hight when Snid Achmet touched me reas-
| suringly on the arm.
ut is the Arzah" Ia wardance perform
ell before going to meet an enemyl, he said
with smile. "They are getting up the
spirit of war Methinks it will be bad for
the enemy"
Whatever might be the issue, there was
no denying the imposing ferocity of that
wild wardance.
The men were armed with a variety of
queer and rmcouth weapons-anciept
matchlocks, pistols, spears, swords, javelns
and daggers, which flew and flashed pro-
miscuously as If company of bedlamites
had somehow possessed themselves Of half
dozen Rrmories.
AS soon as we were seen approaching a
band of horsemen dashed to meet us, whirl-
ing their swords in the air SO furiously that
in spite OF Said Achmet's assurance that
the display was mere sport, had an un-
easy suspicion that they we've bent on cut
ting us down by way of preliminary prac-
tice. But Just at the crucial moment, when
their lances were within a few feet of us.
they wheeled with inconceivable uuickness
and deXterity and dashed back the way they
came, yelling savagely. Two or three times
tins maneuver was repeated, each time with
madder dash and a quicker turning, then
drawing up suddenly they faced us, salut-
ing with rigid precision that was in strik-
ing contrast to the wild movements they
had just gone through.
They had scarcely turned to get back to
their original positions when great shout
went upand Abou kUram, superbly mount
ed on II gay charger, came curveting and
prancng on the esplanade with drawn !
sword. His appearance was the signal for |
another mad outbreak of the entire body |
of troops, horse and foot. Yelling and |
fourishing and throwing their weapons. |
they cirCled about him rather as if he wer, |
e., II. a.
than commander whom they wished TO |
honor, while he rode quietly through the
maze, sitting his high spirited horse like
one born TO the saddle. BY and by the I
tlinult died down, and A buu kuram, still |
riding aboua. uotjCed Said AGhmet and nv.
self. With two or three hpnnds ut his lepD.
ing sliced he WIS beside us
Hero thou ART. " he said smiling down
upon Inc. 1T pleaseth tne to see thee Dunc
tually, according TO Chy word HasG said
farewell to the good said Achmet, for the
time hns come to mornt and he ofisn
II nm ready my lord, answered.
1t is well, for the shadows grow long !
and the sun is Fastening 70 his bed Bring
the little Fatima," he said, addressing
slave sine wRiteth for her master"
Accordingly II minute later my little
mare, fully caparisoned. was led amblpp
into the parade ground. Addressing her,
the slave made pretty speech to the effect
that she was going forth to great honor
with the fair faced stranger; that sine was
to obey his Will, and that she would have
her reward in a care that would nr,.sprvt.
her from all i'll treatment. and that She
would have dates 10 eat and sweet water
to drink when tie perils of the desert yere
past.
The intelligent brute whinnied, as If to
say she perfectly understood him Then
the bride rein WAS formally delivered TO
me. and she took step toward me, ms il
acquirscng in tie change of proprieturship.
l strnked her gently ms n token OF good will,
rubbing her face aud speaking encouraging
words III her ear after the Arab fashion.
Having Thus made an agreement, | fastened
my green bag carefully 70 tho saddle, en-.
braced Said Achmet and mounted
"Have my words exaggerated her excel
ienceS asked Abou kuram eagerly. coming
close to me
Nay" ! replied. MY lord has rot
spoken half the truth -
And thou wilt src she is as good az she
is beautiful" he said, a prophecy that was
fulfilled to the uttermost, as this history
will show. l
Many who have never set ewes on him !
have been eloquent in tha praise of the
Arab horse. Poet and painter and roman- |
ttf have We'd in delineating his matehIess
eScellences, physical and mental. But ii is
not until yon have eaten and slept and
fought with him in the desert, ON the bat I
tleiield, beside The black tent in the green |
pastures, until yOu have been his intimate
friend and conradc and learned to appreci- {
ate his GOODNESS and courage, his power of !
endurance and gentleness aud intelligence t
and loyalty that you can know his many |
high qualities. Yet perhaps only a poet I
could describe my FEtima, for in her
were surely combined the perfection Of
equine virtue aud beauty.
Never anything more lovely, more dainty , ,
and prond moved on four legs. ,
She was neither big nor heavy, but he,
muscles were Of whalehone and her bones !
of tha finest tempered steel Her limbs
indeed were like wrought metal In the , ,
firmness, cleanness and grace of them and
the trunk in exquisteness of curve and
symmetry OF parts was such as a sculptor
may have dreamed of, but has never
matched in bronze or marble. The sum
total OF that animate lovelness.-the silken
bay coat, the softly sloping shoulders, the
buoyancy of the curved back, the fiery
pride of the arched neck, the full round ,,
launches, the rich sweep of name and tail,
the sharp, dainiily poised ears, the broad
forehead and the fine muzzle, and, above
all, the spirit OF the alert full orbed eye-is
beyond the power of any artist save ma
ture herself, nor does nature take such
pains anywhere ont of Arabia.
When Fatima found me in the saddle, she ,,
began TO glide through the giddy maze ,
with an ease and huency of motion that TO
me was like foretaste of heaven. Iplumed
myself on my horsemanship, for one of the
few things l learned thoroughly as boy
was to stick on the back of anything that
could take a bit between its teeth, and no
doubt had now the conceit TO hold up my
head as fit rider for the noblest of steeds.
But indeed an old wife could have sat that
supple, minGing creature with security,
though the upward glance of her eye, with !
its intimation of suppressed fire, told that
under different conditions she could behave
T., a -, all, i e,auo,,. ,,,.,... 49,.