fixteen hands high, o f the breed o f the old i Saracen horfes,
all finely made, and a sitrong as our eoach-horfes, but exceedingly
nimble in their motion.; rather thick and fhort
in theforehand, but-with -the moil beautiful eyes, ears, and
heads in the world ; they were moftly black, fome o f them
black and white, fome o f them milk-white foaled, fo not
white‘by age, with -white eyes and white hoofs, not perhaps
a great.recommendation.
A S T E E i . ihirt.of mail hu ng upon each man’s quarters
eppofite to his horfe. andby it an antelope’s ikin made foft
like fliamoy, with which it was covered from the dew o f the
night. A head-piece o f copper, without creil or plumage,
was fufpended by a lace above the ihirt o f mail, and was
the moil pifturefque part o f the trophy. To thefe was added
an enormous broad-fword in a red leather fcabbard;
and upon the pummel hung two thick gloves, not divided
into fingers as ours, but lik e hedgers gloves, their fingers
in one poke. They told me, that, within that inclofure at
Aira there were 400 horfes, which, with the riders, and armour
complete fo r each o f them, were all the property o f
Shekh Adelan, every horfeman being his Have, and bought
with his money. There were five or fix (I know not which)
o f thefe fquares or inclofures, none o f them h a lf a mile from
the other, which contained the k in g ’s horfes, flaves, and fer-
vants. Whether rhey were a ll in as good order as Adelan’s
I cannot fay, for I did not go fu r th e r ; but no body o f horfe
could ever be more magnificently difpofedmnder the direction
o f any Chriftian .power.
A d e e a n was then fitting upon a piece o f the trunk o f a
palm-tree, in the front o f one o f thefe divifions o f his hor-
2 fes,
fes, which he feemed to be contemplating with pleafure ; a
number o f black people, his ownfervants and friends, were.
Handing around him.. He had-on a long drab-coloured,
camlet gown, lined with yellow fattin, and a camlet cap
lik e a head piece,.with, two, fhort points that covered his
ears. This, it feems, was his drefs when he. rofe early in,
the morning tb vifit. his horfes, which he never negle&ed.
The Shekh ,was a-man above fix feet high, and rather corpulent,
had/a heavy walk, feemingly more,from affectation,
o f grandeur than want o f agility- He was about fixty, o f
the colour and features of. an Arab and not o f a. Negro;
but had rather more beard, than falls, to the lot ; o f people
in this country; large piercing eyes* and a determined, tho’*
at the fame time, a very- pleafing countenance^. Upon my
coming near him he go t u p , Y o u that are a horfeman*
(fays he, without any.falutation) what would your k in g o f
Habefh giv e for thefe horfes i”— What king,.anfwered. 1, in
'the fame tone,-.would not give any price fo r fuch.horfes
i f he knew their value ?”— “Well, replies he, in a lower
voice, to the-people about him,.if we are. forced ,to go to
Habefh (as Baady was) we will carry our horfes along with
us.” Imnderflood by- this he: alluded, to the iffua o f his
approaching quarrel with .the king,
W i then* went into a large falóon, hu ng round with
mirrors and fcarletdamafk.; in one o f the longefl fides, were
two large fofa’s covered with crimfon and, yellow d amalk ,.
and .large cnfhions o f cloth of-gold, like to the k in g ’s. He
now pulled o ff h is ; camlet gown: and . cap, and remained
in a crimfon fattin coat reaching down below, hrs • knees,
which lapped; over at the breaft, and was girt round his
waift with a fc a r f or fafh,- in which he had duck a fhort
dagger in an ivory iheath, mounted with g q ld ; and one of,
the i