I thought: that horse galloped beautifully and gently and
could only be owned by my emperor; and I thought of the war horse
described by Job--'He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his
strength; he goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is
not affrighted: neither turneth he back from the sword. The quiver
rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.' And as I
saw something glistening on the ground, I stooped down, as I always do
in such cases, and lo, it was a marble stone in which the hoof of the
running horse had cut a groove, from which I perceived that the shoe
must have been of fourteen carat silver, as I have learned the mark
each metal makes, be it pure or alloyed. The path in which I walked was
seven feet wide, and here and there I noticed that the dust had been
brushed from the palms; the horse switched it off with his tail,
thought I, which must therefore be three and a half feet long. Under
trees that began to branch about five feet from the ground, I saw
freshly-fallen leaves, that must have been knocked off by the horse in
his swift flight; hence he was fully fifteen hands high; and behold,
under the same trees were small tufts of hair of a golden lustre, hence
his hide would have been a yellow-dun! Just as I emerged from the
copse, my eye was caught by a deep scratch on a wall of rock. I ought
to know what caused this, thought I, and what do you think it was? I
put a touch-stone, dusted over, on the scratch, and got an impression
of some fine hairlines such as for fineness and precision could not be
excelled in the seven provinces of Holland. The scratch must have been
caused by the stem of the horse's bit grazing the rock, as he ran close
by it. Your love of splendor is well-known. King of Kings; and one
should know that the most common of your horses would be ashamed to
champ any thing less fine than a golden bit. Such was the result of my
observations, and if----"

"Well, by the cities of the Prophet!" cried Muley Ismael, "I call that
a pair of eyes! Such eyes would not harm you, master of the huntsmen;
they would save you the expense of a pack of hounds; you, minister of
the police, could see further than all your bailiffs and spies. Well,
Philistine, in view of your uncommon acuteness, that has pleased us so
well, we will show you clemency; the fifty lashes that you justly
received are worth fifty zecchini, as they will save you fifty more; so
draw your purse and cou