much used as stallions. The other strains of the name of Dahman we hardly heard mentioned. The Abu Arkab is another strain the name of which marks an eventthe father or possessor of hocks, from the fact that the animal to whom the name was given, although wounded in the hocks or in one hock, performed an extraordinary journey on foot. It is a strain much esteemed; there are two varieties of which we heard, and that called Swerha-Abu Arkab Swerha, the Shaykh Suleyman ibn Mirshid assured us, he esteemed beyond any other in the desert, although among his own mares there did not seem to be one of that strain. He gave it the distinction by classing it as a leading family in "Al-Khamseh." It appeared to us that Suleyman ibn Mirshid, in repudiating the Homdani, placed, or was inclined to substitute for Homdani, Abu Arkab Swerha as one of the great families or principal divisions in "Al-Khamseh "-at least, so we understood him. The Milliah strain was in the Ruallah, and perhaps in the Fadan, but did not appear to be in the Komasa tribe of Sabaah; the one filly we saw in Komasa, a truly beautiful creature, came from the Ruallah Anazah. The Haloadj strain we heard very highly spoken of, but I do not remember to have seen either horse or mare of that strain. Of the strain called Ras alFadawi, of which family I understood was the Darley Arabian, we saw some mares in another tribe and in the hands of single Arabs, but I do not remember to have seen any in the Sabaah; but I think we saw some mares of the Rabdan al-Sheb and Shwaiman Sabah strains.

It is not intended in any way to limit the number of good strains to those I have enumerated; they are only some of those which were prominently brought before our notice.

THE SEKLAWI-JEDRAN FAMILY.

This is not a separate or original family of "AlKhamseh," but a secondary one from the Keheilet Ajuz -so, at least, we understood from Suleyman ibn Mirshid, the Shaykh of the Komasa Anazah-and, with the Seklawi-Obeiri and Seklawi al-Abd, forms a cognate group descended from three mares which belonged to a certain man of the name of Jedran. It is probable the three original mares were not only of the same blood, but were also sisters. The Seklawi-Jedran is called after the name of the owner; the second mare was given by Jedran to his brother Obeir, on the condition that she and her descendants should be called after him, and not by the name of Jedran; the third mare Jedran either gave or left to his servant or slave. Hence the name of the strain, "The Seklawi of the slave."

Most Badaween tribes hold all three strains of this cognate group in equal esteem. Thus even Shaykh Mohammed ed Daheb, of the Walud Ali Anazah, told us there could be no other difference between the Seklawi-Jedran and the Seklawi-Obeiri strain than between the children, or their descendants, of two sisters; but there is a lurking prejudice in some of the Anazah tribes against the Obeiri strain, which time even now,

after the lapse of ages, has not obliterated; and such tribes the Sabaah among the number-most decidedly give the preference to the Seklawi-Jedran strain, and if they do not equally esteem Seklawi al-Abd, they prefer it to the Obeiri.

In the Komasa tribe of Sabaah Anazah, the family Ibn Nederi is noted as possessing a special strain of the Seklawi-Jedran blood, and horses and mares of the strain of Seklawi-Jedran ibn Nedēri are most highly prized.

There are certainly other families of Seklawi, but they appeared to us not to be recognized by the Anazah tribes as of " Al-Khamseh ;" namely, Seklawi-Ephaifeh, Seklawi abu Snoon, Seklawi Nagemah-Sebah, SeklawiEnzehi, Seklawi-Sodan, Seklawi-Doahi, and SeklawiSabani. These probably, with perhaps the exception of Seklawi-Sabani, had no connection with the SeklawiJedran group, and I think are only in districts in the neighbourhood of Syria and the Euphrates and Erack. With regard to the Seklawi-Sabani, we were told that the strain possessed (at one time) by the Ibn Sabani family was struck off the roll, as it were, of "AlKhamseh" by the Anazah, because it had been out of the Anazah tribes for forty years.

THE ABAYAN FAMILY.

This I consider to be of the Keheilet Ajuz. It is certainly not an original family name, and, like the

Seklawi-Jedran, has become an established secondary family. I am not sure if it be not even a family derived from the Seklawi-Jedran.

There are several strains of Abayan, but the Abayan Sherakh seemed to be the most esteemed. I consider Abayan Sherakh to be the name of the family, and not Abayan alone, and that the other strains are not collateral with, but are derived from Abayan Sherakh. The name Abayan is derived from Aba, "cloak." Abayan or Abayeh expresses either horse or mare of that family, as the case may be, and I should render it "the horse or mare of the cloak." The name, it is said, was taken from the following incident:-A certain Arab, most probably of the name of Sherakh, being pursued, loosed his cloak (the over garment worn commonly by all Badaween), to relieve his mare from every impediment. The mare outstripped the pursuers, when her rider was surprised to find his cloak had not been lost, for it had been caught by the mare's tail, which she carried in her gallop high to a degree. Hence the name "the Keheilet or Arabian mare of the cloak," or the cloaked mare, more possibly, of a certain Sherakh.

We heard of a mare having been mistaken in the distance for three horsemen riding close together at a rapid gallop, but what had been taken for three horsemen turned out to be but one; the head and neck and tail of the mare, and the rider's body, which all appeared to be on about the same level, having had the semblance of three. Let no one laugh or smile at this or similar accounts, for they are neither untruthful nor unreal.

I have seen a mare, an Abayan Sherakh, galloping loose, with both head and tail high to an extent such as I could hardly have believed had I not seen it; her tail was not only high, but seemed to be right over her back, and, besides streaming out behind like a flag, covered her loins and quarters. It was a splendid sight to one who can appreciate a horse.

As a family or strain the Abayan has the reputation of possessing horses and mares often of wonderful beauty and very high speed. Abayeh would describe a mare of this family, but it might be spoken of as a Keheilet Abayan, being equivalent to a Keheilet of the Abayan family.

HADBAN FAMILY.

Of the Hadban family we saw horses of the Enzehi, Al-Fert, and Ghafil strains; and of its fine varieties we heard that the first two are most esteemed. Although we did not see many horses or mares of this family, it seemed to be esteemed by the Anazah generally, and all the horses we saw of it were good and fine animals.

OF THE MANAKHI.

The Manakhi appeared to us a favourite strain, for both horses and mares of this family are to be found in most tribes of Badaween; and we thought, with the exception of Keheilet Ajuz, there were more horses and mares among the Anazah, certainly among the Sabaah, of the Manakhi family than any other.