Practised as Sir Kenneth was in
horsemanship from his earliest youth, the speediest horse he had
ever mounted was a tortoise in comparison to those of the Arabian
sage. They spurned the sand from behind them; they seemed to
devour the desert before them; miles flew away with minutes--and
yet their strength seemed unabated, and their respiration as free
as when they first started upon the wonderful race. The motion,
too, as easy as it was swift, seemed more like flying through the
air than riding on the earth, and was attended with no unpleasant
sensation, save the awe naturally felt by one who is moving at
such astonishing speed, and the difficulty of breathing
occasioned by their passing through the air so rapidly.
It was not until after an hour of this portentous motion, and
when all human pursuit was far, far behind, that the Hakim at
length relaxed his speed, and, slackening the pace of the horses
into a hand-gallop, began, in a voice as composed and even as if
he had been walking for the last hour, a descant upon the
excellence of his coursers to the Scot, who, breathless, half
blind, half deaf, and altogether giddy; from the rapidity of this
singular ride, hardly comprehended the words which flowed so
freely from his companion.
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