Some Fables on Horses.
Probably, for research and widely diffused knowledge, spread over a long and laborious life, the work of that celebrated octogenarian, Dr. Cobham Brewer, who, at the age of eighty-five, brought out his new edition of “Phrase and Fable,” is, to my thinking, unique in its way, teeming as it does with interest to every class of both reader and writer.
As a sportsman, it appeals to me in many a page, and in culling a few tit-bits from it I may help to enlighten and enliven your readers on things not generally known.
Longchamps is, as we know, to-day, the scene of one of the most fashionable French racecourses, yet history tells us that every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Passion week, the Parisians went there in procession in private carriages and hired cabs, all the smartly dressed men and women who wished to display their spring fashions. The origin of the custom being that there was once a famous nunnery there, noted for its singing. In Passion week all who could went to hear these religious women sing the Psalms. This custom grew into a fashion, although the nunnery no longer exists, the procession is as fashionable as ever, and so is the racecourse.
Lose the horse and win the saddle. A man made a bet of a horse that another could not say the Lord’s Prayer without a wandering thought. The bet was accepted, but before half-way through, the person accepting the bet looked up and said, “By the bye, do you mean the saddle also?”
A horse is worthy of especial notice here. A good horse is said to have fifteen points. He should have three properties of a man, three of a woman, three of a fox, three of a hare, and three of an ass—of a man, bold, proud, and hardy—of a woman, fair-breasted, fair-haired, and easy of movement—of a fox, a good tail, short ears, with a good trot—of a hare, large eyes, a dry head, and good running—of an ass, a big chin, flat legs, and a good hoof.
Neptune is supposed to have created the horse. When Athene, the goddess of wisdom, contended with Neptune as to which should give the name to Athens, the gods decided that it should be called by the name of that deity which bestowed on men the most useful boon. Athene created the olive tree, and Neptune created the horse. The vote was given in favour of the olive tree, and the city was called Athens.
The first person that drove a four-in-hand was, Virgil tells us, Ericthonius.
On the death of Smerdis, King of Persia, the competitors for the throne agreed that he should be king whose horse neighed first when they met the day following. The groom of Darius showed his horse a mare on the day appointed, and immediately it arrived at the spot on the following day the horse began to neigh, and won the crown for its master.
A horse in the catacombs was an emblem of the swiftness of life.
In Christian life the horse is the emblem of courage and generosity.
The horses of Diomed, Tyrant of Thrace, were flesh-eaters, and were fed on the strangers who visited his kingdom. Hercules vanquished the tyrant, and gave his carcase to the horses to eat.
In the British Army we have Elliot’s Light Horse, Paget’s Irregular Horse, The Black Horse, The Blue Horse, The Green Horse, The Royal Horse Guards, and The White Horse, as applied to particular regiments.
Both in mythology and history we have a multitude of celebrated steeds. Thus:—
Akabar.—A hot one. Was one of the horses of Sunna.
Abaster.—Away from the stars—belonged to Pluto.
Abraxus.—Was one of the horses of Aurora.
Actæon.—Effulgent, was one of the horses of the sun.
Æthon.—Fiery red. Was another horse of the sun.
Acton.—Swift as an eagle. Was a horse of Pluto’s.
Aligero Clavileno.—The wooden pin-winged horse on which Don Quixote mounted to effect the deliverance of Trifaldi and her companions.
Amathea.—No loiterer. Was one of the horses of the sun.
Aquiline.—Like an eagle. Raymond’s steed, bred on the banks of the Tagus.
Arion.—War horse. Hercules’ horse, given to Adrastos. Brought out of the earth by Neptune with his tridents. Its right feet were those of a human being; it spoke with a human voice, and ran with incredible swiftness.
Arundal.—Swift as a swallow. The horse of Bevis of Southampton.
Babicca.—The simpleton. The Cids’ horse. He survived his master two and half years, during which time nobody was allowed to mount him, and he was buried before the gates of the Monastery of Valencia, and two elm trees were planted to mark the spot. This horse’s name arose because Roderigo in his youth was given the choice of a horse by his god-father, and chose a rough colt, and his donor called him Babicca, a fool, for doing so, but Roderigo transferred the name to his gift horse.
Barjado was Ronaldo’s horse, of bay colour, once the property of Amadis of Gaul. He was found in a cave guarded by a dragon, which the wizard slew. He is said to be still alive, but flies at the approach of man, and no one can hope to catch him.
Babico.—Swift, like Zanthos, his sire was the West Wind, and his dam Swiftfoot the harpy, and was given by Neptune to Peleus.
Bayard.—A bright bay. He belonged to the four sons of Aymon, and grew larger or smaller as one of these four mounted him.
Bevis.—The swift. The horse of Lord Marmion.
Black Agnes.—Belonging to Mary Queen of Scots, given her by her brother Moray, and named after Agnes of Dunbar.
Black Saladin.—Warwick’s famous horse. Coal black. His sire was Malek, and it was said of him that when the race of Malek failed the race of Warwick would fail also, and so it came to pass.
Borak.—The lightning. The horse that conveyed Mahomet from earth to the seventh heaven. He was milk white, had the wings of an eagle, and a human face with a horse’s cheeks. Every pace he took was equal to the furthest range of human sight.
Brigliadoro.—Golden bridle. Orlando’s famous charger, second only in swiftness and wonderful powers to Bayardo.
Bronte.—Thunder. A horse of the sun.
Brown Hal.—A model pacing stallion.
Bucephalus.—Ox-head. The celebrated charger of Alexander the Great, who was the only person that could mount him, and he always knelt down to receive his master. He was thirty years old when he died, and Alexander built a city as a mausoleum, which he called Bucephala.
Capilet.—A grey horse of Sir Andrew Aguecheek, spoken of in Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” A capilet signifies a small wen on a horse’s neck.
Celer.—Swift. The horse of the Roman Emperor Verus, that was fed on almonds and raisins, covered with purple, and stalled in the Imperial palace.
Cæsar.—A model Percheron stallion.
Copenhagen.—The Duke of Wellington’s charger that he rode at Waterloo. Napoleon’s favourite charger was called Marengo, and was represented in the famous picture by Vernet of Napoleon crossing the Alps. His remains are now in the United Service Museum in London.
Cyllaros.—Named from Cylla in Troas, a celebrated horse of Castor and Pollux.
Dinos.—The Marvel. Was Diomed’s horse.
Doomstead.—Was the horse of the Fates.
Ethon.—Fiery. Was one of the horses of Hestor.
Fadda.—Was Mahomet’s white mule.
Fiddleback.—Was Oliver Goldsmith’s unfortunate pony.
Galathé.—Cream coloured. Was a horse of Hector’s.
Grané.—Grey coloured. Was Seigfried’s horse of marvellous swiftness.
Grizzle.—Grey coloured. Was the skin-and-bone animal that carried Dr. Syntax.
Haizum.—Was the horse of the Archangel Gabriel.
Harpagos.—A rapid carrier. One of the horses of Castor and Pollux.
Hippocompés.—A horse of Neptune that had only two legs, his hindquarters being a dragon’s tail.
Incitatus.—The Roman Emperor Caligula’s horse, which he made a priest and a consul. Its manger was of ivory, and it drank out of a golden pail.
Jenny Geddes.—Was Robert Burn’s mare.
Kantaka.—The white horse of Science.
Ganhama of India.—Mentioned by Budda.
Kelpie.—The colour of seaweed. The water horse of fairy mythology.
Lampos.—Shining like a lamp. One of the horses of the Sun.
Lamri.—The curvetter. King Arthur’s mare.
Morocco.—Bank’s famous horse. Its shoes were of silver, and one of its exploits was to mount the steeple of St. Paul’s.
Molly.—Sir Charles Napier’s mare that died at the age of 35 years.
Orelia.—The charger of Roderick, the last of the Goths. Noted for its speed and symmetry.
Pale Horse.—On which Death rides.
Pegasos.—Born near the source of the ocean. The winged horse of Apollo that Perseus rode when he rescued Andromeda.
Phæton.—The shining one. A steed of Aurora.
Phlegon.—The blazing one. One of the horses of the mid-day sun.
Phrenicos.—Intelligent. The horse of Hiero of Syracuse that was the winner of the Olympic prize for single horses in the seventy-third olympiad.
Rubicon.—With a dark tail and some white hairs. Astolpho’s horse in Orlando Furioso. Its dam was Fire, and its sire Wind, and it fed on unearthly food.
Ronald.—Was Lord Cardigan’s thoroughbred chestnut horse, with white stockings on the near fore and hind feet, that carried him through the charge at Balaclava.
Rosabelle.—Mary Queen of Scots’ favourite palfrey.
Rosignol.—Was the palfrey of Madame Ghatalet, of Crecy, the lady with whom Voltaire resided for ten years.
Shinfaxe.—Shining mane. The steed which draws the car of day.
Sleipnor.—Odin’s grey horse, that had eight legs, and could traverse either land or sea. He typifies the wind, which blows over land and water from eight principal points.
Sorrel.—The horse of William the Third, that used to catch his foot in a mole-trap, and ultimately caused his death. He was blind of one eye and mean of stature. Is ill-fitted to carry a king.
Strymon.—Named from the River Strymon in Thrace, and immolated by Zerxes before he invaded Greece.
Vegliantino.—The famous steed of Orlando, meaning “the little vigilant one.”
Zanthos.—The chestnut coloured. One of the horses of Achilles that announced his approaching death when unjustly chidden by him.
O’Donoghue’s White Horse.—Denotes the waves, which come on a windy day, crested with foam. The spirit of the hero appears every May-day, and glides to sweet yet unearthly music over the lakes of Killarney on his white horse, preceded by groups of young men and maidens, flinging spring flowers in his path.
We have the phrases: “A dark horse”—one whose merits are unknown. “Flogging a dead horse.” “Riding the wooden horse”—a military punishment, a sort of flogging stool, now abolished. “I will win the horse or lose the saddle”—neck or nothing.
“They cannot set horses together.” That is, they cannot agree.
“The Trojan horse” is a deception, a hidden danger.
“It is a good horse that never stumbles.” Every one has his faults.
“To get upon his high horse.” To give one’s self airs.
“To set the cart before the horse.” To reverse the right order of things.
“When the horse is stolen lock the stable door.”
“Working on a dead horse.” Doing work which has already been paid for.
I could continue to play on this horsey fiddle almost ad infinitum, thanks to old Dr. Brewer, who very clearly illustrates how from the most ancient days the horse came to the forefront in mythology, history, poetry, and romance. The one quadruped created for the benefit of man, and honoured with the first place from the earliest ages in man’s affections. Notwithstanding the fact that in these last days man has devised sundry inventions aimed at his dethronement, such as steam and motor power, let us hope that he may long survive those machinations.
In the illustrious days of Roman greatness it is worthy of note that the horse was promoted almost to divine worship, as, indeed, he had been in Grecian mythology. The Emperor Caligula made him a priest and a consul. We have come to regard horses as of some value, when we are not afraid of appraising one of them at nearly £40,000, and selling our casts off at £20,000 and upwards.
The fables which I have ventured to string together here may have their transient interest, and help owners of racehorses with a few appropriate names for their best. This will aid to prove the truth of their worth, and show that although the world has grown older, and the age of romance and love of mythology has passed away, the horse in all his beauty and perfection is with us still, and we trust that he ever will be so.
Borderer.
HOT ON THE TRAIL.
THE WORRY.
Photos by T. C. Bristow Noble.]