Gleanings frost the Desert of Arabia. By the late Major
N. D• Upton. (C.Kegan Paul and Co.)—Major Upton, who was prematurely carried off while engaged in correcting his book, knew much about the dwellers in the Desert. The "Badaween," for so he would have spelt us the word which we commonly write "Bedouin," was, if not a hero, at least a favourite with him. Travellers often think of the Arab as a somewhat mean sort of robber, gathering their idea from the degraded specimens who lurk on the border between the desert and civilisation. Major Upton had a very different idea of him, and this he propounds here in a way that certainly challenges attention and interest. On Badaween horses he is more emphatic even than on Badaween men. The common Arab, of whom we see in Europe, is for the most part, even when he comes from the East, a sham. He is not an Arab by birth, though he has some Arab blood in him. The real Arab can hardly be bought for money. The price that is paid for him even by one tribesman to another is such as would make even wealthy Englishmen open their eyes, were it to be asked for a hunter. They are very seldom brought into the market ; and indeed, for the most part, can only be obtained by private contract. All readers will find much to interest them in this volume ; while it will have a special attraction to those who love the horse.
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