text:  Riding close up to the side of Strasolda he reined in his steed with a force and suddenness that threw him on his haunches; but speedily recovering his balance the noble animal stood pawing the earth and lashing his sides with his long tail like some untamed and kingly creature of the desert; his veins starting out in sharp relief his broad chest and beautiful limbs spotted with foam and his long mane that would have swept the ground streaming like a banner in the sea-breeze