Chapter Horns of the Altar to Horse of H by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

of Smerdis, the several competitors for the throne of Persia agreed that he should be king whose horse neighed first when they met on the day following. The groom of Darius showed his horse a mare on the place appointed, and immediately it arrived at the spot on the following day the horse began to neigh, and won the crown for its master.
    Horse (in the Catacombs). Emblem of the swiftness of life. Sometimes a palm-wreath is placed above its head to denote that "the race is not to the swift."

Horse (in Christian art). Emblem of courage and generosity. The attribute of St. Martin, St. Maurice, St. George, and St. Victor, all of whom are represented on horseback. St. Léon is represented on horseback, in pontifical robes, blessing the people.
   Brazen horse. (See Cambuscan; see also Barbed Steed, Dobbin.)
    Flesh-eating horses. The horses of Diomed, Tyrant of Thrace (not Diomede, son of Tydeus); he fed his horses on the strangers who visited his kingdom. Hercule vanquished the tyrant, and gave the carcase to the horses to eat.

Like to the Thracian tyrant who, they say,
Unto his horses gave his guests for meat,
Till he himself was made their greedy prey,
And torn to pieces by Alcides great."
Spenser: Faërie Queene, book v., canto 8.

   Wooden horse. (See Wooden.)

Horse, in the British Army:
   Elliott's Light Horse. The 15th Hussars of the British Army; so called from Colonel Elliott. They are now called the "King's Hussars."
   Paget's Irregular Horse. The 4th Hussars; so called from their loose drill, after their return from India in 1839. Now called "The Queen's Hussars."
   The Black Horse. The 7th Dragoon Guards, or Princess Royal's Dragoon Guards; called "black" from its facings.
   The Blue Horse. the 4th Dragoon Guards; called "blue" from their facings.
   The Green Horse or "The Green Dragoon Guards." The 5th Dragoon Guards; called "green" from their facings. "The Princess Charlotte of Wales's Dragoon Guards."
   The Royal Horse Guards (called, in 1690, Oxford Blues from their blue facings) are the three heavy cavalry regiments of the Household Brigade, first raised in 1661.
   The White Horse. The old 8th Foot; now called "The King's" (Liverpool Regiment); called the "White Horse" from one of the badges - a white horse within the garter.

Horse The public-house sign.
   (1) The White Horse. The standard of the Saxons, and therefore impressed on hop pockets and bags as the ensign of Kent. On Uffington Hill, Berks, there is formed in the chalk an enormous white horse, supposed to have been cut there after the battle in which Ethelred and Alfred defeated the Danes (871). This rude ensign is about 374 feet long, and 1,000 feet above the sea-level. It may be seen twelve miles off.
   (2) The galloping white horse is the device of the house of Hanover.
   (3) The rampant white horse. The device of the house of Savoy, descended from the Saxons.
   HORSFS FAMOUS IN HISTORY AND FABLE:
   Abakur (Celtic). One of the horses of Sunna. The word means the "hot one." (Scandinavian mythology.
   Abaster (Greek). One of the horses of Pluto. The word means "away from the stars" or "deprived of the light of day."
   Abatos (Greek). One of the horses of Pluto. The word means "inaccessible," and refers to the infernal realm.
   Abraxas (Greek). One of the horses of Aurora. The letters of this word in Greek make up 365, the number of days in the year.
   Actæ'on (Greek, "effulgence"). One of the horses of the Sun.
   Æthon (Greek, "fiery red"). One of the horses of the Sun.
   A'eton. One of the horses of Pluto Greek, "swift as an eagle."
   Agnes. (See below, Black Agnes.
   Alborak. (See Borak.
   Alfana. Gradasso's horse. The word means "a mare." (Orlando Furioso.
   Aligero Clavileno. The "wooden-pin wing-horse" which Don Quixote and his squire mounted to achieve the deliverance of Dolorida and her companions.
   Alsvidur. One of the horses of Sunna. The word means "all scorching." (Scandinavian mythology.
   Amethe'a (Greek). One of the horses of the Sun. The word means "no loiterer."
   Aquiline (3 syl.). Raymond's steed, bred on the banks of the Tagus. The word means "like an eagle." (Tasso: Jerusalem Delivered.
   Arion (Greek). Hercules' horse, given to Adrastos. The horse of Neptune, brought out of the earth by striking it with his trident; its right feet were those of a human creature, it spoke with a human voice, and ran with incredible swiftness. The word means "martial," i.e. "war-horse."
   Arundel. The horse of Bevis of Southampton. The word means "swift as a swallow." (French, hirondelle, "a swallow.")
   Arvakur. One of the horses of Sunna. The word means "splendid." (Scandinavian mythology.
    Aslo. One of the horses of Sunna. (Scandinavian mythology.
   `Babieca (Spanish, "a simpleton"). The Cid's horse. He survived his master two years and a half, during which time no one was allowed to mount him; and when he died he was buried before the gate of the monastery at Valencia, and two elms were planted to mark the