following tale: “Two servants were sitting at the door of their
master’s house, eating their dinner, when they observed a Mameluke Bey
with several of his officers, riding along the streets towards them.
One of these servants rose, from respect to the Grandee, who regarding
him with indignation, exclaimed, Which is the more worthy of respect,
the bread which is before thee or myself? Without awaiting a reply, he
made, it is said, a well-understood signal with his hand; and the
unintending offender was beheaded on the spot.” I may add that the
hero of the story is said to have been the celebrated “Daftardar”
whose facetious cruelties have still a wide fame in the Nile Valley.
Footnote 132:
I would read (for “Sirtu ana” = I have become) “Sirt’ anta” = thou
hast become.
Footnote 133:
In text “Mukh;” lit. = brain, marrow.
Footnote 134:
[In Ar. “Wa zand mujauhar fí-hi Asáwir min al-Zahab al-ahmar,” which
may mean: and a fore-arm (became manifest), ornamented with jewels, on
which were bracelets of red gold.—ST.]
Footnote 135:
For this famous type of madman see Suppl. Vol. vi. 155.
Footnote 136:
[Ar. “Ghurrát,” which may be bright looks, charms, in general, or
according to Bocthor, fore-locks. The more usual plural of “Ghurrah”
is “Ghurar.”—ST.]
Footnote 137:
In the text “Darajah” = an instant; also a degree (of the Zodiac). We
still find this division of time in China and Japan, where they divide
the twenty-four hours into twelve periods, each of which is marked by
a quasi-Zodiacal sign: _e.g._—
Midnight until 2 a.m. is represented by the Rat.
2 a.m. until 4 a.m. is represented by the Ox.
4 a.m. until 6 a.m. is represented by the Tiger.
6 a.m. until 8 a.m. is represented by the Hare.
8 a.m. until 10 a.m. is represented by the Dragon.
10 a.m. until noon is represented by the Serpent.
Noon until 2 p.m. is represented by the Horse.
2 p.m. until 4 p.m. is represented by the Ram.
4 p.m. until 6 p.m. is represented by the Ape.
6 p.m. until 8 p.m. is represented by the Cock.
8 p.m. until 10 p.m. is represented by the Hog.
10 p.m. until midnight is represented by the Fox.
See p. 27 Edit. ii. of C. B. Mitford’s Tales of Old Japan, a most
important contribution to Eastern folk-lore.
[“Darajah” is, however, also used for any short space of time;
according to Lane it is = 4 minutes (_i.e._ the 24 hours or 1,440
minutes of the astronomical day divided into 360 degrees of 4 minutes
each), and Bocthor gives it as an equivalent for our instant or
moment.—ST.]
Footnote 138:
The young fool vaunts his intersexual powers, apparently unknowing
that nothing can be more fatal to love than fulfilling the desires of
a woman who, once accustomed to this high diet, revolts against any
reduction of it. He appears to have been a _polisson_ by his own tale
told to the Caliph and this alone would secure the contempt of a
high-bred and high-spirited girl.
Footnote 139:
The “nosebag”; vol. ii. 52, etc. The Badawíyah (Badawí woman)
generally prefers a red colour, in opposition to the white and black
of civilisation; and she of the Arabian Desert generally disdains to
use anything of the kind.
Footnote 140:
This ablution of the whole body he was bound to perform after having
had carnal knowledge of a woman, and before washing he was in a state
of ceremonial impurity. For “Ghusl,” or complete ablution, see vol. v.
80.
Footnote 141:
“The Heart of the Koran,” chap. xxxvi. see vol. iv. 50.
Footnote 142:
The Mandíl apparently had been left in the shop by the black
slave-girl. Women usually carry such articles with them when “on the
loose,” and in default of water and washing they are used to wipe away
the results of car. cop.
Footnote 143:
In Arab. “Shakk.” The criminal was hung up by the heels, and the
executioner, armed with a huge chopper, began to hew him down from the
fork till he reached the neck, when, by a dexterous turn of the blade,
he left the head attached to one half of the body. This punishment was
long used in Persia and abolished, they say, by Fath Ali Shah, on the
occasion when an offender so treated abused the royal mother and women
relatives until the knife had reached his vitals. “Kata’ al-’Arba’,”
or cutting off the four members, equivalent to our “quartering,” was
also a popular penalty.
Footnote 144:
In text “Ghibtu ’an al-Dunyá,” a popular phrase, meaning simply I
fainted.
Footnote 145:
This was done to staunch the blood: see the salt-wench in vol. i. 341.
Footnote 146:
This couplet has repeatedly occurred: in the preceding volume, Night
cdv. (Suppl. iv. 222); and in The Nights (proper), vol. vi. 246. Here
I have quoted Lane (A. N. iii. 220), who has not offered a word of
comment or of explanation concerning a somewhat difficult couplet.
Footnote 147:
The plur. masc. for the sing. fem.: see vol. vii. 140.
Footnote 148:
He speaks after the recognised conventional fashion, as if reporting
the camp-shift of a Badawí tribe.
Footnote 149:
See vol. i. 25 for the parallel of these lines.
Footnote 150:
The text inserts here, “Saith the Reciter of this adventure and right
joyous history strange as rare,” etc.
Footnote 151:
Scott, in the “Story of the Sultan, the Dirveshe, and the Barber’s
son” (vi. 348), calls the King “Rammaud.” The tale is magical and
Rosicrusian, laid somewhat upon the lines of “The Physician Dúbán”; i.
45.
Footnote 152:
This is the custom among Eastern Moslems: the barber, after his
operations are over, presents his hand-mirror for the patient to see
whether all be satisfactory, saying at the same time “Na’íman” = may
it be pleasurable to thee! The customer answers “Allah bring thee
pleasure,” places the fee upon the looking-glass and returns it to the
shaver. For “Na’íman” see vol. ii. 5.
Footnote 153:
The least that honest Figaro expected to witness was an attempt upon
the boy’s chastity.
Footnote 154:
In text “Tazaghzagha,” gen. = he spoke hesitatingly, he scoffed. [I
read the words in the text: “Tazaghghara fíhi.” The Kámús gives
“Zaghara-hu” = he seized it by force, he took hold of him with
violence, and this present fifth form, although not given in the
Dictionaries, has doubtlessly the same meaning. Popularly we may
render it: he pitched into him.—ST.]
Footnote 155:
In the text “Kazánát” (plur. of “Kázán”), afterwards written “Kázát”
(a clerical error?). They are opposed to the “Kawálib” = moulds. [See
note to p. 24.—ST.]
Footnote 156:
“Akhraja min Kuláhi-hi (Kulah?) búsah.”
Footnote 157:
“Akhaza min-há ’ala ma’ lakati ’l-Hilál shay misl al-Jinnah.”
[I have no doubt that “Kuláh” is meant for “Kuláh,” a Dervish’s cap.
“Búsah” puzzles me. I am inclined to take it for a reed used as a case
or sheath, as we shall see p. 263 of the MS. prince Yúsuf use a
“Kasabah” or reed to enclose a letter in it. “Mí’lakat (popular
corruption for ’Mil’akat’) al-Hilál” may be the spoon or hollow part
of an ear-picker, Hilál being given by Bocthor as equivalent for
“cure-oreille.” Lastly for “al-Jinnah” I would read “al-Habbah” =
grain. The article before the word may indicate that a particular
grain is meant perhaps “al-Habbat al-halwah” = anise seed, or that it
stands for “al-Hubbah,” according to Lemprière (A Tour to Marocco,
London 1791, p. 383) a powder employed by the ladies of Marocco to
produce embonpoint.—ST.]
Footnote 158:
So even in our day Mustafà bin Ism’aíl who succeeded “General Khayru
’l-Dín” as Prime Minister to “His Highness Mohammed al-Sádik, Bey of
Tunis,” began life as apprentice to a barber, became the varlet of an
officer, rose to high dignity and received decorations from most of
the European powers.
Footnote 159:
In text “Wiják,” a stove, a portable hearth.
Footnote 160:
[In the text: “Wa sára kulla-má tastarí nafsuhu yak’ad kuddáma
’l-Darwísh,” which I would translate: and each time his heart chose
(8th form of “Sarw”) he used to sit before the Darwaysh, etc.—ST.]
Footnote 161:
In text “Darín” for “Zarín” = what is powdered, collyrium.
Footnote 162:
The King failed because his “Niyat” or intention was not pure; that
is, he worked for wealth and not, as the Darwaysh had done, for the
good of his brother man.
Footnote 163:
For the importance attached to this sign of sovereignty see in my
Pilgrimage (ii. 218–19) the trouble caused by the loss of the
Prophet’s seal-ring (_Khátim_) at Al-Madinah.
Footnote 164:
The text is somewhat doubtful—“Min kuddám-ak.” [Perhaps it means only
“from before thee,” _i.e._ in thy presence, without letting him out of
sight and thereby giving him a chance of escape.—ST.]
Footnote 165:
This especially is on the lines of “The Physician Dúbán”; vol. i. 45.
Footnote 166:
In text “Wa min-hum man fáha,” evidently an error of the scribe for
“Man nafá-hu.” Scott (vi. 351), after the fashion of the
“Improver-school,” ends the tale, which is somewhat tailless, after
this fashion. “At the same instant, the Sultan and his courtiers found
themselves assaulted by invisible agents, who, tearing off their
robes, whipped them with scourges till the blood flowed in streams
from their lacerated backs. At length the punishment ceased, but the
mortification of the Sultan did not end here, for all the gold which
the Dirveshe had transmuted returned to its original metals. Thus, by
his unjust credulity, was a weak Prince punished for his ungrateful
folly. The barber and his son also were not to be found, so that the
sultan could gain no intelligence of the Dirveshe, and he and his
courtiers became the laughing-stock of the populace for years after
their merited chastisement.” Is nothing to be left for the reader’s
imagination?
Footnote 167:
See under the same name the story in my Suppl. vol. i. 239: where the
genealogy and biography of the story is given. I have translated the
W. M. version because it adds a few items of interest. A marginal note
of Scott’s (in the W. M. MS. v. 196) says that the “Tale is similar to
Lesson iv. in the Tirrea Bede.” See note at the end of this History.
Footnote 168:
For the Badawí tent, see vol. vii. 109.
Footnote 169:
In text “Birkah” = a fountain-basin, lake, pond, reservoir. The Bresl.
Edit. has “Sardáb” = a souterrain.
Footnote 170:
Arab. “Jummayz”: see vol. iii. 302. In the Bresl. Edit. it is a “tall
tree,” and in the European versions always a “pear-tree,” which is not
found in Badawi-land.
Footnote 171:
“Adí” in Egyptian (not Arabic) is = that man, the (man) here; “Adíní”
(in the text) is = Here am I, _me voici_. Spitta Bey (loc. cit. iv.
20, etc.)
Footnote 172:
Arab. “Ma’múrah.” In the Bresl. edit. “the place is full of Jinns and
of Marids.” I have said that this supernatural agency, ever at hand
and ever credible to Easterns, makes this the most satisfactory
version of the world-wide tale.
Footnote 173:
The planet Mars.
Footnote 174:
The Asiatics have a very contemptible opinion of the Russians,
especially of the females, whom they believe to be void of common
modesty. Our early European voyagers have expressed the same
idea.—SCOTT.
Footnote 175:
_i.e._ having enjoyed the woman.—R.F.B.
Footnote 176:
The reader will doubtless recollect the resemblance which the plot of
this lesson bears to Pope’s January and May, and to one of Fontaine’s
Tales. Eenaiut Olla acknowledges his having borrowed it from the
Brahmins, from whom it may have travelled through some voyage to
Europe many centuries past, or probably having been translated in
Arabic or Persian, been brought by some crusader, as were many Asiatic
romances, which have served as the groundwork of many of our old
stories and poems.—SCOTT.
Footnote 177:
In Scott (vi. 352) “Adventures of Aleefa and Eusuff.” This long and
somewhat longsome history is by another pen, which is distinguished
from the ordinary text by constant attempts at fine writing, patches
of Saj’a or prose-rhyme and profuse poetry, mostly doggrel. I
recommend it to the student as typically Arabian with its
preponderance of verse over prose, its threadbare patches made to look
meaner by the _purpureus pannus_; its immoderate repetition and its
utter disregard of order and sequence. For the rest it is unedited and
it strikes me as a sketch of adventure calculated to charm the
Fellah-audience of a coffee-house, whose delight would be brightened
by the normal accompaniment of a tambourine or a Rabábah, the
one-stringed viol.
Footnote 178:
This P.N. has occurred in vol. vi. 8, where I have warned readers that
it must not be confounded with the title “Maháráj” = Great Rajah.
Scott (vi. 352) writes “Mherejaun,” and Gauttier (vi. 380)
“Myr-djyhan” (Mír Jahán = Lord Life).
Footnote 179:
I need not inform the civilised reader that this “feeling conception”
is unknown except in tales.
Footnote 180:
_i.e._ “The Slim-waisted.” Scott (vi. 352) persistently corrupts the
name to “Aleefa,” and Gauttier (vi. 380) follows suit with “Alifa.”
Footnote 181:
In text “Al-Istikhráj,” _i.e._ making “elegant extracts.”
Footnote 182:
These lines are the merest doggerel of a strolling Ráwí, like all the
_pièces d’occasion_ in this MS.
Footnote 183:
Which are still worse: two couplets rhyme in —ání, and one in —álí,
which is not lawful.
Footnote 184:
In text “Dayr Nashshábah,” a fancy name.
Footnote 185:
So in text: the name is unknown to me; its lit. meaning would be, “of
high-breasted Virgins.”
Footnote 186:
In text “Al-Jay’a,” which is a well-omened stone like the ’Akík =
carnelian. The Arabs still retain our mediæval superstitions
concerning precious stones, and of these fancies I will quote a few.
The ruby appeases thirst, strengthens cardiac action and averts plague
and “thunderbolts.” The diamond heals diseases, and is a specific
against epilepsy or the “possession” by evil spirits: this is also the
speciality of the emerald, which, moreover, cures ophthalmia and the
stings of scorpions and bites of venomous reptiles, blinding them if
placed before their eyes. The turquoise is peculiarly auspicious,
abating fascination, strengthening the sight, and, if worn in a ring,
increasing the milk of nursing mothers: hence the blue beads hung as
necklaces to cattle. The topaz (being yellow) is a prophylactic
against jaundice and bilious diseases. The bloodstone when shown to
men in rage causes their wrath to depart: it arrests hemorrhage, heals
toothache, preserves from bad luck, and is a pledge of long life and
happiness. The “cat’s-eye” nullifies Al-Ayn = malign influence by the
look, and worn in battle makes the wearer invisible to his foe. This
is but a “fist-full out of a donkey-load,” as the Persians say: the
subject is a favourite with Eastern writers.
Footnote 187:
Or white lead: in the text it is “Sapídaj,” corresponding with the
“Isfidaj” of vol. vi. 126.
Footnote 188:
In the text “Bashkhánah”; corr. of the Pers. “Peshkhánah” =
state-tents sent forward on the march.
Footnote 189:
This phrase, twice repeated, is the regular formula of the Ráwí or
professional reciter; he most unjustifiably, however, neglects the
“Inshallah.”
Footnote 190:
The revetment of the old wells in Arabia is mostly of dry masonry.
Footnote 191:
[Ar. “Tawánís,” with a long final to rhyme with “Kawádís,” instead of
the usual “Tawánis,” pl. of “Taunas,” which Dozy (Suppl. s.v.)
identifies with the Greek τύνος in the sense of cable.—ST.]
Footnote 192:
In Arab. “Hajárata ’l-Bahramán.”
Footnote 193:
In text “Zamakú-há.”
Footnote 194:
I can see little pertinence in this couplet: but that is not a _sine
quâ non_ amongst Arabs. Perhaps, however, the Princess understands
that she is in a gorgeous prison and relieves her heart by a cunning
hint.
Footnote 195:
I again omit “Saith the Reciter of this marvellous relation,” a
formula which occurs with unpleasant reiteration.
Footnote 196:
_i.e._ she cried “Astaghfiru ’llah” (which strangers usually pronounce
“Astaffira ’llah”); a pious exclamation, humbling oneself before the
Creator, and used in a score of different senses, which are not to be
found in the dictionaries.
Footnote 197:
In vol. viii. 183, there are two couplets of which the first is here
repeated.
Footnote 198:
[Here the translator seems to read “Khams Ghaffár,” = five pardoners,
where however, grammar requires a plural after “khams.” I take “khams”
to be a clerical error for “Khamr” = wine, and read the next word
“’ukár,” which is another name for wine, but is also used adjectively
together with the former, as in the Breslau Edition iv. 6: “al-Khamr
al-’ukár” = choice wine.—ST.]
Footnote 199:
I understand this as the cupbearer who delights the five senses.
Footnote 200:
In the original we have, “Saith the Sayer of this delectable
narrative, the strange and seld-seen (and presently we will return to
the relation full and complete with its sense suitable and its style
admirable), anent what befel and betided of Destinies predestinate and
the will of the Lord preordinate which He decreed and determined to
His creatures.” I have omitted it for uniformity’s sake.
Footnote 201:
Meaning “The easy-tempered.” Scott (vi. 354) writes “Sohul.”
Footnote 202:
In text “Litám” = the mouth-band for man: ii. 31, etc. The
“Mutalathsimín” in North Africa are the races, like the Tawárik, whose
males wear this face-swathe of cloth.
Footnote 203:
“Drowned in her blood,” says the text which to us appears hyperbole
run mad. So when King Omar (vol. ii. 123) violently rapes the
unfortunate Princess Abrízah “the blood runs down the calves of her
legs.” This is not ignorance, but that systematic exaggeration which
is held necessary to impressionise an Oriental audience.
Footnote 204:
For this allusion see vol. v. 191.
Footnote 205:
This physical sign of delight in beauty is not recognised in the
literature of Europe, and The Nights usually attributes it to old
women.
Footnote 206:
In text “Himà” = the private and guarded lands of a Badawi tribe;
viii. 102.
Footnote 207:
In text “Daylakí.”
Footnote 208:
A small compact white turband and distinctive sign of the True
Believers: see vol. viii. 8.
Footnote 209:
[The words in the text seem to be: “wa Talattuf Alfázak wa Ma’áník
al-hisán” = and for the pleasingness of thy sayings and meanings so
fine and fair.—ST.]
Footnote 210:
[The Arabic seems here to contain a pun, the consonantic outline of
“Tasht” = “basin” being the same as of “tashshat” = she was raining,
sprinkling.—ST.]
Footnote 211:
In Arab. “Yá Wárid”: see vol. iii. 56.
Footnote 212:
The growing beard and whisker being compared with black letters on a
white ground.
Footnote 213:
In the text these seven couplets form one quotation, although the
first three rhyme in—úru and the second four in—íru.
Footnote 214:
This “diapedesis” of bloodstained tears is frequently mentioned in The
Nights; and the “Bloody Sweat” is well-known by name. The disease is
rare and few have seen it, whilst it has a certain quasi-supernatural
sound from the “Agony and bloody sweat” in the Garden of Gethsemane.
But the exudation of blood from the skin was described by Theophrastus
and Aristotle and lastly by Lucan in these lines:—
——Sic omnia membra
Emisere simul rutilum pro sanguine virus.
Sanguis erant lachrymæ, etc.
Of Charles IX. of France Mezaray declares “_Le sang lui rejaillait par
les pores et tous les conduits de son corps_,” but the superstitious
Protestant holds this to be a “judgment.” The same historian also
mentions the phenomenon in a governor condemned to die; and Lombard in
the case of a general after losing a battle and a nun seized by
banditti—blood oozed from every pore. See Dr. Millingen’s “Curiosities
of Medical Experience,” p. 485, London, Bentley, 1839.
Footnote 215:
[I read this line: “Fí Hayyi-kum Taflatun|háma ’l-Fawádu bi-há
(Basít)” and translate: In your clan there is a maiden of whom my
heart is enamoured. In the beginning of the next line the metre
requires “tazakkarat,” which therefore refers to “Aghsun,” not to the
speaker: “the branches remember (and by imitating her movements show
that they remember) the time when she bent aside, and her bending,
graceful beyond compare, taught me that her eyes kept watch over the
rose of her cheek and knew how to protect it from him who might wish
to cull it.” This little gem of a Mawwál makes me regret that so many
of the snatches of poetry in this MS. are almost hopelessly
corrupted.—ST.]
Footnote 216:
In the text “Simá’a,” lit. hearing, applied idiomatically to the
ecstasy of Darwayshes when listening to esoteric poetry.
Footnote 217:
The birds mentioned in the text are the “Kumrí” (turtle-dove), the
“Shabaytar” [also called “Samaytar” and “Abu al-’Ayzar” = the father
of the brisk one, a long-necked water bird of the heron kind.—ST.],
the Shuhrúr (in MS. Suhrúr) = a blackbird [the Christians in Syria
call St. Paul “Shuhrúr al-Kanísah,” the blackbird of the Church, on
account of his eloquence.—ST.], the “Karawán,” crane or curlew
(_Charadrius ædicnemus_) vol. vi. 1; the “Hazár,” nightingale or bird
of a thousand songs, vol. v. 48; the “Hamám,” ruffed pigeon, culver,
vol. v. 49; the “Katá,” or sandgrouse vols. i. 131, iv. 111, etc.; and
the “Sammán” or quail, Suppl. vol. vi. 66.
Footnote 218:
The “Sá’ah,” I may here remark, is the German _Stunde_, our old
“Stound,” somewhat indefinite but meaning to the good Moslem the
spaces between prayer times. The classical terms, Al-Zuhà
(undurn-hour, or before noon) and Maghrib = set of sun, become in
Badawi speech Al-Ghaylah = siesta-time and Ghaybat al-Shams. (Doughty,
index.)
Footnote 219:
For the beautiful song of the lute, referred to here, see vol. viii.
281.
Footnote 220:
Alluding to the “Takht Raml,” table of sand, geomantic table?
Footnote 221:
As before noted, her love enables her to deal in a somewhat of
prophetic strain.
Footnote 222:
This scene may sound absurd; but it is admirable for its
materialism. How often do youthful-lovers find an all-sufficient
pastime in dressing themselves up and playing the game of mutual
admiration. It is well nigh worthy of that “silliest and best of
love-stories”—Henrietta Temple.
Footnote 223:
The text bluntly says “Wa Nikáh,” which can mean nothing else.
Footnote 224:
Scott calls him “Yiah”; vi. 354.
Footnote 225:
Arab. “Akhbarú-hu,” alluding to the lord Yahyà.
Footnote 226:
Here I presume a “Kála” (quoth he) is omitted; for the next sentence
seems appropriate to Yusuf.
Footnote 227:
In Arab. “Tastaghís” = lit. crying out “Wa Ghausáh!”—Ho, to my aid!
Footnote 228:
The “Zug” or draught which gave him rheumatism—not a romantic
complaint for a young lover. See vol. ii. 9. But his power of sudden
invention is somewhat enviable, and lying is to him, in Hindustani
phrase, “easy as drinking water.”
Footnote 229:
Who evidently ignored or had forgotten the little matter of the
concubine, so that incident was introduced by the story-teller for
mere wantonness.
Footnote 230:
In text “Mazbúh” = slaughtered for food.
Footnote 231:
_i.e._ “I suffer from an acute attack of rheumatism”—a complaint
common in even the hottest climates.
Footnote 232:
Needless to say that amongst Moslems, as amongst Christians, the
Israelite medicineman has always been a favourite, despite an
injunction in the “Díním” (Religious Considerations) of the famous
Andalusian Yúsuf Caro. This most fanatical work, much studied at
Tiberias and Safet (where a printing-press was established in the
xvith century) decides that a Jewish doctor called to attend a Goi
(Gentile) too poor to pay him is bound to poison his patient—if he
safely can.
Footnote 233:
Lit. “The Bull-(Taur for Thaur or
Saur)-numbered-and-for-battle-day-lengthened.” In p. 30 this charger
is called, “The-bull-that-spurneth-danger-on battle-day.” See vol.
vi. 270 for a similar compound name,
_The-Ghul-who-eateth-man-we-pray-Allah-for-safety_.
Footnote 234:
In text “Al-Járiyah rádih,” the latter word being repeated in p. 282,
where it is Rádih a P.N. [Here also I would take it for a P.N., for if
it were adjective to “al-Járiyah” it should have the article.—ST.]
Footnote 235:
The “Radíf,” or back-rider, is common in Arabia, esp. on dromedaries
when going to the Razzia: usually the crupper-man loads the matchlock
and his comrade fires it.
Footnote 236:
The text has “thirty,” evidently a clerical error.
Footnote 237:
Arab. “Sakhtúr” for “Shakhtúr,” vol. vii. 362.
Footnote 238: