with presents, and they continued their journey night and day for a
whole year, after which they drew near to the city of the Sulṭán, and
the Wezeer and the troops, who had lost all hope of his return, came
forth to meet him. The troops, approaching him, kissed the ground before
him, and congratulated him on his safe return; and he entered the city,
and sat upon the throne. He then acquainted the Wezeer with all that had
happened to the young King; on hearing which, the Wezeer congratulated
the latter, also, on his safety; and when all things were restored to
order, the Sulṭán bestowed presents upon a number of his subjects, and
said to the Wezeer, Bring to me the fisherman who presented to me the
fish. So he sent to this fisherman, who had been the cause of the
restoration of the inhabitants of the enchanted city, and brought him;
and the King invested him with a dress of honour, and inquired of him
respecting his circumstances, and whether he had any children. The
fisherman informed him that he had a son and two daughters; and the
King, on hearing this, took as his wife one of the daughters, and the
young prince married the other.[II_60] The King also conferred upon the
son the office of treasurer. He then sent the Wezeer to the city of the
young prince, the capital of the Black Islands, and invested him with
its sovereignty, despatching with him the fifty memlooks who had
accompanied him thence, with numerous robes of honour to all the Emeers:
and the Wezeer kissed his hands, and set forth on his journey; while the
Sulṭán and the young prince remained. And as to the fisherman, he became
the wealthiest of the people of his age; and his daughters continued to
be the wives of the Kings until they died.
But this (added Shahrazád) is not more wonderful than what happened to
the porter.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
NOTES TO CHAPTER SECOND.
NOTE 1. The sentiment expressed in this verse is one which is often
heard from the mouth of a Muslim; but generally when, his toil is ended,
and its result seen; though not unfrequently as an excuse for indolence.
NOTE 2. The bottle is here described (by the term "ḳumḳum") as of a kind
commonly used for sprinkling rose-water, &c., having a spherical or wide
body, with a long and narrow neck. I remember seeing a gilt brass bottle
of this kind, of very beautiful workmanship, for which nearly as much as
ten pieces of gold was demanded.
NOTE 3. The seal of Suleymán, or Solomon, has twice been mentioned in
former notes; in No. 21 of the notes appended to the Introduction, and
in No. 15 of those to the first chapter.
NOTE 4. It is necessary to remark, that this and many other descriptions
in the present work are not designed to be understood in their literal
sense. The reader will often be required to make some allowance for
Oriental hyperbole, and to distinguish between expressions characterised
by this figure, and such as are purely accordant with Eastern grandeur
and magnificence, or with Muslim superstition.
NOTE 5. The end of the winnowing-fork bears a rude resemblance to a
gigantic hand; having several long prongs of wood.
NOTE 6. Instead of "ibreeḳ" (a ewer), in the Cairo edition, I read
"abwáḳ" (trumpets), as in other editions.
NOTE 7. This appellation has been mentioned in a former note, as
signifying an evil Jinnee of the most powerful class.
NOTE 8. It is a rule observed in decent society, by the Arabs, to avoid,
as much as possible, the mention of opprobrious epithets, lest any
person present should imagine such epithets to be addressed insidiously
to himself. For this reason, when any malediction or offensive language
is repeated in a story, it is usual with them to designate the object of
such language by this term, which signifies both remote or absent from
the person or persons in whose presence the words are repeated, and
remote from virtue or good. In the present instance, "remote" is an
epithet substituted by Shahrazád for some other of a gross nature, from
respect to the king to whom she is relating the story.
NOTE 9. I read "Ṣakhr el-Jinnee" for "Ṣakhr el-Jinn."--Ṣakhr was an evil
Jinnee, and a terrible enemy of Solomon. His last act of treachery to
that monarch, and his fate, are thus related by commentators on the
Ḳur-án.--Solomon having, through negligence, suffered one of his women
to practise idolatry under his roof, God saw fit to punish him. It was
the custom of this King, on certain occasions, "to intrust his signet,
on which his kingdom depended, with a concubine of his, named
El-Emeeneh. One day, therefore, when she had the ring in her custody, a
devil [or evil Jinnee], named Ṣakhr, came to her in the shape of
Solomon, and received the ring from her; by virtue of which he became
possessed of the kingdom, and sat on the throne in the shape which he
had borrowed, making what alterations in the law he pleased. Solomon, in
the meantime, being changed in his outward appearance, and known to none
of his subjects, was obliged to wander about, and beg alms for his
subsistence; till at length, after the space of forty days, which was
the time the image had been worshipped in his house, the devil flew
away, and threw the signet into the sea. The signet was immediately
swallowed by a fish, which being taken and given to Solomon, he found
the ring in its belly; and having by this means recovered the kingdom,
he took Ṣakhr, and, tying a great stone to his neck, threw him into the
Lake of Tiberias."[150]
NOTE 10. "Umm-'Ámir" is an appellation of the hyena. It is scarcely
necessary to mention, that the proverb here quoted is said to have
originated from the fact of a man's having been devoured by a hyena whom
he had aided against an enemy.
NOTE 11. In some copies, the personage here mentioned is called "Melik
el-Yoonán," that is, "King of Ancient Greece," or--"of the Ancient
Greeks." I have followed the Cairo edition, and that of the first two
hundred nights, printed at Calcutta, in which "Yoonán" is used as the
King's proper name. See also Note 13.
NOTE 12. This is the name of the sage in most copies; but in the Cairo
edition he is called "Rooyán."
NOTE 13. In the Calcutta edition, the king is merely said to have
reigned "in the country of the Persians," as in my translation; but in
the Cairo edition, he is said to have been "in the _city_ of the
Persians, and the country of Roomán;" which may perhaps mean (though
this is hardly allowable) the [eastern] Roman, or later Greek, empire;
an unnecessary contradiction. (See Note 22 to Chapter x.) It is
obviously more agreeable with the story to regard him as a Persian King.
NOTE 14. "The Ornament of the Good," or--"of the Comely," is an
appellation of the Arabian prophet, who is related to have said, "The
sun never riseth until it hath saluted me." "The sun's saluting the
Ornament of the Good," or "Comely," is, therefore, a phrase not
unfrequently used by Muslims merely to signify its rising.
NOTE 15.--_On the Rewards of Men of Literature and Science._ It has long
been a common custom of Eastern princes to bestow dresses of honour upon
men of literature and science, as well as upon their great officers and
other servants. These dresses were of different kinds for persons of
different classes or professions. The most usual kind was an ample coat.
With dresses of this description were often given gold-embroidered
turbans; and sometimes, to Emeers (or great military officers),
neck-rings or collars (called ṭóḳs), some of which were set with jewels;
as also, bracelets, and swords ornamented with precious stones, &c.; and
to Wezeers, instead of the ṭóḳ, a necklace of jewels.[151]--The
following striking record will convey an idea of the magnificence of
some of these dresses of honour; or, in other words, of the liberality
of a Muslim prince, and, at the same time, of the very precarious nature
of his favour. A person, chancing to look at a register kept by one of
the officers of Hároon Er-Rasheed, saw in it the following entry:--"Four
hundred thousand pieces of gold, the price of a dress of honour for
Jaạfar, the son of Yaḥyà, the Wezeer."--A few days after, he saw beneath
this written,--"Ten ḳeeráṭs, the price of naphtha and reeds, for burning
the body of Jaạfar, the son of Yaḥyà."[152]--The ḳeeráṭ of Baghdád was
the twentieth part of a deenár, or piece of gold.
Arab princes and other great men have generally been famous for highly
respecting, and liberally rewarding, men of literature and science, and
especially poets. El-Mamoon and many others are well known to us for
their patronage of the learned. Er-Rasheed carried his condescension to
them so far as to pour the water on the hands of a blind man,
Aboo-Mo'áwiyeh, one of the most learned persons of his time, previously
to his eating with him, to shew his respect for science.[153] An
anecdote of a Khaleefeh ordering the mouth of a learned man to be filled
with jewels, I have related in a former note. To cram the mouth with
sugar or sweetmeats for a polite or eloquent speech, or piece of poetry,
has been more commonly done; but the usual presents to learned men were,
and are, dresses of honour and sums of money. Ibn-'Obeyd El-Bakhteree,
an illustrious poet and traditionist, who flourished in the reign of
El-Musta'een, is said to have received so many presents, that, after his
death, there were found, among the property which he left, a hundred
complete suits of dress, two hundred shirts, and five hundred
turbans.[154] A thousand pieces of gold were often given, and sometimes
ten, twenty, or thirty, thousand, and even more, for a few verses; nay,
for a single couplet.
The prodigality of Arab princes to men of learning may be exemplified by
the following anecdote:--Ḥammád, surnamed Er-Ráwiyeh, or the famous
reciter, having attached himself to the Khaleefeh El-Weleed, the son of
'Abd-el-Melik, and shewn a contrary feeling towards his brother Hishám,
on the accession of the latter fled to El-Koofeh. While there, a letter
arrived from Hishám, commanding his presence at Damascus: it was
addressed to the governor, who, being ordered to treat him with honour,
gave him a purse containing a thousand pieces of gold, and despatched
him with the Khaleefeh's messenger. On his arrival at Damascus, he was
conducted before Hishám, whom he found in a splendid saloon, seated
under a pavilion of red silk, surmounted by a dome of yellow brocade,
attended by two female slaves of beauty unsurpassed, each holding a
crystal ewer of wine. His admission during the presence of members of
the King's ḥareem, the reader will remark as a very unusual and high
honour: the mention of the wine may also surprise him; but this is a
subject upon which much may be said, and which will be considered on a
future occasion. After Ḥammád had given the salutation, and the
Khaleefeh had returned it, the latter told him that he had sent for him
to ask respecting a couplet of which he (the Khaleefeh) could only
remember that it ended with the word "ibreeḳ," which signifies "a ewer."
The reciter reflected a while, and the lines occurred to his mind, and
he repeated them. Hishám cried out, in delight, that the lines were
those he meant; drank a cup of wine, and desired one of the female
slaves to hand a cup to Ḥammád. She did so; and the draught, he says,
deprived him of one-third of his reason. The Khaleefeh desired him to
repeat the lines again, and drank a second cup; and Ḥammád was deprived
of another third of his reason in the same manner; and said, "O Prince
of the Faithful, two-thirds of my reason have departed from me." Hishám
laughed, and desired him to ask what he would before the remaining third
should have gone; and the reciter said, "One of these two female
slaves." The Khaleefeh laughed again, and said, "Nay, but both of them
are thine, and all that is upon them, and all that they possess, and,
beside them, fifty thousand pieces of gold."--"I kissed the ground
before him," says Ḥammád, "and drank a third cup, and was unconscious of
what happened after: I did not awake till the close of the night, when I
found myself in a handsome house, surrounded by lighted candles, and the
two female slaves were putting in order my clothes and other things: so
I took possession of the property, and departed, the happiest of the
creatures of God."[155]
A whimsical story is told of a king, who denied to poets those rewards
to which usage had almost given them a claim. This king, whose name is
not recorded, had the faculty of retaining in his memory an ode after
having only once heard it; and he had a memlook who could repeat an ode
that he had twice heard, and a female slave who could repeat one that
she had heard thrice. Whenever a poet came to compliment him with a
panegyrical ode, the King used to promise him that, if he found his
verses to be his original composition, he would give him a sum of money
equal in weight to what they were written upon. The poet, consenting,
would recite his ode; and the King would say, "It is not new; for I have
known it some years;" and would repeat it as he had heard it; after
which he would add, "And this memlook also retains it in his memory;"
and would order the memlook to repeat it; which, having heard it twice,
from the poet and the king, he would do. The King would then say to the
poet, "I have also a female slave who can repeat it;" and on his
ordering her to do so, stationed behind the curtains, she would repeat
what she had thus thrice heard: so the poet would go away empty-handed.
The famous poet El-Aṣma'ee, having heard of this proceeding, and
guessing the trick, determined upon outwitting the King; and accordingly
composed an ode made up of very difficult words; but this was not his
only preparative measure; another will be presently explained; and a
third was, to assume the dress of a Bedawee, that he might not be known,
covering his face, the eyes only excepted, with a lithám (a piece of
drapery) in accordance with a custom of Arabs of the desert. Thus
disguised, he went to the palace, and, having asked permission, entered,
and saluted the King, who said to him, "Whence art thou, O brother of
the Arabs, and what dost thou desire?" The poet answered, "May God
increase the power of the King! I am a poet of such a tribe, and have
composed an ode in praise of our lord the Sulṭán."--"O brother of the
Arabs," said the King, "hast thou heard of our condition?"--"No,"
answered the poet; "and what is it, O King of the age?"--"It is,"
replied the King, "that if the ode be not thine, we give thee no reward;
and if it be thine, we give thee the weight in money of what it is
written upon."--"How," said El-Aṣma'ee, "should I assume to myself that
which belongs to another, and knowing, too, that lying before kings is
one of the basest of actions? But I agree to this condition, O our lord
the Sulṭán." So he repeated his ode. The King, perplexed, and unable to
remember any of it, made a sign to the memlook--but he had retained
nothing; and called to the female slave, but she also was unable to
repeat a word. "O brother of the Arabs," said he, "thou hast spoken
truth, and the ode is thine without doubt: I have never heard it before:
produce, therefore, what it is written upon, and we will give thee its
weight in money, as we have promised."--"Wilt thou," said the poet,
"send one of the attendants to carry it?"--"To carry what?" asked the
King; "is it not upon a paper here in thy possession?"--"No, O our lord
the Sulṭán," replied the poet; "at the time I composed it I could not
procure a piece of paper upon which to write it, and could find nothing
but a fragment of a marble column left me by my father; so I engraved it
upon this; and it lies in the court of the palace." He had brought it,
wrapped up, on the back of a camel. The King, to fulfil his promise, was
obliged to exhaust his treasury; and to prevent a repetition of this
trick (of which he afterwards discovered El-Aṣma'ee to have been the
author), in future rewarded the poets according to the usual custom of
kings.[156]
The following case is also related as an exception to the common custom
of great men, with regard to the bestowal of rewards on poets:--"A poet
praised a governor in some verses, and the latter ordered an ass's
barda'ah (or stuffed saddle) and girth to be given to him. The poet went
away with them on his shoulder; and, being asked what he had got,
answered, 'I have praised our honoured lord in the best of my verses,
and he hath bestowed on me some of the most magnificent articles of his
apparel.'"[157]
NOTE 16.--_On the Bath._ The ḥammám, or bath, is a favourite resort of
both men and women of all classes among the Muslims who can afford the
trifling expense which it requires; and (it is said) not only of human
beings, but also of evil genii; on which account, as well as on that of
decency, several precepts respecting it have been dictated by Moḥammad.
It is frequented for the purpose of performing certain ablutions
required by the religion, or by a regard for cleanliness, and for its
salutary effects, and for mere luxury.
The following description of a public bath will convey a sufficient
notion of those in private houses, which are on a smaller scale, and
generally consist of only two or three chambers. The public bath
comprises several apartments, with mosaic or tesselated pavements,
composed of white and black marble, and pieces of fine red tile, and
sometimes other materials. The inner apartments are covered with domes,
having a number of small, round, glazed apertures, for the admission of
light. The first apartment is the meslakh, or disrobing room, which has,
in the centre, a fountain of cold water, and, next the walls, wide
benches or platforms, encased with marble. These are furnished with
mattresses and cushions for the higher and middle classes, and with mats
for the poorer sort. The inner division of the building, in the more
regularly planned baths, occupies nearly a square: the central and chief
portion of it is the principal apartment, or ḥarárah, which generally
has the form of a cross. In its centre is a fountain of hot water,
rising from a base encased with marble, which serves as a seat. One of
the angles of the square is occupied by the beyt-owwal, or antechamber
of the ḥarárah: in another, is the fire over which is the boiler; and
each of the other two angles is generally occupied by two small
chambers: in one of these is a tank filled with warm water, which pours
down from a spout in the dome: in the other are two taps, side by side;
one of hot, and the other of cold water, with a small trough beneath,
before which is a seat. The inner apartments are heated by the steam
which rises from the fountain and tanks, and by the contiguity of the
fire; but the beyt-owwal is not so hot as the ḥarárah, being separated
from it by a door. In cold weather, the bather undresses in the former,
which has two or three raised seats, like those of the meslakh.
With a pair of wooden clogs to his feet, and having a large napkin round
his loins, and generally a second wound round his head like a turban, a
third over his chest, and a fourth covering his back, he enters the
ḥarárah, the heat of which causes him immediately to perspire profusely.
An attendant of the bath removes from him all the napkins excepting the
first; and proceeds to crack the joints of his fingers and toes, &c.,
and several of the vertebræ of the back and neck; kneads his flesh; and
rubs the soles of his feet with a coarse earthen rasp, and his limbs and
body with a woollen bag which covers his hand as a glove; after which,
the bather, if he please, plunges into one of the tanks. He is then
thoroughly washed with soap and water, and fibres of the palm-tree, and
shaved, if he wish it, in one of the small chambers which contain the
taps of hot and cold water; and returns to the beyt-owwal. Here he
generally reclines upon a mattress, and takes some light refreshment,
while one of the attendants rubs the soles of his feet, and kneads the
flesh of his body and limbs, previously to his resuming his dress. It is
a common custom, now, to take a pipe and a cup of coffee during this
period of rest.
The women are especially fond of the bath, and often have entertainments
there; taking with them fruits, sweetmeats, &c., and sometimes hiring
female singers to accompany them. An hour or more is occupied by the
process of plaiting the hair, and applying the depilatory, &c.; and,
generally, an equal time is passed in the enjoyment of rest, or
recreation, or refreshment. All necessary decorum is observed on these
occasions by most females; but women of the lower orders are often seen
in the bath without any covering. Some baths are appropriated solely to
men; others, only to women; and others, again, to men during the
forenoon, and in the afternoon to women. When the bath is appropriated
to women, a napkin, or some other piece of drapery, is suspended over
the door, to warn men from entering.
Before the time of Moḥammad, there were no public baths in Arabia; and
he was so prejudiced against them, for the reasons already alluded to,
that he at first forbade both men and women from entering them:
afterwards, however, he permitted men to do so, if for the sake of
cleanliness, on the condition of their having a cloth round the waist;
and women also on account of sickness, child-birth, &c., provided they
had not convenient places for bathing in their houses. But,
notwithstanding this license, it is held to be a characteristic of a
virtuous woman, not to go to a bath even with her husband's permission:
for the Prophet said, "Whatever woman enters a bath, the devil is with
her." As the bath is a resort of the Jinn, prayer should not be
performed in it, nor the Ḳur-án recited. The Prophet said, "All the
earth is given to me as a place of prayer, and as pure, except the
burial-ground and the bath."[158] Hence also, when a person is about to
enter a bath, he should offer up an ejaculatory prayer for protection
against evil spirits; and should place his left foot first over the
threshold.--Infidels have often been obliged to distinguish themselves
in the bath, by hanging a signet to the neck, or wearing anklets, &c.,
lest they should receive those marks of respect which should be paid
only to believers.[159]
NOTE 17.--_On Meals, and the Manner of Eating._ The King (with the sage
as his guest) is here described as eating in the presence of his court,
agreeably with a common custom of Eastern princes and other great men in
the present day; the simple manner in which the meal is served and eaten
occasioning but a slight interruption.
The Muslim takes a light breakfast after the morning-prayers, and dinner
after the noon-prayers; or a single meal instead of these two, before
noon. His principal meal is supper, which is taken after the prayers of
sunset. A man of rank or wealth, when he has no guest, generally eats
alone; his children eat after him, or with his wife or wives. In all his
repasts he is moderate with regard to the quantity which he eats,
however numerous the dishes.
In the times to which most of the tales in the present work relate, it
appears that the dishes were sometimes, I believe generally, placed upon
a round embroidered cloth spread on the floor, and sometimes on a tray,
which was either laid on the floor or upon a small stand or stool. The
last is the mode now always followed in the houses of the higher and
middle classes of the Arabs. The table is usually placed upon a round
cloth, spread in the middle of the floor, or in a corner, next two of
the deewáns, or low seats which generally extend along three sides of
the room. It is composed of a large round tray of silver, or of tinned
copper, or of brass, supported by a stool, commonly about fifteen or
sixteen inches high, made of wood, and generally inlaid with
mother-of-pearl and ebony or other wood, or tortoise-shell, &c. When
there are numerous guests, two or more such tables are prepared. The
dishes are of silver, or of tinned copper, or of china. Several of these
are placed upon the tray; and around them are disposed some round, flat
cakes of bread, with spoons of box-wood, ebony, or other material, and,
usually, two or three limes, cut in halves, to be squeezed over certain
of the dishes. When these preparations have been made, each person who
is to partake of the repast receives a napkin; and a servant pours water
over his hands. A basin and ewer of either of the metals first mentioned
are employed for this purpose; the former has a cover with a receptacle
for a piece of soap in its centre, and with numerous perforations
through which the water runs during the act of washing, so that it is
not seen when the basin is brought from one person to another. It is
indispensably requisite to wash at least the right hand before eating
with the fingers anything but dry food; and the mouth, also, is often
rinsed, the water being taken up into it from the right hand. The
company sit upon the floor, or upon cushions, or some of them on the
deewán, either cross-legged, or with the right knee raised:[160] they
retain the napkins before mentioned; or a long napkin, sufficient to
surround the tray, is placed upon their knees; and each person, before
he begins to eat, says, "In the name of God," or "In the name of God,
the Compassionate, the Merciful." The master of the house begins first:
if he did not so, some persons would suspect that the food was poisoned.
The thumb and two fingers of the right hand serve instead of knives and
forks; and it is the usual custom for a person to help himself to a
portion of the contents of a dish by drawing it towards the edge, or
taking it from the edge, with a morsel of bread, which he eats with it:
when he takes too large a portion for a single mouthful, he generally
places it on his cake of bread. He takes from any dish that pleases him;
and sometimes a host hands a delicate morsel with his fingers to one of
his guests. It is not allowable to touch food with the left hand (as it
is used for unclean purposes), excepting in a few cases, when both hands
are required to divide a joint.
Among the more common dishes are the following:--lamb or mutton cut into
small pieces, and stewed with various vegetables, and sometimes with
peaches, apricots, or jujubes, and sugar; cucumbers or small gourds, or
the fruit of the black or white egg-plant, stuffed with rice and minced
meat, &c.; vine-leaves or pieces of lettuce-leaf or cabbage-leaf,
enclosing a similar composition; small morsels of lamb or mutton,
roasted on skewers, and called "kebáb;" fowls simply roasted or boiled,
or boned, and stuffed with raisins, pistachio-nuts, crumbled bread, and
parsley; and various kinds of pastry, and other sweets. The repast is
frequently commenced with soup; and is generally ended with boiled rice,
mixed with a little butter, and seasoned with salt and pepper; or after
this, is served a water-melon or other fruit, or a bowl of a sweet drink
composed of water with raisins, and sometimes other kinds of fruit,
boiled in it, and then sugar, and with a little rose-water added to it
when cool. The meat, having generally little fat, is cooked with
clarified butter, and is so thoroughly done that it is easily divided
with the fingers.
A whole lamb, stuffed in the same manner as the fowls above mentioned,
is not a very uncommon dish; but one more extraordinary, of which
'Abd-El-Laṭeef gives an account[161] as one of the most remarkable that
he had seen in Egypt, I am tempted to describe. It was an enormous pie,
composed in the following manner:--Thirty pounds of fine flour being
kneaded with five pounds and a half of oil of sesame, and divided into
two equal portions, one of these was spread upon a round tray of copper,
about four spans in diameter. Upon this were placed three lambs, stuffed
with pounded meat fried with oil of sesame and ground pistachio-nuts,
and various hot aromatics, such as pepper, ginger, cinnamon, mastic,
coriander-seed, cumin-seed, cardamom, nut [or nutmeg?], &c. These were
then sprinkled with rose-water infused with musk; and upon the lambs,
and in the remaining spaces, were placed twenty fowls, twenty chickens,
and fifty smaller birds; some of which were baked, and stuffed with
eggs; some, stuffed with meat; and some, fried with the juice of sour
grapes, or that of limes, or some similar acid. To the above were added
a number of small pies; some filled with meat, and others with sugar and
sweetmeats; and sometimes, the meat of another lamb, cut into small
pieces, and some fried cheese. The whole being piled up in the form of a
dome, some rose-water infused with musk and aloes-wood was sprinkled
upon it; and the other half of the paste first mentioned was spread
over, so as to close the whole: it was then baked, wiped with a sponge,
and again sprinkled with rose-water infused with musk.--A dish still
more extraordinary will be described in a note on public Royal feasts.
With respect to clean and unclean meats, the Muslim is subject to nearly
the same laws as the Jew. Swine's flesh, and blood, are especially
forbidden to him; but camel's flesh is allowed. The latter, however,
being of a coarse nature, is never eaten when any other meat can be
obtained, excepting by persons of the lower classes, and by Arabs of the
desert. Of fish, almost every kind is eaten (excepting shell-fish),
usually fried in oil: of game, little; partly in consequence of frequent
doubt whether it have been lawfully killed. The diet consists, in a
great measure, of vegetables, and includes a large variety of pastry. A
very common kind of pastry is a pancake, which is made very thin, and
folded over several times like a napkin; it is saturated with butter,
and generally sweetened with honey or sugar; as is also another common
kind, which somewhat resembles vermicelli.
The usual beverage at meals is water, which is drunk from cooling,
porous, earthen bottles, or from cups of brass or other metal: but in
the houses of the wealthy, sherbet is sometimes served instead of this,
in covered glass cups, each of which contains about three quarters of a
pint. The sherbet is composed of water made very sweet with sugar, or
with a hard conserve of violets or roses or mulberries, &c. After every
time that a person drinks, he says, "Praise be to God;" and each person
of the company says to him, "May it be productive of enjoyment:" to
which he replies, "May God cause thee to have enjoyment." The Arabs
drink little or no water during a meal, but generally take a large
draught immediately after. The repast is quickly finished; and each
person, as soon as he has done, says, "Praise be to God," or "Praise be
to God, the Lord of all creatures." He then washes, in the same manner
as before, but more thoroughly; well lathering his beard, and rinsing
his mouth.
NOTE 18. This mode of shewing honour to a meritorious individual, or
distinguished guest, which is at least as ancient as the time of
Ahasuerus,[162] is still observed in Muslim countries.
NOTE 19. The influence of the stars upon the dispositions and fortunes
of mankind is firmly believed by the generality of Muslims, and is often
a matter of consideration previously to the uniting of two persons in
marriage; though the absurdity of such an opinion is declared in their
law.
NOTE 20.--_On the Distribution of Virtues and Vices among Mankind._ I
have heard Arabs confess that their nation possesses nine-tenths of the
envy that exists among all mankind collectively; but I have not seen any
written authority for this. Ibn-'Abbás assigns nine-tenths of the
intrigue or artifice that exists in the world to the Copts; nine-tenths
of the perfidy, to the Jews; nine-tenths of the stupidity, to the
Maghrabees; nine-tenths of the hardness, to the Turks; and nine-tenths
of the bravery, to the Arabs. According to Kaạb-El-Aḥbár, reason and
sedition are most peculiar to Syria; plenty and degradation, to Egypt;
and misery and health, to the Desert. In another account, faith and
modesty are said to be most peculiar to El-Yemen; fortitude and
sedition, to Syria; magnificence, or pride, and hypocrisy, to El-'Eráḳ;
wealth and degradation, to Egypt; and poverty and misery, to the
Desert.--Of women, it is said, by Kaạb-El-Aḥbár, that the best in the
world (excepting those of the tribe of Ḳureysh mentioned by the Prophet)
are those of El-Baṣrah; and the worst in the world, those of
Egypt.[163]
NOTE 21. In the Cairo edition, King Yoonán is made to say, "I should
repent after it, as King Sindibád repented of killing the falcon;"--and
thus is introduced an indifferent story in the place of that of the
Husband and the Parrot; the former story describing a king as having,
under an erroneous idea, killed a falcon that had prevented his drinking
poison. The latter story I insert in preference, according to the
Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, and the edition of
Breslau.
NOTE 22.--_On Miraculously-gifted Birds._ An Arab historian would make
it to appear, that the intelligence and talent ascribed to this parrot
are not nearly so wonderful as those which some birds have been known to
display. He mentions a parrot which recited the Soorat Yá-Seen (or 36th
chapter of the Ḳur-án); and a raven which recited the Soorat es-Sijdeh
(or 32nd chapter), and which, on arriving at the place of prostration
(or verse which should be recited with prostration), would perform that
action, and say, "My body prostrateth itself to Thee, and my heart
confideth in Thee." But these are not the most remarkable cases of the
kind. He affirms that there was a parrot in Cairo which recited the
Ḳur-án from beginning to end. The Báshà, he says, desiring to try its
talent, caused a man to recite a chapter of the Ḳur-án in its presence,
and to pass irregularly from one chapter to another, with the view of
leading the bird into error: but, instead of this being the result, the
parrot corrected him![164]
NOTE 23. But a few years ago, it was a common custom for an Arab
merchant or shopkeeper of the higher class to wear a sword; and this not
only during a journey, but also during his ordinary walks or rides. I
have seen many persons of this description so armed, and with a pair of
pistols stuck in the girdle; though seldom excepting in the former case.
A dagger or case-knife is a weapon now more commonly worn by such
persons, both at home and abroad.
NOTE 24.--_On Hunting and Hawking._ Hunting and hawking, which were
common and favourite diversions of the Arabs, and especially of their
kings and other great men, have now fallen into comparative disuse among
this people. They are, however, still frequently practised by the
Persians, and in a manner the same as they are generally described in
the present work. Sir John Malcolm was informed that these sports were
nowhere found in greater perfection than in the neighbourhood of
Aboo-Shahr, where he witnessed and took part in them: I shall,
therefore, here avail myself of his observations on this subject.
"The huntsmen," he says, "proceed to a large plain, or rather desert,
near the sea-side: they have hawks and greyhounds; the former carried in
the usual manner, on the hand of the huntsman; the latter led in a leash
by a horseman, generally the same who carries the hawk. When the
antelope is seen, they endeavour to get as near as possible; but the
animal, the moment it observes them, goes off at a rate that seems
swifter than the wind: the horsemen are instantly at full speed, having
slipped the dogs. If it is a single deer, they at the same time fly the
hawks; but if a herd, they wait till the dogs have fixed on a particular
antelope. The hawks, skimming along near the ground, soon reach the
deer, at whose head they pounce in succession, and sometimes with a
violence that knocks it over. [They are commonly described as pecking at
the poor creature's eyes until they blind it.] At all events, they
confuse the animal so much as to stop its speed in such a degree that
the dogs can come up with it; and, in an instant, men, horses, dogs, and
hawks, surround the unfortunate deer, against which their united efforts
have been combined. The part of the chase that surprised me most, was
the extraordinary combination of the hawks and the dogs, which
throughout seemed to look to each other for aid. This, I was told, was
the result of long and skilful training.--The antelope is supposed to be
the fleetest quadruped on earth; and the rapidity of the first burst of
the chase I have described is astonishing. The run seldom exceeds three
or four miles, and often is not half so much. A fawn is an easy victory;
the doe often runs a good chase; and the buck is seldom taken. The Arabs
are, indeed, afraid to fly their hawks at the latter, as these fine
birds, in pouncing, frequently impale themselves on its sharp
horns.--The hawks used in this sport are of a species that I have never
seen in any other country. This breed, which is called Cherkh, is not
large, but of great beauty and symmetry.
"Another mode of running down the antelope is practised here, and still
more in the interior of Persia. Persons of the highest rank lead their
own greyhounds in a long silken leash, which passes through the collar,
and is ready to slip the moment the huntsman chooses. The well-trained
dog goes alongside the horse, and keeps clear of him when at full speed,
and in all kinds of country. When a herd of antelopes is seen, a
consultation is held, and the most experienced determine the point
towards which they are to be driven. The field (as an English sportsman
would term it) then disperse, and, while some drive the herd in the
desired direction, those with the dogs take their post on the same line,
at the distance of about a mile from each other; one of the worst dogs
is then slipped at the herd, and from the moment he singles out an
antelope the whole body are in motion. The object of the horsemen who
have greyhounds is to intercept its course, and to slip fresh dogs, in
succession, at the fatigued animal. In rare instances, the second dog
kills. It is generally the third or fourth; and even these, when the
deer is strong, and the ground favourable, often fail. This sport, which
is very exhilarating, was the delight of the late King of Persia, Ághà
Moḥammad Khán, whose taste is inherited by the present sovereign.
"The novelty of these amusements interested me, and I was pleased, on
accompanying a party to a village, about twenty miles from Aboo-Shahr,
to see a species of hawking peculiar, I believe, to the sandy plains of
Persia, on which the Ḥobárà, a noble species of bustard, is found on
almost bare plains, where it has no shelter but a small shrub called
'geetuck.' When we went in quest of them, we had a party of about
twenty, all well mounted. Two kinds of hawks are necessary for this
sport; the first, the Cherkh (the same which is flown at the antelope),
attacks them on the ground, but will not follow them on the wing; for
this reason, the 'Bhyree,' a hawk well known in India, is flown the
moment the Ḥobárà rises.--As we rode along in an extended line, the men
who carried the Cherkhs every now and then unhooded and held them up,
that they might look over the plain. The first Ḥobárà we found afforded
us a proof of the astonishing quickness of sight of one of the hawks: he
fluttered to be loose, and the man who held him gave him a whoop as he
threw him off his hand, and set off at full speed. We all did the same.
At first we only saw our hawk skimming over the plain, but soon
perceived, at a distance of more than a mile, the beautiful speckled
Ḥobárà, with his head erect and wings outspread, running forward to meet
his adversary. The Cherkh made several unsuccessful pounces, which were
either evaded or repelled by the beak or wings of the Ḥobárà, which at
last found an opportunity of rising, when a Bhyree was instantly flown,
and the whole party were again at full gallop. We had a flight of more
than a mile, when the Ḥobárà alighted, and was killed by another Cherkh,
who attacked him on the ground. This bird weighed ten pounds. We killed
several others, but were not always successful, having seen our hawks
twice completely beaten, during the two days we followed this fine
sport."[165]
The hunting of the wild ass is another sport of the Persians and Arabs,
but one of a more difficult nature. This animal is found in Syria, and
in the Nubian deserts, as well as in Arabia and Persia. The more common
kinds of game are gazelles, or antelopes, hares, partridges, the species
of grouse called "ḳaṭà," quails, wild geese, ducks, &c. Against all of
these, the hawk is generally employed, but assisted in the capture of
gazelles and hares by dogs. The usual arms of the sportsmen, in the
times to which the present work relates, were the bow and arrow, the
cross-bow, the spear, the sword, and the mace. When the game is struck
down, but not killed, by any weapon, its throat is immediately cut. If
merely stunned, and then left to die, its flesh is unlawful food. Some
other laws respecting the killing of game have been mentioned in a
former note; but one has been there omitted which is worthy of remark,
though it is often disregarded; it is, that hunting is allowable only
for the purpose of procuring food, or to obtain the skin of an animal,
or for the sake of destroying ferocious and dangerous beasts. Amusement
is certainly, in general, the main object of the Muslim huntsman, but he
does not, with this view, endeavour to prolong the chase; on the
contrary, he strives to take the game as quickly as possible; for this
purpose, nets are often employed, and the hunting party, forming what is
called the circle of the chase (ḥalḳat eṣ-ṣeyd), surround the spot in
which the game is found.
"On the eastern frontiers of Syria," says Burckhardt, "are several
places allotted for the hunting of gazelles: these places are called
'masiade' [more properly, 'maṣyedehs']. An open space in the plain, of
about one mile and a half square, is enclosed on three sides by a wall
of loose stones, too high for the gazelles to leap over. In different
parts of this wall, gaps are purposely left, and near each gap a deep
ditch is made on the outside. The enclosed space is situated near some
rivulet or spring to which, in summer, the gazelles resort. When the
hunting is to begin, many peasants assemble, and watch till they see a
herd of gazelles advancing from a distance towards the enclosure, into
which they drive them: the gazelles, frightened by the shouts of these
people, and the discharge of fire-arms, endeavour to leap over the wall,
but can only effect this at the gaps, where they fall into the ditch
outside, and are easily taken, sometimes by hundreds. The chief of the
herd always leaps first: the others follow him one by one. The gazelles
thus taken are immediately killed, and their flesh is sold to the Arabs
and neighbouring Felláḥs."[166]
NOTE 25. In the Cairo edition, the word "jezeereh" (an island) is
erroneously put for "kharábeh" (a ruin).
NOTE 26. "Ghooleh" is the feminine of "Ghool." The Ghool is a fabulous
being, of which some account has been given in No. 21 of the notes to
the Introduction.
NOTE 27. This epithet of the Deity appears to be used in preference to
others in this instance, in order to imply that God always decrees what
is best for a virtuous man, even when the reverse would seem to us to be
the case. He is here described as appointing that the sage should die a
violent death; but this death, being unmerited, raised him, according to
Mohammadan notions, to the rank of a martyr.
In the edition from which my translation is chiefly made, four poetical
quotations are here inserted on the subject of fate, and the inutility
of anxious forebodings. The first of these is as follows:--
"O thou who fearest thy fate, be at ease; commit thine affairs
unto Him who spread out the earth.
For what is predestined cannot be cancelled; and thou art secure
from every thing that is not predestined."
NOTE 28.--_The Fable of the Crocodile._ Perhaps the reader may desire to
know what is the story which the sage Doobán declined to relate; I will
therefore supply the omission as well as my memory will allow me. I have
heard this fable differently told by different persons; and it is
sometimes spun out to a considerable length; but the principal points of
it are these:--A crocodile, having crawled far from the Nile, over a
desert tract, found his strength so exhausted by fatigue and thirst,
that he despaired of being able to return to the river. While he was in
this unhappy state, an Arab with his camel approached him, proceeding in
the desired direction; and he appealed to his compassion, entreating
that he would bind him on the back of the camel, and so convey him to
the Nile, and promising that he would afterwards, in return for this
favour, carry him across to the opposite bank. The Arab answered, that
he feared the crocodile would, as soon as he was unbound, turn upon him,
and devour him; but the monster swore so solemnly that he would
gratefully requite the service he requested, that the man was induced to
consent; and, making his camel lie down, bound the crocodile firmly upon
his back, and brought him to the bank of the river. No sooner, however,
was the horrid creature liberated, than, in spite of his vows, he opened
his hideous jaws to destroy his benefactor, who, though he eluded this
danger, was unable to rescue his camel. At this moment a fox drew near
them. The man, accosting this cunning animal, related his tale; and the
crocodile urged in his own excuse, that the man had spitefully bound him
on the back of the camel in such a manner that he had almost killed him.
The fox replied that he could quickly pursue and capture the man, but
that he must act fairly, and first see the whole transaction repeated
before him. The crocodile, assenting, and submitting to have a noose
thrown over his jaws, was again bound on the back of the camel, and
taken to the place whence he was brought; and as soon as this was done,
the man, by the direction of the fox, holding with one hand the halter
of his camel, with the other cut the ropes which secured his burden, and
hasted away with his beast, leaving the ungrateful and treacherous
monster in the same hopeless state in which he had found him.
NOTE 29. This comparison is perfectly just. My first visit to Egypt was
not too late for me to witness such a scene as that which is here
alluded to; but now, throughout the Turkish dominions, the officers of
government are obliged, more or less, to assimilate their style of dress
to that which commonly prevails in Europe; gaudy colours are out of
fashion among them, and silk embroidery is generally preferred to gold:
in Egypt, however, the dress worn by this class of persons has not been
so much altered as in Turkey, still retaining an Oriental character,
though wanting the shawl which was wound round the red cap, and formed
the turban; while the dress worn by other classes has undergone no
change. [This note still applies to the inhabitants of Egypt, with the
exception of the Turks, who have very generally adopted the modern
Turkish, or semi-European dress.--ED.]
NOTE 30. This story of the head speaking after it was cut off is not
without a parallel in the writings of Arab historians. The head of
Sa'eed, the son of Jubeyr, is said to have uttered the words, "There is
no deity but God," after it had been severed from his body by order of
El-Ḥajjáj, who is related to have killed a hundred and twenty thousand
persons of note, besides those whom he slew in war.
NOTE 31. I do not remember to have read or heard the story of Umámeh and
'Átikeh, who, as their names import, were two females.
NOTE 32. The words here quoted are part of the 36th verse of the 17th
chapter of the Ḳur-án.
NOTE 33. The title of "Sulṭán" is higher than that of "Melik" (or King):
a Sulṭán, properly speaking, being a monarch who has kings or viceroys
under his authority.
NOTE 34.--_On_ Koḥl, _and the mode of applying it_. Koḥl is a black
powder, with which most of the Arab, and many other, women blacken the
edges of the eyelids. The most common kind is the smoke-black which is
produced by burning a kind of frankincense. An inferior kind is the
smoke-black produced by burning the shells of almonds. These are
believed to be beneficial to the eyes; but are generally used merely for
the sake of ornament. Among other kinds which are particularly employed
for their beneficial effect upon the eye are several ores of lead,
reduced to a fine powder. Antimony is said to have been, in former
times, the most esteemed kind of koḥl. The powder is applied by means of
a small probe of wood, ivory, or silver, the end of which is moistened,
and then dipped in the powder, and drawn along the edges of the
eyelids.[167]
NOTE 35. The Koofeeyeh is described in a great Arabic Lexicon (Táj
el-'Aroos) as "a thing worn on the head; so called because of its
roundness:" and this is the only description of it that I have been able
to find. I was told in Cairo, that "koofeeyeh" is the correct
appellation of the head-kerchief commonly called "keffeeyeh:" but this
is a mistake. The latter is a square kerchief, which is worn on the
head, measuring about a yard in each direction, and of various colours,
generally a dull, brownish red, bright green, and yellow, composing
broad and narrow stripes, and having a deep fringe of strings and
tassels along two opposite edges. The most common kind is entirely of
cotton; another, of cotton interwoven with silk; and a third, of silk
interwoven with gold. It is now chiefly worn by the Wahhábees and
several tribes of Bedawees; but the former wear only the first kind, as
they hold articles of dress composed wholly or partly of silk or gold to
be unlawful. In former times it was in common use among the inhabitants
of the towns. It is mostly worn by men, and is doubled diagonally, and
placed over the cap in such a manner that the two corners which are
folded together hang down the back; and the other two corners, in front.
A piece of woollen rope, or a strip of rag, or a turban, is generally
wound round it; and the corners, or those only which usually hang down
in front, are sometimes turned up, and tucked within the upper edge of
the turban. The inhabitants of the towns usually wear the turban over
the keffeeyeh. Burckhardt, who calls this head-kerchief "keffie,"
mentions, that the Bedawees of Mekkeh and El-Yemen tie over it, instead
of the woollen rope which is used by the Northern Bedawees, "a circle
made of wax, tar, and butter, strongly kneaded together: this," he adds,
"is pressed down to the middle of the head, and looks like the airy
crown of a saint. It is about the thickness of a finger; and they take
it off very frequently to press it between their hands, so that its
shape may be preserved."[168] The better kinds of keffeeyeh above
mentioned are worn by some of the Turks, but not in the Arab manner;
being wound tight round the cap.
NOTE 36.--_Anecdote of a Miraculous Fish._ This story of the miraculous
fish reminds me of one of a similar kind which is related as authentic.
A certain just judge of the Israelites, in the time of Solomon, had a
wife who, every time that she brought him his food, used to ejaculate a
prayer that disgrace might befall every unfaithful wife. One day, this
woman having placed before her husband a fried fish, and repeated her
usual ejaculation, the fish leaped from the dish, and fell upon the
floor. This happened three times; and, in consequence of a suspicion
expressed by a devotee, who was consulted respecting the meaning of this
strange event, the judge discovered that a supposed maid, whom he had
purchased as a slave, was a disguised man.[169]
NOTE 37. This comparison is not intended to be understood in its literal
sense, for the smallest of the tribe of 'Ád is said to have been sixty
cubits high: the largest, a hundred! The tribe of 'Ád were a race of
ancient Arabs, who, according to the Ḳur-án and Arab historians, were
destroyed by a suffocating wind, for their infidelity, after their
rejection of the admonitions of the prophet Hood.
NOTE 38. The Arabs generally calculate distances by time. The average
distance of a day's journey is from twenty to twenty-five miles; the
former being the usual rate of caravan-travelling.
NOTE 39.--_On the Privacy of Arab Dwellings._ In a palace, or large
house, there is generally a wide bench of stone, or a wooden couch,
within the outer door, for the accommodation of the door-keeper and
other servants. The entrance-passage leads to an open court, and, for
the sake of preventing persons at the entrance, or a little within it,
from seeing into the court, it usually has two turnings. We may,
therefore, understand the motive of the King in seating himself in the
place here described to have been a desire that he might not, if
discovered, be supposed to be prying impertinently into the interior of
the palace. Respect for the privacy of another's house is a point that
is deemed of so much importance that it is insisted upon in the Ḳur-án,
in these words:--"O ye who have become believers, enter not any houses,
besides your own houses, until ye shall have asked leave, and saluted
their inhabitants; this will be better for you: peradventure ye will be
admonished. And if ye find not in them any person, enter them not, until
leave be granted you; and if it be said unto you, Return, then do ye
return; this will be more decent for you; and God knoweth what ye do.
But it shall be no crime in you that ye enter uninhabited houses wherein
ye may find a convenience."[170] When a visiter finds the door open, and
no servant below, he usually claps his hands as a signal for some
person to come to him; striking the palm of his left hand with the
fingers of the right: and even when leave has been granted him to enter,
it is customary for him, when he has to ascend to an upper apartment, to
repeat several times some ejaculation, such as "Permission!" or, "O
Protector!" (that is, "O protecting God!"), as he goes up, in order that
any female of the family, who may chance to be in the way, may have
notice of his approach, and either retire or veil herself. Sometimes the
servant who precedes him does this in his stead.
NOTE 40. These verses are translated from the Calcutta edition of the
first two hundred nights, as more apposite than those which are inserted
in their place in the edition of Cairo.
NOTE 41. That the reader may not form wrong conceptions of the
characters of many persons portrayed in this work, it is necessary to
observe, that weeping is not regarded by the Arabs as an evidence of an
effeminate disposition, or inconsistent with even a heroic mind; though
the Muslims in general are remarkable for the calmness with which they
endure the heaviest afflictions.
NOTE 42. It is, perhaps, unnecessary to mention, that it is a common
custom of the Orientals, as of other natives of warm climates, to take a
nap in the afternoon. A tradesman is not unfrequently seen enjoying this
luxury in his shop, and seldom, excepting in this case, is it considered
allowable to wake a person.
NOTE 43.--_Description of Arab Fans._ The kind of fan most commonly used
by the Arabs has the form of a small flag. The flap, which is about six
or seven inches in width, and somewhat more in length, is composed of
split palm-leaves of various colours, or some plain and others coloured,
neatly plaited or woven together. The handle is a piece of palm-stick,
about twice the length of the flap. This fan is used by men as well as
women, and for the double purpose of moderating the heat and repelling
the flies, which, in warm weather, are excessively annoying. It is more
effective than the ordinary European fan, and requires less exertion.
Arabian fans of the kind here described, brought from Mekkeh to Cairo as
articles of merchandise, may be purchased in the latter city for a sum
less than a penny each; they are mostly made in the Ḥejáz. Another
kind of fan, generally composed of black ostrich-feathers, of large
dimensions, and ornamented with a small piece of looking-glass on the
lower part of the front, is often used by the Arabs. A kind of fly-whisk
made of palm-leaves is also in very general use. A servant or slave is
often employed to wave it over the master or mistress during a meal or
an afternoon nap.
NOTE 44. Mes'oodeh is the feminine of Mes'ood, a name before explained,
as signifying "happy," or "made happy."
NOTE 45. The word which I have here rendered "wine" namely, "sharáb" is
applied to any drink, and particularly to a sweet beverage; but, in the
present case, the context shews that its signification is that which I
have given it. The description of a carousal in the next chapter will
present a more fit occasion for my considering at large the custom of
drinking wine as existing among the Arabs.
NOTE 46.--_On the Use of Hemp to induce Intoxication._ The name of
"benj," or "beng," is now, and, I believe, generally, given to henbane;
but El-Ḳazweenee states that the leaves of the garden hemp (ḳinneb
bustánee, or shahdánaj,) are the benj which, when eaten, disorders the
reason. This is an important confirmation of De Sacy's opinion
respecting the derivation of the appellation of "Assassins" from
Ḥashshásheen (hemp-eaters, or persons who intoxicate themselves with
hemp); as the sect which we call "Assassins" are expressly said by the
Arabs to have made frequent use of benj.[171] To this subject I shall
have occasion to revert. I need only add here, that the custom of using
benj, and other narcotics, for purposes similar to that described in
this tale, is said to be not very unfrequently practised in the present
day; but as many Arab husbands are extremely suspicious of the character
of women in general, perhaps there is but little ground for this
assertion.
NOTE 47. Most Eastern cities and towns are partly or wholly surrounded
by mounds of rubbish, close to the walls; and upon these mounds are
thrown the carcasses of camels, horses, and other beasts, to be devoured
by dogs and vultures. Immense mounds of this unsightly description
entirely surrounded the city of Cairo; but those which extended along
its western side, and, in a great measure, screened it from the view of
persons approaching from the Nile, have lately been removed by order of
the present Báshà of Egypt. [This note was written in the year 1838, in
the time of Moḥammad 'Alee.--ED.]
NOTE 48. "Ḳubbeh" generally signifies either a dome or a cupola, or a
building or apartment surmounted by a dome. In the present instance it
is to be understood in the latter sense. It is also applied to a closet,
and to a tent.
NOTE 49. "Ḳáf" is generally to be understood, as it is in the present
case; to signify the chain of mountains believed, by the Muslims, to
encircle our earth, as mentioned in a former note. It is also the name
of the chain of Caucasus, and hence it has been supposed that the fable
respecting the mountains before mentioned, originated from an early idea
that the chain of Caucasus was the limit of the habitable earth; but it
is possible that the latter mountains may have derived their name from
an imaginary resemblance to the former.
NOTE 50. Rats, though unlawful food to the Muslim, are occasionally
eaten by many of the peasants of the province of Lower Egypt called
El-Boḥeyreh, on the west of the western branch of the Nile. The
extraordinary abundance of these animals, and mice, throughout Egypt,
gave rise to an absurd fable, which is related by Diodorus Siculus[172]
as a matter worthy of serious consideration:--that these creatures are
generated from the alluvial soil deposited by the Nile. The inundation
drives many of them from the fields to the houses and deserts, and
destroys the rest; but soon after the waters have subsided, vast numbers
of them are seen again, taking refuge in the deep clefts of the parched
soil.
NOTE 51.--_On the Beverage called_ Booẓah. Booẓah, or boozeh, is a
favourite beverage of the boatmen, and other persons of the lower class,
in Egypt; and more especially of the Nubians and negroes; as it was,
according to Herodotus[173] and other writers, of the ancient Egyptians.
It is an intoxicating liquor, a kind of beer, most commonly prepared
from barley-bread, crumbled, mixed with water, strained, and left to
ferment. It is also prepared from wheat and from millet in the same
manner. The account of Herodotus has been confirmed by the discovery of
large jars, containing the dregs of the barley-beer in ancient tombs at
Thebes.
NOTE 52.--_On the Apparel, &c., of Mourning._ The wearing of mourning
appears to have been a custom of both sexes among the Arabs in earlier
times, for the black clothing which distinguished the 'Abbásee
Khaleefehs and their officers was originally assumed in testimony of
grief for the death of the Imám Ibráheem Ibn-Moḥammad. It has, however,
ceased to be worn by men, as indicating a want of resignation to the
decrees of Providence, and is only assumed by women on the occasion of
the death of a husband or near relation, and not for an elderly person.
In the former cases they dye their shirts, head-veils, face-veils, and
handkerchiefs, of a blue or almost black colour, with indigo; and
sometimes, with the same dye, stain their hands and arms as high as the
elbows, and smear the walls of their apartments. They generally abstain
from wearing any article of dress of a bright colour, leave their hair
unbraided, and deck themselves with few or no ornaments. They also cease
to make use of perfumes, koḥl, and ḥennà; and often turn upside-down the
carpets, mats, cushions, and coverings of the deewáns.
NOTE 53. "Houses of Lamentations," erected in burial-grounds for the
accommodation of ladies on the occasions of their visiting the tombs of
their relations, have been mentioned in a former note respecting the two
grand annual festivals.
NOTE 54. The kind of tomb here alluded to is generally a square building
crowned by a dome.
NOTE 55. This passage deserves particular notice, as being one of those
which assist us to form some opinion respecting the period when the
present work, in the states in which it is known to us, was composed or
compiled or remodelled. It is the same in all the copies of the original
work that I have seen, and bears strong evidence of having been written
subsequently to the commencement of the eighth century of the Flight, or
fourteenth of our era, at which period, it appears, the Christians and
Jews were first compelled to distinguish themselves by wearing,
respectively, blue and yellow turbans, in accordance with an order
issued by the Sultán of Egypt, Moḥammad Ibn-Kala-oon.[174] Thus the
white turban became peculiar to the Muslims.--An eminent German critic
has been unfortunate in selecting the incident of the four fish as
affording an argument in favour of his opinion that the Tales of a
Thousand and One Nights are of Indian origin, on the mere ground that
the same word (_varna_) is used in Sanscrit to signify both "colour" and
"caste."
NOTE 56. The Muslims often implore the intercession of their prophet,
and of various members of his family and other holy persons, though
their ordinary prayers are addressed solely to God. The regard which
they pay to their reputed saints, both living and deceased, as
mediators, is one of the heresies which the Wahhábees most vehemently
condemn.
NOTE 57. This verse, translated from my usual prototype, the Cairo
edition, is there followed by another, which I omit as being inapposite.
NOTE 58. In the first of the notes to the Introduction, I have mentioned
that it is a general custom of the Muslims to repeat this phrase, "In
the name of God!" on commencing every lawful action that is of any
importance; it is, therefore, here employed, as it is in many similar
cases, to express a readiness to do what is commanded or requested; and
is equivalent to saying, "I this instant begin to execute thy orders."
NOTE 59. The condition and offices of memlooks, who are male white
slaves, have been mentioned in the thirteenth note to the first chapter.
NOTE 60. Eastern histories present numerous instances of marriages as
unequal as those here related; the reader, therefore, must not regard
this part of the story as inconsistent.
[Illustration]
[150] Sale's Korán, note to chap. xxxviii.
[151] El-Maḳreezee's "Khiṭaṭ;" chapter entitled "Khizánet
el-Kisawát."
[152] Fakhr-ed-Deen, in De Sacy's Chrestomathie Arabe, vol. i.
p. 32 of the Arabic text, 2nd ed.
[153] Idem, p. 4 of the Arabic text.
[154] D'Herbelot, art. "Bokhteri."
[155] Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt, chapter the seventh (MS. in my
possession).
[156] Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt, chapter the eighth.
[157] Idem, chapter the seventh.
[158] A recent traveller has questioned Mr. Lane's authority,
in the "Modern Egyptians," for the remark that Muslims should
not pray in the bath. A reference to any well-known collection
of traditions of the Prophet will, however, prove, by many
sayings besides that quoted above, that Mr. Lane is in this
matter strictly accurate.--ED.
[159] Nuzhet el-Mutaämmil, &c., section the seventh.
[160] A pious Muslim generally sits at his meals with the right
knee raised, after the example of the Prophet, who adopted this
custom in order to avoid too comfortable a posture in eating,
as tempting to unnecessary gratification.--ED.
[161] Pp. 180--182, ed. Oxon. 1800.
[162] See Esther vi. 8 and 9.
[163] El-Maḳreezee's "Khiṭaṭ," and El-Is-ḥáḳee.
[164] El-Is-ḥáḳee; reign of the Khaleefeh El-Musta'een, the son
of El-Moạtaṣim.
[165] Sketches of Persia, vol. i. ch. v. [Mr. Lane has written
some of the Oriental words in this extract according to his own
mode.--ED.]
[166] Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys, vol. i. pp. 220 et
seq. 8vo. ed.
[167] A more full account of this custom is given in my work on
the Modern Egyptians, vol. i. ch. l.
[168] Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys, vol. i. p. 232, 8vo.
ed.
[169] Kitáb el-'Onwán fee Mekáïd en-Niswán.
[170] Ch. xxiv. vv. 27-29.
[171] See "Modern Egyptians," vol. ii., close of chap,
ix.--Since this was written, I have found that El-Idreesee
applies the term "Ḥasheesheeyeh," which is exactly synonymous
with "Ḥashshásheen," to the "Assassins:" this, therefore,
decides the question.
[172] Lib. i. cap. 10.
[173] Lib. ii. cap. 77.
[174] El-Maḳreezee and El-Is-ḥáḳee.