his wife, his children and the ancient dame ascended the mountain-flank
after they had dismissed the coursers. Presently, up came Queen Nur
al-Huda, with the troops right and left, and the captains went round
about among the host and ranged them rank by rank in battle array. Then
the hosts charged down upon each other and clashed together the twain
with a mighty strain, the brave pressed on amain and the coward to fly
was fain and the Jinn cast flames of fire from their mouths, whilst the
smoke of them rose up to the confines of the sky and the two armies
appeared and disappeared. The champions fought and heads flew from
trunks and the blood ran in rills; nor did brand leave to play and blood
to flow and battle fire to flow, till the murk o’ night came, when the
two hosts drew apart and, alighting from their steeds rested upon the
field by the fires they had kindled. Therewith the Seven Kings went up
to Hasan and kissed the earth before him. He pressed forwards to meet
them and thanked them and prayed Allah to give them the victory and
asked them how they had fared with the Queen’s troops. Quoth they, “They
will not withstand us more then three days, for we had the better of
them to-day, taking some two thousand of them prisoners and slaying of
them much folk whose compt may not be told. So be of good cheer and
broad of breast.” Then they farewelled him and went down to look after
the safety of their troops; and they ceased not to keep up the fires
till the morning rose with its sheen and shone, when the fighting-men
mounted their horses of noble strain and smote one another with
thin-edged skean and with brown of bill they thrust amain nor did they
cease that day battle to darraign. Moreover, they passed the night on
horseback clashing together like dashing seas; raged among them the
fires of war and they stinted not from battle and jar, till the armies
of Wak were defeated and their power broken and their courage quelled;
their feet slipped and whither they fled soever defeat was before them;
wherefore they turned tail and of flight began to avail; but the most
part of them were slain and their Queen and her chief officers and the
grandees of her realm were captive ta’en. When the morning morrowed, the
Seven Kings presented themselves before Hasan and set for him a throne
of alabaster inlaid with pearls and jewels, and he sat down thereon.
They also set thereby a throne of ivory, plated with glittering gold,
for the Princess Manar al Sana and another for the ancient dame Shawahi
Zat al-Dawahi. Then they brought before them the prisoners and among the
rest, Queen Nur al-Huda with elbows pinioned and feet fettered, whom
when Shawahi saw, she said to her, “Thy recompense, O harlot, O tyrant,
shall be that two bitches be starved and two mares stinted of water,
till they be athirst: then shalt thou be bound to the mares’ tails and
these driven to the river, with the bitches following thee that they may
rend thy skin; and after, thy flesh shall be cut off and given them to
eat. How couldst thou do with thy sister such deed, O strumpet, seeing
that she was lawfully married, after the ordinance of Allah and of His
Apostle? For there is no monkery in Al-Islam and marriage is one of the
institutions of the Apostles (on whom be the Peace!)[177] nor were women
created but for men.” Then Hasan commanded to put all the captives to
the sword and the old woman cried out, saying, “Slay them all and spare
none[178]!” But, when Princess Manar al-Sana saw her sister in this
plight, a bondswoman and in fetters, she wept over her and said, “O my
sister, who is this hath conquered us and made us captives in our own
country?” Quoth Nur al-Huda, “Verily, this is a mighty matter. Indeed
this man Hasan hath gotten the mastery over us and Allah hath given him
dominion over us and over all our realm and he hath overcome us, us and
the Kings of the Jinn.” And quoth her sister, “Indeed, Allah aided him
not against you nor did he overcome you nor capture you save by means of
this cap and rod.” So Nur al-Huda was certified and assured that he had
conquered her by means thereof and humbled herself to her sister, till
she was moved to ruth for her and said to her husband, “What wilt thou
do with my sister? Behold, she is in thy hands and she hath done thee no
misdeed that thou shouldest punish her.” Replied Hasan, “Her torturing
of thee was misdeed enow.” But she answered, saying, “She hath excuse
for all she did with me. As for thee, thou hast set my father’s heart on
fire for the loss of me, and what will be his case, if he lose my sister
also?” And he said to her, “’Tis thine to decide; do whatso thou wilt.”
So she bade loose her sister and the rest of the captives, and they did
her bidding. Then she went up to Queen Nur al-Huda and embraced her, and
they wept together a long while; after which quoth the Queen, “O my
sister, bear me not malice for that I did with thee;” and quoth Manar
al-Sana, “O my sister, this was foreordained to me by Fate.” Then they
sat on the couch talking and Manar al-Sana made peace between the old
woman and her sister, after the goodliest fashion, and their hearts were
set at ease. Thereupon Hasan dismissed the servants of the rod, thanking
them for the succour which they had afforded him against his foes, and
Manar al-Sana related to her sister all that had befallen her with Hasan
her husband and every thing he had suffered for her sake, saying, “O my
sister, since he hath done these deeds and is possessed of this might
and Allah Almighty hath gifted him with such exceeding prowess, that he
hath entered our country and beaten thine army and taken thee prisoner
and defied our father, the Supreme King, who hath dominion over all the
Princes of the Jinn, it behoveth us to fail not of what is due to him.”
Replied Nur al-Huda, “By Allah, O my sister, thou sayest sooth in whatso
thou tellest me of the marvels which this man hath seen and suffered;
and none may fail of respect to him. But was all this on thine account,
O my sister?”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying
her permitted say.
Now when it was the Eight Hundred and Twenty-ninth Night,
She pursued, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Princess
Manar al-Sana repeated to her sister these praises of Hasan, the other
replied, “By Allah, this man can claim all respect more by token of his
generosity. But was all this on thine account?” “Yes,” answered Manar
al-Sana, and they passed the night in converse till the morning morrowed
and the sun rose and they were minded to depart. So they farewelled one
another and Manar al-Sana gave God-speed to the ancient dame after the
reconciling her with Queen Nur al-Huda. Thereupon Hasan smote the earth
with the rod and its servants the Jinn appeared and saluted him, saying,
“Praised be Allah, who hath set thy soul at rest! Command us what thou
wilt, and we will do it for thee in less than the twinkling of an eye.”
He thanked them for their saying and said to them, “Allah requite you
with good! Saddle me two steeds of the best.” So they brought him
forthwith two saddled coursers, one of which he mounted, taking his
elder son before him, and his wife rode the other, taking the younger
son in front of her. Then the Queen and the old woman also backed horse
and departed, Hasan and his wife following the right and Nur al-Huda and
Shawahi the left hand road. The spouses fared on with their children,
without stopping, for a whole month, till they drew in sight of a city,
which they found compassed about with trees and streams and making the
trees dismounted beneath them thinking to rest there. As they sat
talking, behold, they saw many horsemen coming towards them, whereupon
Hasan rose and going to meet them, saw that it was King Hassun, lord of
the Land of Camphor and Castle of Crystal, with his attendants. So Hasan
went up to the King and kissed his hands and saluted him; and when
Hassun saw him, he dismounted and seating himself with Hasan upon
carpets under the trees returned his salam and gave him joy of his
safety and rejoiced in him with exceeding joy, saying to him, “O Hasan,
tell me all that hath befallen thee, first and last.” So he told him all
of that, whereupon the King marvelled and said to him, “O my son, none
ever reached the Islands of Wak and returned thence but thou, and indeed
thy case is wondrous; but Alhamdolillah—praised be God—for safety!” Then
he mounted and bade Hasan ride with his wife and children into the city,
where he lodged them in the guest-house of his palace; and they abode
with him three days, eating and drinking in mirth and merriment, after
which Hasan sought Hassun’s leave to depart to his own country and the
King granted it. Accordingly they took horse and the King rode with them
ten days, after which he farewelled them and turned back, whilst Hasan
and his wife and children fared on a whole month, at the end of which
time they came to a great cavern, whose floor was of brass. Quoth Hasan
to his wife, “Kennest thou yonder cave?”; and quoth she, “No.” Said he,
“Therein dwelleth a Shaykh, Abu al-Ruwaysh hight, to whom I am greatly
beholden, for that he was the means of my becoming acquainted with King
Hassun.” Then he went on to tell her all that had passed between him and
Abu al-Ruwaysh, and as he was thus engaged, behold, the Shaykh himself
issued from the cavern-mouth. When Hasan saw him, he dismounted from his
steed and kissed his hands, and the old man saluted him and gave him joy
of his safety and rejoiced in him. Then he carried him into the antre
and sat down with him, whilst Hasan related to him what had befallen him
in the Islands of Wak; whereat the Elder marvelled with exceeding marvel
and said, “O Hasan, how didst thou deliver thy wife and children?” So he
told them the tale of the cap and the rod, hearing which he wondered and
said, “O Hasan, O my son, but for this rod and the cap, thou hadst never
delivered thy wife and children.” And he replied, “Even so, O my lord.”
As they were talking, there came a knocking at the door and Abu
al-Ruwaysh went out and found Abd al-Kaddus mounted on his elephant. So
he saluted him and brought him into the cavern, where he embraced Hasan
and congratulated him on his safety, rejoicing greatly in his return.
Then said Abu al-Ruwaysh to Hasan, “Tell the Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus all
that hath befallen thee, O Hasan.” He repeated to him every thing that
had passed, first and last, till he came to the tale of the rod and
cap,——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her
permitted say.
Now when it was the Eight Hundred and Thirtieth Night,
She resumed, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that Hasan began
relating to Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus and Shaykh Abd al-Ruwaysh (who sat
chatting in the cave) all that had passed, first and last, till he came
to the tale of the rod and cap; whereupon quoth Abd al-Kaddus, “O my
son, thou hast delivered thy wife and thy children and hast no further
need of the two. Now we were the means of thy winning to the Islands of
Wak, and I have done thee kindness for the sake of my nieces, the
daughters of my brother; wherefore I beg thee, of thy bounty and favour,
to give me the rod and the Shaykh Abu al-Ruwaysh the cap.” When Hasan
heard this, he hung down his head, being ashamed to reply, “I will not
give them to you,” and said in his mind, “Indeed these two Shaykhs have
done me great kindness and were the means of my winning to the Islands
of Wak, and but for them I had never made the place, nor delivered my
children, nor had I gotten me this rod and cap.” So he raised his head
and answered, “Yes, I will give them to you: but, O my lords, I fear
lest the Supreme King, my wife’s father, come upon me with his commando
and combat with me in my own country, and I be unable to repel them, for
want of the rod and the cap.” Replied Abd al-Kaddus, “Fear not, O my
son; we will continually succour thee and keep watch and ward for thee
in this place; and whosoever shall come against thee from thy wife’s
father or any other, him we will fend off from thee; wherefore be thou
of good cheer and keep thine eyes cool of tear, and hearten thy heart
and broaden thy breast and feel naught whatsoever of fear, for no harm
shall come to thee.” When Hasan heard this he was abashed and gave the
cap to Abu al-Ruwaysh, saying to Abd al-Kaddus, “Accompany me to my own
country and I will give thee the rod.” At this the two elders rejoiced
with exceeding joy and made him ready riches and treasures which beggar
all description. He abode with them three days, at the end of which he
set out again and the Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus made ready to depart with
him. So he and his wife mounted their beasts and Abd al-Kaddus whistled
when, behold, a mighty big elephant trotted up with fore hand and feet
on amble from the heart of the desert and he took it and mounted it.
Then they farewelled Abu al-Ruwaysh who disappeared within his cavern;
and they fared on across country traversing the land in its length and
breadth wherever Abd al-Kaddus guided them by a short cut and an easy
way, till they drew near the land of the Princesses; whereupon Hasan
rejoiced at finding himself once more near his mother, and praised Allah
for his safe return and reunion with his wife and children after so many
hardships and perils; and thanked Him for His favours and bounties,
reciting these couplets:—
Haply shall Allah deign us twain unite ✿ And lockt in strict embrace
we’ll hail the light:
And wonders that befel me I’ll recount, ✿ And all I suffered from the
Severance-blight;
And fain I’ll cure mine eyes by viewing you ✿ For ever yearned my heart
to see your sight:
I hid a tale for you my heart within ✿ Which when we meet o’ morn I’ll
fain recite:
I’ll blame you for the deeds by you were done ✿ But while blame endeth
love shall stay in site.
Hardly had he made an end of these verses, when he looked and behold,
there rose to view the Green Dome[179] and the Jetting Fount and the
Emerald Palace, and the Mountain of Clouds showed to them from afar;
whereupon quoth Abd al-Kaddus, “Rejoice, O Hasan, in good tidings:
to-night shalt thou be the guest of my nieces!” At this he joyed with
exceeding joy and as also did his wife, and they alighted at the domed
pavilion, where they took their rest[180] and ate and drank; after which
they mounted horse again and rode on till they came upon the palace. As
they drew near, the Princesses who were daughters of the King, brother
to Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus, came forth to meet them and saluted them and
their uncle who said to them, “O daughters of my brother, behold, I have
accomplished the need of this your brother Hasan and have helped him to
regain his wife and children.” So they embraced him and gave him joy of
his return in safety and health and of his reunion with his wife and
children, and it was a day of festival[181] with them. Then came forward
Hasan’s sister, the youngest Princess, and embraced him, weeping with
sore weeping, whilst he also wept for his long desolation: after which
she complained to him of that which she had suffered for the pangs of
separation and weariness of spirit in his absence and recited these two
couplets:—
After thy faring never chanced I’spy ✿ A shape, but did thy form therein
descry:
Nor closed mine eyes in sleep but thee I saw, ✿ E’en as though dwelling
’twixt the lid and eye.
When she had made an end of her verses, she rejoiced with joy exceeding
and Hasan said to her, “O my sister, I thank none in this matter save
thyself over all thy sisters, and may Allah Almighty vouchsafe thee
aidance and countenance!” Then he related to her all that had past in
his journey, from first to last, and all that he had undergone, telling
her what had betided him with his wife’s sister and how he had delivered
his wife and wees and he also described to her all that he had seen of
marvels and grievous perils, even to how Queen Nur al-Huda would have
slain him and his spouse and children and none saved them from her but
the Lord the Most High. Moreover, he related to her the adventure of the
cap and the rod and how Abd al-Kaddus and Abu al-Ruwaysh had asked for
them and he had not agreed to give them to the twain save for her sake;
wherefore she thanked him and blessed him wishing him long life; and he
cried, “By Allah, I shall never forget all the kindness thou hast done
me from incept to conclusion.”——And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day
and ceased saying her permitted say.
Now when it was the Eight Hundred and Thirty-first Night,
She said, It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that when Hasan
foregathered with the Princesses, he related to his sister all that he
had endured and said to her, “Never will I forget what thou hast done
for me from incept to conclusion.” Then she turned to his wife Manar
al-Sana and embraced her and pressed her children to her breast, saying
to her, “O daughter of the Supreme King, was there no pity in thy bosom,
that thou partedst him and his children and settedst his heart on fire
for them? Say me, didst thou desire by this deed that he should die?”
The Princess laughed and answered, “Thus was it ordained of Allah
(extolled and exalted be He!) and whoso beguileth folk, him shall Allah
beguile.”[182] Then they set on somewhat of meat and drink, and they all
ate and drank and made merry. They abode thus ten days in feast and
festival, mirth and merrymaking, at the end of which time Hasan prepared
to continue his journey. So his sister rose and made him ready riches
and rarities, such as defy description. Then she strained him to her
bosom, because of leave-taking, and threw her arms round his neck whilst
he recited on her account these couplets:—
The solace of lovers is naught but far, ✿ And parting is naught save
grief singular:
And ill-will and absence are naught but woe, ✿ And the victims of Love
naught but martyrs are;
And how tedious is night to the loving wight ✿ From his true love parted
’neath evening star!
His tears course over his cheeks and so ✿ He cries, “O tears be there
more to flow?”
With this Hasan gave the rod to Shaykh Abd al-Kaddus, who joyed therein
with exceeding joy and thanking him and securing it mounted and returned
to his own place. Then Hasan took horse with his wife and children and
departed from the Palace of the Princesses, who went forth[183] with
him, to farewell him. Then they turned back and Hasan fared on, over
wild and wold, two months and ten days, till he came to the city of
Baghdad, the House of Peace, and repairing to his home by the private
postern which gave upon the open country, knocked at the door. Now his
mother, for long absence, had forsworn sleep and given herself to
mourning and weeping and wailing, till she fell sick and ate no meat,
neither took delight in slumber but shed tears night and day. She ceased
not to call upon her son’s name albeit she despaired of his returning to
her; and as he stood at the door, he heard her weeping and reciting
these couplets:—
By Allah, heal, O my lords, the unwhole ✿ Of wasted frame and heart worn
with dole:
An you grant her a meeting ’tis but your grace ✿ Shall whelm in the
boons of the friend her soul:
I despair not of Union the Lord can grant ✿ And to weal of meeting our
woes control!
When she had ended her verses, she heard her son’s voice at the door,
calling out, “O mother, mother ah! fortune hath been kind and hath
vouchsafed our reunion!” Hearing his cry she knew his voice and went to
the door, between belief and misbelief; but, when she opened it she saw
him standing there and with him his wife and children; so she shrieked
aloud, for excess of joy, and fell to the earth in a fainting-fit. Hasan
ceased not soothing her, till she recovered and embraced him; then she
wept with joy, and presently she called his slaves and servants and bade
them carry all his baggage into the house.[184] So they brought in every
one of the loads, and his wife and children entered also, whereupon
Hasan’s mother went up to the Princess and kissed her head and bussed
her feet, saying, “O daughter of the Supreme King, if I have failed of
thy due, behold, I crave pardon of Almighty Allah.” Then she turned to
Hasan and said to him, “O my son, what was the cause of this long
strangerhood?” He related to her all his adventures from beginning to
end; and when she heard tell of all that had befallen him, she cried a
great cry and fell down a-fainting at the very mention of his mishaps.
He solaced her, till she came to herself and said, “By Allah, O my son,
thou hast done unwisely in parting with the rod and the cap for, hadst
thou kept them with the care due to them, thou wert master of the whole
earth, in its breadth and length; but praised be Allah, for thy safety,
O my son, and that of thy wife and children!” They passed the night in
all pleasance and happiness, and on the morrow Hasan changed his clothes
and donning a suit of the richest apparel, went down into the bazar and
bought black slaves and slave-girls and the richest stuffs and ornaments
and furniture such as carpets and costly vessels and all manner other
precious things, whose like is not found with Kings. Moreover, he
purchased houses and gardens and estates and so forth and abode with his
wife and his children and his mother, eating and drinking and
pleasuring: nor did they cease from all joy of life and its solace till
there came to them the Destroyer of delights and the Severer of
societies. And Glory be to Him who hath dominion over the Seen and the
Unseen,[185] who is the Living, the Eternal, Who dieth not at all! And
men also recount the adventures of
-----
Footnote 5:
This famous tale is a sister prose-poem to the “Arabian Odyssey”
Sindbad the Seaman; only the Bassorite’s travels are in Jinn-land and
Japan. It has points of resemblance in “fundamental outline” with the
Persian Romance of the Fairy Hasan Bánú and King Bahrám-i-Gúr. See
also the Kathá (s.s.) and the two sons of the Asúra Máyá; the Tartar
“Sidhi Kúr” (Tales of a Vampire or Enchanted Corpse) translated by Mr.
W. J. Thoms (the Father of “Folk-lore” in 1846,) in “Lays and Legends
of various Nations”; the Persian Bahár-i-Dánish (Prime of Lore); Miss
Stokes’ “Indian Fairy Tales”; Miss Frere’s “Old Deccan Days” and Mrs.
F. A. Steel’s “Tale of the King and his Seven Sons,” with notes by
Lieut. (now Captain) R. C. Temple (Folk-lore of the Panjab, Indian
Antiquary of March, 1882).
Footnote 6:
In the Mac. Edit. (vol. iv. i.) the merchant has two sons who became
one a brazier (“dealer in copper-wares” says Lane iii. 385) and the
other a goldsmith. The Bresl. Edit. (v. 264) mentions only one son,
Hasan, the hero of the story which is entitled, “Tale of Hasan
al-Basrí and the Isles of Wák Wák.”
Footnote 7:
Arab. Shásh Abyaz: this distinctive sign of the True Believer was
adopted by the Persian to conceal his being a fire-worshipper, Magian
or “Guebre.” The latter word was introduced from the French by Lord
Byron and it is certainly far superior to Moore’s “Gheber.”
Footnote 8:
Persians being always a suspected folk.
Footnote 9:
Arab. Al-Búdikah afterwards used (Night dcclxxix.) in the sense of
crucible or melting-pot, in mod. parlance a pipe-bowl; and also
written Bútakah, an Arab distortion of the Persian “Bútah.”
Footnote 10:
Arab. Sindán or Sindiyán (Dozy.) Sandán, anvil; Sindán, big, strong
(Steingass).
Footnote 11:
Arab. Kímiyá, (see vol. i. 305) properly the substance which
transmutes metals, the “philosopher’s stone” which, by the by, is not
a stone; and comes from χυμεία, χυμός = a fluid, a wet drug, as
opposed to Iksír (Al-) ξηρόν, ξήριον, a dry drug. Those who care to
see how it is still studied will consult my History of Sindh (chapt.
vii) and my experience which pointed only to the use made of it in
base coinage. Hence in mod. tongue Kímiyáwi, an alchemist, means a
coiner, a smasher. The reader must not suppose that the transmutation
of metals is a dead study: I calculate that there are about one
hundred workers in London alone.
Footnote 12:
Arab. “Al-Kír,” a bellows also = Kúr, a furnace. For the full meaning
of this sentence, see my “Book of the Sword,” p. 119.
Footnote 13:
Lit. “bade him lean upon it with the shears” (Al-Káz).
Footnote 14:
There are many kinds of Kohls (Hindos. Surmá and Kajjal) used in
medicine and magic. See Herklots, p. 227.
Footnote 15:
Arab. Sabíkah = bar, lamina, from “Sabk” = melting, smelting: the lump
in the crucible would be hammered out into an ingot in order to
conceal the operation.
Footnote 16:
_i.e._ £375.
Footnote 17:
Such report has cost many a life: the suspicion was and is still
deadly as heresy in a “new Christian” under the Inquisition.
Footnote 18:
Here there is a double entendre: openly it means, “Few men recognise
as they should the bond of bread and salt;” the other sense would be
(and that accounts for the smile), “What the deuce do I care for the
bond?”
Footnote 19:
Arab. “Kabbát” in the Bresl. Edit. “Ka’abán”; Lane (iii. 519) reads
“Ka’áb plur. of Ka’ab a cup.”
Footnote 20:
A most palpable sneer. But Hasan is purposely represented as a “softy”
till aroused and energized by the magic of Love.
Footnote 21:
Arab. Al-iksír (see Night dcclxxix. supra p. 9): the Greek word ξηρόν
which has returned from a trip to Arabia and reappeared in Europe as
“Elixir.”
Footnote 22:
“Awák” plur. of “Ukíyah,” the well-known “oke,” or “ocque,” a weight
varying from 1 to 2 lbs. In Morocco it is pronounced “Wukíyah,” and =
the Spanish ounce (p. 279 Rudimentos del Arabe Vulgar, etc., by Fr.
José de Lorchundi, Madrid, Rivadeneyra, 1872.)
Footnote 23:
These lines have occurred in vol. iv. 267, where references to other
places is given. I quote Lane by way of variety. In the text they are
supposed to have been written by the Persian, a hint that Hasan would
never be seen again.
Footnote 24:
_i.e._ a superfetation of iniquity.
Footnote 25:
Arab “Kurbán,” Heb. קרבן Corban = offering, oblation to be brought to
the priest’s house or to the altar of the tribal God Yahveh, Jehovah
(Levit. ii. 2–3 etc.) Amongst the Maronites Kurban is the host
(-wafer) and amongst the Turks ’Id al-Kurban (sacrifice-feast) is the
Greater Bayram, the time of Pilgrimage.
Footnote 26:
Nár = fire, being feminine, like the names of the other “elements.”
Footnote 27:
The Egyptian Kurbáj of hippopotamus-hide (Burkh. Nubia, pp. 62, 282)
or elephant-hide (Turner ii. 365). Hence the Fr. _Cravache_ (as Cravat
is from Croat).
Footnote 28:
In Mac. Edit. “Bahriyah”: in Bresl. Edit. “Nawátíyah.” See vol. vi.
242, for Ναύτης, navita, nauta.
Footnote 29:
In Bresl. Edit. (iv. 285) “Yá Khwájah,” for which see vol. vi. 46.
Footnote 30:
Arab. Tabl (vulg. báz) = a kettle-drum about half a foot broad held in
the left hand and beaten with a stick or leathern thong. Lane refers
to his description (M.E. ii. chapt. v.) of the Dervish’s drum of
tinned copper with parchment face, and renders Zakhmah or Zukhmah
(strap, stirrup-leather) by “plectrum,” which gives a wrong idea. The
Bresl. Edit. ignores the strap.
Footnote 31:
The “Spartivento” of Italy, mostly a tall headland which divides the
clouds. The most remarkable feature of the kind is the Dalmatian
Island, Pelagosa.
Footnote 32:
The “Rocs” (Al-Arkhákh) in the Bresl. Edit. (iv. 290). The Rakham =
aquiline vulture.
Footnote 33:
Lane here quotes a similar incident in the romance “Sayf Zú al-Yazan,”
so called from the hero, whose son, Misr, is sewn up in a camel’s hide
by Bahrám, a treacherous Magian, and is carried by the Rukhs to a
mountain-top.
Footnote 34:
These lines occurred in Night xxvi. vol. i. 275: I quote Mr. Payne for
variety.
Footnote 35:
Thus a Moslem can not only circumcise and marry himself but can also
bury canonically himself. The form of this prayer is given by Lane M.
E. chapt. xv.
Footnote 36:
_i.e._ If I fail in my self-imposed duty, thou shalt charge me
therewith on the Judgment-day.
Footnote 37:
Arab. Al-Alwán, plur. of laun (colour). The latter in Egyptian Arabic
means a “dish of meat.” See Burckhardt No. 279. I repeat that the
great traveller’s “Arabic Proverbs” wants republishing for two
reasons. First he had not sufficient command of English to translate
with the necessary laconism and assonance: secondly in his day British
Philistinism was too rampant to permit a literal translation.
Consequently the book falls short of what the Oriental student
requires; and I have prepared it for my friend Mr. Quaritch.
Footnote 38:
_i.e._ Lofty, high-builded. See Night dcclxviii. vol. vii. p. 347. In
the Bresl. Edit. Al-Masíd (as in Al-Kazwíni): in the Mac. Edit.
Al-Mashíd.
Footnote 39:
Arab. Munkati’ here = cut off from the rest of the world. Applied to a
man, and a popular term of abuse in Al-Hijáz, it means one cut off
from the blessings of Allah and the benefits of mankind; a pauvre
sire. Pilgrimage ii. 22.
Footnote 40: