reply, for in the East every sign of ceremony has its countersign, is
"Allah benefit thee!" (Pilgrimage i. II, iii. 285; Lane M. E. chapt.
viii.; Caussin de Perceval's Arabic Grammar, etc., etc.). I have given
a specimen (Pilgrimage i., 122) not only of sign and countersign, but
also of the rhyming repartee which rakes love. Hanien! (pleasant to
thee! said when a man drinks). Allah pleasure thee (Allah yuhanník
which Arnauts and other ruffians perverted to Allah yaník, Allah
copulate with thee); thou drinkest for _ten_!—I am the cock and thou
art the _hen_! (_i.e._ a passive catamite)—Nay, I am the thick one
(the penis which gives pleasure) and thou art the _thin_! And so forth
with most unpleasant pleasantries.
Footnote 16:
In the old version she is called "The Fair Persian," probably from the
owner: her name means "The Cheerer of the Companion."
Footnote 17:
Pronounce "Nooraddeen." I give the name as written in Arabic.
Footnote 18:
Amongst Moslems, I have said, it is held highly disgraceful when the
sound of women's cries can be heard by outsiders.
Footnote 19:
In a case like this, the father would be justified by Rasm (or usage)
not by Koranic law, in playing Brutus with his son. The same would be
the case in a detected intrigue with a paternal concubine and, in very
strict houses, with a slave-girl.
Footnote 20:
Orientals fear the "Zug" or draught as much as Germans; and with even
a better reason. Draughts are most dangerous in hot climates.
Footnote 21:
The Unity of the Godhead and the Apostleship of Mohammed.
Footnote 22:
This would be done only in the case of the very poor.
Footnote 23:
Prayers over the dead are not universal in Al-Islam; but when they are
recited they lack the "sijdah" or prostration.
Footnote 24:
Or, "Of the first and the last," _i.e._ Mohammed, who claimed (and
claimed justly) to be the "Seal" or head and end of all Prophets and
Prophecy. For note that whether the Arab be held inspired or a mere
impostor, no man making the same pretension has moved the world since
him. Mr. J. Smith the Mormon (to mention one in a myriad) made a bold
attempt and failed.
Footnote 25:
_i.e._ flatterers.
Footnote 26:
In one matter Moslems contrast strongly with Christians, by most
scrupulously following the example of their law-giver: hence they are
the model Conservatives. But (European) Christendom is here, as in
other things, curiously contradictory: for instance, it still keeps a
"Feast of the Circumcision," and practically holds circumcision in
horror. Eastern Christians, however, have not wholly abolished it, and
the Abyssinians, who find it a useful hygienic precaution, still
practise it. For ulcers, syphilis and other venereals which are
readily cured in Egypt become dangerous in the Highlands of Ethiopia.
Footnote 27:
Arab. "Sabab," the orig. and material sense of the word; hence "a
cause," etc.
Footnote 28:
Thus he broke his promise to his father, and it is insinuated that
retribution came upon him.
Footnote 29:
"O Pilgrim" (Ya Hájj) is a polite address even to those who have not
pilgrimaged. The feminine "Hájjah" (in Egypt pronounced "Hággeh") is
similarly used.
Footnote 30:
Arab. usúl=roots, _i.e._ I have not forgotten my business.
Footnote 31:
Moslems from Central and Western North Africa. (Pilgrimage i. 261;
iii. 7, etc.); the "Jabarti" is the Moslem Abyssinian.
Footnote 32:
This is a favourite bit of chaff and is to be lengthened out almost
indefinitely _e.g._ every brown thing is not civet nor every shining
thing a diamond; every black thing is not charcoal nor every white
chalk; every red thing is not a ruby nor every yellow a topaz; every
long-necked thing is not a camel, etc., etc., etc.
Footnote 33:
He gives him the name of his grandfather; a familiar usage.
Footnote 34:
Arab. "Ma'janah," a place for making unbaked bricks (Tob=Span. Adobe)
with chaff and bruised or charred straw. The use of this article in
rainless lands dates from ages immemorial, and formed the outer walls
of the Egyptian temple.
Footnote 35:
Arab. "Barsh," a bit of round matting used by the poor as a seat. The
Wazir thus showed that he had been degraded to the condition of a
mat-maker.
Footnote 36:
The growth (a _Poa_ of two species) which named Wady Halfá (vulg.
"Halfah"), of which the home public has of late heard perhaps a trifle
too much. Burckhardt (Prov. 226) renders it "dry reeds"—incorrectly
enough.
Footnote 37:
This "Háshimi" vein, as they call it, was an abnormal development
between the eyes of the house of Abbas, inherited from the great
grandfather of the Prophet; and the latter had it remarkably large,
swelling in anger and battle-rage. The text, however, may read "The
sweat of wrath," etc.
Footnote 38:
Torrens and Payne prefer "Ilm"=knowledge. Lane has more correctly
"Alam"=a sign, a flag.
Footnote 39:
The lines were in Night xi: I have quoted Torrens (p. 379) for a
change.
Footnote 40:
Still customary in Tigris-Euphrates land, where sea-craft has not
changed since the days of Xisisthrus-Noah, and long before.
Footnote 41:
To cool the contents.
Footnote 42:
Hence the Khedivial Palace near Cairo "Kasr al-Nuzhah;" literally "of
Delights;" one of those flimsy new-Cairo buildings which contrast so
marvellously with the architecture of ancient and even of mediæval
Egypt, and which are covering the land with modern ruins. Compare
Mohammed Ali's mosque in the citadel with the older Sultan Hasan. A
popular tale is told that, when the conquering Turk, Yáwúz Sultan
Selim, first visited Cairo, they led him to Mosque Al-Ghúri. "This is
a splendid Ká'ah (saloon)!" quoth he. When he entered Sultan Hasan, he
exclaimed, "This is a citadel!"; but after inspecting the Mosque
Al-Mu'ayyad he cried, "'Tis a veritable place of prayer, a fit stead
for the Faithful to adore the Eternal!"
Footnote 43:
Arab. gardeners are very touchy on this point. A friend of mine was on
a similar occasion addressed, in true Egyptian lingo, by an old
Adam-son, "Ya ibn al-Kalb! beta'mil ay?" (O dog-son, what art thou up
to?).
Footnote 44:
"The green palm-stick is of the trees of Paradise;" say the Arabs in
Solomonic style but not Solomonic words: so our "Spare the rod," etc.
Footnote 45:
Wayfarers, travellers who have a claim on the kindness of those at
home: hence Abd al-Rahman al-Burai sings in his famous Ode:—
He hath claim on the dwellers in the places of their birth,
Whoso wandereth the world, for he lacketh him a home.
It is given in my "First Footsteps in East Africa" (pp. 53-55).
Footnote 46:
The good old man treated the youth like a tired child.
Footnote 47:
In Moslem writings the dove and turtle-dove are mostly feminine,
whereas the female bird is always mute and only the male sings to
summon or to amuse his mate.
Footnote 48:
An unsavoury comparison of the classical Narcissus with the yellow
white of a nigger's eyes.
Footnote 49:
A tree whose coals burn with fierce heat: Al-Hariri (Vth Séance). This
Artemisia is like the tamarisk but a smaller growth and is held to be
a characteristic of the Arabian Desert. A Badawi always hails with
pleasure the first sight of the Ghazá, after he has sojourned for time
away from his wilds. Mr. Palgrave (i. 38) describes the "Ghadá" as an
Euphorbia with a woody stem often 5-6 feet high and slender flexible
green twigs (?), "forming a feathery tuft, not ungraceful to the eye,
while it affords some shelter to the traveller, and food to his
camels."
Footnote 50:
Arab. Sal'am=S(alla) A(llah) a(layhi) wa S(allam); A(llah) b(less)
h(im) a(nd) k(eep)=Allah keep him and assain!
Footnote 51:
The ass is held to be ill-omened. I have noticed the braying
elsewhere. According to Mandeville the Devil did not enter the Ark
with the Ass, but he left it when Noah said "Benedicite." In his day
(A.D. 1322) and in that of Benjamin of Tudela, people had seen and
touched the ship on Ararat, the Judi (Gordiæi) mountains; and this
dates from Berosus (S.C. 250) who, of course, refers to the Ark of
Xisisthrus. See Josephus Ant. i. 3, 6; and Rodwell (Koran, pp. 65,
530).
Footnote 52:
As would happen at a "Zikr," rogation or litany. Those who wish to see
how much can be made of the subject will read "Pearls of the Faith, or
Islam's Rosary, being the ninety-nine beautiful names of Allah"
(Asmá-el-Husna) etc. by Edwin Arnold: London. Trübner, 1883.
Footnote 53:
_i.e._ the Sáki, cup-boy or cup-bearer. "Moon-faced," as I have shown
elsewhere, is no compliment in English, but it is in Persian and
Arabic.
Footnote 54:
He means we are "Záhirí," plain honest Moslems, not "Bátiní" gnostics
(ergò reprobates) and so forth, who disregard all appearances and
external ordinances. This suggests his opinion of Shaykh Ibrahim and
possibly refers to Ja'afar's suspected heresy.
Footnote 55:
This worthy will be noticed in a subsequent page.
Footnote 56:
Arab. "Lisám," the end of the "Kúfiyah," or head-kerchief passed over
the face under the eyes and made fast on the other side. This
mouth-veil serves as a mask (eyes not being recognisable) and defends
from heat, cold and thirst. I also believe that hooding the eyes with
this article, Badawi-fashion, produces a sensation of coolness, at any
rate a marked difference of apparent temperature; somewhat like a pair
of dark spectacles or looking at the sea from a sandy shore.
Pilgrimage i., 210 and 346. The woman's "Lisám" (chin-veil) or Yashmak
is noticed in i., 337.
Footnote 57:
Most characteristic is this familiarity between the greatest man then
in the world and his pauper subject. The fisherman alludes to a
practise of Al-Islam, instituted by Caliph Omar, that all rulers
should work at some handicraft in order to spare the public treasure.
Hence Sultan Mu'ayyad of Cairo was a calligrapher who sold his
handwriting, and his example was followed by the Turkish Sultans
Mahmúd, Abd al-Majíd and Abd al-Aziz. German royalties prefer
carpentering and Louis XVI. watch-making.
Footnote 58:
There would be nothing singular in this request. The democracy of
despotism levels all men outside the pale of politics and religion.
Footnote 59:
"Wa'lláhi tayyib!" an exclamation characteristic of the Egyptian
Moslem.
Footnote 60:
The pretended fisherman's name Karím=the Generous.
Footnote 61:
Such an act of generosity would appear to Europeans well-nigh
insanity, but it is quite in Arab manners. Witness the oft-quoted tale
of Hátim and his horse. As a rule the Arab is the reverse of generous,
contrasting badly, in this point, with his cousin the Jew: hence his
ideal of generosity is of the very highest. "The generous (_i.e._
liberal) is Allah's friend, aye, though he be a sinner; and the miser
is Allah's foe, aye, though he be a saint!" Indian Moslems call a
skin-flint Makhi-chús=fly-sucker (Pilgrimage i. 242).
Footnote 62:
Arab. Ammá ba'ad (or Wa ba'ad), an initiatory formula attributed to
Koss ibn Sa'idat al-Iyadi, bishop of Najrán (the town in Al-Yaman
which D'Herbelot calls Negiran and a famous preacher in Mohammed's
day) hence "more eloquent than Koss" (Maydáni, Arab. Prov., 189). He
was the first who addressed letters with the incept, "from A. to B.";
and the first who preached from a pulpit and who leant on a sword or a
staff when discoursing. Many Moslems date Ammá ba'ad from the Prophet
David, relying upon a passage of the Koran (xxxviii. 19).
Footnote 63:
Arab. "Nusf"=half (a dirham): vulgarly pronounced "nuss," and
synonymous with the Egypt. "Faddah" (=silver), the Greek Asper, and
the Turkish "paráh." It is the smallest Egyptian coin, made of very
base metal and, there being forty to the piastre, it is worth nearly a
quarter of a farthing.
Footnote 64:
The too literal Torrens and Lane make the Caliph give the gardener-lad
the clothes in which he was then clad, forgetting, like the author or
copier, that he wore the fishermen's lousy suit.
Footnote 65:
In sign of confusion, disappointment and so forth: not "biting his
nails," which is European and utterly un-Asiatic.
Footnote 66:
See lines like these in Night xiii. (i. 136); the sentiment is trite.
Footnote 67:
The Arab will still stand under his ruler's palace and shout aloud to
attract his attention. Sayyid Sa'id known as the "Imán of Muskat" used
to encourage the patriarchal practice. Mohammed repeatedly protested
against such unceremonious conduct (Koran xciv. 11, etc.). The "three
times of privacy" (Koran cv. 57) are before the dawn prayer, during
the Siesta (noon) and after the even-prayer.
Footnote 68:
The Judges of the four orthodox schools.
Footnote 69:
That none might see it or find it ever after.
Footnote 70:
Arab. "Khatt Sharif"=a royal autographical letter: the term is still
preserved in Turkey, but Europeans will write "Hatt."
Footnote 71:
Meaning "Little tom-cat"; a dim. of "Kitt" vulg. Kutt or Gutt.
Footnote 72:
Arab. "Matmúrah"—the Algerine "Matamor"—a "silo," made familiar to
England by the invention of "Ensilage."
Footnote 73:
The older "Mustapha"=Mohammed. This Intercession-doctrine is fiercely
disputed. Pilgrimage ii. 77. The Apostle of Al-Islam seems to have
been unable to make up his mind upon the subject: and modern opinion
amongst Moslems is apparently borrowed from the Christians.
Footnote 74:
Lane (i. 486) curiously says, "The place of the stagnation of blood:"
yet he had translated the word aright in the Introduction (i. 41). I
have noticed that the Nat'a is made like the "Sufrah," of well-tanned
leather, with rings in the periphery, so that a thong passed through
turns it into a bag. The Sufrah used for provisions is usually yellow,
with a black border and small pouches for knives or spoons (Pilgrimage
i. 111).
Footnote 75:
This improbable detail shows the Caliph's greatness.
Footnote 76:
"Cousin" is here a term of familiarity, our "coz."
Footnote 77:
_i.e._ without allowing them a moment's delay to change clothes.
Footnote 78:
_i.e._ according to my nature, birth, blood, _de race_.
_TALE OF GHANIM BIN AYYUB[79], THE DISTRAUGHT,
THE THRALL O' LOVE._
It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in times of yore and in
years and ages long gone before, there lived in Damascus a merchant
among the merchants, a wealthy man who had a son like the moon on the
night of his fullness[80] and withal sweet of speech, who was named
Ghanim bin 'Ayyúb surnamed the Distraught, the Thrall o' Love. He had
also a daughter, own sister to Ghanim, who was called Fitnah, a damsel
unique in beauty and loveliness. Their father died and left them
abundant wealth,—And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to
say her permitted say.
Now when it was the Thirty-ninth Night,
She said, it hath reached me, O auspicious King, that the merchant left
his two children abundant wealth and amongst other things an hundred
loads[81] of silks and brocades, musk-pods and mother o' pearl; and
there was written on every bale, "This is of the packages intended for
Baghdad," it having been his purpose to make the journey thither, when
Almighty Allah took him to Himself, which was in the time of the Caliph
Harun al-Rashid. After a while his son took the loads and, bidding
farewell to his mother and kindred and townsfolk, went forth with a
company of merchants, putting his trust in Allah Almighty, who decreed
him safety, so that he arrived without let or stay at Baghdad. There he
hired for himself a fair dwelling house which he furnished with carpets
and cushions, curtains and hangings; and therein stored his bales and
stabled his mules and camels, after which he abode a while resting.
Presently the merchants and notables of Baghdad came and saluted him,
after which he took a bundle containing ten pieces of costly stuffs,
with the prices written on them, and carried it to the merchants' bazar,
where they welcomed and saluted him and showed him all honour; and,
making him dismount from his beast, seated him in the shop of the Syndic
of the market, to whom he delivered the package. He opened it and
drawing out the pieces of stuff, sold them for him at a profit of two
dinars on every dinar of prime cost. At this Ghanim rejoiced and kept
selling his silks and stuffs one after another, and ceased not to do on
this wise for a full year. On the first day of the following year he
went, as was his wont, to the Exchange which was in the bazar, but found
the gate shut; and enquiring the reason was told, "One of the merchants
is dead and all the others have gone to follow his bier,[82] and why
shouldst thou not win the meed of good deeds by walking with them?"[83]
He replied "Yes," and asked for the quarter where the funeral was taking
place, and one directed him thereto. So he purified himself by the
Wuzu-ablution[84] and repaired with the other merchants to the oratory,
where they prayed over the dead, then walked before the bier to the
burial-place, and Ghanim, who was a bashful man, followed them being
ashamed to leave them. They presently issued from the city, and passed
through the tombs until they reached the grave where they found that the
deceased's kith and kin had pitched a tent over the tomb and had brought
thither lamps and wax-candles. So they buried the body and sat down
while the readers read out and recited the Koran over the grave; and
Ghanim sat with them, being overcome with bashfulness and saying to
himself "I cannot well go away till they do." They tarried listening to
the Koranic perlection till nightfall, when the servants set supper and
sweetmeats[85] before them and they ate till they were satisfied; then
they washed their hands and again took their places. But Ghanim's mind
was preoccupied with his house and goods, being in fear of robbers, and
he said to himself, "I am a stranger here and supposed to have money: if
I pass the night abroad the thieves will steal my money-bags and my
bales to boot." So when he could no longer control his fear he arose and
left the assembly, having first asked leave to go about some urgent
business; and following the signs of the road he soon came to the
city-gate. But it was midnight and he found the doors locked and saw
none going or coming nor heard aught but the hounds baying and the
wolves howling. At this he exclaimed, "There is no Majesty and there is
no Might save in Allah! I was in fear for my property and came back on
its account, but now I find the gate shut and I am in mortal fear for my
life!" Then he turned back and, looking out for a place where he could
sleep till morning, presently found a Santon's tomb, a square of four
walls with a date-tree in the central court and a granite gateway. The
door was wide open; so he entered and would fain have slept, but sleep
came not to him; and terror and a sense of desolation oppressed him, for
that he was alone amidst the tombs. So he rose to his feet and, opening
the door, looked out and lo! he was ware of a light afar off in the
direction of the city-gate; then walking a little way towards it, he saw
that it was on the road whereby he had reached the tomb. This made him
fear for his life, so he hastily shut the door and climbed to the top of
the date-tree where he hid himself in the heart of the fronds. The light
came nearer and nearer till it was close to the tomb; then it stopped
and he saw three slaves, two bearing a chest and one with a lanthorn, an
adze and a basket containing some mortar. When they reached the tomb,
one of those who were carrying the case said, "What aileth thee O
Sawab?"; and said the other, "What is the matter O Kafur?"[86] Quoth he,
"Were we not here at supper-tide and did we not leave the door open?"
"Yes," replied the other, "that is true." "See," said Kafur, "now it is
shut and barred." "How weak are your wits!" cried the third who bore the
adze and his name was Bukhayt,[87] "know ye not that the owners of the
gardens use to come out from Baghdad and tend them and, when evening
closes upon them, they enter this place and shut the door, for fear lest
the wicked blackmen, like ourselves, should catch them and roast 'em and
eat 'em."[88] "Thou sayest sooth," said the two others, "but by Allah,
however that may be, none amongst us is weaker of wits than thou." "If
ye do not believe me," said Bukhayt, "let us enter the tomb and I will
rouse the rat for you; for I doubt not but that, when he saw the light
and us making for the place, he ran up the date-tree and hid there for
fear of us." When Ghanim heard this, he said in himself, "O curstest of
slaves! May Allah not have thee in His holy keeping for this thy craft
and keenness of wit! There is no Majesty and there is no Might save in
Allah, the Glorious, the Great! How shall I win free of these
blackamoors?" Then said the two who bore the box to him of the adze,
"Swarm up the wall and open the gate for us, O Bukhayt, for we are tired
of carrying the chest on our necks; and when thou hast opened the gate
thou shalt have one of those we catch inside, a fine fat rat which we
will fry for thee after such excellent fashion that not a speck of his
fat shall be lost." But Bukhayt answered, "I am afraid of somewhat which
my weak wits have suggested to me: we should do better to throw the
chest over the gateway; for it is our treasure." "If we throw it 'twill
break," replied they; and he said, "I fear lest there be robbers within
who murder folk and plunder their goods, for evening is their time of
entering such places and dividing their spoil." "O thou weak o' wits,"
said both the bearers of the box, "how could they ever get in here!"[89]
Then they set down the chest and climbing over the wall dropped inside
and opened the gate, whilst the third slave (he that was called Bukhayt)
stood by them holding the adze, the lanthorn and the hand-basket
containing the mortar. After this they locked the gate and sat down; and
presently one of them said, "O my brethren, we are wearied with walking
and with lifting up and setting down the chest, and with unlocking and
locking the gate; and now 'tis midnight, and we have no breath left to
open, a tomb and bury the box: so let us rest here two or three hours,
then rise and do the job. Meanwhile each of us shall tell how he came to
be castrated and all that befel him from first to last, the better to
pass away our time while we take our rest." Thereupon the first, he of
the lanthorn and whose name was Bukhayt, said, "I'll tell you my tale."
"Say on," replied they; so he began as follows the
_TALE OF THE FIRST EUNUCH BUKHAYT._