The Thousand and One Nights Volume I Part 12

[Ill.u.s.tration]

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 "?um?um") 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 bra.s.s bottle of this kind, of very beautiful workmans.h.i.+p, for which nearly as much as ten pieces of gold was demanded.

NOTE 3. The seal of Suleyman, 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 superst.i.tion.

NOTE 5. The end of the winnowing-fork bears a rude resemblance to a gigantic hand; having several long p.r.o.ngs of wood.

NOTE 6. Instead of "ibree?" (a ewer), in the Cairo edition, I read "abwa?" (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 cla.s.s.

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 subst.i.tuted by Shahrazad for some other of a gross nature, from respect to the king to whom she is relating the story.

NOTE 9. I read "?akhr el-Jinnee" for "?akhr el-Jinn."--?akhr 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 ?ur-an.--Solomon having, through negligence, suffered one of his women to practise idolatry under his roof, G.o.d 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 ?akhr, 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 s.p.a.ce of forty days, which was the time the image had been wors.h.i.+pped 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 ?akhr, and, tying a great stone to his neck, threw him into the Lake of Tiberias."[150]

NOTE 10. "Umm-'amir" 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-Yoonan," 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 "Yoonan" 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 "Rooyan."

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 Rooman;" 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 cla.s.ses 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 ?o?s), some of which were set with jewels; as also, bracelets, and swords ornamented with precious stones, &c.; and to Wezeers, instead of the ?o?, 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 Haroon Er-Rasheed, saw in it the following entry:--"Four hundred thousand pieces of gold, the price of a dress of honour for Ja?far, the son of Ya?ya, the Wezeer."--A few days after, he saw beneath this written,--"Ten ?eera?s, the price of naphtha and reeds, for burning the body of Ja?far, the son of Ya?ya."[152]--The ?eera? of Baghdad was the twentieth part of a deenar, 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'awiyeh, 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 ill.u.s.trious 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 s.h.i.+rts, 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:--?ammad, surnamed Er-Rawiyeh, 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 Hisham, on the accession of the latter fled to El-Koofeh. While there, a letter arrived from Hisham, 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 Hisham, 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 unsurpa.s.sed, each holding a crystal ewer of wine. His admission during the presence of members of the King's ?areem, 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 ?ammad 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 "ibree?," which signifies "a ewer."

The reciter reflected a while, and the lines occurred to his mind, and he repeated them. Hisham 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 ?ammad. 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 ?ammad 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." Hisham 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 ?ammad, "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 G.o.d."[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-A?ma'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 a.s.sume the dress of a Bedawee, that he might not be known, covering his face, the eyes only excepted, with a litham (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 G.o.d 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 Sul?an."--"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-A?ma'ee, "should I a.s.sume 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 Sul?an." 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 Sul?an," 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 repet.i.tion of this trick (of which he afterwards discovered El-A?ma'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 a.s.s'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 ?ammam, or bath, is a favourite resort of both men and women of all cla.s.ses 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 Mo?ammad.

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 cus.h.i.+ons for the higher and middle cla.s.ses, 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 princ.i.p.al apartment, or ?ararah, 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 ?ararah: 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 ?ararah, 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 ?ararah, 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 vertebrae of the back and neck; kneads his flesh; and rubs the soles of his feet with a coa.r.s.e 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 pa.s.sed 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 Mo?ammad, 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 ?ur-an 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 princ.i.p.al 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 quant.i.ty 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 cla.s.ses 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 deewans, 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 bra.s.s, 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-sh.e.l.l, &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 was.h.i.+ng, 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 cus.h.i.+ons, or some of them on the deewan, 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 G.o.d," or "In the name of G.o.d, the Compa.s.sionate, 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; cuc.u.mbers 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 "kebab;" 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 b.u.t.ter, 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 b.u.t.ter, 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-La?eef 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, c.u.min-seed, cardamom, nut [or nutmeg?], &c. These were then sprinkled with rose-water infused with musk; and upon the lambs, and in the remaining s.p.a.ces, 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 coa.r.s.e nature, is never eaten when any other meat can be obtained, excepting by persons of the lower cla.s.ses, and by Arabs of the desert. Of fish, almost every kind is eaten (excepting sh.e.l.l-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 b.u.t.ter, 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 bra.s.s or other metal: but in the houses of the wealthy, sherbet is sometimes served instead of this, in covered gla.s.s 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 G.o.d;" and each person of the company says to him, "May it be productive of enjoyment:" to which he replies, "May G.o.d 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 G.o.d," or "Praise be to G.o.d, 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-'Abbas a.s.signs 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 Ka?b-El-A?bar, 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; fort.i.tude and sedition, to Syria; magnificence, or pride, and hypocrisy, to El-'Era?; wealth and degradation, to Egypt; and poverty and misery, to the Desert.--Of women, it is said, by Ka?b-El-A?bar, that the best in the world (excepting those of the tribe of ?ureysh mentioned by the Prophet) are those of El-Ba?rah; and the worst in the world, those of Egypt.[163]

NOTE 21. In the Cairo edition, King Yoonan is made to say, "I should repent after it, as King Sindibad 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 Ya-Seen (or 36th chapter of the ?ur-an); 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 ?ur-an from beginning to end. The Basha, he says, desiring to try its talent, caused a man to recite a chapter of the ?ur-an in its presence, and to pa.s.s 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 cla.s.s 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 hors.e.m.e.n 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 astonis.h.i.+ng. 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 pa.s.ses 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 hors.e.m.e.n 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, agha Mo?ammad Khan, whose taste is inherited by the present sovereign.

"The novelty of these amus.e.m.e.nts 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 ?obara, a n.o.ble 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 ?obara 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 ?obara we found afforded us a proof of the astonis.h.i.+ng 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 ?obara, 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 ?obara, 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 ?obara 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 a.s.s 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 "?a?a," quails, wild geese, ducks, &c. Against all of these, the hawk is generally employed, but a.s.sisted 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. Amus.e.m.e.nt 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 (?al?at e?-?eyd), surround the spot in which the game is found.