The Thousand and One Nights Volume I Part 34

He returned to his house a rich man, and sat reflecting, and lo, a person knocked at the door: he rose, therefore, and opened it; and beheld an old woman whom he knew not, and she said to him, O my son, know that the time of prayer hath almost expired, and I am not prepared by ablution; wherefore I beg that thou wilt admit me into thy house, that I may perform it. He replied, I hear and obey;--and, retiring within, gave her permission to enter; his mind still wandering from joy on account of the gold; and when she had finished the ablution, she approached the spot where he was sitting, and there performed the prayers of two rek'ahs. She then offered up a supplication for my brother; and he thanked her, and offered her two pieces of gold; but when she saw this, she exclaimed, Extolled be G.o.d's perfection! Verily I wonder at the person who fell in love with thee in thy beggarly condition! Take back thy money from me, and if thou want it not, return it to her who gave it thee when thy gla.s.s broke.--O my mother, said he, how can I contrive to obtain access to her? She answered, O my son, she hath an affection for thee; but she is the wife of an affluent man; take then with thee all thy money, and when thou art with her be not deficient in courteousness and agreeable words; so shalt thou obtain of her favours and her wealth whatever thou shalt desire. My brother, therefore, took all the gold, and arose and went with the old woman, hardly believing what she had told him; and she proceeded, and my brother behind her, until they arrived at a great door, at which she knocked; whereupon a Greek damsel came and opened the door, and the old woman entered, ordering my brother to do the same. He did so, and found himself in a large house, where he beheld a great furnished chamber, with curtains hung in it; and, seating himself there, he put down the gold before him, and placed his turban on his knees;[V_91] and scarcely had he done so, when there came to him a damsel, the like of whom had never been seen, attired in most magnificent apparel. My brother stood up at her approach; and when she beheld him, she laughed in his face, and rejoiced at his visit: then going to the door, she locked it; after which she returned to my brother, and took his hand, and both of them went together into a private chamber, carpeted with various kinds of silk, where my brother sat down, and she seated herself by his side, and toyed with him for a considerable time. She then rose, saying to him, Move not from this place until I return to thee;--and was absent from him for a short period;--and as my brother was waiting for her, there came in to him a black slave, of gigantic stature, with a drawn sword, the brightness of which dazzled the sight; and he exclaimed to my brother. Wo to thee! Who brought thee to this place? Thou vilest of men! Thou misbegotten wretch, and nursling of impurity!--My brother was unable to make any reply; his tongue was instantly tied; and the slave laid hold upon him, and stripped him, and struck him more than eighty blows with the flat of his sword, until he fell sprawling upon the floor; when he retired from him, concluding that he was dead, and uttered a great cry, so that the earth trembled, and the place resounded at his voice, saying, Where is El-Melee?ah?[V_92]--upon which a girl came to him, holding a handsome tray containing salt; and with this she forthwith stuffed the flesh-wounds with which my brother's skin was gashed until they gaped open; but he moved not, fearing the slave would discover that he was alive, and kill him. The girl then went away, and the slave uttered another cry, like the first, whereupon the old woman came to my brother, and, dragging him by the feet to a deep and dark vault, threw him into it upon a heap of slain.[V_93] In this place he remained for two whole days; and G.o.d (whose perfection be extolled!) made the salt to be the means of preserving his life, by stanching the flow of blood from his veins; so, when he found that he had strength sufficient to move, he arose, and, opening a shutter in the wall, emerged from the place of the slain; and G.o.d (to whom be ascribed all might and glory!) granted him his protection. He therefore proceeded in the darkness, and concealed himself in the pa.s.sage until the morning, when the old woman went forth to seek another victim, and my brother, going out after her, without her knowledge, returned to his house.

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He now occupied himself with the treatment of his wounds until he was restored; and continued to watch for the old woman, and constantly saw her taking men, one after another, and conducting them to the same house. But he uttered not a word on the subject; and when his health returned, and his strength was completely renewed, he took a piece of rag, and made of it a purse, which he filled with pieces of gla.s.s: he then tied it to his waist, and disguised himself so that no one would know him, in the dress of a foreigner; and, taking a sword, placed it within his clothes; and as soon as he saw the old woman, he said to her, in the dialect of a foreigner, Old woman, hast thou a pair of scales fit for weighing nine hundred pieces of gold? The old woman answered, I have a young son, a money-changer, and he hath all kinds of scales; therefore accompany me to him before he go forth from his abode, that he may weigh for thee thy gold. So my brother said, Walk on before me:--and she went, and my brother followed her until she arrived at the door, and knocked; upon which the girl came out, and laughed in his face; and the old woman said to her, I have brought you to-day some fat meat. The girl then took my brother's hand, and conducted him into the house (the same which he had entered before), and after she had sat with him a short time, she rose, saying to him, Quit not this place until I return to thee:--and she retired; and my brother had remained not long after when the slave came to him with the drawn sword, and said to him, Rise, thou unlucky!

So my brother rose, and, as the slave walked before him, he put his hand to the sword which was concealed beneath his clothes, and struck the slave with it, and cut off his head; after which he dragged him by his feet to the vault, and called out, Where is El-Melee?ah? The slave-girl, therefore, came, having in her hand the tray containing the salt; but when she saw my brother with the sword in his hand, she turned back and fled: my brother, however, overtook her, and struck off her head. He then called out, Where is the old woman?--and she came; and he said to her, Dost thou know me, O malevolent hag? She answered, No, O my lord.--I am, said he, the man who had the pieces of gold, and in whose house thou performedst the ablution and prayedst; after which, devising a stratagem against me, thou betrayedst me into this place.--The old woman exclaimed, Fear G.o.d in thy treatment of me!--but my brother, turning towards her, struck her with the sword, and clove her in twain.

He then went to search for the chief damsel, and when she saw him, her reason fled, and she implored his pardon; whereupon he granted her his pardon, and said to her, What occasioned thy falling into the hands of this black? She answered, I was a slave to one of the merchants, and this old woman used to visit me; and one day she said to me, We are celebrating a festivity, the like of which no one hath seen, and I have a desire that thou shouldst witness it. I replied, I hear and obey:--and arose, and clad myself in the best of my attire, and, taking with me a purse containing a hundred pieces of gold,[V_94] proceeded with her until she entered this house, when suddenly this black took me, and I have continued with him in this state three years, through the stratagem of the old witch.--My brother then said to her, Is there any property of his in the house?--Abundance, she answered; and if thou canst remove it, do so:--and upon this, he arose and went with her, when she opened to him chests filled with purses, at the sight of which he was confounded; and she said to him, Go now, and leave me here, and bring some person to remove the property. So he went out, and, having hired ten men, returned; but on his arrival at the door, he found it open, and saw neither the damsel nor the purses; he found, however, some little money remaining, and the stuffs. He discovered, therefore, that she had eluded him; and he took the money that remained, and, opening the closets, took all the stuffs which they contained, leaving nothing in the house.

He pa.s.sed the next night full of happiness; but when the morning came, he found at the door twenty soldiers, and on his going forth to them, they laid hold upon him, saying, The Walee summoneth thee. So they took him, and conducted him to the Walee, who, when he saw him, said to him, Whence obtainedst thou these stuffs?--Grant me indemnity, said my brother:--and the Walee gave him the handkerchief of indemnity;[V_95]

and my brother related to him all that had befallen him with the old woman from first to last, and the flight of the damsel; adding,--and of that which I have taken, take thou what thou wilt; but leave me wherewith to procure my food. The Walee thereupon demanded the whole of the money and the stuffs; but fearing that the Sul?an[V_96] might become acquainted with the matter, he retained a portion only, and gave the rest to my brother, saying to him, Quit this city, or I will hang thee.

My brother replied, I hear and obey:--and went forth to one of the surrounding cities. Some robbers, however, came upon him, and stripped and beat him, and cut off his ears; and I, having heard of his situation, went forth to him, taking to him some clothes; and brought him back privily into the city, and supplied him with daily food and drink.

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THE BARBER'S STORY OF HIS SIXTH BROTHER

My sixth brother (Sha?ali?), O Prince of the Faithful, had his lips cut off. He was in a state of extreme poverty, possessing nothing of the goods of this perishable world; and he went forth one day to seek for something with which to stay his departing spirit, and on his way he beheld a handsome house, with a wide and lofty vestibule, at the door of which were servants, commanding and forbidding; whereupon he inquired of one of the persons standing there, who answered, This house belongeth to a man of the sons of the Barmekees.[V_97] My brother, therefore, advanced to the door-keepers, and begged them to give him something; and they said, Enter the door of the house, and thou wilt obtain what thou desirest of its master. So he entered the vestibule, and proceeded through it a while until he arrived at a mansion of the utmost beauty and elegance, having a garden in the midst of it, unsurpa.s.sed in beauty by anything that had ever been seen: its floors were paved with marble, and its curtains were hanging around. He knew not in which direction to go; but advanced to the upper extremity, and there he beheld a man of handsome countenance and beard, who, on seeing my brother, rose to him, and welcomed him, inquiring respecting his circ.u.mstances. He accordingly informed him that he was in want; and when the master of the house heard his words, he manifested excessive grief, and, taking hold of his own clothes, rent them, and exclaimed, Am I in the city, and thou in it hungry? It is a thing that I cannot endure!--Then promising him every kind of happiness, he said, Thou must stay and partake of my salt. But my brother replied, O my master, I have not patience to wait; for I am in a state of extreme hunger.

Upon this, the master of the house called out, Boy, bring the basin and ewer!--and he said, O my guest, advance, and wash thy hand. He then performed the same motions as if he were was.h.i.+ng his hand; and called to his attendants to bring the table; whereupon they began to come and go as though they were preparing it; after which the master of the house took my brother, and sat down with him at this imaginary table, and proceeded to move his hands and lips as if he were eating; saying to my brother, Eat, and be not ashamed, for thou art hungry, and I know how thou art suffering from the violence of thy hunger. My brother, therefore, made the same motions, as if he also were eating, while his host said to him, Eat, and observe this bread and its whiteness. To this, my brother at first made no reply; but observed in his own mind, Verily this is a man who loveth to jest with others:--so he said to him, O my master, in my life I have never seen bread more beautifully white than this, or any of sweeter taste:--on which the host rejoined, This was made by a female slave of mine whom I purchased for five hundred pieces of gold. He then called out, Boy, bring to us the sikbaj,[V_98] the like of which is not found among the dishes of Kings!--and, addressing my brother, he said, Eat, O my guest; for thou art hungry, vehemently so, and in absolute want of food. So my brother began to twist about his mouth, and to chew, as in eating. The master of the house now proceeded to demand different kinds of viands, one after another; and, though nothing was brought, he continued ordering my brother to eat. Next he called out, Boy, place before us the chickens stuffed with pistachio-nuts:--and said to his guest, Eat of that which thou hast never tasted the like.--O my master, replied my brother, verily this dish hath not its equal in sweetness of flavour:--and the host, thereupon, began to put his hand to my brother's mouth as though he were feeding him with morsels; and proceeded to enumerate to him the various different kinds of viands, and to describe their several excellencies; while his hunger so increased that he longed for a cake of barley-bread. The master of the house then said to him, Hast thou tasted anything more delicious than the spices in these dishes?--No, O my master, answered my brother.--Eat more then, resumed the host; and be not ashamed.--I have eaten enough of the meats, replied the guest. So the man of the house called to his attendants to bring the sweets; and they moved their hands about in the air as if they were bringing them; whereupon the host said to my brother, Eat of this dish; for it is excellent; and of these ?a?af,[V_99] by my life! and take this one before the sirup runs from it.--May I never be deprived of thee, O my master! exclaimed my brother, proceeding to inquire of him respecting the abundance of musk in the ?a?af.--This, answered the host, is my usual custom in my house: they always put for me, in each of the ?a?af, a mith?al[V_100] of musk, and half a mith?al of ambergris.--All this time my brother was moving his head and mouth, and rolling about his tongue between his cheeks, as if he were enjoying the sweets. After this, the master of the house called out to his attendants, Bring the dried fruits!--and again they moved about their hands in the air as though they were doing what he ordered; when he said to my brother, Eat of these almonds, and of these walnuts, and of these raisins;--and so on; enumerating the various kinds of dried fruits; and added again, Eat, and be not ashamed.--O my master, replied my brother, I have had enough, and have not power to eat anything more:--but the host rejoined, If thou desire, O my guest, to eat more, and to delight thyself with extraordinary dainties, by Allah! by Allah! remain not hungry.

My brother now reflected upon his situation, and upon the manner in which this man was jesting with him, and said within himself, By Allah, I will do to him a deed that shall make him repent before G.o.d of these actions! The man of the house next said to his attendants, Bring us the wine:--and, as before, they made the same motions with their hands in the air as if they were doing what he commanded; after which he pretended to hand to my brother a cup, saying, Take this cup, for it will delight thee:--and his guest replied, O my master, this is of thy bounty:--and he acted with his hand as though he were drinking it.--Hath it pleased thee? said the host.--O my master, answered my brother, I have never seen anything more delicious than this wine.--Drink then, rejoined the master of the house, and may it be attended with benefit and health:--and he himself pretended to drink, and to hand a second cup to my brother, who, after he had affected to drink it, feigned himself intoxicated, and, taking his host unawares, raised his hand until the whiteness of his arm-pit appeared, and struck him such a slap upon his neck that the chamber rang at the blow; and this he followed by a second blow; whereupon the man exclaimed, What is this, thou vilest of the creation?--O my master, answered my brother, I am thy slave, whom thou hast graciously admitted into thine abode, and thou hast fed him with thy provisions, and treated him with old wine, and he hath become intoxicated, and committed an outrage upon thee; but thou art of too exalted dignity to be angry with him for his ignorance.

When the master of the house heard these words of my brother, he uttered a loud laugh, and said to him, Verily for a long time have I made game of men, and jested with all persons accustomed to joking and rudeness, but I have not seen among them any who could endure this trick, nor any who had sagacity to conform to all my actions, except thee: now, therefore, I pardon thee; and be thou my companion in reality, and never relinquish me. He then gave orders to bring a number of the dishes above mentioned, and he and my brother ate together to satisfaction; after which they removed to the drinking-chamber, where female slaves like so many moons sang all kinds of melodies, and played on all kinds of musical instruments. There they drank until intoxication overcame them: the master of the house treated my brother as a familiar friend, became greatly attached to him, and clad him with a costly dress; and on the following morning they resumed their feasting and drinking. Thus they continued to live for a period of twenty years: the man then died, and the Sul?an[V_101] seized upon his property, and took possession of it.

My brother, upon this, went forth from the city, a fugitive; and upon his way, a party of Arabs[V_102] came upon him. They made him a captive; and the man who captured him tortured him with beating, and said to him, By Allah, purchase thyself of me by wealth, or I will kill thee:--but my brother, weeping, replied, By Allah, I possess nothing, O Sheykh of the Arabs; nor do I know the means of obtaining any property: I am thy captive; I have fallen into thy hands, and do with me what thou wilt. And immediately the tyrannical Bedawee drew forth from his girdle a broad-bladed knife (such as, if plunged into the neck of a camel, would cut it across from one jugular vein to the other), and, taking it in his right hand, approached my poor brother, and cut off with it his lips; still urging his demand.--Now this Bedawee had a handsome wife, who, when he was absent, used to manifest a strong affection for my brother; though he observed a proper decorum towards her, fearing G.o.d (whose name be exalted!); and it happened, one day, that she had called him, and seated him with her; but while they were together, lo, her husband came in upon them; and when he beheld my brother, he exclaimed, Wo to thee, thou base wretch! Dost thou desire now to corrupt my wife?--Then drawing his knife, he inflicted upon him another cruel wound; after which he mounted him upon a camel, and, having cast him upon a mountain, left him there, and went his way. Some travellers, however, pa.s.sed by him, and when they discovered him, they gave him food and drink, and acquainted me with his case: so I went forth to him, and conveyed him back into the city, and allotted him a sufficient maintenance.

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Now I have come unto thee, O Prince of the Faithful, continued the barber, and feared to return to my house without relating to thee these facts; for to neglect doing so had been an error. Thus thou hast seen that, although having six brothers, I am of a more upright character than they.--But when the Prince of the Faithful had heard my story, and all that I had related to him respecting my brothers, he laughed, and said, Thou hast spoken truth, O ?amit (O silent man); thou art a person of few words, and devoid of impertinence; now, however, depart from this city, and take up thine abode in another. So he banished me from Baghdad; and I journeyed through various countries, and traversed many regions, until I heard of his death, and of the succession of another Khaleefeh; when, returning to my city, I met with this young man, unto whom I did the best of deeds, and who, had it not been for me, had been slain: yet he hath accused me of that which is not in my character; for all that he hath related of me, with respect to impertinence, and loquacity, and dulness, and want of taste, is false, O people.

CONTINUATION OF THE STORY TOLD BY THE TAILOR.

The tailor then proceeded thus:--When we heard the story of the barber, and were convinced of his impertinence and loquacity, and that the young man had been treated unjustly by him, we seized hold upon him, and put him in confinement, and, seating ourselves to keep watch over him, ate and drank; and the feast was finished in the most agreeable manner. We remained sitting together until the call to afternoon-prayers, when I went forth, and returned to my house; but my wife looked angrily at me, and said, Thou hast been all the day enjoying thy pleasure while I have been sitting at home sorrowful; now if thou go not forth with me and amuse me for the remainder of the day, thy refusal will be the cause of my separation from thee. So I took her and went out with her, and we amused ourselves until nightfall, when, returning home, we met this humpback, full of drink, and repeating verses; upon which I invited him to come home with us, and he consented. I then went forth to buy some fried fish, and having bought it and returned, we sat down to eat; and my wife took a morsel of bread and a piece of fish, and put them into his mouth, and choked him, so that he died; whereupon I took him up, and contrived to throw him into the house of this physician, and he contrived to throw him into the house of the steward, and the steward contrived to throw him in the way of the broker.--This is the story of what happened to me yesterday. Is it not more wonderful than that of the humpback?

CONTINUATION OF THE STORY OF THE HUMPBACK.

When the King had heard this story, he ordered certain of his chamberlains to go with the tailor, and to bring the barber; saying to them, His presence is indispensable, that I may hear his talk, and it may be the cause of the deliverance of you all: then we will bury this humpback decently in the earth, for he hath been dead since yesterday; and we will make him a monument around his grave, since he hath been the occasion of our acquaintance with these wonderful stories.

The chamberlains and the tailor soon came back, after having gone to the place of confinement and brought the barber, whom they placed before the King; and when the King beheld him, he saw him to be an old man, pa.s.sed his ninetieth year, of dark countenance, and white beard and eyebrows, with small ears, and long nose, and a haughty aspect. The King laughed at the sight of him, and said to him, O silent man, I desire that thou relate to me somewhat of thy stories.--O King of the age, replied the barber, what is the occasion of the presence of this Christian and this Jew and this Muslim, and this humpback lying dead among you; and what is the reason of this a.s.sembly?--Wherefore dost thou ask this? said the King. The barber answered, I ask it in order that the King may know me to be no impertinent person, nor one who meddleth with that which doth not concern him, and that I am free from the loquacity of which they accuse me: for I am fortunate in my characteristic appellation, since they have surnamed me E?-?amit; and, as the poet hath said,--

Seldom hast thou seen a person honoured with a surname, but thou wilt find, if thou search, that his character is expressed by it.

The King therefore said, Explain to the barber the case of this humpback, and what happened to him yesterday evening, and explain to him also what the Christian hath related, and the Jew and the steward and the tailor. So they repeated to him the stories of all these persons.

The barber, thereupon, shook his head, saying, By Allah, this is a wonderful thing! Uncover this humpback, that I may examine him.--And they did so. He then seated himself at his head, and, taking it up, placed it upon his lap, and looked at his face, and laughed so violently that he fell backwards, exclaiming, For every death there is a cause; and the death of this humpback is most wonderful: it is worthy of being registered in the records, that posterity may be instructed by this event!--The King, astonished at his words, said, O ?amit, explain to us the reason of thy saying this.--O King, replied the barber, by thy beneficence, life is yet in the humpback! He then drew forth from his bosom a pot containing some ointment, and with this he anointed the neck of the humpback; after which he covered it up until it perspired; when he took forth an iron forceps, and put it down his throat, and extracted the piece of fish with its bone, and all the people saw them. The humpback now sprang upon his feet, and sneezed, and, recovering his consciousness, drew his hands over his face, and exclaimed, There is no Deity but G.o.d! Mo?ammad is G.o.d's Apostle! G.o.d bless and save him!--and all who were present were astonished at the sight, and the King laughed until he became insensible; as did also the other spectators. The King exclaimed, By Allah, this accident is wonderful! I have never witnessed anything more strange!--and added, O Muslims! O a.s.sembly of soldiers!

have ye ever in the course of your lives seen any one die and after that come to life? But had not G.o.d blessed him with this barber, the humpback had been to-day numbered among the people of the other world; for the barber hath been the means of restoring him to life.--They replied, This is indeed a wonderful thing!

The King then gave orders to record this event; and when they had done so, he placed the record in the royal library; and he bestowed dresses of honour upon the Jew and the Christian and the steward; upon each of them, a costly dress: the tailor he appointed to be his own tailor, granting him regular allowances, and reconciling him and the humpback with each other: the humpback he honoured with a rich and beautiful dress, and with similar allowances, and appointed him his cup-companion; and upon the barber also he conferred the like favours, rewarding him with a costly dress of honour, regular allowances, and a fixed salary, and appointing him state-barber, and his own cup-companion: so they all lived in the utmost happiness and comfort until they were visited by the terminator of delights and the separator of friends.

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NOTES TO CHAPTER FIFTH.

NOTE 1. As the story of the Humpback is one of the best in this collection, and purely Arab, I have been glad to find, in the Calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, authority for deviating here from my usual standard copy, by subst.i.tuting "El-Ba?rah" for a city of China. The Breslau edition, in the opening of the story, lays the scene at "El-Ba?rah _and_ ?aj?ar." By the latter, I suppose Kashghar to be meant.

NOTE 2. In my original, they are said to have gone out early in the morning; but this is contradicted by the sequel.

NOTE 3. The appeal to Ezra's a.s.s, which alludes to a tradition believed by the Muslims, as it is mentioned in the ?ur-an, is omitted in the Cairo edition. The story is this:--'Ozeyr, or Ezra, "riding on an a.s.s by the ruins of Jerusalem, after it had been destroyed by the Chaldeans, doubted in his mind by what means G.o.d could raise the city and its inhabitants again; whereupon G.o.d caused him to die, and he remained in that condition a hundred years; at the end of which, G.o.d restored him to life, and he found a basket of figs and a cruise of wine that he had with him, not in the least spoiled or corrupted; but his a.s.s was dead, the bones only remaining; and these, while the Prophet looked on, were raised and clothed with flesh, becoming an a.s.s again, which, being inspired with life, began immediately to bray."[323]

NOTE 4. Most Arab cities abound with cats, which are much favoured by the inhabitants. These animals are often seen leaping across from the terrace of one house to that of another on the opposite side of a narrow street; and often has my kitchen in Cairo been robbed by them. They are said to contribute greatly to the spreading of the plague.

NOTE 5. Occurrences of this kind are said to have often happened in Arab towns, where dogs, though esteemed unclean by the Muslims, are, like cats, generally very numerous. Few of them have masters; but they compose distinct tribes; those of each tribe confining themselves to a particular quarter or district of the town, and suffering no strange dog to intrude among them and share with them in the offal thrown out from the butchers' shops and from private houses; or prowling about the mounds of rubbish in the environs, and, like the vultures, feeding upon the carca.s.ses of camels, a.s.ses, and other beasts, thrown out by the inhabitants. I was once told that the master of an English merchant-vessel, having fallen asleep in a state of intoxication on the sh.o.r.e of the harbour of Alexandria, at night, was devoured by dogs.

NOTE 6. The s.n.a.t.c.hing of turbans by night is still a frequent practice of Arab rogues, and one which is often very lucrative; many a turban being composed of a costly Kashmeer shawl wound round a ?arboosh, which latter alone is worth eight or nine s.h.i.+llings, or more, and some also having money or other valuables secreted in them.

NOTE 7. Watchmen are generally employed to guard by night the soo?s, or market-streets, and other districts, in Arab towns. Those in Cairo carry a nebboot, or long staff, but no lantern. Their usual cries are of a religious nature; as, "I extol the perfection of the Living King, who sleepeth not nor dieth!" When they see a pa.s.senger approaching, they call out to him, "Attest the unity of G.o.d!" or merely, "Attest the unity!" and the reply is, "There is no deity but G.o.d!" It is supposed that a person bound on any unlawful undertaking would not dare to utter these words.

NOTE 8. At the period when this work was composed, the Christians were distinguished from the Muslims by a black or blue turban, and this was wound in a peculiar manner.

NOTE 9.--_On the t.i.tle and Office of_ Walee. "Walee" is the t.i.tle given to the chief magistrate of the police, and was so employed in the time of El-Ma?reezee, instead of the older appellation of "?a?eb esh-Shur?ah." The same officer was also called "Mutawellee." It was the duty of this magistrate to perambulate the streets at night, attended by a body of his officers, including an executioner; for he often inflicted capital punishment on criminals immediately after their detection. He was invested with a degree of despotic power, and often put to death persons accused of capital crimes without the formalities required by the law. It was also his duty to superintend the infliction of the punishments of criminals legally condemned. An officer was employed to perform the nightly rounds in El-Medeeneh in the reign of Aboo-Bekr; but it appears that the first regular guard for this purpose was appointed in the reign of 'Othman.[324]

NOTE 10. The ardebb, thus commonly p.r.o.nounced, but properly written irdebb, varies in different places. In Cairo it is very nearly equivalent to five English bushels.

NOTE 11. In the original, this building is called the Khan of El-Jawalee; but it evidently should be----of El-Jawalee; and the error is to be attributed to a copyist. The Khan of El-Jawalee is mentioned by El-Ma?reezee,[325] as being situate at a short distance within the present gate called Bab en-Na?r, and by the site of the older gate so called; and as existing in his time, in the former half of the ninth century of the Flight. [El-Ma?reezee also informs us, in his account of the Medreseh el-Jawaleeyeh, that El-Jawalee's full name was 'Alam-ed-Deen Senjer, and that he was originally a memlook of one Jawalee (whence his surname), an Emeer of El-Melik e?-?ahir Beybars. He died in the year of the Flight 745.--ED.]

NOTE 12. Bab en-Na?r (the Gate of Victory, or----of Aid) is the name of the easternmost of the northern gates of Cairo. It was built in the reign of the Khaleefeh El-Mustan?ir, in the year of the Flight 480 (A.

D. 1087-8).

NOTE 13. The words "besides my brokerage," I have inserted as necessary to make the account correct.

NOTE 14. It has been shewn in a former note that the Arabs consider it indecorous to eat with the left hand.

NOTE 15. As it is held impolite to shew the hands, unless unavoidably, in the presence of a person of rank, the sleeve of the cloth coat, or that of the silk vest which is worn beneath it, is made sufficiently long to extend a little beyond the ends of the fingers; and so also, in general, is the sleeve of the s.h.i.+rt worn by persons of the lower orders.

NOTE 16. This building is first called, in the Cairo edition, the Khan of Suroor; and afterwards,----of Mesroor: the latter is the appellation given to it in the edition of Breslau; and is the correct name. The Khan of Mesroor is mentioned by El-Ma?reezee,[326] as situate at the southern extremity of Beyn el-?a?reyn (respecting which see the next note), adjacent to the site of the Great Palace of the Khaleefehs.

There were two Khans of this name near each other. El-Ma?reezee says, that, in his earlier days, the greater of these, which appears to be that here alluded to, was one of the finest and largest Khans in Cairo, in a most flouris.h.i.+ng state, the resort of the chief Syrian merchants, and the depot of their goods; but that latterly it had declined, and some portions of it were ruined.

NOTE 17. Beyn el-?a?reyn (which signifies "Between the Two Palaces") is the name still applied to that part of the princ.i.p.al street of Cairo which intervenes between the sites of the two famous palaces of the Khaleefehs.

NOTE 18. A ?eysareeyeh is a superior kind of soo?, consisting of ranges of shops facing each other. That which is here mentioned (called in the Cairo edition, the ?eysereeyeh of Jirjis; in the edition of Breslau, the ?eysareeyeh of Jarkash; and in the old English version, erroneously, the Circa.s.sian bezestein) is the ?eysareeyeh of Jaharkas, which, as I learn from El-Ma?reezee,[327] was situate near the centre of what const.i.tuted the old city, on the east of the princ.i.p.al street. It existed in his time, and was built by the Emeer Fakhr-ed-Deen Jaharkas, in the year of the Flight 502 (A.D. 1108-9). Ibn-Khallikan,[328] as quoted by El-Ma?reezee, says of it, "I have seen a number of merchants who have traversed various countries, and who say, 'We have not seen in any country its equal in beauty and greatness, and compactness of construction.'" He explains also the orthography of the name of "Jaharkas," and states that it is Persian (Chahar-kas), and signifies "four persons."