Note 1. The next story to that of Ghánim, in my original, is one of very great length, comprising the greater part of the forty-fourth night and extending to the end of the hundred and forty-fifth; but interrupted by the contents of my eighth chapter, which consists of two stories of a very different kind, that appear to have been introduced to relieve its tediousness. With these, it occupies nearly 162 pages, or not much less than an eighth part of the whole work. It is the story of the King 'Omar En-Noạmán, and his two sons Sharr-kán360 and Ḍó-el-Mekán,361 and his daughter Nuzhet-ez-Zemán,362 &c. It is entirely a fiction, professedly relating to the first century of the Mohammadan era, "before the reign of the Khaleefeh 'Abd-El-Melik the son of Marwán;" and its main subject is a war with two Greek Kings. Taken altogether, I deem it unworthy of a place in the present series of tales; and so much of it depends upon incidents of a most objectionable nature, that I cannot attempt to abridge it; but a pleasant tale might be composed from it by considerable alterations.
One of the two stories which I have extracted from it, that of Táj-el-Mulook and the Lady Dunyà, bears apparent indications of a Persian origin; but in their present state, the manners and customs &c. which both exhibit are Arab. The scenes of the events narrated in the story of Táj-el-Mulook are in Persia and, probably, in India; but imaginary names appear to be given to the several kingdoms mentioned in it: the kingdom of El-Arḍ el-Khaḍrà ("the Green Country") and El-'Amoodeyn (which signifies "the Two Columns") is said to include the mountains of Iṣpahán, and its locality is thereby sufficiently indicated: that of El-Arḍ el-Beyḍà ("the White Country") I suppose to be in Persia or India: and as to the Islands of Camphor, I fancy we must be content to consider them vaguely as appertaining to India: the country in which 'Azeez and 'Azeezeh resided is said to have been near to the Islands of Camphor; but their story is perfectly Arab.—The Island of Camphor is also mentioned in the Story of Ḥasan of El-Baṣrah.
Note 2. "El-Medeeneh el-Khaḍrà" signifies "the Green City." See the above note.
Note 3. "The Compassionate" is an epithet here applied to God.
Note 4. See the first note in this series.—"Zahr," in Arabic, signifies "a Flower."
Note 5.—On Coats of Mail, and other Armour worn by the Arabs. The Prophet David is said to have been the first person who manufactured coats of mail; and the cause of his applying himself to the art was this.—"He used to go forth in disguise; and when he found any people who knew him not, he approached them and asked them respecting the conduct of Dáood (or David), and they praised him and prayed for him; but one day as he was asking questions respecting himself as usual, God sent to him an angel in the form of a human being, who said, 'An excellent man were Dáood if he did not take from the public treasury:'—whereupon the heart of Dáood was contracted, and he begged of God to render him independent: so He made iron soft to him, and it became in his hands as thread; and he used to sell a coat of mail for four thousand [pieces of money—whether gold or silver is not said], and with part of this he obtained food for himself, and part he gave in alms, and with part he fed his family."363—Hence an excellent coat of mail is often called by the Arabs "Dáoodee," i. e. "Davidean." This kind of armour is worn by some Arabs of the Desert in the present day; but the best specimens, I believe, are mostly found in India. Burckhardt mentions one tribe of Arabs who have about twenty-five; another, two hundred; and two others, between thirty and forty. "The dora [properly dirạ] is," he remarks, "of two sorts, one covering the whole body like a long gown from the elbow, over the shoulders, down to the knees: this is the sirgh: the other, called kembáz, covers the body only to the waist; the arms from the elbows downwards being covered with two pieces of steel, fitting into each other, with iron fingers. Thus clad, the Arab completes his armour by putting on his head an iron cap (tás), which is but rarely adorned with feathers. The price of a coat of mail fluctuates from two hundred to fifteen hundred piastres.... Those of the best quality are capable of resisting a ball."364 The coat of mail is sometimes worn within the ordinary outer tunic.
Note 6. This implies that his parents were dead.
Note 7.—On Public Royal Feasts. On certain periodical festivals, and on other occasions (as those of the kind here described), it has long been, and still is, a custom of Muslim princes to give public feasts to all classes of their subjects, in the palace. El-Maḳreezee quotes a curious account of the feasts which were given on the festival following Ramaḍán to the inhabitants of Cairo, by the Fáṭimee Khaleefehs.365 At the upper end of a large saloon was placed the sereer (or couch) of the monarch, upon which he sat with the Wezeer on his right. Upon this seat was placed a round silver table, with various delicacies, of which they alone ate. Before it, and extending nearly from the seat to the other extremity of the saloon, was set up a kind of table or platform (simáṭ) of painted wood, resembling a number of benches placed together, ten cubits (or about eighteen or nineteen feet) in width. Along the middle of this were arranged twenty-one enormous dishes, each containing twenty-one baked sheep, three years old, and fat; together with fowls, chickens, and young pigeons, in number three hundred and fifty of each kind; all of which were piled together in an oblong form, to the height of the stature of a man, and enclosed with dry sweetmeat. The spaces between these dishes were occupied by nearly five hundred other dishes of earthenware; each of which contained seven fowls, and was filled up with sweetmeats of various kinds. The table was strewn with flowers; and cakes of bread made of the finest flower were arranged along each side. There were also two great edifices of sweetmeats, each weighing seventeen hundred-weights, which were carried thither by porters with shoulder-poles; and one of these was placed at the commencement, and the other at the close, of this sumptuous banquet. When the Khaleefeh and Wezeer had taken their seats upon the couch, the officers of state who were distinguished by neck-rings or collars,366 and the inferior members of the court, seated themselves in the order of their respective ranks; and when they had eaten, they gave place to others. Two such feasts, given on the festival after Ramaḍán and on the "great festival," cost four thousand deenárs, or about two thousand pounds sterling.—Two military officers, named Ibn-Fáïz and Ed-Deylemee, distinguished themselves at these feasts in a very remarkable manner. Each of them used to eat a baked sheep, and ten fowls dressed with sweetmeats, and ten pounds of sweetmeats besides, and was presented with a quantity of food carried away from the feast to his house, together with a large sum of money. One of them had been a prisoner at 'Asḳalán; and after he had remained there some time, the person into whose power he had fallen jestingly told him that if he would eat a calf belonging to him, the flesh of which weighed several hundred-weights, he would emancipate him. This feat he accomplished, and thus he obtained his liberation.367
Several cases of a similar kind to those just mentioned are instanced in a late work. One of a man who, as related by Vopiscus, was brought before the Emperor Maximilian [sic], and who devoured a whole calf, and was proceeding to eat up a sheep, but was prevented. Another, of a man who commenced his repast (in the presence of Dr. Boehmen, of Wittenberg,) by eating a raw sheep and a sucking pig, and, by way of dessert, swallowed sixty pounds of prunes, stones and all. A third, of an attendant of the menagerie of the Botanical Garden in Paris, who used to devour all the offals of the Theatre of Comparative Anatomy, and ate a dead lion in one day.368
Note 8.—On Litters for Travelling. The kind of litter borne by mules is generally one resembling the pálkee (or palanquin): it is borne by four of these animals, two before and two behind, or by two only, or more commonly by two camels, and sometimes by two horses. When borne by camels, the head of the hindmost of these animals is painfully bent down, under the vehicle. It is the most comfortable kind of litter; and two light persons may travel in it. The name generally given to it is "takhtarawán," or "takht-rawán;" but the term employed in the passage to which this note refers is "miḥaffeh," which is often used as a general name for a camel-litter, and particularly applied to one with a flat top.—A very common kind of camel-litter, called "musaṭṭaḥ," or "ḥeml musaṭṭaḥ," resembles a small square tent, and is chiefly composed of two long chests, each of which has a high back: these are placed on the camel in the same manner as a pair of panniers, one on each side; and the high backs, which are placed outwards, together with a small pole resting on the camel's pack-saddle, support the covering which forms what may be called the tent. This vehicle accommodates two persons. It is generally open at the front; and may also be opened at the back. Though it appears comfortable, the motion is uneasy; especially when it is placed upon a camel that has been accustomed to carry heavy burdens: but camels of easy pace are generally chosen for bearing litters.—Another kind of litter, called "shibreeyeh," is composed of a small square platform with an arched covering. This accommodates but one person; and is placed on the back of the camel: two saḥḥárahs (or square camel-chests), one on each side of the animal, generally form a foundation for it.—The musaṭṭaḥ and shibreeyeh (but particularly the latter) are also called "hódaj."
Note 9. See Note 43 to Chapter iv.
Note 10. See Note 54 to Chapter iv.
Note 11. "Táj-el-Mulook" signifies "the Crown of the Kings."
Note 12. Lynxes were often employed in the chase in Arabian and other Eastern countries in former times; but I do not know if they are at present. See Note 24 to Chapter ii.
Note 13. By this word are meant "oblong, cylindrical, hollow beads:" "ḳaṣabeh" signifying originally "a reed," "cane," &c.
Note 14. The words "who hath taught men," &c., are from the Ḳur-án, ch. xcvi. v. 5.
Note 15. "'Azeez" and "'Azeezeh" (masculine and feminine) signify "Dear," "Excellent," &c.
Note 16. The handkerchief is generally oblong, and each of its two ends is embroidered with a border of coloured silks and gold; the other two edges being plain.
Note 17. My sheykh has remarked in a marginal note, that this sign may allude to her heart, or to her sighing because she enjoys not the union she desires (as expressed immediately after); and that the latter is more probable, as the action is one common with persons in grief.
Note 18.—On Conversing and Corresponding by means of Signs, Emblems, Metaphors, &c. Many persons of the instructed classes, and some others, among the Arabs, often take delight, and shew much ingenuity and quickness of apprehension, in conversing and corresponding by means of signs, emblems, &c., or in a conventional, metaphorical, language, not understood by the vulgar in general, and sometimes not by any except the parties engaged in the intercourse. In some cases, when the main metaphor employed is understood, the rest of the conversation becomes easily intelligible without any previous explanation; and I have occasionally succeeded in carrying on a conversation of this kind (though not in cases such as that described in the tale referred to by this note); but I have more frequently been unsuccessful in attempting to divine the nature of a topic in which other persons were engaged. One simple mode of secret conversation or correspondence is by substituting certain letters for other letters.
Many of the women are said to be adepts in this art, or science, and to convey messages, declarations of love, &c., by means of fruits, flowers, and other emblems. The inability of numbers of females in families of the middle classes to write or read, as well as the difficulty or impossibility frequently existing of conveying written letters, may have given rise to such modes of communication. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, in one of her charming letters from the East, has gratified our curiosity by a Turkish love-letter of this kind.369 A specimen of one from an Arab, with its answer, may be here added.—An Arab lover sent to his mistress a fan, a bunch of flowers, a silk tassel, some sugar-candy, and a piece of a chord of a musical instrument; and she returned for answer a piece of an aloe-plant, three black cumin-seeds, and a piece of a plant used in washing.370 His communication is thus interpreted:—The fan, being called "mirwaḥah," a word derived from a root which has among its meanings that of "going to any place in the evening," signified his wish to pay her an evening visit: the flowers, that the interview should be in her garden: the tassel, being called "shurrábeh," that they should have sharáb371 (or wine): the sugar-candy, being termed "sukkar nebát," and "nebát" also signifying "we will pass the night," denoted his desire to remain in her company until the morning: and the piece of a chord, that they should be entertained by music. The interpretation of her answer is as follows:—The piece of an aloe-plant, which is called "ṣabbárah" (from "ṣabr," which signifies "patience"—because it will live for many months together without water), implied that he must wait: the three black cumin-seeds explained to him that the period of delay should be three nights: and the plant used in washing informed him that she should then have gone to the bath, and would meet him.372—I have omitted one symbol in the lady's answer, as it conveys an allusion not so consistent with European as with Arab notions of female delicacy.
The language of flowers employed by the Turks does not exactly agree with the system illustrated in the story of 'Azeez and 'Azeezeh; for the former consists of a collection of words and phrases or sentences which rhyme with the names of the objects used as the signs.373 This system is also employed by the Arabs; but I believe not so commonly as the other.
A remarkable faculty is displayed by some Arabs in catching the meaning of secret signs employed in written communications to them; such signs being often used in political and other intrigues. The following is a curious instance.—The celebrated poet El-Mutanebbee, having written some verses in dispraise of Káfoor El-Ikhsheedee the independent Governor of Egypt, was obliged to flee, and hide himself in a distant town. Káfoor was informed of his retreat, and desired his secretary to write to him a letter promising him pardon, and commanding him to return; but told the writer at the same time, that when the poet came he would punish him. The secretary was a friend of the poet, and, being obliged to read the letter to the Prince when he had written it, was perplexed how to convey to El-Mutanebbee some indication of the danger that awaited him: he could only venture to do so in the exterior address; and having written this in the usual form, commencing "In sháa-lláh" (If it be the will of God) "this shall arrive," &c., he put a small mark of reduplication over the "n" in the first word, which he thus converted into "Inna;" the filial vowel being understood. The poet read the letter, and was rejoiced to see a promise of pardon; but on looking a second time at the address, was surprised to observe the mark of reduplication over the "n." Knowing the writer to be his friend, he immediately suspected a secret meaning, and rightly conceived that the sign conveyed an allusion to a passage in the Ḳur-án commencing with the word "Inna," and this he divined to be the following:—"Verily the magistrates are deliberating concerning thee, to put thee to death."374 Accordingly, he fled to another town.—Some authors add, that he wrote a reply, conveying, by a similar sign, to his friend, an allusion to another passage in the Ḳur-án:—"We will never enter the country while they remain therein."375—It is probable that signs thus employed were used by many persons to convey allusions to certain words; and such may have been the case in the above-mentioned instance: if not, the poet was indeed a wonderful guesser.
Note 19. Perhaps it is unnecessary to explain that the actions here described are those of a dyer, dipping a piece of linen into a red dye, and then wringing it. The shop of the dyer is generally, like most other shops, a small chamber or recess open towards the street. Pans containing the different dyes are imbedded in its floor.
Note 20. "Maḳ'ad" is a name generally given to a chamber in which male guests or visiters are received, having an open front with two or more arches, and looking into the court or garden of the house. Its floor is elevated about ten or more feet above the ground, and the front is usually towards the north, or nearly so.
Note 21. I suppose it to be meant, that these designs were executed in a kind of mosaic work; for the pool of the fountain is generally ornamented with black and white marble, and pieces of fine red tile, inlaid in complicated and tasteful patterns. A view and plan of a fountain of this kind are inserted in the Introduction to my work on the Modern Egyptians.
Note 22. "Baḳláweh," from the Turkish "baḳláva," is a name given to a kind of pastry, which is generally thus prepared:—A paste made of fine flour with clarified butter is rolled thin, and laid upon a tray: upon this paste is then spread a composition of clarified butter and blanched almonds (and sometimes walnuts and currants) beaten small; and over this is put another layer of paste. Eight of these double layers of paste with the composition above mentioned between them are placed one upon another, making the whole about an inch thick. It is baked in an oven; cut into lozenge-shaped pieces, about three inches long, and two inches wide; and after it is thus cut, some honey or treacle is poured over.
Note 23. See Note 99 to Chapter v.
Note 24. It is a general belief of the Muslims that the wicked will rise to judgment with their faces black; and hence the origin of the imprecation, "May God blacken thy face!" But it is often used to signify "May God disgrace thee!" for a person's face is said to be black when he is in any disgrace; and in the reverse case, it is said to be white.376
Note 25. "Zardeh" (which is a Persian word) is a name given to rice dressed with honey and saffron; but here it appears to be applied to a sweet drink infused with saffron.
Note 26. By the play-bone and the ṭáb-stick an allusion is conveyed to two games common among the Arabs. The play-bones are used in the same manner as dice, of which they are probably the origin; and both bear the same name in the Arabic, in the singular "kaạb" or "kaạbeh," that is, "a cube." Of the game of ṭáb I have given a full account in my work on the Modern Egyptians (vol. ii. ch. iv.). I need only mention here, that the ṭáb-stick is of a flat form, about a span (or eight inches) in length, and two-thirds of an inch in breadth, generally formed of a piece of a palm-branch; one side of which, being cut flat and smooth, is white; the other, green, or, if not fresh, of a dull yellow colour. Four such sticks are used in playing the game.
Note 27. The more simple interpretation is this:—Idle games are more suited to thee than affairs of love.
Note 28. El-Ḳazweenee makes a remark somewhat similar to this at the close of his account of the date; but the interpretation of the meaning conveyed by the date-stone in our text is very far-fetched: my sheykh, in a marginal note, gives one perfectly apposite: the date-stone is called "nawáyeh," and more properly "nawáh" and "nawà;" and the last of these words signifies also "distance," "absence," &c., and is often used to express the state of one who is far from loving or being a lover: it implies also, in this case, that, if he slept again, she would cast him off.
Note 29. The locust-fruit, by its dark colour, and the length of time it remains in a state of preservation after it has been plucked, is rendered a fit emblem of a heart long enduring separation from the object of its love.
Note 30. "Dirhem," I have before mentioned, is the name of a silver coin: it is also the name of a weight, very nearly equivalent to forty-eight English grains; and being here described as of iron, we must understand it in the latter sense.
Note 31. I suppose the iron dirhem to be symbolic of the eye because it is round, and perhaps likewise because the Arabic term for "iron" (namely "ḥadeed") has also the signification of "sharp" or "piercing;" in which sense it is often applied to the sight (as in the Ḳur-án, ch. l. v. 21). See the next note.
Note 32. From this double oath, it seems to me probable, that, by the circular form of the dirhem, an allusion was meant to God (as being without beginning or end), and that the matter of which it was composed (from what I have said in the note immediately preceding), as well as its form, conveyed the allusion to the eye.
Note 33. This gentle kneading or pressing of the limbs, which is one of the operations performed in the bath, is often practised by the Arabs for the purpose of inducing sleep.
Note 34. This is a kind of nebeedh. (See Note 22 to Chapter iii.) The same fruit is also stewed with meat. It is called in Arabic "'onnáb."
Note 35. See Note 18 to Chapter vii.
Note 36. It is seen that 'Azeezeh speaks of herself in the masculine gender in the verses here inserted; but this is in accordance with a common Arab custom.
Note 37.—On the Ceremony called Zikr. Zikrs are very often performed after a death; the merit of the performance being transferred to the soul of the deceased.
I have before mentioned these ceremonies (in Note 63 to Chapter iii.); but in a vague manner; and as it is my object in the present work to give such illustrations as will satisfy the general reader, without obliging him to refer to other books, I shall here insert an abridged extract, descriptive of a zikr, from my Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians.
The zikkeers (or performers of the zikr), who were about thirty in number, sat, cross-legged, upon matting extended close to the houses on one side of the street, in the form of an oblong ring.377 Within this ring, along the middle of the matting, were placed three very large wax candles; each about four feet high, and stuck in a low candlestick. Most of the zikkeers were Aḥmedee darweeshes, persons of the lower orders, and meanly dressed: many of them wore green turbans. At one end of the ring were four munshids (or singers of religious odes), and with them was a player on the kind of flute called "náy." I procured a small seat of palm-sticks from a coffee-shop close by, and, by means of a little pushing, and the assistance of my servant, obtained a place with the munshids, and sat there to hear a complete act, or "meglis," of the zikr; which act commenced at about three o'clock (or three hours after sunset), and continued two hours.
The performers began by reciting the Fát'ḥah (or opening chapter of the Ḳur-án) all together; their sheykh, or chief, first exclaiming, "El-Fát'ḥah!" They then chanted the following words;—"O God, bless our lord Moḥammad among the former generations; and bless our lord Moḥammad among the latter generations; and bless our lord Moḥammad in every time and period; and bless our lord Moḥammad in the highest degree, unto the day of judgment; and bless all the prophets and apostles among the inhabitants of the heavens and of the earth; and may God (whose name be blessed and exalted!) be well pleased with our lords and our masters, those persons of illustrious estimation, Aboo-Bekr and 'Omar and 'Osmán and 'Alee, and with all the favourites of God. God is our sufficiency; and excellent is the Guardian! There is no strength nor power but in God, the High, the Great! O God! O our Lord! O Thou liberal of pardon! O Thou most bountiful of the most bountiful! O God! Amen!"—They were then silent for three or four minutes; and again recited the Fát'ḥah; but silently. This form of prefacing the zikr is commonly used, by almost all orders of darweeshes in Egypt.
The performers now commenced the zikr. Sitting in the manner above described, they chanted, in slow measure, "Lá iláha illa-lláh" ("There is no deity but God") to the following air:—
bowing the head and body twice in each repetition of "Lá iláha illa-lláh." Thus they continued about a quarter of an hour; and then, for about the same space of time, they repeated the same words to the same air, but in a quicker measure, and with correspondingly quicker motions. In the meantime, the munshids frequently sang, to the same, or a variation of the same, air, portions of a ḳaṣeedeh, or of a muweshshaḥ; an ode of a similar nature to the Song of Solomon, generally alluding to the Prophet as the object of love and praise; and at frequent intervals, one of them sang out the word "meded," implying an invocation for spiritual or supernatural aid.
The zikkeers, after having performed as above described, next repeated the same words to a different air for about the same length of time; first, very slowly; then, quickly. The air was as follows:—
Then they repeated these words again, to the following air, in the same manner:—
They next rose, and, standing in the same order in which they had been sitting, repeated the same words to another air. After which, still standing, they repeated these words in a very deep and hoarse tone; laying the principal emphasis upon the word "Lá" and the first syllable of the last word "Allah;" and uttering it, apparently, with a considerable effort: the sound much resembled that which is produced by beating the rim of a tambourine. Each zikkeer turned his head alternately to the right and left at each repetition of "Lá iláha illa-lláh." One of them, a eunuch, at this part of the zikr, was seized with an epileptic fit, evidently the result of a high state of religious excitement; but nobody seemed surprised at it; for occurrences of this kind at zikrs are not uncommon. All the performers now seemed much excited; repeating their ejaculations with greater rapidity, violently turning their heads, and sinking the whole body at the same time: some of them jumping. The eunuch above mentioned again was seized with fits several times; and I generally remarked that this happened after one of the munshids had sung a line or two and exerted himself more than usually to excite his hearers: the singing was, indeed, to my taste, very pleasing. The contrast presented by the vehement and distressing exertions of the performers at the close of the zikr, and their calm gravity and solemnity of manner at the commencement, was particularly striking. Money was collected during the performance for the munshids. The zikkeers receive no pay.
Note 38. From the last of these verses it appears that the flowers are described as laid upon the tomb (in accordance with the custom mentioned in the last paragraph of Note 16 to Chapter i.), and not as planted upon it; though this is frequently done in some countries of the East; the monument being filled with mould, and the whole of its top open.
Note 39. See Note 25 to Chapter v.
Note 40. See Note 35 to Chapter ii.
Note 41. The "rod" (in Arabic "ḳaṣabeh") was, according to the Egyptian measurement, until lately reduced, about twelve English feet and a half.
Note 42. See Note 12 to Chapter iii.
Note 43. It is common (as my sheykh has remarked) to say, of a very spacious chamber, that a horseman might gallop in it. The playing at goff by horsemen has been mentioned in a former tale. It was a common exercise in Egypt as well as Persia and other Eastern countries.
Note 44. "Deleeleh" is an epithet used in modern Arabic as indicative of artifice, machination, or fraud.378 It is often employed as a female nickname.
Note 45. From this point to the end of the story of 'Azeez and 'Azeezeh I omit some portions which are tedious, and others which are more objectionable.
Note 46. Any one may enter the public bath, but none can go out of it, without paying.379
Note 47. The "kaạk," commonly called "kaḥk," has been described in Note 16 to Chapter i. De Sacy has remarked that our English word "cake" seems to be from the same origin.
Note 48.—On Oaths. To explain this passage, I must repeat, with a few slight additions, some remarks which I have made in a former publication.380—Among a people by whom falsehood, in certain cases, is not only allowed but commended,381 oaths of different kinds are more or less binding. In considering this subject, we should also remember that oaths may sometimes be expiated.382 There are some oaths which, I believe, few Muslims would falsely take; such as saying, three times, "By God the Great!" (Wa-lláhi-l-Aẓeem), and the oath upon the muṣ-ḥaf (or copy of the Ḳur-án), saying, "By what this contains of the word of God!" This latter is rendered more binding by placing a sword with the sacred volume; and still more so, by the addition of a cake, or piece, of bread, and a handful of salt. But a form of oath which is generally yet more to be depended upon is that of saying, "I impose upon myself divorcement!" (that is, "the divorce of my wife, if what I say be false"); or, "I impose upon myself interdiction!" which has a similar meaning ("My wife be unlawful to me!"); or, "I impose upon myself a triple divorcement!" which binds a man by the irrevocable divorce of his wife. If a man use any of these three forms of oath falsely, his wife, if he have but one, is divorced by the oath itself, if proved to be false, without the absolute necessity of any further ceremony; and if he have two or more wives, he must, under such circumstances, choose one of them to put away.
In the case which this note is principally intended to illustrate, the wife of 'Azeez makes him swear by the sword and the Ḳur-án in the hope of inducing him to return to her; and by the oath of divorce, to make the inducement more strong, and that she might be enabled, in case he did not fulfil his vow, legally to contract another marriage as soon as she should have waited the period which the law requires.
Note 49. The verses I have omitted as they are the same (with the exception of some slight variations) as the first, second, third, and fifth, of those commencing at page 185 in this volume; and the contents of the accompanying paper as being tiresome and in some parts unmeaning.
Note 50. See the first note in the present series.
Note 51. I have substituted "Sháh-Zemán" (signifying "King of the Age") for Shahramán; the latter being evidently a mistake of a copyist.
Note 52. "Dunyà" signifies the "world."
Note 53. "Riḍwán," which signifies "approbation," "complacency," &c., is the name of the Guardian of Paradise.—The meaning of this passage is, "Surely this handsome young person is one of the Wildán, or Weleeds, those beautiful youths prepared to wait upon the faithful in Paradise; and he hath escaped thence through the inadvertence of Riḍwán." The very meanest in Paradise is promised eighty thousand of these servants, besides seventy-two Ḥooreeyehs, &c.
Note 54. A compliment of this kind is generally uttered on letting a shop or house, and on selling an article of dress, &c.; and "God bless thee!" is usually said in reply. In like manner, a merchant selling goods to be re-sold says, "May God grant thee a profit upon them!"
Note 55. The word thus translated signifies taking a morning-draught of wine, milk, sherbet, or any other beverage.
Note 56. When Zeleekhà invited her female friends that they might behold Yoosuf (or Joseph) and excuse her for inclining to him, at the sight of him they cut their own hands, and praised God, ejaculating these words, "This is not a mortal," &c. (Ḳur-án, ch. xii. v. 31).
Note 57. To persons more or less above him in rank, the shopkeeper rises and stands, or merely makes a slight motion as if he were about to rise.
Note 58. This is a common invocation, for the protection of a person from envy, or the evil eye, founded upon the last chapter but one of the Ḳur-án, in which the believer is desired to "seek refuge with the Lord of the Daybreak" from various evils, and among these "from the mischief of the envious." It is very often said to imply admiration of a child, that the mother may not fear.
Note 59. This ejaculation is addressed to God.
Note 60. This alludes to one of the stages of the creation of man explained in the Ḳur-án, ch. xxii. v. 5.
Note 61. The old woman is described as being "full of joy" because, having induced her mistress to answer the letter, she saw a prospect of continuing the correspondence, and so obtaining additional presents.
Note 62. "Es-Suhà" is an obscure star in the Greater Bear, at which people look to try their powers of sight. It is the star 80, by [Greek: z]
Note 63. My sheykh has remarked in a marginal note on the "Five Elders" or Sheykhs here mentioned, "the known number is the four; namely the [first four] Khaleefehs; or the Four Welees (eminent saints), the seyyid El-Bedawee and the seyyid Ed-Dasooḳee and Er-Rifá'ee and El-Geelánee" The latter four are often mentioned together as being the saints generally most esteemed in the present day and the founders of the four principal orders of Darweeshes.—Who, then, can be meant by "the Five Elders" I do not know; but I have retained this number as it occurs again in a variation of the same verses in a subsequent tale, which is almost exactly the same as that of Táj-el-Mulook.
Note 64. "Ibn-Seenà" ("Son of Seenà") is the true name of the great physician called by us "Avicenna."
Note 65. The gait of Arab ladies is very remarkable: they incline the lower part of the body from side to side as they step, and with the hands raised to the level of the bosom they hold the edges of their outer covering. Their pace is slow, and they look not about them, but keep their eyes towards the ground in the direction to which they are going.
Note 66. It should be remarked here, that the private room of an Eastern princess is not to be regarded as a Western bed-room. In the East, a guest may lay himself down upon a deewán in the presence of another, to pass the night, without any infringement of decorum.
Note 67. See the latter paragraph of the first note in the present series.
Note 68. See Note 9 to Chapter vii.
Note 69. The doors in Eastern houses generally turn on two wooden pins; one fitting into a hole in the lintel; the other, into a hole immediately behind the threshold; and the latter is very short. It is therefore often easy to displace a door by raising it a little, which may be done by means of a projecting wooden lock; and in many cases, when the door cannot be displaced from its sockets, it may be raised sufficiently to remove the inner latch from its catch. The doors of the ancient temples and tombs in Egypt were formed as above described, with pins, which were often made of bronze.
Note 70. I here read "nimsheh" (also written "nimjeh" and "nimjáh"—from the Persian "neemjah") instead of "ḳamsheh." The latter is described by my sheykh, in a marginal note, as "a strip of leather divided into two, and tied together and nailed at the upper end to a piece of wood;" but the use of such an instrument in this case would be ridiculous. The name of "nimsheh" is often given to a royal dagger.
Note 71. As persons are often decapitated in an Eastern palace, a skin is made use of to receive the head and the blood. I believe it to be similar to the round skin used by travellers to eat upon; which is converted into a bag by means of a running string round the edge.
In concluding the present series of notes, I may state my opinion, that the two stories to which they relate are fully worthy of insertion in this collection, as extending the picture of Arab life and manners, whatever may be thought of their origin.
360 Thus commonly pronounced for "Sharrun kán," signifying "an evil hath come into existence." Names of this kind are sometimes given by the Arabs not in dispraise, but as prophetic of great achievements.
361 "Light of the Place."
362 "Delight of the Age."
363 Mir-át ez-Zemán.
364 "Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys," 8vo. vol. i. pp. 55 and 56.
365 The Dynasty of the Fáṭimee Khaleefehs was founded by El-Mahdee in Western Africa, in the year of the Flight 297. His third successor, El-Mo'ezz li-deeni-lláh, conquered Egypt in the year 358, and the seat of his government was transferred to Cairo. As they claimed descent from Fáṭimeh, and were of the Shiya'ee sect, their possession of the fairest province of the orthodox (or 'Abbásee) Khaleefehs forms a strange episode in the history of El-Islám.—Their power was overthrown by Ṣaláḥ-ed-Deen, in the year 567.—Ed.
366 See Note 15 to Chapter ii.
367 "El-Khiṭaṭ:" Account of the Palaces of the Khaleefehs.
368 Dr. Millengen's Curiosities of Medical Experience, quoted in the Literary Gazette, No. 1043.
369 The art here mentioned was first made known to Europeans by a Frenchman, M. Du Vigneau, in a work entitled "Secrétaire Turc, contenant l'Art d'exprimer ses pensées sans se voir, sans se parler, et sans s'écrire:" Paris, 1688: in-12.—Von Hammer has also given an interesting paper on this subject in the "Mines de l'Orient," No. 1: Vienna, 1809. (Note to Marcel's "Contes du Cheykh El-Mohdy," vol. iii. pp. 327 and 328: Paris, 1833.)
370 Called "ghásool el-azrár." In Delile's Flora Ægyptiaca, the name of ghásool is given to the mesembryanthemum nodiflorum, class icosandria, order pentagynia.
371 This name is now given to sherbet.
372 Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt, ch. x.—The aloe-plant is called "ṣabir," "ṣabr," "ṣibr," and "ṣabbárah." The second of these words signifies "patience;" and so does the root of all of them: and the last signifies "very patient." The reason of its having these appellations cannot, of course, be proved.
373 See Marcel, ubi suprà. He states that Von Hammer's vocabulary of flowers and other hieroglyphic objects contains 120 articles; and that of Du Vigneau, 179; almost all of the former being the same as those of the latter.
374 Ch. xxviii. v. 19.
375 Ch. v. v. 27.—This anecdote is from the Ḥalbet el-Kumeyt, ch. viii.—[Káfoor was a black eunuch purchased by El-Ikhsheed, the first of the virtually-independent dynasty of the Ikhsheedeeyeh, which fell before the Fáṭimee Khaleefehs. Káfoor was regent of Egypt for upwards of twenty years, during the reigns of his master's two sons; and was actual governor from the year of the Flight 355 to 357.—Ed.]
376 Sometimes, also, it means "May God cause thee to experience grief!" or "sorrow!" and, used in this sense, it is similar to the phrase, often occurring in this work, "the world became black before his face."
377 The zikr here described was performed near the tomb of a saint, for whose sake it was celebrated. The ceremony is often performed in a sepulchral mosque, and often in the court, or in a chamber, of a private house.
378 Marginal note by my sheykh.
379 Idem.
380 The "Modern Egyptians."
381 See Note 57 to Chapter iii.
382 As shewn in Note 68 to Chapter iv.