commencing with the first night, and ending with part of the third.

the story of the merchant and the jinnee.

it has been related to me, o happy king, said shahrazád, that there was a certain merchant who had great wealth, and traded extensively with surrounding countries; and one day he mounted his horse, and journeyed to a neighbouring country to collect what was due to him, and, the heat oppressing him, he sat under a tree, in a garden,1 and put his hand into his saddle-bag,2 and ate a morsel of bread and a date which were among his provisions. having eaten the date, he threw aside the stone,3 and immediately there appeared before him an 'efreet, of enormous height, who, holding a drawn sword in his hand, approached him, and said, rise, that i may kill thee, as thou hast killed my son. the merchant asked him, how have i killed thy son? he answered, when thou atest the date, and threwest aside the stone, it struck my son upon the chest,4 and, as fate had decreed against him, he instantly died.5

merchant and jinnee

39the merchant, on hearing these words,6 exclaimed, verily to god we belong, and verily to him we must return! there is no strength nor power but in god, the high, the great! if i killed him, i did it not intentionally, but without knowing it; and i trust in thee that thou wilt pardon me.—the jinnee answered, thy death is indispensable, as thou hast killed my son:—and so saying, he dragged him, and threw him on the ground, and raised his arm to strike him with the sword. the merchant, upon this, wept bitterly, and said to the jinnee, i commit my affair unto god, for no one can avoid40 what he hath decreed:—and he continued his lamentation, repeating the following verses:—

time consists of two days; this, bright; and that, gloomy: and life, of two moieties; this, safe; and that, fearful.

say to him who hath taunted us on account of misfortunes, doth fortune oppose any but the eminent?

dost thou not observe that corpses float upon the sea, while the precious pearls remain in its furthest depths?

when the hands of time play with us, misfortune is imparted to us by its protracted kiss.

in the heaven are stars that cannot be numbered; but none is eclipsed save the sun and the moon.

how many green and dry trees are on the earth; but none is assailed with stones save that which beareth fruit!

thou thoughtest well of the days when they went well with thee, and fearedst not the evil that destiny was bringing.

—when he had finished reciting these verses, the jinnee said to him, spare thy words, for thy death is unavoidable.

then said the merchant, know, o 'efreet, that i have debts to pay, and i have much property, and children, and a wife, and i have pledges also in my possession: let me, therefore, go back to my house, and give to every one his due, and then i will return to thee: i bind myself by a vow and covenant that i will return to thee, and thou shalt do what thou wilt; and god is witness of what i say.—upon this, the jinnee accepted his covenant, and liberated him; granting him a respite until the expiration of the year.

the merchant, therefore, returned to his town, accomplished all that was upon his mind to do, paid every one what he owed him, and informed his wife and children of the event which had befallen him; upon hearing which, they and all his family and women wept. he appointed a guardian over his children, and remained with his family until the end of the year; when he took his grave-clothes under his arm,7 bade farewell to his household and neighbours, and all his relations, and went forth, in spite of himself; his family raising cries of lamentation, and shrieking.8

he proceeded until he arrived at the garden before mentioned; and it was the first day of the new year; and as he sat, weeping for the calamity which he expected soon to befall him, a sheykh,9 advanced in years, approached him, leading a gazelle with a chain attached to its neck. this sheykh saluted the merchant, wishing him a long life, and said to him, what is the reason of thy sitting alone in this place, seeing that it is a resort of the jinn? the merchant therefore41 informed him of what had befallen him with the 'efreet, and of the cause of his sitting there; at which the sheykh, the owner of the gazelle, was astonished, and said, by allah, o my brother, thy faithfulness is great, and thy story is wonderful! if it were engraved upon the intellect, it would be a lesson to him who would be admonished!—and he sat down by his side, and said, by allah, o my brother, i will not quit this place until i see what will happen unto thee with this 'efreet. so he sat down, and conversed with him. and the merchant became almost senseless; fear entered him, and terror, and violent grief, and excessive anxiety. and as the owner of the gazelle sat by his side, lo, a second sheykh approached them, with two black hounds, and inquired of them, after saluting them, the reason of their sitting in that place, seeing that it was a resort of the jánn:10 and they told him the story from beginning to end. and he had hardly sat down when there approached them a third sheykh, with a dapple mule; and he asked them the same question, which was answered in the same manner.

meeting of the merchant and the sheykh with the gazelle

immediately after, the dust was agitated, and became an enormous revolving pillar, approaching them from the midst of the desert; and this dust subsided, and behold, the jinnee, with a drawn sword in his hand; his eyes casting forth sparks of fire. he came to them, and dragged from them the merchant, and said to him, rise, that i may kill thee, as thou killedst my son, the vital spirit of my heart. and the merchant wailed and wept; and the three sheykhs also manifested their sorrow by weeping and crying aloud and wailing: but the first sheykh, who was the owner of the gazelle, recovering his self-possession, kissed the hand of the 'efreet, and said to him, o thou jinnee, and crown of the kings of the jánn, if i relate to thee the story of myself and this gazelle, and thou find it to be wonderful, and more so than the adventure of this merchant, wilt thou give up to me a third42 of thy claim to his blood? he answered, yes, o sheykh; if thou relate to me the story, and i find it to be as thou hast said, i will give up to thee a third of my claim to his blood.

return of the jinnee

the story of the first sheykh and the gazelle.

then said the sheykh, know, o 'efreet, that this gazelle is the daughter of my paternal uncle,11 and she is of my flesh and my blood. i took her as my wife when she was young,12 and lived with her about thirty years; but i was not blessed with a child by her; so i took to me a concubine slave,13 and by her i was blessed with a male child, like the rising full moon, with beautiful eyes, and delicately-shaped eyebrows, and perfectly-formed limbs; and he grew up by little and little until he attained the age of fifteen years. at this period, i unexpectedly had occasion to journey to a certain city, and went thither with a great stock of merchandise.

now my cousin,14 this gazelle, had studied enchantment and divination from her early years; and during my absence, she transformed the youth above mentioned into a calf; and his mother, into43 a cow;15 and committed them to the care of the herdsman: and when i returned, after a long time, from my journey, i asked after my son and his mother, and she said, thy slave is dead, and thy son hath fled, and i know not whither he is gone. after hearing this, i remained for the space of a year with mourning heart and weeping eye, until the festival of the sacrifice;16 when i sent to the herdsman, and ordered him to choose for me a fat cow; and he brought me one, and it was my concubine, whom this gazelle had enchanted. i tucked up my skirts and sleeves, and took the knife17 in my hand, and prepared myself to slaughter her; upon which she moaned and cried so violently that i left her, and ordered the herdsman to kill and skin her: and he did so, but found in her neither fat nor flesh, nor anything but skin and bone; and i repented of slaughtering her, when repentance was of no avail. i therefore gave her to the herdsman, and said to him, bring me a fat calf: and he brought me my son, who was transformed into a calf. and when the calf saw me, he broke his rope, and came to me, and fawned upon me, and wailed and cried, so that i was moved with pity for him; and i said to the herdsman, bring me a cow, and let this—

transformation of the concubine into a cow

here shahrazád perceived the light of morning, and discontinued the recitation with which she had been allowed thus far to proceed. her sister said to her, how excellent is thy story! and how pretty! and how pleasant! and how sweet!—but she answered, what is this in comparison with that which i will relate to thee in the next night, if i live, and the king spare me! and the king said, by allah, i will not kill her until i hear the remainder of her story. thus they pleasantly passed the night until the morning, when the king went forth to his hall of judgment, and the wezeer went thither with the grave-clothes under his arm: and the king44 gave judgment, and invested and displaced, until the close of the day, without informing the wezeer of that which had happened; and the minister was greatly astonished. the court was then dissolved; and the king returned to the privacy of his palace.

[on the second and each succeeding night, shahrazád continued so to interest king shahriyár by her stories as to induce him to defer putting her to death, in expectation that her fund of amusing tales would soon be exhausted; and as this is expressed in the original work in nearly the same words at the close of every night, such repetitions will in the present translation be omitted.18]

when the sheykh, continued shahrazád, observed the tears of the calf, his heart sympathized with him, and he said to the herdsman, let this calf remain with the cattle.—meanwhile, the jinnee wondered at this strange story; and the owner of the gazelle thus proceeded.

o lord of the kings of the jánn, while this happened, my cousin, this gazelle, looked on, and said, slaughter this calf; for he is fat: but i could not do it; so i ordered the herdsman to take him back; and he took him and went away. and as i was sitting, on the following day, he came to me, and said, o my master, i have to tell thee something that thou wilt be rejoiced to hear; and a reward is due to me for bringing good news.19 i answered, well:—and he said, o merchant, i have a daughter who learned enchantment in her youth from an old woman in our family; and yesterday, when thou gavest me the calf, i took him to her, and she looked at him, and covered her face, and wept, and then laughed, and said, o my father, hath my condition become so degraded in thy opinion that thou bringest before me strange men?20—where, said i, are any strange men? and wherefore didst thou weep and laugh? she answered, this calf that is with thee is the son of our master, the merchant, and the wife of our master hath enchanted both him and his mother; and this was the reason of my laughter; but as to the reason of my weeping, it was on account of his mother, because his father had slaughtered her.—and i was excessively astonished at this; and scarcely was i certain that the light of morning had appeared when i hastened to inform thee.

the herdsman introducing his daughter to the sheykh

when i heard, o jinnee, the words of the herdsman, i went forth with him, intoxicated without wine, from the excessive joy and happiness that i received, and arrived at his house, where his daughter welcomed me, and kissed my hand; and the calf came to me, and fawned upon me. and i said to the herdsman's daughter, is that true which thou hast said respecting this calf? she answered, yes, o my45 master; he is verily thy son, and the vital spirit of thy heart.—o maiden, said i, if thou wilt restore him, all the cattle and other property of mine that thy father hath under his care shall be thine. upon this, she smiled, and said, o my master, i have no desire for the property unless on two conditions: the first is, that thou shalt marry me to him; and the second, that i shall enchant her who enchanted him, and so restrain her; otherwise, i shall not be secure from her artifice. on hearing, o jinnee, these her words, i said, and thou shalt have all the property that is under the care of thy father besides; and as to my cousin, even her blood shall be lawful to thee. so, when she heard this, she took a cup, and filled it with water, and repeated a spell over it, and sprinkled with it the calf, saying to him, if god created thee a calf, remain in this form, and be not changed; but if thou be enchanted, return to thy original form, by permission of god, whose name be exalted!—upon which he shook, and became a man; and i threw myself upon him, and said, i conjure thee by allah that thou relate to me all that my cousin did to thee and to thy mother.46 so he related to me all that had happened to them both; and i said to him, o my son, god hath given thee one to liberate thee, and to avenge thee:—and i married to him, o jinnee, the herdsman's daughter; after which, she transformed my cousin into this gazelle. and as i happened to pass this way, i saw this merchant, and asked him what had happened to him; and when he had informed me, i sat down to see the result.—this is my story. the jinnee said, this is a wonderful tale; and i give up to thee a third of my claim to his blood.

the second sheykh, the owner of the two hounds, then advanced, and said to the jinnee, if i relate to thee the story of myself and these hounds, and thou find it to be in like manner wonderful, wilt thou remit to me, also, a third of thy claim to the blood of this merchant? the jinnee answered, yes.

the story of the second sheykh and the two black hounds.

then said the sheykh, know, o lord of the kings of the jánn, that these two hounds are my brothers. my father died, and left to us three thousand pieces of gold;21 and i opened a shop22 to sell and buy. but one of my brothers made a journey, with a stock of merchandise, and was absent from us for the space of a year with the caravans; after which, he returned destitute. i said to him, did i not advise thee to abstain from travelling? but he wept, and said, o my brother, god, to whom be ascribed all might and glory, decreed this event; and there is no longer any profit in these words: i have nothing left. so i took him up into the shop, and then went with him to the bath, and clad him in a costly suit of my own clothing; after which, we sat down together to eat; and i said to him, o my brother, i will calculate the gain of my shop during the year, and divide it, exclusive of the principal, between me and thee. accordingly, i made the calculation, and found my gain to amount to two thousand pieces of gold; and i praised god, to whom be ascribed all might and glory, and rejoiced exceedingly, and divided the gain in two equal parts between myself and him.—my other brother then set forth on a journey; and after a year, returned in the like condition; and i did unto him as i had done to the former.

the second sheykh receiving his poor brother

after this, when we had lived together for some time, my brothers again wished to travel, and were desirous that i should accompany47 them; but i would not. what, said i, have ye gained in your travels, that i should expect to gain? they importuned me; but i would not comply with their request; and we remained selling and buying in our shops a whole year. still, however, they persevered in proposing that we should travel, and i still refused, until after the lapse of six entire years, when at last i consented, and said to them, o my brothers, let us calculate what property we possess. we did so, and found it to be six thousand pieces of gold: and i then said to them, we will bury half of it in the earth, that it may be of service to us if any misfortune befall us, in which case each of us shall take a thousand pieces, with which to traffic.23 excellent is thy advice, said they. so i took the money and divided it into two equal portions, and buried three thousand pieces of gold; and of the other half, i gave to each of them a thousand pieces. we then prepared merchandise, and hired a ship, and embarked our goods, and proceeded on our voyage for the space of a whole month, at the expiration of which we arrived at a city, where we sold our merchandise; and for every piece of gold we gained ten.

48

the second sheykh finding the maiden on the sea-shore

and when we were about to set sail again, we found, on the shore of the sea, a maiden clad in tattered garments, who kissed my hand, and said to me, o my master, art thou possessed of charity and kindness? if so, i will requite thee for them. i answered, yes, i have those qualities, though thou requite me not. then said she, o my master, accept me as thy wife, and take me to thy country; for i give myself to thee:24 act kindly towards me; for i am one who requires to be treated with kindness and charity, and who will requite thee for so doing; and let not my present condition at all deceive thee. when i heard these words, my heart was moved with tenderness towards her, in order to the accomplishment of a purpose of god, to whom be ascribed all might and glory; and i took her, and clothed her, and furnished for her a place in the ship in a handsome manner, and regarded her with kind and respectful attention.

we then set sail; and i became most cordially attached to my wife, so that, on her account, i neglected the society of my brothers, who, in consequence, became jealous of me, and likewise envied me my wealth, and the abundance of my merchandise; casting the eyes of covetousness upon the whole of the property. they therefore consulted together to kill me, and take my wealth; saying, let us kill our brother, and all the property shall be ours:—and the devil made these actions to seem fair in their eyes; so they came to me while i was sleeping by the side of my wife, and took both of us up, and threw us into the sea. but as soon as my wife awoke, she shook herself, and became transformed into a jinneeyeh.25 she immediately bore me away, and placed me upon an island, and, for a while, disappeared. in the morning, however, she returned, and said to me, i am thy wife, who carried thee, and rescued thee from death, by permission of god, whose name be exalted. know that i am a jinneeyeh: i saw thee, and my heart loved thee for the sake of god; for i am a believer in god and his apostle, god bless and save him!26 i came to thee in the condition in which thou sawest me, and thou didst marry me; and see, i have rescued thee from drowning. but i am incensed against thy brothers, and i must kill them.—when i49 heard her tale, i was astonished, and thanked her for what she had done;—but, said i, as to the destruction of my brothers, it is not what i desire. i then related to her all that had happened between myself and them from first to last; and when she had heard it, she said, i will, this next night, fly to them, and sink their ship, and destroy them. but i said, i conjure thee by allah that thou do it not; for the author of the proverb saith, o thou benefactor of him who hath done evil, the action that he hath done is sufficient for him:27—besides, they are at all events my brothers. she still, however, said, they must be killed;—and i continued to propitiate her towards them: and at last she lifted me up, and soared through the air, and placed me on the roof of my house.28

the second sheykh saved from drowning

having opened the doors, i dug up what i had hidden in the earth; and after i had saluted my neighbours, and bought merchandise, i opened my shop. and in the following night, when i entered my house, i found these two dogs tied up in it; and as soon as they saw me, they came to me, and wept, and clung to me; but i knew not what had happened until immediately my wife appeared before50 me, and said, these are thy brothers. and who, said i, hath done this unto them? she answered, i sent to my sister and she did it; and they shall not be restored until after the lapse of ten years. and i was now on my way to her, that she might restore them, as they have been in this state ten years, when i saw this man, and, being informed of what had befallen him, i determined not to quit the place until i should have seen what would happen between thee and him.—this is my story.—verily, said the jinnee, it is a wonderful tale; and i give up to thee a third of the claim that i had to his blood on account of his offence.

the second sheykh and the two black hounds

upon this, the third sheykh, the owner of the mule, said to the jinnee,29 as to me, break not my heart if i relate to thee nothing more than this:—

the story of the third sheykh and the mule.

the mule that thou seest was my wife: she became enamoured of a black slave; and when i discovered her with him, she took a mug of water, and, having uttered a spell over it, sprinkled me, and transformed me into a dog. in this state, i ran to the shop of a butcher, whose daughter saw me, and, being skilled in enchantment, restored me to my original form, and instructed me to enchant my wife in the manner thou beholdest.—and now i hope that thou wilt remit to me also a third of the merchant's offence. divinely was he gifted who said,

sow good, even on an unworthy soil; for it will not be lost wherever it is sown.

when the sheykh had thus finished his story, the jinnee shook51 with delight, and remitted the remaining third of his claim to the merchant's blood. the merchant then approached the sheykhs, and thanked them, and they congratulated him on his safety; and each went his way.

but this, said shahrazád, is not more wonderful than the story of the fisherman. the king asked her, and what is the story of the fisherman? and she related it as follows:—

tail-piece to chapter i.--the jinnee listening to the tales of the sheykhs

52

head-piece to notes to chapter i.--the merchant eating in the garden

notes to chapter first.

note 1. the words "in a garden" are omitted in my original; but they are required by the sequel. i may here remark, that, in future, when i find trifling insertions of this kind to be requisite in my translation, i shall not deem it necessary to mention them in a note.

note 2. an eastern traveller often makes a long journey with no other encumbrance than a well-filled pair of saddle-bags: in one bag he puts his provisions; and in the other, such articles of clothing as he may require in addition to those in which he sets out, including a spare shirt, and perhaps no other clean linen: for he is as indifferent with regard to this comfort as he is careful respecting his personal cleanliness.

note 3. perhaps no reader of this work will require to be told that the date has not a shell. i only make this remark on account of an error in the old translation.—as dates are very nutritious, and are preserved by being merely dried in the sun, they are an excellent article of provision for travellers.

note 4. the merchant was culpably careless: before throwing aside the date-stone with sufficient force to kill a jinnee who happened to be near him (though at the time invisible), he should have asked permission by the exclamation "destoor!" as explained in a note appended to the introduction.

note 5.—on fate and destiny. the belief in fate and destiny ("el-?a?à wa-l-?adar") exercises a most powerful influence upon the actions and character of the muslims; and it is therefore highly important that the reader of the present work should be acquainted with the notions which these people entertain respecting such matters of faith. i use two words (perhaps the best that our language affords) to express corresponding arabic terms, which some persons regard as synonymous, but others distinguish by different shades of meaning. on what i consider the best authority, the word which i render "fate" respects the decrees of god in a general sense; while that which i translate "destiny" relates to the particular applications of those decrees. in such senses these terms are here to be understood when separately employed.

many muslims hold that fate is, in some respects, absolute and unchangeable; in others, admitting of alteration; and almost all of them act, in many of the affairs of life, as if this were their belief. in the former case, it is called "el-?a?à el-mo?kam:" in the latter, "el-?a?à el-mubram" (which term, without the explanation here given,53 might be regarded as exactly synonymous with the former). hence, the prophet, it is said, prayed to be preserved from the latter, as knowing that it might be changed; and in allusion to this changeable fate, god, we are told, says, "god will cancel what he pleaseth, and confirm;"111 while, on the contrary, the fate which is termed "mo?kam" is appointed "destiny" decreed by god.112

many doctors have argued, that destiny respects only the final state of a certain portion of men (believers and unbelievers); and that, in general, man is endowed with free will, which he should exercise according to the laws of god and his own conscience and judgment, praying to god for a blessing on his endeavours, or imploring the intercession of the prophet, or of any of the saints, in his favour, and propitiating them by offering alms or sacrifices in their names; relying upon god for the result, which he may then, and then only, attribute to fate or destiny. they hold, therefore, that it is criminal to attempt resistance to the will when its dictates are conformable with the laws of god and our natural consciences and prudence, and so passively to await the fulfilment of god's decrees.—the doctrine of the ?ur-án and the traditions respecting the decrees of god, or fate and destiny, appears, however, to be, that they are altogether absolute and unchangeable,—written, in the beginning of the creation, on the "preserved tablet," in heaven; that god hath predestined every event and action, evil as well as good; at the same time commanding and approving good, and forbidding and hating evil; and that the "cancelling" mentioned in the preceding paragraph relates (as the context seems to shew) to the abrogation of former scriptures, or revelations; not of fate. but still it must be held that he hath not predestined the will; though he sometimes inclines it to good, and the devil sometimes inclines it to evil. it is asked, then, if we have the power to will, but not the power to perform otherwise than as god hath predetermined, how can we be regarded as responsible beings? the answer to this is, that our actions are judged good or evil according to our intentions, if we have faith: good actions or intentions, it should be added, only increase, and do not cause, our happiness, if we are believers; and evil actions or intentions only increase our misery if we are unbelievers or irreligious: for the muslim holds that he is to be admitted into heaven only by the mercy of god, on account of his faith; and to be rewarded in proportion to his good works.

the prophet's assertions on the subject of god's decrees are considered of the highest importance as explanatory of the ?ur-án.—"whatever is in the universe," said he, "is by the order of god."—"god hath pre-ordained five things on his servants; the duration of life, their actions, their dwelling-places, their travels, and their portions."—"there is not one among you whose sitting-place is not written by god, whether in the fire or in paradise."113—some of the companions of the prophet, on hearing the last-quoted saying, asked him, "o prophet, since god hath appointed our places, may we confide in this, and abandon our religious and moral duties?" he answered, "no: because the happy will do good works, and those who are of the miserable will do bad works."—the following of his sayings further illustrate this subject.—"when god hath ordered a creature to die in any particular place, he causeth his wants to direct him to that place."—a companion asked, "o prophet of god, inform me respecting charms, and the medicines which i swallow, and shields which i make use of for protection, whether they prevent any of the orders of god." mo?ammad answered, "these also are by the order of god."114 "there is a medicine for every pain: then, when the medicine reaches the pain, it is cured by the order of god."115—when a muslim, therefore, feels an inclination to make use of medicine for the cure of a disease, he should do so, in the hope of its being predestined that he shall be so cured.

on the predestination of diseases, i find the following curious quotation and remark 54in a manuscript work, by es-suyoo?ee, in my possession.—"el-?aleemee says, 'communicable or contagious diseases are six: small-pox, measles, itch or scab, foul breath or putridity, melancholy, and pestilential maladies; and diseases engendered are also six: leprosy, hectic, epilepsy, gout, elephantiasis, and phthisis.' but this does not contradict the saying of the prophet, 'there is no transition of diseases by contagion or infection, nor any omen that brings evil:' for the transition here meant is one occasioned by the disease itself; whereas the effect is of god, who causes pestilence to spread when there is intercourse with the diseased."116—a bedawee asked the prophet, "what is the condition of camels which stay in the deserts? verily, you might say, they are deer, in health and in cleanness of skin; then they mix with mangy camels, and they become mangy also." mo?ammad said, "what made the first camel mangy?"117

notwithstanding, however, the arguments which have been here adduced, and many others that might be added, declaring or implying the unchangeable nature of all god's decrees, i have found it to be the opinion of my own muslim friends, that god may be induced, by supplication, to change certain of his decrees; at least, those regarding degrees of happiness or misery in this world and the next; and that such is the general opinion, appears from a form of prayer which is repeated in the mosques on the eve of the middle (or fifteenth day) of the month of sha?bán; when it is believed that such portions of god's decrees as constitute the destinies of all living creatures for the ensuing year, are confirmed and fixed. in this prayer it is said, "o god, if thou hast recorded me in thine abode, upon 'the original of the book' [the preserved tablet], miserable, or unfortunate, or scanted in my sustenance, cancel, o god, of thy goodness, my misery, and misfortune, and scanty allowance of sustenance, and confirm me, in thine abode, upon the original of the book, as happy, and provided for, and directed to good," &c.118

the arabs in general constantly have recourse both to charms and medicines, not only for the cure, but also for the prevention of diseases. they have, indeed, a strange passion for medicine, which shows that they do not consider fate as altogether unconditional. nothing can exceed the earnestness with which they often press a european traveller for a dose; and the more violent the remedy, the better are they pleased. the following case will serve as an example:—three donkey-drivers, conveying the luggage of two british travellers from boolá? to cairo, opened a bottle which they observed in a basket, and finding it to contain, as they had suspected, brandy, emptied it down their throats: but he who had the last, on turning up the bottle, got the tail of a scorpion into his mouth; and, looking through the bottle, to his great horror, saw that it contained a number of these reptiles, with tarantulas, vipers, and beetles. thinking that they had poisoned themselves, but not liking to rely upon fate, they persuaded a man to come to me for medicine. he introduced the subject by saying, "o efendee, do an act of kindness: there are three men poisoned; in your mercy give them medicine, and save their lives:" and then he related the whole affair, without concealing the theft. i replied, that they did not deserve medicine; but he urged that, by giving it, i should obtain an immense reward. "yes," said i; "'he who saveth a soul alive shall be as if he had saved the lives of all mankind.'"119 i said this to try the feeling of the applicant, who, expressing admiration of my knowledge, urged me to be quick, lest the men should die; thus showing himself to be no unconditional fatalist. i gave him three strong doses of tartar emetic; and he soon came back to thank me, saying that the medicine was most admirable, for the men had hardly swallowed it, when they almost vomited their hearts and livers, and everything else in their bodies.

from a distrust in faith, some muslims even shut themselves up during the prevalence of plague; but this practice is generally condemned. a syrian friend of mine, who did 55so, nearly had his door broken open by his neighbours. another of my friends, one of the most distinguished of the 'ulamà, confessed to me his conviction of the lawfulness of quarantine, and argued well in favour of it; but said that he dared not openly avow such an opinion. "the apostle of god," said he, "god bless and save him! hath commanded that we should not enter a city where there is pestilence, nor go out from it. why did he say, 'enter it not?'—because, by so doing, we should expose ourselves to the disease. why did he say, 'go not out from it?'—because, by so doing, we should carry the disease to others. the prophet was tenderly considerate of our welfare: but the present muslims in general are like bulls [brute beasts]; and they hold the meaning of this command to be, go not into a city where there is pestilence, because this would be rashness; and go not out from it, because this would be distrusting god's power to save you from it."

many of the vulgar and ignorant among modern muslims, believe that the unchangeable destinies of every man are written upon his head, in what are termed the sutures of the skull.

note 6. the paragraph thus commencing, and the verses comprised in it, are translated from the calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights.

note 7. it is a common custom for a muslim, on a military expedition, or during a long journey, especially in the desert, to carry his grave-linen with him; for he is extremely careful that he may be buried according to the law.120 it seems to be implied in our tale, that the merchant hoped that the jinnee, or some passing traveller, would wash, shroud, and bury him.

note 8. it is thus that the arab women generally do on the occasion of a funeral.

note 9.—on the title of sheykh. "sheykh" is an appellation which literally signifies "an elder," or "an aged person," and in this sense it is here used; but it is also commonly employed as synonymous with our appellation of "mister;" and particularly applied to a learned man, or a reputed saint. in every case, it is a title of respect, and never given to any but a muslim.

note 10. "jánn" is here used as synonymous with "jinn."

note 11. a cousin (the daughter of a paternal uncle) is often chosen as a wife, on account of the tie of blood, which is likely to attach her more strongly to her husband; or on account of an affection conceived in early years. the various customs relating to marriage, i shall describe on a future occasion.

note 12. a bride is called young, by the arabs, when she is about twelve years of age. in the calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, the wife in this tale is said to have been of this age when she was first married.

note 13.—on slaves. a slave, among muslims, is either a person taken captive in war, or carried off by force, and being at the time of capture an infidel; or the offspring of a female slave by another slave, or by any man who is not her owner, or by her owner, if he does not acknowledge himself to be the father: but the offspring of a male slave by a free woman is free. a person who embraces the mohammadan faith after having been made a slave, does not by this act become free, unless he flees from a foreign infidel master to a muslim country, and there becomes a mohammadan. a person cannot have as a slave one whom he acknowledges to be within the prohibited degrees of marriage.121—the slaves of the arabs are mostly from abyssinia and the negro countries: a few, mostly in the houses of wealthy individuals, are from georgia and circassia.

slaves have no civil liberty; but are entirely under the authority of their owners, 56whatever may be the religion, sex, or age, of the latter; and can possess no property, unless by the owner's permission. the owner is entire master, while he pleases, of the person and goods of his slave; and of the offspring of his female slave, which, if begotten by him or presumed to be so, he may recognise as his own legitimate child, or not: the child, if recognised by him, enjoys the same privileges as the offspring of a free wife; and if not recognised by him, is his slave. the master may even kill his own slave with impunity for any offence; and he incurs but a slight punishment (as imprisonment for a period at the discretion of the judge) if he kills him wantonly. he may give away or sell his slaves, excepting in some cases which will be mentioned; and may marry them to whom he will, but not separate them when married. a slave, however, according to most of the doctors, cannot have more than two wives at the same time. unemancipated slaves, at the death of their master, become the property of his heirs; and when an emancipated slave dies, leaving no male descendants or collateral relations, the former master is the heir; or, if he be dead, his heirs inherit the slave's property. as a slave enjoys less advantages than a free person, the law, in some cases, ordains that his punishment for an offence shall be half of that to which the free is liable to the same offence, or even less than half: if it be a fine, or pecuniary compensation, it must be paid by the owner, to the amount, if necessary, of the value of the slave, or the slave must be given in compensation.

the owner, but not the part-owner, may cohabit with any of his female slaves who is a mohammadan, a christian, or a jewess, if he has not married her to another man; but not with two or more who are sisters, or who are related to each other in any of the degrees which would prevent their both being his wives at the same time if they were free: after having so lived with one, he must entirely relinquish such intercourse with her before he can do the same with another who is so related to her. he cannot have this intercourse with a pagan slave. a christian or jew may have slaves, but not enjoy the privilege above mentioned with one who is a mohammadan. the master must wait a certain period (generally from a month to three months) after the acquisition of a female slave, before he can have such intercourse with her. if he find any fault in her within three days, he is usually allowed to return her.

when a man, from being the husband, becomes the master, of a slave, the marriage is dissolved, and he cannot continue to live with her but as her master, enjoying, however, all a master's privileges; unless he emancipates her; in which case he may again take her as his wife with her consent. in like manner, when a woman, from being the wife, becomes the possessor, of a slave, the marriage is dissolved, and cannot be renewed unless she emancipates him, and he consents to the re-union.

complete and immediate emancipation is sometimes granted to a slave gratuitously, or for a future pecuniary compensation. it is conferred by means of a written document, or by a verbal declaration (expressed in the words, "thou art free," or some similar phrase) in the presence of two witnesses, or by returning the certificate of sale obtained from the former owner. future emancipation is sometimes covenanted to be granted on the fulfilment of certain conditions; and more frequently, to be conferred on the occasion of the owner's death. in the latter case, the owner cannot sell the slave to whom he has made this promise: and, as he cannot alienate by will more than one-third of the whole property that he leaves, the law ordains that, if the value of the said slave exceeds that portion, the slave must obtain and pay the additional sum. when a female slave has borne a child to her master, and he acknowledges the child to be his own, he cannot sell this slave, and she becomes free on his death.

abyssinian and white female slaves are kept by many men of the middle and higher classes, and often instead of wives, as requiring less expense, and being more subservient; but they are generally indulged with the same luxuries as free ladies; their vanity is gratified by costly dresses and ornaments, and they rank high above free servants; as do also the male slaves. those called abyssinians appear to be a mixed race between negroes and whites; and are from the territories of the gallas. they are57 mostly kidnapped and sold by their own countrymen. the negro female slaves, as few of them have considerable personal attractions (which is not the case with the abyssinians, many of whom are very beautiful), are usually employed only in cooking, and other menial offices. the female slaves of the higher classes are often instructed in plain needlework and embroidery, and sometimes in music and dancing. formerly, many of them possessed sufficient literary accomplishments to quote largely from esteemed poems, or even to compose extemporary verses, which they would often accompany with the lute. the condition of many concubine slaves is happy; and that of many, quite the contrary. these, and all other slaves of either sex, are generally treated with kindness; but at first they are usually importuned, and not unfrequently used with much harshness, to induce them to embrace the mohammadan faith; which almost all of them do. their services are commonly light: the usual office of the male white slave, who is called "memlook," is that of a page, or a military guard. eunuchs are employed as guardians of the women; but only in the houses of men of high rank, or of great wealth: on account of the important and confidential office which they fill, they are generally treated in public with especial consideration. i used to remark, in cairo, that few persons saluted me with a more dignified and consequential air than these pitiable but self-conceited beings. most of them are abyssinians or negroes. indeed, the slaves in general take too much advantage of the countenance of their masters, especially when they belong to men in power. the master is bound to afford his slaves proper food and clothing, or to let them work for their own support, or to sell, give away, or liberate them. it is, however, considered disgraceful for him to sell a slave who has been long in his possession; and it seldom happens that a master emancipates a female slave, without marrying her to some man able to support her, or otherwise providing for her.

the prophet strongly enjoined the duty of kindness to slaves. "feed your memlooks," said he, "with food of that which ye eat, and clothe them with such clothing as ye wear; and command them not to do that which they are unable."122—these precepts are generally attended to, either entirely or in a great degree. some other sayings of the prophet on this subject well deserve to be mentioned; as the following:—"he who beats his slave without fault, or slaps him on the face, his atonement for this is freeing him."—"a man who behaves ill to his slave will not enter into paradise."—"whoever is the cause of separation between mother and child, by selling or giving, god will separate him from his friends on the day of resurrection."—"when a slave wishes well to his master, and worships god well, for him are double rewards."123—it is related of 'othmán, "that he twisted the ear of a memlook belonging to him, on account of disobedience, and afterwards, repenting of it, ordered him to twist his ear in like manner: but he would not. 'othmán urged him, and the memlook advanced, and began to wring it by little and little. he said to him, 'wring it hard; for i cannot endure the punishment of the day of judgment [on account of this act].' the memlook answered, 'o my master, the day that thou fearest, i also fear.'"—"it is related also of zeyn-el-'ábideen, that he had a memlook who seized a sheep, and broke its leg; and he said to him, 'why didst thou this?' he answered, 'to provoke thee to anger.' 'and i,' said he, 'will provoke to anger him who taught thee; and he is iblees: go, and be free, for the sake of god.'"124—many similar anecdotes might be added; but the general assertions of travellers in the east are more satisfactory evidence in favour of the humane conduct of most muslims to their slaves.

it sometimes happens, though rarely, that free girls are sold as slaves.125 a remarkable instance is related in the "mir-át ez-zemán."126—fá?imeh, surnamed ghareeb, a slave of the khaleefeh el-mo?ta?im, the son of hároon, was a poetess, accomplished in singing and calligraphy, and extremely beautiful. her mother was an orphan; and

58

ja?far, the famous wezeer of hároon er-rasheed, took her as his wife; but his father, ya?yà, reproached him for marrying a woman whose father and mother were unknown, and he therefore removed her from his own residence to a neighbouring house, where he frequently visited her; and she bore him a daughter, the above-mentioned ghareeb, and died. ja?far committed her infant to the care of a christian woman, to nurse; and, on the overthrow of his family, this woman sold her young charge as a slave. el-emeen, the successor of er-rasheed, bought her of a man named sumbul, but never paid her price; and when he was killed, she returned to her former master; but on the arrival of el-ma-moon at baghdád, she was described to him, and he compelled sumbul to sell her to him. this sumbul loved her so passionately, that he died of grief at her loss. on the death of el-ma-moon, his successor, el-mo?ta?im, bought her for a hundred thousand dirhems, and emancipated her. the historian adds, that she composed several well-known airs and verses.

note 14. an arab who is married to his cousin generally calls her by this appellation rather than that of wife, as the tie of blood is, to him, in every respect, stronger than that of matrimony.

note 15.—on magic. the arabs and other mohammadans enjoy a remarkable advantage over us in the composition of works of fiction: in the invention of incidents which we should regard as absurd in the extreme, they cannot be accused by their countrymen of exceeding the bounds of probability. a case similar to that here described was related to me as a fact, in cairo. a person in that city, i was told, was suddenly surprised by the disappearance of his brother, and by finding, in his place, an ass: but this animal increased his astonishment, and that of every person who beheld him, by manifesting a sagacity singularly opposed to the proverbial dulness of the generality of his species. yet, strange as it may seem, it was not imagined that this brute was the lost man in a transformed state, till, one day, an old woman, seeing him, quickly covered her face, and declared the fact. she discovered this by her knowledge of magic; and, by her skill in this art, she agreed to restore the enchanted person to his proper shape. having collected a number of herbs, she boiled them in a large vessel; and when the decoction had cooled, she took the vessel, and, muttering a certain spell, threw its contents over the animal, endeavouring to do so in such a manner that every part of it should be wetted. every part of it was wetted, excepting one hind-foot; and, accordingly, it was restored to the original human form, with the exception of one foot, which remained like that of an ass.

an implicit belief in magic is entertained by almost all muslims; and he, among them, who denies its truth, they regard as a freethinker, or an infidel. some are of opinion that it ceased on the mission of mo?ammad; but these are comparatively few. many of the most learned muslims, to the present age, have deeply studied it; and a much greater number of persons of inferior education (particularly school-masters) have, more or less, devoted their time and talents to the pursuit of this knowledge. recourse is had to it for the discovery of hidden treasures, for alchymical purposes, for the acquisition of the knowledge of futurity, to procure offspring, to obtain the affection of a beloved object, to effect cures, to guard against the influence of the evil eye, to afflict or kill an enemy or a rival, and to attain various other objects of desire.

there are two descriptions of magic; one is spiritual, and regarded by all but freethinkers as true; the other, natural, and denounced by the more religious and enlightened as deceptive.

i. spiritual magic, which is termed "er-roo?ánee" (vulgo "row?ánee"), chiefly depends upon the virtues of certain names of god, and passages from the ?ur-án, and the agency of angels and jinn, or genii. it is of two kinds: high and low ("'ilwee" and "suflee"), or divine and satanic ("ra?mánee," i. e. relating to "the compassionate" [who is god], and "shey?ánee").59

1. divine magic is regarded as a sublime science, and is studied only by good men, and practised only for good purposes. perfection in this branch of magic consists in the knowledge of "the most great name" of god ("el-ism el a??am"); but this knowledge is imparted to none but the peculiar favourites of heaven. by virtue of this name, which was engraved on his seal-ring, suleymán (or solomon) subjected to his dominion the jinn and the birds and the winds, as mentioned in a former note. by pronouncing it, his minister á?af, also, transported, in an instant, to the presence of his sovereign, in jerusalem, the throne of the queen of sheba.127 but this was a small miracle to effect by such means; for, by uttering this name, a man may even raise the dead. other names of the deity, commonly known, are believed to have particular efficacies when uttered or written; as also are the names of the prophet; and angels and good jinn are said to be rendered subservient to the purposes of divine magic by means of certain invocations. of such names and invocations, together with words unintelligible to the uninitiated in this science, passages from the ?ur-án, mysterious combinations of numbers, and peculiar diagrams and figures, are chiefly composed written charms employed for good purposes. enchantment, when used for benevolent purposes, is regarded by the vulgar as a branch of lawful or divine magic; but not so by the learned; and the same remark applies to the science of divination.

2. satanic magic, as its name implies, is a science depending on the agency of the devil and the inferior evil jinn, whose services are obtained by means similar to those which propitiate, or render subservient, the good jinn. it is condemned by the prophet and all good muslims, and only practised for bad purposes.—enchantment, which is termed "es-se?r," is almost universally acknowledged to be a branch of satanic magic; but some few persons assert (agreeably with several tales in this work), that it may be, and by some has been, studied with good intentions, and practised by the aid of good jinn; consequently, that there is such a science as good enchantment, which is to be regarded as a branch of divine or lawful magic. the metamorphoses are said to be generally effected by means of spells, or invocations to jinn, accompanied by the sprinkling of water or dust, &c., on the object to be transformed. persons are said to be enchanted in various ways: some, paralyzed, or even deprived of life; others, affected with irresistible passion for certain objects; others, again, rendered demoniacs; and some, transformed into brutes, birds, &c. the evil eye is believed to enchant in a very powerful and distressing manner. this was acknowledged even by the prophet.128 diseases and death are often attributed to its influence. amulets, which are mostly written charms, of the kind above described, are worn by many muslims with the view of counteracting, or preserving from, enchantment; and for the same purpose, many ridiculous ceremonies are practised.—divination, which is termed "el-kiháneh," is pronounced, on the highest authority, to be a branch of satanic magic; though not believed to be so by all muslims. according to an assertion of the prophet, what a fortune-teller says may sometimes be true; because one of the jinn steals away the truth, and carries it to the magician's ear: for the angels come down to the region next the earth (the lowest heaven), and mention the works that have been pre-ordained in heaven; and the devils (or evil jinn) listen to what the angels say, and hear the orders predestined in heaven, and carry them to the fortune-tellers. it is on such occasions that shooting-stars are hurled at the devils.129 it is said that "the diviner obtains the services of the shey?án by magic arts, and by names [invoked], and by the burning of perfumes, and he informs him of secret things: for the devils, before the mission of the apostle of god," it is added, "used to ascend to heaven, and hear words by stealth."130 that the evil jinn are believed still to ascend sufficiently near to the lowest heaven to hear the conversation of the angels, and so to assist magicians, appears from the former quotation, and is asserted by all muslims. the discovery of hidden treasures, before 60alluded to, is one of the objects for which divination is most studied.—the mode of divination called "?arb el-mendel" is by some supposed to be effected by the aid of evil jinn; but the more enlightened of the muslims regard it as a branch of natural magic. some curious performances of this kind, by means of a fluid mirror of ink, have been described in my "account of the manners and customs of the modern egyptians," and in no. 117 of the "quarterly review."131

there are certain modes of divination which cannot properly be classed under the head of spiritual magic, but require a place between the account of this science and that of natural magic.—the most important of these branches of kiháneh is astrology, which is called "'ilm en-nujoom." this is studied by many muslims in the present day; and its professors are often employed by the arabs to determine a fortunate period for laying the foundation of a building, commencing a journey, &c.; but more frequently by the persians and turks. the prophet pronounced astrology to be a branch of magic.132—another branch of kiháneh is geomancy, called "?arb er-raml;" a mode of divination from certain marks made on sand (whence its appellation), or on paper; and said to be chiefly founded on astrology.—the science called "ez-zijr," or "el-'eyáfeh," is a third branch of kiháneh; being divination or auguration chiefly from the motions and positions, or postures, of birds, or of gazelles and other beasts of the chase. thus, what was termed a "sáne?," that is, such an animal standing or passing with its right side towards the spectator, was esteemed among the arabs as of good omen; and a "báre?," or an animal of this kind with its left side towards the spectator, was held as inauspicious.133—"el-?iyáfeh," under which term are included chiromancy and its kindred sciences, is a fourth branch of kiháneh.—"et·tefá-ul," or the taking an omen, particularly a good one, from a name or words accidentally heard or seen, or chosen from a book, belongs to the same science. the taking a "fál," or omen, from the ?ur-án is generally held to be lawful.—various trifling events are considered as ominous. for instance, a sul?án quitting his palace with his troops, a standard happened to strike a "thureiyà" (a cluster of lamps, so called from resembling the pleiades), and broke them: he drew from this an evil omen, and would have relinquished the expedition; but one of his chief officers said to him, "o our lord, thy standards have reached the pleiades;"—and, being relieved by this remark, he proceeded, and returned victorious.134—the interpretation of dreams, "ta?beer el-menámát," must also be classed among the branches of this science. according to the prophet, it is the only branch of divination worthy of dependance. "good dreams," said he, "are one of the parts of prophecy," and "nothing else of prophecy remains." "good dreams are from god; and false dreams, from the devil." "when any one of you has a bad dream, spit three times over your left shoulder, and seek protection with god from the devil thrice; and turn from the side on which the dream was, to the other."135 this rule is observed by many muslims. dreams are generally so fully relied upon by them as to be sometimes the means of deciding contested points in history and science. the sight, in a dream, of anything green or white, or of water, is considered auspicious; anything black or red, or fire, inauspicious.—the distinction of fortunate and unfortunate days should also here be mentioned. thursday and friday, especially the latter, are considered fortunate; monday and wednesday, doubtful; sunday, tuesday, and saturday, especially the last, unfortunate. it is said that there are seven evil days in every [lunar] month; namely, the third, on which ?ábeel (or cain) killed hábeel (abel); the fifth, on which god cast down adam from paradise, and afflicted the people of yoonus (jonas), and on which yoosuf (or joseph) was cast into the well; the thirteenth, on which god took away the wealth of eiyoob (or job), and afflicted him, 61and took away the kingdom from suleymán (or solomon), and on which the jews killed the prophets; the sixteenth, on which god exterminated and buried the people of loo? (or lot), and transformed three hundred christians into swine, and jews into apes, and on which the jews sawed asunder zekereeyà (or zachariah); the twenty-first, on which pharaoh was born, and on which he was drowned, and on which his nation was afflicted with the plagues; the twenty-fourth, on which numrood136 (or nimrod) killed seventy women, and cast el-khaleel (or abraham) into the fire, and on which was slaughtered the camel of ?ále?; and the twenty-fifth, on which the suffocating wind was sent upon the people of hood.137

ii. natural magic, which is called "es-seemiyà," is regarded by most persons of the more enlightened classes of muslims as altogether a deceptive art, no more worthy of respect than legerdemain; but it seems to be nearly allied to enchantment; for it is said to effect, in appearance, the most wonderful transformations, and to cause the most extraordinary visions; affecting the senses and imagination in a manner similar to opium. this and other drugs are supposed, by some persons, to be the chief means by which such illusions are caused; and perfumes, which are generally burnt in these performances, may operate in a similar manner. as such things are employed in performances of the kind called "?arb el-mendel," before mentioned, these feats are regarded by many as effected by natural magic, notwithstanding what has been said above respecting the services of evil jinn being procured by means of perfumes.—alchymy ("el-keemiyà") is a branch of natural magic. it is studied by many muslims of the present day, and by some of considerable talents and attainments.

the most celebrated of the magicians who have gained notoriety in egypt during the course of the last hundred years, was the sheykh a?mad ?ádoomeh, who flourished somewhat more than sixty years ago—i write in 1837. several persons of cairo, men of intelligence and of good education, have related to me various most marvellous stories of his performances, on the authority of eye-witnesses whom they considered veracious; but a more credible account of this magician i have found in the work of an excellent historian of modern egypt. this author mentions the sheykh ?ádoomeh as an aged man, of venerable appearance, who derived his origin from the town of semennood, in the delta, and who acquired a very great and extensive celebrity for his attainments in spiritual and natural magic, and for holding converse, face to face, with jinn, and causing them to appear to other persons, even to the blind, as men acquainted with him informed the historian. his contemporaries, says this writer, entertained various opinions respecting him; but, among them, a famous grammarian and general scholar, the sheykh ?asan el-kafráwee, regarded him as a first-rate saint, who performed evident miracles; this learned man pronouncing as such the effects of "his legerdemain and natural magic." his fame he describes as having increased until he was induced to try an unlucky experiment. a memlook chief, yoosuf bey, saw some magic characters written on the body of one of his female slaves, and, exasperated by jealousy, commanded her, with a threat of instant death, to tell him who had done this. she confessed that a woman had taken her to the sheykh ?ádoomeh, and that he had written this charm to attract to her the bey's love. upon hearing this, he instantly sent some attendants to seize the magician, and to put him to death, and throw him into the nile; which was done.138 but the manner in which the seizure was made, as related to me by one of my friends, deserves to be mentioned. several persons, one after another, endeavoured to lay hold upon him; but every arm that was stretched forth for this purpose was instantly paralyzed, through a spell muttered by the magician; until a man behind him thrust a gag into his mouth, and so stopped his enchantments.

of the stories related to me of ?ádoomeh's miracles, the following will serve as a 62specimen:—in order to give one of his friends a treat, he took him to the distance of about half an hour's walk into the desert on the north of cairo; here they both sat down, upon the pebbly and sandy plain, and, the magician having uttered a spell, they suddenly found themselves in the midst of a garden, like one of the gardens of paradise, abounding with flowers and fruit-trees of every kind, springing up from a soil clothed with verdure brilliant as the emerald, and irrigated by numerous streamlets of the clearest water. a repast of the most delicious viands and fruits and wines was spread before them by invisible hands; and they both ate to satiety, taking copious draughts of the various wines. at length, the magician's guest sank into a deep sleep; and when he awoke, he found himself again in the pebbly and sandy plain, with ?ádoomeh still by his side.—the reader will probably attribute this vision to a dose of opium or some similar drug; and such i suppose to have been the means employed; for i cannot doubt the integrity of the narrator, though he would not admit such an explanation; regarding the whole as an affair of magic, effected by the operation of jinn, like similar relations in the present work.

it may be remarked that most of the enchantments described in this work are said to be performed by women; and reputed witches appear to have been much more numerous in all countries than wizards. this fact the muslims readily explain by a saying of their prophet:—that women are deficient in sense and religion:—whence they argue that they are more inclined than men to practise what is unlawful.

note 16.—on the two grand festivals. the muslims observe two grand 'eeds, or festivals, in every year. the first of these immediately follows rama?án, the month of abstinence, and lasts three days: it is called the minor festival. the other, which is called the great festival, commences on the tenth of zu-l-?ejjeh, the day when the pilgrims, halting on their return from mount 'arafát to mekkeh, in the valley of minè (vulgarly called munà), perform their sacrifice: the observance of this festival also continues three days, or four.

early in the first morning, on each of these festivals, the muslim is required to perform a lustration of his whole person, as on the mornings of friday; and on the first morning of the minor festival, he should break his fast with a few dates or some other light food; but on the great festival, he abstains from food until he has acquitted himself of the religious duties now to be mentioned. soon after sunrise, on the first day of each festival, the men, dressed in new or in their best clothes, repair to the mosque, or to a particular place appointed for the performance of the prayers of the 'eed. on going thither, they should repeat, frequently, "god is most great!"—this, on the minor festival, they should do inaudibly: on the other, aloud. the congregation, having assembled, repeat the prayers of two rek'ahs; after which, the kha?eeb recites a khu?beh; i. e. an exhortation and a prayer. on each of these festivals, in the mosque, or place of prayer, and in the street, and at each other's houses, friends congratulate and embrace one another; generally paying visits for this purpose; and the great receive visits from their dependants. the young, on these occasions, kiss the right hand of the aged; and servants or dependants do the same to their masters or superiors, unless the latter be of high rank, in which case they kiss the end of the hanging sleeve, or the skirt of the outer garment. most of the shops are closed, excepting those at which eatables and sweet drinks are sold; but the streets are filled with people in their holiday clothes.

on the minor festival, which, as it terminates an arduous fast, is celebrated with more rejoicing than the other,139 servants and other dependants receive presents of new articles of clothing from their masters or patrons; and the servant receives presents of small sums of money from his master's friends, whom, if they do not visit his master, he goes to congratulate; as well as from any former master, to whom he often takes a 63plateful of ka?ks. these are sweet cakes, or biscuits, of an annular form, composed of flour and butter, with a little 'ajameeyeh (which is a thick paste consisting of butter, honey, a little flour, and some spices) inside. they are also often sent as presents on this occasion by other people. another custom required of the faithful on this festival is the giving of alms.

on the great festival, after the prayers of the congregation, every one who can afford it performs, with his own hand, or by that of a deputy, a sacrifice of a ram, he-goat, cow or buffalo, or she-camel; part of the meat of which he eats, and part he gives to the poor, or to his friends or dependants. the ram or goat should be at least one year old; the cow or buffalo, two years; and the camel, five years; and the victim should not have any considerable mutilation or infirmity. a cow or buffalo, or a camel, is a sufficient sacrifice for seven persons. the clothes which were put on new at the former festival are generally worn on this occasion; and the presents which are given to servants and others are usually somewhat less.

on each of the two festivals it is also customary, especially with the women, to visit the tombs of relations. the party generally take with them a palm-branch, and place it, broken in several pieces, or merely its leaves, upon the tomb or monument; or some, instead of this, place sweet basil or other flowers. they also usually provide themselves with sweet cakes, bread, dates, or some other kind of food, to distribute to the poor. but their first duty, on arriving at the tomb, is to recite the fáte?ah (the opening chapter of the ?ur-án), or to employ a person to recite previously a longer chapter; generally the thirty-sixth (or soorat yá-seen); or even the whole of the book: or sometimes the visiters recite the fáte?ah, and, after having hired a person to perform a longer recitation, go away before he commences. the women often stay all the days of the festival in the cemeteries, either in tents, or in houses of their own, erected there for their reception on these and other occasions. the tent of each party surrounds the tomb which is the object of their visit. in the outskirts of the cemeteries, swings and whirligigs are erected; and story-tellers, dancers, and jugglers, amuse the populace.

note 17.—on the mode of slaughtering of animals for food. in the old translation, the sheykh is described as preparing to slaughter the cow with a mallet. this is a mistake of a serious nature; as the flesh of the victim, if so killed, would be legally unclean. the muslims are required to slaughter animals for food in a particular manner. sheep, goats, cows or bulls, and buffaloes, must be killed by cutting the throat, at the part next the head, or any other part; dividing the windpipe, gullet, and carotid arteries. the camel is to be slaughtered by stabbing the throat at the part next the breast. poultry, also, must be killed by cutting the throat; and so must every tame animal of which the flesh is lawful food. the slaughterer, in every case, must be a muslim, a christian, or a jew; of either sex. on commencing the operation, he must say, "in the name of god! god is most great!"—or at least, "in the name of god!"—but not add, "the compassionate, the merciful"—for an obvious reason. birds or beasts of the chase may be killed by an arrow, a dog, a hawk, &c.; but the name of god must be uttered at the time of discharging the arrow, or slipping the dog, &c. when the beast or bird is not killed at once by the arrow, &c., it must be slaughtered as soon as possible, in the same manner as sheep and poultry: the law, as well as humanity, requires this.

note 18.—on the influence of eloquence and tales upon the arabs. the main incident upon which this work is founded, the triumph of the fascination of the tongue over a cruel and unjust determination which nothing else could annul, might be regarded, by persons unacquainted with the character and literature of the arabs, as a contrivance too improbable in its nature; but such is not the case. perhaps there are no other people in the world who are such enthusiastic admirers of literature, and so excited by romantic tales, as those above named. eloquence, with them, is lawful magic: it exercises over their minds an irresistible influence. "i swear by god," said their64 prophet, "verily abuse of infidels in verse is worse to them than arrows."140 this, of course, alludes to arab unbelievers.

in the purest, or heroic age of arabic literature, which was anterior to the triumph of the mohammadan religion, the conquest which the love of eloquence could achieve over the sanguinary and vindictive feelings of the arabs was most remarkably exemplified in the annual twenty days' fair of 'oká?, or 'oká?h. respecting this fair, i shall here insert a few particulars borrowed from an author who is at present devoting talents of the very highest order to the study and illustration of the history and literature of the early arabs, and to whose conversation and writings i must acknowledge myself indebted for most valuable information, which will often be of great utility to me in this undertaking, as well as in every branch of my arabic studies.

the fair of 'oká? "was not only a great mart opened annually to all the tribes of arabia; but it was also a literary congress, or rather a general concourse of virtues, of glory and of poetry, whither the hero-poets resorted to celebrate their exploits in rhyming verse, and peacefully to contend for every kind of honour. this fair was held in the district of mekkeh, between e?-?á?f and nakhleh, and was opened at the new moon of zu-l-?a?deh; that is to say, at the commencement of a period of three sacred months, during which all war was suspended, and homicide interdicted.... how is it possible to conceive that men whose wounds were always bleeding, who had always acts of vengeance to execute, vengeances to dread, could at a certain epoch impose silence upon their animosities, so as tranquilly to sit by a mortal enemy? how could the brave who required the blood of a father, a brother, or a son, according to the phraseology of the desert and of the bible,141 who long, perhaps, had pursued in vain the murderer,—meet him, accost him peacefully at 'oká?, and only assault with cadences and rhymes him whose presence alone seemed to accuse him of impotence or cowardice,—him whom he was bound to slay, under pain of infamy, after the expiration of the truce? in fine, how could he hear a panegyric celebrating a glory acquired at his own expense, and sustain the fire of a thousand looks, and yet appear unmoved? had the arabs no longer any blood in their veins during the continuance of the fair?—these questions, so embarrassing, ... were determined [to a great degree], during the age of arab paganism, in a manner the most simple and most refined.—at the fair of 'oká?, the heroes were masked [or veiled].—in the recitations and improvisations, the voice of the orator was aided by that of a rhapsodist or crier, who was stationed near him, and repeated his words. there is a similar office in the public prayers: it is that of the muballigh (transmitter), who is employed to repeat in a loud voice what is said in a lower tone by the imám. these two facts have been revealed to me by the same manuscript which i am translating, and upon which i am commenting. the use of the mask [or veil] might, however, be either adopted or dispensed with, ad libitum; as is proved by the narratives of a great number of quarrels begun and ended at 'oká?.... it was in this congress of the arab poets (and almost every warriour was a poet at the age which i am considering) that the dialects of arabia became fused into a magic language, the language of the ?ejáz, which mo?ammad made use of to subvert the world; for the triumph of mo?ammad is nothing else than the triumph of speech."142—the ?ur-án is regarded by the arabs as an everlasting miracle, surpassing all others, appealing to the understanding of every generation by its inimitable eloquence. a stronger proof of the power of language over their minds could hardly be adduced; unless it be their being capable of receiving as a credible fact the tradition that both genii and men were attracted by the eloquent reading of david, when he recited the psalms; that the wild beasts and the birds were alike fascinated; and that sometimes there were borne out from his assembly as many as four hundred corpses of men who died from the excessive delight with which he thus inspired them.143 it may be added 65that the recitation, or chanting, of the ?ur-án is a favourite means of amusing the guests at modern private festivities.

in what may be termed the middle age of arabic literature, commencing from the triumph of the mohammadan religion, and extending to the foundation of the empire of baghdád, the power of eloquence over the educated classes of the arabs probably increased in proportion as it became less familiar to them: for, early in this age, they began to simplify their spoken language in consequence of their intercourse with strangers, who could not generally acquire the difficult, old dialect of their conquerors: this, therefore, then began to be confined to literary compositions. that such a change took place at this period appears from several anecdotes interspersed in arabic works. the khaleefeh el-weleed (who reigned near the close of the first century of the flight), the son of 'abd-el-melik, spoke so corrupt a dialect that he often could not make himself understood by the arabs of the desert. a ridiculous instance of the mistakes occasioned by his use of the simplified language which is now current is related by abu-l-fidà. the same author adds, that the father and predecessor of this prince was a man of eloquence, and that he was grieved by the corrupt speech of his son, which he considered as a defect that incapacitated him to be a future ruler of the arabs, as they were still great admirers of purity of speech, though so large a proportion of them spoke a corrupt dialect; wherefore, he sent him to a house to be instructed by a grammarian; but after the youth had remained there a long time, he returned to his father more ignorant than before. vulgarisms, however, would sometimes escape from the mouth of 'abd-el-melik himself; yet, so sensible was he to eloquence, that, when a learned man, with whom he was conversing, elegantly informed him of an error of this kind, he ordered his mouth to be filled with jewels. "these," said his courteous admonisher, "are things to be treasured up; not to be expended:"—and for this delicate hint, he was further rewarded with thirty thousand pieces of silver, and several costly articles of apparel.144—it may be aptly added, that this khaleefeh was, in the beginning of his reign, an unjust monarch; and as he thus bore some slight resemblance to our shahriyár, so was he reclaimed to a sense of his duty by means somewhat similar. being, one night, unable to sleep, he called for a person to tell him a story for his amusement. "o prince of the faithful," said the man thus bidden, "there was an owl in el-mó?il, and an owl in el-ba?rah; and the owl of el-mó?il demanded in marriage, for her son, the daughter of the owl of el-ba?rah: but the owl of el-ba?rah said, 'i will not, unless thou give me, as her dowry, a hundred desolate farms.' 'that i cannot do,' said the owl of el-mó?il, 'at present; but if our sovereign (may god, whose name be exalted, preserve him!) live one year, i will give thee what thou desirest.'"—this simple fable sufficed to rouse the prince from his apathy, and he thenceforward applied himself to fulfil the duties of his station.145

in the most flourishing age of arabic poetry and general literature and science, commencing from the foundation of the empire of baghdád, and extending to the conquest of egypt by the 'osmánlee turks, the influence of eloquent and entertaining language upon the character of the arab sovereigns was particularly exemplified. a few illustrative anecdotes may here be inserted.

it is related by el-a?ma'ee, that hároon er-rasheed, at a grand fête which he was giving, ordered the poet abu-l-'atáhiyeh to depict, in verse, the voluptuous enjoyments of his sovereign. the poet began thus:—

"live long in safe enjoyment of thy desires, under the shadow of lofty palaces!"

"well said!" exclaimed er-rasheed: "and what next?"

"may thy wishes be abundantly fulfilled, whether at eventide or in the morning!"

"well!" again said the khaleefeh: "then what next?"

"but when the rattling breath struggles in the dark cavity of the chest.

then shalt thou know surely, that thou hast been only in the midst of illusions."

66—er-rasheed wept; and fa?l, the son of ya?yà, said, "the prince of the faithful sent for thee to divert him, and thou hast plunged him into grief." "suffer him," said the prince; "for he hath beheld us in blindness, and it displeased him to increase it."146

the family of the barmekees (one of the most brilliant ornaments of which was the wezeer ja?far, who has been rendered agreeably familiar to us by the many scenes in which he is introduced in the present work) earned a noble and enduring reputation by their attachment to literature, and the magnificent rewards they conferred on learned men. it was peculiarly hard, therefore, that literature contributed to their melancholy overthrow. poets were employed by their enemies to compose songs artfully pointed against them, to be sung before the prince to whom they owed their power. of one of these songs, the following lines formed a part:—

"would that hind had fulfilled the promises she made us, and healed the disease under which we suffer!

that she had once, at least, acted for herself! for imbecile, indeed, is he who doth not so."

"yea! by allah! imbecile!" exclaimed the khaleefeh, on hearing these verses: his jealousy was roused; and his vengeance soon after fell heavily upon his former favourites.147

one of the khaleefehs having invited the poets of his day to his palace, a bedawee, carrying a water-jar to fill at the river, followed them, and entered with them. the khaleefeh, seeing this poor man with the jar on his shoulder, asked him what brought him thither. he returned for answer these words:—

"seeing that this company had girded on the saddles

to repair to thy overflowing river, i came with my jar."

the khaleefeh, delighted with his answer, gave orders to fill his jar with gold.148

in the present declining age of arabian learning (which may be said to have commenced about the period of the conquest of egypt by the 'osmánlees), literary recreations still exert a magic influence upon the arabs. compositions of a similar nature to the tales of a thousand and one nights (though regarded by the learned as idle stories unworthy of being classed with their literature) enable numbers of professional story-tellers to attract crowds of delighted listeners to the coffee-shops of the east; and now that the original of the present work is printed, and to be purchased at a moderate price, it will probably soon, in a great measure, supersede the romances of aboo-zeyd, e?-?áhir, and 'antar. as a proof of the powerful fascinations with which the tales of a thousand and one nights affect the mind of a highly-enlightened muslim, it may be mentioned that the latest native historian of modern egypt, the sheykh 'abd-er-ra?mán el-jabartee, so delighted in their perusal that he took the trouble of refining the language of a copy of them which he possessed, expunging or altering whatever was grossly offensive to morality without the somewhat redeeming quality of wit, and adding many faceti? of his own, and of other literati. what has become of this copy, i have been unable, though acquainted with several of his friends, to discover.

note 19. it is a common custom among the muslims to give a present to a person who brings good tidings. the word (bishárah) which i render "a reward for bringing good news," literally signifies merely "good news;" but it is often used, as in this case, in the former sense.

note 20. a mohammadan woman is not allowed to show her face to any men excepting certain near relations and others whom the law prohibits her from marrying. who these are will be mentioned in a future note, descriptive of the general laws and ceremonies of marriage. respectable females consider it a great disgrace to be seen unveiled by any men but those above alluded to.

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note 21.—on the deenár and dirhem. the standards of gold and silver coin, among the arabs, were the deenár and the dirhem: therefore, in this work, i call the former "a piece of gold," and the latter "a piece of silver." their values have varied considerably at different periods; but in the present work, we shall sufficiently approximate to the truth, if we understand the average value of the former to be about ten shillings or half a guinea; and that of the latter, about sixpence.

note 22.—description of shops. in eastern cities, most of the great thoroughfare-streets, and many others, have a row of shops along each side, not communicating with the superstructures; which latter are divided into separate lodgings, inhabited by different families, and seldom by the persons who rent the shops beneath. these streets are called, in arabic, "soo?s;" and are generally termed by us, "bázárs." a whole street of this description, or a portion of such a street, commonly contains only or chiefly shops appropriated to a particular trade; and is called the soo? of that trade. in general, the shop is a small recess or cell, about six or seven feet high, and between three and four feet wide, the floor of which is even with the top of a raised seat of stone or brick, called "ma??abah," between two and three feet high, and about the same in breadth; upon which the shopkeeper usually sits.149 the front of the shop is furnished with shutters; which, when closed, at night, are secured by a wooden lock. several of the engravings in this work will convey a better notion of shops of different kinds than a more detailed description.

note 23. distrust in his governors and relations and acquaintance often induces an arab to hide his money under the paved floor of a room, or in some other place, in his house.

note 24. these words, "i give myself to thee," uttered by a woman to a man, even without the presence of witnesses, if they cannot be easily procured, render her his lawful wife, if he replies that he accepts her, and gives her a dowry.

note 25. i have substituted "jinneeyeh" (agreeably with the calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, and because the context requires it) for "'efreeteh," which signifies a powerful and evil female genie.—the tale to which this note refers may be illustrated by the following anecdote, which was related to me by a persian with whom i was acquainted in cairo, named abu-l-?ásim, a native of geelán, then superintendent of the báshà's printing-office at boolá?.

one of this person's countrymen, whom he asserted to be a man of indubitable veracity, was sitting on the roof of a house which he had hired, overlooking the ganges, and was passing the closing hour of the day, according to his usual custom, smoking his persian pipe, and feasting his eyes by gazing at the beautiful forms of indian maidens bathing in the river, when he beheld among them one so lovely that his heart was overpowered with desire to have her for his wife. at nightfall she came to him, and told him that she had observed his emotion, and would consent to become his wife; but on the condition that he should never admit another female to take or share her place, and that she should only be with him in the night-time. they took the marriage-vow to each other, with none for their witness but god; and great was his happiness, till, one evening, he saw again, among a group of girls in the river, another who excited in him still more powerful emotions. to his surprise, this very form stood before him at the approach of night. he withstood the temptation, mindful of his marriage-vow: she used every allurement; but he was resolute. his fair visiter then told him that she was his wife; that she was a jinneeyeh; and that she would always thenceforward visit him in the form of any female whom he might chance to prefer.

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note 26. this form of benediction is almost always added when the prophet is mentioned in a book by any of his followers, and often also in conversation.

note 27. perhaps it is needless to explain this proverb by the words of the bible—"vengeance is mine; i will repay, saith the lord." (romans, xii. 19.) for the honour of the muslims i must say that this maxim is often observed by them, excepting in cases to which the law of retaliation applies.

note 28. the houses in arabian countries generally have flat roofs, upon which, in the summer, some of the inhabitants often sleep: the interior, therefore, is as accessible from the roof as from the common entrance.

note 29. i here steer a middle course between my usual standard copy—which gives the story of the third sheykh more fully than i have done—and the calcutta edition of the first two hundred nights, which omits it altogether, as does also the copy from which the old translation was made, perhaps on account of its uninteresting nature.