The Thousand and One Nights Volume I Part 27

Happiness hath arrived, and the beloved is come to my relief: repair then to the messenger of festivity, and hasten.

She afterwards related to him everything that had happened to her; and he also acquainted her with all that he had suffered; and they offered up thanks to G.o.d for their union. The Wezeer then went up to the Sul?an, and informed him of these occurrences; and the King was astonished, and ordered that a statement of them should be inserted in the records, to be preserved to future ages. And the Wezeer resided with his brother's son, and his own daughter and her son, and with the wife of his brother; and all of them pa.s.sed their lives in the enjoyment of the utmost happiness until they were visited by the terminator of delights, and the separator of companions.[IV_69]

Such, O Prince of the Faithful, said Ja?far, were the events that happened to the Wezeer Shems-ed-Deen and his brother Noor-ed-Deen.--By Allah, exclaimed the Khaleefeh Haroon Er-Rasheed, this story is wonderful! And he gave one of his own concubines to the young man who had killed his wife, and appointed him a regular maintenance; and the young man became one of his companions at the table.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

NOTES TO CHAPTER FOURTH.

NOTE 1. From the close of Chapter iii., the order of the tales in this translation (agreeably with the Cairo edition) differs from that which is followed in the old version.

NOTE 2. This alludes to the poor man's want of sufficient clothing; for, in the climate of Baghdad, a person who is not very scantily clad is in little need of a fire to warm himself.

NOTE 3. My sheykh has remarked, in a marginal note, that these verses would be appropriate only from the mouth of a learned man complaining of the unprofitableness of his science with respect to procuring him money; but perhaps, in writing this, he was actuated by a somewhat over-zealous regard for the honour of his own profession; for, when a poor man has acquired a little knowledge, his neighbours are apt to flatter him.

NOTE 4. The "izar" has been described in the second note to Chapter iii.

NOTE 5. Literally, "the sons of thine uncle;" but the meaning is, "thy kinsmen."

NOTE 6.--_On Bastinading._ In Arabian, and some other Eastern, countries, it is a common custom, when a person is accused of a crime before a magistrate, and denies his guilt, to bastinade him, in order to induce him to confess; and even witnesses, sometimes, are treated in the same manner. The beating is usually inflicted with a kurbaj (a thong or whip of hippopotamus' hide hammered into a round form) or with a stick, and generally on the soles of the feet. For this purpose the feet are confined by a chain or rope attached at each end to a staff, which is turned round to tighten it. This is called a "fala?ah." Two persons (one on each side) strike alternately; and the punishment is often continued until the sufferer becomes insensible, and even longer.

NOTE 7.--_Of Sales by Auction._ In many of the soo?s (market-streets, or bazars) in Arabian cities, auctions are held on stated days, once or more frequently in every week. They are conducted by brokers (dellals), hired either by private persons or by shopkeepers. These brokers carry the goods up and down the street, announcing the sums bidden, with cries of "?araj," &c.; and the shopkeepers, as well as others, purchase of them.

NOTE 8. I have before mentioned, that this horrid mode of punishing a woman suspected of incontinence is not unfrequently practised among the Arabs. Many similar cases have been mentioned to me in Egypt as having occurred in that country in the present age; and often the murder is committed by the father or a brother of the woman, as her relations are considered as more disgraced than the husband by her crime. The present tale is probably founded on some particular occurrence of this kind. One is related as having happened in the reign of the Khaleefeh El-Mo?ta?id.

In this case, some limbs of the murdered woman, in two leathern bags, were brought up from the bed of the Tigris in the net of a fisherman.[276] [Such barbarity, however, is contrary to law, as is stated in two former notes.--ED.]

NOTE 9.--_Of the Retaliation of Injuries on the Day of Resurrection._ The "examination being past, and every one's works weighed in a just balance, that mutual retaliation will follow according to which every creature will take vengeance one of another, or have satisfaction made to him for the injuries which he hath suffered. And since there will then be no other way of returning like for like, the manner of giving this satisfaction will be, by taking away a proportionable part of the good works of him who offered the injury, and adding it to those of him who suffered it. Which being done, if the angels (by whose ministry this is to be performed) say, 'Lord, we have given to every one his due, and there remaineth of this person's good works so much as equalleth the weight of an ant,' G.o.d will of his mercy cause it to be doubled unto him, that he may be admitted into Paradise; but if, on the contrary, his good works be exhausted, and there remain evil works only, and there be any who have not yet received satisfaction from him, G.o.d will order that an equal weight of their sins be added unto his, that he may be punished for them in their stead, and he will be sent to h.e.l.l laden with both."[277]

NOTE 10. "Rey?an" is a common proper name of men, now commonly given to slaves; and the name of the sweet basil in particular (also called "ree?an") and of sweet-smelling plants in general. It also signifies "any favour of G.o.d," "the supplies necessary for subsistence," "a son,"

&c.

NOTE 11. This e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n is addressed to G.o.d.

NOTE 12. In the original, "Mi?r," _vulg._, "Ma?r." This is the name which the Arabs give to Egypt, and which they have also given to its successive capitals, or seats of government, Memphis, Egyptian Babylon, El-Fus?a?, and El-?ahireh, or Cairo. It is here applied to Cairo, as will be shewn by the following note, and by the sequel of the tale, though this city was not founded until long after the reign of Haroon Er-Rasheed. I may here remark, that I have not found the name of "Mi?r"

applied to Cairo in any Arabic work anterior to the conquest of Egypt by the 'Osmanlee Turks, which happened in the year of the Flight 923 (A.D.

1517). El-Fus?a? retained this appellation in the time of Es-Suyoo?ee, who died in the year of the Flight 911, but it ceased to do so before the time of El-Is-?a?ee, who brought down his history to the month of Rama?an, 1032 (A.D. 1623). It is probable, therefore, that the name of "Misr"[typo Mi?r] was transferred to Cairo on the occasion of the conquest by the Turks. I must not a.s.sert, that this observation alone enables us to form a decided judgment as to the period when this work was composed, as it may be objected that copyists have perhaps subst.i.tuted "Mi?r" for "El-?ahireh;" but I persue the inquiry in the next note.

NOTE 13.--_On several Evidences of the Period when this Work, in the states in which it is known to us, was composed or compiled or remodelled._ The tale here presents another anachronism. The t.i.tle of "Sul?an," as a prefix, was first borne by Ma?mood Ibn-Sabuktekeen, in the year of the Flight 393, just two hundred years after the death of Haroon Er-Rasheed; and there was no Sul?an of Egypt until the year of the Flight 567 of a little later; the first being the famous ?ala?-ed-Deen, or Saladin.

I have now given several data upon which to found a reasonable opinion as to the age when these tales, in the states in which they are known to us, were composed or compiled or remodelled. First, in Note 55 to Chapter ii., I have shewn that a fiction in one of the tales is framed in accordance with the distinction of Muslims, Christians, and Jews, by the colours of their turbans, which mode of distinction originated in the beginning of the eighth century of the Flight. Secondly, in the present note, I have mentioned a fact which affords some reason for inferring that there had been a long series of Sul?ans in Egypt before the age of the writer or writers. In the third place, I must remark, that all the events described in this work are said to have happened in ages which, with respect to that of the writer or writers, were _ancient_, being related to an ancient king; from which I think we may infer its age to have been at least two centuries posterior to the period mentioned in the first of these data. Fourthly, in Note 22 to Chapter iii., I have shewn that the state of manners and morals described in many of these tales agrees, in a most important point of view, with the manners and morals of the Arabs at the commencement of the tenth century of the Flight. This I regard as an argument of great weight, and especially satisfactory as agreeing with the inference just before drawn. Fifthly, from what I have stated in the note immediately preceding, I incline to the opinion that few of the copies of this work now known to us, if any, were written until after the conquest of Egypt by the Turks, in the year 1517 of our era. This opinion, it should be remarked, respects especially the _early_ portion of the work, which is the least likely to have been interpolated, as later parts evidently have been. At the last-mentioned period, a native of Cairo (in which city I believe the princ.i.p.al portion of the work to have been written) might, if about forty years of age, retain a sufficient recollection of the later Memlook Sul?ans and of their ministers to describe his kings and courts without the necessity of consulting the writings of historians; deriving his knowledge of early times not from the perusal of any regular record, but only from traditions or from works like the present.--I should have delayed the insertion of the foregoing remarks, had I not considered it a point of some importance to suggest to the reader, as early as possible, that the manners and customs, and in general even the dresses and dwellings, described in most of the present tales, are those of a very late period. The lax state of morals which appears to have prevailed among the Arabs in the time of the writer or writers probably continued at least until the period when coffee became a common beverage, about the middle of the tenth century of the Flight (or near the middle of the sixteenth century of our era), and perhaps considerably later, until some years after the introduction of tobacco into the East. The researches of Von Hammer have satisfactorily shewn that the Thousand and One Nights, in the states in which it is known to us, is based upon a very old work, in Persian; an Arabic translation of which bore a similar, or perhaps the same, t.i.tle as that which we are considering; but I believe the last to be, in its best features, a very late production.

NOTE 14. "Shems-ed-Deen" signifies "the Sun of the Religion;" and "Noor-ed-Deen," "the Light of the Religion."

NOTE 15.--_Customs observed after a Death._ Though the men, in Arabian countries, make no change in their dress in indication of mourning, they observe other customs after the death of a relation. By the term here used in the original for "mourning" ("'aza," the primary signification of which is "consolation" or "condolence"), an allusion is made to receiving the visits of condoling friends. On the night immediately following the burial, several persons are employed to perform recitations of portions of the ?ur-an, &c. The most remarkable of these ceremonies consists in repeating thrice one thousand times, "There is no deity but G.o.d:" one of the performers having a string of a thousand large beads by means of which to count these repet.i.tions. Some persons are also hired to perform a recitation of the whole of the ?ur-an in the afternoon or evening of the first Thursday after the funeral, and often on other days; and the merit of these and the former religious acts is transferred to the soul of the deceased.--These customs I have fully described in my work on the Modern Egyptians, vol. ii. ch. xv.

NOTE 16. The island here alluded to is that called "Er-Ro?ah," or "The Garden."

NOTE 17. The prayer-carpet, which resembles a wide hearth-rug, is seldom used as a covering for the saddle except when the rider is a person of the learned profession. It is probably mentioned here to shew that Noor-ed-Deen was an officer of the pen, which was generally the case with the Wezeers of the Sul?ans of Egypt.

NOTE 18. Jerusalem is called in the original, and by the modern Arabs, "El-?uds," which signifies "Holiness."

NOTE 19. The Arabic name of Aleppo is "?alab."

NOTE 20. An Arab of rank is seldom seen on foot outside the threshold of his own house, unless it be merely to cross the street.

NOTE 21. The decoration here alluded to consists in furnishing the apartment with costly carpets, handsome cushions, rich coverings for the deewans, and coloured lamps, &c.

NOTE 22. This, to some readers, may appear odd: it should therefore be explained that most articles of Arab clothing are equally suitable to young and old, thin and stout.

NOTE 23. "?asan" signifies "Beautiful" or "Handsome."

NOTE 24.--_On Infancy and Education._ I may avoid an unnecessary multiplication of notes on the same, or nearly the same, subject, by availing myself of this occasion to insert here the following ill.u.s.trations of numerous pa.s.sages, in the preceding and subsequent tales, relating to infancy and education.

In few cases are the Mohammadans so much fettered by the directions of their Prophet and other religious inst.i.tutors as in the rearing and educating of their children. In matters of the most trivial nature, religious precedents direct their management of the young. One of the first duties is, to wrap the new-born child in clean white linen, or in linen of some other colour; but not yellow. After this, some person [not a female] should p.r.o.nounce the adan[278] in the ear of the infant, because the Prophet did so in the ear of El-?asan when Fatimeh gave birth to him; or he should p.r.o.nounce the adan in the right ear, and the i?ameh (which is nearly the same) in the left.[279]

It was formerly a custom of many of the Arabs, and perhaps is still among some, for the father to give a feast to his friends on seven successive days after the birth of a son; but that of a daughter was observed with less rejoicing. The general modern custom is, to give an entertainment only on the seventh day, which is called "Yom es-Suboo?."

On this occasion, the mother, having left her bed, receives her guests; the child is exhibited to them; and they give presents of gold or silver coins, which are generally used to decorate the infant's head-dress. The father entertains his friends in the evening.

On this day, or on the fourteenth, twenty-first, twenty-eighth, or thirty-fifth day after the birth, several religious ceremonies are required to be performed; but they are most approved if observed on the seventh day. One of these is the naming. I believe, however, that it is a more common custom to give the name almost immediately after the birth, or about three hours after. Astrologers were often consulted on this occasion; but the following directions are given on higher authority, and are generally observed.--"The father should give his son a good name, ... not a name of self-praise, as Rasheed [Orthodox], Emeen [Faithful], &c.... The prophet said, 'The names most approved by G.o.d are 'Abd-Allah [Servant of G.o.d] and 'Abd-Er-Ra?man [Servant of the Compa.s.sionate], and such like.' He also said, 'Give my name, but do not distinguish by my surname of relationship:' but this precept, they say, respects his own life-time, ... because he was addressed, 'O Abu-l-?asim!' and now it is not disapproved; but some disapprove of uniting the name and surname, so as to call a person Mohammad and Abu-l-?asim. And if a son be called by the name of a prophet it is not allowable to abuse or vilify him, unless the person so named be facing his reproacher, who should say, 'Thou' [without mentioning his name]: and a child named Mo?ammad or A?mad should be [especially] honoured....

The Prophet said, 'There is no people holding a consultation at which there is present one whose name is Mo?ammad or A?mad, but G.o.d blesseth all that a.s.sembly:' and again he said, 'Whoever nameth his child by my name, or by that of any of my children or my companions, from affection to me or to them, G.o.d (whose name be exalted!) will give him in Paradise what eye hath not seen nor ear heard.' And a son should not be named King of kings, or Lord of lords; nor should a man take a surname of relationship from the name of the eldest of his children; nor take any such surname before a child is born to him."[280]--The custom of naming children after prophets, or after relations or companions of Mo?ammad, is very common. No ceremony is observed on account of the naming.

On the same day, however, two practices which I am about to mention are prescribed to be observed; though, as far as my observations and inquiries allow me to judge, they are generally neglected by the modern Muslims. The first of these is a sacrifice. The victim is called 'a?ee?ah. It should be a ram or goat; or two such animals should be sacrificed for a son, and one for a daughter. This rite is regarded by Ibn-?ambal as absolutely obligatory: he said, "If a father sacrifice not for his son, and he [the son] die, that son will not intercede for him on the day of judgment." The founders of the three other princ.i.p.al sects regard it in different and less important lights, though Mohammad slew an 'a?ee?ah for himself after his prophetic mission. The person should say, on slaying the victim, "O G.o.d, verily this a?ee?ah is a ransom for my son such a one; its blood for his blood, and its flesh for his flesh, and its bone for his bone, and its skin for his skin, and its hair for his hair. O G.o.d, make it a ransom for my son from h.e.l.l-fire." A bone of the victim should not be broken.[281] The midwife should receive a leg of it. It should be cooked without previously cutting off any portion of it; and part of it should be given in alms.--After this should be performed the other ceremony above alluded to, which is this.

It is a sunneh ordinance, inc.u.mbent on the father, to shave, or cause to be shaved, the head of his child, and to give, in alms to the poor, the weight of the hair in gold or silver. This should also be done for a proselyte.[282] On the subsequent occasions of shaving the head of a male child (for the head of the male is frequently shaven), a tuft of hair is generally left on the crown, and commonly, for several years, another also over the forehead.

Circ.u.mcision is most approved if performed on the same day:[283] but the observance of this rite is generally delayed until the child has attained the age of five or six years, and sometimes several years later. I shall therefore delay mentioning the ceremonies with which it is celebrated.

The Muslims rightly regard a child as a trust committed by G.o.d to its parents, who, they hold, are responsible for the manner in which they bring it up, and will be examined on this subject on the day of judgment. But they further venture to say, that "the first who will lay hold of a man on the day of judgment will be his wife and children, who [if he have been deficient in his duty to them] will present themselves before G.o.d, and say, 'O our Lord, take for us our due from him; for he taught us not that of which we were ignorant, and he fed us with forbidden food, and we knew not:' and their due will be taken from him."[284] By this is meant, that a certain proportion of the good works which the man may have done, and his children and wife neglected, will be set down to their account; or that a similar proportion of their evil works will be transferred to _his_ account.

The mother is enjoined by the law to give suck to her child two full years, unless she have her husband's consent to shorten the period, or to employ another nurse. "For suckling the child, a virtuous woman, who eateth only what is lawful, should be chosen; for the unlawful [food]

will manifest its evil in the child: as the Prophet ... said, 'Giving suck altereth the tempers.' But it is recommended by the sunneh that the mother herself suckle the child; for it is said in a tradition, 'There is nothing better for a child than its mother's milk.' 'If thou wouldst try,' it is added,'whether a child be of an ingenuous disposition in its infancy, or not, order a woman who is not its mother to suckle it after its mother has done so; and if it drink of the milk of the woman who is not its mother, it is not of an ingenuous disposition.'"[285]

Children, being regarded by Muslim parents as enviable blessings, are, to them, objects of the most anxious solicitude. To guard them from the supposed influence of the envious or evil eye, they have recourse to various expedients. When they are taken abroad, they are usually clad in the most slovenly manner, and left unwashed, or even purposely smeared with dirt; and as a further precaution, a fantastic cap is often put upon the child's head, or its head-dress is decorated with one or more coins, a feather, a gay ta.s.sel, or a written charm or two sewed up in leather or encased in gold or silver, or some other appendage to attract the eye, that so the infant itself may pa.s.s unnoticed. If a person express his admiration of another's child otherwise than by some pious e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n, as, for instance, by praising its Creator (with the exclamation of "Sub?ana-llah!" or, "Ma shaa-llah!" &c.) or invoking a blessing on the Prophet, he fills the mind of the parent with apprehension; and recourse is had to some superst.i.tious ceremony to counteract the dreaded influence of his envious glance. The children of the poor are less exposed to this imaginary danger from their unattractive appearance: they generally have little clothing, or none whatever, and are extremely dirty. It is partly with the view of protecting them from the evil eye, that those of the rich are so long confined to the ?areem: there they are petted and pampered for several years; at least until they are of age to go to school; but most of them are instructed at home.

The children of the Muslims are taught to shew to their fathers a degree of respect which might be deemed incompatible with the existence of a tender mutual affection; but I believe that this is not the case. The child greets the father in the morning by kissing his hand, and then usually stands before him in a respectful att.i.tude, with the left hand covered by the right, to receive any order or to await his permission to depart; but after the respectful kiss, is often taken on the lap. After the period of infancy, the well-bred son seldom sits in the presence of his father; but during that period he is generally allowed much familiarity. A Syrian merchant, who was one of my near neighbours in Cairo, had a child of exquisite beauty, commonly supposed to be his daughter, whom, though he was a most bigoted Muslim, he daily took with him from his private house to his shop. The child followed him, seated upon an a.s.s, before a black slave; and, until about six years old, was dressed like most young ladies, but without a face-veil. The father then thinking that the appearance of taking about with him a daughter of that age was scandalous, dressed his pet as a boy, and told his friends that the female attire had been employed as a protection against the evil eye; girls being less coveted than boys. This indeed is sometimes done; and it is possible that such might have been the case in this instance; but I was led to believe that it was not so. A year after, I left Cairo: while I remained there, I continued to see the child pa.s.s my house as before; but always in boy's clothing.

It is not surprising that the natives of Arabian countries, where a very trifling expense is required to rear the young, should be generally desirous of a numerous offspring. A motive of self-interest conduces forcibly to cherish this feeling in a wife, for she is commonly esteemed by her husband in proportion to her fruitfulness; and a man is seldom willing to divorce a wife, or to sell a slave, who has borne him a child. A similar feeling also induces in both parents a desire to obtain offspring, and renders them at the same time resigned to the loss of such of their children as die in tender age. This feeling arises from their belief of certain services, of greater moment than the richest blessings this world can bestow, which children who die in infancy are to render to their parents. The Prophet is related to have said, "The infant children [of the Muslims] shall a.s.semble at the scene of judgment on the day of the general resurrection, when all creatures shall appear for the reckoning, and it will be said to the angels, 'Go ye with these into Paradise:' and they will halt at the gate of Paradise, and it will be said to them, 'Welcome to the offspring of the Muslims! enter ye Paradise: there is no reckoning to be made with you:' and they will reply, 'Yea, and our fathers and our mothers:' but the guardians of Paradise will say, 'Verily your fathers and your mothers are not with you because they have committed faults and sins for which they must be reckoned with and inquired of.' Then they will shriek and cry at the gate of Paradise with a great cry; and G.o.d (whose name be exalted!) and who is all-knowing respecting them) will say, 'What is this cry?' It will be answered, 'O our Lord, the children of the Muslims say, We will not enter Paradise but with our fathers and our mothers.' Whereupon G.o.d (whose name be exalted!) will say 'Pa.s.s among them all, and take the hands of your parents, and introduce them into Paradise.'" The children who are to have this power are such as are born of believers, and die without having attained to the knowledge of sin; and according to one tradition, one such child will introduce his parents into Paradise.

[Such infants only are to enter Paradise; for, of the children who die in infancy, those of believers alone are they who would believe if they grew to years of discretion.] On the same authority it is said, "When a child of the servant [of G.o.d] dies, G.o.d (whose name be exalted!) saith to the angels, 'Have ye taken the child of my servant?' They answer, 'Yea.' He saith, 'Have ye taken the child of his heart?' They reply, 'Yea.' He asketh them, 'What did my servant say?' They answer, 'He praised thee, and said, Verily to G.o.d we belong, and verily unto Him we return!' Then G.o.d will say, 'Build for my servant a house in Paradise, and name it the House of Praise.'" To these traditions, which I find related as proofs of the advantages of marriage, the following anecdote, which is of a similar nature, is added. A certain man, who would not take a wife, awoke one day from his sleep, and demanded to be married, saying, as his reason, "I dreamt that the resurrection had taken place, and that I was among the beings collected at the scene of judgment, but was suffering a thirst that stopped up the pa.s.sage of my stomach; and lo, there were youths pa.s.sing through the a.s.sembly, having in their hands ewers of silver, and cups of gold, and giving drink to one person after another; so I stretched forth my hand to one of them, and said, 'Give me to drink; for thirst overpowereth me:' but they answered, 'Thou hast no child among us: we give drink only to our fathers.' I asked them, 'Who are ye?' They replied, 'We are the deceased infant children of the Muslims.'"[286] Especial rewards in heaven are promised to mothers. "When a woman conceives by her husband," said the Prophet, "she is called in heaven a martyr [_i.e._ she is ranked as a martyr in dignity]; and her labour in child-bed, and her care for her children, protect her from h.e.l.l-fire.'"[287]

"When the child begins to speak, the father should teach him first the kelimeh [or profession of faith], 'There is no deity but G.o.d: [Mo?ammad is G.o.d's apostle:]'--he should dictate this to him seven times. Then he should instruct him to say, 'Wherefore, exalted be G.o.d, the King, the Truth! There is no deity but He, the Lord of the honourable throne.'[288] He should teach him also the Throne-verse,[289] and the closing words of the ?ashr, 'He is G.o.d, beside whom there is no deity, the King, the Holy,'" &c.[290]

As soon as a son is old enough, his father should teach him the most important rules of decent behaviour: placing some food before him, he should order him to take it with the right hand (the left being employed for unclean purposes), and to say, on commencing, "In the name of G.o.d;"

to eat what is next to him, and not to hurry, nor spill any of the food upon his person or dress. He should teach him that it is disgusting to eat much. He should particularly condemn to him the love of gold and silver, and caution him against covetousness as he would against serpents and scorpions; and forbid his spitting in an a.s.sembly, and committing any similar breach of good manners, talking much, turning his back upon another, standing in an indolent att.i.tude, and speaking ill of any person to another. He should keep him from bad companions, teach him the ?ur-an and all requisite divine and prophetic ordinances, and instruct him in the arts of swimming and archery, and in some virtuous trade; for trade is a security from poverty. He should also command him to endure patiently the chastis.e.m.e.nts of his teacher. In one tradition it is said, "When a boy attains the age of six years he should be disciplined; and when he attains to nine years he should be put in a separate bed; and when he attains to ten years he should be beaten for [neglecting] prayer:" in another tradition, "Order your children to pray at seven [years], and beat them for [neglecting] it at ten, and put them in separate beds."[291]

Circ.u.mcision, which has before been mentioned, is generally performed before the boy is submitted to the instruction of the schoolmaster.[292]

Previously to the performance of this rite, he is, if belonging to the higher or middle rank of society, usually paraded about the neighbourhood of his parents' dwelling, gaily attired, chiefly with female habits and ornaments, but with a boy's turban on his head, mounted on a horse, preceded by musicians, and followed by a group of his female relations and friends. This ceremony is observed by the great with much pomp and with sumptuous feasts. El-Jabartee mentions a fete celebrated on the occasion of the circ.u.mcision of a son of the ?a?ee of Cairo, in the year of the Flight 1179 (A.D. 1766), when the grandees and chief merchants and 'ulama of the city sent him such abundance of presents that the magazines of his mansion were filled with rice and b.u.t.ter and honey and sugar; the great hall, with coffee; and the middle of the court, with firewood: the public were amused for many days by players and performers of various kinds; and when the youth was paraded through the streets he was attended by numerous memlooks with their richly-caparisoned horses and splendid arms and armour and military band, and by a number of other youths who, from compliment to him, were circ.u.mcised afterwards with him. This latter custom is usual on such occasions; and so also is the sending of presents, such as those above mentioned, by friends, acquaintances, and tradespeople.' At a fete of this kind, when the Khaleefeh El-Mu?tedir circ.u.mcised five of his sons, the money that was scattered in presents amounted to six hundred thousand pieces of gold, or about 300,000. Many orphans were also circ.u.mcised on the same day, and were presented with clothes and pieces of gold.[293] The Khaleefeh above mentioned was famous for his magnificence, a proof of which I have given in a former note. At the more approved entertainments which are given in celebration of a circ.u.mcision, a recital of the whole of the ?ur-an, or a zikr, is performed: at some others, male or female public dancers perform in the court of the house, or in the street before the door.

Few of the children of the Arabs receive much instruction in literature, and still fewer are taught even the rudiments of any of the higher sciences; but there are numerous schools in their towns, and one at least in almost every moderately large village. The former are mostly attached to mosques and other public buildings, and, together with those buildings, endowed by princes or other men of rank, or wealthy tradesmen. In these, the children are instructed either gratis or for a very trifling weekly payment, which all parents, except those in indigent circ.u.mstances, can easily afford. The schoolmaster generally teaches nothing more than to read, and to recite by heart the whole of the ?ur-an. After committing to memory the first chapter of the sacred volume, the boy learns the rest in the inverse order of their arrangement, as they generally decrease in length. Writing and arithmetic are usually taught by another master; and grammar, rhetoric, versification, logic, the interpretation of the ?ur-an, and the whole system of religion and law, with all other knowledge deemed useful, which seldom includes the mere elements of mathematics, are attained by studying at a collegiate mosque, and at no expense; for the professors receive no pay either from the students, who are mostly of the poorer cla.s.ses, or from the funds of the mosque.