登陆注册
3651100000134

第134章

[81] Arab.'Ushari.'Old Purchas (vi.,i. 9) says there are three kinds of camels (1 ) Huguin (=Hejin) of tall stature and able to carry 1,000 lbs. (2) Bechete (=Bukhti) the twohumped Bactrian before mentioned and,(3) the Raguahill (Rahil) small dromedaries unfit for burden but able to cover a hundred miles in a day. The'King of Timbukhtu'(not'Bukhtu's well'pop.

Timbuctoo) had camels which reach Segelmesse (Sijalmas) or Darha,nine hundred miles in eight days at most. Lyon makes the Maherry (also called ElHeirie=Mahri) trot nine miles an hour for a long time. Other travellers in North Africa report the Sabayee (Saba'i=seven days weeder) as able to get over six hundred and thirty miles (or thirtyfive caravan stages=each eighteen miles)

in five to seven days. One of the dromedaries in the'hamlah'or caravan of Mr. Ensor (Journey through Nubia and Darfoora charming book) travelled one thousand one hundred and ten miles in twenty seven days. He notes that his beasts were better with water every five to seven days,but in the cold season could do without drink for sixteen. I found in AlHijaz at the end of August that the camels suffered much after ninety hours without drink (Pilgrimage iii. 14). But these were'Judi'finehaired animals as opposed to'Khawar'(the Khowas of Chesney,p. 333),coarsehaired,heavy,slow brutes which will not stand great heat.

[82] i.e. Fortune so willed it (euphemistically).

[83] The'minaret'being feminine is usually compared with a fair young girl. The oldest minaret proper is supposed to have been built in Damascus by the Ommiade Caliph (No. X.) AlWalid A.H. 8696 (=705715). According to Ainsworth (ii. 113) the second was at Kuch Hisar in Chaldea.

[84] None of the pure Badawi can swim for the best of reasons,want of waters.

[85] The baser sort of Badawi is never to be trusted: he is a traitor born,and looks upon fair play as folly or cowardice.

Neither oath nor kindness can bind him: he unites the cruelty of the cat with the wildness of the wolf. How many Englishmen have lost their lives by not knowing these elementary truths! The race has not changed from the days of Mandeville (A.D. 1322) whose'Arabians,who are called Bedouins and Ascopards (?),are right felonious and foul,and of a cursed nature.'In his day they'carried but one shield and one spear,without other arm :'now,unhappily for travellers,they have matchlocks and most tribes can manufacture a something called by courtesy gunpowder.

[86] Thus by Arab custom they become friends.

[87] Our classical term for a noble Arab horse.

[88] In Arab.'Khayl'is=horse;Husan,a stallion;Hudud,a brood stallion;Faras,a mare (but sometimes used as a horse and meaning'that tears over the ground'),Jiyad a steed (noble);Kadish,a nag (ignoble);Mohr a colt and Mohrah,a filly. There are dozens of other names but these suffice for conversation [89] AlKatul,the slayer;AlMajnun,the mad;both high compliments in the style inverted.

[90] This was a highly honourable exploit,which would bring the doer fame as well as gain.

[91] This is a true and lifelike deion of horse

stealing in the Desert: Antar and Burckhardt will confirm every word. A noble Arab stallion is supposed to fight for his rider and to wake him at night if he see any sign of danger. The owner generally sleeps under the belly of the beast which keeps eyes and ears alert till dawn.

[92] Arab.'Yaum al tanadi,'i.e. Resurrectionday.

[93] Arab.'Bilad alSudan'=the Land of the Blacks,negro land,whence the slaves came,a word now fatally familiar to English ears. There are,however,two regions of the same name,the Eastern upon the Upper Nile and the Western which contains the Niger Valley,and each considers itself the Sudan. And the reader must not confound the Berber of the Upper Nile,the Berderino who acts servant in Lower Egypt,with the Berber of Barbary: the former speaks an African language;the latter a'Semitic'(Arabic) tongue.

[94]'Him'for'her.'

[95] Arab.'Saibah,'a shecamel freed from labour under certain conditions amongst the pagan Arabs;for which see Sale (Prel. Disc. sect. v.).

[96] Arab.'Marba'.'In early spring the Badawi tribes leave the Rasm or winteringplace (the TurcoPersian'Kishlak') in the desert,where winterrains supply them,and make for the Yaylak,or summerquarters,where they find grass and water. Thus the great Ruwala tribe appears regularly every year on the eastern slopes of the AntiLibanus (Unexplored Syria,i. 117),and hence the frequent'partings.'

[97] This'renowning it'and boasting of one's tribe (and oneself) before battle is as natural as the warcry: both are intended to frighten the foe and have often succeeded. Every classical reader knows that the former practice dates from the earliest ages. It is still customary in Arabia during the furious tribal fights,the duello on a magnificent scale which often ends in half the combatants on either side being placed horsde combat. A fair specimen of'renowning it'is Amru's Suspended Poem with its extravagant panegyric of the Taghlab tribe (p. 64,'Arabian Poetry for English Readers,'etc.,by W. A. Clouston,Glasgow: privately printed MDCCCLXXXI.;and transcribed from Sir William Jones's translation).

[98] The'Turk'appeared soon amongst the Abbaside Caliphs.Mohammed was made to prophecy of them under the title Banu Kanturah,the latter being a slavegirl of Abraham. The Imam Al Shafi'i (A.H. 195=A.D. 810) is said to have foretold their rule in Egypt where an Ottoman defended him against a donkeyboy. (For details see Pilgrimage i. 216 ) The Caliph AlMu'atasim bi'llah (A.D. 833842) had more than 10,000 Turkish slaves and was the first to entrust them with high office;so his Arab subjects wrote of him:

A wretched Turk is thy heart's desire;

And to them thou showest thee dam and sire.

同类推荐
  • 大丹直指

    大丹直指

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 命禄篇

    命禄篇

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 荀子

    荀子

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 生经

    生经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 顺鼓篇

    顺鼓篇

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 第十道命符

    第十道命符

    相传收集到十道命符就能够飞仙,但是在修炼界已经很多年没人能够修仙成功,男主在修炼的过程中又遇到了自己生命中重要的爱人,又陷入了一段复杂的爱恋之中。更陷入了修炼界的勾心斗角之中!
  • 死亡暮歌之异能法师

    死亡暮歌之异能法师

    我叫李淋风,是一个生活在未来世界里的法师。我原本以为我是基因工程的产物,但是一种雕刻着神秘雕文的石头却颠覆了我的这种认知。也许上古时代那些被称为传说的法师真的存在,而我,正是他们的族裔。
  • 追妻无门:女boss不好惹

    追妻无门:女boss不好惹

    青涩蜕变,如今她是能独当一面的女boss,爱了冷泽聿七年,也同样花了七年时间去忘记他。以为是陌路,他突然向他表白,扬言要娶她,她只当他是脑子抽风,他的殷勤她也全都无视。他帮她查她父母的死因,赶走身边情敌,解释当初拒绝她的告别,和故意对她冷漠都是无奈之举。突然爆出她父母的死居然和冷家有丝毫联系,还莫名跳出个公爵未婚夫,扬言要与她履行婚约。峰回路转,破镜还能重圆吗? PS:我又开新文了,每逢假期必书荒,新文《有你的世界遇到爱》,喜欢我的文的朋友可以来看看,这是重生类现言,对这个题材感兴趣的一定要收藏起来。
  • 丁甘仁医案

    丁甘仁医案

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 主神快穿之神秘男神苏苏苏

    主神快穿之神秘男神苏苏苏

    【上部已完,推荐下部续作《主神快穿之神秘男神病入骨》】主神下场玩快穿,强势回收金手指。黑化男神常跟从,谈情虐渣宠宠宠。———上任主神为爱蒙蔽双眼,渣男贱女企图翻天。颜妩浴火初生,自焚绝境求存。劫后力量孱弱?没关系,且看她穿越万千位面,一一追债背叛者!只是……她本想渣渣丛中过,片叶不沾身,怎奈惹上一个神秘BOSS,一路跟随求强宠。推荐老书《快穿系统之男神攻略计》
  • 古希腊罗马讲演录

    古希腊罗马讲演录

    本书是作者2006年在西南政法大学给研究生举办的五次系列讲演的录音整理稿,尽可能地保留口头讲演的现场感,用深入浅出的语言向非哲学专业的听众描述了古希腊罗马哲学思想发展的主要线索,尤其着重于各个哲学家思想内在的及与其他哲学家相互的逻辑关联。本书的特点是简洁、清晰,以最短的篇幅完整地呈现出这一段哲学史丰富而复杂的内容,既便于记忆,也有助于提高读者对哲学思想的概括能力和分析水平,是广大西方哲学爱好者和研究生备考人员不可多得的参考书。
  • 美国教育借鉴力

    美国教育借鉴力

    本书从亲和力、激励机制、社区协同等几方面,对美国的教育最新研究进行了编译并作了点评分析,并与中国的情况进行对比研读。
  • 极品闪婚:男神轻点儿宠

    极品闪婚:男神轻点儿宠

    相恋多年的未婚夫劈腿继妹,而且还珠胎暗结,这赤果果的背叛叔可忍婶不可忍,江温暖一气之下,真戏假作嫁给了未婚夫的小叔,却猝不及防地跌入了某人精心设下的情网不可自拔……江温暖:“顾希霆,你怎么老是想着占我便宜呀?”顾希霆:“是吗?(侧头认真思考了一秒,认同点头),好像是,那,便换老婆占我便宜吧!”江温暖险些没一口老血吐出……
  • 故国神游之吕氏三国

    故国神游之吕氏三国

    东汉末年,因黄巾之乱,使得天子失其鹿,西凉董卓造逆,天下因之诸侯并起,江山、美人、民族!我欲仁慈,奈何苍生不许,那我便以杀止杀!!!!
  • 文艺复兴与中西文化交流

    文艺复兴与中西文化交流

    意大利是欧洲国家中纺织业率先发展且占有优势的国家,中世纪意大利曾以其毛织业的率先发展而致富,并享誉全欧,在欧洲毛织业的激烈竞争中,由于其原料和产品过于依赖海外市场的经济外向型特征,使得最初由毛织业构建起来的经济链条因缺乏国内供、产、销的联系而十分脆弱。