第145章

[489]i.e.to the return Salam--'And with thee be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings！'See vol.ii.146.The enslaved Princess had recognised her father's Wazir and knew that he could have but one object，which being a man of wit and her lord a'raw laddie，'he was sure to win.

[490]It is quite in Moslem manners for the bystanders to force the sale seeing a silly lad reject a most advantageous offer for sentimental reasons.And the owner of the article would be bound by their consent.

[491]Arab.'Wa'llahi.''Bi'is the original particle of swearing，a Harf al-jarr （governing the genitive as Bi'llahi） and suggesting the idea of adhesion：'Wa'（noting union） is its substitute in oath-formulae and'Ta'takes the place of Wa as Ta'llahi.The three-fold forms are combined in a great'swear.'

[492]i.e.of divorcing their own wives.

[493]These lines have occurred before： I quote Mr.Payne.

[494]These lines are in Night xxvi.，vol.i.275： I quote Torrens （p.277），with a correction for'when ere.'

[495]This should be'draws his senses from him as one pulls hair out of paste.'

[496]Raghib and Zahid： see vol.v.141.

[497]Carolus Magnus then held court in Paris；but the text evidently alludes to one of the port-cities of Provence as Marseille which we English will miscall Marseilles.

[498]Here the writer，not the young wife，speaks；but as a tale-teller he says'hearer'not'reader.'

[499]Kayrawan，the Arab.form of the Greek Cyrene which has lately been opened to travellers and has now lost the mystery which enschrouded it.In Hafiz and the Persian poets it is the embodiment of remoteness and secrecy；as we till the last quarter century spoke of the'deserts of Central Africa.'

[500]Arab.''Innin'： alluding to all forms of impotence；from dislike，natural deficiency or fascination，the favourite excuse.Easterns seldom attribute it to the true cause，weak action of the heart；but the Romans knew the truth when they described one of its symptoms as cold feet.'Clino-pedalis，ad venerem invalidus，ab ea antiqua opinione，frigiditatem pedum concubituris admondum officere.'Hence St.Francis and the bare-footed Friars.See Glossarium Eroticum Linguae Latinae；Parisiis，Dondey-Dupre，MDCCCXXVI.

[501]I have noted the use of'island'for'land'in general.So in the European languages of the sixteenth century，insula was used for peninsula，e.g.Insula de Cori = the Corean peninsula.

[502]As has been noticed （vol.i.333），the monocular is famed for mischief and men expect the mischief to come from his blinded eye.

[503]Here again we have a specimen of'inverted speech'（vol.ii.265）；abusive epithets intended for a high compliment；signifying that the man was a tyrant over rebels and a froward devil to the foe.

[504]Arab.'Bab al-Bahr，'see vol.iii.281.

[505]Arab.'Batarikah'see vol.ii.89.The Templars；Knights of Malta and other orders half ecclesiastic，half military suggested the application of the term.

[506]These lines have occurred in vol.i.280--I quote Torrens （p.283）.

[507]Maryam al-Husn containing a double entendre，'O place of the white doe （Rim） of beauty！'The girl's name was Maryam the Arab.form of Mary，also applied to the B.V.by Eastern Christians.Hence a common name of Syrian women is'Husn Maryam'= （one endowed with the spiritual beauties of Mary： vol.iv.87）.

I do not think that the name was'manufactured by the Arab story-tellers after the pattern of their own names （e.g.Nur al-Din or Noureddin，light of the faith，Tajeddin，crown of faith，etc.） for the use of their imaginary Christian female characters.'

[508]I may here remind readers that the Ban，which some Orientalists will write'Ben，'is a straight and graceful species of Moringa with plentiful and intensely green foliage.

[509]Arab.'Amud al-Sawari'= the Pillar of Masts，which is still the local name of Diocletian's column absurdly named by Europeans'Pompey's Pillar.'

[510]Arab.'Batiyah，'also used as a wine-jar （amphora），a flagon.

[511]Arab.'Al-Kursan，'evidently from the Ital.'Corsaro，'a runner.So the Port.'Cabo Corso，'which we have corrupted to'Cape Coast Castle'（Gulf of Guinea），means the Cape of Tacking.

[512]Arab.'Ghurab，'which Europeans turn to'Grab.'

[513]Arab.'Sayyib'（Thayyib） a rare word： it mostly applies to a woman who leaves her husband after lying once with him.

[514]Arab.'Batarikah：'here meaning knights，leaders of armed men as in Night dccclxii.，supra p.256，it means'monks.'

[515]i.e.for the service of a temporal monarch.

[516]Arab.'Sayr'= a broad strip of leather still used by way of girdle amongst certain Christian religions in the East.

[517]Arab.'Halawat al-Salamah，'the sweetmeats offered to friends after returning from a journey or escaping sore peril.

See vol.iv.60.

[518]So Eginhardt was an Erzcapellan and belonged to the ghostly profession.

[519]These lines are in vols.iii.258 and iv.204.I quote Mr.Payne.

[520]Arab.'Firasah，'lit.= skill in judging of horse flesh （Faras） and thence applied，like'Kiyafah，'to physiognomy.One Kari was the first to divine man's future by worldly signs （Al-Maydani，Arab.prov.ii.132） and the knowledge was hereditary in the tribe Mashij.

[521]Reported to be a'Hadis'or saying of Mohammed，to whom are attributed many such shrewd aphorisms，e.g.'Allah defend us from the ire of the mild （tempered）.'

[522]These lines are in vol.i.126.I quote Torrens （p.120）.

[523]These lines have occurred before.I quote Mr.Payne.