but not by ghosts proper；and a man may live years in Arabia before he ever hears of the 'Tayf.'With the Hindus it is otherwise （Pilgrimage iii. 144）. Yet the ghost，the embodied fear of the dead and of death is common，in a greater or less degree，to all peoples；and，as modern Spiritualism proves，that ghost is not yet laid.
[278] Mr. Payne （iii. 133） omits the lines which are apropos de rein and read much like 'nonsense verses.'I retain them simply because they are in the text.
[279] The first two couplets are the quatrain （or octave） in Night xxxv.
[280] Arab. 'Ar'ar，'the Heb. 'Aroer，'which Luther and the A.V. translate 'heath.'The modern Aramaic name is 'Lizzab'（Unexplored Syria. i. 68）.
[281] In the old version and the Bresl. Edit. （iii. 220） the Princess beats the 'Kahramanah，'but does not kill her.
[282] 'This is still the popular Eastern treatment of the insane.
[283] Pers. 'Marzban'= Warden of the Marches，Margrave. The fosterbrother in the East is held dear as，and often dearer than，kith and kin.
[284] The moderns believe most in the dawndream.
Quirinus Post mediam noctem visus，quum somnia vera.
（Horace Sat. i. 10，33，）
[285] The Bresl. Edit. （iii. 223） and Galland have 'Torf：'
Lane （ii. 115） 'ElTarf.'
[286] Arab. 'Maghzal ；'a more favourite comparison is with a tooth pick. Both are used by Nizami and AlHariri，the most 'elegant'of Arab writers.
[287] These form a Kasidah，Ode or Elegy= rhymed couplets numbering more than thirteen： If shorter it is called a 'Ghazal.'
I have not thought it necessary to preserve the monorhyme.
[288] Sulayma dim. of Salma= any beautiful woman Rabab = the viol mostly single stringed： Tan'oum=she who is soft and gentle.
These fictitious names are for his old flames.
[289] i.e. wine. The distich is highly fanciful and the conceits would hardly occur to a [290] Arab. 'Andam，'a term applied to Brazilwood （also called 'Bakkam'） and to 'dragon's blood，'but not，I think，to tragacanth，the 'goat's thorn，'which does not dye. Andam is often mentioned in The Nights.
[291] The superior merit of the first （explorer，etc.） is a lieu commun with Arabs. So AlHariri in Preface quotes his predecessor：
Justly of praise the price I pay；
The praise is his who leads the way.
[292] There were two Lukmans，of whom more in a future page.
[293] This symbolic action is repeatedly mentioned in The Nights.
[294] Arab. 'Shakhs'=a person，primarily a dark spot. So 'Sawad'=blackness，in AlHariri means a group of people who darken the ground by their shade.
[295] The first bath after sickness，I have said，is called 'Ghusl alSihhah，'the Washing of Health.
[296] The words 'malady'and 'disease'are mostly avoided during these dialogues as illomened words which may bring on a relapse.
[297] Solomon's carpet of green silk which carried him and all his host through the air is a Talmudic legend generally accepted in AlIslam though not countenanced by the Koran. chaps xxvii.
When the 'gnat's wing'is mentioned，the reference is to Nimrod who，for boasting that he was lord of all，was tortured during four hundred years by a gnat sent by Allah up his ear or nostril.
[298] The absolute want of morality and filial affection in the chaste young man is supposed to be caused by the violence of his passion，and he would be pardoned because he 'loved much.'
[299] I have noticed the geomantic process in my 'History of Sindh'（chaps. vii.）. It is called 'Zarb alRam！'（strike the sand，the French say 'frapper le sable'） because the rudest form is to make on the ground dots at haphazard，usually in four lines one above the other： these are counted and，if evennumbered，two are taken （ ）；if odd one （ ）；and thus the four lines will form a scheme say.
This is repeated three times，producing the same number of figures；and then the combination is sought in an explanatory table or，if the practitioner be expert，he pronounces offhand.
The Nights speak of a 'Takht Raml'or a board，like a schoolboy's slate，upon which the dots are inked instead of points in sand.
The moderns use a 'Kura'h，'or oblong die，upon whose sides the dots，odd and even，are marked；and these dice are handthrown to form the e figure. By way of complication Geomancy is mixed up with astrology and then it becomes a most complicated kind of ariolation and an endless study. 'Napoleon's Book of Fate，'a chapbook which appeared some years ago，was Geomancy in its simplest and most ignorant shape. For the rude African form see my Mission to Dahome，i. 332，and for that of Darfour，pp. 36069 of Shaykh Mohammed's Voyage before quoted.
[300] Translators understand this of writing marriage contracts；I take it in a more general sense.
[301] These lines are repeated from Night Ixxv.： with Mr.
Payne's permission I give his rendering （iii. 153） by way of variety.
[302] The comparison is characteristically Arab.
[303] Not her 'face'： the head，and especially the back of the head，must always be kept covered，even before the father.
[304] Arab. 'Siwak'=a toothstick；'Siwaka'=lit. other than thou.
[305] Arab. 'Arak'=tooth stick of the wild capertree；
'Araka'lit.=I see thee. The capparis spinosa is a common desertgrowth and the sticks about a span long （usually called Miswak），are sold in quantities at Meccah after being dipped in Zemzem water. In India many other woods are used，datetree，Salvadora，Achyrantes，phyllanthus，etc. Amongst Arabs peculiar efficacy accompanies the toothstick of olive，'the tree springing from Mount Sinai'（Koran xxiii. 20）；and Mohammed would use no other，because it prevents decay and scents the mouth.
