Mr. Lane (Lex.) lays down, on the lines of Ibn Khallikan (i. 476, etc.) and other representative literati, as our sole authortties for pure Arabic, the precedence in following order. First of all ranks the Jahili (Ignoramus) of The Ignorance, the : these pagans left hemistichs, couplets, pieces and elegies which once composed a large corpus and which is now mostly forgotten. Hammad al-Rawiyah, the Reciter, a man of Persian descent (ob. A.H. 160=777) who first collected the Mu'allakat, once recited by rote in a seance before Caliph Al-Walid two thousand poems of prae-Mohammedan bards.[FN#445] After the Jahili stands the Mukhadram or Muhadrim, the "Spurious," because half Pagan half Moslem, who flourished either immediately before or soon after the preaching of Mohammed. The Islami or full-blooded Moslem at the end of the first century A.H ( = 720) began the process of corruption in language; and, lastly he was followed by the Muwallad of the second century who fused Arabic with non- Arabic and in whom purity of diction disappeared.

I have noticed (I Section A.) that the versical portion of The Nights may be distributed into three categories. First are the olden poems which are held classical by all modern Arabs; then comes the mediaeval poetry, the effusions of that brilliant throng which adorned the splendid Court of Harun al-Rashid and which ended with Al-Hariri (ob. A.H. 516); and, lastly, are the various pieces de circonstance suggested to editors or scribes by the occasion. It is not my object to enter upon the historical part of the subject: a mere sketch would have neither value not interest whilst a finished picture would lead too far: I must be contented to notice a few of the most famous names.

Of the prae-Islamites we have Adi bin Zayd al-Ibadi the "celebrated poet" of Ibn Khallikan (i. 188); Nabighat (the full- grown) al-Zubyani who flourished at the Court of Al-Nu'man in AD. 580-602, and whose poem is compared with the "Suspendeds,''[FN#446] and Al-Mutalammis the "pertinacious" satirist, friend and intimate with Tarafah of the "Prize Poem." About Mohammed's day we find Imr al-Kays "with whom poetry began," to end with Zu al-Rummah; Amru bin Madi Karab al-Zubaydi, Labid; Ka'b ibn Zuhayr, the father one of the Mu'al-lakah-poets, and the son author of the Burdah or Mantle-poem (see vol. iv. 115), and Abbas bin Mirdas who lampooned the Prophet and had "his tongue cut out" i.e. received a double share of booty from Ali. In the days of Caliph Omar we have Alkamah bin Olatha followed by Jamil bin Ma'mar of the Banu Ozrah (ob. A.H. 82), who loved Azza. Then came Al-Kuthayyir (the dwarf, ironice), the lover of Buthaynah, "who was so lean that birds might be cut to bits with her bones :" the latter was also a poetess (Ibn Khall. i. 87), like Hind bint al-Nu'man who made herself so disagreeable to Al-Hajjaj (ob. A.H. 95) Jarir al-Khatafah, the noblest of the Islami poets in the first century, is noticed at full length by Ibn Khallikan (i. 294) together with his rival in poetry and debauchery, Abu Firas Hammam or Homaym bin Ghalib al-Farazdak, the Tamimi, the Ommiade poet "without whose verse half Arabic would be lost:"[FN#447] he exchanged satires with Jarir and died forty days before him (A.H. 110). Another contemporary, forming the poetical triumvirate of the period, was the debauched Christian poet Al-Akhtal al-Taghlibi. They were followed by Al- Ahwas al-Ansari whose witty lampoons banished him to Dahlak Island in the Red Sea (ob. A.H. 179 = 795); by Bashshar ibn Burd and by Yunus ibn Habib (ob. A.H. 182).

The well known names of the Harun-cycle are Al-Asma'i, rhetorician and poet, whose epic with Antar for hero is not forgotten (ob. A.H. 2I6); Isaac of Mosul (Ishak bin Ibrahim of Persian origin); Al-'Utbi "the Poet" (ob. A.H. 228); Abu al-Abbas al-Rakashi; Abu al-Atahiyah, the lover of Otbah; Muslim bin al- Walid al-Ansari; Abu Tammam of Tay, compiler of the Hamasah (ob. A.H. 230), "a Muwallad of the first class" (says Ibn Khallikan i. 392); the famous or infamous Abu Nowas, Abu Mus'ab (Ahmad ibn Ali) who died in A.H. 242; the satirist Dibil al-Khuzai (ob. A.H. 246) and a host of others quos nunc perscribere longum est. They were followed by Al-Bohtori "the Poet" (ob. A.H. 286); the royal author Abdullah ibn al-Mu'tazz (ob. A.H. 315); Ibn Abbad the Sahib (ob. A.H. 334); Mansur al-Hallaj the martyred Sufi; the Sahib ibn Abbad, Abu Faras al-Hamdani (ob. A.H. 357); Al-Nami (ob. A.H. 399) who had many encounters with that model Chauvinist Al-Mutanabbi, nicknamed Al-Mutanabbih (the "wide awake"), killed A.H. 354; Al-Manazi of Manazjird (ob. 427); Al-Tughrai author of the Lamiyat al-'Ajam (ob. A.H. 375); Al-Hariri the model rhetorician (ob. A.H. 516); Al-Hajiri al-Irbili, of Arbela (ob. A.H. 632); Baha al-Din al-Sinjari (ob. A.H. 622); Al-Katib or the Scribe (ob. A.H. 656); Abdun al-Andalusi the Spaniard (our xiith century) and about the same time Al-Nawaji, author of the Halbat al-Kumayt or"Race course of the Bay horse"—poetical slang for wine.[FN#448]

Of the third category, the pieces d'occasion, little need be said: I may refer readers to my notes on the doggrels in vol. ii. 34, 35, 56, 179, 182, 186 and 261; in vol. v. 55 and in vol. viii. 50.

Having a mortal aversion to the details of Arabic prosody, I have persuaded my friend Dr. Steingass to undertake in the following pages the subject as far as concerns the poetry of The Nights. He has been kind enough to collaborate with me from the beginning, and to his minute lexicographical knowledge I am deeply indebted for discovering not a few blemishes which would have been "nuts to the critic." The learned Arabist's notes will be highly interesting to students: mine ( SectionV.) are intended to give a superficial and popular idea of the Arab's verse mechanism.

"The principle of Arabic Prosody (called 'Aruz, pattern standard, or 'Ilm al-'Aruz, science of the 'Aruz), in so far resembles that of classical poetry, as it chiefly rests on metrical weight, not on accent, or in other words a verse is measured by short and long quantities, while the accent only regulates its rhythm. In Greek and Latin, however, the quantity of the syllables depends on their vowels, which may be either naturally short or long, or become long by position, i.e. if followed by two or more consonants. We all remember from our school-days what a fine string of rules had to be committed to and kept in memory, before we were able to scan a Latin or Greek verse without breaking its neck by tripping over false quantities. In Arabic, on the other hand, the answer to the question, what is metrically long or short, is exceedingly simple, and flows with stringent cogency from the nature of the Arabic Alphabet. This, strictly speaking, knows only consonants (Harf, pl. Huruf). The vowels which are required, in order to articulate the consonants, were at first not represented in writing at all. They had to be supplied by the reader, and are not improperly called "motions" (Harakat), because they move or lead on, as it were, one letter to another. They are three in number, a (Fathah), i (Kasrah), u (Zammah), originally sounded as the corresponding English vowels in bat, bit and butt respectively, but in certain cases modifying their pronunciation under the influence of a neighbouring consonant. When the necessity made itself felt to represent them in writing, especially for the sake of fixing the correct reading of the Koran, they were rendered by additional signs, placed above or beneath the consonant, after which they are pronounced, in a similar way as it is done in some systems of English shorthand. A consonant followed by a short vowel is called a "moved letter" (Muharrakah); a consonant without such vowel is called "resting" or "quiescent" (Sakinah), and can stand only at the end of a syllable or word.

And now we are able to formulate the one simple rule, which determines the prosodical quantity in Arabic: any moved letter, as ta, li, mu, is counted short; any moved letter followed by a quiescent one, as taf, fun, mus, i.e. any closed syllable beginning and terminating with a consonant and having a short vowel between, forms a long quantity. This is certainly a relief in comparison with the numerous rules of classical Prosody, proved by not a few exceptions, which for instance in Dr. Smith's elementary Latin Grammar fill eight closely printed pages.

Before I proceed to show how from the prosodical unities, the moved and the quiescent letter, first the metrical elements, then the feet and lastly the metres are built up, it will be necessary to obviate a few misunderstandings, to which our mode of transliterating Arabic into the Roman character might give rise.

The line::

"Love in my heart they lit and went their ways," (vol. i. 232)

runs in Arabic:

"Akamu al-wajda fi kalbi wa saru" (Mac. Ed. i. 179).

Here, according to our ideas, the word akamu would begin with a short vowel a, and contain two long vowels a and u; according to Arabic views neither is the case. The word begins with "Alif," and its second syllable ka closes in Alif after Fathah (a), in the same way, as the third syllable mu closes in the letter Waw (w) after Zammah (u).

The question, therefore, arises, what is "Alif." It is the first of the twenty-eight Arabic letters, and has through the medium of the Greek Alpha nominally entered into our alphabet, where it now plays rather a misleading part. Curiously enough, however, Greek itself has preserved for us the key to the real nature of the letter. In ' the initial a is preceded by the so called spiritus lends ('), a sign which must be placed in front or at the top of any vowel beginning a Greek word, and which represents that slight aspiration or soft breathing almost involuntarily uttered, when we try to pronounce a vowel by itself. We need not go far to find how deeply rooted this tendency is and to what exaggerations it will sometimes lead. Witness the gentleman who, after mentioning that he had been visiting his "favourite haunts" on the scenes of his early life, was sympathetically asked, how the dear old ladies were. This spiritus lends is the silent h of the French "homme" and the English "honour," corresponding exactly to the Arabic Hamzah, whose mere prop the Alif is, when it stands at the beginning of a word: a native Arabic Dictionary does not begin with Bab al-Alif (Gate or Chapter of the Alif), but with Bab al-Hamzah. What the Greeks call Alpha and have transmitted to us as a name for the vowel a, is in fact nothing else but the Arabic Hamzah-Alif,(~)moved by Fathah, i.e. bearing the sign(~) for a at the top (~), just as it might have the sign Zammah (~) superscribed to express u (~), or the sign Kasrah (~) subjoined to represent i(~). In each case the Hamzah-Alif, although scarcely audible to our ear, is the real letter and might fitly be rendered in transliteration by the above mentioned silent h, wherever we make an Arabic word begin with a vowel not preceded by any other sign. This latter restriction refers to the sign ', which in Sir Richard Burton's translation of The Nights, as frequently in books published in this country, is used to represent the Arabic letter ~ in whose very name 'Ayn it occurs. The 'Ayn is "described as produced by a smart compression of the upper part of the windpipe and forcible emission of breath," imparting a guttural tinge to a following or preceding vowel- sound; but it is by no means a mere guttural vowel, as Professor Palmer styles it. For Europeans, who do not belong to the Israelitic dispensation, as well as for Turks and Persians, its exact pronunciation is most difficult, if not impossible to acquire.

In reading Arabic from transliteration for the purpose of scanning poetry, we have therefore in the first instance to keep in mind that no Arabic word or syllable can begin with a vowel. Where our mode of rendering Arabic in the Roman character would make this appear to be the case, either Hamzah (silent h), or 'Ayn (represented by the sign') is the real initial, and the only element to be taken in account as a letter. It follows as a self- evident corollary that wherever a single consonant stands between two vowels, it never closes the previous syllable, but always opens the next one. Our word "Akamu," for instance, can only be divided into the syllables: A (properly Ha)-ka-mu, never into Ak-a-mu or Ak-am-u.

It has been stated above that the syllable ka is closed by the letter Alif after Fathah, in the same way as the syllable mu is closed by the letter Waw, and I may add now, as the word fi is closed by the letter Ya (y). To make this perfectly clear, I must repeat that the Arabic Alphabet, as it was originally written, deals only with consonants. The signs for the short vowel-sounds were added later for a special purpose, and are generally not represented even in printed books, e.g. in the various editions of The Nights, where only quotations from the Koran or poetical passages are provided with the vowel-points. But among those consonants there are three, called weak letters (Huruf al-'illah), which have a particular organic affinity to these vowel sounds: the guttural Hamzah, which is akin to a, the palatal Ya, which is related to i, and the labial Waw, which is homogeneous with u. Where any of the weak letters follows a vowel of its own class, either at the end of a word or being itself followed by another consonant, it draws out or lengthens the preceding vowel and is in this sense called a letter of prolongation (Harf al-Madd). Thus, bearing in mind that the Hamzah is in reality a silent h, the syllable ka might be written kah, similarly to the German word "sah," where the h is not pronounced either, but imparts a lengthened sound to the a. In like manner mu and fi are written in Arabic muw and fiy respectively, and form long quantities not because they contain a vowel long by nature, but because their initial "Muharrakah" is followed by a "Sakinah," exactly as in the previously mentioned syllables taf, fun, mus.[FN#449] In the Roman transliteration, Akamu forms a word of five letters, two of which are consonants, and three vowels; in Arabic it represents the combination H(a)k(a)hm(u)w, consisting also of five letters but all consonants, the intervening vowels being expressed in writing either merely by superadded external signs, or more frequently not at all. Metrically it represents one short and two long quantities (U - -), forming in Latin a trisyllable foot, called Bacchius, and in Arabic a quinqueliteral "Rukn" (pillar) or "Juz" (part, portion), the technical designation for which we shall introduce presently.

There is one important remark more to be made with regard to the Hamzah: at the beginning of a word it is either conjunctive, Hamzat al-Wasl, or disjunctive, Hamzat al-Kat'. The difference is best illustrated by reference to the French so-called aspirated h, as compared with the above-mentioned silent h. If the latter, as initial of a noun, is preceded by the article, the article loses its vowel, and, ignoring the silent h altogether, is read with the following noun almost as one word: le homme becomes l'homme (pronounced lomme) as le ami becomes l'ami. This resembles very closely the Arabic Hamzah Wasl. If, on the other hand, a French word begins with an aspirated h, as for instance heros, the article does not drop its vowel before the noun, nor is the h sounded as in the English word "hero," but the effect of the aspirate is simply to keep the two vowel sounds apart, so as to pronounce le eros with a slight hiatus between, and this is exactly what happens in the case of the Arabic Hamzah Kat'.

With regard to the Wasl, however, Arabic goes a step further than French. In the French example, quoted above, we have seen it is the silent h and the preceding vowel which are eliminated; in Arabic both the Hamzah and its own Harakah, i.e. the short vowel following it, are supplanted by their antecedent. Another example will make this clear. The most common instance of the Hamzah Wasl is the article al (for h(a)l=the Hebrew hal), where it is moved by Fathah. But it has this sound only at the beginning of a sentence or speech, as in "Al-Hamdu" at the head of the Fatihah, or in "Allahu" at the beginning of the third Surah. If the two words stand in grammatical connection, as in the sentence "Praise be to God," we cannot say "Al-Hamdu li-Allahi," but the junction (Wasl) between the dative particle li and the noun which it governs must take place. According to the French principle, this junction would be effected at the cost of the preceding element and li Allahi would become l'Allahi; in Arabic, on the contrary, the kasrated l of the particle takes the place of the following fathated Hamzah and we read li 'llahi instead. Proceeding in the Fatihah we meet with the verse "Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'inu," Thee do we worship and of Thee do we ask aid. Here the Hamzah of iyyaka (properly hiyyaka with silent h) is disjunctive, and therefore its pronunciation remains the same at the beginning and in the middle of the sentence, or, to put it differently, instead of coalescing with the preceding wa into wa'yyaka, the two words are kept separate by the Hamzah, reading wa iyyaka, just as it was the case with the French Le heros.

If the conjunctive Hamzah is preceded by a quiescent letter, this takes generally Kasrah: "Talat al-Laylah," the night was longsome, would become Talati 'l-Laylah. If, however, the quiescent letter is one of prolongation, it mostly drops out altogether, and the Harakah of the next preceding letter becomes {he connecting vowel between the two words, which in our parlance would mean that the end vowel of the first word is shortened before the elided initial of the second. Thus "fi al-bayti," in the house, which in Arabic is written f(i)y h(a)l-b(a)yt(i) and which we transliterate fi 'l-bayti, is in poetry read fil-bayti, where we must remember that the syllable fil, in spite of its short vowel, represents a long quantity, because it consists of a moved letter followed by a quiescent one. Fil would be overlong and could, according to Arabic prosody, stand only in certain cases at the end of a verse, i.e. in pause, where a natural tendency prevails to prolong a sound.

The attentive reader will now be able to fix the prosodical value of the line quoted above with unerring security. For metrical purposes it syllabifies into: A-ka-mul-vaj-da fi kal-bi wa sa-ru, containing three short and eight long quantities. The initial unaccented a is short, for the same reason why the syllables da and wa are so, that is, because it corresponds to an Arabic letter, the Hamzah or silent h, moved by Fathah. The syllables ka, fi, bi, sa, ru are long for the same reason why the syllables mul, waj, kal are so, that is, because the accent in the transliteration corresponds to a quiescent Arabic letter, following a moved one. The same simple criterion applies to the whole list, in which I give in alphabetical order the first lines and the metre of all the poetical pieces contained in the Mac. edition, and which will be found at the end of this volume. {This appendix is not included in the electronic text}

The prosodical unities, then, in Arabic are the moved and the quiescent letter, and we are now going to show how they combine into metrical elements, feet, and metres.

i. The metrical elements (Usul) are:

1. The Sabab,[FN#450] which consists of two letters and is either khafif (light) or sakil (heavy). A moved letter followed by a quiescent, i.e. a closed syllable, like the afore-mentioned taf, fun, mus, to which we may now add fa=fah, 'i='iy, 'u='uw, form a Sabab khafif, corresponding to the classical long quantity (-). Two moved letters in succession, like mute, 'ala, constitute a Sabab sakil, for which the classical name would be Pyrrhic (U U). As in Latin and Greek, they are equal in weight and can frequently interchange, that is to say, the Sabab khafif can be evolved into a sakil by moving its second Harf, or the latter contracted into the former, by making its second letter quiescent.

2. The Watad, consisting of three letters, one of which is quiescent. If the quiescent follows the two moved ones, the Watad is called majmu' (collected or joined), as fa'u (=fa'uw), mafa (=mafah), 'ilun, and it corresponds to the classical Iambus (U - ). If, on the contrary, the quiescent intervenes or separates between the two moved letters, as in fa'i ( = fah'i), latu (=lahtu), taf'i, the Watad is called mafruk (separated), and has its classical equivalent in the Trochee (- U)

3. The Fasilah,[FN#451] containing four letters, i.e. three moved ones followed by a quiescent, and which, in fact, is only a shorter name for a Sabab sakil followed by a Sabab khafif, as mute + fa, or 'ala + tun, both of the measure of the classical Anapaest (U U -)

ii. These three elements, the Sabab, Watad and Fasilah, combine further into feet Arkaan, pl. of Rukn, or Ajzaa, pl. of Juz, two words explained supra p. 236. The technical terms by which the feet are named are derivatives of the root fa'l, to do, which, as the student will remember, serves in Arabic Grammar to form the Auzan or weights, in accordance with which words are derived from roots. It consists of the three letters Fa (f), 'Ayn ('), Lam (l), and, like any other Arabic root, cannot strictly speaking be pronounced, for the introduction of any vowel-sound would make it cease to be a root and change it into an individual word. The above fa'l, for instance, where the initial Fa is moved by Fathah (a), is the Infinitive or verbal noun, "to do," "doing." If the 'Ayn also is moved by Fathah, we obtain fa'al, meaning in colloquial Arabic "he did" (the classical or literary form would be fa'ala). Pronouncing the first letter with Zammah (u), the second with Kasrah (i), i.e., fu'il, we say "it was done" (classically fu'ila). Many more forms are derived by prefixing, inserting or subjoining certain additional letters called Huruf al-Ziyadah (letters of increase) to the original radicals: fa'il, for instance, with an Alif of prolongation in the first syllable, means "doer"; maf'ul (=maf'uwl), where the quiescent Fa is preceded by a fathated Mim (m), and the zammated 'Ayn followed by a lengthening Waw, means "done"; Mufa'alah, where, in addition to a prefixed and inserted letter, the feminine termination ah is subjoined after the Lam, means "to do a thing reciprocally." Since these and similar changes are with unvarying regularity applicable to all roots, the grammarians use the derivatives of Fa'l as model-forms for the corresponding derivations of any other root, whose letters are in this case called its Fa, 'Ayn and Lam. From a root, e.g., which has Kaf (k) for its first letter or Fa, Ta (t) for its second letter or 'Aye, and Ba (b) for its third letter or Lam

fa'l would be katb =to write, writing; fa'al would be katab =he wrote; fu'il would be kutib =it was written; fa'il would be katib =writer, scribe; maf'ul would be maktub=written, letter; mufa'alah would be mukatabah = to write reciprocally, correspondence.

The advantage of this system is evident. It enables the student, who has once grasped the original meaning of a root, to form scores of words himself, and in his readings, to understand hundreds, nay thousands, of words, without recourse to the Dictionary, as soon as he has learned to distinguish their radical letters from the letters of increase, and recognises in them a familiar root. We cannot wonder, therefore, that the inventor of Arabic Prosody readily availed himself of the same plan for his own ends. The Taf'il, as it is here called, that is, the representation of the metrical feet by current derivatives of fa'l, has in this case, of course, nothing to do with the etymological meaning of those typical forms. But it proves none the less useful in another direction: in simply naming a particular foot it shows at the same time its prosodical measure and character, as will now be explained in detail.

We have seen supra p. 236 that the word Akamu consists of a short syllable followed by two long ones (U - -), and consequently forms a foot, which the classics would call Bacchius. In Latin there is no connection between this name and the metrical value of the foot: we must learn both by heart. But if we are told that its Taf'il in Arabic is Fa'ulun, we understand at once that it is composed of the Watad majmu' fa'u (U -) and the Sabab khafif lun (-), and as the Watad contains three, the Sabab two letters, it forms a quinqueliteral foot or Juz khamasi.

In combining into feet, the Watad has the precedence over the Sabab and the Fasilah, and again the Watad majmu' over the Watad mafruk. Hence the Prosodists distinguish between Ajza asliyah or primary feet (from Asl, root), in which this precedence is observed, and Ajza far'iyah or secondary feet (from Far'= branch), in which it is reversed. The former are four in number:- -

1. Fa'u.lun, consisting,as we have just seen, of a Watad majmu' followed by a Sabab khafif = the Latin Bacchius (U - -).

2. Mafa.'i.lun, i.e. Watad majmu' followed by two Sabab khafif = the Latin Epitritus primus (U - - -).

3. Mufa.'alatun, i.e. Watad majmu' followed by Fasilah = the Latin Iambus followed by Anapaest (U - UU -).

4. Fa'i.la.tun, i.e. Watad mafruk followed by two Sabab khafif = the Latin Epitritus secundus (-U- -).

The number of the secondary feet increases to six, for as Nos. 2 and 4 contain two Sabab, they "branch out" into two derived feet each, according to both Sabab or only one changing place with regard to the Watad. They are:

5. Fa.'ilun, i.e. Sabab khafif followed by Watad majmu'= the Latin Creticus (-U-). The primary Fa'u.lun becomes by transposition Lun.fa'u. To bring this into conformity with a current derivative of fa'l, the initial Sabab must be made to contain the first letter of the root, and the Watad the two remaining ones in their proper order. Fa is therefore substituted for lun, and 'ilun for fa'u, forming together the above Fa.'ilun. By similar substitutions, which it would be tedious to specify in each separate case, Mafa.'i.lun becomes:

6. Mus.taf.'ilun, for 'I.lun.mafa, i.e. two Sabab khafif, followed by Watad majmu' = the Latin Epitritus tertius (- -U-), or:

7. Fa.'ila.tun, for Lun.mafa.'i, i.e. Watad majmu' between two Sabab khafif = the Latin Epitritus secundus (-U- -).

8. Mutafa.'ilun (for 'Alatun.mufa, the reversed Mufa.'alatun), i.e. Fasilah followed by Watad majmu'=the Latin Anapaest succeeded by Iambus (UU-U-). The last two secondary feet are transpositions of No. 4, Fa'i.la.tun, namely:

9. Maf.'u.latu, for La.tun.fa'i, i.e. two Sabab khafif, followed by Watad mafruk = the Latin Epitritus quartus (- - -U).

10. Mus.taf'i.lun, for Tun.fa'i.la, i.e. Watad mafruk between two Sabab khafif=the Latin Epitritus tertius (- -U-).[FN#452]

The "branch"-foot Fa.'ilun (No. 5), like its "root" Fa'u.lun (No. 1), is quinqueliteral. All other feet, primary or secondary, consist necessarily of seven letters, as they contain a triliteral Watad (see supra i. 2) with either two biliteral Sabab khafif (i. 1) or a quadriliteral Fasilah (i. 3). They are, therefore, called Saba'i = seven lettered.

iii. The same principle of the Watad taking precedence over Sabab and Fasilah, rules the arrangement of the Arabic metres, which are divided into five circles (Dawair, pl. of Dairah), so called for reasons presently to be explained. The first is named:

A. Dairat al-Mukhtalif, circle of "the varied" metre, because it is composed of feet of various length, the five-lettered Fa'ulun (supra ii. 1) and the seven-lettered Mafa'ilun (ii. 2) with their secondaries Fa'ilun, Mustaf.'ilun and Fa.'ilatun (ii. 5-7), and it comprises three Buhur or metres (pi. of Bahr, sea), the Tawil, Madid and Basit.

1. Al-Tawil, consisting of twice

Fa'u.lun Mafa.'ilun Fa'u.lun Mafa.'ilun,

the classical scheme for which would be

U - - U - - - U - - U - - -

If we transfer the Watad Fa'u from the beginning of the line to the end, it would read:

Lun.mafa'i Lun.fa'u Lun.mafa'i Lun.fa'u which, after the substitutions indicated above (ii. 7 and 5), becomes:

2. Al-Madid, consisting of twice

Fa.'ilatun Fa.'ilun Fa.'ilatun Fa.'ilun.

which may be represented by the classical scheme

- U - - - U - - U - - - U -

If again, returning to the Tawil, we make the break after the Watad of the second foot we obtain the line:

'Ilun.fa'u. Lum.mafa 'Ilun.fa'u Lun.mafa, and as metrically

'Ilun.fa'u (two Sabab followed by Watad) and Lun.mafa (one Sabab followed by Watad) are='Ilun.mafa and Lun.fa'u respectively, their Taf'il is effected by the same substitutions as in ii. 5 and 6, and they become:

3. Basit, consisting of twice

Mustaf.'ilun Fa.'ilun Mustaf.'ilun Fa.'ilun,

in conformity with the classical scheme:

- - U - - U - - - U - - U -

Thus one metre evolves from another by a kind of rotation, which suggested to the Prosodists an ingenious device of representing them by circles (hence the name Dairah), round the circumference of which on the outside the complete Taf'il of the original metre is written, while each moved letter is faced by a small loop, each quiescent by a small vertical stroke[FN#453] inside the circle. Then, in the case of this present Dairat al-Mukhtalif for instance, the loop corresponding to the initial f of the first Fa'ulun is marked as the beginning of the Tawil, that corresponding to its l (of the Sabab fun) as the beginning of the Madid, and that corresponding to the 'Ayn of the next Mafa'ilun as the beginning of the Basit. The same process applies to all the following circles, but our limited space compels us simply to enumerate them, together with their Buhur, without further reference to the mode of their evolution.

B. Dairat al-Mutalif, circle of "the agreeing" metre, so called because all its feet agree in length, consisting of seven letters each. It contains:

1. Al-Wafir, composed of twice

Mufa.'alatun Mufa.'alatun Mufa.'alatun (ii. 3)

= U - U U - U - U U - U - U U -

where the Iambus in each foot precedes the Anapaest, and its reversal:

2. Al-Kamil, consisting of twice

Mutafa.'ilun Mutafa.'ilun Mutafa.'ilun (ii. 8)

= U U - U - U U - U - U U - U -

where the Anapaest takes the first place in every foot.

C. Dairat al-Mujtalab, circle of "the brought on" metre, so called because its seven-lettered feet are brought on from the first circle.

1. Al-Hazaj, consisting of twice

Mafa.'ilun Mafa.'ilun Mafa.'ilun (ii. 2)

= U - - - U - - - U - - - U - - -

2. Al-Rajaz, consisting of twice

Mustaf.'ilun Mustaf.'ilun Mustaf.'ilun,

and, in this full form, almost identical with the Iambic Trimeter of the Greek Drama:

- - U - - - U - - - U -

3. Al-Ramal, consisting of twice

Fa.'ilatun Fa.'ilatun Fa.'ilatun,

the trochaic counterpart of the preceding metre

= - U - - - U - - - U - -

D. Dairat al-Mushtabih, circle of "the intricate" metre, so called from its intricate nature, primary mingling with secondary feet, and one foot of the same verse containing a Watad majmu', another a Watad mafruk, i.e. the iambic rhythm alternating with the trochaic and vice versa. Its Buhur are:

1. Al-Sari', twice

Mustaf.'ilun Mustaf.'ilun Maf'u.latu (ii. 6 and 9) = - - U - - - U - - - - U

2. Al-Munsarih, twice

Mustaf.'ilun Mafu.latu Mustaf.'ilun (ii. 6. 9. 6) = - - U - - - - U - - U -

3. Al-Khafif, twice

Fa.'ilatun Mustaf'i.lun Fa.'ilatun (ii. 7.10.7) = - U - - - - U - - U - -

4. Al-Muzari', twice

Mafa.'ilun Fa'i.latun Mafa.'ilun (ii. 2.4.2) = U - - - - U - - U - - -

5. Al-Muktazib, twice

Maf'u.latu Mustaf.'ilun Maf'u.latu (ii. 9.6.9) = - - - U - - U - - - - U

6. Al-Mujtass, twice

Mustaf'i.lun Fa.'ilatun Mustaf' i.lun (ii. 10.7.10) = - - U - - U - - - - U -

E. Dairat al-Muttafik, circle of "the concordant" metre, so called for the same reason why circle B is called "the agreeing," i.e. because the feet all harmonise in length, being here, however, quinqueliteral, not seven-lettered as in the Matalif. Al-Khalil the inventor of the ''Ilm al-'Aruz, assigns to it only one metre:

1. Al-Mutakarib, twice

Fa'ulun Fa'ulun Fa'ulun Fa'ulun (ii. 1) = U - - U - - U - -

Later Prosodists added:

2. Al-Mutadarak, twice

Fa'ilun Fa'ilun Fa'ilun Fa'ilun (ii. 5) = - U - - U - - U -

The feet and metres as given above are, however, to a certain extent merely theoretical; in practice the former admit of numerous licenses and the latter of variations brought about by modification or partial suppression of the feet final in a verse. An Arabic poem (Kasidah, or if numbering less than ten couplets, Kat'ah) consists of Bayts or couplets, bound together by a continuous rhyme, which connects the first two lines and is repeated at the end of every second line throughout the poem. The last foot of every odd line is called 'Aruz (fem. in contradistinction of Aruz in the sense of Prosody which is masc.), pl. A'airiz, that of every even line is called Zarb, pl. Azrub, and the remaining feet may be termed Hashw (stuffing), although in stricter parlance a further distinction is made between the first foot of every odd and even line as well.

Now with regard to the Hashw on the one hand, and the 'Aruz and Zarb on the other, the changes which the normal feet undergo are of two kinds: Zuhaf (deviation) and 'Illah (defect). Zuhaf applies, as a rule, occasionally and optionally to the second letter of a Sabab in those feet which compose the Hashw or body- part of a verse, making a long syllable short by suppressing its quiescent final, or contracting two short quantities in a long one, by rendering quiescent a moved letter which stands second in a Sabab sakil. In Mustaf'ilun (ii. 6. = - - U -), for instance, the s of the first syllable, or the f of the second, or both may be dropped and it will become accordingly Mutaf'ilun, by substitution Mafa'ilun (U - U -), or Musta'ilun, by substitution, Mufta'ilun (- U U -), or Muta'ilun, by substitution Fa'ilatun (U U U -).[FN#454] This means that wherever the foot Mustaf.'ilun occurs in the Hashw of a poem, we can represent it by the scheme U U U - i.e. the Epitritus tertius can, by poetical licence, change into Diiambus, Choriambus or Paeon quartus. In Mufa'alatun (ii. 3. = U - U U -) and Mutafa'ilun (ii. 8. = U U - U -), again, the Sabab 'ala and mute may become khafif by suppression of their final Harakah and thus turn into Mufa'altun, by substitution Mafa'ilun (ii. 2. = U - - -), and Mutfa'ilun, by substitution Mustaf'ilun (ii 6.= - - U U as above). In other words the two feet correspond to the schemes UU-U and U-U-U-, where a Spondee can take the place of the Anapaest after or before the Iambus respectively.

'Illah, the second way of modifying the primitive or normal feet, applies to both Sabab and Watad, but only in the 'Aruz and Zarb of a couplet, being at the same time constant and obligatory. Besides the changes already mentioned, it consists in adding one or two letters to a Sabab or Watad, or curtailing them more or less, even to cutting them off altogether. We cannot here exhaust this matter any more than those touched upon until now, but must be satisfied with an example or two, to show the proceeding in general and indicate its object.

We have seen that the metre Basit consists of the two lines:

Mustaf.'ilun Fa.'ilun Mustaf'ilun Fa'ilun Mustaf'ilun Fa'ilun Mustaf'ilun Fa'ilun.

This complete form, however, is not in use amongst Arab poets. If by the Zuhaf Khabn, here acting as 'Illah, the Alif in the final Fa'ilun is suppressed, changing it into Fa'ilun (U U -), it becomes the first 'Aruz, called makhbunah, of the Basit, the first Zarb of which is obtained by submitting the final Fa'ilun of the second line to the same process. A second Zarb results, if in Fa'ilun the final n of the 'Watad 'ilun is cut off and the preceding l made quiescent by the 'Illah Kat' thus giving Fa'il and by substitution Fa'lun (- -). Thus the formula becomes:—

Mustaf'ilun Fa'ilun Mustaf'ilun Fa'ilun Mustaf'ilun Fa'ilun Mustaf'ilun{Fa'ilun {Fa'lun

As in the Hashw, i.e. the first three feet of each line, the Khabn can likewise be applied to the medial Fa'ilun, and for Mustaf'ilun the poetical licences, explained above, may be introduced, this first 'Aruz or Class of the Basit with its two Zarb or subdivisions will be represented by the scheme

U U U U U - - U - - U - - - U U U U -

U U U { U U - - - U - - U - { - -

that is to say in the first subdivision of this form of the Basit both lines of each couplet end with an Anapaest and every second line of the other subdivision terminates in a Spondee.

The Basit has four more A'ariz, three called majzuah, because each line is shortened by a Juz or foot, one called mashturah (halved), because the number of feet is reduced from four to two, and we may here notice that the former kind of lessening the number of feet is frequent with the hexametrical circles (B. C. D.), while the latter kind can naturally only occur in those circles whose couplet forms an octameter (A. E.). Besides being majzuah, the second 'Aruz is sahihah (perfect) consisting of the normal foot Mustaf'ilun. It has three Azrub: 1. Mustaf'ilan (- - U -', with an overlong final syllable, see supra p. 238), produced by the 'Illah Tazyil, i.e. addition of a quiescent letter at the end (Mustaf'ilunn, by substitution Mustaf'ilan); 2. Mustaf'ilun, like the 'Aruz; 3. Maf'ulun (- - -), produced by the 'Illah Kat' (see the preceding page; Mustaf'ilun, by dropping the final n and making the l quiescent becomes Mustaf'il and by substitution Maf'ulun). Hence the formula is:

Mustaf'ilun Fa'ilun Mustaf'ilun { Mustaf'il n Mustaf'ilun Fa'ilun{ Mustaf'ilun { Maf'uulun,

which, with its allowable licenses, may be represented by the scheme:

U U U - - U - - U - - - U -

{ U U U U U { - - U - - - U - - U - { - - U - { U { - - -

The above will suffice to illustrate the general method of the Prosodists, and we must refer the reader for the remaining classes and subdivisions of the Basit as well as the other metres to more special treatises on the subject, to which this Essay is intended merely as an introduction, with a view to facilitate the first steps of the student in an important, but I fear somewhat neglected, field of Arabic learning.

If we now turn to the poetical pieces contained in The Nights, we find that out of the fifteen metres, known to al-Khalil, or the sixteen of later Prosodists, instances of thirteen occur in the Mac. N. edition, but in vastly different proportions. The total number amounts to 1,385 pieces (some, however, repeated several times), out of which 1,128 belong to the first two circles, leaving only 257 for the remaining three. The same disproportionality obtains with regard to the metres of each circle. The Mukhtalif is represented by 331 instances of Tawil and 330 of Basit against 3 of Madid; the Mutalif by 321 instances of Kamil against 143 of Wafir; the Mujtalab by 32 instances of Ramal and 30 of Rajaz against 1 of Hazaj; the Mushtabih by 72 instances of Khafif and 52 of Sari' against 18 of Munsarih and 15 of Mujtass; and lastly the Muttafik by 37 instances of Mutakarib. Neither the Mutadarak (E. 2), nor the Muzari' and Muktazib (D. 4.5) are met with.

Finally it remains for me to quote a couplet of each metre, showing how to scan them, and what relation they bear to the theoretical formulas exhibited on p. 242 to p. 247.

It is characteristic for the preponderance of the Tawil over all the other metres, that the first four lines, with which my alphabetical list begins, are written in it. One of these belongs to a poem which has for its author Baha al-Din Zuhayr (born A.D. 1186 at Mekkah or in its vicinity, ob. 1249 at Cairo), and is to be found in full in Professor Palmer's edition of his works, p. 164. Sir Richard Burton translates the first Bayt (vol. i. 290):

An I quit Cairo and her pleasances * Where can I hope to find so gladsome ways?

Professor Palmer renders it:

Must I leave Egypt where such joys abound? What place can ever charm me so again ?

In Arabic it scans:

U - U U - - - U - U U - U - A-arhalu'en Misrin wa tibi na'imihil[FN#455] U - U U - - - U - U U - U - Fa-ayyu makanin ba'daha li-ya shaiku.

In referring to iii. A. I. p. 242, it will be seen that in the Hashw Fa'ulun (U - -) has become Fa'ulu (U - U) by a Zuhaf called Kabz (suppression of the fifth letter of a foot if it is quiescent) and that in the 'Aruz and Zarb Mafa'ilun (U - - -) has changed into Mafa'ilun (U - U -) by the same Zuhaf acting as 'Illah. The latter alteration shows the couplet to be of the second Zarb of the first 'Aruz of the Tawil. If the second line did terminate in Mafa'ilun, as in the original scheme, it would be the first Zarb of the same 'Aruz; if it did end in Fa'ulun (U - -) or Mafa'il (U - -) it would represent the third or fourth subdivision of this first class respectively. The Tawil has one other 'Aruz, Fa'ulun, with a twofold Zarb, either Fa'ulun also, or Mafa'ilun.

The first instance of the Basit occurring in The Nights are the lines translated vol. i. p. 25:

Containeth Time a twain of days, this of blessing, that of bane * And holdeth Life a twain of halves, this of pleasure, that of pain.

In Arabic (Mac. N. i. II):

- - U - - U - - - U - U U - Al-Dahru yaumani za amnun wa za hazaru

- - U - - U - - - U - U U - Wa'l-'Ayshu shatrani za safwun wa za kadaru.

Turning back to p. 243, where the A'ariz and Azrub of the Basit are shown, the student will have no difficulty to recognise the Bayt as one belonging to the first Zarb of the first 'Aruz.

As an example of the Madid we quote the original of the lines (vol. v. 131):—

I had a heart, and with it lived my life * 'Twas seared with fire and burnt with loving-lowe.

They read in Arabic:—

- U - - - U - U U - Kana li kalbun a'ishu bihi

- U - - - U - U - Fa'ktawa bi'l-nari wa'htarak.

If we compare this with the formula (iii. A. 2. p. 242), we find that either line of the couplet is shortened by a foot; it is, therefore, majzu. The first 'Aruz of this abbreviated metre is Fa'ilatun (- U - -), and is called sahihah (perfect) because it consists of the normal third foot. In the second 'Aruz, Fa'ilatun loses its end syllable tun by the 'Illah Hafz (suppression of a final Sabab khafif), and becomes Fa'ila (- U -), for which Fa'ilun is substituted. Shortening the first syllable of Fa'ilun, i.e. eliminating the Alif by Khabn, we obtain the third 'Aruz Fa'ilun (U U -) as that of the present lines, which has two Azrub: Fa'ilun, like the 'Aruz, and Fa'lun (- -), here, again by Khabn, further reduced to Fa'al (U -).

Ishak of Mosul, who improvises the piece, calls it "so difficult and so rare, that it went nigh to deaden the quick and to quicken the dead"; indeed, the native poets consider the metre Madid as the most difficult of all, and it is scarcely ever attempted by later writers. This accounts for its rare occurrence in The Nights, where only two more instances are to be found, Mac. N. ii. 244 and iii. 404.

The second and third circle will best be spoken of together, as the Wafir and Kamil have a natural affinity to the Hazaj and Rajaz. Let us revert to the line:—

U - - - U - - - U - - Akamu 'l-wajda fi kalbi wa saru.

Translated, as it were, into the language of the Prosodists it will be:—

Mafa'ilun[FN#456] 'Mafa'ilun Fa'ulun,

and this, standing by itself, might prima facie be taken for a line of the Hazaj (iii. C. I), with the third Mafa'ilun shortened by Hafz (see above) into Mafa'i for which Fa'ulun would be substituted. We have seen (p. 247) that and how the foot Mufa'alatun can change into Mafa'ilun, and if in any poem which otherwise would belong to the metre Hazaj, the former measure appears even in one foot only along with the latter, it is considered to be the original measure, and the poem counts no longer as Hazaj but as Wafir. In the piece now under consideration, it is the second Bayt where the characteristic foot of the Wafir first appears:—

U - - - U - U U U - - Naat 'anni'l-rubu'u wa sakiniha

U - U U - U - U U - U - - Wa kad ba'uda 'l-mazaru fa-la mazaru.

Anglice (vol. iii. 296):—

Far lies the camp and those who camp therein; * Far is her tent shrine where I ne'er shall tent.

It must, however, be remarked that the Hazaj is not in use as a hexameter, but only with an 'Aruz majzuah or shortened by one foot. Hence it is only in the second 'Aruz of the Wafir, which is likewise majzuah, that the ambiguity as to the real nature of the metre can arise;[FN#457] and the isolated couplet:—

U - - - U - - - U - - Yaridu 'l-mar-u an yu'ta munahu

U - - - U - - - U - - Wa yaba 'llahu illa ma yuridu

Man wills his wish to him accorded be, * But Allah naught accords save what he wills (vol. iv. 157),

being hexametrical, forms undoubtedly part of a poem in Wafir although it does not contain the foot Mufa'alatun at all. Thus the solitary instance of Hazaj in The Nights is Abu Nuwas' abomination, beginning with:—

U - - - U - - -

Fa-la tas'au ila ghayri

U - - - U - - - Fa-'indi ma'dinu 'l-khayri (Mac. N. ii. 377).

Steer ye your steps to none but me * Who have a mine of luxury (vol. v. 65).

If in the second 'Aruz of the Wafir, Maf'ailun (U - - -) is further shortened to Mafa'ilun (U - U -), the metre resembles the second 'Aruz of Rajaz, where, as we have seen, the latter foot can, by licence, take the place of the normal Mustaf'ilun (- - U -).

The Kamil bears a similar relation to the Rajaz, as the Wafir bears to the Hazaj. By way of illustration we quote from Mac. N. ii. 8 the first two Bayts of a little poem taken from the 23rd Assembly of Al Hariri:—

- - U - - - U - U U - U - Ya khatiba 'l-dunya 'l-daniyyati innaha

U U - U - U U - U - - - - Sharaku 'l-rada wa kararatu 'l-akdari

- - U - - - U - - - U - Darun mata ma azhakat fi yaumiha

- - U - - - U - - - - Abkat ghadan bu'dan laha min dari.

In Sir Richard Burton's translation (vol. iii. 319):—

O thou who woo'st a World unworthy, learn * 'Tis house of evils, 'tis Perdition's net: A house where whoso laughs this day shall weep * The next; then perish house of fume and fret.

The 'Aruz of the first couplet is Mutafa'ilun, assigning the piece to the first or perfect (sahihah) class of the Kamil. In the Hashw of the opening line and in that of the whole second Bayt this normal Mutafa'ilun has, by licence, become Mustaf'ilun, and the same change has taken place in the 'Aruz of the second couplet; for it is a peculiarity which this metre shares with a few others, to allow certain alterations of the kind Zuhaf in the 'Aruz and Zarb as well as in the Hashw. This class has three subdivisions: the Zarb of the first is Mutafa'ilun, like the 'Aruz the Zarb of the second is Fa'alatun (U U - -), a substitution for Mutafa'il which latter is obtained from Mutafa'ilun by suppressing the final n and rendering the l quiescent; the Zarb of the third is Fa'lun (- - -) for Mutfa, derived from Mutafa'ilun by cutting off the Watad 'ilun and dropping the medial a of the remaining Mutafa.

If we make the 'Ayn of the second Zarb Fa'alatun also quiescent by the permitted Zuhaf Izmar, it changes into Fa'latun, by substitution Maf 'ulun (- - -) which terminates the rhyming lines of the foregoing quotation. Consequently the two couplets taken together, belong to the second Zarb of the first 'Aruz of the Kamil, and the metre of the poem with its licences may be represensed by the scheme:

- - - U U - U - U U - U - U U - U -

- - - U U - U - U U - U - U U - -

Taken isolated, on the other hand, the second Bayt might be of the metre Rajaz, whose first 'Aruz Mustaf'ilun has two Azrub: one equal to the Aruz, the other Maf'ulun as above, but here substituted for Mustaf'il after applying the 'Illah Kat' (see p 247) to Mustaf'ilun. If this were the metre of the poem throughout the scheme with the licences peculiar to the Rajaz would be:

U U U U U U - - U U - - U - - - U -

U U U U U - - U - - - U - - - -

The pith of Al-Hariri's Assembly is that the knight errant not to say the arrant wight of the Romance, Abu Sayd of Saruj accuses before the Wali of Baghdad his pretended pupil, in reality his son, to have appropriated a poem of his by lopping off two feet of every Bayt. If this is done in the quoted lines, they read:

- - U - - - U - Ya khatiba 'l-dunya 'l-dandy.

U U - U U U - U - Yati innaha sharaku 'l-rada

- - U - - - U - Darun mata ma azhakat,

- - U - - - U - Fi yaumiha abkat ghada,

with a different rhyme and of a different variation of metre. The amputated piece belongs to the fourth Zarb of the third 'Aruz of Kamil, and its second couplet tallies with the second subdivision of the second class of Rajaz.

The Rajaz, an iambic metre pure and simple, is the most popular, because the easiest, in which even the Prophet was caught napping sometimes, at the dangerous risk of following the perilous leadership of Imru 'l-Kays. It is the metre of improvisation, of ditties, and of numerous didactic poems. In the latter case, when the composition is called Urjuzah, the two lines of every Bayt rhyme, and each Bayt has a rhyme of its own. This is the form in which, for instance, Ibn Malik's Alfiyah is written, as well as the remarkable grammatical work of the modern native scholar, Nasif al-Yaziji, of which a notice will be found in Chenery's Introduction to his Translation of Al-Hariri.

While the Hazaj and Rajaz connect the third circle with the first and second, the Ramal forms the link between the third and fourth Dairah. Its measure Fa'ilatun (- U - -) and the reversal of it, Maf'ulatu (- - - U), affect the trochaic rhythm, as opposed to the iambic of the two first-named metres. The iambic movement has a ring of gladness about it, the trochaic a wail of sadness: the former resembles a nimble pedestrian, striding apace with an elastic step and a cheerful heart; the latter is like a man toiling along on the desert path, where his foot is ever and anon sliding back in the burning sand (Raml, whence probably the name of the metre). Both combined in regular alternation, impart an agitated character to the verse, admirably fit to express the conflicting emotions of a passion stirred mind.

Examples of these more or less plaintive and pathetic metres are numerous in the Tale of Uns al-Wujud and the Wazir's Daughter, which, being throughout a story of love, as has been noted, vol. v. 33, abounds in verse, and, in particular, contains ten out of the thirty two instances of Ramal occurring in The Nights. We quote:

Ramal, first Zarb of the first 'Aruz (Mac. N. ii. 361):

- U - - U U - - - U - Inna li 'l-bulbuli sautan fi 'l-sahar

- U - - U U - - - U - Ashghala 'l-ashika 'an husni 'l-water

The Bulbul's note, whenas dawn is nigh * Tells the lover from strains of strings to fly (vol. v. 48).

Sari', second Zarb of the first 'Aruz (Mac. N. ii. 359):

U - U - - - U - - U - Wa fakhitin kad kala fi nauhihi

- - U - - - U - - U - Ya Daiman shukran 'ala balwati

I heard a ringdove chanting soft and plaintively, * "I thank Thee, O Eternal for this misery" (vol. v. 47).

Khafif, full or perfect form (sahih), both in Zarb and 'Aruz (Mac. N. ii. 356):

- U - - U - U - - U - - Ya li-man ashtaki 'l-gharama 'llazi bi

U U - - U - U - - U - - Wa shujuni wa furkati 'an habibi

O to whom now of my desire complaining sore shall I * Bewail my parting from my fere compelled thus to fly (vol. v. 44).

Mujtass, the only 'Aruz (majzuah sahihah, i.e. shortened by one foot and perfect) with equal Zarb (Mac. N. ii. 367):

- - U - U U - - Ruddu 'alayya habibi

- - U - - U - - La hajatan li bi-malin

To me restore my dear * I want not wealth untold (vol. v. 55).

As an instance of the Munsarih, I give the second occurring in The Nights, because it affords me an opportunity to show the student how useful a knowledge of the laws of Prosody frequently proves for ascertaining the correct reading of a text. Mac. N. i. 33 we find the line:

- U U - - U U - - U U - Arba'atun ma 'jtama'at kattu iza.

This would be Rajaz with the licence Mufta'ilun for Mustaf'ilun. But the following lines of the fragment evince, that the metre is Munsarih; hence, a clerical error must lurk somewhere in the second foot. In fact, on page 833 of the same volume, we find the piece repeated, and here the first couplet reads

- U U - - U - U - U U - Arba'atun ma 'jtama'na kattu siwa

U - U - - U - U - U U - Ala aza mujhati wa safki dami

Four things which ne'er conjoin unless it be * To storm my vitals and to shed my blood (vol. iii. 237).

The Mutakarib, the last of the metres employed in The Nights, has gained a truly historical importance by the part which it plays in Persian literature. In the form of trimetrical double-lines, with a several rhyme for each couplet, it has become the "Nibelungen"-stanza of the Persian epos: Firdausi's immortal "Book of Kings" and Nizami's Iskander-namah are written in it, not to mention a host of Masnawis in which Sufic mysticism combats Mohammedan orthodoxy. On account of its warlike and heroical character, therefore, I choose for an example the knightly Jamrakan's challenge to the single fight in which he conquers his scarcely less valiant adversary Kaurajan, Mac. N. iii. 296:

U - - U - U U - - U - - Ana 'l-Jamrakanu kawiyyn 'l-janani

U - - U - U U - - U - - Jami'u 'l-fawarisi takhsha kitali.

Here the third syllable of the second foot in each line is shortened by licence, and the final Kasrah of the first line, standing in pause, is long, the metre being the full form of the Mutakarib as exhibited p. 246, iii. E. 1. If we suppress the Kasrah of al-Janani, which is also allowable in pause, and make the second line to rhyme with the first, saying, for instance:

U - - U - U U - - U - Ana 'l-Jamrakanu kawiyyu 'l-janan

U - - U - - U - - U - La-yaksha kitali shija'u 'l-zaman,

we obtain the powerful and melodious metre in which the Shahnamah sings of Rustam's lofty deeds, of the tender love of Rudabah and the tragic downfall of Siyawush

Shall I confess that in writing the foregoing pages it has been my ambition to become a conqueror, in a modest way, myself: to conquer, I mean, the prejudice frequently entertained, and shared even by my accomplished countryman, Rueckert, that Arabic Prosody is a clumsy and repulsive doctrine. I have tried to show that it springs naturally from the character of the language, and, intimately connected, as it is, with the grammatical system of the Arabs, it appears to me quite worthy of the acumen of a people, to whom, amongst other things, we owe the invention of Algebra, the stepping-stone of our whole modern system of Mathematics I cannot refrain, therefore, from concluding with a little anecdote anent al-Khalil, which Ibn Khallikan tells in the following words. His son went one day into the room where his father was, and on finding him scanning a piece of poetry by the rules of Prosody he ran out and told the people that his father had lost his wits. They went in immediately and related to al-Khalil what they had heard, on which he addressed his son in these terms:

"Had you known what I was saying, you would have excused me, and had you known what you said, I should have blamed you But you did not understand me, so you blamed me, and I knew that you were ignorant, so I pardoned you."



L'Envoi.



Here end, to my sorrow, the labours of a quarter-century, and here I must perforce say with the "poets' Poet,"

"Behold! I see the haven nigh at hand, To which I mean my wearie course to bend; Vere the main shete, and bear up with the land The which afore is fairly to be ken'd."

Nothing of importance now indeed remains for me but briefly to estimate the character of my work and to take cordial leave of my readers, thanking them for the interest they have accorded to these volumes and for enabling me thus successfully to complete the decade.

Without pudor malus or over-diffidence I would claim to have fulfilled the promise contained in my Foreword. The anthropological notes and notelets, which not only illustrate and read between the lines of the text, but assist the student of Moslem life and of Arabo-Egyptian manners, customs and language in a multitude of matters shunned by books, form a repertory of Eastern knowledge in its esoteric phase, sexual as well as social.

To assert that such lore is unnecessary is to state, as every traveller knows, an "absurdum." Few phenomena are more startling than the vision of a venerable infant, who has lived half his long life in the midst of the wildest anthropological vagaries and monstrosities, and yet who absolutely ignores all that India or Burmah enacts under his very eyes. This is crass ignorance, not the naive innocence of Saint Francis who, seeing a man and a maid in a dark corner, raised his hands to Heaven and thanked the Lord that there was still in the world so much of Christian Charity.

Against such lack of knowledge my notes are a protest; and I may claim success despite the difficulty of the task. A traveller familiar with Syria and Palestine, Herr Landberg, writes, "La plume refuserait son service, la langue serait insuffisante, si celui qui connait la vie de tous les jours des Orientaux, surtout des classes elevees, voulait la devoiler. L'Europe est bien loin d'en avoir la moindre idee."

In this matter I have done my best, at a time too when the hapless English traveller is expected to write like a young lady for young ladies, and never to notice what underlies the most superficial stratum. And I also maintain that the free treatment of topics usually taboo'd and held to be "alekta"—unknown and unfitted for publicity—will be a national benefit to an "Empire of Opinion," whose very basis and buttresses are a thorough knowledge by the rulers of the ruled. Men have been crowned with gold in the Capitol for lesser services rendered to the Respublica.

That the work contains errors, shortcomings and many a lapsus, I am the first and foremost to declare. Yet in justice to myself I must also notice that the maculae are few and far between; even the most unfriendly and interested critics have failed to point out an abnormal number of slips. And before pronouncing the "Vos plaudite!" or, as Easterns more politely say, "I implore that my poor name may be raised aloft on the tongue of praise," let me invoke the fair field and courteous favour which the Persian poet expected from his readers.

(Veil it, an fault thou find, nor jibe nor jeer:— None may be found of faults and failings clear!)

RICHARD F. BURTON.

Athenaeum Club, September 30, '86.



Appendix



Memorandum



I make no apology for the number and extent of bibliographical and other lists given in this Appendix: they may cumber the book but they are necessary to complete my design. This has been to supply throughout the ten volumes the young Arabist and student of Orientalism and Anthropology with such assistance as I can render him; and it is my conviction that if with the aid of this version he will master the original text of the "Thousand Nights and a Night," he will find himself at home amongst educated men in Egypt and Syria, Najd and Mesopotamia, and be able to converse with them like a gentleman; not, as too often happens in Anglo- India, like a "Ghorawala" (groom). With this object he will learn by heart what instinct and inclination suggest of the proverbs and instances, the verses, the jeux d'esprit and especially the Koranic citations scattered about the text; and my indices will enable him to hunt up the tale or the verses which he may require for quotation wven when writing an ordinary letter to a "native" correspondent. Thus he will be spared the wasted labour of wading through volumes in order to pick up a line.

The following is the list of indices:—

Appendix I.

I. Index to the Tales in the ten Volumes. II. Alphabetical Table of the Notes (Anthropological, etc.) prepared by F. Steingass, Ph.D. III. Alphabetical Table of First Lines (metrical portion) in English and Arabic, prepared by Dr. Steingass. IV. Tables of Contents of the various Arabic texts. A. The Unfinished Calcutta Edition (1814-18). B. The Breslau Text (1825-43) from Mr. Payne's Version. C. The MacNaghten or Turner-Macan Text (A.D. 1839-42) and the Bulak Edition (A.H. 1251 = A.D. 1835-36), from Mr. Payne's Version. D. The same with Mr. Lane's and my Version.

Appendix II.

Contributions to the Bibliography of the Thousand and One Nights, and their Imitations, with a Table shewing the contents of the principal editions and translations of The Nights. By W. F. Kirby, Author of "Ed-Dimiryaht, and Oriental Romance"; "The New Arabian Nights," $c.



Appendix I



Index I

Index to the Tales and Proper Names.



N.B.—The Roman numerals denote the volume {page numbers have been omitted}



Abdullah the Fisherman and Abdullah the Merman, ix. Abdullah bin Fazl and his brothers, ix. Abdullah bin Ma'amar with the Man of Bassorah and his slave-girl, v. Abd al-Rahman the Moor's story of the Rukh, v. Abu Hasan al-Ziyadi and the Khorasan Man, iv. Abu Hasan, how he brake Wind, v. Abu Isa and Kurrat al-Aye, The Loves of, v. Abu Ja'afar the Leper, Abu al-Hasan al-Durraj and, v. Abu Kir the Dyer and Abu Sir the Barber, ix. Abu al-Aswad and his squinting slave-girl, v. Abu al Husn and his slave-girl Tawaddud, v. Abu al Hasan al-Durraj and Abu Ja'afar the Leper, v. Abu al Hasan of Khorasan, ix. Abu Mohammed highs Lazybones, iv. Abu Nowas, Harun al-Rashid with the damsel and, iv. Abu Nowas and the Three Boys, v. Abu Sir the Barber, Abu Kir the Dyer and, ix. Abu Suwayd and the handsome old woman, v. Abu Yusuf with Harun al-Rashid and his Wazir Ja'afar, The Imam, iv. Abu Yusuf with Al-Rashid and Zubaydah, The Imam, iv. Adam, The Birds and Beasts and the Son of, iii. Adi bin Zayd and the Princess Hind, v. Ajib, The History of Gharib and his brother, vi. Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat, iv. Alexandria (The Sharper of) and the Master of Police, iv. Ali bin Bakkar and Shams al-Nahar, iii. Ali of Cairo, The Adventures of Mercury, vii. Ali Nur al-Din and Miriam the Girdle-Girl, viii. Ali the Persian and the Kurd Sharper, iv. Ali Shar and Zumurrud, iv. Ali bin Tahir and the girl Muunis, v. Al Malik al-Nasir (Saladin) and the Three Chiefs of Police, iv. Almsgiving, The Woman whose hands were cut off for, iv. Amin (Al-) and his uncle Ibrahim bin al-Mahdi, v. Anushirwan, Kisra, and the village damsel, v. Anushirwan, The Righteousness of King, v. Angel of Death and the King of the Children of Israel, The, v Angel of Death with the Proud King and the Devout Man, The, v. Angel of Death and the Rich King, The, v. Anis al-Jalis, Nur al-Din Ali and the damsel, ii. Ape, The King's daughter and the, iv. Apples, The Three, i. Arab Girl, Harun al-Rashid and the, vii. Arab Youth, The Caliph Hisham and the, iv. Ardashir and Hayat al-Nufus, vii. Asma'i (Al-) and the three girls of Bassorah, vii. Ass, The Ox and the, i. Ass, The Wild, The Fox and, ix. Ayishah, Musab bin al-Zubayr and his wife, v. Aziz and Azizah, Tale of, ii. Azizah, Aziz and. ii. Badawi, Ja'afar the Barmecide and the old, v. Badawi, Omar bin al-Khattab and the young, v. Badawi, and his Wife, The, vii. Badi'a al-Jamal, Sayf al-Muluk and, vii. Badr Basim of Persia, Julnar the Sea-born, and her Son King, vii. Badr al-Din Hasan, Nur al-Din Ali of Cairo and his son, i. Baghdad, The Haunted House in, v. Baghdad, Khalifah the Fisherman of, viii. Baghdad, The Porter and the Three Ladies of, i. Baghdad, (The ruined man of) and his slave-girl, ix. Baghdad, The Sweep and the noble Lady of, iv. Bakun's Story of the Hashish-Eater, ii. Banu Tayy, The Lovers of the, v. Banu Ozrah, The Lovers of the, v. Barber's Tale of himself, The, i. Barber's First Brother, Story of the, i. Barber's Second Brother, Story of the, i Barber's Third Brother, Story of the, i. Barber's Fourth Brother, Story of the, i. Barber's Fifth Brother, Story of the, i. Barber's Sixth Brother, Story of the, i. Barber, Abu Kir the Dyer and Abu Sir the, ix. Barber-Surgeon, Ibrahim bin al-Mahdi and the, iv. Barmecide. Ja'afar the, and the old Badawi, v Bassorah (the man of ) and his slave-girl, Abdullah bin Ma'amar with, v. Bassorah, Al-Asma'i and the three girls of, vii. Bassorah, (Hasan of) and the King's daughter of the Jinn, viii. Bassorah, The Lovers of, vii. Bath, Harun al-Rashid and Zubaydah in the, v. Bathkeeper's Wife, The Wazir's Son and the, vi. Beanselller, Ja'afar the Barmecide and the, iv. Bear, Wardan the Butcher's adventure with the Lady and the, iv. Beasts and the Son of Adam, The Birds and, iii. Behram, Prince of Persia, and the Princess Al-Datma, vi. Belvedere, The House with the, vi. Birds and Beasts and the Carpenter, The, iii. Birds, The Falcon and the, iii. Birds (the Speech of), The page who feigned to know, vi. Black Slave, The pious, v. Blacksmith who could handle fire without hurt, The, v. Blind Man and the Cripple, The, ix. Boys, Abu Nowas and the Three, v. Boy and Girl at School, The Loves of the, v. Boy and the Thieves, The, ix. Boy (The woman who had to lover a) and the other who had to lover a man, v. Brass, The City of, vi. Broker's Story, The Christian, i. Budur and Jubayr bin Umayr, The Loves of, iv. Budur, Kamar al-Zaman and, iii. Bukhayt, Story of the Eunuch, ii. Bulak Police, Story of the Chief of the, iv. Bull and the Ass (Story of), i. Bulukiya, Adventures of, v. Butcher's adventure with the Lady and the Bear, Wardan the, iv. Butter, The Fakir and his pot of, ix. Cairo (New) Police, Story of the Chief of the, iv. Cairo (Old) Police, Story of the Chief of the, iv. Cairo, The Adventures of Mercury Ali of, vii. Caliph Al-Maamun and the Strange Doctor, iv. Caliph, The mock, iv. Cashmere Singing-girl, The Goldsmith and the, vi. Cat and the Crow, The, iii. Cat and the Mouse, The, ix. Champion (The Moslem) and the Christian Lady, v. Chaste Wife, The Rake's Trick against the, vi. Christian Broker's Story, The, i. City of Labtayt, The, vi. Cloud (The saint to whom Allah gave a) to serve him, v. Cobbler (Ma'aruf the) and his wife Fatimah, x. Confectioner, his Wife and the Parrot, The, vi. Crab, The Fishes and the, ix. Craft and Malice of Women, The, vi. Cripple, The Blind Man and the, ix. Crow, The Fox and the, iii. Crow and the Serpent, The, ix. Crow, The Cat and the, iii. Crows and the Hawk, The, ix. Dalilah the Crafty and her daughter Zaynab the Coney-catcher, The Rogueries of, vii. Datma (The Princess Al-), Prince Behram of Persia and, vi. Death (The Angel of) and the King of the Children of Israel, v. Death (The Angel of) with the Proud King and the Devout Man, v. Death (The Angel of) and the Rich King, v. Debauchee and the Three-year-old Child, The, vi. Desert (The old woman who dwelt in the) and the pilgrim, v. Device (The Wife's) to cheat her husband, vi. Devil, Ibrahim of Mosul and the, vii. Devil, Isaac of Mosul and his mistress and the, vii. Devout Israelite, The, iv. Devout Tray-maker and his wife, The, v. Devout Prince, The, v. Devout woman and the two wicked elders, The, v. Dibil al-Khazai and Muslim bin al-Walid, v. Dish of Gold, The man who stole the Dog's, iv. Doctor (The strange) and the Caliph Al-Maamun, iv Dog's Dish of Gold, The man who stole the, iv. Dream, The ruined man who became rich through a, iv. Drop of Honey, The, vi. Duban, The Physician, i. Dunya, Taj al-Muluk and the Princess, ii. Durraj (Abu al-Hasan al-) and Abu Ja'afar the Leper, v. Dust, The woman who made her husband sift, vi. Dyer, Abu Sir the Barber and Abu Kir the, ix Eagle, The Sparrow and the, iii. Ebony Horse, The, v. Egypt (The man of Upper) and his Frankish wife, ix. Elders, The Devout woman and the two wicked, v. Eldest Lady's Story, The, i. Enchanted Spring, The, vi. Enchanted Youth, The, i. Envied, The Envier and the, i. Envier and the Envied, The, i. Eunuch Bukhayt, Tale of the, ii. Eunuch Kafur, Tale of the, ii. Fakir and his jar of butter, The, ix. Falcon and the Partridge, The, iii. Falcon, King Sindibad and his, i. Fatimah, Ma'aruf the Cobbler and his wife, x. Fath bin Khakan (Al-) and Al-Mutawakkil, v. Ferryman of the Nile and the Hermit, The, v. First Old Man's Story, i. Fisherman, Abdullah the Merman and Abdullah the, ix. Fisherman of Baghdad, Khalifah the, viii. Fisherman, The Foolish, ix. Fisherman and the Jinni, The, i. Fisherman, Khusrau and Shirin and the, v. Fishes and the Crab, The, ix. Five Suitors, The Lady and her, vi. Flea and the Mouse, The, iii. Folk, The Fox and the, vi. Forger, Yahya bin Khalid and the, iv. Fox and the Crow, The, iii. Fox and the Folk, The, vi. Fox, The Wolf and the, iii. Francolin and the Tortoises, The, ix. Frank King's Daughter, Ali Nur al-Din and the, viii. Frank wife, The man of Upper Egypt and his, ix. Fuller and his son, The, vi. Generous friend, The poor man and his, iv. Ghanim bin Ayyub the Thrall o' Love, ii. Gharib and his brother Ajib, The History of, vi. Girl, Harun al-Rashid and the Arab, vii. Girl at School, The Loves of the Boy and, v. Girls of Bassorah, Al-Asma'i and the three, vii. Girls, Harun al-Rashid and the three, v. Girls, Harun al-Rashid, and the two, v. Goldsmith and the Cashmere Singing Girl, The, vi. Goldsmith's wife, The water-carrier and the, v. Hajjaj (Al-) Hind daughter of Al Nu'uman and, vii. Hajjaj (Al-) and the pious man, v. Hakim (The Caliph Al-) and the Merchant, v. Hammad the Badawi, Tale of, ii. Hariri (Al ) Abu Zayd's lament for his impotency. Final Note to vol. viii Harun al-Rashid and the Arab girl, vii. Harun al-Rashid and the Slave-Girl and the Imam Abu Yusuf, iv. Harun al-Rashid with the Damsel and Abu Nowas, iv. Harun al-Rashid and Abu Hasan the Merchant of Oman, ix. Harun al-Rashid and the three girls, v. Harun al-Rashid and the two girls, v. Harun al-Rashid and the three poets, v. Harun al-Rashid and Zubaydah in the Bath, v. Hashish-Eater, Bakun's tale of the, ii. Hasan of Bassorah and the King's daughter of the Jinn, vii. Hasan, King Mohammed bin Sabaik and the Merchant, vii. Hatim al-Tayyi: his generosity after death, iv. Haunted House in Baghdad, The, v. Hawk, The Crows and the, ix. Hayat al-Nufus, Ardashir and, vii. Hedgehog and the wood Pigeons, The, iii. Hermit, The Ferryman of the Nile and the, v. Hermits, The, iii. Hind, Adi bin Zayd and the Princess, v. Hind daughter of Al-Nu'uman and Al-Hajjaj, vii. Hind (King Jali'ad of ) and his Wazir Shimas, ix. Hisham and the Arab Youth, The Caliph, iv. Honey, The Drop of, vi. Horse, The Ebony, v. House with the Belvedere, The, vi. Hunchback's Tale, The, i. Husband and the Parrot, The, i. Ibn al-Karibi, Masrur and, v. Ibrahim al-Khawwas and the Christian King's Daughter, v. Ibrahim.bin al-Khasib and Jamilah, ix. Ibrahim.of Mosul and the Devil, vii. Ibrahim.bin al-Mahdi and Al-Amin, v. Ibrahim.bin al-Mahdi and the Barber Surgeon, iv. Ibrahim.bin al-Mahdi and the Merchant's Sister, iv. Ifrit's mistress and the King's Son, The, vi. Ignorant man who set up for a Schoolmaster, The, v. Ikrimah al-Fayyaz, Khuzaymah bin Bishr and, vii. Imam Abu Yusuf with Al-Rashid and Zubaydah, The, iv. Introduction. Story of King Shahryar and his brother, i. Iram, The City of, iv. Isaac of Mosul's Story of Khadijah and the Caliph Maamun, iv. Isaac of Mosul and the Merchant, v. Isaac of Mosul and his Mistress and the Devil, vii. Island, The King of the, v. Iskandar Zu Al-Karnayn and a certain Tribe of poor folk, v. Israelite, The Devout, iv. Jackals and the Wolf, The, ix. Ja'afar the Barmecide and the Beanseller, iv. Ja'afar the Barmecide and the old Badawi, v. Ja'afar bin al-Had), Mohammed al-Amin, and, v. Jamilah, Ibrahim bin al-Khasib, and, ix. Janshah, The Story of, v. Jali'ad of Hind and his Wazir Shimas, King, ix. Jeweller's Wife, Kamar al-Zaman and the, ix. Jewish Kazi and his pious Wife, The, v. Jewish Doctor's Tale, The, i. Jinni, The Fisherman and the, i. Jinni, The Trader and the, i. Jubayr bin Umayr and Budur, The Loves of, iv. Judar and his brethren, vi. Julnar the Sea-born and her son King Badr Basim of Persia, vii. Justice of Providence, The, v. Kafur, Story of the Eunuch, ii. Kalandar's Tale, The first, i. Kalandar's Tale The second, i. Kalandar's Tale The third, i. Kamar al-Zaman and Budur, iii. Kamar al-Zaman and the Jeweller's Wife, ix. Kazi, the Jewish, and his pious wife, v. Khadijah and the Caliph Maamun, Isaac of Mosul's Story of, iv. Khalif the Fisherman of Baghdad (note from Bresl. Edit.), viii. Khalifah the Fisherman of Baghdad, viii. Khawwas (Ibrahim al-) and the Christian King's daughter,v. Khorasan, Abu Hasan al-Ziyadi and the man from, iv. Khorasan, Abu al-Hasan of, ix. Khusrau and Shirin and the Fisherman, v. Khuzaymah bin Bishr and Ikrimah al-Fayyaz, vii. King Jali'ad, Shimas his Wazir and his son Wird Khan, ix. King of the Island, The, v. King and the Pilgrim Prince, The Unjust, ix. King and the virtuous wife, The, v. King and his Wazir's wife, The, vi. King's Daughter and the Ape, The, iv. King's son and the Ifrit's Mistress, The, vi. King's son and the Merchant's Wife, The, vi. King's son and the Ghulah, The, vi. Kings, The Two, ix. Kisra Anushirwan and the Village Damsel,v. Kurd Sharper, Ali the Persian and the, iv. Kurrat al-Aye and Abu Isa, v. Kus Police and the Sharper, Chief of the, iv Labtayt, The City of, iv. Lady of Baghdad, The Sweep and the noble, iv. Lady's Story, The Eldest, i. Lady and her five suitors, The, vi. Do. and her two Lovers, The, vi. Ladies of Baghdad, The Porter and the Three, i. Laughed again, The man who never, vi. Lazybones, Abu Mohammed highs, iv. Leper, Abu al-Hasan al-Durraj and Abu Ja'afar the, v. Lover, The mad, v. Lover who feigned himself a thief (to save his mistress' honour), The, iv. Lover's trick against the chaste Wife, The, vi. Lovers of Bassorah, The, vii. Lovers of the Banu Tayy, The, v. Lovers of the Banu Ozrah, The, v. Lovers The Lady and her two, vi. Lovers of Al-Medinah, The, vii. Lovers The Three unfortunate, v. Loves of the Boy and Girl at School, The, v. Loves of Abu Isa and Kurrat al-Ayn, The, v. Maamun, Isaac of Mosul's Story of Khadijah and the Caliph, iv. Maamun (Al-) and the Pyramids of Egypt, v. Maamun and the strange Scholar, The Caliph, iv. Ma'an bin Zaidah and the Badawi, iv. Ma'an the son of Zaidah and the Three Girls, iv. Mad Lover, The, vii. Magic Horse, The, v. Mahbubah, Al-Mutawakkil and his favourite, iv. Malik al-Nasir (Al-) and the three Masters of Police, iv. Malik al-Nasir and his Wazir, vii. Man and his Wife, The, ix. Man who never laughed during the rest of his days, The, vi. Man (The Woman who had to lover a ) and the other who had to lover a boy, v. Man of Upper Egypt and his Frankish Wife, ix. Man of Al-Yaman and his six Slave-girls, iv. Man who stole the dog's dish of gold, iv. Man who saw the Night of Power (Three Wishes), vi. Man's dispute with the learned Woman about boys and girls, v. Ma'aruf the Cobb]er and his wife Fatimah, x. Mansur, Yahya bin Khalid and, iv. Masrur and Ibn al-Karibi, v. Masrur and Zayn al-Mawasif, viii. Medinah (Al-), The Lovers of, vii. Merchant of Oman, The, ix. Merchant and the Robbers, The, ix. Merchant and the two Sharpers, The, iii. Merchant's Sister, Ibrahim bin al-Mahdi and the, iv. Merchant's Wife, The King's son and the, vi. Merchant's Wife and the Parrot, The, i. Mercury Ali of Cairo, The Adventures of, vii. Merman, and Abdullah the Fisherman, Abdullah the, ix. Miller and his wife, The, v. Miriam, Ali Nur alDin and, viii. Miser and Loaves of Bread, The, vi. Mock Caliph, The, iv. Mohammed al-Amin and Ja'afar bin al-Had), v. Mohammed bin Sabaik and the Merchant Hasan, King, vii. Money changer, The Thief and the, iv. Monkey, The Thief and his, iii. Moslem Champion and the Christian Lady, The, v. Mouse, The, and the Cat, ix. Mouse and the Flea, The, iii. Mouse and the Ichneumon, The, iii. Munnis, Ali bin Tahir and the girl, v. Musab bin al-Zubayr and Ayishah his wife, v. Muslim bin al-Walid and Dibil al-Khuzai, v. Mutawakkil (Al-) and Al-Fath bin Khakan, v. Mutawakkil and his favourite Mahbubah, iv. Mutalammis (Al-) and his wife Umaymah, v. Naomi, Ni'amah bin al-Rabi'a and his Slave-girl; iv. Nazarene Broker's Story, The, i. Necklace, The Stolen, vi. Niggard and the Loaves of Bread, The, vi. Night of Power, The man who saw the, vi. Nile (The Ferryman of the ) and the Hermit, v. Ni'amah bin al-Rabi'a and Naomi his Slave-girl, iv. Nur al-Din Ali and the damsel Anis al-Jalis, ii. Nur al-Din of Cairo and his son Badr al-Din Hasan, i. Ogress, The King's Son and the, vi. Old Man's Story, The First, i. Old Man's Story The Second, i. Old Man's Story The Third, i. Old Woman, Abu Suwayd and the handsome, v. Omar bin al-Nu'uman and his Sons Sharrkan and Zau al-Makan, The Tale of King, ii. Omar bin al-Khattab and the young Badawi, v. Oman, The Merchant of, ix. Otbah and Rayya, vii. Page who feigned to know the speech of birds, The, vi. Paradise, The Apples of, v. Parrot, The Merchant's wife and the, i. Partridge, The Hawk and the, iii. Peacock, The Sparrow and the, iii. Persian and the Kurd Sharper, Ali the, iv. Physician Duban, The, i. Physician's Story, The Jewish, i. Pilgrim and the old woman who dwelt in the desert, The, v. Pilgrim Prince, The Unjust King and the, ix. Pious black slave, The, v. Pigeons, The Hedgehog and the, iii. Pigeons, The Two, vi. Platter-maker and his wife, The devout, v. Poets, Harun al-Rashid and the three, v. Police of Bulak, Story of the Chief of the, iv. Police of Kus and the Sharper, the Chief of the, iv. Police of New Cairo, Story of the Chief of the, iv. Police of Old Cairo, Story of the Chief of the, iv. Police (The Three Masters of ), Al-Malik, al-Nasir and, iv. Poor man and his &friend in need, The, iv. Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad, The, i. Portress, The Tale of the, i. Prince Behram and the Princess al-Datma, vi. Prince the Ensorcelled, i. Prince and the Ghulah, The, i. Prince, The Devout, v. Prince (the Pilgrim), The Unjust King and, ix. Prior who became a Moslem, The, v. Providence, The justice of, v. Purse, The Stolen, vi. Pyramids of Egypt, Al-Maamun and the, v. Queen of the Serpents, The, v. Rake's trick against the chaste Wife, The, vi. Rayya, Otbah and, vii. Reeve's Tale, The, i. Rogueries of Dalilah the Crafty and her daughter Zaynab the Coney catcher, The, vii. Rose-in-Hood, Uns al-Wujud and the Wazir's Daughter, v. Ruined Man of Baghdad and his Slave-girl, The, ix. Ruined Man who became rich again through a dream, The, iv. Rukh, Abd al-Rahman the Moor's Story of the, v. Sa'id bin Salim and the Barmecides, v. Saint to whom Allah gave a cloud to serve him, The, v. Saker and the Birds, The, iii. Sandalwood Merchant and the Sharpers, The, vi. Sayf al-Muluk and Badi'a al-Jamal, vii. School, The Loves of the Boy and the Girl at, v. Schoolmaster who fell in love by report, The, v. Schoolmaster The Foolish, v. Schoolmaster The ignorant man who set up for a, v. Serpent, The Crow and the, ix. Serpent-charmer and his Wife, ix. Serpents, The Queen of the, v. Sexes, Relative excellence of the, v. Shahryar and his brother, King (Introduction), i. Shahryar (King) and his brother, i. Shams al-Nahar, Ali bin Bakkar and, iii. Sharper of Alexandria and the Chief of Police, The, iv. Sharper, Ali the Persian and the Kurd, iv. Sharper, The Chief of the Kus Police and the, iv. Sharper, The Simpleton and the, v. Sharpers, The Merchant and the Two, iii. Do. The Sandalwood Merchant and the, vi. Sharrkan and Zau al-Makan, The History of King Omar bin Al-Nu'uman and his Sons, ii. Shaykh's Story (The First), i. Shaykh's Story (The Second), i. Shaykh's Story (The Third), i. Shepherd and the Thief, The, ix. Shimas, King Jali'ad of Hind and his Wazir, ix. Shipwrecked Woman and her child, The, v. Shirin and the Fisherman, Khusrau and, v. Simpleton and the Sharper, The, v. Sindibad and his Falcon, King, i. Sindbad the Seaman and Sindbad the Porter, vi. Sindbad the Seaman First Voyage of, vi. Sindbad the Seaman Second Voyage of, vi. Sindbad the Seaman Third Voyage of, vi. Sindbad the Seaman Fourth Voyage of, vi. Sindbad the Seaman, Fifth Voyage of, vi. Sindbad the Seaman Sixth Voyage of, vi. Sindbad the Seaman Seventh Voyage of, vi. Sindbad the Seaman (note from Cal. Edit.) vi. Singing girl, The Goldsmith and the Cashmere, vi. Six Slave-girls, The Man of Al-Yaman and his, iv. Slave, The pious black, v. Slave-girl, The ruined man of Baghdad and his, ix. Slave-girls, The Man of Al-Yaman and his six, iv. Sparrow and the Eagle, The, iii. Sparrow and the Peacock, The, iii. Spider and the Wind, The, ix. Spring, The Enchanted, vi. Squinting slave-girl, Abu al-Aswad and his, v. Sparrow Necklace, The, vi. Sparrow Purse, The, vi. Suitors, The Lady and her five, vi. Sweep and Noble Lady of Baghdad, The, iv. Tailor's Tale, The, i. Taj al-Muluk and the Princess Dunya, The Tale of, ii. Tawaddud, Abu al-Hasan and his slave-girl, v. Thief, The Lover who feigned himself a, iv. Thief and the Shroff, The, iv. Thief and his Monkey, The, iii. Thief The Shepherd and the, ix. Thief turned Merchant and the other Thief, The, v. Thieves, The Boy and the, ix. Thieves, The Merchant and the, ix. Thieves, The Two, v. Three-year old-child, The Debauchee and the, vi. Three Apples, The, i. Three unfortunate Lovers, v. Three Wishes, or the Man who longed to see the Night of Power, The, vi. Tortoise, The Waterfowl and the, iii. Tortoises, The Heathcock and the, ix. Trader (The) and the Jinni, i. Trick (The Lover's ) against the chaste wife, vi. Trick (The Wife's ) against her husband, vi. Two Kings, The, ix. Two Pigeons, The, vi. Umaymah, Al-Mutalammis and his wife, v. Unfortunate Lovers, The Three, v. Unjust King and the Pilgrim Prince, The, ix. Uns al-Wujud and the Wazir's Daughter Rose-in-Hood, v. Upper Egypt (The man of) and his Frank wife, ix. Walid bin Sahl, Yunus the Scribe and the Caliph, vii. Wardan, the Butcher, Adventure with the Lady and the Bear, iv. Water-carrier and the Goldsmith's Wife, The, v. Waterfowl and the Tortoise, The, iii. Wazir and the Sage Duban, The, i. Wazir, Al-Malik al-Nasir and his, vii. Wazir of al-Yaman and his young brother, The, v. Wazir's Son and the Hammam-Keeper's Wife, The, vi. Wazir's Wife, The King and his, vi. Weasel, The Mouse and the, iii. Weaver, The Foolish, iii. Wife, The Badawi and his, vii. Wife, (the Chaste) The Lover's Trick against, vi. Wife, The King and his Wazir's, vi. Wife, The Man and his Wilful, ix. Wife, (The Merchant's) and the Parrot, i. Wife, (The Virtuous) and the King, v. Wife's device to cheat her husband, The, vi. Wife's trick against her husband, The, v. Wild Ass, The Jackal and the, ix. Wilful Wife, The Man and his, ix. Wind, The Spider and the, ix. Wird Khan (King) and his Women and Wazirs, ix. Wolf and the Fox, The, iii. Wolf, The Foxes and the, ix. Woman (The shipwrecked) and her child, v. Woman's trick against her husband, v. Woman who made her husband sift dust, The, iv. Woman whose hands were cut off for Almsgiving, The, iv. Women, The Malice of, vi. Women, The Two, v. Yahya bin Khalid and the Forger, iv. Yahya bin Khalid and Mansur, iv. Yahya bin Khalid and the Poor Man, v. Yaman (The Man of Al-) and his six slave-girls, iv. Yaman (The Wazir of Al-) and his young brother, v. Yunus the Scribe and the Caliph Walid bin Sahl, vii. Zau al-Makan, The History of King Omar bin al-Nu'uman and his Sons Sharrkan and, ii. Zayn al-Mawasif, Masrur and, viii. Zaynab the Coney-catcher, The Rogueries of Dalilah the Wily, and her Daughter, vii.. Zubaydah in the Bath, Harun al-Rashid and, v. Zumurrud, Ali Shar and, iv.



Index II



Alphabetical Table of the Notes (Anthropological, &c.)

Prepared by F. Steingass, Ph.D.



[Index II is not included]



Index III.-A



Alphabetical Table of First Lines (Metrical Portion) in English.

Prepared by Dr. Steingass.



A beloved familiar o'erreigns my heart viii. 70. A boy of twice ten is fit for a king! iii. 303. A breeze of love on my soul did blow viii. 222. A damsel 'twas the firer's art had decked with snares and sleight, i. 219, x. 59. A dancer whose figure is like a willow branch, ix. 222. A dancer whose form is like branch of Ban! ix. 221. A dog, dog-fathered, by dog-grandsire bred, viii. 15. A fan whose breath is fraught with fragrant scent, viii. 273. A fair one, to idolaters if she her face should show, ix. 197. A friend in need is he who, ever true iii. 149. A guest hath stolen on my head and honour may he lack, viii. 295. A hag to whom th' unlawful lawfullest, i. 174. A heart bore thee off in chase of the fair ix. 282. A heart, by Allah!- never soft to lover wight, vii. 222. A Houri, by whose charms my heart is moved to sore distress, vii. 105. A house where flowers from stones of granite grow, iii. 19. A Jinniyah this, with her Jinn, to show, v. 149. A King who when hosts of the foe invade, ii.l. A lutanist to us inclined, viii. 283. A maiden 'twas, the dresser's art had decked with cunning sleight, viii. 32. A merchant I spied whose lovers, viii. 264. A messenger from thee came bringing union-hope, iii. 188. A moon she rises, willow-wand she waves iii. 237, viii. 303. A moon, when he bends him those eyes lay bare, viii. 284. A moon which blights you if you dare behold, ii. 4. A night whose stars refused to run their course, iii. 299 A palace whereon be blessings and praise, iv. 134. A place secure from every thought of fear i. 114. A sage, I feel a fool before thy charms iii. 272. , A slave of slaves there standeth at thy door, i. 89. A sun on wand in knoll of sand she showed, i. 217; x. 58. A thin-waist maid who shames the willow-wand, ii. 285. A term decreed my lot I 'spy, viii. 83. A trifle this an his eyes be sore, v. 127. A tree whilere was I the Bulbul's home, viii. 281. A wand uprising from a sandy knoll, ix. A warrior showing such open hand, iv. 97. A wasted body, heart empierced to core, ii. 314. A youth slim waisted from whose locks and brow, i. 68. A zephyr bloweth from the lover's site, viii. 90. Above the rose of cheek is thorn of lance, iii. 331. Act on sure grounds, nor hurry fast, iv. 189. Add other wit to thy wit, counsel craving, iv. 189. Affright me funerals at every time, v. 111. After thy faring never chanced I 'spy, viii. 142. Ah, fare thee not; for I've no force thy faring to endure, viii. 63. Ah! for lowe of love and longing suffer ye as suffer we? viii. 68. Ah Khalid! this one is a slave of love distraught, iv. 158. Ah, often have I sought the fair! how often fief and fain, vii. 138. Alack and alas! Patience taketh flight, viii. 263. Alas, alack and wellaway for blamer's calumny! viii. 285. Albe by me I had through day and night, iii. 267. Albe to lover adverse be his love, iii. 266. Albeit my vitals quiver 'neath this ban, iii. 62. Alexandria's a frontier, viii. 289. All crafts are like necklaces strung on a string, i. 308. All drinks wherein is blood the Law unclean Doth hold, i. 89. All sons of woman albe long preserved, iv. 63. "Allah assain those eyne! What streams of blood they shed!" ii. 100. Allah be good to him that gives glad tidings of thy steps, i. 239. Allah holds Kingship! Whoso seeks without Him victory, iii. 86. Allah, my patience fails: I have no word, iii.344. Allah save the rose which yellows amorn, viii. 276. Allah, where'er thou be, His aid impart, ii. 148. Allah's peace on thee, House of Vacancy! viii. 237. Although the Merciful be doubtless with me, ix. 278. Al-Yaman's leven-gleam I see, ii. 179. An but the house could know who cometh 'twould rejoice, i. 176. An, by thy life, pass thee my funeral train, v. 70. An fail I of my thanks to thee, i. 56. An Fate afflict thee, with grief manifest, viii. 146. An Fate some person 'stablish o'er thy head, iii. 89. An faulty of one fault the beauty prove, ii.96. An I be healed of disease in frame, viii. 70. An I quit Cairo and her pleasaunces, i. 290. An we behold a lover love-foredone, v. 73. An my palm be full of wealth and my wealth I ne'er bestow, ii. 11. An say I:—Patient I can bear his faring, iii. 187. An tears of blood for me, friend, thou hast shed, i. 89. An there be one who shares with me her love, i. 180. An thou but deign consent, A wish to heart affied, iv. 247. An thou of pious works a store neglect, ii. 202. An thou wouldst know my name, whose day is done, vi. 94. An through the whole of life, iv. 190. An Time my lover restore me I'll blame him fain, ix. 192. An were it asked me when by hell-fire burnt, iii. 279. An what thou claimest were the real truth, v. 151. An wouldst be life-long safe, vaunt not delight, viii. 94. And Almond apricot suggesting swain, viii. 268. And dweller in the tomb whose food is at his head, v. 238. And eater lacking mouth and even maw, v. 240. And fairest Fawn, we said to him Portray, viii. 272. And haply whenas strait descends on lot of generous youth, iii. 131. And in brunettes is mystery, couldst thou but read it right, iv. 258. And in my liver higher flames the fire, vii. 366. And loveling weareth on his cheek a mole, v. 65. And pity one who erst in honour throve, ii. 149. And shaddock mid the garden paths, on bough, viii. 272. And Solomon, when Allah to him said, vi. 86. And the lips girls, that are perfume sweet, v. 79. And the old man crept o'er the worldly ways, iv. 41. And trees of orange fruiting ferry fair, viii. 271. And wand-like Houri who can passion heal, v. 149. And 'ware her scorpions when pressing them, viii. 209. And when birdies o'er-warble its lakelet it gars, ix. 6. And, when she announceth the will to sing, viii. 166. Albeit this thy case lack all resource, v. 69. Allah watered a land, and upsprang a tree, v. 244. Answer, by Allah! Sepulchre, are all his beauties gone? i. 239. Appeared not my excuse till hair had clothed his cheek, iii. 57. Apple which joins hues twain and brings to mind, viii. 268. Apple whose hue combines in union mellow, i. 158. As a crescent-moon in the garth her form, viii. 207. As for me, of him I feel naught affright,vi. 98. As long as palms shall shift the flower, v. 136. As love waxt longer less met we sway, v. 78. As one of you who mounted mule, viii. 297. As she willed she was made, and in such a way that when, iv. 191. As the Sage watched the stars, the semblance clear, i. 206. As though ptisane of wine on her lips honey dew, iii. 57. Ask (if needs thou ask) the compassionate, ix. 29. Ask of my writ, what wrote my pen in dole, iii. 274. Ass and Umm Amr' went their way, v. 118.