Stumbling with the crazed, etc.—In accordance with the suggestion of Sherîshi, I have given a double meaning to , according to the word to which it refers. The primitive mean­ing of is to beat; and it is secondarily applied to the purblind she-camel, which beats or strikes the ground with her foot, and so stumbles, as well as to him who beats a tree for its leaves, to use them as fodder; and, metaphorically, to him who gets money out of people by begging. Thus the senses of stumbling or wandering recklessly, and of making gain by importunity, are united in the same word.

My single lot had become twofold.—Another allusion to . Ḥârith had said that to arrive in Naṣîbîn was one prize, and now the presence of Abû Zayd doubles it.

Abû Yaḥya is a kinyeh or bye-name of Death. Yaḥya is the Arabic equivalent to John (the Baptist), but the signification seems here to be The Father or Lord of the Living, from , Death being he who is mighty over every one who lives.

His pledge was forfeit.—As one who had not paid in time the debt for which he had pledged his property. This is equivalent to saying, “his term had run out.”

Bewildered, etc.—Metre muteḳârib.

The old wine.—So Imr al Ḳays says, that when his mistress’s tribe had departed, he remained “as one drunk with wine.” Dîwân, p. 36, v. 11.

We took seat about his bed.—There are several Traditions of the Prophet concerning the visiting of the sick, as “Whoso visits a sick person, and sits with him for an hour, God will give him the reward of a year’s good works;” and “He who visits a sick person enters into God’s mercy, but if he takes seat by him, he is whelmed by it.”

Look on this, the offspring of the moment.—Literally, “Look on her, the daughter of the hour.” The “daughter of the hour” is a name for extemporised poetry. Abû Zayd, seeing the anxiety of his friends, desires to show them that he is not so ill as to have lost his power of improvisation, and, calling on them to take notice, proceeds to recite some excellent verses. is used especially of the looking of a bridegroom on his un­veiled and richly appareled bride.

God has saved me.—The metre of these verses is , which has been explained in the notes to Assembly Two. But the here is the third of the first , and suffers the called , which is the dropping of a at the end of a foot; so that becomes . The last feet of the two hemistiches are consequently and respec­tively.

Death forgets me not.—Though the sentiments here expressed are common enough among poets and moralists, yet the reader may compare the Mo‘allaḳah of Ṭarafeh, v. 68, “By thy life, Death, while it fails to strike a man, is only like a slackened tether of which the end is kept in hand;” i.e., however long a tether Fate may give to a man’s life, he will be one day checked.

The guarded domain of Kolayb.—Wâ’il, commonly known as Kolayb Wâ’il, was one of the most famous personages of Arab antiquity. He descended from Wâ’il, through Taghlib, and was son of Rabî‘ah, who about 140 years before the Hijra was one of the chiefs of the Benû Taghlib. Besides Kolayb Wâ’il, Rabî‘ah had two other children, the poet Mohalhil and a daughter, Fâṭimeh, who became the mother of the poet Imr al Ḳays. At this time the tribes of Bekr and Taghlib paid tribute to a sovereign of the race of Ḥimyar, and being unable or unwilling to continue the payment, prepared to revolt. But the rising being foreseen the people of Taghlib were attacked, and Kolayb and his brother Mohalhil made prisoners. The descend­ants of Ma‘add, who, though accustomed to fierce wars amongst themselves, would unite against a foreign adversary, (compare Arab. Prov. II. 198), were roused to arms by Bekr and Taghlib, the two brothers Kolayb and Mohalhil were delivered, and under the leadership of Rabî‘ah the sons of Ma‘add defeated the people of Yemen in the battle of Sullân, and gained their independence. After the death of Rabî‘ah, his son Wâ’il succeeded, and again defeated an army of Yemen, on the Day of Khozâza, . Wâ’il was then raised to the chiefship of a confederacy of Arabs, and was the greatest potentate of the Nejd. His greatness is proverbial among the Arabs, so that it is said “More potent than Kolayb Wâ’il.” Arab. Prov. II. 145. The “guarded domain” was the land which he was accustomed to take for himself wherever he thought fit. The legend is that he used to lame a dog, and place it in the midst of any field or meadow that pleased him; and wherever the sound of the barking could be heard, all others must abstain from pasturing their camels or sheep. From this dog it is said that he was called Kolayb; either because people misunderstood the story, or applied the term “Little dog” to him as a nickname. He set dogs on those who used a well before him; no man might cross the spot where he sat; no fire might be lighted near his own; and he imposed a strict game law, by declaring, whenever he chose, that “the game of such a place is under my protection,” (or cov­enant). Once, when he was walking in his domain, a lark flew away from her eggs at his approach, upon which he said, “Fear not; thy eggs are under my protection.” Then he improvised in rejez:

Oh lark! the valley is open to thee in this pasture land; So lay thy eggs and sing;

And peck what thou desirest: The fowler is far from thee, so be glad;

Yet sure he will take thee some day; beware!

For the rest of the history of Kolayb, his death, and the war that followed, see the Twenty-sixth Assembly, at the words “the war of Al Basûs.” Some lines by Mohalhil on his brother Kolayb are to be found at p. 420 of the Ḥamâseh, and in the com­mentary is a narrative of the events which led to his death. Mohalhil’s elegy on his brother is said to have been the first specimen of the ḳaṣîdeh, or regular poem.

The light of to-day.— is used here like in Assembly Fifteen.

Make alliance with him by a day-sleep.—Literally, “join his cord or rope;” an idiom used of forming an alliance with any one by marrying a daughter to him. The original idea is that of attaching a camel to a man’s rope, that is, of presenting him with the camel. The meaning of the text is, “Give drowsi­ness, which is a persevering suitor, the day-sleep that it demands.”

The Traditions handed down.—Among the Traditions of the Prophet, recommending the day-sleep or siesta, is the following, by Anas ibn Mâlik, “Help the wakeful devotion of night by sleep in the day.” Also of the same Traditionist: “Take the day-sleep, for Satan takes it not.”

God smote upon the ears.—This is taken from Koran xviii. 10, where it is said of the Sleepers in the Cave, “We smote upon their ears (with deafness), in the Cave a number of years.”

We washed hand and foot for the two mute prayers.—These expressions are explained by Ḥarîri in the tefsîr at the end of the Assembly. The of an animal are the thinner parts of the leg, above the foot, and in man the wrists and ankles. The “two mute prayers” are those of noon and afternoon, because the recitation at them is under the breath.

The Father of Indwelling.—All these “Ṭofayli bye-names and Ṣûfi metonymies” are explained by Ḥarîri himself in the interpretation which he has added to this Assembly. The Father of Indwelling is Hunger, because he dwells in and holds his seat in every stomach.

The Father of Assembling is the or round table on which food is brought in; so called because it gathers together the food or the guests.

The Father of Pleasantness is white bread as being the most delicate food of its kind; and it is patient at every wrong because it undergoes grinding, kneading, and baking.

The Father of Lovingness is kid’s flesh, called so from its savouriness; the burning and torment are during the roasting.

The Father of Acuteness is vinegar: the Father of Help is salt, the Father of Comeliness signifies vegetables; a play on words being possibly intended, since means also melted fat, or gravy, which would run from the meat on to the vegeta­bles. The Mother of Hospitality is the food called Sikbâj, so called because it is the principal dish given to guests. The Mother of Strengthening or Restoration is the food called Harîseh, because it contains wheat, which is called the Strengthener. The Mother of Joyfulness is the food called Jûthâbeh, apparently a kind of pie. The Father of Dignity is the food Khabîṣ, and is called so from its high price. The Father of Loftiness is the food called Fâlûthaj, which is made of honey, and has this title also on account of its costliness. The Two Rumourers are the ewer and basin, which, rattling as they are brought along, rumour the close of the entertainment. The rising of the camels is the removal of the table. The Father of Softness is alkali, for washing. The Father of Generosity is the perfume or incense, which was used at the close of the feast. The Chosroes referred to is Khosru Perwez who is one of the exemplars of magnificence and luxury among the Arabs. It is said by the commentators on this passage that he was the first for whom sikbâj, the Persian , was cooked, and that none fed of it without his permission. This monarch who, after a career of success against the Eastern Empire, rivalling that of his predecessor Khosru Nushirvan, closed his reign in defeat and shame, deposed by an impious son, appears from authorities more trustworthy than Moslem tradition to have carried Persian luxury to its highest point. His wars being the subject of a prophecy in the Koran, he has an enduring reputation. His splendour and his love for the beautiful Shîrîn, who was a present to him from Cæsar, are often celebrated by the poets, as in the Shah Nameh and the odes of Hafiz, and form the subject of many romances.