8S 



pretence of superintending their concerns in distant 

 places*. 



Tliey dwell under tents when they can afford to have any ; 



those who cannot, shelter themselves from the inclemency of 

 the weather, either with a piece of cloth stretched upon poles, 

 or by retiring to the cavities of rocks. The chief article of 

 their furniture is a large straw mat, which serves equally for 

 a seat, a table, and a bed-f-. 



Listening to tales and songs forms their principal amuse- 

 ment ; but as they have no books, their stock is soon ex- 

 hausted. To elude the tcedium vitce, they pass tiieir time 

 in SHioaking tobacco, or an intoxicating drug called 



haschs^. 



The Bedouins are the most irritable of all men, and their 



vindictive spirit leads to the most outrageous excesses. Not 

 satisfied with blood of the offender they sacrifice that of all 

 the males of his family^. As they have no courts of judica- 

 ture to resort to, every family seeks to right itself; it is true 

 that if the <iontending parties belong to the same tribe, the 

 Sheick and principal subjects join to reconcile them ; but if 

 they belong to two powerful tribes, war is tiie consequence ; 



M 2 hence 



io Xii\nio-H[ oili to (-(Jijuif yiij -n) fjii .i;ii (' -""i: 



..,, • iNiebuhr. 211. - + Ibid. 209. '''■•>-*<i"i ?( /lyffl 



' "' ' J SNeJbuhr. 224, 225. § 2 Niebuhr, 198. 



