LAZY SHEIKS 291 



bred mare, on the feats of whose forebears he will descant 

 by the hour and multiply by three the miles they may have 

 done between sun and sun. He is rarely separated from 

 his old flintlock, perhaps the most harmless fire-arm which 

 exists to the enemy. He does nothing for a living ex- 

 cept to loaf ; his inherited dignity for was not his great- 

 uncle a sheik before him? forbids him to work. He 

 owns a, few olive-trees, some little flocks and herds, an 

 ass, and a horse or two , his women cultivate a small gar- 

 den-patch and an acre or so of wheat; the prickly -pear 

 and date-palm are there at need; and if he can worry 

 through the distress of the few rainy weeks without soak- 

 ing into pulp, God's sunshine and fresh air are his for the 

 rest of the year. He is content with little to eat ; gener- 

 ations of sparse food have robbed the poor Arab of any 

 semblance of gluttony ; strong drink is prohibited by 

 the Koran, and, curiously, the injunction is wont to be 

 obeyed ; but give him the long daylight for loafing, and 

 anything on four legs to carry him, and he is happy. He 

 little reeks what his wives and daughters are. They, poor 

 souls stay! they have no souls according to his belief, 

 and may not even go into the mosque to pray. " Why 

 should they pray, forsooth, having no souls to pray for ?" 

 he will ask you ; th'ey, poor creatures! live in the reflect- 

 ed happiness of their lord. 



