to Sii- 



Ohfervations &c. . -^os 



Arrival of eacliGueft, byfqualling out, loo, loo\ fcveral Times 

 together ; at their Funerals alio, and upon other melancho- 

 ly Occafions, they repeat the fameNoife", making it only 

 more deep and hollow ', and ending each Period of it with 

 fome ventriloquous Sighs. The («ActAad;ovTa5 ttdmo,') wailing great- 

 ly (as ourVerfion exprefleth It, Mar. s- 38.) upon the Death 

 of J aims s T)aughier, was probably performed in this Manner. 

 For, there are feveral Women hired, upon thefe lugubrious Oc- 

 cafions, for the Purpofe, who like the Trtcfiae * or mourning 

 Women ' of old, are Miftrefles of thefe melancholy Expreffi- 

 ons, and indeed perform their Parts with fuch proper Geftures 

 and Commotions, that they rarely fail to work up the Aflem- 

 bly into fome extraordinary Pitch of Thoughtfulnefs and Sorrow. 



No Nation in the World is fo much given to Superftition asr^^ Arabs 

 the u4ral)s , or even as the Mahometans in general. Theyf'^^/i 

 hang ^ about their Childrens Necks the Figure of an open Hand, 

 which the Turks and Moors paint upon their Ships and Houfes, 

 as an Antidote and Counter-Charm to an evil Eye : for live is 

 with them an unlucky Number, and Fiiie (Fingers perhaps) in 

 yourEyes, is their Proverb of Curling and Defiance. Thofe who 

 are grown up, carry always about with them fome Paragraph 

 or other of their Korany which, like as the Jews did their 

 Thyla&eries, {Ex.11, i^- ^i^^^- 1 5"- 38-) they place upon their 

 Breaft, or fow under their Caps, to prevent Falcination and 

 Witchcraft, and to fecure themfelves from Sicknefs and Mif- 

 fortunes. The Virtue of thefe Charms and Scrolls is fuppofed 

 likewife to be fo far univerfal, that they fufpend them upon 

 the Necks of their Cattle, Horfes and other Beafts of Burthen. 



• 



I A Corruption as it feems to be of n'i'?'?n Hdlelmah. AKtt?Stj a Word of the like Sound 

 was uied by an Army, either before they gave the Onfet, or when they hud obtained the 

 Vidory. Vid. Pol. Synopf. Vol. 4. p. 790- & Mint. Lex. in voce AMKai^ta. The T'urkj to this 

 Day call out y4lUh, Allah, Allah upon the like Occafion. 2 As if the Word now was re- 

 lated to the Hel;. 7*7', ejulari, from whence perhaps our Engl'ijlo Word to ho^id. 3 Plutarch 

 informs us, that Eleleu, ioti, iou, were ufcd in this Manner. E'Tripmiiv Ji -mts amv^j.!-, i?^iMZ, 'i^ 

 IK, m 7j pi an\iSbvTi( ivipowv njej -ttomvi^ovtv tioSngt, -ri Ji iK-TTKi^tai k3J Ttt(a^( '£li. Plutarch. inThcfco. 

 4 Pr&ficA dicuntur mulieres ad lamentandum mortuum conduft^e, quae dant ceteris modum 

 plangendi, quafi in hoc ipfum praefeftae. Vid. P. Fefi. 8c Non.MarceU. in voce, j CaU for 



the [n)J3pO from I')'? to lament] mourning Women that they may come and take up a ifaiting 



for us, that our Eyes may run down with Tears andotir Eyelids gujh out with Water. Jer.p. 17.18. 

 6 This Cuftom of hanging Things about the Neck to prevent Mifcbief, Diltempers, &c. 

 leems to be of great Antiquity, and was common to other Nations. Thus Varro de Ling. 

 Lat. l.(J. in fine. Pra;bia, <t />r<eif»rfo, utfit tutum: quodfmtremediaincollopuereis. Fafcinum, 

 collisnempe pucrorum (ni'^tninm^Infantium cufiodem z^^eWztPlinius. I.28. c.4. The^«//4was 

 wore upon the fame Account, as Mrfcroiiaj tells us. Sat. 1. i. Bulla gefiamen erat triitmphan- 

 tittm, inchifts intra earn remediis, qug, crederent adverfum invidiatji valentiffiraa. 



Hhhh They 



