330 SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 



condition ; and it depends upon his rendering- him- 

 self agreeable, whether he is to be honourably 

 treated or dismissed with disgrace. This custom 

 the Wahabees abolished ; but on a representation 

 being made bj'^ the tribe to Abdelazeez, of the mis- 

 fortunes that had befallen them for having abandoned 

 the good old practice of their forefathers, permission 

 was granted to honour their guests as before. The 

 established laws of the Desert sanction manners that 

 to European nations must appear extravagant and 

 unnatural. But the influx of foreigners, and espe- 

 cially the gold of Mohammed Ali, have had a perni- 

 cious effect on the virtues of the Bedouins. 



Another singular institution is that of the wasy^ or 

 guardianship. An Arab may, in the prime of life, 

 request a friend to act as guardian to his children. 

 If the trust is accepted, the friend is solemnly in- 

 stalled in his office ; and one family is thus con- 

 stituted the hereditary protectors of another. To 

 the weak, such as minors, women, and old men, this 

 practice affords some security, hovvever imperfect, 

 against the oppressions of the strong. It is observed 

 by all the Arabs of Nejed, but not generally tlirough- 

 out the Desert ; and affords another instance of those 

 peculiar ties, domestic as well as political, by which 

 a fierce and v/arlike community are held together 

 and protected amid the lawless ravages occasioned 

 by their own dissensions. 



' That the Arabs are brave, and capable of display- 

 ing exalted courage, was confirmed by numerous 

 exploits in the Turkish campaign. Examples might 

 easily be adduced of the most heroic personal val- 

 our. The Wahabee soldiers fought with despera- 

 tion, encouraged by the songs of the female war- 

 riors. It was the custom for the favourite wife of 

 the sheik, on the day of battle, to ride in front on a 

 swift dromedary splendidly caparisoned ; and on oc- 

 casions of extreme importance she had her legs tied 

 under the belly of the animal — a signal to the troops 



