SOCIAL STATE OF THE ARABS. 335 



article, they say, " I gained it." They even pretend 

 a sort of kindred or relationship between themselves 

 and the victim they plunder. " Undress thyself," 

 exclaims the brigand of the Desert, as he rides furi- 

 ously upon the wayfaring stranger ; " thy aunt' 

 (meaning his own wife) " is without a garment !" 

 This license they regard as a sort of birthright or 

 national prerogative. If they are reproved for their 

 depredations, " You forget that I am an Arab" is al- 

 ways the reply; which is spoken with a tone and 

 expression of countenance that shows how little the 

 haughty marauder is affected by the supposed op- 

 probrium. But the chivalry of pillage, hke that of 

 hospitality, has been impaired by their intercourse 

 with strangers. The honourable asylum of the tent 

 has often been violated, and the sacred shield of the 

 dakheil has not always screened the unfortunate 

 who sought its protection. 



The natural jealousy and fiery temperament of the 

 Arabs have always proved a source of the most im- 

 placable enmity among themselves. They betray 

 the quickest sensibility to any affront or injury; 

 and instances might be multiplied where a con- 

 temptuous word, an indecent action, or the most 

 trifling violation of etiquette, can only be expiated 

 by the blood of the offender. If one sheik say to 

 another, " Thy bonnet is dirty," or " The wrong 

 side of thy turban is out," it is considered a mortal 

 off"ence. To spit on the beard of another, even ac- 

 cidentally, is an insult scarcely to be forgiven. 

 Murder is the deepest injury that can be committed. 

 The Arab code regulates the revenge for blood 

 (called thar) by the nicest distinctions ; and it is per- 

 haps owing to this salutary institution more than to 

 any other, that the Avarlike tribes of the Desert have 

 been prevented from exterminating each other. 



It is a universal law among them, that he who 



sheds blood owes on that account blood to the fam- 



ly of the slain person ; and this debt may be required, 



