384 



SOCIAL STATUE OF THE ARABS. 



have a harsh accent. At Cairo the pronunciation 

 is worse ; and it gradually degenerates among the 

 Libyan and Syrian Arahs. After them come the 

 tribes on the Barbary coast, at Tripoli, Tunis, and 

 Algiers ; and, lastly, the natives of Fez and Morocco, 

 whose rough articulation is considered the extreme 

 point from the pure Bedouin standard; yet this 

 difference is not greater, perhaps, than between the 

 spoken language of England and Scotland. All the 

 Arabs pay much attention to penmanship, though 

 there is great diversity in their style of writing. 

 The several countries have also their peculiar me- 

 thod of folding letters. In Hejaz they are sealed 

 with gum-arabic, and a small vessel filled for the 

 purpose is suspended near the gate of every khan or 

 public-house. Wax is never used, as the heat pre- 

 vents it from retaining the impression. 



In the mechanical arts the Arabs are extremely 

 deficient. The Bedouins know little else than the 

 tanning of leather and the weaving of coarse fabrics. 

 They have a few blacksmiths and saddlers ; but all 

 handicraft occupations are considered degrading. 

 There is only one watchmaker at Jidda, and not a 

 single shoemaker in Hejaz. In Yemen there are 

 workers in glass, gold, and silver ; but the artificers 

 in the precious metals are all Jews and Banians. 



The want of home manufactures obliges the natives 

 to supply their markets by means of foreign trade. 

 Though their ports have long lost their celebrity 

 as the grand entrepots for the commodities of the 

 East, they still continue to enjoy a portion of the 

 commerce between India and Europe. Jidda has 

 become the principal emporium of the Arabian trade. 

 It is perhaps the wealthiest town of the same extent 

 in the Turkish dominions ; hence its name, which 



