1856.] Alfred von Kremer's edition of Whqidy. 199 



Notes on Alfred von Kremer*s edition of Wdqidfs Campaigns. — By 

 Br. A. Sprenger. 



(Second Notice.) 



I possess an Arabic MS. which has the title of Jamharat al-'Arab 

 and contains seven times seven ancient poems (the first seven 

 being the Mo'-allaqat) and also episodes from the early history of 

 the Arabs in a poetical garb. 



The first episode is the story of Barraq (Persian authors call him 

 Majnun) and Layla. She was the youngest and handsomest daugh- 

 ter of an Arab chief and had two sisters. The eldest of them 

 So'da was married to Tha'labah, the Lame, king of Petra, and the 

 second to Shabyb, a chief of the Tuy Arabs. Barraq, the hero of 

 the story, fell in love with the youngest. 



When Barraq was young he used to go out to the pasture grounds, 

 milk the camels and carry the milk to a Christian hermit, who 

 instructed him in reading the gospel, for our hero was a Christian. 



He had hardly attained the age of twenty-five when the cele- 

 brated war broke out between the Arab tribes of Mesopotamia 

 and the Syrian desert, and afforded Barraq an opportunity of giving 

 proofs of his bravery. Without following the original in the his- 

 torical details of this war, I content myself with saying, that he 

 surpassed all other warriors in courage and obtained the title of 

 Father of Victory. 



Ibn Nafi' who tells us the story next introduces specimens of the 

 liberality and generosity of his hero. Some 'Adwan families were 

 in debt and they sent to Barraq to solicit his assistance. He gave 

 them all his own camels, and as they were not sufficient to extricate 

 them from their difficulties, he gave them also those of his father 

 and of his brother. The former reproved him for his prodigality, 

 but the strain in which he extolled the merits of liberality not only 

 moved his father to similar feelings, but it induced the Taj tribe 

 to give to the needy 'Adwanities more than double as much as 

 they required. 



Lokayz, the father of Layla was a friend of 'Amr b. Morrah, the 

 Laird of Qahban, and used now and then to spend a few days in his 



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