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we gave him, and if he did, he must have exaggerated the 
amount, it was thought that we had enriched him for life. 
21. The Arabs are proverbially very grateful for any kind- 
ness and attention shown them, and consider it a sacred duty 
to trust a friend. As for acts of liberality and generosity, they 
are reckoned to be tantamount to praying or fasting ; and 
they have a common saying which expresses their feeling in 
the words, “ A liberal man is beloved of God though he be 
a reprobate.” But it is very difficult for a stranger unaccus- 
tomed with Arab habits and usages to deal with them in a way 
satisfactory to both parties ; because, if a person is too muni- 
ficent, he would be thought to be either a simpleton, or looked 
upon with suspicion, and be imposed upon accordingly ; but 
were he to act the stingy, he would be held in contempt ; 
and it is therefore not an easy matter to deal with an Arab in 
striking a bargain. 
22. The other case which gave great satisfaction amongst the 
Arabs was at the time when I discovered a few Sassanian silver 
coins in the mound of Koyunjik, and after no end of trouble 
I succeeded in securing the owner a share of the treasure 
trove. It was specified in the standing rules that any precious 
metal found in the excavations was to be divided into three 
parts ; one- third I was to have, one- third was to be given to 
the landlord, and the remainder to be appropriated by the 
Ottoman Government. When that discovery was made, I 
kept two-tliirds, of which to give half to the landlord, whom 
I knew expected me to protect his share. The authorities of 
the place asked me to give it up to them, as they said that 
the British Government was only entitled to one-third, and 
the rest must be given to them, and they themselves would 
settle the matter with the landlord. As a matter of course I 
demurred, as I said that the Firman did not order me to 
make over the share of the landlord to the local authorities ; 
but if the owner of the land wished it I should be happy to 
do so. The landlord was then sent for, and on his being asked 
to tell me to give up his share to them, he refused to listen 
to them, and declared that he had presented his portion to 
me, and no persuasion or threat would induce him to change 
his mind. Consequently, my victory did not only gain me 
great praise amongst the populace, but made others in whose 
ground I wished to dig, but who were afraid to let me do so, 
waive every objection to my doing so afterwards. 
23. Generally speaking, when I found that the land which I 
wished to examine belonged to a private individual, I appointed 
two Arab farmers to value the rent of the land, with the loss 
