seen a dream, all well-bred men present
cry out at once "El kher Inshallah," "The
good of it please Allah;" that is, may it be
of good omen.

Should you condole with a person who
had a misfortune, say, "Inshallah, thou shalt
now for ever know no evil;" that is, thou
hast paid thy debt to misfortune.

When you meet a friend coming out of
the bath, say, " May thy bath be to thee
like a bath of the water of Zemzem," the
holy well of Mecca. And he, if he be a
well-bred fellow, will reply " Inshallah,
thou shalt be prosperous."

When you have gone to the barber to
have your head shaved, and the operation
is finished, the barber says, "With health,
the shaving;" that is, may your shaving
do you good. You reply, "the blessing of
Allah upon you."

Should you pass a labourer, or inspect
a man's work, say, "May God give thee
strength," or something  like it. The reply
will come pat. "May Allah be merciful
to the authors of your days."

If you pass before people sitting at meals,
say, "May Allah make thee satisfied," and
when one sneezes before you, say, "May
Allah preserve thee," which form of
expression is indeed common to most
countries; "Dieu vous bénisse."

Should a man come into your room and
leave the door open, don't cry out coarsely,
"Shut the door," but "May Allah
remember the carpenter;" that is, it appears
you don't seem to think he is of any use.

You must never blow out a light with
your breath; but wave it out with your
hand rapidly passed over it—certainly the
method is a more graceful one; but this is
not the only reason light is regarded as
one of the most visible signs of the Deity,
and you should not profane it with the
corrupt breath of your body.

Do you want a light for your pipe? don't
cry out, "Bring me fire!" somebody,
especially if you be a Christian, may be
tempted to reply, " You will have enough
of it by-and-bye;" but say, "Bring me
tranquillity."

Do you want to get rid of an importunate
solicitor? hear his request to the end
with patience and resignation, and then
say, "Allah will look upon thee," or
recommend your petitioner to Allah in
some other form, and if he be a good Mussulman,
he cannot doubt of the munificence
of Allah, and must go away contented.

Do you wish to escape from a troublesome
questioner? say "That is far from
me, the knowledge is with God," which
after all is but a prolonged form of our
somewhat coarse expression, "God knows."
The Spaniard's or Italian's phrase of escape
seems the most sensible. Quien sabe?
Who knows? Chi lo sa? Who can know
that? Should you commit an error of
any kind which you cannot remedy, and
wish to put an end to the condolence of a
troublesome friend, you have but to say,
"Hakoum Allah!" "It is the order of
God!" or, "Mektoub Rebbi," "It was so
written of God." When a man of superior
rank questions another, and the latter
would avoid reply, he has but to say "You
are sultan, and you know."

If you are in trouble and wish to escape
from importunate questions, you can reply
"Kher kann ou chorr makann," "There is
good, and there is no evil;" or "God is
everywhere," "Kher Rebbi koul mekane."

If you, however, wish to get rid
altogether of your troublesome companion,
you have but to make use of the "Lott el
ayeen," "The turning away of the eyes;"
that is to say, to speak coldly to the man,
and cast your eyes down to the ground.

Never ask a chief if he will sell his
horse; you will seem to accuse him of
poverty: you should not even admire his
house or weapons. He feels obliged by
all the Arab politeness to offer them to
you, though it is said the practice in
these degenerate days is less followed than
formally.

No Arab is ever curious. Curiosity with
all Eastern nations is considered unmanly.
No Arab will stop in the street, or turn his
head round to listen to the talk of
bystanders. No Arab will dance, play on an
instrument, or indulge in cards, or any
game of chance: since games of chance are
forbidden by the Koran. Never, moreover,
invite an Arab to take a walk with you
for pleasure. Although the Arabs are on
occasion good walkers, they have no notion
of walking for amusement, they only walk
as a matter of business. Their temperance,
their constant out-door habits, render all
exercise for exercise sake unnecessary;
they cannot, therefore, understand the
pleasure of walking for walking sake. What
Arabs like best is to sit still, and when
they see Europeans walking up and down
in a public place in Algeria, they say,
"Look, look, the Christians are going mad!"
The Arab does not even mount on
horse-back except as a matter of business or for
his public fêtes and carousals. And when
you do walk you must never walk quickly.