power; but any one calling out "I renounce,"
before dakhal has been claimed, may refuse
it. The Shammar never plunder a caravan
within sight of their tents, for so long as a
stranger sees their tents, he is dakhal. A
man who has eaten bread and steals his
owner's horse, is dishonoured, having repaid
the protection afforded him with treachery.
The tribe must return the horse; and should
it die before being sent, the man must be
delivered up. If two enemies, between whom
is the thar, or blood revenge, exchange by
mistake the salem aleikum, there is peace
between them, and they will not fight. It is
disgraceful to rob a woman of her clothes;
even in a plundering party, the plunderers
give her a horse to ride back to her tents. A
man pursued by an enemy may save himself
by calling dakhal— unless the blood revenge
is between them. Among the Shammar it is
considered cowardly to take away the horse
or camel, when there is no water or encampment
near; they will take their victims to
within a certain distance of their tents, point
out their site, and then plunder them respectably.
Dakhal given, an Arab must protect
the dakhal to his own ruin; and this has been
the case in many instances, a true Bedouin
rarely violating this pledge, even to his own
most certain destruction.

In the desert, Mr. Layard and his party
were met by several chiefs,and were hospitably
entertained. The sheikh's tent— known by
the spears tufted with ostrich feathers before
it, and by being in the front rank and facing
the side from whence the guest may be
expected, as also the enemy— the first to
welcome and the first to fight— was ever open
to them with all the pleasures that a Bedouin
tent could give. Feasting, poetry, and tales—
often prolonged far into the night— welcomed
the English gentleman to the home of the
Ishmaelite; and all was done and given with
an open-handed generosity and an earnest
desire to please, which might give a useful
lesson to many of the so-called civilised races.
Once they were the guests of Rishwan,
Suttum's father. When they rode up to the
old sheikh's tent, Suttum Mijwell, his younger
brother, with the elders of the tribe, stood
ready to receive them. The chief had killed
two sheep, and before many minutes had
elapsed, two huge wooden platters of boiled
rice and mutton were brought in and placed
on the ground before them. Large lumps of
butter were then heaped on these steaming
messes and allowed to melt, Rishwan
occasionally kneading all up together with his
hands (hands go for silver spoons generally
in the desert. A glass of eau sucrée was once
offered to a lady of Mr. Layard's party, which
eau sucrée was stirred by a particularly dirty
finger, which the owner carefully sucked
between each stir.) When the dishes were
cool— the Shammar think it inhospitable to
place hot meat before a guest— Rishwan stood
up in the centre of the tent and called each
person by name to the feast. But neither he
nor his sons would take the smallest portion
for themselves. That also would have been
inhospitable. After the eating had ended,
Layard went to the women's tents. Some of
these women were exceedingly beautiful, the
wife of Suttum's eldest brother the most so.
They were all dressed in the long, thin blue
Arab shirt, with a striped or black abba
(cloak) and a black keffich, or head kerchief,
confined with a band of spun camel's wool.
The Bedouin women wear noserings of
massive silver, studded with coral and gems:
bracelets and anklets of the same, necklaces
of coins, and amber, and agate, glass and
stone beads, and often rows of small Assyrian
relics. When they leave their tents, they
cover the lower part of their face with a
handkerchief, leaving only their black eyes
sparkling above. Their complexion is a dark
rich olive, their eyes large, lustrous, and
almond-shaped; their black hair falls heavy
in luxuriant curls on their shoulders, their
carriage is erect and graceful, and they are
spirited, brave, energetic, and industrious.
In the desert, daughters are sources of wealth
from the alliances they may form with hostile
tribes, and from the price which they bring;
but in the towns they are held as a disgrace,
and often are privately murdered.

Suttum was accompanied not only by his
rediff and his favourite hawk, which he held
on his wrist, but also by one of his wives,
the beautiful and imperious Rathaiyah. This
lady was very indignant when she saw the
white tent that had been provided for her
during this journey, and absolutely refused
to sleep under it. She swore that she would
leave her liege lord rather than submit to such
disgrace; and,after much trouble, a black tent,
used as a kitchen, was given up to her;
when she said that under the goat's hair
canvas she would breathe freely again, and
once more feel that she was a Bedouin.
Adla, Suttum's first wife, came one day into the
encampment with her child in her arms, to
effect a reconciliation with her husband; from
whom she had been forced to part on account
of Rathaiyah's fearful temper; and by the
aid of a friend of Mr. Layard's, a public
form of reconciliation took place. But
Suttum's face showed plainly enough what
private scene he expected when the European
peacemakers should have gone out. It appears
that Suttum had consented to marry Rathaiyah
because she belonged to a powerful and hostile
tribe; but if he had bought public peace by
this union, he had paid for it, with his private
happiness, for there was not a more
thoroughly henpecked husband among the
Shammar than the powerful and daring Suttum.

The Arab loves as none but an Arab can
love; but he is also mightily excitable and
easily won. An Arab sees a girl bearing
water or brushwood; and, in a moment, at
a glance, is as madly in love as if he had served
years of courtship. He thinks of nothing else,