In Intimacy Or In Anger The Garb Of
Politeness Is Thrown Off, And The Screaming Arab Voice, The Voluble,
Copious, And Emphatic Abuse, And The Mania For Gesticulation, Return In
All Their Deformity.
They are great talkers as the following little
trait shows.
When a man is opposed to more than his match in disputing
or bargaining, instead of patiently saying to himself, S’il crache il est
mort, he interrupts the adversary with a Sall’ ala Mohammed,—Bless the
Prophet. Every good Moslem is obliged to obey such requisition by
responding, Allahumma
[p.18] salli alayh,—O Allah bless him! But the Madani curtails the phrase
to “A’n,[FN#30]” supposing it to be an equivalent, and proceeds in his
loquacity. Then perhaps the baffled opponent will shout out Wahhid,
i.e., “Attest the unity of the Deity”; when, instead of employing the usual
religious phrases to assert that dogma, he will briefly ejaculate “Al,” and
hurry on with the course of conversation. As it may be supposed, these
wars of words frequently end in violent quarrels; for, to do the Madani
justice, they are always ready to fight. The desperate old feud between
the “Juwwa,” and the “Barra,”—the town and the suburbs—has been put down with the
greatest difficulty. The boys, indeed, still keep it up, turning out in
bodies and making determined onslaughts with sticks and stones.[FN#31]
It is not to be believed that in a town garrisoned by Turkish troops,
full of travelled traders, and which supports itself by plundering
Hajis, the primitive virtues of the Arab could exist.
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