Arabic Authors | Page 3

of the two works.--Brief
description of the Kathá and its contents.--Gunádhya and
Somadeva.--Final remarks on the stories found in the Kathá.--Antar, a
Bedouin romance.--Its partial translation.--Its supposed author.--Brief
description of the work, with some remarks upon it.--Both the 'Arabian
Nights' and Antar rather long.--The press in England
to-day.--Numerous writers of novels and story-books.--These take the
place of the 'Nights,' and satisfy the public, always in search of
something new, even if not true; something original, even if not
trustworthy.--Final remarks.
CHAPTER V.
ANECDOTES AND ANA.
In Persian literature the Gulistan, Negaristan, and Beharistan contain
many anecdotes.--In Arabic literature there are works of the same
kind.--'The Naphut-ul-Yaman,' or Breath of Yaman.--Six stories
translated from it.--The Merzuban namah, with newly translated
extracts from it.--Remarks on this work.--The Al-Mustatraf, or the
Gleaner or the Collector.--Two stories from it.--Two anecdotes taken
from the Sehr-ul-oyoon, or Magic of the Eyes.--A philosophic
discourse, translated from the Siraj-ul-Muluk, or Lamp of Kings.--The
Ilam en Nas, or Warnings for Men.--Eighteen stories from Ibn
Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary.--Seven anecdotes from various
sources.--Verses from the Arabic about the places where certain Arabs
wished to be buried.--Translation of the verses upon Alfred de Musset's

tomb in Paris.
Appendix.
Index.
CHAPTER I.
HISTORICAL.
The Arabia of to-day is bounded on the west by the Red Sea and Gulf
of Suez; on the south by the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea; on the
east by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf; and on the north by a
portion of Syria. This last boundary would, however, be more clearly
defined by drawing a line from Suez straight across to the western head
of the Persian Gulf.
By the Greeks and Romans this country was divided into Arabia Petræa,
Arabia Deserta, and Arabia Felix, or the Stony, the Desert, and the
Happy. The Arabs themselves call it 'The Land of the Arabs,' while
modern geographers give the Sinaitic peninsula as the first geographic
district; the Hijaz, including the Haram, or sacred territory of Mecca, as
the second; and Yaman, with the Tehamah, as the third. To these may
be added the provinces of Hadramant and Mahrah, and of Oman and
Hasa, to the south and east respectively, with Nejd, or Central Arabia,
as the central plateau, and some large deserts scattered in different parts
of the peninsula.
Of the revenues of Arabia it is almost impossible to form anything like
a correct estimate. The area of the country covers about 1,200,000
square miles, and the population is said to be from five to six millions,
of whom one-fifth consist of Ahl Bedoo, or dwellers in the open land,
otherwise known as Bedouins; and four-fifths of settled Arabs, called
Ahl Hadr, or dwellers in fixed localities.
The history of Arabia may be divided into three periods:
1st. The prehistoric period, full of tales of heroes, and giants, and

wonderful cities.
2nd. The period which preceded the era of Muhammad.
3rd. That which followed it.
The first period is mythical to a certain extent; at all events, nothing can
be stated positively about it. The second period is distinguished as one
of local monarchies and federal governments in a rough and rude form;
while the third commences with theocratic centralization, dissolving
finally into general anarchy.
Of the many tribes in Arabia, the most celebrated is the family of the
Koraish, still regarded as the noblest of the Arabs, partly because, at the
beginning of the fifth century A.D., their chiefs had rendered
themselves the masters and acknowledged guardians of the sacred
Kaabah at Mecca, and partly because of their connection with the
Prophet. The Kaabah, La Maison Carrée, or square temple, a shrine of
unknown antiquity, was situated within the precincts of the town of
Mecca, and to it, long before Muhammad's time, the Arabs had brought
yearly offerings, and made devout pilgrimages. The tribe of Koraish,
having once obtained the keys of the consecrated building, had held
them against all comers till Muhammad's conquest of Mecca in A.D.
630, when he handed over the key to Othman bin Talha, the former
custodian, to be kept by him and his posterity as an hereditary and
perpetual office, and he further confirmed his uncle Abbas in the office
of giving drink to the pilgrims.
Before entering into a somewhat lengthy description of Arabian
literature, it is necessary to give a short and rapid sketch of Arabian
history, beginning from the time of Muhammad, as his Koran was the
foundation of the literary edifice. All Arab authors have looked upon
that work as the height of eloquent diction, and have regarded it as the
model standard to be followed in all their productions. Leaving, then,
the two first periods of Arabian history, viz., the prehistoric, and the
pre-Muhammadan, without any particular notice, the third period will
be sketched