vernors under whom they live, upon their oppressions becoming intolerable. Sir John Chardin tells us respecting them, that they carry their complaints against their governors by companies, consisting of several hundreds, and sometimes of a thousand; they repair to that gate of the palace near to which their prince is most likely to be, where they set themselves to make the most horrid cries, tearing their garments, and throwing dust into the air, at the same time demanding justice. The king, upon hearing these cries, sends to know the occasion of them. The people deliver their complaint in writing, upon which he lets them know that he will commit the cognisance of the affair to such or such an one. In consequence of this justice is usually done them.

This was done by way of contempt, as we find Shimei acting towards David, 2 Sam. xvi. 13. Mr. ОCKLEY, in his History of the Saracens, makes frequent mention of this as the practice of the Arabians, when they would express their contempt of a person speaking, and their abhorrence of what he publicly pronounces.

66 They seemed more jealous of my appearance among them than any I had seen. I was surrounded by them, and, 'A present! a present!' echoed from all quarters, before they would allow me to look at their temple. One, more violent than the rest, threw dust into the air, the signal both of rage and defiance, ran for his shield, and came towards me dancing, howling, and striking the shield with the head of his javelin, to intimidate me. A present, however, pacified him." LIGHT's Travels in Egypt, p. 64. KREBSII de Usu et Præstantia Romania Historia in N. T. Interpretatione, p. 104.

CHAP. XVIII.

WAR.

GENESIS, xiv. 15. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants by night, and smote them, and pursued

X

them.] The manner in which the Arabs harass the caravans of the East is thus described by CHARDIN (MS.). He tells us there, "that the manner of their making war, and pillaging the caravans, is to keep by the side of them, or to follow them in the rear, nearer or farther off, according to their forces, which it is very easy to do in Arabia, which is one great plain, and in the night they silently fall upon the camp, and carry one part of it before the rest are got under arms."

off

GEN. xxxii. 6. He cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.] Colonel CAPPER, in his Observations on the Passage to India, 1778, p. 63., thus describes an Arab encampment: "From this hill we could plainly perceive, at the distance of about three miles, an immense body of Arabs, which, as they had their families and flocks with them, looked like an encampment of the patriarchs. They first sent out a detachment of about four hundred men towards us, but finding we were drawn up to receive them, five men only advanced from their main body, seemingly with an intention to treat; on seeing which, we also sent five of our people on foot to meet them. A short conference ensued, and then both parties came to our camp, and were received with great ceremony by our Scheik. They proved to be Bedouins, under the command of Scheik Fadil, amounting together to nearly twenty thousand, including women and children. After much negotiation, our Scheik agreed to pay a tribute of one chequin for every camel carrying merchandise; but he refused to pay for those carrying tents, baggage, or provisions. They promised to send a refeek (a protecting companion of their own party) with us, till we were past all danger of being molested by any of their detached parties."

GEN. xxxii. 7. Then Jacob was greatly afraid, and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds, and the camels, into two bands.] This plan seems not to have been first invented by Jacob; but it may be conjectured that large caravans used at that time to take this precaution against hostile attacks.

Sir H. BLOUNT relates in his Travels (p. 9.), that he travelled with a caravan which had divided itself in like manner into two troops; one of which went before, being attacked by robbers, had an action with them, and were plundered, whereas the other escaped uninjured.

GEN. xlii. 9. Ye are spies.] Suspicions of this kind are still entertained by the Arabs of foreign travellers. SHAW says, that the Arabs take every stranger to be a spy, who comes to examine their country, because they are taught from their youth, that it is one day to come under the dominion of the Christians. But this excuse is not seldom a mere pretence for extortion, so that travellers find themselves in exactly the same situation as Joseph's brethren. RAUWOLFF, who went from Bir to Bagdad, on the Euphrates, in the autumn of the year 1574, in his description of it (vol. i. p. 166.), says, "After we had landed there (Racca), the custom-house officer immediately appeared on horseback on the beach, and demanded of the Turkish master of the boat to deliver up his arms, lance, and bow; which he refused, because it had never happened to him before: hereupon they got into such a violent dispute that they drew upon each other, and if the persons present had not interfered and appeased them, the consequences might have been serious. The reason that the custom-house officer was so angry, was principally because we did not go with our goods to the town of Carcihemit (which lies four days' journey further on the rapid river Tigris), and deposit them there, as he would then have had much more duty to receive. But as the Turk did not mind him, and also because he had nothing on board but corn, he at last left him, and came to us two as strangers, imagining he should sooner frighten us into the payment of his demands; he accordingly laid himself down between us the whole night on board, fearing we might take some goods out of the ship; he also assailed us with violent language, and said, that as we, being foreigners, were not permitted to travel through these countries, he must presume that we had come here more to obtain better

knowledge of the country, than for any other purpose; that he had, therefore, sufficient cause to lay an embargo on our goods, and send us both as spies to Constantinople, to his most gracious master the emperor, to be made his slaves." A similar circumstance occurred to them afterwards on the same journey (page 194.). "On the road, before we came to Anah, I perceived very well that several of my companions, to whom I had been particularly recommended as a stranger at Aleppo, left me, and began to negotiate with the master of the vessel, who was a native of that town, to denounce me there through other persons, that they might not appear to be concerned in it, to the magistrates as a spy, who carefully viewed and noted all places and towns; which, however, was principally done to frighten me, that they might make a better booty of me."

а

NUMBERS, Xxiii. 24. And drink the blood of the slain.] Captain FRANKLIN, who visited Shiraz, says, that “ person there assured him, that he saw a Turkoman soldier not only bathed his hands in the blood of some man who had been killed, but taking some in his joined palms, he drank a little, and with the remainder washed his beard, exclaiming, Shooker Allah, or Thanks be to God. The savage, by this action, meant to recommend himself to the monster he served, as one that delighted to drink the blood of the enemies of his chief." MALCOLM's History of Persia, vol. ii. p. 155.

NUMBERS, XXXV. 13. And of these cities which ye shall give, six cities ye shall have for refuge.] "The North

American Indian nations have most of them either a house or town of refuge, which is a sure asylum to protect a manslayer, or the unfortunate captive, if they can once enter it. The Cheerake, though now exceedingly corrupt, still observe that law so inviolably, as to allow their beloved town the privilege of protecting a wilful murderer, but they seldom allow him to return home afterwards in safety: they will revenge blood for blood, unless in some very particular case, where the eldest can redeem. In almost every Indian nation there are several

peaceable towns, which are called old beloved, ancient, holy, or white towns (white being their fixed emblem of peace, friendship, prosperity, happiness, purity, &c.): they seem to have been formerly towns of refuge, for it is not in the memory of their oldest people that ever human blood was shed in them, although they often force persons from thence, and put them to death elsewhere." ADAIR's Indians, pp. 158. 389.

"The stable of the king is deemed one of the most sacred of all sanctuaries. During the present reign, a nobleman of the first rank in the kingdom, who had aspired to the throne, took refuge in the royal stable, and remained there till he obtained pardon for his offence. The military tribes in Persia have always regarded this sanctuary with the most superstitious reverence. A horse, they say, will never bear him to victory by whom it is violated." MALCOLM'S History of Persia, vol. ii. p. 559. In a note it is added, that all the misfortunes of Nadir Meerza, the grandson of Nadir Shah, are attributed to his having violated the honour of the stable, by putting to death a person who had taken refuge there. The monarch or chief at whose stable a criminal takes refuge must feed him as long as he stays there; but he may be slain the moment before he reaches it, or that on which he leaves it; but when there, a slave who has murdered his master cannot be touched. The place of safety is at the head of the horse, and if that is tied up in the open air, the object of him who takes refuge is to touch the head-stall.

DEUT. vii. 2. Thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them.] The extermination of the Canaanites has been paralleled in other instances. Schah Abbaz extirpated the inhabitants of several villages in Persia, for their abominable wickedness. Ambassador's Travels, p. 294.

The Romans had three ways of exterminating a man from his country, namely, exileum, relegatio, and deportatio. The person condemned to exile, lost the rights of a citizen, and forfeited all kinds of property. Sentence