with the serious phrase, " May the health, or
salutation (of Allah) be upon you," strikes
the Arabs as excessively offensive. Their
criticisms on such behaviour are endless. " It
must be a very ridiculous circumstance," they
remark, " to ask your relation or your friend:
How do you do? " In summer, in saluting a
superior, the straw hat must not be kept on
the head. In passing rapidly in front of
strangers whom it is intended to salute, the
hand is put upon the heart. Sometimes an
interesting conversation on peace, or war, or
other stirring topics, is interrupted by a
sudden recommencement of polite inquiries,
such as, How are you? Does your time
pass pleasantly? Is your tent well? And,
after the vocabulary of friendly expressions
is exhausted, the conversation is resumed at
the point where it stopped short. These
alternations of gossip with interludes of well-
bred inquiries are repeated in turn from time
to time, and occur with greater frequency in
proportion to the degree of friendship
entertained or the length of the previous absence.

If any one sneezes in your presence, you
must say, " Allah save you! " to which will
be replied, " Allah grant you his mercy!"
Eructation is not an act of rudeness; it is
permitted, as with the ancient Spaniards,
amongst whom, doubtless, the Arab dominion
left this trait as a souvenir. Before eating,
Allah is invoked in the following form: " In
the name of Allah! O my God, bless what
you now give us to eat; and when it is
consumed reproduce it."

The right hand must be employed for
eating and drinking, and not the left; for, " the
dæmon eats and drinks with his left hand."
A well-bred man will not drink in a standing
posture; he is obliged to be seated. When
any one drinks in your presence, do not
forget to say to him when he has done—
"Health! " understood, " May Allah give
you! " He will reply, " Allah save you!"
It is not allowable to drink more than once,
and that at the conclusion of a meal. Drink
was not made to increase, to prolong, or to
re-awaken appetite. When men are thirsty,
they have eaten enough; they drink, and the
repast is terminated. At table, they must
not make use of a knife. They wash their
hands before and after a meal; they carefully
rinse their mouths; otherwise they are
considered as extremely ill-bred. The Prophet
advised never to breathe upon the food. It
is very bad manners to watch others while
eating. If the master of the tent forgets
himself so far as to notice the slowness or
the rapidity with which his guests are eating,
he commits a breach of politeness which is
sure to draw down upon him a series of
repartees that will hit their mark. " To see
how ferociously you tear and swallow that
mutton, one would say that it had butted you
hard when alive; " was the speech addressed
to a poor wretch of noble birth, but fallen
into poverty, by a powerful chief who
entertained him. " To see how slowly and tenderly
you eat it, one would think that its mother
served as your wet-nurse," replied the Arab;
considering that, to reproach him with a meal,
was equivalent to an insult. A person who
receives company ought not to remain standing;
he is required to set the example, and
to be the first to seat himself. The guest whom
you receive will never think of such a thing as
to give orders to your servants. Great care
is taken not to spit in clean places.

A man who is what we call neat in his
person, who takes care to be well dressed
and to observe the rules of good society—
(and, amongst the Arabs, good society is that
which takes a pride in the religious observance
of the minutest details)—cuts his
moustachios to the level of the upper lip. and only
allows the corners to grow long. He is also
careful not to soil his dress in eating. An
Arab gentleman has his head shaved often;
once a-week. He has his beard trimmed
carefully, shaping it to a point. He never
neglects to cut his nails.

An Arab who goes into company, salutes,
speaks in his turn, and departs without
speaking. He does not take leave, unless
he is on the point of starting on a journey.
The only Arabs who act contrary to this custom
are those who have made acquaintance
with the French. In consequence of their
intercourse with Europeans, not a few natives
have contracted the habit of making their
adieux after a meeting or a visit; but those
who neglect to do so are not to be considered
unpolite. When an Arab has once started
on a journey, never call him back, even if he
has omitted things of the utmost importance.
According to his ideas, it would be sure to
cause him ill-luck. The emir Abd-el-Kader
never went counter to the universal custom,
which requires that when any one mounts on
horseback to make a long excursion, his wife,
his servant, or even his negress, should throw
water on the croup and feet of his horse.
This is at the same time a friendly wish and
a lucky omen. Sometimes the coffee-bearer
throws coffee on the horse's feet. To the
same class of ideas belongs the superstition
which causes a shower to be believed of good
augury when a traveller departs.
Water is always welcome in a country where it is often
deficient. Hence the frequent wish, " May
your spur be green," addressed to men in
authority. Its meaning is, " Prosper, and be
propitious; as water is propitious to the
harvest and the flocks." Politeness, however, is
carried further than mere words; the Arabs
contrive to flatter by actions. In a horse-
race, a kaïd and a powerful aga were
rivals; the kaïd did his very best to be
beaten, and succeeded. Whoever is aware
how much the self-esteem of the Arab is
mixed up with the reputation of his horse,
will appreciate the greatness of the sacrifice.
When the race was over, the aga said to the
kaïd, " Your horse is excellent; you must