The History of Arabia: Ancient and Modern ...

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Harper & brothers, 1834 - Arabian Peninsula
... Containing a description of the country, an account of its inhabitants, antiquities, political condition, and early commerce, the life and religion of Mohammed, the conquests, arts and literature of the Saracens, the Caliphs of Damascus, Bagdad, Africa, and Spain, the civil government and religious ceremonies of the modern Arabs, oriign and suppression of the Wahabees, the institutions, character, manners and customs of the Bedouins and a comprehensive view of its natural history.
 

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Page 17 - Among the other spectacles of rare and stupendous luxury was a tree of gold and silver spreading into eighteen large branches, on which, and on the lesser boughs, sat a variety of birds made of the same precious metals, as well as the leaves of the tree. While the machinery affected spontaneous motions, the several birds warbled their natural harmony. Through this scene of magnificence the Greek ambassador was led by the vizier to the foot of the caliph's throne.
Page 21 - The queen (he spoke of Irene) considered you as a rook and herself as a pawn. That pusillanimous female submitted to pay a tribute, the double of which she ought to have exacted from the Barbarians. Restore therefore the fruits of your injustice, or abide the determination of the sword.
Page 396 - Who hath sent out the wild ass free? Or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? Whose house I have made the wilderness, And the barren land his dwellings. He scorneth the multitude of the city, Neither regardeth he the crying of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture, And he searcheth after every green thing.
Page 419 - I have seen at Medina and Tayf locust shops, where these animals were sold by measure. In Egypt and Nubia they are only eaten by the poorest beggars." " The Arabs, in preparing locusts as an article of food, throw them alive into boiling water with which a good deal of salt has been mixed. After a few minutes they are taken out and dried in the sun ; the head, feet, and wings are then torn off ; the bodies are cleansed from the salt and perfectly dried, after which process whole sacks are filled...
Page 189 - It is an irregular oval, about seven inches in diameter, with an undulated surface, composed of about a dozen smaller stones of different sizes and shapes, well joined together with a small quantity of cement, and perfectly...
Page 57 - ... the same God who has given a tongue to the Arabians, had more nicely fashioned the...
Page 217 - ... which was guarded by eunuchs in splendid dresses. Around this enclosure were pitched the tents of the men who formed her numerous suite. The beautiful embroidery on the exterior of -this linen palace, with the various colours displayed in every part of it, constituted an object which reminded me of some descriptions in the Arabian Tales of a Thousand and One Nights.

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