An old ’un and shifty.
From fifty to sixty—
A sorrow that sticks t’ye.
From sixty to seventy—
A curse of God sent t’ye.
For these and other sentiments upon the subject of women and marriage see Pilgrimage ii. 285–87.
[253]. Abdullah, as has been said, means “servant or rather slave of Allah.”
[254]. Again the “Come to my arms, my slight acquaintance,” of the Anti-Jacobin.
[255]. Arab. “Nukl,” e.g. the quatre mendiants as opposed to “Fákihah” = fresh fruit. The Persians, a people who delight in gross practical jokes, get the confectioner to coat with sugar the droppings of sheep and goats and hand them to the bulk of the party. This pleasant confection is called “Nukl-i-peshkil”—dung-dragées.
[256]. The older name of Madínat al-Nabi, the city of the Prophet; vulg. called Al-Medinah per excellentiam. See vol. iv. [114]. In the Mac. and Bul. texts we have “Tayyibah” = the goodly, one of the many titles of that Holy City: see Pilgrimage ii. 119.