[54]. An Arab idiom meaning, “I have not found thy good fortune (Ka’b = heel, glory, prosperity) do me any good.”
[55]. Arab. “Yá Nakbah” = a calamity to those who have to do with thee!
[56]. Koran cxii., the “Chapter of Unity.” See vol. iii. 307.
[57]. See vol. iii. 222.
[58]. Here the author indubitably speaks for himself, forgetting that he ended Night cclxxxi. (Bresl. iv. 168), and began that following with Shahrazad’s usual formula.
[59]. i.e. “Delight of the vitals” (or heart).
[60]. The trick is a rechauffé of the trick played on Al-Rashid and Zubaydah.
[61]. “Kalb” here is not heart, but stomach. The big toes of the Moslem corpse are still tied in most countries, and in some a sword is placed upon the body; but I am not aware that a knife and salt (both believed to repel evil spirits) are so used in Cairo.
[62]. The Moslem, who may not wear unmixed silk during his lifetime, may be shrouded in it. I have noted that the “Shukkah,” or piece, averages six feet in length.
[63]. A vulgar ejaculation; the “hour” referring either to birth or to his being made one of the Caliph’s equerries.