Chenín burd o áward o áward o burd,
Kih dáyeh pas-i-pardeh zi ghussah murd.
He so came and went, went and came again,
That Nurse who lay curtained to faint was fain.
[333]. Alluding to the fighting rams which are described by every Anglo-Indian traveller. They strike with great force, amply sufficient to crush the clumsy hand which happens to be caught between the two foreheads. The animals are sometimes used for Fál or consulting futurity: the name of a friend is given to one and that of a foe to the other; and the result of the fight suggests victory or defeat for the men.
[334]. Arab. “Jauhar” = the jewel, the essential nature of a substance. Compare M. Alcofribas’ “Abstraction of the Quintessence.”
[335]. In parts of the Moslem world Al-Jabr = the tyranny, is the equivalent of what we call “civil law,” as opposed to Al-Sharí’ah, or Holy Law, the religious code; Diwan Al-Jabr (Civil Court) being the contrary of the Mahkamah or Kazi’s tribunal. See “First Footsteps in East Africa,” p. 126.
[336]. i.e. in offering thee the kingship.
[337]. i.e. “a man of fourscore.”
[338]. i.e. outside the city.