A hut that the winds make tremble
Is dearer to me than a noble palace;
And a dish of crumbs on the floor of my home
Is dearer to me than a varied feast;
And the soughing of the breeze through every crevice
Is dearer to me than the beating of drums.
Compare with Dr. Carlyle’s No. X.:—
The russet suit of camel’s hair
With spirits light and eye serene
Is dearer to my bosom far
Than all the trappings of a queen, etc. etc.
And with mine (Pilgrimage iii. 262):—
O take these purple robes away,
Give back my cloak of camel’s hair
And bear me from this towering pile
To where the black tents flap i’ the air, etc. etc.
[FN#96] AI-Hajjaj’s tribal name was Al-Thakifi or descendant of Thakíf. According to Al-Mas’udi, he was son of Faríghah (the tall Beauty) by Yúsuf bin Ukayl the Thakafite and vint au monde tout difforme avec l’anus obstrué. As he refused the breast, Satan, in human form, advised suckling him with the blood of two black kids, a black buck-goat and a black snake; which had the desired effect.
[FN#97] Trebutien, iii., 465, translates these sayings into
Italian.
[FN#98] Making him a “Kawwád”=leader, i.e. pimp; a true piece of feminine spite. But the Caliph prized Al-Hajjaj too highly to treat him as in the text.
[FN#99] i.e. “The overflowing,” with benefits; on account of his generosity.
[FN#100] The seventh Ommiade A. H. 96-99 (715-719). He died of his fine appetite after eating at a sitting a lamb, six fowls, seventy pomegranates, and 11¼ lbs. of currants. He was also proud of his youth and beauty and was wont to say, “Mohammed was the Apostle and Abu Bakr witness to the Truth; Omar the Discriminator and Othman the Bashful, Mu’awiyah the Mild and Yazid the Patient; Abd al-Malik the Administrator and Walid the Tyrant; but I am the Young King!”