The popular saying about its people is 'Shami shumi！'--the Syrian is small potatoes （to render the sense Americanice）. Nor did Syrus，the slave in Roman days，bear the best of names. In Al-Hijaz the Syrian is addressed 'Abu Sham'（Father of Syria） and insulted as 'Abuser of the Salt'（a traitor）. Yet many sayings of Mohammed are recorded in honour of Syria，and he sometimes used Syriac words.
Such were 'Bakh，bakh'（=euge，before noticed），and 'Kakh，'a congener of the Latin Cacus and Caca which our day has docked to 'cack.'（Pilgrimage iii. 115）
[394] Koran xiv. 34. 'They （Unbelievers） shall be thrown therein （i.e.，the House of Perdition=Hell）；and an unhappy dwelling shall it be.'
[395] The leg-cut is a prime favourite with the Eastern Sworder，and a heavy two-handed blade easily severs a horse's leg.
[396] Mohammed repeatedly declared （Koran lxi.） that the Christians had falsified the passage （'I go to my Father and the Paraclete shall come，'John xvi. 7） promising the advent of the Comforter，{Greek letters} （ibid. xiv. 20；xv. 26） by substituting the latter word for {Greek letters} glorious，renowned，i.e.，Ahmed or Mohammed=the praised one. This may have been found in the Arabic translation of the Gospels made by Warakah，cousin to Mohammed's first wife；and hence in Koran lxi. we find Jesus prophesying of an Apostle 'whose name shall be Ahmad.'The word has consequently been inserted into the Arabic Gospel of Saint Barnabas （Dabistan iii.67）. Moslems accept the Pentateuch，the Psalter and the Gospel；but assert （Koran，passim.） that all extant copies have been hopelessly corrupted，and they are right. Moses，to whom the Pentateuch is attributed，notices his own death and burial--'the mair the miracle，'said the old Scotch lady. The 'Psalms of David'range over a period of some five hundred years，and there are three Isaiahs who pass with the vulgar for one. The many apocryphal Gospels，all of which have been held genuine and canonical at different times and in different places，prove that the four，which are still in use，were retained because they lack the manifest absurdities of their discarded rivals.
[397] Arab. 'Labbayka；'the Pilgrimage-cry （Night xxii.） which in Arabic is，Labbayk'Allahumma，Labbayk'！
La Sharika lake，Labbayk'！
Inna 'l-hamda w'al ni'amata lake wa'l mulk！
Labbayk'Allahumma，Labbayk'！
Some add 'Here am I，and I honour Thee，the son of Thy two slaves；
beneficence and good are all between Thy hands.'With the 'Talbiyah'
the pilgrims should bless the Prophet，pray Allah to grant Heaven and exclaim，'By Thy mercy spare us from the pains of Hell-fire！'
（Pilgrimage iii. 232.） Labbayka occurs in the verses attributed to Caliph Ali；so labba=he faced，and yalubbu=it faces （as one house faces another）；lastly，he professed submission to Allah；in which sense，together with the verbal noun 'Talbiyah，'it is used by Al-Hanri （Pref. and Ass. of Su'adah）.
[398] Arab. 'Kissis'（plur. Kusus） from '.
[399] Koran ii. The 'red cow'is evidently the 'red heifer'of Barnabas，chaps. vii.
[400] Arab. 'Al-Jasalik'={Greek letters}.
[401] This is from the first 'Gospel of Infancy，'wherein Jesus said to his mother，'Verily I am Jesus，the Son of God，the Word which thou hast brought forth，as the Angel Gabriel did declare unto thee；and my Father hath sent me to save the world'（chaps. i.2.）. The passage is virtually quoted in the Koran （chaps. iii.141），of course omitting 'the Son of God'
[402] Mohammed allowed his locks to grow down to his ear-lobes but never lower.
[403] Arab. 'Lisam'I have explained as a covering for the lower face，made by drawing over it the corner of the head-kerchief （Pilgrimage i. 346）. The Lisam of the African Tawarik hoods the eyes so that a man must turn up his face to see，and swathes all the lower half，leaving only the nose exposed. And this is worn by many men by night as well as by day，doubtless to avoid the evil eye. The native Sultans of Darfur，like those of Bornu and others further west，used white muslin as a face-wrap：hence，too，the ceremonies when spitting，etc.，etc. The Kufiyah or head-kerchief of the Arabs soon reached Europe and became in Low Latin Cuphia；in Spanish Escofia；in Ital. Cuffia or Scuffia；in French Escoffion，Scofion （Reine Marguerite） Coeffe （une pellicule，marque de bonheur） Coiffe and Coife，&c.；the Scotch Curch or Coif，opposed to the maiden snood，and，lastly our Sergeant-at-Law's Coif.
Littre，the Learned，who in erudition was ne coiffe，has missed this obvious derivation.
[404] 'Cutting，'throughout the book，alludes to the scymitar with which Arabs never give point；and 'thrusting'to the footman's spear and the horseman's lance.
[405] A popular phrase，I repeat，for extreme tenor and consternation.
[406] The name usually applies to a well-known district and city of Al Yaman，where 'Koss the eloquent'was bishop in Mohammed's day：the Negiran of D'Herbelot. Here，however，it is the Syrian Najran （Nejran of Missionary Porter's miserable Handbook），now a wretched village near the volcanic Lajja，about one hundred and twenty miles direct south of Damascus and held by Druzes and Christians.
[407] The Kantar （quintal） of 100 ratls （Ibs.） =98-99 Ibs.avoir.
[408] Arab. 'Jurab （bag） mi'adat- ih （of his belly），'the 'curdling of the testicles'in fear is often mentioned.
[409] Clearly alluding to the magic so deeply studied by mediaeval Jews.