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by a reference to ancient tombs. If the sure place can be supposed to mean the sepulchre or the treasury, and frequently, as in the sepulchres of the kings of Jerusa lem, and the tombs of the kings of Pergamos, the sepulchres were converted into treasure houses, then the tombs in the island of Milo will be a happy illustration, within which I have myself seen nails fixed all round above the places where the bodies were deposited, and upon these nails were fixed vessels of small quantity,' vases of all forms and sizes."-Discoveries, vol. ii. pp. 61, 62.

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CHAPTER V.

FURNITURE.

FURNITURE OF THE TENT OF AN ARAB COFFEE HUT-SEATS -DIVANS-BEDS - LAMPS -TORCHES, ETC.-LEATHERN BOTTLES-WATER-VESSELS-HORNS-MILLS-MORTARS-KNEAD

ING-TROUGHS.

FURNITURE OF THE TENT.

MR. MADDEN thus describes the furniture of an Arab camp. It consists of few and simple articles, of the same kind as have always been used by the dwellers in tents :

"A couple of copper boilers, two small grindingstones, a leather bag to churn milk in, some waterskins, a wooden bowl, a goblet or two of tin or horn, a mat, and sometimes a coffee-pot, are all the earthly possessions of a Bedouin-besides his cattle and his fire-arms.”—MADDEN's Travels, vol. ii. p. 192.

Very similar, though more minute, is Burckhardt's description. According to him, the carpets which separate the different apartments, and those which cover the ground, the wheat-sacks and camel-bags, piled round the middle post, like a pyramid; the camels' packsaddles, upon which the sheikhs or the guests recline, the camel-driver's stick, the butter and water-skins, the leather in which camels are watered, and the leather bucket in which the water is drawn up from deep wells, a few copper pans used in cookery, the hand-mill, the mortar in which wheat is pounded, the towel which is spread under the mortar, to save any flour that might fall, the wooden bowl into which the camels are milked, the wooden water-cup, the wooden coffee-mortar, the coffee-pot, three stones on which the pan is placed over

AN ARAB COFFEE-HUT.-SEATS-DIVANS-BEDS.

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the fire, and the horse's feeding-bag; these form the treasures of an Arab's tent, and are all that is necessary for his repose when weary, or for the preparation of his simple fare. See BURCKHARDT'S Notes on the Bedouins, &c., vol. i. pp. 40, 43, 47.

FURNITURE OF AN ARAB COFFEE HUT.

"The chimney was the important field of action. On the right was hung up the iron coffee-roaster; opposite, from another nail, was suspended the tripod; on the hearth, at the left, was placed a small round wooden box of coffee, with a small iron spoon, about one-eighth the size of a small tea-spoon. When a visitor came in, and, from the weather, they were numerous, immediately three spoonfuls of coffee were put into a small coffee boiler of tin, holding about a very small tea-cup, and the boiler filled up with hot water from an earthen jug which stood before the fire, and in which the grounds or thick coffee from the small boiler were regularly poured. In about two or three seconds after this was placed on the fire it was ready to be served, indicated by boiling over. By the side of the round coffee-box stood a small earthen pan, with water, in which the cups were washed after being used, and then placed on a small shelf by its side. The lamp, or chandelier, was a piece of bent iron, with the end turned up to fix itself against the side of the. chimney. Almost the only remaining article of furniture undescribed was the money box, with a hole in the top."-ARUNDELL's Visit to the Seven Churches of Asia, pp. 20, 21.

SEATS-DIVANS-BEDS.

GEN. xlviii. 2.

"And one told Jacob, and said, Behold thy son Joseph cometh unto thee and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed (divan).”

xlix. 33.

"And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, (drew them up on the divan,) and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people."

1 SAM. xix. 15.

"And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him."

xxviii. 23.

"He arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed."

2 SAM. iv. 5.

"Ishbosheth...lay on a bed at noon."

1 KINGS xxi. 4.

"And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased ...and he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread."

2 KINGS i. 4.

"Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die." (Psalm cxxxii. 3.)

xx. 2, 3.

"Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord.... And Hezekiah wept sore.

NEHEMIAH ix. 22.

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"Thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners (didst appoint them to the corner, the place of honour).

ESTHER Vii. 8.

“And Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was."

EZEKIEL Xiii. 18.

"Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes ...to hunt souls!"

AMOS iii. 12.

As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch."

vi. 1, 4.

"Woe to them that are at ease in Zion...that lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches."

LUKE V. 18, &c. MATT. ix. 6.

"And behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy...and...they went upon the house-top, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus."

"Then saith he to the sick of the palsy, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God."

"As the floors are spread with carpets, and cushions are laid round the walls, one cannot sit down, without inconvenience, on the ground; and the use of chairs is unknown in the East. The Arabians practise several different modes of sitting. When they wish to be very much at their ease, they cross their legs under the body. I found, indeed, by experience, that this mode of sitting is the most commodious for people who wear long clothes, and wide breeches, without any confining ligatures. It seems to afford better rest after fatigue than our posture of sitting upon chairs. In presence of superiors* an Arab sits with his two knees touching each other, and with the weight of the body resting upon the heels. As in this position a person occupies less room than in the other, this is the posture in which they usually place themselves at table. I

* 1 Chron. xvii. 16.

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