as, or Warnings for Men.--Eighteen stories from Ibn
Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary.--Seven anecdotes from various
sources.--Verses from the Arabic about the places where certain Arabs
wished to be buried.--Translation of the verses upon Alfred de
Musset's tomb in Paris.

Appendix.

Index.

CHAPTER I.

HISTORICAL.

The Arabia of to-day is bounded on the west by the Red Sea and Gulf of
Suez; on the south by the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea; on the
east by the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf; and on the north by a
portion of Syria. This last boundary would, however, be more clearly
defined by drawing a line from Suez straight across to the western
head of the Persian Gulf.

By the Greeks and Romans this country was divided into Arabia Petraea,
Arabia Deserta, and Arabia Felix, or the Stony, the Desert, and the
Happy. The Arabs themselves call it 'The Land of the Arabs,' while
modern geographers give the Sinaitic peninsula as the first geographic
district; the Hijaz, including the Haram, or sacred territory of
Mecca, as the second; and Yaman, with the Tehamah, as the third. To
these may be added the provinces of Hadramant and Mahrah, and of Oman
and Hasa, to the south and east respectively, with Nejd, or Central
Arabia, as the central plateau, and some large deserts scattered in
different parts of the peninsula.

Of the revenues of Arabia it is almost impossible to form anything
like a correct estimate. The area of the country covers about
1,200,000 square miles, and the population is said to be from five to
six millions, of whom one-fifth consist of Ahl Bedoo, or dwellers in
the open land, otherwise known as Bedouins; and four-fifths of
settled Arabs, called Ahl Hadr, or dwellers in fixed localities.

The history of Arabia may be divided into three periods:

1st. The prehistoric period, full of tales of heroes, and giants, and
wonderful cities.

2nd. The period which preceded the era of Muhammad.

3rd. That which followed it.

The first period is mythical to a certain extent; at all events,
nothing can be stated positively about it. The second period is
distinguished as one of local monarchies and federal governments in a
rough and rude form; while the third commences with theocratic
centralization, dissolving finally into general anarchy.

Of the many tribes in Arabia, the most celebrated is the family of the
Koraish, still regarded as the noblest of the Arabs, partly because,
at the be