[FN#393] [In the Ms. “fahakat,” lit. she flowed over like a brimful vessel.—­St.]

[FN#394] In 1821, Scott (p. 214) following Gilchrist’s method of transliterating eastern tongues wrote “Abou Neeut” and “Neeuteen” (the latter a bad blunder making a masc. plural of a fem. dual).  In 1822 Edouard Gauttier (vi. 320) gallicised the names to “Abou-Nyout” and “Abou-Nyoutyn” with the same mistake and one superadded; there is no such Arabic word as “Niyut.”  Mr. Kirby in 1822, “The New Arabian Nights” (p. 366) reduced the words to “Abu Neut” and “Abu Neuteen,” which is still less intelligible than Scott’s; and, lastly, the well-known Turkish scholar Dr. Redhouse converted the tortured names to “Abu Niyyet” and “Abu Niyyeteyn,” thus rightly giving a “tashdid” (reduplication sign) to the Ya (see Appendix p. 430 to Suppl.  Vol.  No iii. and Turk.  Dict. sub voce “Niyyat").  The Arab. is “Niyyah” = will, purpose, intent; “Abu Niyyah” (Grammat.  “Abu Niyyatin”) Father of one Intent = single-minded and “Abu Niyyatayn” = Father of two Intents or double-minded; and Richardson is deficient when he writes only “Niyat” for “Niyyat.”  I had some hesitation about translating this tale which begins with the “Envier and the Envied” (vol. i. 123) and ends with the “Sisters who envied their Cadette” (Supple. vol. iii. 313).  But the extant versions of it are so imperfect in English and French that I made up my mind to include it in this collection.—­[Richardson’s “Niyat” is rather another, although rarer form of the same word.—­St.]

[FN#395] [I read:  “wa tukarribu ’I-’abda ilayya,” referring the verb to “al-Sadakh” (the alms) and translating:  “and it bringeth the servant near to me,” the speaker, in Coranic fashion supposed to be Allah.—­St.]

[FN#396] The text prefers the Egyptian form “Sherifi” pl.  “Sherifiyah,” which was adopted by the Portuguese.

[FN#397] The grace after meat, “Bismillah” being that which precedes it.  Abu Niyyah was more grateful than a youth of my acquaintance who absolutely declined asking the Lord to “make him truly thankful” after a dinner of cold mutton.

[FN#398] [The root “Kart” is given in the dictionaries merely to introduce the word “karit” = complete, speaking of a year, &c., and “Takrit,” the name of a town in Mesopotamia, celebrated for its velvets and as the birth-place of Saladin.  According to the first mentioned word I would take the signification of “Kart” to “complement” which here may fitly be rendered by “remainder,” for that which with regard to the full contents of the dinner tray is their complement would of course be their remainder with regard to the viands that have been eaten.—­St.]

[FN#399] For the “Zakat” = legal alms, which must not be less than two-and-a-half per cent, see vol. i. 339.

[FN#400] In text “Kazdir,” for which see vols. iv. 274 and vi. 39.  Here is may allude to the canisters which make great show in the general store of a petty shopkeeper.