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object of reverential fondness—wife and children kissing
it with the most tender and respectful affection. To ex-
press high value for a thing, they say, " it is worth more
than one's Beard."*
"Shame on your Beard!" is a term of reproach, and
" I spit on your Beard!" an expression of the most pro-
found contempt. When the Shah of Persia, in 1826, was
speaking to our Ambassador, (Sir J. Malcolm,) concerning
the Kussians, to shew how low he esteemed them, he
exclaimed, " I spit on their Beards !"t
To cut off the Beard is considered a deep disgrace and
degradation. The noted Wahabee Chief Saoud was ac-
customed to shave the Beard as a punishment for the
* Dr. Wolff says, Mahomed Effendi told Mm "that the Maho-
medans helieved that though Noah lived 1000 years, no hair of his
hlessed Beard fell off, or hecame white; while that of the Devil con-
sists only of one long hair;" and the same Mahomed, wishing to
compliment two midshipmen, " hoped they would some day have
fine long Beards like himself."
f Niehuhr says, " I once saw, in a caravan, an Arab highly
offended at a man who had accidentally bespattered his Beard. It
was with difficulty he could he appeased, even though the offender
humbly asked Ms pardon, and Mssed his Beard in token of submis-
sion." Though I avoided breaking the argument by its insertion
under the account of the Jews, it may be interesting to state, that
Moses, in Numbers, orders a man to be considered unclean for
seven days, whose Beard has been defiled in this way: and that
David could scarcely have devised a more efficient means to con-
vince Achish of Ms madness, than the expedient he adopted of
allowing his saliva to descend upon Ms Beard.
