Page 462 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

XXII.J SOUTHERN ARABIA. 433

through a double line of his townsmen, who
castigate him as he passes with a short cord.
I once witnessed a case of mutilation for a
similar offence. A SGmali, who had pur­
loined some silver ornaments, being sen­

tenced to lose his hand, a slave, provided
with a common knife, performed the office of
executioner on the beach, in presence of the
whole town.
Makullah has recently been engaged in
one of those petty intestine broils, which in
Arabia so frequently attend the succession to
the government. The Bedowins called in to
assist either party, kept up a constant firing
at each other from the different parts of the
town they had got possession of. At length
the most influential individual was cut off
by poison, and the present Sheikh, Moham­
med Ibn Abder Abib, became securely in­

stalled. During a residence of some weeks
in Makullah, I saw much of this individual.
His administration was good, and his very
first measure evinced a mind superior to
the short-sighted policy of most eastern
rulers. He lowered the duties from ten to
five per cent, and, in consequence, all those

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