themselves with a
broad piece of cloth round the loins, and another across the shoulders.
In Oman trousers are rare, but over the shirt a long gown, of peculiar
and somewhat close-fitting cut, dyed yellow, is often worn. The women in
these provinces commonly put on loose drawers and some add veils to
their head-dresses; they are over-fond of ornaments (gold and silver);
their hair is generally arranged in a long plait hanging down behind.
All men allow their beards and moustaches full growth, though this is
usually scanty. Most Arabs shave their heads, and indeed all, strictly
speaking, ought by Mahommedan custom to do so. An Arab seldom or never
dyes his hair. Sandals are worn more often than shoes; none but the very
poorest go barefoot.

Slavery.

Slavery is still, as of old times, a recognized institution throughout
Arabia; and an illicit traffic in blacks is carried on along the coasts
of the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. The slaves themselves were obtained
chiefly from the east African coast districts down as far as Zanzibar,
but this source of supply was practically closed by the end of the 19th
century. Slaves are usually employed in Arabia as herdsmen or as
domestic servants, rarely in agricultural work; they also form a
considerable portion of the bodyguards with which Eastern greatness
loves to surround itself. Like their countrymen elsewhere, they readily
embrace the religion of their masters and become zealous Mahommedans.
Arab custom enfranchises a slave who has accepted Islam at the end of
seven years of bondage, and when that period has arrived, the master,
instead of exacting from his slave the price of freedom, generally, on
giving him his liberty, adds the requisite means for supporting himself
and a family in comfort. Further, on every important occasion, such as a
birth, circumcision, a marriage or a death, one or more of the household
slaves are sure of acquiring their freedom. Hence Arabia has a
considerable free black population; and these again, by inter-marriage
with the whites around, have filled the land with a mulatto breed of
every shade, till, in the eastern and southern provinces especially, a
white skin is almost an exception. In Arabia no prejudice exists against
negro alliances; no social or political line separates the African from
the Arab. A negro may become a sheik, a kadi, an amir, or whatever his
industry and his talents may render him capable of being. This is
particularly