34 GOVERNMENT.

and burnt his body; he received twenty wounds, and not until he writhed like a worm with pain and anger did the governor put a stop to the cruelty.

The true criminal was shortly after this discovered, and the son of the Sheikh, who had been so frightfully tortured, was now proved to be innocent ; but no one could alleviate his sufferings, and any further compensation was totally out of the question.

When an individual is guilty of any offence, the examination generally takes place as soon as he is arrested, judgment is quickly passed, and instantly executed. Two circumstances are, however, necessary for the conviction of the party accused, namely, detection in the act, or confession. If he plead not guilty, and deny the charge, he is submitted to torture, and thus it frequently happens that the innocent suffer for the guilty.

Stealing a slave, an ox, a camel, an ass, &c., is punished by the loss of a hand. The judgment is executed by the first butcher casually met with in the streets. The delinquent is ordered to lay his hand upon a block, in which situation it is held down by two men : the butcher then chops it off. The stump is immediately thrust into a vessel containing butter, heated nearly to the boiling point, which stands in readiness, for the purpose of stopping haemorrhage, and preventing mortification, and the limb is then enveloped in a rag. In the course of ten minutes all is over, and the sufferer returns home.