G2 HABITS AND CUSTOMS.

other is perfectly frightful ; for the blows are dealt with the utmost severity, and the weapon is sufficiently formidable to cause an immense ecchymosis with the very first stripe,—with the third or fourth blow the blood begins to flow most copiously. Not the slightest expression of pain is uttered by either party, and the umpires remain cool spectators of the scene. Thus the duellists persevere with their barbarous cruelty, until the one or the other, overcome with pain, or exhausted with fatigue, throws down his whip, whereupon the victor does the same, and both shake hands, in sign of mutual satisfaction. Their comrades now rend the air with their exclamations of joy, and congratulate them on their reconciliation; their lacerated backs are washed with water, and the affair terminates with a copious libation of merissa, sundry jugs of which had been provided beforehand for the occasion.

Similar causes sometimes give rise to another species of duel, far more dangerous in its consequences than the latter, for it frequently terminates with an injury, the effects of which are felt during life, or even with the loss of the use of a limb. The combatants, on this occasion, are also divided by an angareb; but, in dealing out their alternate blows, they pay no attention to the part they fall upon, whether the face, or any other sensitive portion of the body, and thus severe injuries are always the result. These duels are, however, rare, and mortal quarrels are generally fought out in