The Sun.
London, England, 1841-07-27 00:00:00

„„.. . • .
TURKISri SAINTS. '1
•
suppressed
Asiab a superiortll ere o once
d .
(Translated from "The Book of a Hundred Strange Anec-
dotes,” printed in Turkish a few months ago, and then
totally
sheikh. lie resided in the turbo (mausoleum) of a saint,
whose origin no ene knew, but who was universally ?-
In lived a celebrated
a country of
f
pro-
nounced to have been a most holy man, a pattern of
Moslem virtues. The thousands of visitors who annually
flocked to the turbe left their offerings in abundance. One
brought olive oil, to feed the lamp which night and day
shed its lustre over the resplendent tomb of the saint ;
another a fatted calf ; a third poultry ; and a fourth sheep
for his own consumption. Thus the sheikh was relieved
from the necessity of earthly anxieties, and had full leisure
to devote himself to the laudable and all-absorbing con-
templation of futurity. His fame increased daily, and
the young dervish, who succeeded in becoming his ser-
vant and disciple, esteemed himself most happy ; he par-
ticipated to a certain extent in the glories and good living
of his master, and on the strength of having served so
eminent a sheikh, he, after a while, went forth into the
world, and set up for his own account with complete cer-
tainty of success.
It so happened that one-#Of the disciples of the sheikh,
who was a lazy and stupid fellow, had remained at the
thrhe for ten long years, without having once shown the
slightest inclination to make way for others. The sheikh,
therefore, one day called him,
and putting into his hand
the halter of an ass, he thus addressed him :—" You can
learn nothing more here, my son, go and travel. Mount
the ass, and may Allah and the prophet guide you, vorler
ossoon (bon voyage)." The disciple most respectfully
kissed the hand of the holy man, and taking hold of the
halter, he, without uttering a syllable, led forth his ass,
with the intention of mounting it as soon as he was clear
of the premises, but failed not, cre he had gone many
steps, to perceive that the animal was dead lame, and so
weak that to mount him was out of the question. He
therefore renounced all hope of that, cut a thick stick
from the first hedge, and commenced urging on his
ass in the most persuasive manner possible. Thus
he continued his journey for a fortnight, and
would have gone on still further, but the days
of the ass were numbered ; the animal, worn out, fell
down by the road-side, and died. The dervish began to
think what. he had best do. "If I leave the dead ass
-here, the flesh will soon become corrupt, and I, being a
stranger, am sure to be ill-treated, perhaps bastinadoed
and put in prison, loaded with chains." He therefore
determined on burying his ass just .where it had fallen ;
this done he heaped the earth over the grave in the
usual orthodox way, and, greatly fatigued with his
labour, sat down near the
grave, lamenting over the
cheerlessness of his prospects. W hilst thus occupied
ha observed a number of men coming over the plain ;
they were•well dressed, mounted on beautiful horses,
richly housed, and their attention was attracted to the
dervish seated at the head of a fresh made grave. One
of them remarked, " There must have been two der-
vishes'; one of them having died on the road has been
buried by his surviving companion." To this they had
so completely made up their minds, that without asking
any needless questions, they respectfully approached
the traveller and said, " God give you health ; we see
you have lost your brother, but let your grief cease ; we
are, thank God, pious people here ; we will build a turbe
over his sweet-smelling ashes ; you also shall be cared
for, therefore give not a thought for the future." The
dervish saw it would not be for his interest to undeceive
them ; he consequently remarked that it was indeed
hard to lose a companion with whom he had passed so
many years, and who had never, during the whole course
of their acquaintance, uttered an offensive word, or an
untruth, whilst he was a real pattern of patience ; but
that when he saw honour prepared for his remains it was
indeed consolation of the right sort—he was rejoiced. In
a word, a splendid turbe was speedily built, a lamp burnt
constantly over the tomb, the dervish was. installed as
sheikh, the faithful crowded in from all quarters to visit
the tomb of the new saint, and, in the course of time,
the mausoleum became the most celebrated in all Asia.
The reputation of the sheikh was unrivalled. It was
deemed scarcely a miracle if wonders were worked over
the remains of so holy a saint. The old sheikh, the
former master of the new one, at last perceived that his
glory was eclipsed, and lie determined on haying a visit to
his successful rival, with a view of acquiring a little of
that real knowledge, of which he felt he stood so much in
need. The journey was long, but he performed it with
pleasure, and, on entering the turbe, what was his sur-
prise, on perceiving that the shiekh, whose renown was
so great, was neither more nor less than his old servant,
whom he had discarded. many years before for incorri-
gible stupidity l The other also knew him, but neither
gave signs of recognition, and the new sheikh began to
hope that his former master's memory was not so good
as his own. The old sheikh became the musafir, or
guest of the other ; and several days having passed, one
evening, when they were quite alone, he asked his
quondam disciple to relate to him by what wonderful
turn of fortune he had acquired such reputation. The
other replied, " I owe it to the wretched, lame, and dy-
ing ass you gave me when I left you. There lies his
tomb—the merit be on him !" " Vai," exclaimed the
first sheikh, " that is, indeed, adjaceb (strange), for
know, that in the turbe, in which myself have gained
such extensive honour and profit, repose the remains of
the father of your ass."

THE FOREST OF PEACOCKS.
An officer of the 30th Bengal Native Infantry writes
thus—" On the 6th of April we arrived at Chatteer, and '
entered upon the skirts of the great Moburbunge, better
known as the Forest of Peacocks. The jungle hereabout
g 11 a .IsVs epleanicn,msi situated
eadt
runs excessively heavy, and the hills, which arc chiefly
composed of laterite, a species of compact iron sand stone,
are rugged in the extreme, and are studded up to their
emir,om favouriteva rk.
av
be 711
ts
seven
tos,cliov ictkh,
At e.2,ark. trees.ualpiodnsaauslnlai
between two lofty heights, embedded in limest, ;laving
pitched our tents contiguous to an old disused water tank,
which ryas completely choked with the lotus (Indian water
plily j,
e r carsel h,laiodmtih he a rlb misfortuneroti gh o utt's)v iltohs me
worth, who, in the act of slaking his thirst after a long
and hot morning's march, was carried off by an alliga-
tor. Although the heat of the sun was excessive, never-
theless myself and two brother officers ventured, after a
coc double-barrelled slender breakfast, to take Oe field, and equipped with three
foot ofgu tnlsi nearestfiuttheb
village coolies as our guides, entJed the Forest of Pea-
e
seemed to pervade ' these deep rocks mid solitary glens.
m;nition. and a few
ill.
uttered to
death-like silence
Not a leaf was seen to move, nor a 6!:911d
awaken the ear, save,. ever and anon, the harsli sz;:ealn.9f
the peacock, or the sonorous grunt of some half frant:f.
elk, as the latter lay encouched in his lair, impatieni .`.`f
the annoyance of the myriads of mosquitoes which worry
these animal's during the day almost to madness. In
descending a defile we perceived, on a small green patch,
about eighty yards from us, four wolves greedily picking
the skeleton carcase of a deer, or other animal, which had,
no doubt, fallen a victim to the predatory appetite of
some marauding leopard or tiger. On reaching the
terminus of a slope we came upon a spacious valley, in
which were feeding some hundreds of peafowl. We
contrived to get within sixty yards of them before they
attempted to- retire into the bamboo thickets, which
were profusely distributed throughout this retired
spot ; and as they gracefully paraded, in the act of with-
drawing themselves from view into the jungle, their rich
luxuriant plumage, played upon by the sun's beams, ap-
peared like so many moving bodies profusely studded
with precious gems of the most surpassing brilliancy.
The work of slaughter now began. Every thicket fur.
nished six or more birds for our marks, and, with three
double-barrel guns, charged with No. 2 shot, you may
imagine that the havoc among them which followed was
terrible. We succeeded in bringing down twenty-
seven of these noble birds, and might have considerably
exceeded that number had it not been that the subduing
influence of the sun prompted us, against our will, to
seek the shady covert of the forest, and to make our best
way back to the encamping ground. We crossed several
mullahs, on the muddy banks of which were visibly im-
pressed the telltale footsteps of various tigers, leopards,
and other like wild and ferocious animals, which, during
the still hours of night, were in the habit of repairing
to these haunts to quench their burning thirst. This
forest is an unexplored wilderness as to the interior, in
which some of the largest rivers in the south-western
parts of India take their rise, and inhabited only by the
most ferocious beasts that are indigenous to that exten-
sive tract of country.

.
. THE FAST DAi..--Yesterday was the day ap-
pointed by the General Assembly to be observed. as a
Fast Day—we forget the terms in which the reasons
were couched—but really and truly for the hinderances
and troubles experienced by the Non-Intrusionists from 1
the Government on one side, and still more from Tories,
Moderates, and Voluntaries, oft the other. Happening
to be the half-yearly sacrimentat fast both of the parish
church and the secession and relief congregations in this
town, the day was of course universally and reverently
observed by the inhabitants. But for this circumstance,
,I) is s e nsten
tresm,
ptth.c
sa
op appointment ilrivtams eanttcwolodusltdreahma:e whereb cen,
we have no doubt that, by most Churchmen as well as
. ~
,- ergy a observed a public service
1 superiors,.emsianstincord.:torerespetchte
to tho
btarlye-tialt,te.hmedowt
in obedience $o his et,. .
t'iliddicgiiii4lxillsl", 6ln the t:s .
shops
and labour carried on as
ittlhlec;aris.. .!
were all Upend, find bugines.
,111.41flikfere It it* not the sfteilinrn`-- -11;lw
,entry parishes
ftlaa:soiltuhnitiatittuies •,1 fast e
hear that no better respect Was paid to the Am*, Y,
:is
appaiiittuutit 1 and we may :afely affirm, that by 74.-. '
legislittieit the Church of Scotland is destroying instead
of ntigideitting its authority, On fitting occasions the
people of Seottod Jive ittl reluctance to spend a day in
religious services ; but religion eeght not to be dese-
crated to political and factious purposes, as we hold it
11t5 baen in this instance.—Kelso Chronicle.
hint OF BounFION AND THE FAIR SEX.
~401111 the &cond, Duke of Bourbon, instituted in the
felt 1369 an Order of chivalry. One of the statutes of
8 is curious, and shows the high opinion he entertained
of the ifilitioxe of the female sex upon the virtue and
Virss Of within& According to this statute, the
id - it§ NO obliged to pay due respect to the ladies,
both marflefi Mid tlittnatrred, and never to suffer any-
thing derogatory to their reputation to be said in their
presence. "For," adds the statute, " those that speak
ill of women have very littl,2 lionour, and, to their dis-
grace be it mentioned, say of ita.t aox, which cannot re-
venge itself, what they would not dare to say of a man ;
for from women, after God, arises a great part of the
honour that there is in the world."
TESTIMONIAL TO ME. BAINES.—The public
breakfast to Mr. Baines, at the Bell Hotel, on Friday, was
numerously and respectably attended, the Rev. E. Miall in the
chair. About two hundred, among whom was a large sprink-
ling of ladies, sat dov.n on the occasion. The meeting was ad-
dressed by the Reeds. G. Legge, J. E. Giles (of Leeds). S.
P. Mursell, J. Webb (of Arnesby), Toiler (of Harborough).
ai.d Mr. Childs (of Bunga,v). &c. &c. A splendidly bound
Bible was presented to Mr. Baines by the chairman,Who re-
turned thanks for the testimonial of respect thus shown- to him
n
in an appropriate speech. The
. ..
meeting broke up about two
o'clock.—Lescoler
,Chronicle.