Spirit of the times. [volume] (Ironton, Ohio) 1853-1858, 1855-02-13

| THE ORIENTALS AND THEIR
WAYS--HOW THEY WILL Elk.
AGGERATE. 4. ''f
To-day my friend from TImbuctoo
came up 10 have another talk. He was
curious to know tho ebiect Of my trav.
ole, and % he would not have compfe.
hended through the medium Of fiction.
informed him that had been dispatch.
ed by tho Sultan OF my country, 10 OBJ.
tam Information Of the countries Of Ar.
rics; that-I wrote in book accounts Of
everything ! saw. and on my return,
would present this book to the Sultan,
who would reward mo with high rank
peshsps even that Of Grand Vizier.-
Tho Orienssls deal largely in hyperbole,
and scatter numbers and values with the
most reckless profusion. The Arabic,
like tho Hebrew it's sister tongde, and
other original tongues Of Man, is Ian.
guge Of roots, and abounds with the
boldest metaphor. Now, exnggeration
10 put the imperfect form Of metsphor.--
The expression is always splendid am.
plifca,ion Of the simple fact. Like
skillful srchers, in order to hit the mark
they aim above it. When you have once
learned his stsndard Of truth, you can
readily gusge an Arabs expression, and
regulate your own accordingly. But
whenever I attempted 10 strike the key.
note myself, l generally found that il
was below rather than above, the Or.
iental pitch.
The Shekh had already Informed me
that the King Of Ashantee, when he had
visited, possessed twenty.four houses
full Of gold. and that the Sultan ol
Houssa had seventy thousand horses
always standing saddled before his pal.
ace, so that he might take his choice,
when he wished TO ride out. BY this he
did not mean that the facts we're precisely
50, but only that the King was very rich,
and the Sultan had great ma ny horses.
In order to give the Shekh an idea oil
the great wealth and power Of the Amer.
lean nation, l was obliged to adopt the
same plan. told him, therefore, that
our country was two years. journey in
extent. that the Treasury consisted oI
four thousand houses filled to the rool
with gold, and that two hundred thous.
and soldiers on horseback kept contin.
ual guard around Sultan Fillmore's pal.
ace. He received these tremendous
statements with the utmost serenity and
satisfaction. carefully writing them in
his book, together with the name Of Sui
tan Fillmore, whose fame has ere thit
reached the remote regions Of Timbuc.
too. The Shekh, moreover had The do.
sire Of visiting England, and wished me
to give him letter to the English Sui
tan. This rather exceeded my powers
but I wrote simple certificate explain.
ing who he was and whence he came
which | sealed with an immense display
Of wax, and gave him. In return he
wrote his name in my book, in the Mug
hrebbin character, adding the sentence
"There is no God but God"
| In the course Of his travels, on the
way frem jerusalem TO the Dead Sea-
he was under escort Of certain mounted
Bedouins to keep off the robbers. The
following paragraph will give some idea
of the scenery near the Brook Kedron
of Bible memory, as we'll as bring be-
fore us vivid picture Of the Water they
drank, and the Tomb Of Moses.
In half an hour more we reached two
large tanks. hewn out under the base o
limestone cliff, and nearly filled viii
rain. The surface was covered with {
|grsenish vegetable scum, and three wile
and dirty Arabs Of the hills were wash
ling themselves inthe principal ones
Oui Bedouins immediately dismountet
and followed their example, and afte
we had taken some refreshment, we hat
the satisfaction Of filling our ,Oater;jul
4 from the same sUeet pool. After tn i
! wsziett the San Saba road, and lnounte,
| the height east Of the valley. From
i that point. all sign Of cultivation an
Ihabitation disappeared. The mountain
4 we're grim, bare, and frightfully rugged
The scanty grass. coaxed into life b
| the winter rains. wasf already scorche'
! out Of all greenness; some punches 9
| villa sage, graphalium, and other hard
4 aromatic herbs, spotted the yellow sol
1 and ID sheltered places the scarlet pop
lpies burned like coals Of fire among III
.lsifts Of the grey limestone rock. Ou
track kept along, glepa and gorgss whic
sank on eithes hand 10 ardiszy dept
below, and wets SO steep as 10 be q
nnnsS 3 ;..s cnnaa;l,lA y sTha rau;nn IL I