Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1877-05-24

The fxUparr'S bsxrupAY.-llow
~ fpllowen ef Mohsmaed eelehrate
tkeir hfophet's nstpl day, is thus pic
'tuftd ~ tie Alex6ndria eossespnndent
oFt6s k66d0h 11Ass. 6iftike u the fsss
s1oyeis smmkNs6A q 4 .spssi1xsT7 ssI
.o~:.Lees ss&k - sisea pAelsii9oss
fereisisE by tAf AaApn.ssaR seF!asr
Nebbee, or orbirthday ieslsvsl 81 ffhe rf6pA-
n an1 erhei1n .sti1h In. snanxn af ahe
pilgrims Irom Mesep- The mosques are
~ <fNte5e teU. and crowds perform
l111res = ekoJnpCDooQ uoo9sut utieA
is offered up b. 4 lsfee company. sea-
ted cross-ieEeed. Who cry ilssa vhat
there u no Heity but God. and swing
their bodies fspidly backwards and for.
wsrds as they shout. until they become
% excited BY Vie motion that the aliit-
erativeventenee they utter--.la Nah,
la'-becomes merged in fere howl.
The pilgrims spread their merchandise
out for sale in the public spaces. and they
and their friends take their pleasure on
swings asdvhiflisigs. and smoke in the
coffee hou,eA Tents are put up. when
coffee. and pipes 60 on all day long. and
story tellers relate never-ending love sto.
RES, encouraged BY frequent "Ysh" OF
lazy enjoyment from the sudience.-
Punch has found bis vsy to Egypt, and
the Arabs intensely enjoy the apotheo-
sis Of marital power. while their prejud,-
ces are respected BY the yelling OF Ju-
dy's face siter the strictest fxshion Of
t6e harem. The whole fesivity culmi-
hstes in the 'Doseh,' the 'treadins,
when the Sheikh of the Saadeey,h der
wishes rides over the PROSTATE bodie.
of the faithful. 1t is still State cere-
mony. The Princes and Ministers all
attend, the Representatives Of European
Powers with their wives 60 to see It;
tourists crowd to Cairo for the occasion,
as they would tor IN Easter ceremony
At Jerusalem, or mystery play in Bar
varia. Yet it is almost rs degrading q
sight as the professions Of the Jugger-
naut car itself. -
"Some 200 or 800 men Of the Saa-
deeyah sect. the peculiarly Of whose
religion is that they eAt serpents and
frsckIAemselves with knives- BY way
of pleasing Allah and his Prophet. vol
UNFAIRLY lay themselves q The ground
in order that their Shell khs,nayr pass
over them on horseback; fkus treading
on their sins, and preGafi6E them for
paradise. They prime thethseives with
hssheesh, strong narcotics made from
hemp, with much the effect Of opium,
aud then are arranged by skilled pack.
ers. face DOWN. ards, SO as 10 present a
compact unbroken surface for the horse
to pass over. If the packers find q
naw in their arrangements, they seize
man from the crowd and jam him in
to 6ll the gap, and it would be decla-
ration Of rank heresy to say them nay.
Vast crowds Of nati' es assemble 10 SEE
the sight; the. Sheikh in all bis robes
appears, ,,txo men guide the horse,
who, by his hesitatipg, delicate tread.
alone seems to feei4 III Name and scan.
dsl OF the proeeedifk kof AshT progreS
ses, the men scrantp Abn hest they
can, mostly with ndd ddnpasaN3iISrt, bp,
some hardly able to move, and. few
carried away in 6ts. II is altogether a
degrading spectacle, and Unworthy ioi
country that claims 10 rank with civ
ilized nations. It's sole effect is TO keep
alive fanaticism, and this year an Eng.
lishman was SET upon and beaten by
Arabs, who would not raise a fnger
against a stranger at any other time OF
the year. TIE khedive is said TO dis.
approve, and never goes, but the at
tendance OF the Princes and digpitaries
still gives this scene the importance q
State ceremony. As they drive up Z
their broughams, perfect Europeans ii
speech and dress, one feels how much
this is country of contradictions"