Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1877-10-06
The Ado rattan of Mohammed's Man.

IL is now the month of Ramazau over Ia
Turkey and other Mohammedan countries
the Lent OF their religion; and the Mussul-
mans o. CoustantinOple have had their an
bual pleas cure IN adoring the relics of the
prophet. Five or these relics are In the pal
ace OF the seraglio; The chief OF these Is the
SaEJAk sheTeef, or holy standard. which is
believed 10 have been either the curtain OF
Aeesha's tent, or the turbaln wInder of one
o. Mohammed's converted foes aud warmest
disciples. Nobody can pos sibly know which
IL l., for IL il seWed inside OF something
called the Caliph Omar's standard, and tn Al
n something else, until there are 40 diifer.
eut sacks or cases of rich stuffs, one over The
other, and the whole treasure Is tucked into
rosewood Golfer, inlald with mother Of
pearl, tortoise shell and precious sto les
III e second treasure is a mantle with his
tory. There were six learned Pagan Arabs
whom Mahomet desiring TO convert, defied To
produce any writing more beautiful tn An the
Koran. Five OF the pagans gave in at once,
but the sixth stuck to II u at the Koran was
vulgar affair, aud was consequently driven
INTO the desert, where he came to his senses
and wrote poem which ranks in the esti
nation OF all the Mussulmans only Just
below the Koran. The poem appeaseI the
Prophet, who in his delight threw over The
writer's shoulders his own mantle. which is
The one referred to. The third relic is the
Prophets beard, shaved from his chin after
death; il Is about three inches long, OF q
lightish brown color, without a gray hair,
and is preserved In a glass reliQuary. Tae
other articles are tooth knocked out of
Mohammed's jaw by a battle AK and a foot
print OF The Prophet in a rock, some say
when he was helping the masOns lift heavy
say when he jerked himself into a seat On
Al Berak, his magic steed. On The
lj!h OF RAmaZan the Sultan. his court and
lie principal dignitaries of religion CD
and adore. The mantle is taken out of the 10
coverings which enveiOp 10 as The holy ban
her is envelOpet, and the Sultan aud the
rest, one after the other, press Its hem to their
lips, The chamberlain touching the spot each
time with an embroidered handkerchief,
which he Then presents to the devotae. Afer
all have kissed the garment the Sheikh-ul
Islam and the chief OF Emrs with napkins
and pure water wipe and dry IL. The water.
having by the process become holy, is'the
peIqulsite OF the agha or head euEuch OF the
Virgins department, and he distributes il
among the tdvOrites OF the harem Of the Sui
IAN and OF other grand dignitarIes. 10 each
one vial there OF sealed with the agGa's sig
net. This parsonage, and the mess engsrs
who carry IL, are gi zen costly presents, aud
the water, when received, is dOIed out drop
by drop, and, mixed with other water, Is
dlabk Immediately upon breaking fast dur
ing The remainder OF the Ramazan.
WHAT Is SAID OF AMERICAN AsrRoNo-
MERS IN EUKoPE.-T The late NJ. LeycrrIer,
The Astronomer, characterized Prot. Asiph
Halls discovery OF the satellites OF Mars as
''une des plus lmportantes observations de
iastronomie mOderne," and Ndture speaks
OF Ii as foilOws:-''It is In the highest degree
an honor to American science. Tne nlaguifi-
cent Instrument with which they have been
detected, masterpiece Oh mecnanlcal SIKH,
Is OF American cons tructiOn, and we think
every astronomer must admit that since IL
was mounted at The Naval Observatory,
Washington, the national astronomer al in
stitutiOn, admirable discernment has been
shown in The selection OF q class of oSserva-
tons upon which its extraordinary optical
power could be brought TO bear with the
greatest advantage In the actual state OF the
science. Already our knowle ige of the mo-
lions OF The four satellites OF Uranus aud
of the satellite OF Neptune has been great
ly advanced, and tables for TO facilitate
the calculation of their positions have been
skillfully prepared by Professor Newcomb,
with the aid OF measures made with this In.
strument. The period OF rotation OF Saturn
has been determined, and series OF Observa-
lions OF all the eight satellites OF this planet
has been vigorously prosecuted, which must
soon allow OF q much more Intimate &C.
Quaintance with their motions than we vet
pOssess. The notable discovery OF two satel.
iites OF Mars is a ntting achievement In the
same interesting branch OF astronomy" To
this IL might be added that Browning, the
we'll known manufacturer OF spectroscopes
in England, now al vertisss them by saying
that CDR. Henry Diapers important dis
cOvery of the oxygen In the sun will direct
attention to the solar spectrum" DR. Draper
is, of course, an American.JrN. Y. World.