Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-07-20
ARARps CHILDHOOD.
WHY HE Is LIK ENED TO oREB, THE INDIAN
ITE, OR THE SON OF HAGAR.

ITE, OR THE SON Or HAGAR.
The Sttnday-!School Times, issued to-day, has
the following: "a strange interest attaches,
just now, to the name OF Arab Bey. While
all the world is watching his every move
ment with fear or anxiety, does it occur to
race he is another Oreb, the Midianite,
against whom Gideon's band with lamps and
trumpets and pitchers went out TO battle al
the call OF God? We give sketch of this
Ishm aeliti.h or Midianitish prince in Egypt,
as showing the popular Arab superstitions
with reference 10 his birth and mission.
The sketch is from gentleman of
Cairo peculiarly well qualified to speak OF
the Egyptian people and their way of think
ing and acting. For obvious reasons his
name is withheld at such a crisis as this, but
we can speak confidently OF the correctness
of all his statements. "Husnah
was in high glee, and told us all about the
early history of el-Uraby, as she had heard
it that night from the fikis-the men learned
in the ceremonial law and who harangue
the crowd. Upon hearing the name Uraby,
1 pricked up my ears; for was not this the
famous Arab Bey who was playing such
part in modern Egyptian politics? Husnah's
graphic narration ran substantially as fol-
lows: About ffly years ago there lived 10
the delta Of Egypt, rear small hamlet
called el-Wijh, a worshiping farmer of some
means, whose wife was barren. His friend
had often told him that the cause of his
wife's barrenness wac, OF course, known 10 the
Omniscienonily, but that as she was an Egyp-
tian of the low lands, and he was descended
from the stock of Abraham, and his eldest
son Ishmael, God would be much more
likely to bless him with offspring were he to
take unto himself wife from among the
children of the desert. He accordingly sent
eastward to certain wondering tribes, and in
due course of time had brought to him a
true Bedouin girl. This girl, knowing that
she had been taken to wife by her husband
only with view to offspring, had, on her
way to With, passed to the resting place of
the remains of Our Lady Nsfeessah, TO there
pray that she might be blessed soon with
male child, that she might find favor with
her lord. The shrine of Our Lady Nafeessah
is held in high honor, both by Moslems and
christians During the night that this true
Arabian girl, who was on the eve of mar
riage spent at the tomb of the soul-giying
Nafeessah, she had dream. A man clothed
in the robes of the religious order OF law
doctors appeared to her, saying: $50 in
peace to thy intended husband, for thou
sh alt find favor in his eyes"
'In the fullness of time she gave birth 10
a male child, and when the midwife bore the
glad tidings to the father he exclaimed: 'Ah-
mud-ul-pAhap which means, Il praise Godi'
Wherefore all the woman friends, when they
heard what the father had said, declared
that the boy should be called Ahmad.
Ahmad grew up 10 be stalwart youth, and
was known among his fellows by the appella-
tive 'el- Ursbi,' because of his descent from
the Arabs in contrsdistinction with the
Egyptians. And, indeed, Arab Bey, or
Pasha, speaks dialect which betrays his
Bedouin origin from the Eastern Desert.
Urabi's mother had not forgotten the vision
of the man In flowing robes, and she had
destined her boy = her little hope, as she
called the tall youth-for the study of the
law, both civil and religious. Accordingly,
after having been taught reading and writing.
Ahmad, surnamed el-Urabi, was taken BY
his father to the great mosque university OF
el-Azh ar, at Caire, and entered as student
"EEUrabi was taught, first OF all, the the