The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1882-04-07


sort of Yorktown reunion of three
Frenchmen and two Americans &C.
mented into alliance and brotherhood
by the common peril. The Priest
stepped forward like valiant Hector
before the walls of Troy. He threw
down the mouey, ringing on the table
of the coffee house, where the whole
town was quickly assembling to see
the contest.
"Take that or take nothing !"
A ragged champion stood forth
from the other side and pushed back
the money with such volley of i'm
precautions delivered at short range
that for a moment the Priest was
stunned and retreated into the arms
of his friends. But in moment he
began to feel fresh valor coursng
through every limb, his eye lit up with
an unnatural fire, he seized the
opposite champion by the shirt front
or where it would have been if he
had had any, and pushed him back to
the door. We thought we could see
victory perching on the shaven head
of the priest, when suddenly the tide
was turned and for a few terrible
minutes of suspense the battle hung
in the balance-the Priest driving the
ragamuffin and then the ragamuffin
the Priest. | couldn't see how it was
possibly going to end in anything less
than general engagement and
probably great slaughter on both
sides. But was mistaken, and l
found out afterwards that this was
only the ordinary every day manner
in which the Asiatics always conduct
an argument. If you want to impress
your point upon an Arab, you have
not only got to state it as loud as you
can yell, but you must knock him
backward a few feet at the same time
and then follow it up steadily until
you are sure that he feels the force of
what you are saying. If he submits
and recognizes the point, all right.
But if not, then it is his turn and he
follows you up with counter argu-
ment, striking and pushing, until he
has exhausted all that he has to say,
and when both sides get tired out the
case is closed and as it usually hap
pens with arguments in all quarters of
the world, both parties stand about
where they did at the outset.
1t was during the progress of this
little good-natured debate, that, hap
pening to look out of the door, we
saw some one passing whom we took
at first glance to be an Englishman-
but a second look showed us that it
was the very man we were looking for
and had come 5000 miles to see.
Instead of the Turkish headdress--
we had imagined-he had on an
English cork helmet there was no
long Mohammedan beard, no red-sash
full of knives and pistols, he could
speak the English language still with
considerable fluency and, except that
he looked triAe older, was, in every
respect the same noble-hearted,
good fellow that he always was.
We ran out behind him, and before
he could turn around or know what
had got hold of him we held him fast
by both arms. He had just arrived
by carriage from Tarsus and was
going to find boat to 60 out to the
steamer after us. We went up together
to the Office of the American vice
consul, who was native and could
speak no English. We were served
with Turkish coffee and waited for the |
carriage to take us to Tarsus, and |
when that carriage came-I wish you
could have seen it. l wondered that
the natives didn't fall down and wor-
ship it, and it wouldn't have broken
the first commandment either, for it
was the image of nothing that was
ever seen in the Heavens above or
the earth beneath or the waters under
the earth. Mr.. Lee SAID. that it was
once very grand affair belonging to
or Julius Caesar or Alex
ander the Great, he didn't remember
which. But if he had told us that il |