The Somerset reporter., 1885-03-11
Selected.


Imagine man about 40 years of age, of
medium height, as lean, as the Saying is,
as sholten herring, with mahogany COM
plexion, coal-black beard and eyes, and
three vertical slashes on his pallid cheeks
add to this long cotton shirt ~ a gar.
ment, narrow lurhan AS q headtlress q
pair Of wooden sandals, aud in the bands
dry As hose Of a mummy-a string of nine
" beads, corresponding TO an equal num-
Der of divine attributes and you have the
Mahdi, Those who have seen him say
that Mohahineti- hmed plays 10 perfection
the part of visionary dervish, waving his
head when walking, and murmuring con-
slant prayers, bis eyes fixed on heaven
dis IA her was u carpenter on Matt Island,
III the Nubian province of Dongola, and
about 1852 came, with his four childred, to
Cbindi, u snail cry on he banks of tn,
Nile south Of Berrer. Wpeu still very
young lie WAS pacrd as M apprentice un-
der the care of or" of his uucles, ship
builder OF Chahakali, opposite Seuaar. IL
seems mat the future prophet was not
without his failings, for one day his uncle
thought well Of flogaing him in regular
French styl.. Tl.r proceeding was not APP
precia,ed, and the child ran away until be
arrivtd IN khartouiD, where he entered a
sort OF school or convent of begging der
wishes, who were in charge OF the monu-
y
Cneick Hogbali, patron of the city. There
his life was y remarkable one for his pie ",
but a. to education, he never learned how
to write or even to read fuently. Later be
went to similar Institution in Berber,
then to one III Aradup, on the south OF
kena. In the latter city, he became, In
1870 the favorite disciple of an eminent
fakir. Check Nur-el Duim, and finally was
ordained by him and went to Abbas Island,
White Nile. His fame as . sanity man
was every year on the increase He lived
in u kind OF pit or subterranean repository
for grain, GALE d silo, which he had dug up
with his own hands; and there he passed
his lite, fasting and praying, burning in
cense day and night, and repeating the
name OF Allah for hours at Il time until he
would fall to the gr ,und painting and ex-
hausied. If nybody spoke to him he
gave back 10 answer, except sentences from
the sacred books of Islam. Earthly things
seemed to Inspire him ouly with disgust
aud pity. lie had made vow to obsorb
himself in the contemplation of divine per-
ieclions and to weep all his life for the sins
of mankind. But his tears did not destroy
his power of vision, and he kept his best
eye VIDE open 10 business; and the faith
iul coming by Thousands aud depositing
rich offerings at the mouth of his silo, he
never failed to see the gifts nor to stow
them away carefully for stormy days. In
1878 he had become SO wealthy thai he felt
the necessity to declare that Allah had or
dered him to leave his silo and to take up
on himself a large collection of wives,
whom, as a truly practical man, he chose
ainoug the most influential families of the
country, especially that of the Bagaras,
the most, opulent slave traders Gu the
Waite Nile.
Every one has still fresh in h's memory
the appalling determination of Hicks Pas
hts eleven thousand men. Surrounded on
tie 5ih OF November, lSS3-the first day of
the fourteenth century of the Hegira!-at
kasghil while marching on FL Obcid. This
horrible butchery, happening on the thresh-
old of the century announced as the one of
the Last Prophet, gave a bloody consecru-
tiCn to Mohammed-Ahmed, who, after the
three days battle, went AL over the battle
field. piercing with his spear the CHASTITY
corpses of his enemies and eXclaiming:
alt is |, |, the Prophet, who destroyed the
heretics." Compared to him Mohammed
was no more, in his mind, than a small
Prophet. He alone was the only great aud
powerful Eessiah announced by Mohamm,
himself. The Sultan of Constantinope
was no more the supreme Caliph, the chief
Of Islamism; it was he, Mohammed-Ahme
and he ordered his own name To be invoked
in public worship in the place of Moham-
med's, right after the name of Allah!-
Catholic World.