Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-02-12
CHRISTMAS In ALGERIA
JOURNAL or THREE DAYS
The FIrst Day.
by A YANKEE ABROAD.

t0NtUIuuGt IJtC lbtts - ne Dhpbih hhNN hh-
nounced that December 20th is the Mulud
(sheep feast), one of the highest mussulman
festivals, the Christmas of the Arabs, the an
niversary Of Mahomets birthday.
Every year, at the full moon Of this month,
the Mussulmans of Algiers go to Blidah, at
the tomb of the venerated Sidi-el-Kebir, and
celebrate the festival of lights in honor of him
who came to be the light Of the world.
So of for Bidah we are, on beautiful
sunny seventh day. We have written for
rooms and secured guide. Bdah is small
city, 80 miles south of Algiers. Destroyed by
an earthquake in 1925, shaken again in 1867,
the Arabs, numbering some $1,000, build
houses only one story high. The fast train,
Il miles an hour, goes around the hills on
which Algiers is built, crosses the plain which
divides them from the Atlas chain, and de-
posits us at the very foot of the old giant car
rying yet the orld on its shoulders. Here is
the faithful account Of what we saw aud
heard.
1st Station. We have taken possession of
our rooms Our guide, an Arab who is not
an Arab, since be is from Constantinope aud
O'Clock =. NJ Our first stop is before bath
house. As it is during the hours reserved for
women, our Lady is the only one to enter
its sanctum. She rosppears most prompt.
ly, declaring it the most nasty hole she has
ever penetrated in that it is all dark, full of
steam, that she has seen nothing but some
old women. Amen.
Our second station is in a coffee house
There is kind of Christmas tree; 70 the
German aud Dutch tree may, after all, have
been borrowed from the there
is nothing new under the sun The room is
adorned with paper garlands and long colored
wax candies We order four cups of coffee
Coffee is all pounded, not ground The head
man, with turbsn, and his skirt tucked IN
between his l,gs so rs to form pants, puts on
brisk charcoal fire four &C fl pots with long
handles. Each pot contains hot water and
the proper quantity of powder. Three times
the de- cOction boils up, is Withdrawn from the
fire and put on again. Finally it il poured
in other small hand Ct flee. pots, in which the
client let's it settle more or less, according to
bis taste, then pours it slowly, carefully, in
bis cup, in which is the proper amount of
sugar - the Arabs in Algeria always take su-
ga. Most Of the grounds remain in the
cofee-pot, and the coffee drunk is more or
less clear 1t has peculiar taste to which
one gets quickly accustomed and the Arabs
claim their coffee as much the superior OF
ours, on account of the pounding. believe
they are right. While all the above ID going
on, our Lady is on a chair, the focus of all
the Arabs present; a woman never enters Il
cCfee house-a woman is never seen unveil-
ed. S., young companion, tries the hard.
ness of Atlas benches. The Yankee tries to
initiate the natives sitting around cross legged.
He fails lalnentably. His mistortunes excite
the glee of our Lady, but not one OF the ma
tves alters his digni6ed contemplation.
The price of four cups of coffee is four
cents. hand one franc, or 20 cents. The
headman looks at me and simply keeps the
whole then, under the stare of my antique,
piercing eyes, his conscience pricks him, he
| throws ten cents in dish under the Christmas
tree, and excaims, at is for the festival :
but the rascal has kept ten cents for himself
instead of four. As it is good policy for in
truders to be generous the Yankees have de
cided to avoid all financial difficulties and be
free handed with the pennies.
80 Station. Small, narrow, clean streets
full of Arab shops. We buy big, long can
dies, which the Turk carries for us. They
indicate that we also intend to celebrate the
Mulud.
18th Station. An Arab is frying pieces oil
dough- he dips his fingers in oil, spreads the
dough, then let's it drop in boiling oil. II
five seconds it is cooked and removed with a
strainer. The Yankee, carried away by hi,
investigating ardor seizes it-And drops il
instantly it is too hot. The man hands him
a piece Of paper, with the help Of which b,
can handle the dainty morsel and divide il
with his two companions. One cent is the
price two cents secure a deep salam from
the cook, whose gratitude extends even to th,
following day, when he salutes us again Al
we go by.
9th Station. take of my boots and pen
citrate in a mosque. Very plain carpets ant
mats on the floor and up the lower part oi
the walls a recess in which the Koran il
kept; a movable high pulpit, used by thu
marabout (prest) to explain the Koran to tn,
people the ceiling formed of round piece
of cedar a few Arabs-one sleeping in
corner, two conversing in low tone, tive
kneeling touching the ground with thei
foreheads then standing, looking on higl
and praying evidently. In the entry or yarC
is fountain of running water; before enter
ing the mosque every Arab has taken of hi
shoes, washed his mouth, blown his nose with
his fingers, washed his feet and legs-he mus
be clean before praying. Hence evdentl!
the New Eoglsnd cleanliness is next to god
liness" the Mussulman would say ''cleanli
ness precedes godliness." This man may b,
a beRgsr, most miseraby clad, full OF vermin
but he will clean his mouth before praying
his feet before treading the sacred place.
While putting on my boots am met by al
old marabout, aged, feeble. The Turk tell
me be is the head prest-the muphti, abov
all other marabouts and cadis Cjudges) H
looks benevolently at the bootless feet of th
Roumi (RomaD) Christian; he carries chape
let or string of beads in his hands. There
upon l indite an eloquent speech tell hin
that also am a marabout in my own country
The muphu shakes hands, allows me Il
examine his feet encased in good socks, an'
seems pleased with the Difference paid to hin
and his religion. Finally, after a new hand
shaking, hand him my aims for the poor o
the church, as it is customary to do; besides
have been taught on so many former occa
sions "N'OuJliez pas les pauVres, mon
Si6ur." For the Arabs, slmsgving is an &C
of faith. Wesley used to say, "Show you
faith with your purse" Again, nothing new
under the sun.
Our time is up; the doctor has recon
mended his patient not to be out between 4;3
aud o'clock, when the sun goes down AM
the air becomes rapidly cooler.
Per agreement, at $50 o'clock our Tur
returns to take us to an Arab gathering he'll
in the yard or inner court of a house. Th
vaulted entrance is occupied by cofee-mau
posted there for the occasion, with portsbl
fire he sells tea and coffee. We penetrat
with difficulty the house is more than full
Decoration full moon white walls; tn
trunk OF vine as big rs tree, foot in di
ameter, with its bare branches an old shaw
or piece of cloth stretched over an angle @
the court a few lanterns a brasero or stov
containing red-hot charcoal; around il fVe @
six men with tambourines-a sort of druI
mil hi A.