The Washington critic., 1888-03-17

ments speculation was rife respecting
the meaning of this whoop-
whether il signified greeting
or the name of u parsonage
if parsonage, the manner of
man that parsonage could be who
could bear such cognomen and still
live. All fancies on these scores,
however, were set at rest by the ap->
pearancc of a human hogshead, whose
puffed up visage and general bear
ing reminded me of the would-be
important and fatheaded baillie in
the comic opera of LES Cloches de
Comcvllle." After sundry snorts
and grunts, the while securing his
back against the doorpost TO improve
the circulation of his blood, ] sup.
pose mot to mention any other pecu-
liar feeling it might have allayed) he
coaxed away his mammiferous
guards. and indulging in q
gutteral "Ta lIalla Heeney," which
being interpreted means ENTER" led
the way through n dark, narrow
passage, which looked like the en-
trance TO tunnel and smelt-woll,
i won't say how it smelt--into large,
but poorly lighted room. Then, after
bidding us he seated. he suddenly
disappeared for the purpose of call
ing all hands-an operation that did
not take long TO perform-for in a
few minutes he waddled in again,
accompanied by three of his crew, as
motley trio as one could well
imagine, in point of complexion.
Coal tar would have made a
white spot on one; q brushful of
brown umbcr would have improved
another, for on his chocolates
colored phsiog appeared white spots
smallpox marks, maybe-yet
don't know, according TO Oriental
notions, which differ considerably
from ours, these spots may have
added charm 20 his complexion
which our barbaric Western estheti.
cism could not appreciate. The re-
manning ones complexion was a
shade between q greasy olive and pes
soup, like the generality of Arabs
whose occupations are sedentary
After a short palaver it was ascer
tained that we could be furnished
with
"HALLY GO MUTTON"
ricey and fish kurhce, few fowls
and plenty of'cofrce. Nov you're q
hummin', +" broke out one of the boys
"But | say, ole boss, hope yer fowls
are nowhere near as tough as those
leather-bound, ,dried-up birds of misery
we had at the last place; because
if they are well be under the painful
necessity of discontinyn' our patren
idge" Our fat host, after endeavor
ing to assure MS that his fowls were
tender, and his menu in general par
taxable, weighed anchor and mad,
sail out of the room, the lesser Graf
following in his wake, with the ex
ception of the spotted one, who wa
left behind to make ready the tabl
and perform sundry other offices.
In order to give the reader som
idea of the amount of wealth lavishe,
on the appointments of "Ab-din.ab
bays" restaurant, let me, in the in
terval that elapsed between the tim,
the order was given and
THE APPEARANCE OF OUR COLLATION.
take advantage to review the dining
room. There was nothing dazzlingl
effulgent to irritate ones optics an
detract from its Jerusalem-like sim
plicity. The walls were simpl
whitewashed and relieved on on
side by two port-hole looking win
dows. The flexible and iridescer
Persian ruggery, ON which we longe
to plank our ample Western under
ISLANDERS, was nowhere visible, but i
lieu thereof, coating of combine
and concentrated and coagulated
substance termed lin unsenatoris
parlance) dirt.
The easy, luxurious and richly
caparisoned divans we had so ofte
imagined formed part and parcel @
every Oriental establishment, wer
substituted by multitude of chairs
which looked as if they had seen som
hard service in o Holy War ffoi
their battered and infirm appearance,
And the spacious side-board, whic
ought to have been ''tesselated wit
an exuberance of eXotics," hid il
grease stains under a cloth the cole
of an Arab butchers apron.
To complete the picture an anted
, luvian escritoire occupied corneran
listed to port as if ashamed to stan
| hlb lEllNs ny anu w bAli lANllNll ~
, peared but i shall not harrow up" II
/ readers soul, nor cause his or ht
combined and knotted locks to part,
and all the rest of it by attempting
describe the various phases Of misel
it developed. ] shall merely say thi
our breakfast ut the Mediterranea
Hotel was as banquet in Elysium
comparison with it. There, at leas
, knives and forks were provided Il
and they did not incur our just hatre
| and anathemas by attempting to for
) us to drink coffe out of wine glasse
I 1t would have caused us no pang
, have beheld 'Ab-din-ab- bay'' al
his retinue cham strung" before v
! got through.
z Oh, how we longed again for civilization
! Where people use at least consideration.
, There, alas we did things la Turk,
Using our fingers for knife and fork.
Wed always slipped our coffee from lar
!. Or mugs or cups; SO we blessed our everla
| And wandered what possessed those asses
To serve 1t up in such small glasses.
| The next scene in "this stran,
: eventful'' pilgrimage was tramp
the summit of Mount Olivet or Mou
8 of Olives, if you will, though v
/ didn't see many olives around the1
: This will form the subject of my ne
s communication.
!, The LUCKY Contestants.
e The lucky candidates at the Potom
t Boat Club Fair are as follows: Doub
o seated outrigger, j. II, and II. f. Doy