San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-07-23

u,'y aid reach peighboring town. But
Hanna stopped his kafila and clothed and
fed nHm and gave him money and set him
upsa a mU.e-his own mule, white and fit for
a kimg-and took him all the way to DamaS-
Gus. where he set him down in the streets,
without so much as asking his name, his
country or his faith.
This poor stranger was a Jew, who came
many years afterward to Egypt and recog-
niZed his benefactor. He was also magician,
who discovered the secret thoughts of those
with whom he conversed; so he said one day
TO Hanna: There is mighty sorrow within
thee, for ! see the signature Of regret upon
thy brow near the right temple"
Il regret not to have a child" replied the
merchant
NAY" said the Jew; "thy grief hath rela-
ton to thing past. Tell me thy story and
l may be of service"
Hanna told his storJ. and the Jew forth
with went away, and burned perfumes, and
uttered words and wrote symbols, and
wrestled with the keepers of the unknown.
When he came back to the merchant, he said,
II have not discovered all that l wish to
know; but they tell me that if thou canst
find the Whispering Tree, it will speak to
thee of Lisbet and her child"
The Jew could give no further Information,
but Hanna, who believed, began forthwith
to make cautious inquiries about the Nv his
pering Tree" He questioned not only the
people of Cairo, but wrote to all his CORE
spondents in various parts of the globe, ask
ing about this strange thing, Indeed, he
went about catechising the world in general
respecting the mysterious Whispering Tree.
But he got no information. Ali replied that
they were ignorant. Nobody had heard of a
tree that whispered. Year after year Hanna
persisted in inquiring of every stranger who
arrived from the various provinces whether
he knew anything about the Whispering
Tree urHil time passed and strength began
to fail When all his friends were tired of
hearing him ask the same question, and he
became tired of asking it, despair was fire.
quent visitor with him.
One day he was at Gizneh, in garden,
drinking coffee with his friend Malek and
listening to the bubbling of his water pipe,
when along the path leading from the pyra-
mids appeared coming string of laden cam
els accompanied by many men. is it the
caravan from MourzoukF inquired Hanna
May" replied Nalek, that caravan came
in the week past, and know not from what
y
the garden gate moved by curiosity, and
waited until the fororunners of the caravan
came by.
Their costume was that of tho sons of the
desert. except that round the head was a
wrapper which EMBODIED both the brow and
the mouth, leaving little more than the eyes
exposed.
'They are of the Nuthelamaen," said
oil al
Beleel-es-Soudan, but of what tribe we shall
only learn by asking" Then he raised his
voice and said: "Oh, strangers, merchants,
from what country, anu with what mer.
chandise3" The man addressed muttered
from beneath his muffier: From Agdaz, in
the land of Ahir, with gold dust and ivory
and remnant of slaves, the strong and the
sturdy, the rest having persisted by the way"
So saying, he passed on.
Hast thou ever heard of this country!'
inquired Hanna. But little" said Nalek
st is not a country of commerce, and
cannot understand why they should have
come this way" As he spoke youth of
pleasant countenance, riding on a camel,
with his mouth uncovered, came slowly
toward them. ooh, young man." cried
Hanna, as if obeying a sudden inspiration,
thou contest from unknown lands over
wonderful regions. Perchance thou canst
tell me Of the Whispering Treeg" 1T is at
Kama" replied the youth, striking with his
heel the neck Of his camel and causing it to
turn out of the line and stop; and what, my
father, is the reason of thy curiosityr. "TTis
a long story" replied Hanna; but if thou
wilt alight and repose myself after thy ia
tigue | wiz relate it to thes." The young
man leaped down and called to a black man
who had followed him on foot to take care of
the camel, and entered the garden with the
two old men,
When he had heard the story of the mer-
chant the young stranger said: My story
is similar to thine, oh, my father Thou art
seeking what thou hast perhaps never seen
| am seeking what has only appeared to me
in vision. come not of the Muthelameen
of Agdaz. My father was a merchant of
Egypt, who Travelled with me into the land
of Talebs, of wise men and magcians, and,
dying, left me there child Now it hap
pened year ago that | dreamed dream,
and lol a maiden of surprising beauty came
and bent over me like a lily over pool of
sleeping water; bent and bent until her lips
swept my temple and | awoke tTemulous as
after kiss of love. | stretched my arms in
the darkness but there was nothing; called
my slave, who came with light, and there
was nothing, Then | knew that | had
dreamed, and turned upon my pillow again
and sought to return to the country which
had quilted. Soon slept again and the
same maiden appeared-but this time afar
off-beckoning me to follow. | endeavored
to rise, but my limbs had lost their vigOr. |
struggled, but in vain. The earth drew me