The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1891-12-12

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| r......e,.. $3.50 = : xs1ng R1kss -
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-. 4vo rora,.s nearest n belunged %
IA Axhax gtndents, % Mustnp1a -.
He could speak no English, Duf he nm
| Darted the information N Arabac % on
dra0mnau. Seeing that We were more
fnteneated i'm the general scene than m
his red iues. Mustapha left the Assiout
wane 10 its fate, and lighting . cigarette
| seated himself ON the railing with dis-
| engaged air. as much as 10 say: Two
| rnore mad women! But it's nothing TO
me-"
| One of the students was evidently an
ascetic. His room contained piles OF
books and pamphlets, and almost moth
ing else. His one rug was spread out
cloee 10 the front In order 10 get the
light, and placed upon it we saw his
| omen inkstand, his pens and . page OF
freshly copied manuscript. When we
asked where he was, Mustapha replied
that he had gone down to the fountain
to wash himself, so that he could say his
prayers
The second chamber belonged to q
student of another disposition; this ex-
travagant young man had three rugs;
clothes hung from pegs upon his walls,
and he possessed an extra pair OF lemon
colored slippers; in addition we saw
cups and saucers upon shelf. Only
two books were visible, and these were
nut away in q corner; instead Of books
he had flowers; the whole place was
adorned with them; pots containing
plants in full bloom were standing on
the floor round the walls Of his largely
exposed abode, and were also drawn up
in two rows in the passageway outside,
where he himself, sitting on mat. was
sewing. His blossoms were 50 gay that
involuntarily we smiled. Whereupon
he smiled too. and gave rs salam.
Opposite the rooms Of the students
there was a large chamber almost en-
tirely filed with white bales, like small
cotton bales; in q niche between these
high piles an old man kneeling at the
threshold was washing something In
large earthenware tub of pink tint.
His body was bare from the waist up
ward, and as he bent over his task his
short chest, with all the ribs clearly
visible, his long brown back with the
vertebr8 of the spine standing out, and
his lean, seesawing arms looked skeleton
like, while his head. supported on a
small wizened throat, was adorned with
such an enormous bobbing turban, dark
green in hue, that it resembled vegeta-
ton Of some sort-a colossal cabbage.
Dire city behind him. also on the thresh-
old, squatted large gray baboon whose
countenance expressed fixed nissan
thropy.
Every now and then this creature
who was secured by long loose cord.
assembled slowly to the top Of the bales
and came down on the other side. facing
his master. He then looked deeply into
the tub for several minutes, touched the
water carefully with his small black
hand. withdrew it and inspected the
palm, and then returned gravely, and
by the same roundabout way over the
bales, 70 resume his position at the door
sill, looking as if he could not under
Stand the folly of such unnecessary and
silly toll.
In another chamber large very black
negro, dressed in pure white, was seated
upon the floor, with his feet stretched
out in front Of him, his hands placed
stifay on his knees, his eyes staring
straight before him. He was motionless;
he seemed hardly to breathe.
What is he doingT' said to the
dragoman.
Her Oh. he berry good man; he
pray"
In q chamber next to the negro two
grave old Arabs were playing chess.
They were perched upon one Of those
Cairo settees which look like square
chicken coops. One often sees these
seats IN the streets, placed for messen-
gers and porters, and for some time
took them for actual chicken coops, and
wondered why they were always empty.
Chickens might well have inhabited the
one used by the chess players, for the
central court upon which all these cham
beers opened was covered with q LAYER of
rubbish and dirt several inches thick,
which contained many Of their feathers.
Constance Fenimore Woolson in Har-
per's.
Renting Bibles.
The popular impression that every
family possesses Bible as well as die