The herald., 1894-03-04

Legend Upon which the Uncomfortable
Custom Is Based. 49, -,-.
We sat in the tents shadow, with our
Faces turned toward Cairo. There We're
three of Us, the sheik of the neighEor-
ing village, Ahmed and /. The clear
outline of the Mokhattan hills was hid
den in the thick mist generated by the
heat; the city was a gray blur against
the black sides Of the uplands. Below
us, amid the sugar cane, the fellahin
worked with an affectation Of energy.
Sometimes a voice came to us mellowed
by distance; sometimes the sail Of a
vessel glided phantomwise over the blue
ribbon of water that twined along the
valley toward Alexandria and the delta.
A month before had seen the mes
sengers leave the city and strike into
the desert. Twenty-four hours later,
dusty and hot, they returned, bearing
news. The new moon had appeared,
and the fast was proclaimed. At mid
night gun doomed from the citadel,
and suddenly the merry noises Of the
streets were stilled.
Next day 1 wandered through the ba-
Eaars, but received no invitation to
drink coffee with my friends. Pipes and
cigarettes. were not offered to me. A
kind of half sleep had fallen ON every
body, and ! hardly dared speak to any
one. In the intervals between their
bargainings the merchants read the Ko-
ran or prayed, counting their beads with
nimble fingers, head bent downward.
The bargainings, too, We're poor shad-
ow of the exciting scenes l loved. The
purchaser was always languid and the
vender inert, uninterested.
As the afternoon wore on look of
fatigue, often of real pain, glooined on
the usually genial faces. 1t was hot,
30 hot. The sun beat furiously on the
white walls and roads; tho cruel Kem-
pion whirled the dust through the
streets and dried the skin and lips.
But the cry OF the water carrier was
not raised; no boys offered punches of
juicy fruit to the sufferers. Ramadan
had come with all its terrors, and for
the love of God and his apostle must
they be borne, if not cheerfully, at any
late sternly and manfully.
to stir again in the veins. The bakeries
were crowded the fires blazed under
the ovens a smell Of cooking stole over
the city. Women squatted at intervals
along the streets with cakes and fruit
and bottles Of water spread before them.
Little groups gathered round them, i'm
patient, expectant. The smokers took
out their pipes or cigarettes and stood
waiting for the signal, match in hand.
thundered from the citadel. The city
awoke; the population began to eat; the
women were busy disposing of their
goods.
For 40 days these things were, and
now was come the closing day of the
fast, and l sat with my friends on the
sand, gazing toward the citadel till the
gun showed fire for the last time.
All the afternoon envious glances
had been cast at me as cheerfully dis
obeyed the prophet 3 orders. Ahmed, i
think, had the sheik not been with me,
would have smoked cigarette, but as
1t was he lay beside me and sulked.
The sheik was too old to behave thus
He was quiet and spoke slowly, but he
tried bravely to conceal all signs of dis
comfort. Ahmed's annoyance may be
accounted for in this way. He declared
to me that Mohammed tasted one day in
the month RaTnadan, but ON which day
was uncertain, and therefore the the
ologians decreed 40 days fast that
they might be sure Of fasting the same
day as the prophet. do not think All
med believes this legend, though he
vouches vehemently for its truth.
To while away the time 1 asked the
Bheik to tell me about the visit of the
czarowitz. But the long abstinence
made him unable to talk at any length,
and even this his favorite story he
told me briefly in couple Of bald SEN
tences, though he responded gently: II
met him as one prince meets another.
He told me he owned many villages;
that he was sheik over half the world.
1t may be as they have said"
And what did he say to your l
queried. "He greeted me courteously
and took me by the hand. This ring
that wear is his gift"
AS he spoke he showed me, without
pride, a sapphire of great size and
beauty. Then he relapsed into silence,
and amused myself by picturing the
event in my mind. would that / had
seen that meeting between the heir Of
the holy Russian empire and the simple
Arab chief. Looking into his grave
gray eyes and at his tall, slight figure,
the broad shoulders not yet bent, though
the white beard he was strol1ing told Of
many years of life, and in spite of his
tattered blue robe, easily conceived
how he had been treated--courteous
as became a prince.
Before the setting sun touched the
horizon boy from the village brought
q large plate of food and bottle of wa
ter and set them before us. "The sig
nal, " cried as a white puff of smoke
rolled away from the citadal walls, and
at the same instant the sun sank behind
the desert.
The sheik seized the bottle of water
and drank long and eagerly. When his
thirst was appeased, he belched loudly
and handed the bottle to Ahmed, who
drank eagerly, too, not emitting the
curious after grace.
Then they devoured the food vora-