The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-03-30

me continually wlth one eye over my shoul
der and the other down by my side, for
was ever afraid OF the tooth of dog Some
times the people made a pretense of re-
monstrating with them, but l think there
would have been less sorrow than gladness
had been worried to the bone.
The squat, boxlike shops and bazars
were Uttered with a miscellany of goods
exceedingly strange to European eyes.
Variegated cloth, red and yellow slippers,
saffron, sandal wood, glass beads, mirrors,
swords, files, razors, ropes, bells, saddles,
butter and various nameless kinds of oil
and grease used for amounting the head and
body, waterskins, coffeepots, brazen pans
and kettles and many other stuffs and
trumpery were strewn about in hopeless
confusion. Standing by the doors or sit
ting cross legged ON palmleaf mats in the
midst of their wares, waiting with heavy
eyes and languid mien for the customers
who never appeared to come, were the mer-
chants. One and all they stared hard at
me, and most of them came into the street
to look after me with muttered guessings
and comments. / have no doubt there were
muttered curses as WELL
To my surprise the orchards and gardens
ran almost continuously into the center of
the town, and who would was apparently
free 10 enter. In variety and richness they
surpassed anything had ever seen, and in
deed seemed rather like the concentrated
luXuriance of whole country than the
natural growth of single spot. There
were clumps of feathery date trees, Indian
palms, pomegranates, orange, apple, april
cot, peach and fig trees Another tree there
was, too, more famous in Arabian song and
story than any of these-the balm tree.
Like so much that is good and famous, it
Is not beautiful-in fact, .t is ugly and
scraggy, and were the eye the sole Judge,
contemplate, but those who know its vir-
tues think little of its mean appearance.
In striking contrast to the dark olive
foliage were the blazing tropical flowers,
many of them Of inexpressible glory and
bril!iancy. Bat what touched me beyond
anything else were some clusters of mag
nificent roses that flung their fragrance on
the air, unmindful of the general boisome-
ness--at times, indeed. making enc forget
t. The sight Of that common English
flower, so familiar and so lovely, stirred
the emotions az not all the splendors OF the
orient could stir them. &C was Ike the
greeting Of an old friend in a strange land
In some OF the gardens people were draw
ing water from deep wells with leathern
buckets, others scooping it up from slen-
der stone trimmed watercourses. At sight
of such plenty / began 10 get hungry and
thirsty again, and so tempting was the
fruit that presently found myself medi-
tating n robbesy. But az every gate de-
cided TO wait till ! reached the next, and in
this way, n thief at heart, an honest man
from fear, went along feasting my eyes
but grievously vexing the stomach, which
protested ever more and more vigorously.
It is an i'll experience TO be famishipg
among plenty.
On turning one OF the many street cor
uers, full of the thought which most en-
cages hungry man. entered square In
which was assembled a great crowd. A
glance made il plain that they were holi-
day makers. In the midst was O mar wear
ing over the usual shirt gay particolored
mantel and n scarlet vest, with wide sleeves
like bishops gown. His head was fam
tastically enfolded In flaming hsndker-
chief. in the volumiuous twists Of which
there were stuck three bobbing peacock
feathers He was seated on camel as gor-
geously caparisoned "a himself, and was
shouting and gesticulating with many wild
grimacss, the people responding 70 blA sA