Southwest-sentinel. [volume] (Silver City, N.M.) 1883-189?, 1894-03-06
GRAPHIC ACCOUNT or THE CLOSE
or The FORTY DAYS FAST.

faces turned toward Cairo. There were
three OF rs, theshcik Of the noightor.
ing village, Ahmed and /. The clear
outline Of tho Mokhattan bills was hid
den In the thick mist generated by tho
heat tho city was a gray blur against
tho black sides Of the uplands. Below
ne, amid the sugar cnno, the fellahin
worked with an aifectation Of energy.
Sometimes a voice came to us mellowed
by distance; sometimes the sail Of a
vessel glided phantom wise 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 desort. T%wonty-four hours later,
dusty and hot, they returned, bearing
news. Tho new moon had appeared,
aud the fast was proclaimed. At mid
night u gun doomed from the citadel,
and suddenly the merry noises of the
streets were stilled.
Next day l Wandered through the ba-
saars, but received no invitation TO
drink coffee with my friends. Pipes and
cigarettes were not offered 10 me. A
kind Of half sleep had fallen on every
body, and l hardly dared speak to any
In tho intervals between their
bargainings the merchants read the Ko-
ran or prayed, counting their beads with
nimble fingers, head bent downward.
The bargainings, too. were a poor shad-
0w Of the exciting scenes l loved. The
purchaser was always languid and the
vender mort, uninterested.
AS the afternoon wore on a look Of
fatigue, often Of real pain, gloomed on
the usually genial faces. 1t was hot,
90 hot. Tho san beat furiously on the
white walls and roads; the cruel KEN
pion whirled the dust through tho
streets md dried the skin and lips.
But the cry of the wator carrier was
not raised; no boys offered punches Of
juicy fruit to the sufferers. Ramadan
had come with all its t%eIrors, and for
the love of God and his apostle must
they be borne, II not cheerfully, at any
rate sternly and manfully.
One hour before sunset life seemed
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.
Suddenly the sun fell, and the gun
Numbered 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
TO- was come the closing day Of the
fast, and | 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 prophets orders. Ahmed, /
think, had the sheik not been with me,
would have smoked a cigarette, but as
il WIS he lay beside me and sulked.
The sheik was too old to behave thus.
de was quiet and spoke slowly, but he
tried bravely to conceal ell 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 Ramadan, but on which day
was uncertain, and therefore the the
~ologiuns decreed a 30 days fast that
they might be sure Of fasting the same
day as the prophet. 1 do not think All
med believes this legend. though he
vouches yehomently for its truth.
To while away the time l asked tho
ghnflr ~ Nnll wnn uhoasN kkn usosk 80 Tho
czarowitz. But the long abstinence
made him unable to talk Mt any length,
and even this his favorite story be
told me briefly in a couple Of bald SEN
fences, though he responded gently: Il
met him as n prince meets another.
He told me he owned many villages;
that he was sheill over half the world.
Ii may be rs they have said"
And what did no say to your" !
queried. He greeted mo cautiously
and took me by the hand. This ring
that | wear is his gift"
AS he spoke ho showed me, without
pride, a sapphire Of great size and
beauty. Then he relapsed into silence,
and | amused myself by p%icturing the
event in my mind. l 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 Heard he was strol1ng told Of
many years Of life, and in spite Of his
tatterei blue robe, l easily conceived
how he hid been treated-courteously
as became a prince.
Before the setting sun touched tho
horizon a boy from tho village brought
a large plate OF food and q bottle of wa
ter and set them before us. Tho 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 10 Ahmed, who
drank eagerly, too, not emitting the
curious after grace.
Then they devoured tho food vora.
oiously, tho old man reckoning me e
join. After we had eaten we sat aud
talked far into tho night under the
golden stars. The distant city CLEANED
fairylike with myriad lamps, and tho
murmur Of lie thousand voices came t.
uI through the silent air.
Ramadan was dead. The fast wal
yer and the feaSt begun.-Pall NAL
Budget
A sentence from a review OF a move
printed in The Queen. an English pub
location, Is suggestive. Il ran, 9Th.
tale is a nicely told one, and no CIR
who has the responsibility Of making