The Portland daily press., 1897-10-30
-(Chapter H.

my ears and cried Stay, do not travel;
all your past from the beginning until
today all your future from today until
the end hangs on your action now; go,
and your past is a waste, your fame
mockery, your success a reproach; re-
main, and your future is peace and hap
piness and contentl" What voice, Father
what voice?
l shut my ears to it, and six days after
wards / arrived at Fez. My journey had
impressed two facts upon my mind with
startling vividness; first, that the Moor
would stick at nothing in his jealousy OF
the honour of his faith, and next, that
l was myself changed and coarsened
man. l was reminded of the one when
in Ell Kassar | saw an old Jew beaten in
the open streets because he had not re-
moved his slippers and walked barefoot
as he passed the front of a mosque; and
again in Wazzan, when l witnessed the
welcome gwen to the Grand Shereef on
his return from his home in Tangiers to
his house in the capital of his province.
The Jew was the chief userer OF the town,
and had half the Moorish Inhabitants in
his tolls, yet his commercial power had
counted for nothing against the honour
of Islam 81, said he to me that night
in the Jewish inn, the Fondak, II, who
could clap every mau of them in the
kasbah, and their masters with them,
like dog by these scurvy sons of Ishmael
God of Jacobi' The Grand Shereef
was drunkard a gamester, and forni-
Gator. There was no ordinance of Mo-
hammed which he had not openly out
ragged yet because he stood to the people
as the descendant of the prophet and tle
father of the faith, they grovelled on the
ground before him and kissed his robes,
his knees his feet, his stirrups, and the
big hoofs of the horse that carried him.
AS for myself 1 realized that the at1nos-
phere of the country had corrupted me,
when took out from my baggage a
curved knife in its silver-mounted sheaf
which had bought of hawker at Tan
gier and fixed it prominently in the belt
of my Norfolk jacket.
The morning after my arrival in Fez
| encountered my American companion
of the voyage. Our meeting was strange
one I had rambled aimlessly with my
guide through the new town into the old
one until had lighted by chance upon
the slave market in front Of the ruins of
the ancient Grand Mosque, and upon
human auction which was then proceed
ing. No scene so full of shame had ever
beheld, but the fascination of the specta-
Gle held ME, and l stood and watched and
listened. The slave being sold was a
black girl, and she was beautiful accord
ing to the standard of her skin, barehead-
ed, barefooted, and clad as lightly over
her body as decency allowed.
''look, see," (pinching the girls naked
arms and rolling his jewelled fingers
from her chin downwards over her bare
neck on to her boaom) sound OF wind
and limb, and with rosy lips, tit for the
kisses of kfng-how much?"
"a hundred dollars cried voice out
of the crowd. l thought had heard the
yoio h1fo
had spoken. eIt.was tall man with haik
over his turban, and blue selam on top
of yellow kaftan. ga hundred dollars
offered" cried the salesman, "only
hundred. Brothers, now's the chance
for all true believers.
ga hundred and fve," cried another
voice.
ga hundred and ten
ga hundred and fifteen.''
IA hundred and fifteen for this jewel
of GIRL cried the salesman .'It's
giving her away, brothers. BY the proph-
cts, if ye are not quick I'll keep her for
myself. Come, look at her, Sidi, isn't
she good enough for a sultan? The
prophet (God rest him) would have leapt
at her. He loved sweet women as much
as he loved sweet odours. Now for the
third and last time-how much? Re-
member, l guarantee her seventeen years
of age, sound, strong, sweet-and in
tact y
GA hundred and twenty cried the
voice had heard first. L looked up at
the speaker again. 1t was the American
in his Moorish costume.
l could bear no more of the sickening
spectacle, and as 1 turned aside with my
interpreter l was conscious that my COM
panion Of the voyage was following me.
When we came to some dark arcades that
dividegOld Fez from New Fez, the Ameri-
can spoke, and sent my interpreter
ahead.
in this execrable land he said.
"Indeed you are,'' answered.
We'll, as the Romans in Rome, you
know-it was what | came for, he said
"Take care l replied. Take care'
He drew up shortly and said, "By the
way, l ought to be ashamed to meet
you''
I thought he ought, but for courtesy
asked him why.
Because" said he, 81 have failed to
act up to my principles -
I'm what?" l inquired.
''In saving the life of scoundreI at
the risk of my own,'' he answered.
Then he told me his story. "At Tan
gier, he said, with four men in my
caravan, but it did not suit lne to bring
them into Fez, SO I dismissed them a
A.oJ o INV AlOi4A AOIo, pay ing Al lulI lOf
the whole journey and making present
over. My generosity was blunder The
Moor cannot comprehend an act OF disiD-
terested kindness, and 1 saw the ruffians
lay their heads together to find out what
1t could mean. Three of them gave it
up and went off home, but the fourth
determined to follow the trace. His name
was Larby; he was my guide, and most
brazeu hypocrite always cheating me.
I let him do so, it amused me-always
lying to my face. and always fumbling
his beads-'God forgive me, God forgive
mean appropriate penance, you know
the way of it. Peace Sidi!' said the
rascal; FAREWELL Allah send we meet
in Paradise But the devil meant that
we should meet before that. We have
met. 1t was a hot moment. Do you know
the Hamadsha Mosque? It is a place in
a side street sacred to the preaching OF q
fanatical follower of one Sidi Ali bin
Hamdoosh, and to certain wild dances
executed in d glass-and fire eating frenzy.
| thought | should like to hear Moorish
D. L. Moody, and one day l went there
AS was going in 1 met man coming
out. 1t was Larby Beebal' he whis-
pered with a tragic start-that was his
own name for me on the journey. Keep
your tongne between your teeth, l whis-
pered back, I was Beeba yesterday, today
I'm, Nfobay,D,cI Then on+orod