Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-02-05
A BARD OF THE DESERT,
An English Artist Writes of q Be-
dOufn Poet.

r. Talbot Kelly in the Century.
He was an old man, gray-bearded and
sun-dried; and the look of Importance upon
his brow was repeated in the expression of
reflected glory which animated the coun-
teranee Of his son. Each carried an in
strument called Eel kemengeh," a kind Of
two-stringed fiddle.
Shutting his eyes and comfortably rub
bling his hands together, the old man be-
gan, in a harsh, strident voice. to deliver a
panegyric upon the song he was going to
sing, calling forth repeatedly calculations
of 'Aiwa," ''Yeuss." and other approving
signs from the assembled crowd. After ten
m nutes of this became impatient, and ex-
claimed: Il drub ell kemengeh va usta"
c'Play your fiddle. o my mastery, where
upon, with sympathetic grunts from ALL
ne began the overture, weird. wailing
melody, to which the son played kind of
second in minor key which it is impossi-
Bile to transcribe correctly in our annota-
ton.
Beginning like the signing of the wind
among the palm trees, it gradually gather
ed power and volume in a crescendo then
died away again to a breath, playing in
finite changes upon the opening theme
me effect was distinctly artistic and quaint
ard was gradually drifting into a state of
dreamy fmaginings when suddenly the bard
broke silence, and in a voice of amazing
power and incisiveness began to intone the
d.
Going back for generations the legend
described the growing of the parent tribe
into power in Mesopotamia and how in
course of time, when men and camels and
horses were in plenty, the head sheik de-
cided upon the conquest of Tunis Admir-
ably accompanied their Instruments
one seemed to hear the hurried riding of
messengers dispatched to summon distant
families; their horses hoof-strokes grad
ually dying in the distance until naught
was heard but the signing of the night
wind across the desert. Presently from far
away was caught the distant laundering
of the gathering hordes, gradually ap-
proaching nearer and nearer until the VOL
ume OF sound eliminated in a general salu-
taton to the sheik who summoned them
Then came the sheik's exhortation and the
description Of their desert journey, which
was TO occupy many months.
incidents by the way-Eeat, thirst noise
and dust by day and the eternal silence of
the desert by night, the brightness of the
stars. the waxing and waning of the moon
the hardshlpS, excitement, plenty and pow
erty or condition-were, each in turn
81 graphically described, to the same weird
accompaniment
Hour after hour this went on, the bard's
eye cleaning and his voice growing strong
err and stronger, until L was almost stun
ned by its laundering monotone Mean
While, the tribesmen, shifting excitedly in
their seats. and uttering quick ejacula-
tons OF approval, constituted scene
which kept me spellbound. Eventually. in
the narrative, Tunis was reached, and the
horde of Arabs encanped beneath it's
walls.
1t was Row midnight and for four long
hours i had listened to this wonderful
epic; but realizing that was too thorough
iy exhausted for further amusement l de-
cided 10 turn in." and getting up, I left
the assembly in the zenith of its excite
ment and qualification.