The Republican journal., 1901-11-07

| ant Pellets cure con-
| stipation.
| light of day, have compilations which
remind you of partially decomposed
potato sprouts in a dark cellar. For
miles you walk under the dense shade
of these arbors, all canopied with dust
and cobwebs. The so-called streets
run in straight lines the entire length
of the town, and all are paved with
round stones the size of cocoa-nuts,
worn perfectly smooth by the tread of
generations of slippered feet. AS these
lanes are never swept. and every house
holder throws his Stops and refuse out
of doors, one must pick his way with
exceeding care. The Wad ell JUDAH,
('River of Pearls divides the city into
two parts, the New and the Old The
latter called by the Arabs Fas ell bali,
lies on the right side of the stream; FaS
ell djedid the newer portion, on the
left. By the way, as you value your
life, drink no water while in this Holy
City! The River of Pearls" is florida
bic in every part, the resort of every
four-footed and two-legged beast in the
place; it receives all the drainage of the
city, and is the general source of the
drinking water supply.
The population of Fee is today prob
ably not far from fifty thousand,
though it is difficult to say with certain
| ty, as no census has ever been taken.
Centuries ago it is said to have had
more than half a million citizens, a
hundred thousand houses and seven
| hundred mosques The shops are mere
cells, elevated about four feet above
| the ground and so arranged that the
merchant, sitting all day long with his
| legs curled under him, can reach any
thing in his stock without gettinc up.
AS may be imagined, he does not carry
a heavy line Of goods. Fine carpets,
silken fabrics, wooden cloth, girdles,
sashes, slippers, Moorish leather-work,
swords and daggers, wrought gold and
jewelled ornaments are sold. All are
made by skilled workmen, in cellars b e.
meath the tiny shops and brought up on
demand. There are a great many of
these places, besides multitude of
bazarS and at least two hundred car
avanserai, or Arab hotels, wherein
accommodation for man and beast is
decidedly in favor of the latter. There
are still upwards of two hundred mos
queS in Fez each with its tall, painted
minaret; and when the way to Mecca
happens to be INSTRUCTED, the Western
Arabs find that a pilgrimage to this
''Holy City answers just as we'll.
Every morning at daybreak you are
awakened from your beauty Sleep by
the muzzin cry. Pitched in a clear,
high key the Muslin confession of faith
resounds like silver bell. LA ilaha
il Allah; wa Mohammed er-rasool
All-ah!'' 1t is the call to prayer. Echo
ed from minaret to minaret, every
Moor in the city hears it and instantly
spreads his felt cloth on the ground for
the performance of his prisons. Stand
ing Meccawards and bowling to the
earth, he goes through the set forms of
his religion, no doubt as devout in
spirit as any Christian who ever called
upon the God of his imagination. 1t is
said that Mohammed soldiers die with
a smile upon their lips because they are
going straight to the paradise of their
dreams, where are hourii galore and an
eternity of cheroots, coffee and sweet
meats. The largest mosque now stand
ing i'll Fee is Ell Caroobsen-an immense
affair, containing three hundred ONYX
pillars, dozen gates, two splendid
fountains in its marble-paved court
and glass lustre holding five hundred
hampshire spoil of some Christian
church. 1t has also something UNIQUE
in mosque, viz, covered place where
women may participate in the public
prayers,-a privilege not accorded to
the sex in any other Mohammedan
place of worship. But this vast sanct-
uary is comparatively deserted, the
favorite being the smaller mosque built
by Sultan Muller Edris, the founder of
Fee, now venerated as saint, whose
remains were buried within it. The
latter has the finest and Hottest minaret
in all the country and is held SO sacred
that any criminal may find complete
/ nrnfaRflnn l.
atrocious his crimes, if he can set foot
within the portals of this mosque he is
safe from punishment, being under
Allah's care, and not even the Sultan
may drag him out. 1t is not easy, how
ever, to gain the refuge, because the
"Holy House, is barred by chains
stretched across the streets leading IN