Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-04-11

that had come up from Ell Medina
and the Damascus caravan. splendid
with scarlet and green and gold. In
the midst of all. surrounded by a
moving sea of brighthued awnings,
but towering far above them. moved
the litter that the Sultan at STEAMBOAT
had sent with presents for the pro
phets shrine.
The desert was vast and empty, I
alone in the midst of it under the
lowering wing of the shadow. |
turned my head to the right; there
were specks in the distance; they
were jackals. Overhead there were
specks in the sky--they were vultures.
Then Fear came and sat beside me
on the sand, and whispered that the
iackals and the vultures would gather
nearer, that the fever would burn,
and the thirst torment that my tongue
would thicken and my blood turn to
fire, and | would cry to Azreal to
strike, lest the jackals and the vul-
lures forgot to wait.
But | was a martyr, What a COM
fort there is in pride! AS truly was
| martyr as if I fell in battle for
Islam, and all the benefits that could
come to those who marched about
the Kaabah or listened to the sermon
on Kaleidoscope from the demons
and a speedy entrance into Paradise
would be mine.
For an hour | comforted my soul
with these reflections; then l buried
my face in the folds of my shroud
and Fear whispered: 81 am here"
Allah! 1t is a frightful thing to
lie alone weak and helpless as a
babe, in the middle of the desert,
between the burning of the fever and
the chill of the shadow, and to know
that the specks in the distance come
nearer and nearer.
| lifted my voice, weak as a babes
in that solitude and cried in despair:
"Labbayki" and an answering cry
came from the distance: "Labbayk."
Alhamdu lila! | was not deserted
Some one came swiftly across the
sand of the desert. alone and on foot
| could see by the light lisam that
covered her mouth that it was a
woman, but my heart sank and
turned my head away when | knew
that it was the hated daughter of
the Wahhabis.
She kneeled at my side, raising my
head to her knee. | heard the CUR
gle of water in the goatskin that she
carried.
Drink" she commanded | being
too weak to contend, drank; then she
made a shade over me from the sun
and pillowed my head in her lap,
grooming mountain song until |
slept. But before | slept | knew
that Fear had gone away.
When it was night again the woman
reused me to put between by lips a
sweet strong cordial that gave me
strength. With her arm still under
me | staggered to my feet and thus
we set out, guided by astar that hung
high in the west
All night we journeyed. | was like
one walking in sleep, or like a child
Weakened unwillingly, crying with
WEAKNESS and anger that she would
not let me lie down on the sand. Ny
shroud was around me still and it
trailed on the sand, but | needed not.
Far away now was the trail of the
caravan, like a scar on the bosom of
the desert. and our own track a pitt
full, wavering line that bent to the
west
cursed the woman that she would
not let me alone. but my weak rebel
lion was as nothing to her will. so
| stumbled on, and the daughter of
the Wahhabis held me up till it was
dawn. Then we rested.
All day she sat by me, while the
air quivered with heat and the light
daZzied the eye. All day she sat
between me and the sun, holding her
garment as an awning over my face,
and moistening my lips with water
from the zemzimiyah. Dates. too,
she compelled me to eat; yet herself
tasted neither date nor so much as a
drop of water, lest there should not be
enough.
| saw her face: lustrous eyes, black
as midnight, and a mouth that the
lisam would not hide. Beneath the
linen could see the tenderness of its
smile. | almost forgot that she was
the daughter of my enemies. Slowly
my strength returned, as if it flowed
from her life into mine. till at the
evening hour of prayer | was able to
kneel unaided and repeat the words
that the prophet teaches.
one hdu the courage and strength
that her people never lack. She was
bred in the mountains, used to climb
| ing the sleeps with the water-jar or
her head, or herding her fathers flocks
yet she was comely and pleasant t.
| look upon, one in a thousand for grace
Still | spoke not to her, for was she
not of the Wahhabis? 1t would be
sin to bless her, and curse her | coult
| not.
Again night, and we journeyed west
Still | stumbled. and still the woman
held me up. Yet her step, it seemed