The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1916-01-22

80 - SoAAS ~ O'
r~eed-covered swamps and burning
desert to an enigmatical looking
building which has the ~shapeless-
ness and silence of a ruin, writes a
traveller in the Sahara desert. The
cream-colored walls are lined, patched.
broken, gigantic. 1t is a rectangular
fortress. There is but the entrance,
and that is a small one and heavily
barred. A bell rope hangs down the
wall by the door. Jingle. jangle! 1
ring the bell. There is a long silence
and | ring again. Then a ~disheveled,
barefooted monk laboriously undoes
the little door in the wall, | present the
letter which bear from the patriarch,
and / am admitted.
The monks are pleased; all shake
hands. l sit on one divan and five of
them on another. A novice washes
my hands, another brings me a glass
of brown liquid-water full of medlar
fiber in suspension. When / finish
this he brings a glass of pink sugar
water, then coffee all round-thimble-
fuls of sweet coffee, The abbot, a
fine looking fellow with regular fea.
lures, broad face, black mustache and
beard, and with an open space show
ing the freshness of the lower lip, is
laxative. He has a towel wrapped
round his brows for turban, and fin
gers black beads as he talks. Next
to him is a comfortable looking monk
in a blue smock and a white knitted
skull cap on his head. Next to him,
an old fellow with wizened bare legs
and feet, old yellow rags on his griz-
zled head, a ragged black cassock over
his gray u~nderclothes.
What do you do all day." l asked.
Pray, read, sing" they answered.
What do you think of the war;"
The war does not touch us. If they
come and kill us we do not mind, but
we pray each day that God will bring
it soon to a close"
IF the Arabs come, what will you
do?"
IF they shoot at us we will throw
bread to them; that will be our reply
They Are Christian Fanatics.
There were only sixteen monks, and
including hermits there would not be
more than $50 of these holy men in
the desert altogether. There remain
but four monasteries, whereas in the
fourth century there were several hun
dred. Seven thousand holy bachelors
and virgins learned of Ammon and his
virgin bride alone. Here lived MANY
OF the most eccentric of the hermits
and world deniers OF the early church
the men who without knowing it gave
Christianity tremendous advertise
ment. The men who prayed to God
kneeling for years on the tops of high
columns, the meE and women who
had themselves bound to crosses Of
laden with irons, the saints whit
tanned the beasts of the forest, al
and interesting lore. 1t became ever
fashionable to retire to Nitria an(
deny the world. Monasteries spranl
up over the caves and cells of tn,
saints, and gold and jewels poured in
to the monasteries. Art was hes
towed on the building of new churches
and celebrated artists painted the fires
Goes on the walls. Not an inch o
,hese little desert temples was left III
covered by Byzantine fresco.
But the Saracen came and murderei
the cultured clergy. and tore away tn
jewels, as was tit, and rolled dow
many a wall, wrecked many an altar
The holy brotherhood was ~annihilate,
and there was a sixty-years' gap 4
history. Then a wilder type of Chri:
tan took possession. converted Arabs
for the most part. and they knew littl
Coptic, and so brought Arabic gospel
and nturgies. They repaired the dan
age and put up Arabic inscription: