Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-04-29

thirsted: the desert thirst was nothing.
Suddenly was harassed by glib villain
at my elbow who had catalogue Of de-
signs far tattooing. He turned them over
his forearm with suave thumb. The
spring fashions, you understand, direct
from Nagasaki, where the clearest and
deepest needlework is done. could take
you to the very alley He whispered in
supplicating English that if the design
was not pleasing, once established, it
might be pricked out with preparation
of milk taken from the udder of a sacred
COW consecrated to this end
"He seemed not to know what despair
was. He stood by my side, as affable as
a dusky prince. He was entirely bald,
and wore a woman's amber BACKBONE,
circled above his ears in mysterious
manner. p
Suddenly l thrust under his nose my
scrap of holy writing on it's spicy shaving.
What this? + asked him.
"He ran his eye through it, and told me
several things. 1t was an exhortation to
the pilgrim to avertshis eye from woman
during the pilgrimage; and not the eye, OF
the body alone-that of the spirit as well,
he said urgently These Eastern philoso-
phies pursue the soul in her subterfuges
farther than we do
"To which end, he said, Il have here
design beginning at the extreme left of
the abdomen, two dragons uplifted, bear
ing between them the wheel q
al had forgotten him. / tore that writ
ing in two pieces, and inclosed one.
wrote that would surely come, bringing
the other.
"CAN there be any merit in the prophe-
sying Of that god? In that narrow
street there was no sound of footsteps to
interrupt the light patter of voices run
ming on and on. A slight wind touched
my forehead Folding my letter, lin
gered by temple of Mohammed. The
door, fanked by two impassve priests
with loin-cloths folded over fat paunches,
was open. caught glimpse of a gro
tesque black shape, of ebony maybe,
adorned with spurs of sickly light
Strange gods-what did care for them?
They had commanded me to avert the
eye of the spirit, and defied them. tore
in two the very script, and sent it to that
girl, who was the eye Of my spirit.
HeH III SeeIueu as ii tnOSe foreign ROQS
conspired to battle me and to prevent me
from ever finishing that pilgrimage, do
you see, because had not needed what
was written.
IL was all eagerness to rejoin that ship
and start the fans under the fires; yet |
lost it. had to ship out in dhow faring
toward that spot on the Arabian coast
where all caravans end, and l was two
years getting to Southampton. At times
it came hard to find myself in stamps and
paper. But | followed the dream.
"Her letters, when l could pick them
up, never tagged in their passionate in
element to new deeds. She knew, of
course, that | was coming toward her.
Through thirst, fatigue, things fragrant
and not fragrant-what demon is it in
man that yearns to suffer these for the
sake of calling it by name, adventure?
| don't know: The golden devil of dreams
was lurking under the horizon. had not
strictly given up hope of something big
or something awful.
"But by this time had come to that
puzzling time in the life of seaman when
he can't seem to stick ashore. Every
coast-line was creased against me- l
shipped and transhipped. As | saw.