Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-11-23
TALES OF SECRET EGYPT
OR close upon a week had been
haunting the puriieus of the
Musid. attired as a respectable

Mu9ki, att1re0 AZ q Respectable
dragoman. my face and hands
reduced 10 q deeper shade Of brown by
means Of . water-color paint Il had to
use something that could be washed off
and grease-paint Is useless for purposes
of actual disguise) and neat black
mustache fixed to my lip with spirit
gum.
digniffcd masquerade was not prompted
by mere curiosity or the quest of the
pomegranate, 1t was undertaken as the
natural sequel to letter received from
Messrs. Moses, Murphy & Co., the firm
which I represented In Egypt, contain
ing curious matters affOrding much
food for reflection. I'VE would ask
YOU" ran the communication, ito re-
new your inquiries into the particular
composition Of the perfume Breath Of
Allah of which you obtained us
sample at cost which we regarded
as excessive. 1t appears to consist in
the blending Of certain obscure essen
tial oils and gum-resns and the ma
ture Of some of these has defied anaIy-
sis to date. Over a hundred expert
ments have been made to discover sub
without success; and as we are now
In position to arrange for the manu-
facture Of oriental perfume on an ex-
tensive scale We should be prepared to
make It well worth your while (the
last four words Enthusiastically I'M
derlined In red ink) II you could obtain
for US a correct copy of the original
prescription"
The tiny vial which I had dispatched
to Birmingham nearly twelve months
before had cost me close upon 400 to
procure, for the reason that Breath of
ALLAH" was the secret property of an
old and aristocratic Egyptian family
whose great wealth and exclusiveness
rendered them unapproachable.
Messrs. Moses. Murphy & Co. had
made all the necessary arrangements
for placing 1t upon the market. only to
learn, as this eventful letter advised me.
that the most skilled chemists whose
services were obtainabIe had failed to
analyze it.
One morning, then, in my assumed
character, / was proceeding along the
Sharia el-Hamzawi seeking for some
scheme whereby I might win the con-
fidence Of Mohammed er-Rahmann, the
altar, or perfumer. l had quilted the
house In the Darb el-Ahmar, which was
my base OF operations, but a few
minutes earlier, and as I approached
the corner of the street q voice called
from a window directly above my
head: said! Said!"
Without supposing that the call re-
ferred to myself, glanced up. and met
the gaze Of an old Egyptian Of respect
able appearance who was regarding me
fran above. Shading his eyes with a
I. gnarled hand:
Surely" he cried. 1T IL none other
than Said, the nephew Of Yussuf Khalif!
Es-selam 'aleykum, Said"
'Aleykunn, es-selam," replied, and
! stood there looking up at him.
Would you perform q little service
for me. Said" he continued. at will
occupy you but an hour, and you may
earn ftve piastres."
entered the door and mounted the
stairs to the room in which he was, to
ma that he lay upon a scantiTy COW
I cred divan by the open window.
Praise be to Allah (whose name be
exafted)!" he exclaimed, that / am
& thus fortunately enabled to fulfil my
obligations. I sometimes suffer from
an old serpent bite. my son, and this
morning It has obliged me to abstain
from all movement. / am called Abdul
the Porter, Of whom you will have
hesrd your uncle speak.
Z Il have q contract with the mer-
4 chant, Mohammed er-Rahman Of the
Suk el-Attarin." he continued, which
+ 1t has always been my custom person.
ally to carry out"
The words almost caused me to
catch my breath; and my opinion of
\ Abdul the Porter changed extra
ordinarily.
DO not misunderstood me-" he
added. II refer not to the transport
of his wares to Suez. to ZaEazig. to
Mecca, to Aleppo, to Baghdad, Damas-
GUS Kandahar and Pekin: although the
whole Of these vast Enterprises is
Z entrusted to none other than the only
son Of my father. i speak now of the
bearing Of small though heavy box
from the great magazine and manu-
factory Of M0hammed er-Rahman at
Shubra, to his shop in the Suk ell
Attarfn."
Why. o Father Abdul, do you at