Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-15
IRISH

liam that Camden's constitution was
a tough one. Camden totally ignored
the episode.
In COnstantinople he put up at the
Para Palace; and as this hotel was
not included in Mr.. Cooks itinerary,
William saw little or nothing of him.
siderable extent yet Camden was
lkable. He had been everywhere
and seen everything, and he had i'm
parted to William many a service.
able bit of information. There was
only grain or two Of Williams
original dislike. The majority of
these grains had been swept aside
by Camdens apparent Indifference to
Ruth's charms.
The tourists remained four days in
the city of pariah dogs; and William
was more interested i'm the habits Of
these homeless animals than in all
the mosques Jumped together. The
way the brutes had divided up the
city among themselves was a whole
volume on local politics.
On the night of the fourth day Will
liam decided to tempt fate once more.
He wanted to prove to himself that
the assaults in Italy had been acts
Of the Black Handlers advised from
New York. Since Florence there had
been no demonstration. If he could
prowl about Constantinople at night
without molestation. it would con-
firm his suspicious that outside Of
Italy he was immune. az:
He prowled through the city until
after midnight, and nothing happen
ed more serious than sundry snaps
and curses from sleeping dogs and
beggars. He had dropped his enc
mics down the horizons very COM
Portable feeling. In Smyrna he Wis
tied the dance halls along the water
front. This. too, was barren Of re-
suits. IL you excepted an alteration
over the price of the sirupy coffee.
He was able to smooth out this diff
Guilty by adopting the oldest-known
method-he paid ten times too much.
1t was in dusty, topas-tinted Cairo
that he found the world he had been
longing for. the world which had ir-
resistibly drawn him out of the hum
drum of drains and catch basins. 1t
was this strange, smelly, colorful
orient that his warm Irish soul was
going TO revel in, to memorize in de-
tail.
The marvels of antiquity in Italy
and Greece had scarcely scratched
his soul. though he had not been inn
pervious to the geographical beau
ties OF. these two countries. Besides,
he knew Italians. Greeks. Bulgarians.
Turks and Russians. Burns. Dolan
& Co. stood in the center OF their
bakeries. their shoe-shining parlors,
their curio shops, their tonsorial PAL
aces. their candy and fruit stands:
types so familiar that he had >long
ceased to pay any attention to them.
But now he stood upon the enchanted
shores Of Aladdin's country (or near
iD. William had read an innocuous
translation Of the Arabian Nights"
and he would not have been astonish-
ed to see the djinn pop out Of soda
bottles. The splendid bronze men of
North Africa, with their brown, drab,
yellow and blue burnooses. their
brown and white and green turbans;
their thrilling kettledrums and reeds,
their donkeys, their trains of pack
camels. their indescribably bewilder-
ing bazaars-his interest in these
pictures was ecstatic.
He was one of the many millions
who accept life as a series of pic
lures. impressionable most to those
which do not conform with every
day routine. I repeat, what he knew
of life had been hammered into him
cruelty and unforgettably. To digress
for moment, Burke was Burns
favorite author. over the Office desk
was a printed card. william could
not remember 1t literally. but he had
the basic truth of 1t. To quote Will
liam in preference to Burke: Learn
ing Is a painful job; whole lot Of
pains rammed into your coco whether
you wanted 'em or not; and the more
pains you could stand up under with
out throwing up the sponge. the big
ger the know; and you could enjoy
learning only when you'd digested
these pains. I guess my brain, like
my stomach, is built on the corned-
beef plan"
Therefore. his mental attitude was
inclined toward such pictures as he
saw in Cairo. When he read a book
he took the story and stored 1t away;
the useful or practical information
made a negligible impression and was