99       99       99       99       99  
,transcriber's ,note regarding the      
illustrations      ,the ,book of ,khalid
 contains illustrations drawn by ,khalil
    ,gibran1 the other early            
,arab-,american writer 7author of ,the  
,prophet71 that are well-known and      
exceptional4 ,there are no    captions  
in the original book1 and are very      
difficult to describe    in words4      
,their locations in the text have been  
marked with the    text ',illustration'4
 ,the reader is encouraged to view these
    illustrations in the ,,html version 
of this ebook4                      99  
99       99       99       99           
,,the ,,book ,,of ,,khalid              
,,the                                   
,,book ,,of ,,khalid                    
,,by                                    
,,ameen ,,rihani    ,illustration       
,,new ,,york                            
,,dodd1 ,,mead ,,and ,,company          
#aiaa                                   
,,copyright1 #aiaa                      

,,by ,,dodd1 ,,mead  ,,company          
,published1 ,october1 #aiaa             
,,contents    ,,book ,,the ,,first      
,,in ,,the ,,exchange     ,,chapter     
,,page           ,,al-,,fatihah         
v           ,,to ,,man                  
#c         ,i ,,probing ,,the ,,trivial 
#e        ,,ii ,,the ,,city ,,of ,,baal 
#ad       ,,iii ,,via ,,dolorosa        
#be        ,,iv ,,on ,,the ,,wharf ,,of 
,,enchantment                           
#cd         ,v ,,the ,,cellar ,,of ,,the
 ,,soul                                 
#df        ,,vi ,,the ,,summer          
,,afternoon ,,of ,a ,,sham              
#eh       ,,vii ,,in ,,the ,,twilight   
,,of ,,an ,,idea                        
#gj      ,,viii ,,with ,,the ,,huris    
#hc    ,,book ,,the ,,second    ,,in    
,,the ,,temple             ,,to ,,nature
                                        
#ig         ,i ,,the ,,dowry ,,of       
,,democracy                             
#ii        ,,ii ,,subtranscendental     
#aae       ,,iii ,,the ,,false ,,dawn   

#abe        ,,iv ,,the ,,last ,,star    
#acj         ,v ,,priesto-,,parental    
#adc        ,,vi ,,flounces ,,and       
,,ruffles                               
#aed       ,,vii ,,the ,,howdaj ,,of    
,,falsehood                             
#afg      ,,viii ,,the ,,kaaba ,,of     
,,solitude                              
#aha        ,,ix ,,signs ,,of ,,the     
,,hermit                                
#aib         ,x ,,the ,,vineyard ,,in   
,,the ,,kaaba                           
#bjb    ,,book ,,the ,,third    ,,in    
,,kulmakan             ,,to ,,god       
#bag         ,i ,,the ,,disentanglement 
,,of ,,the ,,me                         
#bai        ,,ii ,,the ,,voice ,,of     
,,the ,,dawn                            
#bca       ,,iii ,,the ,,self ,,ecstatic
                                        
#bci        ,,iv ,,on ,,the ,,open      
,,highway                               
#bdi         ,v ,,union ,,and ,,progress
                                        
#bgd        ,,vi ,,revolutions ,,within 

,,and ,,without                         
#bhg       ,,vii ,a ,,dream ,,of        
,,empire                                
#bih      ,,viii ,,adumbrations         
#caa        ,,ix ,,the ,,stoning ,,and  
,,flight                                
#cbe         ,x ,,the ,,desert          
#ccc           ,,al-,,khatimah          
#cda          ,,al-,,fatihah      ,in   
the ,khedivial ,library of ,cairo1 among
 the ,papyri of the ,scribe of          
,amen-,ra and the beautifully           
illuminated copies of the ,korn1 the    
modern ,arabic ,manuscript which forms  
the subject of this ,book1 was  found4  
,the present ,editor was attracted to it
 by the dedication and  the rough       
drawings on the cover2 which1 indeed1   
are as curious1 if not  as mystical1 as 
ancient ,egyptian symbols4 ,one of these
 is supposed to  represent a ,new ,york 
,skyscraper in the shape of a ,pyramid1 
the other  is a dancing group under     
which is written3 ,the ,stockbrokers and
 the  ,dervishes4 ,and around these     

symbols1 in ,arabic circlewise1 these   
words3--,and this is my ,book1 the ,book
 of ,khalid1 which ,i dedicate to  my   
,brother ,man1 my ,mother ,nature1 and  
my ,maker ,god4    ,needless to say we  
asked at once the ,custodian of the     
,library to give  us access to this     
,book of ,khalid1 and after examining   
it1 we hired an  amanuensis to make a   
copy for us4 ,which copy we subsequently
 used as  the warp of our material2 the 
woof we shall speak of in the following 
chapter4 ,no1 there is nothing in this  
,work which we can call ours1  except it
 be the ,loom4 ,but the weaving1 we     
assure the ,reader1 was a  mortal       
process2 for the material is of such a  
mixture that here and  there the raw    
silk of ,syria is often spun with the   
cotton and wool of  ,america4 ,in other 
words1 the ,author dips his antique pen 
in a modern  inkstand1 and when the ink 
runs thick1 he mixes it with a          
slabbering  of slang4 ,but we started to
 write an ,introduction1 not a          

,criticism4  ,and lest we end by writing
 neither1 we give here what is more to  
the  point than anything we can say3    
namely1 ,al-,fatihah1 or the ,opening   
,word of ,khalid himself4    ,with      
supreme indifference to the classic     
,arabic proem1 he begins by  saying that
 his ,book is neither a ,memoir nor an  
,autobiography1 neither  a ,journal nor 
a ,confession4    ,orientals1 says he1  
seldom adventure into that region of    
fancy and  fabrication so alluring to   
,european and ,american writers2 for1   
like  the eyes of huris1 our vanity is  
soft and demure4 ,this then is a book   
of travels in an impalpable country1 an 
enchanted country1 from which  we have  
all risen1 and towards which we are     
still rising4 ,it is1 as it  were1 the  
chart and history of one little kingdom 
of the ,soul1--the  ,soul of a          
philosopher1 poet and criminal4 ,i am   
all three1 ,i swear1 for  ,i have lived 
both the wild and the social life4 ,and 
,i have thirsted in  the desert1 and ,i 

have thirsted in the city3 the springs  
of the former  were dry2 the water in   
the latter was frozen in the pipes4     
,that is  why1 to save my life1 ,i had  
to be an incendiary at times1 and at    
others a footpad4 ,and whether on the   
streets of knowledge1 or in the  open   
courts of love1 or in the parks of      
freedom1 or in the cellars and  garrets 
of thought and devotion1 the only saki  
that would give me a  drink without the 
asking was he who called himself        
,patience4444    ,and so1 the ,book of  
,khalid was written4 ,it is the only one
 ,i wrote in  this world1 having made1  
as ,i said1 a brief sojourn in its      
civilised  parts4 ,i leave it now where 
,i wrote it1 and ,i hope to write other 
books in other worlds4 ,now understand1 
,allah keep and guide thee1 ,i do  not  
leave it here merely as a certificate of
 birth or death4 ,i do not  raise it up 
as an epitaph1 a trade-sign1 or any     
other emblem of  vainglory or lucre2 but
 truly as a propylon through which my   

race and  those above and below my race1
 are invited to pass to that higher     
,temple of mind and spirit4 ,for we are 
all tourists1 in a certain  sense1 and  
this world is the most ancient of       
monuments4 ,we go through  life as those
 pugreed-solar-hatted-,europeans go     
through ,egypt4 ,we are  pestered and   
plagued with guides and dragomans of    
every rank and  shade2--social and      
political guides1 moral and religious   
dragomans3 a  ,tolstoy here1 an ,ibsen  
there1 a ,spencer above1 a ,nietzche    
below4 ,and  there thou art left in     
perpetual confusion and despair4 ,where 
wilt  thou go8 ,whom wilt thou follow8  
,or wilt thou tarry to see the work of  
redemption accomplished8 ,for  ,society 
must be redeemed1 and many are the      
redeemers4 ,the ,cross1  however1 is out
 of fashion1 and so is the ,dona        
,dulcinea motive4  ,howbeit1 what an    
array of ,masters and ,knights have we1 
and what a  variety6 ,the work can be   
done1 and speedily1 if we could but     

choose4  ,wagner can do it with music2  
,bakunin1 with dynamite2 ,karl ,marx1   
with  the levelling rod2 ,haeckel1 with 
an injection of protoplasmic logic2  the
 ,pope1 with a pinch of salt and chrism2
 and the ,packer-,kings of  ,america1   
with pork and beef4 ,what wilt thou     
have8 ,whom wilt thou  employ8 ,many are
 the applicants1 many are the guides4   
,but if they are  all going the way of  
,juhannam1 the ,beef-packer ,i would    
choose4 ,for  verily1 a gobbet of beef  
on the way were better than canned      
protoplasmic logic or bottled salt and  
chrism4444    ,no2 travel not on a      
,cook's ticket2 avoid the guides4 ,take 
up thy  staff and foot it slowly and    
leisurely2 tarry wherever thy heart     
would tarry4 ,there is no need of       
hurrying1 ,o my ,brother1 whether       
eternal ,juhannam or eternal ,jannat    
await us yonder4 ,come2 if thou  hast   
not a staff1 ,i have two4 ,and what ,i  
have in my ,scrip ,i will  share with   
thee4 ,but turn thy back to the guides2 

for verily we see  more of them than of 
the ruins and monuments4 ,verily1 we get
 more  of the ,dragomans than of the    
,show4 ,why then continue to move and   
remove at their command8--,take thy     
guidebook in hand and ,i will  tell thee
 what is in it4    ,no2 the time will   
come1 ,i tell thee1 when every one will 
be his own  guide and dragoman4 ,the    
time will come when it will not be      
necessary  to write books for others1 or
 to legislate for others1 or to make    
religions for others3 the time will come
 when every one will write his  own     
,book in the ,life he lives1 and that   
,book will be his code and his          
creed2--that ,life-,book will be the    
palace and cathedral of his ,soul in    
all the ,worlds4          ,,book ,,the  
,,first    ,,in ,,the ,,exchange        
,illustration    ,,to ,,man      ,no    
matter how good thou art1 ,o my         
,brother1 or how bad thou art1 no       
matter how high or how low in the scale 
of being thou art1 ,i still  would      

believe in thee1 and have faith in thee1
 and love thee4 ,for do ,i  not know    
what clings to thee1 and what beckons to
 thee8 ,the claws of  the one and the   
wings of the other1 have ,i not felt and
 seen8 ,look up1  therefore1 and behold 
this ,world-,temple1 which1 to us1 shall
 be a  resting-place1 and not a goal4   
,on the border-line of the ,orient and  
,occident it is built1 on the           
mountain-heights overlooking both4 ,no  
false gods are worshipped in it1--no    
philosophic1 theologic1 or              
anthropomorphic gods4 ,yea1 and the god 
of the priests and prophets is  buried  
beneath the ,fountain1 which is the     
altar of the ,temple1 and  from which   
flows the eternal spirit of our         
,maker--our ,maker who  blinketh when   
the ,claws are deep in our flesh1 and   
smileth when the  ,wings spring from our
 ,wounds4 ,verily1 we are the children  
of the ,god  of ,humour1 and the        
,fountain in ,his ,temple is ever       
flowing4 ,tarry1 and  refresh thyself1  

,o my ,brother1 tarry1 and refresh      
thyself4                                
,,khalid4          ,,chapter ,i         
,,probing ,,the ,,trivial      ,the most
 important in the history of nations and
 individuals was once  the most trivial1
 and vice versa4 ,the plebeian1 who is  
called to-day  the man-in-the-street1   
can never see and understand the        
significance  of the hidden seed of     
things1 which in time must develop or   
die4 ,a  garter dropt in the ballroom of
 ,royalty gives birth to an ,order of   
,knighthood2 a movement to reform the   
spelling of the ,english language1      
initiated by one of the presidents of a 
great ,republic1 becomes  eventually an 
object of ridicule4 ,only two instances 
to illustrate our  point1 which is      
applicable also to time-honoured truths 
and  moralities4 ,but no matter how     
important or trivial these1 he who would
  give utterance to them must do so in  
cap and bells1 if he would be  heard    
nowadays4 ,indeed1 the play is always   

the thing2 the frivolous is  the most   
essential1 if only as a disguise4--,for 
look you1 are we not  too prosperous to 
consider seriously your ponderous       
preachment8 ,and  when you bring it to  
us in book form1 do you expect us to    
take it into  our homes and take you    
into our hearts to boot8--,which        
argument is  convincing even to the man 
in the barn4    ,but the ,author of the 
,khedivial ,library ,manuscript can make
 his  ,genius dance the dance of the    
seven veils1 if you but knew4 ,it is  to
 be regretted1 however1 that he has not 
mastered the most subtle  of arts1 the  
art of writing about one's self4 ,he    
seldom brushes  his wings against the   
dust or lingers among the humble flowers
 close  to the dust3 he does not follow 
the masters in their entertaining       
trivialities and fatuities4 ,we remember
 that even ,gibbon interrupts  the      
turgid flow of his spirit to tell us in 
his ,autobiography that he  really      
could1 and often did1 enjoy a game of   

cards in the evening4 ,and  ,rousseau1  
in a suppurative passion1 whispers to us
 in his ,confessions  that he even      
kissed the linen of ,madame de ,warens' 
bed when he was  alone in her room4 ,and
 ,spencer devotes whole pages in his    
dull and  ponderous history of himself  
to narrate the all-important narration  
of his constant indisposition1--to      
assure us that his ill health more  than
 once threatened the mighty task he had 
in hand4 ,these1 to be  sure1 are most  
important revelations4 ,but ,khalid here
 misses his cue4  ,inspiration does not 
seem to come to him in firefly-fashion4 
,he would have done well1 indeed1 had he
 studied the method of the  professional
 writers of ,memoirs1 especially those  
of ,france4 ,for might  he not then have
 discoursed delectably on ,the ,romance 
of my ,stick ,pin1  ,the ,tragedy of my 
,sombrero1 ,the ,scandal of my ,red     
,flannel1 ,the  ,conquest of my ,silk   
,socks1 ,the ,adventures of my ,tuxedo1 
and such like8  ,but ,khalid is modest  

only in the things that pertain to the  
outward  self4 ,he wrote of other       
,romances and other ,tragedies4 ,and    
when his  ,genius is not dancing the    
dance of the seven veils1 she is either 
flirting with the monks of the ,lebanon 
hills or setting fire to  something in  
,new ,york4 ,but this is not altogether 
satisfactory to the  present ,editor1   
who1 unlike the ,author of the          
,khedivial ,library ,,ms41  must keep   
the reader in mind4 ',tis very well to  
endeavour to unfold a  few of the       
mysteries of one's palingenesis1 but why
 conceal from us  his origin8 ,for is it
 not important1 is it not the fashion at
 least1  that one writing his own       
history should first expatiate on the   
humble  origin of his ancestors and the 
distant obscure source of his genius8   
,and having done this1 should he not    
then tell us how he behaved in his      
boyhood2 whether or not he made anklets 
of his mother's dough for his  little   
sister2 whether he did not kindle the   

fire with his father's  ,korn2 whether  
he did not walk under the rainbow and   
try to reach the  end of it on the      
hill-top2 and whether he did not write  
verse when he  was but five years of    
age4 ,about these essentialities ,khalid
 is  silent4 ,we only know from him that
 he is a descendant of the brave        
sea-daring ,phoenicians--a title which  
might be claimed with justice  even by  
the aborigines of ,yucatan--and that he 
was born in the city of  ,baalbek1 in   
the shadow of the great ,heliopolis1 a  
little way from the  mountain-road to   
the ,cedars of ,lebanon4 ,all else in   
this direction is  obscure4    ,and the 
,k4 ,l4 ,,ms4 which we kept under our   
pillow for thirteen days  and nights1   
was beginning to worry us4 ,after all1  
might it not be  a literary hoax1 we    
thought1 and might not this ,khalid be a
 myth4 ,and  yet1 he does not seem to   
have sought any material or worldly good
  from the writing of his ,book4 ,why1  
then1 should he resort to  deception8   

,still1 we doubted4 ,and one evening we 
were detained by  the sandomancer1 or   
sand-diviner1 who was sitting           
cross-legged on the  sidewalk in front  
of the mosque4 ,i know your mind1 said  
he1  before we had made up our mind to  
consult him4 ,and mumbling his          
abracadabra over the sand spread on a   
cloth before him1 he took up  his       
bamboo-stick and wrote therein--,khalid6
 ,this was amazing4 ,and ,i  know more1 
said he4 ,but after scouring the heaven1
 he shook his head  regretfully and     
wrote in the sand the name of one of the
 hasheesh-dens  of ,cairo4 ,go thither2 
and come to see me again to-morrow      
evening4  ,saying which1 he folded his  
sand-book of magic1 pocketed his fee1   
and walked away4    ,in that            
hasheesh-den1--the reekiest1 dingiest of
 the row in the ,red  ,quarter1--where  
the etiolated intellectualities of      
,cairo flock after  midnight1 the name  
of ,khalid evokes much resounding wit1  
and sarcasm1  and laughter4    ,you mean

 the new ,muhdi1 said one1 offering us  
his chobok of  hasheesh2 smoke to his   
health and prosperity4 ,ha1 ha1 ha4     
,and the chorus of laughter1 which is   
part and parcel of a hasheesh  jag1 was 
tremendous4 ,every one thereupon had    
something to say on the  subject4 ,the  
contagion could not be checked4 ,and    
,khalid was called  the dervish of      
science by one2 the rope-dancer of      
nature by  another4    ,our ,prophet    
lived in a cave in the wilderness of    
,new ,york for five  years1 remarked a  
third4    ,and he sold his camel        
yesterday and bought a bicycle instead4 
,the ,young ,turks can not catch him    
now4    ,ah1 but wait till ,england gets
 after our new ,muhdi4    ,wait till his
 new phthisic-stricken wife dies4       
,whom will our ,prophet marry1 if among 
all the virgins of ,egypt we can  not   
find a consumptive for him8    ,and when
 he pulls down the pyramids to build    
,american ,skyscrapers  with their      
stones1 where shall we bury then our    

,muhdi8    ,all of which1 although      
mystifying to us1 and depressing1 was   
none the  less reassuring4 ,for ,khalid1
 it seems1 is not a myth4 ,no2 we can   
even  see him1 we are told1 and touch   
him1 and hear him speak4    ,shakib the 
poet1 his most intimate friend and      
disciple1 will bring  you into the      
sacred presence4    ,you can not miss   
him1 for he is the drummer of our new   
,muhdi1 ha1 ha1  ha6    ,and this       
,shakib was then suspended and stoned4  
,but their humour1 like  the odor and   
smoke of gunjah1 7hasheesh7 was become  
stifling4 ,so1 we  lay our chobok down2 
and1 thanking them for the              
entertainment1 we  struggle through the 
rolling reek and fling to the open air4 
,in the grill-room of the ,mena ,house  
we meet the poet ,shakib1 who was  then 
drawing his inspiration from a glass of 
whiskey and soda4 ,nay1 he  was drowning
 his sorrows therein1 for his ,master1  
alas6 has  mysteriously disappeared4    
,i have not seen him for ten days1 said 

the ,poet2 and ,i know not  where he    
is4--,if ,i did8 ,ah1 my friend1 you    
would not then see me here4  ,indeed1 ,i
 should be with him1 and though he be in
 the trap of the  ,young ,turks4 ,and   
some real tears flowed down the cheeks  
of the ,poet1  as he spoke4    ,the     
,mena ,house1 a charming little ,branch 
of ,civilisation at the gate  of the    
desert1 stands1 like man himself1 in the
 shadow of two terrible  immensities1   
the ,sphinx and the ,pyramid1 the       
,origin and the ,end4 ,and  in the      
grill-room1 over a glass of whiskey and 
soda1 we presume to  solve in few words 
the eternal mystery4 ,but that is not   
what we came  for4 ,and to avoid the    
bewildering depths into which we were   
led1 we  suggested a stroll on the      
sands4 ,here the ,poet waxed more       
eloquent1  and shed more tears4    ,this
 is our favourite haunt1 said he2 here  
is where we ramble1 here  is where we   
loaf4 ,and ,khalid once said to me1 ',in
 loafing here1 ,i work  as hard as did  

the masons and hod-carriers who laboured
 on these  pyramids4' ,and ,i believe   
him4 ,for is not a book greater than a  
pyramid8 ,is not a mosque or a palace   
better than a tomb8 ,an object is  great
 in proportion to its power of          
resistance to time and the  elements4   
,that is why we think the pyramids are  
great4 ,but see1 the  desert is greater 
than the pyramids1 and the sea is       
greater than the  desert1 and the       
heavens are greater than the sea4 ,and  
yet1 there is  not in all these that    
immortal intelligence1 that living1     
palpitating  soul1 which you find in a  
great book4 ,a man who conceives and    
writes a  great book1 my friend1 has    
done more work than all the helots that 
laboured on these pyramidal futilities4 
,that is why ,i find no  exaggeration in
 ,khalid's words4 ,for when he loafs1 he
 does so in good  earnest4 ,not like the
 camel-driver there or the camel1 but   
after the  manner of the great thinkers 
and mystics3 like ,al-,fared and        

,jelal'ud-,deen ,rumy1 like ,socrates   
and ,st4 ,francis of ,assisi1 ,khalid   
loafs4 ,for can you escape being        
reproached for idleness by merely       
working8 ,are you going to waste your   
time and power in useless  unproductive 
labour1 carrying dates to ,hajar 7or    
coals to ,newcastle1  which is the      
,english equivalent71 that you might not
 be called an  idler1 a loafer8         
,indeed not1 we reply2 for the ,poet    
taking in the sea1 or the woods1  or the
 starry-night1 the poet who might be    
just sharing the sunshine  with the     
salamander1 is as much a labourer as the
 stoker or the  bricklayer4    ,and with
 a few more such remarks1 we showed our 
friend that1 not being  of india-rubber1
 we could not but expand under the heat 
of his  grandiosity4    ,we then make   
our purpose known1 and ,shakib is       
overjoyed4 ,he offers to  kiss us for   
the noble thought4    ,yes1 ,europe     
should know ,khalid better1 and only    
through you and me  can this be done4   

,for you can not properly understand    
him1 unless you  read the ,histoire     
,intime1 which ,i have just finished4   
,that will give  you les dessous de     
cartes of his character4    ,les        
dessons--and the ,poet who intersperses 
his ,arabic with fancy  ,french1        
explains4--,the lining1 the             
ligaments4--,ah1 that is exactly  what  
we want4    ,and he offers to let us    
have the use of his ,manuscript1 if we  
link his  name with that of his         
illustrious ,master in this ,book4 ,to  
which we  cheerfully agree4 ,for after  
all1 what's in a name8    ,on the       
following day1 lugging an enormous      
bundle under each arm1 the  ,poet came4 
,we were stunned as he stood in the     
door2 we felt as if he  had struck us in
 the head with them4    ,this is the    
,histoire ,intime1 said he1 laying it   
gently on the  table4    ,and we laid   
our hand upon it1 fetching a deep sigh4 
,our misgivings1  however1 were lighted 
with a happy idea4 ,we will hire a few  

boys to  read it1 we thought1 and mark  
out the passages which please them most4
  ,that will be just what an editor     
wants4    ,and this1 continued the      
,poet1 laying down the other bundle1 is 
the  original manuscript of my          
forthcoming ,book of ,poems4--    ,sweet
 of him1 we thought1 to present it to   
us4    ,it will be issued next ,autumn  
in ,cairo4--    ,fortunate ,city6       
,and if you will get to work on it at   
once1--    ,mercy6    ,you can get out  
an ,english ,translation in three month1
 ,i am sure--    ,we sink in our chair  
in breathless amazement4    ,the ,book  
will then appear simultaneously both in 
,london and ,cairo4    ,we sit up1      
revived with another happy idea1 and    
assure the ,poet that  his ,work will be
 translated into a universal language1  
and that very  soon4 ,for which         
assurance he kisses us again and again1 
and goes away  hugging his ,muse4       
,the idea6 ,a ,book of ,poems to        
translate into the ,english language6   

,as  if the ,english language has not   
enough of its own troubles6 ,translate  
it1 ,o ,fire1 into your language6 ,which
 work the ,fire did in two  minutes4    
,and the dancing1 leaping1 singing      
flames1 the white and blue  and amber   
flames1 were more beautiful1 we thought1
 than anything the  ,ms4 might contain4 
,as for the ,histoire ,intime1 we split 
it into three parts and got our  boys   
working on it4 ,the result was most     
satisfying4 ,for now we can  show1 and  
though he is a native of ,asia1 the land
 of the ,prophets1 and  though he       
conceals from us his origin after the   
manner of the  ,prophets1 that he was   
born and bred and fed1 and even         
thwacked1 like  all his fellows there1  
this ,khalid4          ,,chapter ,,ii   
,,the ,,city ,,of ,,baal      ,the ,city
 of ,baal1 or ,baalbek1 is between the  
desert and the deep  sea4 ,it lies at   
the foot of ,anti-,libanus1 in the sunny
 plains of  ,coele-,syria1 a day's march
 from either ,damascus or ,beirut4 ,it  

is a  city with a past as romantic as   
,rome's1 as wicked as ,babel's2 its     
ruins testify both to its glory and its 
shame4 ,it is a city with a  future as  
brilliant as any ,new-,world city2 the  
railroad at its  gate1 the modern       
agricultural implements in its fields1  
and the  porcelain bath-tubs in its     
hotels1 can testify to this4 ,it is a   
city  that enticed and still entices the
 mighty of the earth2 ,roman  ,emperors 
in the past came to appease the wrath of
 its gods1 a ,german  ,emperor to-day   
comes to pilfer its temples4 ,for the   
,acropolis in  the poplar grove is a    
mine of ruins4 ,the porphyry pillars1   
the  statues1 the tablets1 the exquisite
 friezes1 the palimpsests1 the          
bas-reliefs1--,time and the ,turks have 
spared a few of these4 ,and when  the   
,german ,emperor came1 ,abd'ul-,hamid   
blinked1 and the ,berlin ,museum  is now
 the richer for it4    ,of the ,temple  
of ,jupiter1 however1 only six standing 
columns remain2  of the ,temple of      

,bacchus only the god and the           
,bacchantes are missing4  ,and why was  
the one destroyed1 the other preserved1 
only the six  columns1 had they a       
tongue1 could tell4 ,indeed1 how many   
blustering  vandals have they conquered1
 how many savage attacks have they      
resisted1 what wonders and what orgies  
have they beheld6 ,these six  giants of 
antiquity1 looking over ,anti-,lebanon  
in the ,east1 and  down upon the        
meandering ,leontes in the ,south1 and  
across the  ,syrian steppes in the      
,north1 still hold their own against    
,time and the  ,elements4 ,they are the 
dominating feature of the ruins2 they   
tower  above them as the ,acropolis     
towers above the surrounding poplars4   
,and  around their base1 and through the
 fissures1 flows the perennial  grace of
 the seasons4 ,the sun pays tribute to  
them in gold2 the rain1  in mosses and  
ferns2 the ,spring1 in lupine flowers4  
,and the  swallows1 nesting in the      
portico of the ,temple of ,bacchus1     

above  the curious frieze of            
egg-decoration1--as curious1 too1 their 
art of  egg-making1--pour around the    
colossal columns their silvery notes4   
,surely1 these swallows and ferns and   
lupine flowers are more  ancient than   
the ,acropolis4 ,and the marvels of     
extinct nations can  not hold a candle  
to the marvels of ,nature4    ,here1    
under the decaying beauty of ,roman art1
 lies buried the  monumental boldness of
 the ,phoenicians1 or of a race of      
giants whose  extinction even ,homer    
deplores1 and whose name even the       
,phoenicians  could not decipher4 ,for  
might they not1 too1 have stood here    
wondering1 guessing1 even as we moderns 
guess and wonder8 ,might not  the       
,phoenicians have asked the same        
questions that we ask to-day3 ,who  were
 the builders8 and with what tools8 ,in 
one of the walls of the  ,acropolis are 
stones which a hundred bricklayers can  
not raise an inch  from the ground2 and 
among the ruins of the ,temple of ,zeus 

are  porphyry pillars1 monoliths1 which 
fifty horses could barely move1 and  the
 quarry of which is beyond the ,syrian  
desert4 ,there1 now1 solve the  problem 
for yourself4    ,hidden in the grove of
 silver-tufted poplars is the little    
,temple of  ,venus1 doomed to keep      
company with a ,mosque4 ,but it is a joy
 to stand  on the bridge above the      
stream that flows between them1 and     
listen to  the muazzen in the minaret   
and the bulbuls in the ,temple4         
,mohammad  calling to ,venus1 ,venus    
calling to ,mohammad--what a romance6   
,we leave  the subject to the poet that 
wants it4 ,another ,laus ,veneris to    
another  ,swinburne might suggest       
itself4    ,an ,arab ,prophet with the  
goddess1 this time--but the ,river flows
  between the ,temple and the ,mosque4  
,in the city1 life is one such          
picturesque languid stream4 ,the        
shop-keepers sit on their rugs in  their
 stalls1 counting their beads1 smoking  
their narghilahs1 waiting  indifferently

 for ,allah's bounties4 ,and the hawkers
 shuffle along  crying their wares in   
beautiful poetic illusions1--the        
flower-seller  singing1 ,reconcile your 
mother-in-law6 ,perfume your spirit6    
,buy a  jasmine for your soul6 the      
seller of loaves1 his tray on his head1 
his arms swinging to a measured step1   
intoning in pious thankfulness1  ,o thou
 ,eternal1 ,o thou ,bountiful6 ,the     
sakka of licorice-juice1  clicking his  
brass cups calls out to the thirsty one1
 ,come1 drink and  live6 ,come1 drink   
and live6 ,and ere you exclaim1 ,how    
quaint6 ,how  picturesque6 a train of   
laden camels drives you to the wall1    
rudely  shaking your illusion4 ,and the 
mules and donkeys1 tottering under      
their heavy burdens1 upsetting a tray of
 sweetmeats here1 a counter of  spices  
there1 must share the narrow street with
 you and compel you to  move along      
slowly1 languidly like themselves4 ,they
 seem to take ,time  by the sleeve and  
say to it1 ,what's your hurry8 ,these   

donkeys1  ,shakib writes1 quoting       
,khalid1 can teach the strenuous        
,europeans and  hustling ,americans a   
lesson4    ,in the ,city ,square1 as we 
issue from the congested windings of the
  ,bazaar1 we are greeted by one of     
those scrub monuments that are found  in
 almost every city of the ,ottoman      
,empire4 ,and in most cases1 they  are  
erected to commemorate the benevolence  
and public zeal of some  wali or pasha  
who must have made a handsome fortune in
 the promotion  of a public enterprise4 
,be this as it may4 ,it is not our      
business here  to probe the corruption  
of any particular ,government4 ,but we  
observe  that this miserable botch of a 
monument is to the ruins of the         
,acropolis1 what this modern absolutism1
 this effete ,turkey is to the          
magnificent tyrannies of yore4 ,indeed1 
nothing is duller1 more stupid1  more   
prosaic than a modern absolutism as     
compared with an ancient one4  ,but why 
concern ourselves with like comparisons8

 ,the world is better  to-day in spite  
of its public monuments4 ,these little  
flights or  frights in marble are as    
snug in their little squares1 in front  
of  their little halls1 as are the      
majestic ruins in their poplar groves4  
,in both instances1 ,nature and         
,circumstance have harmonised between   
the subject and the background4 ,come   
along4 ,and let the rhymsters  chisel on
 the monument whatever they like about  
sculptures and the  wali4 ,to condemn in
 this case is to praise4    ,we issue   
from the ,square into the drive leading 
to the spring at the  foot of the       
mountain4 ,on the meadows near the      
stream1 is always to be  found a group  
of ,baalbekians bibbing arak and swaying
 languidly to  the mellow strains of the
 lute and the monotonous melancholy of  
,arabic  song4 ,among such1 one         
occasionally meets with a native who1   
failing as  peddler or merchant in      
,america1 returns to his native town1   
and1  utilising the chips of ,english he

 picked up in the streets of the        
,new-,world cities1 becomes a dragoman  
and guide to ,english and ,american     
tourists4    ,now1 under this sky1      
between ,anti-,libanus rising near the  
spring1  ,rasulain1 and the ,acropolis  
towering above the poplars1 around      
these majestic ruins1 amidst these      
fascinating scenes of ,nature1  ,khalid 
spent the halcyon days of his boyhood4  
,here he trolled his  favourite ditties 
beating the hoof behind his donkey4 ,for
 he  preferred to be a donkey-boy than  
to be called a donkey at school4  ,the  
pedagogue with his drivel and           
discipline1 he could not learn to  love4
 ,the company of muleteers was much more
 to his liking4 ,the open  air was his  
school2 and everything that riots and   
rejoices in the  open air1 he loved4    
,bulbuls and beetles and butterflies1   
oxen and  donkeys and mules1--these were
 his playmates and friends4 ,and when he
  becomes a muleteer1 he reaches in his 
first venture1 we are told1  the top    

round of the ladder4 ,this progressive  
scale in his  trading1 we observe4      
,husbanding his resources1 he was soon  
after1 by  selling his donkey1 able to  
buy a sumpter-mule2 a year later he     
sells his mule and buys a camel2 and    
finally he sells the camel and  buys a  
fine ,arab mare1 which he gives to a    
tourist for a hundred  pieces of        
,english gold4 ,this is what is called  
success4 ,and with the  tangible symbol 
of it1 the price of his mare1 he        
emigrates to  ,america4 ,but that is to 
come4    ,let us now turn our           
stereopticon on the screen of           
reminiscence1  using the pictures       
furnished by ,shakib4 ,but before they  
can be used to  advantage1 they must    
undergo a process of retroussage4 ,many 
of the  lines need be softened1 some of 
the shades modified1 and not a few of   
the etchings1 absolutely worthless1 we  
consign to the flames4 ,who of  us1 for 
instance1 was not feruled and           
bastinadoed by the town  pedagogue8 ,who

 did not run away from school1          
whimpering1 snivelling1  and cursing in 
his heart and in his sleep the          
black-board and the  horn-book8 ,nor can
 we see the significance of the fact    
that ,khalid  once smashed the icon of  
the ,holy ,virgin for whetting not his  
wits1  for hearing not his prayers4 ,it 
may be he was learning then the use of  
the sling1 and instead of killing his   
neighbour's laying-hen1 he broke  the   
sacred effigy4 ,no1 we are not warranted
 to draw from these  trivialities the   
grand results which send ,shakib in     
ecstasies about  his ,master's genius4  
,nor do we for a moment believe that the
  waywardness of a genius or a prophet  
in boyhood is always a  significant     
adumbration4 ,shakespeare started as a  
deer-poacher1 and  ,rousseau as a thief4
 ,yet1 neither the one nor the other1 as
 far as we  know1 was a plagiarist4     
,this1 however1 does not disprove the   
contrary  proposition1 that he who      
begins as a thief or an iconoclast is   

likely  to end as such4 ,but the        
actuating motive has nothing to do with 
what  we1 in our retrospective analysis1
 are pleased to prove4 ,not so far      
forth are we willing to piddle among the
 knicknacks of ,shakib's  ,histoire     
,intime of his ,master4    ,furthermore1
 how can we interest ourselves in his   
fiction of history  concerning ,baalbek8
 ,what have we to do with the fact or   
fable that  ,seth the ,prophet lived in 
this ,city2 that ,noah is buried in its 
vicinity2 that ,solomon built the       
,temple of the ,sun for the ,queen of   
,sheba2 that this ,prince and ,poet used
 to lunch in ,baalbek and dine at       
,istachre in ,afghanistan2 that the     
chariot of ,nimrod drawn by four        
phoenixes from the ,tower of ,babel1    
lighted on ,mt4 ,hermon to give said    
,nimrod a chance to rebuild the said    
,temple of the ,sun8 ,how can we  bring 
any of these fascinating fables to bear 
upon our subject8 ,it is  nevertheless  
significant to remark that the ,city of 

,baal1 from the  ,phoenicians and       
,moabites down to the ,arabs and ,turks1
 has ever been  noted for its           
sanctuaries of carnal lust4 ,the higher 
religion1 too1  found good soil here2   
for ,baalbek gave the world many a saint
 and  martyr along with its harlots and 
poets and philosophers4 ,st4 ,minius1   
,st4 ,cyril and ,st4 ,theodosius1 are   
the foremost among its holy  children2  
,ste4 ,odicksyia1 a ,magdalene1 is one  
of its noted daughters4  ,these were as 
famous in their days as ,ashtarout or   
,jupiter-,ammon4 ,as  famous too is     
,al-,iman ul-,ouzaai the scholar2       
al-,makrizi the historian2  ,kallinichus
 the chemist1 who invented the ,greek   
fire2 ,kosta ibn ,luka1  a doctor and   
philosopher1 who wrote among much       
miscellaneous rubbish a  treaty         
entitled1 ,on the ,difference ,between  
the ,mind and the ,soul2 and  finally   
the ,muazzen of ,baalbek to whom even   
the beasts would stop to  listen4 ,ay1  
,shakib relates quoting al-,makrizi1 who

 in his turn  relates1 quoting one of   
the octogenarian ,drivellers1           
,muhaddetheen  7these men are the chief 
sources of ,arabic ,history7 that he was
 told  by an eye and ear witness that   
when this celebrated ,muazzen was once  
calling the ,faithful to prayer1 the    
camels at the creek craned their  necks 
to listen to the sonorous music of his  
voice4 ,and such was their  delight that
 they forgot they were thirsty4 ,this1  
by the way of a  specimen of the        
,muhaddetheen4 ,now1 about these        
historical worthies  of ,baalbek1 whom  
we have but named1 ,shakib writes whole 
pages1 and  concludes--and here is the  
point--that ,khalid might be a          
descendant of  any or all of them6 ,for 
in him1 our ,scribe seriously believes1 
are  lusty strains of many varied and   
opposing humours4 ,and although he had  
not yet seen the sea1 he longed when a  
boy for a long sea voyage1 and  he would
 sail little paper boats down the stream
 to prove the fact4 ,in  truth1 that is 

what ,shakib would prove4 ,the devil and
 such logic had a  charm for us once1   
but no more4    ,here is another bubble 
of retrospective analysis to which we   
apply the  needle4 ,it is asserted as a 
basis for another astounding deduction  
that ,khalid used to sleep in the ruined
 ,temple of ,zeus4 ,as if ruined        
temples had anything to do with the     
formation or deformation of the         
brain-cells or the soul-afflatus6 ,the  
devil and such logic1 we repeat1  had   
once a charm for us4 ,but this1 in      
brief1 is how it came about4  ,khalid   
hated the pedagogue to whom he had to   
pay a visit of courtesy  every day1 and 
loved his cousin ,najma whom he was not 
permitted to  see4 ,and when he runs    
away from the bastinado1 breaking in    
revenge the  icon of the ,holy ,virgin1 
his father turns him away from home4    
,complaining not1 whimpering not1 he    
goes4 ,and hearing the bulbuls  calling 
in the direction of ,najma's house that 
evening1 he repairs  thither4 ,but the  

crabbed1 cruel uncle turns him away     
also1 and bolts  the door4 ,whereupon   
,khalid1 who was then in the first of   
his teens1  takes a big scabrous rock   
and sends it flying against that door4  
,the  crabbed uncle rushes out1         
blustering1 cursing2 the nephew takes up
  another of those scabrous missiles and
 sends it whizzing across his  shoulder4
 ,the second one brushes his ear4 ,the  
third sends the blood  from his temple4 
,and this1 while beating a retreat and  
cursing his  father and his uncle and   
their ancestors back to fifty           
generations4 ,he  is now safe in the    
poplar grove1 and his uncle gives up the
 charge4  ,with a broken noddle he      
returns home1 and ,khalid with a broken 
heart  wends his way to the ,acropolis1 
the only shelter in sight4 ,in relating 
this story1 ,shakib mentions the        
horrible old moon1 who was wickedly     
smiling over the town that night4 ,a    
broken icon1 a broken door1 a  broken   
pate1--a big price this1 the crabbed    

uncle and the cruel father  had to pay  
for thwarting the will of little        
,khalid4 ,but he entered  the ,acropolis
 a conqueror1 says our ,scribe2 he won  
the battle4 ,and  he slept in the       
temple1 in the portico thereof1 as sound
 as a  muleteer4 ,and the swallows in   
the niches above heard him sleep4    ,in
 the morning he girds his loins with a  
firm resolution4 ,no longer  will he    
darken his father's door4 ,he becomes a 
muleteer and  accomplishes the success  
of which we have spoken4 ,his first beau
 idal  was to own the best horse in     
,baalbek2 and to be able to ride to the 
camp of the ,arabs and be mistaken for  
one of them1 was his first great        
ambition4 ,which he realises sooner than
 he thought he would4 ,for  thrift1 grit
 and perseverance1 are a few of the     
rough grains in his  character4 ,but no 
sooner he is possessed of his ideal than
 he begins  to loosen his hold upon it4 
,he sold his mare to the tourist1 and   
was  glad he did not attain the same    

success in his first love4 ,for he      
loved his mare1 and he could not have   
loved his cousin ,najma more4  ,the     
realisation is a terrible thing1 writes 
our ,scribe1 quoting his  ,master4 ,but 
when this fine piece of wisdom was      
uttered1 whether when  he was sailing   
paper boats in ,baalbek1 or unfurling   
his sails in ,new  ,york1 we can not    
say4    ,and now1 warming himself on the
 fire of his first ideal1 ,khalid will  
seek the shore and launch into unknown  
seas towards unknown lands4  ,from the  
,city of ,baal to the ,city of          
,demiurgic ,dollar is not in fact a  far
 cry4 ,it has been remarked that he     
always dreamt of adventures1 of  long   
journeys across the desert or across the
 sea4 ,he never was  satisfied with the 
seen horizon1 we are told1 no matter how
 vast and  beautiful4 ,his soul always  
yearned for what was beyond1 above or   
below1 the visible line4 ,and had not   
the ,european tourist alienated  from   
him the love of his mare and corrupted  

his heart with the love of  gold1 we    
might have heard of him in ,mecca1 in   
,india1 or in ,dahomey4  ,but ,shakib   
prevails upon him to turn his face      
toward the ,west4 ,one  day1 following  
some tourists to the ,cedars1 they      
behold from  ,dahr'ul-,qadhib the sun   
setting in the ,mediterranean and make  
up their  minds to follow it too4 ,for  
the sundown1 writes ,shakib1 was more   
appealing to us than the sunrise1 ay1   
more beautiful4 ,the one was so  near1  
the other so far away4 ,yes1 we beheld  
the ,hesperian light that  day1 and     
praised ,allah4 ,it was the ,new        
,world's bonfire of hospitality3  the   
sun called to us1 and we obeyed4        
,,chapter ,,iii    ,,via ,,dolorosa     
,in their baggy1 lapping trousers and   
crimson caps1 each carrying a  bundle   
and a rug under his arm1 ,shakib and    
,khalid are smuggled through  the port  
of ,beirut at night1 and safely rowed to
 the steamer4 ,indeed1  we are in a     
country where one can not travel without

 a passport1 or a  password1 or a little
 pass-money4 ,and the boatmen and       
officials of the  ,ottoman ,empire can  
better read a gold piece than a         
passport4 ,so1  ,shakib and ,khalid1 not
 having the latter1 slip in a few of the
 former1  and are smuggled through4 ,one
 more longing1 lingering glance behind1 
and the dusky peaks of the ,lebanons1   
beyond which their native ,city of      
,baal is sleeping in peace1 recede from 
view4 ,on the high sea of hope  and joy 
they sail2 under the ,favonian wind of  
enthusiasm1 on the  friendly billows of 
boyish dreams1 they roll4 ,ay1 and they 
sing for  joy4 ,on and on1 to the       
gold-swept shores of distant lands1 to  
the  generous cities and the bounteous  
fields of the ,west1 to the ,paradise   
of the ,world--to ,america4    ,we need 
not dwell too much with our ,scribe1 on 
the repulsive details  of the story of  
the voyage4 ,we ourselves have known a  
little of the  suffering and misery     
which emigrants must undergo1 before    

they reach  that ,western ,paradise of  
the ,oriental imagination4 ,how they are
  huddled like sheep on deck from       
,beirut to ,marseilles2 and like cattle 
transported under hatches across the    
,atlantic2 and bullied and  browbeaten  
by rough disdainful stewards2 and made  
to pay for a  leathery gobbet of beef   
and a slice of black flint-like bread3  
all  this we know4 ,but that ,new ,world
 paradise is well worth these passing   
privations4    ,the second day at sea1  
when the two ,baalbekian lads are snug  
on deck1  their rugs spread out not far 
from the stalls in which ,syrian cattle 
are shipped to ,egypt and ,arab horses  
to ,europe or ,america1 they  rummage in
 their bags--and behold1 a treat6       
,shakib takes out his  favourite poet   
,al-,mutanabbi1 and ,khalid1 his        
favourite bottle1 the  choicest of the  
,ksarah distillery of the ,jesuits4 ,for
 this whilom  donkey-boy will begin by  
drinking the wine of these good ,fathers
 and  then their--blood6 ,his lute is   

also with him2 and he will continue to  
practise the few lessons which the      
bulbuls of the poplar groves have       
taught him4 ,no1 he cares not for books4
 ,and so1 he uncorks the bottle1  hands 
it to ,shakib his senior1 then takes a  
nip himself1 and1  thrumming his lute   
strings1 trolls a few doleful pieces of 
,arabic  song4 ,in these1 he would say  
to ,shakib1 pointing to the bottle and  
the lute1 is real poetry1 and not in    
that book with which you would  kill me4
 ,and ,shakib1 in stingless sarcasm1    
would insist that the  music in         
,al-,mutanabbi's lines is just a little 
more musical than  ,khalid's thrumming4 
,they quarrel about this4 ,and in       
justice to both1  we give the following 
from the ,histoire ,intime4    ,when we 
left our native land1 ,shakib writes1 my
 literary bent was  not shared in the   
least by ,khalid4 ,i had gone through   
the higher  studies which1 in our       
hedge-schools and clerical institutions1
 do not  reach a very remarkable height4

 ,enough of ,french to understand the   
authors tabooed by our ,jesuit          
professors1--the ,voltaires1 the        
,rousseaus1 the ,diderots2 enough of    
,arabic to enable one to parse and      
analyse the verse of ,al-,mutanabbi2    
enough of ,church ,history to show  us1 
not how the ,church wielded the sword of
 persecution1 but how she  was          
persecuted herself by the pagans and    
barbarians of the earth2--of  these and 
such like consists the edifying         
curriculum4 ,now1 of this  high phase of
 education1 ,khalid was thoroughly      
immune4 ,but his  intuitive sagacity was
 often remarkable1 and his humour1 sweet
 and  pathetic4 ,once when ,i was       
reading aloud some of the ,homeric      
effusions  of ,al-,mutanabbi1 he said to
 me1 as he was playing his lute1 ',in   
the  heart of this1' pointing to the    
lute1 'and in the heart of me1 there  be
 more poetry than in that book with     
which you would kill me4' ,and  one day1
 after wandering clandestinely through  

the steamer1 he comes  to me with a     
gesture of surprise and this3 ',do you  
know1 there are  passengers who sleep in
 bunks below1 over and across each      
other8 ,i saw  them1 billah6 ,and ,i was
 told they pay more than we do for such 
a low  passage--the fools6 ,think on it4
 ,i peeped into a little room1 a dingy1 
smelling box1 which had in it six berths
 placed across and above each  other    
like the shelves of the reed manchons we
 build for our  silk-worms at home4 ,i  
wouldn't sleep in one of them1 billah6  
even  though they bribe me4 ,this bovine
 fragrance1 the sight of these fine     
horses1 the rioting of the wind above   
us1 should make us forget the  brutality
 of the stewards4 ,indeed1 ,i am as     
content1 as comfortable  here1 as are   
their ,excellencies in what is called   
the ,salon4 ,surely1  we are above      
them--at least1 in the night4 ,what     
matters it1 then1 if  ours is called the
 ,fourth ,class and theirs the ,primo4  
,wherever one is  happy1 ,shakib1 there 

is the ,primo4'    ,but this happy      
humour is assailed at ,marseilles4 ,his 
placidity and  stolid indifference are  
rudely shaken by the sharpers1 who      
differ  only from the boatmen of ,beirut
 in that they wear pantaloons and       
intersperse their ,arabic with a jargon 
of ,french4 ,these brokers1  like       
rapacious bats1 hover around the        
emigrant and before his  purse is opened
 for the fourth time1 the trick is done4
 ,and with  what ceremony1 you shall    
see4 ,from the steamer the emigrant is  
led  to a dealer in frippery1 where he  
is required to doff his baggy  trousers 
and crimson cap1 and put on a suit of   
linsey-woolsey and a  hat of hispid     
felt3 end of ,first ,act2 open the      
purse4 ,from the dealer  of frippery1   
spick and span from top to toe1 he is   
taken to the  hostelry1 where he is     
detained a fortnight1 sometimes a month1
 on  the pretext of having to wait for  
the best steamer3 end of ,second ,act2  
open the purse4 ,from the hostelry at   

last to the steamship agent1  where they
 secure for him a third-class passage on
 a fourth-class  ship across the        
,atlantic3 end of ,third ,act2 open the 
purse4 ,and now  that the purse is      
almost empty1 the poor emigrant is      
permitted to  leave4 ,they send him to  
,new ,york with much gratitude in his   
heart  and a little trachoma in his     
eyes4 ,the result being that a month    
later they have to look into such eyes  
again4 ,but the purse of the  distressed
 emigrant now being empty1--empty as his
 hopes and  dreams1--the rapacious bats 
hover not around him1 and the door of   
the verminous hostelry is shut in his   
face4 ,he is left to starve  on the     
western shore of the ,mediterranean4    
,ay1 even the droll humour and stolidity
 of ,khalid1 are shaken1  aroused1 by   
the ghoulish greed1 the fell inhumanity 
of these sharpers4  ,and ,shakib from   
his cage of fancy lets loose upon them  
his hyenas of  satire4 ,in a squib      
describing the bats and the voyage he   

says3 ,the  voyage to ,america is the   
,via ,dolorosa of the emigrant2 and the 
,port of  ,beirut1 the verminous        
hostelries of ,marseilles1 the ,island  
of ,ellis in  ,new ,york1 are the three 
stations thereof4 ,and if your hopes are
 not  crucified at the third and last   
station1 you pass into the ,paradise of 
your dreams4 ,if they are crucified1    
alas6 ,the gates of the said  ,paradise 
will be shut against you2 the doors of  
the hostelries will be  slammed in your 
face2 and with a consolation and a      
vengeance you will  throw yourself at   
the feet of the sea in whose bosom some 
charitable  ,jonah will carry you to    
your native strands4    ,and when the   
emigrant has a surplus of gold1 when his
 capital is such  as can not be         
dissipated on a suit of shoddy1 a       
fortnight's lodging1  and a passage     
across the ,atlantic1 the ingenious ones
 proceed with the  ,fourth ,act of ,open
 ,thy ,purse4 ,instead of starting in   
,new ,york as a  peddler1 they say1     

unfolding before him one of their       
alluring  schemes1 why not do so as a   
merchant8 ,and the emigrant opens his   
purse for the fourth time in the office 
of some ,french manufacturer1  where he 
purchases a few boxes of                
trinketry1--scapulars1 prayer-beads1    
crosses1 jewelry1 gewgaws1 and such     
like1--all said to be made in the  ,holy
 ,land4 ,these he brings over with him  
as his stock in trade4    ,now1 ,khalid 
and ,shakib1 after passing a fortnight  
in ,marseilles1 and  going through the  
,fourth ,act of the ,sorry ,show1 find  
their dignity as  merchants rudely      
crushed beneath the hatches of the      
,atlantic steamer4  ,for here1 even the 
pleasure of sleeping on deck is denied  
them4 ,the  ,atlantic ,ocean would not  
permit of it4 ,indeed1 everybody has to 
slide  into their stivy bunks to save   
themselves from its rising wrath4 ,a    
fortnight of such unutterable misery is 
quite supportable1 however1 if  one     
continues to cherish the ,paradise      

already mentioned4 ,but in this  dark1  
dingy smelling hole of the steerage1    
even the poets cease to  dream4 ,the    
boatmen of ,beirut and the sharpers of  
,marseilles we could  forget2 but in    
this grave among a hundred and more of  
its kind1 set  over and across each     
other1 neither the lute nor the little  
that  remained in that ,ksarah bottle1  
could bring us any solace4    ,we are   
told that ,khalid took up his lute but  
once throughout the  voyage4 ,and this  
when they were permitted one night to   
sleep on deck4  ,we are also informed   
that ,khalid had a remarkable dream1    
which1 to our  ,scribe at least1 is not 
meaningless4 ,and who of us1 thou silly 
,scribe1  did not in his boyhood tell   
his dreams to his mother1 who would turn
  them in her interpretation inside out8
 ,but ,khalid1 we are assured1          
continued to cherish the belief1 even in
 his riper days1 that when you  dream   
you are in ,jannat1 for instance1 you   
must be prepared to go  through         

,juhannam the following day4 ,a method  
of interpretation as  ancient as        
,joseph1 to be sure4 ,but we quote the  
dream to show that  ,khalid should not  
have followed the setting sun4 ,he      
should have turned  his face toward the 
desert4    ,they slept on deck that     
night4 ,they drank the wine of the      
,jesuits1  repeated1 to the mellow      
strains of the lute1 the song of the    
bulbuls1  intoned the verses of         
,al-,mutanabbi1 and1 wrapping themselves
 in their  rugs1 fell asleep4 ,but in   
the morning they were rudely jostled    
from  their dreams by a spurt from the  
hose of the sailors washing the deck4   
,complaining not1 they straggle down to 
their bunks to change their  clothes4   
,and ,khalid1 as he is doing this1      
implores ,shakib not to  mention to him 
any more that ,new-,world paradise4 ,for
 ,i have dreamt  last night1 he         
continues1 that1 in the multicoloured   
robes of an  ,arab amir1 on a           
caparisoned dromedary1 at the head of an

 immense  multitude of people1 ,i was   
riding through the desert4 ,whereto and 
wherefrom1 ,i know not4 ,but those who  
followed me seemed to know2 for  they   
cried1 ',long have we waited for thee1  
now we shall enter in  peace4' ,and at  
every oasis we passed1 the people came  
to the gate to  meet us1 and1           
prostrating themselves before me1 kissed
 the fringe of  my garment4 ,even the   
women would touch my boots and kiss     
their hands1  exclaiming1 ',allahu      
akbar6' ,and the palm trees1 billah6 ,i 
could see  bending towards us that we   
might eat of their fruits1 and the      
springs  seemed to flow with us into the
 desert that we might never thirst4 ,ay1
  thus in triumph we marched from one   
camp to another1 from one oasis to  the 
next1 until we reached the ,city on the 
,hills of the ,cedar ,groves4  ,outside 
the gate1 we were met by the most       
beautiful of its tawny  women1 and four 
of these surrounded my camel and took   
the reins from  my hand4 ,i was then    

escorted through the gates1 into the    
,city1 up to  the citadel1 where ,i was 
awaited by their ,princess4 ,and she1   
taking a  necklace of cowries from a bag
 that hung on her breast1 placed it on  
my head1 saying1 ',i crown thee ,king   
of--' ,but ,i could not hear the  rest1 
which was drowned by the cheering of the
 multitudes4 ,and the  cheering1 ,o     
,shakib1 was drowned by the hose of the 
sailors4 ,oh1 that  hose6 ,is it not    
made in the paradise you harp upon1 the 
paradise we  are coming to8 ,never1     
therefore1 mention it to me more4       
,this is the dream1 at once simple and  
symbolic1 which begins to worry         
,khalid4 ,for in the evening of the day 
he related it to me1 writes  ,shakib1 ,i
 found him sitting on the edge of his   
bunk brooding over ,i  know not what4   
,it was the first time he had the blues4
 ,nay1 it was the  first time he looked 
pensive and profound4 ,and upon asking  
him the  reason for this1 he said1 ',i  
am thinking of the paper-boats which ,i 

used to sail down the stream in         
,baalbek1 and that makes me sad4'       
,how strange6 ,and yet1 this first event
 recorded by our ,scribe1 in  which     
,khalid is seen struggling with the     
mysterious and unknown1 is  most        
significant4 ,another instance1 showing 
a latent phase1 hitherto  dormant1 in   
his character1 we note4 ,among the      
steerage passengers is a  ,syrian girl  
who much resembles his cousin ,najma4   
,she was sea-sick  throughout the       
voyage1 and when she comes out to       
breathe of the fresh  air1 a few hours  
before they enter the harbour of ,new   
,york1 ,khalid  sees her1 and ,shakib   
swears that he saw a tear in ,khalid's  
eye as he  stood there gazing upon her4 
,poor ,khalid6 ,for though we are       
approaching the last station of the ,via
 ,dolorosa1 though we are  nearing the  
enchanted domes of the wonder-working1  
wealth-worshipping  ,city1 he is        
inexplicably sad4    ,and ,shakib1      
directly after swearing that he saw a   

tear in his eye1  writes the following3 
,up to this time ,i observed in my      
friend only  the dominating traits of a 
hard-headed1 hard-hearted boy1 stubborn1
  impetuous1 intractable4 ,but from the 
time he related to me his dream1  a     
change in his character was become      
manifest4 ,in fact a new phase was      
being gradually unfolded4 ,three things 
,i must emphasise in this  connection3  
namely1 the first dream he dreamt in a  
foreign land1 the  first time he looked 
pensive and profound1 and the first tear
 he shed  before we entered ,new ,york4 
,these are keys to the secret chamber of
  one's soul4    ,and now1 that the     
doors1 by virtue of our ,scribe's       
open-sesames1 are  thrown open1 we      
enter1 bismillah4          ,,chapter    
,,iv    ,,on ,,the ,,wharf ,,of         
,,enchantment      ,not in our make-up1 
to be sure1--not in the pose which is   
preceded by  the tantaras of a          
trumpet1--do the essential traits in our
 character  first reveal themselves4    

,but truly in the little things the real
 self  is exteriorised4 ,shakib observes
 closely the rapid changes in his       
co-adventurer's humour1 the shadowy     
traits which at that time he  little    
understood4 ,and now1 by applying his   
palm to his front1 he  illumines those  
chambers of which he speaks1 and also   
the niches  therein4 ,he helps us to    
understand the insignificant points     
which mark  the rapid undercurrents of  
the seemingly sluggish soul of ,khalid4 
,not  in vain1 therefore1 does he       
crystallise for us that first tear he   
shed  in the harbour of ,manhattan4 ,but
 his gush about the recondite beauty  of
 this pearl of melancholy1 shall not be 
intended upon the gustatory  nerves of  
the ,reader4 ,this then we note--his    
description of ,new ,york  harbour4     
,and is this the gate of ,paradise1 he  
asks1 or the port of some               
subterrestrial city guarded by the      
,jinn8 ,what a marvel of enchantment  is
 everything around us6 ,what            

manifestations of industrial strength1  
what monstrosities of wealth and power1 
are here6 ,these vessels  proudly       
putting to sea2 these tenders scurrying 
to meet the ,atlantic  greyhound which  
is majestically moving up the bay2 these
 barges  loading and unloading schooners
 from every strand1 distant and near2   
these huge lighters carrying even       
railroads over the water2 these         
fire-boats scudding through the harbour 
shrilling their sirens2 these  careworn1
 grim1 strenuous multitudes ferried     
across from one enchanted  shore to     
another2 these giant structures tickling
 heaven's sides2  these cable bridges1  
spanning rivers1 uniting cities2 and    
this  superterrestrial goddess1 torch in
 hand--wake up1 ,khalid1 and behold     
these wonders4 ,salaam1 this enchanted  
,city6 ,there is the ,brooklyn  ,bridge1
 and here is the ,statue of ,liberty    
which people speak of1 and  which are as
 famous as the ,cedars of ,lebanon4     
,but ,khalid is as impassive as the     

bronze goddess herself4 ,he leans  over 
the rail1 his hand supporting his cheek1
 and gazes into the ooze4  ,the         
stolidity of his expression is          
appalling4 ,with his mouth open as      
usual1 his lips relaxed1 his tongue     
sticking out through the set  teeth1--he
 looks as if his head were in a noose4  
,but suddenly he  braces up1 runs down  
for his lute1 and begins to             
serenade--,greater ,new  ,york8         
,on thee be ,allah's grace1       ,who  
hath the well-loved face6    ,no2 not   
toward this ,city does his heart flap   
its wings of song4 ,he is  on another   
sea1 in another harbour4 ,indeed1 what  
are these wonders as  compared with     
those of the ,city of ,love8 ,the       
,statue of ,eros there is  more imposing
 than the ,statue of ,liberty here4 ,and
 the bridges are  not of iron and       
concrete1 but of rainbows               
and--moonshine6 ,indeed1 both  these    
lads are now on the wharf of            
enchantment2 the one on the  palpable1  

the sensuous1 the other on the          
impalpable and unseen4 ,but  both1 alas1
 are suddenly1 but temporarily1         
disenchanted as they are  jostled out of
 the steamer into the barge which brings
 them to the  ,juhannam of ,ellis       
,island4 ,here1 the unhappy children of 
the steerage  are dumped into the       
,bureau of ,emigration as--such stuff6  
,for even in  the land of equal rights  
and freedom1 we have a right to expect  
from  others the courtesy and decency   
which we ourselves do not have to  show1
 or do not know4    ,these are sturdy   
and adventurous foreigners whom the     
grumpy officers  jostle and hustle      
about4 ,for neither poverty1 nor        
oppression1 nor both  together can drive
 a man out of his country1 unless the   
soul within  him awaken4 ,indeed1 many a
 misventurous cowering peasant continues
 to  live on bread and olives in his    
little village1 chained in the fear of  
dying of hunger in a foreign land4 ,only
 the brave and daring spirits  hearken  

to the voice of discontent within them4 
,they give themselves  up to the higher 
aspirations of the soul1 no matter how  
limited such  aspirations might be1     
regardless of the dangers and hardship  
of a long  sea voyage1 and the          
precariousness of their plans and hopes4
 ,there may  be nothing noble in        
renouncing one's country1 in abandoning 
one's  home1 in forsaking one's people2 
but is there not something remarkable   
in this great move one makes8 ,whether  
for better or for worse1 does  not the  
emigrant place himself above his        
country1 his people and his             
,government1 when he turns away from    
them1 when he goes forth propelled  by  
that inner self which demands of him a  
new life8    ,and might it not be a     
better1 a cleaner1 a higher life8 ,what 
say our  ,masters of the ,island of     
,ellis8 ,are not these straggling1      
smelling1  downcast emigrants almost as 
clean inwardly1 and as pure1 as the     
grumpy officers who harass and humiliate

 them8 ,is not that spirit of           
discontent which they cherish1 and for  
which they carry the cross1 so  to      
speak1 across the sea1 deserving of a   
little consideration1 a  little         
civility1 a little kindness8    ,even   
louder than this ,shakib cries out1     
while ,khalid open-mouthed  sucks his   
tongue4 ,here at the last station1 where
 the odours of  disinfectants are worse 
than the stench of the steerage1 they   
await  behind the bars their turn2      
stived with ,italian and ,hungarian     
fellow  sufferers1 uttering such        
whimpers of expectancy1 exchanging such 
gestures of hope4 ,soon they shall be   
brought forward to be examined by  the  
doctor and the interpreting officer2 the
 one shall pry their  purses1 the other 
their eyes4 ,for in this ,united ,states
 of ,america we  want clear-sighted     
citizens at least4 ,and no cold-purses1 
if the  matter can be helped4 ,but      
neither the eyes1 alas1 nor the purses  
of  our two emigrants are conformable to

 the ,law2 the former are filled  with  
granulations of trachoma1 the latter    
have been emptied by the  sharpers of   
,marseilles4 ,which means that they     
shall be detained for  the present2 and 
if within a fortnight nothing turns up  
in their  favour1 they shall certainly  
be deported4    ,trachoma6 a little     
granulation on the inner surface of the 
eyelids1  what additional misery does it
 bring upon the poor deported emigrant8 
,we are asked to shed a tear for him1 to
 weep with him over his blasted  hopes1 
his strangled aspirations1 his estate in
 the mother country  sold or            
mortgaged1--in either case lost1--and   
his seed of a new life  crushed in its  
cotyledon by the physician who might be 
short-sighted  himself1 or even blind4  
,but the law must be enforced for the   
sake of  the clear-sighted citizens of  
the ,republic4 ,we will have nothing to 
do  with these poor blear-eyed          
foreigners4    ,and thus our grievous   
,scribe would continue1 if we did not   

exercise  the prerogative of our        
,editorial ,divan4 ,rather let us pursue
 our  narration4 ,khalid is now in the  
hospital1 awaiting further development  
in his case4 ,but in ,shakib's1 whose   
eyes are far gone in trachoma1 the      
decision of the ,board of ,emigration is
 final1 irrevokable4 ,and so1  after    
being detained a week in the ,emigration
 pen1 the unfortunate  ,syrian must turn
 his face again toward the ,east4 ,not  
out into the  ,city1 but out upon the   
sea1 he shall be turned adrift4 ,the    
grumpy  officer shall grumpishly enforce
 the decision of the ,board by handing  
our ,scribe to the ,captain of the first
 steamer returning to ,europe--if  our  
,scribe can be found6 ,for this flyaway 
son of a ,phoenician did not  seem to   
wait for the decision of the polyglot   
,judges of the ,emigration  ,board4     
,and that he did escape1 we are assured4
 ,for one morning he eludes the  grumpy 
officer1 and sidles out among his       
,italian neighbours who were  permitted 

to land4 ,see him genuflecting now1 to  
kiss the curbstone  and thank ,allah    
that he is free4 ,but before he can     
enjoy his freedom1  before he can sit   
down and chuckle over the success of his
 escapade1  he must bethink him of      
,khalid4 ,he will not leave him to the  
mercy of  the honourable ,agents of the 
,law1 if he can help it4 ,trachoma1 he  
knows1 is a hard case to cure4 ,and in  
ten days1 under the care of the         
doctors1 it might become worse4         
,straightway1 therefore1 he puts        
himself to the dark task4 ,a few visits 
to the ,hospital where ,khalid is       
detained--the patients in those days    
were not held at ,ellis  ,island--and   
the intrigue is afoot4 ,on the third or 
fourth visit1 we  can not make out      
which1 a note in ,arabic is slipt into  
,khalid's  pocket1 and with a           
significant ,arabic sign1 ,shakib takes 
himself off4    ,the evening of that    
very day1 the trachoma-afflicted ,syrian
 was absent  from the ward4 ,he was     

carried off by ,iblis1--the porter and a
 few  ,greenbacks assisting4 ,yes1 even 
,shakib1 who knew only a few ,english   
monosyllables1 could here make himself  
understood4 ,for money is one of  the   
two universal languages of the world1   
the other being love4  ,indeed1 money   
and love are as eloquent in ,turkey and 
,dahomey as they  are in ,paris or ,new 
,york4    ,and here we reach one of     
those hedges in the ,histoire ,intime   
which  we must go through in spite of   
the warning-signs4 ,between two         
paragraphs1 to be plain1 in the one of  
which we are told how the two  ,syrians 
established themselves as merchants in  
,new ,york1 in the other1  how and      
wherefor they shouldered the            
peddling-box and took to the  road1     
there is a crossed paragraph containing 
a most significant  revelation4 ,it     
seems that after giving the matter some 
serious  thought1 our ,scribe came to   
the conclusion that it is not proper to 
incriminate his illustrious ,master4    

,but here is a confession which a       
hundred crosses can not efface4 ,and if 
he did not want to bring the  matter to 
our immediate cognisance1 why1 we ask1  
did he not re-write  the page8 ,why did 
he not cover well that said paragraph   
with crosses  and arabesques8 ,we do    
suspect him here of chicanery2 for by   
this  plausible recantation he would    
shift the responsibility to the         
shoulders of the ,editor1 if the secret 
is divulged4 ,be this as it may1  no red
 crosses can conceal from us the        
astounding confession1 which we  now    
give out4 ,for the two young ,syrians1  
who were smuggled out of  their country 
by the boatmen of ,beirut1 and who      
smuggled themselves  into the city of   
,new ,york 7we beg the critic's pardon2 
for1 being  foreigners ourselves1 we    
ought to be permitted to stretch this   
term1  smuggle1 to cover an ,arabic     
metaphor1 or to smuggle into it a       
foreign  meaning71 these two ,syrians1  
we say1 became1 in their capacity of    

merchants1 smugglers of the most        
ingenious and most evasive type4    ,we 
now note the following1 which pertains  
to their business4 ,we learn  that they 
settled in the ,syrian ,quarter directly
 after clearing their  merchandise4 ,and
 before they entered their cellar1 we   
are assured1  they washed their hands of
 all intrigues and were shrived of their
  sins by the ,maronite priest of the   
,colony4 ,for they were pious in  those 
days1 and right ,catholics4 ',tis       
further set down in the  ,histoire      
,intime3    ,we rented a cellar1 as deep
 and dark and damp as could be found4   
,and  our landlord was a ,teague1 nay1 a
 kind-hearted old ,irishman1 who  helped
 us put up the shelves1 and never called
 for the rent in the  dawn of the first 
day of the month4 ,in the front part of 
this cellar  we had our shop2 in the    
rear1 our home4 ,on the floor we laid   
our  mattresses1 on the shelves1 our    
goods4 ,and never did we stop to think  
who in this case was better off4 ,the   

safety of our merchandise before  our   
own4 ,but ten days after we had settled 
down1 the water issued  forth from the  
floor and inundated our shop and home4  
,it rose so high  that it destroyed half
 of our capital stock and almost all our
  furniture4 ,and yet1 we continued to  
live in the cellar1 because1  perhaps1  
every one of our compatriot-merchants   
did so4 ,we were all  alike subject to  
these inundations in the winter season4 
,i remember  when the water first rose  
in our store1 ,khalid was so hard set   
and in  such a pucker that he ran out   
capless and in his shirt sleeves to     
discover in the next street the source  
of the flood4 ,and one day1 when  we    
were pumping out the water he asked me  
if ,i thought this was easier  than     
rolling our roofs in ,baalbek4 ,for     
truly1 the paving-roller is  child's    
play to this pump4 ,and a leaky roof is 
better than an  inundated cellar4       
,however1 this is not the time for      
brooding4 ,they have to pump ahead to   

save what remained of their capital     
stock4 ,but ,khalid1 nevertheless1      
would brood and jabber4 ,and what an    
inundation of ideas1 and what           
questions6    ,think you1 he asks1 that 
the inhabitants of this ,new ,world are 
better off than those of the ,old8--,can
 you imagine mankind living in a  huge  
cellar of a world and you and ,i pumping
 the water out of its  bottom8--,i can  
see the palaces on which you waste your 
rhymes1 but  mankind live in them only  
in the flesh4 ,the soul ,i tell you1    
still  occupies the basement1 even the  
sub-cellar4 ,and an inundated cellar at 
that4 ,the soul1 ,shakib1 is kept below1
 although the high places are  vacant4  
,and his partner sputters out his       
despair2 for instead of helping to  pump
 out the water1 ,khalid stands there    
gazing into it1 as if by some  miracle  
he would draw it out with his eyes or   
with his breath4 ,and the  poor ,poet   
cries out1 ,pump6 the water is gaining  
on us1 and our shop  is going to ruin4  

,pump6 ,whereupon the lazy1             
absent-minded one resumes  pumping1     
while yearning all the while for the    
plashing stone-rollers  and the purling 
eaves of his home in ,baalbek4 ,and once
 in a  pinch1--they are labouring under 
a peltering rain1--he stops as is his   
wont to remind ,shakib of the ,arabic   
saying1 ,from the dripping ceiling  to  
the running gargoyle4 ,he is labouring  
again under a hurricane of  ideas4 ,and 
again he asks1 ,are you sure we are     
better off here8    ,and our poor       
,scribe1 knee-deep in the water below1  
blusters out  curses1 which ,khalid     
heeds not4 ,i am tired of this job1 he  
growls2  the stone-roller never drew so 
much on my strength1 nor did            
muleteering4 ,ah1 for my dripping       
ceiling again1 for are we not now  under
 the running gargoyle8 ,and he reverts  
into a stupor1 leaving the  world to the
 poet and the pump4    ,for five years  
and more they lead such a life in the   
cellar4 ,and they  do not move out of   

it1 lest they excite the envy of their  
compatriots4  ,but instead of sleeping  
on the floor1 they stretch themselves on
 the  counters4 ,the rising tide teaches
 them this little wisdom1 which keeps   
the doctor and ,izril away4 ,their      
merchandise1 however1--their  crosses1  
and scapulars and prayer-beads1--are    
beyond hope of recovery4  ,for what the 
rising tide spares1 the rascally flyaway
 peddlers carry  away4 ,that is why they
 themselves shoulder the box and take to
 the  road4 ,and the pious old dames of 
the suburbs1 we are told1 receive  them 
with such exclamations of joy and       
wonder1 and almost tear their  coats to 
get from them a sacred token4 ,for you  
must remember1 they are  from the ,holy 
,land4 ,unlike their goods1 they at     
least are genuine4 ,and  every ,saturday
 night1 after beating the hoof in the   
country and making  such fabulous       
profits on their false ,holy-,land      
gewgaws1 they return to  their cellar   
happy and content4    ,in three years1  

writes our ,scribe1 ,khalid and ,i      
acquired what ,i  still consider a      
handsome fortune4 ,each of us had a bank
 account1 and  a check book which we    
seldom used4444 ,in spite of which1 we  
continued  to shoulder the peddling box 
and tramp along4444 ,and ,khalid would  
say  to me1 ',a peddler is superior to a
 merchant2 we travel and earn money2    
our compatriots the merchants rust in   
their cellars and lose it4' ,to  be     
sure1 peddling in the good old days was 
most attractive4 ,for the  exercise1 the
 gain1 the experience--these are rich   
acquirements4    ,and both ,shakib and  
,khalid1 we apprehend1 have been        
hitherto most  moderate in their habits4
 ,the fact that they seldom use their   
check  books1 testifies to this4 ,they  
have now a peddleress1 ,im-,hanna by    
name1 who occupies their cellar in their
 absence1 and keeps what  little they   
have in order4 ,and when they return    
every ,saturday night  from their       
peddling trip1 they find the old woman  

as ready to serve  them as a mother4    
,she cooks mojadderah for them1 and sews
 the  bed-linen on the quilts as is done
 in the mother country4    ,the linen1  
says ,shakib1 was always as white as a  
dove's wing1 when  ,im-,hanna was with  
us4    ,and in the ,khedivial ,library  
,manuscript we find this curious note   
upon  that popular ,syrian dish of      
lentils and olive oil4    ,mojadderah1  
writes ,khalid1 has a marvellous effect 
upon my humour  and nerves4 ,there are  
certain dishes1 ,i confess1 which give  
me the  blues4 ,of these1 fried         
eggplants and cabbage boiled with       
corn-beef on  the ,american system of   
boiling1 that is to say1 cooking1 ,i    
abominate  the most4 ,but mojadderah has
 such a soothing effect on the nerves2  
it conduces to cheerfulness1 especially 
when the raw onion or the leek  is taken
 with it4 ,after a good round pewter    
platter of this delicious  dish and a   
dozen leeks1 ,i feel as if ,i could do  
the work of all  mankind4 ,and ,i am    

then in such a beatific state of mind   
that ,i would  share with all mankind my
 sack of lentils and my pipkin of olive 
oil4  ,i wonder not at ,esau's          
extravagance1 when he saw a steaming    
mess of  it4 ,for what is a birthright  
in comparison8    ,that ,shakib also    
shared this beatific mood1 the following
 quaint  picture of their ,saturday     
nights in the cellar1 will show4    ,a  
bank account1 he writes1 a good round   
dish of mojadderah1 the  lute for       
,khalid1 ,al-,mutanabbi for me1--neither
 of us could forego his  hobby1--and    
,im-,hanna1 affectionate1 devoted as our
 mothers1--these  were the joys of our  
,saturday nights in our underground     
diggings4 ,we  were absolutely happy4   
,and we never tried to measure our      
happiness in  those days1 or gauge it1  
or flay it to see if it be dead or      
alive1  false or real4 ,ah1 the         
blessedness of that supreme             
unconsciousness  which wrapped us as a  
mother would her babe1 warming and      

caressing our  hearts4 ,we did not know 
then that happiness was a thing to be   
sought4  ,we only knew that peddling is 
a pleasure1 that a bank account is a    
supreme joy1 that a dish of mojadderah  
cooked by ,im-,hanna is a royal         
delight1 that our dour dark cellar is a 
palace of its kind1 and that  happiness1
 like a bride1 issues from all these1   
and1 touching the  strings of ,khalid's 
lute1 mantles us with song4             
,,chapter ,v    ,,the ,,cellar ,,of     
,,the ,,soul      ,heretofore1 ,khalid  
and ,shakib have been inseparable as the
 ,pointers4  ,they always appeared      
together1 went the rounds of their      
peddling orbit  together1 and together  
were subject to the same conditions and 
restraints4 ,which restraints are a sort
 of sacrifice they make on the  altar of
 friendship4 ,one1 for instance1 would  
never permit himself an  advantage which
 the other could not enjoy1 or a        
pleasure in which the  other could not  
share4 ,they even slept under the same  

blanket1 we  learn1 ate from the same   
plate1 puffed at the same narghilah1    
which  ,shakib brought with him from    
,baalbek1 and collaborated in writing to
  one lady-love6 ,a condition of        
unexampled friendship this1 of complete 
oneness4 ,they had both cut themselves  
garments from the same cloth1 as  the   
,arabic saying goes4 ,and on ,sunday    
afternoon1 in garments spick and  span1 
they would take the air in ,battery     
,park1 where the one would  invoke the  
,statue of ,liberty for a thought1 or   
the gilded domes of  ,broadway for a    
metaphor1 while the other would be      
scouring the horizon  for the           
,nothingness1 which is called1 in the   
recondite cant of the  sophisticated1 a 
vague something4    ,in the ,khedivial  
,library ,,ms4 we find nothing which    
this ,battery ,park  might have         
inspired4 ,and yet1 we can not believe  
that ,khalid here was  only attracted by
 that vague something which1 in his     
spiritual  enceinteship1 he seemed to   

relish4 ,nothing8 ,not even the does and
  kangaroos that adorn the ,park        
distracted or detained him8 ,we doubt   
it2  and ,khalid's lute sustains us in  
our doubt4 ,ay1 and so does our         
,scribe2 for in his ,histoire ,intime we
 read the following1 which we           
faithfully transcribe4    ,of the many  
attractions of ,battery ,park1 the girls
 and the sea were  my favourite4 ,for   
the girls in a crowd have for me a      
fascination which  only the girls at the
 bath can surpass4 ,i love to lose      
myself in a  crowd1 to buffet1 so to    
speak1 its waves1 to nestle under their 
feathery crests4 ,for the rolling waves 
of life1 the tumbling waves of  the sea1
 and the fiery waves of ,al-,mutanabbi's
 poetry have always been  my delight4   
,in ,battery ,park ,i took especial     
pleasure in reading aloud  my verses to 
,khalid1 or in fact to the sea1 for     
,khalid never would  listen4    ,once ,i
 composed a few stanzas to the ,milkmaid
 who stood in her wagon  near the lawn1 

rattling out milk-punches to the boys4  
,a winsome lass  she was1 fresh in her  
sororiation1 with fair blue eyes1 a     
celestial  flow of auburn hair1 and     
cheeks that suggested the milk and      
cherry in  the glass she rattled out to 
me4 ,i was reading aloud the stanzas    
which  she inspired1 when ,khalid1 who  
was not listening1 pointed out to me a  
woman whose figure and the curves       
thereof were remarkable4 ',is it not    
strange1' said he1 'how the women here  
indraw their stomachs and  outdraw their
 hips8 ,and is not this the opposite of 
the shape which  our women cultivate8'  
,yes1 with the ,lebanon women1 the      
convex curve beneath the waist is       
frontward1 not hindward4 ,but that is a 
matter of taste1 ,i thought1 and  man is
 partly responsible for either          
convexity4 ,i have often wondered1      
however1 why the women of my country    
cultivate that shape4 ,and why do  they 
in ,america cultivate the reverse of it8
 ,needless to say that both  are        

pruriently titillating1--both           
distentions are damnably suggestive1    
quite killing4 ,the ,american woman1    
from a fine sense of modesty1 ,i am     
told1 never or seldom ventures abroad1  
when big with child4 ,but in the        
kangaroo figure1 the burden is slightly 
shifted and naught is amiss4  ,ah1 such 
haunches as are here exhibited suggest  
the aliats of our  ,asiatic sheep4      
,and what he says about the pruriently  
titillating convexities1 whether        
frontward or hindward1 suggests a little
 prudery4 ,for in his rhymes he  betrays
 both his comrade and himself4 ,battery 
,park and the attractions  thereof prove
 fatal4 ,elsewhere1 therefore1 they must
 go1 and begin to  draw on their bank   
accounts4 ,which does not mean1 however1
 that they  are far from the snare4 ,no2
 for when a young man begins to suffer  
from  what the doctors call hebephrenia1
 the farther he draws away from such    
snares the nearer he gets to them4 ,and 
these lusty ,syrians could not  repel   

the magnetic attraction of the          
polypiosis of what ,shakib likens  to   
the aliat 7fattail7 of our ,asiatic     
sheep4 ,surely1 there be more  devils   
under such an aliat than under the hat  
of a ,jesuit4 ,and  ,khalid is the first
 to discover this4 ,both have been      
ensnared1  however1 and both1 when in   
the snare1 have been infernally         
inspired4  ,what ,khalid wrote1 when he 
was under the influence of feminine     
curves1  was preserved by ,shakib1 who  
remarks that one evening1 after         
returning  from the ,park1 ,khalid said 
to him1 ',i am going to write a poem4'  
,a  fortnight later1 he hands him the   
following1 which he jealously kept      
among his papers4        ,i dreamt ,i   
was a donkey-boy again4      ,out on the
 sun-swept roads of ,baalbek1 ,i tramp  
behind my          burro1 trolling my   
mulayiah4      ,at noon1 ,i pass by a   
garden redolent of mystic scents and    
tarry awhile4      ,under an orange     
tree1 on the soft green grass1 ,i       

stretch my          limbs4      ,the    
daisies1 the anemones1 and the cyclamens
 are round me          pressing3        
,the anemone buds hold out to me their  
precious rubies2 the          daisies   
kiss me in the eyes and lips2 and the   
cyclamens          shake their powder in
 my hair4      ,on the wall1 the roses  
are nodding1 smiling2 above me the      
orange blossoms surrender themselves to 
the wooing          breeze2 and on      
yonder rock the salamander sits1        
complacent          and serene4      ,i 
take a daisy1 and1 boy as boys go1      
question its          petals3           
,married man or monk1 ,i ask1 plucking  
them off one by one1      ,and the last 
petal says1 ,monk4      ,i perfume my   
fingers with crumpled cyclamens1 cover  
my          face with the dark-eyed     
anemones1 and fall asleep4      ,and my 
burro sleeps beneath the wall1 in the   
shadow of          nodding roses4       
,and the black-birds too are dozing1 and
 the bulbuls flitting          by       

whisper with their wings1 'salaam4'     
,peace and salaam6      ,the bulbul1 the
 black-bird1 the salamander1 the burro1 
and          the burro-boy1 are to each 
other shades of noon-day sun3           
,happy1 loving1 generous1 and free2--   
,as happy as each other1 and as free4   
,we do what we please in ,nature's      
realm1 go where we          please2     
,no one's offended1 no one ever wronged4
      ,no sentinels hath ,nature1 no    
police4      ,but lo1 a goblin as ,i    
sleep comes forth2--      ,a goblin     
taller than the tallest poplar1 who     
carries me upon          his neck to the
 ,park in far ,new ,york4      ,here    
women1 light-heeled1 heavy-haunched1    
pace up and          down the flags in  
graceful gait4      ,my roses these1 ,i 
cry1 and my orange blossoms4      ,but  
the goblin placed his hand upon my      
mouth1 and ,i was          dumb4        
,the cyclamens1 the anemones1 the       
daisies1 ,i saw them1 but ,i            
could not speak to them4      ,the      

goblin placed his hand upon my mouth1   
and ,i was          dumb4      ,o take  
me back to my own groves1 ,i cried1 or  
let me speak4      ,but he threw me off 
his shoulders in a huff1 among the      
daisies          and the cyclamens4     
,alone among them1 but ,i could not     
speak4      ,he had tied my tongue1 the 
goblin1 and left me there alone4        
,and in front of me1 and towards me1 and
 beside me1      ,walked ,allah's       
fairest cyclamens and anemones4      ,i 
smell them1 and the tears flow down my  
cheeks2      ,i can not even like the   
noon-day bulbul      ,whisper with my   
wings1 salaam6      ,i sit me on a bench
 and weep4      ,and in my heart ,i sing
      ,o1 let me be a burro-boy again2  
,o1 let me sleep among the cyclamens    
,of my own land4    ,shades of ,whitman6
 ,but ,whitman1 thou ,donkey1 never     
weeps4 ,whitman1 if  that goblin tried  
to silence him1 would have wrung his    
neck1 after he  had ridden upon it4 ,the
 above1 nevertheless1 deserves the space

 we  give it here1 as it shadows forth  
one of the essential elements of        
,khalid's spiritual make-up4 ,but this  
slight symptom of that disease we       
named1 this morbidness incident to      
adolescence1 is eventually overcome  by 
a dictionary and a grammar4 ,ay1 ,khalid
 henceforth shall cease to  scour the   
horizon for that vague something of his 
dreams2 he has  become far-sighted      
enough by the process to see the        
necessity of  pursuing in ,america      
something more spiritual than peddling  
crosses and  scapulars4 ,especially in  
this ,america1 where the alphabet is    
spread  broadcast1 and free of charge4  
,and so1 he sets himself to the task of 
self-education4 ,he feels the embryo    
stir within him1 and in the             
squeamishness of enceinteship1 he asks  
but for a few of the fruits of          
knowledge4 ,ah1 but he becomes voracious
 of a sudden1 and the little  pocket    
dictionary is devoured entirely in three
 sittings4 ,hence his  folly of treating

 his thoughts and fancies1 as he was    
treated by the  goblin4 ,for do not     
words often rob a fancy of its tongue1  
or a thought  of its soul8 ,many of the 
pieces ,khalid wrote when he was        
devouring  dictionaries were finally    
disposed of in a most picturesque       
manner1 as  we shall relate4 ,and a few 
were given to ,shakib1 of which that    
,dream  of ,cyclamens was preserved4    
,and ,khalid's motto was1 ,one book at a
 time4 ,he would not encumber  himself  
with books any more than he would with  
shoes4 ,but that the  mind might not go 
barefoot1 he always bought a new book   
before  destroying the one in hand4     
,destroying8 ,yes2 for after reading or 
studying a book1 he warms his hands upon
 its flames1 this ,khalid1 or  makes it 
serve to cook a pot of mojadderah4 ,in  
this extraordinary  and outrageous      
manner1 barbarously capricious1 he would
 baptise the  ideal in the fire of the  
real4 ,and thus1 glowing with health and
  confidence and conceit1 he enters     

another ,park from which he escapes  in 
the end1 sad and wan and bankrupt4 ,of a
 truth1 many attractions and            
distractions are here2 else he could not
 forget the peddling-box and  the       
light-heeled1 heavy-haunched women of   
,battery ,park4 ,here are  swings for   
the mind2 toboggan-chutes for the soul2 
merry-go-rounds for  the fancy2 and many
 devious and alluring paths where one   
can lose  himself for years4 ,a         
sanitarium this for the hebephreniac4   
,and like  all sanitariums1 you go into 
it with one disease and come out of it  
with ten4 ,had ,shakib been forewarned  
of ,khalid's mind1 had he even  seen him
 at the gate before he entered1 he would
 have given him a few  hints about the  
cross-signs and barbed-cordons therein4 
,but should he  not have divined that   
,khalid soon or late was coming8 ,did he
 not  call enough to him1 and aloud8    
,get thee behind me on this dromedary1  
our ,scribe1 reading his ,al-,mutanabbi1
 would often say to his comrade1  and   

come from this desert of barren gold1 if
 but for a day1--come out  with me to   
the oasis of poesy4    ,but ,khalid     
would only ride alone4 ,and so1 he      
begins his course of  self-education4   
,but how he shall manage it1 in this    
cart-before-the-horse  fashion1 the     
reader shall know4 ,words before rules1 
ideas before  systems1 epigrams before  
texts1--that is ,khalid's fancy4 ,and   
that  seems feasible1 though not        
logical2 it will prove effectual1 too1  
if one  finally brushed the text and    
glanced at the rules4 ,for an epigram1  
when it takes possession of one1 goes   
farther in influencing his  thoughts and
 actions than whole tomes of ethical    
culture science4 ,you  know perhaps how 
the ,arabs conquered the best half of   
the world with an  epigram1 a word4 ,and
 ,khalid loves a fine-sounding1         
easy-flowing word2 a  word of supple    
joints1 so to speak2 a word that you can
 twist and roll  out1 flexible as a     
bamboo switch1 resilient as a fine steel

 rapier4  ,but once ,shakib1 after      
reading one of ,khalid's first attempts1
 gets up in  the night when his friend  
is asleep1 takes from the bottom drawer 
of the  peddling-box the evil-working   
dictionary1 and places therein a        
grammar4  ,this touch of delicacy1 this 
fine piece of criticism1 brief and neat1
  without words withal1 ,khalid this    
time is not slow to grasp and           
appreciate4 ,he plunges1 therefore1     
headlong into the grammar1 turns a  few 
somersaults in the mazes of ,sibawai and
 ,naftawai1 and coming out  with a      
broken noddle1 writes on the door the   
following3 ,what do ,i care  about your 
theories of nouns and verbs8 ,whether   
the one be derived from  the other1     
concerns not me4 ,but this ,i know1     
after stumbling once or  twice in your  
labyrinths1 one comes out parsing the   
verb1 to run4  ,indeed1 verbs are more  
essential than nouns and adjectives4 ,a 
noun can  be represented pictorially2   
but how1 pictorially1 can you represent 

a noun  in motion1--,khalid1 for        
instance1 running out of your           
labyrinths8 ,even  an abstract state can
 be represented in a picture1 but a     
transitive state  never4 ,the richest   
language1 therefore1 is not the one     
which can boast of  a thousand names for
 the lion or two thousand for the camel1
 but the  one whose verbs have a        
complete and perfect gamut of moods and 
tenses4    ,that is why1 although       
writing in ,arabic1 ,khalid prefers     
,english4 ,for  the ,arabic verb is     
confined to three tenses1 the primary   
ones only2  and to break through any of 
these in any degree1 requires such      
crowbars as only auxiliaries and other  
verbs can furnish4 ,for this and  many  
other reasons ,khalid stops short in the
 mazes of ,sibawai1 runs  out of them   
exasperated1 depressed1 and never for a 
long time after  looks in that          
direction4 ,he is now curious to know if
 the ,english  language have its        
,sibawais and ,naftawais4 ,and so1 he   

buys him a  grammar1 and there finds the
 way somewhat devious1 too1 but not     
enough  to constitute a maze4 ,the men  
who wrote these grammars must have had  
plenty of time to do a little useful    
work4 ,they do not seem to have  walked 
leisurely in flowing robes disserting a 
life-long dissertation  on the origin   
and descent of a preposition4 ,one day  
,shakib is amazed  by finding the       
grammars page by page tacked on the     
walls of the cellar  and ,khalid pacing 
around leisurely lingering a moment     
before each  page1 as if he were in an  
art gallery4 ,that is how he tackled his
  subject4 ,and that is why he and      
,shakib begin to quarrel4 ,the idea6    
,that a fledgling should presume to pick
 flaws4 ,to ,shakib1 who is  textual to 
a hair1 this is intolerable4 ,and that  
state of oneness  between them shall be 
subject hereafter to the corrosive      
action of  various unfriendly agents4   
,for ,khalid1 who has never yet been    
snaffled1 turns restively from the bit  

which his friend1 for his own  sake1    
would put in his mouth4 ,the rupture    
follows4 ,the two for a while  wend     
their way in opposite directions4       
,shakib still cherishing and            
cultivating his bank account1 shoulders 
his peddling-box and jogs  along with   
his inspiring demon1 under whose        
auspices1 he tells us1 he  continues to 
write verse and gull with his brummagems
 the pious dames  of the suburbs4 ,and  
,khalid sits on his peddling-box for    
hours  pondering on the necessity of    
disposing of it somehow4 ,for now he    
scarcely makes more than a few          
peddling-trips each month1 and when he  
returns1 he does not go to the bank to  
add to his balance1 but to draw  from   
it4 ,that is why the accounts of the two
 ,syrians do not fare  alike2 ,shakib's 
is gaining in weight1 ,khalid's is      
wasting away4    ,yes1 the strenuous    
spirit is a long time dead in ,khalid4  
,he is  gradually reverting to the      
,oriental instinct4 ,and when he is not 

loafing in ,battery ,park1 carving his  
name on the bench1 he is  burrowing in  
the shelves of some second-hand         
book-shop or dreaming in  the dome of   
some ,broadway skyscraper4 ,does not    
this seem inevitable1  however1         
considering the palingenetic burden     
within him8 ,and is not  loafing a      
necessary prelude to the travail8       
,khalid1 of course1 felt  the necessity 
of this1 not knowing the why and        
wherefor4 ,and from the  vast world of  
paper-bound souls1 for he relished but  
pamphlets at the  start--they do not    
make much smoke in the fire1 he would   
say--from  that vast world he could     
command the greatest of the great to    
help him  support the loafing while4    
,and as by a miracle1 he came out of    
that  chaos of contending spirits       
without a scratch4 ,he enjoyed the      
belligerency of pamphleteers as an      
,american would enjoy a prize  fight4   
,but he sided with no one2 he took from 
every one his best and  consigned him to

 ,im-,hanna's kitchen4 ,torquemada could
 not have done  better2 but ,khalid1 it 
is hoped1 will yet atone for his crimes4
    ,monsieur ,pascal1 with whom he     
quarrels before he burns1 had a         
particular influence upon him4 ,he could
 not rest after reading his  ,thoughts  
until he read the ,bible4 ,and of the   
,prophets of the ,old  ,testament he had
 an especial liking for ,jeremiah and   
,isaiah4 ,and once  he bought a cheap   
print of ,jeremiah which he tacked on   
the wall of his  cellar4 ,from the      
,khedivial ,library ,,ms4 we give two   
excerpts relating  to ,pascal and this  
,prophet4      ,o ,monsieur ,pascal1    
,i tried hard to hate and detest myself1
 as you advise1 and ,i    found that ,i 
could not by so doing love ,god4 ',tis  
in loving the    divine in ,man1 in me1 
in you1 that we rise to the love of our 
,maker4 ,and in giving your proofs of   
the true religion1 you speak    of the  
surprising measures of the ,christian   
,faith1 enjoining man    to acknowledge 

himself vile1 base1 abominable1 and     
obliging him    at the same time to     
aspire towards a resemblance of his     
,maker4    ,now1 ,i see in this a       
foreshadowing of the theory of          
evolution1    nay a divine warrant for  
it4 ,nor is it the ,christian religion  
alone which unfolds to man the twofold  
mystery of his nature2    others are as 
dark and as bright on either side of the
 pole4 ,and    ,philosophy conspiring   
with ,biology will not consent to the   
apotheosis of ,man1 unless he wear on   
his breast a symbol of his    tail4444  
,au-revoir1 ,monsieur ,pascal1 ,remember
 me to ,st4    ,augustine4      ,o      
,jeremiah1      ,thy picture1 sitting   
among the ruins of the ,city of ,zion1  
appeals to my soul4 ,why1 ,i know not4  
,it may be because ,i myself    once sat
 in that posture among the ruins of my  
native ,city of    ,baal4 ,but the ruins
 did not grieve me as did the uncle who 
slammed the door in my face that night4 
,true1 ,i wept in the    ruins1 but not 

over them4 ,something else had punctured
 the    bladderets of my tears4 ,and who
 knows who punctured thine1 ,o          
,jeremiah8 ,perhaps a daughter of ,tamar
 had stuck a bodkin in    thine eye1 and
 in lamenting thine own fate--,pardon   
me1 ,o    ,jeremiah4 ,melikes not all   
these tears of thine4 ,nor did ,zion and
    her children in ,juhannam1 ,i am    
sure4444 ,instead of a scroll in    thy 
hand1 ,i would have thee hold a harp4   
,since ,king ,david1 ,allah    has not  
thought of endowing his prophets with   
musical talent4    ,why1 think what an  
honest prophet could accomplish if his  
message were put into music4 ,and       
withal1 if he himself could    sing it4 
,yes1 our modern ,jeremiahs should all  
take music    lessons2 for no matter how
 deep and poignant our sorrows1 we can  
always rise from them1 harp in hand1 to 
an ecstasy1 joyous and    divine4       
,now1 connect with this the following   
from the ,histoire ,intime1 and  you    
have the complete history of this       

,prophet in ,khalid's cellar4 ,for      
,khalid himself never gives us the facts
 in the case4 ,our ,scribe1  however1   
comes not short in this4    ,the picture
 of the ,prophet ,jeremiah1 writes he1  
,khalid hung on the  wall1 above his    
bed4 ,and every night he would look up  
to it  invokingly1 muttering ,i know not
 what4 ,one evening1 while in this      
posture1 he took up his lute and trolled
 a favourite ditty4 ,for three  days and
 three nights that picture hung on the  
wall4 ,and on the  morning of the fourth
 day--it was a cold ,december morning1  
,i  remember--he took it down and       
lighted the fire with it4 ,the ,pamphlet
  he had read a few days since1 he also 
threw into the fire1 and  thereupon     
called to me saying1 ',come1 ,shakib1   
and warm yourself4'    ,and the         
,pamphlet1 we learn1 which was thus     
baptised in the same fire  with the     
,prophet's picture1 was ,tom ,paine's   
,age of ,reason4          ,,chapter ,,vi
    ,,the ,,summer ,,afternoon ,,of ,a  

,,sham      ,for two years and more     
,khalid's young mind went leaping from  
one swing  to another1 from one carousel
 or toboggan-chute to the next1 without 
having any special object in view1      
without knowing why and wherefor4  ,he  
even entered such mazes of philosophy1  
such labyrinths of mysticism  as put    
those of the ,arabian grammaticasters in
 the shade4 ,to him1  education was a   
sport1 pursued in a free spirit after   
his own fancy1  without method or       
discipline4 ,for two years and more he  
did little but  ramble thus1 drawing    
meanwhile on his account in the bank1   
and burning  pamphlets4    ,one day he  
passes by a second-hand book-shop1 which
 is in the  financial hive of the city1 
hard by a church and within a stone's   
throw from the ,stock ,exchange4 ,the   
owner1 a shabby venerable1  standing    
there1 pipe in mouth1 between piles of  
pamphlets and  little pyramids of books1
 attracts ,khalid4 ,he too occupies a   
cellar4 ,and withal he resembles the    

,prophet in the picture which was       
burned with ,tom ,paine's ,age of       
,reason4 ,nothing in the face at  least 
is amiss4 ,a flowing1 serrated1 milky   
beard1 with a touch of  gold around the 
mouth2 an aquiline nose2 deep set blue  
eyes canopied  with shaggy brows2 a     
forehead broad and high2 a dome a little
 frowsy  but not guilty of a hair--the  
,prophet ,jeremiah6 ,only one thing1 a  
clay  pipe which he seldom took out of  
his mouth except to empty and  refill1  
seemed to take from the prophetic       
solemnity of the face4  ,otherwise1 he  
is as grim and sullen as the ,prophet4  
,in his voice1  however1 there is a     
supple sweetness which the hard lines in
 his face  do not express4 ,khalid      
nicknames him second-hand ,jerry1 makes 
to him  professions of friendship1 and  
for many months comes every day to  see 
him4 ,he comes with his bucket1 as he   
would say1 to ,jerry's well4  ,for the  
two1 the young man and the old man of   
the cellar1 the  neophite and the       

master1 would chat about literature and 
the makers  of it for hours4 ,and what a
 sea of information is therein under    
that  frowsy dome4 ,withal1 second-hand 
,jerry is a man of ideals and           
abstractions1 exhibiting now and then an
 heretical twist which is  as agreeable 
as the vermiculations in a mahogany4 ,we
 moderns1 said  he once to ,khalid1 are 
absolutely one-sided4 ,here1 for        
instance1 is  my book-shop1 there is the
 ,church1 and yonder is the ,stock      
,exchange4  ,now1 the men who frequent  
them1 and though their elbows touch1 are
  as foreign to each other as is a      
jerboa to a polar bear4 ,those who  go  
to ,church do not go to the ,stock      
,exchange2 those who spend their  days  
on the ,stock ,exchange seldom go to    
,church2 and those who  frequent my     
cellar go neither to the one nor the    
other4 ,that is why  our civilisation   
produces so many bigots1 so many        
philistines1 so  many pedants and prigs4
 ,the ,stock ,exchange is as necessary  

to  ,society as the ,church1 and the    
,church is as vital1 as essential  to   
its spiritual well-being as my          
book-shop4 ,and not until man  develops 
his mental1 spiritual and physical      
faculties to what  ,matthew ,arnold     
calls 'a harmonious perfection1' will he
 be able to  reach the heights from     
which ,idealism is waving to him4       
,thus would the master discourse1 and   
the neophite1 sitting on the  steps of  
the cellar1 smoking his cigarette1      
listens1 admiring1  pondering4 ,and     
every time he comes with his bucket1    
,jerry would be  standing there1 between
 his little pyramids of books1 pipe in  
mouth1  hands in pockets1 ready for the 
discourse4 ,he would also conduct       
through his underworld any one who had  
the leisure and inclination4  ,but      
fortunately for ,khalid1 the people of  
this district are either too  rich to   
buy second-hand books1 or too snobbish  
to stop before this  curiosity shop of  
literature4 ,hence the master is never  

too busy2 he  is always ready to deliver
 the discourse4    ,one day ,khalid is  
conducted into the labyrinthine gloom   
and mould of  the cellar4 ,through the  
narrow isles1 under a low ceiling1      
papered1 as  it were1 with pamphlets1   
between ramparts and mounds of books1   
old  ,jerry1 his head bowed1 his lighted
 taper in hand1 proceeds4 ,and ,khalid  
follows directly behind1 listening to   
his guide who points out the  objects   
and places of interest4 ,and thus1      
through the alleys and  by-ways1 through
 the nooks and labyrinths of these      
underground  temple-ruins1 we get to the
 rear1 where the ramparts and mounds    
crumble to a mighty heap1 rising        
pell-mell to the ceiling4 ,here1 one  is
 likely to get a glimpse into such      
enchanted worlds as the name of  a      
,dickens or a ,balzac might suggest4    
,here1 too1 is ,shakespeare in          
lamentable state2 there is ,carlyle in  
rags1 still crying1 as it were1  against
 the filth and beastliness of this      

underworld4 ,and look at my  lord       
,tennyson shivering in his nakedness and
 doomed to keep company  with the       
meanest of poetasters4 ,observe how     
,emerson is wriggled and  ruffled in    
this crushing crowd4 ,does he not seem  
to be still sighing  for a little       
solitude8 ,but here1 too1 are spots of  
the rarest literary  interest4 ,close to
 the vilest of dime novels is an        
autograph copy of a  book which you     
might not find at ,brentano's4 ,indeed1 
the rarities here  stand side by side   
with the superfluities--the abominations
 with the  blessings of                 
literature--cluttered together1 reduced 
to a common  level4 ,and all in a       
condition which bespeaks the time when  
they were  held in the affection of some
 one4 ,now1 they lie a-mouldering in    
these  mounds1 and on these shelves1    
awaiting a curious eye1 a kindly hand4  
,to me1 writes ,khalid in the ,k4 ,l4   
,,ms41 there is always    something     
pathetic in a second-hand book offered  

again for sale4    ,why did its first   
owner part with it8 ,was it out of      
disgust or    surfeit or penury8 ,did he
 throw it away1 or give it away1 or     
sell it8 ,alas1 and is this how to treat
 a friend8 ,were it not    better       
burned1 than sold or thrown away8 ,after
 coming out of the    press1 how many   
have handled this tattered volume8 ,how 
many has    it entertained1 enlightened1
 or perverted8 ,look at its pages1      
which evidence the hardship of the      
journey it has made4 ,here    still is a
 pressed flower1 more convincing in its 
shrouded    eloquence than the          
philosophy of the pages in which it lies
    buried4 ,on the fly-leaf are the    
names of three successive    owners1 and
 on the margin are lead pencil notes in 
which the    reader criticises the      
author4 ,their spirits are now shrouded 
together and entombed in this pile1     
where the mould never fails    and the  
moths never die4 ,they too are fallen a 
prey to the worms    of the earth4 ,a   

second-hand book-shop always reminds me 
of a    ,necropolis4 ,it is a kind of   
,serapeum where lies buried the kings   
and princes with the helots and         
underlings of literature4 ,ay1    every 
book is a mortuary chamber containing   
the remains of some    poor literary    
wretch1 or some mighty genius4444 ,a    
book is a    friend1 my brothers1 and   
when it ceases to entertain or instruct 
or inspire1 it is dead4 ,and would you  
sell a dead friend1 would    you throw  
him away8 ,if you can not keep him      
embalmed on your    shelf1 is it not the
 wiser part1 and the kinder1 to cremate 
him8    ,and ,khalid tells old ,jerry1  
that if every one buying and reading    
books1 disposed of them in the end as he
 himself does1 second-hand  book-shops  
would no longer exist4 ,but old ,jerry  
never despairs of  business4 ,and the   
idea of turning his ,serapeum into a    
kiln does not  appeal to him4 ,howbeit1 
,khalid has other ideas which the old   
man  admires1 and which he would carry  

out if the police would not  interfere4 
,if ,i were the owner of this shop1 thus
 the neophite to  the master1 ,i would  
advertise it with a bonfire of          
pamphlets4 ,i would  take a few hundreds
 from that mound there and give them the
 match  right in front of that ,church1 
or better still before the ,stock       
,exchange4 ,and ,i would have two       
sandwich-men stand about the bonfire1   
as high priests of the ,temple1 and     
chant the praises of second-hand  ,jerry
 and his second-hand book-shop4 ,this   
will be the sacrifice which  you will   
have offered to the god of ,trade right 
in front of his  sanctuary that he might
 soften the induration in the breasts of
 these  worthy citizens1 your rich      
neighbours4 ,and if he does not1 why1   
shut  up shop or burn it up1 and let us 
go out peddling together4    ,we do not 
know1 however1 whether old ,jerry ever  
adopted ,khalid's idea4  ,he himself is 
an ,oriental in this sense2 and the     
business is good  enough to keep up1 so 

long as ,khalid comes4 ,he is supremely 
content4  ,indeed1 ,shakib asseverates  
in round ,arabic1 that the old man of   
the  cellar got a good portion of       
,khalid's balance1 while balancing      
,khalid's mind4 ,nay1 firing it with    
free-thought literature4 ,are we  then  
to consider this cellar as ,khalid's    
source of spiritual  illumination8 ,and 
is this genial old heretic an ,american 
avatar of the  monk ,bohaira8 ,for      
,khalid is gradually becoming a man of  
ideas and  crotchets4 ,he is beginning  
to see a purpose in all his literary and
  spiritual rambles4 ,his mental        
nebulosity is resolving itself into     
something concrete1 which shall weigh   
upon him for a while and propel  him in 
the direction of ,atheism and ,demagogy4
 ,for old ,jerry once  visits ,khalid in
 his cellar1 and after partaking of a   
dish of  mojadderah1 takes him to a     
political meeting to hear the popular   
orators of the day4    ,and in this is  
ineffable joy for ,khalid4 ,like every  

young mind he is  spellbound by one of  
those masters of spread-eagle oratory1  
and for  some time he does not miss a   
single political meeting in his         
district4  ,we even see him among the   
crowd before the corner groggery1       
cheering  one of the political spouters 
of the day4    ,and once he accompanies 
,jerry to the ,temple of ,atheism to    
behold its  high ,priest and hear him   
chant halleluiah to the ,nebular        
,hypothesis4  ,this is wonderful4 ,how  
easy it is to dereligionise the human   
race and  banish ,god from the          
,universe6 ,but after the ,high ,priest 
had done this1  after he had proven to  
the satisfaction of every atheist that  
,god is a  myth1 old ,jerry turns around
 and gives ,khalid this warning3 ,don't 
believe all he says1 for ,i know that   
atheist well4 ,he is as eloquent  as he 
is insincere4    ,and so are all        
atheists4 ,for at bottom1 atheism is    
either a fad or a  trade or a fatuity4  
,and whether the one or the other1 it is

 a sham  more pernicious than the worst4
 ,to the young mind1 it is a shibboleth 
of cheap culture2 to the shrewd and     
calculating mind1 to such orators  as   
,khalid heard1 it is a trade most       
remunerative2 and to the  scientists1 or
 rather monists1 it is the aliment with 
which they  nourish the perversity of   
their preconceptions4 ,second-hand      
,jerry did  not say these things to our 
young philosopher2 for had he done so1  
,khalid1 now become edacious1 would not 
have experienced those  dyspeptic pangs 
which almost crushed the soul-fetus in  
him4 ,for we are  told that he is as    
sedulous in attending these atheistic   
lectures as  he is in flocking with his 
fellow citizens to hear and cheer the   
idols  of the stump4 ,once he took      
,shakib to the ,temple of ,atheism1 but 
the  ,poet seems to prefer his          
,al-,mutanabby4 ,in relating of         
,khalid's  waywardness he says3    ,ever
 since we quarrelled about ,sibawai1    
,khalid and ,i have seldom been         

together4 ,and he had become so         
opinionated that ,i was glad it was so4 
,even on ,sunday ,i would leave him     
alone with ,im-,hanna1 and returning  in
 the evening1 ,i would find him either  
reading or burning a pamphlet4  ,once ,i
 consented to accompany him to one of   
the lectures he was so  fond of         
attending4 ,and ,i was really surprised 
that one had to pay  money for such     
masquerades of eloquence as were        
exhibited that night  on the platform4  
,yes1 it occurred to me that if one had 
not a dollar  one could not become an   
atheist4 ,billah6 ,i was scandalized4   
,for no  matter how irreverent one likes
 to pose1 one ought to reverence at     
least his ,maker4 ,i am a ,christian by 
the grace of ,allah1 and my  ancestors  
are counted among the martyrs of the    
,church4 ,and thanks to  my parents1 ,i 
have been duly baptized and confirmed4  
,for which ,i  respect them the more1   
and love them4 ,now1 is it not absurd   
that ,i  should come here and pay a hard

 dollar to hear this heretical          
speechifier insult my parents and my    
,god8 ,better the ring of               
,al-,mutanabbi's scimitars and spears   
than the clatter of these  atheistical  
bones6    ,from which we infer that     
,shakib was not open to reason on the   
subject4  ,he would draw his friend away
 from the verge of the abyss at any     
cost4  ,and this1 continues he1 did not 
require much effort4 ,for ,khalid  like 
myself is constitutionally incapable of 
denying ,god4 ,we are from  the land in 
which ,god has always spoken to our     
ancestors4    ,and the argument between 
the shrewd verse-maker and the foolish  
philosopher finally hinges on this3     
namely1 that these atheists are  not    
honest investigators1 that in their     
sweeping generalisations1 as  in their  
speciosity and hypocrisy1 they are      
commercially perverse4  ,and ,khalid is 
not long in deciding about the matter4  
,he meets with an  accident--and        
accidents have always been his          

touchstones of  success--which saves his
 soul and seals the fate of atheism4    
,one evening1 returning from a ramble in
 the ,park1 he passes by the  ,hall     
where his favourite ,mountebank was to  
lecture on the ,gospel of  ,soap4 ,but  
not having the price of admittance that 
evening1 and being  anxious to hear the 
orator whom he had idolised1 ,khalid    
bravely  appeals to his generosity in   
this quaint and touching note3 ,my      
pocket1 he wrote1 is empty and my mind  
is hungry4 ,might ,i come to  your      
,table to-night as a beggar8 ,and the   
man at the stage door1 who  carries the 
note to the orator1 returns in a trice1 
and tells ,khalid  to lift himself off4 
,khalid hesitates1 misunderstands2 and a
 heavy  hand is of a sudden upon him1 to
 say nothing of the heavy boot4    ,ay1 
and that boot decided him4 ,atheism1    
bald1 bold1 niggardly1 brutal1          
pretending withal1 ,khalid turns from   
its door never to look again in  that   
direction1 ,shakib is right4 ,these     

people1 he growled1 are not  free       
thinkers1 but free stinkards4 ,they do  
need soap to wash their  hearts and     
souls4    ,an idea did not come to      
,khalid1 as it were1 by instalments4 ,in
 his  puerperal pains of mind he was    
subject to such crises1 shaken by such  
downrushes of light1 as only the few    
among mortals experience4 7,we are      
quoting our ,scribe1 remember47 ,and in 
certain moments he had more  faith in   
his instincts than in his reason4 ,our  
instincts1 says he1  never lie4 ,they   
are honest1 and though they be sometimes
 blind4 ,and  here1 he seems to have    
struck the truth4 ,he can be practical  
too4  ,honesty in thought1 in word1 in  
deed--this he would have as the         
cornerstone of his truth4 ,moral        
rectitude he places above all the       
cardinal virtues1 natural and           
theological4 ,better keep away from the 
truth1 ,o ,khalid1 he writes1 better    
remain a stranger to it all thy  life1  
if thou must sully it with the slimy    

fingers of a mercenary  juggler4 ,now1  
these brave words1 we can not in        
conscience criticise4  ,but we venture  
to observe that ,khalid must have had in
 mind that  ,gospel of ,soap and the    
incident at the stage door4    ,and in  
this1 we1 too1 rejoice4 ,we1 too1       
forgetting the dignity of our  position1
 participate of the revelry in the      
cellar on this occasion4  ,for our      
editorialship1 dear ,reader1 is neither 
,american nor ,english4  ,we are not    
bound1 therefore1 to maintain in any    
degree the algidity  and indifference of
 our confrres' sublime attitude4 ,we    
rejoice in the  spiritual safety of     
,khalid4 ,we rejoice that he and ,shakib
 are now  reconciled4 ,for the reclaimed
 runagate is now even permitted to draw 
on the poet's balance at the banker4    
,ay1 even ,khalid can dissimulate  when 
he needs the cash4 ,for with the        
assistance of second-hand ,jerry  and   
the box-office of the atheistical       
jugglers1 he had exhausted his  little  

saving4 ,he would not even go out       
peddling any more4 ,and when  ,shakib   
asks him one morning to shoulder the box
 and come out1 he  replies3 ,i have a   
little business with it here4 ,for after
 having  impeached the ,high ,priests of
 ,atheism he seems to have turned upon  
himself4 ,we translate from the ,k4 ,l4 
,,ms4    ,when ,i was disenchanted with 
atheism1 when ,i saw somewhat of the    
meanness and selfishness of its         
protagonists1 ,i began to doubt in  the 
honesty of men4 ,if these1 our supposed 
teachers1 are so vile1  so mercenary1 so
 false1--why1 welcome ,juhannam6 ,but   
the more ,i  doubted in the honesty of  
men1 the more did ,i believe that       
honesty  should be the cardinal virtue  
of the soul4 ,i go so far in this1 that 
an honest thief in my eyes is more      
worthy of esteem than a canting         
materialist or a hypocritical free      
thinker4 ,still1 the voice within  me   
asked if ,shakib were honest in his     
dealings1 if ,i were honest in  my      

peddling8 ,have ,i not misrepresented my
 gewgaws as the atheist  misrepresents  
the truth8 ',this is made in the ,holy  
,land1'--',this is  from the ,holy      
,sepulchre'--these lies1 ,o ,khalid1 are
 upon you4 ,and  what is the difference 
between the jewellery you passed off for
 gold  and the arguments of the         
atheist-preacher8 ,are they not both    
instruments of deception1 both designed 
to catch the dollar8 ,yes1 you  have    
been1 ,o ,khalid1 as mean1 as mercenary1
 as dishonest as those  canting         
infidels4    ,and what are you going to 
do about it8 ,will you continue1 while  
in  the quagmires yourself1 to point    
contemptuously at those standing in  the
 gutter8 ,will you1 in your dishonesty1 
dare impeach the honesty of  men8 ,are  
you not going to make a resolution now1 
either to keep silent  or to go out of  
the quagmires and rise to the           
mountain-heights8 ,be  pure yourself    
first1 ,o ,khalid2 then try to spread   
this purity around  you at any cost4    

,yes2 that is why1 when ,shakib asked me
 to go out peddling one day1 ,i         
hesitated and finally refused4 ,for     
atheism1 in whose false dry light ,i    
walked a parasang or two1 did not only  
betray itself to me as a sham1  but also
 turned my mind and soul to the sham ,i 
had shouldered for  years4 ,from the    
peddling-box1 therefore1 ,i turned even 
as ,i did from  atheism4 ,praised be    
,allah1 who1 in his providential care1  
seemed to  kick me away from the door of
 its temple4 ,the sham1 although        
effulgent  and alluring1 was as brief as
 a summer afternoon4    ,as for the     
peddling-box1 our ,scribe will tell of  
its fate in the  following ,chapter4    
,,chapter ,,vii    ,,in ,,the ,,twilight
 ,,of ,,an ,,idea      ,it is ,voltaire1
 we believe1 who says something to the  
effect that  one's mind should be in    
accordance with one's years4 ,that is   
why an  academic education nowadays     
often fails of its purpose4 ,for whether
  one's mind runs ahead of one's years1 

or one's years ahead of one's  mind1 the
 result is much the same2 it always goes
 ill with the mind4  ,true1 knowledge is
 power2 but in order to feel at home    
with it1 we  must be constitutionally   
qualified4 ,and if we are not1 it is    
likely to  give the soul such a         
wrenching as to deform it forever4      
,indeed1 how  many of us go through life
 with a fatal spiritual or intellectual 
twist which could have been avoided in  
our youth1 were we a little  less wise4 
,the young philosophes1 the products of 
the ,university  ,machine of to-day1 who
 go about with a nosegay of -isms1 as it
 were1  in their lapels1 and perfume    
their speech with the bottled logic of  
the ,college ,professor1--are not most  
of them incapable of honestly and       
bravely grappling with the real problems
 of life8 ,and does not a  systematic   
education mean this1 that a young man   
must go through life  dragging behind   
him his heavy chains of set ideas and   
stock systems1  political1 social1 or   

religious8 7,remember1 we are           
translating from  the ,khedivial        
,library ,,ms47 ,the author continues3  
,whether one devour the knowledge of the
 world in four years    or four nights1 
the process of assimilation is equally  
hindered1 if the mind is sealed at the  
start with the seal of    authority4    
,ay1 we can not be too careful of       
dogmatic science in    our youth2 for   
dogmas often dam certain channels of the
 soul    through which we might have    
reached greater treasures and           
ascended to purer heights4 ,a young man1
 therefore1 ought to be    let alone4   
,there is an infinite possibility of    
soul-power in    every one of us1 if it 
can be developed freely1 spontaneously1 
without discipline or restraint4 ,there 
is1 too1 an infinite    possibility of  
beauty in every soul1 if it can be      
evoked at an    auspicious moment by the
 proper word1 the proper voice1 the     
proper touch4 ,that is why ,i say1 ,go  
thy way1 ,o my ,brother4 ,be    simple1 

natural1 spontaneous1 courageous1 free4 
,neither    anticipate your years1 nor  
lag child-like behind them4 ,for        
verily1 it is as ridiculous to dye the  
hair white as to dye it    black4 ,ah1  
be foolish while thou art young2 it is  
never too late    to be wise4 ,indulge  
thy fancy1 follow the bent of thy mind2 
for in so doing thou canst not possibly 
do thyself more harm    than the        
disciplinarians can do thee4 ,live thine
 own life2    think thine own thoughts2 
keep developing and changing until      
thou arrive at the truth thyself4 ,an   
ounce of it found by thee    were better
 than a ton given to thee gratis by one 
who    would enslave thee4 ,go thy way1 
,o my ,brother4 ,and if my words    lead
 thee to ,juhannam1 why1 there will be a
 great surprise for    thee4 ,there thou
 wilt behold our ,maker sitting on a    
flaming    glacier waiting for the like 
of thee4 ,and he will take thee    into 
his arms and poke thee in the ribs1 and 
together you will    laugh and laugh1   

until that glacier become a garden and  
thou    a flower therein4 ,go thy way1  
therefore2 be not afraid4 ,and no       
matter how many tears thou sheddest on  
this side1 thou wilt    surely be poked 
in the ribs on the other4               
,go--thy--but--let    ,nature be thy    
guide2 acquaint thyself with one or two 
of her    laws ere thou runnest wild4   
,and to what extent did this fantastic  
mystic son of a ,phoenician  acquaint   
himself with ,nature's laws1 we do not  
know4 ,but truly1 he was  already       
running wild in the great cosmopolis of 
,new ,york4 ,from his  stivy cellar he  
issues forth into the plashing1 plangent
 currents of  city life4 ,before he does
 this1 however1 he rids himself of all  
the  encumbrances of peddlery which     
hitherto have been his sole means of    
support4 ,his little stock of crosses1  
rosaries1 scapulars1 false  jewellery1  
mother-of-pearl gewgaws1 and such like1 
which he has on the  little shelf in the
 cellar1 he takes down one morning--but 

we will let  our ,scribe tell the story4
    ,my love for ,khalid1 he writes1 has
 been severely tried4 ,we could no      
longer agree about anything4 ,he had    
become such a dissenter that often      
would he take the wrong side of a       
question if only for the sake of        
bucking4 ,true1 he ceased to frequent   
the cellar of second-hand ,jerry1  and  
the lectures of the infidels he no      
longer attended4 ,we were in  accord    
about atheism1 therefore1 but in riotous
 discord about many  other things1 chief
 among which was the propriety1 the     
necessity1 of  doing something to       
replenish his balance at the banker4    
,for he was now  impecunious1 and withal
 importunate4 ,of a truth1 what ,i had  
,i was  always ready to share with him2 
but for his own good ,i advised him to  
take up the peddling-box again4 ,i      
reminded him of his saying once1        
',peddling is a healthy and profitable  
business4' ',come out1' ,i  insisted1   
'and though it be for the exercise4     

,walking is the whetstone  of thought4' 
,one evening we quarrelled about this1  
and ,im-,hanna sided with me4 ,she      
rated ,khalid1 saying1 ',you're a       
good-for-nothing loafer2 you don't      
deserve the mojadderah you eat4' ,and ,i
 remember how she took me  aside that   
evening and whispered something about   
books1 and ,khalid's  head1 and         
,mar-,kizhayiah4#a ,indeed1 ,im-,hanna  
seriously believed that  ,khalid should 
be taken to ,mar-,kizhayiah4 ,she did   
not know that ,new  ,york was full of   
such institutions4#b ,her scolding1     
however1 seemed  to have more effect on 
,khalid than my reasoning4 ,and         
consenting to go  out with me1 he got up
 the following morning1 took down his   
stock from  the shelf1 every little     
article of it--he left nothing          
there--and  packed all into his         
peddling-box4 ,he then squeezed into the
 bottom  drawer1 which he had filled    
with scapulars1 the bottle with a little
  of the ,stuff in it4 ,for we were in  

accord about this1 that in ,new ,york   
whiskey is better than arak4 ,and we    
both took a nip now and then4 ,so ,i    
thought the bottle was in order4 ,but   
why he placed his bank book1  which was 
no longer worth a straw1 into that      
bottom drawer1 ,i could  not guess4     
,with these preparations1 however1 we   
shouldered our boxes1  and in an hour we
 were in the suburbs4 ,we foot it along 
then1 until we  reach a row of cottages 
not far from the railway station4 ',will
 you  knock at one of these doors1' ,i  
asked4 ,and he1 ',i do not feel like    
chaffering and bargaining this morning4'
 ',why then did you come out1'  ,i      
urged4 ,and he1 in an air of            
nonchalance1 ',only for the walk4' ,and 
so1 we pursued our way in the ,bronx1   
until we reached one of our  favourite  
spots1 where a sycamore tree seemed to  
invite us to its  ample shade4    ,here1
 ,khalid1 absent-minded1 laid down his  
box and sat upon it1 and ,i  stretched  
my limbs on the grass4 ,but of a sudden1

 he jumped up1 opened  the bottom drawer
 of his case1 and drew from it the      
bottle4 ,it is  quite in order now1 ,i  
mused2 but ere ,i had enjoyed the       
thought1 ,khalid  had placed his box at 
a little distance1 and1 standing there  
beside  it1 bottle in hand1 delivered   
himself in a semi-solemn1 semi-mocking  
manner of the following3 ',this is the  
oil1' ,i remember him saying1  'with    
which ,i anoint thee--the extreme       
unction ,i apply to thy soul4'  ,and he 
poured the contents of the bottle into  
the bottom drawer and  over the box1 and
 applied to it a match4 ,the bottle was 
filled with  kerosene1 and in a jiffy   
the box was covered with the flame4     
,yes2 and  so quickly1 so neatly it was 
done1 that ,i could not do aught to     
prevent it4 ,the match was applied to   
what ,i thought at first was  whiskey1  
and ,i was left in speechless amazement4
 ,he would not even  help me to save a  
few things from the fire4 ,i conjured   
him in the name  of ,allah1 but in vain4

 ,i clamoured and remonstrated1 but to  
no  purpose4 ,and when ,i asked him why 
he had done this1 he asked me in  reply1
 ',and why have you not done the same8  
,now1 methinks ,i deserve my            
mojadderah4 ,and not until you do       
likewise1 will you deserve yours1 ,o    
,shakib4 ,here are the lies1 now turned 
to ashes1 which brought me my  bread and
 are still bringing you yours4 ,here are
 our instruments of  deception1 our     
poisoned sources of lucre4 ,i am most   
happy now1 ,o  ,shakib4 ,and ,i shall   
endeavour to keep my blood in           
circulation by  better1 purer means4'   
,and he took me thereupon by the        
shoulders1  looked into my face1 then   
pushed me away1 laughing the laugh of   
the  hasheesh-smokers4    ,indeed1      
,im-,hanna was right4 ,khalid had become
 too odd1 too queer to  be sane4        
,needless to say1 ,i was not prone to   
follow his example at  that time4 ,nor  
am ,i now4 ,mashallah6 ,lacking the     
power and madness to  set fire to the   

whole world1 it were folly1 indeed1 to  
begin with  one's self4 ,i believe ,i   
had as much right to exaggerate in      
peddling as  ,i had in writing verse4   
,my license to heighten the facts holds 
good in  either case4 ,and to some      
extent1 every one1 a poet be he or a    
cobbler1  enjoys such a license4 ,i told
 ,khalid that the logical and most      
effective course to pursue1 in view of  
his rigorous morality1 would be  to pour
 a gallon of kerosene over his own head 
and fire himself out of  existence4 ,for
 the instruments of deception and       
debasement are not in  the peddling-box1
 but rather in his heart4 ,no2 ,i did   
not think  peddling was as bad as other 
trades4 ,here at least1 the means of    
deception were reduced to a minimum4    
,and of a truth1 if everybody were  to  
judge themselves as strictly as ,khalid1
 who would escape burning8  ,so ,i      
turned from him that day fully convinced
 that my little stock of  holy goods was
 innocent1 and my balance at the        

banker's was as pure as  my rich        
neighbour's4 ,and he turned from me     
fully convinced1 ,i believe1  that ,i   
was an unregenerate rogue4 ,ay1 and when
 ,i was knocking at the  door of one of 
my customers1 he was walking away       
briskly1 his hands  clasped behind his  
back1 and his eyes1 as usual1 scouring  
the  horizon4    ,and on that horizon   
are the gilded domes and smoking        
chimneys of the  seething city4 ,leaving
 his last friend and his last burden    
behind1 he  will give civilised life    
another trial4 ,loafer and tramp that he
 is6  ,for even the comforts of the     
grand cable-railway he spurns1 and foots
  it from the ,bronx down to his cellar 
near ,battery ,park1 thus cutting  the  
city in half and giving one portion to  
,izril and the other to  ,iblis4 ,but   
not being quite ready himself for either
 of these winged  ,furies1 he keeps to  
his cellar4 ,he would tarry here a      
while1 if but to  carry out a resolution
 he has made4 ,true1 ,khalid very seldom

 resolves  upon anything2 but when he   
does make a resolution1 he is even      
willing  to be carried off by the effort
 to carry it out4 ,and now1 he would    
solve this problem of earning a living  
in the great city by honest  means4 ,for
 in the city1 at least1 success well    
deserves the  compliments which those   
who fail bestow upon it4 ,what          
,montaigne said  of greatness1          
therefore1 ,khalid must have said of    
success4 ,if we can  not attain it1 let 
us denounce it4 ,and in what terms does 
he this1 ,o  merciful ,allah6 ,we       
translate a portion of the apostrophe in
 the ,k4 ,l4  ,,ms41 and not the        
bitterest1 by any means4    ,o ,success1
 the infuriated failure exclaims1 how   
like the ,gorgon of  the ,arabian       
,nights thou art6 ,for does not every   
one whom thou favorest  undergo a       
pitiful transformation even from the    
first bedding with  thee8 ,does not     
everything suffer from thy look1 thy    
touch1 thy breath8  ,the rose loses its 

perfume1 the grape-vine its clusters1   
the bulbul  its wings1 the dawn its     
light and glamour4 ,o ,success1 our     
lords of  power to-day are thy slaves1  
thy helots1 our kings of wealth4 ,every 
one grinds for thee1 every one for thee 
lives and dies4444 ,thy palaces  of     
silver and gold are reared on the souls 
of men4 ,thy throne is  mortised with   
their bones1 cemented with their blood4 
,thou ravenous  ,gorgon1 on what        
bankruptcies thou art fed1 on what      
failures1 on what  sorrows6 ,the        
railroads sweeping across the continents
 and the steamers  ploughing through the
 seas1 are laden with sacrifices to     
thee4 ,ay1 and  millions of innocent    
children are torn from their homes and  
from their  schools to be offered to    
thee at the sacrificial-stone of the    
,factories and ,mills4 ,the cultured1   
too1 and the wise1 are counted  among   
thy slaves4 ,even the righteous         
surrender themselves to thee and  are   
willing to undergo that hideous         

transformation4 ,o ,success1 what an    
infernal litany thy votaries and        
high-priests are chanting to thee4444   
,thou ruthless ,gorgon1 what crimes thou
 art committing1 and what crimes  are   
being committed in thy name6    ,from   
which it is evident that ,khalid does   
not wish for success4 ,khalid  is       
satisfied if he can maintain his hold on
 the few spare feet he has  in the      
cellar1 and continue to replenish his   
little store of lentils  and olive oil4 
,for he would as lief be a victim of    
success1 he assures  us1 as to forego   
his mojadderah4 ,and still having this1 
which he  considers a luxury1 he is     
willing to turn his hand at anything1 if
 he  can but preserve inviolate the     
integrity of his soul and the freedom   
of his mind4 ,these are a few of the pet
 terms of ,khalid4 ,and in as  much as  
he can continue to repeat them to       
himself1 he is supremely  content4 ,he  
can be a menial1 if while cringing      
before his superiors1  he were permitted

 to chew on his pet illusions4 ,a few   
days before he  burned his peddling-box1
 he had read ,epictetus4 ,and the       
thought that  such a great soul         
maintained its purity1 its integrity1   
even in bonds1  encouraged and consoled 
him4 ,how can they hurt me1 he asks1 if 
spiritually ,i am far from them1 far    
above them8 ,they can do no more  than  
place gilt buttons on my coat and give  
me a cap to replace this  slouch4       
,therefore1 ,i will serve4 ,i will be a 
slave1 even like  ,epictetus4    ,and   
here we must interpose a little of our  
skepticism1 if but to  gratify an       
habitual craving in us4 ,we do not doubt
 that ,khalid's  self-sufficiency is    
remarkable2 that his courage--on        
paper--is quite  above the common2 that 
the grit and stay he shows are          
wonderful2 that  his lofty aspirations1 
so indomitable in their onwardness1 are 
great3  but we only ask1 having thus    
fortified his soul1 how is he to fortify
  his stomach8 ,he is going to work1 to 

be a menial1 to earn a living by  honest
 means8 ,ah1 ,khalid1 ,khalid6 ,did you 
not often bestow a furtive  glance on   
some one else's checkbook8 ,did you not 
even exercise therein  your skill in    
calculation8 ,if the bank1 where ,shakib
 deposits his  little saving1 failed1   
would you be so indomitable1 so dogged  
in your  resolution8 ,would you not     
soften a trifle1 loosen a whit1 if only 
for  the sake of your blood-circulation8
    ,indeed1 ,shakib has become a patron
 to ,khalid4 ,shakib the poet1 who      
himself should have a patron1 is always 
ready to share his last dollar  with his
 loving1 though cantankerous friend4    
,and this1 in spite of all  the         
disagreeable features of a friendship   
which in the ,syrian ,colony  was become
 proverbial4 ,but ,khalid now takes up  
the newspapers and  scans the ,want     
,columns for hours4 ,the result being a 
clerkship in a  lawyer's office4 ,nay1  
an apprenticeship2 for the legal        
profession1 it  seems1 had for a while  

engaged his serious thoughts4    ,and   
this of all the professions is the one  
on which he would graft his  scion of   
lofty morality8 ,surely1 there be plenty
 of fuel for a  conflagration in a      
lawyer's office4 ,such rows of half-calf
 tomes1 such  piles of legal documents1 
all designed to combat dishonesty and   
fraud1  and all immersed in them1 and   
nourished and maintained by them4 ,in   
what a sorry condition will your        
,morality issue out of these bogs6 ,a   
lawyer's clerk1 we are informed1 can not
 maintain his hold on his  clerkship1 if
 he does not learn to blink4 ,that is   
why ,khalid is not  long in serving     
papers1 copying summonses1 and searching
 title-deeds4  ,in this lawyer's office 
he develops traits altogether foreign to
 his  nature4 ,he even becomes a        
quidnunc1 prying now and then into the  
personal affairs of his superiors4 ,ay1 
and he dares once to suggest to  his    
employer a new method of dealing with   
the criminals among his  clients4       

,withal1 ,khalid is slow1 slower than   
the law itself4 ,if he  goes out to     
serve a summons he does not return for a
 day4 ,if he is  sent to search         
title-deeds1 he does not show up in the 
office for a  week4 ,and often he would 
lose himself in the ,park surrounding   
the  ,register's ,office1 pondering on  
his theory of immanent morality4 ,he    
would sit down on one of those benches1 
which are the anchors of  loafers of    
another type1 his batch of papers beside
 him1 and watch the  mad crowds coming  
and going1 running1 as it were1 between 
two fires4  ,these puckered people are  
the living1 moving chambers of sleeping 
souls4    ,khalid was always glad to    
come to this ,register's ,office4 ,for  
though  the searching of title-deeds be 
a mortal process1 the loafing margin  of
 the working hour could be extended     
imperceptibly1 and without  hazarding   
his or his employer's interest4 ,the    
following piece of  speculative fantasy 
and insight must have been thought out  

when he  should have been searching     
title-deeds4    ,this ,register's       
,office1 it is written in the ,k4 ,l4   
,,ms41 is the very  bulwark of ,society4
 ,it is the foundation on which the     
,trust ,companies1  the ,courts1 and the
 ,prisons are reared4 ,your codes are   
blind without  the miraculous torches   
which this ,office can light4 ,your     
judges can  not propound the 'laur'--,i 
beg your pardon1 the law--without the   
aid  of these musty1 smelling1          
dilapidated tomes4 ,ay1 these are the   
very  constables of the realm1 and      
without them there can be no realm1 no  
legislators1 and no judges4 ,strong1    
club-bearing constables1 these          
,liebers1 standing on the boundary      
lines1 keeping peace between  brothers  
and neighbours4    ,here1 in these      
,liebers is an authority which never    
fails1 never  dies--an authority which  
willy-nilly we obey and in which we     
place  unbounded trust4 ,in any one of  
these ,registers is a potentiality which

  can always worst the quibbles and     
quiddities of lawyers and ward off  the 
miserable technicalities of the law4    
,any of them1 when called  upon1 can go 
into court and dictate to the litigants 
and the  attorneys1 the jury and the    
judge4 ,they are the deceased witnesses 
come to life4 ,and without them1 the    
judges are helpless1 the marshals  and  
sheriffs too4 ,ay1 and what without them
 would be the state of our  real-estate 
interests8 ,abolish your constabulary   
force1 and your  police force1 and with 
these muniments of power1 these dumb but
  far-seeing agents of authority and    
intelligence1 you could still  maintain 
peace and order4 ,but burn you this     
,register's ,office1 and  before the    
last ,lieber turn to ashes1 ere the last
 flame of the  conflagration die out1   
you will have to call forth1 not only   
your fire  squads1 but your police force
 and even your soldiery1 to extinguish  
other fires different in nature1 but    
more devouring--and as many of  them as 

there are boundary lines in the land4   
,and we now come to the gist of the     
matter4      ,what wealth of moral      
truth1 he continues1 do we find in these
    greasy1 musty pages4 ,when one deeds
 a piece of property1 he    deeds with  
it something more valuable1 more        
enduring4 ,he deeds    with it an       
undying human intelligence which goes   
down to    posterity1 saying1 ,respect  
my will2 believe in me2 and convey      
this respect and this belief to your    
offspring4 ,ay1 the immortal    soul    
breathes in a deed as in a great book4  
,and the implicit    trust we place in a
 musty parchment1 is the mystic outcome 
of    the blind faith1 or rather the    
far-seeing faith which our    ancestors 
had in the morality and intelligence of 
coming    generations4 ,for what avails 
their deeds if they are not             
respected8444 ,we are indebted to our   
forbears1 therefore1 not    for the     
miserable piece of property they        
bequeath us1 but for    the confidence  

and trust1 the faith and hope they had  
in our    innate or immanent morality   
and intelligence4 ,the will of the      
dead is law for the living4    ,are we  
then to look upon ,khalid as having come
 out of that ,office with  soiled       
fingers only8 ,or has the young         
philosopher abated in his  clerkship the
 intensity of his moral views8 ,has he  
not assisted his  employer in the legal 
game of quieting titles8 ,has he not    
acquired a  little of the delusive      
plausibilities of lawyers8 ,shakib      
throws no  light on these questions4 ,we
 only know that the clerkship or rather 
apprenticeship was only held for a      
season4 ,indeed1 ,khalid must have      
recoiled from the practice4 ,or in his  
recklessness1 not to say  obtrusion1 he 
must have been outrageous enough to     
express in the  office of the honourable
 attorney1 or in the neighbourhood      
thereof1  his views about pettifogging  
and such like1 that the said honourable 
attorney was under the painful necessity

 of asking him to stay home4  ,nay1 the 
young ,syrian was discharged4 ,or to put
 it in a term adequate  to the manner in
 which this was done1 he was fired4     
,now1 ,khalid  betakes him back to his  
cellar1 and thrumming his lute-strings1 
lights  up the oppressive gloom with    
,arabic song and music4    -----     #a 
,a monastery in ,mt4 ,lebanon1 a sort of
 ,bedlam1 where the       exorcising    
monks beat the devil out of one's head  
with clouted       shoes4--,,editor4    
#b ,and the doctors here practise in the
 name of science what       the         
exorcising monks practise in the name of
 religion4 ,the poor       devil1 or    
patient1 in either case is done to      
death4--,,editor4          ,,chapter    
,,viii    ,,with ,,the ,,huris          
,from the house of law the dervish      
,khalid wends his way to that of        
science1 and from the house of science  
he passes on to that of  metaphysics4   
,his staff in hand1 his wallet hung on  
his shoulder1 his  silver cigarette case

 in his pocket1 patient1 confident1     
content1 he  makes his way from one     
place to another4 ,unlike his brother   
dervishes1  he is clean and proud of it1
 too4 ,he knocks at this or that door1  
makes his wish known to the servant or  
the mistress1 takes the crumbs  given   
him1 and not infrequently gives his prod
 to the dogs4 ,in the  vestibule of one 
of the houses of spiritism1 he tarries a
 spell and  parleys with the servant4   
,the ,mistress1 a fair-looking1         
fair-spoken  dame of seven lustrums or  
more1 issues suddenly from her studio1  
in a  curiously designed black velvet   
dressing-gown2 she is drawn to the  door
 by the accent of the foreigner's speech
 and the peculiar cadence  of his voice4
 ,they meet3 and magnetic currents from 
his dark eyes and  her eyes of blue1    
flow and fuse4 ,they speak3 and the lady
 asks the  stranger if he would not     
serve instead of begging4 ,and he       
protests1 ,i  am a ,dervish at the door 
of ,allah4 ,and ,i am a ,spirit in      

,allah's  house1 she rejoins4 ,they     
enter3 and the parley in the vestibule  
is  followed by a tte--tte in the       
parlour and another in the  dining-room4
 ,they agree3 and the stranger is made a
 member of the  ,spiritual ,household1  
which now consists of her and him1 the  
,medium and  the ,dervish4    ,now1 this
 fair-spoken dame1 who dotes on the     
occult and exotic1  delights in the     
aroma of ,khalid's cigarettes and       
,khalid's fancy4 ,and  that he might    
feel at ease1 she begins by assuring him
 that they have  met and communed many  
times ere now1 that they have been      
friends under  a preceding and long     
vanished embodiment4 ,which vagary      
,khalid seems to  countenance by        
referring to the infinite power of      
,allah1 in the  compass of which nothing
 is impossible4 ,and with these mystical
  circumlocutions of ceremony1 they     
plunge into an intimacy which is        
bordered by the metaphysical on one     
side1 and the physical on the  other4   

,for though the ,medium is at the       
threshold of her climacteric1  ,khalid  
afterwards tells ,shakib that there be  
something in her eyes and  limbs which  
always seem to be waxing young4 ,and of 
a truth1 the  ,american woman1 of all   
others1 knows best how to preserve her  
beauty  from the ravages of sorrow and  
the years4 ,that is why1 we presume1 in 
calling him1 child1 she does not permit 
him to call her1 mother4  ,indeed1 the  
,medium and the ,dervish often jest1 and
 somewhiles mix the  frivolous with the 
mysterious4    ,we would still follow   
our ,scribe here1 were it not that his  
pruriency  often reaches the edge4 ,he  
speaks of the liaison with all the rude 
simplicity and frankness of the ,arabian
 ,nights4 ,and though1 as the           
,mohammedans say1 ,to the pure          
everything is pure1 and again1 ,who     
quotes a heresy is not guilty of it2    
nevertheless1 we do not feel  warranted 
in rending the veil of the reader's     
prudery1 no matter how  transparent it  

might be4 ,we believe1 however1 that the
 pruriency of  ,orientals1 like the     
prudery of ,occidentals1 is in fact only
 an  appearance4 ,on both sides there is
 a display of what might be called      
verbal virtue and verbal vice4 ,and on  
both sides1 the exaggerations  are      
configured in a harmless pose4 ,be this 
as it may1 we at least1  shall withhold 
from ,shakib's lasciviousness the       
,english dress it seeks  at our hand4   
,we note1 however1 that ,khalid now     
visits him in the cellar only when  he  
craves a dish of mojadderah2 that he and
 the ,medium are absorbed  in the       
contemplation of the ,unseen1 though    
not1 perhaps1 of the  ,impalpable2 that 
they gallivant in the ,parks1 attend    
,bohemian dinners1  and frequent the    
,don't ,worry ,circles of ,metaphysical 
,societies2 that  they make long        
expeditions together to the ,platonic   
,north-pole and  back to the torrid     
regions of ,swinburne2 and that together
 they  perform their zikr and drink at  

the same fountain of ecstasy and        
devotion4 ,withal1 the ,dervish1 who now
 wears his hair long and grows  his     
finger nails like a ,brahmin1 is        
beginning to have some manners4    ,the 
,medium1 nevertheless1 withholds from   
him the secret of her art4 ,if  he      
desires1 he can attend the sances like  
every other stranger4 ,once  ,khalid1   
who would not leave anything unprobed1  
insisted1 importuned2  he could not see 
any reason for her conduct4 ,why should 
they not work  together in ,tiptology1  
as in ,physiology and ,metaphysics8 ,and
 one  morning1 dervish-like1 he wraps   
himself in his aba1 and1 calling  upon  
,allah to witness1 takes a rose from the
 vase on the table1  angrily plucks its 
petals1 and strews them on the carpet4  
,which  portentous sign the ,medium     
understands and hastens to minister her 
palliatives4    ,no1 ,child1 you shall  
not go1 she begs and supplicates2 listen
 to  me1 are we not together all the    
time8 ,why not leave me alone then with 

the spirits8 ,one day you shall know    
all1 believe me4 ,come1 sit here1       
stroking her palm on her lap1 and       
listen4 ,i shall give up this  tiptology
 business very soon2 you and ,i shall   
overturn the table4 ,yes1  ,child1 ,i am
 on the point of succumbing under an    
awful something4 ,so1  don't ask me     
about the spooks any more4 ,promise not 
to torment me thus  any more4 ,and one  
day we shall travel together in the     
,orient2 we shall  visit the ruins of   
vanished kingdoms and creeds4 ,ah1 to be
 in ,palmyra  with you6 ,do you know1   
,child1 ,i am destined to be a ,beduin  
queen4 ,the  throne of ,zenobia is mine1
 and yours too1 if you will be good4 ,we
  shall resuscitate the glory of the    
kingdom of the desert4    ,to all of    
which ,khalid acquiesces by referring as
 is his wont to the  infinite wisdom of 
,allah1 in whose all-seeing eye nothing 
is  impossible4    ,and thus1 apparently
 satisfied1 he takes the cigarette which
 she had  lighted for him1 and lights   

for her another from his own4 ,but the  
smoke of two cigarettes dispels not the 
threatening cloud2 it only  conceals it 
from view4 ,for they dine together at a 
,bohemian ,club that  evening1 where    
,khalid meets a woman of rare charms4   
,and she invites  him to her studio4    
,the ,medium1 who is at first           
indifferent1 finally  warns her callow  
child4 ,that woman is a writer1 she     
explains1 and  writers are always in    
search of what they call 'copy4' ,she in
  particular is a huntress of male      
curiosities1 originales1 whom she  takes
 into her favour and ultimately         
surrenders them to the reading  public4 
,so be careful4 ,but ,khalid hearkens   
not4 ,for the writer1 whom  he          
afterwards calls a flighter1 since she1 
too1 like the van of the  brewer only   
skims the surface of things1 is1 in     
fact1 younger than  the ,medium4 ,ay1   
this woman is even beautiful--to behold1
 at least4 ,so  the ,dervish1 a captive 
of her charms1 knocks at the door of her

 studio  one evening and enters4 ,ah1   
this then is a studio6 ,i am destined to
  know everything1 and to see           
everything1 he says to himself1 smiling 
in his heart4    ,the charming hostess1 
in a ,japanese kimono receives him      
somewhat  orientally1 offering him the  
divan1 which he occupies alone for a    
spell4 ,he is then laden with a huge    
scrap-book containing press  notices and
 reviews of her many novels4 ,these1 he 
is asked to go  through while she       
prepares the tea4 ,which is a mortal    
task for the  ,dervish in the presence  
of the ,enchantress4 ,alas1 the tea is  
long in  the making1 and when the       
scrap-book is laid aside1 she reinforces
 him  with a lot of magazines adorned   
with stories of the short and long and  
middling size1 from her fertile pen4    
,these are beautiful1 says he1  in      
glancing over a few pages1 but no matter
 how you try1 you can not  with your pen
 surpass your own beauty4 ,the charm of 
your literary  style can not hold a     

candle to the charm of your--permit me  
to read  your hand4 ,and laying down the
 magazine1 he takes up her hand and     
presses it to his lips4 ,in like manner1
 he tries to read somewhat in  the face1
 but the ,enchantress protests and      
smiles4 ,in which case the  smile       
renders the protest null and void4      
,henceforth1 the situation shall be     
trying even to the ,dervish who can  eat
 live coals4 ,he oscillates for some    
while between the ,medium and  the      
,enchantress1 but finds the effort      
rather straining4 ,the first  climax1   
however1 is reached1 and our ,scribe    
thinks it too sad for  words4 ,he       
himself sheds a few rheums with the     
fair-looking1  fair-spoken ,dame1 and   
dedicates to her a few rhymes4 ,her     
magnanimity1  he tells us1 is           
unexampled1 and her fatalism pathetic4  
,for when ,khalid  severs himself from  
the ,spiritual ,household1 she kisses   
him thrice1  saying1 ,go1 ,child2 ,allah
 brought you to me1 and ,allah will     

bring you  again4 ,khalid refers1 as    
usual1 to the infinite wisdom of the    
,almighty1 and1 taking his handkerchief 
from his pocket1 wipes the  tears that  
fell--from her eyes over his4 ,he passes
 out of the  vestibule1 silent and sad1 
musing on the time he first stood there 
as  a beggar4    ,now1 the horizon of   
the ,enchantress is unobstructed4       
,khalid is there  alone2 and her free   
love can freely pass on from him to     
another4 ,and  such messages they       
exchange6 ,such evaporations of the     
insipidities of  free love6 ,khalid     
again takes up with ,shakib1 from whom  
he does not  conceal anything4 ,the     
epistles are read by both1 and sometimes
 replied  to by both6 ,and she1 in an   
effort to seem ,oriental1 calls the     
,dervish1 ,my ,syrian ,rose1 ,my ,desert
 ,flower1 ,my ,beduin ,boy1 et  cetera1 
always closing her message with either a
 strip of ,syrian sky  or a camel load  
of the narcissus4 ,ah1 but not thus will
 the play  close4 ,true1 ,khalid alone  

adorns her studio for a time1 or rather 
adores in it2 he alone accompanies her  
to ,bohemia4 ,but the ,dervish1  who was
 always going wrong in ,bohemia1--always
 at the door of the  ,devil1--ventures  
one night to escort another woman to her
 studio4 ,ah1  those studios6 ,the      
,enchantress on hearing of the crime    
lights the fire  under her cauldron4    
,double1 double1 toil and trouble6 ,she 
then goes  to the telephone--g-r-r-r-r  
you swine--you ,phoenician murex--she   
hangs  up the receiver1 and stirs the   
cauldron4 ,double1 double1 toil and     
trouble6 ,but the ,dervish writes her an
 extraordinary letter1 in which  we     
suspect the pen of our ,scribe1 and from
 which we can but transcribe  the       
following3      ,you found in me a      
vacant heart1 he pleads1 and you        
occupied    it4 ,the divan therein is   
yours1 yours alone4 ,nor shall ,i ever  
permit a chance caller1 an intruder1 to 
exasperate you4444 ,my    breast is a   
stronghold in which you are well        

fortified4 ,how then    can any one     
disturb you8444 ,how can ,i turn from   
myself against    myself8 ,somewhat of  
you1 the best of you1 circulates with my
    blood2 you are my breath of life4   
,how can ,i then overcome you8    ,how  
can ,i turn to another for the          
sustenance which you alone can          
give8444 ,if ,i be thirst personified1  
you are the living1 flowing    brook1   
the everlasting fountain4 ,o for a      
drink--    ,and here follows a hectic   
uprush about pearly breasts1 and        
honey-sources1 and musk-scented arbours1
 closing with ,your ,beduin ,boy  shall 
come to-night4    ,notwithstanding      
which1 the ,enchantress abandons the    
,syrian ,dwelling3  she no longer       
fancies the vacant ,divan of which      
,khalid speaks4  ,fortress or no        
fortress1 she gives up occupation and   
withdraws from  the foreigner her       
favour4 ,not only that2 but the fire is 
crackling  under the cauldron1 and the  
typewriter begins to click4 ,ay1 these  

modern witches can make even a          
typewriter dance around the fire and    
join in the chorus4 ,double1 double1    
toil and trouble1 ,fire burn1 and       
cauldron bubble6 and the performance was
 transformed from the studio  to the    
magazine supplement of one of the       
,sunday newspapers4 ,there1 the         
,dervish is thrown into the cauldron    
along with the magic herbs4             
,bubble--bubble4 ,the fire-eating       
,dervish1 how can he now swallow this   
double-tongued flame of hate and love8  
,the ,enchantress had wrought her       
spell1 had ministered her poison4 ,now1 
where can he find an antidote1  who can 
teach him a healing formula8 ,bruno     
,d',ast was once bewitched by  a        
sorceress1 and by causing her to be     
burned he was immediately cured4  ,ah1  
that ,khalid could do this6 ,like an    
ordinary pamphlet he would  consign the 
,enchantress to the flames1 and her     
scrap-books and novels  to boot4 ,he    
does well1 however1 to return to his    

benevolent friend1  the ,medium4 ,the   
spell can be counteracted by another1   
though less  potent4 ,ay1 even          
witchcraft has its homeopathic remedies4
    ,and the ,medium1 ,shakib tells us1 
is delighted to welcome back her        
prodigal child4 ,she opens to him her   
arms1 and her heart2 she slays  the     
fatted calf4 ,i knew that ,allah will   
bring you back to me1 she  ejaculates2  
my prevision is seldom wrong4 ,and      
kissing her hand1  ,khalid falters1     
,forgiveness is for the sinner1 and the 
good are for  forgiveness4 ,whereupon1  
they plunge again into the ,unseen1 and 
thence  to ,bohemia4 ,the aftermath1    
however1 does not come up to the        
expectations of the good ,medium4 ,for  
the rigmarole of the ,enchantress  about
 the ,dervish in ,new ,york had already 
done its evil work4                     
,and--double--double--wherever the      
,dervish goes4 ,especially in ,bohemia1 
where many of its daughters set their   
caps for him4    ,and here1 he is       

neither shy nor slow nor visionary4 ,nor
 shall his  theory of immanent morality 
trouble him for the while4 ,reality is  
met  with reality on solid1 though      
sometimes slippery1 ground4 ,his        
animalism1 long leashed and starved1 is 
eager for prey4 ,his ,phoenician        
passion is awake4 ,and fortunately1     
,khalid finds himself in ,bohemia  where
 the poison and the antidote are        
frequently offered together4  ,here the 
spell of one sorceress can straightway  
be offset by that of  her sister4 ,and  
we have our ,scribe's word for it1 that 
the ,dervish  went as far and as deep   
with the huris1 as the doctors          
eventually  would permit him4 ,that is  
why1 we believe1 in commenting upon his 
adventures there1 he often quotes the   
couplet1        ,in my sublunar paradise
       ,there's plenty of honey--and    
plenty of flies4    ,the flies in his   
cup1 however1 can not be detected with  
the naked  eye4 ,they are microbes      
rather--microbes which even the         

physicians can  not manage with         
satisfaction4 ,for it must be           
acknowledged that  ,khalid's immanent   
morality and intellectualism suffered an
 interregnum  with the huris4 ,reckless1
 thoughtless1 heartless1 he plunges     
headlong  again4 ,it is said in         
,al-,hadith that he who guards himself  
against the  three cardinal evils1      
namely1 of the tongue 7laklaka71 of the 
stomach 7kabkaba71 and of the sex       
7zabzaba71 will have guarded  himself   
against all evil4 ,but ,khalid reads not
 in the ,hadith of the  ,prophet4 ,and  
that he became audacious1 edacious1 and 
loquacious1 is  evident from such wit   
and flippancy as he here likes to       
display4 ,some  women1 says he1 might be
 likened to whiskey1 others to seltzer  
water2 and many are those who1 like     
myself1 care neither for the soda  or   
the whiskey straight4 ,a 'high-ball' ,i 
will have4    ,nay1 he even takes to    
punch2 for in his cup of amour there is 
a subtle  and multifarious mixture4     

,with him1 he himself avows1 one woman  
complemented another4 ,what the svelte  
brunette1 for instance1 lacked1  the    
steatopygous blonde amply supplied4     
,delicacy and intensity1  effervescence 
and depth1 these he would have in a     
woman1 or a hareem1  as in anything     
else4 ,but these excellences1 though    
found in a hareem1  will not fuse1 as in
 a poem or a picture4 ,even thy bones1  
thou scented  high-lacquered ,dervish1  
are likely to melt away before they melt
 into  one4    ,it is written in the ,k4
 ,l4 ,,ms4 that women either bore1 or   
inspire1 or  excite4 ,the first and the 
last are to be met with anywhere2 but   
the  second8 ,ah1 well you have heard   
the story of ,diogenes4 ,so take up your
  lamp and come along4 ,but remember1   
when you do meet the woman that         
inspires1 you will begin to yearn for   
the woman that excites4    ,and here1   
the hospitality of the ,dervish does not
 belie his ,arab  blood4 ,in ,bohemia1  
the bonfire of his heart was never      

extinguished1  and the wayfarers        
stopping before his tent1 be they of    
those who  bored1 or excited1 or        
inspired1 were welcome guests for at    
least three  days and nights4 ,and in   
this he follows the rule of hospitality 
among  his people4    ,illustration     
,,book ,,the ,,second    ,,in ,,the     
,,temple          ,illustration    ,,to 
,,nature    ,o ,mother eternal1 divine1 
satanic1 all encompassing1              
all-nourishing1  all-absorbing1 ,o      
star-diademed1 pearl-sandaled ,goddess1 
,i am thine  forever and ever3 whether  
as a child of thy womb1 or an embodiment
 of  a spirit-wave of thy light1 or a   
dumb blind personification of thy       
smiles and tears1 or an ignis-fatuus of 
the intelligence that is in  thee or    
beyond thee1 ,i am thine forever and    
ever3 ,i come to thee1 ,i  prostrate my 
face before thee1 ,i surrender myself   
wholly to thee4 ,o  touch me with thy   
wand divine again2 stir me once more in 
thy  mysterious alembics2 remake me to  

suit the majestic silence of thy  hills1
 the supernal purity of thy sky1 the    
mystic austerity of thy  groves1 the    
modesty of thy slow-swelling1           
soft-rolling streams1 the  imperious    
pride of thy pines1 the wild beauty and 
constancy of thy  mountain rivulets4    
,take me in thine arms1 and whisper to  
me of thy  secrets2 fill my senses with 
thy breath divine2 show me the bottom of
  thy terrible spirit2 buffet me in thy 
storms1 infusing in me of thy           
ruggedness and strength1 thy power and  
grandeur2 lull me in thine  autumn      
sun-downs to teach me in the arts that  
enrapture1 exalt1  supernaturalise4     
,sing me a lullaby1 ,o ,mother eternal6 
,give me to drink  of thy love1 divine  
and diabolic2 thy cruelty and thy       
kindness1 ,i  accept both1 if thou wilt 
but whisper to me the secret of both4   
,anoint  me with the chrism of          
spontaneity that ,i may be ever worthy  
of  thee4--,withdraw not from me thy    
hand1 lest universal love and sympathy  

die in my breast4--,i implore thee1 ,o  
,mother eternal1 ,o sea-throned1        
heaven-canopied ,goddess1 ,i prostrate  
my face before thee1 ,i surrender       
myself wholly to thee4 ,and whether ,i  
be to-morrow the censer in the  hand of 
thy ,high ,priest1 or the incense in the
 censer1--whether ,i  become a star-gem 
in thy cestus or a sun in thy diadem or 
even a  firefly in thy fane1 ,i am      
content4 ,for ,i am certain that it     
shall be  for the best4--,,khalid4      
,,chapter ,i    ,,the ,,dowry ,,of      
,,democracy      ,old ,arabic books1    
printed in ,bulaq1 generally have a     
broad margin  wherein a separate work1  
independent of the text1 adds gloom to  
the  page4 ,we have before us one of    
these tomes in which the text treats of 
the ethics of life and religion1 and the
 margins are darkened with  certain     
adventures which ,shahrazad might have  
added to her famous  ,nights4 ,the      
similarity between ,khalid's life in its
 present stage and  some such book1 is  

evident4 ,nay1 he has been so assiduous 
in writing  the marginal ,work1 that    
ever since he set fire to his           
peddling-box1 we  have had little in the
 ,text worth transcribing4 ,nothing1 in 
fact2 for  many pages back are as blank 
as the evil genius of ,bohemia could    
wish  them4 ,and how could one with that
 mara upon him1 write of the ethics  of 
life and religion8    ,al-,hamazani used
 to say that in ,jorajan the man from   
,khorasan must  open thrice his purse3  
first1 to pay for the rent2 second1 for 
the  food2 and third1 for his coffin4   
,and so1 in ,khalid's case1 at least1   
is ,bohemia4 ,for though the purse be   
not his own1 he was paying dear1  and   
even in advance1 in what is dearer than 
gold1 for his experience4  ,o1 that the 
,devil did not take such interest in the
 marginal work of  our life6 ,why should
 we write it then1 and for whom8 ,and   
how will it  fare with us when1         
chapfallen in the end and mortified1 we 
stand  before the great ,task-,master   

like delinquent school boys with a blank
  text in our hands8 7,thus ,shakib1 who
 has caught the moralising evil  from   
his ,master47 ,and that we must stand1  
and fall1 for thus standing1  he is     
quite certain4 ,at least1 ,khalid is4   
,for he would not return to  the ,text  
to make up for the blank pages therein1 
if he were not4    ,when he returned    
from his last sojourn in ,bohemia1      
writes our  ,scribe1 ,khalid was pitiful
 to behold4 ,even ,sindbad1 had he seen 
him1  would have been struck with       
wonder4 ,the tears rushed to my eyes    
when  we embraced2 for instead of       
,khalid ,i had in my arms a phantom4    
,and ,i  could not but repeat the lines 
of ,al-,mutanabbi1        ,so           
phantom-like ,i am1 and though so near1 
,if ,i spoke not1 thou wouldst not know 
,i'm here4    ,no more voyages1 ,i      
trust1 ,o thou ,sindbad4 ,and he        
replied1 ,yes1 one  more2 but to our    
dear native land this time4 ,in fact1   
,i1 too1 was  beginning to suffer from  

nostalgia1 and was much desirous of     
returning  home4 ,but ,shakib is in such
 a business tangle that he could not    
extricate himself in a day4 ,so1 they   
tarry another year in ,new ,york1  the  
one meanwhile unravelling his affairs1  
settling with his creditors  and        
collecting what few debts he had1 the   
other brooding over the few  blank pages
 in his ,text4    ,one day he receives a
 letter from a fellow traveller1 a      
distinguished  citizen of ,tammany      
,land1 whom he had met and befriended in
 ,bohemia1  relating to an enterprise of
 great pith and moment4 ,it was election
  time1 we learn1 and the high post of  
political canvasser of the ,syrian      
,district was offered to ,khalid for a  
consideration of--but the letter  which 
,shakib happily preserved1 we give in   
full4      ,dear ,khalid3      ,i have  
succeeded in getting ,mr4 ,o',donohue to
 appoint you a    canvasser of the      
,syrian ,district4 ,you must stir       
yourself1    therefore1 and try to do   

some good work1 among the ,syrian       
voters1 for ,democracy's ,candidate this
 campaign4 ,here is a    chance which1  
with a little hustling on your part1    
will    materialise4 ,and ,i see no     
reason why you should not try to cash   
your influence among your people4 ,this 
is no mean position1 mind    you4 ,and  
if you will come up to the ,wigwam      
to-morrow1 ,i'll give    you a few      
suggestions on the business of          
manipulating votes4                     
,yours truly1                           
,,patrick ,,hoolihan4    ,and the said  
,mr4 ,hoolihan1 the letter shows1 is    
,secretary to  ,mr4 ,o',donohue1 who is 
first henchman to the ,boss4 ,such a    
letter1  if luckily misunderstood1 will 
fire for a while the youthful           
imagination4 ,no2 not his ,shamrag      
,majesty's ,tammany ,agent to  ,syria1  
this ,canvassership1 you poor           
phantom-like zany6 ,a high  post1       
indeed1 you fond and pitiful dreamer1 on
 which you must  hang the higher        

aspirations of your soul1 together with 
your  theory of immanent morality4 ,you 
would not know this at first4 ,you      
would still kiss the official           
notification of ,mr4 ,hoolihan1 and  hug
 it fondly to your breast4 ,very well4  
,at last--and the gods  will not damn   
thee for musing--you will stand in the  
band-wagon  before the corner groggery  
and be the object of the admiration of  
your fellow citizens--perhaps of        
missiles1 too4 ,very well1 ,khalid2  but
 you must shear that noddle of thine1   
and straightway1 for the  poets are     
potted in ,tammany ,land4 ,we say this  
for your sake4    ,the orator-dream of  
youth1 ye gods1 shall it be realised in 
this  heaven of a dray-cart with its    
kerosene torch and its drum1 smelling   
and sounding rather of ,juhannam8       
,surely1 from the ,table of ,bohemia to 
the ,stump in ,tammany ,land1 is a far  
cry4 ,but believe us1 ,o ,khalid1 you   
will wish you were again in the gardens 
of ,proserpine1 when the  silence and   

darkness extinguish the torch and the   
drum and the echoes  of the shouting    
crowds4 ,the headaches are certain to   
follow this  inebriation4 ,you did not  
believe ,shakib2 you would not be       
admonished2  you would go to the ,wigwam
 for your portfolio4 ,high post1        
political canvasser1 manipulation of    
votes1 you will know the  exact meaning 
of these esoteric terms1 when1 alas1 you
 meet ,mr4  ,hoolihan4 ,for you must    
know that not every one you meet in     
,bohemia is  not a ,philistine4 ,indeed1
 many helots are there1 who come from   
,philistia to spy out the ,land4    ,we 
read in the ,histoire ,intime of ,shakib
 that ,khalid did become a  ,tammany    
citizen1 that is to say1 a ,tammany     
dray-horse2 that he was  much esteemed  
by the ,honourable ,henchmen1 and once  
in the ,wigwam he  was particularly     
noticed by his ,shamrag ,majesty ,boss  
,o',graft2 that he  was ,tammany's      
,agent to the ,editors of the ,syrian   
newspapers of ,new  ,york1 whom he      

enrolled in the service of the ,noble   
,cause for a  consideration which no    
eloquence or shrewdness could reduce to 
a  minimum2 that he also took to the    
stump and dispensed to his fellow       
citizens1 with rhetorical gestures at   
least1 of the cut-and-dried  logic which
 the ,committee of ,buncombe on such    
occasions furnishes its  squad of       
talented spouters2 and that--the most   
important this--he was  subject in the  
end to the ignominy of waiting in the   
lobby with  tuft-hunters and political  
stock-jobbers1 until it pleased the     
,committee of ,buncombe and the         
,honourable ,treasurer thereof to give  
him--a card of dismissal6    ,but what  
virtue is there in waiting1 our cynical 
friend would ask4 ,why  not go home and 
sleep8 ,because1 ,o cynical friend1 the 
,wigwam now is  ,khalid's home4 ,for was
 he not1 in creaking boots and a slouch 
hat1  ceremoniously married to          
,democracy8 ,ay1 and after spending     
their  honeymoon on the ,stump and      

living another month or two with his    
troll  among her ,people1 he returns to 
his cellar to brood1 not over the  blank
 pages in his ,text1 nor over the       
disastrous results of the  ,campaign1   
but on the weightier matter of divorce4 
,for although  ,politics and ,romance1  
in the ,history of ,human ,intrigue1    
have often  known and enjoyed the same  
yoke1 with ,khalid they refused to pull 
at  the plough4 ,they were not sensible 
even to the goad4 ,either the yoke  in  
his case was too loose1 or the new      
yoke-fellow too thick-skinned  and      
stubborn4    ,moreover1 the promise of a
 handsome dowry1 made by the ,shamrag   
,father-in-,law or his ,brokers         
materialised only in the rotten eggs and
  tomatoes with which the ,orator was   
cordially received on his honeymoon     
trip4 ,such a marriage1 ,o ,mohammad1   
and such a honeymoon1 and such a        
dowry6--is not this enough to shake the 
very sides of the ,kaaba with  laughter8
 ,and yet1 in the ,wigwam this not      

uncommon affair was  indifferently      
considered2 for the good and honourable 
,tammanyites  marry off their ,daughters
 every day to foreigners and natives    
alike1  and with like extraordinary     
picturesque results4    ,were it not    
wiser1 therefore1 ,o ,khalid1 had you   
consulted your  friend the ,dictionary  
before you saw exact meaning of canvass 
and  manipulation1 before you put on    
your squeaking boots and slouch  hat and
 gave your hand and heart to ,tammany's 
,daughter and her  ,father-in-,law      
,o',graft8 ,but the ,dictionary1 too1   
often falls short  of human experience2 
and even ,mr4 ,o',donohue could at best 
but hint at  the meaning of the esoteric
 terms of ,tammany's political creed4   
,these  you must define for yourself as 
you go along2 and change and revise     
your definitions as you rise or descend 
in the ,sacred ,order4 ,for  canvass    
here might mean eloquence2 there it     
might mean shrewdness2  lower down1     
intimidation and coercion2 and further  

depthward1 human  sloth and misery4 ,it 
is but a common deal in horses4 ,ay1 in 
,tammany  ,land it is essentially a     
trade honestly conducted on the known   
principle of supply and demand4 ,these  
truths you had to discover for          
yourself1 you say2 for neither the      
,dictionary1 nor your friend and  fellow
 traveller in ,bohemia1 ,mr4 ,hoolihan1 
could stretch their  knowledge or their 
conscience to such a compass4 ,and you  
are not  sorry to have made such a      
discovery8 ,can you think of the ,dowry 
and  say that8 ,we are1 indeed1 sorry   
for you4 ,and we would fain insert  in  
letter ,d of the ,dictionary a new      
definition3 namely1 ,dowry1 n4          
7,tammany ,land ,slang74 ,the           
odoriferous missiles1 such as eggs and  
tomatoes1 which are showered on an      
,orator-,groom by the people4    ,but   
see what big profits ,khalid draws from 
these small shares in the  ,reality     
,stock ,company4 ,you remember1 good    
,reader1 how he was kicked  away from   

the door of the ,temple of ,atheism4    
,the stogies of that  inspired          
,doorkeeper were divine1 according to   
his way of viewing  things1 for they    
were at that particular moment ,god's   
own boots4 ,ay1  it was ,god1 he often  
repeats1 who kicked him away from the   
,temple of  his enemies4 ,and now1 he   
finds the ,dowry of ,democracy1 with all
 its  wonderful revelations1 as         
profitable in its results1 as divine in 
its  purpose4 ,and in proof of this1 we 
give here a copy of his letter to  ,boss
 ,o',graft1 written in that downright   
manner of his contemporaries1  the      
,english original of which we find in   
the ,histoire ,intime4                  
,from ,khalid to ,boss ,o',graft4       
,right ,dishonourable ,boss3      ,i    
have just received a check from your    
,treasurer1 which by no    right        
whatever is due me1 having been paid for
 my services by    ,him who knows better
 than you and your ,treasurer what ,i   
deserve4    ,the voice of the people1   

and their eggs and tomatoes1 too1 are1  
indeed1 ,god's4 ,and you should know    
this1 you who dare to    remunerate me  
in what is not half as clean as those   
missiles4 ,i    return not your insult  
of a check1 however2 but ,i have tried  
to    do your state some service in     
purchasing the few boxes of soap        
which ,i am now dispatching to the      
,wigwam4 ,you need more1 ,i know1    you
 and your ,honourable ,henchmen or      
,hashmen4 ,and instead of    canvassing 
and orating for ,democracy's illustrious
 ,candidate and    the ,noble ,cause1   
mashallah6 one ought to do a little     
canvassing for ,honesty and ,truth among
 ,democracy's leaders1    tuft-hunters1 
political stock-jobbers1 and such like4 
,o1 for a    higher stump1 my ,boss1 to 
preach to those who are supporting and  
degrading the stumps and the            
stump-orators of the ,republic6    ,and 
is it come to this1 you poor            
phantom-like dreamer8 ,think you a      
,tammany ,boss is like your atheists and

 attorneys and women of the  studio1 at 
whom you could vent your ire without let
 or hindrance8  ,these harmless humans  
have no constables at their command4    
,but his  ,shamrag ,majesty--,o wretched
 ,khalid1 must we bring one of his      
myrmidons  to your cellar to prove to   
you that1 even in this ,tammany ,land1  
you  can not with immunity give free and
 honest expression to your  thoughts8   
,now1 were you not summoned to the      
,shamrag's presence to  answer for the  
crime of lse-majest8 ,and were you not1 
for your  audacity1 left to brood ten   
days and nights in gaol8 ,and what      
tedium  we have in ,shakib's ,history   
about the charge on which he was        
arrested4  ,it is unconscionable that   
,khalid should misappropriate ,party    
funds4  ,indeed1 he never even touched  
or saw any of it1 excepting1 of course1 
that check which he returned4 ,but the  
,boss was still in power4 ,and  what    
could ,shakib do to exonerate his       
friend8 ,he did much1 and he  tells as  

much about it4 ,with check-boot in his  
pocket1 he makes his  way through       
aldermen1 placemen1 henchmen1 and other 
questionable  political species of      
humanity1 up to the ,seat of            
,justice--but such  detail1 though of   
the veracity of the writer nothing      
doubting1 we  gladly set aside1 since we
 believe with ,khalid that his ten days 
in  gaol were akin to the ,boots and the
 ,dowry in their motive and effect4     
,but our ,scribe1 though never remiss   
when ,khalid is in a pickle1 finds  much
 amiss in ,khalid's thoughts and        
sentiments4 ,and as a further           
illustration of the limpid shallows of  
the one and the often opaque  depths of 
the other1 we give space to the         
following3    ,when ,khalid was ordered 
to appear before the ,boss1 writes      
,shakib1  such curiosity and anxiety as 
,i felt at that time made me accompany  
him4 ,for ,i was anxious about ,khalid1 
and curious to see this great  ,leader  
of men4 ,we set out1 therefore1         

together1 ,i musing on an  incident in  
,baalbek when we went out to meet the   
,pasha of the ,lebanons  and a droll old
 peasant1 having seen him for the first 
time1 cried  out1 ',i thought the ,pasha
 to be a ,pasha1 but he's but a man4'   
,and ,i am  sorry1 after having seen the
 ,boss1 ,i can not say as much for him4 
,here follows a little philosophising1  
unbecoming of our ,scribe1 on men  and  
names and how they act and react upon   
each other4 ,also1 a page  about his    
misgivings and the effort he made to    
persuade ,khalid not to  appear before  
the ,boss4 ,but skipping over these1 we 
reach the ,tammany  ,wigwam and are     
conducted by a thick-set1 heavy-jowled1 
heavy-booted  citizen through the long  
corridor into a little square room      
occupied  by a little square-faced      
clerk4 ,here we wait a half hour and    
more1  during which the young gentleman1
 with his bell before him and his       
orders to minor clerks who come and go1 
poses as somebody of some  importance4  

,we are then asked to follow him from   
one room into  another1 until we reach  
the one adjoining the private office of 
the  ,boss4 ,a knock or two are executed
 on the door of ,greatness with a       
nauseous sense of awe1 and ',come in1'  
,greatness within huskily  replies4 ,the
 square-faced clerk enters1 shuts the   
door after him1  returns in a trice1 and
 conducts us into the awful ,presence4  
,ye gods  of ,baalbek1 the like of this 
,i never saw before4 ,here is a room    
sumptuously furnished with sofas and    
fauteuils1 and rugs from ,ispahan4  ,on 
the walls are pictures of ,washington1  
,jefferson1 and the great ,boss  ,tweed2
 and right under the last named1 behind 
that preciously carved  mahogany desk1  
in that soft rolling mahogany chair1 is 
the squat  figure of the big ,boss4 ,on 
the desk before him1 besides a plethora 
of  documents1 lay many things          
pell-mell1 among which ,i noticed a box 
of  cigars1 the ,criminal ,code1 and1   
most prominent of all1 the ,boss' feet1 

raised there either to bid us welcome1  
or to remind us of his power4  ,and the 
rich ,ispahan rug1 the cuspidor being   
small and overfull1  receives the richly
 coloured matter which he spurts forth  
every time  he takes the cigar out of   
his mouth4 ,o1 the vulgarity1 the       
bestiality  of it6 ,think of those poor 
patient ,persian weavers who weave the  
tissues of their hearts into such       
beautiful work1 and of this proud  and  
paltry ,boss1 whose office should have  
been furnished with straw4  ,yes1 with  
straw2 and the souls of those poor      
artist-weavers will sleep  in peace4 ,o1
 the ignominy of having such precious   
pieces of  workmanship under the feet   
and spittle of such vulgar specimens of 
humanity4 ,but if the ,boss had         
purchased these rugs himself1 with money
  earned by his own brow-sweat1 ,i am   
sure he would appreciate them  better4  
,he would then know1 if not their       
intrinsic worth1 at least  their market 
value4 ,yes1 and they were presented to 

him by some one  needing1 ,i suppose1   
police connivance and protection4 ,the  
first half  of this statement ,i had    
from the ,boss himself2 the second1 ,i  
base on  ,khalid's knowingness and      
suspicion4 ,be this1 however1 as it may4
    ,when we entered this sumptuously   
furnished office1 the squat figure  in  
the chair under the picture of ,boss    
,tweed1 remained as immobile as  a      
fixture and did not as much as reply to 
our salaam4 ,but he pointed             
disdainfully to seats in the corner of  
the room1 saying1 ',sit down  there1' in
 a manner quite in keeping with his     
stogies raised on the  desk directly in 
our face4 ,such freedom1 nay1 such      
bestiality1 ,i could  never tolerate4   
,indeed1 ,i prefer the suavity and      
palaver of ,turkish  officials1 no      
matter how crafty and corrupt1 to the   
puffing1 spitting  manners of these     
come-up-from-the-shamble men4 ,but      
,khalid could sit  there as immobile as 
the ,boss himself1 and he did so1       

billah6 ,for he  was thinking all the   
while1 as he told me when we came out1  
not of  such matters as grate on the    
susceptibilities of a poet1 but on the  
one sole idea of how such a bad titman  
could lead by the nose so many  good    
people4    ,shakib then proceeds to give
 us a verbatim report of the interview4 
,it  begins with the ,boss' question1   
,what do you mean by writing such a     
letter8 and ends with this other1 ,what 
do you mean by immanent  morality8 ,the 
reader1 given the head and tail of the  
matter1 can  supply the missing parts4  
,or1 given its two bases1 he can        
construct  this triangle of ,politics1  
,ethics1 and the ,constable1 with       
,khalid's  letter1 offended ,majesty1   
and a prison cell1 as its three turning 
points4 ,we extract from the report1    
however1 the concluding advice of  the  
,boss4 ,for when he asked ,khalid again 
what he meant by immanent  morality1 he 
continued in a crescendo of indignation3
 ,you mean the  morality of hayseeds1   

and priests1 and philosophical fools8   
,that sort  of morality will not as much
 as secure a vote during the campaign1  
nor  even help to keep the lowest clerk 
in office4 ,that sort of morality is    
good for your mountain peasants or other
 barbarous tribes4 ,but the  free and   
progressive people of the ,united       
,states must have something  better1    
nobler1 more practical4 ,you'd do well1 
therefore1 to get you a  pair of rings1 
hang them in your ears1 and go preach1  
your immanent  morality to the ,south   
,african ,pappoos4 ,but before you go1  
you shall  taste of the rigour of our   
law1 you insolent1 brazen-faced1        
unmannerly  scoundrel6    ,and we are   
assured that the ,boss did not remain   
immobile as be spurted  forth this      
mixture of wrath and wisdom1 nor did the
 stogies2 for  moved by his own words1  
he rose promptly to his feet4 ,and what 
of it1 exclaims our ,scribe4 ,surely1 ,i
 had rather see those boots  perform any
 office1 high or low1 as to behold their

 soles raised like  mirrors to my face4 
,but how high an office they performed  
when the  ,boss came forward1 we are not
 told4 ,all that our ,scribe gives out  
about the matter amounts to this3       
namely1 that he walked out of the  room1
 and as he looked back to see if ,khalid
 was following1 he saw him  brushing    
with his hands--his hips6 ,and on that  
very day ,khalid was  summoned to appear
 before the ,court and give answer to   
the charge of  misappropriation of      
public funds4 ,the orator-dream of      
youth--what a  realisation6 ,he comes to
 ,court1 and after the legal formalities
 are  performed1 he is delivered unto an
 officer who escorts him across  the    
,bridge of ,sighs to gaol4 ,there1 for  
ten days and nights1--and it  might have
 been ten months were it not for his    
devoted and steadfast  friend1--we leave
 ,khalid to brood on ,democracy and the 
,dowry of  ,democracy4 ,a few extracts  
from the ,chapter in the ,k4 ,l4 ,,ms4  
entitled ,in ,prison1 are1 therefore1   

appropriate4      ,so long as one has   
faith1 he writes1 in the general moral  
summation of the experience of mankind1 
as the philosophy of    reason assures  
us1 one should not despair4 ,but the    
material fact    of the ,present1 the   
dark moment of no-morality1 consider    
that1    my suffering ,brothers4 ,and   
reflect further that in this great      
,city of ,new ,york the majority of     
citizens consider it a blessing    to   
have a rojail 7titman7 for their boss   
and leader4444 ,how    often have ,i    
mused that if ,ponce de ,leon sought the
 ,fountain of    ,youth in the ,new     
,world1 ,i1 ,khalid1 sought the         
,fountain of ,truth1    and both of us  
have been equally successful6      ,but 
the ,americans are neither              
,pagans--which is consoling--nor        
fetish-worshipping heathens3 they are   
all true and honest    votaries of      
,mammon1 their great ,god1 their one and
 only ,god4 ,and    is it not natural   
that the ,demiurgic ,dollar should be   

the    national ,deity of ,america8     
,have not deities been always           
conceived after man's needs and         
aspirations8 ,thus in ,egypt1 in a      
locality where the manufacture of       
pottery was the chief    industry1 ,god 
was represented as a potter2 in         
agricultural    districts1 as a god of  
harvest2 among warring tribes as an     
avenger1 a ,jehovah4 ,and the more      
needs1 the more deities2 the    higher  
the aspirations1 the better the gods4   
,hence the ugly    fetish of a savage   
tribe1 and the beautiful mythology of a 
,greek    ,civilisation4 ,change the    
needs and aspirations of the ,americans1
    therefore1 and you will have changed
 their worship1 their    national       
,deity1 and even their ,government4 ,and
 believe me1 this    change is coming2  
people get tired of their gods as of    
everything else4 ,ay1 the time will     
come1 when man in this    ,america shall
 not suffer for not being a seeker and  
lover and    defender of the ,dollar4444

      ,obedience1 like faith1 is a      
divine gift2 but only when it comes     
from the heart3 only when prompted by   
love and sincerity is it    divine4 ,if 
you can not1 however1 reverence what you
 obey1 then1    ,i say1 withhold your   
obedience4 ,and if you prefer to barter 
your    identity or ego for a           
counterfeit coin of ideology1 that right
    is yours4 ,for under a liberal      
,constitution and in a free             
,government1 you are also at liberty to 
sell your soul1 to open a    bank       
account for your conscience4 ,but don't 
blame ,god1 or    ,destiny1 or ,society1
 when you find yourself1 after doing    
this1 a    brother to the ox4 ,herein1  
we ,orientals differ from ,europeans    
and ,americans2 we are never bribed into
 obedience4 ,we obey    either from     
reverence and love1 or from fear4 ,we   
are either    power-worshippers or      
cowards but never1 never traders4 ,it   
might    be said that the masses in the 
,east are blind slaves1 while in        

,europe and ,america they are become    
blind rebels4 ,and which is    the      
better part of valour1 when one is      
blind--submission or    revolt8444      
,no2 popular suffrage helps not the     
suffering individual2 nor    does it    
conduce to a better and higher morality4
 ,why1 my    ,masters1 it can not as    
much as purge its own channels4 ,for    
what    is the ballot box1 ,i ask again1
 but a modern vehicle of    corruption  
and debasement8 ,the ballot box1 believe
 me1 can not    add a cubit to your     
frame1 nor can it shed a modicum of     
light on    the deeper problems of life4
 ,of course1 it is the exponent of      
the will of the majority1 that is to    
say1 the will of the ,party    that has 
more money at its disposal4 ,the        
majority1 and ,iblis1    and            
,juhannam--ah1 come out with me to the  
new gods6444    ,but we must make       
allowance for these girds and gibes at  
,democracy1 of  which we have given a   
specimen4 ,khalid's irony bites so deep 

at times  as to get at the very bone of 
truth4 ,and here is the marrow of it4   
,we  translate the following prophecy   
with which he closes his ,chapter ,in   
,prison1 and with it1 too1 we close     
ours4      ,but my faith in man1 he     
swears1 is as strong as my faith in     
,god4 ,and as strong1 too1 perhaps1 is  
my faith in the future    world-ruling  
destiny of ,america4 ,to these ,united  
,states shall    the ,nations of the    
,world turn one day for the best model  
of good    ,government2 in these ,united
 ,states the well-springs of the        
higher aspirations of the soul shall    
quench the thirst of every              
race-traveller on the highway of        
emancipation2 and from these    ,united 
,states the sun and moon of a great     
,faith and a great ,art    shall rise   
upon mankind4 ,i believe this1 billah6  
and ,i am    willing to go on the       
witness stand to swear to it4 ,ay1 in   
this    ,new ,world1 the higher         
,superman shall rise4 ,and he shall not 

be    of the tribe of ,overmen of the   
present age1 of the beautiful    blond  
beast of ,zarathustra1 who would riddle 
mankind as they    would riddle wheat or
 flour2 nor of those political moralists
    who would reform the world as they  
would a parish4      ,from his          
transcendental height1 the ,superman of 
,america shall    ray forth in every    
direction the divine light1 which shall 
mellow and purify the spirit of ,nations
 and strengthen and    sweeten the      
spirit of men1 in this ,new ,world1 ,i  
tell you1 he    shall be born1 but he   
shall not be an ,american in the        
,democratic    sense4 ,he shall be nor  
of the ,old ,world nor of the ,new2 he  
shall    be1 my ,brothers1 of both4 ,in 
him shall be reincarnated the           
,asiatic spirit of origination1 of      
,poesy and ,prophecy1 and the           
,european spirit of ,art1 and the       
,american spirit of ,invention4    ,ay1 
the ,nation that leads the world to-day 
in material progress    shall lead it1  

too1 in the future1 in the higher things
 of the    mind and soul4 ,and when you 
reach that height1 ,o beloved           
,america1 you will be far from the      
majority-rule1 and ,iblis1 and          
,juhannam4 ,and you will then conquer   
those 'enormous mud    ,megatheriums' of
 which ,carlyle makes loud mention4     
,,chapter ,,ii    ,,subtranscendental   
,deficiencies in individuals1 as in     
,states1 have their value and  import4  
,indeed1 that sublime impulse of        
perfectibility1 always  vivacious1      
always working under various forms and  
with one underlying  purpose1 would be  
futile without them1 and fatuous4 ,and  
what were life  without this incessant  
striving of the spirit8 ,what were life 
without  its angles of difficulty and   
defeat1 and its apices of triumph and   
power8 ,a banality this1 you will say4  
,but need we not be reminded of  these  
wholesome truths1 when the striving     
after originality nowadays  is          
productive of so much quackery8 ,the    

impulse of perfectibility1 we  repeat1  
whether at work in a ,studio1 or in a   
,factory1 or in a ,prison  ,cell1 is the
 most noble of all human impulses1 the  
most divine4    ,of that ,chapter1 ,in  
,prison1 we have given what might be    
called the  exogenous bark of the ,soul1
 or that which environment creates4 ,and
 now  we shall endeavour to show the    
reader somewhat of the ludigenous       
process1 by which the ,soul1 thrumming  
its own strings or eating its  own guts1
 develops and increases its numbers4    
,for ,khalid in these  gaol-days is much
 like ,hamlet's player1 or even like    
,hamlet  himself--always soliloquising1 
tearing a passion to rags4 ,and what    
mean these outbursts and objurgations of
 his1 you will ask2 these  suggestions1 
fugitive1 rhapsodical1 mystical2 this   
furibund allegro  about ,money1         
,mediums1 and ,bohemia2 these sobs and  
tears and  asseverations1 in which our  
,lady of the ,studio and ,shakib are    
both  expunged with great billahs2--the 

force and significance of these         
subliminal uprushes1 dear ,reader1 we   
confess we are1 like yourself1  unable  
to understand1 without the aid of our   
,interpreter4 ,we shall1  therefore1 let
 him speak4    ,when in prison1 writes  
,shakib1 ,khalid was subject to spasms  
and  strange hallucinations4 ,one day1  
when ,i was sweating in the effort to   
get him out of gaol1 he sends me word to
 come and see him4 ,i go2 and  after    
waiting a while at the ,iron gate1 ,i   
behold ,khalid rushing down  the isle   
like an angry lion4 ',what do you want1'
 he growled1 'why are  you here8' ,and  
,i1 amazed1 ',did you not send for me8' 
,and he snapped  up1 ',i did2 but you   
should not have come4 ,you should       
withhold from me  your favours4' ,life  
of ,allah1 ,i was stunned4 ,i feared    
lest his mind1  too1 had gone in the    
direction of his health1 which was      
already  sorrily undermined4 ,i looked  
at him with dim1 tearful eyes1 and      
assured him that soon he shall be free4 

',and what is the use of  freedom1' he  
exclaimed1 'when it drags us to lower   
and darker depths8  ,don't think ,i am  
miserable in prison4 ,no2 ,i am not--,i 
am happy4 ,i have  had strange visions1 
marvellous4 ,o my ,brother1 if you could
 behold the  sloughs1 deeper and darker 
than any prison-cell1 into which you    
have  thrown me4 ,yes1 you--and another4
 ,o1 ,i hate you both4 ,i hate my  best 
lovers4 ,i hate ,you--no--no1 no1 no4'  
,and he falls on me1 embraces  me1 and  
bathes my cheeks with his tears4 ,after 
which he falters out  beseechingly1     
',promise1 promise that you will not    
give me any more  money1 and though     
starving and in rags you find me        
crouching at your  door1 promise4' ,and 
of a truth1 ,i acquiesced in all he     
said1 seeing  how shaken in body and    
mind he was4 ,but not until ,i had made 
a promise  under oath would he be       
tranquillised4 ,and so1 after our       
farewell  embrace1 he asked me to come  
again the following day and bring him   

some books to read4 ,this ,i did1       
fetching with me ,rousseau's ,emile  and
 ,carlyle's ,hero-,worship1 the only two
 books he had in the cellar4  ,and when 
he saw them1 he exclaimed with joy1     
',the very books ,i want6 ,i  read them 
twice already1 and ,i shall read them   
again4 ,o1 let me kiss  you for the     
thought4' ,and in an ecstasy he         
overwhelms me again with  suffusing sobs
 and embraces4    ,what a difference1 ,i
 thought1 between ,khalid of yesterday  
and ,khalid  of to-day4 ,what a         
transformation6 ,even ,i who know the   
turn and temper  of his nature had much 
this time to fear4 ,surely1 an alienist 
would  have made a case of him4 ,but ,i 
began to get an inkling into his cue of 
passion1 when he told me that he was    
going to start a little business  again1
 if ,i lend him the necessary capital4  
,but ,i reminded him that we  shall soon
 be returning home4 ',no1 not ,i1' he   
swore2 'not until ,i can  pay my own    
passage1 at least4 ,i told you yesterday

 ,i'll accept no more  money from you1  
except1 of course1 the sum ,i need to   
start the little  business ,i am        
contemplating4' ',and suppose you lose  
this money1' ,i  asked4--',why1 then you
 lose me4 ,but no1 you shall not4 ,for  
,i know1  ,i believe1 ,i am sure1 ,i    
swear that my scheme this time will not 
be a  failure in any sense of the word4 
,i have heavenly testimony on           
that4'--',and what was the matter with  
you yesterday8 ,why were you so  queer8'
 ',o1 ,i had nightmares and visions the 
night before1 and you  came too early in
 the morning4 ,see this4' ,and he holds 
down his head  to show me the back of   
his neck4 ',is there no swelling here8  
,i feel  it4 ,oh1 it pains me yet4 ,but 
,i shall tell you about it and about the
  vision when ,i am out4'--,and at this1
 the gaoler comes to inform us  that    
,khalid's minutes are spent and he must 
return to his cell4    ,all of which    
from our ,interpreter is as clear as    
,god ,save the ,king4  ,and from which  

we hope our ,reader will infer that     
those outbursts and  tears and          
rhapsodies of ,khalid did mean somewhat4
 ,they did mean1 even  when we first    
approached his cell1 that something was 
going on in  him--a revolution1 a coup  
d'tat1 so to speak1 of the spirit4 ,for 
a  ,prince in ,rags1 but not in ,debts  
and ,dishonour1 will throttle the       
,harpy which has hitherto ruled and     
degraded his soul4    ,but the dwelling1
 too1 of that soul is sorely undermined4
 ,and so1 his  leal and loving friend   
,shakib takes him later to the best     
physician in  the ,city1 who after the  
tapping and auscultation1 shakes his    
head1  writes his prescriptions1 and    
advises ,khalid to keep in the open air 
as much as possible1 or better still1 to
 return to his native  country4 ,the    
last portion of the advice1 however1    
,khalid can not  follow at present4 ,for
 he will either return home on his own  
account  or die in ,new ,york4 ,if ,i   
can not in time save enough money for   

the  ,steamship ,company1 he said to    
,shakib1 ,i can at least leave enough to
  settle the undertaker's bill4 ,and in 
either case1 ,i shall have paid my  own 
passage out of this ,new ,world4 ,and ,i
 shall stand before my ,maker  in a     
shroud1 at least1 which ,i can call my  
own4    ,to which ,shakib replies by    
going to the druggist with the          
prescriptions4  ,and when he returns to 
the cellar with a package of four or    
five  medicine bottles for rubbing and  
smelling and drinking1 he finds ,khalid 
sitting near the stove--we are now in   
the last month of ,winter--warming  his 
hands on the flames of the two last     
books he read4 ,emile and               
,hero-,worship go the way of all the    
rest4 ,and there he sits1 meditating    
over ,carlyle's crepitating fire and    
,rousseau's writhing1 sibilating  flame4
 ,and it may be he thought of neither4  
,perhaps he was brooding  over the      
resolution he had made1 and the ominous 
shaking of the doctor's  head4 ,ah1 but 

his tutelar deities are better          
physicians1 he thought4  ,and having    
made his choice1 he will pitch the      
medicine bottles into the  street1 and  
only follow the doctor's advice by      
keeping in the open air4    ,behold him1
 therefore1 with a note in hand1        
applying to ,shakib1 in a  formal and   
business-like manner1 for a loan2 and   
see that noble  benefactor and friend1  
after gladly giving the money1 throw the
 note  into the fire4 ,and now1 ,khalid 
is neither dervish nor philosopher1  but
 a man of business with a capital of    
twenty-five dollars in his  pocket4 ,and
 with one-fifth of this capital he buys 
a second-hand  push-cart from his ,greek
 neighbour1 wends his way with it to the
  market-place1 makes a purchase there  
of a few boxes of oranges1 sorts  them  
in his cart into three classes1--there  
is no equality in  nature1 he says1     
while doing this1--sticks a price card  
at the head  of each class1 and starts1 
in the name of ,allah1 his business4    

,that is  how he will keep in the open  
air twelve hours a day4    ,but in the  
district where he is known he does not  
long remain4 ,the  sympathy of his      
compatriots is to him worse than the    
doctor's  medicines1 and those who had  
often heard him speechifying exchanged  
significant looks when he passed4       
,moreover1 the police would not let  him
 set up his stand anywhere4 ,there comes
 the push-cart orator1  they would say  
to each other2 and before our poor      
,syrian stops to  breathe1 one of them  
grumpishly cries out1 ,move on there6   
,move on6  ,once ,khalid ventures to    
ask1 ,but why are others allowed to set 
up  their stands here8 ,and the copper  
7we beg the ,critic's pardon  again7    
coming forward twirling his club1 lays  
his hand on ,khalid's  shoulder and     
calmly this3 ,don't you think ,i know   
you8 ,move on1 ,i  say4 ,o ,khalid1 have
 you forgotten that these coppers are   
the  minions of ,tammany8 ,why tarry1   
therefore1 and ask questions8 ,yes1 make

  a big move at once--out of the        
district entirely4    ,now1 to the ,east
 ,side1 into the ,jewish ,quarter1      
,khalid directs his  cart4 ,and there1  
he falls in with ,jewish fellow         
push-cart peddlers  and puts up with    
them in a cellar similar to his in the  
,syrian  ,quarter4 ,but only for a month
 could he suffer what the ,jew has      
suffered for centuries4 ,why8 ,there is 
this difference between the  cellar of  
the ,semite ,syrian and that of the     
,semite ,jew3 in the first  we eat      
mojadderah1 in the second1 kosher but   
stinking flesh2 in  the first we read   
poetry and play the lute1 in the second 
we fight  about the rent and the        
division of the profits of the day2 in  
the  first we sleep in linen as white as
 the wings of the dove1 in the  second  
on pieces of smelly blankets2 the first 
is redolent of ottar of  roses1         
,shakib's favourite perfume1 the second 
is especially made  insufferable by that
 stench which is peculiar to every      

,hebrew hive4  ,for these and other     
reasons1 ,khalid separates himself from 
his ,semite  fellow peddlers1 and makes 
this time a bigger move than the first4 
,ay1 even to the ,bronx1 where often in 
former days1 shouldering the            
peddling-box1 he tramped1 will he now   
push his orange-cart and his  hopes4    
,there1 between ,city and ,country1     
nearer to ,nature1 and not far  from the
 traffic of life1 he fares better both  
in health and purse4 ,it  is much to his
 liking1 this upper end of the ,city4   
,here the atmosphere  is more peaceful  
and soothing1 and the police are more   
agreeable4 ,no1  they do not nickname   
and bully him in the ,bronx4 ,and never 
was he  ordered to move on1 even though 
he set up his stand for months at the   
same corner4 ,ah1 how much kinder and   
more humane people become1 he  says1    
even when they are not altogether out of
 the ,city1 but only on  the outskirts  
of the country expanse4    ,khalid      
passes the ,spring and ,summer in the   

,bronx and keeps in the open  air1 not  
only in the day1 but also in the night4 
,how he does this1 is  told in a letter 
which he writes to ,shakib4 ,but does he
 sleep at all1  you ask1 and how1 and   
where8 ,reader1 we thank you for your   
anxiety  about ,khalid's health4 ,and we
 would fain show you the ,magic ,carpet 
which he carries in the lock-box of his 
push-cart4 ,but see for  yourself1 here 
be neither ,magic ,carpet1 nor ,magic   
,ring4 ,only his  papers1 a few towels1 
a blanket1 some underwear1 and his      
coffee  utensils1 are here4 ,for ,khalid
 could forego his mojadderah1 but  never
 his coffee1 the ,arab that he is4 ,but 
an ,arab on the wayfare1 if  he finds   
himself at night far from the camp1 will
 dig him a ditch in  the sands and lie  
there to sleep under the living stars4  
,khalid could  not do thus1 neither in  
the ,city nor out of it4 ,and yet1 he   
did not  lodge within doors4 ,he hired a
 place only for his push-cart2 and this1
  a small padlock-booth where he        

deposits his stock in trade4 ,but how he
  lived in the ,bronx is described in   
the following letter3      ,my loving   
,brother ,shakib1      ,i have been two 
months here1 in a neighbourhood familiar
 to    you4 ,not far from the place     
where ,i sleep is the sycamore tree     
under which ,i burned my peddling-box4  
,and perhaps ,i shall yet    burn there 
my push-cart too4 ,but for the present1 
all's well4 ,my    business is good and 
my health is improving4 ,the money-order
 ,i    am enclosing with this1 will     
cancel the note1 but not the many       
debts1 ,i owe you4 ,and ,i hope to be   
able to join you again soon1    to make 
the voyage to our native land together4 
,meanwhile ,i am    working1 and laying 
up a little something4 ,i make from two 
to    three dollars a day1 of which ,i  
never spend more than one4 ,and    this 
on one meal only2 for my lodging and my 
lunch and breakfast    cost next to     
nothing4 ,yes1 ,i can be a push-cart    
peddler in the    day2 ,i can sleep out 

of doors at night2 ,i can do with coffee
 and    oranges for lunch and breakfast2
 but in the evening ,i will    assert my
 dignity and do justice to my taste3 ,i 
will dine at the    ,hermitage and      
permit you to call me a fool4 ,and why  
not1 since    my purse1 like my stomach1
 is now my own8 ,why not go to the      
,hermitage since my push-cart income    
permits of it8 ,but the first    night  
,i went there my shabbiness attracted   
the discomforting    attention of the   
fashionable diners1 and made even the   
waiters    offensive4 ,indeed1 one of   
them came to ask if ,i were looking for 
somebody4 ',no1' ,i replied with        
suppressed indignation2 ',i'm    looking
 for a place where ,i can sit down and  
eat1 without being    eaten by the eyes 
of the vulgar curious4' ,and ,i pass    
into an    arbor1 which from that night 
becomes virtually my own1 followed    by
 a waiter who from that night1 too1     
became my friend4 ,for    every evening 
,i go there1 ,i find my table unoccupied

 and my    waiter ready to receive and  
serve me4 ,but don't think he does      
this for the sake of my black eyes or my
 philosophy4 ,that    disdainful glance 
of his on the first evening ,i could    
never    forget1 billah4 ,and ,i found  
that it could be baited and mellowed    
only by a liberal tip4 ,and this ,i make
 in advance every week for    both my   
comfort and his4 ,yes1 ,i am a fool1 ,i 
grant you1 but ,i'm    not out of my    
element there4      ,after dinner ,i    
take a stroll in the ,flower ,gardens1  
and    crossing the rickety wooden      
bridge over the river1 ,i enter the     
hemlock grove4 ,here1 in a sequestered  
spot near the river bank1    ,i lay me  
on the grass and sleep for the night4 ,i
 always bring my    towels with me2 for 
in the morning ,i take a dip1 and at    
night ,i    use them for a pillow4 ,when
 the weather requires it1 ,i bring my   
blankets too4 ,and hanging one of them  
over me1 tied to the trees    by the    
cords sown to its corners1 ,i wrap      

myself in the other1    and praise      
,allah4      ,these and the towels1     
after taking my bath1 ,i leave at the   
,hermitage2 my waiter minds them for me4
 ,and so1 ,i suspect ,i am    happy--if1
 curse it6 ,i could but breathe better4 
,o1 come up to    see me4 ,i'll give you
 a royal dinner at the ,hermitage1 and a
    royal bed in the hemlock grove on   
the river-bank4 ,do come up1    the     
peace of ,allah upon thee4 ,read my     
salaam to ,im-,hanna4    ,and during his
 five months in the ,bronx he did not   
sleep five nights  within doors1 we are 
told1 nor did he once dine out of the   
,hermitage4  ,even his hair1 a fantastic
 fatuity behind a push-cart1 he did not 
take  the trouble to cut or trim4 ,it   
must have helped his business4 ,but this
  constancy1 never before sustained to  
such a degree1 must soon cease1  having 
laid up1 thanks to his push-cart and the
 people of the ,bronx1  enough to carry 
him1 not only to ,baalbek1 but to       
,aymakanenkan4          ,,chapter ,,iii 

,,the ,,false ,,dawn      ,what the     
,arabs always said of ,andalusia1       
,khalid and ,shakib said  once of       
,america3 a most beautiful country with 
one single vice--it  makes foreigners   
forget their native land4 ,but now they 
are both  suffering from nostalgia1 and 
,america1 therefore1 is without a       
single vice4 ,it is perfect1 heavenly1  
ideal4 ,in it one sees only the  vices  
of other races1 and the ugliness of     
other nations4 ,america  herself is as  
lovely as a dimpled babe1 and as        
innocent4 ,a dimpled  babe she4 ,but    
wait until she grows1 and she will have 
more than one  vice to demand           
forgetfulness4    ,shakib1 however1 is  
not going to wait4 ,he begins to hear   
the call of  his own country1 now that  
his bank account is big enough to       
procure  for him the ,pashalic of       
,syria4 ,and ,khalid1 though his        
push-cart had  developed to a stationary
 fruit stand1--and perhaps for this very
  reason1--is now desirous of leaving   

,america anon4 ,he is afraid of  success
 overtaking him4 ,moreover1 the ,bronx  
,park has awakened in him  his long     
dormant love of ,nature4 ,for while     
warming himself on the  flames of       
knowledge in the cellar1 or rioting with
 the ,bassarides of  ,bohemia1 or       
canvassing and speechifying for         
,tammany1 he little thought  of what he 
had deserted in his native country4 ,the
 ancient historical  rivers flowing     
through a land made sacred by the divine
 madness of the  human spirit2 the      
snow-capped mountains at the feet of    
which the lily  and the oleander bloom2 
the pine forests diffusing their        
fragrance  even among the downy clouds2 
the peaceful1 sun-swept multi-coloured  
meadows2 the trellised vines1 the fig   
groves1 the quince orchards1 the        
orangeries3 the absence of these did not
 disturb his serenity in the  cellar1   
his voluptuousness in ,bohemia1 his     
enthusiasm in ,tammany  ,land4    ,and  
we must not forget to mention that1     

besides the divine voice of  ,nature and
 native soil1 he long since has heard   
and still hears the  still sweet voice  
of one who might be dearer to him than  
all4 ,for  ,khalid1 after his return    
from ,bohemia1 continued to curse the   
huris in  his dreams4 ,and he little did
 taste of the blessings of sore labour's
  bath1 balm of hurt minds4 ,ay1 when he
 was not racked and harrowed by         
nightmares1 he was either disturbed by  
the angels of his visions or  the       
succubi of his dreams4 ,and so1 he      
determines to go to ,syria for a        
night's sleep1 at least1 of the innocent
 and just4 ,his cousin ,najma is  there1
 and that is enough4 ,once he sees her1 
the huris are no more4    ,now ,shakib1 
who is more faithful in his narration   
than we first  thought--who speaks of   
,khalid as he is1 extenuating           
nothing--gives us  access to a letter   
which he received from the ,bronx a     
month before  their departure from ,new 
,york4 ,in these ,letters of ,khalid1   

which our  ,scribe happily preserved1 we
 feel somewhat relieved of the          
dogmatism1  fantastic1 mystical1 severe1
 which we often meet with in the ,k4 ,l4
  ,,ms4 ,in his ,letters1 our ,syrian   
peddler and seer is a plain blunt man   
unbosoming himself to his friend4 ,read 
this1 for instance4      ,my loving     
,brother3      ,it is raining so hard   
to-night that ,i must sleep1 or in fact 
keep1 within doors4 ,would you believe  
it1 ,i am no more    accustomed to the  
luxuries of a soft spring-bed1 and ,i   
can not    even sleep on the floor1     
where ,i have moved my mattress4 ,i am  
sore1 broken in mind and spirit4 ,even  
the hemlock grove and the    melancholy 
stillness of the river1 are beginning to
 annoy me4    ,oh1 ,i am tired of       
everything here1 tired even of the      
cocktails1    tired of the push-cart1   
tired of earning as much as five dollars
    a day4 ,next ,sunday is inauguration
 day for my stationary fruit    stand2  
but ,i don't think it's going to stand  

there long enough    to deserve to be   
baptized with champagne4 ,if you come   
up1    therefore1 we'll have a couple of
 steins at the ,hermitage and    call it
 square4--,o1 ,i would square myself    
with the doctors by    thrusting a poker
 down my windpipe3 ,i might be able to  
breathe    better then4 ,i pause to     
curse my fate4--,curse it1              
,juhannam-born1    curse it6--      ,i  
can not sleep1 nor on the spring-bed1   
nor on the floor4 ,it is    two hours   
past midnight now1 and ,i shall try to  
while away the    time by scrawling this
 to you4 ,my brother1 ,i can not long   
support this sort of life1 being no more
 fit for rough1    ignominious labor4   
',but why1' you will ask1 'did you      
undertake    it8' ,yes1 why8 ,strictly  
speaking1 ,i made a mistake4 ,but it's a
    noble mistake1 believe me--a mistake
 which everybody in my    condition     
ought to make1 if but once in their     
life-time4 ,is it    not something to be
 able to make an honest resolution and  

carry    it out8 ,i have heard strange  
voices in prison2 ,i have hearkened     
to them2 but ,i find that one must have 
sound lungs1 at least1 to    be able to 
do the will of the immortal gods4 ,and  
even if he had1    ,i doubt if he could 
do much to suit them in ,america4 ,o1 my
    greatest enemy and benefactor in the
 whole world is this    dumb-hearted    
mother1 this ,america1 in whose iron    
loins ,i have    been spiritually       
conceived4 ,paradoxical1 this8 ,but is  
it not    true8 ,was not the ,khalid1   
now writing to you1 born in the         
cellar8 ,down there1 in the very loins  
of ,new ,york8 ,but alas1    our        
spiritual ,mother devours1 like a cat1  
her own children4 ,how    then can we   
live with her in the same house8      ,i
 need not tell you now that the         
ignominious task ,i set my    hands to1 
was never to my liking4 ,but the ox     
under the yoke is    not asked whether  
he likes it or not4 ,i have been yoked  
to my    push-cart by the immortal gods2

 and soon my turn and trial will    end4
 ,it must end4 ,for our country is just 
beginning to speak1    and ,i am her    
chosen voice4 ,i feel that if ,i do not 
respond1 if ,i    do not come to her1   
she will be dumb forever4 ,no2 ,i can   
not    remain here any more4 ,for ,i can
 not be strenuous enough to be          
miserably happy2 nor stupid enough to be
 contentedly miserable4    ,i confess ,i
 have been spoiled by those who call    
themselves    spiritual sisters of mine4
 ,the huris be dam'd4 ,and if ,i don't  
leave this country soon1 ,i'll find     
myself sharing the damnation            
again--in ,bohemia4--      ,the power of
 the soul is doubled by the object of   
its love1    or by such labor of love as
 it undertakes4 ,but1 here ,i am1       
with no work and nobody ,i can love2    
nay1 chained to a task    which ,i now  
abominate4 ,if a labor of love doubles  
the power of    the soul1 a labor of    
hate1 to use an antonym term1 warps it1 
poisons it1 destroys it4 ,is it not a   

shame that in this great                
,country1--this ,circe with her golden  
horns of plenty1--one can    not as much
 as keep his blood in circulation       
without damning    the currents of one's
 soul8 ,o ,america1 equally hated and   
beloved of ,khalid1 ,o ,mother of       
prosperity and spiritual    misery1 the 
time will come when you shall see that  
your gold    is but pinchbeck1 your     
gilt-edge bonds but death decrees1 and  
your god of wealth a carcase enthroned  
upon a dung-hill4 ,but    you can not   
see this now2 for you are yet in the    
false dawn1    floundering tumultuously1
 worshipping your mammoth carcase on    
a dung-hill--and devouring your         
spiritual children4 ,yes1    ,america is
 now in the false dawn1 and as sure as  
,america    lives1 the true dawn must   
follow4      ,pardon1 ,shakib4 ,i did   
not mean to end my letter in a rhapsody4
    ,but ,i am so wrought1 so broken in 
body1 so inflamed in spirit4 ,i    hope 
to see you soon4 ,no1 ,i hope to see    

myself with you on board    of a        
,transatlantic steamer4    ,and is not  
,khalid1 like his spiritual ,mother1    
floundering1 too1 in the  false dawn of 
life8 ,his love of ,nature1 which was   
spontaneous and  free1 is it not likely 
to become formal and scientific8 ,his   
love of  ,country1 which begins         
tremulously1 fervently in the woods and 
streams1  is it not likely to end in    
,nephelococcygia8 ,his determination to 
work1  which was rudely shaken at a     
push-cart1 is it not become again a     
determination to loaf8 ,and now1 that he
 has a little money laid up1  has he not
 the right to seek in this world the    
cheapest and most  suitable place for   
loafing8 ,and where1 if not in the      
,lebanon hills1  in which it seemed     
always afternoon1 can he rejoin the     
,lotus-,eaters  of the ,east8 ,this man 
of visions1 this fantastic1             
rhapsodical--but we  must not be hard   
upon him4 ,remember1 good ,reader1 the  
poker which he  would thrust down his   

windpipe to broaden it a little4 ,with  
asthmatic  fits and tuberous            
infiltrations1 one is permitted to      
commune with any  of ,allah's ministers 
of grace or spirits of ,juhannam4 ,and  
that divine  spark of primal1           
paradisical love1 which is rapidly      
devouring all  others--let us not forget
 that4 ,ay1 we mean his cousin ,najma4  
,of  course1 he speaks1 too1 of his     
nation1 his people1 awaking1 lisping1   
beginning to speak1 waiting for him1 the
 chosen ,voice6 ,which reminds  us of   
how he was described to us by the       
hasheesh-smokers of ,cairo4    ,in any  
event1 the ,reader will rejoice with us1
 we hope1 that ,khalid  will not turn   
again toward ,bohemia4 ,he will agree   
with us that1  whether on account of his
 health1 or his love1 or his mission1 it
 is  well1 in his present fare of mind  
and body1 that he is returning to  the  
land in which it seemed always          
afternoon4          ,,chapter ,,iv      
,,the ,,last ,,star      ,is it not an  

ethnic phenomenon that a descendant of  
the ancient  ,phoenicians can not       
understand the meaning and purport of   
the ,cash  ,register in ,america8 ,is it
 not strange that this son of           
,superstition  and ,trade can not find  
solace in the fact that in this ,pix of 
,business  is the ,host of the          
,demiurgic ,dollar8 ,indeed1 the        
omnipresence and  omnipotence of it are 
not without divine significance4 ,for   
can you not  see that this ,cash        
,register1 this ,pix of ,trade1 is      
prominently set up  on the altar of     
every institution1 political1 moral1    
social1 and  religious8 ,do you not meet
 with it everywhere1 and foremost in the
  sanctuaries of the mind and the soul8 
,in the ,societies for the  ,diffusion  
of ,knowledge2 in the ,social ,reform   
,propagandas2 in the ,don't  ,worry     
,circles of ,metaphysical ,gymnasiums2  
in ,alliances1 ,philanthropic1          
,educational2 in the ,board of ,foreign 
,missions2 in the ,sacrarium of         

,vaticinatress ,eddy2 in the ,church of 
,god itself2--is not the ,cash          
,register a divine symbol of the credo1 
the faith1 or the idea8    ,to trade1 or
 not to trade1 ,hamlet-,khalid exclaims1
 that is the  question3 whether 'tis    
nobler in the mind to suffer1 etc41 or  
to take  arms against the ,cash         
,registers of ,america1 and by opposing 
end--  ,what8 ,sacrilegious wretch1     
would you set your face against the     
divinity in the ,holy ,pix of ,trade8   
,and what will you end1 and how will    
,you end by it8 ,an eternal problem1    
this1 of opposing and ending4 ,but      
before you set your face in earnest1 we 
would ask you to consider if  the       
vacancy or chaos which is sure to       
follow1 be not more pernicious  than    
what you would end4 ,if you are sure it 
is not1 go ahead1 and we  give you      
,godspeed4 ,if you have the least doubt 
about it--but ,khalid is  incapable now 
of doubting anything4 ,and whether he   
opposes his theory  of immanent morality

 to the ,cash ,register1 or to          
,democracy1 or to the  ruling powers of 
,flunkeydom1 we hope ,he will end well4 
,such is the  penalty of revolt against 
the dominating spirit of one's people   
and  ancestors1 that only once in a     
generation is it attempted1 and         
scarcely with much success4 ,in fact1   
the first who revolts must  perish1 the 
second1 too1 and the third1 and the     
fourth1 until1 in the  course of time   
and by dint of repetition and           
resistance1 the new  species of the race
 can overcome the forces of environment 
and the  crushing influence of          
conformity4 ,this1 we know1 is the      
biological  law1 and ,khalid must suffer
 under it4 ,for1 as far as our knowledge
  extends1 he is the first ,syrian1 the 
ancient ,lebanon monks excepted1  who   
revolted against the ruling spirit of   
his people and the dominant  tendencies 
of the times1 both in his native and his
 adopted  ,countries4    ,yes1 the thos 
of the ,syrians 7for once we use        

,khalid's philosophic  term71 like that 
of the ,americans1 is essentially       
money-seeking4 ,and  whether in ,beirut 
or in ,new ,york1 even the moralists and
 reformers1  like the hammals and       
grocers1 will ask themselves1 before    
they  undertake to do anything for you  
or for their country1 ,what will this   
profit us8 ,how much will it bring us8  
,and that is what ,khalid once  thought 
to oppose and end4 ,alas1 oppose he     
might--and ,end ,he ,must4 ,how  can an 
individual1 without the aid of ,time and
 the ,unseen ,powers1 hope  to oppose   
and end1 or even change1 this monstrous 
mass of things8 ,yet  we must not fail  
to observe that when we revolt against a
 tendency  inimical to our law of being1
 it is for our own sake1 and not the    
race's1 that we do so4 ,and we are glad 
we are able to infer1 if not  from the  
,k4 ,l1 ,,ms41 at least from his        
,letters1 that ,khalid is  beginning to 
realise this truth4 ,let us not1        
therefore1 expatiate  further upon it4  

,if the reader will accompany us now to 
the cellar to bid our ,syrian  friends  
farewell1 we promise a few things of    
interest4 ,when we first  came here some
 few years ago in ,winter1 or to another
 such underground  dwelling1 the water  
rose ankle-deep over the floor1 and the 
mould and  stench were enough to knock  
an ox dead4 ,now1 a scent of ottar of   
roses  welcomes us at the door and leads
 us to a platform in the centre1        
furnished with a ,turkish rug1 which    
,shakib will present to the  landlord as
 a farewell memento4    ,and here are   
our three ,syrians making ready for the 
voyage4 ,shakib  is intoning some verses
 of his while packing2 ,im-,hanna is    
cooking  the last dish of mojadderah2   
and ,khalid1 with some vague dream  in  
his eyes1 and a vaguer1 far-looming hope
 in his heart1 is  sitting on his trunk 
wondering at the variety of things      
,shakib is  cramming into his4 ,for our 
,scribe1 we must not fail to remind the 
,reader1 is contemplating great things  

of ,state1 is nourishing a great        
political ambition4 ,he will1 therefore1
 bethink him of those in  power at home4
 ,hence these costly presents4 ,ay1     
besides the plated  jewellery--the      
rings1 bracelets1 brooches1 necklaces1  
ear-rings1  watches1 and chains--of     
which he is bringing enough to supply   
the  peasants of three villages1 see    
that beautiful gold-knobbed ebony       
stick1 which he will present to the     
vali1 and this precious gold cross  with
 a ruby at the heart for the ,patriarch1
 and these gold fountain  pens for his  
literary friends1 and that fine         
,winchester rifle for the  chief of the 
tribe ,anezah4 ,these he packs in the   
bottom of his  trunk1 and with them his 
precious dilapidated copy of            
,al-,mutanabbi1  and--what ,,ms4 be     
this8 ,what1 a ,book of ,verse spawned  
in the  cellar8 ,indeed1 the very embryo
 of that printed copy we read in        
,cairo1 and which ,shakib and his       
friends would have us translate  for the

 benefit of the ,english reading public4
    ,for our ,scribe is the choragus of 
the ,modern ,school of ,arabic poetry4  
,and this particular ,diwan of his is a 
sort of rhymed inventory of all  the    
inventions and discoveries of modern    
,science and all the wonders  of        
,america4 ,he has published other       
,diwans1 in which ,french morbidity  is 
crowned with laurels from the ,arabian  
,nights4 ,for this ,modern  ,school has 
two opposing wings1 moved by two        
opposing forces1 ,science  being the    
motive power of the one1 and ,byron and 
,de ,musset the  inspiring geniuses of  
the other4 ,we would not be faithful to 
our  ,editorial task and to our ,friend1
 if we did not give here a few  luminant
 examples of the ,diwan in question4 ,we
 are1 indeed1 very  sorry1 for the sake 
of our readers1 that space will not     
allow us to  give them a few whole      
qasdahs from it4 ,to those who are so   
fortunate  as to be able to read and    
understand the ,original1 we point out  

the  ,ode to the ,phonograph1 beginning 
thus3        ,o ,phonograph1 thou wonder
 of our time1       ,thy tongue of wax  
can sing like me in rhyme4    ,and      
another to the ,brooklyn ,bridge1 of    
which these are the opening  lines3     
,o ,brooklyn ,bridge1 how oft upon thy  
back       ,i tramped1 and once ,i      
crossed thee in a hack4    ,and finally1
 the great ,poem entitled1 ,on the      
,virtue and ,benefit of  ,modern        
,science1 of which we remember these    
couplets3        ,balloons and airships1
 falling from the skies1       ,will be 
as plenty yet as summer flies4          
99       99       99       99       99  
,electricity and ,steam and ,compressed 
,air       ,will carry us to heaven yet1
 ,i swear4    ,here be rhymed truth1 at 
least1 which can boast of not being     
poetry4  ,ay1 in this ,,ms4 which       
,shakib is packing along with           
,al-,mutanabbi in the  bottom of his    
trunk to evade the ,basilisk touch of   
the ,port officials  of ,beirut1 is     

packed all the hopes of the ,modern     
,school4 ,pack on1  ,shakib2 for whether
 at the ,mena ,house1 or in the         
hasheesh-dens of  ,cairo1 the ,future is
 drinking to thee1 and dreaming of thee 
and thy  ,school its opium dreams4 ,and 
,khalid1 the while1 sits impassive on   
his  trunk1 and ,im-,hanna is cooking   
the last dinner of mojadderah4          
,emigration has introduced into ,syria  
somewhat of the three prominent         
features of ,civilisation3 namely1 a    
little wealth1 a few modern ideas1  and 
many strange diseases4 ,and of these    
three blessings our two  ,syrians       
together are plentifully endowed4 ,for  
,shakib is a type of the  emigrant1 who 
returns home prosperous in every sense  
of the word4 ,a  ,book of ,verse to lure
 ,fame1 a ,letter of ,credit to bribe   
her if  necessary1 and a double chin to 
praise the gods4 ,this is a complete    
set of the prosperity1 which ,khalid    
knows not4 ,but he has in his lungs     
what ,shakib the poet can not boast of2 

while in his trunk he carries  but a    
little wearing apparel1 his papers1 and 
his blankets4 ,and in his  pocket1 he   
has his ribbed silver cigarette         
case--the only object he  can not part  
with--a heart-shaped locket with a      
little diamond star on  its face--the   
only present he is bringing with him    
home1--and a  third-class passage across
 the ,atlantic4 ,for ,khalid will not   
sleep in  a bunk1 even though it be     
furnished with eiderdown cushions and   
tiger  skins4    ,and since he is       
determined to pass his nights on deck1  
it matters  little whether he travels   
first class1 or second or tenth4        
,shakib1 do  what he may1 cannot prevail
 upon him to accept the first-class     
passage  he had bought in his name4 ,let
 us not quarrel about this1 says he2  we
 shall be together on board the same    
ship1 and that settles the  question4   
,indeed1 the worse way returning home   
must be ultimately the  best4 ,no1      
,shakib1 it matters not how ,i travel1  

if ,i but get away  quickly from this   
pandemonium of ,civilisation4 ,even now1
 as ,i sit on  this trunk waiting for   
the hour of departure1 ,i have a        
foretaste of  the joy of being away from
 the insidious cries of hawkers1 the    
tormenting bells of the rag-man1 the    
incessant howling of children1  the     
rumbling of carts and wagons1 the       
malicious whir of cable cars1  the grum 
shrieks of ferry boats1 and the         
thundering1 reverberating1  smoking1    
choking1 blinding abomination of an     
elevated railway4 ,a  musician might    
extract some harmony from this chaos of 
noises1 this  jumble of sounds4 ,but    
,i--extract me quickly from them6       
,ay1 quickly please1 especially for our 
sake and the ,reader's4 ,now1 the       
dinner is finished1 the rug is folded   
and presented to our landlord  with our 
salaams1 the trunks are locked and      
roped1 and our ,arabs will  silently    
steal away4 ,and peacefully1 too1 were  
it not that an hour  before sailing a   

capped messenger is come to deliver a   
message to  ,shakib4 ,there is a        
pleasant dilative sensation in receiving
 a message  on board a steamer1         
especially when the messenger has to    
seek you  among the ,salon passengers4  
,now1 ,shakib dilates with pride as he  
takes  the envelope in his hand2 but    
when he opens it1 and reads on the      
enclosed card1 ,mr4 ,isaac ,goldheimer  
wishes you a bon voyage1 he  turns      
quickly on his heels and goes on deck to
 walk his wrath away4  ,for this ,mr4   
,goldheimer is the very landlord who    
received the ,turkish  rug4 ,reflect on 
this1 ,reader4 ,father ,abraham would   
have walked with us  to the frontier to 
betoken his thanks and gratitude4 ,but  
this modern  ,jew and his miserable     
card1 exclaims ,shakib in his teeth1 as 
he tears  and throws it in the          
water1--who asked him to send it1 and   
who would  have sued him if he didn't8  
,but ,shakib1 who has lived so long in  
,america and traded with its  people1 is

 yet ignorant of some of the fine forms 
and conventions of  ,civilisation4 ,he  
does not know that fashionable folk1 or 
those aping  the dear fashionable folk1 
have a right to assert their superiority
 at  his expense4--,i do not care to see
 you1 but ,i will send a messenger  and 
card to do so for me4 ,you are not my   
equal1 and ,i will let you  know this1  
even at the hour of your departure1 and 
though ,i have to  hire a messenger to  
do so4--,is there no taste1 no feeling1 
no  gratitude in this8 ,don't you wish1 
,o ,shakib1--but compose yourself4  ,and
 think not so ill of your ,jewish       
landlord1 whom you wish you could  wrap 
in that rug and throw overboard4 ,he    
certainly meant well4 ,that  formula of 
card and messenger is so convenient and 
so cheap4 ,withal1  is he not too busy1 
think you1 to come up to the dock for   
the puerile1  prosaic purpose of shaking
 hands and saying ta-ta8 ,if you can not
  consider the matter in this light1 try
 to forget it4 ,one must not be  too    

visceral at the hour of departure4      
,behold1 your skyscrapers and  your     
,statue of ,liberty are now receding    
from view2 and your landlord  and his   
card and messenger will be further from 
us every while we  think of them1 until1
 thanks to ,time and ,space and ,steam6 
they will  be too far away to be        
remembered4    ,here1 then1 with our    
young ,seer and our ,scribe1 we bid ,new
 ,york  farewell1 and earnestly hope    
that we do not have to return to it     
again1 or permit any of them to do so4  
,in fact1 we shall not hereafter        
consider1 with any ulterior material or 
spiritual motive1 any more of  such     
disparaging1 denigrating matter1 in the 
two ,,mss4 before us1 as  has to pass   
through our reluctant hands touchin' on 
and appertainin'  to the great ,city of 
,manhattan and its distinguished        
denizens4 ,for  our part1 we have had   
enough of this painful task4 ,and truly1
 we have  never before undergone such   
trials in sailing between--but that     

,charybdis and ,scylla allusion has been
 done to death4 ,indeed1 we love        
,america1 and in the course of our      
present task1 which we also love1 we    
had to suffer ,khalid's shafts to pass  
through our ken and sometimes  really   
through our heart4 ,but no more of this4
 ,ay1 we would fain set  aside our pen  
from sheer weariness of spirit and bid  
the ,reader1 too1  farewell4 ,truly1 we 
would end here this ,book of ,khalid    
were it not  that the greater part of   
the most important material in the ,k4  
,l4 ,,ms4  is yet intact1 and the more  
interesting portion of ,shakib's        
,history is  yet to come4 ,our readers1 
though we do not think they are sorry   
for  having come out with us so far1 are
 at liberty either to continue with  us1
 or say good-bye4 ,but for the ,editor  
there is no choice4 ,what we  have begun
 we must end1 unmindful of the          
influence1 good or ill1 of  the         
,zodiacal ,signs under which we work4   
,our ,phoenician ancestors1 says        

,khalid1 never left anything they       
undertook unfinished4 ,consider what    
they accomplished in their days1  and   
the degree of culture they attained4    
,the most beautiful  fabrications in    
metals and precious stones were prepared
 in ,syria4  ,here1 too1 the most       
important discoveries were made3 namely1
 those of  glass and purple4 ,as for me1
 ,i can not understand what the ,murex  
trunculus is2 and ,i am not certain if  
scholars and archologists1 or  even     
mariners and fishermen1 will ever find a
 fossil of that  particular species4    
,but murex or no murex1 ,purple was     
discovered by my  ancestors4 ,hence the 
purple passion1 that is to say the      
energy and  intensity which coloured    
everything they did1 everything they    
felt and  believed4 ,for whether in     
bemoaning ,tammuz1 or in making         
tear-bottles1  or in trading with the   
,gauls and ,britons1 the ,phoenicians   
were the  same superstitious1 honest1   
passionate1 energetic people4 ,and do   

not  forget1 you who are now enjoying   
the privilege of setting down your      
thoughts in words1 that on these shores 
of ,syria written language  received its
 first development4    ,it is also said 
that they discovered and first navigated
 the ,atlantic  ,ocean1 my ,phoenicians2
 that they worked gold mines in the     
distant isle  of ,thasos and opened     
silver mines in the ,south and          
,southwest of ,spain4  ,in ,africa1 we  
know1 they founded the colonies of      
,utica and ,carthage4  ,but we are told 
they went farther than this4 ,and       
according to some  historians1 they     
rounded the ,cape1 they circumnavigated 
,africa4 ,and  according to recent      
discoveries made by an ,american        
archologist1  they must have discovered 
,america too6 ,for in the ruins of the  
,aztecs  of ,mexico there are traces of 
a ,phoenician language and religion4    
,this1 about the discovery of ,america1 
however1 ,i can not verify with         
anything from ,sanchuniathon4 ,but might

 they not have made this  discovery     
after the said ,sanchuniathon had given 
up the ghost8 ,and if  they did1 what   
can ,we1 their worthless descendants do 
for them now8  ,ah1 if we but knew the  
name of their ,columbus6 ,no1 it is not 
practical  to build a monument to a     
whole race of people4 ,and yet1 they    
deserve  more than this from us1 their  
descendants4    ,these dealers in tin   
and amber1 these manufacturers of glass 
and  purple1 these developers of a      
written language1 first gave the impetus
  to man's activity and courage and     
intelligence4 ,and this activity of  the
 industry and will is not dead in man4  
,it may be dead in us  ,syrians1 but not
 in the ,americans4 ,in their strenuous 
spirit it rises  uppermost4 ,after all1 
,i must love the ,americans1 for they   
are my  ,phoenician ancestors incarnate4
 ,ay1 there is in the nature of things a
  mysterious recurrence which makes for 
a continuous1 everlasting  modernity4   
,and ,i believe that the spirit which   

moved those brave  sea-daring navigators
 of yore1 is still working lustily1     
bravely1 but  alas1 not                 
joyously--bitterly1 rather1 selfishly1  
greedily--behind the  steam engine1 the 
electric motor1 the plough1 and in the  
clinic and  the studio as in the ,stock 
,exchange4 ,that spirit in its real     
essence1  however1 is as young1 as      
puissant to-day as it was when the      
native of  ,byblus first struck out to  
explore the seas1 to circumnavigate     
,africa1 to discover even ,america6     
,and what in the end might ,khalid      
discover for us or for himself1 at      
least1 in his explorations of the       
,spirit-,world8 ,what ,colony of the    
chosen sons of the young and puissant   
,spirit1 on some distant isle  beyond   
the seven seas1 might he found8 ,to what
 far1 silent1 undulating  shore1 where a
 written language is the instrument only
 of the lofty  expressions and          
aspirations of the soul might he not    
bring us8 ,what  ,cape of ,truth in the 

great ,sea of ,mystery might we not be  
able to  circumnavigate1 if only this   
were possible of the language of man8   
,not with glass1 he exclaims1 not with  
tear-bottles1 not with  purple1 not with
 a written language1 am ,i now          
concerned1 but rather  with what those  
in ,purple and those who make this      
written language  their capital1 can    
bring within our reach of the treasures 
of the  good1 the true1 and the         
beautiful4 ,i would fain find a land    
where the  soul of man1 and the heart of
 man1 and the mind of man1 are as the   
glass of my ancestors' tear-bottles in  
their enduring quality and  beauty4 ,my 
ancestors' tear-bottles1 and though     
buried in the earth ten  thousand years1
 lose not a grain of their original     
purity and  transparency1 of their soft 
and iridescent colouring4 ,but where is 
the  natural colour and beauty of these 
human souls1 buried in bunks under      
hatches8 ,or of those moving in         
high-lacquered salons above8444    ,o my

 ,brothers of the clean and unclean     
species1 of the scented and  smelling   
kind1 of the have and have-not classes1 
there is but one  star in this vague    
dusky sky above us1 for you as for      
myself4 ,and that  star is either the   
last in the eternal darkness1 or the    
first in the  rising dawn4 ,it is either
 the first or the last star of night4   
,and who  shall say which it is8 ,not   
the ,church1 surely1 nor the ,state2 not
  ,science1 nor ,sociology1 nor         
,philosophy1 nor ,religion4 ,but the    
human  will shall influence that star   
and make it yield its secret and its    
fire4 ,each of you1 ,o my ,brothers1 can
 make it light his own hut1 warm  his   
own heart1 guide his own soul4 ,never   
before in the history of man  did it    
seem as necessary as it does now that   
each individual should  think for       
himself1 will for himself1 and aspire   
incessantly for the  realisation of his 
ideals and dreams4 ,yes1 we are to-day  
at a terrible  and glorious turning     

point1 and it depends upon us whether   
that one  star in the vague and dusky   
sky of modern life1 shall be the        
harbinger  of ,jannat or ,juhannam4     
,,chapter ,v    ,,priesto-,,parental    
,if we remember that the name of        
,khalid's cousin is ,najma 7,star71 the 
significance to himself of the sign     
spoken of in the last ,chapter1 is      
quite evident4 ,but what it means to    
others remains to be seen4 ,his one     
star1 however1 judging from his month's 
experience in ,baalbek1 is not          
promising of ,jannat4 ,for many things1 
including parental tyranny and          
priestcraft and ,jesuitism1 will here   
conspire against the single  blessedness
 of him1 which is now seeking to double 
itself4    ,where one has so many       
,fathers1 he writes1 and all are        
pretending to  be the guardians of his  
spiritual and material well-being1 one  
ought  to renounce them all at once4 ,it
 was not with a purpose to rejoin my    
folk that ,i first determined to return 

to my native country4 ,for1  while ,i   
believe in the ,family1 ,i hate         
,familism1 which is the curse of  the   
human race4 ,and ,i hate this spiritual 
,fatherhood when it puts on  the garb of
 a priest1 the three-cornered hat of a  
,jesuit1 the hood of  a monk1 the       
gaberdine of a rabbi1 or the jubbah of a
 sheikh4 ,the  sacredness of the        
,individual1 not of the ,family or the  
,church1 do ,i  proclaim4 ,for          
,familism1 or the propensity to keep    
under the same roof1  as a social       
principle1 out of fear1 ignorance1      
cowardice1 or  dependence1 is1 ,i       
repeat1 the curse of the world4 ,your   
father is he  who is friendly and       
reverential to the higher being in you2 
your  brothers are those who can        
appreciate the height and depth of your 
spirit1 who hearken to you1 and believe 
in you1 if you have any truth  to       
announce to them4 ,surely1 one's value  
is not in his skin that you  should     
touch him4 ,are there any two           

individuals more closely related  than  
mother and son8 ,and yet1 when ,i       
,khalid embrace my mother1  mingling my 
tears with hers1 ,i feel that my soul is
 as distant from  her own as is ,baalbek
 from the ,dog-star4 ,and so ,i say1    
this attempt to  bind together under the
 principle of ,familism conflicting     
spirits1 and  be it in the name of love 
or religion or anything else more or    
less  sacred1 is in itself a very curse1
 and should straightway end4 ,it will   
end1 as far as ,i am concerned4 ,and    
thou my ,brother1 whether thou be a  son
 of the ,morning or of the ,noontide or 
of the ,dusk1--whether thou be  a       
,japanese or a ,syrian or a ,british    
man--if thou art likewise               
circumstanced1 thou shouldst do the     
same1 not only for thine own sake1  but 
for the sake of thy family as well4     
,no2 ,khalid did not find that wholesome
 plant of domestic peace in his         
mother's ,nursery4 ,he found noxious    
weeds1 rather1 and brambles galore4     

,and they were planted there1 not by his
 father or mother1 but by those  who    
have a lien upon the souls of these poor
 people4 ,for the priest  here is no    
peeled1 polished affair1 but shaggy1    
scrubby1 terrible1  forbidding4 ,and    
with a word he can open yet1 for such as
 ,khalid's  folk1 the gate which ,peter 
keeps or the other on the opposite side 
of  the ,universe4 ,khalid must beware1 
therefore1 how he conducts himself  at  
home and abroad1 and how1 in his native 
town1 he delivers his mind  on sacred   
things1 and profane4 ,in ,new ,york1 for
 instance1 or in ,turabu  for that      
matter1 he could say in plain forthright
 speech what he  thought of ,family1    
,church or ,state1 and no one would mind
 him4 ,but  where these ,institutions   
are the rottenest existing he will be   
minded  too well1 and reminded1 too1 of 
the fate of those who preceded him4     
,the case of ,habib ,ish-,shidiak at    
,kannubin is not yet forgotten4 ,and    
,habib1 be it known1 was only a poor    

,protestant neophite who took  pleasure 
in carrying a small copy of the ,bible  
in his hip pocket1 and  was just        
learning to roll his eyes in the pulpit 
and invoke the  laud4 ,but ,khalid1     
everybody out-protesting1 is such an    
intractable  protestant1 with1 neither  
,bible in his pocket nor pulpit at his  
service4 ,and yet1 with a flint on his  
tongue and a spark in his eyes1  he will
 make the neophite ,habib smile beside  
him4 ,for the priesthood  in ,syria is  
not1 as we have said1 a peeled1         
polished1 pulpy affair4  ,and ,khalid's 
father has been long enough in their    
employ to learn  somewhat of their      
methods4 ,bigotry1 cruelty1 and tyranny 
at home1  priestcraft and ,jesuitism    
abroad1--these1 ,o ,khalid1 you will    
know  better by force of contact before 
you end4 ,and you will begin to pine    
again for your iron-loined spiritual    
,mother4 ,ay1 and the scelerate  ,jesuit
 will even make capital of your mass of 
flowing hair4 ,for in  this country1    

only the native priests are privileged  
to be shaggy and  scrubby and still be  
without suspicion4 ,but we will let     
,shakib give us  a few not uninteresting
 details of the matter4    ,not long    
after we had rejoined our people1 he    
writes1 ,khalid comes  to me with a     
sorry tale4 ,in truth1 a fortnight after
 our arrival in  ,baalbek--our civility 
towards new comers seldom enjoys a      
longer  lease--the town was alive with  
rumours and whim-whams about my friend4 
,and whereso ,i went1 ,i was not a      
little annoyed with the tehees and      
grunts which his name seemed to invoke4 
,the women often came to his  mother to 
inquire in particular why he grows his  
hair and shaves his  mustaches2 the men 
would speak to his father about the     
change in his  accent and manners2 the  
children teheed and tittered whenever he
  passed through the town-square2 and   
all were of one mind that ,khalid  was a
 worthless fellow1 who had brought      
nothing with him from the  ,paradise of 

the ,new ,world but his cough and his   
fleece4 ,such tattle  and curiosity1    
however1 no matter what degree of savage
 vulgarity they  reach1 are quite       
harmless4 ,but ,i felt somewhat uneasy  
about him1 when  ,i heard the people    
asking each other1 ,why does he not come
 to ,church  like honest folks8 ,and    
soon ,i discovered that my apprehensions
 were  well grounded2 for the           
questioning was noised at ,khalid's     
door1 and  the fire crackled under the  
roof within4 ,the father commands2 the  
mother begs2 the father objurgates1     
threatens1 curses his son's faith2  and 
the mother1 prostrating herself before  
the ,virgin1 weeps1 and  prays1 and     
beats her breast4 ,alas1 and my ,khalid8
 he goes out on the  terrace to search  
in the ,nursery for his favourite       
,plant4 ,no1 he does  not find it2      
brambles are there and noxious weeds    
galore4 ,the thorny1  bitter reality he 
must now face1 and1 by reason of his    
lack of  savoir-faire1 be ultimately    

out-faced by it4 ,for the upshot of the 
many quarrels he had with his father1   
the prayers and tears of the  mother not
 availing1 was nothing more or less than
 banishment4 ,you  will either go to    
,church like myself1 or get out of this 
house3 this  the ultimatum of           
,abu-,khalid4 ,and needless to say which
 alternative the  son chose4    ,i still
 remember how agitated he was when he   
came to tell me of the  fatal breach4   
,his words1 which drew tears from my    
eyes1 ,i remember  too4 ',homeless ,i am
 again1' said he1 'but not friendless4  
,for besides  ,allah1 ,i have you4--,oh1
 this straitness of the chest is going  
to kill  me4 ,i feel that my windpipe is
 getting narrower every day4 ,at least1 
my father is doing his mighty best to   
make things so hard and  strait4--,yes1 
,i would have come now to bid you       
farewell1 were it not  that ,i still    
have in this town some important        
business4 ,in the which ,i  ask your    
help4 ,you know what it is4 ,i have     

often spoken to you about  my cousin    
,najma1 the one star in my sky4 ,and    
now1 ,i would know what is  its         
significance to me4 ,no1 ,i can not     
leave ,baalbek1 ,i can not do  anything1
 until that star unfolds the night or   
the dawn of my destiny4  ,and you       
,shakib--'    ,of course1 ,i promised to
 do what ,i could for him4 ,i offered   
him such  cheer and comfort as my home  
could boast of1 which he would not      
accept4 ,he would have only my terrace  
roof on which to build a booth  of pine 
boughs1 and spread in it a few straw    
mats and cushions4 ,but ,i  was         
disappointed in my calculations2 for in 
having him thus near me  again1 ,i had  
hoped to prevail upon him for his own   
good to temper his  behaviour1 to       
conform a little1 to concede somewhat1  
while he is among  his people4 ,but     
virtually he did not put up with me4 ,he
 ate outside2  he spent his days ,i know
 not where2 and when he did come to his 
booth1  it was late in the night4 ,i was

 informed later that one of the         
goatherds saw him sleeping in the ruined
 ,temple near ,ras'ul-,ain4 ,and  the   
muazzen who sleeps in the ,mosque       
adjacent to the ,temple of ,venus  gave 
out that one night he saw him with a    
woman in that very place4    ,a woman   
with ,khalid1 and in the ,temple of     
,venus at night8 ,be not too  quick1 ,o 
,reader1 to suspect and contemn2 for the
 ,venus-worship is not  reinstated in   
,baalbek4 ,no tryst this1 believe us1   
but a scene  pathetic1 more sacred4 ,not
 ,najma this questionable companion1 but
 one  as dear to ,khalid4 ,ay1 it is his
 mother come to seek him here4 ,and she 
begs him1 in the name of the ,virgin1 to
 return home1 and try to do the  will of
 his father4 ,she beats her breast1     
weeps1 prostrates herself  before him1  
beseeches1 implores1 cries out1         
'dakhilak 7,i am at your  mercy71 come  
home with me4' ,and ,khalid1 taking her 
up by the arm1  embraces her and weeps1 
but says not a word4 ,as two statues in 

the  ,temple1 silent as an autumn       
midnight1 they remain thus locked in    
each  other's arms1 sobbing1 mingling   
their sighs and tears4 ,the mother      
then1 ',come1 come home with me1 ,o my  
child4' ,and ,khalid1 sitting on  one of
 the steps of the ,temple1 replies1     
',let him move out of the  house1 and ,i
 will come4 ,i will live with you1 if he
 will keep at the  ,jesuits4'    ,for   
,khalid begins to suspect that the      
,jesuits are the cause of his           
banishment from home1 that his father's 
religious ferocity is fuelled  and      
fanned by these good people4 ,one day1  
before ,khalid was banished1  ,shakib   
tells us1 one of them1 ,father ,farouche
 by name1 comes to pay a  visit of      
courtesy1 and finds ,khalid sitting     
cross-legged on a mat  writing a letter4
    ,the ,padre is received by ,khalid's
 mother who takes his hand1 kisses  it1 
and offers him the seat of honour on the
 divan4 ,khalid continues  writing4 ,and
 after he had finished1 he turns round  

in his cross-legged  posture and greets 
his visitor4 ,which greeting is surely  
to be  followed by a conversation of the
 sword-and-shield kind4    ,how is your 
health8 this from ,father ,farouche in  
miserable ,arabic4    ,as you see3 ,i   
breathe with an effort1 and can hardly  
speak4    ,but the health of the body is
 nothing compared with the health of the
  soul4    ,i know that too well1 ,o    
,reverend 7,ya ,muhtaram74    ,and one  
must have recourse to the physician in  
both instances4    ,i do not believe in 
physicians1 ,o ,reverend4    ,not even  
the physician of the soul8    ,you said 
it1 ,o ,reverend4    ,the mother of     
,khalid serves the coffee1 and whispers 
to her son a  word4 ,whereupon ,khalid  
rises and sits on the divan near the    
,padre4    ,but one must follow the     
religion of one's father1 the ,jesuit   
resumes4    ,when one's father has a    
religion1 yes2 but when he curses the   
religion of his son for not being       
ferociously religious like  himself--   

,but a father must counsel and guide his
 children4    ,let the mother do that4  
,hers is the purest and most            
disinterested  spirit of the two4       
,then1 why not obey your mother1 and--  
,khalid suppresses his anger4    ,my    
mother and ,i can get along without the 
interference of our  neighbours4        
,yes1 truly4 ,but you will find great   
solace in going to ,church and  ceasing 
your doubts4    ,khalid rises indignant4
    ,i only doubt the ,pharisees1 ,o    
,reverend1 and their ,church ,i would   
destroy to-day if ,i could4    ,my      
child--    ,here is your hat1 ,o        
,reverend1 and pardon me--you see1 ,i   
can hardly  speak1 ,i can hardly        
breathe4 ,good day4    ,and he walks out
 of the house1 leaving ,father ,farouche
 to digest his  ire at his ease1 and to 
wonder1 with his three-cornered hat in  
hand1  at the savage demeanour of the   
son of their pious porter4 ,your son1   
addressing the mother as he stands under
 the door-lintel1 is not only  an       

infidel1 but he is also crazy4 ,and for 
such wretches there is an  asylum here  
and a ,juhannam hereafter4    ,and the  
poor mother1 her face suffused with     
tears1 prostrates herself  before the   
,virgin1 praying1 beating her breast1   
invoking with her  tongue and hand and  
heart2 while ,farouche returns to his   
coop to hatch  under his three-cornered 
hat1 the famous ,jesuit-egg of intrigue4
 ,that  hat1 which can outwit the monk's
 hood and the hundred fabled devils     
under it1 that hat1 with its many       
gargoyles1 a visible symbol of the      
leaky conscience of the ,jesuit1 that   
hat1 ,o ,khalid1 which you would  have  
kicked out of your house1 has eventually
 succeeded in ousting  ,,you1 and will  
do its mighty best yet to send you to   
the ,bosphorus4  ,indeed1 to serve their
 purpose1 these honest servitors of     
,jesus will  even act as spies to the   
criminal ,government of ,abd'ul-,hamid4 
,read  ,shakib's account4    ,about a   
fortnight after ,khalid's banishment    

from home1 he writes1 a  booklet was    
published in ,beirut1 setting forth the 
history of ,ignatius  ,loyola and the   
purports and intents of ,jesuitism4 ,on 
the cover it was  expressly declared    
that the booklet is translated from the 
,english1  and the ,jesuits1 who are    
noted for their scholarly attainments1  
could  have discovered this for         
themselves without the explicit         
declaration4  ,but they did not deem it 
necessary to make such a discovery then4
 ,it  seemed rather imperative to       
maintain the contrary and try to prove  
it4 ,now1 ,khalid having received a copy
 of this booklet from a friend  in      
,beirut1 reads it and writes back1      
saying that it is not a  translation but
 a mutilation1 rather1 of one of ,thomas
 ,carlyle's  ,latter-,day ,pamphlets    
entitled ,jesuitism4 ,this letter must  
have  reached them together with ,father
 ,farouche's report on ,khalid's        
infidelity1 just about the time the     
booklet was circulating in  ,baalbek4   

,for in the following ,number of their  
,weekly ,journal an  article1 stuffed   
and padded with execrations and         
anathema1 is  published against the book
 and its anonymous author4 ,from this ,i
 quote  the following1 which is by no   
means the most erring and most poisonous
  of their shafts4    ',such a          
,pamphlet1' exclaims the scholarly      
,jesuit ,editor1 'was never  written by 
,thomas ,carlyle1 as some here1 from    
ignorance or malice1  assert4 ,for that 
philosopher1 of all the thinkers of his 
day1 believed  in ,god and in the       
divinity of ,jesus ,his ,son1 and could 
never descend  to these foul and filthy 
depths4 ,he never soiled his pen in the 
putrescence of falsehood and            
incendiarism4 ,the author of this       
blasphemous and pernicious ,pamphlet1   
therefore1 in trying to father  his     
infidelity1 his sedition1 and his lies1 
on ,carlyle1 is doubly  guilty of a most
 heinous crime4 ,and we suspect1 we     
know1 and for the  welfare of the       

community we hope to be able soon to    
point out openly1  who and where this   
vile one is4 ,yes1 only an atheist and  
anarchist is  capable of such villainous
 mendacity1 such unutterable wickedness 
and  treachery4 ,now1 we would          
especially call upon our readers in     
,baalbek  to be watchful and vigilant1  
for among them is one1 recently come    
back  from ,america1 who harbours under 
his bushy hair the atheism and  anarchy 
of decadent ,europe1 etc1 etc4'    ,and 
this is followed by secret orders from  
their ,head ,office to the  ,superior of
 their ,branch in ,zahleh1 to go on with
 the work hinted in  the article        
aforesaid4 ,let it not be supposed that 
,i make this  statement in jaundice or  
malice4 ,for the man who was instigated 
to do  this foul work subsequently sold 
the secret4 ,and the ,kaimkam1 my       
friend1 when speaking to me of the      
matter1 referred to the article in      
question1 and told me that ,khalid was  
denounced to the ,government by  the    

,jesuits as an anarchist4 ',and lest ,i 
be compelled1' he continued1  'to       
execute such orders in his case as ,i   
might receive any day1 ,i  advise you to
 spirit him away at once4'    ,but      
though the ,jesuits have succeeded in   
kicking ,khalid out of his  home1 they  
did not succeed1 thanks to ,shakib1 in  
sending him to the  ,bosphorus4         
,meanwhile1 they sit quiet1 hatching    
another egg4          ,,chapter ,,vi    
,,flounces ,,and ,,ruffles      ,now1   
that there is a lull in the machinations
 of ,jesuitry1 we shall  turn a page or 
two in ,shakib's account of the courting
 of ,khalid4 ,and  apparently everything
 is propitious4 ,the fates1 at least1 in
 the  beginning1 are not unkind4 ,for   
the feud between ,khalid's father and   
uncle shall now help to forward         
,khalid's love-affair4 ,indeed1 the     
father of ,najma1 to spite his brother1 
opens to the banished nephew  his door  
and blinks at the spooning which        
follows4 ,and such an  interminable yarn

 our ,scribe spins out about it1 that   
,khalid and ,najma  do seem the silliest
 lackadaisical spoonies under the sun4  
,but what we  have evolved from the     
narration might have for our readers    
some  curious alien phase of interest4  
,here then are a few beads from         
,shakib's romantic string4 ,when ,najma 
cooks mojadderah for her father1 he     
tells us1 she never fails to  come to   
the booth of pine boughs with a platter 
of it4 ,and this to  ,khalid was very   
manna4 ,for never1 while supping on this
 single dish1  would he dream of the    
mensal and kitchen luxuries of the      
,hermitage in  ,bronx ,park4 ,in fact1  
he never envied the pork-eating         
,americans1 the  beef-eating ,english1  
or the polyphagic ,french4 ,here is a   
dish of  lentils fit for the gods1 he   
would say4444    ,when ,najma goes to   
the spring for water1 ,khalid chancing  
to meet her1  takes the jar from her    
shoulder1 saying1 ,return thou home2 ,i 
will  bring thee water4 ,and straightway

 to the spring hies he1 where the  women
 there gathered fill his ears with      
tittering1 questioning tattle  as he is 
filling his jar4 ,i wish ,i were ,najma1
 says one1 as he  passes by1 the jar of 
water on his shoulder4 ,would you cement
 his  brain1 if you were8 puts in       
another4 ,and thus would they gibe and  
joke every time ,khalid came to the     
spring with ,najma's jar4444    ,one day
 he comes to his uncle's house and finds
 his betrothed  ribboning and beading   
some new lingerie for her rich          
neighbour's  daughter4 ,he sits down and
 helps her in the work1 writing         
meanwhile1  between the acts1 an        
alphabetic ideology on ,art and ,life4  
,but as they  are beading the vests and 
skirts and other articles of richly     
laced  linen underwear1 ,najma holds up 
one of these and navely asks1 ,am ,i    
not to have some such1 ya habibi 7,o my 
,love78 ,and ,khalid1 affecting  like   
bucolic innocence1 replies1 ,what do we 
need them for1 my heart8  ,with which   

counter-question ,najma is silenced1    
convinced4    ,finally1 to show to what 
degree of ecstasy they had soared       
without  searing their wings or losing a
 single feather thereof1 the following  
deserves mention4 ,in the dusk one day1 
,khalid visits ,najma and finds  her    
oiling and lighting the lamp4 ,as she   
beholds him under the  door-lintel1 the 
lamp falls from her hands1 the kerosene 
blazes on the  floor1 and the straw mat 
takes fire4 ,they do not heed this--they
 do  not see it--they are on the wings  
of an ecstatic embrace4 ,and the        
father1 chancing to arrive in the nick  
of time1 with a curse and a  cuff1 saves
 them and his house from the            
conflagration4    ,aside from these     
curious and not insignificant instances1
 these  radiations of a giddy hidden    
flame of heart-fire1 this melting gum of
  spooning on the bark of the tree of   
love1 we turn to a scene in the  ,temple
 of ,venus which unfolds our future     
plans--our hopes and dreams4  ,but we   

feel that the ,reader is beginning to   
hanker for a few pieces of  description 
of ,najma's charms4 ,gentle ,reader1    
this ,work is neither a  ,novel1 nor a  
,passport4 ,and we are exceeding sorry  
we can not tell you  anything about the 
colour and size of ,najma's eyes2 the   
shape and  curves of her brows and lips2
 the tints and shades in her cheeks2 and
  the exact length of her figure and    
hair4 ,shakib leaves us in the dark     
about these essentials1 and we must     
needs likewise leave you4 ,our  ,scribe 
thinks he has said everything when he   
speaks of her as a huri4  ,but this     
paradisal title among our ,arabic       
writers and verse-makers is  become     
worse than the ,sultan's ,medjidi       
decorations4 ,it is bestowed  alike on  
every drab and trollop as on the very   
few who really deserve  it4 ,let us rank
 it1 therefore1 with the ,medjidi       
decorations and pass  on4    ,but       
,khalid1 who has seen enough of the     
fair1 would not be attracted to  ,najma1

 enchanted by her1 if she were not      
endowed with such of the  celestial     
treasures as rank above the visible     
lines of beauty4 ,our  ,scribe speaks of
 the purity and navete of her soul as   
purest  sources of felicity and         
inspiration4 ,indeed1 if she were not   
constant  in love1 she would not have   
spurned the many opportunities in the   
absence of ,khalid2 and had she not a   
fine discerning sense of real  worth1   
she would not have surrendered herself  
to her poor ostracised  cousin2 and if  
she were not intuitively1               
preternaturally wise1 she  would not    
marry an enemy of the ,jesuits1 a bearer
 withal of  infiltrated lungs and a     
shrunken windpipe4 ,there is a great    
advantage  in having a sickly husband1  
she once said to ,shakib1 it lessons a  
woman in the heavenly virtues of our    
,virgin ,mother1 in patient  endurance  
and pity1 in charity1 magnanimity1 and  
pure love4 ,what1  with these           
sublimities of character1 need we know  

of her visible  charms1 or lack of them8
 ,she might deserve the title ,shakib   
bestows  upon her2 she might be a real  
huri1 for all we know8 ,in that event1  
the outward charms correspond1 and      
,khalid is a lucky dog--if some one  can
 keep the ,jesuits away4    ,this1 then1
 is our picture of ,najma1 to whom he is
 now relating1 in  the ,temple of       
,venus1 of the dangers he had passed and
 the felicities  of the beduin life he  
has in view4 ,it is evening4 ,the moon  
struggles  through the poplars to light 
the ,temple for them1 and the ambrosial 
breeze caresses their cheeks4    ,no1   
says ,khalid2 we can not live here1 ,o  
my ,heart1 after we are  formally       
married4 ,the curse in my breast ,i must
 not let you share1 and  only when ,i am
 rid of it am ,i actually your husband4 
,by the life of  this blessed night1 by 
the light of these stars1 ,i am         
inalterably  resolved on this1 and ,i   
shall abide by my resolution4 ,we must  
leave  ,baalbek as soon as the religious

 formalities are done4 ,and ,i wish your
  father would have them performed under
 his roof4 ,that is as good as  going to
 ,church to be the central figures of   
the mummery of priests4  ,but be this as
 ,you will4 ,whether in ,church or at   
home1 whether by your  father or by     
gibbering ,levites the ceremony is      
performed1 we must hie  us to the desert
 after it is done4 ,i shall hire the    
camels and prepare  the necessary       
set-out for the wayfare a day or two    
ahead4 ,no1 ,i must  not be a burden to 
you1 my ,heart4 ,i must be able to work 
for you as  for myself4 ,and ,allah     
alone1 through the ministration of his  
great  ,handmaid ,nature1 can cure me   
and enable me to share with you the joys
  of life4 ,no1 not before ,i am cured1 
can ,i give you my whole self1 can  ,i  
call myself your husband4 ,into the     
desert1 therefore1 to some oasis  in its
 very heart1 we shall ride1 and there   
crouch our camels and  establish        
ourselves as husbandmen4 ,i shall even  

build you a little  home like your own4 
,and you will be to me an aura of       
health1 which ,i  shall breathe with the
 desert air1 and the evening breeze4    
,yes1 our  love shall dwell in a palace 
of health1 not in a hovel of disease4   
,meanwhile1 we shall buy with what money
 ,i have a little patch of  ground which
 we shall cultivate together4 ,and we   
shall own cattle and  drink camel milk4 
,and we shall doze in the afternoon in  
the cool shade  of the palms1 and in the
 evening1 wrapt in our cloaks1 we'll    
sleep on  the sands under the living    
stars4 ,yes1 and ,najma shall be the    
harbinger of dawn to ,khalid4--,out on  
that little farm in the oasis of  our   
desert1 far from the world and the      
sanctified abominations of the  world1  
we shall live near to ,allah a life of  
purest joy1 of true  happiness4 ,we     
shall never worry about the hopes of    
to-morrow and the  gone blessings of    
yesterday4 ,we shall not1 while         
labouring1 dream of  rest1 nor shall we 

give a thought to our tasks while       
drinking of the  cup of repose3 each    
hour shall be to us an epitome of       
eternity4 ,the  trials and troubles of  
each day shall go with the setting sun1 
never  to rise with him again4 ,but ,i  
am unkind to speak of this4 ,for your   
glances banish care1 and we shall ever  
be together4 ,ay1 my ,heart1 and  when  
,i take up the lute in the evening1     
you'll sing mulayiah to me1  and the    
stars above us shall dance1 and the     
desert breeze shall house  us in its    
whispers of love4444    ,and thus       
interminably1 while ,najma1             
understanding little of all this1  sits 
beside him on a fallen column in the    
,temple and punctuates his  words with  
assenting exclamations1 with long eighs 
of joy and wonder4  ,but we are not     
going to live in the desert all the     
time1 are we8 she  asks4    ,no1 my     
,heart4 ,when ,i am cured of my illness 
we shall return to  ,baalbek1 if you    
like4    ,eigh1 good4 ,now1 ,i want to  

say--no4 ,i shame to speak about such   
matters4    ,speak1 ya ,gazalty 7,o my  
,doe or ,dawn or both72 your words are  
like  the scented breeze1 like the      
ethereal moon rays1 which enter into    
this  ,temple without permission4       
,speak1 and light up this ruined ,temple
 of  thine4    ,how sweet are ,your     
words1 but really ,i can not understand 
them4 ,they  are like the sweetmeats my 
father brought with him once from       
,damascus4  ,one eats and exclaims1     
',how delicious6' ,but one never knows  
how they  are made1 and what they are   
made of4 ,i wish ,i could speak like    
you1  ya habibi4 ,i would not shame to  
say then what ,i want4    ,say what you 
wish4 ,my heart is open1 and your words 
are silvery  moonbeams4    ,do not blame
 me then4 ,i am so simple1 you know1 so 
foolish4 ,and ,i  would like to know if 
you are going to ,church on our wedding 
day in  the clothes you have on now4    
,not if you object to them1 my ,heart4  
,eigh1 good6 ,and must ,i come in my    

ordinary ,sunday dress8 ,it is so       
plain2 it has not a single ruffle to it4
    ,and what are ruffles for8    ,i    
never saw a bride in a plain gown2 they 
all have ruffles and  flounces to them4 
,and when ,i look at your lovely        
hair--,o let people  say what they like6
 ,a gown without ruffles is ugly4--,so1 
you will buy  me a sky-blue silk dress1 
ya habibi and a pink one1 too1 with     
plenty  of ruffles on them8 ,will you   
not8    ,yes1 my ,heart1 you shall have 
what you desire4 ,but in the desert you 
can not wear these dresses4 ,the ,arabs 
will laugh at you4 ,for the women  there
 wear only plain muslin dipped in       
indigo4    ,then1 ,i will have but one  
dress of sky-blue silk for the wedding4 
,certainly1 my ,heart4 ,and the ruffles 
shall be as many and as long as  you    
desire them4    ,and while the          
many-ruffled sky-blue dress is being    
made1 ,khalid1  inspired by ,najma's    
remarks on his hair1 rhapsodises on     
flounces  and ruffles4 ,of this striking

 piece of fantasy1 in which are         
scintillations of the great ,truth1 we  
note the following3    ,what can you do 
without your flounces8 ,how can you live
 without your  ruffles8 ,ay1 how can    
you1 without them1 think1 speak1 or     
work8 ,how can  you eat1 drink1 walk1   
sleep1 pray1 worship1 moralise1         
sentimentalise1  or love1 without them8 
,are you not ruffled and flounced when  
you first  see the light1 ruffled and   
flounced when you last see the darkness8
  ,the cradle and the tomb1 are they not
 the first and last ruffles of  ,man8   
,and between them what a panoramic      
display of flounces6 ,what clean  and   
attractive visible ,edges of unclean    
invisible common ,skirts6 ,look  at your
 huge elaborate monuments1 your fancy   
sepulchers1 what are they  but the      
ruffles of your triumphs and defeats8   
,the marble flounces1  these1 of your   
cemeteries1 your ,pantheons and         
,westminster ,abbeys4 ,and  what are    
your belfries and spires and chimes1    

your altars and  reredoses and such     
like1 but the sanctified flounces of    
your churches4  ,no1 these are not      
wholly adventitious sanctities2 not     
empty1  superfluous growths4 ,they are  
incorporated into ,life by ,time1 and   
they  grow in importance as our sthetics
 become more inutile1 as our  ,religions
 begin to exude gum and pitch for       
commerce1 instead of  bearing fruits of 
,faith and ,love and ,magnanimity4      
,the first church was the forest2 the   
first dome1 the welkin2 the  first      
altar1 the sun4 ,but that was1 when man 
went forth in native  buff1 brother to  
the lion1 not the ox1 without ruffles   
and without  faith4 ,his spirit1 in the 
course of time1 was born2 it grew and   
developed zenithward and nadirward1 as  
the cycles rolled on4 ,and in  spiritual
 pride1 and pride of power and wealth as
 well1 it took to  ruffling and         
flouncing to such an extent that at     
certain epochs it  disappeared1 dwindled
 into nothingness1 and only the         

appendages  remained4 ,these were       
significant appendages1 to be sure2 not 
altogether adscititious4 ,ruffles these1
 indeed1 endowed1 as it were1  with     
life1 and growing on the dead ,spirit1  
as the grass on the grave4    ,and is it
 not noteworthy that our life terrene at
 certain epochs  seems to be made up    
wholly of these8 ,that as the great     
,pine falls1 the  noxious weeds1 the    
brambles and thorny bushes around it1   
grow quicker1  lustier1 luxuriating on  
the vital stores in the earth that were 
its  own--is not this striking and      
perplexing1 my rational friends8        
,surely1  ,man is neither the           
featherless biped of the ,greek         
,philosopher1 nor the  tool-using animal
 of the ,sage of ,chelsea4 ,for animals1
 too1 have their  tools1 and man1 in his
 visible flounces1 has feathers enough  
to make  even a peacock gape4 ,both my  
,philosophers have hit wide of the mark 
this time4 ,and ,man1 to my way of      
thinking1 is a flounce-wearing  ,spirit4

 ,indeed1 flounces alone1 the invisible 
ones in particular1  distinguish us from
 the beasts4 ,for like ourselves they   
have their  fashions in clothes2 their  
peculiar speech2 their own hidden means 
of  intellection1 and1 to some extent1  
of imagination3 but flounces they  have 
not1 they know not4 ,these are luxuries1
 which ,man alone enjoys4    ,ah1       
,man1--thou son and slave of ,allah1    
according to my ,oriental  ,prophets of 
,heaven2 thou exalted1 apotheosised ape1
 according to my  ,occidental ,prophets 
of ,science2--how much thou canst       
suffer1 how much  thou canst endure1    
under what pressure and in what         
,juhannam depths  thou canst live2 but  
thy flounces thou canst not dispense    
with for a  day1 nor for a single       
one-twelfth part of a day4 ,even in thy 
suffering  and pain1 the agonised spirit
 is wrapped1 bandaged1 swathed in       
ruffles4 ,it is assuaged with the       
flounces of thy lady's caresses1 and    
the scalloped intonations of her soft   

and soothing voice4 ,it is  humbugged   
into health by the malodorous flounces  
of the apothecary and  the medicinal    
ruffles of the doctor4    ,ay1 we live  
in a phantasmagoric1 cycloramic economy 
of flounces and  ruffles4 ,the human    
,spirit shirks nudity as it shirks pain4
 ,even your  modern preacher of the     
,simple ,life is at best suggesting the 
moderate  use of ruffles4444 ,indeed1 we
 can suffer anything1 everything1 but   
the  naked and ugly reality4 ,alas1 have
 ,i not listened for years to what ,i   
mistook to be the strong1 pure voice of 
the naked ,truth8 ,and have ,i  not     
discovered1 to my astonishment1 that the
 supposed scientific  ,nudity is but an 
indurated thick ,crust under which the  
,lie lies  hidden4 ,why strip ,man of   
his fancy appendages1 his adventitious  
sanctities1 if you are going to give him
 instead only a few yards of  shoddy8   
,no1 ,i tell you2 this can not be done4 
,your brambles and thorn  hedges will   
continue to grow and luxuriate1 will    

even shut from your  view the ,temple in
 the ,grove1 until the great ,pine rises
 again to  stunt1 and ultimately        
extirpate1 them4    ,behold1 meanwhile1 
how the world parades in ruffles before 
us4 ,what a  bewildering phantasmagoria 
this3 a very ,dress ,ball of the human  
race4  ,see them pass3 the ,pope of     
,christendom1 in his three hats and     
heavy  trailing gowns1 blessing the air 
of heaven2 the priest1 in his alb and   
chasuble1 dispensing of the blessings of
 the ,pope2 the judge1 in his  wig and  
bombazine1 endeavouring to reconcile    
divine justice with the  law's mundane  
majesty2 the college doctor1 in cap and 
gown1 anointing  the young princes of   
knowledge2 the buffoon1 in his cap and  
bells1  dancing to the god of laughter2 
mylady of the pink-tea circle1 in her   
huffing1 puffing gasoline-car1 fleeing  
the monster of ennui2 the bride  and    
bridegroom at the altar or before the   
mayor putting on their  already         
heavy-ruffled garments the sacred ruffle

 of law or religion2  the babe brought  
to church by his mother and kindred to  
have the  priest-tailor sew on his new  
garment the ruffle of baptism2 the      
soldier in his gaudy uniform2 the king  
in his ermine with a crown and  sceptre 
appended2 the ,nabob of ,ind in his     
gorgeous and multi-colored  robes2 and  
the ,papuan with horns in his nostrils  
and rings in his  ears3 see them all    
pass4    ,and wilt thou still add to the
 bewildering variety of the pageant8 ,or
  wilt have another of the higher things
 of the mind8 ,lo1 the artist  this1    
wearing his ruffles of hair over his    
shoulders2 and here1 too1  is the man of
 the sombrero and red flannel1 which are
 the latest  flounces of a certain set  
of ,new ,world poets4 ,directly behind  
them is  ,dame ,religion with her heavy 
ruffled robes1 her beribboned and       
belaced  bodices1 her ornaments and     
sacred gewgaws4 ,and billah1 she has    
stuffings and paddings1 too4 ,and false 
teeth and foul breath6 ,never  mind4    

,pass on1 and let her pass4 ,but tarry  
thou a moment here4 ,behold  this       
pyrotechnic display1 these buntings and 
flags2 hear thou this  music and these  
shouts and cheers2 on yonder stump is an
 orator  dispensing to his fellow       
citizens spread-eagle rhetoric as empty 
as  yonder drum3 these are the elaborate
 and attractive ruffles of  politics4   
,and among the crowd are genial and     
honest citizens who have  their own way 
of ruffling your temper with their      
coarse flounces of  linsey-woolsey      
freedom4 ,wilt thou have more8          
,decidedly not1 we reply4 ,for how can  
we even keep company with ,khalid1  who 
has become such a maniac on flounces8   
,and was this fantastic1  phantasmagoric
 rhapsody all inspired by ,najma's      
simple remark on his  hair8 ,fruitful is
 thy word1 ,o woman6    ,but being so   
far away now from the ,hermitage in the 
,bronx1 what has  the cherry in the     
cocktail and the olive in the oyster    
patty to do  with all this8 ,howbeit1   

the following deserves a place as the   
tail-flounce of his ,fantasy4           
99       99       99       99       99  
,your superman and superwoman1 says he1 
with philosophic calm1 may  go          
,adam-and-,eve like if they choose4 ,but
 can they1 even in that chaste  and     
splendid nudity1 dispense with ruffles  
and flounces8 ,pray1 tell  me1 did not  
our first parents spoon and             
sentimentalise in the  ,paradise1 before
 the ,serpent appeared8 ,and would they 
not often  whisper unto each other1     
',ah1 ,adam1 ah1 ,eve6' sighing likewise
 for  sweeter things8 ,and what about   
those fatal ,apples1 those two sour     
fruits of their ,love8--,i tell thee    
every new-born babe is the  magnificent 
flesh-flounce of a shivering1 trembling1
 nudity4 ,and ,i  ,khalid1 what am ,i   
but the visible ruffle of an invisible  
skirt8  ,verily1 ,i am2 and thou1 too1  
my ,brother4 ,yea1 and this             
aquaterrestrial  globe and these        
sidereal heavens are the divine flounces

 of the  ,vesture of ,allah4            
,,chapter ,,vii    ,,the ,,howdaj ,,of  
,,falsehood      ,humanity is so feeble 
in mind1 says ,renan1 that the purest   
thing  has need of the co-operation of  
some impure agent4 ,and this1 we  think1
 is the gist of ,khalid's rhapsody on   
flounces and ruffles4 ,but  how is he to
 reconcile the fact with the truth in   
his case8 ,for a  single sanctified     
ruffle--a line of type in the canon     
law--is likely  to upset all his plans4 
,yes1 a priest in alb and chasuble not  
only can  dispense with the blessings of
 his ,pope1 but--and here is the rub--he
  can also withhold such blessings from 
,khalid4 ,and now1 do what he may1  say 
what he might1 he must either revise his
 creed1 or behave1 at  least1 like a    
,christian4    ,everything is ready1 you
 say8 ,the sky-blue1 many-ruffled       
wedding gown2  the set-out for the      
wayfare2 the camel and donkeys2 the     
little stock  of books2 the coffee      
utensils2 the lentils and sweet         

oil2--all ready8  ,very well2 but you   
can not set forth to-morrow1 nor three  
weeks from  to-morrow4 ,indeed1 before  
the priest can give you his             
blessings--and  what at this juncture   
can you do without them8--the           
dispensations of  the ban must be       
performed4 ,in other words1 your case   
must now be laid  before the community4 
,every ,sunday1 for three such to come1 
the  intended marriage of ,khalid to    
,najma will be published in the ,church1
  and whoso hath any objection to make  
can come forth and make it4  ,moreover1 
there is that little knot of            
consanguinity to be considered4  ,and   
your priest is good enough to come and  
explain this to you4  ,understand him   
well4 ,an alm of a few gold pieces1 says
 he1 will  remove the obstacle2 the     
unlawfulness of your marriage resulting 
from  consanguinity will cease on       
payment of five hundred piasters4       
,all of which startles ,khalid1         
stupefies him4 ,he had not1 heretofore1 

thought of such a matter4 ,indeed1 he   
was totally ignorant of these  forms1   
these prohibitions and exemptions of the
 ,church4 ,and the father  of ,najma1   
though assenting1 remarks nevertheless  
that the alms  demanded are much4 ,why1 
exclaims ,khalid1 ,i can build a house  
for  five hundred piasters4    ,the     
priest sits down cross-legged on the    
divan1 lights the cigarette  which      
,najma had offered with the coffee1 and 
tries to explain4    ,and where have you
 this1 ,o ,reverend1 about              
consanguinity1 prohibition1  and alms6  
,khalid asks4    ,why1 my child1 in the 
,canons of our ,church1 ,catholic and   
,apostolic4  ,every one knows that a    
marriage between cousins can not be     
effected1  without the sanction of the  
,bishop4    ,but can we not obtain this 
sanction without paying for it8    ,you 
are not paying for it1 my child2 you are
 only contributing some  alms to the    
,church4    ,you come to us1 therefore1 
as a beggar1 not as a spiritual father  

and  guide4    ,that is not good        
speaking4 ,you misunderstand my purpose4
    ,and pray1 tell me1 what is the     
purpose of prohibiting a marriage       
between cousins2 what chief good is     
there in such a ban8    ,much good for  
the community4    ,but ,i have nothing  
to do with the community4 ,i'm going to 
live with  my wife in the desert4       
,the good of your souls is chiefly      
concerned4    ,ah1 the good of our      
souls6    ,and there are other reasons  
which can not be freely spoken of here4 
,you mean the restriction and           
prohibition of sexual knowledge between 
relatives4 ,that is very well4 ,but let 
us return to what concerns us  properly3
 the good of my soul1 and the spiritual 
well-being of the  community1--what     
becomes of these1 when ,i pay the       
prescribed alms and  obtain the sanction
 of the ,bishop8    ,no harm then can   
come to them--they'll be secure4        
,secure1 you say8 ,are they not         
hazarded1 sold by your ,church for five 

hundred piasters8 ,if my marriage to my 
cousin be wrong1 unlawful1 your  ,bishop
 in sanctioning same is guilty of       
perpetuating this wrong1 this           
unlawfulness1 is he not8    ,but what   
the ,church binds only the ,church can  
loosen4    ,and what is the use of      
binding1 ,o ,reverend ,father1 when a   
little  sum of money can loosen anything
 you bind8 ,it seems to me that these   
prohibitions of the ,church are only    
made for the purpose of  collecting     
alms4 ,in other words1 you bind for the 
sake of loosening1  when a good bait is 
on the hook1 do you not8 ,pardon1 ,o my 
,reverend  ,father1 pardon4 ,i can not1 
to save my soul and yours1 reconcile    
these  contradictions4 ,for if ,mother  
,church be certain that my marriage to  
my  cousin is contrary to the ,law of   
,god1 is destructive of my spiritual    
well-being1 then let her by all means   
prohibit it4 ,let her restrain  me1     
compel me to obey4 ,ay1 and the police  
ought to interfere in  case of          

disobedience4 ,in her behalf1 in my     
behalf1 in the behalf of my  cousin's   
soul and mine1 the police ought to do   
the will of ,god1 if  the ,church knows 
what it is1 and is certain and honest   
about it4  ,compel me to stop1 ,i       
conjure you1 if you know ,i am going in 
the way  of damnation4 ,o my ,father1   
what sort of a mother is she who would  
sell  two of her children to the devil  
for a few hundred piasters8 ,no1        
billah6 no4 ,what is unlawful by virtue 
of the ,divine ,law the wealth  of all  
the ,trust-,kings of ,america can not   
make lawful4 ,and what is so  by virtue 
of your ,canon ,law concerns not me4    
,you may angle1 you and  your ,church1  
as long as you please in the murky1     
muddy waters of  ,bind-and-,loosen1 ,i  
have nothing to do with you4444         
99       99       99       99       99  
,but the priests1 ,o ,khalid1 have yet a
 little to do with you4 ,such  arguments
 about the ,divine ,law and the ,canon  
,law1 about alms and  spiritual beggars1

 might cut the ,gordian knot with your  
uncle1  but--and whether it be good or  
bad ,english1 we say it--they cut no ice
  with the ,church4 ,yes1 ,mother       
,church1 under whose wings you and your 
cousin were born and bred1 and under    
whose wings you and your cousin  would  
be married1 can not take off for the    
sweet sake of your black  eyes the      
ruffles and flounces of twenty          
centuries4 ,think well on it1  you who  
have so extravagantly and not unwisely  
delivered yourself on  flounces and     
ruffles4 ,but to think1 when in love1   
were1 indeed1  disastrous4 ,o ,love1    
,love1 what ,camels of wisdom thou canst
 force to  pass through the needle's    
eye6 ,what miracles divine are thine6   
,khalid  himself says that to be truly1 
deeply1 piously in love1 one must needs 
hate himself4 ,how true1 how inexorably 
true6 ,for would he be always  inviting 
trouble and courting affliction1 would  
he be always bucking  against the dead  
wall of a ,democracy or a ,church1 if he

 did not  sincerely hate himself--if he 
were not religiously1 fanatically in    
love--in love with ,najma1 if not with  
,truth8    ,now1 on the following       
,sunday1 instead of publishing the      
intended  marriage of ,khalid and       
,najma1 the parish priest places a ban  
upon it4  ,and in this1 ye people of    
,baalbek1 is food enough for tattle1 and
  cause enough for persecution4 ,potent 
are the ruffles of the ,church6  ,but   
why1 we can almost hear the anxious     
,reader asking1 if the camels  are      
ready1 why the deuce don't they get on  
and get them gone8 ,but did  we not say 
once that ,khalid is slow1 even slower  
than the law itself8  ,nevertheless1 if 
this were a ,novel1 an elopement would  
be in order1  but we must repeat1 it is 
not4 ,we are faithful transcribers of   
the  truth as we find it set down in    
,shakib's ,histoire ,intime4    ,true1  
,khalid did ask ,najma to throw with him
 the handful of dust1 to  steal out of  
,baalbek and get married on the way1 say

 in ,damascus4 ,but  poor ,najma goes   
over to his mother instead1 and mingling
 their tears  and prayers1 they beseech 
the ,virgin to enlighten the soul and   
mind of  ,khalid4 ,yes1 we must be      
married here1 before we go to the       
desert1  says she1 for think1 ,o my     
mother1 how far away we shall be from   
the  world and the ,church if anything  
happens to us4    ,and they would have  
succeeded1 the mother and cousin of     
,khalid1 in  persuading the parish      
priest to accept from them the          
prescribed alms  and perform the wedding
 ceremony1 had not the ,jesuits1 in the 
interest  of the ,faith and the ,church1
 been dogging ,khalid still4 ,for if    
they  have failed in sending him to the 
,bosphorus1 they will succeed in        
sending him elsewhither4 ,and observe   
how this is done4    ,after             
communicating with the ,papal ,legate in
 ,mt4 ,lebanon about that  fatal ,latter
 ,day ,pamphlet of ,thomas ,carlyle1 the
 ,adjutant-,general1 or                 

,adjutant-,bird1 stalks up there one    
night in person and lays before the     
,rt4 ,rev4 ,mgr4 his devil's brief in   
,khalid's case4 ,it has already been    
explained that this ,pamphlet was       
fathered on ,khalid by the ,jesuits4    
,for if they can not punish the ,voice  
which is still pursuing them--and  in   
their heart of hearts they must have    
recognised its thunder1 even  in a      
,translation--they will make the man    
smart for it who first  mentioned       
,carlyle in this connection4    ,and    
besides this pernicious booklet1 says   
the ,adjutant-,bird1 the  young man's   
heretical opinions are notorious4 ,he   
was banished from  home on that account4
 ,and now1 after corrupting and deluding
 his  cousin1 he is going to marry her  
despite the ban of the ,church4         
,something1 ,monseigneur1 ought to be   
done1 and quickly1 to protect the       
community against the poison of this    
wretch4 ,and ,monseigneur1 nodding  his 
accord1 orders his ,secretary to write a

 note to the ,patriarch1  enclosing the 
aforesaid devil's brief1 and showing the
 propriety1 nay1  the necessity of      
excommunicating ,khalid the ,baalbekian4
 ,the  ,adjutant-,bird1 with the        
,legate's letter in his pocket1 skips   
over to  the ,patriarch on the other    
hill-top below1 and after a brief       
interview--our dear good ,ancient of the
 ,maronites must willy-nilly  obey      
,rome--the fate of ,khalid the          
,baalbekian is sealed4    ,indeed1 the  
upshot of these ,jesuitic machinations  
is this3 on the very  day when ,khalid's
 mother and cousin are pleading before  
the parish  priest for justice1 for     
mercy1--offering the prescribed alms1   
beseeching that the ban be revoked1 the 
marriage solemnised1--a  messenger from 
the ,bishop of the ,diocese enters1     
kisses his  ,reverence's hand1 and      
delivers an imposing envelope4 ,the     
priest  unseals it1 unfolds the heavy   
foolscap sheet therein1 reads it with a 
knitting of the brow1 a shaking of the  

beard1 and1 clapping one hand  upon the 
other1 tells the poor pleaders to go    
home4    ,it is all finished4 ,there is 
no more hope for you and your cousin4   
,and he shows the ,patriarchal ,bull1   
and explains4    ,whereupon1 ,najma and 
,khalid's mother go out weeping1        
wailing1 beating  their breasts and     
cheeks1 calling upon ,allah to witness  
their sorrow  and the outrageous tyranny
 of the priests4    ,what has my son    
done to be excommunicated8 ,hear it1 ye 
people1 hear  it4 ,and be just to me and
 my son4 ,what has he done to deserve   
the  anathema of the ,church8 ,what has 
he done8 ,and thus frantic1 mad1 she    
runs through the main street of the     
town1 making wild gestures and          
clamours1--publishing1 as it were1 the  
,patriarchal ,bull1 before it was  read 
by the priest on the following day1 and 
tacked on the door of the  ,church4     
,of this ,bull1 tricked with the stock  
phrases of the ,church of the  ,middle  
,ages1 such as anathema be he1 or banned

 be he1 who  speaks with1 deals with1   
and so forth1 we have a copy before us4 
,but our readers will not pardon us1 we 
fear1 if further space and              
consideration be here given to its      
contents4 ,suffice it to say1  however1 
that ,khalid comes to church on that    
fatal day1 takes the  foolscap sheet    
down from the door1 and1 going with it  
to the  town-square1 burns it there     
before the multitudes4    ,and it came  
to pass1 when the ,bull is burned in the
 town-square of  ,baalbek1 in the last  
year of the reign of ,abd'ul-,hamid1    
some among the  multitudes shout loud   
shouts of joy1 and some cast stones4    
,then1 foul1 vehement speaking falleth  
between the friends and the  enemies of 
him who wrought evil in the sight of the
 ,lord2    ,and every one thereupon     
brandisheth a stick or taketh up a stone
 and  the battle ensueth4    ,now1 the  
mighty troops of the ,sultan of the     
,ottomans come forth like  the ,yaman   
wind and stand in the town-square like  

rocks2    ,and the battle rageth still1 
and the troops who are come forth to    
part  the fighting multitudes1 having   
gorged themselves at the last meal1  can
 not as much as speak their part3       
,and it came to pass1 when the clubs and
 spades are veiled and the  battle      
subsideth of itself1 the good people    
return to their respective  callings and
 trades2    ,but the perverse           
recalcitrants which remain--and ,khalid 
the ,baalbekian  is among them--are     
taken by the aforesaid overfed troops to
 the ,city  ,hall and thence to the     
velayet prison in ,damascus4    ,and    
here endeth our stichometrics of the    
,battle of the ,bull4    ,now1 ,shakib  
may wear out his shoes this time1 his   
tongue1 too1 and his  purse1 but to no  
purpose4 ,behold1 your friend the       
kaimkam is gloomy  and impassive as a   
camel2 what can you do8 ,whisper in his 
ear8 ,the  ,padres have done that before
 you4 ,slip a purse into his pocket8    
,they  have done that1 too1 and overdone

 it long since4 ,yes1 the ,city ,hall of
  every city in the ,empire is an       
epitome of ,yildiz ,kiosk4 ,and your    
kaimkams1 and valis1 and viziers1 have  
all been taught in the  same            
,text-,book1 at the same ,political     
,school1 and by the same  ,professor4   
,let ,khalid rest1 therefore and ponder 
these matters in  silence4 ,for in the  
,city ,hall and during the month he     
passes in the  prison of ,damascus1 we  
are told1 he does not utter a word4 ,his
  partisans in prison ask to be taught  
his creed1 and among these are  some    
,mohammadans3 ,we'll burn the priests   
and their church yet and  follow you4   
,by our ,prophet ,mohammad we will 444  
,khalid makes no  reply4 ,even ,shakib1 
when he comes to visit him1 finds him   
dumb as a  stone1 slain by adversity and
 disease4 ,nothing can be done now4 ,the
  giant excommunicated1 incommunicative 
soul1 struggling in a prison of  sore   
flesh1 we must leave1 alas1 with his    
friends and partisans to  pass his      

thirty days and nights in the second    
prison of stone4    ,now1 let us return 
to the ,jesuits1 who1 having worsted    
,khalid1 or the  ,devil in ,khalid1 as  
they charitably put it1 will also       
endeavour to do  somewhat in the        
interest of his intended bride4 ,for the
 ,padres1 in  addition to their many    
crafts and trades1 are matrimonial      
brokers of  honourable repute4 ,and in  
their meddling and making1 their baiting
 and  mating1 they are as serviceable as
 the ,column ,personal of an ,american  
newspaper4 ,whoso is matrimonially      
disposed shall whisper his mind at  the 
,confessional or drop his advertisement 
in the pocket of the  visiting ,columns 
of their ,bride-,dealer1 and he shall   
prosper4 ,she as  well as he shall      
prosper4    ,now1 ,father ,farouche is  
commissioned to come all the way from   
,zahleh  to visit the brother of        
,abu-,khalid their porter1 and bespeak  
him in  the interest of his daughter4   
,all their faculties of persuasion shall

  be exerted in behalf of ,najma4 ,she  
must be saved at any cost4 ,hence  they 
volunteer their services4 ,and while    
,khalid is lingering in prison  at      
,damascus1 they avail themselves of the 
opportunity to further the  suit of     
their pickle-herring candidate for      
,najma's love4    ,the ,reverend        
,farouche1 therefore1 holds a secret    
conference with her  father4    ,no1    
says he1 ,god would never have forgiven 
you for giving your  daughter to one    
utterly destitute of morality1 religion1
 money1 and  health4 ,but praise ,allah6
 the ,church has come to her rescue4    
,she shall  be saved1 wrested from the  
hands of ,iblis4 ,yes1 ,holy ,church1   
through  us1 will guide her to find a   
god-fearing life-companion2 one worthy  
of  her charms1 her virtues1 her fine   
qualities of heart and mind4 ,the  young
 man we recommend is rich1 respected in 
the community2 is an  official of the   
,government with a third-class ,medjidi 
decoration and  the title of ,bey2 and  

is free from all diseases4 ,moreover1 he
 is a  good ,catholic4 ,consider these  
advantages4 ,a relation this1 which no  
father would reject1 if he loves his    
daughter and is solicitous of her       
future well-being4 ,speak to her1       
therefore1 and let us know soon your    
mind4    ,and our ,scribe1 in relating  
of this1 loses his temper4--,an         
,official  of the ,government1 a ,bey   
with a third-class ,medjidi decoration  
from the ,sultan6 ,as if ,officialdom   
could not boast of a single             
scoundrel--as if any rogue in the       
,empire1 with a few gold coins in his   
purse1 were not eligible to the         
,hamidian decorations6 ,and a           
third-class decoration6 ,why1 ,i have it
 on good authority that  these ,medjidi 
,orders were given to a certain         
,patriarch in a bushel to  distribute   
among his minions4444    ,but to our    
subject4 ,abu-,najma does not look upon 
it in this light4 ,a  decorated and     
titled son-in-law were a great honour   

devoutly to be  wished4 ,and some days  
after the first conference1 the ,padre  
,farouche  comes again1 bringing along  
his ,excellency the third-class ,medjidi
  ,bey2 but ,najma1 as they enter and   
salaam1 goes out on the terrace roof  to
 weep4 ,the third time the third-class  
,medjidi ,dodo comes alone4 ,and        
,najma1 as soon as she catches a glimpse
 of him1 takes up her earthen  jar and  
hies her to the spring4    ,o the hinny6
 ,i'll rope noose her 7hang her7        
to-night1 murmurs the  father4 ,but here
 is his ,excellency with his ,sultan's  
green button in  his lapel4 ,abu-,najma 
bows low1 rubs his hands well1 offers a 
large  cushion1 brings a masnad 7leaning
 pillow71 and blubbers out many         
unnecessary apologies4    ,this honour  
is great1 your ,excellency--overlook our
 shortcomings--our  beit 7one room      
house7 can not contain our shame--it is 
not becoming  your ,excellency's high   
rank--overlook--you have condescended to
 honour  us1 condescend too to be       

indulgent4--,my daughter8 yes1          
presently4 ,she  is gone to church1 to  
mass1 but she'll return soon4    ,but   
,najma is long gone2 returns not2 and   
the third-class ,dodo  will call again  
to-morrow4 ,now1 ,abu-,najma brings out 
his rope1  soaps it well1 nooses and    
suspends it from the rafter in the      
ceiling4 ,and when his daughter returns 
from the spring1 he takes  her by the   
arm1 shows her the rope1 and tells her  
laconically  to choose between his      
,excellency and this4 ,poor ,najma has  
not  the courage to die1 and so soon4   
,her cousin ,khalid is in prison1  is   
excommunicated--what can she do8 ,run   
away8 ,the ,church will  follow         
her--punish her4 ,there's something     
satanic in ,khalid--the  ,church said   
so--the ,church knows4 ,najma rolls     
these things in her  mind1 looks at her 
father beseechingly4 ,her father points 
to the  noose4 ,najma falls to weeping4 
,the noose serves well its purpose4     
,for hereafter1 when the ,dodo comes    

decorated1 ,,she has to offer him the   
cushion1 bring him the masnad1 make for 
him the coffee4 ,and  eventually1 as the
 visits accumulate1 she goes with him to
 the  dress-maker in ,beirut4 ,the      
bridal gown shall be of the conventional
  silk this time2 for his ,excellency is
 travelled1 and knows and  reverences   
the fashion4 ,but why prolong these     
painful details8    ,allah1 in the      
mysterious working of his ,providence1  
says ,shakib1  preordained it thus3     
,khalid1 having served his turn in      
prison1 ,najma  begins her own2 for a   
few days after he was set free1 she was 
placed  in bonds forged for her by the  
,jesuits4 ,now1 when ,khalid returned   
from  ,damascus1 he came straightway to 
me and asked that we go to see ,najma   
and try to prevail upon her1 to persuade
 her to go with him1 to run  away4 ,they
 would leave on the night-train to ,hama
 this time1 and  thence set forth       
towards ,palmyra4 ,i myself did not know
 what had  happened1 and so ,i approved 

of his plan4 ,but alas6 as we were      
coming  down the main ,street to        
,najma's house1 we heard the sound of   
tomtoms  in the distance and the shrill 
ulluluing of women4 ,we continued apace 
until we reached the by-way through     
which we had to pass1 and lo1 we  find  
it choked by the zeffah 7wedding        
procession7 of none but she  and the    
third-class ,medjidi4444                
99       99       99       99       99  
,but we'll no more of this6 ,too tragic1
 too much like fiction it  sounds1 that 
here abruptly we must end this ,chapter4
          ,,chapter ,,viii    ,,the     
,,kaaba ,,of ,,solitude                 
,disappointed1 distraught1              
diseased1--worsted by the ,jesuits1     
excommunicated1 crossed in love1--but   
with an eternal glint of  sunshine in   
his breast to open and light up new     
paths before him1  ,khalid1 after the   
fatal episode1 makes away from ,baalbek4
 ,he suddenly  disappears4 ,but where he
 lays his staff1 where he spends his    

months of  solitude1 neither ,shakib nor
 our old friend the sandomancer can say4
  ,somewhither he still is1 indeed2 for 
though he fell in a swoon as he  saw    
,najma on her caparisoned palfrey and   
the decorated ,excellency  coming up    
along side of her1 he was revived soon  
after and persuaded  to return home4    
,but on the following morning1 our      
,scribe tells us1  coming up to the     
booth1 he finds neither ,khalid there1  
nor any of his  few worldly belongings4 
,we1 however1 have formed a theory of   
our own1  based on certain of his       
writings in the ,k4 ,l4 ,,ms41 about his
  mysterious levitation2 and we believe 
he is now somewhither whittling  arrows 
for a coming combat4 ,in the ,lebanon   
mountains perhaps4 ,but we  must not dog
 him like the ,jesuits4 ,rather let us  
reverence the privacy  of man1 the      
sacredness of his religious retreat4    
,for no matter where  he is in the      
flesh1 we are metaphysically certain of 
his existence4  ,and instead of filling 

up this ,chapter with the bitter        
bickerings of  life and the wickedness  
and machination of those in power1 let  
us  consecrate it to the divine peace   
and beauty of ,nature4 ,of a number of  
,chapters in the ,book of ,khalid on    
this subject1 we choose the one         
entitled1 ,my ,native ,terraces1 or     
,spring in ,syria1 symbolising the      
natural succession to ,khalid's ,winter 
of destiny4 ,in it are signal           
manifestations of the triumph of the    
soul over the diseases and  adversities 
and sorrows of mortal life4 ,indeed1    
here is an example of  faith and power  
and love which we reckon sublime4       
99       99       99       99       99  
,the inhabitants of my terraces and     
terrace walls1 we translate1  dressed in
 their ,sunday best1 are in the doorways
 lounging or peeping  idly through their
 windows4 ,and why not8 ,it is ,spring1 
and to these  delicate1 sweet little    
creatures1 ,spring is the one ,sunday of
 the  year4 ,have they not hugged the   

damp1 dark earth long enough8 ,hidden   
from the wrath of ,winter1 have they not
 squatted patiently round the           
primitive1 smokeless fire of the mystic 
depths8 ,and now1 the rain  having      
partly extinguished the inner1 hidden   
flame1 they come out to  bask in the    
sun1 and drink deeply of the ambrosial  
air4 ,they come1  almost slain with     
thirst1 to the ,mother ,fountain4 ,they 
come out to  worship at the shrine of   
the sweet-souled1 ,god-absorbed ,rabia  
of  ,attar4 ,in their bright1 glowing   
faces what a delectable message from    
the under world of romance and          
enchantment6 ,their lips are red with   
the kisses of love1 in whose alembics1  
intangible1 unseen1 the dark  and damp  
of the earth are translated into warmth 
and colour and shade4  ,ay1 these dear  
little children1 unfolding their soft   
green scrolls and  reading aloud such   
odes on ,modesty and ,beauty1 are as    
inspiring as the  star-crowned night4   
,and every chink in my terrace walls    

seems to  breathe a message of sweetness
 and light and love4    ,know you not   
the anecdote about the enchanting       
,goddess ,rabia1 as  related by ,attar  
in his ,biographies of ,sufi ,mystics   
and ,saints8 ,here  it is4 ,rabia was   
asked if she hated the devil1 and she   
replied1 ',no4'  ,asked again why1 she  
said1 ',being absorbed in love1 ,i have 
no time to  hate4' ,now1 all the        
inhabitants of my terraces and fields   
seem to echo  this sublime sentiment of 
their ,goddess4 ,the air and sunshine1  
nay1  the very rocks are imbued with it4
 ,see1 how the fissures in the  boulders
 yonder seem to sympathise with the gaps
 in the terrace walls3  the cyclamen    
leaves in the one are salaaming the     
cyclamen flowers in  the other4 ,o1     
these terraces would have delighted the 
heart of the  ,american naturalist      
,thoreau4 ,he could not have desired    
stone walls  with more gaps in them4    
,but mind you1 these are not dark1 ugly1
  hollow1 hopeless chinks4 ,behind every

 one of them lurks a mystery4 ,far  back
 in the niches ,i can see the busts of  
the poets who wrote the  poems which    
these beautiful wild flowers are reading
 to me4 ,yes1 the  authors are dead1 and
 what ,i behold now are the flowers of  
their  amours4 ,these are the offspring 
of their embraces1 the crystallised  dew
 of their love4 ,yes1 this one single1  
simple act of love brings  forth an     
infinite variety of flowers to celebrate
 the death of the  finite outward shape 
and the eternal essence of life         
perennial4 ,in  complete surrender lies 
the divineness of things eternal4 ,this 
is the  key-note of the ,oriental mystic
 poets4 ,and ,i incline to the belief   
that they of all bards have sung best   
the song of love4 ,in rambling  through 
the fields with these beautiful children
 of the terraces1 ,i  know not what     
draws me to ,al-,fared1 the one         
erotic-mystic poet of  ,arabia1 whose   
interminable rhymes have a perennial    
charm4 ,perhaps such  lines as these1-- 

',all that is fair is fairer when she   
rises1         ,all that is sweet is    
sweeter when she is here2       ,and    
every form of beauty she surprises      
,with one brief word she whispers in its
 ear3        ',thy wondrous charms1 ,o  
let them not deceive thee2         ,they
 are but borrowed from her for a while2 
,thine outward guise and loveliness     
would grieve thee1         ,if in thine 
inmost soul she did not smile4          
',all colours1 forms1 into each other   
merging1         ,are woven on her ,loom
 of ,unity2       ,for she alone is ,one
 in ,all diverging1         ,and she    
alone is absolute and free4'    ,now1 ,i
 will bring you to a scene most         
curiously suggestive4 ,behold  that     
little knot of daisies pressing around  
the alone anemone beneath  the spreading
 leaves of the colocasia4 ,here is a    
rout at the ,countess  ,casiacole's1 and
 these are the dbutantes crowding around
 the  ,celebrity of the day4 ,but would 
they do so if they were sensible of     

their own worth1 if they knew that their
 idol1 flaunting the crimson  crown of  
popularity1 had no more1 and perhaps    
less1 of the pure  essence of life than 
any of them8 ,but let ,celebrity stand  
there and  enjoy her hour2 to-morrow the
 ,ploughman will come4                  
99       99       99       99       99  
,the sage1 with its spikes of greyish   
blue flowers1 its fibrous1  velvety     
leaves1 its strong1 pungent perfume1    
which is not squandered  or repressed1  
is the stoic of my native terraces4 ,it 
responds  generously to the personal    
touch1 and serves the ,lebanonese1 rich 
and  poor alike1 with a little luxury4  
,ay1 who of us1 wandering on foreign    
strands1 does not remember the warm     
foot-bath1 perfumed with sage  leaves1  
his mother used to give him before going
 to bed8 ,our dear  mothers6--,and here1
 ,khalid goes in raptures and tears     
about his sorry  experience in ,baalbek 
and the anguish and sorrow of his poor  
mother4  ,but while ,i stand1 he        

continues1 let me be like the sage1 a   
live-oak among shrubs1 indifferent as   
the oak or pine to the winds and        
storms4 ,and as the sun is setting1 find
 you no solace in the thought1  ,o      
,khalid1 that some angel herb-gatherer  
will preserve the perfume in  your      
leaves1 to refresh therewith in other   
worlds your dear poor  mother8    ,my   
native terraces are rich with faith and 
love1 luxuriant with the  life divine   
and the wondrous symbols thereof4 ,and  
the grass here is  not cut and trimmed  
as in the artificial gardens and the    
cold dull  lawns of city folk1 whose    
love for ,nature is either an           
experiment1 a  sport1 a business1 or a  
fad4 ',a dilettantism in ,nature is     
barren and  unworthy1' says ,emerson4   
,but of all the lovers of ,nature1 the  
children  are the least dilettanteish4  
,and every day here ,i see a proof of   
this4  ,behold them wading to their     
knees in that lusty grass1 hunting the  
classic lotus with which to deck their  

olive branches for the high  mass and   
ceremony of ,palm ,sunday4 ,but alas1 my
 lusty grass and my  beautiful wild     
flowers do not enjoy the morning of     
,spring4 ,here1 the  ploughman comes1   
carrying his long plough and goad on his
 shoulder1  and with him his wife       
lugging the yoke and his boy leading the
 oxen4  ,alas1 the sun shall not set on 
these bright1 glowing1 green terraces1  
whose walls are very ramparts of        
flowers4 ,there1 the boy with his       
scythe is paving the way for his        
father's plough2 the grass is mowed  and
 given to the oxen as a bribe to do the 
ugly business4 ,and all for  the sake of
 the ugly mulberries1 which are         
cultivated for the ugly  silk-worms4    
,come1 let us to the heath1 where the   
hiss of the scythe  and the 'ho-back'   
and 'oho' of the ploughman are not      
heard4    ,but let us swing from the    
road4 ,come1 the hedges of ,nature are  
not as  impassable as the hedges of man4
 ,through these scrub oaks and wild     

pears1 between this tangle of thickets1 
over the clematis and  blackberry       
bush1--and here we are under the pines1 
the lofty and  majestic pines4 ,how     
different are these natural hedges1     
growing in  wild disorder1 from the ugly
 cactus fences with which my neighbours 
choose to shut in their homes1 and even 
their souls4 ,but my business  now is   
not with them4 ,there are my friends the
 children again  gathering the          
pine-needles of last summer for lighting
 the fire of the  silk-worm nursery4    
,and down that narrow foot-path1        
meandering around  the boulders and     
disappearing among the thickets1 see    
what big loads  of brushwood are moving 
towards us4 ,beneath them my swarthy and
 hardy  peasants are plodding up the    
hill asweat and athirst4 ,when ,i first 
descended to the wadi1 one such load of 
brushwood emerging suddenly  from behind
 a cliff surprised and frightened me4   
,but soon ,i was  reminded of the moving
 forest in ,macbeth4 ,the man bowed     

beneath the  load was hidden from view1 
and the boy directly behind was sweating
  under a load as big as that of his    
father4 ',awafy6' 7,allah give you      
strength71 ,i said1 greeting them4 ',and
 increase of health to you1'  they      
replied4 ,i then asked the boy how far  
down do they have to go for  their      
brushwood1 and laying down his load on a
 stone to rest1 he  points below1       
saying1 ',here1 near the river4' ,but   
this ',here1 near the  river' is more   
than four hours' walk from the          
village4--,allah preserve  you in your  
strength1 my ,brothers4 ,and they pass  
along1 plodding  slowly under their     
overshadowing burdens4 ,a hard-hearted  
,naturalist1  who goes so deep into     
,nature as to be far from the vital core
 even as  the dilettante1 might not have
 any sympathy to throw away on such     
occasions4 ,but of what good is the love
 of ,nature that consists only  in      
classification and dissection8 ,i carry 
no note-book with me when ,i  go down   

the wadi or out into the fields4 ,i am  
content if ,i bring back  a few         
impressions of some reassuring instance 
of faith1 a few  pictures1 and an armful
 of wild flowers and odoriferous shrubs4
 ,let  the learned manual maker concern 
himself with the facts2 he is content   
with jotting down in his note-book the  
names and lineage of every  insect and  
every herb4    ,but ,man8 ,what is he to
 these scientific ,naturalists8 ,if they
 meet a  stranger on the road1 they pass
 him by1 their eyes intent on the       
breviary of ,nature1 somewhat after the 
fashion of my priests1 who are  fond of 
praying in the open-air at sundown4 ,no1
 ,i do not have to prove  to my         
,brothers that my love of ,nature is but
 second to my love of  life4 ,i am      
interested in my fellow men as in my    
fellow trees and  flowers4 ',the beauty 
of ,nature1' ,emerson again1 'must      
always seem  unreal and mocking until   
the landscape has human figures1 that   
are as  good as itself4' ,and 'tis well1

 if they are but half as good4 ,to me1  
the discovery of a woodman in the wadi  
were as pleasing as the  discovery of a 
woodchuck or a woodswallow or a         
woodbine4 ,for in the  soul of the      
woodman is a song1 ,i muse1 as sweet as 
the rhythmic  strains of the goldfinch1 
if it could be evoked4 ,but the soul    
plodding  up the hill under its heavy   
overshadowing burden1 what breath has it
  left for song8 ,the man bowed beneath 
the load1 the soul bowed beneath  the   
man6 ,alas1 ,i seem to behold but moving
 burdens in my country4 ,and  yet1 my   
swarthy and shrunken1 but firm-fibred   
people plod along1  content1 patient1   
meek2 and when they reach the summit of 
the hill  with their crushing burdens1  
they still have breath enough to troll a
  favourite ditty or serenade the night4
        ',i come to thee1 ,o ,night1    
,i'm at thy feet2       ,i can not see1 
,o ,night1         ,but thy breath is   
sweet4'    ,and so is the breath of the 
pines4 ,here1 the air is surcharged with

  perfume4 ,in it floats the aromatic   
soul of many a flower4 ,but the         
perfume-soul of the pines seems to tower
 over all others1 just as its  material 
shape lifts its artistic head over the  
oak1 the cercis1 and  the terabinth4    
,and though tall and stately1 my native 
pines are not  forbidding4 ,they are so 
pruned that the snags serve as a most   
convenient ladder4 ,such was my pleasure
 mounting for the green cones1  the     
salted pinons of which are delicious4   
,but ,i confess they seem to  stick in  
the stomach as the pitch of the cones   
sticks on the hands4  ,this1 however1   
though it remains for days1 works no    
evil2 but the  pinons in the stomach1   
and the stomach on the nerves1--that is 
a  different question4    ,the only     
pines ,i have seen in the ,united       
,states are those in front of           
,emerson's house in ,concord2 but       
compared with my native trees1 they  are
 scrubby and mean4 ,these pine parasols 
under which ,i lay me1  forgiving and   

forgetting1 are fit for the gods4 ,and  
although closely  planted1 they grow and
 flourish without much ado4 ,i have seen
 spots  not exceeding a few hundred     
square feet holding over thirty trees1  
and  withal stout and lusty and         
towering4 ,indeed1 the floor of the     
,tent  seems too narrow at times for its
 crowded guests2 but beneath the        
surface there is room for every root1   
and over it1 the sky is broad  enough   
for all4    ,ah1 the bewildering vistas 
through the variegated pillars1 taking  
in  a strip of sea here1 a mountain peak
 there1 have an air of enchantment  from
 which no human formula can release a   
pilgrim-soul4 ,they remind  me--no2 they
 can not remind me of anything more     
imposing4 ,but when ,i  was visiting the
 great ,mosques of ,cairo ,i was        
reminded of them4 ,yes1  the pine       
forests are the great mosques of        
,nature4 ,and for art-lovers1  what     
perennial beauty of an antique art is   
here4 ,these majestic  pillars arched   

with foliage1 propping a light-green    
ceiling1 from  which cones hang in pairs
 and in clusters1 and through which     
curiously  shaped clouds can be seen    
moving in a cerulean sky2 and at night1 
instead of the clouds1 the stars--the   
distant1 twinkling1 white and  blue     
stars--what to these are the decorations
 in the ancient mosques8  ,there1 the   
baroques1 the arabesques1 the colourings
 gorgeous1 are  dead1 at least          
inanimate2 here1 they palpitate with    
life4 ,the moving1  swelling1 flaming1  
flowing life is mystically interwoven in
 the  evergreen ceiling and the stately 
colonnades4 ,ay1 even the horizon       
yonder1 with its planets and            
constellations rising and setting ever1 
is a part of the ceiling decoration4    
,here in this grand ,mosque of ,nature1 
,i read my own ,korn4 ,i1 ,khalid1  a   
,beduin in the desert of life1 a        
vagabond on the highway of thought1  ,i 
come to this glorious ,mosque1 the only 
place of worship open to me1  to heal my

 broken soul in the perfumed atmosphere 
of its celestial  vistas4 ,the mihrabs  
here are not in this direction nor in   
that4 ,but  whereso one turns there are 
niches in which the living spirit of    
,allah is ever present4 ,here1 then1 ,i 
prostrate me and read a few  ,chapters  
of ,,my ,holy ,book4 ,after which ,i    
resign myself to my eternal  ,mother and
 the soft western breezes lull me       
asleep4 ,yea1 and even like  my poor    
brother ,moslem sleeping on his hair-mat
 in a dark corner of  his airy ,mosque1 
,i dream my dream of contentment and    
resignation and  love4    ,see the      
ploughman strutting home1 his goad in   
his hand1 his plough on  his shoulder1  
as if he had done his duty4 ,allah be   
praised1 the  flowers in the            
terrace-walls are secure4 ,that is why1 
,i believe1 my  ,american brother       
,thoreau liked walls with many gaps in  
them4 ,the sweet  wild daughters of     
,spring can live therein their natural  
life without  being molested by the     

scythe or the plough4 ,allah be praised 
a hundred  times and one4               
,,chapter ,,ix    ,,signs ,,of ,,the    
,,hermit      ,although we claim some   
knowledge of the ,lebanon mountains1    
having  landed there in our journey     
earthward1 and having since then1 our   
limbs waxing firm and strong1 made many 
a journey through them1 we  could not1  
after developing1 through many readings1
 ,khalid's spiritual  films1 identify   
them with the vicinage which he made his
 ,kaaba4 ,on  what hill1 in what wadi1  
under what pines did he ruminate and    
extravagate1 we could not from these    
idealised pictures ascertain4 ,for  a   
spiritual film is other than a          
photographic one4 ,a poet's lens is     
endowed with a seeing eye1 an insight1  
and a faculty to choose and  compose4   
,hence the difficulty in tracing the    
footsteps of ,fancy--in  locating its   
cave1 its nest1 or its ,kaaba4 ,his     
pine-mosque we could  find anywhere1 at 
any altitude2 his vineyards1 too1 and   

his glades2  for our mountain scenery1  
its beauty alternating between the      
placid  and the rugged--the tame terrace
 soil and the wild1 forbidding          
majesty--is allwhere almost the same4   
,but where in these rocky and  cavernous
 recesses of the world can we to-day    
find the ancient ,lebanon  troglodyte1  
whom ,khalid has seen1 and visited in   
his hut1 and even  talked with8 ,it is  
this that forces us to seek his         
diggings1 to trace1  if possible1 his   
footsteps4    ,in the ,k4 ,l4 ,,ms41 as 
we have once remarked and more than once
 hinted1  we find much that is unduly   
inflated1 truly ,oriental2 much that is 
platitudinous1 ludicrous1 which we have 
suppressed4 ,but never could we         
question the ,author's veracity and     
sincerity of purpose4 ,whether he       
crawled like a zophyte1 soared like an  
eagle1 or fought1 like ,ali1  the giants
 of the lower world1 he is genuine1 and 
oft-times amusingly  truthful4 ,but the 
many questionable pages on this curious 

subject of  the eremite1 what are we to 
do with them8 ,if they are imaginary1   
there  is too much in this ,book against
 quackery to daunt us4 ,and yet1 if     
,khalid has found the troglodyte1 whom  
we thought to be an extinct  species1 he
 should have left us a few legends about
 it4    ,we have visited the ancient    
caverns of the ,lebanon troglodytes in  
the  cliffs overhanging the river of    
,wadi ,kadeesha1 and found nothing there
  but blind bats1 and mosses1 and dreary
 vacuity4 ,no1 not a vestage of  the    
fossil is there1 not a skull1 not a     
shinbone4 ,we have also  inquired in the
 monasteries near the ,cedars1 and we   
were frankly told  that no monk to-day  
fancies such a life4 ,and if he did1 he 
would not  give his brother monks the   
trouble of carrying his daily bread to a
  cave in those forbidden cliffs4 ,and  
yet1 ,simeon ,stylites1 he of the       
,pillar1 who remained for thirty years  
perched on the top of it1 was a  ,syrian
 shepherd4 ,but who of his descendants  

to-day would as much as  pass one night 
on the top of that pillar8 ,curious     
eleemosynary phases  of our monkish     
system1 these modern times reveal4      
,on our way from a journey to the       
,cedars1 while engaged in the present   
,work1 we passed through a pine forest1 
in which were some tangled  bushes of   
the clematis4 ,the muleteer stops near  
one of these and  stoops to reach       
something he had seen therein4 ,no      
treasure-trove1  alas1 as he supposed2  
but merely a book for which he lacerated
 his  hands and which he cursed and     
handed to us1 saying1 ,this must be the 
breviary of some monk4    ,no1 it was an
 ,english book1 and of ,american origin1
 and of a kind  quite rare in ,america4 
,indeed1 here were a find and surprise  
as  agreeable as ,khalid's sweetbrier   
bush4 ,henry ,thoreau's ,week6 ,what a  
miracle of chance4 ,whose this mutilated
 copy of the ,week1 we  thought8 ,who in
 these mountains1 having been in        
,america1 took more  interest in the    

,dreamer of ,walden ,woods than in      
peddling and trading8  ,we walk our     
mule1 looking about in vague1 restless  
surprise1 as if  seeking in the woods a 
lost companion1 and lo1 we reach a      
monarch pine  on which is carved the    
name of--,khalid6 ,this book1 then1 must
 be his2  the name on the pine tree is  
surely his own2 we know his hand as well
  as his turn of mind4 ,but who can say 
if this be his ,kaaba1 this his         
pine-mosque8 ,might he not only have    
passed through these glades to  other   
parts8 ,signs1 indeed1 are here of his  
feet and hands1 if not of  his          
tent-pegs4 ,and what signifies his stay8
 ,no matter how long he  might have put 
up here1 it is but a passage1 deeply    
considered3 like  ,thoreau's passage    
through ,walden woods1 like ,mohammad's 
through the  desert4    ,this leisure   
hour is the nipple of the soul4 ,and    
fortunate they who  are not artificially
 suckled1 who know this hour no matter  
how brief1  who get their nipple at the 

right time4 ,if they do not1 no pabulum 
ever after1 will their indurated tissues
 assimilate4 ,do you wonder why  the    
world is full of crusty souls8 and why  
to them this infant  hour1 this suckling
 while1 is so repugnant8 ,but we must   
not intrude  more of such remarks about 
mankind4 ,whether rightly suckled or    
not1  we manage to live2 but whether we 
do so marmot-like or ,maronite-like1  is
 not the question here to be considered4
 ,to pray for your bread  or to burrow  
in the earth for it1 is it not the same 
with most people8  ,given a missionary  
with a ,bible in his hip-pocket or a    
peasant with  a load of brushwood on his
 back and the same gastric coefficient1 
and  you will have in either case a     
resulting expansion for six feet of     
coffin ground and a fraction of ,allah's
 mercy4 ,our poor missionary1  is it    
worth while to cross the seas for this8 
,marmot-like or  ,maronite-like--but    
soft you know6 ,here is our peasant with
 his  overshadowing load of brushwood4  

,and there is another1 and another4     
,they are carrying fuel to the lime-pit 
ahead of us yonder4 ,what  brow-sweat1  
what time1 what fire1 what suffering and
 patient toil1  the lime-washing1 or    
mere liming1 of our houses and          
sepulchres1  requires4 ,that cone       
structure there1 that artificial        
volcano1 with its  crackling1 flaming   
bowels and its fuliginous1 coruscating  
crater1  must our hardy peasants feed   
continually for twenty days and nights4 
,but the book and the name on the pine1 
we would know more of these  signs1 if  
possible4 ,and so1 we visit the         
labourers of the kiln4 ,they  are       
ydling1 the while they work1 and jesting
 and laughing4 ,the  stokers1 with      
flaming1 swollen eyes1 their tawny      
complexion waxing a  brilliant bronze1  
their sweat making golden furrows       
therein1 with  their pikes and          
pitchforks busy1 are terribly           
magnificent to behold4  ,here be men who
 would destroy ,bastilles for you1 if it

 were nominated  in the bond4 ,and there
 is the monk-foreman--the kiln is of the
  monastery's estate--reading his       
breviary while the lime is in making4   
,indeed1 these sodalities of the        
,lebanons are not what their vows and   
ascetic theologies would make them4 ,no 
lean-jowled1 hungry-looking  devotees1  
living in exiguity and droning in       
exinanition their  prayers1--not by any 
means4 ,their flesh-pots are not a few1 
and  their table is a marvel of         
ascetism6 ,and why not1 if their fat    
estates--three-quarter of the lands here
 is held in mortmain by the  clergy--can
 yield anything1 from silk cocoons to   
lime-pits8 ,they  will clothe you in    
silk at least2 they will lime-wash your 
homes and  sepulchres1 if they cannot   
lime-wash anything else4 ,thanks to them
  so long as they keep some reminiscence
 of business in their heads  to keep the
 ,devil out of it4    ,the monk-foreman 
is reading with one eye and watching    
with the other4  ,work1 cries he1 every 

minute wasted is stolen from the abbey4 
,and  whoso steals1 look in the pit3 its
 fire is nothing compared with          
,juhannam4 ,and the argument serves its 
purpose4 ,the labourers hurry  hither   
and thither1 bringing brushwood near2   
the first stoker pitches  to the second1
 the second to the third1 and he feeds  
the flaming1  smoking1 coruscating      
volcano4 ,yallah6 7,keep it up7 exclaims
 the  monk-foreman4 ,burn the devil's   
creed1 cries one4 ,burn hell1 cries     
another4 ,and thus jesting in earnest1  
mightily working and enduring1  they    
burn the mountains into lime1 they make 
the very rocks yield                    
somewhat4--,strength and blessings1     
brothers4    ,after the usual inquiry of
 whence and whither1 his monkship offers
 the  snuff-box4 ,no8 roll you1 then1 a 
cigarette1 taking out a plush pouch     
containing a mixture of the choicest    
native roots4 ,these1 we were  told1 are
 grown on the monastery's estate4 ,we   
speak of the cocoon  products of the    

season4    ,beshrew the mulberries6     
exclaims the monk4 ,we are turning all  
our  estates into fruit orchards and    
orangeries4 ,the cultivation of the     
silk-worm is in itself an abomination4  
,and while its income to-day is  not as 
much as it was ten years ago1 the       
expenditure has risen  twofold4 ,america
 is ruining our agriculture2 and soon1  
,i suppose1 we  have to send to ,china  
for labourers4 ,why1 those who do not   
emigrate  demand twice as much to-day   
for half the work they used to do five  
years ago2 and those who return from    
,america strut about like country       
gentlemen deploring the barrenness of   
their native soil4    ,and one subject  
leading to another1 for our monk is a   
glib talker1 we  come to the            
cheese-makers1 the goatherds4 ,even     
these honest rustics1  says he1 are     
becoming sophisticated 7mafsudin74      
,their cheese is no  longer what it was1
 nor is their faith4 ,for ,civilisation1
 passing by  their huts in some shape or

 other1 whispers in their ears something
  about cleverness and adulteration4    
,and mistaking the one for the  other1  
they abstract the butter from the milk  
and leave the verdigris  in the         
utensils4 ,this lust of gain is one of  
the diseases which come  from ,europe   
and ,america1--it is a plague which even
 the goatherd  cannot escape4 ,why1 do  
you know1 wherever the cheese-monger    
goes these  days ptomaine poison is     
certain to follow4    ,and why does not 
the ,government interfere8 we ask4      
,because the ,government1 replies our   
monk in a dry1 droll air and  gesture1  
does not eat cheese4    ,and the monks1 
we learned1 do not have to buy it4 ,for 
this1 as well as  their butter1 olive   
oil1 and wine1 is made on their own     
estates1 under  their own supervision4  
,yes1 he resumes1 placing his breviary  
in his pocket and taking out  the       
snuff-box2 not long ago one who lived in
 these parts--a young man  from ,baalbek
 he was1 and he had his booth in the    

pine forest  yonder--bought some cheese 
from one of these muleteer              
cheese-mongers1  and after he had eaten 
of it fell sick4 ,it chanced that ,i was
 passing  by on my way to the abbey1    
when he was groaning and retching       
beneath  that pine tree4 ,it was the    
first time ,i saw that young man1 and   
were ,i  not passing by ,i know not what
 would have become of him4 ,i helped him
  to the abbey1 where he was ministered 
to by our physician1 and he  remained   
with us three days4 ,he ate of our      
cheese and drank of our  wine1 and      
seemed to like both very much4 ,and ever
 since1 while he was  here1 he would    
come to the abbey with a basket or a    
tray of his own  make--he occupied      
himself in making wicker-baskets and    
trays--and ask  in exchange some of our 
cheese and olive oil4 ,he was very      
intelligent1  this fellow2 his eyes     
sometimes were like the mouth of this   
pit1 full  of fire and smoke4 ,but he   
was queer4 ,the clock in him was not    

wound  right--he was always ahead or    
behind time1 always complaining that we 
monks did not reckon time as he did4    
,nevertheless1 ,i liked him much1  and  
often would ,i bring him some of our    
cookery4 ,but he never accepted         
anything without giving something in    
exchange4    ,unmistakable signs4       
,and his black turban1 continues the    
monk1 over his long flowing  hair made  
him look like our hermit4 7,strange     
coincidence67 ,on your  way here have   
you not stopped to visit the hermit8    
,not far from the  abbey1 on your right 
hand coming here1 is the ,hermitage4    
,we remember passing a pretty cottage   
surrounded by a vineyard in that  rocky 
wilderness2 but who would mistake that  
for a troglodyte's cave8  ,and this     
young man from ,baalbek1 we ask1 how did
 he live in this  forest8    ,yonder1   
points the monk1 he cleared and cleaned 
for himself a  little space which he    
made his workshop4 ,and up in the pines 
he  constructed a platform1 which he    

walled and covered with boughs4 ,and    
when he was not working or walking1 he  
would be there among the  branches1     
either singing or asleep4 ,i used to    
envy him that nest in  the pines4       
,and did he ever go to church8    ,he   
attended mass twice in our chapel1 on   
,good ,friday and on ,easter  ,sunday1  
,i think4    ,and did he visit the abbey
 often8    ,only when he wanted cheese  
or olive oil4 7,shame1 ,o ,khalid67 ,but
 he  often repaired to the ,hermitage4  
,i went with him once to listen to his  
conversation with the ,hermit4 ,they    
often disagreed1 but never  quarrelled4 
,i like that young man in spite of his  
oddities of thought1  which savoured at 
times of infidelity4 ,but he is honest1 
believe me2  never tells a lie2 and in a
 certain sense he is as pious as our    
,hermit1 ,i think4 ,roll another        
cigarette4    ,thank you4 ,and the      
,hermit1 what is your opinion of him8   
,well1 h'm--h'm--go visit him4 ,a good  
man he is1 but very simple4 ,and        

between us1 he likes money too much4    
,h'm1 h'm1 go visit him4 ,if ,i were    
not engaged at present1 ,i would        
accompany you thither4    ,we thank our 
good monk and retrace our steps to the  
,hermitage1 rolling  meanwhile in our   
mind that awful remark about the        
,hermit's love of  money4 ,blindness and
 ,plague6 even the troglodyte loves and 
worships  thee1 thou silver ,demiurge6  
,we can not believe it4 ,the grudges of 
monks against each other often reach    
darker and more fatal depths4  ,alas1 if
 the faith of the cheese-monger is      
become adulterated1 what  shall we say  
of the faith of our monkhood8 ,if the   
salt of the  earth--but not to the      
nunnery nor to the monkery1 we go4      
,rather let us  to the ,hermitage1      
,reader1 and with an honest heart2 in   
earnest1 not in  sport4                 
,,chapter ,x    ,,the ,,vineyard ,,in   
,,the ,,kaaba      ,this1 then1 is the  
cave of our troglodyte6 ,allah be       
praised1 even the  hermits of the       

,lebanon mountains1 like the prophets of
 ,america and  other electric-age       
species1 are subject to the laws of     
evolution4 ,a  cottage and chapel set in
 a vineyard1 the most beautiful we have 
yet  seen1 looms up in this rocky       
wilderness like an oasis in a desert4   
,for  many miles around1 the vicinage   
presents a volcanic aspect1 wild1       
barren1 howlingly dreary4 ,at the foot  
of ,mt4 ,sanneen in the east1  beyond   
many ravines1 are villages and verdure2 
and from the last  terrace in the       
vineyard one overlooks the deep chasm   
which can boast  of a rivulet in winter4
 ,but in the summer its nakedness is    
appalling4  ,the sun turns its pocket   
inside out1 so to speak1 exposing its   
boulders1 its little windrows of sands1 
and its dry ditches full of  dead fish  
spawn4 ,and the cold1 rocky horizon1    
rising so high and near1  shuts out the 
sea and hides from the ,hermit the glory
 of the sundown4  ,but we can behold its
 effects on ,mt4 ,sanneen1 on the clouds

 above us1  on the glass casements in   
the villages far away4 ,the mountains in
 the  east are mantled with etherial    
lilac alternating with mauve2 the       
clouds are touched with purple and gold2
 the casements in the distance  are     
scintillating with mystical carbuncles3 
the sun is setting in the               
,mediterranean1--he is waving his       
farewell to the hills4    ,we reach the 
first gate of the ,hermitage2 and the   
odour peculiar to  monks and monkeries1 
a mixed smell of mould and incense and  
burning  oil1 greets us as we enter into
 a small open space in the centre of    
which is a ,persian lilac tree4 ,to the 
right is a barbed-wire fence  shutting  
in the vineyard2 directly opposite is   
the door of the chapel2  and near it is 
a wicket before which stands a withered 
old woman4  ,against the wall is a stone
 bench where another woman is seated4   
,as we  enter1 we hear her1 standing at 
the wicket1 talking to some one behind  
the scene4 ,yes1 that is the name of my 

husband1 says she4 ,allah  have mercy on
 his soul1 sighs an exiguous voice      
within2 pray for  him1 pray for him4    
,and the woman1 taking to weeping1      
blubbers out1  ,will thirty masses do1  
think your ,reverence8 ,yes1 that will  
cheer  his soul1 replies the oracle4    
,the old woman thereupon enters the     
chapel1 pays the priest or  serving-monk
 therein1 one hundred piasters for      
thirty masses1 and  goes away in tears4 
,the next woman rises to the gate4 ,i am
 the  mother of--1 she says4 ,ah1 the   
mother of--1 repeats the exiguous       
voice4 ,how are you8 7,she must be an   
old customer47 ,how is your  husband8   
,how are your children8 ,and those in   
,america1 are they  well1 are they      
prosperous8 ,yes1 yes1 your deceased    
son4 ,well1  h'm--h'm--you must come    
again4 ,i can not tell you anything yet4
  ,come again next week4 ,and she1 too1 
visits the chapel1 counts out  some     
money to the serving-monk1 and leaves   
the ,hermitage1 drying  her tears4      

,the ,reader1 who must have recognised  
the squeaking1 snuffling1  exiguous     
voice1 knows not perhaps that the       
,hermit1 in certain moments  of inkhitaf
 7abstraction1 levitation7 has glimpses 
into the  spirit-world and can tell     
while in this otherworldliness how the  
,christian souls are faring1 and how    
many masses those in ,purgatory  need   
before they can rejoin the bosom of     
,father ,abraham4 ,and those who  seek  
consolation and guidance through his    
occult ministrations are  mostly women4 
,but the money collected for masses1 let
 it here be said1  as well as the income
 of the vineyard1 the ,hermit touches   
not4 ,the  monks are the owners of the  
occult establishment1 and they know     
better  than he what to do with the     
revenue4 ,but how far this ancient      
religious ,medium can go in the         
spirit-world1 and how honest he might   
be in his otherworldliness1 let those   
say who have experience in  spookery and
 table-rapping4    ,now1 the women      

having done and gone1 the wicket is     
open1 and the  serving-monk ushers us   
through the dark and stivy corridor to  
the  rear1 where a few boxes marked     
,made in ,america--petroleum boxes1     
these--are offered us as seats4 ,before 
the door of the last cell are a  few    
potsherds in which sweet basil plants   
are withering from thirst4  ,presently1 
the door squeaks1 and one1 not drooping 
like the plants1  comes out to greet us4
 ,this is ,father ,abd'ul-,messiah      
7,servitor of the  ,christ71 as the     
,hermit is called4 ,here1 indeed1 is an 
up-to-date  hermit1 not an antique      
troglodyte4 ,lean and lathy1 he is1 but 
not  hungry-looking2 quick of eye and   
gesture2 quick of step1 too4 ,he seems  
always on the alert1 as if surrounded   
continually with spirits4 ,he is  young1
 withal1 or keeps so1 at least1 through 
the grace and  ministration of ,allah   
and the ,virgin4 ,his long unkempt hair 
and beard  are innocent of a single     
white line4 ,and his health8 ,through my

 five  and twenty years of seclusion1   
said he1 ,i have not known any  disease1
 except1 now and then1 in the spring    
season1 when the sap  begins to flow1 ,i
 am visited by ,allah with chills and   
fever4--,no2 ,i  eat but one meal a     
day4--,yes2 ,i am happy1 ,allah be      
praised1 quite  happy1 very happy4      
,and he lifts his eyes heavenward1 and  
sighs and rubs his hands in  joyful     
satisfaction4 ,to us1 this ,servitor of 
the ,christ seemed not to  have passed  
the climacteric4 ,but truly1 as he      
avowed1 he was entering  the fifth      
lustrum beyond it4 ,such are the        
advantages of the ascetic  life1 and of 
such ascetics the ,kingdom of ,heaven4  
,a man of sixty can  carry twenty years 
in his pocket1 and seem all honesty1 and
 youth1 and  health1 and happiness4     
,we then venture a question about the   
sack-cloth1 a trace of which was  seen  
under his tunic sleeve4 ,and fetching a 
deep sigh1 he gazes on the  drooping    
sweet basils in silence4 ,no1 he likes  

not to speak of these  mortifications of
 the flesh4 ,after some meditation he   
tells us1  however1 that the sack-cloth 
on the first month is annoying1         
torturing4 ,but the flesh1 he continues 
navely1 is inured to it1  as the pile1  
in the course of time1 is broken and    
softened down4 ,and  with an honest look
 in his eyes1 he smiled and sighs his   
assurance4  ,for his ,reverence always  
punctuates his speech with these sweet  
sighs  of joy4 ,the serving-monk now    
comes to whisper a word in his ear1 and 
we are asked to scent the air a while in
 the vineyard4    ,this lovely patch of 
terrace-ground the ,hermit tills and    
cultivates  alone4 ,and so thoroughly   
the work is done that hardly a stone can
 be  seen in the soil4 ,and so even and 
regular are the terrace walls that  one 
would think they were built with line   
and plummet4 ,the vines are  handsomely 
trimmed and trellised1 and here and     
there1 to break the  monotony of the    
rows1 a fig1 an apricot1 an almond1 or  

an olive1  spreads its umbrageous       
boughs4 ,indeed1 it is most cheering in 
the  wilderness1 most refreshing to the 
senses1 this lovely vineyard1 the       
loveliest we have seen4    ,father      
,abd'ul-,messiah might be a descendant  
of ,simeon of the ,pillar  for all we   
know2 but instead of perching on the top
 of it1 he breaks  it down and builds   
with its stones a wall of his vineyard4 
,here he  comes with his serving-monk1  
and we resume the conversation under the
  almond tree4    ,you should come in   
the grape season to taste of my fruits1 
says he4    ,and do you like the grape8 
we ask4    ,yes1 but ,i prefer to       
cultivate it4    ,throughout the season1
 the serving-monk puts in1 and though   
the  grapes be so plentiful1 he tastes  
them not4    ,no8    ,the ,hermit is    
silent2 for1 as we have said1 he is     
reluctant in making  such confessions4  
,virtue1 once bragged about1 once you   
pride yourself  upon it1 ceases to be   
such4    ,in his vineyard the ,hermit is

 most thorough1 even scientific4 ,one   
would think that he believed only in    
work4 ,no2 he does not sprinkle  the    
vines with holy water to keep the grubs 
away4 ,herein he has sense  enough to   
know that only in kabrit 7sulphur7 is   
the phylactery which  destroys the      
phylloxera4    ,and what do you do when 
you are not working in your vineyard or 
praying8    ,i have always somewhat to  
do1 always4 ,for to be idle is to open  
the  door for ,iblis4 ,i might walk up  
and down this corridor1 counting the    
slabs therein1 and consider my time well
 spent4 ,saying which he rises  and     
points to the sky4 ,the purple fringes  
of the clouds are gone to  sable2 the   
lilac tints on the mountains are waxing 
grey2 and the  sombre twilight with his 
torch--the evening star had risen--is   
following in the wake of day2 'tis the  
hour of prayer4    ,but before we leave 
him to his devotion1 we ask to be       
permitted to see  his cell4 ,ah1 that is
 against the monastic rules4 ,we insist4

 ,and with  a h'm1 h'm1 and a shake of  
the head1 he rubs his hands caressingly 
and  opens the door4 ,yes1 the ,reader  
shall peep into this eight by six  cell1
 which is littered all around with      
rubbish1 sacred and profane4  ,in the   
corner is a broken stove with a broken  
pipe attached1--broken  to let some of  
the smoke into the room1 we are told4   
,for smoke1  quoth the ,hermit1 quoting 
the ,doctor1 destroys the microbes--and 
keeps the room warm after the fire goes 
out4    ,in the corner opposite the     
stove is a little altar with the        
conventional icons and gewgaws and a    
number of prayer books lying  pell-mell 
around4 ,nearby is an old pair of shoes1
 in which are stuck a  few candles and  
,st4 ,anthony's ,book of                
,contemplations4 ,in the corner  behind 
the door is a large cage1 a pantry1     
suspended middleway between  the floor  
and ceiling1 containing a few earthen   
pots1 an oil lamp1 and  a jar1 covered  
with a cloth4 ,between the pantry and   

the altar1 on a  hair-mat spread on the 
floor1 sleeps his ,reverence4 ,and his  
bed is not  so hard as you might        
suppose1 ,reader2 for1 to serve your    
curiosity1 we  have been rude enough to 
lift up a corner of the cloth1 and we   
found  underneath a substantial         
mattress6 ,on the bed is his book of    
accounts1  which1 being opened1 when we 
entered1 he hastened to close4    ,you  
keep accounts1 too1 ,reverence8         
,indeed1 so4 ,that is a duty devolved on
 every one with mortal  memory4    ,let 
it not be supposed1 however1 that he has
 charge of the crops4 ,in  his journal  
he keeps the accounts of his masses8    
,and here be evil  sufficient for the   
day4    ,this1 then1 is the inventory of
 ,abd'ul-,messiah's cell4 ,and we do    
not think we have omitted much of       
importance4 ,yes2 in the fourth  corner1
 which we have not mentioned1 are three 
or four petroleum cans  containing      
provisions4 ,from one of these he brings
 out a handful of  dried figs1 from     

another a pinch of incense1 which he    
gives us as a  token of his love and    
blessing4 ,one thing we fain would      
emphasise1  before we conclude our      
account4 ,the money part of this        
eremitic  business need not be harshly  
judged2 for we must bear in mind that   
this honest ,servitor of ,christ is     
strong enough not to have his  will in  
the matter4 ,and remember1 too1 that the
 abbey's bills of  expenses run high4   
,if one of the monks1 therefore1 is     
blessed with a  talent for solitude and 
seclusion1 his brother monks shall      
profit  by it4 ,indeed1 we were told1   
that the income of the ,hermitage1 that 
is1 the sum total in gold of the occult 
and the agricultural  endeavours of     
,abd'ul-,messiah1 is enough to defray   
the yearly  expenditures of the monkery4
 ,further1 we have nothing to say on the
  subject4 ,but ,khalid has4 ,and of his
 lengthy lucubration on ,the ,uses  of  
,solitude1 we cull the following3       
,every one's life at certain times1     

writes he1 is either a ,temple1 a       
,hermitage1 or a ,vineyard3 every one1  
in order to flee the momentary          
afflictions of ,destiny1 takes refuge   
either in ,god1 or in ,solitude1 or  in 
,work4 ,and of a truth1 work is the balm
 of the sore mind of the  world4 ,god   
and ,solitude are luxuries which only a 
few among us  nowadays can afford4 ,but 
he who lives in the three1 though his   
life be  that of a silk larva in its    
cocoon1 is he not individually          
considered  a good man8 ,is he not a    
mystic1 though uncreative1 centre of    
goodness8  ,surely1 his influence1 his  
,me alone considered1 is living and     
benign1  and though it is not           
life-giving4 ,he is a flickering taper  
under a  bushel2 and this1 billah1 were 
better than the pissasphaltum-souls     
which bushels of quackery and pretence  
can not hide4 ,but alas1 that a  good   
man by nature should be so weak as to   
surrender himself entirely  to a lot of 
bad men4 ,for the monks1 my brother     

,hermit1 being a silk  worm in its      
cocoon1 will asphyxiate the larva after 
its work is done1  and utilise the silk4
 ,ay1 after the ,larva dies1 they pickle
 and  preserve it in their chapel for   
the benefit of those who sought its     
oracles in life4 ,let the beef-packers  
of ,america take notice2 the  monks of  
my country are in the market with       
'canned hermits6'    ,and this ,larva1  
be it remembered1 is not subject to     
decay2 a saint  does not decompose in   
the flesh like mortal sinners4 ,one of  
these1 ,i  have been told1 dead fifty   
years ago and now canonised1 can be seen
  yet in one of the monasteries of      
,north ,lebanon1 keeping well his flesh 
and bones together--divinely embalmed4  
,it has been truly said that the  work  
of a good man never dies2 and these     
leathery hermits continue in  death as  
in life to counsel and console the      
,faithful4    ,in the past1 these ,larv1
 not being cultivated for the market1   
continued their natural course of       

development and issued out of their     
silk prisons full fledged moths4 ,but   
those who cultivate them to-day  are in 
sore need4 ,they have masses and        
indulgences to sell2 they have  big     
bills to pay4 ,but whether left to grow 
their wings or not1 their  solitude is  
that of a cocoon larva1 narrow1 stale1  
unprofitable to the  world4 ,while that 
of a philosopher1 a ,thoreau1 for       
instance1 might be  called ,nature's    
filter2 and one1 issuing therefrom      
benefited in every  sense1 morally1     
physically1 spiritually1 can be said to 
have been  filtered through ,solitude4  
,the study of life at a distance is     
inutile2 the study of it at close  range
 is defective4 ,the only method left1   
therefore1 and perhaps the  true one1 is
 that of the artist at his canvas4 ,he  
works at his picture  an hour or two1   
and retires a little to study and       
criticise it from a  distance4 ,it is   
impossible to withdraw entirely from    
life and pretend  to take an interest in

 it4 ,either like my brother ,hermit in 
these  parts1 a spiritual larva in its  
cocoon1 or like a ,thoreau1 who during  
his period of seclusion1 peeped every   
fortnight into the village to  keep up  
at least his practice of human speech4  
,else what is the use of  solitude8 ,a  
life of fantasy1 ,i muse1 is nearer to  
the heart of ,nature  and ,truth than a 
life in sack-cloth and ashes4444    ,and
 yet1 deeply considered1 this eremitic  
business presents another  aspect4 ,for 
does not the eremite through his art of 
prayer and  devotion1 seek an ideal8 ,is
 he not a transcendentalist1 at least in
  the ,german sense of the word8 ,is not
 his philosophy above all the  senses1  
as the term implies1 and common sense   
included8 ,for through  ,mother ,church1
 and with closed eyes1 he will attain   
the ideal1 of  which my ,german         
philosopher1 through the logic-mill1 and
 with eyes  open1 hardly gets a glimpse4
    ,the devout and poetic souls1 and   
though they walk among the crowd1  live 

most of their lives in solitude4        
,through ,mother ,sorrow1 or ,mother    
,fancy1 or ,mother ,church1 they are    
ever seeking the ideal1 which to  them  
is otherwise unattainable4 ,and whether 
a howler of ,turabu or a  member of the 
,french ,academy1 man1 in this penumbra 
of faith and  doubt1 of superstition and
 imagination1 is much the same4 ',the   
higher  powers in us1' says ,novalis1   
'which one day1 as ,genii1 shall fulfil 
our will1 are for the present1 ,muses1  
which refresh us on our toilsome  course
 with sweet remembrances4' ,and the     
jinn1 the fairies1 the  angels1 the     
muses1 are as young and vivacious to-day
 as they were in  the ,arabian and      
,gaelic ,ages of ,romance4    ,but      
whether ,mother ,church or ,poetry or   
,philosophy or ,music be the            
magic-medium1 the result is much the    
same if the motive be not  religiously  
sincere1 sincerely religious1 piously   
pure1 lofty1 and  humane4 ,ay1 my       
,larva-,hermit1 with all his bigotry and

 straitness of  soul1 stands higher than
 most of your artists and poets and     
musicians  of the present day4 ,for a   
life sincerely spent between the ,temple
 and  the ,vineyard1 between devotion   
and honest labour1 producing to one man 
of all mankind some positive good1 is   
not to be compared with the life  which 
oscillates continuously between egoism  
and vanity1 quackery and  cowardice1    
selfishness and pretence1 and which     
never rises1 do what it  may1 above the 
larva state4444    ,let every one       
cultivate with pious sincerity some such
 vineyard  as my ,hermit's and the world
 will not further need reform4 ,for     
through all the vapour and mist of his  
ascetic theology1 through the  tortuous 
chasm of his eremitic logic1 through the
 bigotry and crass  superstition of his 
soul1 ,i can always see the ,vineyard on
 the one  side of his cell1 and the     
,church on the other1 and say to myself3
  ,here be a man who is never idle2 here
 be one who loves the leisure  praised  

by ,socrates1 and hates the sluggishness
 which ,iblis decks and  titivates4 ,and
 if he crawls between his ,church and   
his ,vineyard1 and  burrows in both for 
a solution of life1 nay1 spins in both  
the cocoon  of his ideal1 he ought not  
to be judged from on high4 ,come thou   
near  him2 descend2 descend a little and
 see3 has he not a task1 and  though it 
be of the taper-under-the-bushel kind8  
,has he not a faith  and a sincerity    
which in a ,worm of the ,earth ought to 
be reckoned  sublime8 ',if there were   
sorrow in heaven1' he once said to me1  
'how  many there would continuously     
lament the time they wasted in this     
world8'    ,o my ,brothers1 build your  
,temples and have your ,vineyards1 even 
though it be in the rocky wilderness4   
,illustration          ,,book ,,the     
,,third    ,,in ,,kulmakan              
,illustration    ,,to ,,god#a    ,in the
 religious systems of mankind1 ,i sought
 thee1 ,o ,god1 in  vain2 in their      
machine-made dogmas and theologies1 ,i  

sought thee in  vain2 in their churches 
and temples and mosques1 ,i sought thee 
long1  and long in vain2 but in the     
,sacred ,books of the ,world1 what have 
,i  found8 ,a letter of thy name1 ,o    
,god1 ,i have deciphered in the ,vedas1 
another in the ,zend-,avesta1 another in
 the ,bible1 another in the  ,korn4 ,ay1
 even in the ,book of the ,royal        
,society and in the ,records of  the    
,society for ,psychical ,research1 have 
,i found the diacritical signs  which   
the infant races of this ,planet ,earth 
have not yet learned to  apply to the   
consonants of thy name4 ,the lisping    
infant races of this  ,earth1 when will 
they learn to pronounce thy name entire8
 ,who shall  supply the ,vowels which   
shall unite the ,gutturals of the       
,sacred ,books8  ,who shall point out   
the dashes which compound the opposite  
loadstars  in the various regions of thy
 ,heaven8 ,on the veil of the eternal   
mystery are palimpsests of which every  
race has deciphered a  consonant4 ,and  

through the diacritical marks which the 
seers and  paleologists of the future   
shall furnish1 the various dissonances  
in  thy name shall be reduced1 for the  
sake of the infant races of the  ,earth1
 to perfect harmony4--,,khalid4    -----
     #a ,arabic ,symbol4                
,,chapter ,i    ,,the ,,disentanglement 
,,of ,,the ,,me      ,why this          
exaggerated sense of thine importance1  
,khalid asks himself  in the ,k4 ,l4    
,,ms41 when a little ptomaine in thy    
cheese can poison the  source of thy    
lofty contemplations8 ,why this inflated
 conception of  thy ,me1 when an        
infusion of poppy seeds might lull it to
 sleep1 even  to stupefaction8 ,what    
avails thy logic when a little of the   
,mandragora  can melt the material      
universe into golden1 unfolding         
infinities of  dreams8 ,why take thyself
 so seriously when a leaf of henbane1   
taken by  mistake in thy salad1 can     
destroy thee8 ,but the soul is not      
dependent  on health or disease4 ,the   

soul is the source of both health and   
disease4 ,and life1 therefore1 is either
 a healthy or a diseased state  of the  
soul4    ,one day1 when ,i was rolling  
these questions in my mind1 and working 
on a reed basket to present to my friend
 the ,hermit as a farewell  memento1 his
 serving-monk brings me some dried figs 
in a blue kerchief  and says1 ',my      
,master greets thee and prays thee come 
to him4' ,i do so  the following        
morning1 bringing with me the finished  
basket1 and as ,i  enter the ,hermitage 
court1 ,i find him repairing a stone    
wall in the  vineyard4 ,as he sees me1  
he hastens to put on his cloak that ,i  
might  not remark the sack-cloth he     
wore1 and with a pious smile of         
assurance and thankfulness1 welcomes and
 embraces me1 as is his wont4  ,we sit  
down in the corridor before the chapel  
door4 ,the odorous vapor  of what was   
still burning in the censer within hung 
above us4 ,the holy  atmosphere mantled 
the dread silence of the place4 ,and the

 slow1  insinuating smell of incense1   
like the fumes of gunga1 weighed heavy  
on my eyelids and seemed to brush from  
my memory the cobwebs of time4  ,a      
drowsiness possessed me2 ,i felt like   
one awaking from a dream4 ,i  asked for 
the water jug1 which the ,hermit        
hastened to bring4 ,and  looking through
 the door of the chapel1 ,i saw on the  
altar a burning  cresset flickering like
 the planet ,mercury on a ,december     
morning4 ,how  often did ,i light such a
 cresset when a boy1 ,i mused4 ,yes1 ,i 
was an  acolyte once4 ,i swang the      
censer and drank deep of the incense    
fumes  as ,i chanted in ,syriac the     
service4 ,and ,i remember when ,i made a
  mistake one day in reading the        
,epistle of ,paul1 the priest1 who was  
of  an irascible humour1 took me by the 
ear and made me spell the words ,i      
could not pronounce4 ,and the boys in   
the congregation tittered  gleefully4   
,in my mortification was honey for them4
 ,such was my pride1  nevertheless1 such

 the joy ,i felt1 when1 of all the boys 
that gathered  round the lectern at     
vespers1 ,i was called upon to read in  
the  sinksar 7hagiography7 the ,life of 
the ,saint of the day4    ,i knew then  
that to steal1 for instance1 is a sin2  
and yet1 ,i emptied  the box of wafers  
every morning after mass and shared them
 with the  very boys who laughed at my  
mistakes4 ,one day1 in the purest       
intention1 ,i offered one of these      
wafers to my donkey and he would  not   
eat it4 ,i felt insulted1 and never     
after did ,i pilfer a wafer4  ,now1 as  
,i muse on these sallies of boyish      
waywardness ,i am impressed  with the   
idea that the certainty and daring of   
,ignorance1 or might ,i  say ,innocence1
 are great4 ,indeed1 to the pure        
everything is pure4 ,but  strange to    
relate that as ,i sat in the corridor of
 the ,hermitage and  saw the light      
flickering on the altar1 ,i hankered for
 a wafer1 and was  tempted to go into   
the chapel and filch one4 ,what         

prevented me8 ,alas1  knowledge makes   
sceptics and cowards of us all4 ,and the
 pursuit of  knowledge1 according to my 
,hermit1 nay1 the noblest pursuit1 even 
the  serving of ,god1 ceases to be a    
virtue the moment we begin to enjoy  it4
    ',it is necessary to conquer1 not   
only our instincts1' he continued1  'but
 our intellectual and our spiritual     
passions as well4 ,to force our  will in
 the obedience of a higher will1 to     
leave behind all our  mundane desires in
 the pursuit of the one great desire1   
herein lies  the essence of true virtue4
 ,st4 ,anthony would snatch his hours of
  devotion from the ,devil4 ,even prayer
 to him was a struggle1 an effort  not  
to feel the joy of it4 ,yes1 we must    
always disobey our impulses1  and resist
 the tyranny of our desires4 ,when ,i   
have a strong desire to  pray1 ,i go out
 into the vineyard and work4 ,when ,i   
begin to enjoy my  work in the vineyard1
 ,i cease to do it well4 ,therefore1 ,i 
take up my  breviary4 ,do that which you

 must not do1 when you are suffering1   
and  you will not want to do it again1  
when you are happy4 ,the other day1  one
 who visited the ,hermitage1 spoke to me
 of you1 ,o ,khalid4 ,he said  you were 
what is called an anarchist4 ,and after 
explaining to me what  is meant by      
this--,i never heard of such a religion 
before--,i  discovered to my surprise   
that ,i1 too1 am an anarchist4 ,but     
there is  this difference between us3 ,i
 obey only ,god and the authority of    
,god1  and you obey your instincts and  
what is called the authority of  reason4
 ,yours1 ,o ,khalid1 is a narrow        
conception of anarchy4 ,in truth1  you  
should try to be an anarchist like me3  
subordinate your  personality1 your will
 and mind and soul1 to a higher will and
  intelligence1 and resist with all your
 power everything else4 ,why do  you not
 come to the ,hermitage for a few days  
and make me your  confessor8'    ',i do 
not confess in private1 and ,i can not  
sleep within doors4'    ',you do not    

have to do so2 the booth under the      
almond tree is at your  disposal4 ,come 
for a spiritual exercise of one week    
only4'    ',i have been going through   
such an exercise for a year1 and soon ,i
  shall leave my cloister in the pines4'
    ',what say you8 ,you are leaving our
 neighbourhood8 ,no1 no2 remain  here1  
,o ,khalid4 ,come1 live with me in the  
,hermitage4 ,come back to  ,mother      
,church2 return not to the wicked world4
 ,o ,khalid1 we must  inherit the       
,kingdom of ,allah1 and we can not do so
 by being anarchist  like the prowlers  
of the forest4 ,meditate on the         
insignificance and  evanescence of human
 life4'    ',but it lies within us1 ,o  
my ,brother1 to make it significant and 
eternal4'    ',yes1 truly1 in the bosom 
of ,mother ,church4 ,come back to your  
,mother--come to the ,hermitage--let us 
pass this life together4'    ',and what 
will you do1 if in the end you discover 
that ,i am in the  right8'    ,here he  
paused a moment1 and1 casting on me a   

benignant glance1 makes  this reply3    
',then1 ,i will rejoice1 rejoice1' he   
gasped2 'for we shall  both be in the   
right4 ,you will become an anarchist    
like me and not  against the wretched   
authorities of the world1 but against   
your real  enemies1 ,instinct and       
,reason4'    ,and thus1 now and then1 he
 would salt his argument with a pinch of
  casuistic wit4 ,once he was hard set1 
and1 to escape the alternatives  of the 
situation1 he condescended to tell me   
the story of his first  and only love4  
',in my youth1' said the ,hermit1 ',i   
was a shoemaker1 and not a little       
fastidious as a craftsman4 ,in fact1 ,i 
am1 and always have been1 an  extremist1
 a purist4 ,i can not tolerate the      
cobblings of life4 ,either  do your work
 skilfully1 devotedly1 earnestly1 or do 
it not4 ,so1 as a  shoemaker1 ,i        
succeeded very well4 ,truth to tell1 my 
work was as good1  as neat1 as elegant  
as that of the best craftsman in        
,beirut4 ,and you  know1 ,beirut is     

noted for its shoemakers4 ,yes1 ,i was  
successful as any  of them1 and ,i      
counted among my customers the bishop of
 the diocese  himself4 ,one day1 forgive
 me1 ,allah6 a young girl1 the daughter 
of a  peasant neighbour1 comes into the 
shop to order a pair of shoes4 ,in      
taking the measure of her foot--but ,i  
must not linger on these  details4 ,a   
shoemaker can not fail to notice the    
shape of his  customer's foot4 ,well1 ,i
 measured1 too1 her ankle--ah1 forgive  
me1  ,allah6    ',in brief1 when the    
shoes were finished--,i spent a whole   
day in the  finishing touches--,i made  
her a present of them4 ,and she1 in     
recognition of my favor1 made a plush   
tobacco bag1 on which my name  was      
worked in gold threads1 and sent it to  
me1 wrapped in a silk  handkerchief1    
with her brother4 ,now1 that is the     
opening chapter4 ,i  will abruptly come 
to the last1 skipping the intermediate  
parts1 for  they are too silly1 all of  
them4 ,i will only say that ,i was as   

earnest1 as sincere1 as devoted in this 
affair of love as ,i was in my  craft4  
,of a truth1 ,i was mad about both4     
',now the closing chapter4 ,one day ,i  
went to see her--we were  engaged--and  
found she had gone to the spring for    
water4 ,i follow her  there and find her
 talking to a young man1 a shoemaker    
like myself4  ,no1 he was but a cobbler4
 ,on the following day1 going again to  
see  her1 ,i find this cobbler there4 ,i
 remonstrate with her1 but in vain4     
,and what is worse1 she had sent to him 
the shoes ,i made1 to be  repaired4 ,he 
was patching my own work6 ,i swallowed  
my ire and went  back to my shop4 ,a    
week later1 to be brief1 ,i went there  
again1 and  what ,i beheld made my body 
shiver4 ,she1 the wench4 ,forgive me1   
,allah6  had her hands around his neck  
and her lips--yes1 her lying lips1 on   
his cheek6 ,no1 no2 even then ,i did not
 utter a word4 ,i could but cry  in the 
depth of my heart4 ,how can woman be so 
faithless1 so  treacherous--in my heart 

,i cried4    ',it was a terrible shock2 
and from it ,i lay in bed for days with 
chills and fever4 ,now1 when ,i         
recovered1 ,i was determined on pursuing
  a new course of life4 ,no longer would
 ,i measure women's feet4 ,i sold  my   
stock1 closed my shop1 and entered the  
monastery4 ,i heard  afterwards that she
 married that young cobbler2 emigrated  
with him to  ,america2 deserted him     
there2 returned to her native village2  
married  again1 and fled with her second
 husband to ,south ,africa4 ,allah be   
praised6 even ,he appreciates the       
difference between a shoemaker and a    
cobbler2 and the bad woman ,he gives to 
the bad craftsman4 ,that is why  ,i say1
 ,never be a cobbler1 whatever you do4  
',but in the monastery--draw near1 ,i   
will speak freely--in the  monastery1   
too1 there are cobblers and shoemakers4 
,there1 too1 is much  ungodliness1 much 
treachery1 much cobbling4 ,ah me1 ,i    
must not speak  thus4 ,forgive me1      
,allah6 ,but ,i promised to tell you the

 whole story4  ,therefore1 ,i will speak
 freely4 ,after passing some years in   
the  monastery1 years of probation and  
grief they were1 ,i fell sick with a    
virulent fever4 ,the abbot1 seeing that 
there was little chance of my  recovery1
 would not send for the physician4 ,and 
so1 ,i languished for  weeks1 suffering 
from thirst and burning pains and       
hunger4 ,i raved and  chattered in my   
delirium4 ,i betrayed myself1 too1 they 
told me4 ,the  monks my brothers1 even  
during my suffering1 made a scandal of  
the  love affair ,i related4 ,they said 
that ,i exposed my wounds and my  broken
 heart before the ,virgin1 that ,i      
sinned in thought and word on  my       
death-bed4 ,allah forgive them4 ,it may 
be1 however2 for ,i know not  what ,i   
said and what ,i did4 ,but when ,i      
recovered1 ,i was determined not  to    
remain in the monastery1 and not to     
return to the world4 ,the wicked  world1
 ,i disentangled myself absolutely from 
its poisoned meshes4 ,i  came to the    

,hermitage1 to this place4 ,and never1  
since ,i made my  second remove until   
now1 have ,i known disease1 or sorrow1  
nor  treachery1 which is worse than     
both4 ,allah be praised6 ,one's people1 
one's brothers1 one's lovers and        
friends1 are a hindrance and            
botheration4 ,we are nothing1 nothing3  
,god is everything4 ,god is the  only   
reality4 ,and in ,god alone is my       
refuge4 ,that is my story in  brief4 ,if
 ,i did not like you1 ,i would not have 
told it1 and so freely4  ,meditate upon 
it1 and on the insignificance and       
evanescence of human  life4 ,the world  
is a snare1 and a bad snare1 at that4   
,for it can not  hold us long enough in 
it to learn to like it4 ,it is a        
cobbler's  snare4 ,the world is full of 
cobblers1 ,o ,khalid4 ,come away from   
it2 be  an ideal craftsman--be an       
extremist--be a purist--come live with  
me4  ,let us join our souls in devotion1
 and our hearts in love4 ,come1 let  us 
till and cultivate this vineyard        

together4'    ,and taking me by the     
hand1 he shows me a cell furnished with 
a  hair-mat1 a masnad 7leaning pillow71 
and a chair4 ',this cell1' says  he1    
'was occupied by the ,bishop when he    
came here for a spiritual  exercise of  
three weeks4 ,it shall be yours if you  
come2 it's the best  cell in the        
,hermitage4 ,now1 let us visit the      
chapel4' ,i go in with  him1 and as we  
are coming out1 ,i ask him child-like   
for a wafer4 ,he  brings the box        
straightway1 begs me to take as much as 
,i desire1 and  placing his hand on my  
shoulder1 encircles me with one of his  
benignant glances1 saying1 ',allah      
illumine thy heart1 ,o ,khalid4'        
',allah hear thy prayer1' ,i reply4 ,and
 we part in tears4    ,here ,khalid     
bursts in ecstasy about the higher      
spiritual kingdom1 and  chops a little  
logic about the ,i and the not-,i1 the  
,reality and the  non-,reality4--,god1  
says the ,hermit4 ,thought1 says the    
,idealist1  that is the only ,reality4  

,and what is ,thought1 and what is ,god1
 and  what is ,matter1 and what is      
,spirit8 ,they are the mysterious       
vessels of  ,life1 which are always     
being filled by ,love and emptied by    
,logic4 ,the  external world1 says the  
,materialist--,does not exist1 says the 
,idealist4 ',tis immaterial if it does  
or not1 says the ,hermit4 ,and  what if 
the three are wrong8 ,the ,universe1    
knowable and unknowable1  will it be    
affected a whit by it8 ,if the ,german  
,professor's ,chair of  ,logic and      
,philosophy were set up in the          
,hermitage1 would anything be  gained or
 lost8 ,let the ,i deny the stars1 and  
they will nevertheless  roll in silence 
above it4 ,let the not-,i crush this ,i1
 this thinking  reed1 and the higher    
universal ,i1 rising above the stars and
 flooding  the sidereal heavens with    
light1 will warm1 remold1 and regenerate
 the  world4    ,i can conceive of a    
power1 writes ,khalid in that vexing    
,manuscript1  which can create a        

beautiful parti-colored sun-flower of   
the  shattered fragments of ,idealism1  
,materialism1 and my ,hermit's          
theology4 ,why not1 if in the ,new      
,world-- ,and here1 of a sudden1 to     
surprise and bewilder us1 he drags in   
,mrs4 ,eddy and the ,prophet ,dowie     
yoked under the yoke of ,whitman4 ,he   
marks the ,key to ,scripture with       
blades from ,leaves of ,grass1 and such 
fuel as he gathers from both1  he lights
 with an ember borrowed from the chariot
 to ,elijah4 ,and thus1  for ten whole  
pages1 beating continually1 now in the  
dark of  ,metaphysics1 now in the dusk  
of ,science2 losing himself in the      
tangled  bushes of ,english             
,materialism1 and ,german ,mysticism1   
and ,arabic  ,sufism2 calling now to    
,berkeley1 now to ,hackel2 meeting with 
,spencer  here1 with ,al-,gazzaly there2
 and endeavoring to extricate himself in
  the end with some such efforts as the 
,natural being ,negativity1 the         
,spiritual must be the opposite of that1

 and both united in ,god form  the      
,absolute1 etc41 etc4 ,but we shall not 
give ourselves further pain  in laying  
before the ,english reader the like     
heavy and unwieldy  lumber4 ,whoever    
relishes such stuff1 and can digest it1 
need not apply  to ,khalid2 for1 in this
 case1 he is but a poor third-hand      
caterer4  ,better go to the             
,manufacturers direct2 they are within  
reach of every  one in this ,age of     
,machinery and ,popular ,editions4 ,but 
there are  passages here1 of which      
,khalid can say1 ',the ,mortar at least 
is mine4'  ,and in this ,mortar he mixes
 and titrates with his ,neighbour's     
,pestle  some of his fantasy and        
insight4 ,of these we offer a sample3   
,i say with psychologists1 as the       
organism1 so is the personality4  ,the  
revelation of the ,me is perfect in     
proportion to the sound state  of the   
,medium4 ,but according to the ,arabic  
proverb1 the jar oozes of  its contents4
 ,if these be of a putridinous mixture1 

therefore1 no  matter how sound the jar1
 the ooze is not going to smell of      
ambergris  and musk4 ,so1 it all depends
 on the contents with which the ,potter 
fills his jugs and pipkins1 ,i assure   
you4 ,and if the contents are  good and 
the jar is sound1 we get such excellence
 of soul as is rare  among mortals4 ,if 
the contents are excellent and the jar  
is cracked1  the objective influence    
will then predominate1 and putrescence1 
soon or late1 will set in4 ,now1 the ,me
 in the majority of mankind  comes to   
this world in a cracked pipkin1 and it  
oozes out entirely as  soon as it       
liquifies in youth4 ,the pipkin1        
therefore1 goes through  life empty and 
cracked1 ever sounding flat and false4  
,while in  others the ,me is enclosed in
 a sealed straw-covered flask and can   
only be awakened by either evaporation  
or decapitation1 in other  words1 by a  
spiritual revolution4 ,and in the very  
few among mortals1  it emerges out of   
the iron calyx of a flower of red-hot   

steel1 or  flows from the transparent1  
odoriferous bosom of a rose of light4   
,in  the first we have a ,csar1 an      
,alexander1 a ,napoleon2 in the second1 
a ,buddha1 a ,socrates1 a ,christ4      
,but consider that ,science1 in the     
course of psychological analysis1       
speaks of ,christ1 ,napoleon1 and       
,shakespeare1 as patients4 ,such exalted
  states of the soul1 such activity of  
the mind1 such exuberance of  spiritual 
strength1 are but the results of the    
transformation of the  ,me in the       
subject1 we are told1 and this          
transformation has its roots  in the    
organism4 ,but why1 ,i ask1 should there
 be such a gulf between  individuals1   
such a difference in their ,mes1 when a 
difference in the  organism is a trifle 
in comparison8 ,how account for the ebb 
and flow  in the souls1 or let us say1  
in the expression of the                
individualities1  of ,mohammad the      
,prophet1 for instance1 and ,mohammad   
the camel-herd8  ,and why is it in      

psychological states that are similar1  
the  consciousness of the one is like a 
mountain peak1 so to speak1 and  that of
 the other like a cave8    ,a soldier is
 severely wounded in battle and a change
 takes place in  his nervous organism1  
by reason of which he loses his organic 
consciousness2 or1 to speak in the      
phraseology of the psychologist1 he     
loses the sense of his own body1 of his 
physical personality4 ,the  cause of    
this change is probably the wound       
received2 but the nature of  the change 
can be explained only by hypotheses1    
which are become  matters of choice and 
taste--and sometimes of personal        
interest among  scientists4 ,now1 when  
the question is resolved by hypothesis1 
is not  even a layman free to offer one8
 ,if ,i say the ,glass is shattered and 
the ,me within is sadly reflected1 or in
 a more tragic instance the  light of   
the ,me runs out1 would ,i not be       
offering thee a solution as  dear and   
tenable as that of the professor of     

psychology8          ,,chapter ,,ii     
,,the ,,voice ,,of ,,the ,,dawn         
,breathless but scathless1 we emerge    
from the mazes of metaphysics and       
psychology where man and the soul are   
ever playing hide-and-seek2 and  where  
,khalid was pleased to display a little 
of his killing skill in  fencing4 ,to   
those mazes1 we promise the ,reader1 we 
shall not return  again4 ,in our present
 sojourn1 however1 it is necessary to go
 through  the swamps and ,jordans as    
well as the mountains and plains4       
,otherwise1  we would not have lingered 
a breathing while in the lowlands of    
mystery4 ,but now we know how far       
,khalid went in seeking health1 and  how
 deep in seeking the ,me1 which he would
 disentangle from the meshes  of        
philosophy and anchoretism1 and bring   
back to life1 triumphant1  loving1      
joyous1 free4 ,and how far he succeeded 
in this1 we shall soon  know4    ,on the
 morning of his last day in the pines1  
meanwhile1 we behold him  in the chariot

 of ,apollo serenading the stars4 ,he no
 longer would  thrust a poker down his  
windpipe2 for he breathes as freely as  
the  mountain bears and chirps as       
joyously as the swallows4 ,and his      
lungs8  ,the lungs of the pines are not 
as sound4 ,and his eyes8 ,well1 he can  
gaze at the rising sun without adverting
 the head or squinting or  shedding a   
tear4 ,now1 as a sign of this healthy   
state of body and  mind1 and his        
healthier resolve to return to the      
world1 to live  opposite his friend the 
,hermit on the other antipode of life1  
and  furthermore1 as a relief from the  
exhausting tortuosities of thought  in  
the last ,chapter1 we give here a piece 
of description notably  symbolical4     
99       99       99       99       99  
,i slept very early last night2 the     
lights in the chapel of the abbey  were 
still flickering1 and the monks were    
chanting the complines4 ,the  mellow    
music of a drizzle seemed to respond    
sombrely to the melancholy  echo of the 

choir4 ,about midnight the rain beat    
heavily on the pine  roof of the forest1
 and the thunder must have struck very  
near1  between me and the monks4 ,but   
rising very early this morning to       
commune for the last time with the      
pensive silence of dawn in the  pines1  
,i am greeted1 as ,i peep out of my     
booth1 by a knot of ogling  stars4 ,but 
where is the opaque breath of the storm1
 where are the  clouds8 ,none seem to   
hang on the horizon1 and the sky is as  
limpid and  clear as the dawn of a new  
life4 ,glorious1 this interval between  
night  and dawn4 ,delicious1 the flavour
 of the forest after a storm4           
,intoxicating1 the odours of the earth1 
refreshed and satisfied4  ,divine1 the  
whispers of the morning air1 divine6    
,but where is the rain1 and where are   
the thunderbolts of last night8  ,the   
forest and the atmosphere retain but the
 sweet and scented  memories of their   
storming passion4 ,such a ,december     
morning in these  mountain heights is a 

marvel of enduring freshness and ardour4
 ,all  round one gets a vivid illusion  
of ,spring4 ,the soft breezes caressing 
the pines shake from their boughs the   
only evidence of last night's  storm4   
,and these are more like the dew of     
,summer than the lees of the  copious   
tears of parting ,autumn4 ,a glorious   
morning1 too glorious to  be enjoyed by 
a solitary soul4 ,but near the rivulet  
yonder stands a  fox sniffing the       
morning air4 ,welcome1 my friend4       
,welcome to my  coffee1 too4    ,i      
gather my mulberry sticks1 kindle them  
with a handful of dried pine  needles1  
roast my coffee beans1 and grind them   
while the water boils  in the pot4 ,in  
half an hour ,i am qualified to go about
 my business4  ,the cups and coffee     
utensils ,i wash and restore to the     
chest--and what  else have ,i to do     
to-day8 ,pack up8 ,allah be praised1 ,i 
have little  packing to do4 ,i would    
pack up1 if ,i could1 a ton of the pine 
air and  the forest perfume1 a strip of 

this limpid sky1 and a cluster of those 
stars4 ,never at such an hour and in    
this season of the year did ,i  enjoy   
such transporting limpidity in the      
atmosphere and such  reassuring         
expansiveness on the horizon4 ,why1 even
 the stars1 the  constellations1 and the
 planets1 are all here to enjoy this    
with me4  ,not one of them1 ,i think1 is
 absent4    ,the mountains are lost in  
the heavens4 ,they are seeking1 as it   
were1  the sisters of the little flowers
 sleeping at their feet4 ,the moon1     
resembling a crushed orange1 is sinking 
in the ,mediterranean4 ,the  outlines of
 earth and sky all round are vague1     
indistinct4 ,were not  the sky so clear 
and the atmosphere so rare1 thus        
affording the  planets and the          
constellations to shed their modicum of 
light1 the  dusk of this hour would have
 deprived the scene of much of its      
pensive  beauty of colour and shade4    
,but there is ,pegasus1 ,andromeda1     
,aldebaran1 not to mention ,venus and   

,jupiter and ,saturn1--these alone  can 
conquer the right wing of darkness4 ,and
 there is ,mercury1 like a  lighted     
cresset shaken by the winds1 flapping   
his violet wings above  the             
,northeastern horizon2 and ,mars1 like a
 piece of gold held out by  the         
trembling hand of a miser1 is sinking in
 the blue of the sea with  ,neptune2 the
 ,pleiades are stepping on the trail of 
the blushing moon2  the ,balance lingers
 behind to weigh the destinies of the   
heroes who  are to contend with the     
dawn2 while ,venus1 peeping from her    
tower over  ,mt4 ,sanneen1 is sending   
love vibrations to all4 ,i would tell   
thee more  if ,i knew4 ,but ,i swear to 
thee ,i never read through the hornbook 
of  the heavens4 ,but if ,i can not name
 and locate more of the stars1 ,i can   
tell thee this about them all3 they are 
the embers of certainty  eternally      
glowing in the ashes of doubt4    ,the  
,eastern horizon is yet lost in the     
dusk2 the false dawn is  spreading the  

figments of its illusion2 the trees in  
the distance seem  like rain-clouds2 and
 the amorphous shadows of the           
monasteries on the  mountain heights and
 hilltops all around1 have not yet      
developed into  silhouettes4            
,everything1 except the river in the    
wadi below1 is yet  asleep4 ,not even   
the swallows are astir4 ,ah1 but my     
neighbour yonder  is2 the light in the  
loophole of his hut sends a struggling  
ray  through the mulberries1 and the    
tintinnabulations of his daughter's     
loom are like so many stones thrown into
 this sleeping pond of  silence4 ,the   
loom-girl in these parts is never too   
early at her  harness and shuttle4 ,i   
know a family here whose loom and       
spinning  wheel are never idle3 the wife
 works at the loom in the day and her   
boy at the wheel2 while in the night1   
her husband and his old mother  keep up 
the game4 ,and this hardly secures for  
them their flour and  lentils the year  
round4 ,but ,i concern not myself now   

with questions of  economy4    ,there1  
another of my neighbours is awake2 and  
the hinges of his door1  shrieking      
terribly1 fiendishly1 startle the       
swallows from their sleep4  ,and here   
are the muleteers1 yodling1 as they pass
 by1 their        ',dhome1 ,dhome1      
,dhome1         ,o mother1 he is come2  
,hide me1 hide me quickly1         ,and 
say ,i am not home4'    ,lo1 the horizon
 is disentangling itself from the meshes
 of darkness4  ,the dust of haze and    
dusk on the scalloped edges of the      
mountains1 is  blown away by the first  
breath of dawn4 ,the lighter grey of the
  horizon is mirrored in the clearer    
blue of the sea4 ,but the darkness      
seems to gather on the breast of the    
sloping hills4 ,conquered on the        
heights1 it retreats into the wadi4 ,ay1
 the darkest hour is nearest  the dawn4 
,now the light grey is become a         
lavender2 the outlines of earth and sky 
are become more distinct2 the mountain  
peaks1 the dusky veil being  rent1 are  

separating themselves from the heaven's 
embrace2 the trees  in the distance no  
longer seem like rain-clouds2 and the   
silhouettes  of the monasteries are     
casting off the cloak of night4 ,the    
lavender is  melting now into           
heliotrope1 and the heliotrope is       
bursting here and  there in pink2 the   
stars are waning1 the constellations are
 dying out1  and the planets are        
following in their wake4 ,the darkness1 
too1 which  has not yet retreated from  
the wadi1 must soon follow2 for the     
front  guard of the dawn is near4       
,behold the shimmer of their steel6 ,and
  see1 in the dust of the retreating    
darkness1 the ochre veins of the  lime  
cliffs are now perceptible4 ,and that   
huge pillar1 which looked  like the     
standard-bearer of ,night1 is           
transformed into a belfry2 and a  monk  
can be seen peeping through the ogive   
beneath it4 ,mt4 ,sanneen1 its  black   
and ochre scales thrown in relief on a  
coat of grey1 is like a  huge panther   

sleeping over the many-throated ravine  
of ,kisrawan4 ,ah1  the pink flower of  
dawn is bursting in golden glory1       
thrilling in  orange and saffron1       
flaming with the ardency of love and    
hope4 ,the  dawn6 ,the glow and glamour 
of the ,eastern dawn6444                
99       99       99       99       99  
,the dawn of a new life1 of a better1   
purer1 healthier1 higher  spiritual     
kingdom4 ,i would have its temples and  
those of the vast  empire of wealth and 
material well-being1 stand side by side4
 ,ay1 ,i  would even rear an altar to   
the ,soul in the temple of ,materialism1
 and  an altar to ,materialism in the   
temple of the ,soul4 ,each shall have   
its due1 each shall glory in the sacred 
purity and strength of life2  each shall
 develop and expand1 but never at the   
expense of the other4  ,i will have     
neither the renunciation which ends in a
 kind of idiocy  dignified with a       
philosophic or a theologic name1 nor the
 worldliness  which ends in bestiality4 

,i am a citizen of two worlds--a citizen
 of  the ,universe2 ,i owe allegiance to
 two kingdoms4 ,in my heart are those   
stars and that sun1 and the ,,light of  
those stars and that sun4    ,yes1 ,i am
 equally devoted both to the material   
and the spiritual4 ,and  when the two in
 me are opposed to each other1          
conflicting1 inimical1  obdurate1 my    
attitude towards them is neither that of
 my friend the  ,hermit nor that of my  
,european superman4 ,i sit down1 shut my
 eyes1  compose myself1 and concentrate 
my mind on the mobility of things4 ,if  
the clouds are moving1 why1 ,i have but 
to sit down and let them move  away4 ,i 
let my ,no-will1 in this case1 dominate 
my will1 and that  serves my purpose    
well4 ,to be sure1 every question       
tormenting us would  resolve itself     
favourably1 or at least indifferently1  
if we did not  always rush in1 wildly1  
madly1 and arrogate to ourselves such   
claims  of authority and knowledge as   
would make ,olympus shake with laughter4

  ,the resignation and passiveness of   
the spirit should always alternate      
equitably with the terrible strivings of
 the will4 ,for the dervish who  whirls 
himself into a foaming ecstasy of       
devotion and the strenuous  ,american   
who works himself up to a sweating      
ecstasy of gain1 are the  two poles of  
the same absurdity1 the two ends of one 
evil4 ,indeed1 to  my way of thinking1  
the man on the ,stock ,exchange and the 
demagogue on  the stump1 for instance1  
are brothers to the blatant corybant4   
,,chapter ,,iii    ,,the ,,self         
,,ecstatic      ,to graft the           
strenuosity of ,europe and ,america upon
 the ease of the  ,orient1 the          
materialism of the ,west upon the       
spirituality of the  ,east1--this to us 
seems to be the principal aim of        
,khalid4 ,but often  in his wanderings  
and divagations of thought does he give 
us fresh  proof of the truism that no   
two opposing elements meet and fuse     
without both losing their original      

identity4 ,you may place the bit of     
contentment in the mouth of ambition1 so
 to speak1 and jog along in  your       
sterile course between the vast wheat   
fields groaning under  the              
thousand-toothed plough and the gardens 
of delight swooning  with devotion and  
sensuality4 ,but cross ambition with    
contentment and  you get the hinny of   
indifference or the monster of fatalism4
 ,we do  not say that indifference at   
certain passes of life1 and certain     
stages1 is not healthy1 and fatalism not
 powerful2 but both we  believe are     
factors as potent in commerce and trade 
as pertinacity and  calculation4 ,but is
 there not room in the garden of delight
 for a  wheat field8 asks ,khalid4 ,can 
we not apply the bow to the  telegraph  
wires of the world and make them the    
vehicle of music as of  stock           
quotations8 ,can we not simplify life as
 we are simplifying the  machinery of   
industry8 ,can we not consecrate its    
,temple to the  ,trinity of ,devotion1  

,art1 and ,work1 or ,religion1 ,romance1
 and ,trade8    ,this seems to be the   
gist of ,khalid's gospel4 ,this1 through
 the  labyrinths of doubt and           
contradiction1 is the pinnacle of faith 
he  would reach4 ,and often in this     
labyrinthic gloom1 where a gleam of     
light from some recess of thought or    
fancy reveals here a ,hermit in  his    
cloister1 there an ,artist in his       
studio1 below a ,nawab in his  orgies1  
above a ,broker on the ,stock ,exchange1
 we have paused to ask a  question about
 these glaring contrarieties in his life
 and thought4  ,and always would he make
 this reply3 ,i have frequently moved   
and  removed between extremes2 ,i have  
often worked and slept in opposing      
camps4 ,so1 do not expect from me       
anything like the consistency with      
which the majority of mankind solder and
 shape their life4 ,deep  thought seems 
often1 if not always1 inconsistent at   
the first blush4  ,the intensity and    
passiveness of the spirit are as natural

 in their  attraction and repulsion as  
the elements1 whose harmony is only     
patent  on the surface4 ,consistency is 
superficial1 narrow1 one-sided4 ,i am   
both ambitious1 therefore1 and          
contented4 ,my ambition is that of the  
earth1 the ever producing and           
resuscitating earth1 doing the will of  
,god1 combatting the rasure of time2 and
 my contentment is that of the  majestic
 pines1 faring alike in shade and       
sunshine1 in calm and storm1  in winter 
as in spring4 ,ambition and ,contentment
 are the night and day  of my           
life-journey4 ,the day makes room for   
the fruits of solacement  which the     
night brings2 and the night gives a cup 
of the cordial of  contentment to make  
good the promise of day to day4    ,ay1 
while sweating in the tortuous path1 ,i 
never cease to cherish the  feeling in  
which ,i was nourished2 the ,west for me
 means ambition1 the  ,east1            
contentment3 my heart is ever in the    
one1 my soul1 in the other4  ,and ,i    

care not for the freedom which does not 
free both2 ,i seek not  the welfare of  
the one without the other4 ,but unlike  
my ,phoenician  ancestors1 the spiritual
 with me shall not be limited by the    
natural2  it shall go far above it1     
beyond or below it1 saturating1         
sustaining1  purifying what in external 
nature is but a symbol of the invisible4
  ,nor is my idea of the spiritual      
developed in opposition to nature1 and  
in a manner inimical to its laws and    
claims1 as in ,judaism and              
,christianity4    ,the spiritual and    
natural are so united1 so inextricably  
entwined  around each other1 that ,i can
 not conceive of them separately1       
independently4 ,and both in the abstract
 sense are purportless and  ineffectual 
without ,consciousness4 ,they are blind1
 dumb forces1  beautiful1 barbaric      
pageants1 careering without aim or      
design through  the immensities of      
,no-where and ,no-time1 if they are not 
impregnated  and nourished with         

,thought1 that is to say1 with          
,consciousness1  vitalised and purified4
 ,you may impregnate them with          
philosophy1  nourish them with art2 they
 both emanate from them1 and remain as  
skidding clouds1 as shining mirages1 as 
wandering dust1 until they  find their  
exponent in ,man4    ,i tell thee then  
that ,man1 that is to say               
,consciousness1 vitalised  and purified1
 in other words ,thought--that alone is 
real and eternal4  ,and ,man is supreme1
 only when he is the proper exponent of 
,nature1 and  spirit1 and ,god3 the     
three divine sources from which he      
issues1 in  which he is sustained1 and  
to which he must return4 ,nature and the
  spiritual1 without this embodied      
intelligence1 this somatic being1       
called man or angel or ape1 are as      
ermine on a wax figure4 ,the human      
factor1 the exponent intelligence1 the  
intellective and sensuous  faculties1   
these1 my ,brothers1 are whole1 sublime1
 holy1 only when1 in  a state of        

continuous expansion1 the harmony among 
themselves and the  affirmative ties    
between them and ,nature1 are perfect   
and pure4 ,no1  the spiritual ought not 
and can not be free from the sensuous1  
even  the sensual4 ,the true life1 the  
full life1 the life1 pure1 robust1      
sublime1 is that in which all the nobler
 and higher aspirations of the  soul    
,,and ,,the ,,body are given free and   
unlimited scope1 with the view of       
developing the divine strain in ,man1   
and realising to some extent the        
romantic as well as the material hopes  
of the race4 ,god1 ,nature1  ,spirit1   
,passion--,passion1 ,spirit1 ,nature1   
,god--in some such panorama  would ,i   
paint the life of a highly developed    
being4 ,any of these  elements lacking1 
and the life is wanting1 defective1     
impure4    ,i have no faith in men who  
were conceived in a perfunctory manner1 
on a pragmatical system1 so to speak2   
the wife receiving her  husband in bed  
as she would a tedious guest at an      

afternoon tea4  ,only two flames uniting
 produce a third2 but a flame and a     
name1  or a flame and a spunge1 produce 
a hiff and nothing4 ,oh1 that the       
children of the race are all born       
phoenix-like in the fire of noble  and  
sacred passion1 in the purgatory1 as it 
were1 of ,love4 ,what a  race1 what a   
race we should have4 ,what men1 what    
women6 ,yes1 that is  how the children  
of the earth should be conceived1 not on
 a  pragmatical system1 in an           
,i-don't-care-about-the-issue manner4 ,i
  believe in evoking the spirit1 in     
dreaming a little about the gods  of    
,olympus1 and a little1 too1 about the  
gods of the abysmal depths1  before the 
bodily communion4 ,and in earnest1 ,o my
 ,brother1 let us do  this1 despite what
 old ,socrates says about the propriety 
and  wisdom of approaching your wife    
with prudence and gravity4444    ,and   
thus1 if we did not often halloo1       
,khalid1 like a huntsman pursuing  his  
game1 would lose himself in the         

pathless1 lugubrious damp of the        
forest4 ,if we did not prevent him at   
times1 holding firmly to his  coat-tail1
 he would desperately pursue the ghost  
of his thoughts even  on such           
precipitous paths to those very depths  
in which ,socrates and  ,montaigne      
always felt at home4 ,but he1 a         
feverish1 clamorous1  obstreperous      
stripling of a ,beduin1 what chance has 
he in extricating  his barbaric         
instincts from such thorny hedges of    
philosophy8 ,and had  he not quoted     
,socrates in that last paragraph1 it    
would have been  expunged4 ,no1 we are  
not utterly lost to the fine sense of   
propriety  of this chaste and demure    
age4 ,but no matter how etiolated and   
sickly  the thought1 it regains its     
colour and health when it breathes the  
literary air4 ,prudery can not but      
relish the tang of lubricity when       
flavoured with the classical4 ,moreover1
 if ,socrates and ,montaigne  speak     
freely of these midnight matters1 why   

not ,khalid1 if he has  anything new to 
say1 any good advice to offer4 ,but how 
good and how  new are his views let the 
,reader judge4    ',tis very well to    
speak of evoking the spirit before the  
bodily  communion1 but those who can    
boast of a deeper experience in such    
matters will find in ,socrates' dictum1 
quoted by ,montaigne1 the very  gist of 
reason and wisdom4 ,those wise ones were
 as far-sighted as they  were far gone4 
,and moderation1 as it was justly said  
once1 is the  respiration of the        
philosopher4 ,but ,khalid1 though always
 invoking the  distant luminary of      
transcendentalism for light1 can not    
arrogate to  himself this high title4   
,the expansion of all the faculties1 and
 the  reduction of the demands of       
society and the individual to the lowest
  term2--this1 as we understand it1 is  
the aim of transcendentalism4 ,and      
,khalid's distance from the orbit of    
this grand luminary seems to vary  with 
his moods2 and these vary with the      

librations and revolutions of  the moon4
 ,hallucinated1 moonstruck ,khalid1 your
 harmonising and  affinitative efforts  
do not always succeed4 ,that is our     
opinion of the  matter4 ,and the        
,reader1 who is no respecter of editors1
 might quarrel  with it1 for all we     
know4    ,only by standing firmly in the
 centre can one preserve the equilibrium
  of one's thoughts4 ,but ,khalid seldom
 speaks of equilibrium3 he cares  not   
how he fares in falling on either side  
of the fence1 so he knows  what lies    
behind4 ,howbeit1 we can not conceive of
 how the affinity of  the mind and soul 
with the senses1 and the harmony between
 these and  nature1 are possible1 if not
 exteriorised in that very superman whom
  ,khalid so much dreads1 and on whom he
 often casts a lingering glance  of     
admiration4 ,so there you are4 ,we must 
either rise to a higher  consciousness  
on the ruins of a lower one1 of         
no-consciousness1  rather1 or go on     
seeming and simulating1 aspiring1       

perspiring1 and  suffering1 until our   
turn comes4 ,death denies no one4       
,meanwhile1  ,khalid's rhapsodies on his
 way back to the city1 we shall heed and
 try  to echo4                      99  
99       99       99       99    ,on the
 high road of the universal spirit1 he  
sings1 the world1 the  whole world      
before me1 thrilling and radiating1     
chanting of freedom1  faith1 hope1      
health and power1 and joy4 ,back to the 
,city1 ,o  ,khalid1--the ,city where    
,truth1 and ,faith1 and ,honesty1 and   
,wisdom1 are  ever suffering1 ever      
struggling1 ever triumphing4 ,no1 it    
matters not  with me if the spirit of   
intelligence and power1 of freedom and  
culture1 which must go the rounds of the
 earth1 is always dominated by  the     
instinct of self-interest4 ,that must   
be2 that is inevitable4 ,but  the       
instinct of self-interest1 ,o my        
,brother1 goes with the flesh2 the      
body-politic dies2 nations rise and     
fall2 and the eternal ,spirit1 the      

progenitor of all ideals1 passes to     
better or worse hands1 still  chastening
 and strengthening itself in the        
process4    ,the ,orient and ,occident1 
the male and female of the ,spirit1 the 
two  great streams in which the body and
 soul of man are refreshed1             
invigorated1 purified--of both ,i sing1 
in both ,i glory1 to both ,i  consecrate
 my life1 for both ,i shall work and    
suffer and die4 ,my  ,brothers1 the most
 highly developed being is neither      
,european nor  ,oriental2 but rather he 
who partakes of the finer qualities of  
both  the ,european genius and the      
,asiatic prophet4    ,give me1 ye mighty
 nations of the ,west1 the material     
comforts of  life2 and thou1 my ,east1  
let me partake of thy spiritual         
heritage4  ,give me1 ,america1 thy hand2
 and thou1 too1 ,asia4 ,thou land of    
origination1 where ,light and ,spirit   
first arose1 disdain not the  gifts     
which the nations of the ,west bring    
thee2 and thou land of  organisation and

 power1 where ,science and ,freedom     
reign supreme1  disdain not the bounties
 of the sunrise4    ,if the discoveries 
and attainments of ,science will make   
the body of  man cleaner1 healthier1    
stronger1 happier1 the inexhaustible    
,oriental  source of romantic and       
spiritual beauty will never cease to    
give the  soul of man the restfulness   
and solacement it is ever craving4 ,and 
remember1 ,europa1 remember1 ,asia1 that
 foreign culture is as necessary  to the
 spirit of a nation as is foreign       
commerce to its industries4  ,elsewise1 
thy materialism1 ,europa1 or thy        
spiritualism1 ,asia1 no  matter how     
trenchant and impregnable1 no matter how
 deep the  foundation1 how broad the    
superstructure thereof1 is vulgar1      
narrow1  mean--is nothing1 in a word1   
but parochialism4    ,i swear that      
neither religious nor industrial slavery
 shall forever  hold the world in       
political servitude4 ,no2 the world     
shall be free of  the authority1        

absolute1 blind1 tyrannical1 of both the
 ,captains of  ,industry and the ,high  
,priests of the ,temple4 ,and who shall 
help to  free it8 ,science alone can not
 do it2 ,science and ,faith must do it4 
,i say with thee1 ,o ,goethe1 ',light1  
more light6' ,i say with thee1 ,o       
,tolstoi1 ',love1 more love6' ,i say    
with thee1 ,o ,ibsen1 ',will1 more      
will6' ,light1 ,love1 and ,will--the one
 is as necessary as the other2  the one 
is dangerous without the others4 ,light1
 ,love1 and ,will1 are  the three       
eternal1 vital sources of the higher1   
truer1 purer cosmic  life4    ,light1   
,love1 and ,will--with corals and pearls
 from their seas would ,i  crown thee1  
,o my ,city4 ,in these streams would ,i 
baptise thy children1  ,o my ,city4 ,the
 mind1 and the heart1 and the soul of   
man ,i would  baptise in this mountain  
lake1 this high ,jordan of ,truth1 on   
the  flourishing and odoriferous banks  
of ,science and ,religion1 under the    
sacred sidr of ,reason and ,faith4      

,ay1 in the ,lakes of ,light1 ,love1 and
 ,will1 ,i would baptise all  mankind4  
,for in this alone is power and glory1  
,o my ,european ,brothers2  in this     
alone is faith and joy1 ,o my ,brothers 
of ,asia4    ,the ,hudson1 the          
,mississippi1 the ,amazon1 the ,thames1 
the ,seine1 the  ,rhine1 the ,danube1   
the ,euphrates1 the ,ganges--every one  
of these great  streams shall be such a 
,jordan in the future4 ,in every one of 
them  shall flow the confluent ,rivers  
of ,light1 ,love1 and ,will4 ,in every  
one of them shall sail the barks of the 
higher aspirations and hopes  of        
mankind4    ,i come now to be baptised1 
,o my ,city4 ,i come to slake my thirst 
in  thy ,jordan4 ,i come to launch my   
little skiff1 to do my little work1 to  
pay my little debt4    ,in thy          
public-squares1 ,o my ,city1 ,i would   
raise monuments to ,nature2  in thy     
theatres to ,poesy and ,thought2 in thy 
bazaars to ,art2 in thy  homes1 to      
,health2 in thy temples of worship1 to  

universal ,goodwill2 in  thy courts1 to 
,power and ,mercy2 in thy schools1 to   
,simplicity2 in thy  hospitals1 to      
,faith2 and in thy public-halls to      
,freedom and ,culture4  ,and all these1 
without ,light1 ,love1 and ,will1 are   
but hollow affairs1  high-sounding      
inanities4 ,without ,light1 ,love1 and  
,will1 even thy  ,nabobs in the end     
shall curse thee2 and with these1 thy   
hammals under  their burdens shall thank
 the heavens under which thy domes and  
turrets and minarets arise4             
,,chapter ,,iv    ,,on ,,the ,,open     
,,highway      ,and ,khalid1 packing his
 few worldly belongings in one of his   
reed  baskets1 gives the rest to his    
neighbours1 leaves his booth in the     
pines to the swallows1 and bids the     
monks and his friend the ,hermit        
farewell4 ,the joy of the wayfaring6    
,now1 where is the jubbah1 the  black   
jubbah of coarse wool1 which we bought  
from one of the monks8 ,he  wraps       
himself in it1 tightens well his        

shoe-strings1 draws his fur cap  over   
his ears1 carries his basket on his     
back1 takes up his staff1  lights his   
cigarette1 and resolutely sets forth4   
,the joy of the  wayfaring6 ,we         
accompany him on the open highway1      
through the rocky  wilderness1 down to  
the fertile plains1 back to the city4   
,for the  account he gives us of his    
journey enables us to fill up the lacuna
 in  ,shakib's ,histoire ,intime1 before
 we can have recourse to it again4      
,from the cliffs 'neath which the lily  
blooms1 he muses as he issues  out of   
the forest and reaches the top of the   
mountain1 to the cliffs  round which the
 eagles flit1--what a glorious          
promontory6 ,what a  contrast at this   
height1 in this immensity1 between the  
arid rocky  haunts of the mountain bear 
and eagle and the spreading1 vivifying  
verdure surrounding the haunts of man4  
,on one side are the sylvan  valleys1   
the thick grown ravines1 the meandering 
rivulets1 the  fertile plains1 the      

silent villages1 and on the distant     
horizon1 the  sea1 rising like a blue   
wall1 standing like a stage scene2 on   
the  other1 a howling immensity of      
boulders and prickly shrubs and plants1 
an arid wilderness--the haunt of the    
eagle1 the mountain bear1 and the       
goatherd4 ,one step in this direction1  
and the entire panorama of  verdant     
hills and valleys is lost to view4 ,its 
spreading1 riant beauty  is hidden      
behind that little cliff4 ,i penetrate  
through this forest of  rocks1 where the
 brigands1 ,i am told1 lie in ambush for
 the caravans  traveling between the    
valley of the ,leontes and the villages 
of the  lowland4 ,but the brigands can  
not harm a dervish2 my penury is my     
amulet--my salvation4    ,the horizon1  
as ,i proceed1 shrinks to a distance of 
ten minutes' walk  across4 ,and thus1   
from one circle of rocks to another1 ,i 
pass through  ten of them before ,i hear
 again the friendly voice of the rill1  
and  behold again the comforting        

countenance of the sylvan slopes4 ,i    
reach  a little grove of slender        
poplars1 under the brow of a little     
hill1  from which issues a little limpid
 stream and runs gurgling through the   
little ferns and bushes down the heath4 
,i swing from the road and  follow this 
gentle rill2 ,i can not find a better   
companion now4 ,but  the wanton lures me
 to a village far from the road on the  
other side  of the gorge4 ,now1 ,i must 
either retrace my steps to get to it by 
a  long detour1 or cross the gorge1     
descending to the deep bottom and       
ascending in a tangled and tortuous path
 to reach the main road on the  breast  
of the opposite escarpment4 ,here is a  
short-cut which is long  and weary4 ,it 
lures me as the stream2 it cheats me    
with a name4 ,and  when ,i am again on  
the open road1 ,i look back with a sigh 
of relief on  the dangers ,i had passed4
 ,i can forgive the luring rill1 which  
still  smiles to me innocently from     
afar1 but not the deluding1 ensnaring   

ravine4 ,the muleteer who saw me        
struggling through the tangled bushes   
up the pathless1 hopeless steep1 assures
 me that my mother is a pious  woman1   
else ,i would have slipped and gone into
 an hundred pieces among  the rocks     
below4 ',her prayers have saved thee1'  
quoth he2 'thank thy  ,god4'    ,and    
walking together a pace1 he points to   
the dizzy precipice around  which ,i    
climbed and adds3 ',thou seest that     
rock8 ,i hallooed to thee  when thou    
wert creeping around it1 but thou didst 
not hear me4 ,from  that same rock a    
woodman fell last week1 and1 falling1   
looked like a  potted bird4 ,he must    
have died before he reached the ground4 
,his bones  are scattered among those   
rocks4 ,thank thy ,god and thy mother4  
,her  prayers have saved thee4'    ,my  
dear mother1 how long since ,i saw thee1
 how long since ,i thought  of thee4 ,my
 loving mother1 even the rough1 rude    
spirit of a muleteer  can see in the    
unseen the beauty and benevolence of    

such devotion as  thine4 ,the words of  
this dusky son of the road1 coming as   
through the  trumpet of revelation to   
rebuke me1 sink deep in my heart and    
draw  tears from mine eyes4 ,for art    
thou not ever praying for thy grievous  
son1 and for his salvation8 ,how many   
beads each night dost thou tell1  how   
many hours dost thou prostrate thyself  
before the ,virgin1  sobbing1           
obsecrating1 beating thy breast8 ,and   
all for one1 who until  now1 ever since 
he left ,baalbek1 did not think on      
thee4--,let me kiss  thee1 ,o my        
,brother1 for thy mild rebuke4 ,let me  
kiss thee for  reminding me of my       
mother4--,no1 ,i can not further with   
thee2 ,i am  waygone2 ,i must sit me a  
spell beneath this pine--and weep4 ,o   
,khalid1  wretched that thou art1 can   
the primitive soul of this muleteer be  
better than thine8 ,can there be a      
sounder intuitiveness1 a healthier      
sense of love1 a grander sympathy1      
beneath that striped aba1 than  there is

 within thy cloak8 ,wilt thou not beat  
thy cheeks in ignominy  and shame1 when 
a stranger thinks of thy mother1 and    
reverently1 ere  thou dost8 ,no matter  
how low in the spiritual circles she    
might be1 no  matter how high thou      
risest1 her prayer and her love are     
always with  thee4 ,if she can not rise 
to thee on the ladder of reason1 she can
  soar on the wings of affection4 ,yea1 
,i prostrate myself beneath this  pine1 
bury my forehead in its dust1 thanking  
,allah for my mother4 ,oh1  ,i am       
waygone1 but joyous4 ,the muleteer hath 
illumined thee1 ,o  ,khalid4--          
,there1 the snow birds are passing by1  
flitting to the lowland4 ,the  sky is   
overcast2 there is a lull in the wind4  
,hark1 ,i hear the piping  of the       
shepherd and the tinkling bell of the   
wether4 ,yonder is his  flock2 and there
 sits he on a rock blowing his doleful  
reed4 ,i am  almost slain with thirst4  
,i go to him1 and cheerfully does he    
milk for  me4 ,i do not think ,rebekah  

was kinder and sweeter in ,abraham's    
servant's eyes than was this wight in   
mine4 ',where dost thou sleep8'  ,i ask1
 ',under this rock1' he replies4 ,and he
 shows me into the cave  beneath it1    
which is furnished with a goat-skin1 a  
masnad1 and a  little altar for the     
picture of the ,virgin4 ,before this    
picture is an  oil lamp1 ever burning1  
,i am told4 ',and this altar1' quoth the
  shepherd1 'was my mother's4 ,when she 
died she bequeathed it to me4 ,i  carry 
it with me in the wilderness1 and keep  
the oil burning in her  memory4' ,saying
 which he took to weeping4 ,even the    
shepherd1 ,o ,khalid1  is sent to rebuke
 thee4 ,i thank him1 and resume my      
march4    ,at eventide1 descending from 
one hilltop to another1 ,i reach a      
village of no mean size4 ,it occupies a 
broad deep steep1 in which the  walnut  
and poplar relieve the monotony of the  
mulberries4 ,i hate the  mulberry1 which
 is so suggestive of worms2 and ,i hate 
worms1 and  though they be of the       

silk-making kind4 ,i hate them the more1
 because  the ,lebanon peasant seems to 
live for the silk-worms1 which he tends 
and cultivates better than he does his  
children4    ,when ,i stood on the top  
of the steep1 the village glittering    
with a  thousand lights lay beneath like
 a strip of the sidereal sky4 ,it made  
me feel ,i was above the clouds1 even   
above the stars4 ,the gabled  houses    
overtopping each other1 spreading in    
clusters and half-circles1  form here an
 aigrette1 as it were1 on the sylvan    
head of the mountain1  there a necklace 
on its breast1 below a cestus brilliant 
with an  hundred lights4 ,i descend into
 the village and stop before the first  
house ,i reach4 ,the door is wide open2 
and the little girl who sees me  enter  
runs in fright to tell her mother4      
,straightway1 the woman and  her son1 a 
comely and lusty youth1 come out in a   
where-is-the-brigand  manner1 and1 as   
they see me1 stand abashed1 amazed4 ,the
 young man who  wore a robe-de-chambre  

and ,turkish slippers worked in gold1   
returns my  salaam courteously and      
invites me up to the divan4 ,there is a 
spark of  intelligence in his eyes1 and 
an alien affectation in his speech4 ,i  
foresaw that he had been in ,america4   
,he does not ask me the  conventional   
questions about my religious persuasion2
 but after his  inquiries of whence and 
whither1 he offers me an ,egyptian      
cigarette1  and goes in to order the    
coffee4 ,it did not occur to him that ,i
 was  his guest for the night4--    ,ah 
me1 ,i no longer know how to recline on 
a cushion1 and a rug under  my feet     
seems like a sheet of ice4 ,but with my 
dust and mud ,i seem  like ,diogenes    
trampling upon ,plato's pride4 ,i survey
 the hall1 which  breathes of rural     
culture and well-being1 and in which is 
more  evidence of what ,i foresaw4 ,on  
the wall hung various photographs and   
oil prints1 among which ,i noticed those
 of the ,king and ,queen of  ,england1  
that of ,theodore ,roosevelt1 a framed  

cartoon by an ,american  artist1 an     
autographed copy of an ,english ,duke's1
 and a large  photograph of a banquet of
 one of the political ,clubs of ,new    
,york4 ,on  the table were a few ,arabic
 magazines1 a post-card album1 and a    
gramophone6 ,yes1 mine host was more    
than once in the ,united ,states4  ,and 
knowing that ,i1 too1 had been there1 he
 is anxious to display  somewhat of his 
broken ,english4 ,his father1 he tells  
me1 speaks  ,english even as good as he 
does1 having been a dragoman for forty  
years4    ,after supper1 he orders me a 
narghilah1 and winds for my             
entertainment  that horrible instrument 
of torture4 ,khalid did not seem to mind
 it2  but he was anxious about the      
sacred peace of the hills1 sleeping in  
the bosom of night4 ,my ,name is ,billy 
,muggins1 ,i ,wish ,i ,had a ,pal ,like 
,you1 ,tickle ,me1 ,timothy1 and such   
like ragtime horrors come all the  way  
from ,america to violate the antique    
grandeur and beauty of the  ,lebanon    

hills4 ,that is what worried ,khalid4   
,and he excuses himself1  saying1 ,i am 
waygone from the day's wayfaring4 ,the  
instrument of  torture is stopped1      
therefore1 and he is shown into a room  
where a  mattress is spread for him on  
the floor4    ,in the morning1 he       
continues1 mine host accompanies me     
through the  populous village1 which is 
noted for its industries4 ,of all the   
,lebanon towns1 this is1 indeed1 the    
busiest2 its looms1 its potteries1  and 
its bell foundries1 are never idle4 ,and
 the people cultivate  little of the    
silk worm2 they are mostly artisans4    
,american cotton  they spin1 and dye1   
and weave into substantial cloth2       
,belgian iron  they melt and cast into  
bells2 and from their native soil they  
dig the  clay which they mould into     
earthenware4 ,the tintinnabulations of  
the  loom can be heard in other parts of
 the ,lebanons2 but no where else  can  
the vintner buy a dolium for his vine1  
or the housewife1 a pipkin  for her oil1

 or the priest1 a bell for his church4  
,the sound of these  foundries' anvils1 
translated into a wild1 thrilling1      
far-reaching  music1 can be heard in    
every belfry and bell-cote of ,syria4   
,we descend to the potteries below1 not 
on the carriage road which  serpentines 
through the village1 and which is its   
only street1 but  sheer down a steep    
path1 between the noise of the loom and 
spinning  wheel and the stench of the   
dyeing establishments4 ,and here is the 
real potter and his clay1 not the symbol
 thereof4 ,and here is the  pottery     
which is illustrated in the ,bible4 ,for
 in the world to-day1 if  we except the 
unglazed tinajas of the ,pueblo         
,indians1 nothing1 above  ground at     
least1 can be more ancient and          
primitive4 ,such a pitcher1 ,i  muse1   
did ,rebekah carry to the well2 with    
such a ,jar on her shoulder  did ,hagar 
wander in the wilderness2 and in such   
vessels did the widow1  by ,elijah's    
miracle1 multiply her jug of oil4       

,the one silk-reeling factory of the    
village1 ,i did not care to visit2  for 
truly ,i can not tolerate the smell of  
asphyxiated larvas and  boiling cocoons4
 ',but the proprietor1' quoth mine host1
 'is very  honourable1 and of a fine    
wit4' ,as honourable as a sweater can   
be1 ,i  thought4 ,no1 no2 these         
manufacturers are all of a piece4 ,i    
know  personally one of them1 who is a  
,scrooge1 and of the vilest4 ,i watched 
him one day buying cocoons from the     
peasants4 ,he does not trust any of  his
 employees at the scales2 they do not   
know how to press their hand  over the  
weights in the pan4 ,ay1 that little    
pressure of his chubby  hand on the     
weights makes a difference in his favour
 of more than ten  per cent4 of what he 
buys4 ,that little pressure of his hand 
is five  or six piasters out of the     
peasant's pocket1 who1 with five or six 
piasters1 remember1 can satisfy his     
hunger on bread and olives and          
pulverised thyme1 for five or six days4 

,so1 we visit not the  cocoon-man1 about
 whom the priest of his private         
chapel--he prays at  home like the      
,lebanon ,amirs of old1 this            
khawaja--tells me many  edifying things4
 ,of these1 ,i give out the most curious
 and least  injurious4 ,as the sheikh   
7squire7 of the town1 he is generous2 as
 the  operator of a silk-reeling        
factory1 he is grasping1 niggardly1     
mean4  ,for1 to misgovern well1 one must
 open his purse as often as he forces   
the purses of others4 ,he was passing by
 in his carriage this great  khawaja1   
when we were coming out of the pottery4 
,and of a truth1 his  paunch and double 
chin and ruddy cheeks seemed to         
illustrate what the  priest told me     
about his usurious propensities4        
,what a contrast between him and the    
swarthy1 leathery1 hungry-looking       
potters4 ,i can not think that ,nature  
has aught to do with these naked        
inequalities4 ,i can not believe that1  
to produce one roseate  complexion1 she 

must etiolate a thousand4 ,i can not see
 how1 in  drinking from the same gushing
 spring1 and breathing the same mountain
  air1 and basking in the same ardent   
sun1 the khawaja gets a double  chin and
 the peasant a double curse4 ,but his   
collops and his ruddiness  are due to   
the fact that he misgoverns as well as  
his ,pasha and his  ,sultan4 ,he        
battens1 even like a ,tammany chief1 on 
political jobbery1  on extortion1 on    
usury4 ,his tree is better manured1 so  
to speak2  manured by the widows and    
tended by the orphans of his little     
kingdom4 ,in a word1 this great khawaja 
is what ,i call a political             
coprophagist4 ,hence1 his suspicious    
growth1 his lustre and lustiness4       
,but he is not the only example in the  
village of this superabundance  of      
health2 the priests are many more4 ,for 
,i must not fail to mention  that1 in   
addition to its potteries and           
founderies1 the town is blessed  with a 
dozen churches4 ,every family1 a sort of

 tribe1 has its church  and priests2 and
 consequently1 its feuds with all the   
others4 ,it is a  marvel how the people1
 in the lethal soot and smoke of strife 
and  dissension1 can work and produce   
anything4 ,farewell1 ye swarthy  people6
 ,farewell1 ,o village of bells and     
potteries6 ,were it not for  the khawaja
 who misgoverns thee1 and the priests   
who sow their  iniquity in thee1 thou   
shouldst have been an ideal town4 ,i    
look back1  as ,i descend into the wadi1
 and behold1 thou art as beautiful in   
the  day as thou art in the night4 ,thy 
pink gables under a ,december sky  seem 
not as garish as they do in summer4 ,and
 the sylvan slopes1  clustered with thy 
white-stone homes1 peeping here through 
the  mulberries1 standing there under   
the walnuts and poplars1 rising  yonder 
in a group like a mottled pyramid1 this 
most picturesque slope1  whereon thou   
art ever beating the anvil1 turning the 
wheel1 throwing  the shuttle1 moulding  
the clay1 and weltering withal in the   

mud of  strife and dissension1 this     
beautiful slope seems1 nevertheless1    
from  this distance1 like an altar      
raised to ,nature4 ,i look not upon thee
  more2 farewell4    ,i descend in the  
wadi to the ,river ,lykos of the        
ancients2 and  crossing the             
stone-bridge1 an hour's ascent brings me
 to one of the  villages of ,kisrawan4  
,on the grey horizon yonder1 is the     
limed bronze  ,statue of ,mary the      
,virgin1 rising on its sable pedestal1  
and looking1  from this distance1 like a
 candle in a bronze candle-stick4 ,that 
,statue1 fifty years hence1 the people  
of the ,lebanons will rebaptise  as the 
,statue of ,liberty4 ,masonry1 even     
to-day1 raises around it her  mace4 ,but
 whether these sacred mountains will be 
happier and more  prosperous under its  
rgime1 ,i can not say4 ,the ,masons and 
the  ,patriarch of the ,maronites are   
certainly more certain4 ,only this ,i   
know1 that between the devil and the    
deep sea1 ,mary the ,virgin shall  hold 

her own4 ,for though the name be        
changed1 and the alm-box thrown  into   
the sea1 she shall ever be worshipped by
 the people4 ,the ,statue  of the ,holy 
,virgin of ,liberty it will be called1  
and the ,jesuits and  priests can go    
a-begging4 ,meanwhile1 the ,patriarch   
will issue his  allocutions1 and the    
,jesuits1 their pamphlets1 against      
rationalism1  atheism1 masonry1 and     
other supposed enemies of their ,blessed
 ,virgin1  and point them out as enemies
 of ,abd'ul-,hamid4 ',tis curious how   
the  ,sultan of the ,ottomans can serve 
the cause of the ,virgin6    ,i visit   
the ,statue for the love of my mother1  
and mounting to the  top of the         
pedestal1 ,i look up and behold my      
mother before me4 ,the  spectre of her1 
standing before the monument1 looks down
 upon me1  reproachfully1 piteously1    
affectionately4 ,i sit down at the feet 
of the ,virgin ,mary and bury my face in
 my hands and weep4 ,i love  what thou  
lovest1 ,o my mother1 but ,i can see no 

more what thou seest4  ,for thy love1 ,o
 my mother1 these kisses and tears4 ,for
 thy love1 ,i  stand here like a child1 
and look up to this inanimate figure as 
,i  did when ,i was an acolyte4 ,my     
intellect1 ,o my mother1 ,i would  drown
 in my tears1 and thy faith ,i would    
stifle with my kisses4 ,only  thus is   
reconciliation possible4    ,leaving    
this throne of modern mythology1 ,i     
cross many wadis1 descend  and ascend   
many hills1 pass through many villages1 
until ,i reach1 at  ,ghina and          
,masshnaka1 the tomb of the mythology of
 the ancients4 ,at  ,ghina are ruins and
 monuments1 of which ,time has spared   
enough to  engage the interest of       
archologists4 ,let the ,pres ,jesuit1   
,bourquenoud and ,roz1 make boast of    
their discoveries and scholarship2  ,i  
can only boast of the fact that the     
ceremonialisms of worship are  the same 
to-day as they were in the days of my   
,phoenician ancestors4  ,which1 indeed1 
speaks well for ,,them4 ,this tablet1   

representing an  armed figure and a     
bear1 commemorates1 it is said1 the     
death of  ,tammuz4 ,and the figure of   
the weeping woman near it is probably   
that  of ,ashtaroth4 ,other figures     
there are2 but nothing short of the     
scholarship of ,bourquenoud and ,roz can
 unveil their marble mystery4    ,at    
,masshnaka1 overlooking the ,river      
,adonis1 are ruins of an ancient  temple
 in which can still be seen a few       
,corinthian columns4 ,this1 too1  we are
 told1 was consecrated to ,tammuz2 and  
in this valley the women  of ,byblus    
bemoaned every year the fate of their   
god4 ,isis and ,osiris1  ,tammuz and    
,ashtaroth1 ,venus and ,adonis1--these1 
,i believe1 are one and  the same4      
,their myth borrowed from the           
,phoenicians1 the ,egyptians1 and  the  
,romans1 from either of the two4 ,but   
the ,venus of ,rome is cheerful1        
joyous1 that of the ,phoenicians is sad 
and sorrowful4 ,even mythology  triumphs
 in its evolution4    ,here1 where my   

forebears deliquesced in sensuality1    
devotion1 and  grief1 where the ardency 
of the women of ,byblus flamed on the   
altar of  ,tammuz1 on this knoll1 whose 
trees and herbiage are fed perchance    
with  their dust1 ,i build my athafa    
7little kitchen71 ,arab-like1 and cook  
my noonday meal4 ,on the three stones1  
forming two right angles1 ,i  place my  
skillet1 kindle under it a fire1 pour   
into it a little sweet  oil1 and fry the
 few eggs ,i purchased in the village4  
,i abominate the  idea of frying eggs in
 water as the ,americans do4#a ,i had as
 lief fry  them in vinegar or syrup1    
where neither olive oil nor goat-butter 
is  obtainable4 ,but to fry eggs in     
water8 ,o the barbarity of it6 ,why not1
  my friend1 take them boiled and drink 
a little hot water after them8  ,this   
savours of originality1 at least1 and is
 just as insipid1 if not  more4 ,withal1
 they who boil cabbage1 and heap it in a
 plate over a  slice of corn-beef1 and  
call it a dish1 can break a few boiled  

eggs in  a cup of hot water and call    
them fried4 ,be this as it may4 ,the    
,americans will be solesistically simple
 even in their kitchen4    ,now1 my     
skillet of eggs being ready1 ,i draw out
 of my basket a cake  of cheese1 a few  
olives1 an onion1 and three paper-like  
loaves1 rather  leaves1 of bread1 and   
fall to4 ,with what relish1 ,i need not 
say4 ,but  let it be recorded here1 that
 under the karob tree1 on the bank of   
the  ,river ,adonis1 in the shadow of   
the great wall surrounding the ruins of 
the temple of ,tammuz1 ,i ,khalid1 in   
the thirty-fourth year of the reign  of 
,abd'ul-,hamid1 gave a banquet to the   
gods--who1 however1 were  content in    
being present and applauding the        
devouring skill of the  peptic host and 
toast-master4 ,even serene ,majesty at  
,yieldiz would  give away1 ,i think1 an 
hundred of its sealed dishes for such a 
skillet  of eggs in such an enchanted   
scene4 ,but for it1 alas6 such wild and 
simple joy is a sealed book4 ,poor      

,serene ,majesty6 ,now1 having gone     
through the fruit course--and is not the
 olive a fruit8--,i fill my jug  at the 
,river to make my coffee4 ,and here ,i  
ask1 ,in what ,hotel ,cecil or  ,waldorf
 or ,savoy1 or in what ,arab tent in the
 desert1 can one get a  better cup of   
coffee than this1 which ,khalid makes   
for himself8 ,the  gods be praised1     
before and after4 ,ay1 even in washing  
my pots and  dishes ,i praise the good  
gods4    ,and having done this1 ,i light
 my cigarette1 lug my basket on my back1
  and again set forth4 ,in three hours1 
on my way to ,byblus1 ,i reach a  hamlet
 situated in a deep narrow wadi1 closed 
on all sides by huge  mountain walls4   
,the most sequestered1 the most dreary  
place1 ,i have  yet seen4 ,here1 though 
unwilling1 the dusk of the ,december day
 having  set in1 ,i lay down the staff  
of wayfare4 ,and as ,i enter the little 
village1 ,i am greeted by the bleat of  
sheep and the low of the kine4  ,the    
first villager ,i meet is an aged woman1

 who stands in her door  before which is
 a pomegranate tree1 telling her beads4 
,she returns my  salaam graciously1 and 
invites me1 saying1 ',be kind to tarry  
overnight4' ,but can one be kinder than 
such an hostess8 ,seeing that ,i  laid  
down my burden1 she calls to her        
daughter to light the seraj  7naphtha   
lamp7 and bring some water for the      
stranger4 ',methinks thou  wouldst wash 
thy feet1' quoth she4 ,indeed1 that is  
as essential and  refreshing1 after a   
day's walk1 as washing one's face4 ,i   
sit me down1  therefore1 under the      
pomegranate1 take off my shoes and      
stockings1 and  the little girl1 a      
winsome1 dark-eyed1 quick-witted lass1  
pours to me  from the pitcher4 ,i try to
 take it from her2 but she would not1   
she  said1 be deprived of the pleasure  
of serving the stranger4 ,having  done1 
,i put on my stockings1 and1 leaving my 
shoes and basket near the  door1 enter a
 beit 7one-room house7 meagrely but     
neatly furnished4 ,the  usual straw mats

 are spread on the winter side1 behind  
the door2 in  the corner is a little    
linen-covered divan with trimming of    
beautiful  hand-made lace1 the work of  
the little girl2 and nearby are a few   
square cushions on the floor and a crude
 chair4 ,the seraj1 giving out  more    
smoke and smell than light1 is placed on
 a little shelf attached  to the central
 pillar of the beit4 ,near the door is a
 bench for the  water jars1 and in the  
other corner are the mattresses and     
quilts1  and the earthen tub containing 
the round leaves of bread4 ,of these    
consist the furniture and provision of  
mine hostess4    ,her son1 a youth of   
not more than two score years1 returns  
from his  day's labour a while after ,i 
had arrived4 ,and as he stands in the   
door1 his pick-axe and spade on his     
shoulder1 his sister runs to meet  him1 
and whispers somewhat about the         
stranger4 ,sitting on the  threshold1 he
 takes off his spats of cloth and his   
clouted shoes1  while she gets the      

pitcher of water4 ,after having washed1 
he enters1  salaams graciously1 and     
squats on the floor4 ,the mother then   
brings a  wicker tray on which is set   
the supper1 consisting of only bread and
  olives4 ',thou wilt overlook our      
penury1' she falters out2 'here be all  
we have4' ,in truth1 my hostess is of   
the poorest of the ,lebanon  peasants2  
even her sweet-oil pipkin and her jars  
of lentils and beans1  are empty4 ,she  
lays the tray before her son and invites
 me to partake  of the repast4 ,i go to 
my basket1 bring forth the few onions   
and the  two cakes of cheese ,i had     
left1 lay them with an apology on the   
tray--the mother1 abashed1 protests--and
 we sit down cross-legged in a  circle  
to supper4 ,when we rise1 the little    
girl lights a little fire1  and they    
enjoy the cup of coffee ,i make for     
them4 ,and the mother1 in  taking hers1 
tells me navely1 and with a sigh1 that  
it is five years  now since she had had 
a cup of coffee4 ,indeed1 she had seen  

better  days4 ,and 'tis sorrow1         
forestalling ,time1 which furrows her   
cheeks and  robs her black eyes of their
 lustre and spark4    ,she had once     
cattle1 and a beit of her own1 and rugs1
 too1 and jars  full of provision4 ,but 
now she is a tenant4 ,and her husband1  
ever  since he emigrated to ,america1   
did not send a single piaster or even   
write a letter4 ,from necessity she     
becomes a prey of usurers2 for  those   
,lebanon ,moths1 of which we saw a      
specimen in the village of  bells and   
potteries1 fall mostly in the wardrobe  
of women4 ,they are  locusts rather1 who
 visit only the wheat fields of the     
poor4 ,her home  was mortgaged to one   
such1 and failing to meet her           
obligation1 the  mortgage is closed and 
he takes possession4 ,soon after she is 
evicted1  her son1 the first-born1 a    
youth of much promise1 dies4    ',he    
could read and write1 my son1' quoth    
she1 sobbing2 'of a sharp  wit he was1  
and very assiduous in his studies4 ,once

 he accompanied the  priest of the      
village on a visit to the ,patriarch1   
and read there a  eulogium of his own   
composition1 for which he received a    
silver medal4  ,the ,patriarch then sent
 him to a ,seminary2 he was to become a 
priest1  my son4 ,he wrote a beautiful  
hand--both ,arabic and ,french2 he was  
of a  fine wit1 sharp1 quick1 brilliant4
 ,ah1 me1 but those who are of such     
minds never live6'    ,she then tells me
 how they lost their last head of       
cattle4 ,an  excellent sheep it was2    
which one night they forgot outside2 and
 the  wolf1 visiting the village1 sees  
it tied to the mulberry1 howls for  joy1
 and carries it off4 ,and thus ,death   
robs the poor woman of her  son2        
,america1 of her husband2 the ,shylock  
of the village1 of her home2  and the   
wolf1 of her last head of cattle4 ,and  
this were enough to age  even a ,spartan
 woman4 ,late in the evening1 after she 
had related at  length of her sorrows1  
three mattresses--all she had--are laid 

on the  straw mat near each other1 and  
the little girl had to sleep with her   
mother4    ,early in the morning ,i bid 
them farewell1 and pass on my way to    
,amsheet1 where ,henriette ,renan1 the  
sister of ,ernest1 is buried4 ,an       
hour's walk1 and the incarcerated wadi  
and its folk lie concealed  behind4 ,i  
breathe again the open air of the       
mountain expanse2 ,i behold  again the  
emerald stretch of water on the horizon1
 where the baggalas  and saics1 from    
this distance1 seem like doves basking  
in the morning  sun4 ,i cross the last  
rill1 mount the last hilltop on my      
journey1 and  lo1 at the foot of the    
gently sloping heath are the orchards   
and palms  of ,amsheet4 ,further below  
is ,jbail1 or ancient ,byblus1 looking  
like a  clutter of cliffs on the shore4 
,farewell to the mountain heights1 and  
the arid wilderness6 ,welcome the       
fertile plains1 and hopeful strands4    
,in half an hour ,i reach the immense   
building--the first or the last of  the 

village1 according to your              
direction--which1 from the top of the   
hill1 ,i thought to be a fortress4 ,a   
huge structure this1 still  a-building1 
and of an architecture altogether       
different from the  conventional        
,lebanon type4 ,no plain square affair1 
with three pointed  arches in the faade1
 and a gable of pink tiles2 but here are
 quoins1  oriels1 embrasures1 segmental 
arches1 and other luxuries of           
architecture4 ,out of place in these    
wilds1 altogether out of place4  ,hard  
by are two primitive flat-roofed beits1 
standing grimly there as  a rebuke to   
the extravagant tendencies of the age4  
,i go there in the  hope of buying some 
cheese and eggs1 and behold a lady of   
severe  beauty smoking a narghilah and  
giving orders to a servant4 ,she returns
  my salaam seated in her chair1 and    
tells me in an injured air1 after ,i    
had made known to her my desire1 that   
eggs and cheese are sold in the  stores4
    ',you may come in for breakfast1'   

she adds2 and clapping for the  servant1
 orders him to lay the table for me4 ,i 
enter the beit1 which  is partitioned   
into a kitchen1 a dining-room1 and a    
parlour4 ,on the  table is spread the   
usual breakfast of a ,lebanonese of     
affluence3  namely1 cheese1 honey1      
fig-jam1 and green olives4 ,the servant1
 who is  curious to know my name1 my    
religion1 my destination1 and so forth1 
tells me afterwards that ,madame is the 
wife of the kaiemkam1 and the  castle1  
which is building1 is their new home4   
,coming out1 ,i thank ,madame1 and ask  
her about the grave of ,renan's  sister4
 ,she pauses amazed1 blows her narghilah
 smoke in my face1  surveys me from top 
to toe1 and puts to me those same       
questions with  which ,i was tormented  
by her servant4 ,indeed1 ,i had answered
 ten of  hers1 before ,i got this answer
 to mine3 ',the sister of whom1 thou    
sayst8 ,that ,frenchman who came here in
 the sixties for antiquities8  ,yes2 his
 sister died and was buried here1 but no

 ,christian remembers  her for good4    
,she must have been a bad one like her  
brother1 who was  an infidel1 they say1 
and did not know or fear ,god4--,what   
wouldst thou  see there8 ,art like the  
idiot ,franje 7,europeans7 who come here
 and  carry away from around the grave  
some stones and dust8 ,go thou with     
him--7this to the servant7 and show him 
the vault of the ,toubeiyahs1  where she
 was buried4' ,this1 in a supercilious  
air1 while she drew  from the narghilah 
the smoke1 which ,i could not relish4   
,we come to the cemetery near the church
 in the centre of the town4  ,the vault 
where ,henriette was laid1 a plain1     
plastered square cell1 is  not far from 
an oak which in the morning envelopes it
 with its shadow2  and directly across  
are palms1 whose shades at sundown1 make
 a vain  effort to kiss its dust4 ,no   
grass1 no flowers around2 but much of   
the  dust of neglect4 ,and of this ,i   
take up a handful1 like 'the idiot      
,franje'2 but instead of carrying it    

away1 ,i press therein my lips and      
leave my planted kisses near the        
vault4--,when the mothers and the       
sisters of these sacred hills1 ,o       
,henriette1 can see the flowers of      
these kisses in thy dust1 when they can 
appreciate the sacred purity  of thy    
spirit and devotion1 what mothers then  
we shall have1 and what  sisters6    ,i 
pass through the village descending on  
the carriage road to ,jbail1  or        
,byblus4 ,in these diggings the shrewd  
antiquary digs for those  precious      
tear-bottles of my ancestors4 ,and      
everywhere one turns are  tombs in which
 the archologist finds somewhat to noise
 abroad4 ,his1  indeed1 is a scholarship
 which is essentially necrophagous4 ,for
  consider1 what would become of it1 if 
a necropolis1 for instance1 did  not    
yield somewhat of nourishment1--a limb1 
a torso1 a palimpsest1 or  even an      
earthen lamp1 a potsherd1 or a coin8 ,i 
rail not at these  scholarly            
grave-diggers because ,i can not        

interest myself in their  work2 that    
were unwise and unfair4 ,but truly1 ,i  
abominate this  business of 'cashing1'  
as it were1 the ruins and remains1 the  
ashes  and dust1 of our ancestors4      
,archology for archology's sake is      
pardonable2 archology for the sake of   
writing a book is intolerable2  and     
archology for lucre is abominable4      
,at ,jbail ,i visited the citadel1 said 
to be of ,phoenician origin1  which is  
occupied by the mudir of the ,district4 
,entering the gate1  near which is a    
chapel consecrated to ,our ,lady of that
 name1 where  litigants1 when they can  
not prove their claims1 are made to     
swear to  them1 we pass through a court 
between rows of ,persian lilac trees1   
into a dark1 stivy arcade on both sides 
of which are dark1 stivy cells  used as 
stables4 ,reaching the citadel proper1  
we mount a high stairway  to the loft   
occupied by the mudir4 ,this1 too1 is   
partitioned1 but with  cotton sheeting1 
into various apartments4    ,the zabtie1

 in zouave uniform1 at the door1 would  
have me wait  standing in the corridor  
outside2 for his ,excellency is at      
dinner4 ,and  ,excellency1 as affable as
 his zabtie1 hearing the parley without1
  growls behind the scene and orders me 
gruffly to go to the court4  ',this is  
not the place to make a complaint1' he  
adds4 ,but the  stranger at thy door1 ,o
 gracious ,excellency1 complains not    
against  any one in this world2 and if  
he did1 assure thee1 he would not       
complain to the authorities of this     
world4 ,this1 or some such  plainness of
 distemper1 the zouave communicates to  
his superior  behind the cotton         
sheeting1 who presently comes out1 his  
anger  somewhat abated1 and1 taking me  
for a monk--my jubbah is responsible    
for the deception--invites me to the    
sitting-room in the enormous  loophole  
of the citadel4 ,he himself was         
beginning to complain of the  litigants 
who pester him at his home1 and         
apologise for his ill  humour1 when     

suddenly1 disabused on seeing my        
trousers beneath my  jubbah1 he subjects
 me to the usual cross-examination4 ,i  
could not  refrain from thinking that1  
not being of the cowled gentry1 he      
regretted having honoured me with an    
apology4    ,but after knowing somewhat 
of the pilgrim stranger1 especially that
  he had been in ,america1 ,excellency  
tempers the severity of his  expression 
and evinces an agreeable curiosity4 ,he 
would know many  things of that distant 
country2 especially about a             
,gold-,mining  ,syndicate1 or           
,gold-,mining ,fake1 in which he        
invested a few hundred  pounds of his   
fortune4 ,and ,i make reply1 ',i know   
nothing about ,gold  ,mines and         
,syndicates1 ,excellency3 but methinks  
if there be gold in  such schemes1 the  
grubbing1 grabbing ,americans would not 
let it  come to ,syria4' ',indeed1 so1' 
he murmurs1 musing2 'indeed1 so4' ,and  
clapping for the serving-zabtie--the    
mudirs and kaiemkams of the  ,lebanon   

make these zabties1 whose duty is to    
serve papers1 serve1  too1 in their     
homes--he orders for me a cup of coffee4
 ,and further  complaining to me1 he    
curses ,america for robbing the country 
of  its men and labourers4--',we can no 
more find tenants for our  estates1     
despite the fact that they get more of  
the income than  we do4 ,the shreek     
7partner71 or tenant1 is rightly called 
so4 ,for the  owner of an estate that   
yields fifty pounds1 for instance1      
barely  gets half of it2 while the      
shreek1 he who tills and cultivates the 
land1 gets away with the other half1    
sniffing and grumbling  withal4 ,of a   
truth1 land-tenants are not so well-off 
anywhere4 ,and if  the land but yields a
 considerable portion1 any one with a   
few  grains of the energy of those      
,americans1 would prefer to be a  shreek
 than a real-estate owner4' ,thus1 his  
,excellency1 complaining  of the times1 
regretting his losses1 cursing ,america 
and its ,gold  ,mines2 and having done1 

drops the narghilah tube from his hand  
and  dozes on the divan4    ,i muse     
meanwhile on ,time1 who sees in a       
citadel of the ancient  ,phoenicians1   
after many thousand years1 that same    
propensity for  gold1 that same instinct
 for trade4 ,the ,phoenicians worked    
gold  mines in ,thrace1 and the         
,syrians1 their descendants1 are working
  gold mines in ,america4 ,but are we as
 daring1 as independent1 as  honest8 ,i 
am not certain1 however1 if those       
,phoenicians had anything  to do with   
bubbles4 ,my friend ,sanchuniathon      
writes nothing on the  subject4 ,history
 records not a single instance of a     
gold-mine  bubble in ,thrace1 or a      
silver ditto in ,africa4 ,apart from    
this1 have  we1 the descendants of those
 honest ,phoenicians1 any of their      
inventive skill and bold initiative8    
,they taught other nations the  art of  
ship-building2 we can not as much as    
learn from other  nations the art of    
building a gig4 ,they transmitted to the

 people  of the ,west a knowledge of    
mathematics1 weights1 and measures2 we  
can not as much as weigh or measure the 
little good ,europe is  transmitting to 
us4 ,they always fought bravely against 
their  conquerors1 always gave evidence 
of their love of independence2 and we   
dare not raise a finger or whisper a    
word against the red ,tyrant by  whom we
 are degraded and enslaved4 ,we are     
content in paying tribute  to a criminal
 ,government for pressing upon our necks
 the yoke and  fettering hopelessly our 
minds and souls--and my brave           
,phoenicians1  ah1 how bravely they     
thought and fought4 ,what daring deeds  
they  accomplished6 what mysteries of   
art and science they unveiled6    ,on   
these shores they hammered at the door  
of invention1 and1  entering1 showed the
 world how glass is made2 how colours   
are  extracted from pigments2 how to    
measure1 and count1 and communicate     
human thought4 ,the swarthy sons of the 
eternal billows1 how shy they  were of  

the mountains1 how enamoured of the sea6
 ,for the mountains1 it  was truly said1
 divide nations1 and the seas connect   
them4 ,and my  ,phoenicians1 mind you1  
were for connection always4 ,everywhere1
 they  lived on the shores1 and ever    
were they ready to set sail4    ,in this
 mammoth loophole1 measuring about ten  
yards in length1--this  the thickness of
 the wall--,i muse of another people    
skilled in the art  of building4 ,but   
between the helots who built the        
pyramids and the  freemen who built this
 massive citadel1 what a contrast6 ,the 
,egyptian  mind could only invent       
fables2 the ,phoenician was the vehicle 
of  commerce and the useful arts4 ,the  
,egyptians would protect their dead     
from the tyranny of ,time2 the          
,phoenicians would protect themselves1  
the living1 from the invading enemy3    
those based their lives on the  vagaries
 of the future2 these built it on the   
solid rock of the  present4444          
99       99       99       99       99  

,but we have had enough of ,khalid's    
gush about the ,phoenicians1 and we     
confess we can not further walk with him
 on this journey4 ,so1 we leave  his    
,excellency the mudir snoring on the    
divan1 groaning under the  incubus of   
the ,gold ,mine ,fake1 bemoaning his    
losses in ,america2 pass  the zabtie in 
zouave uniform1 who is likewise snoring 
on the  door-step2 and1 hurrying down   
the stairway and out through the stivy  
arcade1 we say farewell to ,our ,lady of
 the ,gate1 and get into one of  the    
carriages which ply the shore between   
,junie and ,jbail4 ,we reach  ,junie    
about sundown1 and ,allah be praised6   
,even this toy of a train  brings us1 in
 thirty minutes1 to ,beirut4    -----   
#a ,khalid would speak here of poached  
eggs1 we believe4 ,and the              
,americans1 to be fair1 are not so      
totally ignorant of the art of          
frying4 ,they have lard--much worse than
 water--in which they       cook1 or    
poach1 or fry--but the change in the    

name does not       change the taste4   
,so1 we let ,khalid's stricture on fried
 eggs and       boiled cabbage          
stand4--,,editor4          ,,chapter ,v 
,,union ,,and ,,progress      ,had not  
,khalid in his retirement touched his   
philosophic raptures with  a little     
local colouring1 had he not given an    
account of his tramping  tour in the    
,lebanons1 the hiatus in ,shakib's      
,histoire ,intime could  not have been  
bridged4 ,it would have remained1 much  
to our vexation  and sorrow1 somewhat   
like the ravine in which ,khalid almost 
lost his  life4 ,but now we return1     
after a year's absence1 to our ,scribe1 
who at  this time in ,baalbek is        
soldering and hammering out rhymes in   
praise  of ,niazi and ,enver1           
,abd'ul-,hamid and the ,dastur          
7,constitution74    ,when ,khalid1 after
 his cousin's marriage1 suddenly        
disappeared from  ,baalbek1 writes he1  
,i felt that something had struck me    
violently  on the brow1 and everything  

around me was dark4 ,i could not        
withhold my tears3 ,i wept like a child1
 even like ,khalid's mother4 ,i         
remember he would often speak of suicide
 in those days4 ,and on the  evening of 
that fatal day we spent many hours      
discussing the question4  ',why is not  
one free to kill himself1' he finally   
asked1 'if one is  free to become a     
,jesuit8' ,but ,i did not believe he was
 in earnest4  ,alas1 he was4 ,for on the
 morning of the following day1 ,i went  
up to  his tent on the roof and found   
nothing of ,khalid's belongings but  a  
pamphlet on the subject1 ',is ,suicide a
 ,sin8' and right under the  title the  
monosyllable ,,la 7no7 and his          
signature4 ,the frightfulness  of his   
intention stood like a spectre before   
me4 ,i clapped one hand  upon the other 
and wept4 ,i made inquiries in the city 
and in the  neighbouring places1 but to 
no purpose4 ,oh1 that dreadful1 dismal  
day1 when everywhither ,i went something
 seemed to whisper in my  heart1        

',khalid is no more4' ,it was the first 
time in my life that ,i  felt the pangs 
of separation1 the sting of death and   
sorrow4 ,the  days and months passed1   
heartlessly confirming my conjecture1 my
  belief4    ,one evening1 when the last
 glimmer of hope passed away1 ,i sat    
down  and composed a threnody in his    
memory4 ,and ,i sent it to one of the   
newspapers of ,beirut1 in the hope that 
,khalid1 if he still lived1  might      
chance to see it4 ,it was published and 
quoted by other journals  here and in   
,egypt1 who1 in their eulogies1 spoke of
 ,khalid as the  young ,baalbekian      
philosopher and poet4 ,one of these     
newspapers1 whose  editor is a dear     
friend of mine1 and of comely ancient   
virtue1 did not  mention1 from a subtle 
sense of tender regard for my feelings1 
the  fact that ,khalid committed        
suicide4 ',he died1' the ,notice said1  
'of a  sudden and violent defluxion of  
rheums1#a which baffled the  physician  
and resisted his skill and physic4'     

,another journal1 whose  editor's       
religion is of the ,jesuitical pattern1 
spoke of him as a  miserable            
,god-abandoned wretch who was not       
entitled to the right of  ,christian    
burial2 and fulminated at its           
contemporaries for eulogising  the      
youthful infidel and moaning his death1 
thus spreading and  justifying his evil 
example4    ,and so1 the days passed1   
and the months1 and ,khalid was still   
dead4  ,in the summer of this year1 when
 the ,constitution was proclaimed1 and  
the country was rioting in the          
saturnalia of ,freedom and ,equality1 my
  sorrow was keener1 deeper than ever4  
,not ,i alone1 but the cities and  the  
deserts of ,syria and ,arabia1 missed my
 loving friend4 ,how  gloriously he     
would have filled the tribune of the    
day1 ,i sadly  mused4444 ,o ,khalid1 ,i 
can never forgive this crime of thine   
against  the sacred rites of            
,friendship4 ,such heartlessness1 such  
inexorable  cruelty1 ,i have never      

before observed in thee4 ,no matter how 
much thou  hast profited by thy         
retirement to the mountains1 no matter  
how much  thy solitude hath given thee  
of health and power and wisdom1 thy     
cruel  remissness can not altogether be 
drowned in my rejoicing4 ,to forget     
those who love thee above everything    
else in the world1--thy mother1  thy    
cousin1 thine affectionate brother--    
,and our ,scribe goes on1 blubbering    
like a good ,syrian his complaint  and  
joy1 gushing now in verse1 now in what  
is worse1 in rhymed prose1  until he    
reaches the point which is to us of     
import4 ,khalid1 in the  winter of the  
first year of the ,dastur               
7,constitution7 writes to him  many     
letters from ,beirut1 of which he gives 
us not less than fifty6  ,and of these1 
the following1 if not the most piquant  
and interesting1  are the most          
indispensable to our ,history4          
,letter ,i 7,as numbered in the         
,original7      ,my loving ,brother     

,shakib3      ,to whom1 if not to you1  
before all1 should ,i send the first    
word    of peace1 the first sign of the 
resurrection8 ,to my mother8 ,to    my  
cousin ,najma8 ,well1 yes4 ,but if ,i   
write to them1 my letters    will be    
brought to you to be read and answered4 
,so ,i write now    direct1 hoping that 
you will convey to them these tidings of
    joy4 ',tis more than a year now     
since ,i slinked out of ,baalbek1       
leaving you in the dark about me4       
,surely1 ,i deserve the    chastisement 
of your bitterest thoughts4 ,but what   
could ,i do8    ,such is the rigour of  
the sort of life ,i lived that any      
communication with the outside world1   
especially with friends    and lovers1  
would have marred it4 ,so1 ,i had to be 
silent as the    pines in which ,i put  
up1 until ,i became as healthy as the   
swallows1 my companions there4 ,when we 
meet1 ,i shall recount to    you the    
many curious incidents of my solitude   
and my journey in    the sacred hills of

 ,lebanon4 ,to these auspicious         
mountains1 my    ,brother1 ,i am        
indebted for the health and joy and     
wisdom that    are now mine2 and yours1 
too1 if you consider4      ,strange1 is 
it not1 that throughout my journey1 and 
,i have    passed in many villages1     
nothing heard ,i of this great political
    upheaval in the ,empire4 ,probably  
the people of the ,lebanons    cherish  
not the ,revolution4 ,there is so much  
in common1 ,i find1    between them and 
the ,celtic races1 who always in such   
instances    have been more royalists   
than the king4 ,and ,i think ,mt4       
,lebanon    is going to be the ,vende of
 the ,turks4      ,i have been in       
,beirut but a few days4 ,and truly1 ,i  
could not    believe my eyes1 when in   
the ,place de la ,concorde 7,i hope the 
,turks are not going to follow in the   
steps of the ,french    ,revolutionists 
in all things71 ,i could not believe my 
eyes1    when1 in this muddy ,square1 on
 the holy ,stump of ,liberty1 ,i        

beheld my old friend the ,spouter       
dispensing to the turbaned and          
tarboushed crowd1 among which were      
cameleers and muleteers with    their   
camels and mules1 of the blessing of    
that triple political    abracadabra of 
the ,france of more than a century      
passed4    ,liberty1 ,fraternity1       
,equality6--it's a shame that the show  
has    been running for six months now  
and ,i did not know it4 ,i begin    by  
applauding the ,spouters of ,concord    
,square1 the donkey that ,i    am4 ,but 
how1 with my cursed impulsiveness1 can  
,i always keep on    the sidewalk of    
reason8 ,i1 who have suckled of the milk
 of    freedom and broke the bottle1    
too1 on my ,nurse's head1 ,i am not     
to blame1 if from sheer joy1 ,i cheer   
those who are crowning her    on a      
dung-hill with wreaths of stable straw4 
,it's better1    billah1 than breaking  
the bottle on her head1 is it not8 ,and 
so1    let the ,spouters spout4 ,and let
 the sheikh and the priest and    the   

rabbi embrace on that very ,stump and   
make up4 ,live the ,era    of ,concord  
and peace and love6 ,live the ,dastur6  
,hurrah for the    ,union and ,progress 
,heroes6 ,come down to ,beirut and do   
some    shouting with your fellow       
citizens4    ,letter ,v      ,no2 ,i do 
not approve of your idea of associating 
with that young    ,mohammedan editor4  
,you know what is said about the tiger  
and its    spots4 ,besides1 ,i had      
another offer from a ,christian         
oldtimer2    but you might as well ask  
me to become a ,jesuit as to became a   
,journalist4 ,i wrote last week a       
political article1 in which ,i          
criticised ,majesty's ,address to the   
,parliament1 and mauled those           
oleaginous1 palavering1 mealy-mouthed   
,representatives1 who would    not dare 
point out the lies in it4 ,they hear the
 ,chief ,clerk    read of the efforts   
made by the ,government during the past 
thirty years in the interest of         
education1 and applaud2 while    at the 

,royal ,banquet they jostle and hustle  
each other to kiss    the edge of       
,majesty's frock-coat4 ,the abject      
slaves6      ,the article was much      
quoted and commented upon2 ,i was       
flouted by    many1 defended by a few1  
these asked3 ,was the ,government of    
,abd'ul-,hamid1 committing all its      
crimes in the interest of    education1 
were we being trained by the ,censorship
 and the    ,bosphorus ,terror for the  
,dastur8 ,but the person of ,majesty1   
the sacredness of the ,khalifate1 cried 
the others4 ,and a    certain one1 in   
the course of his attack1 denies the    
existence    of ,khalid1 who died1 said 
he1 a year ago4 ,and what matters it if 
a dead man can stir a whole city and    
blow into the nostrils of    its walking
 spectres a breath of life8      ,i     
spoke last night in one of the music    
halls and gave the    ,mohammedans a    
piece of my mind4 ,the poor             
,christians6--they    feared the        
,government in the old rgime2 they cower

 before the    boatmen in this4 ,for the
 boatmen of ,beirut have not lost their 
prestige and power4 ,they are a sort of 
commune and are yet    supreme4 ,yes1   
they are always riding the whirlwind and
 directing    the storm4 ,and who dares 
say a word against them8 ,every one of  
them1 in his swagger and bluster1 is an 
,abd'ul-,hamid4 ,alas1    everything is 
yet in a chaotic state4 ,the boatman's  
shriek can    silence the ,press and    
make the ,spouters tremble4      ,i am  
to lecture in the ,public ,hall of one  
of the ,colleges here    on the ,moral  
,revolution4 ,believe me1 ,i would not  
utter a word    or write a line if ,i   
were not impelled to it4 ,and just as   
soon    as some one comes to the front  
to champion in this land    spiritual   
and moral freedom1 ,i'll go way back and
 sit down4    ,for why should ,i then   
give myself the trouble8 ,and the       
applause    of the multitude1 mind you1 
brings me not a single olive4    ,letter
 ,,xxii      ,i had made up my mind to  

go to ,cairo1 and ,i was coming up to   
say    farewell to you and mother4 ,for 
,i like not ,beirut1 where one in       
winter must go about in top-boots1 and  
in a dust-coat in summer4    ,i wonder  
what ,rousseau1 who called ,paris the   
city of mud1 would    have said of this8
 ,besides1 a city ruled by boatmen is   
not a    city for gentlemen to live in4 
,so1 ,i made up my mind to get out    of
 it1 and quickly4 ,but yesterday        
morning1 before ,i had taken my         
coffee1 some one knocked at my door4 ,i 
open1 and lo1 a policeman    in shabby  
uniform1 makes inquiry about ,khalid4   
,what have ,i done1    ,i thought1 to   
deserve this visit8 ,and before ,i had  
time to    imagine the worst1 he        
delivers a card from the ,deputy to     
,syria    of the ,union and ,progress   
,society of ,salonique4 ,i am desired in
    this to come at my earliest         
convenience to the ,club to meet this   
gentleman4 ,there1 ,i am received by an 
,army ,officer and a certain    ,ahmed  

,bey4 ,and after the coffee and the     
formalities of civility    are over1 ,i 
am asked to accompany them on a tour to 
the    principal cities of upper        
,syria--to ,damascus1 ,homs1 ,hama1 and 
,aleppo4 ,the young ,army ,officer is to
 speechify in ,turkish1 ,i1 in          
,arabic1 and ,ahmed ,bey1 who is as     
oleaginous as a ,turk could be1    will 
take up1 ,i think1 the collection4      
,seeing in this a chance    to spread   
the ,idea among our people1 ,i accept1  
and in a    fortnight we shall be in    
,damascus4 ,you must come there1 for ,i 
am    burning to meet and embrace you4  
,letter ,,xxv      ,whom do you think ,i
 met yesterday8 ,why1 nothing gave me   
greater    pleasure ever since ,i have  
been here than this3 ,i was crossing    
the ,square on my way to the ,club1 when
 some one plucking at my    jubbah      
angrily greets me4 ,i look back1 and    
behold our dear old    ,im-,hanna1 who  
has just returned from ,new ,york4 ,she 
stood there    waving her hand wildly   

and rating me for not returning her     
salaam4 ,you know no one any more1 ,o   
,khalid1 she said    plaintively2 ,i    
call to you three times and you look    
not1 hear    not4 ,no matter1 ,o        
,khalid4 ,thereupon1 she embraces me as 
fondly    as my mother4 ,and why1 she   
inquired1 do you wear this black        
jubbah8 ,are you now a monk8 ,were it   
not for that long hair and    that cap  
of yours1 ,i would not have known you4  
,let me see1 isn't    that the cap ,i   
bought you in ,new ,york8 ,and she takes
 it off my    head to examine it4 ,yes1 
that's it4 ,how good of you to keep it4 
,well1 how are you now8 ,do you cough   
any more8 ,are you still    crazy about 
books8 ,i don't think so1 for you have  
rosy cheeks    now4 ,and sobbing for    
joy1 she embraces me again and again4   
,she is neatly dressed1 wears a silk    
fich1 and is as alert as    ever4 ,in   
the afternoon1 ,i visit her at the      
,hotel1 and she asks    me to accompany 
her to the ,bank1 where she cashes three

 bills of    exchange for three hundred 
pounds each6 ,i ask her what she is     
going to do with all this money1 and she
 tells me that she is    going to build 
a little home for her grandson and send 
him to    the ,college of the ,americans
 here4      ,and is there like ,america 
in all the world8 she exclaims4 ,ah1    
my heart for ,america6 ,and on asking   
her why she did not remain    there3    
,fear not2 just as soon as ,i build my  
house and place my    son in the        
,college ,i am going back to ,new ,york4
 ,what1 ,o ,khalid1    will you return  
with me8 ,she then takes some gold      
pieces in her    hand1 and lowering her 
voice3 ,may be you need some money2     
take1    take these4 ,dear old          
,im-,hanna1 ,i would not refuse her     
favour1    and ,i would not accept one  
such4 ,what was ,i to do8 ,coming       
through the ,jewellers' bazaar ,i hit   
upon an idea1 and with the    money she 
slipped into my pocket1 ,i bought a gold
 watch in one    of the stores and      

charged her to present it to her        
grandson4    ,say it is from his        
brother1 your other grandson ,khalid4   
,she    protests1 scolds1 and finally   
takes the watch1 saying1 ,well1         
nothing is changed in you3 still the    
same crazy ,khalid4      ,to-morrow she 
is coming to see my room1 and to cook   
for me a    dish of mojadderah6 ,ah1 the
 old days in the cellar6    ,in the     
thirtieth ,letter1 one of considerable  
length1 dated ,march1 is  an exceedingly
 titillating divagation on the gulma    
7oustraation of  animals71 called forth1
 we are told1 by the rut of the d----d  
cats in  the yard4 ,poor ,khalid can not
 sleep4 ,one night he jumps out of bed  
and chases them away with his skillet1  
saying1 ,why don't ,i make such  a row1 
ye wantons8 ,they come again the        
following night1 and ,khalid on  the    
following morning moves to a ,hotel     
which1 by good or ill chance1  is       
adjacent to the lupanars of the city4   
,his window opens on another  yard in   

which other cats1 alas6--of the human   
species this time--are  caterwauling1   
harrowing the soul of him and the night4
 ,he makes a  second remove1 but finds  
himself disturbed this time by the rut  
of a  certain roebuck within4 ,nature1  
,o ,khalid1 will not be cheated1 no more
  than she will be abused1 without      
retaliating soon or late4 ,true1 you    
got out of many ruts heretofore2 but    
this you can not get out of  except you 
go deeper into it4 ,your anecdotes from 
,ad-,damiry and your  quotations from   
,montaigne shall not help you4 ,and your
 allusions to  ,march-cats and          
,march-,khalids are too pitiful to be   
humorous4 ,indeed1  were not the tang of
 lubricity in this ,letter too strong1  
we would  have given in full the        
confession it contains4    ,we now come 
to the last of this ,series1 in which   
,khalid speaks of a  certain ,american  
lady1 a ,mrs4 ,goodfree1 or ,gotfry1 who
 is a votary of  ,ebbas ,effendi1 the   
,pope of ,babism at ,heifa4 ,mrs4       

,gotfry may not be a  ,babist in the    
strict sense of the word2 but she is a  
votary and  worshipper of the ,bab4 ,to 
her the personal element in a creed is  
of  more importance than the ism4       
,hence1 her pilgrimage every year to    
,heifa4 ,she comes with presents and    
gold2 and ,ebbas ,effendi1 who is not   
impervious to the influence of other    
gods than his own1 permits her  into the
 sanctuary1 where she shares with him   
the light of divine  revelation and     
returns to the ,states1 as the          
,priestess of the ,cult1 to  bless and  
console the ,faithful4 ,khalid was      
dining with ,ahmed ,bey at  the ,grand  
,hotel--but here is a portion of the    
,letter4    ,by a devilish mischance she
 occupied the seat opposite to mine4    
,and  in this trap of ,iblis was decoy  
enough for a poor mouse like me4 ,it is 
an age since ,i beheld such an ,oriental
 gem in an ,american setting2 or  such a
 strange ,southern beauty in an exotic  
frame4 ,for one would think  her from   

the ,south1 or further down from        
,mexico4 ,nay1 of ,andalusian1  and     
consequently of ,arabian1 origin she    
must be4 ,her hair and her eyes  are of 
the richest jet2 her glance1 voluptuous1
 mysterious2 her  complexion1 neither   
white nor olive1 but partakes of        
both1--a  gauze-like shade of           
heliotrope1 as it were1 over a pink and 
straw  surface1 if you can imagine that2
 and her expression1 a play between     
devotion and diabolism--now a question  
mark to love1 now an  exclamation to    
sorrow1 and at times a dash between     
both4 ,by what  mysterious medium of    
romance and adventure did ,america      
produce such a  beauty1 ,i can not tell4
 ,perhaps she1 too1 can not4 ,if you saw
 her1 ,o  ,shakib1 you'd do nothing for 
months but dedicate odes to her         
eyes1--to  the deep1 dark infinity of   
their luring1 devouring beauty1--which  
seem  to drop honey and poison from     
every arched hair of their fulsome      
lashes4 ,withal1--another devilish      

mischance1--she was dressed in black    
and wore a white silk ruffle1 like      
myself4 ,and her age8 ,well1 she can    
not have passed her sixth lustrum4 ,and 
really1 as the ,novelist would  say in  
his ,novel1 she looks ten years         
younger4444 ,to say we were  attracted  
to each other were presumptuous3 but ,i 
was taken4444 ,near  her sat a ,syrian  
gentleman of my acquaintance1 with whom 
she was  conversing when we entered4    
,that is the lady whose beauty1 when she
  was sitting1 ,i described to you3 but 
when she got up to leave the            
table1--alas1 and ay me1 and all the    
other expressions of regret and  sorrow4
 ,that such a beautiful face should be  
denied a corresponding  beauty of       
figure4 ,and what is more pitiable about
 her1 she is lame in  the right leg4    
,poor dear ,misfortune1 ,i wish it were 
in my power to add  an inch of my limb  
to hers4    ,and ,khalid goes on        
limping1 drooling1 alassing1 to the end4
 ,after  dinner he is introduced to his 

poor dear ,misfortune by his ,syrian    
friend4 ,but being with ,ahmed ,bey he  
can not remain this evening4 ,on  the   
following day1 however1 he is invited to
 lunch2 and on the terrace  facing the  
sea1 they pass the afternoon discussing 
various subjects4  ,mrs4 ,gotfry is     
surprised how a ,syrian of ,khalid's    
mind can not see the  beauties of       
,babism1 or ,buhaism1 as it is now      
called1 and the lofty  spirituality of  
the ,bab4 ,but she forgives him his lack
 of faith1 gives  him her card1 and     
invites him to her home1 if he ever     
returns to the  ,united ,states4        
,now1 maugre the fact that1 in a        
postscript to this ,letter1 ,khalid     
closes with these words1 ,and what have 
,i to do with priests and  priestesses8 
we can not but harbour a suspicion that 
his ,union and  ,progress tour is bound 
to have more than a political           
significance4 ,by  ill or good hap those
 words are beginning to assume a double 
meaning2  and maugre all efforts to the 

contrary1 the days must soon unfold the 
twofold tendency and result of the      
,union and ,progress ideas of  ,khalid4 
-----     #a ,in some parts of ,syria1  
as in ,arabia1 almost every ill and     
affection is attributed to the rheums1  
or called so4 ,rheumatism1       for    
instance1 is explained by the ,arab     
quack as a defluxion of       rheums1   
failing to discharge through the upper  
orifices1 progress       downward1 and  
settling in the muscles and joints1     
produce the       affection4 ,and might 
there not be more truth in that than the
       diagnosis of him who is a ,membre
 de la ,facult de ,medicine de          
,france8--,,editor4          ,,chapter  
,,vi    ,,revolutions ,,within ,,and    
,,without      ,even ,carlyle can be    
longwinded and short-sighted on         
occasions4 ',once  in destroying the    
,false1' says he1 'there was a certain  
inspiration4'  ,and always there is1 to 
be sure1 my ,master4 ,for the world is  
not  ,europe1 and the final decision on 

,who ,is and ,what ,is ,to ,rule1 was   
not  delivered by the ,french           
,revolution4 ,the ,orient1 the land of  
origination and prophecy1 must yet solve
 for itself this eternal  problem of the
 ,old and ,new1 the ,false and ,true4   
,and whether by  ,revolutions1          
,speculations1 or ,constitutions1       
ancient ,revelation will  be purged and 
restored to its original pristine       
purity3 the  superannuated lumber that  
accumulated around it during centuries  
of  apathy1 fatalism1 and sloth1 must   
go3 the dust and mould and cobwebs  of  
the ,temple will be swept away4 ,indeed1
 'a war must be eternally  waged on     
evils eternally renewed4' ,the genius of
 destruction has done  its work1 you    
say1 ,o my esteemed ,master8 and there  
is nothing more to  destroy8 ,the gods  
might say this of other worlds than     
ours4 ,in ,europe1  as in ,asia1 there  
is to be considered and remembered3 if  
this mass of  things we call humanity   
and civilisation were as healthy as the 

eternal powers would have them1 the     
healthiest of the race would not  be    
constantly studying and dissecting our  
social and political ills4    ,in a     
certain sense1 we are healthier to-day  
than the ,europeans2 but  our health is 
that of the slave and not the master3 it
 is of more  benefit to others than it  
is to ourselves4 ,we are doomed to be   
the  drudges of neurasthenic1           
psychopathic1 egoistic masters1 if we do
 not  open our minds to the light of    
science and truth4 ',every age has its  
,book1' says the ,prophet4 ,but every   
book1 if it aspires to be a guide  to   
life1 must contain of the eternal truth 
what was in the one that  preceded it4  
,we can not afford to let aught of this 
die4 ,leave the  principal original     
altar in the ,temple1 and destroy all   
the others4  ,light on that altar the   
torch of science1 which the better mind 
and  cleaner hand of ,europe are        
transmitting to us1 and place your foot 
upon its false and unspeakable          

divinities4 ,the gods of wealth1 of     
egoism1 of alcohol1 of fornication1 we  
must not acknowledge2 nay1 we  must     
resist unto death their malign influence
 and power4 ,but alas1  what are we     
doing to-day8 ,instead of looking up to 
the pure and lofty  souls of ,europe for
 guidance1 we welter in the mud with the
 lowest and  most degenerate4 ,we are   
beginning to know and appreciate        
,english  whiskey1 but not ,english     
freedom2 we know the ,french grisettes1 
but  not the ,french sages2 we guzzle   
,german beer1 but of ,german wisdom we  
taste not a drop4    ,o my ,brothers1   
let us cease rejoicing in the ,dastur2  
for at heart we  know no freedom1 nor   
truth1 nor order4 ,we elect our         
representatives to  ,parliament1 but not
 unlike the ,europeans2 we borrow from  
,france what  the deeper and higher mind
 of ,france no longer believes2 we      
imitate  ,england in what ,england has  
long since discarded2 but our ,books of 
,revelation1 which made ,france and     

,germany and ,england what they are1    
and in which is the divine essence of   
truth and right and freedom1 we  do not 
rightly understand4 ,a thousand         
falsehoods are cluttered around  the    
truth to conceal it from us4 ,i call you
 back1 ,o my ,brothers1 to  the good old
 virtues of our ancestors4 ,without     
these the ,revolution  will miscarry and
 our ,dastur will not be worth a        
date-stone4 ,our  ancestors1--they never
 bowed their proud neck to tyranny1     
whether  represented in an autocrat or  
in a body of autocrats2 they never      
betrayed their friends2 they never      
soiled their fingers with the coin  of  
usury2 they never sacrificed their      
manhood to fashion2 they never          
endangered in the cafs and lupanars     
their health and reason4 ,the  ,mosque  
and the ,church1 notwithstanding the    
ignorance and bigotry they  foster1 are 
still better than lunatic asylums4 ,and 
,europe can not have  enough of these   
to-day4    ,continence1 purity of heart1

 fidelity1 simplicity1 a sense of true  
manhood1 magnanimity of spirit1 a       
healthiness of body and mind1--these    
are the beautiful ancient virtues4      
,these are the supreme truths of the    
,books of ,revelation3 in these consists
 the lofty spirituality of the  ,orient4
 ,but through what thick1 obscene       
growths we must pass to-day1  through   
what cactus hedges and thistle-fields we
 must penetrate1  before we rise again  
to those heights4    ',there can be no  
,revolution without a ,reformation1'    
says a ,german  philosopher4 ,and truly 
so4 ,for the fetters which bind us can  
not be  shaken off1 before the          
conscience is emancipated4 ,a political 
revolution must always be preceded by a 
spiritual one1 that it might  have some 
enduring effect4 ,otherwise1 things will
 revert to their  previous state of     
rottenness as sure as ,allah lives4 ,but
 mind you1 ,i  do not say1 ,cut down the
 hedges2 mow the thistle-fields2 uproot 
the  obscene plants2 no3 ,i only ask you

 to go through them1 and out of  them1  
to return no more4 ,sell your little    
estate there1 if you have  one2 sell it 
at any price3 give it away and let the  
dead bury their  dead4 ,cease to work in
 those thorny fields1 and ,god and      
nature will do  the rest4    ,i am for a
 reformation by emigration4 ,and        
quietly1 peacefully1 this  can be done4 
,nor fire1 nor sword bring ,i3 only this
 ,i say3 ,will and  do2 resolve and act 
upon your resolution4 ,the emigration of
 the mind  before the revolution of the 
state1 my ,brothers4 ,the soul must be  
free1 and the mind1 before one has a    
right to be a member of a free          
,government1 before one can justly enjoy
 his rights and perform his  duties as a
 subject4 ,but a voting slave1 ,o my    
,brothers1 is the  pitifulest spectacle 
under the sun4 ,and remember that       
neither the  ,dastur1 nor the           
,unionists1 nor the ,press1 can give you
 this spiritual  freedom1 if you do not 
awake and emigrate4 ,come up to the     

highlands3  here is a patrimony for each
 of you2 here are vineyards to          
cultivate4  ,leave the thistle-fields   
and marshes behind2 regret nothing4     
,come out  of the superstitions of the  
sheikhs and ulema2 of the barren mazes  
of  the sufis2 of the deadly swamps of  
theolougues and priests3 emigrate6      
,every one of us should be a ,niazi in  
this moral struggle1 an ,enver in  this 
spiritual revolution4 ,a little         
will-power1 a little heroism1  added to 
those virtues ,i have named1 the solid  
virtues of our  ancestors1 and the      
,orient will no longer be an object of  
scorn and  gain to commercial ,europe4  
,we shall then stand on an equal footing
  with the ,europeans4 ,ay1 with the    
legacy of science which we shall  learn 
to invest1 and with our spirituality    
divested of its cobwebs1  and purified1 
we shall stand even higher than the     
,americans and  ,europeans4--    ,on the
 following day ,damascus was simmering  
with excitement--,damascus1  the        

stronghold of the ulema--the learned    
fanatics--whom ,khalid has  lightly     
pinched4 ,but they scarcely felt it2    
they could not believe it4  ,now1 the   
gentry of ,islam1 the sheikhs and ulema1
 would hear this  lack-beard dervish1 as
 he was called4 ,but they disdain to    
stand with  the rabble in the ,midan or 
congregate with the ,mutafarnejin       
7,europeanised7 in the public ,halls4   
,nowhere but at the ,mosque1  therefore1
 can they hear what this ,khalid has to 
say4 ,this was  accordingly decided     
upon1 and1 being approved by all parties
  concerned1--the ,mufti1 the ,vali1 the
 ,deputies of the ,holy ,society and    
the speaker1--a day was set for the     
great address at the great ,mosque  of  
,omaiyah4    ,meanwhile1 the blatant    
,officer1 the wheedling ,politician1 and
 the  lack-beard ,dervish1 are feasted  
by the personages and functionaries of  
,damascus4 ,the ,vali1 the ,mufti1      
,abdallah ,pasha1--he who owns more than
  two score villages and has more than  

five thousand braves at his beck  and   
call1--these1 and others of less        
standing1 vie with each other in        
honouring the distinguished visitors4   
,and after the banqueting1 while  ,ahmed
 ,bey retires to a private room with his
 host to discuss the  political         
situation1 ,khalid1 to escape the       
torturing curiosity of the  bores and   
quidnuncs of the evening1 goes out to   
the open court1 and  under an orange    
tree1 around the gurgling fountain1     
breathes again of  quietude and peace4  
,nay1 breathes deeply of the heavy      
perfume of the  white jasmines of his   
country1 while musing of the scarlet    
salvias of  a distant land4    ,and what
 if the salvia1 as by a miracle1        
blossoms on the jasmine8 ,what  if the  
former stifles the latter8 ,indeed1 one 
can escape boredom1 but  not love4 ,one 
can flee the quidnuncs of the salon1 but
 not the  questioning perplexity of     
one's heart4 ,a truce now to            
ambiguities4    ',tis high time that we 

give a brief account of what took place 
after  ,khalid took leave of ,mrs4      
,gotfry4 ,many devilish mischances have 
since then conspired against ,khalid's  
peace of mind4 ,for when they  were     
leaving ,beirut1 only a few minutes     
before the train started1 ,mrs4         
,gotfry1 who was also going to          
,damascus1 steps into the same carriage1
  which he and his companions occupied3 
mischance first4 ,arriving in  ,damascus
 they both stay at the same ,hotel3     
mischance second4 ,at table  this time  
he occupies the seat next to hers1 and  
once1 rising  simultaneously1 their     
limbs touch3 mischance third4 ,and the  
last and  worst1 when he retires to his 
room1 he finds that her own is in the   
same side-hall opposite to his4 ,now1   
who could have ordered it thus1  of all 
the earthly powers8 ,and who can say    
what so many mischances  might not      
produce8 ,true1 a thousand thistles do  
not make a rose2 but  with destiny this 
logic does not hold4 ,for every new     

mischance makes  us forget the one      
preceding2 and the last and worst is    
bound to be the  harbinger of good      
fortune4 ,yes1 every people1 we imagine1
 has its  aphorisms on the subject3     
,distress is the key of relief1 says the
  ,arabic proverb2 ,the strait leads to 
the plain1 says the ,chinese2 ,the      
darkest hour is nearest the dawn1 says  
the ,english4    ,but we must not make  
any stipulations with time1 or trust in 
aphorisms4 ,we do not know what ,mrs4   
,gotfry's ideas are on the subject4     
,nor can we say how she felt in the face
 of these strange coincidences4  ,in her
 religious heart1 might there not be    
some shadow of an ancient  superstition1
 some mystical1 instinctive strain1 in  
which the  preternatural is resolved8   
,that is a question which neither our   
,scribe  nor his ,master will help us to
 answer4 ,and we1 having been faithful  
so  far in the discharge of our         
editorial duty1 can not at this juncture
  afford to fabricate4    ,we know1     

however1 that the ,priestess of ,buhaism
 and the beardless1  long-haired        
,dervish have many a conversation       
together3 in the train1  in the ,hotel1 
in the parks and groves of ,damascus1   
they tap their  hearts and minds1 and   
drink of each other's wine of thought   
and  fancy4    ,i first mistook you for 
a ,mohammedan1 she said to him once2 and
 he  assured her that she was not       
mistaken4    ,then1 you are not a       
,christian8    ,i am a ,christian1 too4 
,and he relates of the ,buha when he was
 on trial in ,rhodes4 ,of what  religion
 are you1 asks the ,judge4 ,i am neither
 a ,camel-driver nor a  ,carpenter1     
replies the ,buha1 alluding thereby to  
,mohammad and  ,christ4 ,if you ask me  
the same question1 ,khalid              
continues--but  ,i see you are          
uncomfortable4 ,and he takes up the     
cushion which  had fallen behind the    
divan1 and places it under her arm4 ,he 
then  lights a cigarette and holds it up
 to her inquiringly4 ,yes8 ,he1         

therefore1 lights another for himself1  
and continues4 ,if you ask me  the same 
question that was asked the ,buha1 ,i   
would not hesitate in  saying that ,i am
 both a ,camel-driver and ,carpenter4 ,i
 might also be  a ,buhaist in a certain 
sense4 ,i renounce falsehood1 whatsoever
 be  the guise it assumes2 and ,i       
embrace truth1 wheresoever ,i find it4  
,indeed1 every religion is good and     
true1 if it serves the high  purpose of 
its founder4 ,and they are false1 all of
 them1 when they  serve the low purpose 
of their high priests4 ,take the lowest 
of the  ,arab tribes1 for instance1 and 
you will find in their truculent  spirit
 a strain of faith sublime1 though it is
 only evinced at times4  ,the ,beduins1 
rovers and raveners1 manslayers and     
thieves1 are in  their house of moe-hair
 the kindest hosts1 the noblest and most
  generous of men4 ,they receive the    
wayfarer1 though he be an enemy1  and he
 eats and drinks and sleeps with them   
under the same root1 in  the assurance  

of ,allah4 ,if a religion makes a savage
 so good1 so kind1  it has well served  
its purpose4 ,as for me1 ,i admire the  
grand  passion in both the ,camel-driver
 and the ,carpenter3 the barbaric       
grandeur1 the magnanimity and fidelity  
of the ,arab as well as the  sublime    
spirituality1 the divine beauty1 of the 
,nazarene1 ,i deeply  reverence4 ,and in
 one sense1 the one is the complement of
 the  other3 the two combined are my    
ideal of a ,divinity4    ,and now we    
descend from the chariot of the empyrean
 where we are  riding with gods and     
apostles1 and enter into one drawn by   
mortal  coursers4 ,we go out for a      
drive1 and alight from the carriage in  
the  poplar grove1 to meander in its    
shades1 along its streams4 ,but         
digressing from one path into another1  
we enter unaware the eternal  vista of  
love4 ,there1 on a boulder washed by the
 murmuring current1 in  the shade of the
 silver-tufted poplars1 ,khalid and     
,mrs4 ,gotfry sit  down for a rest4     

,everything in life must always resolve 
itself into love1 said  ,khalid1 as he  
stood on the rock holding out his hand  
to his friend4  ,love is the divine     
solvent4 ,love is the splendour of ,god4
    ,mrs4 ,gotfry paused at the last    
words4 ,she was startled by this image4 
,love1 the splendour of ,god8 ,why1 the 
,bab1 the ,buha1 is the splendour  of   
,god4 ,buha mean splendour4 ,the ,buha1 
therefore1 is love4 ,love is the  new   
religion4 ,it is the old religion1 the  
eternal religion1 the only  religion4   
,how came he by this1 this young        
,syrian8 ,would he rival the  ,buha8    
,rise above him8 ,they are of kindred   
races--their ancestors1  too1 may be    
mine4 ,love the splendour of ,god--,god 
the splendour of  ,love4 ,have ,i been  
all along fooling myself8 ,did ,i not   
know my own  heart8    ,these1 and more 
such1 passed through ,mrs4 ,gotfry's    
mind1 as shuttles  through a loom1 while
 ,khalid was helping her up to her seat 
on the  boulder1 which is washed by the 

murmuring current4    ,if life were such
 a rock under our feet1 said he1        
pressing his lips  upon her hand1 the   
divine currents around it will melt it1 
soon or  late1 into love4    ,they light
 cigarettes4 ,a fresh breeze is blowing 
from the city4 ,it is  following them   
with the perfume of its gardens4 ,the   
falling leaves are  whispering in the   
grove to the swaying boughs4 ,the       
narcissus is  nodding to the myrtle     
across the way4 ,and the bulbuls are    
pouring  their golden splendour of song4
 ,khalid speaks4    ,beauty either      
detains1 repels1 or enchants4 ,the first
 is purely  external1 linear2 the second
 is an imitation of the first1 its      
artistic artificial ideal1 so to speak2 
and the third--,he is silent4  ,his     
eyes1 gazing into hers1 take up the cue4
    ,mrs4 ,gotfry turns from him        
exhausted4 ,she looks into the water4   
,see the rose-beds in the stream2 see   
the lovely pebbles dancing  around them4
    ,i can see everything in your eyes1 

which are like limpid lakes shaded  with
 weeping-willows4 ,i can even hear      
bulbuls singing in your  brows4--,turn  
not from me your eyes4 ,they reflect the
 pearls of your  soul and the flowers of
 your body1 even as those crystal waters
  reflect the pebbles and rose-beds     
beneath4    ,did you not say that love  
is the splendour of ,god8    ,yes4      
,then1 why look for it in my eyes8      
,and why look for it in the heart of the
 heavens1 in the depths of  the sea--in 
the infinities of everything that is    
beautiful and  terrible--in the breath  
of that little flower1 in the song of   
the  bulbul1 in the whispers of your    
silken lashes1 in--    ,shut your eyes1 
,khalid2 be more spiritual4    ,with my 
eyes open ,i see but one face2 with my  
eyes closed ,i see a  million faces3    
they are all yours4 ,and they are       
loving1 and sweet1 and  kind4 ,but ,i am
 content with one1 with the carnate     
symbol of them1 with  you1 and though   
you be cold and cruel4 ,the divine      

splendour is here1  and here and here-- 
,why1 your ardour is exhausting4        
99       99       99       99       99  
,but on their way back to the ,hotel1   
,khalid gives her this from             
,swedenborg3 ',do you love me' means 'do
 you see the same truth that ,i  see8'  
,there is no use4 ,khalid is impossible4
          ,,chapter ,,vii    ,a ,,dream 
,,of ,,empire      ,i'm not starving for
 pleasure1 ,khalid once said to ,shakib2
 nor  for the light free love of an     
exquisite caprice4 ,those little        
flowers that bloom and wither in the    
blush of dawn are for the  little       
butterflies4 ,the love that endures1    
give me that4 ,and it  must be of the   
deepest divine strain1--as deep and     
divine as  maternal love4 ,man is of    
,eternity1 not of ,time2 and love1 the  
highest attribute of man1 must be       
likewise4 ,with me it must endure       
throughout all worlds and immensities2  
else ,i would not raise a  finger for   
it4 ,pleasure1 ,shakib1 is for the child

 within us2 sexual  joy1 for the animal2
 love1 for the god4 ,that is why ,i say 
when you  set your seal to the contract1
 be sure it is of the kind which all    
the gods of all the future worlds will  
raise to their lips in  reverence4      
,but ,khalid's child-spirit1 not to say 
childishness1 is not1 as he  would have 
us believe1 a thing of the past4 ,nor   
are the animal and the  god within him  
always agreed as to what is and what is 
not a love  divine and eternal4 ,in ,new
 ,york1 to be sure1 he often brushed his
  wings against those flowerets that    
bloom and wither in the blush of  dawn4 
,and he was not a little pleased to find
 that the dust which  gathers on the    
wings adds a charm to the colouring of  
life4 ,but how  false and trivial it    
was1 after all4 ,the gold dust and the  
dust of the  road1 could they withstand 
a drop of rain8 ,a love dust-deep1 as it
  were1 close to the earth2 too mean and
 pitiful to be carried by the  storm    
over terrible abysses to glorious       

heights4 ,a love1 in a word1  without   
pain1 that is to say impure4 ,in        
,baalbek1 on the other hand1 he  drank  
deep of the pain1 but not of the joy1 of
 love4 ,he and his cousin  ,najma had   
just lit in the shrine of ,venus the    
candles of the altar of  the ,virgin1   
when a villainous hand that of          
,jesuitry1 issuing from the  darkness1  
clapped over them the snuffer and       
carried his ,happiness off4  ,here was a
 love divine1 the promised bliss of     
which was snatched away  from him4      
,and now in ,damascus1 he feels1 for the
 first time1 the exquisite  pain and joy
 of a love which he can not yet fathom2 
a love1 which like  the storm1 is       
carrying him over terrible abysses to   
unknown heights4  ,the bitter sting of a
 ,nay he never felt so keenly before4   
,the  sleep-stifling torture and joy of 
suspense he did not fully  experience   
until now4 ,but if he can not sleep1 he 
will work4 ,he has  but a few days to   
prepare his address4 ,he can not be too 

careful of  what he says1 and how he    
says it4 ,to speak at the great ,mosque 
of  ,omaiyah is a great privilege4 ,a   
word uttered there will reach the       
furthermost parts of the ,mohammedan    
world4 ,moreover1 all the ulema  and all
 the heavy-turbaned fanatics will be    
there4    ,but he can not even work4 ,on
 the table before him is a pile of      
newspapers from all parts of ,syria and 
,egypt--even from ,india--and  all      
simmering1 as it were1 with ,khalid's   
name1 and ,khalidism1 and  ,khalid      
scandals4 ,he is hailed by some1        
assailed by others2 glorified  and      
vilified in tawdry rhyme and ponderous  
prose by ,christians and  ,mohammedans  
alike4 ,our new ,muhdi1 wrote an        
,egyptian wit 7one of  those pallid     
prosers we once met in the hasheesh     
dens1 no doubt71 our  new ,muhdi has    
added to his hareem an ,american beauty 
with an ,oriental  leg4    ,what he     
meant by this only the hasheesh smokers 
know4 ,an instrument in  the hands of   

some ,american speculators1 who would   
build sky-scrapers  on the ruins of our 
mosques1 wrote another4 ,a lever with   
which  ,england is undermining          
,al-,islam1 cried a voice in ,india4 ,a 
base one  in the service of some        
,european coalition1 who1 under the     
pretext of  preaching the               
spiritualities1 is undoing the work of  
the ,revolution4  ,the gibbet is for    
ordinary traitors2 for him the stake1   
etc41 etc4    ,on the other hand1 he is 
hailed as the expected one1--the true   
leader1  the real emancipator1--who has 
in him the soul of the ,east and the    
mind of the ,west1 the builder of a     
great ,asiatic ,empire4 ,of course1  the
 foolish ,damascene editor who wrote    
this had to flee the country  the       
following day4 ,but ,khalid's eyes      
lingered on that line4 ,he read it  and 
reread it over and over again--forward  
and backward1 too4 ,he  juggled1 so to  
speak1 with its words4    ,how often    
people put us1 though unwittingly1 on   

the path we are  seeking1 he thought4   
,how often does a chance word uttered by
 a  stranger reveal to us our deepest   
aims and purposes4    ,before him was   
ink and paper4 ,he took up the pen4 ,but
 after scrawling  and scribbling for ten
 minutes1 the sheet was filled with     
circles and  arabesques1 and the one    
single word ,dowla 7,empire74    ,he    
could not think3 he could only dream4   
,the soul of the ,east--,the  mind of   
the ,west--the builder of a great       
,empire4 ,the triumph of the  ,idea1 the
 realisation of a great dream3 the rise 
of a great race who  has fallen on evil 
days2 the renaissance of ,arabia2 the   
reclaiming of  her land2 the            
resuscitation of her glory2--and why    
not8 especially if  backed with         
,american millions and the love of a    
great woman4 ,he is  enraptured4 ,he can
 neither sleep nor think3 he can but    
dream4 ,he puts  on his jubbah1 refills 
his cigarette box1 and walks out of his 
room4  ,he paces up and down the hall1  

crowning his dream with wreaths of      
smoke4 ,but the dim lights seemed to be 
ogling each other and smiling1  as he   
passed4 ,the clocks seemed to be casting
 pebbles at him4 ,the  silence horrified
 him4 ,he pauses before a door4 ,he     
knocks--knocks  again4    ,the occupant 
of that room was not yet asleep4 ,in    
fact1 she1 too1 could  not sleep4 ,the  
clock in the hall outside had just      
struck one1 and she  was yet reading4   
,after inquiring who it was that        
knocked1 she puts on  a kimono and opens
 the door4 ,she is surprised4           
,anything the matter with you8    ,no2  
but ,i can not sleep4    ,that is       
amusing4 ,and do you take me for a      
soporific8 ,if you think  you can sleep 
here1 stretch yourself on the couch and 
try4 ,saying  which1 she laughed and    
hurried back to her bed4    ,i did not  
come to sleep4    ,what then8 ,how      
lovely of you to wake me up so          
early4--,no1 no2 don't  apologise4 ,for 
truly1 ,i too1 could not sleep4 ,you    

see1 ,i was still  reading4 ,sit on the 
couch there and talk to me4--,of course1
 you may  smoke4--,no1 ,i prefer to sit 
in bed4    ,khalid lights another       
cigarette and sits down4 ,on the table  
before  him are some antique colour     
prints which ,mrs4 ,gotfry had bought in
  the ,bazaar4 ,these one can only get  
in ,damascus4 ,and--strange             
coincidence6--they represented some of  
the heroes of ,arabia--,antar1  ,ali1   
,saladin1 ,harn ar-,rashid--done in     
gorgeous colouring1 and in  that        
deliciously ludicrous angular style     
which is neither ,arabic  nor ,egyptian1
 but a combination perhaps of both4     
,khalid reads the  poetry under each of 
them and translates it into ,english4   
,mrs4 ,gotfry  is charmed4 ,khalid is   
lost in thought4 ,he lays the picture of
  ,saladin on the table1 lights another 
cigarette1 looks intently upon  his     
friend1 his face beaming with his dream4
    ,jamilah4 ,it was the first time he 
called her by her first name--an        

,arabic name which1 as a ,bahaist she   
had adopted4 ,and she was neither       
surprised nor displeased4    ,we need   
another ,saladin to-day1--a ,saladin of 
the ,idea1 who will wage  a crusade1 not
 against ,christianity or               
,mohammedanism1 but against  those      
,tataric usurpers who are now toadying  
to both4    ,whom do you mean8    ,i    
mean the ,turks4 ,they were given a last
 chance to rise2 they tried  and failed4
 ,they can not rise4 ,they are          
demoralised2 they have no  stamina1 no  
character2 no inborn love for truth and 
art2 no  instinctive or acquired sense  
of right and justice4 ,whiskey and      
debauch and high-sounding inanities     
about fraternity and equality can  not  
regenerate an ,empire4 ,the ,turk must  
go3 he will go4 ,but out in  those      
deserts is a race which is always young1
 a race that never  withers2 a strong1  
healthy1 keen-eyed1 quick-witted race2 a
 fighting1  fanatical race2 a race that 
gave ,europe a civilisation1 that gave  

the  world a religion2 a race with a    
past as glorious as ,rome's2 and with a 
future1 too1 if we had an ,ali or a     
,saladin4 ,but ,he who made those       
heroes will make others like them1      
better1 too4 ,he may have made one      
already1 and that one may be wandering  
now in the desert4 ,now think  what can 
be done in ,arabia1 think what the      
,arabs can accomplish1 if  ,american    
arms and an up-to-date ,korn are spread 
broadcast among them4  ,with my words   
and your love and influence1 with our   
powers united1 we  can build an ,arab   
,empire1 we can resuscitate the ,arab   
,empire of the  past4 ,abd'ul-,wahhab1  
you know1 is the ,luther of ,arabia2 and
 ,wahhabism  is not dead4 ,it is only   
slumbering in ,nejd4 ,we will wake it2  
arm it2  infuse into it the living      
spirit of the ,idea4 ,we will begin by  
building a plant for the manufacture of 
arms on the shore of the  ,euphrates1   
and a ,university in ,yaman4 ,the ,turk 
must go--at least out  of ,arabia4 ,and 

the ,turk in ,europe1 ,europe will look 
after4 ,no2 the  ,arab will never be    
virtually conquered4 ,nominally1 maybe4 
,and ,i doubt  if any of the ,european  
,powers can do it4 ,why8 ,chiefly       
because ,arabia  has a ,prophet4 ,she   
produced one and she will produce more4 
,cannons can  destroy ,empires2 but only
 the living voice1 the inspired voice   
can  build them4    ,mrs4 ,gotfry is    
silent4 ,in ,khalid's vagaries is a big 
idea1 which she  can not wholly grasp4  
,and she is moreover devoted to another 
cause--the light of the world--the      
splendour of ,god--,buhaism4 ,but why   
not spread it in ,arabia as in ,america8
 ,she will talk to ,ebbas ,effendi      
about ,khalid4 ,he is young1 eloquent1  
rising to power4 ,and with her  love1   
and influence superadded1 what might he 
not do8 what might he  not accomplish8  
,these ideas flashed through her mind1  
while ,khalid was  pacing up and down   
the room1 which was already filled with 
smoke4 ,she  is absorbed in thought4    

,khalid comes near her bed1 bends over  
her1 and  buries his face in her wealth 
of black hair4    ,mrs4 ,gotfry is      
startled as from a dream4    ,i can not 
see all that you see4    ,then you do   
not love me4    ,why do you say that8   
,here1 now go sit down4 ,oh1 ,i am      
suffocating4 ,the  smoke is so thick in 
the room ,i can scarcely see you4 ,and  
it is so  late4--,no1 no4 ,give me time 
to think on the subject4 ,now1 come4    
,and ,mrs4 ,gotfry opens the door and   
the window to let out ,khalid and  his  
smoke4    ,go1 ,khalid1 and try to      
sleep4 ,and if you can not sleep1 try to
 write4  ,and if you can not write1     
read4 ,and if you can neither read nor  
write  nor sleep1 why1 then1 put on your
 shoes and go out for a walk4 ,good     
night4 ,there4 ,good night4 ,but don't  
forget1 we must visit ,sheikh ,taleb    
to-morrow4    ,the astute ,mrs4 ,gotfry 
might have added1 ,and if you do not    
feel like  walking1 take a dip in the   
,river ,barada4 ,but in her words1 to be

  sure1 were a douche cold enough for   
,khalid4 ,now1 to be just and           
comprehensive in our ,history we must   
record here that she1 too1 did  not1 and
 could not sleep that night4 ,the       
thought that ,khalid would  make a good 
apostle of ,buhaism and incidentally a  
good companion1  insinuated itself      
between the lines on every page of the  
book she was  trying to read4    ,on the
 following day they visit ,sheikh       
,taleb1 who is introduced to us  by     
,shakib in these words3    ,a ,muslem1  
like ,socrates1 who educates not by     
lesson1 but by going  about his         
business4 ,he seldom deigns to write2   
and yet1 his words are  quoted by every 
writer of the day1 and on every subject 
sacred and  profane4 ,his good is truly 
magnetic4 ,he is a man who lives after  
his  own mind and in his own robes2 an  
,arab who prays after no ,imam1 but     
directly to ,allah and his ,apostle2 a  
scholar who has more dryasdust          
knowledge on his finger ends than all   

the ulema of ,cairo and ,damascus2  a   
philosopher who would not give an orange
 peel for the opinion of the  world2 an 
ascetic who flees celebrity as he would 
the plague2 a sage  who does not disdain
 to be a pedagogue2 an eccentric withal 
to amuse  even a ,diogenes3--this is the
 noted ,sheikh ,taleb of ,damascus1 whom
  ,mrs4 ,gotfry once met at ,ebbas      
,effendy's in ,akka1 and whom she was   
desirous of meeting again4 ,when we     
first went to visit him1 this  charming 
lady and ,khalid and ,i1 we had to knock
 at the door until his  neighbour peered
 from one of the windows above and told 
us that the  ,sheikh is asleep1 and that
 if we would see him1 we must come in   
the  evening4 ,i learned afterwards that
 he1 reversing the habitual practice  of
 mankind1 works at night and sleeps     
during the day4    ,we return in the    
evening4 ,and the ,sheikh1 with a lamp  
in his hand1  peers through a small     
square opening in the door to see who is
  knocking4 ,he knew neither ,khalid nor

 myself2 but ,mrs4 ,gotfry--',eigh6'  he
 mused4 ,and as he beheld her face in   
the lamplight he exclaimed  ',marhaba   
7welcome76 ,marhaba6' and hastened to   
unbolt the door4 ,we are  shown through 
a dark1 narrow hall1 into a small court1
 up to his  study4 ,which is a          
three-walled room--a sort of            
stage--opening on the  court1 and       
innocent of a divan or a settle or a    
chair4 ,while he and  ,mrs4 ,gotfry were
 exchanging greetings in ,persian1 ,i   
was wondering why  in ,damascus1 the    
city of seven rivers and of poetry and  
song1 should  there be a court guilty   
like this one of a dry and dilapidated  
fountain4 ,i learned afterwards1        
however1 that the ,sheikh can not       
tolerate the noise of the water2 and so1
 suffering from thirst and  neglect1 the
 fountain goes to ruin4    ,on the      
stage1 which is the study1 is a clutter 
of old books and  pamphlets2 in the     
corner is the usual straw mat1 a        
cushion1 and a sort  of stool on which  

are ink and paper4 ,this he clears1     
places the  cushion upon it1 and offers 
to ,mrs4 ,gotfry2 he himself sits down  
on  the mat2 and we are invited to      
arrange for ourselves some books4       
,indeed1 the ,sheikh is right2 most of  
these tomes are good for nothing  else4 
,mrs4 ,gotfry introduces us4    ',ah1   
but thou art young and short of         
stature1' said he to ,khalid2  'that is 
ominous4 ,verily1 there is danger in thy
 path4'    ',but he will embrace        
,buhaism1' put in ,mrs4 ,gotfry4        
',that might save him4 ,buhaism is the  
old torch1 relighted after many         
centuries1 by ,allah4'    ,meanwhile    
,khalid was thinking of second-hand     
,jerry of the second-hand  book-shop of 
,new ,york4 ,the ,sheikh reminded him of
 his old friend4    ,and ,i was holding 
in my hand a book on which ,i chanced   
while  arranging my seat4 ,it was       
,debrett's ,baronetage1 ,knightage1 and 
,companionage4 ,how did such a book find
 its way into the ,sheikh's  rubbish1 ,i

 wondered4 ,but birds of a feather1     
thought ,i4    ',that book was sent to  
me1' said he1 'by a merchant friend1 who
 found  it in the ,bazaar4 ,they send me
 all kinds of books1 these simple of    
heart4 ,they think ,i can read in all   
languages and discourse on all          
subjects4 ,allah forgive them4'    ,and 
when ,i tell him1 in reply to his       
inquiry1 that the book treats of        
,titles1 ,orders1 and ,degrees of       
,precedence1 he utters a sharp whew1 and
  with a quick gesture of weariness and 
disgust1 tells me to take it4  ',i have 
my head full of our own ansab           
7pedigrees71' he adds1 'and ,i  have no 
more respect for a green turban 7the    
colour of the ,muslem  nobility7 than ,i
 have for this one1' pointing to his1   
which is white4    ,mrs4 ,gotfry then   
asks the ,sheikh what he thinks of      
,wahhabism4    ',it is ,islam in its    
pristine purity2 it is the ,islam of the
 first  great ,khalifs4 ,mohammed is    
dead2 but ,allah lives1 said ,abu ,bekr 

to  the people on the death of the      
,prophet4 ,and ,wahhabism is a direct   
telegraph wire between mortal man and   
his ,god4    ',but why should these     
,wahhabis of ,nejd be the most          
fanatical1 when  their doctrines are the
 most pure8' asked ,khalid4    ',in thy 
question is the answer to it4 ,they are 
fanatical because of  their purity of   
doctrine1 and withal because they live  
in ,nejd4 ,if  there were a ,wahhabi    
sect in ,barr'ush-,sham 7,syria71 it    
would not be  thus1 assure thee4'       
,and expressing his liking for ,khalid1 
he advises him to be careful of  his    
utterances in ,damascus1 if he believes 
in self-preservation4 ',i am  old1' he  
continues2 'and the ulema do not think  
my flesh is good for  sacrifice4 ,but   
thou art young1 and plump--a tender     
yearling--ah1 be  careful sheikh        
,khalid4 ,then1 ,i do not talk to the   
people direct4 ,i  talk to them through 
holy men and dervishes4 ,the people do  
not believe  in a philosopher2 but the  

holy man1 and though he attack the most 
sacred precepts of the ,faith1 they will
 believe4 ,and ,damascus is the  very   
hive of turbans1 green and otherwise4   
,so guard thee1 my child4'    ,mrs4     
,gotfry then asks for a minute's privacy
 with the ,sheikh4 ,and  before he      
withdraws with her to the court1 he     
searches through a heap  of mouldy      
tomes1 draws from beneath them a few    
yellow pamphlets on the  ,comparative   
,study of the ,semetic ,alphabets and on
 ,the ,rights of the  ,khalifate--such  
is the scope of his learning--and       
dusting these on his  knee1 presents    
them to us1 saying1 ',judge us not      
severely4'    ,this does not mean that  
he cares much if we do or not4 ,but in  
our  country1 in the ,orient1 even a    
,diogenes does not disdain to handle the
  coin of affability4 ,we are always    
meekly asked1 even by the most          
supercilious1 to overlook shortcomings1 
and condone4    ,i could not in passing 
out1 however1 overlook the string of    

orange  peels which hung on a pole in   
the court4 ,nor am ,i sensible of an    
indecorum if ,i give out that the       
,sheikh lives on oranges1 and  preserves
 the peels for kindling the fire4 ,and  
this1 his only article  of food1 he buys
 at wholesale1 like his robes and       
undergarments4 ,for  he never changes or
 washes anything4 ,a robe is worn       
continually1 worn  out in the run1 and  
discarded4 ,he no more believes in the  
efficacy of  soap than in the efficacy  
of a good reputation4 ',the good opinion
 of  men1' he says1 'does not wash our  
hearts and minds4 ,and if these be      
clean1 all's clean4'    ,that is why1 ,i
 think1 he struck once with his staff a 
journalist for  inserting in his paper a
 laudatory notice on the ,sheikh's      
system of  living and thinking and      
speaking of him as 'a deep ocean of     
learning  and wisdom4' ,even in         
travelling he carries nothing with him  
but his  staff1 that he might the       
quicker flee1 or put to flight1 the     

vulgar  curious4 ,he puts on a few extra
 robes1 when he is going on a journey1  
and in time1 becoming threadbare1 sheds 
them off as the serpent its  skin4444   
99       99       99       99       99  
,and we pity our ,scribe if he ever goes
 back to ,damascus after this1  and the 
good ,sheikh chances upon him4          
,,chapter ,,viii    ,,adumbrations      
,in the morning of the eventful day1 it 
is set forth in the ,histoire  ,intime1 
,i was in ,khalid's room writing a      
letter1 when ,ahmed ,bey  comes in to   
confer with him4 ,they remain together  
for some while  during which ,i could   
hear ,khalid growl and ,ahmed ,bey      
gently  whispering1 ',but the ,dastur1  
the ,unionists1 ,mother ,society1'--this
  being the burden of his song4 ,when he
 leaves1 ,khalid1 with a scowl on  his  
brow1 paces up and down the room1       
saying1 ',they would treat me  like a   
school boy2 they would have me speak by 
rule1 and according to  their own       
dictation4 ,they even espy my words and 

actions as if ,i were  an enemy of the  
,constitution4 ,no2 let them find       
another4 ,the servile  spouters in the  
land are as plenty as summer flies4     
,after ,i deliver my  address to-day1   
,shakib1 we will take the first train   
for ,baalbek4 ,i  want to see my mother4
 ,no1 billah6 ,i can not go any further 
with these  ,turks4 ,why1 read this4'   
,and he hands me the memorandum1 or     
outline of  the speech given to him by  
,ahmed ,bey4    ,and this1 we learn1 is 
a litany of praises1 beginning with     
,abd'ul-,hamid  and ending with the     
ulema of ,damascus2 which litany the    
,society  ,deputies would place in the  
mouth of ,khalid for the good of all    
concerned4 ,ay1 for his good1 too1 if he
 but knew4 ,if he but looked  behind    
him1 he would have yielded a whit1 this 
,khalid4 ,the deep chasm  between him   
and the ,deputy1 however1 justifies the 
conduct of each  on his side3 the lack  
of gumption in the one and the lack of  
depth in  the other render impossible   

any sort of understanding between them4 
,while we recommend1 therefore1 the     
prudence of the oleaginous ,ahmed1  we  
can not with justice condemn the        
perversity of our fretful ,khalid4  ,for
 he who makes loud boast of spiritual   
freedom1 is1 nevertheless1 a  slave of  
the ,idea4 ,and slavery in some shape or
 shade will clutch at  the heart of the 
most powerful and most developed of     
mortals4 ,poor  ,khalid6 if ,truth      
commands thee to destroy the memorandum 
of ,ahmed  ,bey1 ,wisdom suggests that  
thou destroy1 too1 thine address4 ,and  
,wisdom in the person of ,sheikh ,taleb 
now knocks at thy door4    ,the ,sheikh 
is come to admonish ,khalid1 not to     
return his visit4 ,for at  this hour of 
the day he should have been a-bed2 but  
his esteem for  ,mrs4 ,gotfry1 billah1  
his love1 too1 for her friend ,khalid1  
and his  desire to avert a possible     
danger1 banish sleep from his eyes4     
,my spirit is perturbed about thee1 thus
 further1 and ,i can not feel  at ease  

until ,i have given my friendly counsel4
 ,thou art free to  follow it or not to 
follow it4 ,but for the sake of this    
beard ,sheikh  ,khalid1 do not speak at 
the ,mosque to-day4 ,i know the people  
of this  ,city3 they are ignorant1      
obtuse1 fanatical1 blind4 ',god hath    
sealed  up their hearts and their       
hearing4' ,they will not hear thee2 they
 can  not understand thee4 ,i know them 
better than thou3 ,i have lived  amongst
 them for forty years4 ,and what talk   
have we wasted4 ,they will  not hear2   
they can not see4 ,it's a dog's tail1   
,sheikh ,khalid4 ,and what  ,allah hath 
twisted1 man can not straighten4 ,so1   
let it be4 ,let them  wallow in their   
ignorance4 ,or1 if thou wilt help them1 
talk not to  them direct4 ,use the      
medium of the holy man1 like myself4    
,this is my  advice to thee4 ,for thine 
own sake and for the sake of that good  
woman1 thy friend and mine1 ,i give it4 
,now1 ,i can go and sleep4  ,salaam4    
,and the grey beard of ,sheikh ,taleb   

and his sharp blue eyes were  animated1 
as he spoke1 agitated like his spirit4  
,what he has heard  abroad and what he  
suspects1 are shadowed forth in his     
friendly  counsel4 ,let ,khalid reflect 
upon it4 ,our ,scribe1 at least1 is     
persuaded that ,sheikh ,taleb spoke as a
 friend4 ,and he1 too1 suspects  that   
something is brewing abroad4 ,he would  
have ,khalid hearken1  therefore1 to the
 ,sheikh4    ,but ,khalid in silence    
ponders the matter4 ,and at table1 even 
,mrs4  ,gotfry can not induce him to    
speak4 ,she has just returned from the  
bazaar2 she could hardly make her way   
through the choked arcade  leading to   
the ,mosque2 the crowd is immense and   
tumultuous2 and a  company of the       
,dragoons is gone forth to open the way 
and maintain  order4 ,but ,i don't think
 they are going to succeed1 she added4  
,silently1 impassively1 ,khalid hears   
this4 ,and after going through the      
second course1 eating as if he were     
dreaming1 he gets up and leaves  the    

table4 ,mrs4 ,gotfry1 somewhat          
concerned1 orders her last course1      
takes her thimble-full of coffee at a   
gulp1 and1 leaving likewise1  hurries   
upstairs and calls ,khalid1 who was     
pacing up and down the  hall1 into her  
room4    ,what is the matter with you8  
,nothing1 nothing1 murmured ,khalid     
absent-mindedly4    ,that's not true4   
,everything belies your words4 ,why1    
your actions1  your expression1 your    
silence oppresses me4 ,i know what is   
disturbing  you4 ,and ,i would prevail  
upon you1 if ,i could1 to give up this  
afternoon's business4 ,don't go2 don't  
speak4 ,i have a premonition that       
things are not going to end well4 ,why1 
even my dragoman says that the          
,mohammedan mob is intent upon some evil
 business4 ,be advised4 ,and  since you 
are going to break with your associates1
 why not do so now4  ,the quicker the   
better4 ,come1 make up your mind4 ,and  
we'll not wait  for the morning train4  
,we'll leave for ,baalbek in a special  

carriage  this afternoon4 ,what say you8
    ,just then the brass band in front  
of the ,hotel struck up the ,dastur     
march in honour of the ,sheikhs who come
 to escort the ,unionist  ,deputies and 
the speaker to the ,mosque4    ,i have  
made up my mind4 ,i have given my word4 
,and being called1 ,mrs4 ,gotfry1 though
 loath to let him go1 presses his  hand 
and wishes him good speed4    ,and here 
we are in the carriage on the right of  
the green-turbaned  ,sheikh4 ,we look   
disdainfully on the troops1 the brass   
band1 and the  crowd of nondescripts    
that are leading the procession4 ,we    
cross the  bridge1 pass the ,town-,hall1
 and1 winding a narrow street groaning  
with  an electric tramway1 we come to   
the grand arcade in which the           
multitudes on both sides are pressed    
against the walls and into the  stalls  
by the bullying ,dragoons4 ,we drive    
through until we reach the  arch1 where 
some ,khalif of the ,omayiahs used to   
take the air4 ,and  descending from the 

carriage1 we walk a few paces between   
two rows of  book-shops1 and here we are
 in the court of the grand ,mosque      
,omayiah4    ,we elbow our way through  
the pressing1 distressing multitudes1   
following ,ahmed ,bey into the ,mosque1 
while the ,army ,officer mounts a       
platform in the court and dispenses to  
the crowd there of his ,turkish         
blatherskite4 ,we stand in the ,mosque  
near the heavy tapestried square  which 
is said to be the sarcophagus of ,st4   
,john4 ,already a ,sheikh is  in the    
pulpit preaching on the excellences of  
liberty1 chopping out  definitions of   
equality1 and quoting from ,al-,hadith  
to prove that all  men are ,allah's     
children and that the most favoured in  
,allah's sight  is he who is most loving
 to his brother man4 ,he then winds up  
with an  encomium on the heroes of the  
day1 curses vehemently the reactionaries
  and those who curse them not 7the     
,mosque resounds with ,curse the        
reactionists1 curse them all671 tramples

 beneath his heel every spy  and        
informer of the ,new ,era1 invokes the  
great ,allah and his ,apostle  to watch 
over the patriots and friends of the    
,ottoman nation1 to  visit with grievous
 punishment its enemies1 and--descends4 
,the silence of expectation ensues4 ,the
 ,mosque is crowded2 and the  press of  
turbans is such that if a pea were dropt
 from above it would  not reach the     
floor4 ,from the pulpit the great       
,mohammedan audience1  with its red     
fezes1 its green and white turbans1     
seemed to ,khalid like  a verdant field 
overgrown with daisies and poppies4 ,it 
is the  beginning of ,arabia's ,spring1 
the resuscitation of the glory of       
,islam1 and so forth2 thus opening with 
a flourish of flattery like  the        
spouting tricksters whom he so harshly  
judges4 ,and what shall we  say of him8 
,it were not fair quickly to condemn1 to
 cry him down at  the start4 ,perhaps he
 was thus inspired by the august        
assembly2  perhaps he quailed and       

thought it wise to follow thus far the  
advice  of his friends4 ,it was neither 
this nor that1 say our ,scribe4 ,for  as
 he stood in the tribune1 the picture of
 the field of daisies and  poppies      
suggested the picture of ,spring4 ,a    
speaker is not always  responsible for  
the frolics of his fancy4 ,indeed1 an   
audience of some  five thousand souls1  
all intent upon this opaque1 mysterious 
,entity in  the tribune1 is bound to    
reach the very heart of it2 for think   
what  five thousand rays focussed on a  
sensitive plate can do4 ,thus our       
,scribe1 apologetically4    ,but after  
the first contact and the vibrations of 
enthusiasm and  flattery that followed1 
,khalid regains his equilibrium and     
reason1 and  strikes into his favourite 
theme4 ,he begins by arraigning the     
utilitarian spirit of ,europe1 the rank 
materialism which is invading  our very 
temples of worship4 ,god1 ,truth1       
,virtue1 with them1 is no  longer       
esteemed for its own worth1 but for what

 it can yield of the  necessities and   
luxuries of life4 ,and with these       
cynical materialistic  abominations they
 would be supreme even in the ,east2    
they would  extinguish with their       
dominating spirit of trade every noble  
virtue of  the soul4 ,and yet1 they make
 presumption of introducing civilisation
  by benevolent assimilation1 rather    
dissimulation4 ,for even an  ,englishman
 in our country1 for instance1 is unlike
 himself in his own4  ,the ,american1   
too1 who is loud-lunged about democracy 
and shirt-sleeve  diplomacy1 wheedles   
and truckles as good as the wiliest of  
our pashas4  ,and further he exclaims3  
,not to ,christian ,europe as           
represented by the ,state1 therefore1 or
 by  the industrial powers of wealth1 or
 by the alluring charms of  decadence in
 art and literature1 or by missionary   
and educational  institutions1 would ,i 
have you turn for light and guidance4   
,no3 from  these plagues of civilisation
 protect us1 ,allah6 ,no3 let us have   

nothing to do with that practical       
,christianity which is become a sort  of
 divine key to ,colonisation2 a mint1 as
 it were1 which continually  replenishes
 the treasuries of ,christendom4 ,let us
 have nothing to do  with their         
propagandas for the propagation of      
supreme ,fakes4 ,no1 no4  ,not this     
,europe1 ,o my ,brothers1 should we take
 for our model or  emulate3 not the     
,europe which is being dereligionised by
 ,material  ,science2 disorganised by   
,communion and ,anarchy2 befuddled by   
,alcoholism2 enervated by ,debauch4 ,to 
another ,europe indeed1 would ,i  direct
 you--a ,europe1 high1 noble1 healthy1  
pure1 and withal  progressive4 ,to the  
deep and inexhaustible sources of genius
 there1 of  reason and wisdom and truth1
 would ,i have you advert the mind4 ,the
  divine idealism of ,german philosophy1
 the lofty purity of true ,french  art1 
the strength and sterling worth of      
,english freedom1--these we  should try 
to emulate2 these we should introduce   

into the gorgeous  besottedness of      
,oriental life1 and literature1 and     
religion4444    ,and thus1 until he     
reaches the heart of his subject2 while 
the field  of daisies and poppies before
 him gently sways as under a soft       
morning  breeze2 nods1 as it were1 its  
approbation4    ,truly1 he continues1   
religion is purely a work of the        
heart1--the  human heart1 and the heart 
of the world as well4 ,for have not the 
three monotheistic religions been born  
in this very heart of the  world1 in    
,arabia1 ,syria1 and ,palestine8 ,and   
are not our ,books of  ,revelation the  
truest guides of life hitherto known to 
man8 ,how then  are we to keep this     
,heart pure1 to free it1 in other words1
 from the  plagues ,i have named8 ,and  
how1 on the other hand1 are we to       
strengthen  it1 to quicken its sluggish 
blood8 ,in a word1 how are we to attain 
to  the pinnacle of health1 and         
religion1 and freedom1--of power1 and   
love1 and light8 ,by political          

revolutions1 and insurrections1 and     
,dasturs8 ,by blindly adopting the      
triple political tradition of ,france1  
which after many years of terror and    
bloodshed1 only gave ,europe a new      
,yoke1 a new ,tyranny1 a new grinding   
,machine8 ,no1 my ,brothers2 not by     
political nomenclature1 not by political
 revolutions alone1 shall the  nations  
be emancipated4    ,whereupon ,ahmed    
,bey begins to knit his brows2 ,shakib  
shakes his head1  biting his nether lip2
 and here and there in the audience is  
heard a  murmur about retrogression and 
reaction4 ,khalid proceeds with his     
allegory of the ,muleteer and the       
,pack-,mule4    ,see1 the panel of the  
,mule is changed2 the load1 too2 and a  
few  short-cuts are made in the rocky   
winding road of statecraft and  tyranny4
 ,ah1 the stolid1 patient1 drudging     
,mule always exults in a new  ,panel1   
which1 indeed1 seems necessary every    
decade1 or so4 ,for the old  one1 when1 
from a sense of economy1 or from        

negligence or stupidity1  is kept on for
 a length of time1 makes the back sore1 
and the ,mule  becomes kickish and      
resty4 ,hence1 the plasters of          
conservative  homeopathists1 the        
operations suggested by political       
leeches1 the  radical cures of social   
quacks1 and such like4 ,but the ,mule   
continues  to kick against the pricks2  
and the wise ,muleteer1 these days1 when
 he  has not the price of a new ,panel1 
or knows not how to make one1 sells  him
 to the first bidder4 ,and the new owner
 thereupon washes the sores  and wounds1
 applies to them a salve of the patent  
kind1 buys his ,mule  a new ,panel1 and 
makes him do the work4 ,that is what ,i 
understand by a  political              
revolution4444 ,and are the ,ottoman    
people free to-day8 ,who  in all ,syria 
and ,arabia dare openly criticise the   
new ,owner of the  ,mule8    ,ours in a 
sense is a theocratic ,government4 ,and 
only by reforming  the religion on which
 it is based1 is political reform in any

 way  possible and enduring4 ,and here  
he argues that the so-called            
,reformation of ,islam1 of which ,jelal 
ud-,dn el-,afghani and ,mohammed  ,abdu 
are the protagonists1 is false4 ,it is  
based on theological  juggling and      
traditional sophisms4 ,their            
,al-,gazzali1 whom they so much  prize  
and quote1 is like the ,st4 ,augustine  
of the ,christians3 each of  these      
theologians finds in his own ,book of   
,revelation a divine  criterion for     
measuring and judging all human         
knowledge4 ,no2 a  scientific truth can 
not be measured by a ,kornic epigram3   
the ,korn1  a divine guide to life2 a   
work of the heart should not attempt to 
judge a work of the mind or should be   
judged by it4    ,but ,i would brush the
 cobwebs of interpretation and sophism  
from this  ,work of the heart1 he cries2
 every spider's web in the ,mosque1 ,i  
would sweep away4 ,the garments of your 
religion1 ,i would have you  clean1 ,o  
my ,brothers4 ,ay1 even the threadbare  

adventitious wrappages1  ,i would throw 
away4 ,from the religiosity and cant of 
to-day ,i call you  back to the religion
 pure of the heart4444    ,but the      
,field of poppies and daisies begins to 
sway as under a gale4  ,it is swelling  
violently1 tumultuously4    ,i would    
free al-,islam1 he continues1 from its  
degrading customs1  its stupefying      
traditions1 its enslaving superstitions1
 its imbruting  cants4    ,here several 
voices in the audience order the speaker
 to stop4  ,innovation6 ,infidelity6    
they cry4    ,the yearly pestiferous    
consequences of the ,haji--,but ,khalid 
no  longer can be heard4 ,on all sides  
zealotry raises and shakes a  protesting
 hand2 on all sides it shrieks1         
objurgating1 threatening4  ,here it     
asks1 ,we would like to know if the     
speaker be a ,wahhabi4  ,from another   
part of the ,mosque comes the reply3    
,ay1 he is a  ,wahhabi4 ,and the voice  
of the speaker thundering above the     
storm3  ,only in ,wahhabism pure and    

simple is the reformation of al-,islam  
possible4444 ,finis4    ,zealotry is set
 by the ear2 the hornet's nest is       
stirred4 ,your field  of poppies and    
daisies1 ,o ,khalid1 is miraculously    
transformed into a  pit of furious grey 
spectres and howling red spirits4 ,and  
still you  wait in the tribune until the
 storm subside8 ,fool1 fool6 ,art now in
 a  civilised assembly8 ,hast thou no   
eyes to see1 no ears to hear8           
,reactionist6 ,infidel6 ,innovator6     
,wahhabi6 ,slay him6 ,kill him6--,are   
these likely to subside the while thou  
wait8 ,by the tomb of ,st4  ,john there1
 get thee down1 and quickly4 ,bravo1    
,shakib6--,he rushes  to the tribune1   
drags him down by the jubbah1 and1 with 
the help of  another friend1 hustles him
 out of the ,mosque4 ,but the thirst for
  blood pursues them4 ,and ,khalid      
receives in the court outside a         
stiletto-thrust in the back and a slash 
in the forehead above the  brow down to 
the ear4 ,which1 indeed1 we consider a  

part of his good  fortune4 ,like the    
muleteer of his ,lebanon tour1 we       
attribute his  escape with two wounds to
 the prayers of his good mother4 ,for he
 is  now in the carriage with ,shakib1  
the blood streaming down his back  and  
over his face4 ,with difficulty the     
driver makes his way through  the       
crowds1 issues out of the arcade1       
and--crack the whip6 ,quickly  to the   
,hotel4    ,the multitudes behind us1   
both inside and outside the ,mosque1 are
  violently divided2 for the real       
reactionists of ,damascus1 those who    
are hostile to the ,constitution and the
 statochratic ,government1 are  always  
watching for an opportunity to give the 
match to the dry sedges  of sedition4   
,and so1 the liberals1 who are also the 
friends of ,khalid1  and the fanatical  
mobs of the ulema1 will have it out     
among  themselves4 ,they call each other
 reactionists1 plotters1 conspirators2  
and thereupon the bludgeons and poniards
 are brandished2 the pistols  here and  

there are fired2 the ,dragoons hasten to
 the scene of  battle--but we are not   
writing now the ,history of the ,ottoman
  ,revolution4 ,we leave them to have it
 out among themselves as best they  can1
 and accompany our ,khalid to the       
,hotel4    ,here the good ,mrs4 ,gotfry 
washes the blood from his face1 and     
,shakib1  after helping him to bed1     
hastens to call the surgeon1 who1 having
  come straightway1 sews and dresses the
 wounds and assures us that they  are   
not dangerous4 ,in the evening a number 
of ,sheikhs of an  enlightened and      
generous strain1 come to inquire about  
him4 ,they tell  us that one of the     
assailants of ,khalid1 a noted brigand1 
and ten of  the reactionists1 are now in
 prison4 ,the ,society ,deputies1       
however1 do  not seem much concerned    
about their wounded friend4 ,yes1 they  
are  concerned1 but in another direction
 and on weightier matters4 ,for the     
telegraph wires on the following day    
were kept busy4 ,and in the  afternoon  

of the second day after the event1 the  
man who helped ,shakib  to save ,khalid 
from the mob1 comes to save ,khalid's   
life4 ,the  ,superintendent of the      
,telegraph himself is here to inform us 
that  ,khalid was accused to the        
,military ,tribunal as a reactionist1   
and a  cablegram1 in which he is        
summoned there1 is just received4       
,had ,i delivered this to the ,vali1 he 
continues1 you would have been  now in  
the hands of the police1 and to-morrow  
on your way to  ,constantinople4 ,but ,i
 shall not deliver it until you are safe
 out of  the ,city4 ,and you must fly or
 abscond to-day1 because ,i can not     
delay  the message until to-morrow4     
,now ,khalid and ,shakib and ,mrs4      
,gotfry take counsel together4 ,the one 
train for ,baalbek leaves in the        
morning2 the carriage road is ruined    
from disuse2 and only on horseback can  
we fly4 ,so1 ,mrs4 ,gotfry orders  her  
dragoman to hire horses for three1--nay1
 for four1 since we must  have an extra 

guide with us1--and a muleteer for the  
baggage4    ,and here ,shakib interposes
 a suggestion3 ,they must not come to   
the  ,hotel4 ,be with them on the road1 
near the first bridge1 about the  first 
hour of night4    ,at the office of the 
,hotel the dragoman leaves word that    
they are  leaving for a friend's house  
on account of their patient4    ,and    
after dinner ,mrs4 ,gotfry and ,khalid  
set forth afoot1 accompanied  by        
,shakib4 ,in five minutes they reach the
 first bridge2 the dragoman  and the    
guide1 with their horses and lanterns1  
are there waiting4  ,shakib helps       
,khalid to his horse and bids them      
farewell4 ,he will leave  for ,baalbek  
by the first train1 and be there ahead  
of them4                      99        
99       99       99       99    ,and   
now1 ,reader1 were we really romancing1 
we should here dilate of  the lovely    
ride in the lovely moonlight on the     
lovely road to ,baalbek4  ,but truth to 
tell1 the road is damnable1 the welkin  

starless1 the  night pitch-black1 and   
our poor ,dreamer is suffering from his 
wounds4          ,,chapter ,,ix    ,,the
 ,,stoning ,,and ,,flight      ,and     
whence the subtle thrill of joy in      
suffering for the ,truth1 asks  ,khalid4
 ,whence the light that flows from the  
wounds of martyrs8  ,whence the rapture 
that triumphs over their pain8 ,in the  
thick of  night1 through the alcoves of 
the mountains1 over their barren peaks1 
down through the wadi of oblivion1      
silently they pass4 ,and they dream4    
,they dream of appearance in            
disappearance2 of triumph in surrender2 
of  sunrises in the sunset4    ,a mighty
 tidal wave leaves high upon the beach a
 mark which later on  becomes the       
general level of the ocean4 ,and so do  
the great thinkers  of the world1--the  
poets and seers1 the wise and strong and
  self-denying1 the proclaimers of the  
,religion of ,man4 ,and ,i am but a     
scrub-oak in this forest of giants1 my  
,brothers4 ,a scrub-oak which you  might

 cut down1 but not uproot4 ,lop off my  
branches2 apply the axe to  my trunk2   
make of my timber charcoal for the      
censers of your temples  of worship2 but
 the roots of me are deep1 deep in the  
soil1 beyond the  reach of mortal hands4
 ,they are even spreading under your    
tottering  palaces and temples4444    ,i
 dream of the awakening of the ,east2 of
 puissant ,orient nations  rising to    
glorify the ,idea1 to build temples to  
the ,universal  ,spirit--to ,art1 and   
,love1 and ,truth1 and ,faith4 ,what if 
,i am lost in  the alcoves of the hills1
 if ,i vanish forever in the night8 ,the
 sun  that sets must rise4 ,it is rising
 and lighting up the dark and distant   
continents even when setting4 ,think of 
that1 ye who gloat over the  sinking of 
my mortal self4    ,no2 an idea is never
 too early annunciated4 ,the good seed  
will grow  among the rocks1 and though  
the heavens withhold from it the        
sunshine  and rain4 ,it is because ,i   
will it1 nay1 because a higher ,will    

than  mine wills it1 that the spirit of 
,khalid shall yet flow among your       
pilgrim caravans1 through the fertile   
deserts of ,arabia1 down to the         
fountain-head of ,faith1 to ,mecca and  
,medina1 et cetera4    ,this1 perhaps   
the last of the rhapsodies of ,khalid's1
 the ,reader  considering the           
circumstances under which it was        
written1 will no  doubt condone4        
,further1 however1 in the ,k4 ,l4 ,,ms4 
we can not now  proceed4 ,certainly the 
,author is not wanting in the sort of   
courage  which is loud-lunged behind the
 writing table2 his sufficiency of      
spirit is remarkable1 unutterable4 ,but 
we would he knew that the  strong do not
 exult in their strength1 nor the wise  
in their wisdom4  ,for to fly and       
philosophize were one thing1 and to     
philosophize in  prison were another4   
,khalid this time does not follow       
closely in the  way of the ,masters4    
,but he would have done so1 if we can   
believe  ,shakib in this1 had not ,mrs4 

,gotfry persuaded him to the contrary4  
,he  would have stood in the ,turkish   
,areopagus at ,constantinople1 defended 
himself somewhat ,socratic before his   
judges1 and hung out his tung on  a     
rickety gibbet in the neighborhood of   
,st4 ,sophia4 ,but ,mrs4 ,gotfry        
spoiled his great chance4 ,she cheated  
him of the glory of dying for a  noble  
cause4    ,the ,turks are not worth the 
sacrifice1 ,shakib heard her say1 when  
,khalid ejaculated somewhat about       
martyrdom4 ,and when she offered to     
accompany him1 the flight did not seem  
shameful in his eyes4 ,nay1 it  became  
necessary2 and under the circumstances  
it was1 indeed1  cowardice not to fly4  
,for is it not as noble to surrender    
one's self  to ,love as to the ,turks or
 any other earthly despotism8 ,gladly1  
heroically1 he adventures forth1        
therefore1 and philosophizes on the  way
 about the light that flows from the    
wounds of persecution4 ,but we  regret  
that this celestial stream is not       

unmixed2 it is accompanied by  blood and
 pus2 by distention and fever1 and other
 inward and outward  sores4    ,in this 
grievous state1 somewhat like ,don      
,quixote after the ,battle of  the      
,mill1 our ,khalid enters ,baalbek4 ,if 
the reader likes the  comparison between
 the two ,knights at this juncture1 he  
must work it  out for himself4 ,we can  
not be so uncharitable as that2         
especially  that our ,knight is a       
compatriot1 and is now1 after our weary 
journeyings together1 become our        
friend4--,our poor grievous friend who  
must submit again to the surgeon's      
knife4    ,mrs4 ,gotfry would not let   
him go to his mother1 for she herself   
would  nurse him4 ,so1 the doctor is    
called to the ,hotel4 ,and after        
opening1  disinfecting1 and dressing the
 wounds1 he orders his patient to keep  
in bed for some days4 ,they will then   
visit the ruins and resume their        
journeying to ,egypt4 ,khalid no longer 
would live in ,syria1--in a  country    

forever doomed to be under the ,turkish 
yoke1 faring1 nay1  misfaring alike in  
the ,new ,era as in the ,old4    ,now1  
his mother1 tottering with age and      
sorrow1 comes to the ,hotel1  and begs  
him in a flood of tears to come home2   
for his father is now  with the ,jesuits
 of ,beirut and seldom comes to         
,baalbek4 ,and his cousin  ,najma1 with 
a babe on her arm and a tale of woe in  
her eyes1 comes  also to invite her     
cousin ,khalid to her house4    ,she is 
alone2 her father died some months ago2 
her husband1  after the dethronement of 
,abd'ul-,hamid1 being implicated in  the
 reaction-movement1 fled the country2   
and his relatives1 to  add to her       
affliction1 would deprive her of her    
child4 ,she is  alone2 and sick in the  
lungs4 ,she coughs1 too1 the same sharp1
  dry1 malignant cough that once plagued
 ,khalid4 ,ay1 the same  disease which  
he buried in the pine forest of ,mt4    
,lebanon1 he  beholds the ghost of it   
now1 more terrible and heart-rending    

than anything he has yet seen or        
experienced4 ,the disease which  he     
conquered is come back in the person of 
his cousin ,najma to  conquer him4 ,and 
who can assure ,khalid that it did not  
steal  into her breast along with his   
kisses8 ,and yet1 he is not the  only   
one in ,baalbek who returned from       
,america with phthisis4 ,o1  but that   
thought is horrifying4 ,impossible--he  
can not believe  it4    ,but whether it 
be from you or from another1 ,o ,khalid1
 there is the  ghost of it beckoning to 
you4 ,look at it4 ,are those the cheeks1
 those  the eyes1 this the body which a 
year ago was a model of rural charm  and
 beauty and health8 ,is this the        
compensation of love8 ,is there         
anything like it dreamt of in your      
philosophy8 ,there she is1 who once  in 
the ruined ,temple of ,venus mixed the  
pomegranate flower of her  cheeks with  
the saffron of thy sickly lips4 ,wasted 
and dejected broken  in body and spirit1
 she sits by your bedside nursing her   

baby and  coughing all the while4 ,and  
that fixed expression of sadness1 so    
habitual among the ,arab women who carry
 their punks and their children  on     
their backs and go a-begging1 it seems  
as if it were an hundred  autumns old1  
this sadness4 ,but right there1 only a  
year ago1 the  crimson poppies dallied  
with the laughing breeze2 the melting   
rubies  dilated of health and joy4      
,and now1 deploring1 imploring1 she     
asks3 ,will you not come to me1 ,o      
,khalid8 ,will you not let me nurse you8
 ,come2 and your mother1 too1  will live
 with us4 ,i am so lonesome1 so         
miserable4 ,and at night the  boys cast 
stones at my door4 ,my husband's        
relatives put them to it  because ,i    
would not give them the child4 ,and they
 circulate all kinds  of calumnies about
 me too4    ,khalid promises to come1   
and assures her that she will not long  
remain  alone4 ,and ,allah willing1 he  
adds1 you will recover and be happy     
again4    ,she rises to go1 when ,mrs4  

,gotfry enters the room4 ,khalid        
introduces  his cousin as his dead      
bride4 ,what do you mean8 she inquires4 
,he  promises to explain4 ,meanwhile1   
she goes to her room1 brings some       
sweetmeats in a round box inlaid with   
mother-of-pearl for ,khalid's  guests4  
,and taking the babe in her arms1 she   
fondles and kisses it1  and gives its   
mother some advice about suckling4 ,not 
whenever the  child cries1 but only at  
stated times1 she repeats4    ,so much  
about ,khalid's mother and cousin4 ,a   
few days after1 when he is  able to     
leave his room1 he goes to see them4    
,his cousin ,najma he would  take with  
him to ,cairo4 ,he would not leave her  
behind1 a prey to the  cruelty of       
loneliness and disease4 ,he tells her   
this4 ,she is  overjoyed4 ,she is ready 
to go whenever he says4 ,to-morrow8     
,please  ,allah1 yes4 ,but--    ,please 
,allah1 ill-luck is following4 ,for on  
his way back to the ,hotel1  a knot of  
boys1 lying in wait in one of the side  

streets1 cast stones  at him4 ,he looks 
back1 and a missile whizzes above his   
head1 another  hits him in the forehead 
almost undoing the doctor's work4 ,alas1
 that  wound6 ,will it ever heal8       
,khalid takes shelter in one of the     
shops2 a  cameleer rates the boys and   
chases them away4 ,the stoning was      
repeated  the following day1 and the    
cause of it1 ,shakib tells us1 is       
patent4  ,for when it became known in   
,baalbek that ,khalid1 the              
excommunicated  one1 is living in the   
,hotel1 and with an ,american woman6 the
 old  prejudices against him were       
aroused1 the old enemies were astirring4
  ,the priests held up their hands in   
horror2 the women wagged their long     
tongues in the puddle of scandal2 and   
the most fanatical shrieked out1        
execrating1 vituperating1 threatening   
even the respectable ,shakib1 who       
persists in befriending this muleteer's 
son4 ,excommunicated1 he now  comes with
 this ,americaniyah 7,american woman7 to

 corrupt the  community4 ,horrible6 ,we 
will even go farther than this boy's    
play of  stoning4 ,we present petitions 
to the kaiemkam demanding the expulsion 
of this ,khalid from the ,hotel1 from   
the ,city4    ,from other quarters1     
however1 come heavier charges against   
,khalid4 ,the  ,government of ,damascus 
has not been idle ever since the        
seditious  lack-beard ,sheikh           
disappeared4 ,the telegraph wires1 in   
all the  principal cities of ,syria1 are
 vibrating with inquiries about him1    
with orders for his arrest4 ,one such   
the kaiemkam of ,baalbek had just       
received when the petition of the       
,guardians of the ,morals of the        
,community was presented to him4 ,to    
this1 the kaiemkam1 in a  perfunctory   
manner1 applies his seal1 and assures   
his petitioners that  it will promptly  
be turned over to the proper official4  
,but ,turk as  ,turks go1 he places it  
under the cushion1 when they leave4     
,which  expression1 translated into     

,english means1 he quashes it4    ,now1 
by good chance1 this is the same        
kaiemkam who sent ,khalid a year  ago to
 prison1 maugre the efforts and         
importunities and other  inducements of 
,shakib4 ,and this time1 he will do him 
and his friend a  good turn4 ,he was    
thinking of the many misfortunes of this
 ,khalid1 and  nursing a little pity for
 him1 when ,shakib entered to offer a   
written  complaint against a few of the 
more noted instigators of the           
assailants of his friend4 ,his          
,excellency puts this in his pocket and 
withdraws with ,shakib into another     
room4 ,a few minutes after1 ,shakib  was
 hurrying to the ,hotel to confer with  
his brother ,khalid and ,mrs4  ,gotfry4 
,i saw the ,order with these very eyes1 
said ,shakib1 almost poking his  two    
forefingers into them4 ,the kaiemkam    
showed it to me4    ,hence1 the secret  
preparations inside the ,hotel and out  
of it for a  second remove1 for a final 
flight4 ,shakib packs up2 ,najma is all 

ready4 ,and ,khalid cuts his hair1 doffs
 his jubbah1 and appears again  in the  
ordinary attire of civilised mortals4   
,for how else can he get  out of ,beirut
 and the telegraph wires throughout     
,syria are flowing  with orders for his 
arrest8 ,in a hat and frock-coat1       
therefore  7furnished by ,shakib71 he   
enters into the carriage with ,mrs4     
,gotfry  about two hours after midnight2
 and1 with their whole retinue1 make    
for ,riak1 and thence by train for      
,beirut4 ,here ,shakib obtains          
passports for himself and ,najma1 and   
together with ,mrs4 ,gotfry and her     
dragoman1 they board in the afternoon   
the ,austrian ,liner for  ,port-,said2  
while1 in the evening1 walking at the   
side of one of the  boatmen1 ,khalid1   
passportless1 stealthily passes through 
the port1 and  rejoins his friends4     
,,chapter ,x    ,,the ,,desert      ,we 
remember seeing once a lithographic     
print representing a ,christmas  legend 
of the ,middle ,ages1 in which a        

detachment of the ,heavenly  ,host--big1
 ugly1 wild-looking angels--are         
pursuing1 with sword and  pike1 a group 
of terror-stricken little devils4 ,the  
idea in the  picture produced such an   
impression that one wished to see the   
helpless1 pitiful imps in heaven and the
 armed winged furies1 their  pursuers1  
in the other place4 ,now1 as we go      
through the many pages of  ,shakib's1 in
 which he dilates of the mischances1 the
 persecutions1 and  the flights of      
,khalid1 and of which we have given an  
abstract1 very  brief but comprehensive1
 in the preceding ,chapters1 we are     
struck with  the similarity in one sense
 between his ,dastur-legend1 so to      
speak1  and that of the ,middle ,ages to
 which we have alluded4 ,the devils in  
both pictures are distressing1 pitiful2 
while the winged persecutors  are       
horribly muscular1 and withal           
atrociously armed4    ,indeed1 this     
legend of the ,turkish angels of        
,fraternity and ,equality1  pursuing the

 ,turkish little devils of reaction1 so 
called1 is most  killing4 ,but we can   
not see how the descendants of ,yakut   
and ,seljuk  ,khan1 whether pursuers or 
pursued1 whether ,dastur winged furies  
they  be1 or ,hamidian devils1 are going
 to hold their own in face of the  fell 
,dragon which soon or late must overtake
 them4 ,that heavy1  slow-going1        
slow-thinking ,monster--and it makes    
little difference  whether he comes from
 the ,north or from the ,west--will wait
 until the  contending parties exhaust  
their strength and then--but this is not
  our subject4 ,we would that this      
pursuing business cease on all sides1   
and that everybody of all parties       
concerned pursue rather1 and  destroy1  
the big strong devil within them4 ,thus 
sayeth the preacher4  ,and thus1 for    
once1 we1 too4 ,for does not every one  
of these furious  angels of ,equality1  
whether in ,constantinople1 in ,berlin1 
in ,paris1 in  ,london1 or in ,new      
,york1 sit on his wings and reveal his  

horns when he  rises to power8 ,we are  
tired of wings that are really nothing  
but  horns1 misshaped and misplaced4    
,look at our ,french-swearing1          
whiskey-drinking ,tataric angels of the 
,dastur6 ,indeed1 we rejoice that our   
poor little ,devil is now beyond  the   
reach of their dripping steel and       
rickety second-hand gibbets4 ,and  yet1 
not very far2 for if the ,british       
,government consent or blink1  ,khalid  
and many real reactionists whom ,cairo  
harbours1 would have to  seek an asylum 
elsewhere4 ,and the third flight might  
not be as  successful as the others4    
,but none such is necessary4 ,on the    
sands of  the ,libyan desert1 not far   
from ,cairo and within wind of ,helwan1 
they  pitch their tents4 ,and ,mrs4     
,gotfry is staying at ,al-,hayat1 which 
is a  stone's throw from their evening  
fire4 ,she would have ,khalid live      
there too1 but he refuses4 ,he will live
 with his cousin and ,shakib  for a     
while4 ,he is captivated1 we are told1  

by that little cherub of a  babe4 ,but  
this does not prevent him from visiting 
his friend the  ,buhaist ,priestess     
every day and dining often with her at  
the ,hotel4    ,she1 too1 not           
infrequently comes to the camp4 ,indeed1
 finding the  solitude agreeable she has
 a tent pitched near theirs4 ,and as a  
relief  from the noise and bustle of    
tourists and the fatiguing formalities  
of  ,hotel life1 she repairs thither for
 a few days every week4    ,now1 in this
 austere delicacy of the desert1 where  
allwhere is the  softness of pure sand1 
,khalid is perfectly happy4 ,never did  
he seem so  careless1 our ,scribe       
asserts1 and so jovial and child-like in
 his  joys4 ,far from the noise and     
strife of politics1 far from the        
bewildering tangle of thought1 far from 
the vain hopes and dreams and  ambitions
 of life1 he lives each day as if it    
were the last of the  world4 ,here are  
joys manifold for a weary and persecuted
 spirit3 the  joy of having your dearest

 friend and comrade with you2 the joy of
  nursing and helping to restore to     
health and happiness the woman  dearest 
to your heart2 the joy of a ,love       
budding in beauty and  profusion2       
and--this1 the rarest and sublimest for 
,khalid--the joy of  worshipping at the 
cradle--of fondling1 caressing1 and     
bringing up one  of the brightest1      
sweetest1 loveliest of babes4    ,najib 
is his name--it were cruel to neutralise
 such a prodigy--and  he is just        
learning to walk and lisp4 ,khalid      
teaches him the first  step and the     
first monosyllable1 receiving in return 
the first  kiss which his infant lips   
could voice4 ,with what joy ,najib makes
 his  first ten steps6 ,with what zest  
would he practise on the soft sands1    
laughing as he falls1 and rising to try 
again4 ,and thus1 does he  quickly1     
wonderfully develop1 unfolding in the   
little circle of his  caressers--in his 
mother's lap1 in ,shakib's arms1 on     
,khalid's back1  on ,mrs4 ,gotfry's     

knee--the irresistible charm of his     
precocious  spirit4    ,in two months of
 desert life1 ,najib could run on the   
sands and sit  down when tired to rest2 
in two months he could imitate in voice 
and gesture whatever he heard or saw3   
the donkey's bray1 and with a  tilt of  
the head like him2 the cry of the cock2 
the shrill whistle  of the train2 and   
the howling of donkey boys4 ,his keen   
sense of  discrimination in sounds is   
incredible4 ,and one day1 seeing a      
,mohammedan spreading his rug to pray1  
he begins to kneel and kiss the  ground 
in imitation of him4 ,he even went into 
the tent and brought  ,khalid's jubbah  
to spread it on the sand likewise for   
that purpose4  ,so sensitive to outside 
impressions is this child that he       
quickly  responds to the least          
suggestion and with the least effort4   
,early  in the morning1 when the chill  
of night is still on the sands1 he      
toddles into ,khalid's tent cooing and  
warbling his joy4 ,a walking  jasmine   

flower1 a singing ray of sunshine1      
,khalid calls him4 ,and the  mother1 on 
seeing her child thus develop1 begins to
 recuperate4 ,in  this little garden of 
happiness1 her hope begins to blossom4  
,but ,khalid would like to know why     
,najib1 on coming into his tent in  the 
morning and seeing him naked1 always    
pointed with his little  finger and with
 questioning smile1 to what protruded   
under the navel4  ,the like questions   
,khalid puts with the ease and freedom  
of a child4  ,and writes full pages     
about them1 too1 in which he only       
succeeds in  bamboozling himself and us4
 ,for how can we account for everything 
a  child does8 ,even the psychologist   
with his reflex-action theory does  not 
solve the whole problem4 ,but ,khalid   
would like to know--and  perhaps not so 
innocently does he dwell upon this      
subject as upon  others--he would like  
to know the significance of ,najib's    
pointed  finger and smile4 ,it may be   
only an accident1 ,khalid4 ,but an      

accident1 says he1 occurring again and  
again in the same manner  under stated  
conditions ceases to be such4 ,and might
 not the child1  who is such an early   
and keen observer1 have previously seen 
his  mother in native buff1 and was     
surprised to see that appendage in you1 
,khalid8    ,even at ,al-,hayat ,najib  
is become popular4 ,khalid often comes  
here  carrying him on his back4 ,and how
 ready is the child to salaam           
everybody1 and with both hands1 as he   
stands on the veranda steps4  ,surely1  
says ,khalid1 there is a deeper         
understanding between man  and child    
than between man and man4 ,for who but a
 child dare act so  freely among these  
polyglots of ceremony in this little    
world of  frills and frocks and         
feathers8 ,who but a child dare approach
 without  an introduction any one of    
these solemn-looking tourists8 ,here    
then is  the divine source of the       
sweetest and purest joy4 ,here is that  
one  touch of ,nature which makes the   

whole world kin4 ,for the child1 and    
though he be of the lowest desert tribe1
 standing on the veranda of a           
fashionable ,hotel1 can warm and sweeten
 with the divine flame that is  in him1 
the hearts of these sour-seeming1       
stiff-looking tourists who  are from all
 corners of the earth4 ,is not this a   
miracle8 ,my professor  of psychology   
will say1 ',nay4' ,but what makes the   
heart leap in that  grave and portly    
gentleman1 who might be from ,finland or
 ,iceland1 for  all ,i know1 when       
,najib's hand is raised to him in       
salutation8 ,what  makes that stately   
and sombre-looking dame open her arms1  
when ,najib  plucks a flower and1 after 
smelling it1 presents it to her8 ,what  
makes  that reticent1 meditative1       
hard-favoured ancient1 who is ,i believe
 a  psychologist1 what makes him so     
interested in observing ,najib when he  
stands near the piano pointing anxiously
 to the keyboard8 ,for the  child enjoys
 not every kind of music3 play a march  

or a melody and he  will keep time1     
listing joyously from side to side and  
waving his hand  in an arch like a      
maestro2 play something insipid or      
chaotic and he  will stand there        
impassive as a statue4    ,and the      
reticent hard-favoured ancient1 who     
turns out to be an  ,american professor 
of some ology1 explains to ,khalid why  
lively music  moves children1 while soft
 and subtle tones do not4 ,but ,khalid  
is not  open to argument on the subject4
 ,he prefers to believe that children1  
especially when so keenly sensitive as  
his prodigy1 understand as  much1 if not
 more1 about music as the average       
operagoer of to-day4  ,but that is not  
saying much4 ,the professor furthermore1
 while  admitting the extreme precocity 
of ,najib's mind1 tries to simplify by  
scientific analysis what to ,khalid and 
other laymen seemed wonderful1  almost  
miraculous4 ,here1 too1 ,khalid botches 
the arguments of the  learned gentleman 
in his effort to give us a summary of   

them1 and  tells us in the end that     
never after1 so long as that professor  
was  there1 did he ever visit           
,al-,hayat4    ,he prefers to frolic and
 philosophise with his prodigy on the   
sands4  ,he goes on all four around the 
tent1 carrying ,najib on his back2 he   
digs a little ditch in the sand and     
teaches him how to lie therein4         
,following the precept of the ,greek    
philosophers1 he would show him  even so
 early how to die4 ,and ,najib lies in  
the sand-grave1 folds his  hands on his 
breast and closes his eyes4 ,rising     
therefrom1 ,khalid  would teach him how 
to dance like a dervish1 and ,najib     
whirls and  whirls until he falls again 
in that grave4    ,when ,mrs4 ,gotfry   
came that day1 ,khalid asked the child  
to show her how  to dance and die1 and  
,najib begins to whirl like a dervish   
until he  falls in the grave2 thereupon 
he folds his arms1 closes his eyes1 and 
smiles a pathetic smile4 ,this by far is
 the masterpiece of all his  feats4 ,and

 one evening1 when he was repeating this
 strange and weird  antic1 which in     
,khalid's strange mind might be made to 
symbolise  something stranger than both1
 he saw1 as he lay in the grave1 a star 
in the sky4 ,it was the first time he   
saw a star2 and he jumped out of  his   
sand-grave exulting in the discovery he 
had made4 ,he runs to his  mother and   
points the star to her4444    ,and thus 
did ,khalid spend his halcyon months in 
the desert4 ,here was  an arcadia1      
perfect but brief4 ,for his delight in  
infant worship1 and  in the new ,love   
which was budding in beauty and         
profusion1 and in  tending his sick     
cousin who was recovering her health1   
and in the  walks around the ruins in   
the desert with his dearest comrade and 
friend1--these1 alas1 were joys of too  
pure a nature to endure4                
,,al-,,khatimah    ,but ,i can not see  
all that you see4    ,then you do not   
love me4    ,back again to              
,swedenborg--,i told you more than once 

that he is not my  apostle4    ,nor is  
he mine4 ,but he has expressed a great  
truth1 ,jamlah4 ,now1 can  you love me  
in the light of that truth8    ,you are 
always asking me that same question1    
,khalid4 ,you do not  understand me4 ,i 
do not believe in marriage4 ,i tried it 
once2 ,i will  not try it again4 ,i am  
married to ,buhaism4 ,and you           
,khalid--remember my  words--you will   
yet be an apostle--the apostle--of      
,buhaism4 ,and you  will find me with   
you1 whether you be in ,arabia1 in      
,america1 or in  ,egypt4 ,i feel        
this--,i know it--,i am positive about  
it4 ,your star and  mine are one4 ,we   
are born under the same star4 ,we are   
now in the same  orbit1 approaching the 
same nadir4 ,we are ruled by our stars4 
,i  believe this1 and you don't4 ,at    
least1 you say you don't4 ,but you do4  
,you don't know your own mind4 ,the     
trend of the current of your life is    
beyond your grasp1 beyond your          
comprehension4 ,i know4 ,and you must   

listen to me4 ,you must follow my       
advice4 ,if you can not come with me    
now to the ,states1 you will await me   
here4 ,i am called on a pressing        
business4 ,and within three months1 at  
the most1 ,i shall return and  find you 
waiting for me right here1 in this      
desert4    ,i can not understand you4   
,you will yet4    ,but why not try to   
understand me8 ,can you not find in my  
ideas the  very essence of ,buhaism8    
,can you not come up to my height and   
behold  there the star that you have    
taken for your guide8 ,my ,truth1       
,jamlah1  can you not see that8 ,love   
and ,faith1 free from all sectarianism  
and  all earthly authority1--what is    
,buhaism or ,mohammedanism or           
,christianity beside them8 ,moreover1 ,i
 have a mission4 ,and to love me  you   
must believe in me1 not in the ,buha4   
,you laugh at my dream4 ,but  one day it
 will be realised4 ,a great ,arab       
,empire in the border-land of  the      
,orient and ,occident1 in this very     

heart of the world1 this ,arabia1  this 
,egypt1 this ,field of the ,cloth of    
,gold1 so to speak1 where the  ,male and
 ,female of the ,spirit shall give birth
 to a unifying faith1 a  unifying art1 a
 unifying truth--    ,vagaries1         
chimeras1 interrupted ,mrs4 ,gotfry4    
,buhaism is established1  and it needs a
 great apostle4 ,it needs you2 it will  
have you4 ,i will  have you4 ,your      
destiny is interwoven with mine4 ,you   
can not flee it1  do what you may4 ,we  
are ruled by our stars1 ,khalid4 ,and if
 you do not  realise this now1 you will 
realise it to-morrow4 ,here1 give me    
your  hand4    ,i can not4    ,very     
well1 then4 ,good-bye--au revoir4 ,in   
three months you will  change your mind4
 ,in three months ,i will return to the 
,east and find  you waiting for me1 even
 here in this desert4 ,think on it1 and 
take  care of yourself4 ,au revoir4     
,in this strange1 mysterious manner1    
after pacing for hours on the sand  in  
the sheen of the full moon1 ,mrs4       

,gotfry says farewell to ,khalid4    ,he
 sits on a rock near his tent and       
ponders for hours4 ,he seeks in the     
stars1 as it were1 a clue to the love of
 this woman1 which he first  thought to 
be unfathomable4 ,there it is1 the stars
 seem to say4 ,and he  looks into the   
sand-grave near him1 where little ,najib
 practises how  to die4 ,yes2 a fitting 
symbol of the life and love called      
modern1  boasting of freedom4 ,they     
dance their dervish dance1 these people1
  even like ,khalid's little ,najib1 and
 fall into their sand-graves1 and  fold 
their arms and smile3 ,we are in        
love--or we are out of it4  ,which is   
the same4 ,no3 he'll have none of this4 
,a heart as simple as  this desert sand1
 as deep in affection as this heaven1   
untainted by  the uncertainties and     
doubts and caprices of modern           
life1--only in  such a heart is the love
 that endures1 the love divine and      
eternal4    ,he goes into ,najma's tent4
 ,the mother and her child are sound    

asleep4  ,he stands between the bed and 
the cot contemplating the simplicity and
  innocence and truth1 which are more   
eloquent in ,najib's brow than  aught of
 human speech4 ,his little hand raised  
above his head seems to  point to a star
 which could be seen through an opening 
in the canvas4  ,was it his star--the   
star that he saw in the sand-grave--the 
star that  is calling to him8--    ,but 
let us resume our narration4    ,a      
fortnight after ,mrs4 ,gotfry's         
departure ,shakib leaves the camp to    
live in ,cairo4 ,he is now become       
poet-laureate to one of the big  pashas4
    ,khalid is left alone with ,najma   
and ,najib4    ,and one day1 when they  
are playing a game of donkey1--,khalid  
carried  ,najib on his back1 ran on all 
four around the tent1 and ,najma was the
  donkey-driver1--the child of a sudden 
utters a shriek and falls on the  sand4 
,he is in convulsions2 and after the    
relaxation1 lo1 his right  hand is      
palsied1 his mouth awry1 and his eyes   

a-squint4 ,khalid finds a  young doctor 
at ,al-,hayat1 and his diagnosis of the 
case does not  disturb the mind4 ,it is 
infantile paralysis1 a disease common   
with  delicate children4 ,and the       
doctor1 who is of a kind and            
demonstrative  humour1 discourses at    
length on the disease1 speaks of many   
worse  cases of its kind he cured1 and  
assures the mother that within a month  
the child will recover4 ,for the present
 he can but prescribe a  purgative and a
 massage of the arm and spine4 ,on the  
third visit1 he  examines the child's   
fces and is happy to have discovered the
 seat  and cause of the affection4 ,the 
liver is not performing its function2   
and given such weak nerves as the       
child's1 a torpid liver in certain      
cases will produce paralysis4    ,but   
,khalid is not satisfied with this4 ,he 
places the doctor's  prescription in his
 pocket1 and goes down to ,cairo for a  
specialist4  ,he comes1 this one1 to    
disturb their peace of mind with his    

indecision4 ,it is not infantile        
paralysis1 and he can not yet say  what 
it is4 ,khalid meanwhile is poring over 
medical books on all the  diseases that 
children are heir to4    ,on the fifth  
day the child falls again in            
convulsions1 and the  left arm1 too1 is 
paralysed4 ,they take him down to       
,cairo2 and  ,medicine1 considering the 
disease of his mother1 guesses a third  
time--tuberculosis of the spine1 it     
says--and guesses wrong4  ,again1       
considering the strabismus1 the         
obliquity of the mouth1 the  palsy in   
the arms1 and the convulsions1 we guess 
closely1 but  ominously4 ,nay1 ,medicine
 is positive this time2 for a fifth and 
a  sixth ,guesser confirm the others4   
,here we have a case of cerebral        
meningitis4 ,that is certain2 that is   
fatal4    ,najib is placed under        
treatment4 ,they cut his hair1 his      
beautiful flow  of dark hair2 rub his   
scalp with chloroform2 keep the hot     
bottles  around his feet1 the ice bag on

 his head2 and give him a spoon of      
physic every hour4 ,make no noise around
 the room1 and admit no light  into it1 
further advises the doctor4 ,thus for   
two weeks the child  languishes in his  
mother's arms2 and resting from the     
convulsions and  the coma1 he would fix 
on ,khalid the hollow1 icy glance of    
death4 ,no2  the light and intelligence 
might never revisit those vacant eyes4  
,now ,shakib comes to suggest a         
consultation4 ,the great ,english       
physician of ,cairo1 why not call him8  
,it might not be meningitis1  after all1
 and the child might be helped1 might be
 cured4    ,the great guesswork         
,celebrity is called4 ,he examines the  
patient and  confirms the opinion of his
 confrres1 rather his disciples4    ,but
 the whole tissue1 he continues with    
glib assurance1 is not  affected4 ,the  
area is local1 and to the side of the   
ear that is sore4  ,the strabismus being
 to the right1 the affection must be to 
the left4  ,and the pus accumulating    

behind the ear1 under the bone1 and     
pressing  on the covering of the brain1 
produces the inflammation4 ,yes1 pus is 
the cause of this4 ,and he repeats the  
,arabic proverb in broken  ,arabic1 ,a  
drop of pus will disable a camel4       
,further1 ,yes1 the  child's life can be
 saved by trepanning4 ,it should have   
been done  already1 but the time's not  
passed4 ,let the surgeon come and make a
  little opening--no2 a child can stand 
chloroform better than an adult4  ,and  
when the pus is out he will be well4    
,in a private consultation the disciples
 beg to observe that there was  no      
evidence of pus behind the ear4 ,it is  
beneath the skullbone1 the  ,master     
asserts4 ,and so we decide upon the     
operation4 ,the ,eye and ,ear           
specialist is called1 and after weighing
 the probabilities of the case  and     
considering that the great ,celebrity   
had said there was pus1  although there 
be no evidence of it1 he convinces      
,khalid that if the  child is not       

benefited by the operation he cannot    
suffer from it more  than he is         
suffering now4    ,the surgeon comes    
with his assistants4 ,little ,najib is  
laid on the  table2 the chloroform towel
 is applied2 the scalpels1 the cotton1  
the  basins of hot water1 and other     
accessories1 are handed over by one     
doctor to another4 ,the ,cutter begins4 
,shakib is there watching with  the     
rest2 ,najma is in an adjacent room     
weeping2 and ,khalid is pacing  up and  
down the hall1 his brows moistened with 
the cold sweat of  anguish and suspense4
    ,no pus between the scalp and the   
bone3 the little hammer and chisel  are 
handed to the ,cutter4 ,one1 two1       
three1--the child utters a faint  cry2  
the chloroform towel is applied         
again2--four1 five1 six1 and the        
seventh stroke of the little hammer     
opens the skull4 ,the ,cutter then      
penetrates with his catheter1 searches  
thoroughly through the                  
brain--here--there--above--below--and   

finally holds the instrument up  to his 
assistants to show them that there      
is--no pus6 ,if there be  any1 says he1 
it is beyond the reach of surgery4 ,the 
wound1  therefore1 is quickly washed1   
sewn up1 and dressed1 while everybody is
  wondering how the great ,celebrity can
 be wrong4444    ,little ,najib remains 
under the influence of ansthetics for   
two  days--for two days he is in a      
trance4 ,and on the third1 the fever    
mounts to the danger line and descends  
again--only after he had  stretched his 
little arm and breathed his last6       
,and ,khalid and ,najma and ,shakib take
 him out to the desert and bury  him in 
the sand1 near the tent round which he  
used to play4 ,there1  where he stepped 
his first step1 lisped his first        
syllable1 smacked  his first kiss1 and  
saw for the first time a star in the    
heaven1 he is  laid2 he is given to the 
,night1 to the ,eternity which ,khalid  
does not  fear4 ,and yet1 what tears1   
,shakib tells us1 he shed over that     

little  grave4    ,but about the time   
the second calamity approaches1 when    
,najma begins  to decline and waste away
 from grief1 when the relapse sets in   
and  carries her in a fortnight downward
 to the grave of her child1  ,khalid's  
eyes are as two pieces of flint stone on
 a sheet of glass4  ,his tears flow     
inwardly1 as it were1 through his       
cracked heart4444    ,like the poet     
,saadi1 ,khalid once sought to fill his 
lap with celestial  flowers for his     
friends and brothers2 and he gathered   
some2 but1 alas1  the fragrance of them 
so intoxicated him that the skirt dropt 
from his  hand4444                      
99       99       99       99       99  
,we are again at the ,mena ,house1 where
 we first met ,shakib4 ,and the  reader 
will remember that the tears rushed to  
his eyes when we  inquired of him about 
his ,master and ,friend4 ,he has        
disappeared some  ten days ago1 he then 
said1 and ,i know not whither4          
,therefore1 ask  us not1 ,o gentle      

,reader1 what became of him4 ,how can we
 know8 ,he  might have entered a higher 
spiritual circle or a lower2 of a truth1
  he is not now on the outskirts of the 
desert3 deeper to this side or  to that 
he must have passed4 ,and passing he    
continues to dream of  appearance in the
 disappearance2 of truth in the         
surrender2 of  sunrises in the sunset4  
,now1 fare thee well in either case1    
,reader4 ,and whether well or ill  spent
 the time we have journeyed together1   
let us not quarrel about  it4 ,for our  
part1 we repeat the farewell words of   
,sheikh ,taleb of  ,damascus3 ,judge us 
not severely4 ,and if we did not study  
to  entertain thee as other ,scribes do1
 it is because we consider thee1  dear  
good ,reader1 above such entertainment  
as our poor resources can  furnish1     
,wassalmu aleik6                 ,,in 4 
,,freike 4 ,,which 4 ,,is 4 ,,in 4      
,,mount 4 ,,lebanon                     
,,syria 4 ,,on 4 ,,the 4 ,,twelfth 4    
,,day 4 ,,of               ,,january 4  

#aiaj 4 ,,anno 4 ,,christi 4 ,,and 4    
,,the               ,,first 4 ,,day 4   
,,of 4 ,,muharram 4 #acbh 4 ,,hegirah   
,,this 4 ,,book 4 ,,of 4 ,,khalid 4     
,,was 4 ,,finished    ,illustration     
,transcriber's ,notes3                  
,typographical problems have been       
changed and are listed below4           
,author's archaic and variable spelling 
is preserved4      ,author's punctuation
 style is preserved4      ,passages in  
italics indicated by underscores4       
,transcriber ,changes3        ,les      
dessons9999 ,was 'dessous'--and the     
,poet who intersperses        under     
their heavy burdens1 upsetting a tray of
 sweetmeats9999 ,was                    
'sweet-meats across lines               
occasionally meets with a native who1   
failing as peddler9999 ,was             
pedler        nevertheless9999 ,was     
'neverthelesss' significant to remark   
that            the ,city of        that
 makes me sad4'9999 ,added closing      
double-quote        land4 ,see him      

genuflecting now1 to kiss the           
curbstone9999 ,was                      
'curb-stone' across lines        his    
,al-,mutanabby9999 ,as originally       
printed4 ,in relating of                
,khalid's waywardness        ,old       
,arabic books1 printed in ,bulaq19999   
,added comma generally        ,no9999   
,added extra opening double-quote more  
voyages1 ,i trust1 ,o            thou   
,sindbad4' ,and        more than one    
vice to demand forgetfulness9999 ,was   
'forgetfuless'4        keep at the      
,jesuits4'9999 ,removed closing         
double-quote        can not understand  
them4 ,they are like the sweetmeats9999 
,was            'sweet-meats' across    
lines        each other1 ',ah1 ,adam1   
ah1 ,eve6'9999 ,added closing           
single-quote            sighing likewise
        we will 444 ,khalid makes no    
reply49999 ,changed '1' to '4'          
the zeffah 7wedding procession79999     
,removed extra '7' of none              
but she and        hermit49999 ,added   

closing double-quote 7,strange          
coincidence67 ,on            your way   
here        out1 so to speak1 exposing  
its boulders1 its little windrows9999   
,was 'wind-rows' across lines        of 
the stars1 ,i can tell thee this about  
them all39999 ,original may             
be '2' they        ,health2 in thy      
temples of worship1 to universal        
,goodwill29999 ,was                     
',good-will' across lines        on the 
gulma 7oustraation of animals79999      
,added closing '7'1            called   
forth1 we        regret and sorrow49999 
,changed '1' to '4' ,that such a        
beautiful            face should        
,i am a ,christian1 too49999 ,added     
closing double-quote        ,meanwhile1 
she goes to her room1 brings some       
sweetmeats9999 ,was                     
'sweet-meats' across lines        as a  
statue49999 ,added closing double-quote