FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52  
53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   >>   >|  
ive monks, at last discover the Moorish or Jewish to be a Christian saint. The Jewesses brought our Oriental rabbi, declaring him to know everything, and that his garments smelt of the Holy City. Benoliel, or Ben, as the English called him, protested to me that he did not believe in charms; he only allowed the rabbi to write them to please the women. But I have found, during my travels in the Mediterranean, many persons of education, who pretended they did not believe this or that superstition of their church, whilst they were at heart great cowards, having no courage to reject a popular falsehood, and quite as superstitious as those who never doubt the excrescent dogmas or traditionary fables of their religion. The paper amulets, however, operated favourably on Mrs. Benoliel. She was delivered of a fine child; and received the congratulations of her neighbours. The child was named Sultana; [9] and the people were all as merry as if a princess had been born in Israel. I received a visit from a Moorish taleb, to whom I read some portions of my journal, as also the Arabic Testament: _Taleb_.--"The English read Arabic because they are the friends of Mussulmans. For this reason, God gives them wit to understand the language of the Koran." _Traveller_.--"We wish to study all languages, and to know all people." _Taleb_.--"Now, as you have become so wise in our country, and read Arabic, where next are you going? Why not be quiet and return home, and live a marabout? Where next are you going?" In this strain the Taleb continued lecturing me, until he was interrupted by a Berber of Rif. The Rifian.--"Christian, Engleez, come to our mountains. I will conduct you to the Emir, on whom is the blessing of God. Come to the Emir, come." Traveller.--"No, I've nothing to do with war." The Rifian.--"Ah! ah! ah! I know you are a necromancer. Cannot you tell me where money is buried? I want money very bad. Give me a peseta." Traveller.--"Not I. I am going to see your Emperor." The Rifian.--"Ah! ah! ah! that is right; give him plenty of money. Muley Abd Errahman hoards up money always. If you give him plenty of money, you will be placed on a horse and ride by his side." The inhabitants of Barbary all bury their money. The secret is confided to a single person, who often is taken ill, and dies before he can discover the hiding place to his surviving relatives. Millions of dollars are lost in this way. The people, consc
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52  
53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Traveller

 

Arabic

 

Rifian

 

people

 

plenty

 
received
 

Benoliel

 

Christian

 

discover

 

Moorish


English
 

strain

 

continued

 

lecturing

 

marabout

 

relatives

 

surviving

 
interrupted
 

Engleez

 

mountains


hiding

 

Berber

 

languages

 

country

 

Millions

 

return

 
dollars
 
conduct
 

peseta

 
buried

Emperor

 

Barbary

 

inhabitants

 
secret
 

confided

 

Errahman

 

blessing

 

person

 
hoards
 

necromancer


Cannot

 

single

 

pretended

 

education

 

superstition

 

church

 
whilst
 
persons
 

travels

 

Mediterranean