oot with an
eagerness of stare, and an impetuosity of expression, that none but a
mother can command.

In order to rouse my father from the lethargy into which he had
apparently fallen, the doctor proposed administering a cordial, which,
having prepared, he endeavoured to pour clown his throat; during the
exertion of raising the body, the dying man sneezed once, which every
one present knew was an omen so bad, that no man in his senses would
dare venture to give the medicine until two full hours had expired:
therefore, it remained in the cup.

After having waited the expiration of the two hours, the medicine was
again attempted to be administered, when, to the horror of all present,
and to the disappointment of those who expected that he should make his
will, he was found to be stone dead.

'In the name of Allah, arise,' said the old mollah to him; 'we are now
writing your will.' He endeavoured to raise my father's head, but to no
purpose; life had entirely fled.

Water steeped in cotton was then squeezed into his mouth, his feet were
carefully placed towards the Kebleh, and as soon as it was ascertained
that no further hope was left, the priest at his bed-head began to read
the Koran in a loud and sing-song emphasis. A handkerchief was then
placed under his chin, fastened over his head, and his two great toes
were also tied together. All the company then pronounced the _Kelemeh
Shehadet_ (the profession of faith), a ceremony which was supposed to
send him out of this world a pure and well-authenticated Mussulman; and
during this interval a cup of water was placed upon his head.

All these preliminaries having been duly performed, the whole company,
composed of what were supposed to be his friends and relations, gathered
close round the corpse, and uttered loud and doleful cries. This was a
signal to the two mollahs (whom I before mentioned), who had mounted on
the house-top, and they then began to chant out in a sonorous cadence
portions of the Koran, or verses used on such occasions, and which are
intended as a public notification of the death of a true believer.

The noise of wailing and lamentation now became general, for it soon was
communicated to the women, who, collected in a separate apartment, gave
vent to their grief after the most approved forms. My father, from his
gentleness and obliging disposition, had been a great favourite with all
ranks of people, and my mother, who herself was a professional mo