Softly, my friend,' said the dervish to the capiji, 'don't jump so soon
from the crime to the criminal, We have a medicine for every disorder,
although it may take some time to work.'

He then cast his eyes upon the company present, twinkling them all the
while in quick flashes, and said, 'I am sure every one here will be
happy to be clear of suspicion, and will agree to what I shall propose.
The operation is simple, and soon over.'

'_Elbetteh_, certainly': '_Belli_, yes': '_Een che harf est?_ what
word is this?' was heard to issue from every mouth, and I requested the
dervish to proceed.

He called again to his servant, who produced a small bag, whilst he
again took the cup under his charge.

'This bag,' said the diviner, 'contains some old rice. I will put a
small handful of it into each person's mouth, which they will forthwith
chew. Let those who cannot break it, beware, for Eblis is near at hand.'

Upon this, placing us in a row, he filled each person's mouth with rice,
and all immediately began to masticate. Being the complainant, of course
I was exempt from the ordeal; and my mother, who chose to make common
cause with me, also stood out of the ranks. The quick-sighted dervish
would not allow of this, but made her undergo the trial with the rest,
saying, 'The property we seek is not yours, but your son's. Had he been
your husband, it would be another thing.' She agreed to his request,
though with bad grace, and then all the jaws were set to wagging, some
looking upon it as a good joke, others thinking it a hard trial to the
nerves. As fast as each person had ground his mouthful, he called to the
dervish, and showed the contents of his mouth.

All had now proved their innocence excepting the akhon and my mother.
The former, whose face exhibited the picture of an affected cheerfulness
with great nervous apprehension, kept mumbling his rice, and turning it
over between his jaws, until he cried out in a querulous tone, 'Why
do you give me this stuff to chew? I am old, and have no teeth:--it
is impossible for me to reduce the grain'; and then he spat it out. My
mother, too, complained of her want of power to break the hard rice, and
did the same thing. A silence ensued, which made us all look with more
attention than usual upon them, and it was only broken by a time-server
of my mother, an old woman, who cried out, 'What child's play is this?
Who has ever heard of a son treating his mother with this disrespect,