meat of the festival together once more.'

The moon rose clear and bright behind the one tall palm tree that
overhangs the tomb of Sheykh Gibreel. He is a saint of homely tastes and
will not have a dome over him or a cover for his tomb, which is only
surrounded by a wall breast-high, enclosing a small square bit of ground
with the rough tomb on one side. At each corner was set up a flag, and a
few dim lanterns hung overhead. The 200 men eating were quite
noiseless--and as they rose, one by one washed their hands and went, the
crowd melted away like a vision. But before all were gone, came the
Bulook, or sub-magistrate--a Turkish Jack in office with the manners of a
Zouave turned parish beadle. He began to sneer at the _melocheea_ of the
fellaheen and swore he could not eat it if he sat before it 1,000 years.
Hereupon, Omar began to 'chaff' him. 'Eat, oh Bulook Pasha and if it
swells thy belly the Lady will give thee of the physick of the English to
clean thy stomach upwards and downwards of all thou hast eaten of the
food of the fellaheen.' The Bulook is notorious for his exactions--his
'eating the people'--so there was a great laugh. Poor Omar was very ill
next day--and every one thought the Bulook had given him the eye.

Then came the Mufettish in state to pay his _devoirs_ to the Sheykh in
the tomb. He came and talked to Mustapha and Yussuf and enumerated the
people taken for the works, 200 from Luxor, 400 from Carnac, 310 from
Zenia, 320 from Byadyeh, and 380 from Salamieh--a good deal more than
half the adult men to go for sixty days leaving their fields uncultivated
and their Hareem and children hungry--for they have to take all the food
for themselves.

I rose sick at heart from the Mufettish's harsh voice, and went down to
listen to the Moonsheeds chanting at the tomb and the Zikheers' strange
sobbing, Allah, Allah.

I leaned on the mud wall watching the slender figures swaying in the
moonlight, when a tall, handsome fellah came up in his brown shirt, felt
_libdeh_ (scull cap), with his blue cotton _melaya_ tied up and full of
dried bread on his back. The type of the Egyptian. He stood close
beside me and prayed for his wife and children. 'Ask our God to pity
them, O Sheykh, and to feed them while I am away. Thou knowest how my
wife worked all night to bake all the wheat for me and that there is none
left for her and the children.' He then turned to me and took my hand
and went on, 'Thou knowest