which he had dissolved the papers into a pulp in oil and water, and
had given the pulp as medicine to the people! He said it was a powerful
medicine. He supposed that the English printed letters would have some
magic influence on diseases.

One of the Moslem lads carries a short iron spear as a sign that he is
going to be a derwish. Dr. De Forest once found himself surrounded in a
Moslem village by a troop of little Moslems, each of them with an
iron-headed spear in his hand. A Moorish Sheikh, or Chief, had been for
some two years teaching the Moslems of the place the customs of their
holy devotees, and in consequence all the boys had become derwishes, or
Moslem monks. He was a shrewd old Sheikh. He knew that the true way to
perpetuate his religion was to _teach the children_. He had taught them
the Moslem prayers and prostrations, and to keep certain moral precepts.
How glad we should be if these boys would come and sit down by us while
we talk to them of Jesus! There they come. See how their eyes sparkle,
as I speak to them. They have never heard about the gospel before. But I
must speak in a low tone, as the old Sheikh is coming and he looks down
upon us as infidel dogs! Perhaps some of them will think of these words
some day, and put their trust in our Divine Saviour.

Many of the people seem to think that the missionary's house is like the
Cave of Adullam, where David lived, (1 Sam. xxii:2) when "every one that
was in distress, and every one that was in debt and every one that was
discontented, gathered themselves unto him." It makes it very hard to
deal with the people, to have so many of them come to us with improper
motives. They come and say they love the gospel and want instruction,
and have endured persecution, when suddenly you find that they want
money, or to be protected from punishment, or to get office, or to get
married to some improper person, or something else that is wrong.

Once a sheikh from Dunniyeh in Lebanon came to Tripoli, and declared
himself a Protestant. He was very zealous, and wanted us to feel that he
was too good a man to be turned away, as he was wealthy and of a high
family. He was armed with a small arsenal of weapons. He had a servant
to carry his gun and pipe, and came day after day to read books, and
talk on religion. He said that all he needed was the protection of the
American Consul, and then he would make his whole village Protestants.
We told him we could have nothing to do