sick. Finally they were ordered to abstain from strong drink and to be
very frugal in what they ate. That was all. There were no priests, who
acted as shepherds of their flocks and asked that they be supported at
the common expense. The Mohammedan churches or mosques were merely large
stone halls without benches or pictures, where the faithful could gather
(if they felt so inclined) to read and discuss chapters from the Koran,
the Holy Book. But the average Mohammedan carried his religion with him
and never felt himself hemmed in by the restrictions and regulations
of an established church. Five times a day he turned his face towards
Mecca, the Holy City, and said a simple prayer. For the rest of the time
he let Allah rule the world as he saw fit and accepted whatever fate
brought him with patient resignation.

Of course such an attitude towards life did not encourage the Faithful
to go forth and invent electrical machinery or bother about railroads
and steamship lines. But it gave every Mohammedan a certain amount of
contentment. It bade him be at peace with himself and with the world in
which he lived and that was a very good thing.

The second reason which explains the success of the Moslems in their
warfare upon the Christians, had to do with the conduct of those
Mohammedan soldiers who went forth to do battle for the true faith.
The Prophet promised that those who fell, facing the enemy, would go
directly to Heaven. This made sudden death in the field preferable to
a long but dreary existence upon this earth. It gave the Mohammedans an
enormous advantage over the Crusaders who were in constant dread of a
dark hereafter, and who stuck to the good things of this world as long
as they possibly could. Incidentally it explains why even to-day Moslem
soldiers will charge into the fire of European machine guns quite
indifferent to the fate that awaits them and why they are such dangerous
and persistent enemies.

Having put his religious house in order, Mohammed now began to enjoy
his power as the undisputed ruler of a large number of Arab tribes. But
success has been the undoing of a large number of men who were great in
the days of adversity. He tried to gain the good will of the rich people
by a number of regulations which could appeal to those of wealth.
He allowed the Faithful to have four wives. As one wife was a costly
investment in those olden days when brides were bought directly from
the parents, four wives be