Our daily
bathing seems to puzzle them greatly. I do not notice that little Larbi or
his brother Kasem ever tempt the sea to wash or drown them. Yet they look
healthy enough, and are full of dignity. You may offer them fruit or
sweetmeats or anything tempting that may be on the table, and they will
refuse it. I fancy they regard the invitation to partake of Nazarene's
food as a piece of impertinence, only excusable because Nazarenes are mad.
The days slip away from the plateau below Mediunah. March has yielded
place to April. To-morrow the pack-mules will be here at sunrise. In the
afternoon, when the cool hours approach, camp will be struck, and we shall
ride down the avenue of cork trees for the last time on the way to "Tanjah
of the Nazarenes," whence, at the week end, the boat will carry us to some
Atlantic port, there to begin a longer journey.
[Illustration: THE GOATHERD FROM MEDIUNA]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "Moreover, we have decked the lower heaven with lamps, and have made
them for pelting the devils."--Al Koran; Sura, "The Kingdom."
[2] "The Far West", the native name for Morocco.
[3] One of the most charming of these houses is "Aidonia," belonging to
Mr.
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