| Show A BARD OF THE DESERT An English Artist Writes of a Bedouin Poet lie wan an old man graybeordd and sundrledland the look of Import ance upon his brow was repeated In the expression of reflected glory ulilch animated the countenance of him on Hach carried an Instrument called el kemengch a kind of twomrlnped fiddle says the writer In the Century Shutting his eyes and comfortably rubbing his hands together the old than began In I hrh stringent voice to deliver a pimrgyilc upon the rang he was going to sing calling forth repeated ejaculations of Ainu cpeeuaptpe jculolon alprolng signs from the assembled crowd After ten minutes of this I became Impatient And exclaimed 1 drub IT 1 Itemegen 0 uI play your ddle 0 mI 10 ter whereu oil wlh Sympathetic runts from ail 1 he began the overture a wlerd wailing melody to which the on played a kind of second In a minr key which it Is I Impossible to Irnncrlbo corocl lit I our annotation Beginning like the sighing of the uI nil among Uie Palm lives II gradually ally gathered power and volume In a crescendo then died away again to a breath playln Infinite chatiolug upon the opening theme Th effect wns distinctly altot Anil nimint And T was gradually drifting Into a State of Ireomy Imntln mhen euhlny the hanl lirokt silence and In n nice of amazing lower and Incisiveness began be-gan 10 Intone tile Song of the Nphao la Going back for generations legend degerille1 the growlnc of the parent tribe Into a Pouer In Mesopotamia and how In course of time when men and camels and horses were Plenty the head Iolt decided upon the conquest of rnnl Admirably accompanied upon up-on their Instruments one seemed to hear the hurtled rldlng of mispraers dispatched 10 ummon distrait families their horses hoof strokes gradually dying dy-ing In the distance until naught Wan her but the sighing of the night wind across the desert Presently from Car away was caught the distant than derng of the gathering hordes gradu ally approaching nearer and nearer until un-til the volume of sound culminated In a general alulalon of the sheik who Purnmoned them Then came the sheiks exhoitatlon and the description 1 oC their desert journey which was 10 occupy many months I Incidents by the waj heat thirst noire anti dust by day and Irll of 1 lence of the desert by night the brightness i bright-ness cf thp stars the waxing and wanIng wan-Ing of the moon the hardships excitement excite-ment plenty and poverty of conditions were each In turn graphically d Scribed 10 the Sauna weird accompanl merit Hour ole hour this went on the bards eye gleaming and his voice growing stronger until I was almost Stunned by Its thundering monotone Meantime the tribesmen shifting ex eltedlyjn their seats and utterlngaulck ejects atlons of approval cont1tuted a scene which kept me spellbound Eventually Even-tually In the narrative Tunis was reached and the horde of Arabs ell camped beneath Its walls I we now midnight And for four long hours I had listened to this wonderful won-derful epic but realizing that I was 10 thoroughly exhausted for further amusement I decided to turn In and retting up I left the assembly In the Zenith of Its excitement and I xelmnt gratification |
