n6 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



though my soul shrank from the thought as long as there was a shad- 

 ow of doubt, namely, that these ship-loads of victuals would all be 

 made into fire-water ; mountains of grain and fruit turned into poison, 

 while the streets were full of starving children ! 



" Do you believe in a god ? " I asked the Kabir. 



"I do, and in more than one ! " was the prompt reply. , , 



"And do you believe the gods will forgive you this shameful 

 waste?" 



The Kabir touched my arm. " Do not talk so loud," he whispered. 

 " How can we help it ? " said he, in an undertone ; " we have tried all 

 kinds of remedies, and they have all failed. How can we prevent the 

 manufacture of mash ? " 



" Simply enough," I replied ; " do not drink it. Does your religion 

 not forbid such an outrage, or does not your conscience prompt you 

 to stop it ? Is the way to freedom so far ? " * 



" We have not been idle, O son of my uncle," said the Kabir ; " the 

 evil has been greatly diminished." 



" In what way ? " I asked. 



"Our dervishes," said he, "prohibit the sale of mash on all prayer- 

 days." 



" When do they permit it ? " I asked. 



" Only on six days out of seven," said he. 



" But do you not drink mash in your mosques ?" asked my guide. 



The Kabir gave him an evil look.f "That is a slander," said he. 

 " What they hand around in our mosques has the smell and the ap- 

 pearance of mash, but before we put it to our lips a special miracle 

 turns it into quite a different substance." J 



" Has it a different taste ? " I inquired. 



The Kabir hesitated. "Unbelievers deny it," said he. "Our 

 doctors claim that it has the same effect on the human body as a simi- 

 lar quantity of ordinary mash ; Jbut science, you know, is always forg- 

 ing weapons to destroy the faith." # 



The overseer of the mash-house stood near enough to overhear our 

 conversation. He made no remark, but walked up to the furnace and 

 ordered the laborers to quit work. " It is time to close the gate," said 

 he. 



We took the hint and left. 



" That overseer owns a part of the mash-house," said the Kabir ? 

 when we reached the open street. " I wonder if he has heard your 

 remarks ? " 



* Professor Widerleger understands this as an allusion to the sixteenth chapter of the 

 Syrian Koran, where the drunkard is compared to a slave who can not fly because " the 

 way to his native land is so far." 



f Meyad emassek a venomous look. 



% "Por un milagro peculiar se obra una trasustaciacion," (R.). 



* " Dass die Wissenschaft Waffen zur Vernichtung des Glauhens schmiedet," (W.). 



