ENTERTAINING^ VARIETIES. 117 



" Do you care if he did ? " said I. 



" Oh, certainly ! " whispered the Kabir ; " he is a man of wealth, 

 and a prominent member of our mosque." 



The Kabir's residence was a long wooden building at the end of a 

 field, with several shade-trees, and some fifty acres of land, devoted to 

 the cultivation of poison-berries. 



"If you dislike the smell of fire-water, you had better accept the 

 shelter of my roof ,' ' said he, " for all our caravansaries are redolent 

 with the fumes of mash. As for myself, I never touch the stronger 

 sorts, though our doctors prescribe them." 



We thanked him for his kindness, but, as the night was clear and 

 pleasant, we asked permission to camp under one of his shade-trees. 

 While the Karman pitched our tent, our host pressed me to inspect 

 the interior of the building. 



" Do you know a remedy for the gout ? " * he asked as soon as we 

 were alone. " I have tried all sorts of cures, but unsuccessfully." 



" Have you ever tried to drink water ! " I asked him. 



The Kabir sighed. " I thought you were a physician," said he ; 

 " is that the only remedy you know ? Never mind," he added, when I 

 made no reply, " I suppose there is no help for it. This earth is a vale 

 of tears." 



He had lighted a lamp, and I noticed that the background of his 

 room was full of papyrus-rolls, tablets, and other things that bespoke 

 him a man of letters. 



"There is one consolation," said he; "the evils of this earth can 

 not deprive us of spiritual enjoyments. Nay, the more the light of 

 earthly pleasure fades, the brighter the joys of a higher world often 

 dawn upon the mind." 



A strange smell began to fill the room, and, looking toward the 

 corner where the Kabir was seated upon his divan, I discovered to my 

 dismay that he had lighted a pot with, stink- weeds. He invited me to 

 take a seat at his side, but, seeing that I was in need of rest, he kindly 

 permitted me to retire to my tent. 



Before we resumed our journey the next morning, we had to re- 

 plenish our provision-bags, and met a boy who offered to show us the 

 way to the market-place. " It is not far from here," said he, " you 

 can already hear the shouting of the doctors." 



Since daybreak we had, indeed, heard the sound of repeated 

 whoops, often accompanied by the tooting of a cow-horn ; and when 

 we arrived at the market-place we soon discovered the cause of the 

 noise. 'In opposite corners of the square two medicine-venders had 

 erected their platforms, and their incessant yells had already attracted 

 large crowds of the natives. One of the doctors had decorated his 

 booth with all sorts of fanciful pictures, and, while he exalted the 



* Akdel hesha^, the " wine-disease." Either the gout or the stone. 



