n8 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



merits of his medicine, the mahudis* blew their horns, while two as- 

 sistants ran to and fro distributing spoonfuls and handfuls of a blue 

 powder and collecting copper coins. The doctor had the voice of a 

 steer, and I noticed that his sudden whoops f sometimes opened the 

 purse-strings of spectators who had listened with indifference to his 

 quieter remarks. - - 



His rival had no pictures, but talked with astonishing volubility 

 and attracted customers by a very ingenious device. Behind his plat- 

 form he had made an inclosure with chains and ropes and filled it 

 with a troop of sickly-looking fellows cripples, lepers, and such 

 like as he could easily have collected in any back street of the 

 town. Now and then, in the course of his fluent harangue, the doc- 

 tor would stop and turn toward this cadaverous assembly. " Have 

 you not all derived great benefits from the use of my oil ? " he in- 

 quired. 



" Yes, yes, yes ! " the lepers shouted in chorus, whereupon the 

 mahud blew his horn, and the collectors rushed into the crowd to ex- 

 change bottles for coin. At times the doctor varied his query : " Is 

 there any disease which my oil will fail to cure ? " 



" No, no, no ! " yelled the chorus, and a shower of coin followed as 

 before. At longer intervals a couple of assistants would bring a large 

 tub from an adjoining building, and, with the appearance of a strenu- 

 ous effort, lift it up and exchange it for an apparently empty pot irpon 

 the stage. 



"Another barrelful sold!" then cried the doctor. "By Allah 

 (whose perfection be extolled ! ), there is no medicine like it ! Oh, the 

 wonderful virtues of my oil ! " whereupon the mahud blew his horn 

 vigorously till coppers showered in from all sides. 



Walking toward the gate, we overtook several men whom I re- 

 membered to have seen at the stand of the oil-man. 



"What is that oil good for, O friend ?" I asked a young fellow 

 who carried a bottle of it in his hand. 



He looked at me with surprise. " Did you not hear what the doctor 

 said ? " he replied ; " it cures all diseases, so it can not fail to be good 

 for something." 



" Tell me, O my master," I asked an old burgher, " do you know 

 what that bottle contains ? " 



" That I can not tell," said he ; " but surely it must be a powerful 

 medicine." 



" And do you prefer it to the other doctor's powder ? " I asked 

 again. 



" Judging from its taste, the potency of this oil can not be ex- 



* Mahud (pi. mahudim, or mahudis), a town-crier, or news-crier. When Cordova 

 was the capital of Moorish Spain, every market-hall of the vast city had two mahudis, 

 who announced the news twice a day, like our morning and evening papers. 



f "Sein plotzliches Gebrull," (W.). 



