1 88 By Mountain, Lake^ and Plain 



The next day we spied some sheep on bare, 

 broken ground above us. The stalk, not a very 

 easy one, was well carried out by the chief of my 

 two hunters. We had in the end to crawl up a 

 little spur and the herd would be below us. The 

 first to become visible was a small ram, which the 

 Kurd, very excited, wanted me to take, an easy 

 shot ; but my desires were fixed on two big beasts 

 at present out of sight, so to the hunter's great 

 annoyance I refused to shoot at the one in view. 

 The shikari then retired and watched me. " Great 

 Allah," I could imagine him saying, " what is this 

 son of an ass doing ! " After some manoeuvring 

 I got a shot at the ram I wanted, and to my 

 intense annoyance missed him. The undisguised 

 scorn of the hunters was hard to bear. " If you 

 had left it to us," said one, " we would each have 

 got a ram. Why, in God's name, did you not take 

 the shot when I signed to you ? " 



" What is this ? " said the other coming up ; 

 "you told us you were a mar g<m! n 



Humility, or at any rate suavity and politeness, 

 are the aspects of Mahommedan character that 

 the official European in the East is most familiar 

 with even in these days of "unrest"! Perhaps 

 it is good for him on occasions to experience some- 

 thing of the opposite kind. It takes some of the 

 conceit out of him, and at the same time opens 



