446 THE TEMPTATION OF SIDI AOMAR. 



a time, its somewhat acrid flavour becomes appreciated, 

 as exceedingly refreshing after a hot sun. But to 

 proceed. The romantic aspects of Arab character and 

 its religious cast of thought are well illustrated inj;he 

 following legend, of which the translation has been 

 somewhat abbreviated for insertion here, but the leading 

 features of the story have all been carefully preserved. 



THE TEMPTATION OF SIDI AOMAR. 



" Sidi Aomar was a man who feared God good, 

 hospitable, very humble, and holding in contempt the 

 good things of this world. The Divine blessing was 

 over him, and the demon could not prevail against 

 him. 



(Here it is related how, for the purpose of trying 

 his faith, he was delivered to the temptation of Satan, 

 who asserted that he was only a hypocrite) and 

 "Sidi Aomar went as usual to the well to make his 

 ablutions, before prayers, and when he drew up the 

 water jar, it was filled to the brim with silver. 'It is 

 not silver that I ask for,' he cried, 'but only water for 

 ablution,' and after emptying the water vessel upon 

 the sand, he let it down again into the well. This 

 time he brought it up full of gold. He threw out the 

 gold upon the earth, upon the silver. The third time 

 it came up full of precious stones. 



" 'Must I then,' cried the holy man, 'do my ablutions 

 with the sand of the desert, like the pilgrim on his 

 travels ? ' Having made this invocation with his face 

 turned towards heaven, when he cast his eyes down 

 again to the earth, he found the heap of silver, and 

 gold, and precious stones had melted into limpid water, 

 which ran down the slope, and it has never since 



