DISCOVERY 



2S7 



devotees in their time of need. It is said that in the 

 years to come the poor darwlsh became rich, and the 

 rich man who married the unfaithful wife became poor. 



A Female Sheikh 



In one of the provinces of Upper Egypt, close to the 

 desert hills, lives the S/icik/ia Saluh. This woman has 

 a great reputation for holiness, and people flock to her, 

 in times of difficulty, from all quarters. Her skin is 

 very dark from constant exposure to the sun, and her 

 head, on which she wears no veil, is covered with 

 a crop of hair, thick and long like the wool of a sheep ; 

 from beneath her brows peer dark, sharp-looking eyes. 

 Her clothes are somewhat scant}^ consisting merely 

 of a piece of linen rag and a sort of coat. She remains 

 out in this desert solitude all day, and at night, so I was 

 told, she sleeps alone " in the mountain." The people 

 call the often precipitous high-desert hills " the 

 mountain " (el-gebel), so she probably takes shelter in 

 one of the natural or artificial caves which exist 

 in great numbers in the hill-sides. On one occasion, 

 when a number of men and women had come to consult 

 her, one of the men asked her what had become of 

 his most valuable camel which he had lost. The 

 shcik/ui at once told him the exact hour in which this 

 loss had occurred, and informed him that one of his 

 sons had stolen it one night and had sold it to a man in 

 another village in the same province. She then told 

 him the name of the man who had bought it, and said 

 that if he went to the house of the purchaser, he would 

 be able to recover his lost property. 



Another man then came forward, and. when he had 

 presented the sheikha with a small sum of money, she 

 told him his name and the name of his village, though 

 he was quite unknown to her. She also informed him 

 that he had three sons and one daughter — a perfectly 

 correct statement — and said, moreover, that on his 

 return home he would find that his daughter was ill. 

 This information also proved to be quite true, as the 

 man, who is a friend of mine, told me afterwards. 



The customs and beliefs connected with these sheikhs 

 show many traces of ideas that have come down from 

 ancient times. I hope to deal with these survivals 

 in some future number of Discovery. 



FREUD AND HIS CRITICS 



After some 5'ears of almost undisputed pre-eminence among 

 the pioneers of Psj'chology, Freud, who first introduced the 

 theories of Psycho-analysis and based on them a system of 

 treatment of neurotics, has been of late submitted to searching 

 criticism. In the Revue generale des Sciences for September, 

 and in the October number of Scieiitia, apppear articles by 

 G. Marinesco and Leonardo Bianchi respectively which should 

 be carefully studied by all who are interested in this subject. 



A Working Philosophy 

 of Life 



By W. Tudor Jones, M.A., Ph.D. 



Bergson's doctrines form one of the most simply 

 expressed and untechnical philosophies of the present 

 day. In the original it is as easy to read him as to 

 read a novel, and yet he deals with some of the most 

 fundamental problems of life and existence. 



Bergson's Life and Personality 



Henri Bergson was born in Paris on the i8th of 

 October 1859, ^""^ received an excellent education. 

 He distinguished himself very early in mathematics, 

 and it was through the gateway of mathematics that 

 he entered into philosophy. After a period of lectur- 

 ing in several schools and universities in France, he 

 was elected in 1900 Professor of Philosophy in the 

 College de France, and in 1901 was elected a Member 

 of the French Institute. About two years ago he 

 retired, and his place in the College de France has been 

 filled by his well-known interpreter, Edouard Le Roy. 



Bergson is not a recluse in any sense whatever. 

 Hard as his work as a student has been, this has not 

 in any way affected his charming personality. He 

 is one of the most modest as well as one of the most 

 fascinating of men. Along with the mental qualities 

 of a man of genius he combines the power of eloquence 

 in a remarkable degree — a power that drew crowds 

 of people to his lectures from all parts of the world. 

 He has been able in a wonderful manner to put his 

 immense learning on one side when it is necessary, 

 and to feel perfectly at ease with humble men and 

 women. The natural, social hfe of the day is as 

 interesting and important for him as the life of pro- 

 found meditation over the deepest problems of science 

 and metaphysics. 



Is Discovery Possible in the Realm of Mind ? 



The world is often apt to conclude that discovery 

 is only possible within the realm of nature. The dis- 

 coveries in the various domains of physical science 

 have been so extensive and the results have proved 

 so tangible and fruitful that such a mistake is natural 

 enough. Science has illuminated many dark recesses of 

 nature ; but this is also true in the realm of mind, 

 and no one in our generation has shown the fact more 

 clearly than Professor Bergson. He has shown us 

 how mind is related to nature on the one hand, and 

 how it is related to itself on the other. The various 

 branches of the natural sciences have their contribu- 

 tions to make with regard to human personality, but 

 they do not exhaust the explanation of it. Discovery 



