MUSSULMAN IDEAS ON POBK 337 



which were freely indulged in. A dignified con- 

 tempt kept him silent ; but not on that account was 

 he wrathless. It required but a touch to arouse the 

 smouldering embers of his anger and make them 

 break forth in flame. He passively bore, for some 

 time, all the hard things he heard said of his creed 

 and its restrictive laws on the subject of pork, but 

 he was at last excited to active demonstration by 

 Mr. Baloo. 



That person, who was of no caste or religion in 

 particular, had been among those most interested in 

 the dismemberment of the pigs ; and he now had 

 occasion to pass near. Sheik Hussein with a dish of 

 the raw meat. He took this opportunity of remark- 

 ing to another servant, in a tone of voice which he 

 knew must reach the Mussulman, that it was a 

 great pity the Koran prohibited pork, as he felt 

 certain Sheik Hussein would like it. 



This was too much for that worthy man. He 

 jumped up and ran or, to speak more correctly, 

 trotted, for he was corpulent and not much given to 

 running towards the delinquent, with the object of 

 inflicting summary personal chastisement. 



"You heretic! you ill-begotten! you base- 

 born ! " he shouted, brandishing a frying-pan he had 

 seized on as the first available weapon. " I'll teach 

 you to speak so disrespectfully." 



