58 ZEKARS. 



with so much noise, that some of the neighbours 

 came rushing in to see what accident had happened. 

 Their appearance put to flight the whole company 

 of juvenile actors, who got off, however, with some 

 tumbles over each other through the narrow door- 

 way, except the circumcised one, who being caught 

 by Shurmalkee's slave, Abdullah, got a few cuffs 

 upon the head, and a kick or two behind, with a 

 polite request that he should convey them to the 

 mock Kadee, as part payment of his expenses on 

 the occasion. I took a note of this as it afforded 

 me an opportunity of completing the account of the 

 ceremonials of the Mahomedan religion by Burck- 

 hardt, all of which, excepting the circumcision, and 

 which, by-the-by, he must have submitted to, he 

 has so admirably described. Without compromis- 

 ing myself, I had an opportunity in this farce of 

 witnessing the principal features of the first neces- 

 sary step of Mahomedan proselytism, as performed 

 according to law. 



I frequently observed a religious ceremony that 

 seemed to be a spontaneous outbreak of religious 

 fervour on the part of individuals, rather than a 

 generally recognised portion of their devotions. 

 Towards evening, a large circle of some twenty 

 or thirty men would commence a loud and long 

 continued repetition of the word Allah, for nearly a 

 quarter of an hour ; and then being served, each 

 drank a small cup of coffee, whilst one of their 

 number, with an open Koran on the ground before 



