CH. XXIX 
MAHOMETAN FAITH, ETC. 
255 
upon the scene and stood spectators of this goodly 
repast. For a while, they watched the eating 
unmoved; then the savour of the cooked flesh, 
making a swift onslaught on their most sacred 
beliefs, they grew hesitant; and, finally, after a brief 
consultation, arrived at a unanimous decision. 
Elephant meat had won the day, and they came 
forward, saying that they had been foolish long 
enough in adhering to such an austere faith, and 
henceforth were going to consume whatever food 
the gods sent them and elephant meat in particular. 
So sitting down, they joined my men’s feast, 
toasting and eating and making merry over the 
savoury flesh, while the Mahometan faith was 
relegated, for the time being, to the region of 
unpleasant memories. 
In the midst of this rude but cheerful banquet, 
there appeared on the scene an old man, wearing 
under his arm a board on which was written a 
Mahometan prayer, a custom followed by many 
devotees of that faith, and after the usual salaams 
had been exchanged, one of my men jokingly asked 
him to join the repast, never for a moment dream¬ 
ing that he would do so. At first, the old man 
emphatically refused, and, as if afraid that proximity 
to such impiety would defile him, went and sat 
down a short distance away and closely watched his 
degenerate brothers, who had so weakly lapsed into 
