2§ CLABKE’S TRAVELS. 
taken a station, they changed their post again, for purposes i© 
us unknown. Finally, they all stood in a semicircle before the 
superior, and then a dance began: this, without any motion of 
the feet or hands, consisted of moving in a mass from side to 
side, against each other’s shoulders, repeating rapidly and con¬ 
tinually the words Ullah , hoo TJllak ! and laughing as before, 
but no longer with any expression of mirth ; it seemed rather 
the horrid and intimidating grimace of madness. In the mean 
time the superior moved forward, until he stood in the midst of 
them, repeating the same words, and marking the measure of 
utterance, by beating his hands, accompanied with a motion of 
Ills head. At this time another figure made his appearance, an 
old man, very like the representations Spagnolet painted of 
[Diogenes, and quite as ragged. Placing himself on the left of 
the semicircle, with his face toward the dervishes, he began to 
howl the same words, much louder, and with greater animation 
than the rest, and, beating time with all the force of his arm, 
encouraged them to exertions they w ere almost incapable of 
sustaining. Many of them appeared almost exhausted, tossing 
their heads about, w hile their laugh presented one of the most 
horrible convulsions of feature the human countenance is capa¬ 
ble of assuming. Still the oscillatory motion and the howling 
continued, becoming every instant more violent; and the sound 
of their voices resembled the grunting of expiring hogs; until 
at length one of them gave a convulsive spring from the floor, 
and, as he leaped, called loudly and vehemently “ Mohammed P'* 
No sooner was this perceived, than one of the attendants taking 
him in his arms, raised him from the floor, and turned him three 
times round. Then a loud hissing noise, as of fire, proceeded 
from his mouth, which ceased on the superior placing his hand 
upon bis lips. The same person then taking the skin of his 
throat between the finger and thumb of his left hand, pierced it 
through with an iron skewer he held in his right, and left him 
standing exposed to view in that situation, calling loudly upon 
Mohammed. 
By this time, some of the others, apparently quite spent, af¬ 
fected to be seized in the same way, and were turned round 
as the other had been. The person who turned them supported 
them afterward in his arms, while they reclined their faces 
upon his right shoulder, and evidently were occupied in rincing 
their mouths with something concealed beneath his garments.— 
The same process took place respecting their hands, which were 
